Fully Piecewise Linear Vector Optimization Problems

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - We distinguish two kinds of piecewise linear functions and provide an interesting representation for a piecewise linear function between two normed...     

EcoLens: visual analysis of ecological regions in urban contexts using traffic data

Journal of Visualization - The increasing availability of spatiotemporal data provides unprecedented opportunities for understanding the structure of an urban area in terms of people’s...     

A Note on Quantum Bell Nonlocality and Quantum Entanglement for High Dimensional Quantum Systems

We study the Bell nonlocality of high dimensional quantum systems based on quantum entanglement. A quantitative relationship between the maximal expectation value B of Bell operators and the quantum entanglement concurrence C is obtained for even dimension pure states, with the upper and lower bounds of B governed by C.

     

Ratiometric mode with dyads: a breakthrough in dynamic trapping and quantification for redox regulation in living cells

Redox-based post-translational modification of protein thiols has become an attractive strategy in cellular homeostasis and cell signaling.Due to the reductive end of the redox buffer network,the vicinal dithiol-containing proteins(VDPs)maintains an appropriate oxidation-reduction state of proteins through the reversible transformation from vicinal dithiols to disulfide,which is responsible for a variety of     

烧结温度对Cao.9(NaCe)0.05Bi2Nb2O9无铅压电陶瓷性能的影响

采用传统固相反应法制备了Ca0.9(NaCe)0.05Bi2 Nb2 O9铋层状无铅压电陶瓷.采用XRD、SEM、EDS及相关电学性能测试系统表征了样品的晶体结构、断面形貌、元素组成以及介电、压电、铁电等性能,探究不同烧结温度对于陶瓷性能的影响.结果表明:当烧结温度为1150℃时,样品的晶体结构单一均匀,呈现片层状结构,致密性较好,压电常数高达17 pC/N,介电损耗仅为0.42;,居里温度为908℃,并且具有很好的温度稳定性,说明固相反应法制备的Ca0.9(NaCe)0.05Bi2Nb2O9压电陶瓷最佳烧结温度为1150℃.     

Polypyrrole Shell@3D‐Ni Metal Core Structured Electrodes for High‐Performance Supercapacitors

Three‐dimensional (3D) nanometal films serving as current collectors have attracted much interest recently owing to their promising application in high‐performance supercapacitors. In the process of the electrochemical reaction, the 3D structure can provide a short diffusion path for fast ion transport, and the highly conductive nanometal may serve as a backbone for facile electron transfer. In this work, a novel polypyrrole (PPy) shell@3D‐Ni‐core composite is developed to enhance the electrochemical performance of conventional PPy. With the introduction of a Ni metal core, the as‐prepared material exhibits a high specific capacitance (726 F g^?1 at a charge/discharge rate of 1 A g^?1), good rate capability (a decay of 33 % in C_sp with charge/discharge rates increasing from 1 to 20 A g^?1), and high cycle stability (only a small decrease of 4.2 % in C_sp after 1000 cycles at a scan rate of 100 mV s^?1). Furthermore, an aqueous symmetric supercapacitor device is fabricated by using the as‐prepared composite as electrodes; the device demonstrates a high energy density (≈21.2 Wh kg^?1) and superior long‐term cycle ability (only 4.4 % and 18.6 % loss in C_sp after 2000 and 5000 cycles, respectively).     

An improved LC–MS/MS method for determination of docetaxel and its application to population pharmacokinetic study in Chinese cancer patients

Because of its unpredictable side effects and efficacy, the anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) requires improved characterisation of its pharmacokinetic profiles through population pharmacokinetic studies. A sensitive and rugged LC–MS/MS method for the detection of DTX in human plasma was developed and optimised using paclitaxel as an internal standard (IS). The plasma samples underwent rapid extraction using hybrid solid-phase extraction-protein precipitation. The analyte and IS were separated with an isocratic system on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column using water containing 0.05% acetic acid along with 20 μM of sodium acetate and methanol (30/70, v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantification was performed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer through multiple reaction monitoring in positive mode, using the m/z 830.3 → 548.8 and m/z 876.3 → 307.7 transitions for DTX and paclitaxel, respectively. The range of the calibration curve was 1–500 ng/mL for DTX, and the linear correlation coefficient was >0.99. The accuracies ranged from −4.6 to 4.2%, and the precision was no higher than 7.0% for the analytes. No significant matrix effect was observed. Both DTX and the IS showed considerable recovery. This method was finally applied to the establishment of a population pharmacokinetic model to optimise the clinical use of DTX.     

Optical Trapping with Focused Surface Waves

Near-field optical trapping can be realized with focused evanescent waves that are excited at the water–glass interface due to the total internal reflection, or with focused plasmonic waves excited on the water–gold interface. Herein, the performance of these two kinds of near-field optical trapping techniques is compared using the same optical microscope configuration. Experimental results show that only a single-micron polystyrene bead can be trapped by the focused evanescent waves, whereas many beads are simultaneously attracted to the center of the excited region by focused plasmonic waves. This difference in trapping behavior is analyzed from the electric field intensity distributions of these two kinds of focused surface waves and the difference in trapping behavior is attributed to photothermal effects due to the light absorption by the gold film.     

Physicochemical properties and bio-interfacial interactions of surface modified PDLLA-PAMAM linear dendritic block copolymers

Here, we demonstrate the applicability of self-assembling linear-dendritic block copolymers (LDBCs) and their nanoaggregates possessing varied surfaces as therapeutic nanocarriers. These LDBCs are comprised of a hydrophobic, linear polyester chemically coupled to a hydrophilic dendron polyamidoamine (PAMAM)—the latter of which acts as the surface of the self-assembled nanoaggregate in aqueous media. To better understand how surface charge density affects the overall operability of these nanomaterials, we modified the nanoaggregate surface to yield cationic (NH₃⁺), neutral (OH), and anionic (COO⁻) surfaces. The effect of these modifications on the physicochemical properties (i.e., size, morphology, and surface charge density), colloidal stability, and cellular uptake mechanism of the polymeric nanocarrier were investigated. This comparative study demonstrates the viability of nanoaggregates formed from PDLLA-PAMAM LDBCs to serve as nanocarriers for applications in drug delivery.