Simple Entanglement Measure for Multipartite Pure States

A simple entanglement measure for multipartite pure states is formulated based on the partial entropy of a series of reduced density matrices. Use of the proposed new measure to distinguish disentangled, partially entangled, and maximally entangled multipartite pure states is illustrated.     

Dependence of bimodal size distribution on temperature and optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs （100） substrates by using MOCVD

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) are grown on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). An abnormal temperature dependence of bimodal size distribution of InAs quantum dots is found. As the temperature increases, the density of the small dots grows larger while the density of the large dots turns smaller, which is contrary to the evolution of QDs on exact GaAs (100) substrates. This trend is explained by taking into account the presence of multiatomic steps on the substrates. The optical properties of InAs QDs on vicinal GaAs(100) substrates are also studied by photoluminescence (PL) . It is found that dots on a vicinal substrate have a longer emission wavelength, a narrower PL line width and a much larger PL intensity.     

Analytical solutions for some defect problems in 1D hexagonal and 2D octagonal quasicrystals

We study some typical defect problems in one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal and two-dimensional (2D) octagonal quasicrystals. The first part of this investigation addresses in detail a uniformly moving screw dislocation in a 1D hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystal with point group 6mm. A general solution is derived in terms of two functions φ ₁, φ ₂, which satisfy wave equations, and another harmonic function φ ₃. Elementary expressions for the phonon and phason displacements, strains, stresses, electric potential, electric fields and electric displacements induced by the moving screw dislocation are then arrived at by employing the obtained general solution. The derived solution is verified by comparison with existing solutions. Also obtained in this part of the investigation is the total energy of the moving screw dislocation. The second part of this investigation is devoted to the study of the interaction of a straight dislocation with a semi-infinite crack in an octagonal quasicrystal. Here the crack penetrates through the solid along the period direction and the dislocation line is parallel to the period direction. We first derive a general solution in terms of four analytic functions for plane strain problem in octagonal quasicrystals by means of differential operator theory and the complex variable method. All the phonon and phason displacements and stresses can be expressed in terms of the four analytic functions. Then we derive the exact solution for a straight dislocation near a semi-infinite crack in an octagonal quasicrystal, and also present the phonon and phason stress intensity factors induced by the straight dislocation and remote loads.      

Membrane fluidity altering and enzyme inactivating in sarcoma 180 cells post the exposure to sonoactivated hematoporphyrin in vitro

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a novel tumor therapy method. We investigated membrane fluidity, activity of the enzymes and membrane morphology in vitro post hematoporphyrin-SDT treatment. Furthermore, the potential mechanisms behind the changes in membrane fluidity and enzymic activity were discussed. Tumor cells were exposed to ultrasound at 1.75 MHz for up to 3 min in the presence and absence of hematoporphyrin. Fluorescence polarization, contents of Malonaldehyde, and levels of free fatty acid were assessed. Activity of enzymes was checked by the plumbic nitrate detection method. For the morphologic study, a scanning electron microscope was used to observe the cellular surface. Ultrasonically induced cell damage increased in the presence of HPD (from 15% to 24%). Compared with ultrasound treatment alone, the fluidity decreased from 5.037 to 3.908, malonaldehyde content and free fatty acid level increased from 0.743 nmol/mL to 0.979 nmol/mL and from 237.180 μmol/L to 730.769 μmol/L, respectively, post ultrasound combined with HPD treatment. Inactivity of adenylate cyclase and guanylate cyclase and significant deformation of the cellular surface were also observed post SDT treatment. Our results suggested that alterations in membrane modality and lipid composition played important roles in SDT-mediated inhibition of tumor growth, even inducing tumor cell death, which might be attributed to a sono-chemical activation mechanism.     

Fluorescent Carbon Dots as Cost-Effective and Facile Probes for Caffeic Acid Sensing via a Fluorescence Quenching Process

Caffeic acid (CA), a familiar color stabilizing reagent, has aroused general concern due to its uncontrolled addition, and thus the detection of CA is increasingly important. In our report, the bright carbon dots (CDs) were prepared via hydrothermal treatment with urea and citric acid act as raw material and their characteristics were discussed through X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and so on. Impressively, the strong emission of the as-prepared CDs (Quantum Yield: 24.3%) decreased sharply upon a full reaction with the added CA. Hence, we first present an improved strategy for determining CA based upon the quenching of the strong emission of CDs. In this strategy, 0.79–100.0 µmol L^??1 caffeic acid could be simply detected, and a detection limit of 0.24 µmol L^??1 was allowed. Additionally, CA in red wine samples can be successfully detected by this method and the exploration of the quenching mechanism of the CA-CDs system was done.     

Editorial to the Special Issue: Modeling and Characterization of Low Permeability (Tight) and Nanoporous Reservoirs

Transport in Porous Media -     

Single-axis ultrasound levitation system with annular clamping forces

Based on the principle of acoustic levitation,a single-axis ultrasonic levitation system(SAULS) with convex sides was designed.A normal SAULS only provides a levitation force(LF) against the gravity of the sample.While,such systems also provide an annular clamping force(ACF) surrounding the levitated samples,and improve levitation stability of samples in the standing wave field.Using the finite-difference time-domain method,we investigated the force distributions in different resonance cavities and the factors that influence the magnitude of the levitation force in optimizing the SAULS and the ACF.The theoretical analyses and experimental results indicate that the stability of levitation in this special SAULS is improved with the ACF from its designed convex-side feature.It can be developed into a simple device in levitating and moving samples steadily in related experiments and applications.     

Dry-friction-induced self-excitation of a rectangular liquid-filled tank

Nonlinear Dynamics - The self-excitation of spring–mass system subjected to dry friction has been studied for decades because of its interesting and complex nonlinear dynamics behaviors. In...     

Face-Directed Assembly of Molecular Cubes: In Situ Substitution of a Predetermined Concave Cluster

Systematic design and self-assembly of metal–organic polyhedra with predictable configurations has been a long-standing challenge in crystal engineering. Herein a concave polyoxovanadate cluster, [V₆O₆(OCH₃)₉(SO₄)₄]⁵⁻, which can be generated in situ under specific reaction conditions, is reported. Based on this cluster, a potential trivalent molecular building block, [V₆O₆(OCH₃)₉(SO₄)(CO₂)₃]²⁻, can be obtained by the bridging-ligand-substitution strategy and it possesses appropriate angle information for the design of molecular cubes. Utilizing the face-directed assembly of the trivalent molecular building block and a diverse set of tetratopic carboxylate linkers, a series of metal–organic cubes ( VMOC-1 – VMOC-5 ) with the same topology but different functionalities and dimensions were designed and constructed. An inclusion study using VMOC-3 shows that they are potential molecular receptors for selective capture of size-matching polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon guest molecules.