γ-ray irradiation induced multiple effects on Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glasses

In this work, multiple effects of γ-ray irradiation on properties of bulk Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glasses were studied. Increased density (ρ), thermal expansion coefficient (α) and decreased optical band gap (E_opt) were observed after irradiation, depending on glass compositions. Glasses with stoichiometric (GeSe₂)_100?x(As₂Se₃)_x compositions showed linear correlations between As₂Se₃ proportion x and irradiation sensitivity, which is expressed by Δρ/ρ, Δα/α and ΔE_opt/E_opt. Nonstoichiometric glasses (Ge₂Se₃)_100?x(As₂Se₃)_x exhibited irregular variations. The phenomena are discussed in terms of chemical bonds transition and structural evolution under γ-ray irradiation.     

Comparison of molecular images as defined by Raman spectra between normal mucosa and squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity

Raman spectroscopy has been effectively applied to clinically differentiate normal and cancerous mucosal tissues. Micro‐Raman spectroscopy provides a tool to better understand the molecular basis for the Raman clinical signal. The objective of the current study was to utilize micro‐Raman spectroscopy to define the molecular/spectral differences between normal and abnormal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in oral mucosa (in vitro). Understanding this may help in identifying unique spectra or may be useful for in vivo application of this technology. Micro‐Raman (confocal) spectroscopy was used to obtain molecular images of normal and SCC cells of human oral mucosa. Four fresh flashed‐frozen tumor and four matched normal tongue specimens were studied. The spectra covered a wavenumber range from 300 to 4000 cm⁻¹ with a spectral resolution of 8 cm⁻¹ and a spatial resolution of 1.0 µm. The cells were located within thin sections of tongue mucosa biopsies. The excitation wavelength of 515 nm was used. We were able to obtain Raman images with rich information about the spectroscopic and structural features within the cytoplasm, cell membrane, and cell nuclei. Significant spectral differences were observed between the Raman images of normal and malignant squamous cells. The heterogeneity of tumor cells within the abnormal tissue was also demonstrated. Spectral differences demonstrated between both tissue types have provided important information regarding the origins of specific signals within the cells of each tissue type. In our search for specific spectral biomarkers, we believe that a cell surface protein, greatly upregulated in SCC cells, was discovered at 1583 cm⁻¹. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Lower Bound Sequence for the Minimum Eigenvalue of Hadamard Product of an M-Matrix and its Inverse

Czechoslovak Mathematical Journal - We propose a lower bound sequence for the minimum eigenvalue of Hadamard product of an M-matrix and its inverse, in terms of an S-type eigenvalues inclusion set...     

Quantum Decoherence of Gaussian Steering and Entanglement in Hawking Radiation and Thermal Bath

We study the effects of Hawking radiation and bath temperature on quantum steering and entanglement for a two-mode Gaussian state exposed in the background of a black hole and immersed in the two independent thermal baths. We find that both the effects can destroy the quantum steering and entanglement. Quantum steering always exists sudden death for any Hawking temperature and any bath temperature, but entanglement does not in zero-temperature thermal bath. Both the Hawking radiation and the asymmetry of thermal baths can induce the asymmetry of quantum steering, but the latter effect is much weaker than the former. An unintuitive result is that the observer who stays in the Hawking radiation or in the thermal bath with higher temperature has more stronger steerability than the other one. We also find that Hawking radiation and thermal noise can change the asymptotic behavior of steering and entanglement versus the squeezing parameter.

     

In situ confinement of iron-based active sites within high porosity carbon frameworks with enhanced activity for rechargeable Zn–air battery

Non-noble bifunctional electrocatalysts with robust activity and stability toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are greatly significant but challenging for Zn-air batteries. Here, in situ confinement of FeN_x active sites in high porosity carbon framework (FeN_x/CMCC) derived from chelate of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and iron ions were synthesized. Particularly, construction of FeN_x within porous carbon framework accelerates the electron transfer and the sufficient utilization of active centers, and then expedites the reaction kinetics of ORR and OER. As expected, the optimized FeN_x/CMCC exhibits superior ORR activity with a larger half-wave potential of 0.869 V. The rechargeable Zn-air battery delivers a higher power density of 99.6 mW/cm² and a special capacity of 781.9 mA h/g_Zn at 10 mA/cm², together with excellent durability of over 335 h. Remarkably, the as-assembled solid-state battery exhibits a higher open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.5 V, a special capacity of 709.7 mA h/g_Zn, as well as prolonged cycling stability (90 h). Moreover, the flexible solid-state battery displays negligible loss of electrochemical performance under various bending angles, illustrating its potential application in flexible electronic devices.     

Hybrid control strategy of delayed neural networks and its application to sampled-data systems: an impulsive-based bilateral looped-functional approach

Nonlinear Dynamics - In this work, the problem of hybrid control strategy for delayed neural networks is investigated via an impulsive-based bilateral looped-functional (IBBLF) approach. Firstly, a...     

Hopf–Hopf bifurcation analysis based on resonance and non-resonance in a simplified railway wheelset model

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper mainly investigates the dynamics of the non-resonant and near-resonant Hopf–Hopf bifurcations caused by the interaction of the lateral and yaw motion in a...