Effects of Scratching Parameters on Fabrication of Polymer Nanostructures in Atomic Force Microscope Tapping Mode

AbstractThe nano scratching with an oscillating Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) tip in tapping mode is called as the dynamic ploughing. The tip is vibrated in a high frequency and scratches the surface which is similar to the conventional vibration-assistant machining process. In the present study, the dynamic ploughing technique is utilized to scratch PolymethylMethacrylate (PMMA) polymer surfaces forming nanostructures with a commercial AFM system and two kinds of cantilevers. Effects of scratching parameters of the dynamic ploughing including scratching velocity, driving amplitude, pitch and the cantilever's elastic constant on the machined results are studied in detail. Finally nano ring structures with different radius are achieved successfully.Video abstrac

Studies of Static and Dynamic Characteristics of the EDM Machine Based on the ANSYS Workbench

The static and dynamic characteristics of the EDM machine as the main machining unit directlyinfluence the machining accuracy and stability. For a particular type of the EDM machine, the three-dimensional model was built with SolidWorks and the finite element method was employed with the ANSYS Workbench to analyze the static and dynamic characteristics of the machine. The results show that the stiffness of the ram and vertical guide (Z-axis) in the Y and Z directions is the weak side of the machine. The analytical method is proved to be effective for the optimization of the machine design.Установлено, что точность и стабильность обработки зависят от статических и динамических характеристик электроэрозионного станка как основного станочного модуля. Для электроэрозионного станка определенного типа с помощью программного комплекса SolidWorks была построена трехмерная модель, а для анализа его статических и динамических характеристик использовали метод конечных элементов в комбинации с программным комплексом ANSYS. Результаты показывают, что жесткость ползуна и вертикальной направляющей (ось Z) в направлениях Y и Z слабая сторона станка. Доказано, что аналитический метод является эффективным средством оптимизации его конструкции

Picornavirus genome replication: Identification of the surface of the poliovirus (PV) 3C dimer that interacts with PV 3Dpol during VPg uridylylation and construction of a structural model for the PV 3C2-3Dpol complex

Picornaviruses have a peptide termed VPg covalently linked to the 5′-end of the genome. Attachment of VPg to the genome occurs in at least two steps. First, Tyr-3 of VPg, or some precursor thereof, is used as a primer by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, 3Dpol, to produce VPg-pUpU. Second, VPg-pUpU is used as a primer to produce full-length genomic RNA. Production of VPg-pUpU is templated by a single adenylate residue located in the loop of an RNA stem-loop structure termed oriI by using a slide-back mechanism. Recruitment of 3Dpol to and its stability on oriI have been suggested to require an interaction between the back of the thumb subdomain of 3Dpol and an undefined region of the 3C domain of viral protein 3CD. We have performed surface acidic-to-alanine-scanning mutagenesis of 3C to identify the surface of 3C with which 3Dpol interacts. This analysis identified numerous viable poliovirus mutants with reduced growth kinetics that correlated to reduced kinetics of RNA synthesis that was attributable to a change in VPg-pUpU production. Importantly, these 3C derivatives were all capable of binding to oriI as well as wild-type 3C. Synthetic lethality was observed for these mutants when placed in the context of a poliovirus mutant containing 3Dpol-R455A, a residue on the back of the thumb required for VPg uridylylation. These data were used to guide molecular docking of the structures for a poliovirus 3C dimer and 3Dpol, leading to a structural model for the 3C2-3Dpol complex that extrapolates well to all picornaviruses

Measurements of the Mass and Full-Width of the ηc\eta_c Meson

In a sample of 58 million $J/\psi$ events collected with the BES II detector, the process J/$\psi\to\gamma\eta_c$ is observed in five different decay channels: $\gamma K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma K^\pm K^0_S \pi^\mp$ (with $K^0_S\to\pi^+\pi^-$), $\gamma \phi\phi$ (with $\phi\to K^+K^-$) and $\gamma p\bar{p}$. From a combined fit of all five channels, we determine the mass and full-width of $\eta_c$ to be $m_{\eta_c}=2977.5\pm1.0 ({stat.})\pm1.2 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$ and $\Gamma_{\eta_c} = 17.0\pm3.7 ({stat.})\pm7.4 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures and 4 table. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

The Vacuum System of HIRFL

AbstractThe vacuum system of Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) is a large and complex system. HIRFL consists of two ECR ion sources, a sector focus cyclotron (SFC), a separate sector cyclotron (SSC) and a multi-purpose cooling storage ring system which has a main ring (CSRm) and an experiment ring (CSRe). Several beam lines connect these accelerators together and transfer various heavy ion beams to more than 10 experiment terminals. According to the requirements of the ion acceleration and ion lifetime, the working pressure in each accelerator is different. SFC is nearly 50 years old. After upgrade, the working pressure in SFC is improved from 10-6mbar to 10-8mbar. The pressure in SSC which was built in the 1980s reaches the same level. The cooling storage ring system with a length of 500m came into operation in 2007. The average pressures in CSRm and CSRe are 5×10-12mbar and 8×10-12mbar respectively. Different designs were adopt for vacuum system of a dozen beam lines to meet specific requirement of each experiment terminal. Along with the extensive development of the heavy ion researches and applications, new accelerators of HIRFL are under construction. The vacuum system of the new machines will be designed and constructed followed the overall schedule

Characterizing barley seed macro- and micro-nutrients under multiple environmental conditions

Crop seeds are the main staples in human diet, especially in undeveloped countries. In any case, the diet needs to be rich not only in macro-nutrients like carbohydrates and protein, but also in micro-nutrients. Nevertheless, both the macro- and micro-nutrients presented in seeds largely vary in consequence of field and environment conditions. In this research, 60 lines of a barley RILs population segregating for the SSR marker Hvm74, which is genetically linked to the GPC (grain protein content) locus (HvNAM-1), were studied in 4 environments (two growing years and two field managements) by carrying out a comprehensive profile of seed macro- (starch, total nitrogen and total soluble protein) and micro-nutrients (phytate, phenolics, flavonoids, Pi, Zn and Fe). Under field conditions, all the components were largely affected by the environment, but TN (total nitrogen) exhibited high genotype contribution, while micro-nutrients displayed higher genotype × environments interactions (GEI) than macro-nutrients. In order to approach the effects of carbon-nitrogen (C–N) balance on other seed components, two C/N ratios were calculated: C/TN (CNR1) and C/TSP (CNR2). CNR2 exhibited stronger negative correlations with all micro-nutrients. Hence, the significant GEI and its negative relationships with CNR2 highlighted the different characters of micro-nutrients in barley seeds

A Measurement of Psi(2S) Resonance Parameters

Cross sections for e+e- to hadons, pi+pi- J/Psi, and mu+mu- have been measured in the vicinity of the Psi(2S) resonance using the BESII detector operated at the BEPC. The Psi(2S) total width; partial widths to hadrons, pi+pi- J/Psi, muons; and corresponding branching fractions have been determined to be Gamma(total)= (264+-27) keV; Gamma(hadron)= (258+-26) keV, Gamma(mu)= (2.44+-0.21) keV, and Gamma(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (85+-8.7) keV; and Br(hadron)= (97.79+-0.15)%, Br(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (32+-1.4)%, Br(mu)= (0.93+-0.08)%, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta

Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector, the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and (7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Search for the Lepton Flavor Violation Processes J/ψ→J/\psi \to μτ\mu\tau and eτe\tau

The lepton flavor violation processes $J/\psi \to \mu\tau$ and $e\tau$ are searched for using a sample of 5.8$\times 10^7$ $J/\psi$ events collected with the BESII detector. Zero and one candidate events, consistent with the estimated background, are observed in $J/\psi \to \mu\tau, \tau\to e\bar\nu_e\nu_{\tau}$ and $J/\psi\to e\tau, \tau\to\mu\bar\nu_{\mu}\nu_{\tau}$ decays, respectively. Upper limits on the branching ratios are determined to be $Br(J/\psi\to\mu\tau)<2.0 \times 10^{-6}$ and $Br(J/\psi \to e\tau) < 8.3 \times10^{-6}$ at the 90% confidence level (C.L.).Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure