Laser-induced mutual transposition of the core and the shell of a Au@Pt nanosphere

The mutual transposition of the core and the shell of a Au@Pt core-shell nanosphere has been obtained by employing picosecond laser pulses to excite the surface-plasmon resonances of platinum. The thermalized energy of the plasmon resonances makes the core metal of the gold melt earlier than the shell metal of platinum because of melting temperature differences and causes the gold to soak out of the core to the surface of the nanosphere. A new reversed core/shell Pt@Au core-shell nanosphere is formed with further irradiation.     

Activated protein C differentially regulates both viability and differentiation of osteoblasts mediated by bisphosphonates

Activated protein C (APC) is a cytoprotective anticoagulant that can promote cutaneous healing. We examined the effect of APC on viability and differentiation of the osteoblastic line, MG63, in the presence and absence of bisphosphonates (BPs). Osteoblasts were cultured and treated for 24 or 48 h with Alendronate (Aln), Zoledronate (Zol) or Pamidronate (Pam) at concentrations ranging from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁶ ℳ. Cell differentiation was measured using type 1 collagen production, Alizarin red staining and alkaline phosphatase activity, whereas cell viability was assessed using MTT and crystal violet assays. All three BPs induced MG63 cell death in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Pam- and Zol-related cell death was prevented by APC treatment; however, cell death induced by Aln was accelerated by APC. APC induced MG63 cell differentiation that was enhanced by Aln, but inhibited by Pam or Zol. Endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) was expressed by MG63 cells and mediated the protective effect of APC on Zol-induced viability. In summary, we have demonstrated that (1) APC favorably regulates MG63 viability and differentiation toward bone growth, (2) APC differentially regulates the effects of specific BPs and (3) at least part of the effects of APC is mediated through EPCR. These findings highlight the potential importance of the PC pathway in bone physiology and provide strong evidence that APC may influence bone cells and has potential to be a therapeutic drug for bone regeneration, depending on concurrent BP treatment.     

Low-temperature deposition of crystalline silicon nitride nanoparticles by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition

The nanocrystalline alpha silicon nitride (α-Si₃N₄) was deposited on a silicon substrate by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition at the substrate temperature of 700 °C under 4 and 40 Torr at the wire temperatures of 1430 and 1730 °C, with a gas mixture of SiH₄ and NH₃. The size and density of crystalline nanoparticles on the substrate increased with increasing wire temperature. With increasing reactor pressure, the crystallinity of α-Si₃N₄ nanoparticles increased, but the deposition rate decreased.     

Formation of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide in electron-irradiated H(2)18O/N2 ice mixtures--evidence for the existence of free oxygen atoms in interstellar and solar system analog ices

We investigated the irradiation of low temperature H(2)(18)O/N(2) ice mixtures with energetic electrons in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber. The newly formed species, such as nitric oxide (N(18)O), nitrous oxide (NN(18)O), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)(18)O(2)) and hydrazine (N(2)H(4)), were identified in the experiments with infrared absorption spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The results suggest that the unimolecular decomposition of water molecules within water ices at 10 K can lead to the formation of transient, suprathermal oxygen atoms. These oxygen atoms may play an important role in the formation of oxygen-containing biomolecules such as amino acids and sugar, as well as the decomposition of the biomolecules in the ices.     

Bio-functionalization of cotton,silk, and leather using different in-situ silver nanoparticle synthesis modules,and their antibacterial properties

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We present a novel and in-situ strategy to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto cotton, leather, and silk fabrics by three different methods: a green...     

Elastic properties of a single-stranded charged homopolymeric ribonucleotide

We have investigated the elastic properties of poly(U), homopolymeric single-stranded RNA molecules that lack any base pairing and stacking interactions and conform to a random-coil structure. Using single-molecule stretching experiments we show that the elastic properties are described by a wormlike chain model for polymer elasticity rather than by a freely jointed chain model as is commonly used for single-stranded DNA. At low [Na+], introduction of a scale-dependent persistence length is required to account for electrostatic contributions.     

Limit theorems for inverse process <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> of Hawkes process

We consider linear Hawkes process N _t and its inverse process T _n . The limit theorems for N _t are well known and studied by many authors. In this paper, we study the limit theorems for T _n . In particular, we investigate the law of large numbers, the central limit theorem and the large deviation principle for T _n . The main tool of the proof is based on immigration-birth representation and the observations on the relation between N _t and T _n .     

Polymeric optical microscreen for high-resolution surface plasmon resonance microarray imaging

In this study, we demonstrate a simple method to fabricate surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging microarrays using polymer micropatterns. The use of a micrometer-scale polymeric optical screen (microPOS) passivates the region deposited with polymer by completely removing SPR signals or by saturating the SPR signal far beyond the detection range of SPR imaging. Two schemes were suggested to create a surface microPOS by either micropatterning a thick insulating layer before deposition of a metal layer (complete removal of SPR) or after deposition of a metal layer (saturation of SPR signal). The two schemes were successfully applied for the imaging of biological adsorption with a high imaging resolution of approximately 100 microm/pattern and 10 microm separation. The validity of the system was verified with a biotin-streptavidin system as a model for the systematic binding of biomolecules. Further, binding of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) onto the anti-PSA SPR microarray was demonstrated as a useful method for detecting a cancer marker.