BINA

Nanostructured mixed multi-metal compounds (NCM) based on nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and manganese (Mn) are considered as promising electrode materials owing to their multiple valence states, facile accessibility to active sites, and low activation energy for electron transfer. Herein, we demonstrated the fabrication of a hexagonal nanoplate-like architecture of ternary NCM hydroxide with controlled size and composition by a facile one-pot hydrothermal process. The size and composition of the hexagonal NCM nanoplates were controlled by varying the ratio of Ni to (Co + Mn) sources. Accordingly, the maximum capacitance of the optimum NCM is 1188 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 with high rate capacitance due to abundant active sites of the Ni-rich phase and rapid charge transfer kinetics of the nanoplate architecture. By integrating high-capacity Ni-rich NCM hydroxide as a positive electrode with activated carbon as a …

Poly(4,4′-oxybisbenzenamine) (POBBA) and poly(4,4′-oxybisbenzenamine-pyrrole) (COP) with mixed macro–nano sizes were synthesized by a facile one-step reaction using multifunctional carbon dots as the initiator. The two polymers were proven as effective adsorbents for four popular organic dyes in solution: Congo red, crystal violet, methylene blue, and rhodamine B. The adsorption between the adsorbate and the adsorbent was probed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adsorption mechanism was governed by the pseudo-second-order model, whereas the Freundlich isotherm fitted the adsorption data well for both adsorbent materials.

Export of mRNA transcripts from the cell nucleus is a complex and multistep process, regulated by various proteins and control mechanisms. Recent studies have demonstrated the rapid passage of mRNA–protein complexes (mRNPs) through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) as well as the ability to detect mRNPs stalled at the NPC during inhibition of the mRNA export process. In this chapter, we describe ways to block mRNA export and present an image analysis method to identify mRNPs stuck at the NPC during such blocks. Using the MS2 mRNA-tagging system to track single mRNPs in living cells we are able to examine their intracellular distribution and dynamics both in the nucleoplasm and at the nuclear periphery. We use this method to identify and count the number of static mRNPs anchored to the nuclear envelope under different conditions of mRNA export inhibition.

The intermittent ‘stick-slip’ dynamics in frictional sliding of solid bodies is common in everyday life and technology. This dynamics has been widely studied on a macroscopic scale, where the thermal motion can usually be neglected. However, the microscopic mechanisms behind the periodic stick-slip events are yet unclear. We employ confocal microscopy of colloidal spheres, to study the frictional dynamics at the boundary between two quasi-two-dimensional (2D) crystalline grains, with a single particle resolution. Such unprecedentedly-detailed observations of the microscopic-scale frictional solid-on-solid sliding have never been previously carried out. At this scale, the particles undergo an intense thermal motion, which masks the avalanche-like nature of the underlying frictional dynamics. We demonstrate that the underlying sliding dynamics involving out-of-plane buckling events, is intermittent and periodic, like …

We demonstrate coherent supercontinuum generation (SCG) in a monolithically integrated lithium-niobate waveguide, under the presence of second- and third-order nonlinear effects. We achieve more than two octaves of optical bandwidth in a 0.5-cm-long waveguide with 100-picojoule-level pulses. Dispersion engineering of the waveguide allows for spectral overlap between the SCG and the second harmonic, which enables direct detection of the carrier–envelope offset frequency f_CEO using a single waveguide. We measure the f_CEO of our femtosecond pump source with a 30-dB signal-to-noise ratio.

Background: There are compelling evidence from animal models and retrospective clinical studies that early exposure to clinically relevant general anesthetic medications interferes with brain development and may lead to permanent cognitive impairments. 1 2 At least in immature rodents, exposure to either NMDA-type glutamate receptor antagonists or positive modulators of GABAA receptors can lead to increased apoptosis. Blockade of NMDA receptors by ketamine in the developing rodent brain causes excessive apoptosis. 2 Additionally, ketamine inhibits proliferation of neural stem cells and disturbs normal neurogenesis. 3 However, it is currently not clear whether similar exposures can similarly affect children and what are the mechanisms that mediate these effects. Neurosteroids such as allopregnanolone (ALLO) have anesthetic properties and have been shown to be neuroprotective. 4 Understanding their neuroprotective role in anesthetic induced injury may have major implications in decreasing anesthetic-induced brain damage or designing potentially less toxic anesthetic agents. 5Methods: In this project we studied the effects of ketamine on human neural stem cells, and neurons. We have generated immortalized human neural stem cells (NSCs), and neurons that maintain the phenotypes and functions of the original cells.Results: Using human neural cells in culture, we demonstrated that ketamine induced a dose-dependent decrease in the proliferation of NSCs and an increase in cell death of neurons (Figure). We also demonstrate that ALLO (1 μM) protected NSCs from the inhibitory effect of ketamine on cell proliferation. Moreover …

The papers in this volume were part of the technical conference cited on the cover and title page. Papers were selected and subject to review by the editors and conference program committee. Some conference presentations may not be available for publication. Additional papers and presentation recordings may be available online in the SPIE Digital Library at SPIEDigitalLibrary. org.

Pancreatic β-cell membranes and presynaptic areas of neurons contain analogous protein complexes that control the secretion of bioactive molecules. These complexes include the neuroligins (NLs) and their binding partners, the neurexins (NXs). It has been recently reported that both insulin secretion and the proliferation rates of β-cells increase when cells are co-cultured with full-length NL-2 clusters. The pharmacological use of full-length protein is always problematic due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties. Thus, NL-2-derived short peptide was conjugated to the surface of polyamidoamine-based (PAMAM) dendrimers. This nanoscale composite improved β-cell functions in terms of the rate of proliferation, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), and functional maturation. This functionalized dendrimer also protected β-cells under cellular stress conditions. In addition, various novel peptidomimetic …

In this chapter, we present a summary of research that uses silicon to enhance the imaging resolution and to push it toward the region of nanoscopy. The silicon has a nonlinear effect called the plasma dispersion effect (PDE ), which can be used instead of the fluorescent dye in order to realize a stimulated emission depletion (STED) like microscopic imaging configuration. The silicon can be encapsulated into nanoparticles while the encapsulation may be biocompatible and yield the first step toward label-free bioimaging. The encapsulation may even be metallic to enhance the obtainable effect and to yield resolution enhancement at lower requirements from the pump beam . The silicon can even be used directly as a wafer but then the super-resolving imaging is mainly aimed at failure analysis of micro-electronic circuitry. When the silicon is encapsulated with metallic layer or when it is in the form of a …

8. Molecular modeling of multilayer cellular and tissue engineering structures based on a wireframe of carbon nanotubes and protein matrix for restoring the tissues of the heart and blood vessels

Pancreatic β-cell membranes and presynaptic areas of neurons contain analogous protein complexes that control the secretion of bioactive molecules. These complexes include the neuroligins (NLs) and their binding partners, the neurexins (NXs). It has been recently reported that both insulin secretion and the proliferation rates of β-cells increase when cells are co-cultured with full-length NL-2 clusters. The pharmacological use of full-length protein is always problematic due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties. Thus, NL-2-derived short peptide was conjugated to the surface of polyamidoamine-based (PAMAM) dendrimers. This nanoscale composite improved β-cell functions in terms of the rate of proliferation, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), and functional maturation. This functionalized dendrimer also protected β-cells under cellular stress conditions. In addition, various novel peptidomimetic …

Usage of imaging in the optical regime in biological research established itself as a fundamental tool to reveal answers to critical scientific questions in that field. Specialized techniques such as Golgi’s method, the Nissl staining technique, and others led further to remarkable findings in the fields of brain imaging and neuroscience research. Pushing modern research to the next level requires spatial and temporal resolution capabilities which are better than the conventional limits of optical imaging. Hence, a fascinating new world of super-resolved imaging that achieves higher-resolving capabilities, while still using the same wavelengths, has emerged. This chapter will first cover the historical development of super-resolution microscopy, while relating it to applications and development in brain imaging and neuroscience research. Further, we cover many of the current promising super-resolution methods …

Fluorographene is one of the most interesting 2D materials owing to its span of electronic properties, from a conductor to wide-gap insulator, controlled by the compositional carbon to fluorine ratio. Unlike the chemically inert graphene, fluorographene is recognized for its rich chemistry, particularly at ambient, allowing tailoring its physical properties. Here, we report on single step, catalyst free, wafer-scale synthesis of fluorographene oxide (FGO) ultra-thin films (∼4 nm thickness) by physical vapour deposition. The FGO, possessing 7% fluorine content, comprises few-nanometer domains of sp2-sp3 carbon with high thermal stability, as confirmed by several analytical methods. We show that FGO can be utilized as an active hetero-layer on a few-layer MoS2 field effect transistor (FET), significantly improving the performance of MoS2 optoelectronic devices with an extended spectral response towards the near infrared …

Entanglement, which quantifies nonlocal correlations in quantum mechanics, is the fascinating concept behind much of the aspiration towards quantum technologies. Nevertheless, directly measuring the entanglement of a many-particle system is very challenging. Here, we show that via supervised machine learning using a convolutional neural network, we can infer the entanglement from a measurable observable for a disordered interacting quantum many-particle system. Several structures of neural networks were tested and a convolutional neural network akin to structures used for image and speech recognition performed the best. After training on a set of 500 realizations of disorder, the network was applied to 200 new realizations and its results for the entanglement entropy were compared to a direct computation of the entanglement entropy. Excellent agreement was found, except for several rare regions …

Anode materials for Li-ion batteries based on a conversion mechanism show very high theoretical specific capacities. In particular, phosphide materials display volumetric and gravimetric capacities far beyond graphite, approaching those of silicon-based materials. However, the slow kinetics and large mechanical strain during the conversion process are challenging issues toward enabling phosphide-based anode materials.Here, we synthesize a copper phosphide free-standing membrane and show the benefits of this approach, which provides lighter electrodes with faster kinetics during lithiation and delithiation. The Cu3P membrane is both binder-free and carbon black-free, and its synthetic process involves a simple chemical vapor deposition of phosphorus on a composite polymer-copper membrane at a moderate temperature of 429 °C. Microscopic and other methods show the purity of the phase and of the …