An ODE Model of the Motion of Pelagic Fish

A system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is derived from a discrete system of Vicsek, Czirók et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 75(6):1226–1229, 1995], describing the motion of a school of fish. Classes of linear and stationary solutions of the ODEs are found and their stability explored using equivariant bifurcation theory. The existence of periodic and toroidal solutions is also proven under deterministic perturbations and structurally stable heteroclinic connections are found. Applications of the model to the migration of the capelin, a pelagic fish that undertakes an extensive migration in the North Atlantic, are discussed and simulation of the ODEs presented.     

美洲商陆对锰毒生理响应的FTIR研究

在一定Mn浓度梯度处理下(0,0.125,0.25,0.5,1 g·kg-1),超积累植物——美洲商陆(Phytolacca americana)不同组织器官的傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)图谱发生了变化。其中,茎组织在3 336和2 916 cm-1处峰高先上升后下降,反映了有机物运输受阻情况的变化,即美洲商陆在低Mn刺激下会产生大量有机物作为渗透调节物质来增强其耐Mn性,高Mn则抑制了有机物的分泌和运输;根和叶组织分别在2 922和1 606 cm-1处表现不同变化趋势,但都反映了一个变化规律即低Mn处理下美洲商陆分泌的有机酸不断螯合Mn,随着Mn毒害的加重,其羧酸螯合力变弱;根组织1 732和1 026 cm-1、茎组织1 028 cm-1、叶组织1 052和967 cm-1处呈现差异性变化,但都与其膜脂过氧化有关;根组织1 375 cm-1处峰高先上升后下降,可能与植物在细胞壁结构上增强抗逆性有一定关系,即低Mn处理下细胞壁可能通过阳离子交换能力(CEC)的提高增强了耐Mn性。以上说明,利用FTIR研究重金属超积累植物化学组分具有应用价值。     

Deposition of copper iodide thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods

In this paper, we report structural, morphological, electrical studies of copper iodide (CuI) thin films deposited onto glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods. CuI thin films were characterized for their structural, morphological and wettability studies by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption, and contact angle measurement methods. Thickness of thin films was 1 ± 0.1 μm measured by gravimetric weight difference method. The CuI thin films were nanocrystalline, with average crystal size of ～60 nm. The FT-IR study confirmed the formation of CuI on the substrate surface. SEM images revealed the compact and cube like structure for CuI thin films deposited by CBD and SILAR methods, respectively. Optical absorption study revealed optical energy gaps as 2.3 and 3.0 eV for CBD and SILAR methods, respectively. Wettability study indicated that CuI thin films deposited by SILAR method are more hydrophobic as compared to CBD method.     

Effect of hydrogen bond formation on the NMR properties of microhydrated ortho-aminobenzoic acid

The in?uence of the hydrogen bond formation on the nuclear magnetic resonance parameters has been investigated in the case of microhydrated ortho-aminobenzoic acid (o-Abz) in the gas-phase. DFT-B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ predicted ¹H and ¹³C isotropic chemical shifts with respect to TMS of the isolated o-Abz are in reasonable agreement with available experimental data. The isotropic and anisotropic chemical shifts for all atoms of o-Abz within the o-Abz?···?(H₂O)_1-3 complexes have been calculated at the Hartree–Fock, and density functional (B3LYP) theoretical levels using the 6-31++G(2d,2p) and aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets and considering the counterpoise corrections for the basis set superposition errors. The chemical shift values of the carboxyl group atoms of microhydrated o-Abz relative to isolated o-abz do not show significant basis set dependence. Both the hydrogen and carbon atoms constituting the carboxyl group of o-Abz suffer downfield shift due to formation of hydrogen bond with water. The length of hydrogen bond formed between o-Abz and water is found to vary with the number of water molecules present around o-Abz. A direct correlation between the hydrogen bond length and isotropic chemical shift of the bridging hydrogen is observed for both C?=?O?···?H-O and O-H?···?O interactions.     

Thermal behaviour of two anti-inflammatory drugs (celecoxib and rofecoxib) and slow relaxation dynamics in their amorphous solid state. Comparison between the dynamic fragility obtained by dielectric spectroscopy and by thermostimulated currents

This study of the thermal behaviour of two glass formers showed that rofecoxib has a good ability to vitrify while celecoxib displays a moderate glass forming ability. On the other hand, celecoxib forms an instable glass while rofecoxib displays moderate glass stability. The α-relaxation of the two amorphous drugs was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC). The values of the dynamic fragility obtained by the two techniques are in good mutual agreement and suggest that both drugs are moderately fragile glass formers. These values are however considerably lower than those obtained by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) and published in the literature. In the present work we will compare the values of the dynamic fragility obtained by TSDC and DRS for a set of ~30 glass-forming liquids, in order to evaluate their relative suitability for the determination of the m-index. The observed differences are discussed and interpreted. Finally, secondary mobility modes were detected by TSDC in both celecoxib and rofecoxib. The kinetic parameters are identical in both cases and similar to those found by DRS for the slow-b relaxation of celecoxib. These secondary relaxations, that are precursors of the main relaxation on its lower temperature side, are believed to be Johari-Goldstein relaxations.     

The fabrication of ReS2 flowers at controlled locations by chemical vapor deposition

Here we report a metal induced nucleation to realize the growth of ReS₂ flowers at controlled locations. The ordered arrays of ReS₂ flowers have been successfully prepared on SiO₂/Si substrate using Pt metal dots as nucleation sites and S, NH₄ReO₄ powders as precursors by a chemical vapor depostion method. The NH₄ReO₄ powders are used as the rhenium sources. The ReS₂ flowers are grown above the pre-patterned Pt dots, Raman and transmission electron microscopy measurements indicated that the prepared ReS₂ flowers have excellent crystalline quality.     

Synthesis of aqueous dispersion of graphenes via reduction of graphite oxide in the solution of conductive polymer

Graphene sheets were produced by chemical reduction of graphite oxides in the solution of ionic conductive polymer, Nafion. The obtained graphene, coated with Nafion, can be re-dispersed in water, and readily forms stable dispersed state. The polymer-coated graphene had been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-vis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PEDOT film with Nafion-coated graphene increased significantly from 0.25 S/cm for pure PEDOT film and reached 12 S/cm. Further, the films of PEDOT doped Nafion-coated graphene had also higher conductivities compared to films doped PSS-coated graphene.     

First-principles prediction of crystal structure and physical properties of ScB3

The crystal structure of ScB₃ is seeked by combining the developed particle swarm optimisation algorithm for crystal structure prediction with first-principles calculations. A new monoclinic phase with the C2/m symmetry is predicted successfully, which is energetically more superior to the early reported R-3m-, P2₁/m-, P6₃/mmc-, P-6m2-, Pnma-, and Pm-3m-type structures in the pressure range from 0 to 100?GPa. The obtained elastic constants and phonon dispersion curve reveal that the C2/m-ScB₃ is mechanically and dynamically stable. The predicted large bulk module, high shear modulus, small Poisson’s ratio as well as the considerable hardness indicate that the C2/m-ScB₃ has outstanding mechanical property. Meanwhile, the dependences of the bulk modulus and Young’s modulus of ScB₃ on the crystal orientation are investigated theoretically. Through applying the strain–stress method, the ideal tensile and shear strengths along different crystal directions are also estimated, and the obtained results confirm that the shear mode dominates the failure mode in the C2/m-ScB₃ structure and it is intrinsically a hard material. The electronic structure calculation and chemical bonding analysis illustrate that the strong covalent B-B and Sc-B bonds are responsible for its structural stability and high hardness.     

Structure and stability of a silicon cluster on sequential doping with carbon atoms

SiC is a highly stable material in bulk. On the other hand, alloys of silicon and carbon at nanoscale length are interesting from both technological as well fundamental view point and are being currently synthesized by various experimental groups (Truong et. al., 2015 [26]). In the present work, we identify a well-known silicon cluster viz., Si₁₀ and dope it sequentially with carbon atoms. The evolution of electronic structure (spin state and the structural properties) on doping, the charge redistribution and structural properties are analyzed. It is interesting to note that the ground state SiC clusters prefer to be in the lowest spin state. Further, it is seen that carbon atoms are the electron rich centres while silicon atoms are electron deficient in every SiC alloy cluster. The carbon–carbon bond lengths in alloy clusters are equivalent to those seen in fullerene molecules. Interestingly, the carbon atoms tend to aggregate together with silicon atoms surrounding them by donating the charge. As a consequence, very few Si–Si bonds are noted with increasing concentrations of C atoms in a SiC alloy. Physical and chemical stability of doped clusters is studied by carrying out finite temperature behaviour and adsorbing O₂ molecule on Si₉C and Si₈C₂ clusters, respectively.