A method to improve the visibility of ghost images obtained by thermal light

A method, which is based on the correlation measurement of intensity fluctuations in time-space-average domain, is invented to improve the visibility of ghost images obtained by thermal light. We demonstrate that the visibility of ghost images can be significantly enhanced using this method. A corresponding evaluation standard of the visibility of images and effects influencing the visibility of ghost images, such as the weight factor γ and speckle frame numbers, are also discussed.     

How to improve the accuracy of equilibrium molecular dynamics for computation of thermal conductivity?

Equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations through Green-Kubo formula (GKF) have been widely used in the study of thermal conductivity of various materials. However, there exist controversial simulation results which have huge discrepancies with experimental ones in literatures. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the fluctuation in calculated thermal conductivity is due to the uncertainty in determination of the truncation time, which is related to the ensemble and size dependent phonon relaxation time. We thus propose a new scheme in the direct integration of heat current autocorrelation function (HCACF) and a nonzero correction in the double-exponential-fitting of HCACF to describe correctly the contribution to thermal conductivity from low frequency phonons. By using crystalline Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge) as examples, we demonstrate that our method can give rise to the values of thermal conductivity in an excellent agreement with experimental ones.     

Spectrophotometric studies on the interaction between myricetin and lysozyme in the absence or presence of Cuor Fe

The binding of myricetin to lysozyme (Lys) in aqueous solution was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV) and circular dichroism (CD) spectra under physiological conditions. There are also many metal ions present in body, thus the research about the effect of metal ions on the interaction of drugs with proteins is crucial. In this study, we have investigated the effect of both familiar metal ions Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ on the interaction between myricetin and Lys by using spectroscopy technique at pH 7.40, for the first time. Spectrophotometric observations are rationalized in terms of a static quenching process in a static quenching way. The cause of showing upward curvy patterns in Stern-Volmer plots was analyzed. The binding constants and binding sites of myricetin with Lys with or without Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ at different concentrations of myricetin were calculated. UV/vis measurements on the enzymatic activity of Lys with or without Cu²⁺ in the absence or presence of myricetin indicated that the interaction between myricetin and Lys led to a reduction in the activity of Lys. Furthermore, the effect of pH on the binding constant of myricetin with Lys was also examined.     

Low-density carbon material modified with pyrolytic carbon

Here we report a physicochemical investigation of low-density carbon materials modified with pyrolytic carbon (PC). Exfoliated graphite (EG) obtained by nitrate expandable graphite thermal destruction was pressed into low-density graphite materials (LDGMs) with densities of 0.045-0.50 g/cm³ and saturated with PC by impact CVI technique. LDGM infiltration with PC leads to sample weight and density growth. The amount of deposited PC strictly depends on synthesis conditions. The maximum surface and volume deposition of PC occurred for samples with density of 0.05 g/cm³. XRD, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the deposited PC is of smooth laminar (SL) type. Composite thermal conductivity is about 2-3.5 Wt/m K.     

A comparison of high-order time integrators for thermal convection in rotating spherical shells

A numerical study of several time integration methods for solving the three-dimensional Boussinesq thermal convection equations in rotating spherical shells is presented. Implicit and semi-implicit time integration techniques based on backward differentiation and extrapolation formulae are considered. The use of Krylov techniques allows the implicit treatment of the Coriolis term with low storage requirements. The codes are validated with a known benchmark, and their efficiency is studied. The results show that the use of high-order methods, especially those with time step and order control, increase the efficiency of the time integration, and allows to obtain more accurate solutions.     

Characterization of the interaction between human lactoferrin and lomefloxacin at physiological condition: Multi-spectroscopic and modeling description

The interaction between lomefloxacin (LMF) and human lactoferrin (Hlf) was studied by using fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic and molecular modeling measurements. By the fluorescence quenching results, it was found that the binding constant K_A=8.69×10⁵ L mol⁻¹, and number of binding sites n=1.75 at physiological condition. Experimental results observed showed that the binding of LMF to Hlf induced conformational changes of Hlf. The participation of tyrosyl and tryptophanyl residues of protein was also estimated in the drug-Hlf complex by synchronous fluorescence. The quantitative analysis data of far-UV CD spectra from that of the α-helix 37.4% in free Hlf to 30.2% in the LMF-Hlf complex further confirmed that secondary structure of the protein was changed by LMF. Near-UV CD showed perturbations around tryptophan and tyrosine residues which involves perturbations of tertiary structure. The thermodynamic parameters like, ΔH° and ΔS°, have been calculated to be 63.411 kJ mol⁻¹ and 231.104 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis showed that hydrophobic interactions were the main force in the binding site but the hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction could not be excluded which in agreement with the result of molecular docking study. The distance r between donor and acceptor was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and found to be 1.78 nm. The interaction between LMF and Hlf has been verified as consistent with the static quenching procedure and the quenching mechanism is related to the energy transfer. Furthermore, the study of molecular modeling that LMF could bind to the α-helixes between Pro145-Asn152 and Phe167-Gln172 regions and hydrophobic interaction was the major acting force for the binding site, which was in agreement with the thermodynamic analysis.     

Modulated photophysics of 2-anthracene sulphonate in micellar assembly

The association of a non-ionic surfactant of polyoxyethylene-p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenyl ether (Triton X) series with 2-AS in aqueous solution has been studied by means of steady-state, time-resolved fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy techniques. The effect of the hydrophobic chain length on the structural dynamism of the fluorophore has been reported. Experimental results demonstrate that the equilibrium of this dynamism is sensitive to the environment. The association constant of the probe molecule with the non-ionic micelles of Triton X (TX), location of the probe in the micellar environment, have been determined from the change in emission characteristics of the probe as a function of surfactant concentration. The rate constant of quenching and mode of quenching of probe in micellar media have been ascertained. Quantitative estimates of the micropolarity at the binding sites of the probe molecule have been determined. Some of the environment-dependent relevant fluorescence parameters, fluorescence anisotropy (r), have been monitored for exploring the imposed motional restriction of the microenvironment around the probe. An attempt has been made to correlate the steady-state results with time resolved study.     

Microstructure and thermoelectric properties of Zn1−xAlxO ceramics fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Al-doped ZnO powders were synthesized via solid reaction between Zn(OH)₂ and Al(OH)₃ and consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) to fabricate fine-grained Zn_1−xAl_xO ceramics as a thermoelectric material. X-ray diffraction and spectrophotometer experiments revealed that Al doping into ZnO is enhanced by the present process, and consequently the SPS-processed Zn_1−xAl_xO samples show significantly improved electrical conductivity as compared with those prepared via mixing ZnO and Al₂O₃ oxide powders. Because of the combined effect of Al doping and grain refinement, the present Zn_1−xAl_xO ceramics show much lower thermal conductivity, which also results in an enhanced dimensionless figure of merit (ZT), than un-doped ZnO oxides prepared also by SPS.     

The nonlinear optical response of a fluorine-containing azoic dye

The nonlinear optical nonlinearities of a fluorine-containing azoic dye in tetrahydrofuran have been investigated by using Z-scan technique with picosecond and nanosecond lasers. The experimental results reveal that the azoic dye has large optical nonlinearity under the excitations of picosecond and nanosecond 532 nm. At the picosecond 532 nm the solution presents negative nonlinear refraction due to the electronic effect, while the larger nonlinear refraction under nanosecond laser excitation is induced by thermal effect. Moreover, the different nonlinear absorption behavior under picosecond and nanosecond excitations is analyzed.     

Effect of concentration and particle size on nonlinearity of Au nano-fluid prepared by γ (Co) radiation

Nonlinear properties of Au nano-fluid prepared by γ-radiation method at different concentrations were investigated. Measurements of nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficient were carried out using a single beam Z-scan technique. A green CW laser beam operated at 532 nm was used as excitation source. The Au nano-fluid shows a good third order nonlinear response. The sign of the nonlinear refractive index is found to be negative and the magnitude is in the order of 10⁻⁷ cm²/W. This nonlinear effect increases as the concentration increases from 3.119 × 10⁻⁴ to 2.354 × 10⁻³ M which correspond to particle sizes of 4.0-30.5 nm, respectively. A good linear relationship was obtained between nonlinear refractive index and concentration. However the relationship between nonlinear refractive index and particle size was nonlinear behavior.