Metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy of III/V phosphides with tertiarybutylphosphine and tertiarybutylarsine

Indium phosphide, gallium arsenide phosphide, and aluminum indium phosphide have been deposited by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy using tertiarybutylphosphine and tertiarybutylarsine. The effects of growth temperature and V/III ratio on the amount of silicon, sulfur, carbon, and oxygen in InP have been determined. Minimum incorporation was observed at 565 °C and a V/III ratio of 32. In this case, the material contained a background carrier concentration of 2.7×10¹⁴ cm⁻³, and the Hall mobilities were 4970 and 135,000 cm²/V s at 300 and 77 K. The oxygen contamination in AlInP was found to be only 9.0×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for deposition at 650 °C and a V/III ratio of 35. The relative distribution of arsenic to phosphorus in GaAs_yP_1−y was determined at temperatures between 525 and 575 °C. The distribution coefficient [(N_As/N_P)_film/(P_TBAs/P_TBP)_gas] ranged from 25.4 to 8.4, and exhibited an Arrhenius relationship with an apparent activation energy of 1.2 eV.     

Mechanics and full-field deformation study of the Ring Hoop Tension Test

We investigate the mechanics of the Ring Hoop Tension Test (RHTT), as a means to assess the properties of anisotropic tubes in the hoop direction. This test involves placing a ring extracted from the tube over two close-fitting D-shaped mandrels that are then parted using a universal testing machine. Since the curvature of the ring does not change during loading, the ring undergoes only stretching. We determine the effects of contact pressure, radial stress, and friction between the tube and mandrels using FEA simulations. The effects of the pre-existing thickness eccentricity and of the specimen-making procedure on the recorded RHTT response are also assessed with a combination of experiments and analysis. We tested tubes from Al-6061-T4 with a diameter/thickness ratio of 20. We found that as the friction increases beyond 0.1–0.15, the state of uniaxial tension is deteriorated, indicating that care must be taken to minimize the tube-mandrel friction. We determined that although these tubes have a relatively large thickness eccentricity (±4% of the nominal thickness), this had no effect on the recorded results. We showed that the tubes should not be turned to remove that eccentricity, as the machining process induces damage that is noticeable in the results. We found that the contact pressure and the contact-induced radial stress cause limited deviations from uniaxial tension, comparable to the case of a tube under axial load and internal pressure which is often used for assessing the material properties in the hoop direction. Central in our analyses is the knowledge of the hoop strain field, which was assessed using 3D Digital Image Correlation. We propose a data reduction procedure for RHTT that accounts for all the above effects. Finally, with all effects accounted for, we establish the anisotropy of the extruded Al-6061-T4 tubes studied.     

Experimental investigation of vibration attenuation using nonlinear tuned mass damper and pendulum tuned mass damper in parallel

The present paper experimentally and numerically explores the response attenuation of a hardening Düffing oscillator using a nonlinear tuned mass damper (NTMD) and an adaptive-length pendulum tuned mass damper (APTMD). The three degrees-of-freedom system is excited by harmonic ground motions. The cubic nonlinearity of the primary structure is obtained using an adaptive passive stiffness (APS) device. When an NTMD is used alone, a high amplitude detached resonance branch in the lower frequency range is identified in the experiment, which validates the results reported in earlier numerical research. In order to attenuate this high amplitude resonance branch, an APTMD with an adaptive frequency realized by means of a variable pendulum length is used in parallel with the NTMD. In the experiment, length of the APTMD is adjusted such that its natural frequency matches the dominant frequency of the harmonic ground motions. Results indicate that the high amplitude resonance branch in the case of an NTMD alone can be greatly attenuated using the APTMD, and significant attenuation of the structural responses over a large frequency range can be obtained. In addition, the APTMD can prevent the occurrence of the “jump phenomenon” existing in the forcing response curve of the nonlinear dynamic system, thereby protecting the primary nonlinear structure effectively when the forcing amplitude varies. Therefore, the present paper provides an effective and viable solution to control the hazardous bifurcations in a Düffing oscillator-NTMD dynamic system.     

Applying nonlinear dynamic theory to one-dimensional pulsating detonations

The dynamical behaviour of one-dimensional pulsating detonations was investigated in detail, with the aid of nonlinear theory tools such as phase plots and correlation dimension. The period-doubling cascade, as routes to deterministic chaos, is depicted through the transformations of the shapes of the attractors. Using a correlation dimension method, the dimension of the attractors is determined and we show that the chaos within a one-dimensional pulsating detonation is deterministic.     

DOPA Residues Endow Collagen with Radical Scavenging Capacity**

Here we uncover collagen, the main structural protein of all connective tissues, as a redox-active material. We identify dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) residues, post-translational oxidation products of tyrosine residues, to be common in collagen derived from different connective tissues. We observe that these DOPA residues endow collagen with substantial radical scavenging capacity. When reducing radicals, DOPA residues work as redox relay: they convert to the quinone and generate hydrogen peroxide. In this dual function, DOPA outcompetes its amino acid precursors and ascorbic acid. Our results establish DOPA residues as redox-active side chains of collagens, probably protecting connective tissues against radicals formed under mechanical stress and/or inflammation.     

Electrodeposition in aqueous nanoreactors

One frontier of measurement science is pushing the limit of what is measurable. Nanoelectrochemistry has transformed what is measurable at the nanoscale, elucidating reactivity of single atoms, molecules, and nanoparticles, one by one. The ability to interrogate physicochemical properties of single entities has elucidated new truths of nature that are otherwise averaged out during measurements over many entities (ensemble experiments). Single-entity experiments also give access to the ultimate sensitivity in measurement science: the specific detection of one single entity (not nanomolar quantities, not picomolar quantities—one single unit). One exciting subset of single-entity electrochemistry, and the topic of this review, is the study of reactions in nanoreactors of subfemtoliter (10^?15 L) volumes with a particular focus on nanoparticle synthesis.     

Pharmacodynamic assay of thymidylate synthase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

A simple, selective, and sensitive method utilizing tritium (³H) release from ³H-deoxyuridine 5′-monophosphate (dUMP) substrate for accurate and precise determination of the low basal thymidylate synthase activity (TSA) in normal healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was developed and validated. The method is based on the removal of the remaining substrate after the TSA reaction by absorption onto activated carbon and measurement of the supernatant fluid by liquid scintillation counting. The method background was substantially decreased by using lyophilized substrate and optimized binding conditions of remaining substrate onto carbon after TSA reaction. The concentration of cofactor N ₅,N ₁₀ methylene-(6R,S)-tetrahydrofolate was increased to obtain maximal TSA. Method sensitivity was further increased by omission of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid from the reaction mix and by using longer reaction times. The validation parameters included specificity, linearity, sensitivity, precision, and stability. The lower limit of quantification was 25 μg PBMC cytosolic lysate, which released 1.4 pmol?³H/h. TSA was stable in PBMC pellets stored for 6 months at ?80 °C. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the successful determination of TSA in PBMC cytosolic lysates from ten healthy volunteers with and without the specific TSA inhibitor FdUMP.

Functionalization of Biodegradable Polyester for Tissue Engineering Applications

Summary: Chemical modification of polymer surface may potentially be used to create smart materials that can guide cellular adhesion, proliferation and maintenance of specific expression of molecules. The microbial polyester poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) has been attracted attention as promising material for applications in tissue engineering. In this work, a wet-chemical method, base ethylenediamine aminolysis, was performed to improve the adhesion of chondrocytes isolated from human articular cartilage to PHB films. The effects of chemical treatment on PHB films was evaluated by following changes in morphology and surface chemical composition using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. While the effect on cells morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The treatment with ethylenediamine did not change significantly the morphology of the structures of PHB films surface. However, the roughness of the aminolyzed films was slightly higher. The introduction of nitrogen-containing groups was confirmed by XPS. In vitro experiments indicated that the surface modification did not have toxic effects in cells, since they could adhere and proliferate on modified PHB films. It was observed that long-time treatment improved ability of PHB films to support cell growth, which could be accounted to physicochemical and topological effects.     

Charge transfer excited states of hydroxyl ion impurities in alkali halide crystals

A theoretical investigation of the u.v. absorption anisotropy factor g and the transition energies of OH^? molecule in alkali halide crystals is presented in terms of a charge transfer model and the free OH^? ground wave-function. Comparison of calculated and observed transition energies for OH^? in KBr and NaCl shows reasonable agreement between theory and experiment. For KCl:OH^?, a reasonable result for the transition energy is also obtained through a confinement of the free K4s function used for the one-electron transfer function. The model fails, however, to explain the value of about 0·3 for the anisotropy factor which is observed in a number of host crystals.