Minimal energy control of a nanoelectromechanical memory element

The Pontryagin minimal energy control approach has been applied to minimise the switching energy in a nanoelectromechanical memory system and to characterise global stability of the oscillatory states of the bistable memory element. A comparison of two previously experimentally determined pulse-type control signals with Pontryagin control function has been performed, and the superiority of the Pontryagin approach with regard to power consumption has been demonstrated. An analysis of global stability shows how values of minimal energy can be utilized in order to specify equally stable states

Cell surface engineering to control cellular interactions

Cell surface composition determines all interactions of the cell with its environment, thus cell functions such as adhesion, migration and cell–cell interactions can potentially be controlled by engineering and manipulating the cell membrane. Cell membranes present a rich repertoire of molecules, therefore a versatile ground for modification. However the complex and dynamic nature of the cell surface is also a major challenge for cell surface engineering that should also involve strategies compatible with cell viability. Cell surface engineering by selective chemical reactions or by the introduction of exogenous targeting ligands can be a powerful tool for engineering novel interactions and controlling cell function. In addition to chemical conjugation and modification of functional groups, ligands of interest to modify the surface of cells include recombinant proteins, liposomes or nanoparticles. Here, we review recent efforts to perform changes to cell surface composition. We focus on the engineering of the cell surface with biological, chemical or physical methods to modulate cell functions and control cell–cell and cell–microenvironment interactions. Potential applications of cell surface engineering are also discussed

Surface properties of extracts from cork black condensate

The insulation corkboard production generates black condensate (BC), a paste-like solid waste. It is hydrophobic and has the potential to be used as protective coating. To evaluate this potential, coatings were prepared from BC extracts and their surface behavior was evaluated by contact angle (CA) measurements. The CA dynamics were recorded as a function of time; advancing CAs were also registered; the approaches were applied according to Fowkes, Owens- Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble (OWRK), and Van Oss to determine the surface energy (SE) for each coating. Depending on the liquid probe, three phenomena were observed: water evaporation, diiodomethane diffusion into the coating, and rearrangement of the chemical groups on the coating surface, when glycerol was dropped onto the surface. Based on the results from the CA dynamics, the applicability of the coatings against hydrophobic environments was limited owing to its affinity to apolar compounds. The results show that the coating prepared by the toluene BC extract was the best coating. The key data were: water CA of 99.38, total SE (between 37.4 mN m-1 and 40.1 mN m-1), SE polar component (0.1 mN m-1), and the acidic and basic characters were negligible. It can be concluded that the BC extracts have potential for coatings.R.P. acknowledges a post-doc research grant BPD/39333/2007 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). We gratefully acknowledge Amorim Isolamentos S.A. for the supply of black condensate

Thermal Transport Imaging in the Quantum Hall Edge Channel

Research focused on heat transport in the quantum Hall (QH) edge channel has successfully addressed fundamental theoretical questions surrounding the QH physics. However, the picture of the edge channel is complicated by the phenomenon of energy dissipation out of the edge, and theories treating this dissipation are lacking. More experimental data is also needed to determine the coupling mechanism by which energy leaves the edge channel. We developed a method to map the heat transport in the QH edge to study the dissipation of heat. We locally heated the QH edge and locally detected the temperature increase while continuously varying the distance between heater and thermometer. We thereby obtained the thermal decay length of the edge state, which we found to depend on magnetic field strength

Multiwavelength and polarization lidar measurements of Asian dust layers over Tsukuba, Japan: a case study

International audienceElastic and polarization lidar was used to measure the vertical profiles of aerosol backscattering coefficients at wavelengths of 355, 532, 735, and 1064 nm, and the depolarization ratio at 532 nm in order to study the aerosol properties in the free troposphere over Tsukuba, Japan, in 2006. An elevated dust layer was observed at altitudes between 3 and 8.5 km on 1 April during the Asian dust period. The wavelength exponents of the aerosol backscattering coefficient (k) were ?0.1 to 0.5, and the depolarization ratio (?p) was 25% for the dust layer, suggesting the predominance of supermicrometer-sized (coarse mode) nonspherical particles. An aerosol layer observed at altitudes between 1.5 and 5 km on 19 October during the less-dust period exhibited the values of k=1.0 to 1.6 and ?p=1 to 13%, suggesting the predominance of submicrometer-sized (fine mode) particles. In those layers, the values of k and ?p varied with height; they were also negatively correlated, suggesting that the proportion of the coarse nonspherical particles to total particles varied. The particle size distributions estimated from the observed values and the theoretical computation revealed number mode radii of 0.3 &mum; for the coarse mode and 0.1 &mum; for the fine mode, assuming bimodal distribution. These results were consistent with those obtained from the sky-radiometer measurements, although they revealed another mode in the larger radius. The column volume concentration derived from the lidar was 48% lower than that derived from the sky-radiometer on 1 April and 16% lower on 19 October. The optical thickness derived from the lidar was 12% lower than that obtained from the sky-radiometer on 1 April and 29% higher on 19 October. Further case study is necessary to validate the method for estimating aerosol properties based on the lidar measurement

Charged black holes: Wave equations for gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations

A pair of wave equations for the electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations of the charged Kerr black hole are derived. The perturbed Einstein-Maxwell equations in a new gauge are employed in the derivation. The wave equations refer to the perturbed Maxwell spinor $\Phi_0$ and to the shear $\sigma$ of a principal null direction of the Weyl curvature. The whole construction rests on the tripod of three distinct derivatives of the first curvature $\kappa$ of a principal null direction.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Ap.

Supercritical fluids: an emerging technology for the preparation of scaffolds for tissue engineering

[Excerpt] The field of tissue engineering has evolved greatly since the idea of combining active compounds and scaffolds to create artificial tissues. Small molecular weight drugs that control proliferation differentiation of cells can be incorporated into biodegradable scaffolds to induce cellular differentiation and tissue remodeling. The scaffold plays, therefore an important role not only as a physical support but also in the cell proliferation and differentiation. One of the most important stages of tissue engineering is the design and processing of a porous 3D structure, with high porosity, high interconnectivity between the porous and uniform distribution. A variety of processing techniques have been developed and include solvent casting and particles leaching, compression moulding and particle leaching, thermally induced phase separation, gas-foaming processes, among others. The main disadvantages of these methods are the use of organic solvents and the high temperatures required. The presence of residual organic solvents is being rigorously controlled by international safety regulations, it is necessary to warrant the complete removal and absence of these substances, without exposing bioactive compounds to high temperatures, which may degrade them. Supercritical fluid technology appears, therefore as an interesting alternative to the traditional processing methods.[...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of heavy hole-light hole coupling on optical selection rules in GaAs quantum dots

We report strong heavy hole-light mixing in GaAs quantum dots grown by droplet epitaxy. Using the neutral and charged exciton emission as a monitor we observe the direct consequence of quantum dot symmetry reduction in this strain free system. By fitting the polar diagram of the emission with simple analytical expressions obtained from k$\cdot$p theory we are able to extract the mixing that arises from the heavy-light hole coupling due to the geometrical asymmetry of the quantum dot.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure