Study of the semileptonic charm decays D(0)-->pi(-)l(+)nu and D(0)-->K(-)l(+)nu

We investigate the decays D(0)-->pi(-)l(+)nu and D(0)-->K(-)l(+)nu, where l is e or mu, using approximately 7 fb(-1) of data collected with the CLEO III detector. We find R(0) identical with B(D(0)-->pi(-)e(+)nu)/B(D(0)-->K(-)e(+)nu)=0.082+/-0.006+/-0.005. Fits to the kinematic distributions of the data provide parameters describing the form factor of each mode. Combining the form factor results and R(0) gives |f(pi)(+)(0)|(2)|V(cd)|(2)/|f(K)(+)(0)|(2)|V(cs)|(2)=0.038(+0.006+0.005)(-0.007-0.003).     

Search for rare and forbidden decays D+ --> h+/- e+/- e+

Using 0.8 x 10(6) D+ D- pairs collected with the CLEO-c detector at the psi(3770) resonance, we have searched for flavor-changing neutral current and lepton-number-violating decays of D+ mesons to final states with dielectrons. We find no indication of either, obtaining 90% confidence level upper limits of B(D+ --> pi+ e+ e-) < 7.4 x 10(-6), B(D+ --> pi- e+ d+) < 3.6 x 10(-6), B(D+ --> K+ e+ e-) < 6.2 x 10(-6), and B(D+ --> K- e+ e+) < 4.5 x 10(-6).     

Observation of eta'c production in gammagamma fusion at CLEO

We report on the observation of the eta(')(c)(2(1)S0), the radial excitation of the eta(c)(1(1)S0) ground state of charmonium, in the two-photon fusion reaction gammagamma-->eta(')(c)-->K(0)(S)K+/-pi(-/+) in 13.6 fb(-1) of CLEO II/II.V data and 13.1 fb(-1) of CLEO III data. We obtain M(eta(')(c))=3642.9+/-3.1(stat)+/-1.5(syst) MeV and M(eta(c))=2981.8+/-1.3(stat)+/-1.5(syst) MeV. The corresponding values of hyperfine splittings between 1S0 and 3S1 states are DeltaM(hf)(1S)=115.1+/-2.0 MeV and DeltaM(hf)(2S)=43.1+/-3.4 MeV. Assuming that the eta(c) and eta(')(c) have equal branching fractions to K(S)Kpi, we obtain Gamma(gammagamma)(eta(')(c))=1.3+/-0.6 keV.     

Kinetics of Plastic Deformation in CuBr Single Crystals at Low Temperatures

Single crystals of CuBr with zincblende structure, deformed in compression at a strain rate 2×10^-4 s^-1 between room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures, exhibit two well-defined regions in the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) versus temperature relationship. At rather low temperatures in the range from 78 to 150 K, the slope d ln /dT of the straight line fitted to the data points plotted in log-linear coordinates is found to be 2.9 times greater than that at temperatures between 150 and 300 K. Similar behaviour is also observed in the case of temperature dependence of activation volume associated with the CRSS. Data analysis in terms of the kink-pair nucleation model of plastic flow shows that stress-assisted thermally-activated escape of screw dislocations trapped in Peierls troughs induces slip below about 150 K. At temperatures above 150 K, CRSS is determined by the unpinning of edge-dislocation segments from groups of randomly dispersed point defects, e.g. residual gaseous and metallic impurities, deformation-induced defects formed during the pre-yield stage etc.     

Methylene blue as an electrochemical discriminator of single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides immobilised on gold substrates.

Self-assembly of thiol-terminated oligonucleotides on gold substrates provides a convenient and versatile route to DNA-functionalised surfaces. Here we show that the square-wave voltammetric peak position of methylene blue complexed to thiol-terminated single-stranded oligonucleotides immobilised on gold electrodes differs from that of methylene blue complexed to thiol-terminated double-stranded oligonucleotides immobilised on gold electrodes. The peak potential of methylene blue at the single-stranded oligonucleotide array was consistently found to occur at potentials ca. 10-15 mV more positive than that at double-stranded oligonucleotide arrays, the precise difference being dependent on the direction of the voltammetry. This voltammetric behaviour mirrors that found for methylene blue bound to freely diffusing single- and double-stranded calf thymus DNA and suggests that the immobilised oligonucleotides retain the methylene blue binding properties of their freely diffusing counterparts. Thus methylene blue provides a simple electrochemical indicator for the status of oligonucleotide-functionalised gold surfaces.     

Entropy generation effects in a hydromagnetic free convection flow past a vertical oscillating plate

An unsteady free convective flow of a viscous fluid past an oscillating plate is considered, and the effects of entropy generation are investigated. The governing partial differential equations are normalized by using suitable transformations, and an exact solution of the problem is obtained by using the Laplace transformation technique. The expressions for the velocity and temperature are then used to compute the skin friction, Nusselt number, local entropy generation number, and Bejan number.     

Millimeter-wave enabled PAM-4 data transmission over hybrid FSO-MMPOF link for access networks

Optical Review - In this paper, we propose a full duplex architecture based on a hybrid link composed of free space optics (FSO) and multimode plastic optical fiber (MMPOF) for short-range wireless...     

A review on <Superscript>90</Superscript>Y-labeled compounds and biomolecules

The field of therapeutic nuclear medicine is emerging rapidly as choice of treatment in oncology and other cellular malignancies. The growth of this branch of nuclear medicine is greatly facilitated by the introduction of a number of new radiopharmaceuticals and radionuclides. ⁹⁰Y-radiopharmaceuticals have confirmed their worth in medical and clinical areas in a very short span of time. The ⁹⁰Y is a radioisotope widely used for therapeutic purposes and considerable perfection has been made to understand the chemistry of ⁹⁰Y-labeled radiopharmaceuticals. The development of these radiopharmaceuticals can be made favorable by using appropriate buffer, incubation period, optimal pH, specific activity and reaction temperature. In this review, we have discussed the preparation of range of ⁹⁰Y transporting biological molecules such as antibodies radiolabeled peptides, antigens and microsphere with their clinical applications.     

Tuning the mechanical properties of silica microcapsules

Heat treatment is a standard method to increase the hardness of silica in various applications. Here, we tested the effect of high temperature annealing on the mechanical properties of silica microcapsules by force spectroscopy under point loads applied to the particle shell. The Young's modulus of the shells moderately increases after annealing at temperatures above 500 °C. Temperatures over 850 °C result in a much stronger increase and the Young's modulus is close to that of fused silica after annealing at 1100 °C. NMR analysis revealed that in untreated microcapsules synthesized by seeded growth using the St?ber method only 55% of the silicon atoms form siloxane bonds with four neighbors, whereas the remaining ones only form three or less siloxane bonds each and, thus, a large number of ethoxy and silanol groups still exist. During annealing at 500 °C, these are successively transformed into siloxane bonds through condensation reactions. This process correlates with only a moderate increase in Young's modulus. The strong increase at temperatures above 850 °C was associated with a densification which was associated by a decrease in capsule size and shell thickness while the shells remained homogenous and of spherical shape. The main strengthening of the shells is thus mainly due to compaction by sintering at length scales significantly larger than that of local siloxane bonds.