Anomalous strength characteristics of tilt grain boundaries in graphene

Graphene in its pristine form is one of the strongest materials tested, but defects influence its strength. Using atomistic calculations, we find that, counter to standard reasoning, graphene sheets with large-angle tilt boundaries that have a high density of defects are as strong as the pristine material and, unexpectedly, are much stronger than those with low-angle boundaries having fewer defects. We show that this trend is not explained by continuum fracture models but can be understood by considering the critical bonds in the strained seven-membered carbon rings that lead to failure; the large-angle boundaries are stronger because they are able to better accommodate these strained rings. Our results provide guidelines for designing growth methods to obtain sheets with strengths close to that of pristine graphene.     

Superfluidity of grain boundaries and supersolid behavior

When two communicating vessels are filled to a different height with liquid, the two levels equilibrate because the liquid can flow. We have looked for such equilibration with solid (4)He. For crystals with no grain boundaries, we see no flow of mass, whereas for crystals containing several grain boundaries, we detect a mass flow. Our results suggest that the transport of mass is due to the superfluidity of grain boundaries.     

Phase-coherent transport in graphene quantum billiards

As an emergent electronic material and model system for condensed-matter physics, graphene and its electrical transport properties have become a subject of intense focus. By performing low-temperature transport spectroscopy on single-layer and bilayer graphene, we observe ballistic propagation and quantum interference of multiply reflected waves of charges from normal electrodes and multiple Andreev reflections from superconducting electrodes, thereby realizing quantum billiards in which scattering only occurs at the boundaries. In contrast to the conductivity of conventional two-dimensional materials, graphene's conductivity at the Dirac point is geometry-dependent because of conduction via evanescent modes, approaching the theoretical value 4e(2)/pih (where e is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant) only for short and wide devices. These distinctive transport properties have important implications for understanding chaotic quantum systems and implementing nanoelectronic devices, such as ballistic transistors.     

Observation of atomic diffusion at twin-modified grain boundaries in copper

Grain boundaries affect the migration of atoms and electrons in polycrystalline solids, thus influencing many of the mechanical and electrical properties. By introducing nanometer-scale twin defects into copper grains, we show that we can change the grain-boundary structure and atomic-diffusion behavior along the boundary. Using in situ ultrahigh-vacuum and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we observed electromigration-induced atomic diffusion in the twin-modified grain boundaries. The triple point where a twin boundary meets a grain boundary was found to slow down grain-boundary and surface electromigration by one order of magnitude. We propose that this occurs because of the incubation time of nucleation of a new step at the triple points. The long incubation time slows down the overall rate of atomic transport.     

Direct atom-resolved imaging of oxides and their grain boundaries

Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we obtained structure images of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) with a clearly resolved oxygen sublattice along different crystallographic directions in the bulklattice and for a Sigma3 tilt grain boundary. Comparison with image simulations showed that the grain boundary contains oxygen vacancies. Measurements of atom displacements near the grain boundary revealed close correspondence with theoretical calculations.     

Receptor-mediated transport of insulin across endothelial cells

Hormones such as insulin are transported from the interior to the exterior of blood vessels. Whether endothelial cells, which line the inner walls of blood vessels have a role in this transport of hormones is not clear, but it is known that endothelial cells can internalize and release insulin rapidly with little degradation. The transport of iodine-125-labeled insulin was measured directly through the use of dual chambers separated by a horizontal monolayer of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. In this setting, endothelial cells took up and released the labeled insulin, thereby transporting it across the cells. The transport of insulin across the endothelial cells was temperature sensitive and was inhibited by unlabeled insulin and by antibody to insulin receptor in proportion to the ability of these substances to inhibit insulin binding to its receptor. More than 80 percent of the transported insulin was intact. These data suggest that insulin is rapidly transported across endothelial cells by a receptor-mediated process.     

氧化石墨烯对铅在饱和多孔介质中运移的影响

以氧化石墨烯(GO)及铅[Pb(Ⅱ)]为主要试验材料,通过进行批量吸附试验及砂柱试验,研究GO对Pb(Ⅱ)在饱和多孔介质中运移的影响。批试验结果表明,与石英砂相比,GO具有极高的Pb(Ⅱ)吸附能力。柱试验结果表明,GO在饱和多孔介质中的运移能力较高,环境中Pb(Ⅱ)的存在则降低GO的运移;Pb(Ⅱ)在饱和多孔介质中运移能力相对较低,溶液中存在GO时,Pb(Ⅱ)在饱和多孔介质中的运移能力明显提高;将Pb(Ⅱ)污染后的砂柱注入GO悬液,被石英砂吸附的Pb(Ⅱ)能够随GO一起重新流出砂柱,且流出液中Pb(Ⅱ)的浓度与GO浓度呈良好的正相关。     

石墨烯对喹诺酮在饱和多孔介质中运移的影响

为研究石墨烯（Graphene,GN）对喹诺酮类抗生素在地下水中运移的影响,以环丙沙星（Ciprofloxacin,CIP）和诺氟沙星（Norfloxacin,NOR）作为两种典型的喹诺酮类抗生素污染物,通过批量吸附实验和砂柱实验研究GN对CIP和NOR在饱和多孔介质中运移的影响。吸附实验结果表明,GN对两种抗生素污染物均具有较好的吸附性能,GN对CIP和NOR的Langmuir最大吸附容量分别为270.68 mg·g^-1和178.36 mg·g^-1。砂柱实验结果表明：随着多孔介质中GN含量从10 mg增加到80 mg,CIP和NOR在一维砂柱中的迁移能力降低;随着流速和电解质浓度（Na⁺和Ca²⁺）的增大,回收率逐步升高,CIP和NOR的运移能力也逐步增强。根据BDST模型对不同条件下的CIP和NOR在一维砂柱中的运移过程进行了模拟和预测,模型对穿透时间的预测值与实验值接近,表明BDST模型能较好地预测多孔介质中GN对CIP和NOR迁移能力的影响。     

Organic transistors: two-dimensional transport and improved electrical characteristics

The thiophene oligomer alpha-hexathienylene (alpha-6T) has been successfully used as the active semiconducting material in thin-film transistors. Field-induced conductivity in thin-film transistors with alpha-6T active layers occurs only near the interfacial plane, whereas the residual conductivity caused by unintentional doping scales with the thickness of the layer. The two-dimensional nature of the field-induced conductivity is due not to any anisotropy in transport with respect to any molecular axis but to interface effects. Optimized methods of device fabrication have resulted in high field-effect mobilities and on/off current ratios of > 10(6). The current densities and switching speeds are good enough to allow consideration of these devices in practical large-area electronic circuits.     

Canopy reflectance, thermal stress, and apparent soil electrical conductivity as predictors of within-field variability in grain yield and grain protein of malting barley

Three consecutive crops of malting barley grown during 2002–2004 on clay-loam on a Swedish farm (59°74’ N, 17°00’ E) were monitored for canopy reflectance at growth stages GS32 (second node detectable) and GS69 (anthesis complete), and the crops were sampled for above ground dry matter and nitrogen content. GPS-positioned unfertilised plots were established and used for soil sampling. At harvest, plots of 0.25 m² were cut in both fertilised and unfertilised plots, and 24 m² areas were also harvested from fertilised barley. The correlations between nine different vegetation indices (VIs) from each growth stage and yield and grain protein were tested. All indices were significantly correlated (at 5% level) with grain yield (GY), and protein when sampled at GS69 but only four when sampled at GS32. Three variables (the best-correlated vegetation index sampled at GS32; an index for accumulated elevated daily maximum temperatures for the grain filling period, and normalised apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) of the soil) were sufficient input in the final regressions. Using these three variables, it was possible to make either one multivariate (PLS) regression model or two linear multiple regression models for grain yield (GY) and grain protein, with correlation coefficients of 0.90 and 0.73 for yield and protein, respectively.     

Role of Bacillus subtilis SpoIIIE in DNA transport across the mother cell-prespore division septum

The SpoIIIE protein of Bacillus subtilis is required for chromosome segregation during spore formation. The COOH-terminal cytoplasmic part of SpoIIIE was shown to be a DNA-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) capable of tracking along DNA in the presence of ATP, and the NH(2)-terminal part of the protein was found to mediate its localization to the division septum. Thus, during sporulation, SpoIIIE appears to act as a DNA pump that actively moves one of the replicated pair of chromosomes into the prespore. The presence of SpoIIIE homologs in a broad range of bacteria suggests that this mechanism for active transport of DNA may be widespread.     

Proton motive force involved in protein transport across the outer membrane of Aeromonas salmonicida

Many Gram-negative bacteria export proteins to the exterior. Some of these proteins are first secreted into the periplasm and then cross the outer membrane in a separate step. The source of energy required for the translocation is unknown. Export of the extracellular protein proaerolysin from the periplasm through the outer membrane of Aeromonas salmonicida is inhibited by a proton ionophore and by low extracellular pH. One possible explanation of these results is that a proton gradient across the outer membrane is required for export.     

Uncoupling translocation from translation: implications for transport of proteins across membranes

The segregation of secretory proteins into the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is normally tightly coupled to their synthesis. This feature distinguishes their biogenesis from that of proteins targeted to many other organelles. In the examples presented, translocation across the ER membrane is dissociated from translation. Transport, which is normally cotranslational, may proceed in the absence of chain elongation. Moreover, translocation across the ER membrane does not proceed spontaneously since, even in the absence of protein synthesis, energy substrates are required for translocation. These conclusions have been extended to the cotranslational integration of newly synthesized transmembrane proteins.     

Carbon dioxide--oxygen separation: facilitated transport of carbon dioxide across a liquid film

An immobilized film of an aqueous bicarbonate-carbonate solution was developed which was 4100 times more permeable to carbon dioxide than to oxygen. The carbon dioxide transport was reaction-rate limited, and thus it could be increased by addition to the film of catalysts for the hydrolysis of carbon dioxide.     

Superelastic effect in polycrystalline ferrous alloys

In superelastic alloys, large deformation can revert to a memorized shape after removing the stress. However, the stress increases with increasing temperature, which limits the practical use over a wide temperature range. Polycrystalline Fe-Mn-Al-Ni shape memory alloys show a small temperature dependence of the superelastic stress because of a small transformation entropy change brought about by a magnetic contribution to the Gibbs energies. For one alloy composition, the superelastic stress varies by 0.53 megapascal/°C over a temperature range from -196 to 240°C.     

电场驱动纳米Fe0在不同介质中的迁移行为研究

选取四种不同介质(100%石英砂、75%石英砂/25%高岭土、50%石英砂/50%高岭土和100%高岭土),探讨了黄原胶分散的纳米Fe~0在不同介质中的迁移行为。纳米材料投加点设置在介质填充池中间靠近阳极电解池的位置。研究发现,采用该实验装置,100%石英砂的处理中电渗流量最大,这与其较大的孔隙和渗透性有关,加入高岭土的处理中电渗流量较小且各处理流量相当。纳米Fe~0在石英砂中的迁移高于加入高岭土的处理,大部分纳米Fe~0集聚在靠近投加口的部分,在远离投加口的部分铁逐渐由Fe2+向Fe3+转化。100%高岭土中纳米Fe~0的迁移高于混合介质处理,这与其较高的电流强度有关。纳米Fe~0在电动迁移过程中很容易发生溶解和转化,其在高岭土中的迁移是以离子态进行的。μ-XANES(微束X射线近边分析)的分析结果证实电场驱动下高岭土中的铁主要以纤铁矿和磁铁矿形式存在。     

水分管理对水稻灌浆期镉伤流强度和转移的影响

为明确水稻关键生育期水分管理对籽粒Cd积累的影响,揭示Cd污染稻田水分管理降低籽粒Cd积累的部分机制,本研究以Cd轻度污染水稻土和甬优538水稻为研究对象,采用盆栽试验,共设3种水分管理模式：分蘖末期至成熟期湿润灌溉（T1）,分蘖末期湿润灌溉-灌浆期至成熟期淹水（T2）,分蘖末期至成熟期淹水（T3）,探究不同水分管理方式下的水稻产量、灌浆期各器官Cd含量、各器官Cd积累量和Cd伤流强度的动态变化情况,分析水稻Cd吸收转移及籽粒Cd积累规律。结果表明： T2处理能显著降低水稻茎、叶、糙米的Cd含量和积累量,该处理水稻茎、叶、糙米Cd含量较T1分别降低51.5%~61.9%、12.8%~53.7%、31.8%~50.1%,第35天收获时,Cd积累量较T1处理分别降低37.4%、28.3%、36.2%。灌浆开始至第21天是籽粒Cd积累的高峰期,该时期T1、T2、T3处理糙米Cd积累贡献率分别为78.0%、77.2%、72.4%。灌浆期开始至第14天是Cd由根系向地上部运输的关键时期且淹水处理Cd伤流强度明显降低。第14天时,T1、T2处理Cd伤流强度分别是第21天的2.60、3.45倍,T2、T3处理较T1处理分别下降68.6%、92.7%。相关性分析表明,水稻籽粒Cd的积累与水稻茎Cd含量密切相关。灌浆期淹水处理水稻茎Cd含量的减少可能是籽粒Cd积累量下降的主要原因之一。淹水管理能实现Cd污染稻田水稻的安全生产,尤其以灌浆期淹水在水资源高效利用方面适应性更强,既符合稻田农事习惯,又减少了水资源的制约。     

Order-disorder transition in polycrystalline c60 films

High-resolution Raman spectroscopy of polycrystalline films of C(60) deposited under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions show that the spectrum below 244 +/- 3 kelvin consists of a superposition of two components whose relative contributions are temperature-dependent. The spectrum of the more intense of the two components is similar to that obtained for air- or oxygen-exposed samples of C(60) at room temperature, whereas the spectrum above 244 +/- 3 kelvin corresponds to one previously reported for oxygen-free samples of C(60). The results may indicate an order-disorder phase transition involving the percolation of a cluster of C(60) molecules engaged in coherent Raman scattering.