Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seeded silicon nanowire growth catalyzed by commercially available bulk metals: broad selection of metal catalysts, superior field emission performance, and versatile nanowire/metal architectures

Over the past two decades, metal-seeded growth has been the most widely used method for Si nanowire synthesis. However, preparation methods of metal catalysts mostly involve indirect, multi-step procedures and suffer from many processing limitations. In this study, we demonstrate that bulk metals can be directly used as catalysts for seeded Si nanowire growth. Eight metals which cover all three types of metals used for Si nanowire growth, such as Ag, Al, Au, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Ti, were explored as catalysts. Single crystalline Si nanowires were synthesized in the presence of bulk Ag, Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Ti at temperatures ranging from 450 to 550 °C at 10.3 MPa, whereas no wires were produced in the presence of bulk Au. The metals effective for seeded growth are cheap, easily obtained, and exhibit excellent catalytic reusability. In addition, as-grown Si nanowires exhibit superior field emission property due to their good electrical contact between the wire and metal interface. Various nanowire/metal substrate architectures could be achieved through the use of metals with different morphologies. Compared to the traditional seeded-growth protocol, bulk metal-catalyzed growth provides a more facile and flexible synthetic scheme and a direct route to grow Si nanowires on metal substrates for advanced nanowire applications.
Determination of the Solubility Parameter of Epoxidized Soybean Oil by Inverse Gas Chromatography

The thermodynamic parameters of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) were determined by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) in the temperature range of 303.15 K-343.15 K. Two groups of probe solvents with different chemical natures and polarities were used to obtain information about ESO. The thermodynamic parameters—such as molar heat of sorption, weight fraction activity coefficient, Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, and partial molar heat of mixing—were obtained to judge the interactions between ESO and solvents at the studied temperatures. Also, the solubility parameters of ESO were found by plotting the graph of δ1 2/(RT) – χ∞ 12/V1 vs. solubility parameters, δ1, of the probes. The results showed that the selected solvent ethyl acetate was a moderate solvent for ESO; n-hexane was a moderate (but close to a better) solvent; while the probes n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, and chloroform were excellent solvents. From the extrapolation to 298 K, the solubility parameter value of ESO was 16.70 (J/cm3)0.5.
Rapid Determination of Bupropion in Human Plasma by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) technique has been developed for the determination of bupropion hydrocloride (Bup) in human plasma, using a reversed-phase method, with UV detection at 250 nm. The internal standard 5-(P-methylphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin (MPPH), was used as an aid to quantitation. The plasma was deprotemized with acetonitrile and the clear supernatant was directly injected in the chromatographic system. The lower limit of quantitation was 5.0 ng/ml using only 100 μl of plasma sample. Linear regression analysis for the calibration plots obtained on five different days over a two-week period for the the two ranges used (10–250 ng/ml and 250–2000 ng/ml) in plasma indicated excellent linearity and reproducibility. The mean recovery of spiked Bup in plasma samples over the concentrations studied was found 96.5 ± 3.14%. The method revealed that more than 30% of Bup was lost when the supernatant was stored at room temperature for 24 hrs.
Immunotoxicity of Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and the Role of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are environmentally widespread and persistent chemicals with multiple toxicities reported in experimental animals and humans. These compounds can trigger biological activity by activating the alpha isotype of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate gene expression; however, some biological effects may occur independently of the receptor. Activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) modulates lipid and glucose homeostasis, cell proliferation and differentiation, and inflammation. Reported immunomodulation in experimental animals exposed to PFOA and PFOS has included altered inflammatory responses, production of cytokines and other proteins, reduced lymphoid organ weights, and altered antibody synthesis. Mounting experimental animal evidence suggests PPARα independence of some immune effects. This evidence originates primarily from studies with PPARα knockout models exposed to PFOA that demonstrate hepatic peroxisome proliferation, reduced lymphoid organ weights, and altered antibody synthesis. As human PPARα expression is significantly less than that of rodents, potential PPARα independence indicates that future research must explore mechanisms of action of these compounds, including PPARα -dependent and -independent pathways. This multiauthored review contains brief descriptions of current and recently published work exploring immunomodulation by PFOA and PFOS, as well as a short overview of other PPARα ligands of therapeutic and environmental interest.
Magic-Numbered Aun Clusters Protected by Glutathione Monolayers (n = 18, 21, 25, 28, 32, 39): Isolation and Spectroscopic Characterization

Small gold clusters (<1 nm) protected by a glutathione (GSH) monolayer were fractionated into six components by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and their chemical compositions were investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy. The results demonstrate isolation of a series of magic-numbered gold clusters, Au18(SG)11, Au21(SG)12, Au25±1(SG)14±1, Au28(SG)16, Au32(SG)18, and Au39(SG)23. Their optical absorption spectra are highly structured with clear absorption onsets, which shift toward higher energies with reduction of the core size. These molecular-like gold clusters exhibit visible photoluminescence. The results reported herein provide helpful guidelines or starting points for further experimental and theoretical studies on structures, stabilities, and optical properties of monolayer-protected gold clusters.
Ion bombardment induced surface topography modification of clean and contaminated single crystal Cu and Si

Among the several factors which lead to depth resolution deterioration during sputter profiling, surface morphological modification resulting from local differences of sputtering rate can be important. This paper reports the results of direct scanning, electron microscopic studies obtained quasi-dynamically during increasing fluence ion bombardment of the evolution of etch pit structures on Si and Cu, and how such elaboration may be suppressed. It also reports on the elaboration of contaminant-induced cone generation for different ion species bombardment. The influence of such etch pit and cone generation on achievable depth resolution is assessed.
Depletion of plant-available silicon in soils: a possible cause of declining rice yields

Abstract The phenomenon of yield decline in different rice ecosystems from many parts of the world has been reported to be associated with decreases in the effective nitrogen (N) supply from soil. However, many reports in the literature suggest that silicon (Si) is an agronomically essential element for sustainable rice production. Depletion of plant‐available Si in soils where rice is grown could be a possible limiting factor contributing to declining yields. In order to address this problem of yield decline or stagnation, it seems necessary to survey Si status of soils and rice grown in different ecosystems throughout the world and develop region‐specific integrated nutrient management systems that include the element Si.
X‐ray data correlation through common reflexions

It should be pointed out that there exists a more general solution of the equations generated in the method of data correlation described by Rae (1965). N The equations, 27 a~jl~ = bi, i= 1 to N, generated by the j = l least-squares minimization of 27 wh~jd2i~, where wh~ is h,i,j all pairs the weight of the residual Ah~j= log k~F~-log kjFh~, have N N N the property that 27 a~j = 27 aj~ = 0 = 27 b~. The equations j = l j = l j = l are redundant but may be solved with the use of some extra condition upon the l~. The condition used by Rae (1965), viz. N Z a~d~ = 0, is only one of many possible extra conditions. i=1 N The equations may be rewritten as 27a~(l~-lr,)= j = l N N b~ IK 2: a~j = b~, since 27 a~j = 0. This gives N 1 nonj=l j=l redundant equations in N 1 unknowns ( / j / x ) which may be solved. The solutions, h / ~ = log (kj/kx) are the logarithms of the ratios of the scale constants, which may be put on an absolute scale by the use of an extra condition, the simplest being Ii~ = O, i.e. kn = 1.
Simulation Analysis of Opportunity Recognition Path of Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises in Dongguan —— Comparison between E-commerce and Traditional Relationship Network

Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Dongguan use e-commerce and traditional relationship networks to build paths for market opportunity recognition. Taking the company’s monthly average total sales and total capacity as variables, this article employs particle swarm optimization (PSO) to simulate the paths of opportunity recognition in three different modes, namely the single e-commerce mode, the single traditional relationship network and their hybrid mode. The results reveal that: for the single ecommerce mode, the capacity utilization rate is very low; for the single traditional relationship network, changes in learning factor will not affect the choices of the enterprises; for the hybrid mode, the optimal solution of the three models is reached. But there is a substitution between the enterprise’s own learning factor and the group learning factor, which leads to deviation from the optimal solution
Fine-Grained Scheduling in Heterogeneous-ISA Architectures

Given the ever increasing demand for improved computational capabilities, heterogeneous-ISA multi-core architectures have emerged as a promising alternative to improve single-threaded performance. Such architectures comprise of multiple cores that differ not just in micro-architectural parameters but also in their Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). Programs have affinity towards different ISAs during its execution based on nature of code and data input. To extract maximum performance gain, we need to ensure that at every point in the program's execution, the program runs on its best affine core with minimum migration overhead. In this letter, we propose a function-wise fine grained scheduling algorithm which schedules every function of a program to its most affined ISA. Results show that our function-based scheduler can achieve speedup of up to 22.9 percent over state-of-the-art in heterogeneous-ISA architectures.
Biodegradation of fenpropathrin by a novel Rhodopseudomonas sp. strain PSB07-8

The aim of our study was to isolate a fenpropathrin-degrading bacterial strain and to determine its effectiveness in bioremediating fenpropathrin-contaminated soil in the laboratory. We isolated a bacterial strain from soils and named it as PSB07-8, and showed that this organism was able to degrade pyrethroid pesticide fenpropathrin. The organism was identified as a strain of Rhodopseudomonassp.The strain PSB07-8 degraded fenpropathrin in a co-metabolic way, and the optimal condition of degradation was at temperature of 30°C and pH value of 7. Moreover, the strain PSB07-8 could effectively degrade cypermethrin and bipthenthrin, but only slightly for deltemethrin, cyfluthrin and esfenralerate. We found that the degradation rate was negatively correlated with the fenpropathrin concentration in a certain range. In addition, our soil degradation test showed that in sterilised soils with 20 mg/l or 40 mg/l fenpropathrin, the strain PSB07-8 could complete 100% or achieve 44.7% of fenpropathrin degradation in 15 days. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of a strain of genus Rhodopseudomonas with an ability of degrading fenpropathrin in soil.
Alternating copolymerization of phthalic anhydride and propylene oxide by dialkylzinc

The mechanism of alternating copolymerization of propylene oxide with phthalic anhydride catalyzed by dialkylzinc is discussed. Dialkylzinc and phthalic anhydride form a complex which exhibits reactivity with propylene oxide to form alkylzinc alkoxide. Alkylzinc alkoxide thus formed reacts preferentially with phthalic anhydride in the presence of propylene oxide, giving alkylzinc carboxylate. Alkylzinc carboxylate then reacts selectively with propylene oxide to reproduce alkylzinc alkoxide. Repetition of these two reaction steps results in the formation of highly alternating polyester-copolymer. Der Mechanismus der durch Dialkylzink katalysierten alternierenden Copolymerisation von Propylenoxid mit Phthalsaureanhydrid wird diskutiert. Dialkylzink und Phthalsaureanhydrid bilden einen Komplex, der mit Propylenoxid Alkylzink-alkoxid bildet. Dieses reagiert in Gegenwart von Propylenoxid bevorzugt mit Phthalsaureanhydrid zu Alkylzink-carboxylat, welches selektiv mit Propylenoxid unter Ruckbildung von Alkylzink-alkoxid reagiert. Die Wiederholung dieser beiden Reaktions-schritte fuhrt zur Bildung eines weitgehend alternierenden Polyester-Copolymeren.
Structure and orientation of organic molecules on metal surfaces

Abstract Knowledge of the structure and orientation of organic molecules on solid surfaces is of fundamental relevance in many diverse areas of the physical sciences, ranging from heterogeneous catalysis to tribology and polymer interface science. For example, in catalysis the local orientation of a molecule on a metal surface is of decisive importance for determining the subsequent reaction paths, or in the science of composite materials the adhesion between organic layers and inorganic substrate surfaces is a direct consequence of the local chemical bonding between organic functional groups and substrate atoms at the interface.
Separation of heavy metals in seawater by liquid membranes: preconcentration of copper

A bulk liquid membrane system has been used to preconcentrate and separate the copper ions present in a seawater sample prior to its analysis by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The liquid membrane comprised an organic solution containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in kerosene. The preconcentration system was optimized by studying the influence of the acidity of the sample and the receiving solution, the DEHPA concentration in the organic membrane, and the stirring rate. Under optimum conditions, the preconcentration yield for real samples was 87.0%. The average relative error of the determination was 3.6%, while relative standard deviation averaged 7.8%. The reliability of the new method was confirmed by analyzing several real samples of seawater, analyzed previously by a well-established technique.
Preparation and characterization of several group 12 element (Zn, Cd)-bis(thiolate) complexes and evaluation of their potential as precursors for 12–16 semiconducting materials

Compounds of the general formula M(SR)_2 (M = Zn, Cd; R = i -Pr, t -Bu, Bz) have been prepared and explored as potential unimolecular starting materials for the preparation of binary group 12 metal sulfides. These new compounds have been characterized by IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Chemical derivatization of these insoluble metal- bis (thiolate) compounds by complexation with N -CH_3 -imidazole renders them more soluble. These adducts were investigated by elemental analysis. Thermolytic decompositions of both the parent and derivatized compounds have been carried out both in the solid state and by heating a suspension of the appropriate metal- bis (thiolate) compound in an inert high boiling hydrocarbon medium. The thermolysis products have been studied by GC/MS (liquids) and x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and particle size determination (solids).
Quaternized poly(arylene ether) ionomers containing triphenyl methane groups for alkaline anion exchange membranes

A series of hydroxide ion conductive poly(arylene ether) ionomers containing functionalized triphenyl methane groups and various backbones were prepared via polycondensation, chloromethylation, quaternization, and subsequent alkalization reaction. The structures of the poly(arylene ether)s (PAEs), chloromethylated poly(arylene ether)s (CMPAEs) and quaternized ammonium-substituted poly(arylene ether)s (QPAEs) were confirmed using 1H NMR and FT-IR techniques. Thermal stabilities of the PAEs, CMPAEs and QPAEs were evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The water uptakes, swelling ratios, ion exchange capacities (IECs), hydroxide conductivities and chemical stabilities of the membranes derived from the synthesized ionomers were assessed as anion exchange membranes. The IEC of the ionomers ranged from 0.57 to 2.59 mmol g−1, which can be controlled by chloromethylation reaction conditions. The hydroxide conductivities of the QPAE membranes increase dramatically with increasing temperature. The QPAE-a membrane with an IEC value of 2.59 mmol g−1 displayed the highest hydroxide conductivities of 14.9 and 84.6 mS cm−1 at 20 °C and 80 °C, respectively. The hydroxide transport activation energy for the QPAE membranes ranged from 18.07 to 24.07 kJ mol−1. The first degradation temperatures of the QPAE membranes were around 185 °C. The tensile strength varied from 18 to 41 MPa at 25 °C. The QPAE membrane retained 86% of its mechanical properties and 83% of its hydroxide conductivity after being conditioned with 1 M NaOH at 60 °C for 120 h. In particular, QPAE-a retains 87% of its original IEC under very harsh conditions of 6 M NaOH at 60 °C for 168 h. These properties of the ionomer membranes demonstrate their potential as anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cells.
Breakdown characteristics in pulsed-driven dielectric barrier discharges: influence of the pre-breakdown phase due to volume memory effects

The pre-phase of the breakdown of pulsed-driven dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) was investigated by fast optical and electrical measurements on double-sided DBDs with a 1 mm gap in a gas mixture of 0.1 vol% O2 in N2 at atmospheric pressure. Depending on the pulse width (the pause time between subsequent DBDs), four different breakdown regimes of the following discharge were observed. By systematically reducing the pulse width, the breakdown characteristics could be changed from a single cathode-directed propagation (positive streamer) to simultaneous cathode- and anode-directed propagations (positive and negative streamer) and no propagation at all for sub-μs pulse times. For all cases, different spatio-temporal emission structures in the pre-phase were observed. The experimental results were compared with time-dependent, spatially one-dimensional fluid model calculations. The modelling results confirmed that different pre-ionisation conditions, i.e. considerably high space charges in the volume created by the residual electrons and ions from the previous discharge, are the reason for the observed phenomena.
Fabrication of a Sensitive Cholesterol Biosensor Based on Cobalt‐oxide Nanostructures Electrodeposited onto Glassy Carbon Electrode

Electrodeposited cobalt oxide (CoOx) nanomaterials are not only used for immobilization of cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) but also as electron transfer mediator for oxidation of H2O2 generated in the enzymatic reaction. Voltammetry and flow injection analysis (FIA) were used for determination of cholesterol. FIA determination of cholesterol with biosensors yielded a calibration curve with the following characteristics: linear range up to 50 μM, sensitivity of 43.5 nA μM−1 cm−2 and detection limit of 4.2 μM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant and the response time of the biosensor are 0.49 mM and 15 s, respectively. This biosensor also exhibits good stability, reproducibility and long life time.
Synthesis and catalytic activity of fluorous chiral primary amine-thioureas

Three enantiopure fluorous thioureas featuring a free –NH2 group were synthesized by direct addition of aromatic isothiocyanates bearing a single n-C8F17 substituent in the ortho, meta and para position, respectively, to enantiopure (1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. The catalytic behavior of these bifunctional molecules was assessed in representative Michael-type reactions. The three fluorous thioureas performed similarly in all the reactions tested, thus showing that the position of the fluorous ponytail does not have a major influence on the catalytic behavior of this class of compounds. In particular, excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and yields (up to 98%) were obtained for the addition of aliphatic aldehydes to maleimides to give α-substituted succinimides. Recyclability of these primary amine-based thioureas was found to be limited by the concurrent formation of imine-derivatives during the catalytic process, leading to a structural modification of the organic catalyst.
Self-assembled silanes and the thiol functionalization of surfaces

The relative thickness and coverage of the silanes, mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and 1-(trifluoroacetato-)-11-trichlorosilyl-undecane subsequent to reaction on silicon surfaces has been assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis. Use of the probe, N-pentafluorophenyl-N′-iodoacetyl hydrazide, allows an estimation of the availability of thiol groups on the substrate surface following reaction in air and in O2-free conditions. Although the trimethoxysilane generates multilayer structures, it is only capable of attaching 3.5 times less probe than the fluorine-containing silane. The results of these experiments confirm that 1-(trifluoroacetato-)-11-trichlorosilyl-undecane is a much more effective linking agent for the immobilization of biomolecules to substrate surfaces.
CW measurements of resonance Raman profiles, line‐widths, and cross‐sections of fluorescent dyes: application to Nile Blue A in water and ethanol

The aim of this work is to illustrate the power of recently developed methods for measuring resonance Raman scattering (RRS) spectra of efficient fluorophores (using a standard continuous wave excitation and a charge-coupled device (CCD)-based Raman spectrometer), by applying them to a detailed study of a specific fluorophore: Nile Blue A. A combination of methods are used to measure the RRS properties of Nile Blue A in water (quantum yield (QY) of 4%) and ethanol (QY of 22%) at excitation wavelengths between 514 and 647 nm, thus covering both pre-resonance and RRS conditions. Standard Raman measurements are used in situations where the fluorescence background is small enough to clearly observe the Raman peaks, while the recently introduced polarization-difference RRS and continuously shifted Raman scattering are used closer to (or at) resonance. We show that these relatively straightforward methods allow us to determine the Raman cross-sections of the most intense Raman peaks and provide an accurate measurement of their line-width; even for broadenings as low as � 4c m � 1 . Moreover, the obtained Raman excitation profiles agree well with those derived from the optical absorption by a simple optical transform model. This study demonstrates the possibility of routine RRS measurements using standard Raman spectrometers, as opposed to more complicated time-resolved techniques. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article.