A simple but reliable method for the prediction of intermolecular potentials

A simple but reliable method for the prediction of intermolecular potentials is presented and tested for the case of the lighter noble gases and some of their mixtures.     

Transition dipole moment measurements for the ν2 band of NH3 with molecular beam laser Stark spectroscopy

Rabi oscillations were observed in the ASR(110), ΔM = 0 and ASQ(222), ΔM = 0 transitions of the ν₂ band of ¹⁴NH₃ in a molecular beam crossed by a CO₂ laser beam. The frequency (in terms of the laser field amplitude) of the oscillations was used to determine the transition dipole moment of the ν₂ band, yielding μ_s←a = 0.261 ± 0.006 D. The hyperfine structure due to the electric quadrupole interaction of the nitrogen nucleus was clearly resolved.     

Electronic spectroscopy of nonalternant hydrocarbons inside helium nanodroplets

We have recorded the electronic spectra of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (acenaphtylene, fluoranthene, and benzo(k)fluoranthene) containing a five-member ring and their van der Waals complexes with argon and oxygen with a molecular beam superfluid helium nanodroplet spectrometer. Although the molecules, which differ by addition of one or two fused benzene rings to acenaphtylene, have the same point group symmetry, the spectral lineshapes show distinct differences in the number of zero phonon lines and shapes of the phonon wings. Whereas the smallest molecule (acenaphtylene) has the most complicated line shape, the largest molecule (benzo(k)fluoranthene) shows different lineshapes for different vibronic transitions. The van der Waals complexes of fluoranthene exhibit more peaks than the theoretically allowed number of isomeric complexes with argon/oxygen. The current models of molecular solvation in liquid helium do not adequately explain these discrepancies.     

Income drawdown option with minimum guarantee

This paper deals with a constrained investment problem for a defined contribution (DC) pension fund where retirees are allowed to defer the purchase of the annuity at some future time after retirement.     

Dimensional synthesis of four bar linkage for function generation with velocity and acceleration constraints

Summary The dimensional synthesis of a four bar linkage for function generation, usually performed by considering only kinematic characteristics of the mechanism, may be improved by accounting also for its dynamical behavior. In the present study the maximum values of velocity and acceleration are controlled in order to limit the inertial forces, as required in the design of high-speed mechanisms. At this purpose an optimization technique, based on penalty function method, has been adopted. Several numerical results for different choices for constraints and initial design are presented and discussed.

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Sommario Il problema della sintesi dimensionale di un quadrilatero articolato per la generazione di funzioni assegnate può essere risolto in maniera completa tenendo conto non solo delle caratteristiche cinematiche del meccanismo ma anche di alcuni aspetti dinamici del suo funzionamento. In particolare nel presente studio si considerano le velocità ed accelerazioni di alcuni membri del meccanismo controllandone i valori massimi al fine di limitare l'entità delle forze d'inerzia.Questo problema di sintesi, che assume particolare importanza nel progetto di meccanismi ad altre velocità è risolto mediante una tecnica di ottimizzazione del tipo della funzione di penalità. Si presentano alcuni risultati numerici relativi a differenti condizioni di vincolo e di progetto iniziale.

     

Superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated by spray-coating micelle solutions of comb copolymers

A series of comb copolymers (poly(arylene alkylene ether) (FPAE)-polystyrene (PS)) with a highly fluorinated FPAE main chain and narrow dispersed PS-grafted chains have been prepared. They are used to prepare micelle solutions in methanol/acetone (M/A) mixed solvents which are good for the FPAE main chains and poor for the PS-grafted chains. In these solutions, the PS-grafted chains form the cores and the FPAE main chains form the corona layers of micelle particles. Uniform micelle particles are achieved because of the narrow molecular weight dispersion of the PS chain length. The micelle solutions are spray-coated onto glass substrates to fabricate hydrophobic surfaces. It is found that the stability of the micelle particles increases with the length of the PS-grafted chains, which further influences the morphology and hydrophobicity of the spray-coated films. The effects of the M/A ratio and the copolymer concentration on the morphology and hydrophobicity of the coating surfaces are also studied. The results prove that a binary nano/microsurface structure is important to achieve a superhydrophobic surface with a low contact angle hysteresis. This binary structure is formed from conglomeration of micelle particles by spray coating the micelle solutions. The best sample reported in this paper has a static contact angle of 163° and a sliding angle of 5.9°. This fabrication procedure is facile, less time consuming, and easily applicable for large-scale surface treatment.     

Hyperthermal molecular beam deposition of highly ordered organic thin films

We use a seeded supersonic molecular beam to control the kinetic energy of pentacene (C22H14) during deposition and growth on Ag(111). Highly ordered thin films are grown at low substrate temperatures (approximately 200 K) at kinetic energies of a few electron volts, as shown by low energy He diffraction and x-ray reflectivity spectra. In contrast, deposition of thermal molecules yields only amorphous films. Growth at room or higher temperature substrates yields films of poorer quality irrespective of the depositing beam energy. We find that after the first wetting layer is completed, a new ordered phase is formed, whose in-plane lattice spacings match one of the bulk crystal planes. The high quality of the films can be interpreted as the result of local annealing induced by the impact of the impinging high-energy molecules.     

A Method for Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells Based on the Measurement of Single‐Cell Metabolism in Droplet‐Based Microfluidics

The number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood is strongly correlated with the progress of metastatic cancer. Current methods to detect CTCs are based on immunostaining or discrimination of physical properties. Herein, a label‐free method is presented exploiting the abnormal metabolic behavior of cancer cells. A single‐cell analysis technique is used to measure the secretion of acid from individual living tumor cells compartmentalized in microfluidically prepared, monodisperse, picoliter (pL) droplets. As few as 10 tumor cells can be detected in a background of 200 000 white blood cells and proof‐of‐concept data is shown on the detection of CTCs in the blood of metastatic patients.