Adhesion hysteresis in dynamic atomic force microscopy

The effects of adhesion hysteresis in the dynamic‐dissipation curves measured in amplitude‐modulation atomic force microscopy are discussed. Hysteresis in the interaction forces is shown to modify the dynamics of the cantilever leading to different power dissipation curves in the repulsive and attractive regimes. Experimental results together with numerical simulations show that power dissipation, as measured in force microscopy, is not always proportional to the energy dissipated in the tip–sample interaction process. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Impact of silica environment on hyperfine interactions in 𝜖-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles have found broad applications in medicine, especially for cell targeting and transport, and as contrast agents in MRI. Our samples of ??-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were prepared by annealing in silica matrix, which was leached off and the bare particles were then coated with amorphous silica layers of various thicknesses. The distribution of particle sizes was determined from the TEM pictures giving the average size ～20 nm and the thickness of silica coating ～5; 8; 12; 19 nm. The particles were further characterized by the XRPD and DC magnetic measurements. The nanoparticles consisted mainly of ??-Fe₂O₃ with admixtures of ～1 % of the α phase and less than 1 % of the γ phase. The hysteresis loops displayed coercivities of ～2 T at room temperature. The parameters of hyperfine interactions were derived from transmission Mössbauer spectra. Observed differences of hyperfine fields for nanoparticles in the matrix and the bare ones are ascribed to strains produced during cooling of the composite. This interpretation is supported by slight changes of their lattice parameters and increase of the elementary cell volume deduced from XRD. The temperature dependence of the magnetization indicated a two-step magnetic transition of the ??-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles spread between ～85 K and ～150 K, which is slightly modified by remanent tensile stresses in the case of nanoparticles in the matrix. The subsequent coating of the bare particles by silica produced no further change in hyperfine parameters, which indicates that this procedure does not modify magnetic properties of nanoparticles.     

The symmetry energy γ parameter of relativistic mean-field models

The relativistic mean-field models tested in previous works against nuclear matter experimental values,critical parameters and macroscopic stellar properties are revisited and used in the evaluation of the symmetry energyγ parameter obtained in three different ways. We have checked that, independent of the choice made to calculate theγ values, a trend of linear correlation is observed between γ and the symmetry energy(S_0) and a more clear linear relationship is established between γ and the slope of the symmetry energy(L_0). These results directly contribute to the arising of other linear correlations between γ and the neutron star radii of R_(1.0) and R_(1.4), in agreement with recent findings. Finally, we have found that short-range correlations induce two specific parametrizations, namely,IU-FSU and DD-MEδ, simultaneously compatible with the neutron star mass constraint of 1.93≤M_(max)/M_☉≤2.05 and with the overlap band for the L_0 ×S_0 region, to present γ in the range of γ=0.25±0.05.     

Finite-Wavelength Stability¶of Capillary-Gravity Solitary Waves

We consider the Euler equations describing nonlinear waves on the free surface of a two-dimensional inviscid, irrotational fluid layer of finite depth. For large surface tension, Bond number larger than 1/3, and Froude number close to 1, the system possesses a one-parameter family of small-amplitude, traveling solitary wave solutions. We show that these solitary waves are spectrally stable with respect to perturbations of finite wave-number. In particular, we exclude possible unstable eigenvalues of the linearization at the soliton in the long-wavelength regime, corresponding to small frequency, and unstable eigenvalues with finite but bounded frequency, arising from non-adiabatic interaction of the infinite-wavelength soliton with finite-wavelength perturbations. Received: 7 February 2001 / Accepted: 6 October 2001     

Dissociative excitation of HD+, D2+ , and DT+ by electron impact

In the framework of the Multi-Channel Quantum Defect Theory (MQDT), a theoretical study of the dissociative excitation is presented. Numerical results for the dissociative excitation cross sections of HD ⁺, D ₂⁺, and DT ⁺ with electrons of energy between 2 and 12 eV are reported. The contribution of the vibrational continua of the two lowest electronic states as explicit ionization channels has been considered. Within a quasi-diabatic representation of the molecular electronic states, the Born expansion of second order is done in the K-matrix evaluation.     

Electrical properties study of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/hybrid-glass nanocomposites

Electrical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/hybrid-glass nanocomposites prepared by the fast-sol–gel reaction were investigated in light of percolation theory. A good correlation was found between the experimental results and the theory. We obtained a percolation threshold ? _c  = 0.22 wt%, and a critical exponent of t = 1.73. These values are reported for the first time for a silica-based system. The highest conductivity measured on the MWNT/hybrid-glass nanocomposites was σ ≈ 10^?3(Ω cm)^?1 for 2 wt% carbon nanotube (CNT) loading. The electrical conductivity was at least 12 orders of magnitude higher than that of pure silica. Electrostatic force microscopy and conductive-mode atomic force microscopy studies demonstrated conductivity at the micro-level, which was attributed to the CNT dispersed in the matrix. It appears that the dispersion in our MWNT/hybrid-glass system yields a particularly low percolation threshold compared with that of a MWNT/silica-glass system. Materials with electrical conductivities described in this work can be exploited for anti-static coating.     

Two Possible Strategies for Drug Modification of Gemcitabine and Future Contributions to Personalized Medicine

Drug repurposing is an emerging strategy, which uses already approved drugs for new medical indications. One such drug is gemcitabine, an anticancer drug that only works at high doses since a portion is deactivated in the serum, which causes toxicity. In this review, two methods were discussed that could improve the anticancer effect of gemcitabine. The first is a chemical modification by conjugation with cell-penetrating peptides, namely penetratin, pVEC, and different kinds of CPP6, which mostly all showed an increased anticancer effect. The other method is combining gemcitabine with repurposed drugs, namely itraconazole, which also showed great cancer cell inhibition growth. Besides these two strategies, physiologically based pharmacokinetic models (PBPK models) are also the key for predicting drug distribution based on physiological data, which is very important for personalized medicine, so that the correct drug and dosage regimen can be administered according to each patient’s physiology. Taking all of this into consideration, it is believed that gemcitabine can be repurposed to have better anticancer effects.