Fine Purification of Monoisotopic Silanes 28SiH4 , 29SiH4 , and 30SiH4 via Distillation

High-purity isotopically enriched (99.98% ²⁸Si, 99.57% ²⁹Si, and 99.83% ³⁰Si) silane samples are prepared for the first time. The total hydrocarbon content of the samples is no higher than 0.1–0.3 ppm. The concentration of electroactive impurities in the silicon prepared from the purified monoisotopic silane is below 10¹⁵ cm^–3.     

Microcalorimetry for characterization of film formation and cure of coatings and adhesives

A new microcalorimeter with eight parallel channels using robust, low cost sensors for characterization of coatings and adhesives is described and first experiments on coatings and adhesives are presented. The calorimetric sensors are based on thin glass plates (20 mm × 20 mm, thickness 150 μm) with heater and thermocouple sputtered on the surfaces (calorimetric active area of about 9 mm²). The setup allows heating and cooling experiments as well as isothermal measurements in the temperature-modulated mode with up to eight sensors in parallel. The measured quantities are the real (C^′_p) and imaginary part (C^″_p) of the complex heat capacity (), the related absolute value of the heat capacity () and the heat flow . An industrial computer (NI PXI system) with specific software for calibration and data recording controls the electronic components. Sensors can be embedded in a temperature controlled oven (heating and cooling by Peltier elements) or alternatively in a climatic cabinet with controlled temperature and humidity.

The method has been applied successfully to monitoring of film formation of aqueous polymer dispersions (styrene-acrylate copolymer) and curing of coatings.     

Multifrequency gyrotron with high-efficiency synthesized waveguide converter

The results of numerical simulation and experimental investigation of a prototype of a megawatt multifrequency gyrotron for controlled thermonuclear fusion facilities are presented. In experiments, the gyrotron has operated at six frequencies in the range 105–152 GHz with small diffraction losses in the internal quasi-optical system and a high Gaussian mode content in the output beam.     

Magnetotransport properties of type II heterojunctions based on GaInAsSb/InAs and GaInAsSb/GaSb

The results of detailed study of the magnetotransport properties of broken-gap type II heterojunctions in a GaInAsSb/InAs(GaSb) system are reported. An electron channel with a high charge-carrier mobility (as high as 50000–60000 cm²/(V s)) is observed and studied for the first time in an isotype broken-gap p-GaInAsSb/p-InAs heterostructure. The effects of electron-channel depletion and semimetal-semiconductor transition in the case of heavy doping of the quaternary alloy with acceptors are studied. Magnetotransport properties at temperatures of 4.2–200 K are studied in detail. Data on the energy spectrum and parameters of two-dimensional charge carriers at the heteroboundary are obtained. It is ascertained experimentally that, depending on the composition, either staggered (at x = 0.85) or broken-gap (at x = 0.95) heterojunctions can be formed in the Ga_1?x In_xAs_ySb_1?y /GaSb, which is confirmed by theoretical calculations. The anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance were observed in GaInAsSb/InAs:Mn grown on substrates doped heavily with Mn magnetic acceptor impurity so that the hole concentration was as high as p > 5 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3; these phenomena are caused by exchange interaction of Mn ions in InAs with high-mobility charge carriers in the electron channel at the heterointerface.     

Three-Dimensional Solution and Experimental Confirmation for the Electric Resistivity Testing of Surface-Breaking Defects in Green-State Powder Metallurgy Compacts

This paper investigates electrostatic voltage distributions around a surface-breaking flaw due to an injected current of known strength. The direct 3-D solution of the voltage behavior over the flawed surface is obtained numerically by the use of a boundary integral formulation. A novel iteration method is applied to solve the resulting electrostatic integral equation for the unknown surface voltage distribution. In addition to investigating the sensitivity of different flaw sizes to the observed surface voltage distribution, important issues such as suitable probe spacing and current flow orientation are studied. For sufficiently small surface-breaking flaws, a simple image source model is developed to evaluate the voltage response of hairline cracks. The model is tested by comparing it with the developed numerical solution. Experiments aimed at establishing the validity of the modeling approach show remarkable agreement with the theoretical model.     

Vibratory comminution of A12O3 powders

Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 8(332), pp. 6–9, August, 1990.     

Precision determination of252Cf half-life and the time dependence of the neutron flux of a Ra - Be(α, n) source

Scientific-Industrial Association D. I. Mendeleev All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Metrology. Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 502-504, December, 1992.     

Natural and Designed Toxins for Precise Therapy: Modern Approaches in Experimental Oncology

Cancer cells frequently overexpress specific surface receptors providing tumor growth and survival which can be used for precise therapy. Targeting cancer cell receptors with protein toxins is an attractive approach widely used in contemporary experimental oncology and preclinical studies. Methods of targeted delivery of toxins to cancer cells, different drug carriers based on nanosized materials (liposomes, nanoparticles, polymers), the most promising designed light-activated toxins, as well as mechanisms of the cytotoxic action of the main natural toxins used in modern experimental oncology, are discussed in this review. The prospects of the combined therapy of tumors based on multimodal nanostructures are also discussed.     

Pre-Senescence Induction in Hepatoma Cells Favors Hepatitis C Virus Replication and Can Be Used in Exploring Antiviral Potential of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

Recent evidence suggests that fibrotic liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis C correlates with cellular senescence in damaged liver tissue. However, it is still unclear how senescence can affect replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). In this work, we report that an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6, palbociclib, not only induced in hepatoma cells a pre-senescent cellular phenotype, including G1 arrest in the cell cycle, but also accelerated viral replicon multiplication. Importantly, suppression of HCV replication by direct acting antivirals (DAAs) was barely affected by pre-senescence induction, and vice versa, the antiviral activities of host-targeting agents (HTAs), such as inhibitors of human histone deacetylases (HDACi), produced a wide range of reactions—from a dramatic reduction to a noticeable increase. It is very likely that under conditions of the G1 arrest in the cell cycle, HDACi exhibit their actual antiviral potency, since their inherent anticancer activity that complicates the interpretation of test results is minimized.     

Finite-time coordination in multiagent systems using sliding mode control approach

Finite-time stability in dynamical systems theory involves systems whose trajectories converge to an equilibrium state in finite time. In this paper, we use the notion of finite-time stability to apply it to the problem of coordinated motion in multiagent systems. Specifically, we consider a group of agents described by fully actuated Euler–Lagrange dynamics along with a leader agent with an objective to reach and maintain a desired formation characterized by steady-state distances between the neighboring agents in finite time. We use graph theoretic notions to characterize communication topology in the network determined by the information flow directions and captured by the graph Laplacian matrix. Furthermore, using sliding mode control approach, we design decentralized control inputs for individual agents that use only data from the neighboring agents which directly communicate their state information to the current agent in order to drive the current agent to the desired steady state. Sliding mode control is known to drive the system states to the sliding surface in finite time. The key feature of our approach is in the design of non-smooth sliding surfaces such that, while on the sliding surface, the error states converge to the origin in finite time, thus ensuring finite-time coordination among the agents in the network. In addition, we discuss the case of switching communication topologies in multiagent systems. Finally, we show the efficacy of our theoretical results using an example of a multiagent system involving planar double integrator agents.