Experimental humidity dependency of small particle adhesion on silica and titania

The humidity present in ambient atmosphere affects the adhesion of small particles by causing capillary bridge formation between the particle and the surface. Even in moderate relative humidities this, usually attractive, force can have a significant effect on adhesion behaviour of micro and sub-micro particles. We have directly measured the pull-off forces of initially adhered oxide particles on oxide surfaces with atomic force microscope in controlled atmosphere with adjustable humidity. We demonstrate the effect of the surface roughness resulting in two different regions of capillary formation and the particle shape having a strong effect on the humidity dependency of adhesion. The experimental results are explained by theoretical framework.     

Binding properties of HABA-type azo derivatives to avidin and avidin-related protein 4

The chicken genome encodes several biotin-binding proteins, including avidin and avidin-related protein 4 (AVR4). In addition to D-biotin, avidin binds an azo dye compound, 4-hydroxyazobenzene-2-carboxylic acid (HABA), but the HABA-binding properties of AVR4 are not yet known. Differential scanning calorimetry, UV/visible spectroscopy, and molecular modeling were used to analyze the binding of 15 azo molecules to avidin and AVR4. Significant differences are seen in azo compound preferences for the two proteins, emphasizing the importance of the loop between strands beta3 and beta4 for azo ligand recognition; information on these loops is provided by the high-resolution (1.5 A) X-ray structure for avidin reported here. These results may be valuable in designing improved tools for avidin-based life science and nanobiotechnology applications.     

Structural and Photophysical Study on Heterobimetallic Complexes with d8–d10 Interactions Supported by Carborane Ligands: Theoretical Analysis of the Emissive Behaviour

Heterobimetallic complexes of formula [M{(PPh₂)₂C₂B₉H₁₀}(S₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀)M′(PPh₃)] (M=Pd, Pt; M′=Au, Ag, Cu) and [Ni{(PPh₂)₂C₂B₉H₁₀}(S₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀)Au(PPh₃)] were obtained from the reaction of [M{(PPh₂)₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀}(S₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀)] (M=Pd, Pt) with [M′(PPh₃)]⁺ (M′=Au, Ag, Cu) or by one‐pot synthesis from [(SH)₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀], (PPh₂)₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀, NiCl₂ ? 6 H₂O, and [Au(PPh₃)]⁺. They display d⁸–d¹⁰ intermetallic interactions and emit red light in the solid state at 77 K. Theoretical studies on [M{(PPh₂)₂C₂B₉H₁₀}(S₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀)Au(PPh₃)] (M=Pd, Pt, Ni) attribute the luminescence to ligand (thiolate, L)‐to‐“P₂‐M‐S₂” (ML′) charge‐transfer (LML′CT) transitions for M=Pt and to metal (M)‐to‐“P₂‐M‐S₂” (ML′) charge‐transfer (MML′CT) transitions for M=Ni, Pd.     

On the Values of Heine Series at Algebraic Points

The paper considers linear independence measures of the values of certain q–hypergeometric series and their derivatives at algebraic points. The results are given both in the archimedean and p–adic case.     

Functionalization of nanofibrillated cellulose with silver nanoclusters: fluorescence and antibacterial activity

Native cellulose nanofibers are functionalized using luminescent metal nanoclusters to form a novel type of functional nanocellulose/nanocluster composite. Previously, various types of cellulose fibers have been functionalized with large, non-luminescent metal nanoparticles. Here, mechanically strong native cellulose nanofibers, also called nanofibrillatedcellulose (NFC), microfibrillatedcellulose (MFC) ornanocellulose, disintegrated from macroscopic cellulose pulp fibers are used as support for small and fluorescent silver nanoclusters. The functionalization occurs in a supramolecular manner, mediated by poly(methacrylic acid) that protects nanoclusters while it allows hydrogen bonding with cellulose, leading to composites with fluorescence and antibacterial activity.     

Using a TSP heuristic for routing order pickers in warehouses

In this paper, we deal with the sequencing and routing problem of order pickers in conventional multi-parallel-aisle warehouse systems. For this NP-hard Steiner travelling salesman problem (TSP), exact algorithms only exist for warehouses with at most three cross aisles, while for other warehouse types literature provides a selection of dedicated construction heuristics. We evaluate to what extent reformulating and solving the problem as a classical TSP leads to performance improvements compared to existing dedicated heuristics. We report average savings in route distance of up to 47% when using the LKH (Lin–Kernighan–Helsgaun) TSP heuristic. Additionally, we examine if combining problem-specific solution concepts from dedicated heuristics with high-quality local search features could be useful. Lastly, we verify whether the sophistication of ‘state-of-the-art’ local search heuristics is necessary for routing order pickers in warehouses, or whether a subset of features suffices to generate high-quality solutions.