Measuring non-Gaussian fluctuations through incoherent cooper-pair current

We study a Josephson junction (JJ) in the regime of incoherent Cooper-pair tunneling, capacitively coupled to a nonequilibrium noise source. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the JJ are sensitive to the excess voltage fluctuations in the source, and can thus be used for wideband noise detection. Under weak driving, the odd part of the I-V can be related to the second cumulant of noise, whereas the even part is due to the third cumulant. After calibration, one can measure the Fano factors for the noise source, and get information about the frequency dependence of the noise.     

First direct visualization of spillover species emitted from pt nanoparticles

We studied the methanol adsorption behavior of Pt nanoparticles that were vacuum-deposited on a TiO(2)(110) surface at room temperature by using an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscope (STM). A large number of bright spots were observed on fivefold-coordinated Ti (Ti(5c)) rows of the TiO(2)(110) surface after exposure of the Pt/TiO(2)(110) to methanol vapor. We assigned the bright spots to methoxy species. These were mobile and were found to hop along the Ti(5c) rows. In situ time-resolved STM observations of the formation and migration of the bright spots on the Pt/TiO(2)(110) were carried out in the presence of methanol. The bright spots were produced at the periphery of the Pt nanoparticles and migrated to the substrate Ti(5c) rows. We discuss the spillover process and behavior of the methoxy species on the Pt/TiO(2)(110).     

Synthesis and thermal behavior of Janus dendrimers,part 2

The thermal properties of twelve Janus-type dendrimers up to the second generation were evaluated by termogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Compounds consist of the dendritic bisMPA based polyester moieties, and either 3,4-bis-dodecyloxybenzoic acid, 3,5-bis-dodecyloxybenzoic acid or 3,4,5-tris-dodecyloxybenzoic acid moieties, attached to opposite sides of the pentaerythritol core. The thermal stability of the compounds was evaluated by TGA, displaying onset decomposition temperatures (T_d) at around 250 °C. DSC measurements upon heating and cooling confirmed that OH terminated Janus dendrimers featuring large polarity difference in opposite sides display liquid crystalline phases with exception of 3,5-type G1 dendrimer; while acetonide terminated dendrimers displayed merely melting transitions. Dendrimers having terminal alkyl chains at positions 3,4 or 3,4,5 in aromatic moieties exhibited enantiotropic mesophases. However, the thermal behavior of the dendrimers with 3,5-substitution pattern was different: the 3,5-type G1 dendrimer exhibit a lack of mesomorphic transition, and in the case of the 3,5-type G2 dendrimer, the mesophase was absent in the first heating scan but was observed during the subsequent cooling and heating scans at the rate of 10 °C/min.     

Boundary Harnack Principle for <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-harmonic Functions in Smooth Euclidean Domains

We establish a scale-invariant version of the boundary Harnack principle for p-harmonic functions in Euclidean C ^1,1-domains and obtain estimates for the decay rates of positive p-harmonic functions vanishing on a segment of the boundary in terms of the distance to the boundary. We use these estimates to study the behavior of conformal Martin kernel functions and positive p-superharmonic functions near the boundary of the domain. H. A. was partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for (B) (2) (No. 15340046) Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. N. S. was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-0355027. X. Z. was partially supported by the Taft foundation.     

Application of enriched stable 196Hg isotope for monitoring the stability of total mercury in water samples

A novel tool for the investigation of stability of total mercury in water samples is presented. The study focuses on the application of enriched ¹⁹⁶Hg stable isotopic reagent for the stability studies. Natural abundance of ¹⁹⁶Hg in water samples is only 0.15%. Thus, the use of the ¹⁹⁶Hg isotope spike represents a major advantage, when it can be assumed that all the measured isotope is the same as is accurately added by the analyst, and the change in its mass concentration can be followed simply and reliably. Tests were carried out with industrial waste water and two type of the natural water. Cold vapour (CV) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) technique was applied for the mercury measurements. Monitoring was continued for approximately 100 days. It is commonly advised that the measurement for total mercury in water samples should be carried out within 14 days. In this study the samples were observed to be stable for more than three months, if they were stored at a temperature of 4–6°C. The results of this stability study were in line with the guidance presented in EPA standard 1631. However, the samples were noticed to be stable for a much longer time than is presented in the standard method ISO 17852.     

Dynamic behaviour of an axially moving plate undergoing small cylindrical deformation submerged in axially flowing ideal fluid

The out-of-plane dynamic response of a moving plate, travelling between two rollers at a constant velocity, is studied, taking into account the mutual interaction between the vibrating plate and the surrounding, axially flowing ideal fluid. Transverse displacement of the plate (assumed cylindrical) is described by an integro-differential equation that includes a local inertia term, Coriolis and centrifugal forces, the aerodynamic reaction of the external medium, the vertical projection of membrane tension, the bending resistance, and external perturbation forces. In the two-dimensional model thus set up, the aerodynamic reaction is found analytically as a functional of the cylindrical displacement, using the techniques of complex analysis. The resulting integro-differential problem is discretized in space with the Fourier-Galerkin method, and integrated in time with the diagonalization method. Examples are computed with physical parameters corresponding to air and some paper materials. The effects of the surrounding fluid on the critical velocity and first natural frequency are investigated, for stationary air, for an air mass moving with the plate, and for some arbitrary axial fluid velocities. The obtained results are applicable for both an ideal membrane and a plate with nonzero bending rigidity.     

Supported lipid bilayer formation by the giant vesicle fusion induced by vesicle–surface electrostatic attractive interaction

The effect of the electrostatic attractive force between giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and the SiO₂ surface on the formation of a Ca²⁺-free supported lipid bilayer (SLB) was investigated by atomic force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. When negatively charged GUVs were incubated for 1 h without Ca²⁺, the surface coverage of lipid bilayer was <1% on the SiO₂ surface. In contrast, a high coverage was obtained without addition of Ca²⁺ on the positively charged surface modified by aminopropyldimethylethoxysilane, and the coverage of SLBs decreased with increasing KCl concentrations. The thickness of the water layer under SLB was reduced by modification of APS.     

Marketing Strategy Formulation — Pure versus Mixed Strategies

The paper considers Kotler's competitive model and increases the number of possible marketing strategies available by taking into account the combinations of the strategy alternatives. From the larger set of marketing strategies, the optimal strategy or strategies is identified. The objective function of the firm is found to be satisfied better by the combined strategy rather than by the best strategy from the set used by Kotler. The optimal combined strategy is found by a heuristically optimizing SDRDYN-algorithm suitable to simulation studies. As is expected, the larger set of strategy alternatives considered enable the firm to increase the value of its objective function.