Inducing anisotropy in bulk Nd-Fe-Co-Al-B nanocrystalline alloys by quenching in magnetic field

We have observed magnetic anisotropy in bulk Nd_55−xCo_xFe₃₀Al₁₀B₅ (x=10, 15 and 20) alloys prepared by copper mold suction casting method with a presence of external magnetic field (quenching field) μ₀H=0.25 T. By changing direction of the measuring field from perpendicular to parallel one in comparison with that of the quenching field, coercive force of the alloys slightly decreases while remanent magnetization and squareness of hysteresis loop increase more clearly. It is also found that the higher Co-concentration in the alloys the larger magnetic anisotropy is induced. The structure analyses manifest nanocrystalline particles embedded in residual amorphous matrix of the alloys. The size of the particles is in range of 10-30 nm and their crystalline phases consist of Nd₂(Fe,Co)₁₄B, Nd₃Co, Nd₃Al, NdAl₂ and Nd.     

Accelerated Curing Speed of Ethyl α‐Cyanoacrylate by Polymer with Catecholamine Groups

Four kinds of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives with the similar backbone and different side groups have been synthesized successfully. When both catecholamine and double bond are tethered to polymer backbone, i.e., the PEG backbone, simultaneously, the polymer can accelerate the curing speed of ethyl α‐cyanoacrylate (commercially available as 502) greatly under the same conditions (the curing time of such system is no more than 5 s). Probably this is due to the autoxidation of catecholamines. Through the redox‐cycling, catecholamines can produce, collect free radicals, and thus initiate the free radical polymerization. Due to the fast‐curing of such material when mixed with α‐cyanoacrylate, we could design and develop a new bicomponent super bioglue used in the dentistry or other bioenvironment requiring super fast settlement for further surgical operations.     

Polymorphism of Amino Acid‐Based Dendrons: From Organogels to Microcrystals

There is a delicate balance for a low‐weight molecule to behave as a gelator or crystal. The synthesis of two novel amino acid‐based naphthalene‐dendrons, Nap ‐ G1 and Nap ‐ G2 is described. Both dendrons display polymorphic properties in organic solvents. Nap ‐ G1 developed a fibrous network with β‐sheet architecture in cyclohexane but exhibited a spherulitic network in mixed solvents (chloroform/petroleum ether 1:5, v/v). On the other hand, Nap ‐ G2 acted as an efficient organogelator in chloroform but formed crystalline fibers in relatively high polarity solvents (such as acetone and methanol). Combinations of characterizations have been employed to study the polymorphism.     

Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric characteristics and fragmentation mechanisms of distamycin analogues

The electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (ESI-MS/MS) characteristics and fragmentation mechanisms of eight distamycin analogues containing N-methylpyrrole and N-methylimidazole were investigated. The members of two isomeric groups of distamycin analogues with the same elemental composition can be distinguished by MS/MS spectra of protonated molecules and of significant fragment ions.     

On the sign of the n-p mass difference in gauge models

We examine the sign of the n-p mass difference in some gauge models based on the SU(2) × U(1) × U(1) or SU(2)_L × SU(2)_R × U(1) group, and show that a few specific elements of the neutral-vector-meson mass matrix can determine the sign of Δm|_n?p. We also present an SU(2) × U(1) × U(1) model which can give the correct Δm|_n?p.     

High-resolution angular measurement using surface-plasmon-resonance via phase interrogation at optimal incident wavelengths

It is demonstrated that ultrahigh-resolution angular measurement can be achieved via surface-plasmon-resonance excitation in which the phase difference between p- and s-polarized reflected waves is monitored as a function of the incidence angle. Resolutions down to 1.9 x 10(-6) deg are obtained by performing the measurements at optimal incident wavelengths. This represents an order of magnitude improvement compared with previously reported values.     

Thin-disc piezoceramic ultrasonic motor. Part II: system construction and control

Design and performance evaluation of an ultrasonic motor was discussed in [Wen et al., Thin-disc piezoelectric ultrasonic motor. Part I: design and performance evaluation, Ultrasonics]. Higher precision position control of piezoceramic ultrasonic motor depends on mechanical design and servo control of a very precise and adequate metrology. This paper proposes the design of a driving circuit and controller to deal with non-linearities behavior in the model of piezoceramic-driving ultrasonic motor. The performance of the driver and the effectiveness of the proposed controller are demonstrated by command inputs of sinusoidal and step signals. For comparison purpose, the ultrasonic motor is controlled using two methods: i.e., proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and sliding-mode control (SMC). It was proven that SMC would compensate automatically for unmodeled behaviors such as piezoceramic non-linearities and mechanical stick-slip phenomena. Furthermore, SMC scheme has been successfully applied to position tracking to demonstrate the excellent robust performance in noise rejection.     

Charge symmetry breaking in np-->dpi(0)

The forward-backward asymmetry in np-->dpi(0), which must be zero in the center-of-mass system if charge symmetry is respected, has been measured to be [17.2+/-8.0(stat)+/-5.5(syst)]x10(-4), at an incident neutron energy of 279.5 MeV. This observable is compared to recent chiral effective field theory calculations, with implications regarding the du quark mass difference.