Interaction forces between pegylated star-shaped polymers at mica surfaces

We present a study focused on characterizing the interaction forces between mica surfaces across solutions containing star-shaped polymers with cationic ends. Using the Surface Forces Apparatus, we show that the interaction forces in pure water between surfaces covered with the polymer can be adequately described by the dendronized brush model. In that framework, our experimental data suggest that the number of branches adsorbed at the surface decreases as the concentration of polymer in the adsorbing solution increases. The onset of interaction was also shown to increase with the concentration of polymer in solution up to distances much larger that the contour length of the polymer suggesting that the nanostructure of the polymer film is significantly different from a monolayer. High compression of the polymer film adsorbed at low polymer concentration revealed the appearance of a highly structured hydration layer underneath the polymer layer. The results support that charged polymer chains do not necessarily come into close contact with the surface even if strong electrostatic interaction is present. Altogether, our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the interfacial behavior of star-shaped polymers and revealed the unexpected role of hydration water in the control of the polymer conformation

Magnetic Properties And Giant Magnetoresistance Of Magnetic Granular Co10cu90 Alloys Obtained By Direct-current Joule Heating

The direct-current (dc) joule heating technique was exploited to fabricate giant magnetoresistance (GMR) Co10Cu90 granular alloys. The Co cluster precipitation process was investigated by calorimetric and x-ray diffraction measurements. At T=10 K, the largest MR change of 25.0% has been observed for the melt-spun Co10Cu90 ribbon annealed at I=5 A. The magnetoresistance scales approximately as the inverse Co particle size. At room temperature, it was found that the dc joule-heated samples show relatively high GMR in comparison with furnace-annealed samples. Based on the phenomenological GMR model, we assumed that it is a consequence of smaller Co particles formed in dc joule-heated samples. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.7885062506

Effect of cytokinins on shoot regeneration from cotyledon and leaf segment of stem mustard (Brassica juncea var. tsatsai)

Cotyledon and leaf segments of stem mustard (Brassica juncea var. tsatsai) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with various concentrations of different cytokinins [6-benzyladenine (BA), N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-n-phenylurea (CPPU), 6-furfurylaminopurine (KT) and thidiazuron (TDZ)] in combinations with different levels of ¿-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The shoot regeneration frequency of cotyledon and leaf segment was dependent on the kinds and concentrations of cytokinins used in the medium, while in most cases cotyledon gave high regeneration frequency than leaf segment. TDZ proved to be the best cytokinin to induce shoot from both cotyledon and leaf segments compared to BA, KT and CPPU. The highest frequency of shoot regeneration was 61.3¿67.9 % in cotyledon and 40.7¿52.4% in leaf segment respectively when 2.27 or 4.54 ¿M TDZ was combined with 5.37 ¿M NAA. Next to TDZ, CPPU was also very suitable to induce shoot formation both in cotyledon and leaf segment. When 1.61 ¿M CPPU was combined with 2.69 ¿M NAA, shoot regeneration frequency was 45.0% in cotyledon and 36.4% in leaf segment, respectively. It was also shown that KT and BA affected shoot regeneration from cotyledon and leaf segment, the shoot regeneration was greatly increased when NAA was added together with cytokinins. The efficient and reliable shoot regeneration system was developed in both cotyledon and leaf segments. This regeneration protocol may be applicable to the improvement of this crop by genetic engineering in the futur

Magnetic properties and giant magnetoresistance of magnetic granular Co10 Cu90 alloys obtained by direct‐current joule heating

The direct-current (de) joule heating technique was exploited to fabricate giant magnetoresistance (GEAR) Co10Cu90 granular alloys. The Co cluster precipitation process was investigated by calorimetric and x-ray diffraction measurements. At T=10 K, the largest MR change of 25.0% has been observed for the melt-spun Co10Cu90 ribbon annealed at I=5 A. The magnetoresistance scales approximately as the inverse Co particle size. At room temperature, it was found that the de joule-heated samples show relatively high GMR in comparison with furnace-annealed samples. Based on the phenomenological GMR model, we assumed that it is a consequence of smaller Co particles formed in de joule-heated samples. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics

Geometric Phase and Quantum Phase Transition in the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model

The relation between the geometric phase and quantum phase transition has been discussed in the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. Our calculation shows the ability of geometric phase of the ground state to mark quantum phase transition in this model. The possibility of the geometric phase or its derivatives as the universal order parameter of characterizing quantum phase transitions has been also discussed.Comment: 6 pages and to be published in Phys.Lett.

Identifying mantle carbonatite metasomatism through Os–Sr–Mg isotopes in Tibetan ultrapotassic rocks

Mantle-derived magmas at convergent plate boundaries provide unique insights into the nature of materials subducted to and recycled from depths. Here we present a study of Os–Sr–Mg isotopes on the Oligocene–Miocene ultrapotassic rocks aimed at better understanding sediment subduction and recycling beneath southern Tibet. New isotopic data confirm that ultrapotassic rocks in southern Tibet are of mantle origin, but underwent crustal contamination as evidenced by the variably high 187Os/188Os that obviously deviates from normal mantle reservoir. Still some samples with mantle-like 187Os/188Os exhibit δ26Mg significantly lower than mantle and crustal lithologies, suggesting that the isotopically light Mg may not result from crustal contamination but retain specific fingerprint of carbonate-related metasomatism in mantle sources. Mantle carbonatite metasomatism is manifested by the inverse δ26Mg–87Sr/86Sr correlations, as well as the depletion of high field strength elements relative to rare earth elements and the enrichment of CaO in ultrapotassic rocks. The positive co-variations between δ26Mg and Hf/Sm defined by those low-187Os/188Os ultrapotassic rocks provide evidence for the potential of recycled dolomites to modify mantle Mg isotopic composition. The correlated spatial variations of δ26Mg and Hf/Sm are interpreted to reflect carbonatitic metasomatism associated with the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab and its profound influence on postcollisional ultrapotassic magmatism

Increasing the electrolyte capacity of alkaline Zn-air fuel cells by scavenging zincate with Ca(OH)2

The use of calcium hydroxide for scavenging zincate species is demonstrated to be a highly effective approach for increasing the electrolyte capacity and improving the performance of the zinc-air fuel cell system. A fundamental approach is established in this study to quantify the formation of calcium zincate as the product of scavenging and the amount of water compensation necessary for optimal performance. The good agreement between predicted and experimental results proves the validity of the proposed theoretical approach. By applying the results of theoretical predictions, both the electrolyte capacity and the cell longevity have been increased by more than 40%. It is also found that, using Ca(OH)2 to scavenge zincate species in concentrated KOH solutions, affects mostly the removal of zincate, rather than ZnO, from the electrolyte, whereas the presence of excess, free, mobile H2O plays a key role in dissolving ZnO and forming zincate. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that the proposed approach can widely and effectively be applied to all zinc-air cell systems during their discharge cycle

Tightly Coupled Array Antennas for Ultra-Wideband Wireless Systems

Tightly coupled array (TCA) antenna has become a hot topic of research recently, due to its potential of enabling one single antenna array to operate over an extremely wide frequency range. Such an array antenna is promising for applications in numerous wideband/multi-band and multi-function wireless systems such as wideband high-resolution radars, 5G mobile communications, satellite communications, global navigation satellite systems, sensors, wireless power transmission, internet of things and so on. Many papers on this topic have been published by researchers internationally. This paper provides a detailed review of the recent development on TCA that utilizes the capacitive coupling. The basic principles and the historical evolution of the TCAs are introduced firstly. Then, recent development in the analysis and design of TCAs, such as equivalent circuit analysis, bandwidth limitation analysis, array elements, feed structures, substrates/superstrates loading, etc., are explained and discussed. The performances of the state-of-the-art TCAs are presented and a comparison amongst some TCAs reported recently is summarized and discussed. To illustrate the practical designs of TCA, one case study is provided, and the detailed design procedures of the TCA are explained so as to demonstrate the TCA design methodology. Simulated results including the VSWR at different angles of scanning, patterns and antenna gain are shown and discussed. A conclusion and future work are given in the end

Measurements of the observed cross sections for e+e−→e^+e^-\to exclusive light hadrons containing π0π0\pi^0\pi^0 at s=3.773\sqrt s= 3.773, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3, 6.5 and 1.0 pb$^{-1}$ taken, respectively, at $\sqrt s= 3.773$, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we measure the observed cross sections for $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $K^+K^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $2(\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0)$, $K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$ and $3(\pi^+\pi^-)\pi^0\pi^0$ at the three energy points. Based on these cross sections we set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay into these final states at 90% C.L..Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure