Synthesis and Characterization of Nucleic Acid-functionalized Nanomaterials

Motor proteins such as kinesin move along microtubules in order to transport cellular cargos throughout the cell by obtaining energy from RNA hydrolysis which allows the cell to complete the tasks needed to stay alive. In this work, we developed synthetic molecular motors using DNA enzymes (DNAzyme) and fluorescent nanomaterials which mimic the functions and structures of motor proteins. A DNAzyme-capped CdS nanoparticle and a RNA-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) were used as a walker and a track in the motor platform, respectively. As a walking mechanism, the DNAzyme cleaved the RNA substrates in the presence of metal cations. The RNA molecules were functionalized with SWCNTs using pi-pi stacking. Due to their fluorescent properties under specific light excitations, they were visualized to track the position of our motor. In addition, we studied the kinetics of molecular motors in different environments. As a result, the fastest translocation velocity was found to be 1nm min-1 and the maximum displacement was 3µm. A turnover rate of 0.025s-1 was determined by making a kinetic model based on the density of the single motor reactions. We demonstrated that the cation concentration, type of metal cation, pH, and temperature all modify the kinetics of the molecular motor. In conclusion, we developed the bio-inspired synthetic motors using DNA nanotechnology and showed how to control their movements using design of structures and modification of chemical environments. In the future, we will develop the kinetic model to analyze their kinetics and design the optimized molecular motors on purpose

Erratum: Dirichlet Forms and Dirichlet Operators for Infinite Particle Systems: Essential Self-adjointness

We reprove the essential self-adjointness of the Dirichlet operators of Dirchlet forms for infinite particle systems with superstable and sub-exponentially decreasing interactions.Comment: This is an erratum to the work appeared in J. Math. Phys. 39(12), 6509-6536 (1998

Improvement of Fire Hydrant Design to Enhance Water Main Flushing

AbstractFlushing is a good practice to avoid problems related to sediment, bio-film growth, and corrosion. Artificial sediment was removed from fire hydrant with pilot scale water distribution main. The sediment removal in fire hydrant and main was carefully compared with different flow rate with velocity ranged from 0.3 to 3.0 m/s and the depth of fire hydrant from 0.5 m to 1.3m. The drain capability of fire hydrant decreased as the flow rate increased. Sediment with higher density was hard to remove from water main. The length effect of upward fire hydrant was relatively minor. Downward drain showed better efficiency for both sand and actual sediment

Environmental considerations of plastic behaviors for automobile applications

AbstractIt is well known fact that the thermo-mechanical behaviors of polymeric materials are strongly influenced by environmental factors, and, for automobiles, the mechanical properties of interior plastic structures are noticeably changed by being repeatedly exposed to environments such as sun light and rains. As the properties change, mechanical fits such as fasteners and clips in automobiles lose their tightness, creating unexpected noises. To consider Buzz, Squeak and Rattle (BSR) from initial stage of the interior design, it is very important to obtain, analyze and understand the structural behaviors of the materials under environmental changes as well as time. In this report, the mechanical property changes of the plastics for automobiles are measured to investigate the temperature and humidity effects. The samples are undergone different temperature and humidity conditions, and regularly taken out to measure the thermo-mechanical properties. The data are compared with the original samples, and analyzed for the properties change. Viscoelastic characteristics such as glass transition temperatures and storage/loss modulus were also investigate

More self-tuning solutions with HMNPQH_{MNPQ}

We find more self-tuning solutions by introducing a general form for Lagrangian of a 3-index antisymmetric tensor field $A_{MNP}$ in the RS II model. In particular, for the logarithmic Lagrangian, $\propto\log(-H^2)$, we obtained a closed form weak self-tuning solution.Comment: LaTeX file of 12 page

Combining first-principles modeling and symbolic regression for designing efficient single-atom catalysts in Oxygen Evolution Reaction on Mo2_2CO2_2 MXenes

In this study, we address the significant challenge of overcoming limitations in catalytic efficiency for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The current linear scaling relationships hinder the optimization of electrocatalytic performance. To tackle this issue, we investigate the potential of designing single-atom catalysts (SACs) on Mo$_2$CO$_2$ MXenes for electrochemical OER using first-principles modeling simulations. By employing the Electrochemical Step Symmetry Index (ESSI) method, we assess OER intermediates to fine-tune activity and identify the optimal SAC for Mo$_2$CO$_2$ MXenes. Our findings reveal that both Ag and Cu exhibit effectiveness as single atoms for enhancing OER activity on Mo$_2$CO$_2$ MXenes. However, among the 21 chosen transition metals (TMs) in this study, Cu stands out as the best catalyst for tweaking the overpotential ($\eta_{OER}$). This is due to Cu's lowest overpotential compared to other TMs, which makes it more favorable for OER performance. On the other hand, Ag is closely aligned with ESSI=$\eta_{OER}$, making the tuning of its overpotential more challenging. Furthermore, we employ symbolic regression analysis to identify the significant factors that exhibit a correlation with the OER overpotential. By utilizing this approach, we derive mathematical formulas for the overpotential and identify key descriptors that affect catalytic efficiency in electrochemical OER on Mo$_2$CO$_2$ MXenes. This comprehensive investigation not only sheds light on the potential of MXenes in advanced electrocatalytic processes but also highlights the prospect of improved activity and selectivity in OER applications

The Influence of Quantum Critical Fluctuations of Circulating Current Order Parameters on the Normal State Properties of Cuprates

We study a model of the quantum critical point of cuprates associated with the "circulating current" order parameter proposed by Varma. An effective action of the order parameter in the quantum disordered phase is derived using functional integral method, and the physical properties of the normal state are studied based on the action. The results derived within the ladder approximation indicate that the system is like Fermi liquid near the quantum critical point and in disordered regime up to minor corrections. This implies that the suggested marginal Fermi liquid behavior induced by the circulating current fluctuations will come in from beyond the ladder diagrams.Comment: 7pages, 1 figure included in RevTex file. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Towards 5D Grand Unification without SUSY Flavor Problem

We consider the renormalization group approach to the SUSY flavor problem in the supersymmetric SU(5) model with one extra dimension. In higher dimensional SUSY gauge theories, it has been recently shown that power corrections due to the Kaluza-Klein states of gauge fields run the soft masses generated at the orbifold fixed point to flavor conserving values in the infra-red limit. In models with GUT breaking at the brane where the GUT scale can be larger than the compactification scale, we show that the addition of a bulk Higgs multiplet, which is necessary for the successful unification, is compatible with the flavor universality achieved at the compactification scale.Comment: JHEP style file of 35 pages with 3 figures, Version to appear in JHE

Folding potential with modern nuclear density functionals and application to 16O+208Pb reaction

Double folding potential is constructed using the M3Y interaction and the matter densities of the projectile and target nuclei obtained from four microscopic energy density functional (EDF) models. The elastic scattering cross sections for the 16O+208Pb system are calculated using the optical model with the double folding potentials of the four EDF models. We focus on the correlation between the matter densities and the behavior the double folding potential and the elastic scattering cross sections. First, the matter and charge densities are examined by comparing the results of the four EDF models. There is a slight difference in the density in the internal region, but it is negligible in the outer region. Next, we calculate the double folding potential with the matter densities obtained from the four EDF models. Differences between the models are negligible in the outer region, but the potential depth in the internal region shows model dependence, which can be understood from the behavior of matter densities in the internal region. Another point is that the double folding potential is shown to be weakly dependent on the incident energy. Finally, the elastic scattering cross sections have no significant model dependence except for the slight difference in the backward angle.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figure

Electrochemical properties of composite cathodes using Sm doped layered perovskite for intermediate temperature-operating solid oxide fuel cell

The authors are grateful for the support of the Basic Science Research Program, part of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (No. 2014R1A1A1004163).SmBaCo2O5+d (SBCO) showed the lowest observed Area Specific Resistance (ASR) value in the LnBaCo2O5+d (Ln: Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd) oxide system for the overall temperature ranges tested. The ASR of a composite cathode (mixture of SBCO and Ce0.9Gd0.1O2−d) on a Ce0.9Gd0.1O2−d (CGO91) electrolyte decreased with respect to the CGO91 content; the percolation limit was also achieved for a 50 wt% SBCO and 50 wt% CGO91 (SBCO50) composite cathode. The ASRs of SBCO50 on the dense CGO91 electrolyte in the overall temperature range of 500 to 750 °C were relatively lower than those of SBCO50 on the CGO91 coated dense 8 mol % yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) electrolyte for the same temperature range. From 750 °C and for all higher temperatures tested, however, the ASRs of SBCO50 on the CGO91 coated dense 8YSZ electrolyte were lower than those of the CGO91 electrolyte. The maximum power densities of SBCO50 on the Ni-8YSZ/8YSZ/CGO91 buffer layer were 1.034 W cm−2 and 0.611 W cm−2 at 800 °C and 700 °C.PostprintPeer reviewe