Synthesis of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes by Inductive Heating CCVD

The CCVD syntheses of MWCNTs from acetylene on Fe:Co:CaCO 3 and Fe:Co:CaO were performed using two different methods of heating: outer furnace and inductive heating. The comparative analysis of the MWCNTs obtained by the two methods show that the tubes grown in inductive heating have smaller diameters (5-25 nm), with fewer walls and aspect ratio of the order of hundreds. The ratio of outer to inner diameter (od/id) is ranging between 2 and 2.5. Inductively assisted CCVD is a very attractive method because of the major advantages that it presents, like low energetic consumption, thinner, well crystallized and more uniform tubes

Fano resonance resulting from a tunable interaction between molecular vibrational modes and a double-continuum of a plasmonic metamolecule

Coupling between tuneable broadband modes of an array of plasmonic metamolecules and a vibrational mode of carbonyl bond of poly(methyl methacrylate) is shown experimentally to produce a Fano resonance, which can be tuned in situ by varying the polarization of incident light. The interaction between the plasmon modes and the molecular resonance is investigated using both rigorous electromagnetic calculations and a quantum mechanical model describing the quantum interference between a discrete state and two continua. The predictions of the quantum mechanical model are in good agreement with the experimental data and provide an intuitive interpretation, at the quantum level, of the plasmon-molecule coupling

Electrostatic Charge Polarity Effect on Respiratory Deposition in the Glass Bead Tracheobronchial Airways Model

The effects of unipolar and bipolar electrostatic charges on the deposition efficiency of therapeutic aerosols in the physical model of human tracheobronchial (TB) airways have been investigated. Respirable size aerosol particles were generated by a commonly prescribed and commercially available nebulizer and charged by a corona charger and then their size and charge distributions were characterized by an Electronic Single Particle Aerodynamic Relaxation Time analyzer to study the drug aerosol particles\u27 deposition pattern. The experiments were performed with a glass bead tracheobronchial model (GBTBM) (physical model) which was designed and developed based upon widely used and adopted dichotomous lung morphometric data presented in the Ewald R. Weibel model. The model was validated with the respiratory deposition data predicted by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) approved Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI). Unipolarly and bipolarly charged particles were characterized for two configurations: a) without TB model in place and b) with TB model in place. Findings showed that the deposition of unipolarly charged particles was about 3 times of the bipolarly charged particles. It was also found that bioengineered therapeutic aerosols with good combinations of aerodynamic size and electrostatic charge are good candidates for the administration of respiratory medicinal drugs

Electrostatic Charge Polarity Effect on Respiratory Deposition in the Glass Bead Tracheobronchial Airways Model

The effects of unipolar and bipolar electrostatic charges on the deposition efficiency of therapeutic aerosols in the physical model of human tracheobronchial (TB) airways have been investigated. Respirable size aerosol particles were generated by a commonly prescribed and commercially available nebulizer and charged by a corona charger and then their size and charge distributions were characterized by an Electronic Single ParticleAerodynamic Relaxation Time analyzer to study the drug aerosol particles\u27 deposition pattern. The experiments were performed with a glass bead tracheobronchial model (GBTBM) (physical model) which was designed and developed based upon widely used and adopted dichotomous lung morphometric data presented in the Ewald R. Weibel model. The model was validated with the respiratory deposition data predicted by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) approved Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI). Unipolarly and bipolarly charged particles were characterized for two configurations: a) without TB model in place and b) with TB model in place. Findings showed that the deposition of unipolarly charged particles was about 3 times of the bipolarly charged particles. It was also found that bioengineered therapeutic aerosols with good combinations ofaerodynamic size and electrostatic charge are good candidates for the administration of respiratory medicinal drugs

INFLUENCE OF THE NUMBER OF PASSES OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY ON PENETRATION RESISTANCE AND THE DEGREE OF SOIL COMPACTION

In the context of the ongoing development of mechanized agriculture, which implies the use of heavy agricultural machinery, often on soils with high moisture content, it increased significantly the risk of soil compaction. Compaction has become a problem of major proportions especially to farmers, because this phenomenon causes environmental damage, and affects soil quality and crop production. Penetration resistance is a valuable and easy to determine indicator of the degree of compaction of agricultural soil. In this paper are presented the results of some experimental research conducted to determine the penetration resistance of a plot of clover, under the influence of the number of passes of a tractor, in order to assess, from an qualitative point of view, the degree of soil compaction

Functionalized gold nanorod nanocomposite system to modulate differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into neural-like progenitors

A 2D multifunctional nanocomposite system of gold nanorods (AuNRs) was developed. Gold nanorods were functionalized via polyethylene glycol with a terminal amine, and, were characterized using transmission and scanning electron microscopy, ultra violet-visible and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Zeta-potential. The system was cytocompatible to and maintained the integrity of Schwann cells. The neurogenic potential of adipose tissue – derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was evaluated in vitro. The expression pattern and localization of Vimentin confirmed the mesenchymal origin of cells and tracked morphological changes during differentiation. The expression patterns of S100β and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), were used as indicator for neural differentiation. Results suggested that this process was enhanced when the cells were seeded on the AuNRs compared to the tissue-culture surface. The present study indicates that the design and the surface properties of the AuNRs enhances neural differentiation of hMSCs and hence, would be beneficial for neural tissue engineering scaffolds

THEORETICAL RESEARCHES ON THE FORCES AND STRESSES IN COUPLING DEVICES - REVIEW

This paper presents a synthesis of theoretical researches carried out in Romania and worldwide on forces and stresses in coupling devices.

Nonlinear superchiral meta-surfaces: tuning chirality and disentangling non-reciprocity at the nanoscale.

Circularly polarized light is incident on a nanostructured chiral meta-surface. In the nanostructured unit cells whose chirality matches that of light, superchiral light is forming and strong optical second harmonic generation can be observed

THEORETICAL RESEARCH ON THE WORKING PROCESS OF COMPLEX AGGREGATES FOR SOIL TILLAGE - REVIEW

The paper presents a summary of theoretical research developed in the country, related to the design and optimization of complex aggregates for soil processing and the improvement of their quality indices of work