Versatile Near-Infrared Super-Resolution Imaging of Amyloid Fibrils with the Fluorogenic Probe CRANAD-2

CRANAD-2 is a fluorogenic curcumin derivative used for near-infrared detection and imaging in vivo of amyloid aggregates, which are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. We explore the performance of CRANAD-2 in two super-resolution imaging techniques, namely stimulated emission depletion (STED) and single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), with markedly different fluorophore requirements. By conveniently adapting the concentration of CRANAD-2, which transiently binds to amyloid fibrils, we show that it performs well in both techniques, achieving a resolution in the range of 45–55 nm. Correlation of SMLM with atomic force microscopy (AFM) validates the resolution of fine features in the reconstructed super-resolved image. The good performance and versatility of CRANAD-2 provides a powerful tool for near-infrared nanoscopic imaging of amyloids in vitro and in vivo.     

Non-Abelian gauge potentials driven localization transition in quasiperiodic optical lattices

Derived from quantum waves immersed in an Abelian gauge potential, the quasiperiodic Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model is a simple yet powerful Hamiltonian to study the Anderson localization of ultracold atoms. Here, we investigate the localization properties of ultracold atoms in quasiperiodic optical lattices subject to a non-Abelian gauge potential, which are depicted by non-Abelian AAH models. We identify that the non-Abelian AAH models can bear the self-duality. We analyze the localization of such non-Abelian self-dual optical lattices, revealing a rich phase diagram driven by the non-Abelian gauge potential involved: a transition from a pure delocalization phase, then to coexistence phases, and finally to a pure localization phase. This is in stark contrast to the Abelian counterpart that does not support the coexistence phases. Our results establish the connection between localization and gauge symmetry, and thus comprise a new insight on the fundamental aspects of localization in quasiperiodic systems, from the perspective of non-Abelian gauge potential.     

Quantum communication through chains with diluted disorder

We investigate a single-qubit state transfer protocol along a channel featuring diagonal diluted disorder. In the regime where the source and destination sites are weakly coupled to the channel, we report the possibility of transmitting quantum states with high fidelity as well as establishing end-to-end entanglement in that sort of configuration. We further discuss how the performance of the protocol depends upon the availability of extended states within the disordered channel.     

Current air quality analytics and monitoring: A review

This review summarizes the different tools and concepts that are commonly applied in air quality monitoring. The monitoring of atmosphere is extremely important as the air quality is an important problem for large communities. Main requirements for analytical devices used for monitoring include a long period of autonomic operation and portability. These instruments, however, are often characterized by poor analytical performance. Monitoring networks are the most common tools used for monitoring, so large-scale monitoring programmes are summarized here. Biomonitoring, as a cheap and convenient alternative to traditional sample collection, is becoming more and more popular, although its main drawback is the lack of standard procedures. Telemonitoring is another approach to air monitoring, which offers some interesting opportunities, such as ease of coverage of large or remote areas, constituting a complementary approach to traditional strategies; however, it requires huge costs.     

Passive vibration absorber effect on the machining surface quality of a flexible workpiece

This paper presents a study of the vibratory behaviour of a flexible workpiece subject to a milling end operation. Indeed, this vibratory behaviour is critical, especially when the excitation frequency is near to the resonance. For this reason, passive vibration suppression is considered in order to attenuate the dynamic response of the milled workpiece and decrease the dynamic effect on the resulting machined surface roughness and flatness. In order to confirm the efficiency of the passive vibration suppression, the vibratory behaviour and the quality (roughness and flatness) of a machined surface are studied without and with passive absorber (TMD) using a finite-element model.     

Formulation of Cannabidiol in Colloidal Lipid Carriers

In this study, the general processability of cannabidiol (CBD) in colloidal lipid carriers was investigated. Due to its many pharmacological effects, the pharmaceutical use of this poorly water-soluble drug is currently under intensive research and colloidal lipid emulsions are a well-established formulation option for such lipophilic substances. To obtain a better understanding of the formulability of CBD in lipid emulsions, different aspects of CBD loading and its interaction with the emulsion droplets were investigated. Very high drug loads (>40% related to lipid content) could be achieved in emulsions of medium chain triglycerides, rapeseed oil, soybean oil and trimyristin. The maximum CBD load depended on the type of lipid matrix. CBD loading increased the particle size and the density of the lipid matrix. The loading capacity of a trimyristin emulsion for CBD was superior to that of a suspension of solid lipid nanoparticles based on trimyristin (69% vs. 30% related to the lipid matrix). In addition to its localization within the lipid core of the emulsion droplets, cannabidiol was associated with the droplet interface to a remarkable extent. According to a stress test, CBD destabilized the emulsions, with phospholipid-stabilized emulsions being more stable than poloxamer-stabilized ones. Furthermore, it was possible to produce emulsions with pure CBD as the dispersed phase, since CBD demonstrated such a pronounced supercooling tendency that it did not recrystallize, even if cooled to −60 °C.     

An artificial hummingbird algorithm based localization with reduced number of reference nodes for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are widely used in recent years due to the advancements in wireless and sensor technologies. Many of these applications require to know the location information of nodes. This information is useful to understand the collected data and to act on them. Existing localization algorithms make use of a few reference nodes for estimating the locations of sensor nodes. But, the positioning and utilization of reference nodes increase the cost and complexity of the network. To reduce the dependency on reference nodes, in this paper, we have developed a novel optimization based localization method using only two reference nodes for the localization of the entire network. This is achieved by reference nodes identifying a few more nodes as reference nodes by the analysis of the connectivity information. The sensor nodes then use the reference nodes to identify their locations in a distributive manner using Artificial Hummingbird Algorithm (AHA). We have observed that the localization performance of the reported algorithm at a lower reference node ratio is comparable with other algorithms at higher reference node ratios.     

从头计算方法比较研究B_2Au_4,Al_2Au_4和BAlAu_4的几何和电子结构(英文)

Au/H相似性的研究是现代化学中的一个热门话题.我们从理论上报道Au/H相似的新成员:共价化合物B2Au4,离子化合物Al2Au4和BAl Au4.采用密度泛函和波函数理论方法对比研究了缺电子体系B2Au4、Al2Au4和BAl Au4的几何和电子结构.详细讨论了它们基态结构的轨道、适应性自然密度划分(Ad NDP)和电子局域函数(ELF)分析.计算结果表明稍微扭曲变形的C2B2Au4是基态结构,在这个共价化合物中含有两个B―Au―B三中心二电子(3c-2e)键.然而C3vAl+(Al Au4)-和C3vAl+(BAu4)-被研究证明是含有三个X―Au―Al三中心二电子键的类盐化合物(在Al2Au4中X=Al,BAl Au4中X=B).Al2Au4和BAl Au4是至今为止首例报道的在离子缺电子体系中含有金桥键的化合物.同时计算了B2Au4-、Al2Au4-和BAl Au4-阴离子基态结构的绝热剥离能和垂直剥离能,为实验表征提供依据.文中报道的金桥键为共价键和离子键相结合的缺电子体系提供了一个有趣的键合模式,有助于设计含有高度分散金原子的新材料和催化剂.