Size-controlled synthesis and characterization of quantum-size SnO2 nanocrystallites by a solvothermal route

By using ethylenediamine as both an alkali and ligand, quantum size SnO2, nanocrystallites were synthesized with a solvothermal route. The transmission electron micrographs (TEM) were employed to characterize the morphologies of the products. The crystal sizes of the as-synthesized SnO2 were ranged form 2.5 to 3.6 nm. The crystal structure and optical properties of the products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, optical absorption spectra, photoluminescence and Raman spectra.

Synthesis and enhancement of quantum efficiency of a series of novel PPV derivative copolymers

A series of novel PPV derivative copolymers with good solubility in common organic solvents were synthesized. The emitting color of these copolymers could range from red to blue by adjusting the structures and the compositions of monomers. Investigation on their optical properties showed that the PL quantum efficiency could be increased by energy transfer and conjugation reduction. The PL quantum efficiency of most green/blue copolymer films on slide glass was higher than 80%.

Gas-phase Ion-molecular Reactions of C-60 and C-70 with Acetone and Quantum Chemistry Study

Gas-phase ion-molecular reactions of C-60 and C-70 with the ion system of acetone have been studied in this paper. The ions of protoned and acetylized C-60 and C-70 were formed by the reactions of C-60 and C-70 with some ions which existed in the ion system when mass spectrometer worked on chemical ionization conditions. The reactivity of C-70 is greater than that of C-60. Results of quantum chemical calculation for the adduct ions showed a sigma bond between the acyl carbon atom and C-60 may be Formed. These results will provide some valuable informations on the condense-phase acetylization of C-60.

Composition, Abundance, and Diversity of the Peracarida on Different Vegetation Types in the Qi'ao-Dan'gan Island Mangrove Nature Reserve on Qi'ao Island in the Pearl River Estuary, China

Chang-Fu Wang, Xian-Qiu Ren, and Run-Lin Xu (2010) Composition, abundance, and diversity of the Peracarida on different vegetation types in the Qi'ao-Dan'gan Island Mangrove Nature Reserve on Qi'ao Island in the Pearl River estuary, China. Zoological Studies 49(5): 608-615. Almost nothing is known about the Peracarida in the Pearl River estuary. This is the 1st report to study the composition, abundance, and diversity of the Peracarida in the Qi'ao-Dan'gan I. Mangrove Nature Reserve on Qi'ao I., in the Pearl River estuary, southern China. Bimonthly samplings were carried out in 3 representative vegetation types (mangrove arbor, emergent plants, and seaweed) for 2 yr. Using a Peterson grab, 1940 individuals (id.) were collected in total, including 11 species of 6 genera, 5 families, and 3 orders (Amphipoda, Isopoda, and Tanaidacean). Discapseudes mackiei Bamber 1997 was the dominant species with the highest density of 1,432 incl./m(2). The effect of temperature on the abundance of Peracarida was significant (p < 0.01), and the optimum temperature was 22-23 degrees C in both the mangrove arbor and seaweed. The results showed that the abundance of the Peracarida was higher in the mangrove arbor, while the diversity, especially Amphipoda diversity, was higher in the seaweed. In contrast, emergent plants provided no suitable habitats for the Peracarida. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/49.5/608.pdf

Electrochemical, SEM/EDS and quantum chemical study of phthalocyanines as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 1 mol/l HCl

The inhibition effect of metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc), copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and copper phthalocyanine tetrasulfuric tetrasodium salt (CuPc center dot S(4)center dot Na-4) on mild steel in I mol/l HCl in the concentration range of 1.0 X 10(-5) to 1.0 X 10(-3) mol/l was investigated by electrochemical test, scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS) and quantum chemical method. The potentiodynamic polarization curves of mild steel in hydrochloric acid containing these compounds showed both cathodic and anodic processes of steel corrosion were suppressed, and the Nyquist plots of impedance expressed mainly as a capacitive loop with different compounds and concentrations. For all these phthalocyanines, the inhibition efficiency increased with the increase in inhibitor concentration, while the inhibition efficiencies for these three phthalocyanines with the same concentration decreased in the order Of CuPc center dot S(4)center dot Na-4 > CuPc > H2Pc according to the electrochemical measurement results. The SEM/EDS analysis indicated that there are more lightly corroded and oxidative steel surface for the specimens after immersion in acid solution containing 1.0 x 10(-3) mol/l phthalocyanines than that in blank. The quantum chemical calculation results showed that the inhibition efficiency of these phthalocyanines increased with decrease in molecule's LUMO energy, which was different from the micro-cyclic compounds. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical, quantum chemical and SEM investigation of the inhibiting effect and mechanism of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin on the corrosion for mild steel in hydrochloric acid

The inhibiting effect and mechanism of 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7-(1-piperazinyl)-3-quinoline carboxylicacid(ciprofloxacin), 1-ethyl-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7-(1-piperazinyl)-3-quinoline carboxylic acid (norfloxacin) and (-)-(S)-9-fluoro-2,3-dihydro-3-methyl-10-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-7-oxo-7 H-pyrido(1,2,3-de)-1,4-benzoxazine-6 carboxylic acid (ofloxacin) on the corrosion of mild steel in 1 mol/L HCl have been studied using electrochemical method, quantum chemical method and SEM at 303 K. The potentiodynamic results showed that these compounds suppressed both cathodic and anodic processes of mild steel corrosion in 1 mol/L HCl. The impedance spectroscopy showed that R-p values increased, and C-dl values decreased with the rising of the working concentration. Quantum chemical calculation showed that there was a positive correlation between some inhibitors structure properties and the inhibitory efficiency. The inhibitors function through adsorption followed Langmuir isotherm, and chemisorption made more contribution to the adsorption of the inhibitors on the steel surface compared with physical adsorption. SEM analysis suggested that the metal had been protected from aggressive corrosion because of the addition of the inhibitors.

Electrochemical and quantum chemical study of purines as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 1 M HCl solution

The purines and its derivatives, such as, guanine, adenine, 2,6-diaminopurine, 6-thioguanine and 2,6-dithiopurine, were investigated as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 1 M HCl solution by weight loss measurements, electrochemical tests and quantum chemical calculations. The polarization curves of mild steel in the hydrochloric acid solutions of the purines showed that both cathodic and anodic processes of steel corrosion were suppressed. The Nyquist plots of impedance expressed mainly as a depressed capacitive loop with different compounds and concentrations. For all these purines, the inhibition efficiency increased by increasing the inhibitor concentration, and the inhibition efficiency orders are 2,6-dithiopurine > 6-thioguanine > 2,6-diaminopurine > adenine > guanine with the highest inhibiting efficiency of 88.0% for 10(-3) M 2,6-dithiopurine. The optimized structures of purines, the Mulliken charges, molecular orbital densities and relevant parameters were calculated by quantum chemical calculations. The quantum chemical calculation results inferred that the adsorption belong to physical adsorption, which might arise from the pi stacking between the pi electron of the purines and the metal surface. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intense upconversion luminescence and effect of local environment for Tm3+/Yb3+ co-doped novel TeO2-BiCl3 glass system

We present the results of a study that uses theoretical and experimental methods to investigate the characteristics of the upconversion luminescence of Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped TeO2-BiCl3 glass system as a function of the BiCl3 fraction. These glasses are potentially important in the design of upconversion fiber lasers. Effect of local environment around Tm3+ on upconversion fluorescence intensity was analyzed by theoretical calculations. The structure and spectroscopic properties were investigated in the experiments by measuring the Raman spectra, IR transmission spectra, and absorption and fluorescence intensities at room temperature. The results indicate that blue luminescence quantum efficiency increases with increasing BiCl3 content from 10 to 60 mol%, which were interpreted by the increase of asymmetry of glass structure, decrease of phonon energy and removing of OH- groups. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Composition and evolution of the V2r vorneronasal receptor gene repertoire in mice and rats

Pheromones are chemicals produced and detected by conspecifics to elicit social/sexual physiological and behavioral responses, and they are perceived primarily by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in terrestrial vertebrates. Two large superfamilies of G protein-coupled receptors, V1rs and V2rs, have been identified as pheromone receptors in vomeronasal sensory neurons. Based on a computational analysis of the mouse and rat genome sequences, we report the first global draft of the V2r gene repertoire, composed of similar to 200 genes and pseudogenes. Rodent V2rs are subject to rapid gene births/deaths and accelerated amino acid substitutions, likely reflecting the species-specific nature of pheromones. Vertebrate V2rs appear to have originated twice prior to the emergence of the VNO in ancestral tetrapods, explaining seemingly inconsistent observations among different V2rs. The identification of the entire V2r repertoire opens the door to genomic-level studies of the structure, function, and evolution of this diverse group of sensory receptors. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning large-scale spatial relationships in a maze and effects of MK-801 on retrieval in the rhesus monkey

Monkeys have strong abilities to remember the visual properties of potential food sources for survival in the nature. The present study demonstrated the first observations of rhesus monkeys learning to solve complex spatial mazes in which routes were guid

Distribution and depuration of the potentially carcinogenic malachite green in tissues of three freshwater farmed Chinese fish with different food habits

The use of malachite green (MG) in fish farming is prohibited in China due to its potentially toxicological and carcinogenic nature, but it is still illegally used in some places. Uptake, accumulation and deputation of MG in various tissues were studied under laboratory conditions in three common freshwater fish, Parabramis pekinensis (plant-eating fish), Carassius auratus (omnivorous fish) and Ophiocephalus argus (carnivorous fish). The concentrations of MG and its primary metabolite, the reduced and colorless leucomalachite green (LMG), were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS2). Absorption of MG occurred during the waterborne exposure and the MG concentrations in gills of the three fish species all showed a maximum at 0 h after an acute water exposure (6 mg l(-1) MG for 20 min). Afterwards, both MG and LMG declined very rapidly in the blood of the fish. Levels of MG and LMG were still above 0.002 mu g g(-1) in fresh weight muscle at 240 h and may persist for as long as 10 days. Most MG was converted rapidly to LMG in the fish and deputation of LMG was very slow in fat tissue. skin and gonads of the fish. Distribution of LMG was strongly dependent on the fat content in the tissues of the fish, but not related to their different feeding habits. Therefore, it appears that fat tissue, skin and gonads of the fish contaminated by MG and LMG pose the greatest risk for human consumption. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Experimental studies on the effects of toxic Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7820 on the survival and reproduction of two freshwater rotifers Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus rubens

Blooms of Microcystis aeruginosa frequently occur in many eutrophic lakes in China, however, there is very little experimental study on the relationship between Microcystis and rotifers from Chinese waters. The effects of different concentrations of toxic M. aeruginosa PCC7820 on two common freshwater rotifers Brachionus calyciflorus and B. rubens were investigated in laboratory experiments. B. calyciflorus was able to utilize this strain of M. aeruginosa as a food source. However, M. aeruginosa suppressed the survival and reproduction of B. calyciflorus at the highest concentration (10(6) cells/ml) probably due to the inadequate nutrition. B. rubens was inhibited by toxic M. aeruginosa PCC7820 and the inhibition increased with the increasing Microcystis concentration. Our study indicates that the two rotifers have different sensitivities to toxic M. aeruginosa and that toxic cyanobacteria may affect zooplankton community structure by differentially inhibiting the different zooplankton taxa.

Photosynthesis and growth of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis (Cyanophyta) in response to solar UV radiation, with special reference to its minor variant

The minor variant of the economically important cyanobacterium, Arthrospira platensis, usually appears in commercial production ponds under solar radiation. However, how sensitive the minor variant to solar UVR and whether its occurrence relates to the solar exposures are not known. We investigated the photochemical efficiency of PSII and growth rate of D-0083 strain and its minor variant in semi-continuous cultures under PAR (400-700 nm) alone, PAR + UV-A (320-400 nm) and PAR + UV-A + UV-B (280-700 nm) of solar radiation. The effective quantum yield of D-0083 at 14:00 p.m. decreased by about 86% under PAR, 87% under PAR + UV-A and 92% under PAR + UV-A + UV-B (280-315 nm), respectively. That of the minor variant was reduced by 93% under PAR and to undetectable values in the presence of UV-A or UV-A + UV-B. Diurnal change of the yield showed constant pattern during long-term (10 days) exposures, high in the early morning and late afternoon but the lowest at noontime in both strains, with the UVR-related inhibition being always higher in the variant than D-0083. During the long-term exposures, cells of D-0083 acclimated faster to solar UV radiation and showed paralleled growth rates among the treatments with or without UVR at the end of the experiment; however, growth of the minor variant was significantly reduced by UV-A and UV-B throughout the period. Comparing to the major strain D-0083, the minor variant was more sensitive to UVR in terms of its growth, quantum yield and acclimation to solar radiation. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.