Entangled States Based on Two Coherent States 3π/2 out of Phase

Entangled states based on two coherent states 3π/2 out of phase with each other, i.e. ｜α〉 and e^iФ｜-iα〉, as well as on a special state with a relative phase Ф = ｜α｜^2, are constructed. By analysing the amount of entanglement it is evident that entangled states based on this special state can be used as an excellent resource for quantum teleportation. It is also revealed that these entangled states possess some nonclassical features.     

Modified Householder iterative method free from second derivatives for nonlinear equations

In this paper, we suggest and analyze a new two-step predictor–corrector type iterative method free from second derivatives for solving nonlinear equations of the type f(x)=0. This new method includes the two-step Newton method as a special case. We prove that the new iterative method is of fourth-order. Several examples are given to illustrate the efficiency of this new method and its comparison with other iterative methods. This method can be considered as a significant improvement of the Newton method and its variant forms.     

Large signal performance of micromachined silicon inductive microphones

A mathematical model for the open-circuit output voltage of a micromachined silicon inductive microphone is presented. The model, basically a sine-series function, can easily yield closed-form expressions for the amplitudes of the output components resulting from a multisinusoidal input acoustic pressure. The special case of an equal-amplitude two-tone acoustic pressure input is considered in detail. The results show that, the microphone generates both even and odd-order harmonic and intermodulation products.     

Empirical model for the current-voltage characteristic of resonant-tunneling devices

An empirical model is presented for the current-voltage characteristics of resonanttunneling (RT) devices. By using this model an analytical study of millimeter-band electronic circuits employing RT devices can be performed.     

Reaction kinetics and pathway of hydrothermal decomposition of aspartic acid

The kinetics and pathway of hydrothermal decomposition of aspartic acid were studied using a continuous‐flow tubular reactor. The reaction was carried out in the temperature range of 200–260°C and at a pressure of 20 MPa. Deamination was the primary reaction, indicated by the presence of significant amount of ammonia, fumaric acid, or maleic acid in the products. Other reaction products were pyruvic acid, malic acid, and traces of succinic and lactic acid. Traces of alanine were also detected, showing the possibility of decomposing high‐molecular weight amino acids to obtain simple amino acids such as glycine or alanine. Results on the effect of reaction parameters demonstrated that decomposition of aspartic acid is highly temperature dependent under hydrothermal conditions. For a slight temperature difference of 60°C (from 200 to 260°C), the first‐order reaction rate constants of 0.003 significantly increased to 0.231 s^?1. The activation energy was 144 kJ/mol, as calculated by the Arrhenius equation. No significant effect was exhibited by other reaction parameters such as pH and pressure. The results are useful in controlling the hydrolysis of proteinaceous materials toward high yield of aspartic acid under hydrothermal conditions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 39: 175–180, 2007     

Organic–inorganic nanocomposites prepared from fluoro-aramid and silica

Fluoro-aramid-based sol/gel-derived nanocomposites were synthesized by condensing a mixture of 4,4′-(hexafluoro-isopropylidene)dianiline and 1,3-phenylenediamine with terephthaloylchloride (TPC) in dimethylacetamide. TPC was added in slight excess to produce amide chains with carbonyl chloride end groups and then replaced with alkoxy groups using aminophenyltrimethoxysilane to develop bonding with the silica network. Mechanical, dynamic mechanical thermal, water absorption and morphological measurements were carried out on the thin hybrid films. Increase in the tensile strength and modulus was observed as compared to pristine polyamide. The thermal decomposition temperature was found in the range of 400–500 °C. The water absorption was found to be reduced with higher silica content. The glass transition temperature and the storage moduli increased with increasing silica concentration. The maximum increase in the T _g value (345 °C) was observed with 20 wt% silica. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the uniform distribution of silica in the matrix with an average particle size ranging from 8 to 50 nm.     

Sensory, physicochemical and microbiological quality of irradiated minimally processed cauliflower

Minimally processed cauliflower samples were irradiated, stored at 5 °C for 2 weeks and analyzed for sensory, physicochemical and microbiological qualities at 0th, 7th and 14th days. The data showed highest mean values of 7.93 and 7.57 for appearance and flavor, respectively, for 1.0 kGy treated samples. The D₁₀ values of contaminating microorganisms on cauliflower were 0.20 (Escherischia coli) and 0.24 kGy (Salmonella paratyphae A.) and the resulting 5D₁₀ value was 1.2 kGy. The study revealed that a dose of 1.5 kGy is enough for retention of quality and reduction of microbial load to 5D₁₀ values in cauliflower during 2 weeks storage at refrigerated temperature.     

Co-activation of Gi and Gq proteins exerts synergistic effect on human platelet aggregation through activation of phospholipase C and Ca2+ signalling pathways

Our previous studies have shown that subthreshold concentrations of two platelet agonists exert synergistic effects on platelet aggregation. Here we studied the mechanism of synergistic interaction of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and epinephrine mediated platelet aggregation. We show that 5-HT had no or little effect on aggregation but it did potentiate the aggregation response of epinephrine. The synergistic interaction of 5-HT (1-5 microM) and epinephrine (0.5-2 microM) was inhibited by alpha2-adrenoceptor blocker (yohimbine; IC50= 0.4 microM), calcium channel blockers (verapamil and diltiazem with IC50 of 10 and 48 mM, respectively), PLC inhibitor (U73122; IC50=6 microM) and nitric oxide (NO) donor, SNAP (IC50=1.6 microM)). The data suggest that synergistic effects of platelet agonists are receptor-mediated and occur through multiple signalling pathways including the activation PLC/Ca2+ signalling cascades.