High-power,high-pressure,discharge-heated copper vapor laser

We have constructed a 40 mm diameter discharge-heated longitudinal copper vapor laser. The laser performs most efficiently at a neon buffer gas pressure of 200–600 Torr. The laser has produced over 20 W at 4 kHz as an oscillator and 30 W at 4 kHz and 20 W at 2 kHz (7.5 and 10 mJ/pulse) as an amplifier.     

Semi‐random graph process

We introduce and study a novel semi‐random multigraph process, described as follows. The process starts with an empty graph on n vertices. In every round of the process, one vertex v of the graph is picked uniformly at random and independently of all previous rounds. We then choose an additional vertex (according to a strategy of our choice) and connect it by an edge to v. For various natural monotone increasing graph properties , we prove tight upper and lower bounds on the minimum (extended over the set of all possible strategies) number of rounds required by the process to obtain, with high probability, a graph that satisfies . Along the way, we show that the process is general enough to approximate (using suitable strategies) several well‐studied random graph models.     

Quantitative uncertainty principles for the short time Fourier transform and the radar ambiguity function

Logarithmic uncertainty principle and Beckner’s uncertainty principle in terms of entropy are proved for the short time Fourier transform and the radar ambiguity function, also a Heisenberg inequality for generalized dispersion and Price’s local uncertainty principle are obtained.     

Airy beam laser

A method to design lasers that emit an arbitrary beam profile is studied. In these lasers, output-coupling is performed by a diffraction grating that imposes a phase and amplitude distribution onto the diffracted light. A solid-state laser emitting beams with a two-dimensional Airy intensity profile is demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. In this case, the diffraction grating adds a transverse cubic phase to the diffracted light. An Airy beam is obtained by performing optical Fourier transform of the out-coupled light. The laser beam profile and power characteristics are shown to agree with theory.     

Chitosan Nanoparticles-Insight into Properties,Functionalization and Applications in Drug Delivery and Theranostics

Nanotechnology-based development of drug delivery systems is an attractive area of research in formulation driven R&D laboratories that makes administration of new and complex drugs feasible. It plays a significant role in the design of novel dosage forms by attributing target specific drug delivery, controlled drug release, improved, patient friendly drug regimen and lower side effects. Polysaccharides, especially chitosan, occupy an important place and are widely used in nano drug delivery systems owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. This review focuses on chitosan nanoparticles and envisages to provide an insight into the chemistry, properties, drug release mechanisms, preparation techniques and the vast evolving landscape of diverse applications across disease categories leading to development of better therapeutics and superior clinical outcomes. It summarizes recent advancement in the development and utility of functionalized chitosan in anticancer therapeutics, cancer immunotherapy, theranostics and multistage delivery systems.     

Maximal Operators in the Spherical Mean Setting

In this paper, we prove an existence result for \(\mathcal {L}^{\infty }\)-solutions for a class of semilinear delay evolution inclusions with measures and subjected to nonlocal initial conditions of the form

$$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \displaystyle \mathrm{d}u(t)= \{Au(t)+f(t)\}\mathrm{d}t+\mathrm{d}h(t),&{}\quad t\in \mathbb {R}_+,\\ \displaystyle f(t)\in F(t,u_t),&{}\quad t\in \mathbb {R}_+,\\ \displaystyle u(t)=g(u)(t),&{}\quad t\in [\,-\tau ,0\,]. \end{array} \right. \end{aligned}$$

Here \(\tau \ge 0\), X is a Banach space, \(A:D(A)\subseteq X \rightarrow X \) is the infinitesimal generator of a \(C_0\)-semigroup, \(F:\mathbb {R}_+\times \mathcal {R}([\,-\tau ,0\,];X)\rightsquigarrow X\) is a u.s.c. multifunction with nonempty, convex and weakly compact values, \(h\in BV_{\mathrm{loc}}(\mathbb {R}_+;X)\) and the function \(g:\mathcal {R}_{b}(\mathbb {R}_+;X)\rightarrow \mathcal {R}([\,-\tau ,0\,];X)\) is nonexpansive.

     

Metallic subwavelength structures for a broadband infrared absorption control

We present a method to control the absorption of a resonator by using a subwavelength structure consisting of thin metallic plates that behaves as a metamaterial film. We demonstrate the ability to tailor the conductivity of such a metallic subwavelength structure to achieve a resonator with the desired impedance matching for the mid-infrared range. This approach provides for broadband, as well as broad-angle, enhanced absorption. Theoretical analyses, as well as experimental results of the optical properties of a metallic NiCr structure at 8-12 microm spectral range are introduced.     

Time-resolved emission of flavin adenine dinucleotide in water and water-methanol mixtures

Time-resolved fluorescence decay of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) was studied at room temperature in water and water-methanol mixtures by a fluorescence upconversion technique. The observations were focused on the most initial decay phase (200 ps), before the residual fluorescence assumes a single exponential decay, typical for an extended conformation of the fluorophore. Within the first few picoseconds, where most of the electron transfer coupled quenching takes place, the emission decay curves could be fitted by a stretched exponent, compatible with the inhomogeneous distance dependent electron transfer model. This implies that the population of the excited FAD molecules exhibits a large number of non-identical states, each with its own separation between the donor (adenine) and acceptor (isoalloxazine) moieties, having its own rate of electron transfer. To evaluate the distribution of the separation between the donor-acceptor pair, we carried out molecular dynamics simulations of closed conformation of the FAD in water and water-methanol mixtures, sampling the structure at 10 fs intervals. The analysis of the dynamics reveals that within the 4 ps time frame, where most of the nonexponential fluorescence relaxation takes place, the relative motion of the donor-acceptor pair is consistent with a one-dimensional Brownian motion, where the diffusion coefficient and the shape of the confining potential well are solvent dependent. The presence of methanol enhances the diffusion constant and widens the width of the potential well. On the basis of these parameters, the relaxation dynamics was accurately reconstructed as an electron transfer reaction in an inhomogeneous system where the reactants are diffusing within the time frame of the observation.     

Modeling the nonradiative decay rate of electronically excited thioflavin T

A computational model of nonradiative decay is developed and applied to explain the time-dependent emission spectrum of thioflavin T (ThT). The computational model is based on a previous model developed by Glasbeek and co-workers (van der Meer, M. J.; Zhang, H.; Glasbeek, M. J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 112, 2878) for auramine O, a molecule that, like ThT, exhibits a high nonradiative rate. The nonradiative rates of both auramine O and ThT are inversely proportional to the solvent viscosity. The Glasbeek model assumes that the excited state consists of an adiabatic potential surface constructed by adiabatic coupling of emissive and dark states. For ThT, the twist angle between the benzothiazole and the aniline is responsible for the extensive mixing of the two excited states. At a twist angle of 90°, the S(1) state assumes a charge-transfer-state character with very small oscillator strength, which causes the emission intensity to be very small as well. In the ground state, the twist angle of ThT is rather small. The photoexcitation leads first to a strongly emissive state (small twist angle). As time progresses, the twist angle increases and the oscillator strength decreases. The fit of the experimental results by the model calculations is good for times longer than 3 ps. When a two-coordinate model is invoked or a solvation spectral-shift component is added, the fit to the experimental results is good at all times.     

Excited-state proton transfer in N-methyl-6-hydroxyquinolinium salts: solvent and temperature effects

The excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) reaction of the "super"photoacid N-methyl-6-hydroxyquinolinium (MHQ) was studied using both fluorescence upconversion and time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) techniques. The ultrafast ESPT kinetics were investigated in various alcohols and water and determined to be solvent-controlled. The ESPT temperature dependence of MHQ was also studied in various alcohols and compared to that observed for another "super"photoacid, 5,8-dicyano-2-naphthol (DCN2). A full set of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters describing the ESPT was obtained. The protolytic photodissociation rate constant for MHQ was higher than that for DCN2, while the ESPT activation energies of MHQ were smaller. These findings are attributed to the approximately 3 orders of magnitude differences in excited-state acidities of MHQ and DCN2.