Biocompatible hydrogels based on chitosan,cellulose/starch,PVA and PEDOT:PSS with high flexibility and high mechanical strength

Fabricating mechanically strong hydrogels that can withstand the conditions in internal tissues is a challenging task. We have designed hydrogels based on multicomponent systems by combining chitosan, starch/cellulose, PVA, and PEDOT:PSS via one-pot synthesis. The starch-based hydrogels were homogeneous, while the cellulose-based hydrogels showed the presence of cellulose micro- and nanofibers. The cellulose-based hydrogels demonstrated a swelling ratio between 121 and 156%, while the starch-based hydrogels showed higher values, from 234 to 280%. Tensile tests indicated that the presence of starch in the hydrogels provided high flexibility (strain at break?>?300%), while combination with cellulose led to the formation of stiffer hydrogels (elastic moduli 3.9–6.6 MPa). The ultimate tensile strength for both types of hydrogels was similar (2.8–3.9 MPa). The adhesion and growth of human osteoblast-like SAOS-2 cells was higher on hydrogels with cellulose than on hydrogels with starch, and was higher on hydrogels with PEDOT:PSS than on hydrogels without this polymer. The metabolic activity of cells cultivated for 3 days in the hydrogel infusions indicated that no acutely toxic compounds were released. This is promising for further possible applications of these hydrogels in tissue engineering or in wound dressings.

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Resistively shunted Josephson tunnel junctions

SIS tunnel junctions have externally been shunted by a thin metallic film. It is shown that such devices exhibit radiation induced steps as point contacts or microbridges. This result agrees qualitatively with the commonly used lumped circuit model of Josephson junctions.     

Active optical control of the terahertz reflectivity of high-resistivity semiconductors

We study theoretically and demonstrate experimentally light-controllable terahertz reflectivity of high-resistivity semiconductor wafers. Photocarriers created by interband light absorption form a thin conducting layer at the semiconductor surface, which allows the terahertz reflectivity of the element to be tuned between antireflective (R <3%) and highly reflective (R >85%) limits by means of the intensity and wavelength of the optical illumination.     

Tunable THz metamaterials based on an array of paraelectric SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> rods

This work presents theoretical and experimental investigations of a tunable metamaterial which exhibits negative permeability in the THz frequency range. The tunability is obtained by temperature changes, and the sample consists of an array of high-permittivity SrTiO₃ (STO) rods micromachined by a femtosecond laser. Structures exhibiting a negative permeability on multiple frequency bands are also investigated and a proper choice of the dimensions of the pattern allows us to achieve a substantial broadening of the frequency band with negative μ.     

Microorganisms baroinactivation of germinated mung bean (green gram) seeds

It is possible to describe the pressure degradation of microorganisms as being analogous to thermal inactivation. Equation for baroinactivation is derived from thermal death time (TDT) model D _p = D _pref 10^{(pref-p)/z _p} , where D _pref is decimal reduction time at the reference pressure (min), p _ref is the reference pressure (MPa), z _p is the pressure increase (MPa) required to reduce the D _p value by a factor of 10. This method was used for the calculation of baroinactivation model parameters of the total number of microorganisms of pressurized germinated mung bean (green gram) seeds (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). Microbial contamination of germinated mung bean (green gram) seeds can be effectively decreased by treatment at a high pressure of 400 MPa, time of pressurization 5 min.     

Current-versus voltage source model in Josephson effect

The height of the calculated radiation-induced constant-voltage steps in the characteristic of a Josephson junction with linear-periodic current-phase relation is compared with the magnitude of the current spikes obtained from the voltage-source model.     

Theory of internal photoemission in sandwich structures

The internal photoemission in sandwich structures is treated as a multi-step process. The excitation functions for electrons in the electrodes are obtained as a result of a rigorous optical analysis of the light propagation and absorption. The electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions are described in terms of energy-dependent mean free paths. The calculation of the quantum. yield and photocurrent includes the electrons which escape without scattering, after one scattering, and after two scattering processes. In calculating the probability for electrons to escape over the inner potential barrier within the structure account has been taken of both their being scattered within the barrier region and their quantum-mechanical character.The present calculations can convenietly be used for theoretical investigations of the photoemission in its dependence on various parameters of the structure. The formulae also retain their validity for the photoemission of holes when the quantities due to electrons are correspondingly replaced. An adaptation of the theory to the vacuum photoemission from thick as well as very thin samples is possible without difficulties.