30P Nowa fizyczna metoda wczesnego diagnozowania i monitorowania leczenia chorych z rozpoznaniem nowotworu

Pole magnetyczne o indukcji B > 10 tesli znajduje zastosowanie w analizie indukowanej dwójłomności kołowej surowicy krwi. Analiza oddziaływania silnego pola magnetycznego i elektromagnetycznego pola wiązki świetlnej z surowicą krwi wykazała, że w silnym polu magnetycznym ujawnia się wyraźnie ilościowa różnica magneto-optycznych efektów obserwowanych dla surowic dawców krwi chorych z nowotworami. Dokonano analizy 110 surowic krwi. Pomiary wykonano w silnym impulsowym (B ≅ 30 tesli). Próbki surowicy 23 dawców krwi zostały poddane badaniom mającym na celu określenie naturalnej aktywności optycznej. Surowice te stanowiły punkt odniesienia do analiz surowic chorych onkologicznych. Analizowano surowice chorych z rozpoznaniem raka prostaty, jelita grubego, raka jajnika, w którym w trakcie leczenia oznacza się poziom markerów nowotworowych. Druga grupa chorych to pacjenci z mierzalnymi guzami gruczołu piersiowego, mięsaka, czerniaka, szpiczaka. Dokonano pomiarów magneto-optycznych współczynników a, b, c oraz naturalnej aktywności optycznej α0 surowic.Wykazano wyraźną współzależność między stanem chorego, a wartością współczynnika b oraz jego korelacją ze wzrostem poziomu markerów nowotworowych lub wielkością ognisk przerzutowych. Prowadzone po raz pierwszy badania magnatyczno-optycznej dwójłomności kołowej surowicy są szybką metodą analityczną. Mogą w przyszłości mieć zastosowanie w diagnostyce i monitorowaniu leczenia nowotworów

Antimicrobial, antibiofilm and biochemichal properties of Thymus vulgaris essential oil against clinical isolates of opportunistic infections

Thyme belongs to a genus encompassing over 215 species of hardy perennial herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs, which are native to Europe, particularly around the Mediterranean. Thymus vulgaris L., or garden thyme, with narrow small leaves and clusters of tubular mauve flowers, is used mainly in cookery. Dried herb yields 1% and more essential oil, which is a pale yellowish-red liquid with a sweet, very aromatic odour. Thyme is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and is a source of substances of antimicrobial effect upon antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms. The purpose of our work was to identify the biochemical and antimicrobial peculiarities of Th. vulgaris essential oil against clinical isolates of opportunistic microorganisms. The analysis of thyme essential oil was carried out using GC/MS analysis. The clinical isolates were isolated with the use of differentially diagnostic nutrient media. The antibiotic susceptibility was identified with the help of the disc-diffusion test. The sensitivity of microorganisms to plant extracts was determined by the agar diffusion test. The antibiofilm activity of the extracts was tested in standard 96-well microtitration plates. The GC/MS results confirm the earlier reports that the major volatile constituents obtained from the aerial parts of thyme species were thymol, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, 3-carene and carvacrol. After subjecting the selected essential oil to effective steam distillation, substantial contents of phenolic monoterpenoids were obtained – thymol (67.7%) and γ-terpinene (8.2%). The European Pharmacopoeia set quality standards for thyme essential oil, which dealt mainly with the % content (w/w) of the volatile phenols (expressed as thymol: 36.0–55.0%). Garden thyme essential oil has been found to show a high antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant microorganism strains. The obtained results proved the wide spectrum of antibiotic activity of thyme essential oil. The highest antimicrobial activity was registered against the typical and clinic strains of S. aureus and microscopic Candida genus fungi. Garden thyme essential oil was ascertained to show high antibiofilm-forming activity against S. aureus. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm-forming activities of thyme essential oil against both bacterial pathogens of opportunistic infections and microscopic fungi have proven the good prospects for development of a broad-spectrum agent against opportunistic microbial associations based on this oil

Direct observation of a highly spin-polarized organic spinterface at room temperature

The design of large-scale electronic circuits that are entirely spintronics-driven requires a current source that is highly spin-polarised at and beyond room temperature, cheap to build, efficient at the nanoscale and straightforward to integrate with semiconductors. Yet despite research within several subfields spanning nearly two decades, this key building block is still lacking. We experimentally and theoretically show how the interface between Co and phthalocyanine molecules constitutes a promising candidate. Spin-polarised direct and inverse photoemission experiments reveal a high degree of spin polarisation at room temperature at this interface. We measured a magnetic moment on the molecules's nitrogen pi orbitals, which substantiates an ab-initio theoretical description of highly spin-polarised charge conduction across the interface due to differing spinterface formation mechanims in each spin channel. We propose, through this example, a recipe to engineer simple organic-inorganic interfaces with remarkable spintronic properties that can endure well above room temperature

Influence of elongated zirconia particles on microstructure and mechanical properties of yttria stabilized zirconia polycrystals

Yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals were prepared using mixtures of two different powders. One is composed of nanometric particles of 3.5 mol% Y2O3 solid solution in ZrO2 and the other one of pure zirconia particles. The latter shows elongated particles of about 200 nm length and monoclinic symmetry and the former consists of isometric tetragonal particles of about 7 nm size. Both powders were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 240 °C in water (the 3.5 mol% Y2O3 – ZrO2 solid solution) or in 4 M NaOH solution (the pure ZrO2 powder). Two homogenous mixtures of these powders were prepared; the one with 5 wt.% and the other one with 10 wt.% of the elongated zirconia particles. Compacts of 10 mm diameter were isostatically pressed (250 MPa) and sintered in a dilatometer furnace at 1400 °C with no soaking time. A set of samples heated up to the selected temperatures allowed us to follow phase changes of the materials vs. temperature by X-ray diffraction. It was confirmed that all materials show tetragonal symmetry at the final temperature (1400 °C). Density and mean grain size decrease with the elongated zirconia particle additives. The dense samples were polished and their hardness and fracture toughness were determined by Vickers indentation. No hardness changes, due to the elongated zirconia particles additives, were observed, but essential increase of fracture toughness occurred. The observations of the crack runs suggest crack deflection as a potential mechanism of the fracture toughness increase

Diamond-max ceramics bonding phase composites – phases and microstructure analysis

The possibility for improving the thermal stability of polycrystalline materials based on diamond (PCD) is to reduce the content of cobalt. Diamond compacts without cobalt phases with Ti3₃iC₂ і Cr₂AlC prepared using the method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The resulting compacts with 20 wt. % of the above phases were exposed to high pressure and temperature in order to further consolidate the structure by sintering. Sintering was performed at 8±0.2 GPa and 1950±50 °C. Phase composition and microstructural study of the original compacts and the composites made by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Одна з можливостей підвищення термостійкості полікристалічних матеріалів на основі алмазу (PCD) полягає в зменшенні вмісту в них кобальту. Алмазні компакти без кобальту з фазами Ti3₃iC₂ і Cr₂AlC отримували з використанням методу само поширюваного високотемпературного синтезу (SHS). Отримані компакти з 20 мас. % зазначених фаз піддавали дії високого тиску і температури з метою подальшої консолідації структури шляхом спікання. Процес спікання здійснювали при 8 ± 0,2 ГПа и 1950 ± 50 °С. Фазовий склад і мікроструктурні дослідження вихідних компактів і отриманих композитів виконані методами рентгенівської дифрактометрії (XRD) і скануючої електронної мікроскопії (SEM).Одна из возможностей повышения термостойкости поликристаллических материалов на основе алмаза (PCD) заключается в снижении содержания в них кобальта. Алмазные компакты без кобальта с фазами Ti3₃iC₂ и Cr₂AlC получали с использованием метода самораспространяющегося высокотемпературного синтеза (SHS). Полученные компакты с 20 % по мас. указанных фаз подвергали воздействию высокого давления и температуры с целью дальнейшей консолидации структуры путем спекания. Процесс спекания осуществляли при 8 ± 0,2 ГПа и 1950 ± 50 °С. Фазовый состав и микроструктурные исследования исходных компактов и полученных композитов выполнены методами рентгеновской дифрактометрии (XRD) и сканирующей электронной микроскопии (SEM)

Quasiparticle bandgap engineering of graphene and graphone on hexagonal boron nitride substrate

Graphene holds great promise for post-silicon electronics, however, it faces two main challenges: opening up a bandgap and finding a suitable substrate material. In principle, graphene on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrate provides potential system to overcome these challenges. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have provided conflicting results: while theoretical studies suggested a possibility of a finite bandgap of graphene on hBN, recent experimental studies find no bandgap. Using the first-principles density functional method and the many-body perturbation theory, we have studied graphene on hBN substrate. A Bernal stacked graphene on hBN has a bandgap on the order of 0.1 eV, which disappears when graphene is misaligned with respect to hBN. The latter is the likely scenario in realistic devices. In contrast, if graphene supported on hBN is hydrogenated, the resulting system (graphone) exhibits bandgaps larger than 2.5 eV. While the bandgap opening in graphene/hBN is due to symmetry breaking and is vulnerable to slight perturbation such as misalignment, the graphone bandgap is due to chemical functionalization and is robust in the presence of misalignment. The bandgap of graphone reduces by about 1 eV when it is supported on hBN due to the polarization effects at the graphone/hBN interface. The band offsets at graphone/hBN interface indicate that hBN can be used not only as a substrate but also as a dielectric in the field effect devices employing graphone as a channel material. Our study could open up new way of bandgap engineering in graphene based nanostructures.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; Nano Letters, Publication Date (Web): Oct. 25 2011, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl202725

Effect of Layer-Stacking on the Electronic Structure of Graphene Nanoribbons

The evolution of electronic structure of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) as a function of the number of layers stacked together is investigated using \textit{ab initio} density functional theory (DFT) including interlayer van der Waals interactions. Multilayer armchair GNRs (AGNRs), similar to single-layer AGNRs, exhibit three classes of band gaps depending on their width. In zigzag GNRs (ZGNRs), the geometry relaxation resulting from interlayer interactions plays a crucial role in determining the magnetic polarization and the band structure. The antiferromagnetic (AF) interlayer coupling is more stable compared to the ferromagnetic (FM) interlayer coupling. ZGNRs with the AF in-layer and AF interlayer coupling have a finite band gap while ZGNRs with the FM in-layer and AF interlayer coupling do not have a band gap. The ground state of the bi-layer ZGNR is non-magnetic with a small but finite band gap. The magnetic ordering is less stable in multilayer ZGNRs compared to single-layer ZGNRs. The quasipartcle GW corrections are smaller for bilayer GNRs compared to single-layer GNRs because of the reduced Coulomb effects in bilayer GNRs compared to single-layer GNRs.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Contribution to the understanding of tribological properties of graphite intercalation compounds with metal chloride

Intrinsic tribological properties of lamellar compounds are usually attributed to the presence of van der Waals gaps in their structure through which interlayer interactions are weak. The controlled variation of the distances and interactions between graphene layers by intercalation of electrophilic species in graphite is used in order to explore more deeply the friction reduction properties of low-dimensional compounds. Three graphite intercalation compounds with antimony pentachloride, iron trichloride and aluminium trichloride are studied. Their tribological properties are correlated to their structural parameters, and the interlayer interactions are deduced from ab initio bands structure calculations

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)