Analogy between unconventional superconductivity and unconventional states of liquid crystals

An analogy is stressed between the order-parameter symmetries of the two-dimensional d-pairing wave superconductors and of liquid-crystal mesophases formed from achiral bent-shaped molecules. It leads to a definition of a class of liquid-crystal states which are the analogs of the unconventional superconducting states, and are characterized by a loss of discrete symmetry operations of the parent state.     

Creatine kinase B deficient neurons exhibit an increased fraction of motile mitochondria

Background  

Neurons require an elaborate system of intracellular transport to distribute cargo throughout axonal and dendritic projections. Active anterograde and retrograde transport of mitochondria serves in local energy distribution, but at the same time also requires input of ATP. Here we studied whether brain-type creatine kinase (CK-B), a key enzyme for high-energy phosphoryl transfer between ATP and CrP in brain, has an intermediary role in the reciprocal coordination between mitochondrial motility and energy distribution. Therefore, we analysed the impact of brain-type creatine kinase (CK-B) deficiency on transport activity and velocity of mitochondria in primary murine neurons and made a comparison to the fate of amyloid precursor protein (APP) cargo in these cells, using live cell imaging.     

Critical petermann K factor for intensity noise squeezing

We investigate the impact of the Petermann-excess-noise factor K>/=1 on the possibility of intensity noise squeezing of laser light below the standard quantum limit. Using an N-mode model, we show that squeezing is limited to a floor level of 2(K-1) times the shot noise limit. Thus, even a modest Petermann factor significantly impedes squeezing, which becomes impossible when K>/=1.5. This appears as a serious limitation for obtaining sub-shot-noise light from practical semiconductor lasers. We present experimental evidence for our theory.     

Biosorption of beryllium from aqueous solutions onto modified chitosan resin: Equilibrium,kinetic and thermodynamic study

The goal of the present work is the recovery of beryllium ion from their solution by modified chitosan hydrogel. Chitosan was chemically cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to prevent its dissolution in aqueous acidic solutions. The obtained chitosan/glutaraldehyde adsorbent was reacted with chloroacetic acid to produce carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC), which was converted into sodium form by reaction with sodium hydroxide solution to increase its hydrophilic properties. The chemically synthesized chitosan adsorbent contains carboxylate group that expected to have a strong affinity to beryllium ions according to the hard-soft acid-base concept by Pearson because that beryllium ion is a hard acid and has smaller ionic radii. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized and its affinity towards beryllium ions was tested. The different experimental parameters including pH, beryllium concentration, agitation period and temperature were studied to optimize the biosorption process. The maximum biosorption values of beryllium species on the investigated biosorbent are 44.96 and 36.72?mg/g at pH 1 and 5, respectively. Kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of the biosorption process were evaluated from kinetic and biosorption experiments. The adsorbed beryllium species were eluted with a 3?M H₂SO₄ solution.