Spectrophotometric determination of deacetylation degree of chitinous materials dissolved in phosphoric acid

A simple spectrophotometric method is proposed for determining deacetylation degrees (DD) of chitinous materials using phosphoric acid as the UV-transparent solvent system. Calibrating by the extinction coefficients (A(210)) of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, DD values (24-88%) were computed numerically. The results correlated well (R(2) = 0.9805, n = 50) with those obtained by solid-state (13)C NMR. Comparison of the results obtained by the proposed UV method and solid-state (13)C NMR.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched picosecond Nd:GDxY1-xVO4 self-stimulated raman laser

An efficiency of 8.2% is demonstrated for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched self-stimulated Raman laser with an a-cut mixed vanadate crystal, Nd:Gd0.8Y0.2VO4. At 2.2 W of incident pump power, the self-stimulated Raman laser produces pulses as short as 660 ps at a Stokes wavelength of 1175 nm with 2.7 microJ of energy per pulse at a 66-kHz repetition rate.     

Multiharmonic-generation biopsy of skin

Because it avoids the in-focus photodamage and phototoxicity problem of two-photon-fluorescence excitation, multiharmonic-generation biopsy based on a 1200-1300-nm light source could provide a truly noninvasive and highly penetrative optical sectioning of skin. We study multiharmonic-generation biopsy of fixed mouse skin. Our preliminary study suggests that this technique could provide submicrometer-resolution deep-tissue noninvasive biopsy images in skin without the use of fluorescence and exogenous markers.     

Ag8Cl2[Se2P(OEt)2]6: A rare example containing a combination of discrete clusters and chains

The novel halide-centered Ag(I)8 cubic clusters containing diethyl diselenophosphato ligands are prepared and their solid state structures, a discrete unit or a one-dimensional chain, are dictated by the counter anions.     

estimate of a parabolic Monge-Ampère equation on

We consider a special type of parabolic Monge-Ampère equation on arising from convex hypersurfaces expansion in Euclidean spaces. We obtained a parabolic estimate of the support functions for the convex hypersurfaces assuming that we have already had a parabolic estimate.

     

Asymptotic dynamics of nonlinear Schrödinger equations with many bound states

We consider a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a bounded localized potential in . The linear Hamiltonian is assumed to have three or more bound states with the eigenvalues satisfying some resonance conditions. Suppose that the initial data is localized and small of order n in H¹, and that its ground state component is larger than n^3−ε with ε>0 small. We prove that the solution will converge locally to a nonlinear ground state as the time tends to infinity.     

Tip streaming from a drop in the presence of surfactants

Drop breakup in a linear extensional flow is simulated numerically using a nonlinear model for the surface tension that accounts for maximum packing at the interface. Surface convection sweeps surfactant to the drop poles, where it accumulates and drives the surface tension to near zero. The drop assumes a transient shape with highly pointed tips. From these tips, thin liquid threads are pulled. Subsequently, small, surfactant-rich droplets are emitted from the termini of these threads. The scale of the shed drops depends on the initial surfactant coverage. Dilute initial coverage leads to tip streaming, while high initial coverage leads to the tip dropping breakup mode.     

An electronmicroscopic study of hexagonal phases related to quasicrystals in Zn-Mg-RE alloys

A number of hexagonal phases with inflated/deflated a lattice parameters but equal c parameters are found to exist with compositions close to that of the icosahedral phase. Surprisingly, no cubic or orthorhombic approximants are found. The closeness of the hexagonal phases to the icosahedral phase is shown through the electron diffraction features. Through stereographic analysis of the hexagonal phases it is shown that they consist of three icosahedral units rotated by 120 degrees about a common twofold axis, forming the sixfold axis. It is suggested that this phase falls into a class of crystals closely related to both the icosahedral and decagonal quasicrystals, but are not approximants to them. These phases can instead be considered to be approximant to the hexagonal quasicrystal.     

Effect of different electronic properties on 9-aryl-substituted BMVC derivatives for new fluorescence probes

We have previously illustrated that the electron donor of carbazole moiety and the electron acceptor of methyl pyridinium cation in 3,6-bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide (BMVC) molecule could form an intramolecular charge-transfer state. The intramolecular twist of the vinyl group in bridging the donor and acceptor plays an important role in the BMVC fluorescence. Here, we have synthesized three 9-aryl-substituted BMVC derivatives with different electronic properties for the design of the second generation of fluorescence probes. The steady-state solvatochromic studies show no appreciable change to the charge transfer of BMVC by substituting an anisole electron-donating group at 9-position of BMVC. However, substituting a 9-nitrobenzyl electron-withdrawing group in BMVC could restrict the charge transfer in the excited state. Moreover, the increase of the fluorescence yields of 9-anisole BMVC and 9-phenyl BMVC upon interaction with DNA is even higher than that in glycerol, while the fluorescence yield of 9-nitrobenzyl BMVC upon interaction with DNA is much lower than that in glycerol. Although 9-nitrobenzyl BMVC is a good G-quadruplex stabilizer, substituting an electron-withdrawing group at 9-position of BMVC is not recommended for the design of fluorescence probes. On the other hand, co-localization between 9-phenyl BMVC and MitoTracker Red in the merged image of cells indicates that the 9-phenyl BMVC is a potential fluorescent mitochondrial probe.     

Blue laser lithography for making antireflective submicron structures on silicon

The application of blue laser lithography for creating antireflective submicron structures on a crystalline silicon substrate was evaluated. The assembled blue laser lithography system was obtained by modifying a commercial blue laser optical pickup head and consisting of a 405-nm-wavelength blue laser and a 0.85-numerical-aperture objective lens. Si substrates were patterned with submicron column patterns of various periods and aspect ratios by blue laser lithography using a sputtered Ge-Sb-Sn-O layer as a resist. The reflectance of the patterned Si substrate decreased to 3% on average in the 300–1000 nm wavelength range, with a low sensitivity to the angle of incident light. Such patterned substrates showed potential for application in crystalline Si solar cells.