Simulation of Spin-3/2 Blume-Capel Model on a Cellular Automaton with Heating and Cooling Algorithm

The spin-3/2 Blume-Capel model is studied using the heating and cooling algorithms improved from the Creutz cellular automaton (CCA). The calculations are done on various sizes of the simple cubic lattice in the 0≤D/J≤5 parameter region. The phase diagram of the model and temperature variation of the thermodynamic quantities are obtained. We confirm the existence of a critical end point within the heating calculations. However, in contrast to the heating calculations, we do not obtain the first-order line at low temperature with cooling algorithm calculations. The results are compared with those of other theories.

Comparison of Frontal Analysis and Elution-Curve Method for Determining Adsorption Isotherms

Adsorption isotherm is the most fundamental information related to chromatography. To calculate the parameters of Langmuir ad-sorption isotherm of thymidine, frontal analysis (FA) and elution-curve method (ECM) were adopted in reversed-phase high performance liguid chromatography (RP-HPLC). In FA, the concentration of stationary phase was measured from the elution curves and the isotherm was deter-mined by regression analysis, while the parameters by ECM were obtained by parameter optimization. The adsorption isotherms of thymidine from the two methods were very similar. The superiority of ECM over FA was that the consumption of sample was less and only one or two in-jections of sample were required.

Flotation tree analysis for recovery of sillimanite from red sediments

In this paper an attempt is made to recover sillimanite by flotation tree analysis process and conventional flotation process from non magnetic fraction of red sediments.The experimental results of both the processes are presented.The data reveal that the deslimed sample contains 33.2%(by weight) total heavy minerals and out of which the sillimanite mineral content is 3.6%(by weight).It is observed that flotation tree analysis needs 10 cells to get five output products and where as conventional flotation process needs 15 cells to recover similar grade of five output products.Thus,flotation tree analysis is not only economic process but also efficient process(to say efficient process,the tree analysis product should be higher grade).

SSIs in Italy: Prevention and Surveillance during the Last Five Years

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are recognized as a common surgical complication, occurring in about 2% - 5% of all surgical procedures. For this reason, it is the second most common nosocomial infection, representing the 19.6% of all infections observed in hospitalized patients and 38% of those observed among surgical patients. Among SSIs prevention strategies, surveillance has been proved to be very incisive. The most recent surveillance study carried out at a national level in Italy is SNICh protocol (National Surveillance System of Surgical Site Infections), which analyses data received from 127 Italian hospitals, from the 2009 to 2011 and the entire 2013. The only application of a surveillance strategy, observing the recommended prophylaxis protocols, brought to a reduction of SSIs: their incidence has been shown to be comparable to European or American one. Furthermore, recent studies have brought strong evidence that the development of new devices, such as dressings impregnated with silver nanoparticles or triclosan-coated sutures, is strongly connected with the reduction of incidence of SSIs. In conclusion, if common preventive techniques were applied to all surgical procedures performed in the country, about 14,000 SSIs per year could be avoided with a possible savings after three years between 50 million and EUR 175 million euro.

A Posteriori Error Estimates for Finite Element Methods for Systems of Nonlinear,Dispersive Equations

The present study regards the numerical approximation of solutions of systems of Korteweg-de Vries type,coupled through their nonlinear terms.In our previous work[9],we constructed conservative and dissipative finite element methods for these systems and presented a priori error estimates for the semidiscrete schemes.In this sequel,we present a posteriori error estimates for the semidiscrete and fully discrete approximations introduced in[9].The key tool employed to effect our analysis is the dispersive reconstruction devel-oped by Karakashian and Makridakis[20]for related discontinuous Galerkin methods.We conclude by providing a set of numerical experiments designed to validate the a posteriori theory and explore the effectivity of the resulting error indicators.

Raman Spectra in Irradiated Graphene: Line Broadening, Effects of Aging and Annealing

The results of measurements of the Raman spectra in the same group of monolayer graphene samples, successively subjected to irradiation with different ions, prolonged aging, and annealing under different conditions, are considered. Changes in the position, width, and intensity of the Raman lines are analyzed in the study of the following problems: comparison of the results of irradiation with various ions, the influence of prolonged aging on the spectra of irradiated samples, the mechanism of broadening of Raman scattering lines caused by an increase in the density of radiation defects, the consequences of annealing of radiation damages in vacuum and in the atmosphere of the forming gas, the contribution of doping and lattice deformation to the shift of the position of the Raman lines after annealing. The results obtained made it possible to determine the level of stability of defects introduced by radiation, to reveal the possibility of restoring the damaged lattice using annealing. Since the results relate to graphene deposited on a widely used SiO2/Si substrate, they may be of interest when using ion irradiation to change the properties of graphene in appropriate devices.

Adsorptive removal of iron and manganese ions from aqueous solutions with microporous chitosan/polyethylene glycol blend membrane

Microporous chitosan （CS） membranes were directly prepared by extraction of poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG） from CS/PEG blend membrane and were examined for iron and manganese ions removal from aqueous solutions. The different variables affecting the adsorption capacity of the membranes such as contact time, pH of the sorption medium, and initial metal ion concentration in the feed solution were investigated on a batch adsorption basis. The affinity of CS/PEG blend membrane to adsorb Fe（II） ions is higher than that of Mn（II） ions, with adsorption equilibrium achieved after 60 min for Fe（II） and Mn（II） ions. By increasing CS]PEG ratio in the blend membrane the adsorption capacity of metal ions increased. Among all parameters, pH has the most significant effect on the adsorption capacity, particularly in the range of 2.9-5.9. The increase in CS/PEG ratio was found to enhance the adsorption capacity of the membranes. The effects of initial concentration of metal ions on the extent of metal ions removal were investigated in detail. The experimental data were better fitted to Freundlich equation than Langmuir. In addition, it was found that the iron and manganese ions adsorbed on the membranes can be effectively desorbed in 0.1 mol/L HCl solution （up to 98% desorption efficiency） and the blend membranes can be reused almost without loss of the adsorption capacity for iron and manganese ions.

Noble metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Developing noble metal-free catalysts with low cost, high performance and stability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells is of great interest to promote sustainable energy devices. In this review, we summarized noble metal-free catalysts for ORR,including non-noble metal-based and heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials. Mesoporous structure, homogeneous distribution of nanocrystals and synergistic effect of carbon base and nanocrystals/doped heteroatoms have great effect on the ORR property.The noble metal-free nanomaterials showed comparable catalytic property, better stability and methanol tolerance than commercial platinum(Pt)-based catalysts, showing great potential as substitutes for noble metal-based catalysts. In addition, the challenges and chances of developing noble metal-free ORR catalysts are also discussed.

Chemical synthesis and coercivity enhancement of Nd2Fe14B nanostructures mediated by non-magnetic layer

High-performance Nd2Fei4B magnets have been widely required in various fields recently due to the lightweight and miniaturization of devices.In this work,we synthesize Nd2Fei4B nanostructures with tunable magnetic properties through surfactant-assisted high energy ball milling(SAHEBM)process,achieving prominently enhanced coercivity by forming non-magnetic layers as grain boundary phase.When the reduction annealing process was carried out as pellet with Ca,the coercivity increased from 0.8 kOe to over 3 kOe as Nd2Fei4B powder,which is proved to be the contribution of the chemical diffusion of Nd elements and the formation of Nd-rich layer as magnetic insulating medium.In addition,two-dimensional graphene oxide(GO)was employed to build extra grain boundary,by which the coercivity of the core@dual-shell structure can achieve up to 8 kOe,tenfold of the original sample.The intrinsic mechanism indicated that the Nd-diffusion induced Nd-rich phase along with the reduced GO in the system could form non-magnetic layer as grain boundary and magnetically isolate the adjacent grains,significantly enhancing the exchange coupling effect.This work markedly opens up an effective approach for the chemical preparation of high-performance Nd2Fe14B nanostructured magnets,especially after post treatment,and gives an insight on the interactions at nanoscale.

Combinatory antitumor therapy by cascade targeting of a single drug

Combination therapy has shown its promise in the clinic for enhancing the efficacy of tumor treatment.However,the dose control of multiple drugs and their non-overlapping toxicity from different drugs are still great challenge.In this work,a single model drug,paclitaxel(PTX),is used to realize combination therapy and solve the problems mentioned above.Either PTX or its triphenylphosphine derivative(TPTX)is encapsulated in galactose-modified liposomes(GLips)to obtain GLips-P or GLips-TP,which are simply mixed in different ratios to finely control the proportion of PTX and TPTX.These mixed liposomes,GLips-P/TP,feature a cascade target delivery of PTX,from tissue to cell,and then to organelle.PTX plays a primary role to cause the cytotoxicity by microtubule bindings in cytoplasm,while TPTX is proved to increase the intracellular levels of caspase-3 and caspase-9 that cause apoptosis via a mitochondria-mediated pathway.Notably,GLips-P/TP 3:1 exhibited the significant drug synergy in both cytotoxicity assay of HepG2 cells and the treatment efficacy in Heps xenograft ICR mouse models.This work not only demonstrates the great promise of a cascade targeting delivery for precise tumor treatment,but also offers a novel platform to design combinatory therapy systems using a single drug.

GREEN SYNTHESIS OF ANTIBACTERIAL CHITOSAN FILMS LOADED WITH SILVER NANOPARTICLES

An eco-friendly chemical reduction method was successfully used for the preparation of chitosan （CTS） composite films loaded with silver nanoparticles （AgNPs） by self assembly method using poly（ethylene glycol） as both reducing and stabilizing agent. UV-Vis spectra of the prepared chitosan loaded silver nanoparticles （CTSLAg） films reveal that full reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles takes place at 90 ℃. The effect of reaction conditions on the silver nanoparticles formation was investigated using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The morphology of the films was tested by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The DSC curves showed that the CTSLAg film had a favorable compatibility and heat stability. AgNPs were confirmed by XRD and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The TEM findings revealed that the silver nanoparticles synthesized were spherical in shape with uniform dispersal, and by increasing CTS：PEG ratio larger silver nanoparticles could be obtained. The results of antibacterial study reveal that the prepared nanoeomposite films exhibited potential inhibition.

Phonon scattering and exciton localization: molding exciton flux in two dimensional disorder energy landscape

Two dimensional excitonic devices are of great potential to overcome the dilemma of response time and integration in current generation of electron or/and photon based systems.The ultrashort diffusion length of exciton arising from ultrafast relaxation and low carrier mobility greatly discounts the performance of excitonic devices.Phonon scattering and exciton localization are crucial to understand the modulation of exciton flux in two dimensional disorder energy landscape,which still remain elusive.Here,we report an optimized scheme for exciton diffusion and relaxation dominated by phonon scattering and disorder potentials in WSe2 monolayers.The effective diffusion coefficient is enhanced by>200%at 280 K.The excitons tend to be localized by disorder potentials accompanied by the steadily weakening of phonon scattering when temperature drops to 260 K,and the onset of exciton localization brings forward as decreasing temperature.These findings identify that phonon scattering and disorder potentials are of great importance for long-range exciton diffusion and thermal management in exciton based systems,and lay a firm foundation for the development of functional excitonic devices.

Unexpected Kirkendall effect in twinned icosahedral nanocrystals driven by strain gradient

Nanoscale Kirkendall effect has been widely used for rationally fabricating high-quality hollow nanocrystals, but often requires the intrinsic diffusion coefficient of out-diffusion materials higher than that of in-diffusion components. Here we demonstrate an unexpected Kirkendall effect that occurs in diffusing intrinsically faster Cu atoms into Pd icosahedra, leading to the formation of PdCu alloyed hollow nanocrystals. The control experiment with Pd octahedra replacing icosahedra indicates the critical role of twin boundaries in facilitating such unexpected Kirkendall effect. In addition, geometric phase analysis and density functional theory calculation show that out-diffusion of Pd atoms in the icosahedra is faster than in-diffusion of Cu atoms, particularly through the twin boundaries, upon the strain gradient with an inward distribution from tensile to compressive strains. The unexpected Kirkendall effect is also found in the interdiffusion of Ag and Pd atoms in Pd icosahedra. Our finds break the limitation of the intrinsic diffusion coefficient for the synthesis of hollow nanocrystals through Kirkendall effect and are expected to enormously enrich the family of hollow nanocrystals which have shown great potential in broad areas, such as fine chemical production, energy storage and conversion, and environmental protection. This work also provides a deep understanding in the diffusion behavior of atoms upon the strain gradient.

The Study of the Three-Dimensional Spin-3/2 Ising Model on a Cellular Automaton

The spin-3/2 Ising model on the simple cubic lattice with nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic bilinear interaction(J>0)is simulated on a cellular automaton by using the cooling algorithm improved from the Creutz cellular automaton.The phase diagrams of the model are constructed in the(D/J,kT/J)and(K/J,kT/J)plane.Comparison of the results are made with those of other methods.The temperature dependence of the order parameters and associated fluctuations are calculated at various of the model parameters and the static critical exponents are estimated within the framework of the finite-size scaling.The results are compatible with the universal Ising critical behavior except for D/J=−3 and K/J=−2.3.

Recycling polymeric waste from electronic and automotive sectors into value added products

The environmentally sustainable disposal and recycling of ever increasing volumes of electronic waste has become a global waste management issue. The addition of up to 25% polymeric waste PCBs （printed circuit boards） as fillers in polypropylene （PP） composites was partially successful： while the tensile modulus, flexural strength and tlexural modulus of composites were enhanced, the tenstle and impact strengths were found to decrease. As a lowering of impact strength can significantly limit the application of PP based composites, it is necessary to incorporate impact modifying polymers such as rubbery particles in the mix. We report on a novel investigation on the simultaneous utilization of electronic and automotive rubber waste as fillers in PP composites. These composites were prepared by using 25 wt.% polymeric PCB powder, up to 9% of ethylene propylene rubber （EPR）, and PP： balance. The influence of EPR on the structural, thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of PP/PCB/ EPR composites was investigated. While the addition of EPR caused the nucleation of the I~ crystalline phase of PP, the onset temperature for thermal degradation was found to decrease by 8%. The tensile modulus and strength decreased by 1 b% and 19%, respectively; and the elongataon at break increased by -71%. The impact strength showed a maximum increase of-18% at 7 wt.%-9 wt.% EPR content. Various rheological properties were found to be well within the range of processing limits. This novel eco-friendly approach could help utilize significant amounts of polymeric electronic and automotive waste for fabricating valuable polymer composites.