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.     

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.     

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...     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Measurement of the radiative cooling rates for high-ionization species of krypton using an electron beam ion trap

We describe a measurement of the radiative cooling rate for krypton made at the Berlin electron beam ion trap (EBIT). The EBIT was tuned to a charge-state distribution approaching the ionization balance of a plasma at a temperature of about 5 keV. To determine the cooling rate, we made use of EBIT's capabilities to sample a wide range of electron-beam energies and distinguish between different radiation channels. We have measured the x-ray emission from bremsstrahlung, radiative recombination, dielectronic recombination, and line radiation following electron-impact excitation. The dominant contribution to the cooling rate is made by the n=3-2, n=4-2, ellipsis x rays of the L-shell spectra of krypton, which produce more than 75% of the total radiation loss. A difference with theoretical calculations is noted for the measured total cooling rate. The predicted values are lower by a factor of 1.5-2, depending on the theoretical model. For our measurement of the cooling rate, we estimate an uncertainty interval of 22-30 %.     

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．     

Investigation of the influence of cell density of human fibroblasts cryopreserved inside collagen sponges at various cooling rates

The influence of cell density of cells cryopreserved inside a collagen matrix at various cooling rates was investigated. Human fibroblasts were three-dimensionally cultured for 2 days in a collagen sponge (20 mm in diameter and 1 mm in thickness) as an extracellular matrix to imitate biological tissue (artificial tissue). Different cell densities for the artificial tissue were used, from 10(5) to 10(7) cells/cm(3). Four artificial tissues were first stacked in a test chamber, frozen at a cooling rate of 0.3 to 50 degrees C/min in a solution of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium, 20% fetal bovine serum and 10% dimethylsulfoxide, kept frozen below -185 degrees C for 2 hours, and then finally thawed. Membrane integrity of fibroblasts using a trypan blue exclusion assay was evaluated as an index for post-thaw cellular viability. Results show that with increasing cell density, the post-thaw membrane integrity decreased. Therefore, in the cryopreservation of biological tissue, it seems high cell density is one factor which causes a decline in viability.     

全球变暖的物理基础和科学简史

全球变暖不仅是当今大气科学乃至整个地球科学的热门研究领域,也是国际社会争论较多的热门话题.文章的目的并不是为了澄清这些争论,而是集中于简要阐述全球变暖的物理学基础,回顾其近200年的科学发展历史.藉此希望对非大气科学背景的学者理解有关全球变暖的科学问题有所帮助.     

Preparation and structure of carbon encapsulated copper nanoparticles

Carbon-encapsulated copper nanoparticles were synthesized by a modified arc plasma method using methane as carbon source. The particles were characterized in detail by transmission electron microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry. The encapsulated copper nanoparticles were about 30 nm in diameter with 3–5 nm graphitic carbon shells. The outside graphitic carbon layers effectively prevented unwanted oxidation of the copper inside. The effect of the ratio of He/CH₄ on the morphologies and the formation of the carbon shell were investigated.     

循环风冷却式电抗器散热结构优化与分析

基于某密闭式大型电力电子设备中电抗器的散热需求,采用了蒸发冷却式的循环风冷散热系统;同时为电抗器设计了一种散热结构,用于提高电抗器的散热性能;并运用计算流体力学软件Ansys/icepak,对该结构进行了仿真优化;分析了循环风量以及该散热结构中的散热器通道宽度,导热片的数量、厚度、排列规律对电抗器散热性能的影响。研究结果表明,在散热器通道宽度为5mm、循环风量为800m3/h,采用不等间距的方式排列5块5mm的铜导热片时,该结构散热条件最佳;电抗器温升可以得到有效的控制,且温度分布均匀,满足系统的使用要求;同时也为该类电抗器的热设计提供了理论依据。