Interaction of the docetaxel with human serum albumin using optical spectroscopy methods

Docetaxel is a semi-synthetic product derived from the needles of the European yew. It is an antineoplastic agent belonging to the taxoid family. The interaction between docetaxel and human serum albumin (HSA) has been investigated systematically by the fluorescence quenching technique, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV)-vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) under physiological conditions. Our fluorescence data showed that HSA had only one docetaxel binding site and the binding process was a static quenching procedure. According to the Van’t Hoff equation, the thermodynamic parameters standard enthalpy (ΔH⁰) and standard entropy (ΔS⁰) were calculated to be −41.07 KJ mol⁻¹ and −49.72 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹. These results suggested that hydrogen bond was the predominant intermolecular force stabling the docetaxel-HSA complex. The data from the CD, FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy supported the change in the secondary structure of protein caused by the interaction of docetaxel with HSA.     

Diode pumped active-mirror Yb:YAG ceramic lasers

Lasers from Yb:YAG ceramic at different temperature were reported in this paper. The Yb:YAG ceramic laser with active-mirror structure was end-pumped by a laser diode whose central wavelength was 940 nm. At 80 K, with doping concentration of 5 at % Yb:YAG ceramic slab, output energy of 0.68 J at 10 Hz repetition rate was obtained under the pump energy of 2.49 J, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 40% and a conversion efficiency of 27.3%, respectively.     

Pulse width compression and enhancement of peak power in a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> 1.34 μm laser with AO and V<Superscript>3+</Superscript>:YAG saturable absorber

By using both acousto-optic (AO) modulator and V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched a-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1.34 μm is realized. The average output power and the pulse width for different AO repetition rate f have been measured. The experimental results show that the doubly Q-switched laser can compress the pulse width and improve the pulsed peak power in comparison to the singly Q-switched laser with AO or V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber. At the pump power 10.34 W and f = 10 kHz, the greatest pulse width compression ratio 72% and the highest peak power improvement 8.8 times have been obtained, respectively.     

Computer design of a compact cyclotron

Here we present results of the computer design of the structural elements of a compact cyclotron by the example of HITFiL cyclotron selected as the driving accelerator that is under construction at the Institute of Modern Physics (Lanzhou, China). In the article a complex approach to modeling of the compact cyclotron, including calculation of electromagnetic fields of the structural elements and beam dynamics calculations, is described. The existing design data on the axial injection, magnetic, acceleration and extraction systems of the cyclotron are used as a starting point in the simulation. Some of the upgrades of the cyclotron structural elements were proposed, which led to substantial improvement of the beam quality and transmission.     

Bipolar resistance effect observed in CdSe quantum-dots dominated structure of Zn/CdSe/Si

In this study, we report our new finding of bipolar resistance effect (BRE) in quantum dots (QDs)-embedded structure of Zn/CdSe/Si. This effect features a remarkable linear resistance change and an enhanced BRE when a laser moves along the surface of the structure. The results show that the combination of BRE with QDs is useful for applications and may add a new functionality to QDs-based optoelectronic devices.     

Diode-pumped Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Gd0.3Lu0.33Y0.37VO4 laser with EO modulator and single-walled carbon nanotube

By using both the single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) and the electro-optic (EO) modulator, the stably doubly Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) operation of Nd:Gd_0.3Lu_0.33Y_0.37VO₄ laser has been demonstrated. The QML laser characteristics such as the pulse width, single-pulse energy, etc., have been measured for different modulation frequencies of the EO modulator (f_e) and reflectivity (R) of output coupler. In comparison with the solely passively QML laser with SWCNT-SA, the experimental results show that the doubly QML laser can generate more stable and shorter pulses with higher pulse energy. At 9.24 W pump power, f_e=1 kHz and R=93.5%, the doubly QML laser has compressed the Q-switched envelope pulse width 88% and improved the mode-locked pulsed energy 55 times.     

Preparation of Nd-doped BiFeO3 films and their electrical properties

The Nd-doped BiFeO₃ thin films were prepared on SnO₂(FTO) substrates spin-coated by the sol–gel method using Nd(NO₃)₃·6H₂O, Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O and Bi(NO₃)₃·5H₂O as raw materials. The microstructure and electric properties of the BiFeO₃ thin films were characterized and tested. The results indicate that the diffraction peak of the Nd-doped BiFeO₃ films is shifted towards right as the doping amounts are increased. The structure is transformed from the rhombohedral to pseudotetragonal phase. The crystal grain is changed from an elliptical to irregular polyhedron. Structure transition occurring in the Bi_0.85Nd_0.15FeO₃ films gives rise to the largest Pr of 64 μC/cm². The leakage conductance of the Nd doped thin films is reduced. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of Bi_0.85Nd_0.15FeO₃ thin film at 10 kHz are 190 and 0.017 respectively.     

An Micro-Bandpasss (6.3≈7.6μm) Filter for the Multichannel Scanning Radiometer

Optical coatings are designed and produced for the multichannel scanning radiometer meteorological space instrument operating in the spectral range 6.37.6m. First the choice of substrates and layers materials is discussed. Then the substrate temperatures dependent effects of three different Te-enriched PbTe single layers on the dispersion and absorption characteristics and carrier concentration are studied. The experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the coating made using PbTe + 0.3 at. % Te material is better than that of the others. Finally, details of the spectral design and manufacture of such a filter which meets the demanding bandwidth and transparency requirements of the application are presented. This design model is based on the optical and semiconductor properties of a multilayer filter containing PbTe layer materials in combination with the dielectric dispersion of ZnSe deposited on the a Ge substrate. Comparisons between the computed spectral performance of the model and spectral measurements from manufactured coatings over a wavelength range of 6.37.6m are presented.     

Light streak tracking of optically trapped thin microdisks

Nonspherical particles can uniquely probe soft system dynamics. We show that laser tweezers stably trap thin coinlike microdisks in 3D with an edge-on orientation. Scattered light forms a streak that we track using a fast camera to measure the disk's angular displacement. Linearly polarized tweezers rotationally trap a birefringent disk, and we measure its harmonically bound Brownian rotation over 5 decades in time. Near a surface, the disk exhibits a translational-orientational switchback oscillation. Circularly polarized tweezers rotate the disk and streak, yielding a colloidal lighthouse.     

A three-dimensional renormalization group bubble merger model for Rayleigh-Taylor mixing

In this paper we formulate a model for the merger of bubbles at the edge of an unstable acceleration driven (Rayleigh-Taylor) mixing layer. Steady acceleration defines a self-similar mixing process, with a time-dependent inverse cascade of structures of increasing size. The time evolution is itself a renormalization group (RNG) evolution, and so the large time asymptotics define a RNG fixed point. We solve the model introduced here at this fixed point. The model predicts the growth rate of a Rayleigh-Taylor chaotic fluid mixing layer. The model has three main components: the velocity of a single bubble in this unstable flow regime, an envelope velocity, which describes collective excitations in the mixing region, and a merger process, which drives an inverse cascade, with a steady increase of bubble size. The present model differs from an earlier two-dimensional (2-D) merger model in several important ways. Beyond the extension of the model to three dimensions, the present model contains one phenomenological parameter, the variance of the bubble radii at fixed time. The model also predicts several experimental numbers: the bubble mixing rate, alpha(b)=h(b)/Agt(2) approximately 0.05-0.06, the mean bubble radius, and the bubble height separation at the time of merger. From these we also obtain the bubble height to the radius aspect ratio. Using the experimental results of Smeeton and Youngs (AWE Report No. O 35/87, 1987) to fix a value for the radius variance, we determine alpha(b) within the range of experimental uncertainty. We also obtain the experimental values for the bubble height to width aspect ratio in agreement with experimental values. (c) 2002 American Institute of Physics.