Radiation cooling rates of a selenium plasma

The development of a scalable hydrogenic ionization model is described. The model utilizes correct energy and level structure data for each ionization stage and can be coupled self-consistently to a radiation transport calculation of the full nonhydrogenic X-ray spectrum. Thus it can be used to calculate accurately the effects of opacity on radiation emission rates that are of relevance to plasmas designed to produce recombination pumped population inversions due to rapid plasma cooling. The model is applied to a selenium plasma. It is found that, at ion densities where X-ray lasing has been observed, line emission from Δn≠0 transitions is a more important contributor to selenium's cooling rate than line emission from the Δn=0 transitions. Plasma opacity can also play an important role     

Cryopreservation of human sperm using rapid cooling rates

The effect of cryopreservation on human spermatozoa has been investigated during the past few decades. The majority of current cryopreservation protocols are carried-out using low cooling rates. However, theoretical calculations have shown that for human spermatozoa an optimal cooling rate is about 7,000 C/min. In our work we have studied the effect of cryopreservation with high cooling rates, variation of osmolarity of the cryoprotectant medium and the glycerol content. The results of experiments have demonstrated that within the range of high cooling rates, after thawing the dependency of sperm survival on the cooling rate has a maximum recovery at 2,500-3,300 C/min in moderately hyperosmolar medium, containing 4-5% glycerol. When decreasing the cooling rate down to 1,750-2,500 C/min there was a statistically significant reduction in sperm motility. Using the cooling rate of 8,000-11,000 C /min only a small percentage of spermatozoa retained their motility.     

Solutions to a reduced Poisson-Nernst-Planck system and determination of reaction rates

We study a reduced Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) system for a charged spherical solute immersed in a solvent with multiple ionic or molecular species that are electrostatically neutralized in the far field. Some of these species are assumed to be in equilibrium. The concentrations of such species are described by the Boltzmann distributions that are further linearized. Others are assumed to be reactive, meaning that their concentrations vanish when in contact with the charged solute. We present both semi-analytical solutions and numerical iterative solutions to the underlying reduced PNP system, and calculate the reaction rate for the reactive species. We give a rigorous analysis on the convergence of our simple iteration algorithm. Our numerical results show the strong dependence of the reaction rates of the reactive species on the magnitude of its far field concentration as well as on the ionic strength of all the chemical species. We also find non-monotonicity of electrostatic potential in certain parameter regimes. The results for the reactive system and those for the non-reactive system are compared to show the significant differences between the two cases. Our approach provides a means of solving a PNP system which in general does not have a closed-form solution even with a special geometrical symmetry. Our findings can also be used to test other numerical methods in large-scale computational modeling of electro-diffusion in biological systems.     

Linearization of radiative heating and cooling rates for the case of non-scattering planetary atmospheres

Rates of radiative heating and cooling of the non-scattering planetary atmosphere and scattering underlying surface are analytically linearized with respect to the atmospheric and surface parameters. Resulting expressions for sensitivities of radiative heating and cooling rates are used to formulate the linearized 1D radiative model of atmospheric dynamics which directly incorporates the relevant linearized atmospheric and surface parameters. Applications to more sophisticated models of atmospheric dynamics, as well as extension to the case of presence of atmospheric scattering, are briefly discussed.     

On the effect of heating and cooling rates on the melting and crystallization of metal nanoclusters

The effect of heating and cooling rates on melting (T_m) and crystallization (T_c) temperatures of metal nanoclusters is investigated in terms of the isothermal molecular dynamics. We report on the results obtained for nickel nanoclusters, although analogous results were also obtained for gold and aluminum nanoclusters. It is found that T_m increases, while T_c decreases with increasing heating and cooling rates, both T_m and T_c tending to the same value for heating and cooling rates tending to zero. The results indicate that the hysteresis of melting and crystallization of nanoparticles must be completely due to nonequilibrium conditions of heating and cooling. The transition of Ni nanoclusters to the amorphous state begins at very high cooling rates exceeding 10 TK/s.     

Film formation from PS latex doped PNIPAM hydrogels at various heating and cooling rates

Film formation from polystrene (PS) latex doped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogels was studied by using photon transmission technique. The transmitted light intensity, I _tr was monitored during film formation process. Films were prepared by annealing, 10 wt% PS doped PNIPAM particles at five different heating and cooling rates at temperatures ranging from 10 to 100°C. I _tr presented a hysteresis loops during heating–cooling cycles, which were explained by void closure and void reconstruction processes. The corresponding activation energies were measured during reversible film formation process. Void closure and void reconstruction models were introduced to produce the activation energies.     

冷却速率对Lennard-Jones体系凝固过程中结构与动力学性质的影响

用分子动力学模拟方法研究了五种不同冷却速率对Lennard-Jones体系凝固过程中结构与动力学性质的影响。采用两种不同的方法来确定玻璃转变温度Tg,并且对结晶温度Tc、径向分布函数g(r)、均方位移函数MSD与扩散系数D、平均配位数进行比较分析。结果表明：冷却速率影响Lennard-Jones体系凝固过程中的结构。当使用足够高的冷却速率冷却时,体系发生玻璃化转变,而且冷却速率越快,玻璃转变温度越高;当冷却速率较小时,体系形成晶体,而且冷却速率越慢,结晶温度越高,结晶程度也越高。同时发现,冷却速率对扩散系数和平均配位数也有很大影响,二者在体系发生玻璃转变时都有一个缓变的过程,表明了过冷液相区的存在。     

Effects of cooling rates on the mechanical properties of a Ti-based bulk metallic glass

Mechanical properties of the glassy specimens fabricated at different cooling rates with a composition of Ti40Zr25Cu12Ni3Be20 were systematically investigated. It was confirmed that faster cooling rates caused not only a larger amount of frozen-in free volume but also a higher glass transition temperature in the bulk glassy alloy. Increase in the free volume was found to favor plastic deformation and then to give rise to larger compressive plasticity, whilst the rise in the glass transition temperature seem...     

Cracking in a vitrification solution during cooling or warming does not effect growth of cryopreserved mint shoot tips

No obvious decrease in viability or in the ability of mint shoot tips to develop into a shoot occurred during vitrification when the external glass cracked upon either cooling or warming. Samples within semen straws did not show a decrease in survival over three cycles of cooling and warming either in the presence or absence of cracking. No physical defects were visible in treated shoot tips. Cracking of the external glass formed from PVS2 did not obviously influence shoot tip survival in mint species.     

The Characteristic Cooling Rate and Vitrification of Liquids

Doklady Physics - This work is devoted to analysis and generalization of the kinetic criteria of vitrification using the model of delocalized atoms. The generalized criterion of a...     

The influence of water content, cooling and warming rate upon survival of embryonic axes of Poncirus trifoliata (L.)

The present study investigated the relative contributions of water content and non-equilibrium cooling and warming rates to the survival of cryopreserved axes of recalcitrant P. trifoliata seeds. Reducing water contents from 1.7 and 0.26 g water per g dry mass is believed to increase cytoplasmic viscosity. Cooling to -196 degree C was done at rates averaging between 0.17 and 1300 degree C per second, and warming at 600 or 1.35 degree C per second. Survival was assessed after 4 weeks in vitro. Rapid warming resulted in higher survival and normal development of axes at all water contents. The effects of cooling rate were dependent on the water content of axes. Cooling rates resulting in >70 percent normal development ranged between 0.17 and about 1300 degree C per second for axes at a water content of 0.26 g water per g dry mass narrowing with increasing hydration to an apparent optimum at about 686 degree C per second in axes at 0.8 g water per g dry mass At 1.7 g water per g dry mass, axes cooled at 0.17 degree C per second yielded nearly 40 percent normal development, whereas faster cooling was deleterious. Results are interpreted in the context of the effect of water content on cytoplasmic viscosity and the rate of intracellular ice formation. At low water contents, the high intracellular viscosity slows ice crystallization making survival independent of cooling rate. At higher water contents, the reduced viscosity requires faster cooling to prevent ice crystal damage. The ability to cool rapidly with increasing hydration is balanced with an increasing limitation to dissipate heat fast enough to prevent severe damage.     

Ultraefficient cooling of resonators: beating sideband cooling with quantum control

The present state of the art in cooling mechanical resonators is a version of sideband cooling. Here we present a method that uses the same configuration as sideband cooling-coupling the resonator to be cooled to a second microwave (or optical) auxiliary resonator-but will cool significantly colder. This is achieved by varying the strength of the coupling between the two resonators over a time on the order of the period of the mechanical resonator. As part of our analysis, we also obtain a method for fast, high-fidelity quantum information transfer between resonators.     

基于成分连续变化计算黏度的合金系临界冷速模型

在大块非晶临界冷却速率的非等温转变计算模型基础上提出了基于成分连续变化计算黏度的合金系临界冷速模型. 依据此模型对Zr-Ni-Al-Cu四元合金的临界冷却速率进行了计算并预测了Zr_66.67(Ni_{xAlyCuz)33.33合金系中容易形成非晶的成分范围. 计算值与实验值符合得较好. 计算结果表明，此合金系具有很强的非晶形成能力，特别是在靠近共晶点的中心区域，临界冷却速率小于100 K/s，为容易形成非晶的成分范围. 冷却过程中，在高于1000K温度区间，没有发生明显的结晶现象，而在980 K至870 K温度范围内，结晶分数快速增大，低于870 K时不再发生明显改变. 此外，分析了合金系中Al，Cu，Ni原子摩尔分数的变化对临界冷速的影响. 关键词： 大块非晶 黏度 临界冷却速率 非晶形成能力}     

Vitrification of cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched porcine blastocysts

The aim of this experiment was to examine the survival of porcine embryos following exposure or vitrification in EFS solution. The work was carried out on cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched blastocysts. The viability of treated embryos was assessed by their ability to develop in in vitro culture. The results showed a higher viability of cultured expanded blastocyst (35.1 percent) vitrified in EFS medium compared to those non-cultured (12.5 percent). The proportion of cultured hatched blastocyst vitrified in this medium was 13.2 percent, while none of the non-cultured hatched blastocyst survived vitrification. It is concluded that: 1. The EFS solution was more toxic to hatched blastocyst than expanded blastocyst 2. The expanded blastocyst was a more suitable developmental stage for vitrification than hatched blastocyst. Moreover, we demonstrated that the survival rate of vitrified cultured pig blastocyst was higher compared to non-cultured.     

Structure of endohedral complexes of carbon nanotubes encapsulated with lithium and sodium

The article provides the results of ab initio calculations employing density functional theory of carbon nanotubes that contain clusters of lithium and sodium atoms. Stable positions of interstitial atoms, the electron density distribution in the system and the density of electronic states are determined. It is shown that the amount of charge transferred from the interstitial atoms in a cluster significantly differs from the corresponding value for a single atom. It is established that the density of electronic states of the system at low concentrations of atoms of the introduced element is determined by the electronic structure of a hollow nanotube, and as the concentration of interstitial atoms increases, this quantity becomes virtually independent on the type of alkali metal (lithium or sodium) and the initial type of the nanotube conductivity.     

Harmonic responses and cavitation activity of encapsulated microbubbles coupled with magnetic nanoparticles

Encapsulated microbubbles coupled with magnetic nanoparticles, one kind of hybrid agents that can integrate both ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging/therapy functions, have attracted increasing interests in both research and clinic communities. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of their dynamic behaviors generated in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In the present work, a hybrid agent was synthesized by integrating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) into albumin-shelled microbubbles (named as SPIO-albumin microbubbles). Then, both the stable and inertial cavitation thresholds of this hybrid agent were measured at varied SPIO concentrations and ultrasound parameters (e.g., frequency, pressure amplitude, and pulse length). The results show that, at a fixed acoustic driving frequency, both the stable and inertial cavitation thresholds of SPIO-albumin microbubble should decrease with the increasing SPIO concentration and acoustic driving pulse length. The inertial cavitation threshold of SPIO-albumin microbubbles also decreases with the raised driving frequency, while the minimum sub- and ultra-harmonic thresholds appear at twice and two thirds resonance frequency, respectively. It is also noticed that both the stable and inertial cavitation thresholds of SonoVue microbubbles are similar to those measured for hybrid microbubbles with a SPIO concentration of 114.7 μg/ml. The current work could provide better understanding on the impact of the integrated SPIOs on the dynamic responses (especially the cavitation activities) of hybrid microbubbles, and suggest the shell composition of hybrid agents should be appropriately designed to improve their clinical diagnostic and therapeutic performances of hybrid microbubble agents.     

Metal encapsulated nanotubes of germanium with metal dependent electronic properties

Using ab initio total energy calculations we demonstrate that the nanotubes of germanium with atomic structure based on an alternate prism and antiprism stacking of hexagonal rings, can be stabilized by metal encapsulation. The V or Nb doped infinite nanotube is metallic. However, Mo doping leads to the formation of a metal encapsulated direct band gap semiconducting nanotube of germanium. These nanotubes with metal dependent electronic properties could prove to be vital for the development of future nanotechnologies.     

Resonance behaviors of encapsulated microbubbles oscillating nonlinearly with ultrasonic excitation

The resonance behaviors of a few lipid-coated microbubbles acoustically activated in viscoelastic media were comprehensively examined via radius response analysis. The size polydispersity and random spatial distribution of the interacting microbubbles, the rheological properties of the lipid shell and the viscoelasticity of the surrounding medium were considered simultaneously. The obtained radius response curves present a successive occurrence of linear resonances, nonlinear harmonic and sub-harmonic resonances with the acoustic pressure increasing. The microbubble resonance is radius-, pressure- and frequency-dependent. Specifically, the maximum bubble expansion ratio at the main resonance peak increases but the resonant radius decreases as the ultrasound pressure increases, while both of them decrease with the ultrasound frequency increasing. Moreover, compared to an isolated microbubble case, it is found that large microbubbles in close proximity prominently suppress the resonant oscillations while slightly increase the resonant radii for both harmonic and subharmonic resonances, even leading to the disappearance of the subharmonic resonance with the influences increasing to a certain degree. In addition, the results also suggest that both the encapsulating shell and surrounding medium can substantially dampen the harmonic and subharmonic resonances while increase the resonant radii, which seem to be affected by the medium viscoelasticity to a greater degree rather than the shell properties. This work offers valuable insights into the resonance behaviors of microbubbles oscillating in viscoelastic biological media, greatly contributing to further optimizing their biomedical applications.     

冷速对液态合金Ca50Zn50快速凝固过程中微观结构演变的影响

采用分子动力学方法对六种不同冷速对原子尺寸相差较大的液态合金Ca50Znso凝固过程中微观结构演变的影响进行了模拟研究,并采用双体分布函数、Honeycutt—Andersen（HA）键型指数法、原子团类型指数法（CTIM一2）、可视化等方法进行了深入分析,结果表明：系统存在一个临界冷速,介于和5×10^11K／s与1×10^11K／s之间,在临界冷速以上（如1×10^11K／s,1×10^11K／s,1×10^11K／s和5×10^11K／s）时,系统形成以1551,1541,1431键型或二十面体基本原子团（12012000）等为主体的非晶态结构;在临界冷速以下时,系统形成以1441和1661键型或bcc基本原子团（1460800）为主体（含有少量的hcp（1200066）和fcc（12000120）基本原子团）的部分晶态结构．在非晶形成的冷速范围内,其总双体分布函数的第一峰明显分裂成与近邻分别为Zn—Zn,Ca—Zn,Ca—Ca相对应的三个次峰;且随着冷速的下降,同类原子近邻的次峰峰值升高、异类原子近邻的次峰峰值下降;Zn原子容易偏聚,随着冷速降低,二十面体的数量增多,非晶态结构也越稳定．在晶态形成的冷速范围内,Zn原子己大量偏聚形成大块bcc晶态结构,Ca原子也部分形成hcp和fcc晶态结构．