Optical Absorption and Raman Spectroscopy Study of the Fluorinated Double-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Double-wall carbon nanotube (DWNT) samples have been fluorinated at room temperature with varied concentration of a fluorinating agent BrF3. Content of the products estimated from X-ray photoelectron data was equal to CF0.20 and CF0.29 in the case of deficit and excess of BrF3. Raman spectroscopy showed considerable decrease of carbon nanotube amount in the fluorinated samples. Analysis of optical absorption spectra measured for pristine and fluorinated DWNT samples revealed a selectivity of carbon nanotube fluorination. Nanotubes with large chiral angle are more inert to the fluorinating agent used

Ignition of premixed air/fuel mixtures by microwave steamer discharge

A variety of methods exists for fast and efficient combustion of air-fuel mixtures. In this study, a microwave subcritical streamer discharge is used to ignite propane-air mixtures at atmospheric pressure. The streamer is initiated at the inner surface of a dielectric tube with the help of a passive half-wave vibrator. By creating a network of ignition lines, the streamer discharge forms the network of burning channels with large total surface area. This leads to the apparent speed of combustion propagation along the cylinder in excess of 100 m/s, which is more than 200 times the laminar flame propagation speed. The axial propagation of the combustion front in a cylindrical tube filled with the air/propane mixture is investigated by high speed video recording in visible light. A simple model is presented to explain observed results

Scattered and Fluorescent Photon Track Reconstruction in a Biological Tissue

Appropriate analysis of biological tissue deep regions is important for tumor targeting. This paper is concentrated on photons’ paths analysis in such biotissue as brain, because optical probing depth of fluorescent and excitation radiation differs. A method for photon track reconstruction was developed. Images were captured focusing on the transparent wall close and parallel to the source fibres, placed in brain tissue phantoms. The images were processed to reconstruct the photons most probable paths between two fibres. Results were compared with Monte Carlo simulations and diffusion approximation of the radiative transfer equation. It was shown that the excitation radiation optical probing depth is twice more than for the fluorescent photons. The way of fluorescent radiation spreading was discussed. Because of fluorescent and excitation radiation spreads in different ways, and the effective anisotropy factor, geff, was proposed for fluorescent radiation. For the brain tissue phantoms it were found to be 0.62±0.05 and 0.66±0.05 for the irradiation wavelengths 532 nm and 632.8 nm, respectively. These calculations give more accurate information about the tumor location in biotissue. Reconstruction of photon paths allows fluorescent and excitation probing depths determination. The geff can be used as simplified parameter for calculations of fluorescence probing depth

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green in diabetic patient with critical limb ischemia: a case report

A case report of type 2 diabetic patient with critical limb ischemia (CLI) after successful endovascular revascularization is reported. The diagnosis of CLI was established according to clinical data and results of lower limb ischemia assessment by non-invasive methods. The unique feature of this case is presentation of results of the new method of lower limb ischemia assessment fluorescent angiography in near infrared range using indocyanine green (ICG). Following parameters of fluorescent angiography in near infrared range are analyzed in different regions of interest: Tstart(sec) the time of fluorescence occurrence (Istart, unit) in the analyzed area after intravenous administration of ICG; Tmax (sec) time to achieve maximum fluorescence (Imax, unit) after intravenous injection of ICG; Tmax Tstart (sec) the time difference between Imax and Istart. In this clinical case, the time of achievement Istart, Imax, Tmax Tstart in different regions of interest decreased after successful endovascular revascularization of lower limb arteries

Hydrophobic Modification of Chitosan via Reactive Solvent-Free Extrusion

Hydrophobic derivatives of polysaccharides possess an amphiphilic behavior and are widely used as rheological modifiers, selective sorbents, and stabilizers for compositions intended for various applications. In this work, we studied the mechanochemical reactions of chitosan alkylation when interacting with docosylglycidyl and hexadecylglycidyl ethers in the absence of solvents at shear deformation in a pilot twin-screw extruder. The chemical structure and physical properties of the obtained derivatives were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical tests. According to calculations for products soluble in aqueous media, it was possible to introduce about 5–12 hydrophobic fragments per chitosan macromolecule with a degree of polymerization of 500–2000. The length of the carbon chain of the alkyl substituent significantly affects its reactivity under the chosen conditions of mechanochemical synthesis. It was shown that modification disturbs the packing ability of the macromolecules, resulting in an increase of plasticity and drop in the elastic modulus of the film made from the hydrophobically modified chitosan samples

First geophysical and shallow ice core investigation of the Kazbek plateau glacier, Caucasus Mountains

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