A hybrid doubled achromat based on a photon sieve

Photon sieves are diffractive optical elements with large chromatic aberration. To correct the dispersion of a photon sieve, a novel hybrid doubled achromat combined a photon sieve and a refractive lens is proposed. The design of this achromat applies the opposite dispersive characteristics of diffractive and refractive elements. Two design examples for different bandwidths of 300 nm and 80 nm in visible spectrum are given. For analyzing their focusing properties, the intensity distributions both along the axis and at the focal plane are studied. The results illustrate that the achromatic design is achieved and the secondary spectrum can be corrected for a narrow bandwidth. And compared to traditional hybrid achromat, it can focus to a sharper spot.     

Global exact boundary observability for first‐order quasilinear hyperbolic systems of diagonal form

In this paper, by means of a constructive method based on the theory of the existence and the uniqueness of the C¹ solution to the Cauchy problem and the Goursat problem, the global exact boundary observability for the first‐order quasilinear hyperbolic systems of diagonal form with linearly degenerate characteristics is obtained. In the case that the system has no zero characteristics, we realize the two‐sided and one‐sided global exact boundary observability by the boundary observed values and obtain the observability inequality. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

旋转调制捷联惯导激光陀螺仪误差自补偿新方法

基于旋转调制的自补偿技术是进一步提高激光陀螺仪捷联惯导系统导航精度的有效方法。研究了旋转调制捷联惯导系统中的激光陀螺仪误差补偿方法。建立旋转式捷联惯导系统激光陀螺仪的误差传播方程,分析激光陀螺仪旋转误差效应及误差传播特性,在此基础上建立了调制策略编排目标函数;研究了双轴交替旋转调制模式下的调制策略编排方案,提出了一种改进的16次序双轴交替旋转调制方法,建立了基于双轴转动角速度的动态误差方程,实现了转动过程中激光陀螺仪的常值项误差、标度因数误差、安装误差的有效补偿,进一步抑制速度误差积累所引起的位置误差。仿真结果验证了该方法的有效性,提高了捷联惯导系统导航精度,可为旋转调制光学捷联惯导系统设计提供理论参考。     

Pristimerin, a triterpenoid, inhibits tumor angiogenesis by targeting VEGFR2 activation

Pristimerin is a triterpenoid isolated from Celastrus and Maytenus spp. that has been shown to possess a variety of biological activities, including anti-cancer activity. However, little is known about pristimerin's effects on tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we examined the function and the mechanism of this compound in tumor angiogenesis using multiple angiogenesis assays. We found that pristimerin significantly reduced both the volume and weight of solid tumors and decreased angiogenesis in a xenograft mouse tumor model in vivo. Pristimerin significantly inhibited the neovascularization of chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) in vivo and abrogated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced microvessel sprouting in an ex vivo rat aortic ring assay. Furthermore, pristimerin inhibited the VEGF-induced proliferation, migration and capillary-like structure formation of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a concentration-dependent manner. Mechanistic studies revealed that pristimerin suppressed the VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2 kinase (KDR/Flk-1) and the activity of AKT, ERK1/2, mTOR, and ribosomal protein S6 kinase. Taken together, our results provide evidence for the first time that pristimerin potently suppresses angiogenesis by targeting VEGFR2 activation. These results provide a novel mechanism of action for pristimerin which may be important in the treatment of cancer.     

A class of hybrid DG/FV methods for conservation laws II: Two-dimensional cases

By comparing the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods, the k-exact finite volume (FV) methods and the lift collocation penalty (LCP) methods, a concept of ‘static reconstruction’ and ‘dynamic reconstruction’ was introduced for higher-order numerical methods in our previous work. Based on this concept, a class of hybrid DG/FV methods was presented for one-dimensional conservation law using a ‘hybrid reconstruction’ approach. In the hybrid DG/FV schemes, the lower-order derivatives of the piecewise polynomial are computed locally in a cell by the traditional DG method (called as ‘dynamic reconstruction’), while the higher-order derivatives are re-constructed by the ‘static reconstruction’ of the FV method, using the known lower-order derivatives in the cell itself and in its adjacent face neighboring cells. In this follow-up paper, the hybrid DG/FV schemes are extended onto two-dimensional unstructured and hybrid grids. The two-dimensional linear and non-linear scalar conservation law and Euler equations are considered. Some typical cases are tested to demonstrate the performance of the hybrid DG/FV method, and the numerical results show that they can reduce the CPU time and memory requirement greatly than the traditional DG method with the same order of accuracy in the same mesh.     

A class of hybrid DG/FV methods for conservation laws I: Basic formulation and one-dimensional systems

By comparing the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) and the finite volume (FV) methods, a concept of ‘static reconstruction’ and ‘dynamic reconstruction’ is introduced for high-order numerical methods. Based on the new concept, a class of hybrid DG/FV schemes is presented for one-dimensional conservation law using a ‘hybrid reconstruction’ approach. In the hybrid DG/FV schemes, the lower-order derivatives of a piecewise polynomial solution are computed locally in a cell by the DG method based on Taylor basis functions (called as ‘dynamic reconstruction’), while the higher-order derivatives are re-constructed by the ‘static reconstruction’ of the FV method, using the known lower-order derivatives in the cell itself and its adjacent neighboring cells. The hybrid DG/FV methods can greatly reduce CPU time and memory required by the traditional DG methods with the same order of accuracy on the same mesh, and they can be extended directly to unstructured and hybrid grids in two and three dimensions similar to the DG and/or FV methods. The hybrid DG/FV methods are applied to one-dimensional conservation law, including linear and non-linear scalar equation and Euler equations. In order to capture the strong shock waves without spurious oscillations, a simple shock detection approach is developed to mark ‘trouble cells’, and a moment limiter is adopted for higher-order schemes. The numerical results demonstrate the accuracy, and the super-convergence property is shown for the third-order hybrid DG/FV schemes. In addition, by analyzing the eigenvalues of the semi-discretized system in one dimension, we discuss the spectral properties of the hybrid DG/FV schemes to explain the super-convergence phenomenon.     

Poly(l-glutamic acid)-based star-block copolymers as pH-responsive nanocarriers for cationic drugs

Star-block copolymers PEI-g-(PLG-b-PEG), which consist of a hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI) core, a poly(l-glutamic acid) (PLG) inner shell, and a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) outer shell, were synthesised and evaluated as nanocarriers for cationic drugs. The synthesised star-block copolymers were characterised by ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Crystal violet (CV), as a model cationic dye, and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), as a model anticancer drug, could be efficiently entrapped by the synthesised star-block copolymers at physiological pH as a result of electrostatic interactions between the cationic guest molecules and the negatively charged PLG segments in the PEI-g-(PLG-b-PEG) host. The drug–polymer complexes showed relatively high temporal stability at physiological pH and sustained release of the encapsulated drugs was observed. The entrapped model compounds demonstrated accelerated release as the pH was gradually decreased.     

Molecular Nanoworm with PCL Core and PEO Shell as a Non‐spherical Carrier for Drug Delivery

Core/shell wormlike polymer brushes with densely grafted poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PCL‐b‐PEO) are synthesized via grafting an alkynyl terminated PCL‐b‐PEO (ay‐PCL₁₇‐b‐PEO₁₁₃) onto a well‐defined azido functionalized polymethacrylate (PGA₉₄₀) and are evaluated preliminarily as a single molecular cylindrical vehicle for drug delivery. Water soluble molecular worms of ca. 230 nm are obtained and then the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) is loaded into its PCL core by hydrophobic interaction. Compared with spherical micelles from linear PCL₁₇‐b‐PEO₁₁₃, the brushes demonstrate a lower loading efficiency but a faster release rate of DOX. Confocal laser scanning microscopy measurements show that DOX‐loaded cylindrical molecular brushes can easily enter into HeLa and HepG2 cells in 1 h.