Configuration assignments of yrare high-spin structures in 126Cs

High-spin states in ¹²⁶Cs were populated in the reaction ¹¹⁶Cd(¹⁴N, 4n) at a beam energy of 65 MeV. About 50 new transitions were placed in a level scheme that consists of six rotational structures, three of which have been observed for the first time. The newly observed bands and a previously reported but uninterpreted band were assigned configurations based on their population, aligned angular momentum, energy signature splitting and B(M1)/B(E2) ratios (for the strongly coupled bands).Received: 16 September 2002, Revised: 10 March 2003, Published online: 1 July 2003PACS: 21.10.Re Collective levels - 27.60.+j      

Equine estrogens differentially inhibit DNA fragmentation induced by glutamate in neuronal cells by modulation of regulatory proteins involved in programmed cell death

Background  

Recent data indicate that excitotoxicity of high levels of neurotransmitter glutamate may be mediated via programmed cell death (apoptosis) and that it can be prevented in HT22 mouse hippocampal cells by various equine estrogens with Δ⁸,17β-estradiol (Δ⁸,17β-E₂) being the most potent. In order to delineate the mechanism(s), glutamate-induced cell death of HT22 cells was assessed by measuring (a) DNA fragmentation in the presence or absence of 11 equine estrogens (components of the drug CEE); (b) cell death and (c) levels of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) and proapoptotic (Bax) proteins in the presence or absence of two equine estrogens, Δ⁸,17β-E₂ and 17β-estradiol (17β-E₂) by LDH release assay and Western blot analysis respectively.     

Mid-infrared pulses generated from the mixing output of an amplified, dual-wavelength Ti:sapphire system

We demonstrate the generation of femtosecond mid-infrared pulses by direct difference-frequency mixing in a AgGaS(2) crystal of two intense pulses from a dual-wavelength oscillator that have been simultaneously amplified in a single regenerative amplifier. A pulse energy of as much as 1.6 muJ was achieved at wavelengths of 9-11 mum.     

Effects of process parameters on electrical properties of n-type Bi2Te3 prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

n-Type Bi₂Te₃ thermoelectric materials were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using mechanically alloyed powders. Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the resultant materials were measured, with emphasis on the effects of sintering process parameters on the electrical properties. The power factor was improved from 1.5 to 1.6 mW/mK² when the SPS pressure was increased from 20 to 50 MPa at 623 K, and was further increased to 2.1 mW/mK² under 50 MPa by raising the SPS temperature from 623 to 673 K. The maximum power factor was obtained for the sample sintered under optimized SPS process parameters, in which the sintering temperature and the sintering pressure are 673 K and 50 MPa, respectively.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance parameters and local structure for Gd3+ in KY3F10

The electron paramagnetic resonance parameters, zero-field splittings (ZFSs) b₂⁰, b₄⁰, b₄⁴, b₆⁰, b₆⁴ and the g factors for Gd³⁺ on the tetragonal Y³⁺ site in KY₃F₁₀ are theoretically studied from the superposition model for the ZFSs and the approximation formula for the g factor containing the admixture of the ground ⁸S_7/2 and the excited ⁶L_7/2 (L=P, D, F, G) states via the spin-orbit coupling interactions, respectively. By analysing the above ZFSs, the local structure information for the impurity Gd³⁺ is obtained, i.e., the impurity-ligand bonding angles related to the four-fold (C₄) axis for the impurity Gd³⁺ center are found to be about 0.6° larger than those for the host Y³⁺ site in KY₃F₁₀. The calculated ZFSs based on the above angular distortion as well as the g factors are in reasonable agreement with the observed values. The present studies on the ZFSs and the local structure would be helpful to understand the optical and magnetic properties of this material with Gd dopants.      

Co2+:LMA crystal as saturable absorber for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm

We have demonstrated an efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1342 nm by using an uncoated Co²⁺:LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ (Co²⁺:LMA) crystal as the saturable absorber. With the absorbed pump power of 11.7 W, the pulse width could be as low as 42 ns, with a corresponding average output power of 580 mW. At around 40 kHz repetition rate, the energy of a single Q-switched pulse was estimated to be about 14.5 μJ and the peak power was 346 W. The passive Q switching operation for the Co²⁺:LMA in different polarization states was also investigated. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd; 42.70.Mp     

The relations of “go and stop” wave to car accidents in a cellular automaton with velocity-dependent randomization

In this paper we numerically study the probability P_ac of the occurrence of traffic accidents in the Nagel-Schreckenberg (NS) model with velocity-dependent randomization (VDR). Numerical results show that there is a critical density over which car accidents occur, but below which no car accidents happen. Different from the accident probability in the NS model, the accident probability in the VDR model monotonously decreases with increase of car density above the critical density. The value of the accident probability is only determined by the stochastic noise and the number of cars on road. In the stochastic VDR model with the speed limit v_max=1, no critical density exists and car accidents happen in the whole density region. The braking probabilities of standing cars and moving cars have different influences on the accident probability. A mean-field theory reveals that the accident probability is proportional to the mean density of “go and stop” wave per time step. Theoretical analyses give excellent agreement with numerical results in the VDR model.     

A SiC whisker-toughened SiC-CrSi2 oxidation protective coating for carbon/carbon composites

A SiC whisker-toughened SiC-CrSi₂ oxidation protective coating was prepared on the surface of C/C composites by a two-step technique of slurry and pack cementation. The oxidation protective ability and thermal stress resistance of the coating exhibit the trend of increase first and decrease afterwards as the SiCw content increases from 0 to 20 wt.%. The compound effect of SiCw and CrSi₂ on the oxidation protective ability of SiC coating is better than their individual ones.     

Origin of the generally defined absorption edge of non-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals

The ultraviolet absorption edges of LiNbO₃ crystals with different Li₂O contents and MgO doping concentrations were investigated. The generally defined absorption edges at absorption coefficient α=15 or 20 cm⁻¹ of all these crystals fit the Urbach rule perfectly. The origin of this absorption edges in non-stoichiometric LiNbO₃ crystals is attributed to the presence of Li vacancies.     

Ab initio prediction of superconductivity in molecular metallic hydrogen under high pressure

We present a first ab initio investigation of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) of molecular metallic hydrogen with a Cmca structure based on the linear-response approach. This molecular metallic hydrogen with overlapping bands has an elastic instability at lower pressures (<300 GPa), but stabilizes dynamically under further compression as indicated by the absence of phonon softening, thus supporting the choice of Cmca structure as a good candidate for metallic hydrogen. Within the conventional BCS theory, the predicted critical temperature T_c is 107 K at 347 GPa, so indicating good candidacy for a high temperature superconductor. With increasing pressure, interestingly, the EPC parameter λ, hence, T_c increases, resulting from the increased electronic density of states at the Fermi level and EPC matrix element 〈I²〉, in spite of an enhanced average phonon frequency 〈ω²〉.