Fast diffusion of H and creation of dangling bonds in hydrogenated amorphous silicon studied by in situ ESR

The interaction of atomic hydrogen with a-Si:H films was studied by means of in situ ESR during H plasma treatment. H diffuses into the a-Si:H film and creates additional Si dangling bonds ( approximately 10(13) cm (-2)). We observed a high diffusion coefficient (>10(-10) cm (2) s (-1)) at the very initial stage of H treatment (<1 s). The resulting additional dangling bonds are spatially distributed ( approximately 100 nm) into the bulk film. The characteristic depth of dangling bond (db) distribution decreases with increasing H treatment temperature. The activated rate constants of db creation and annihilation reactions determine the distribution of additional dangling bonds at different treatment temperatures.     

Microexplosion of an emulsion droplet during Leidenfrost burning

An experimental study has been made of the microexplosion of an emulsion droplet on a hot surface during Leidenfrost burning. Photographic observation is used to study how the emulsion droplet behaves and what happens inside the droplet and to measure the waiting time for the onset of microexplosion. Weibull analysis was used to obtain the distribution function of the waiting time for the onset of microexplosion and to derive the formula for the rate of microexplosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature. The base fuels employed were n-decane, n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, and n-hexadecane. The results show that the increase in emulsion temperature with lapse of time results in the agglomeration and coalescence of microdroplets of base fuel dispersed in the continuous phase of water inside the emulsion droplet, terminated by the complete separation of the two phases. At the end of the phase separation process, an opaque water droplet is formed in the central core and is enveloped by the transparent shell of base fuel. Preferential evaporation of the base fuel occurs after the phase separation. The volume of the base fuel decreases while the water volume remains constant. The onset of the microexplosion of an emulsion droplet burning on the hot surface is classified by the wearout type of the Weibull distribution. The waiting time for the onset of the microexplosion decreases with increases in the normal boiling point of base fuel, initial water content, ambient pressure, and test surface temperature. The rate of microexplosion increases with the lapse of time and with increased normal boiling point of the base fuel. The rate of microexplosion increases linearly with increasing water volume in the emulsion droplet and decreases exponentially with the inverse of emulsion temperature.     

Non‐Covalent Interactions Enable the Length‐Controlled Generation of Discrete Tubes Capable of Guest Exchange

Supramolecular chemistry in confined spaces constructed from macrocyclic molecules has attracted much attention because it can utilize the specific binding properties of macrocyclic cavities. Herein we report the preparation of length‐controlled discrete tubular structures by homo‐/co‐assembly of rim‐differentiated and peralkylamino‐substituted pillar[5]arenes via hydrogen bonds and salt bridges. By dimerization and trimerization, the expanded tubes show a fivefold helical structure and stepwise binding, respectively. We found that the exchange speed of guest molecules in the tubes could be controlled by varying the tube length.     

Excited‐State Aromaticity of Gold(III) Hexaphyrins and Metalation Effect Investigated by Time‐Resolved Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy

Expanded porphyrins with appropriate metalation provide an excellent opportunity to study excited‐state aromaticity. The coordinated metal allows the excited‐state aromaticity in the triplet state to be detected through the heavy‐atom effect, but other metalation effects on the excited‐state aromaticity were ambiguous. Herein, the excited‐state aromaticity of gold(III) hexaphyrins through the relaxation dynamics was revealed via electronic and vibrational spectroscopy. The S_Q states of gold [26]‐ and [28]‐hexaphyrins showed interconvertible absorption and IR spectra with those of counterparts in the ground‐state, indicating aromaticity reversal. Furthermore, while the T₁ states of gold [28]‐hexaphyrins also exhibited reversed aromaticity according to Baird's rule, the ligand‐to‐metal charge‐transfer state of gold [26]‐hexaphyrins contributed by the gold metal showed non‐aromatic features arising from the odd‐number of π‐electrons.     

Global Dynamics of Froude-Type Oscillators with Superlinear Damping Terms

This paper deals with the damped superlinear oscillator $$x'' + a(t)\phi_p\bigl(x' \bigr) + b(t)\phi_q\bigl(x'\bigr)+ \omega^2x = 0, $$ where a(t) and b(t) are continuous and nonnegative for t≥0; p and q are real numbers greater than or equal to 2; ? _r (x′)=|x′| ^r?2 x′. This equation is a generalization of nonlinear ship rolling motion with Froude’s expression, which is very familiar in marine engineering, ocean engineering and so on. Our concern is to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the equilibrium to be globally asymptotically stable. In particular, the effect of the damping coefficients a(t), b(t) and the nonlinear functions ? _p (x′), ? _q (x′) on the global asymptotic stability is discussed. The obtained criterion is judged by whether the integral of a particular solution of the first-order nonlinear differential equation $$u' + \omega^{p-2}a(t)\phi_p(u) + \omega^{q-2}b(t)\phi_q(u) + 1 = 0 $$ is divergent or convergent. In addition, explicit sufficient conditions and explicit necessary conditions are given for the equilibrium of the damped superlinear oscillator to be globally attractive. Moreover, some examples are included to illustrate our results. Finally, our results are extended to be applied to a more complicated model.     

MRI Anatomical and Morphological Differences in the Vocal Tract Between Dysphonic and Normal Adult Women

Objective

To analyze the vocal tract morphometry of women with vocal nodules (VN) compared with normal subjects by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at rest position.

Study Design

Prospective study.

Methods

The present research included 20 young adult women, aged 18–40 years: 10 dysphonic patients with VN and 10 normal subjects. All participants were tested using MRI; 12 measurements of the vocal tract were performed: nine in median sagittal section and three in axial section.

Results

The 12 measurements were smaller in the dysphonic group; statistical significance was obtained for three parameters: in the sagittal plane, the laryngeal vestibule area was significantly smaller in the dysphonic group, with P = 0.012∗ (∗ = statistical significance); in the axial section, the distance between the right and left vocal processes of the arytenoids’ cartilages and the distance between the anterior commissure of the glottis and the laryngeal posterior wall were also significantly lower in the dysphonic group, with P = 0.036∗ and 0.010∗, respectively. Significant differences in the vocal tract morphometry of individuals with VN were observed compared with normal subjects, at rest position.

Conclusions

Results obtained from this study suggest that patients with VN may present a constantly increased tension of the laryngeal muscles, even at rest; moreover, reduced anterior-posterior dimension of the larynx may be a morphological characteristic of patients with VN.     

Spanning Trees: A Survey

In this paper, we give a survey of spanning trees. We mainly deal with spanning trees having some particular properties concerning a hamiltonian properties, for example, spanning trees with bounded degree, with bounded number of leaves, or with bounded number of branch vertices. Moreover, we also study spanning trees with some other properties, motivated from optimization aspects or application for some problems.     

Biliary excretion of essential trace elements in rats under oxidative stress caused by selenium deficiency

The excretion of essential trace elements, namely, Se, Sr, As, Mn, Co, V, Fe, and Zn into the bile of Se-deficient (SeD) Wistar male rats was studied using the multitracer (MT) technique, and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Normal and Se-control (SeC) rat groups were used as reference groups to compare the effects of Se levels on the behaviors of the essential trace elements. The excretion (% dose) of Se, Sr, As, Mn, Co, and V increased with Se levels in the liver. The biliary excretion of Mn and As dramatically enhanced for SeC rats compared with SeD rats, while that of V accelerated a little for SeC rats. The radioactivity levels of ⁵⁹Fe and ⁶⁵Zn in the MT tracer solution were insufficient to measure their excretion into bile. The role of glutathione and bilirubin for biliary excretion of the metals was discussed in relation to Se levels in rat liver.     

Metal-ion induced transition from multi- to single-bilayer tubes in histidine bearing lipids and formation of monodisperse Au nanoparticles

We report that a histidine based cationic lipid forms multi-bilayer nanotubes and the addition of metal ions such as Cu(2+) and Au(3+) induces transformation into single-bilayer nanotubes owing to coordination of the metal ions on the nanotube surface. The morphological transition was detected with X-ray scattering and electron microscopy. IR showed that the metal coordination is presumably the major driving force. The reduction of Au(3+) ions on the tube surface produced gold nanoparticles attached on the nanotube surface. The nanoparticle was almost monodisperse with the average diameter of 1.7 nm and the standard deviation σ of 0.29, which is remarkably narrower than that of previously reported lipid systems. The obtained particles were stable and no further aggregation and growth was observed after one week, providing a powerful and facile tool for producing nanoparticles in a wide range of applications.