Chiral phase transition and equation of state in chiral imbalance

The chiral phase transition and equation of state are studied within a novel self-consistent mean-field approximation of the two-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. In this newly developed model, modifications to the chemical μ and chiral chemical \begin{document}$\mu_5$\end{document} potentials are naturally included by introducing vector and axial-vector channels from Fierz-transformed Lagrangian to the standard Lagrangian. In the proper-time scheme, the chiral phase transition is a crossover in the \begin{document}$T-\mu$\end{document} plane. However, when \begin{document}$\mu_5$\end{document} is incorporated, our study demonstrates that a first order phase transition may emerge. Furthermore, the chiral imbalance will soften the equation of state of quark matter. The mass-radius relationship and tidal deformability of quark stars are calculated. The maximum mass and radius decrease as \begin{document}$\mu_5$\end{document} increases. Our study also indicates that the vector and axial-vector channels exhibit an opposite influence on the equation of state.     

Biotemplated Fabrication of ZnO Microstructures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties from Rape Pollen

Crystallography Reports - Sodium dodecyl sulfonate and rape pollen were selected as soft and hard templates to induce ZnO formation under hydrothermal conditions, respectively. In the preparation...     

Graphene Saturable Absorber Mirror for Mode-Locked Orange Pulse Laser

Journal of Russian Laser Research - We demonstrate a passively-mode-locked Pr3+: LuLiF4 laser operated at the 604 nm orange wave-length, using monolayer graphene as a saturable absorber. The...     

Simultaneous Removal of Antibiotics and Heavy Metals with Poly(Aspartic Acid)-Based Fenton Micromotors

The discharge of diverse pollutants has led to a complex water environment and posed a huge health threat to humans and animals. Self-propelled micromotors have recently attracted considerable attention for efficient water remediation due to their strong localized mass transfer effect. However, a single functionalized component is difficult to tackle with multiple contaminants and requires to combine different decontamination effects together. Here, we introduced a multifunctional micromotor to implement the adsorption and degradation roles simultaneously by integrating the poly(aspartic acid) (PASP) adsorbent with a MnO₂-based catalyst. The as-prepared micromotors are well propelled in contaminated waters by MnO₂ catalyzing hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the catalytic ramsdellite MnO₂(R-MnO₂) inner layer is decorated with Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles to improve their catalytic performance, contributing to an excellent degradation ability with 90% tetracycline (TC) removal in 50 minutes by enhanced Fenton-like reactions. Combining the attractive adsorption capability of poly (aspartic acid) (PASP), the composite micromotors offer an efficient removal of heavy metal ions in short time. Moreover, the designed micromotors are able to simultaneously remove antibiotic and heavy metals in mixed contaminants circumstance just in single treatment. This multifunctional micromotor with distinctive decontamination ability exhibits a promising prospective in treating multiple pollutants in the future.     

High Performance of PVA Nanocomposite Reinforced by Janus-like Asymmetrically Oxidized Graphene: Synergetic Effect of H-bonding Interaction and Interfacial Crystallization

Chinese Journal of Polymer Science - Macromolecule nanocrystal network and strong interfacial interaction are always beneficial to enhance the mechanical property of polymer-based nanocomposites....     

Mono‐ and Dinuclear Phosphorescent Rhenium(I) Complexes: Impact of Subcellular Localization on Anticancer Mechanisms

Elucidation of relationship among chemical structure, cellular uptake, localization, and biological activity of anticancer metal complexes is important for the understanding of their mechanisms of action. Organometallic rhenium(I) tricarbonyl compounds have emerged as potential multifunctional anticancer drug candidates that can integrate therapeutic and imaging capabilities in a single molecule. Herein, two mononuclear phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes ( Re1 and Re2 ), along with their corresponding dinuclear complexes ( Re3 and Re4 ), were designed and synthesized as potent anticancer agents. The subcellular accumulation of Re1–Re4 was conveniently analyzed by confocal microscopy in situ in live cells by utilizing their intrinsic phosphorescence. We found that increased lipophilicity of the bidentate ligands could enhance their cellular uptake, leading to improved anticancer efficacy. The dinuclear complexes were more potent than the mononuclear counterparts. The molecular anticancer mechanisms of action evoked by Re3 and Re4 were explored in detail. Re3 with a lower lipophilicity localizes to lysosomes and induces caspase‐independent apoptosis, whereas Re4 with higher lipophilicity specially accumulates in mitochondria and induces caspase‐independent paraptosis in cancer cells. Our study demonstrates that subcellular localization is crucial for the anticancer mechanisms of these phosphorescent rhenium(I) complexes.     

Synthesis of nonionic polyurethanes with hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene hydrophobic segments and their application in octadecane nanocapsules

Alkane nanocapsule is a kind of promising phase-change material. However, it is difficult to prepare alkane nanocapsule with an elastic shell by traditional method. Therefore, nonionic polyurethane with specially designed structure was synthesized. Octadecane nanocapsule prepared by this polyurethane not only had an elastic shell but also showed some good properties in other aspects. The polyurethane structure was characterized by infrared, hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance, and gel permeation chromatography. The conductivity of emulsification process was tracked. The average particle sizes of nanocapsules were measured by quasi-elastic light scattering and fell in the range of 240 to 485 nm. Octadecane nanocapsules showed a core–shell structure under transmission electron microscopy. The nanocapsule dispersions had a rather good stability under high-speed shearing and freezing–thawing tests. All of the coalescence ratios were less than 5 wt.% after testing. The fusion enthalpy of nanocapsules reached to 83 J g^?1. It was found that the dried nanocapsule powder had rather good re-dispersion ability, and stable dispersions were obtained simply by agitating the powder into water. Coalescences of re-dispersed dispersions were all less than 1.8 wt.%, and their average particle sizes were in the range of 420 to 675 nm. There was almost no change in fusion enthalpy and melt temperature before and after re-dispersion, which indicated that the polyurethane shell had a good protection of octadecane from leaking out of the nanocapsule.     

Synthesis and Design of Aggregation‐Induced Emission Surfactants: Direct Observation of Micelle Transitions and Microemulsion Droplets

The direct visualization of micelle transitions is a long‐standing challenge owing to the intractable aggregation‐caused quenching of light emission in the micelle solution. Herein, we report the synthesis of a surfactant with a tetraphenylethene (TPE) core and aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The transition processes of surfactant micelles and the microemulsion droplets (MEDs) formed by the surfactant with a TPE core were clearly visualized by a high‐contrast fluorescence imaging method. The fluorescence intensity of the MEDs decreased as the size of MEDs increased as a result of weakening of the restriction of intramolecular rotation (RIR). The results of this study deepen our understanding of micelle‐transition processes and provide solid evidence in favor of the hypothesis that the AIE phenomenon has its origin in the RIR of fluorophores in the aggregate state.     

Minimal two-spheres in <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis>(2, 4; (<Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis>)) with parallel second fundamental form

In this paper, we give a classification theorem of minimal two-spheres in G(2, 4; (C)) with parallel second fundamental form. Moreover, we also consider some special holomorphic two-spheres in G(2, n; (C)) and give the corresponding conditions of the parallel second fundamental form.