Wound Healing Attributes of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers Prepared with Multi‐l‐arginyl‐poly‐l‐aspartate Pairing with Hyaluronic Acid and γ‐Polyglutamic Acid

Biodegradable multi‐l ‐arginyl‐poly‐l ‐aspartate (MAPA), more commonly cyanophycin, prepared with recombinant Escherichia coli contains a polyaspartate backbone with lysine and arginine as side chains. Two assemblies of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are fabricated at three different concentration ratios of insoluble MAPA (iMAPA) with hyaluronic acid (iMAPA/HA) and with γ‐polyglutamic acid (iMAPA/γ‐PGA), respectively, utilizing a layer‐by‐layer approach. Both films with iMAPA and its counterpart, HA or γ‐PGA, as the terminal layer are prepared to assess the effect on film roughness, cell growth, and cell migration. iMAPA incorporation is higher for a higher concentration of the anionic polymer due to better charge interaction. The iMAPA/HA films when compared to iMAPA/γ‐PGA multilayers show least roughness. The growth rates of L929 fibroblast cells on the PEMs are similar to those on glass substrate, with no supplementary effect of the terminal layer. However, the migration rates of L929 cells increase for all PEMs. γ‐PGA incorporated films impart 50% enhancement to the cell migration after 12 h of culture as compared to the untreated glass, and the smooth films containing HA display a maximum 82% improvement. The results present the use of iMAPA to construct a new layer‐by‐layer system of polyelectrolyte biopolymers with a potential application in wound dressing.     

Intrinsic d-wave effects in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) grain boundary Josephson junctions

We have measured the angular dependence of the Josephson critical current density (J(C)) in c-axis tilt biepitaxial grain boundary YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) junctions. We observe for the first time intrinsic d-wave pairing symmetry effects manifested as an oscillatory dependence of J(C) on angle. This intrinsic effect is evident even though spontaneous currents, possibly induced by faceting or barrier impurities, are observed in the grain boundaries.     

High-energy scale revival and giant kink in the dispersion of a cuprate superconductor

In the present photoemission study of a cuprate superconductor Bi1.74Pb0.38Sr1.88CuO6+delta, we discovered a large scale dispersion of the lowest band, which unexpectedly follows the band structure calculation very well. Similar behavior observed in blue bronze and the Mott insulator Ca2CuO2Cl2 suggests that the origin of hopping-dominated dispersion in an overdoped cuprate might be quite complicated. A giant kink in the dispersion is observed, and the complete self-energy containing all interaction information is extracted for a doped cuprate. These results recovered significant missing pieces in our current understanding of the electronic structure of cuprates.     

Layer dependence of the superconducting transition temperature of HgBa2Can−1CunO2n+2+δ

High-pressure methods have been used to synthesize multiphase compositions in the Hg---12{n−1}n homologous series. The phase assemblages were examined by optical, electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction techniques, and their stoichiometries verified by electron microprobe. Transport and magnetic susceptibility measurements were combined with the results of the phase analysis to establish superconducting transition temperatures for both as-prepared and O₂- or Ar-annealed materials. It was found that the transition temperature peaks at T_c = 134 K for N = 3 and then decreases abruptly for n>4, reaching T_c<90 K for n7.     

Anomalous electrical conduction in disordered and non-crystalline metallic conductors

Many disordered and non-crystalline metallic conductors are characterized by both a negative temperature coefficient (α = ?^-1 d?/dT) of resistivity ? over a wide range of temperatures T and a gradual leveling-off of ? at low temperatures. Experimental results will be presented to show that ? varies as -?n T (for T ? the Debye temperature) in contrast to the prediction of existing theories. This anomalous electron transport can be understood in terms of an attractive interaction between conduction electrons and localized excitations arising from a structural indeterminacy in the atomic arrangement. The possibility of using this scattering mechanism to explain the unusual deviation from linear T dependence of resistivity (the bulge effect) in many structurally unstable superconductors such as A-15 Nb₃Ge, V₃Si, bcc Nb and alloys containing the ω-phase is also discussed.     

Experimental demonstration of an oscillator stabilized Josephson flux qubit

We experimentally demonstrate the use of a superconducting transmission line, shorted at both ends, to stabilize the operation of a tunable flux qubit. Using harmonic-oscillator stabilization and pulsed dc operation, we have observed Larmor oscillations with a single shot visibility of 90%. In another qubit, the visibility was 60% and there was no measurable visibility reduction after 35 ns.     

Transition from disorder to order in thin metallic films studied with angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

The transition from disorder to order in Ag film grown on Au(111) was investigated by monitoring the quantum well states using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Our results show that the binding energies do not alter, but the in-plane dispersion alters from flat to parabolic when the film is annealed. We suggest that there are isolated and ordered patches scattered across the film at an early stage of the transition and that atoms inside the patches are fully ordered along the surface normal. These ordered patches grow and merge together as the annealing temperature increases.