Methoxycarbonyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) as templates for synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Highly stable and spherical silver nanoparticles, stabilized by methoxycarbonyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) (HPAE-COOCH₃), were synthesized in water with reducing AgNO₃/HPAE-COOCH₃ using two methods, viz. NaBH₄ and ultraviolet irradiation. HPAE-COOCH₃ was found to play a key role in the formation of nanoparticles. UV–visible absorption, Transmission electron microscopic (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) had been used to study the structure and characterization of the silver nanoparticles. The absorption peaks of the silver nanoparticles appear at ~420 nm in UV–visible absorption spectra; average particle size reduced by NaBH₄ is ~30 nm, which is ~10 and ~15 nm, respectively, when ultraviolet irradiation time is 12 and 24 h. FT-IR spectra confirm that there is strong interaction between silver nanoparticles and HPAE-COOCH₃. And silver nanoparticles/HPAE-COOCH₃ aqueous solution can keep stable for more than 3 months.     

Asymptotic formulae for likelihood-based tests of new physics

We describe likelihood-based statistical tests for use in high energy physics for the discovery of new phenomena and for construction of confidence intervals on model parameters. We focus on the properties of the test procedures that allow one to account for systematic uncertainties. Explicit formulae for the asymptotic distributions of test statistics are derived using results of Wilks and Wald. We motivate and justify the use of a representative data set, called the “Asimov data set”, which provides a simple method to obtain the median experimental sensitivity of a search or measurement as well as fluctuations about this expectation.     

Observational constraints on decaying vacuum dark energy model

The decaying vacuum model (DV), treating dark energy as a varying vacuum, has been studied well recently. The vacuum energy decays linearly with the Hubble parameter in the late-times, ρ _Λ (t)∝H(t), and produces the additional matter component. We constrain the parameters of the DV model using the recent data-sets from supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, baryon acoustic oscillations, CMB, the Hubble rate and X-rays in galaxy clusters. It is found that the best fit of the matter density contrast Ω _m in the DV model is much lager than that in ΛCDM model. We give the confidence contours in the Ω _m –h plane up to 3σ confidence level. Besides, the normalized likelihoods of Ω _m and h are presented, respectively.     

Towards Higgs boson production in gluon fusion to NNLO in the MSSM

We consider the Higgs boson production in the gluon-fusion channel to next-to-next-to-leading order within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. In particular, we present analytical results for the matching coefficient of the effective theory and study its influence on the total production cross section in the limit where the masses of all MSSM particles coincide. For supersymmetric masses below 500 GeV it is possible to find parameters leading to a significant enhancement of the Standard Model cross section, the K-factors, however, change only marginally.     

Dysregulation of chemo-cytokine production in schizophrenic patients versus healthy controls

Background  

The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known, although several aetiological theories have been proposed for the disease, including developmental or neurodegenerative processes, neurotransmitter abnormalities, viral infection and immune dysfunction or autoimmune mechanisms. Growing evidence suggests that specific cytokines and chemokines play a role in signalling the brain to produce neurochemical, neuroendocrine, neuroimmune and behavioural changes. A relationship between inflammation and schizophrenia was supported by abnormal cytokines production, abnormal concentrations of cytokines and cytokine receptors in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenia. Since the neuropathology of schizophrenia has recently been reported to be closely associated with microglial activation we aimed to determined whether spontaneous or LPS-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell chemokines and cytokines production is dysregulated in schizophrenic patients compared to healthy subjects. We enrolled 51 untreated first-episode schizophrenics (SC) and 40 healthy subjects (HC) and the levels of MCP-1, MIP-1α, IL-8, IL-18, IFN-γ and RANTES were determined by Elisa method in cell-free supernatants of PBMC cultures.     

WIMP event rates in directional experiments: The diurnal variation signature

The recent WMAP data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. Modern particle theories provide viable cold dark matter candidates with masses in the GeV-TeV region. All such candidates will be called WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). The nature of dark matter can only be unraveled by its direct detection in the laboratory. In this work we present some theoretical elements relevant to the direct dark matter detection experiments, paying particular attention to directional experiments, i.e. experiments in which not only the energy but the direction of the recoiling nucleus is observed. Since the direction of observation is fixed with respect to the Earth, while the Earth is rotating around its axis, in a directional experiment the angle between the direction of observation and the Sun’s direction of motion will change during the day. So, since the event rates sensitively depend on this angle, the observed signal in such experiments will exhibit very interesting and characteristic periodic diurnal variation.     

Organization of matter into one-dimensional units on designed media

The organization of magnetic materials into one-dimensional micro- and nanowires on designed media is discussed, exemplified by two experiments on the microscale and nanoscale, with regard to particles as basic building blocks for the growth and development of matter.     

Improved and isotropic resolution in tomographic diffractive microscopy combining sample and illumination rotation

Tomographic Diffractive Microscopy is a technique, which permits to image transparent living specimens in three dimensions without staining. It is commonly implemented in two configurations, by either rotating the sample illumination keeping the specimen fixed, or by rotating the sample using a fixed illumination. Under the first-order Born approximation, the volume of the frequency domain that can be mapped with the rotating illumination method has the shape of a “doughnut”, which exhibits a so-called “missing cone” of non-captured frequencies, responsible for the strong resolution anisotropy characteristic of transmission microscopes. When rotating the sample, the resolution is almost isotropic, but the set of captured frequencies still exhibits a missing part, the shape of which resembles that of an apple core. Furthermore, its maximal extension is reduced compared to tomography with rotating illumination. We propose various configurations for tomographic diffractive microscopy, which combine both approaches, and aim at obtaining a high and isotropic resolution. We illustrate with simulations the expected imaging performances of these configurations.     

超导纳米线单光子探测器

利用磁控溅射、电子束光刻和反应离子刻蚀等微加工技术,开展了超导纳米线单光子探测器(SNSPD)的研究.通过对SNSPD的设计和制备工艺参数的优化,成功制备出了高质量的SNSPD.单光子检测实验表明,制备的SNSPD对660 nm波长的光信号,系统检测效率可达30%,对1550 nm波长光信号,最大系统检测效率为4.2%.在平均暗计数小于10 c/s的情况下,系统检测效率大于20%(660 nm)和3%(1550 nm). 关键词： 单光子 氮化铌 纳米线 探测器