Hexagonal (superlattice) form of Ga2Te3

Gallium telluride (Ga₂Te₃) was synthesized at different temperatures (850 to 460° C) using different cooling rates. Materials synthesized at higher temperatures (including quenched materials from the melt) always yielded zinc-blende lattice with well resolved _{1 2} doublet X-ray powder diffraction lines. In the material synthesized at lower temperature ( 460°C), we obtained additional (superlattice) lines as reported by Newman and Cundall [4]. It was possible to index these reflections not only on an orthorhombic unit cell (a=0.417, b=2.360, c=1.252 nm) but also on cubic (a=1.7678 nm) and hexagonal (a=0.832, c=3.065 nm) unit cells. To us, the hexagonal cell appears to be more realistic. If sufficient time is given to reach equilibrium, the whole of the zinc-blende form of Ga₂Te₃ is transformed to the hexagonal form. It has been further observed that conversion of the hexagonal into the cubic form and vice versa can be brought about by heating the material at temperatures greater or less than 460° C, respectively. Lastly, the zinc-blende phase of Ga₂Te₃ is metastable and slowly transforms to hexagonal form at room temperature.     

Design and Fabrication of Fiber-Optic Nanoprobes for Optical Sensing

This paper describes the design and fabrication of fiber-optic nanoprobes developed for optical detection in single living cells. It is critical to fabricate probes with well-controlled nanoapertures for optimized spatial resolution and optical transmission. The detection sensitivity of fiber-optic nanoprobe depends mainly on the extremely small excitation volume that is determined by the aperture sizes and penetration depths. We investigate the angle dependence of the aperture in shadow evaporation of the metal coating onto the tip wall. It was found that nanoaperture diameters of approximately 50 nm can be achieved using a 25° tilt angle. On the other hand, the aperture size is sensitive to the subtle change of the metal evaporation angle and could be blocked by irregular metal grains. Through focused ion beam (FIB) milling, optical nanoprobes with well-defined aperture size as small as 200 nm can be obtained. Finally, we illustrate the use of the nanoprobes by detecting a fluorescent species, benzo[a]pyrene tetrol (BPT), in single living cells. A quantitative estimation of the numbers of BPT molecules detected using fiber-optic nanoprobes for BPT solutions shows that the limit of detection was approximately 100 molecules.     

Conducting polymer embedded with nanoferrite and titanium dioxide nanoparticles for microwave absorption

The present paper deals with the synthesis of conducting ferrimagnetic polyaniline nanocomposite embedded with γ-Fe₂O₃ (9–12 nm) and titanium dioxide (70–90 nm) nanoparticles via a micro-emulsion polymerization. The microwave absorption properties of nanocomposite in 12.4–18 GHz (Ku-band) frequency range shows shielding effectiveness due to absorption (SE_A) value of ?45 dB, which is much higher than polyaniline composite with iron oxide and polyaniline–TiO₂ composites. The higher EMI shielding is mainly arising due to combined effect of γ-Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂ that leads to more dielectric and magnetic losses which consequently contributed to higher values of shielding effectiveness. XRD analysis of the nanocomposite reveals the incorporation of nanoparticles in the conducting polymer matrix while the thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrates that the nanocomposite is stable up to 250 °C.     

Non-fragile robust optimal guaranteed cost control of uncertain 2-D discrete state-delayed systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of non-fragile robust optimal guaranteed cost control for a class of uncertain two-dimensional (2-D) discrete state-delayed systems described by the general model with norm-bounded uncertainties. Our attention is focused on the design of non-fragile state feedback controllers such that the resulting closed-loop system is asymptotically stable and the closed-loop cost function value is not more than a specified upper bound for all admissible parameter uncertainties and controller gain variations. A sufficient condition for the existence of such controllers is established under the linear matrix inequality framework. Moreover, a convex optimisation problem is proposed to select a non-fragile robust optimal guaranteed cost controller stabilising the 2-D discrete state-delayed system as well as achieving the least guaranteed cost for the resulting closed-loop system. The proposed method is compared with the previously reported criterion. Finally, illustrative examples are given to show the potential of the proposed technique.     

Influence of reaction conditions on the formation of nanotubes/nanoparticles of polyaniline in the presence of 1‐amino‐2‐naphthol‐4‐sulfonic acid and applications as electrostatic charge dissipation material

BACKGROUND: Poly(1‐amino‐2‐naphthol‐4‐sulfonic acid) and its copolymers with aniline are a new class of conducting polymers which can acquire intrinsic protonic doping ability, leading to the formation of highly soluble self‐doped homopolymers and copolymers. Free ? OH and ? NH₂ groups in the polymer chain can combine with other functional groups that could be present in protective paints which can thus be successfully used as antistatic materials. RESULTS: This paper reports the formation of nanotubes of polyaniline on carrying out oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of 1‐amino‐2‐naphthol‐4‐sulfonic acid (ANSA) in p‐toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) as an external dopant. The presence of ? SO₃H groups in the ANSA comonomer allows the copolymer to acquire intrinsic protonic doping ability. The polymerization mechanism was investigated by analysing the ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, Fourier transform infrared and X‐ray photoelectron spectra of the copolymers and homopolymers, which revealed the involvement of ? OH/? NH₂ in the reaction mechanism. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed how the reaction route and the presence of a dopant can affect the morphology and size of the polymers. Static decay time measurements were also carried out on conducting copolymer films prepared by blending of 1 wt% of copolymers of ANSA and aniline with low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) which showed a static decay time of 0.1 to 0.31 s on dissipating a charge from 5000 to 500 V. CONCLUSION: Copolymers of ANSA with aniline were synthesized in different reaction media, leading to the formation of nanotubes and nanoparticles of copolymer. Blends of 1 wt% of PTSA‐ and self‐doped copolymers of ANSA and aniline with LDPE can be formulated into films with effective antistatic properties. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Efficient solutions to various routing issues involved in mobile ad hoc bio-sensor networks: applying appropriate motion trajectories

Ad hoc bio-sensor networks have a very characteristic structure with three types of nodes: the command centre, the sensor nodes (animals such as rats) and the relaying nodes. We have taken up such networks and measured the throughput of such systems and suggest ways in which the throughput can be increased. It was also found that to increase the throughput of such systems, no sophisticated routing techniques or expensive transmission techniques are needed. This can be achieved by simply adopting the appropriate motion trajectories of the nodes. We have also explained the structure of these networks in detail and the routing issues involved in these networks. A Hot-Spot problem at the command centre has also been discussed. The suggestions of appropriate motions target this problem and show how an even distribution of nodes can alleviate this problem to a large extent. In addition to this, a constraint on the number of messages the sensor node can send per unit time can also make the network more efficient.     

Human platelets contain a novel 47 kDa thiol-oxidase having affinity for genomic sterol-regulatory sequence

The present study provides evidence to support that human platelets possess a 47 kDa dual functional molecule having thiol-oxidase activity as well as high affinity for the SRE sequence in the human genome. On the basis of these as well as earlier results, we propose that Receptor 'Ck' dependent regulation of this dual functional 47 kDa molecule may provide a mechanism for the maintenance of cellular cholesterol homeostasis. Further, this mechanism may also explain the molecular basis of cholesterol-feedback lesion observed under premalignant conditions.     

Superpett 3000 time-of-flight PET tomograph: optimization offactors affecting quantitation

In positron-emission tomography (PET), to certify that the observed radioactivity in the organ of interest represents the true underlying radioactivity concentration, an experimental/theoretical treatment of factors such as scatter, randoms, reconstruction parameters, recovery coefficients and the cross-calibration procedure is required. Dual isotope experiments used to check the overall tomograph performance are described. It is found that the inclusion of a real-time calibration tube standard in the tomograph field-of-view during scanning compensates for any temporal variation in the machine sensitivity and provides a built-in dead time correction. Reconstruction parameters and recovery coefficients were optimized through phantom experiments. It is shown that results similar to other head and whole body scanners have been achieved     

In Vitro Evaluation of Albumin Microspheres Containing Actinomycin D

Albumin microspheres containing actinomycin D were prepared by the heat stabilization method. The compata-bility of the drug with magnetite and the optimum stability of the drug in different pH were studied. Drug loaded albumin microspheres containing magnetite showed good magnetic response. Release of the drug was slow and continued for 7 days exhibiting sustained release property. The difference as regards to the size, shape, drug content and release rate from freshly prepared and freeze dried drug loaded albumin microspheres was negligible.