The encapsulation selectivity for anionic fission products imparted by an electride

The nanoporous oxide 12CaO•7Al2O3 (C12A7) can capture large concentrations of extra-framework species inside its nanopores, while maintaining its thermodynamical stability. Here we use atomistic simulation to predict the efficacy of C12A7 to encapsulate volatile fission products, in its stoichiometric and much more effective electride forms. In the stoichiometric form, while Xe, Kr and Cs are not captured, Br, I and Te exhibit strong encapsulation energies while Rb is only weakly encapsulated from atoms. The high electronegativities of Br, I and Te stabilize their encapsulation as anions. The electride form of C12A7 shows a significant enhancement in the encapsulation of Br, I and Te with all three stable as anions from their atom and dimer reference states. Successive encapsulation of multiple Br, I and Te as single anions in adjacent cages is also energetically favourable. Conversely, Xe, Kr, Rb and Cs are unbound. Encapsulation of homonuclear dimers (Br2, I2 and Te2) and heteronuclear dimers (CsBr and CsI) in a single cage is also unfavourable. Thus, C12A7 offers the desirable prospect of species selectivity

What Can Information Encapsulation Tell Us About Emotional Rationality?

What can features of cognitive architecture, e.g. the information encapsulation of certain emotion processing systems, tell us about emotional rationality? de Sousa proposes the following hypothesis: “the role of emotions is to supply the insufficiency of reason by imitating the encapsulation of perceptual modes” (de Sousa 1987: 195). Very roughly, emotion processing can sometimes occur in a way that is insensitive to what an agent already knows, and such processing can assist reasoning by restricting the response-options she considers. This paper aims to provide an exposition and assessment of de Sousa’s hypothesis. I argue information encapsulation is not essential to emotion-driven reasoning, as emotions can determine the relevance of response-options even without being encapsulated. However, I argue encapsulation can still play a role in assisting reasoning by restricting response-options more efficiently, and in a way that ensures which options emotions deem relevant are not overridden by what the agent knows. I end by briefly explaining why this very feature also helps explain how emotions can, on occasion, hinder reasoning

Mechanical analysis of encapsulated metal interconnects under transversal load

Novel insights regarding the ability of encapsulated metal interconnections to deform due to bending are presented. Encapsulated metal interconnections are used as electric conductor or measurement system within a wide range of applications fields, e.g. biomedical, wearable, textile applications. Nevertheless the mechanical analysis remains limited to reliability investigation of these configurations. Different papers and research groups claim that meander-shaped metal interconnections are predisposed for these applications fields due to their deformability while, to the author’s knowledge, no reports are found about this ability. An analysis based on the work needed to bend interconnections to a certain curvature will be used to compare different interconnection configurations with each other. The experimental as well as the simulation setup is based on PDMS encapsulated PI-enhanced Cu tracks. The results and conclusions are specific for this type of interconnections, but can be extended to a global conclusion about stretchable interconnections. From the obtained insights it is proven that periodically meander-shaped interconnections need significant less work, up to more than 10 times less, to bend the interconnection to the same curvature compared to straight interconnection lines. Furthermore it shows out, for the meander-shaped interconnection, that per increase of 250µm encapsulation thickness the work raises with a factor 2. For straight interconnection lines the work in function of the encapsulation thickness is limited to 20%/250µm. The bendability of the straight interconnection lines is determined by the shape of the interconnection, where for meandered tracks the encapsulation will determine this factor, for an encapsulation thickness of maximum 1mm. For encapsulations > 1mm, the encapsulation thickness will become the predominant factor which determines the deformability for both interconnection shapes

Cucurbit[n]uril binding of platinum anticancer complexes

The encapsulation of cisplatin by cucurbit[7]uril (Q[7]) and multinuclear platinum complexes linked via a 4,4′-dipyrazolylmethane (dpzm) ligand by Q[7] and cucurbit[8]uril (Q[8]) has been studied by NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling. The NMR studies suggest that some cisplatin binds in the cucurbituril cavity, while cis-[PtCl(NH3)2(H2O)]+ only binds at the portals. Alternatively, the dpzm-linked multinuclear platinum complexes are quantitatively encapsulated within the cavities of both Q[7] and Q[8]. Upon encapsulation, the non-exchangeable proton resonances of the multinuclear platinum complexes show significant upfield shifts in 1H NMR spectra. The H3/H3* resonances shift upfield by 0.08 to 0.55 ppm, the H5/H5* shift by 0.9 to 1.6 ppm, while the methylene resonances shift by 0.74 to 0.88 ppm. The size of the resonance shift is dependent on the cavity size of the encapsulating cucurbituril, with Q[7] encapsulation producing larger shifts than Q[8]. The upfield shifts of the dpzm resonances observed upon cucurbituril encapsulation indicate that the Q[7] or Q[8] is positioned directly over the dpzm linking ligand. The terminal platinum groups of trans-[{PtCl(NH3)2}2μ-dpzm]2+ (di-Pt) and trans-[trans-{PtCl(NH3)2}2-trans-{Pt(dpzm)2(NH3)2}]4+ (tri-Pt) provide a barrier to the on and off movement of cucurbituril, resulting in binding kinetics that are slow on the NMR timescale for the metal complex. Although the dpzm ligand has relatively few rotamers, encapsulation by the larger Q[8] resulted in a more compact di-Pt conformation with each platinum centre retracted further into each Q[8] portal. Encapsulation of the hydrolysed forms of di-Pt and tri-Pt is considerably slower than for the corresponding Cl forms, presumably due to the high-energy cost of passing the +2 platinum centres through the cucurbituril portals. The results of this study suggest that cucurbiturils could be suitable hosts for the pharmacological delivery of multinuclear platinum complexe

Encapsulation performance of layer-by-layer microcapsules for proteins

This study reports on the encapsulation efficiency of proteins in dextran sulfate/poly-l-arginine-based microcapsules, fabricated via layer-by-layer assembly (LbL). For this purpose, radiolabeled proteins are entrapped in CaCO3 microparticles, followed by LbL coating of the CaCO3 cores and subsequent dissolving of the CaCO3 using EDTA. To allow to improve protein encapsulation in LbL microcapsules, we studied all steps in the preparation of the microcapsules where loss of protein load might occur. The encapsulation efficiency of proteins in LbL microcapsules turns out to be strongly dependent on both the charge and molecular weight of the protein as well as on the number of polyelectrolyte bilayers the microcapsules consist of

Applications of ethylene vinyl acetate as an encapsulation material for terrestrial photovoltaic modules

Terrestrial photovoltaic modules must undergo substantial reductions in cost in order to become economically attractive as practical devices for large scale production of electricity. Part of the cost reductions must be realized by the encapsulation materials that are used to package, protect, and support the solar cells, electrical interconnects, and other ancillary components. As many of the encapsulation materials are polymeric, cost reductions necessitate the use of low cost polymers. The performance and status of ethylene vinyl acetate, a low cost polymer that is being investigated as an encapsulation material for terrestrial photovoltaic modules, are described

Encapsulation of DNA by cationic diblock copolymer vesicles

Encapsulation of dsDNA fragments (contour length 54 nm) by the cationic diblock copolymer poly(butadiene-b-N-methyl 4-vinyl pyridinium) [PBd-b-P4VPQ] has been studied with phase contrast, polarized light, and fluorescence microscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy. Encapsulation was achieved with a single emulsion technique. For this purpose, an aqueous DNA solution is emulsified in an organic solvent (toluene) and stabilized by the amphiphilic diblock copolymer. The PBd block forms an interfacial brush, whereas the cationic P4VPQ block complexes with DNA. A subsequent change of the quality of the organic solvent results in a collapse of the PBd brush and the formation of a capsule. Inside the capsules, the DNA is compacted as shown by the appearance of birefringent textures under crossed polarizers and the increase in fluorescence intensity of labeled DNA. The capsules can also be dispersed in aqueous medium to form vesicles, provided they are stabilized with an osmotic agent (polyethylene glycol) in the external phase. It is shown that the DNA is released from the vesicles once the osmotic pressure drops below 105 N/m2 or if the ionic strength of the supporting medium exceeds 0.1 M. The method has also proven to be efficient to encapsulate pUC18 plasmid in sub-micron sized vesicles and the general applicability of the method has been demonstrated by the preparation of the charge inverse system: cationic poly(ethylene imine) encapsulated by the anionic diblock poly(styrene-b-acrylic acid).Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Langmui

Discussion On Device Structures And Hermetic Encapsulation For SiOx Random Access Memory Operation In Air

An edge-free structure and hermetic encapsulation technique are presented that enable SiOx-based resistive random-access memory (RRAM) operation in air. A controlled etch study indicates that the switching filament is close to the SiOx surface in devices with an exposed SiOx edge. Electrical test of encapsulated, edge-free devices in 1 atmosphere air indicates stable switching characteristics, unlike devices with an edge. This work demonstrates that SiOx RRAM is able to operate in air with proper encapsulation and an edge-free structure. The resistive switching failure mechanism when operating in air is explained by the oxidation of hydrogen-complexed defects in the switching filament. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.National Science Foundation IIP-1127537Microelectronics Research Cente

Label-Free Metabolic Classification of Single Cells in Droplets Using the Phasor Approach to Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy.

Characterization of single cell metabolism is imperative for understanding subcellular functional and biochemical changes associated with healthy tissue development and the progression of numerous diseases. However, single-cell analysis often requires the use of fluorescent tags and cell lysis followed by genomic profiling to identify the cellular heterogeneity. Identifying individual cells in a noninvasive and label-free manner is crucial for the detection of energy metabolism which will discriminate cell types and most importantly critical for maintaining cell viability for further analysis. Here, we have developed a robust assay using the droplet microfluidic technology together with the phasor approach to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to study cell heterogeneity within and among the leukemia cell lines (K-562 and Jurkat). We have extended these techniques to characterize metabolic differences between proliferating and quiescent cells-a critical step toward label-free single cancer cell dormancy research. The result suggests a droplet-based noninvasive and label-free method to distinguish individual cells based on their metabolic states, which could be used as an upstream phenotypic platform to correlate with genomic statistics. © 2018 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry