Anisotropic optical absorption in quantum well wires induced by high-frequency laser fields

The subband structure and optical properties of a cylindrical quantum well wire under intense non-resonant laser field are investigated by taking into account the correct dressing effect for the confinement potential. The energy levels and wave functions are calculated within the effective mass- approximation using a finite element method. It is found that the absorption coefficient and the saturation intensity are strongly affected by the laser amplitude and frequency as well as by the incident light polarization. As a key result, a large anisotropy in the linear and nonlinear optical absorptions for very intense laser field is predicted. These effects can be useful for the design of polarization sensitive devices.     

Low-loss transmission band in photonic crystal waveguides with sharp cutoff at a frequency below the bandgap

We present TE transmission measurements of photonic crystal waveguides with high hole radius to period ratio r/Λ = 0.388. This geometry introduces a unique low loss transmission band in addition to the traditional PhC guiding band and very sharp transmission edges for devices with a length of 50 μm or longer. Finite difference time domain and plane wave expansion simulations confirm the results and show that the sharpness of the cutoffs can be explained by the spectral shape of the guiding mode in the band diagram.     

Green Synthesis,Characterization, and Antibacterial Properties of Silver Nanoparticles Obtained by Using Diverse Varieties of Cannabis sativa Leaf Extracts

Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) is a plant used in the textile industry and green building material industry, as well as for the phytoremediation of soil, medical treatments, and supplementary food products. The synergistic effect of terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids in hemp extracts may mediate the biogenic synthesis of metal nanoparticles. In this study, the chemical composition of aqueous leaf extracts of three varieties of Romanian hemp (two monoecious, and one dioecious) have been determined by Fourier-Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), high-performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-MS). Then, their capability to mediate the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their pottential antibacterial applications were evaluated. The average antioxidant capacity of the extracts had 18.4 ± 3.9% inhibition determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•) and 78.2 ± 4.1% determined by 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS™) assays. The total polyphenolic content of the extracts was 1642 ± 32 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) L⁻¹. After this, these extracts were reacted with an aqueous solution of AgNO₃ resulting in AgNPs, which were characterized by UV−VIS spectroscopy, FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results demonstrated obtaining spherical, stable AgNPs with a diameter of less than 69 nm and an absorbance peak at 435 nm. The mixture of extracts and AgNPs showed a superior antioxidant capacity of 2.3 ± 0.4% inhibition determined by the DPPH^• assay, 88.5 ± 0.9% inhibition as determined by the ABTS^•+ assay, and a good antibacterial activity against several human pathogens: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Generalized quaternionic manifolds

We initiate the study of the generalized quaternionic manifolds by classifying the generalized quaternionic vector spaces, and by giving two classes of nonclassical examples of such manifolds. Thus, we show that any complex symplectic manifold is endowed with a natural (nonclassical) generalized quaternionic structure, and the same applies to the heaven space of any three-dimensional Einstein–Weyl space. In particular, on the product \(Z\) of any complex symplectic manifold \(M\) and the sphere, there exists a natural generalized complex structure, with respect to which \(Z\) is the twistor space of  \(M\) .     

Perov type results in gauge spaces and their applications to integral systems on semi-axis

In this paper we present Perov type fixed point theorems for contractive mappings in Gheorghiu’s sense on spaces endowed with a family of vector-valued pseudo-metrics. Applications to systems of integral equations are given to illustrate the theory. The examples also prove the advantage of using vector-alued pseudo-metrics and matrices that are convergent to zero, for the study of systems of equations.     

Tuning a conventional quantum well laser by nonresonant laser field dressing of the active layer

Tunable semiconductor lasers may be considered as a critical technology for optical communications. We investigate the theoretical feasibility of tuning a conventional GaAs/Al_0.2Ga_0.8As quantum well laser emitting at 825 nm by non-resonant laser-dressing of the active layer. Conduction and valence subbands are sensitive to the intense dressing field and this effect can be used to blueshift the active interband transition. The laser-dressed electron and hole states are calculated in the effective mass approximation by using the finite difference method. Emitted wavelength, threshold current and characteristic temperature are discussed as functions of the dressing laser parameter and cavity length.     

Electron and positron induced processes. POSMOL 2013

POSMOL 2013, the international meeting on electron and positron induced processes comprising the XVII International Workshop on Low-Energy Positron and Positronium Physics and the XVIII International Symposium on Electron-Molecule Collisions and Swarms, was held at Kanazawa Bunka Hall, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, from 19–21 July 2013. The XVII Workshop encompassed all aspects of positron, positronium and antiproton interactions with electrons, atoms, molecules and solid surfaces, and topics related to these, whereas the XVIII Symposium encompassed all aspects of electron interactions with molecules in both gaseous and condensed phases. Particular topics include studies of electron interactions with biomolecules, electron induced surface chemistry and the study of plasma processes. Recent research on the study of electron swarms was also highlighted.     

Effect of β-cyclodextrins based nanosponges on the solubility of lipophilic pharmacological active substances (repaglinide)

Cyclodextrin based nanosponges (CD-NS) are nanostructured cross-linked polymers, usually obtained by reacting cyclodextrin with a cross-linker such as carbonyldiimidazole, organic carbonates or (±) epichlorohydrin. They have been used to increase the solubility and stability of poorly soluble pharmacological active substances, as they combine the complex forming properties of CDs and properties of polymers (such as the high molecular weight). The affinity of CDs for certain lipophilic molecules is characteristic to the polymeric nano-structured system and allows the development of specific drug delivery systems. Knowing that cyclodextrin capacity to form inclusion complexes is maintained and enhanced when the CD molecules form aggregates, cross-link together or copolymerize with other compounds, we have synthesized cyclodextrin based nanosponges (from β-cyclodextrin and sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin). The complexing properties of the polymers were investigated against repaglinide (a hypoglycemic agent, practically insoluble in water). Solubility studies were performed according to the method reported by Higuchi and Connors and the phase solubility diagrams were plotted. The repaglinide-nanosponges complexes were prepared, lyophilized and the resulted inclusion complexes were characterized by FT-IR and NMR. The solubility profile and the loading capacity of the cyclodextrin based polymers were also determined.     

Recent Developments in the Chemistry of Thiourea Oxides

Thiourea dioxide is one of the best known, important, and stable products of thiourea oxidation. This compound has long been considered as an effective reducing agent for many years. Traditional areas of its application include the textile and paper industries. In recent years, however, thiourea dioxides and trioxides have been widely used in new fields including organocatalytic, polymerization, and phase‐transfer reactions; reduction of graphene and graphite oxides; bitumen modifications; synthesis of guanidines and their derivatives; and studying nonlinear dynamical phenomena in chemical kinetics. The review gives a detailed survey of the latest developments and main trends in the chemistry and application of thiourea mon‐, di‐, and trioxides.     

Mining in chemometrics

Sorbent preconcentration offers good strategies to overcome the poor detection limits of capillary electrophoresis (CE). The present review focuses on the recent trends of the coupling between sorbent preconcentration techniques, namely solid-phase extraction (SPE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME), to capillary electrophoresis (CE). Special attention is given to their environmental and biological application. We also discuss the most important advantages and disadvantages of the different methodologies and briefly outline the new trends of the coupling between sorbent preconcentration and CE.