One-pot synthesis of Cu1.94S-CdS and Cu1.94S-Zn(x)Cd(1-x)S nanodisk heterostructures

Nanodisk heterostructures consisting of monoclinic Cu(1.94)S and wurtzite CdS have been colloidally synthesized for the first time. Initially, hexagonal-shaped nanodisks of Cu(1.94)S were produced upon thermolysis of a copper complex in a solvent mixture of HDA and TOA at 250 °C. Rapid addition of Cd precursor to the reaction mixture resulted in the partial conversion of Cu(1.94)S into CdS, yielding Cu(1.94)S-CdS nanoheterostructures. The original morphology of the Cu(1.94)S nanodisks was conserved during the transformation. When Zn precursor was added together with the Cd precursor, Cu(1.94)S-Zn(x)Cd(1-x)S nanodisks were generated. These two-component nanostructures are potentially useful in the fabrication of heterojunction solar cells.     

One-, two- and three-photon spectroscopy of π-conjugated dendrimers: cooperative enhancement and coherent domains

We use wavelength tunable femtosecond pulses to measure intrinsic (simultaneous) two-photon absorption (2PA) and three-photon absorption (3PA) molecular cross section in two series of π-conjugated dendrimers built of identical 4,4′-bis(diphenylamino) stilbene (BDPAS) and 4,4′-bis(diphenylamino) distyrylbenzene (BDPADSB) repeat units. Record large 2PA cross sections, σ₂=10⁻⁴⁶ cm⁴ s are obtained for the largest second-generation BDPAS-based dendrimer, as well as zeroth-generation 4-arm BDPADSB-based dendrimer. In both series, maximum 2PA cross section increases nonlinearly with the number of π-electrons, whereas for higher generations this dependence turns to linear one. 3PA cross section also increases nonlinearly with the size of the system in the series of BDPAS-based molecules, amounting a record large value, σ₃=10⁻⁷⁹ cm⁶ s², for the largest, second-generation dendrimer. We interpret these results in terms of direct inter-branch conjugation, which facilitates cooperative enhancement of the nonlinear-optical response. We propose a simple model which allows us to determine the effective size of coherent domains (extent of conjugation), which, in turn, determines the optimum dendrimer size for most efficient nonlinear response.     

Development of cube textured Ni–5 at.%W alloy substrates for coated conductor application using a melting process

Biaxially textured Ni–5 at.%W substrates have been prepared by cold rolling, followed by three different annealing routes. In this paper, the processes of melting Ni and W metals, flat rolling, various annealing methods are described in detail. The Ni–5 at.%W tapes annealed under either high vacuum or flowing Ar (7% H₂) gas were characterized by X-ray pole figures, ODF, EBSD as well as AFM analysis. The texture analysis indicated that as fabricated tapes have a sharp cube texture formed after annealing at a wide temperature range of 800–1100 °C. The high quality of cube orientation on tapes was obtained after a two-step annealing (TSA), where the percentage of the cube texture component was as high as 93.5% within a misorientation angle smaller than 8° from EBSD analysis. Furthermore, it was also observed that the number of twin boundaries in this tape decreased with respect to that of tapes annealed both in vacuum and one-step gas annealing. From AFM on 1 μm² areas, it was concluded that the roughness (RMS) on the tape surface reached 0.98 nm.     

Synergetic promotion of Ba, Cs and Cl to silver supported catalyst for butadiene epoxidation

Summary Ag/-Al₂O₃ catalysts promoted by Ba, Cs and Cl were prepared and evaluated for butadiene epoxidation. The results indicated that Cs could enhance butadiene conversion, Cl was favorable for improving the selectivity to vinyloxirane (VO), and Ba probably plays an important role for catalyst stability during the long time on stream operation.     

Enhancement of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for the determination of free and glycine-conjugated bile acids in human serum

A highly sensitive and accurate method based on the precolumn derivatization of bile acids (BA) with a high ionization efficiency labeling reagent 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl-benzenesulfonate (BDEBS) coupled with LC/MS has been developed. After derivatization, BA molecules introduced a weak basic nitrogen atom into the molecular core structure that was readily ionized in commonly used acidic HPLC mobile phases. Derivatives were sufficiently stable to be efficiently analyzed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-MS/MS in positive-ion mode. The MS/MS spectra of BA derivatives showed an intense protonated molecular ion at m/z [M + H]+. The collision-induced dissociation of the molecular ion produced fragment ions at [MH-H2O]+, [MH-2H2O]+, [MH-3H2O]+. The characteristic fragment ions were at m/z 320.8, 262.8, and 243.7 corresponding to a cleavage of N-CO, O-CO, and C-OCO, respectively, and bonds of derivatized molecules. The selected reaction monitoring, based on the m/z [M+H]+ --> [MH-H2O]+, [MH-2H2O]+, [MH-3H2O]+, 320.8, 262.8, and 243.7 transitions, was highly specific for the BA derivatives. The LODs for APCI in a positive-ion mode, at an S/N of 5, were 44.36-153.6 fmol. The validation results showed high accuracy in the range of 93-107% and the mean interday precision for all standards was <15% at broad linear dynamic ranges (0.0244-25 nmol/mL). Good linear responses were observed with coefficients of > 0.9935 in APCI/MS detection. Therefore, the facile BDEBS derivatization coupled with mass spectrometric analysis allowed the development of a highly sensitive and specific method for the quantitation of trace levels of the free and glycine-conjugated BA from human serum samples.     

Three Solutions of a Kirchhoff Type Problem Involving Critical Growth and Near Resonance

The purpose of this work is to study a Kirchhoff type equation involving critical and singular nonlinearities. Based on variational methods, we obtain the existence of three nontrivial solutions for this problem.     

Effects of the killing rate on global bifurcation in an oncolytic-virus system with tumors

Oncologists and virologist are quite concerned about many kinds of issues related to tumor-virus dynamics in different virus models. Since the virus invasive behavior emerges from combined effects of tumor cell proliferation, migration and cell-microenvironment interactions, it has been recognized as a complex process and usually simulated by nonlinear differential systems. In this paper, a nonlinear differential model for tumor-virus dynamics is investigated mathematically. We first give a priori estimates for positive steady-states and analyze the stability of the positive constant solution. And then, based on these, we mainly discuss effects of the rate of killing infected cells on the bifurcation solution emanating from the positive constant solution by taking the killing rate as the bifurcation parameter.     

Interaction between trelagliptin and pepsin through spectroscopy methods and molecular dynamics simulation

The interaction between trelagliptin and pepsin was probed through spectroscopy methods and molecular dynamics simulation. Results of fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis showed that trelagliptin can spontaneously interact with pepsin through a static quenching. This interaction was mainly driven by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals, as evident from thermodynamic parameters and molecular dynamics simulation. The microenvironment of tyrosine residues and the secondary structure of pepsin were slightly influenced by trelagliptin based on synchronous fluorescence, three-dimensional fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectra. In addition, the activity of pepsin was hardly affected by the insertion of trelagliptin. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to further analyze the pepsin–trelagliptin complex. This study provides useful information for binding mechanisms of trelagliptin on pepsin.