Cation (CEMs) and anion exchange membrane (AEMs) are commonly used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to enhance Coulombic efficiencies (CEs) by reducing the flux of oxygen through the cathode to bacteria on the anode. AEMs typically work better than CEMs, but in initial experiments we observed the opposite using a membrane electrode assembly MFC. The reason was identified to be membrane deformatio...

Austrian foreign direct investment (FDI) increased quickly since 1992. The profitability of these investments did improve over the full period under consideration (1992 to 2005). In particular investments in Central and Eastern Europe became rather profitable. In 2005 total annual profits translate into an average return on equity (RoE) of 8.3%. However, returns differ to a large extent by regi...

Fe(0 0 1) thin films (70 ( A) with Fe(7.2 ( A) tracer layers at the interface were epitaxially grown on GaAs(4 6) surfaces. Magneto-optic Kerr effect and Ferromagnetic resonance measurements indicate a dominant 2-fold in-plane magnetic anisotropy (easy axis along [1 1 0]) superimposed to a 4-fold anisotropy, and small coercivity (B10Oe). M . ossbauer (CEMS) measurements indicate no magnetic ‘‘d...

Compounds incorporating the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) donor unit and one or two cyanoethynylethene (CEE) acceptor units were prepared by Knoevenagel condensations of highly unstable, TTF-linked propargylic aldehyde or ketone derivatives. The resulting TTF-CEEs are very strong chromophores with low-energy end-absorptions beyond 900 nm. The molecules experience reversible oxidations of the TTF uni...

Sulfur mustard (bis[2-chloroethyl]sulfide; C4H8Cl2S; CASRN: 505-60-2) or as it is commonly called, ‘mustard gas’, is one of a class of vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form vesicles or blisters on exposed skin. Sulfur mustard is a viscous liquid at ambient temperature, but becomes a solid at 58 °F (14 °C). It is heavier than water as a liquid and heavier than air as a vapor....

Many antitumor agents, including the mustards, form N-7 deoxyguanosine adducts in DNA that are difficult to quantitate by the 32P-postlabeling procedure because of their instability. We have developed a method that is successful for the analysis of such adducts using, as a prototype mustard, 14C-labeled bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide. This agent forms the unstable product 7-hydroxyethylthioethyldeox...

A commercially available poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) coating was modified using a combination of 1–10wt.% bis(trimethoxysilylethyl)benzene and dibutyltin dilaurate as the hydrolysis catalyst. Results of attenuated total reflectance (ATR)–FTIR analysis indicated the modification resulted in a hybrid coating material containing silicate moieties covalently bonded to the PVB polymer chains. Gravimet...