Theranostic Iron@Gold Core–Shell Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Hyperthermia‐Chemotherapy upon Photo‐Stimulation

The challenges of nanoparticles, such as size‐dependent toxicity, nonbiocompatibility, or inability to undergo functionalization for drug conjugation, limit their biomedical application in more than one domain. Oval‐shaped iron@gold core–shell (oFe@Au) magnetic nanoparticles are engineered and their applications in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and controlled drug release, are explored via photo stimulation‐generated hyperthermia. The oFe@Au nanoparticles have a size of 42.57 ± 5.99 nm and consist of 10.76 and 89.24 atomic % of Fe and Au, respectively. Upon photo‐stimulation for 10 and 15 minutes, the levels of cancer cell death induced by methotrexate‐conjugated oFe@Au nanoparticles are sixfold and fourfold higher, respectively, than oFe@Au nanoparticles alone. MRI and OCT confirm the application of these nanoparticles as a contrast agent. Finally, results of in vivo experiments reveal that the temperature is elevated by 13.2 °C, when oFe@Au nanoparticles are irradiated with a 167 mW cm^?2 808 nm laser, which results in a significant reduction in tumor volume and scab formation after 7 days, followed by complete disappearance after 14 days. The ability of these nanoparticles to generate heat upon photo‐stimulation also opens new doors for studying hyperthermia‐mediated controlled drug release for cancer therapy. Applications include biomedical engineering, cancer therapy, and theranostics fields.     

Tomographic probability representation for quantum fermion fields

Tomographic probability representation is introduced for fermion fields. The states of the fermions are mapped onto the probability distribution of discrete random variables (spin projections). The operators acting on the fermion states are described by fermionic tomographic symbols. The product of the operators acting on the fermion states is mapped onto the star-product of the fermionic symbols. The kernel of the star-product is obtained. The antisymmetry of the fermion states is formulated as a specific symmetry property of the tomographic joint probability distribution associated with the states.     

Solving the Generalized Machine Assignment Problem in Group Technology

Many existing solution methodologies for machine assignment problems in group technology do not consider factors such as part demand, operation sequence and cost of intercellular moves. We formulate a 0-1 quadratic programming model that takes into account these factors in machine assignment. Two approaches are proposed to solve this problem. The first is an A*-based approach that generates optimal solutions. The second is a heuristic approach developed to solve problems with large number of machines and/or parts. The heuristic approach is shown to be efficient in producing good solutions in a computational study.     

Fluorinated Eu‐Doped SnO2 Nanostructures with Simultaneous Phase and Shape Control and Improved Photoluminescence

Fluorinated Eu‐doped SnO₂ nanostructures with tunable morphology (shuttle‐like and ring‐like) are prepared by a hydrothermal method, using NaF as the morphology controlling agent. X‐ray diffraction, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy are used to characterize their phase, shape, lattice structure, composition, and element distribution. The data suggest that Eu³⁺ ions are uniformly embedded into SnO₂ nanocrystallites either through substitution of Sn⁴⁺ ions or through formation of Eu‐F bonds, allowing for high‐level Eu³⁺ doping. Photoluminescence features such as transition intensity ratios and Stark splitting indicate diverse localization of Eu³⁺ ions in the SnO₂ nanoparticles, either in the crystalline lattice or in the grain boundaries. Due to formation of Eu‐F and Sn‐F bonds, the fluorinated surface of SnO₂ nanocrystallites efficiently inhibits the hydroxyl quenching effect, which accounts for their improved photoluminescence intensity.     

On constrained multivariate splines and their approximations

Summary The variational formulation of multivariate spline functions is generalized to include cases where the function has to satisfy inequality constraints such as positivity and convexity. Condition for existence and uniqueness of a solution is given. Approximation to the solution can be obtained by solving the variational problem in a finite dimensional subspace. Conditions for convergence and error estimates of the approximations are presented, both for interpolation problems and smoothing problems. The general theory is illustrated by specific examples including the volume-matching problem and the one-sided thin plate spline.This research is partially supported by the U.S. Army Contract No. DAAG 29-77-G-0207, and by NSF Grant No. MCS-8101836Part of this paper is based on Chapters 2 and 3 of the author's Ph. D. thesis. The author would like to express his sincere thanks to Professor Grance Wahba and to two referees for many helpful comments     

Statistical Physics Approach to Liquid Crystals: Dynamics of Mobile Potts Model Leading to Smectic Phase,Phase Transition by Wang–Landau Method

We study the nature of the smectic–isotropic phase transition using a mobile 6-state Potts model. Each Potts state represents a molecular orientation. We show that with the choice of an appropriate microscopic Hamiltonian describing the interaction between individual molecules modeled by a mobile 6-state Potts spins, we observe the smectic phase dynamically formed when we cool the molecules from the isotropic phase to low temperatures (T). In order to elucidate the order of the transition and the low-T properties, we use the high-performance Wang–Landau flat energy-histogram technique. We show that the smectic phase goes to the liquid (isotropic) phase by melting/evaporating layer by layer starting from the film surface with increasing T. At a higher T, the whole remaining layers become orientationally disordered. The melting of each layer is characterized by a peak of the specific heat. Such a succession of partial transitions cannot be seen by the Metropolis algorithm. The successive layer meltings/evaporations at low T are found to have a first-order character by examining the energy histogram. These results are in agreement with experiments performed on some smectic liquid crystals.     

Planar Hall effect in biosensor with a tilted angle of the cross-junction

A typical planar Hall effect (PHE) sensor junction consists of two Hall bars that the bars appear normal to each other and the junction can have the required four terminals for current and voltage measurements. We are now introducing a tilted angle of the cross-junction and studying the role of the PHE therein. The results show that although there is a tilted angle of the cross-junction, the PHE voltage is remained constant. The result is interpreted by assuming the sensor material with the behavior of a basic single domain structure under the external magnetic field reversals. The calculations of the model are found to be in good concurrence with the experimental results.     

Uniform strain fields and exact results in an elastoplastic fibre-reinforced composite

This work is concerned with a two-phase material consisting of an elastoplastic matrix reinforced by linearly elastic fibres. It is first shown that uniform strain fields can be generated in this heterogeneous material. A return-mapping based algorithm is then proposed and used to find uniform strain loading paths. With the help of uniform strain fields, exact results, independent of the transverse geometry and arrangement of the fibres, are derived for the effective elastic properties and for the effective initial and current yield surfaces. To cite this article: Q.-C. He, H. Le Quang, C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

Microstructures réalisant toute compressibilité ou conductivité encadrée par les bornes de Hashin et Shtrikman

The conductivity or bulk modulus of an isotropic composite consisting of two well-ordered isotropic phases is situated between the lower and upper bounds of Hashin and Shtrikman. This work is concerned with the construction of two new microstructures capable of realizing every conductivity or bulk modulus comprised between these bounds. The two microstructures obtained, appearing to be simpler than those presented in the literature to achieve the same purpose, have the property that the variation of the corresponding conductivity or bulk modulus is strictly monotone with respect to the geometric parameter characterizing them. To cite this article: Q.-C. He, H.L. Quang, C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

Nouvelle approche numerique des solutions de la couche limite laminaire incompressible en regime non-stationnaire autour d'une paroi cylindrique elliptique mise en impulsion brutale

The equations of the unsteady incompressible laminar boundary layers about circular and elliptic cylinders started impulsively from rest are solved, after an original coordinate transformation, with the help of a semi-implicit difference scheme linearly stable without conditions. The knowledge of the phenomenon results only from that of the flow characteristics at the initial time; this makes mandatory the use of an analytical method of the Blasius type. When the ratio of the semi-axes of the elliptic cylinder becomes infinite, the present method gives the solution of the stagnation flow.When the flow presents a separation point in the steady state (circular cylinder), a criterion for stopping computation is proposed. It may be noted that to obtain the stagnation flow, we can continue the computations as far as possible and a steady solution is found with excellent accuracy.