Atomic short-range order in CuMn alloys

The establishment of atomic short-range order (SRO) has been investigated in CuMn alloys (5, 8,13,16,20 at. % Mn) by measurement of the electrical resistivity during isochronal and isothermal annealing. An increasing degree of SRO is accompanied by a reduction of resistivity; this effect increases with Mn concentration. For 8,13 and 16 at. % Mn SRO kinetics turn out to deviate significantly from single exponential behavior with a maximum at 13 at. % Mn, whereas at 5 and 20 at. % Mn SRO is adjusted in a single exponential process. For data analysis three methods are used: a sum of two and three exponentials as well as a log-normal spectrum of relaxation times. The strong interaction between second-nearest-neighbor atoms in CuMn seems to be essential for SRO kinetics but of minor importance for the value of SRO-induced resistivity change.     

Number fluctuation analysis of random locomotion. Statistics of a Smoluchowski process

We analyze a scheme, originally suggested by Smoluchowski, by which a diffusion coefficientD can be estimated by measuring the number of particles occupying a fixed region of a surface at various times. An expression is derived relating the variance of the estimated valueD to several experimental parameters. This expression is evaluated numerically to determine how statistical uncertainty depends on adjustable variables. Particular attention is given to experiments involving locomotion of migrating leukocytes.     

Defect structure and migration in Fe3O4

We present the results of a computer simulation study of the defect formation and migration energies in Fe₃O₄. Calculated Frenkel and Schottky energies are found to be similar in magnitude and both are considerably reduced by screening due to electron redistribution around the charged-defect species. The calculations also suggest that cation diffusion is mainly effected by a colinear interstitialcy mechanism at low P_o2 and by a simple octahedral vacancy mechanism at higher P_o2.     

The integral mean diffusivity for particle-gas mass transfer calculations under thermal plasma conditions

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - A new integral mean diffusivity is proposed for the calculation of the mass transfer rate around a small particle immersed in a thermal plasma gas....     

Noise can create periodic behavior and stabilize nonlinear diffusions

It is shown that unlike nondegenerate (linear) diffusion processes, nonlinear diffusion processes can have a periodic law. We provide an example of a nonlinear diffusion for which periodic behavior is even created by the noise, i.e. no periodicity occurs when the noise is turned off. In the second part of the paper we give an example of a one-dimensional nonlinear diffusion which can be stabilized by noise. Finally we show also that the N-dimensional (N ≥ 2) ‘linear’ diffusion approximations of that system are stabilized by noise.     

A method for imaging of chemical shift or magnetic field distributions

A phase encoding method for imaging of chemical shift or magnetic field distributions is described. The method utilizes the spin-echo principle and the time period between signal collection and excitation is constant but the time period between excitation and the 180 degrees pulse is varied by constant steps. The method is relatively easy to apply with the Fourier or projection reconstruction methods.     

Versatility of the dipolar filter selection: from 1H nuclear spin diffusion experiment to the measurement of nuclear Overhauser effect in homopolymer melts

Dipolar filters select ¹H magnetization according to local dipolar dephasing, which corresponds to site mobility in systems with heterogeneous molecular mobility. Combined with a conventional exchange experiment, it is usually applied to polymeric samples exhibiting structures on the nanometer length scale associated with a strong dynamic contrast. There, the resulting ¹H nuclear spin diffusion experiment yields the size of the structure. When the same experiment is applied to homopolymer melts exhibiting a weak dynamic contrast and dynamic heterogeneities on significant shorter length scales, the recorded magnetization decay is in agreement with decays expected from a heterogeneous nanostructure. However, dipolar filters actually can also select mobile parts of the repeat unit, e.g. the end of the alkyl side chains and the subsequent magnetization transfer then can occur via cross relaxation due to non coherent zero-quantum transitions (nuclear Overhauser effect, NOE). The difficulties of distinguishing these two cases are examined and it is demonstrated that NOE experiments exploiting magnetization selection via the dipolar filter allow quantifying the local dynamics of the side chains. This opens new possibilities for measurements of local dynamics in non isotopically labeled homopolymer melts.     

High Probe Intensity Photobleaching Measurement of Lateral Diffusion in Cell Membranes

Lateral diffusion measurements, most commonly accomplished through Fluorescence Photobleaching Recovery (FPR or FRAP), provide important information on cell membrane molecules' size, environment and participation in intermolecular interactions. However, serious difficulties arise when these techniques are applied to weakly expressed proteins of either of two types: fusions of membrane receptors with visible fluorescent proteins or membrane molecules on autofluorescent cells. To achieve adequate sensitivity in these cases, techniques such as interference fringe FPR are needed. However, in such measurements, cytoplasmic species contribute to the fluorescence recovery signal and thus yield diffusion parameters not properly representing the small number of surface molecules. A new method helps eliminate these difficulties. High Probe Intensity (HPI)-FPR measurements retain the intrinsic confocality of spot measurements to eliminate interference from fluorescent cytoplasmic species. However, HPI-FPR methods lift the previous requirement that FPR procedures be performed at probe beam intensities low enough to not induce bleaching in samples during measurements. The high probe intensities now employed provide much larger fluorescence signals and thus more information on molecular diffusion from each measurement. We report successful measurement of membrane dynamics by this technique.     

Optimization of the irradiation power in chemical exchange dependent saturation transfer experiments

In chemical exchange dependent saturation transfer imaging experiments, exchangeable solute protons are saturated and the transfer of saturation to water is subsequently detected. When the applied irradiation power is comparable to the resonance frequency difference between the water protons and saturated solute protons, the proton transfer (PT) efficiency is reduced due to concomitant direct saturation effects. In this study, the PT process is modeled using a two-pool system. An empirical general proton transfer ratio (PTR) equation for arbitrary RF irradiation power is derived, and its optimal power to maximize the PTR is analyzed. The results are confirmed experimentally on 4.7 T using a poly-L-lysine solution. The theory provides a useful tool for optimizing the irradiation power of the PT sequences in the presence of direct saturation effects.