Accretion,primordial black holes and standard cosmology

Primordial black holes evaporate due to Hawking radiation. We find that the evaporation times of primordial black holes increase when accretion of radiation is included. Thus, depending on accretion efficiency, more primordial black holes are existing today, which strengthens the conjecture that the primordial black holes are the proper candidates for dark matter.     

In Situ Monitoring the Photolysis of Fluoranthene Adsorbed on Mangrove Leaves Using Fiber-Optic Fluorimetry

A newly established fiber-optic fluorimetry was used to determine the fluoranthene (Fla) adsorbed on the leaf surfaces of three mangrove species, such as Excoecarla agallocha (Ea), Kandelia candel (Kc) and Aegiceras corniculatum (Ac). With the method, the photolysis of Fla adsorbed on Ea, Kc and Ac leaf surfaces was studied. Under the laboratory conditions, using a high pressure mercury lamp as light source, photolysis was found to be the main transformation pathway for the Fla adsorbed on the three mangrove leaves, whereas disappearance of the adsorbed Fla as a result of volatilization and absorption could be negligible. The photolysis of Fla adsorbed on the three mangrove leaf surfaces followed first-order kinetics with photolysis rates of Fla in the order of Ac > Ea > Kc. The photolysis half lives of Fla adsorbed on the leaves were from 14.32 min to 69.31 min. The different initial concentrations of Fla adsorbed on the selected mangrove leaves did not affect the photolysis rates of Fla. The absorption characteristics of leaf-wax played an important role to influence the different photolysis rates of Fla adsorbed on these three mangrove species.     

The Contribution of Raman Scattering to the Fluorescence of the Polyene Antibiotic Amphotericin B

Fluorescence has recently been applied to the analysis of the molecular organization state of the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B (AmB) in solution or in lipid membranes. The polyene chain of AmB monomer gives rise to two fluorescence emissions; S₁(2¹A_g) → S₀(1¹A_g) between 500 and 700 nm, S₂(1¹B_u) → S₀(1¹A_g) between 400 and 500 nm. However, Raman scattering might interfere with the S₂ → S₀ emission fluorescence due to the weak fluorescence quantum yield and close proximity to the exciting lines. In fact, we show here that a change in the excitation wavelength results in a shift of three emission bands, an effect which excludes their assignment to fluorescence. These bands originate from the water Raman at 3382 cm^-1and AmB resonance Raman at 1556 and 1153 cm^-1. As a consequence, some former conclusions on the molecular organization state of AmB should be reconsidered.     

Pulsed EPR Analysis of the Photo-Induced Triplet Radical Pair in the BLUF Protein SyPixD: Determination of the Protein–Protein Distance and Orientation in the Oligomeric Protein

A photo-induced radical pair of FADH^· and Y8^· and in BLUF protein SyPixD was studied by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Blue light illumination at 150 K for 30 min followed by cooling to 50 K during illumination induced the stable radical pair. The EPR signal has been characterized by a Pake doublet signal with complete S = 1 spin state. The radical pair was utilized as a probe to analyze the oligomer of SyPixD. The relative arrangement of PixD proteins in the complex was investigated by pulsed electron–electron double resonance (PELDOR) with the orientation selection. Based on the decameric structure in the crystal, the possible structure for the PELDOR results was discussed.     

Nonlinear interference in a mean-field quantum model

Using similar nonlinear stationary mean-field models for both a 2D axisymmetricalBose-Einstein Condensate and an electron pair in a parabolic trap, we propose to describethe original many-particle ground state as a one-particle mixed state (in contrast to apure state), i.e. as a statistical ensemble of several one-particle quantum states. Thesequantum states are the eigenfunctions of the corresponding stationary nonlinearSchrödinger equation (hence called “nonlinear eigenstates”). Due to their nonlinearity,they are not orthogonal. Therefore, taking the simple example of a two-level system, weshow that each of these two nonlinear eigenstates |i? and|j? occurs with a probability (or statistical weight) that isdefined by their non-orthogonality ?i|j? 0. We givethe corresponding density matrix. We search for physical grounds in the interpretation ofour two main results, namely, a quantum-classical nonlinear transition and theinterference between two “nonlinear eigenstates”.     

Thermal impact on spiking properties in Hodgkin-Huxley neuron with synaptic stimulus

The effect of environmental temperature on neuronal spiking behaviors is investigated by numerically simulating the temperature dependence of spiking threshold of the Hodgkin-Huxley neuron subject to synaptic stimulus. We find that the spiking threshold exhibits a global minimum in a specific temperature range where spike initiation needs weakest synaptic strength, which form the engineering perspective indicates the occurrence of optimal use of synaptic transmission in the nervous system. We further explore the biophysical origin of this phenomenon associated with ion channel gating kinetics and also discuss its possible biological relevance in information processing in neuronal systems.      

Computing the Loewner Driving Process of Random Curves in the Half Plane

We simulate several models of random curves in the half plane and numerically compute the stochastic driving processes that produce the curves through the Loewner equation. Our models include models whose scaling limit is the Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE) and models for which it is not. We study several tests of whether the driving process is Brownian motion, as it is for SLE. We find that testing only the normality of the process at a fixed time is not effective at determining if the random curves are an SLE. Tests that involve the independence of the increments of Brownian motion are much more effective. We also study the zipper algorithm for numerically computing the driving function of a simple curve. We give an implementation of this algorithm which runs in a time O(N ^1.35) rather than the usual O(N ²), where N is the number of points on the curve.     

An efficient Bi(NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript> · 5H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O catalyzed multi component one-pot synthesis of novel Naphthyridines

An efficient and environmentally friendly multicomponent synthesis of substituted 1,8-naphthyridines catalyzed by bismuth(III) nitrate pentahydrate [Bi(NO(3))(3) . 5H(2)O] under solvent-free microwave irradiation is described. This procedure has such advantages as short reaction time, high yields, and simple workup. The catalyst could be reused several times, keeping its initial activity recycled reactions.     

Quantum Anomaly and Hawking Radiation of Charged and Magnetized Reissner-Nordström de Sitter Black Hole

The recent work of Robinson and Wilczek that Hawking radiation can be determined by the compensating fluxes is extended to the charged and magnetized Reissner-Nordström de Sitter black hole. We reconstruct the electromagnetic field tensor and the Lagrangian of the field corresponding to the source with electric and magnetic charges to redefine an equivalent charge and gauge potential. We construct the effect field theory between the event horizon and cosmological horizon to respectively determine the compensating fluxes from them, which are shown to exactly equal to those of Hawking radiation, by the covariant anomaly cancellation conditions.     

Analysis of film strain and stress in a film-substrate cantilever system

The bending problem of a magnetic film-nonmagnetic substrate cantilever system is studied by using the principle of energy minimization. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of geometrical and physical parameter dependence of the neutral plane, internal film stress and strain of the cantilever system, and then the influence of such a parameter on the bending characteristic is presented. The results indicate, owing to the anisotropic expanding feature of the magnetostriction, that the neutral plane is generally anisotropic, and moves downwards rapidly with the increasing thickness ratio. Meanwhile, the bounding rigidity of substrate on the film will decrease with the increasing thickness ratio, and thus release the film stress, i.e., it decreases, but the film strain increases. The effect of Poisson’s ratio of the materials on the film strain, the stress and the neutral plane in the direction transverse to the magnetization is prominent. For the strain and the stress in the magnetization, however, the role of Poisson’s ratio is inconspicuous. This property is due to the initiative elongating (or contracting) feature of the magnetic film along its magnetization. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10762001), the Key Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education (Grant No. 206024), and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University of China (Grant No. NCET-2005-0272)