2,163 research outputs found
Knudsen gas provides nanobubble stability
We provide a model for the remarkable stability of surface nanobubbles to
bulk dissolution. The key to the solution is that the gas in a nanobubble is of
Knudsen type. This leads to the generation of a bulk liquid flow which
effectively forces the diffusive gas to remain local. Our model predicts the
presence of a vertical water jet immediately above a nanobubble, with an
estimated speed of , in good agreement with our
experimental atomic force microscopy measurement of . In
addition, our model also predicts an upper bound for the size of nanobubbles,
which is consistent with the available experimental data
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Kinetics and mechanism of the interconversion of inverse bicontinuous cubic mesophases
This paper describes time-resolved x-ray diffraction data monitoring the transformation of one inverse bicontinuous cubic mesophase into another, in a hydrated lipid system. The first section of the paper describes a mechanism for the transformation that conserves the topology of the bilayer, based on the work of Charvolin and Sadoc, Fogden and Hyde, and Benedicto and O'Brien in this area. We show a pictorial representation of this mechanism, in terms of both the water channels and the lipid bilayer. The second section describes the experimental results obtained. The system under investigation was 2:1 lauric acid: dilauroylphosphatidylcholine at a hydration of 50% water by weight. A pressure-jump was used to induce a phase transition from the gyroid (Q(II)(G)) to the diamond (Q(II)(D)) bicontinuous cubic mesophase, which was monitored by time-resolved x-ray diffraction. The lattice parameter of both mesophases was found to decrease slightly throughout the transformation, but at the stage where the Q(II)(D) phase first appeared, the ratio of lattice parameters of the two phases was found to be approximately constant for all pressure-jump experiments. The value is consistent with a topology-preserving mechanism. However, the polydomain nature of our sample prevents us from confirming that the specific pathway is that described in the first section of the paper. Our data also reveal signals from two different intermediate structures, one of which we have identified as the inverse hexagonal (H-II) mesophase. We suggest that it plays a role in the transfer of water during the transformation. The rate of the phase transition was found to increase with both temperature and pressure-jump amplitude, and its time scale varied from the order of seconds to minutes, depending on the conditions employed
Surface bubble nucleation phase space
Recent research has revealed several different techniques for nanoscopic gas
nucleation on submerged surfaces, with findings seemingly in contradiction with
each other. In response to this, we have systematically investigated the
occurrence of surface nanobubbles on a hydrophobised silicon substrate for
various different liquid temperatures and gas concentrations, which we
controlled independently. We found that nanobubbles occupy a distinct region of
this phase space, occurring for gas concentrations of approximately 100-110%.
Below the nanobubble phase we did not detect any gaseous formations on the
substrate, whereas micropancakes (micron wide, nanometer high gaseous domains)
were found at higher temperatures and gas concentrations. We moreover find that
supersaturation of dissolved gases is not a requirement for nucleation of
bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Phylogenetic analysis to define feline immunodeficiency virus subtypes in 31 domestic cats in South Africa
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a lentivirus, is an important pathogen of domestic cats around the world and has many similarities to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A characteristic of these lentiviruses is their extensive genetic diversity which has been an obstacle in the development of successful vaccines. Of the FIV genes, the envelope gene is the most variable and sequence differences in a portion of this gene have been used to define 5 FIV subtypes (A, B, C, D and E). In this study, the proviral DNA sequence of the V3-V5 region of the envelope gene was determined in blood samples from 31 FIV positive cats from 4 different regions of South Africa. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of both subtypes A and C, with subtype A predominating. These findings contribute to the understanding of the genetic diversity of FI
Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission studies of the electronic structure of Si(110)"16x2" surfaces
The electronic structure of Si(110)"16 x 2" double-domain, single-domain and
1 x 1 surfaces have been investigated using spin- and angle-resolved
photoemission at sample temperatures of 77 K and 300 K. Angle-resolved
photoemission was conducted using horizontally- and vertically-polarised 60 eV
and 80 eV photons. Band-dispersion maps revealed four surface states ( to
) which were assigned to silicon dangling bonds on the basis of measured
binding energies and photoemission intensity changes between horizontal and
vertical light polarisations. Three surface states (, and ),
observed in the Si(110)"16 x 2" reconstruction, were assigned to Si adatoms and
Si atoms present at the edges of the corrugated terrace structure. Only one of
the four surface states, , was observed in both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1
x 1 band maps and consequently attributed to the pervasive Si zigzag chains
that are components of both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1 x 1 surfaces. A state in
the bulk-band region was attributed to an in-plane bond. All data were
consistent with the adatom-buckling model of the Si(110)"16 x 2" surface.
Whilst room temperature measurements of and were statistically
compatible with zero, measurements of the enantiomorphic A-type and
B-type Si(110)"16 x 2" surfaces gave small average polarisations of around
1.5\% that were opposite in sign. Further measurements at 77 K on A-type
Si(110)"16 x 2" surface gave a smaller value of +0.3\%. An upper limit of
may thus be taken for the longitudinal polarisation.Comment: Main paper: 12 pages and 11 figures. Supplemental information: 5
pages and 2 figure
Calculation of the Phase Behavior of Lipids
The self-assembly of monoacyl lipids in solution is studied employing a model
in which the lipid's hydrocarbon tail is described within the Rotational
Isomeric State framework and is attached to a simple hydrophilic head.
Mean-field theory is employed, and the necessary partition function of a single
lipid is obtained via a partial enumeration over a large sample of molecular
conformations. The influence of the lipid architecture on the transition
between the lamellar and inverted-hexagonal phases is calculated, and
qualitative agreement with experiment is found.Comment: to appear in Phys.Rev.
Surface nanobubbles as a function of gas type
We experimentally investigate the nucleation of surface nanobubbles on
PFDTS-coated silicon as a function of the specific gas dissolved in the water.
In each case we restrict ourselves to equilibrium conditions (,
). Not only is nanobubble nucleation a strong
function of gas type, but there also exists an optimal system temperature of
where nucleation is maximized, which is weakly
dependent on gas type. We also find that contact angle is a function of
nanobubble radius of curvature for all gas types investigated. Fitting this
data allows us to describe a line tension which is dependent on the type of
gas, indicating that the nanobubbles are sat on top of adsorbed gas molecules.
The average line tension was
A systematic review of current knowledge of HIV epidemiology and of sexual behaviour in Nepal
OBJECTIVE: To systematically review information on HIV epidemiology and on sexual behaviour in Nepal with a view to identifying gaps in current knowledge.
METHODS: Systematic review covering electronic databases, web-based information, personal contact with experts and hand searching of key journals.
RESULTS: HIV-1 seroprevalence has been rising rapidly in association with high-risk behaviours, with current levels of 40% amongst the nation's injecting drug users and approaching 20% amongst Kathmandu's female commercial sex workers (FCSWs). HIV seroprevalence remains low in the general population (0.29% of 15–49 year olds). There are significant methodological limitations in many of the seroprevalence studies identified, and these estimates need to be treated with caution. There are extensive migration patterns both within the country and internationally which provide the potential for considerable sexual networking. However, studies of sexual behaviour have focused on FCSWs and the extent of sexual networks within the general population is largely unknown.
CONCLUSIONS: Whilst some of the ingredients are present for an explosive HIV epidemic in Nepal, crucial knowledge on sexual behaviour in the general population is missing. Research on sexual networking is urgently required to guide HIV control in Nepal. There is also a need for further good-quality epidemiological studies of HIV seroprevalence
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