Carbon monoxide adsorption on neutral and cationic vanadium doped gold clusters

The effect of a single vanadium dopant atom on the reactivity of small gold clusters is studied in the gas phase. In particular we investigated carbon monoxide adsorption on vanadium doped gold clusters using a low-pressure collision cell. Employing this technique the reactivity of both neutral and cationic clusters was studied under the same experimental conditions. Analysis of the kinetic data as a function of the pressure in the reaction cell shows that the reaction mechanism is composed of a fast adsorption and a delayed dissociation reaction. It is demonstrated that the reactivity of positively charged Au(n)V(m)(+) (n = 8-30, m = 0-3) is greatly enhanced as compared to the corresponding neutral species and that dissociation rates decrease with decreasing temperatures. While the overall magnitude of the reactivity does not change upon doping with vanadium clusters, the size dependence is significantly affected. The neutral singly vanadium doped gold clusters show a sudden drop after size Au(13)V, followed by a smooth increase, in contrast to the extended odd-even staggering for bare gold clusters. This difference can be explained by changes in the electronic structure of the clusters, related to the partly filled 3d shell of the vanadium dopant atom.     

Computation of physiological human vocal fold parameters by mathematical optimization of a biomechanical model

With the use of an endoscopic, high-speed camera, vocal fold dynamics may be observed clinically during phonation. However, observation and subjective judgment alone may be insufficient for clinical diagnosis and documentation of improved vocal function, especially when the laryngeal disease lacks any clear morphological presentation. In this study, biomechanical parameters of the vocal folds are computed by adjusting the corresponding parameters of a three-dimensional model until the dynamics of both systems are similar. First, a mathematical optimization method is presented. Next, model parameters (such as pressure, tension and masses) are adjusted to reproduce vocal fold dynamics, and the deduced parameters are physiologically interpreted. Various combinations of global and local optimization techniques are attempted. Evaluation of the optimization procedure is performed using 50 synthetically generated data sets. The results show sufficient reliability, including 0.07 normalized error, 96% correlation, and 91% accuracy. The technique is also demonstrated on data from human hemilarynx experiments, in which a low normalized error (0.16) and high correlation (84%) values were achieved. In the future, this technique may be applied to clinical high-speed images, yielding objective measures with which to document improved vocal function of patients with voice disorders.     

The influence of spectral characteristics of early reflections on speech intelligibility

The auditory system takes advantage of early reflections (ERs) in a room by integrating them with the direct sound (DS) and thereby increasing the effective speech level. In the present paper the benefit from realistic ERs on speech intelligibility in diffuse speech-shaped noise was investigated for normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. Monaural and binaural speech intelligibility tests were performed in a virtual auditory environment where the spectral characteristics of ERs from a simulated room could be preserved. The useful ER energy was derived from the speech intelligibility results and the efficiency of the ERs was determined as the ratio of the useful ER energy to the total ER energy. Even though ER energy contributed to speech intelligibility, DS energy was always more efficient, leading to better speech intelligibility for both groups of listeners. The efficiency loss for the ERs was mainly ascribed to their altered spectrum compared to the DS and to the filtering by the torso, head, and pinna. No binaural processing other than a binaural summation effect could be observed.     

铈基模型催化剂的纳米结构:有序CeO2(111)薄膜上的Pt-Co纳米颗粒

制备并表征了原子分散的模型体系:氧化铈负载的Pt-Co核壳催化剂.采用超高真空物理气相沉积法制备了有序CeO2(111)膜上的Pt@Co和Co@Pt核壳纳米结构,并用同步辐射光电子能谱和共振光发射光谱对其进行了研究.在低Co覆盖率(0.5 ML)下Co在CeO2(111)上沉积生成Co-CeO2(111)固溶体,然后在更高Co覆盖率下生长为金属Co纳米粒子.Pt@Co和Co@Pt两种模型结构在300-500 K温度范围内都能稳定地抗烧结.在500 K退火后, Pt@Co纳米结构含有接近纯的钴壳,而Co@Pt中的铂壳部分被金属钴覆盖.在550 K以上,在Pt@Co和Co@Pt纳米结构中近表面区域的重新排序中产生了次表层的Pt Co合金和富铂外壳.对于Co@Pt纳米粒子,近表面区域的化学有序性取决于沉积铂壳的初始厚度.无论初始铂壳的厚度如何,在有氧存在下对Co@Pt纳米结构进行退火,都会导致Pt-Co合金的分解以及Co的氧化.Co的逐步氧化与吸附质诱导的Co偏析共同导致在负载的Co@Pt纳米结构表面形成厚的Co O层.这一过程伴随着CeO2(111)薄膜的裂解,以及在550K以上氧气中退火后CeO2包裹氧化的Co@Pt纳米结构.很明显,于不同温度下在氧气和氢气的氧化-还原循环过程中,无论铂的初始厚度是多少,负载的Co@Pt纳米颗粒的结构和化学成分的变化主要是由氧化所致,而还原处理的影响则很小.     

Genetic counseling for the public?

The widespread availability of diagnostic tools for numerous inherited diseases requires diligent decision-making regarding the risks and benefits, not only for the individual but also at the population level. Should therefore genetic counseling be offered to the entire population at risk for genetic diseases? In our opinion, the goals of public health may only be reached by serving primarily the individual at risk and his/her family. Efforts in public health genetics should be focused on appropriate genetic counseling, especially regarding common diseases with complex genetic components in the near future.     

Electron beam emission from a diamond-amplifier cathode

The diamond amplifier (DA) is a new device for generating high-current, high-brightness electron beams. Our transmission-mode tests show that, with single-crystal, high-purity diamonds, the peak current density is greater than 400 mA/mm2, while its average density can be more than 100 mA/mm2. The gain of the primary electrons easily exceeds 200, and is independent of their density within the practical range of DA applications. We observed the electron emission. The maximum emission gain measured was 40, and the bunch charge was 50 pC/0.5 mm2. There was a 35% probability of the emission of an electron from the hydrogenated surface in our tests. We identified a mechanism of slow charging of the diamond due to thermal ionization of surface states that cancels the applied field within it. We also demonstrated that a hydrogenated diamond is extremely robust.     

A Three Squares Theorem with almost Primes

As an application of the vector sieve and uniform estimateson the Fourier coefficients of cusp forms of half-integral weight,it is shown that any sufficiently large number n 3 (mod 24)with 5 n is expressible as a sum of three squares of integershaving at most 521 prime factors. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification11P05, 11N36, 11N75, 11E25.     

Osmotic force-controlled microrheometry of entangled actin networks

In studying a magnetic bead's creep response to force pulses in an entangled actin network we have found a novel regime where the bead motion obeys a power law x(t) approximately t(1/2) over two decades in time. It is flanked by a short-time regime with x(t) approximately t(3/4) and a viscous with x(t)approximately t. In the intermediate regime the creep compliance depends on the actin concentration c as c(-beta) with beta approximately 1.1 +/- 0.3. We explain this behavior in terms of osmotic restoring force generated by the piling up of filaments in front of the moving bead. A model based on this concept predicts intermediate x(t) approximately t(1/2) and long-time regimes x(t) approximately t in which the compliance varies as c(-4/3), in agreement with experiment.