Elasticity-mediated self-organization and colloidal interactions of solid spheres with tangential anchoring in a nematic liquid crystal

Using laser tweezers, we study colloidal interactions of solid microspheres in the nematic bulk caused by elastic distortions around the particles with tangential surface anchoring. The interactions overcome the Brownian motion when the interparticle separation r-->p is less than 3 particle diameters. The particles attract when the angle theta between r-->p and the uniform far-field director n0 is between 0 degrees and approximately 70 degrees and repel when 75 degrees 相似文献   

Electrical transport and magnetic ordering in R 2Ti3Ge4 (R=Dy, Ho and Er) compounds

New R ₂Ti₃Ge₄ (R=Dy, Ho and Er) intermetallic compounds have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction and low temperature ac magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power measurements were carried out. The compounds crystallize in the parent, Sm₅Ge₄-type orthorhombic structure (space group Pnma) and lanthanide contraction is observed as one moves along the rare-earth series. The changeover from paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase happens at low temperatures and the ordering temperature scales with the de Gennes factor. The electrical resistivity is metallic with a negative curvature above 100 K. Thermopower displays a weak maximum at temperatures less than 50 K signifying the possible phonon and magnon drag effects.     

Elastic properties of the Ta–V system: bcc Ta0.33V0.67 and C15 TaV2

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy was used to measure the elastic constants of bcc Ta_0.33V_0.67 over the temperature range 3.5–300?K; the results were compared to earlier measurements on C15 TaV₂. The temperature dependence of the polycrystalline shear modulus is completely different in the two phases; that of the bcc phase decreases with temperature whereas that of the C15 phases increases in an anomalous fashion. This difference is consistent with a model involving doubly-degenerate levels at the X point of the Brillouin zone in the C15 phase with the Fermi level lying near the doubly degenerate level. This model accounted for the unusual behaviour of the C15 phase. Debye temperatures were determined from the ultrasonic measurements: 295?K for the C15 phase and 315?K for the bcc phase.     

Measurement of optical trapping forces by use of the two-photon-excited fluorescence of microspheres

A novel technique for the calibration of laser trapping systems that utilizes two-photon-excited fluorescence of commercial dye-stained microspheres has been demonstrated. The trapping forces as well as the trapping efficiency have been measured for various liquid environments and trapping depths. The trapping efficiency in water was found to decrease with an increase of trapping depths because of the enlargement of the trapping beam waist caused by aberrations of the optical system.     

Biomolecular component analysis of cultured cell nucleoli by Raman microspectrometry

Distinct cellular domains, such as structure–function compartments of the cell nucleus and cytoplasmic organelles, are responsible for numerous macromolecular processes essential for cell functions. Spectroscopic analysis of specific cellular domains opens a way for noninvasive characterization of their molecular content and monitoring of their function. Confocal Raman spectroscopy was employed here for characterization of the complex molecular organization of major structure–function compartment of the cell nucleus, the nucleolus. The Raman spectra obtained in the nucleoli were processed by biomolecular component analysis (BCA). BCA was used to determine the contribution of each major type of macromolecules (proteins, DNA, RNA and lipids) to the complex molecular composition of nucleoli. A notable cell‐to‐cell variability in the macromolecular composition of nucleolus was found. At the same time, we observed a correlation between the concentrations of major types of biomolecules in this nuclear compartment. In particular, the averaged concentration of RNA increases along with increase in protein concentration, while an inverse dependence between the concentrations of RNA and DNA was found. Variations in the nucleolar concentrations of lipids were also noticed. Manifestations in spectral variations of proteins for individual nucleoli, shown by BCA, are discussed and interpreted. We also compared utility of BCA and principal component analysis for biomolecular studies and conclude that BCA is a more powerful and informative technique for studies of macromolecular composition and its variations in specific subcellular domains. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.