Reception pattern influence on magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction

Based on the acoustic radiation theory of a dipole source,the influence of the transducer reception pattern is studied for magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction(MAT-MI).Numerical studies are conducted to simulate acoustic pressures,waveforms,and reconstructed images with unidirectional,omnidirectional,and strong directional transducers.With the analyses of equivalent and projection sources,the influences of the model dimension and the layer effect are qualitatively analyzed to evaluate the performance of MAT-MI.Three-dimensional simulation studies show that the strong directional transducer with a large radius can reduce the influences of equivalent sources,projection sources,and the layer effect effectively,resulting in enhanced pressure and improved image contrast,which is beneficial for boundary pressure extraction in conductivity reconstruction.The reconstructed conductivity contrast images present the conductivity boundaries as stripes with different contrasts and polarities,representing the values and directions of the conductivity changes of the scanned layer.The favorable results provide solid evidence for transducer selection and suggest potential practical applications of MAT-MI in biomedical imaging.     

Polymerization in a magnetic field. X. Solvent effect in poly(methyl methacrylate) synthesis

The effect of a continuous external magnetic field on the free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate was studied with respect to some properties of the solvents used in the reaction. The studies were performed through dilatometric technique in and out a magnetic field of 0.25 T. Ten different solvents were used to underline the dependence between the magnetic field presence, the reaction medium, and the development of the polymerization process. The intervened magnetokinetic effects are attributed to the changes in the multiplicity of the radical pairs owing to the magnetic field influence. There is an interdependence among the viscosity and molar polarization of the solvents and the magnetic field effect. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

不同溶剂中番茄红素的荧光光谱及其特性研究

用970CRT荧光光度计测定了番茄红素在正己烷、乙酸乙酯、四氢呋喃、氯仿、丙酮和苯等6种溶剂中的荧光光谱以及番茄红素在四氢呋喃溶液中不同浓度下的荧光光谱。对所测光谱分析得出:6种溶剂中荧光光谱的最大峰值波长(λmax)分别为542.5 nm5、48.2 nm5、55.0 nm、555.7 nm、556.4 nm和565.7 nm,由于溶剂效应,随溶剂极性由小到大,荧光光谱的最大峰值波长(λmax)逐渐红移,由这些峰值波长计算得出相应的番茄红素分子在6种溶剂中的跃迁能ET分别为220.5 kJ/mol2、18.2 kJ/mol2、15.6 kJ/mol2、15.3 kJ/mol2、14.9 kJ/mol和211.5 kJ/mol,可见跃迁能ET也随溶剂极性增大而降低;当番茄红素在四氢呋喃溶液中的质量浓度低于50μg/ml时,溶液的荧光强度随溶液浓度增加而增大,当质量浓度高于50μg/ml时,由于番茄红素的激发态分子与基态分子相互作用,荧光强度反而减小;在浓度低于80μg/ml的溶液中,番茄红素的荧光光谱除最大峰值外还有三个较小峰值,据此计算得出相应的番茄红素分子的跃迁能分别为E(T1)=278.2 kJ/mol、E(T2)=260.2 kJ/mol和E(T3)=239.3 kJ/mol。     

A Molecular-Wide and Electron Density-Based Approach in Exploring Chemical Reactivity and Explicit Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Solvent Molecule Effects in the Proline Catalyzed Aldol Reaction

Modelling of the proline (1) catalyzed aldol reaction (with acetone 2) in the presence of an explicit molecule of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (3) has showed that 3 is a major player in the aldol reaction as it plays a double role. Through strong interactions with 1 and acetone 2, it leads to a significant increase of energy barriers at transition states (TS) for the lowest energy conformer 1a of proline. Just the opposite holds for the higher energy conformer 1b. Both the ‘inhibitor’ and ‘catalyst’ mode of activity of DMSO eliminates 1a as a catalyst at the very beginning of the process and promotes the chemical reactivity, hence catalytic ability of 1b. Modelling using a Molecular-Wide and Electron Density-based concept of Chemical Bonding (MOWED-CB) and the Reaction Energy Profile–Fragment Attributed Molecular System Energy Change (REP-FAMSEC) protocol has shown that, due to strong intermolecular interactions, the HN-C-COOH (of 1), CO (of 2), and SO (of 3) fragments drive a chemical change throughout the catalytic reaction. We strongly advocate exploring the pre-organization of molecules from initially formed complexes, through local minima to the best structures suited for a catalytic process. In this regard, a unique combination of MOWED-CB with REP-FAMSEC provides an invaluable insight on the potential success of a catalytic process, or reaction mechanism in general. The protocol reported herein is suitable for explaining classical reaction energy profiles computed for many synthetic processes.     

Combinational Chemotherapy and Photothermal Therapy Using a Gold Nanorod Platform for Cancer Treatment

Multimodal approaches combined with various nanomaterials and advanced techniques have been developed for synergistic cancer treatment. Among various therapies, conventional chemotherapy (CHT) is a direct cancer treatment that can produce unintended side effects due to nonspecific action on both the tumor and normal cells; patient-friendly photothermal therapy (PTT) may be able to treat embedded tumors in vital regions with minimal invasion but does not guarantee complete removal of cancers. However, the combination of CHT-PTT may provide a promising tool for direct cancer treatment with minimal side effects. In this regard, nanostructured materials, such as gold nanorods with tuned size and surface characteristics, are key components designed to enhance the heating capacity and active or passive delivery of drugs to the tumor site. In this review, the pioneering work synergizing CHT and PTT is summarized, and the current state-of-the-art in the development of inorganic and organic nanocomposites for combinational therapy is described.     

Dynamics of scalar fields in an expanding/contracting cosmos at finite temperature

This study extends the investigation of quantum dissipative effects of a cosmological scalar field by taking into account cosmic expansion and contraction.Cheung,Drewes,Kang,and Kim calculated the effective action and quantum dissipative effects of a cosmological scalar field in a recent work,where analytical expressions for the effective potential and damping coefficient were presented using a simple scalar model with quartic interactions,and the work was conducted using Minkowski-space propagators in loop diagrams.In this work,we incorporate the Hubble expansion and contraction of the cosmic background and focus on the thermal dynamics of a scalar field in a regime where the effective potential changes slowly.Given that the Hubble parameter,H,attains a small but non-zero value,we carry out calculations to the first order in H.If we set H=0,all results match those in flat spacetime.Interestingly,we must integrate over the resonances,which in turn leads to an amplification of the effects of a non-zero H.This is an intriguing phenomenon,which cannot be uncovered in flat spacetime.The implications on particle creations in the early universe will be studied in a forthcoming study.     

Quantum to classical crossover under dephasing effects in a two-dimensional percolation model

Scaling theory predicts complete localization in d = 2 in quantum systems belonging to the orthogonal class(i.e., with timereversal symmetry and spin-rotation symmetry). The conductance g behaves as g^exp(-L/l) with system size L and localization length l in the strong disorder limit. However, classical systems can always have metallic states in which Ohm’s law shows a constant g in d=2. We study a two-dimensional quantum percolation model by controlling dephasing effects. The numerical investigation of g aims at simulating a quantum-to-classical percolation evolution. An unexpected metallic phase, where g increases with L, generates immense interest before the system becomes completely classical. Furthermore, the analysis of the scaling plot of g indicates a metal-insulator crossover.     

Antibacterial Effects of Flavonoids and Their Structure-Activity Relationship Study: A Comparative Interpretation

According to the latest report released by the World Health Organization, bacterial resistance to well-known and widely available antibacterial drugs has become a significant and severe global health concern and a grim challenge to tackle in order to cure infections associated with multidrug-resistant pathogenic microorganisms efficiently. Consequently, various strategies have been orchestrated to cure the severe complications related to multidrug-resistant bacteria effectively. Some approaches involved the retardation of biofilm formation and multidrug-resistance pumps in bacteria as well as the discovery of new antimicrobial agents demonstrating different mechanisms of action. In this regard, natural products namely alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, anthraquinone, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, etc., have been suggested to tackle the multidrug-resistant bacterial strains owing to their versatile pharmacological effects. Amongst these, flavonoids, also known as polyphenolic compounds, have been widely evaluated for their antibacterial property due to their tendency to retard the growth of a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant bacteria. The hydroxylation of C5, C7, C3′, and C4′; and geranylation or prenylation at C6 have been extensively studied to increase bacterial inhibition of flavonoids. On the other hand, methoxylation at C3′ and C5 has been reported to decrease flavonoids’ antibacterial action. Hence, the latest information on the antibacterial activity of flavonoids is summarized in this review, with particular attention to the structure–activity relationship of this broad class of natural compounds to discover safe and potent antibacterial agents as natural products.     

半参数混合效应模型中的估计及其强相合性

将Tao等(1999)提出的线性混合效应模型推广为半参数混合效应模型,给出了模型参数、回归函数和随机效应密度的估计,并研究了估计的强相合性及部分强相合速度.统计模拟表明我们给出的估计方法是可行的.