Superconductivity in potassium and ammonia co-intercalated FeSe_(1-x)Te_x

The origin of the ～40 and ～30 K superconducting phases in the metal-intercalated FeSe superconductors is still unclear. We report the synthesis of K_(0.3)(NH_3)_y(FeSe_(1-x)Te_x)_2 and K_(0.6)(NH_3)_y(FeSe_(1-x)Te_x)_2 with x=0-0.6 by using the liquid ammonia method at room temperature. The superconducting transition temperature Tcof the former remains about 43 K for all the nominal Te content less than 0.3, while that of the latter is about 30 K and obviously decreases with Te doping. Superconductivity disappears for x ≥0.4 in both systems. Except for the different chemical pressure induced by substitution of Te for Se in both systems, we also observed distinct external pressure effect on superconductivity for both systems, with much more efficiency of suppressing Tcby external pressure in the former system. These dramatic differences of both chemical and external pressure effects on Tc between the ～30 and ～40 K superconducting phases revealed that the existence of the two superconducting phases can be ascribed to the moderate and negligible coupling between FeSe layers, respectively.     

High-order curvilinear mesh generation technique based on an improved radius basic function approach

A high-order curvilinear hybrid mesh generation technique is developed for high-order numerical method (eg, discontinuous Galerkin method) applications to improve the accuracy for problems with curve boundary. The grid generation technique is based on an improved radius basic function (RBF) approach by which the straight-edge mesh is converted into high-order curve mesh. Firstly, an initial straight-edge mesh is prepared by traditional grid generation software. Then, high-order interpolation points are inserted into the mesh entities such as edges, faces, and cells according to the final demand of mesh order. To preserve the original geometry, the inserted points on solid wall are then projected onto the CAD model using an open source tool “Open Cascade.” Finally, other inserted points in the field near the solid wall are moved to appropriate positions by the improved RBF approach to avoid tangled cells. If we use the original RBF approach, then the inserted points on the edge and face entities normal to the solid boundary in the region of boundary layer will move to improper positions. To overcome this problem, a weighting based on the local grid aspect ratio between normal direction and tangential direction is introduced into the baseline RBF approach. Three typical configurations are tested to validate the mesh generator. Meanwhile, a third-order solution of subsonic flow over an analytical 3D body of revolution in the second International Workshop on High-Order CFD Methods is supplied by a discontinuous Galerkin solver. These numerical tests demonstrate the potential capability of present technique for high-order simulations of complex geometries.     

Quintic time-dependent-coefficient derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation in hydrodynamics or fiber optics: bilinear forms and dark/anti-dark/gray solitons

Nonlinear Dynamics - Studies on the water waves contribute to the design of the related industries, such as the marine and offshore engineering, while the media with the negative refractive index...     

An organoantimony nitrate complex with azastibocine framework as water tolerant Lewis acid catalyst for the synthesis of 1,2-disubstitued benzimidazoles

A novel organoantimony complex of 6-cyclohexyl-6,7-dihydrodibenzo[c,f] [1,5]azastibocin-12(5H)-yl nitrate ( 2 ) was synthesized and systematically characterized by techniques such as NMR spectra, TG-DSC, and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the complex 2 exhibits relatively strong Lewis acidity (3.3 < Ho ≤ 4.8) and could be employed as a water tolerant Lewis acid catalyst for the synthesis of synthetically valuable benzimidazole derivatives starting from aldehydes and arylenediamines. This catalytic system shows excellent tolerance toward a wide variety of functional groups, such as methyl, methoxyl, fluoro, chloro, bromo, nitro, cyan, trifluoromethyl, 1-naphthaldehyde, furfural and n-butyl, together with facile reusability in 5 times scale enlarged synthesis.     

Reaction for the preparation of unique cyclic polysiloxanes with large size and narrow distribution

Utilizing collective forces between reactant and multiple catalyst molecules has been unprecedented due to the difficulty in realizing high order catalysis. Inspired by the power of collective forces in enzymes and organic catalysts, herein we report a rare example of high order catalysis for ring opening reaction (ROR) of strained rings by methanol. ROR is an important way to produce various polysiloxanes, but usually suffers from serious side reactions especially at high conversion, and currently there is a need to design new reaction pathway to achieve low molecular dispersity. In our study, the judiciously designed strained spiral cyclosiloxanes enable a high order catalysis by methanol, and this new methodology leads to a cyclic polysiloxane with high molecular weight and low dispersity even at full conversion of reactants. Kinetic study indicates an extremely unusual high-order reaction involving multiple methanol molecules per reaction, also confirmed by quantum calculation which reveals the presence of zwitterionic ions stabilized by collecting force of hydrogen bonds by methanol molecules. The inherent driving force for this unusual phenomenon is dominated by enthalpy stabilization of the reactive intermediates through hydrogen bonding. The selective formation of Si O Si bonds, instead of silanol products, reflects the power of scientific design.     

A detailed investigation into the one-pot cascade reaction of ethyl 3,9-dimethyl-7-phenyl-6H-dibenzo-[b,d]pyran-6-one-8-carboxylate with phenylhydrazine

Research on Chemical Intermediates - When synthesizing cyclohexane-annulated pyrazolones from a cyclohexonedicarboxylate derivative with phenylhydrazine under the catalysis of sulfuric acid in the...     

A Runge-Kutta–based WENO reconstruction on moving mesh for compressible fluids

In this paper, we construct a high-order moving mesh method based on total variation diminishing Runge-Kutta and weighted essential nonoscillatory reconstruction for compressible fluid system. Beginning with the integral form of fluid system, we get the semidiscrete system with an arbitrary mesh velocity. We use weighted essential nonoscillatory reconstruction to get the space accuracy on moving meshes, and the time accuracy is obtained by modified Runge-Kutta method; the mesh velocity is determined by moving mesh method. One- and two-dimensional numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficient and accurate performance of the scheme.     

Adaptation of dynamical properties of time series data and its applications in deep brain stimulation

Nonlinear Dynamics - The chaotic nature of the brain can be observed by electroencephalogram signals. This chaotic behavior can be affected by the progressive nature of neurodegenerative disorders...     

Disinfection of Cariogenic Pathogens in Planktonic Lifestyle,Biofilm and Carious Dentine with Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has been recommended for clinical application. Its antibacterial effect on bacteria remained in dentinal tubule was seldom investigated. Here, we evaluated the antibacterial effects of aPDT on Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) in planktonic lifestyle, biofilm and carious dentine. Mono-species biofilms or dentinal caries formed on human dentine slices or slabs. Bacterial suspension, biofilms and dentine caries were treated with 0.1 mg mL⁻¹ toluidine Blue O followed by irradiation with a light emission diode (λ − 635 ± 10 nm; 500 mW; 31.5 J cm⁻²; 60 s) and 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX), respectively. Residual bacteria were determined by microbial culture analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to detect the significance of the variables. Both treatments significantly reduced the number of L. acidophilus in planktonic state, biofilm and carious dentine (P < 0.05). For S. mutans, CHX was only bactericidal against suspension (P < 0.05), while aPDT was effective on both suspension and biofilm (P < 0.05) while not for dentin caries (P > 0.05). Under the experimental conditions assessed, aPDT could be an alternative disinfection method for superficial layer of caries cavity. Its disinfection on bacteria in dentinal tubule of deep layer was deficient.