The Splitting of SDW State into Commensurable and Incommensurables Ones and the Peculiarities of the Behavior of Thermodynamic Quantities in a Magnetic Field Arbitrarily Oriented to Magnetization in Quasi Two-Dimensional Systems

The quasi-two-dimensional system in which magnetism is caused by spin density wave (SDW) with an anisotropic energy spectrum (with defined impurity concentration x) is examined. The wave vector $\vec{Q}$ is supposed to be different from 2k _F and the umklapp scattering (U-processes) is taken into account. The system is placed in a magnetic field arbitrarily oriented with respect to the vector $\vec{M}_{Q}$ . The basic equations for order parameters $M_{Q}^{z}, M_{Q}', M_{z}, M^{\sigma}$ are obtained and the system of these equations is transformed taking into account the U-processes. The particular cases $( \tilde{H} \Vert \vec{M}_{Q} )$ and $( \tilde{H} \bot \vec{M}_{Q} )$ and the case of small arbitrarily oriented magnetic fields $\vec{\tilde{H}}$ are examined in detail. The conditions of the system transition to commensurable and incommensurable SDW state are analyzed. The phase diagram (T,x) at H=0 is traced. The influence of the magnetic field $\vec{\tilde{H}}$ on the temperature of magnetic transition is researched and the aspect of the phase diagram in magnetic field in the cases H ^z H ^σ =0 is presented. The longitudinal magnetic susceptibility χ _∥ which demonstrates that at x<x _c the temperature behavior is similar to the case when the system has a gap, and at x>x _c to a gapless case. At x～x _c in the dependence X _∥(T) a local maximum appears. The influence of the energy spectrum anisotropy on the system’s properties is researched. Also the angular anisotropy of the quantity χ _∥ at different values of T and x is determined.     

Host mRNA Analysis of Periodontal Disease Patients Positive for Porphyromonas gingivalis,Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Tannerella forsythia

Periodontal disease is a frequent pathology worldwide, with a constantly increasing prevalence. For the optimal management of periodontal disease, there is a need to take advantage of actual technology to understand the bacterial etiology correlated with the pathogenic mechanisms, risk factors and treatment protocols. We analyzed the scientific literature published in the last 5 years regarding the recent applications of mRNA analysis in periodontal disease for the main known bacterial species considered to be the etiological agents: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Tannerella forsythia. We identified new pathogenic mechanisms, therapeutic target genes and possible pathways to prevent periodontal disease. The mRNA analysis, as well as the important technological progress in recent years, supports its implementation in the routine management of periodontal disease patients.     

Injectable Thixotropic β–Cyclodextrin–Functionalized Hydrogels Based on Guanosine Quartet Assembly

Facile method for the preparation of β–cyclodextrin–functionalized hydrogels based on guanosine quartet assembly was described. A series of seven hydrogels were prepared by linking β–cyclodextrin molecules with guanosine moieties in different ratios through benzene–1,4–diboronic acid linker in the presence of potassium hydroxide. The potassium ions acted as a reticulation agent by forming guanosine quartets, leading to the formation of self–sustained transparent hydrogels. The ratios of the β–cyclodextrin and guanosine components have a significant effect on the internal structuration of the components and, correspondingly, on the mechanical properties of the final gels, offering a tunablity of the system by varying the components ratio. The insights into the hydrogels’ structuration were achieved by circular dichroism, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X–ray diffraction. Rheological measurements revealed self–healing and thixotropic properties of all the investigated samples, which, in combination with available cyclodextrin cavities for active components loading, make them remarkable candidates for specific applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Moreover, all the prepared samples displayed selective antimicrobial properties against S. aureus in planktonic and biofilm phase, the activity also depending on the guanosine and cyclodextrin ratio within the hydrogel structure.     

Investigating the Vibrational,Magnetic and Dielectric Properties,and Antioxidant Activity of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles

Dielectric, magnetic and Raman measurements of cerium oxide nanoparticles obtained by the precipitation method are discussed. Morphological study was performed by scanning electron microscopy, confirming the formation of nanoparticles of 5–27 nm. The Raman spectra exhibited a strong band around 465 cm⁻¹, corresponding to the symmetrical stretching mode of the Ce-O8 vibrational unit. The nature of the room temperature ferromagnetism of cerium oxide nanoparticles was analyzed, taking into account the oxygen defects at the surface or interface of the nanoparticles. The evolution of dielectric constant, ε′, and dielectric loss, ε″ was studied as a function of frequency at different temperatures. Additionally, the variation of the electric conductivity versus temperature was investigated. Finally, complex impedance study of the cerium oxide nanoparticles was performed.     

Fabrication of copper oxide-based dye-sensitized solar cell with high short-circuit current density (JSC) using flexible and binder-free porous photoelectrode

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Fabrication of flexible p-type dye-sensitized solar cells with large short-circuit current (JSC) and open circuit voltage (VOC) is still a...     

The surface morphology and strength properties of SiO2-P2O5-Nd2O3 glassy films

The surface morphology and microstructure of undoped and neodymium-doped silicate-phosphate films, as well as the strength characteristics (Young??s modulus and the hardness) of both the films and the SiO₂-P₂O₅-Nd₂O₃/SLG and SiO₂-P₂O₅/SLG composite structures, have been studied. A specific surface microstructure composed of the basic surface with imbedded round islands with a size of a few microns to a few tens of microns has been identified. The film??s microstructure has been shown to exhibit high stability over time after the long-term resting of these structures. It has been found that the films and the composite structures have fairly high strength properties.     

A Chemogenomic Analysis of Ionization Constants—Implications for Drug Discovery

Chemogenomics methods seek to characterize the interaction between drugs and biological systems and are an important guide for the selection of screening compounds. The acid/base character of drugs has a profound influence on their affinity for the receptor, on their absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) profile and the way the drug can be formulated. In particular, the charge state of a molecule greatly influences its lipophilicity and biopharmaceutical characteristics. This study investigates the acid/base profile of human small‐molecule drugs, chemogenomics datasets and screening compounds including a natural products set. We estimate the acid‐ionization constant (pK_a) values of these compounds and determine the identity of the ionizable functional groups in each set. We find substantial differences in acid/base profiles of the chemogenomic classes. In many cases, these differences can be linked to the nature of the target binding site and the corresponding functional groups needed for recognition of the ligand. Clear differences are also observed between the acid/base characteristics of drugs and screening compounds. For example, the proportion of drugs containing a carboxylic acid was 20 %, in stark contrast to a value of 2.4 % for the screening set sample. The proportion of aliphatic amines was 27 % for drugs and only 3.4 % for screening compounds. This suggests that there is a mismatch between commercially available screening compounds and the compounds that are likely to interact with a given chemogenomic target family. Our analysis provides a guide for the selection of screening compounds to better target specific chemogenomic families with regard to the overall balance of acids, bases and pK_a distributions.     

C60 Dimers Revisited

Several dimers: C₁₂₀, C₁₄₀, C₁₃₀ and their oxygen-containing derivatives as well as some oligomers or polymers of the well known spherical fullerenes have been synthesized so far. Some of the formulas attributed to such compounds represent the first steps in a more complex fate leading to trivalent capped tubulenes. Such a way could even be followed by functionalized fullerenes. A detailed network transformation is given for C₆₀ and its mono- and di-epoxy derivatives. Semiempirical calculations support the presented findings.     

Thermodynamic and Magnetic Properties of Superconductors with Anisotropic Energy Spectrum,MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The behavior of the superconducting transition temperature T _c and that of the jump of electron heat capacity (C _S −C _N )/C _N of the compound MgB₂ at T=T _c with substitution of boron and magnesium atoms by other atoms from the periodic table of the elements, corresponding to introduction of additional electrons or holes in this compound are researched. The microscopic superconductivity theory in MgB₂ systems in the magnetic field parallel to the crystallographic axis (H ‖ c) is built. The magnitude of the upper critical field H _c2 is determined and its temperature dependence in two-band systems with different and identical topologies of Fermi surface cavities of the corresponding bands is studied. The obtained results and their comparisons with the experimental data demonstrate that all kinds of anomalies of the physical properties of the compound MgB₂ are effectively described by the two-band model.