Solvent evaporation driven entrapment of magnetic nanoparticles in mesoporous frame for designing a highly efficient MRI contrast probe

The present work reports a novel strategy of assembling maghemite (?-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) in mesoporous silica host for developing a highly efficient MRI contrast probe. Shrinkage of hydrophobic environment due to the continuous evaporation of chloroform from Chloroform-in-Water emulsions pushes the hydrophobic ?-Fe2O3 NPs towards the hydrophobic pores of silica spheres resulting in a water soluble dense assembly structure. Mesoporous silica only with straight pores is found to be suitable for this particular entrapment process, while with curved and twisted pores, NPs are found to be seated on the surface only. So-developed assembly system has retained the superparamagnetic behaviour of its comprising NPs and exhibited high colloidal stability and biocompatibility. A significant enhancement in MRI transverse relaxivity to 386.2?mM?1?s?1 from 191.8?mM?1?s?1 of isolated primary ?-Fe2O3 NPs, has been obtained due to the strong magnetic field generated by the large number of NPs packed in the porous channels and consequent faster relaxation process. The fabrication strategy can be extended for the development of designed secondary nanostructures with new magnetic effects and physical properties

Thermal error modelling of a gantry-type 5-axis machine tool using a Grey Neural Network Model

This paper presents a new modelling methodology for compensation of the thermal errors on a gantry-type 5-axis CNC machine tool. The method uses a “Grey Neural Network Model with Convolution Integral” (GNNMCI(1, N)), which makes full use of the similarities and complementarity between Grey system models and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to overcome the disadvantage of applying either model in isolation. A Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm is also employed to optimise the proposed Grey neural network. The size of the data pairs is crucial when the generation of data is a costly affair, since the machine downtime necessary to acquire the data is often considered prohibitive. Under such circumstances, optimisation of the number of data pairs used for training is of prime concern for calibrating a physical model or training a black-box model. A Grey Accumulated Generating Operation (AGO), which is a basis of the Grey system theory, is used to transform the original data to a monotonic series of data, which has less randomness than the original series of data. The choice of inputs to the thermal model is a non-trivial decision which is ultimately a compromise between the ability to obtain data that sufficiently correlates with the thermal distortion and the cost of implementation of the necessary feedback sensors. In this study, temperature measurement at key locations was supplemented by direct distortion measurement at accessible locations. This form of data fusion simplifies the modelling process, enhances the accuracy of the system and reduces the overall number of inputs to the model, since otherwise a much larger number of thermal sensors would be required to cover the entire structure. The Z-axis heating test, C-axis heating test, and the combined (helical) movement are considered in this work. The compensation values, calculated by the GNNMCI(1, N) model were sent to the controller for live error compensation. Test results show that a 85% reduction in thermal errors was achieved after compensation

17O NMR study of q=0 spin excitations in a nearly ideal S=1/2 1D Heisenberg antiferromagnet, Sr2CuO3, up to 800 K

We used 17O NMR to probe the uniform (wavevector q=0) electron spin excitations up to 800 K in Sr2CuO3 and separate the q=0 from the q=\pm\pi/a staggered components. Our results support the logarithmic decrease of the uniform spin susceptibility below T ~ 0.015J, where J=2200 K. From measurement of the dynamical spin susceptibility for q=0 by the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T_{1}, we demonstrate that the q=0 mode of spin transport is ballistic at the T=0 limit, but has a diffusion-like contribution at finite temperatures even for T << J.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 4 figure

Hydrodynamics of R-charged D1-branes

We study the hydrodynamic properties of strongly coupled $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory of the D1-brane at finite temperature and at a non-zero density of R-charge in the framework of gauge/gravity duality. The gravity dual description involves a charged black hole solution of an Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton system in 3 dimensions which is obtained by a consistent truncation of the spinning D1-brane in 10 dimensions. We evaluate thermal and electrical conductivity as well as the bulk viscosity as a function of the chemical potential conjugate to the R-charges of the D1-brane. We show that the ratio of bulk viscosity to entropy density is independent of the chemical potential and is equal to $1/4\pi$. The thermal conductivity and bulk viscosity obey a relationship similar to the Wiedemann-Franz law. We show that at the boundary of thermodynamic stability, the charge diffusion mode becomes unstable and the transport coefficients exhibit critical behaviour. Our method for evaluating the transport coefficients relies on expressing the second order differential equations in terms of a first order equation which dictates the radial evolution of the transport coefficient. The radial evolution equations can be solved exactly for the transport coefficients of our interest. We observe that transport coefficients of the D1-brane theory are related to that of the M2-brane by an overall proportionality constant which sets the dimensions.Comment: 57 pages, 12 figure

63Cu NQR evidence of dimensional crossover to anisotropic 2d regime in S= 1/2 three-leg ladder Sr2Cu3O5

We probed spin-spin correlations up to 725 K with 63Cu NQR in the S= 1/2 three-leg ladder Sr2Cu3O5. We present experimental evidence that below 300 K, weak inter-ladder coupling causes dimensional crossover of the spin-spin correlation length \xi from quasi-1d (\xi ~ 1/T) to anisotropic 2d regime (\xi \~ exp[2\pi\rho_{s}/T], where 2\pi\rho_{s} = 290 +/- 30 K is the effective spin stiffness). This is the first experimental verification of the renormalized classical behavior of the anisotropic non-linear sigma model in 2d, which has been recently proposed for the striped phase in high T_{c} cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Intermediate temperature dynamics of one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets

We present a general theory for the intermediate temperature (T) properties of Heisenberg antiferromagnets of spin-S ions on p-leg ladders, valid for 2Sp even or odd. Following an earlier proposal for 2Sp even (Damle and Sachdev, cond-mat/9711014), we argue that an integrable, classical, continuum model of a fixed-length, 3-vector applies over an intermediate temperature range; this range becomes very wide for moderate and large values of 2Sp. The coupling constants of the effective model are known exactly in terms of the energy gap above the ground state (for 2Sp even) or a crossover scale (for 2Sp odd). Analytic and numeric results for dynamic and transport properties are obtained, including some exact results for the spin-wave damping. Numerous quantitative predictions for neutron scattering and NMR experiments are made. A general discussion on the nature of T>0 transport in integrable systems is also presented: an exact solution of a toy model proves that diffusion can exist in integrable systems, provided proper care is taken in approaching the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 38 pages, including 12 figure

Quantum impurity dynamics in two-dimensional antiferromagnets and superconductors

We present the universal theory of arbitrary, localized impurities in a confining paramagnetic state of two-dimensional antiferromagnets with global SU(2) spin symmetry. The energy gap of the host antiferromagnet to spin-1 excitations, \Delta, is assumed to be significantly smaller than a typical nearest neighbor exchange. In the absence of impurities, it was argued in earlier work (Chubukov et al. cond-mat/9304046) that the low-temperature quantum dynamics is universally and completely determined by the values of \Delta and a spin-wave velocity c. Here we establish the remarkable fact that no additional parameters are necessary for an antiferromagnet with a dilute concentration of impurities, n_{imp} - each impurity is completely characterized by a integer/half-odd-integer valued spin, S, which measures the net uncompensated Berry phase due to spin precession in its vicinity. We compute the impurity-induced damping of the spin-1 collective mode of the antiferromagnet: the damping occurs on an energy scale \Gamma= n_{imp} (\hbar c)^2/\Delta, and we predict a universal, asymmetric lineshape for the collective mode peak. We argue that, under suitable conditions, our results apply unchanged (or in some cases, with minor modifications) to d-wave superconductors, and compare them to recent neutron scattering experiments on YBCO by Fong et al. (cond-mat/9812047). We also describe the universal evolution of numerous measurable correlations as the host antiferromagnet undergoes a quantum phase transition to a Neel ordered state.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures; added reference

Mechanistic insight into the sensing of nitroaromatic compounds by metal-organic frameworks

There has been extensive research on the sensing of explosive nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) using fluorescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). However, ambiguity in the sensing mechanism has hampered the development of efficient explosive sensors. Here we report the synthesis of a hydroxyl-functionalized MOF for rapid and efficient sensing of NACs and examine in detail its fluorescence quenching mechanisms. In chloroform, quenching takes place primarily by exciton migration to the ground-state complex formed between the MOF and the analytes. A combination of hydrogen-bonding interactions and ??????? stacking interactions are responsible for fluorescence quenching, and this observation is supported by single-crystal structures. In water, the quenching mechanism shifts toward resonance energy transfer and photo-induced electron transfer, after exciton migration as in chloroform. This study provides insight into florescence-quenching mechanisms for the selective sensing of NACs and reduces the ambiguity regarding the nature of interactions between the MOF and NACs

Enabling Cyber Physical Systems with Wireless Sensor Networking Technologies

[[abstract]]Over the last few years, we have witnessed a growing interest in Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) that rely on a strong synergy between computational and physical components. CPSs are expected to have a tremendous impact on many critical sectors (such as energy, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, aerospace, etc) of the economy. CPSs have the ability to transform the way human-to-human, human-toobject, and object-to-object interactions take place in the physical and virtual worlds. The increasing pervasiveness of Wireless Sensor Networking (WSN) technologies in many applications make them an important component of emerging CPS designs. We present some of the most important design requirements of CPS architectures. We discuss key sensor network characteristics that can be leveraged in CPS designs. In addition, we also review a few well-known CPS application domains that depend on WSNs in their design architectures and implementations. Finally, we present some of the challenges that still need to be addressed to enable seamless integration of WSN with CPS designs.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙