The Ll2 to DO19 phase transformation in the intermetallic compund Fe3Ge

Conference theme: Phase transformations and systems driven far from equilibriumA large kinetics hysteresis is found to exist between the forward and backward reactions of the LI2 «-» DO19 transformation in FejGe, The slow DOw to Ll2 transformation leaves behind very stable twins and stacking fault debris. In-situ annealing experiments in the transmission electron microscope revealed that nucieatiort for the reverse U 2 to DO 19 reaction takes place efficiently at these defects.published_or_final_versio

Maximum age limitation in luminescence dating of Chinese loess using the multiple-aliquot MET-pIRIR signals from K-feldspar

Numerical dating of loess is important for Quaternary studies. Recent progress in post-infrared infrared-stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) signals from potassium-rich feldspar has allowed successful dating of Chinese loess beyond the conventional dating limit based on quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals. In this study we tested the multiple-aliquot regenerative-dose (MAR) pre-dose multiple-elevated-temperature post-IR IRSL (pMET-pIRIR) procedure on samples from the palaeosol S5 (∼480 ka) and S8 (∼780 ka) layers from the Luochuan and Jingbian sections, respectively. The results show that (1) compared to sensitivity-corrected signal (Lx/Tx), a higher saturation dose is observed for the sensitivity-uncorrected MET-pIRIR signals (Lx), suggesting that MAR is advantageous for dating old samples; (2) negligible fading component can be achieved using the pMET-pIRIR procedure; (3) for the sample from the top of palaeosol S5, De values (1360 + 226/-167 Gy) broadly consistent with expected De (1550 ± 72 Gy) can be obtained using the sensitivity-uncorrected 300 °C MET-pIRIR signal. Our study suggests that a De value of about 1800 Gy may be the maximum dating limit of Chinese loess using the MAR pMET-pIRIR procedure.postprin

Temperature modulated solubility and activity alteration for oligo-(N-isopropylacrylamide)-iron tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine conjugates as a new mimetic peroxidase

Iron tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine (FeTSPc) was covalently bound to the terminus of a temperature sensitive oligomer, oligo-N-isopropylacrylamide (ONIPAAm), to form a new mimetic enzyme (ONIPAAm-FeTSPc) to; mimic the peroxidase activity of horseradish peroxidase. This FeTSPc-based mimetic enzyme exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 32 degrees C in neutral solution. It precipitates from water above the LCST and redissolves when the solution temperature is lowered below the LCST. The peroxidase activity of this mimetic enzyme was studied based on its catalytic effect on the reaction of p-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid and H2O2 The results show that the peroxidase activity of the new mimetic enzyme is higher than that of the free FeTSPc. The possibility of its application in the analytical field was also tested by the determination of H2O2 and ONIPAAm-FeTSPc; the detection limits are 8.2 x 10(-9) and 1.7 x 10(-9) mol L-1, respectively

Study on fluorometric determination of hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by iron(III)-tetrasulfonato-phthalocyanine with thiamine hydrochloride as a substrate

Iron(III)-tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine(FeTSPc) has been used as a mimetic enzyme in the determination of hydrogen peroxide with thiamine hydrochloride as a fluorogenic substrate. The determinations were carried out in both acidic and basic environments, with different limits of detection and linear ranges. In acidic condition, the linear calibration graph was obtained from 5.0x10(-8) mol/L to 8.0x10(-6) mol/L, with a detection limit of 2.1x10(-8) mol/L H2O2 when Na2HPO4-citric buffer solution (pH 2.8) was used as the reaction medium. It was also found that using one of the three polybasic carboxylic acids such as citric acid, tartaric acid and malonic acid as the catalytic reaction medium can lead to particularly sensitive systems, permitting a detection limit as low as 3.5x10(-9) mol/L H2O2; whereas in basic reaction medium (Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer solution, pH = 10.0), the linear range of the calibration graph was from 5.0x10(-8) mol/L to 2.0x10(6) mol/L H2O2 with a detection limit of 1.4x10(-8) mol/L. The applicability of the method to the determination of glucose in human serum was demonstrated by investigating the recovery of the known glucose added to human serum

A new red-region substrate, tetra-substituted amino aluminium phthalocyanine, for the fluorimetric determination of H2O2 catalyzed by mimetic peroxidases

A new red-region fluorogenic substrate, tetra-substituted amino aluminium phthalocyanine, was developed for the selective determination of H2O2 based on the catalytic effect of mimetic peroxidases, viz., hemin or iron tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine (FeTSPc). Under the optimum conditions, the linearity of the calibration graph for the determination of H2O2 with hemin (or FeTSPc) as the catalyst was in the range from 0.0 to 3.0 X 10(-7) mol L-1 (or from 0.0 to 2.0 x 10(-6) mol L-1). The detection limits were 3.7 X 10(-9) and 4.9 x 10(-9) mol L-1 H2O2, respectively. The relative standard deviation (n = 7) was within 1.5% in the middle of the linear range. The peroxidase activity of the mimetic enzymes hemin and FeTSPc, the effects of some experimental conditions and the influence of foreign substances were investigated. With this substrate, 0.0-7.5 x 10(-8) mol L-1 hemin and 0.0-2.0 x 10(-6) mol L-1 FeTSPc can be determined with an accuracy and precision of about 1.3%. The potential application of the reagent was tested by the determination of H2O2 in rainwater

Novel spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of thiamine with iron(III) tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine as a catalyst

A sensitive, selective and rapid spectrofluorimetric method is proposed for the determination of thiamine by using mimetic enzyme iron(iii) tetrasulfonatophthalocynanine (FeTSPc) as a catalyst for the oxidation reaction between thiamine and hydrogen peroxide. It is based on the oxidation of thiamine in alkaline medium to give an intensively fluorescent compound, which has an excitation wavelength of 375 nm and an emission wavelength of 440 nm. The determination was found to be activated by fluorogenic substrates with a p-hydroxyphenyl structure such as L-tyrosine, tyramine and p-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid. Under optimum conditions, the responses for thiamine were linear from 1.0 x 10(-8) to 1.0 x 10(-4)mol L-1, with a detection limit of 4.3 x 10(-9) mol L-1. The relative standard deviation was 2.2% for 2.0 X 10(-7) mol L-1 thiamine (n = 6). The activation of the p-hydroxyphenyl substrates, the effects of some experimental conditions and the influence of foreign substances were investigated. The potential application of the method was tested by selectively determining thiamine in commercial vitamin B-1, vitamin B complex and rice

Transverse electric field–induced deformation of armchair single-walled carbon nanotube

The deformation of armchair single-walled carbon nanotube under transverse electric field has been investigated using density functional theory. The results show that the circular cross-sections of the nanotubes are deformed to elliptic ones, in which the tube diameter along the field direction is increased, whereas the diameter perpendicular to the field direction is reduced. The electronic structures of the deformed nanotubes were also studied. The ratio of the major diameter to the minor diameter of the elliptic cross-section was used to estimate the degree of the deformation. It is found that this ratio depends on the field strength and the tube diameter. However, the field direction has little role in the deformation

Interaction of a novel red-region fluorescent probe, Nile Blue, with DNA and its application to nucleic acids assay

A novel fluorimetric method was developed for the rapid determination of DNA and RNA based on their quenching effect on the cationic red-region fluorescent dye Nile Blue (NB) In the investigation of the interaction of NE with DNA by steady-state polarization measurements, thermal denaturing study, determination of absorption and fluorescence characteristics, salt effect study and electrophoresis experiments, the results supported the suggestion that NE served as an intercalator to the stack base pairs of nucleic acids. Further evidence showed that the quenching could be ascribed to the static quenching mode. A binding constant of about 10(6) M-1 and a binding site size of about three base pairs were obtained by spectral methods. Under optimum conditions, the calibration curves for the determination of calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) and yeast RNA were linear over the ranges 3.0 ng mL(-1)-2.0 mu g mL(-1) and 27 ng mL(-1)-10 mu g mL(-1), respectively, The detection limits were 3.0 ng mL(-1) for CT DNA and 27 ng mL(-1) for RNA. The relative standard deviation (n = 6) was within 2.1% in the middle of the linear range. Interferences from some interesting co-existing substances in the determination of DNA were also examined

Autonomous indoor wayfinding for individuals with cognitive impairments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A challenge to individuals with cognitive impairments in wayfinding is how to remain oriented, recall routines, and travel in unfamiliar areas in a way relying on limited cognitive capacity. While people without disabilities often use maps or written directions as navigation tools or for remaining oriented, this cognitively-impaired population is very sensitive to issues of abstraction (e.g. icons on maps or signage) and presents the designer with a challenge to tailor navigation information specific to each user and context.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper describes an approach to providing distributed cognition support of travel guidance for persons with cognitive disabilities. A solution is proposed based on passive near-field RFID tags and scanning PDAs. A prototype is built and tested in field experiments with real subjects. The unique strength of the system is the ability to provide unique-to-the-user prompts that are triggered by context. The key to the approach is to spread the context awareness across the system, with the context being flagged by the RFID tags and the appropriate response being evoked by displaying the appropriate path guidance images indexed by the intersection of specific end-user and context ID embedded in RFID tags.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that passive RFIDs generally served as good context for triggering navigation prompts, although individual differences in effectiveness varied. The results of controlled experiments provided more evidence with regard to applicabilities of the proposed autonomous indoor wayfinding method.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that the ability to adapt indoor wayfinding devices for appropriate timing of directions and standing orientation will be particularly important.</p