Raman modes of index-identified freestanding single-walled carbon nanotubes

Using electron diffraction on freestanding single-walled carbon nanotubes, we have determined the structural indices (n,m) of tubes in the diameter range from 1.4 to 3 nm. On the same freestanding tubes, we have recorded Raman spectra of the tangential modes and the radial breathing mode. For the smaller diameters (1.4-1.7 nm), these measurements confirm previously established radial breathing mode frequency versus diameter relations and would be consistent with the theoretically predicted proportionality to the inverse diameter. However, for extending the relation to larger diameters, either a yet unexplained environmental constant has to be assumed, or the linear relation has to be abandoned.     

First results from the CERN axion solar telescope

Hypothetical axionlike particles with a two-photon interaction would be produced in the sun by the Primakoff process. In a laboratory magnetic field ("axion helioscope"), they would be transformed into x-rays with energies of a few keV. Using a decommissioned Large Hadron Collider test magnet, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope ran for about 6 months during 2003. The first results from the analysis of these data are presented here. No signal above background was observed, implying an upper limit to the axion-photon coupling g(agamma)<1.16x10(-10) GeV-1 at 95% C.L. for m(a) less, similar 0.02 eV. This limit, assumption-free, is comparable to the limit from stellar energy-loss arguments and considerably more restrictive than any previous experiment over a broad range of axion masses.     

The effect of molecular shape on the thermotropic liquid crystal behavior of monolauroylated amino acid glyceride conjugates

Monoacylglycerol amino acid conjugates constitute a novel class of specific biocompatible surfactants that can be considered analogues to partial glycerides and lysophospholipids. They consist of one aliphatic chain and one polar head, i.e., the amino acid, linked through a glycerol moiety. In a previous work, we synthesized monolauroylated amino acid glyceride conjugates, 1-O-lauroyl-rac-glycero-3-O-(N(alpha)-acetyl-L-amino acid), changing the amino acid headgroup systematically: arginine (compound 2), aspartic acid (compound 3), glutamic acid (compound 4), asparagine (compound 5), glutamine (compound 6), and tyrosine (compound 7), to elucidate the structure-properties relationship governing the occurrence of their polymorphism. The thermotropism of the new compounds was measured with polarizing light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction and compared with the classical monoglyceride rac-1-lauroylglycerol (compound 1). The experiments were performed for a sequence of heating, cooling, and reheating scans. The results showed that compounds 1-6 exhibit a thermotropic smectic phase. As a consequence, the substitution of the polar head did not engender any curvature into the system, which might lead to the formation of cubic or columnar phases. Interestingly, liquid crystalline phases were not found in the case of compound 7. Small-angle X-ray diffraction data in the gel phase revealed that the substitution of the polar head by the different amino acid structures did not modify significantly the lamellar repeat distance relative to that of the reference one. The observed area per molecule, however, was larger for the new compounds. Consequently, interdigitation was promoted in compounds 2-7. The diffraction patterns were analyzed in terms of electron density profiles, using a modified Caillé theory plus a Gaussian electron density representation (MCG method) on X-ray diffraction data.     

Synthesis and characterization of cyclopentadienyl halides of transition metals: Part II,chromium halides

Summary -Cp₂Cr reacts with PX₃ (X = Cl, Br or I) to give monocyclopentadienylchromium(III) derivatives -CpCrX₂ (X = Cl, Br or I), while oxidative additions of IBr and ICl to -Cp₂Cr give the corresponding mixed halogenated derivatives, -Cp₂CrIX (X = Cl or Br). All products have been characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic moment measurements and by i.r. and e.p.r. spectra.     

Degrees of Freedom of a Time Series

We give a formal proof that if f is a smooth dynamics on a d-dimensional smooth manifold and is an ergodic and exact dimensional measure with Hausdorff dimension dim >d–1, then the number d of degrees of freedom of the dynamics can be recovered from the observation of an orbit. We implement, with this purpose, an algorithm based on the analysis of the microstructure of . We show how a correct estimation of d permits the computation of the Liapunov spectrum with a high accuracy avoiding the issue of the spurious exponents.     

Fabrication of surfactant-free quercetin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles: evaluation of hepatoprotective efficacy by nuclear scintigraphy

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - This paper investigates the global nanotechnology and nanoscience (NN) indicators in a developmental context, during three 5-year periods from 2000 to 2014....     

Effect of oxidant on electronic transport in polypyrrole nanotubes synthesized in the presence of methyl orange

Polypyrrole nanotubes with diameter 60–400 nm are synthesized with methyl orange as template and various oxidants, iron(III) chloride hexahydrate, iron(III) sulfate hydrate, and ammonium peroxydisulfate. The highest electrical conductivity of compressed pellets, 66 S cm^?1, is found for iron(III) chloride. Regions with 3D variable range hopping in series with ordered regions near metal–insulator transition govern the charge transport. Other oxidants and globular morphology provide less conducting samples, <10 S cm^?1. The transport mechanism is identified with the heterogeneous model of tunneling between (bi)polaronic clusters with parallel contribution of Arrhenius‐like activated conductivity. The results of conductivity are correlated with the protonation level reflected in the infrared spectra and with the ratio of bipolaron/polaron bands revealed by Raman spectroscopy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1147–1159     

Exploiting Free‐Energy Minima to Design Novel EphA2 Protein–Protein Antagonists: From Simulation to Experiment and Return

The free‐energy surface (FES) of protein–ligand binding contains information useful for drug design. Here we show how to exploit a free‐energy minimum of a protein‐ligand complex identified by metadynamics simulations to design a new EphA2 antagonist with improved inhibitory potency.