Comparison between Teichmuller and Lipschitz metrics

We study the Lipschitz metric on a Teichmüller space (definedby Thurston) and compare it with the Teichmüller metric.We show that in the thin part of the Teichmüller spacethe Lipschitz metric is approximated up to a bounded additivedistortion by the sup-metric on a product of lower-dimensionalspaces (similar to the Teichmüller metric as shown by Minsky).In the thick part, we show that the two metrics are equal upto a bounded additive error. However, these metrics are notcomparable in general; we construct a sequence of pairs of pointsin the Teichmüller space, with distances that approachzero in the Lipschitz metric while they approach infinity inthe Teichmüller metric.     

Improving the Electrical and Optical Properties of C40 Fullerene Using the Donor–Acceptor Groups

Journal of Cluster Science - In the present study, the C40 fullerene was selected as the source of the π electrons and the electron-donor–acceptor groups was used to improve the optical...     

Formation of aluminum nitrides in thermal plasmas

Aluminum nitride has been synthesized by evaporation of the aluminum anode of a free-burning atmospheric-pressure nitrogen arc. About 40% of the product was collected in the form of highly oriented polycrystalline aluminum nitride (from the gaseous phase) with a high deposition rate ( 1 m/s) and very low oxygen content (0.34%). The rest was deposited on the reactor walls as an ultrafine powder with an average particle diameter of 300 Å. Destructive and nondestructive tests on the powder and crystals were carried out to determine the morphology and purity of the materials. The impact of other gases on the AlN formation has been studied. The probable mechanism in the AlN crystal growth is discussed.     

Time-resolved detection of melanin free radicals quenching reactive oxygen species

Melanin, a ubiquitous, heterogeneous biological polymer composed of many different monomers, contains a population of stationary, intrinsic semiquinone-like radicals. Additional extrinsic semiquinone-like radicals are reversibly photogenerated with visible or UV irradiation. The free radical chemistry of melanin is complex and not well characterized, especially the photochemistry of melanin in the presence of oxygen. To determine directly how melanin reacts in the presence of oxygen, time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy was used to examine melanin free radical chemistry in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A TREPR difference spectrum was used to explore the nature of melanin chemistry in the presence of oxygen. The position and symmetrical line shape of the TREPR three-dimensional difference spectrum shows that when reactive oxygen species (ROS) are scavenged, only one of the two or more chemically different melanin free radical species participates in ROS scavenging. This protective melanin radical species exists in both the extrinsic and intrinsic populations of melanin free radicals, allowing melanin to protect the RPE from toxic species in both the light and dark.     

Amination of Cyclohexane by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Processing in a Continuous Flow Microreactor: Experimental and Simulation Studies

A miniaturized flow device has been developed to combine microfluidics technology and plasma process. In this microreactor, atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharges are generated in a gas in contact with a liquid phase. This study was conducted with plasma generated in ammonia in contact with a flow of liquid cyclohexane. Cyclohexylamine was synthesized with a good selectivity, and the process can be implemented to improve conversion and effectiveness. Numerical simulations confirmed that NH₂ radicals are generated in the plasma and react with cyclohexyls radicals to achieve the reaction, giving a selectivity of 50% and a total molar conversion of 20% of cyclohexane. The effects of voltage and frequency on the selectivity and the experimental conversion rate were studied and discussed.

     

Visualization of different pathways of DNA release from interpolyelectrolyte complex

The release of double-stranded DNA from its interpolyelectrolyte complex with positively charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride) via exchange reaction with added polyanion, poly(sodium styrenesulfonate), is directly observed by fluorescence microscopy. It is shown that the pathways of DNA release depend essentially on the amount of added low-molecular-weight salt. At low salt content, the DNA release proceeds via the formation of an intermediate "beads-on-string" structure, whereas at high salt content the release goes directly from globule to coil states without any intermediate structures. The reasons for different character of DNA release are discussed.     

Structural inhomogeneity and piezoelectric enhancement in ZnO nanobelts

In this work, piezoelectricity of individual ZnO nanobelts grown along the [0?1????0] direction is studied using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). It is found that the effective piezoelectric coefficient of these NBs, $d_{33}^{\mathrm{eff}}$ , is increasing from 2.7?pm/V at 30?kHz to 44?pm/V at 150?kHz. The results were explained by the Debye model, where structural inhomogeneity in our NBs was shown to be responsible for piezoelectric enhancement.     

Growth and characterization of ZnO multipods on functional surfaces with different sizes and shapes of Ag particles

Three-dimensional ZnO multipods are successfully synthesized on functional substrates using the vapor transport method in a quartz tube. The functional surfaces, which include two different distributions of Ag nanoparticles and a layer of commercial Ag nanowires, are coated onto silicon substrates before the growth of ZnO nanostructures. The structures and morphologies of the ZnO/Ag heterostructures are investigated using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sizes and shapes of the Ag particles affect the growth rates and initial nucleations of the ZnO structures, resulting in different numbers and shapes of multipods. They also influence the orientation and growth quality of the rods. The optical properties are studied by photoluminescence, UV-vis, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the surface plasmon resonance strongly depends on the sizes and shapes of the Ag particles.