The unexpected activity of Pd nanoparticles prepared using a non-ionic surfactant template.

Pd deposits on vitreous carbon substrates were prepared by electrodeposition from liquid crystal phases (both micellar and hexagonal phases) consisting of self-assembled non-ionic surfactant molecules. The morphology of the deposits varied significantly with the concentration of the surfactant but all are made up of aggregated nanoparticles circa 9 nm in diameter. The deposits from the micellar phase of the surfactant offer the largest electroactive area and specific activity for the hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution and reduction reactions and formic acid and ethanol oxidations. Unexpectedly the deposits lead to an increase in catalytic activity far in excess of that expected from an enhancement in electroactive area.

MINERVA: a multi-modality plugin-based radiation therapy treatment planning system.

Researchers at the INEEL, MSU, LLNL and UCD have undertaken development of MINERVA, a patient-centric, multi-modal, radiation treatment planning system, which can be used for planning and analysing several radiotherapy modalities, either singly or combined, using common treatment planning tools. It employs an integrated, lightweight plugin architecture to accommodate multi-modal treatment planning using standard interface components. The design also facilitates the future integration of improved planning technologies. The code is being developed with the Java programming language for interoperability. The MINERVA design includes the image processing, model definition and data analysis modules with a central module to coordinate communication and data transfer. Dose calculation is performed by source and transport plugin modules, which communicate either directly through the database or through MINERVA's openly published, extensible markup language (XML)-based application programmer's interface (API). All internal data are managed by a database management system and can be exported to other applications or new installations through the API data formats. A full computation path has been established for molecular-targeted radiotherapy treatment planning, with additional treatment modalities presently under development.

Electrosyntheses from aromatic aldehydes in a flow cell. Part I. The reduction of benzaldehyde.

The reduction of benzaldehyde in acidic water-methanol mixtures has been re-investigated in a membrane flow cell with a lead cathode with the objective of defining conditions where le- reduction occurs and the C6H5CH.OH radical intermediate is formed in high selectivity. It is shown that it is the cathode potential which controls the ratio of le-/2e- product (i.e. hydrobenzoin to benzyl alcohol) and a high rate generation of the radicals is also favoured by an efficient mass transport regime.

Electrosyntheses from aromatic aldehydes in a flow cell. Part II. The cross-coupling of benzaldehydes to unsymmetrical diols.

It is demonstrated that the reduction of mixtures of two benzaldehydes in acidic water-methanol in a membrane flow cell with a lead cathode can lead to a mixture of diols including the unsymmetrical diol, e.g. 4-F-C6H4-CH(OH)-CH(OH)-C6H5. In the conditions employed, the ratio of the three diol products follows the statistical distribution expected for the coupling of two different radical intermediates produced in the same ratio as the concentrations of their precursors. The yield and current efficiency for the diols are excellent when the pH and potential are selected so that a le- reduction of both benzaldehydes occurs. The yield of unsymmetrical dimer based on one reactant can be increased substantially by using the other carbonyl compound as a sacrificial reagent.

Compact holographic storage demonstrator with rapid access.

We discuss the design of a complete, compact holographic storage demonstrator based on a combination of spatial and angular multiplexing and using acousto-optic deflectors for rapid nonmechanical access. We also describe the implementation of this design and preliminary results of both the analog storage and the retrieval of 20,000 holograms in twenty 1-mm-thick layers of a lithium niobate crystal and of the digital storage and error-free retrieval of color images by using error-correcting techniques.

An electrochemical method for the determination of residual styrene in polystyrene.

A rapid electroanalytical method for the determination of residual styrene in polystyrene is described. The sample of polymer was dissolved in toluene and, following the addition of 10% DMF and electrolyte, a square-wave voltammogram was recorded at a gold microdisc electrode (radius, 6 mum). A standard addition technique was used to relate the peak current to the styrene concentration in solution and, hence, the styrene content of the polymer. The method gave results which are similar to those of the accepted standard procedure. It does not, however, require the precipitation of the polymer and hence is quicker and more convenient.

Fast reconfigurable optical image switching/routing system.

A novel system that is capable of switching/routing two-dimensional images in arbitrary configurations is described. The switching network can be reconfigured in a few microseconds with high light efficiency.

Photorefractive integrator characterization.

We describe the recent results of our efforts to characterize a photorefractive crystal to be used as a time-integrating device in an optically implemented null-steering adaptive processor for phased-array radar. We review frequency response data for the Bi(12)SiO(20) crystals, measured with an acousto-optic apparatus, and we present measured dynamic range data for the candidate Bi(12)SiO(20) crystals.

Determination of halide ions by cathodic stripping analysis.

The determination of halide ions in aqueous solution by cathodic stripping analysis is discussed. It is shown that a linear response is obtained over the concentration range 2 x 10(-5)-10(-3)M for solutions containing only a single halide and that mixtures of halides can usually be analysed. Other interferences are also considered.

Non-traumatic dislocation of the radial head in cerebral palsy.

To our knowledge, there has been only one previous description of dislocation of the radial head associated with cerebral palsy. This paper describes nine such dislocations, eight of which were bilateral and posterior and one, unilateral and anterior. There was an incidence of this abnormality of 2.4 per cent in 368 of the cases surveyed. Of those patients with cerebral palsy and with flexion contracture of the elbow and pronation contracture of the forearm, 27 per cent had the dislocation.