Inorganic hierarchical nanostructures induced by concentration difference and gradient

A very simple strategy for preparing hierarchical inorganic nanostructures under ambient aqueous conditions is presented. The hierarchical inorganic nanomaterials were obtained by simply adding a highly concentrated solution of one reactant to a solution of another reactant with low concentration. No surface-capping molecules or structure-directing templates were needed. The preparation of hierarchical single crystalline PbMoO(4) was used as an example in order to study the effects of varying the reaction conditions and the mechanism of the process. It was found that the large concentration difference (typically in excess of 200-fold) and the concentration gradient of the reactants both play key roles in controlling the diffusion process and the morphology of the resulting nanostructures. This kinetically controlled strategy is facile and is easily adapted to prepare a variety of inorganic materials.Chemistry, PhysicalNanoscience & NanotechnologyMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, AppliedSCI(E)0ARTICLE3213-220

A new time-frequency method to reveal quantum dynamics of atomic hydrogen in intense laser pulses: Synchrosqueezing Transform

This study introduces a new adaptive time-frequency (TF) analysis technique, synchrosqueezing transform (SST), to explore the dynamics of a laser-driven hydrogen atom at an {\it ab initio} level, upon which we have demonstrated its versatility as a new viable venue for further exploring quantum dynamics. For a signal composed of oscillatory components which can be characterized by instantaneous frequency, the SST enables rendering the decomposed signal based on the phase information inherited in the linear TF representation with mathematical support. Compared with the classical type TF methods, the SST clearly depicts several intrinsic quantum dynamical processes such as selection rules, AC Stark effects, and high harmonic generation

Fabrication and properties of PVA-TiO2 hydrogel composites

AbstractThe preparation and properties of PVA-TiO2 hydrogel composites have been studied in this research. The results show that tensile strength and compression modulus of PVA-TiO2 hydrogel composites increased significantly, but the elongation did not changed obviously compared with the PVA hydrogel, indicating the good interaction between inorganic nanoparticles and organic polymer. Friction performance of the hydrogels was discussed, the friction of PVA-TiO2 hydrogel composites decrease than the PVA hydrogel and friction coefficient up to 0.001. The possible mechanism of friction was discussed

Low Expression of DYRK2 (Dual Specificity Tyrosine Phosphorylation Regulated Kinase 2) Correlates with Poor Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer.

Dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) is a member of dual-specificity kinase family, which could phosphorylate both Ser/Thr and Tyr substrates. The role of DYRK2 in human cancer remains controversial. For example, overexpression of DYRK2 predicts a better survival in human non-small cell lung cancer. In contrast, amplification of DYRK2 gene occurs in esophageal/lung adenocarcinoma, implying the role of DYRK2 as a potential oncogene. However, its clinical role in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been explored. In this study, we analyzed the expression of DYRK2 from Oncomine database and found that DYRK2 level is lower in primary or metastatic CRC compared to adjacent normal colon tissue or non-metastatic CRC, respectively, in 6 colorectal carcinoma data sets. The correlation between DYRK2 expression and clinical outcome in 181 CRC patients was also investigated by real-time PCR and IHC. DYRK2 expression was significantly down-regulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent non-tumorous tissues. Functional studies confirmed that DYRK2 inhibited cell invasion and migration in both HCT116 and SW480 cells and functioned as a tumor suppressor in CRC cells. Furthermore, the lower DYRK2 levels were correlated with tumor sites (P = 0.023), advanced clinical stages (P = 0.006) and shorter survival in the advanced clinical stages. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that DYRK2 expression was an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.001). Taking all, we concluded that DYRK2 a novel prognostic biomarker of human colorectal cancer

Informal traders lock horns with the formal milk industry: the role of research in pro-poor dairy policy shift in Kenya

A polarizable atomic multipole-based force field for the membrane bilayer models 1,2-dioleoyl-phosphocholine (DOPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) has been developed. The force field adopts the same framework as the Atomic Multipole Optimized Energetics for Biomolecular Applications (AMOEBA) model, in which the charge distribution of each atom is represented by the permanent atomic monopole, dipole and quadrupole moments. Many-body polarization including the inter- and intra-molecular polarization is modelled in a consistent manner with distributed atomic polarizabilities. The van der Waals parameters were first transferred from existing AMOEBA parameters for small organic molecules and then optimised by fitting to ab initio intermolecular interaction energies between models and a water molecule. Molecular dynamics simulations of the two aqueous DOPC and POPE membrane bilayer systems, consisting of 72 model molecules, were then carried out to validate the force field parameters. Membrane width, area per lipid, volume per lipid, deuterium order parameters, electron density profile, etc. were consistent with experimental values

(E)-Benzo­yl[1-(2-hydroxy­ethyl)imidazolidin-2-yl­idene]acetonitrile

In the title compound, C14H15N3O2, the C=C(H)—C=O grouping and the imidazolidine ring are coplanar as a result of an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond and extended electronic conjugation. Inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds help to establish the packing