In the present study we aimed to analyse structural changes during in vitro maturation of the bovine zona pellucida (ZP) by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) ands zona pellucida birefringence (ZPB). Here we show that alterations during in vitro maturation invasively analysed by SEM are reflected in ZPB. In vivo-matured oocytes ...

Abstract ABSTRACT: Specimens of a capsalid collected from the gill arches of 2 roundscale spearfish, Tetrapturus georgii Lowe, 1840, (Perciformes: Istiophoridae), captured in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean were identified as Capsala laevis (Verrill, 1875) Johnston, 1929 by having the combination of papillae on the ventral surface of haptor, dorsomarginal body ...

We study the effects of magnetic and electric fields on the g factors of spins confined in a two-electron InAs nanowire double quantum dot. Spin sensitive measurements are performed by monitoring the leakage current in the Pauli blockade regime. Rotations of single spins are driven using electric-dipole spin resonance. The ...

Obesity can impact on reproductive functions by causing hormonal imbalance and ovulatory dysfunction. Furthermore, obesity is associated with a range of adverse health consequences. There is a tight coupling between the reproductive system and energy balance. Obesity results from chronic imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, and therefore changes ...

By using high-magnetic fields (up to 60 T), we observe compelling evidence of the integer quantum Hall effect in trilayer graphene. The magnetotransport fingerprints are similar to those of the graphene monolayer, except for the absence of a plateau at a filling factor of ν=2. At a very low filling factor, ...

C-reactive protein (CRP) was determined in the concentration range 0.01-10mgL(-1) using hot electron induced electrochemiluminescence (HECL) with devices combining both working and counter electrodes and sample confinement on a single chip. The sample area on the electrodes was defined by a hydrophobic ring, which enabled dispensing the reagents and the ...

We determine the spin-exchange dynamical structure factor of the Heisenberg spin chain, as is measured by indirect resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). We find that two-spin RIXS excitations nearly entirely fractionalize into two-spinon states. These share the same continuum lower bound as single-spin neutron scattering excitations, even if the relevant ...

In this study, honeycomb cinders were employed to remove phosphate and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD(cr)) simultaneously for landfill leachate treatment. Operating conditions of honeycomb cinders pretreatment, pH, temperature, honeycomb cinders dosage, reaction time, and settling time, were evaluated and optimized. The results revealed that the removal efficiencies of both phosphate ...

In this study, calcium phosphate nanoparticles with two phases, fluorapatite (FA; Ca(10)(PO(4))(6)F(2)) and hydroxyapatite (HA; Ca(10)(PO(4))(6)(OH)(2)), were prepared using the solgel method. Ethyl phosphate, hydrated calcium nitrate, and ammonium fluoride were used, respectively, as P, Ca, and F precursors with a Ca:P ratio of 1:72. Powders obtained from the sol-gel ...

The performance of the cathodic electron acceptors (CEA) used in the two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) was in the following order: potassium permanganate (1.11V; 116.2 mW/m(2))>potassium persulfate (1.10 V; 101.7 mW/m(2))>potassium dichromate, K(2)Cr(2)O(7) (0.76 V; 45.9 mW/m(2))>potassium ferricyanide (0.78 V; 40.6 mW/m(2)). Different operational parameters were considered to find out ...

A wide variety of cation-exchangeable layered transition metal oxides and their relatively rare counterparts, anion-exchangeable layered hydroxides, have been exfoliated into individual host layers, i.e., nanosheets. Exfoliation is generally achieved via a high degree of swelling, typically driven either by intercalation of bulky organic ions (quaternary ammonium cations, propylammonium cations, ...

The manganese phosphate with high P-O-Mn connectivity shows a two-step relaxation process in two distinct spin glass states.

Direct measurements of electron transfer (ET) within a protein-protein complex with a redesigned interface formed by physiological partner proteins myoglobin (Mb) and cytochrome b(5) (b(5)) reveal interprotein ET rates comparable to those observed within the photosynthetic reaction center. Brownian dynamics simulations show that Mb in which three surface acid residues ...

The effect of solvation by a continuum dielectric on the size of an ion is examined using electronic structure calculations. Various measures correlated with size are considered, including the root-mean-square radius of the electronic charge density, the amount of solute charge penetrating outside the cavity, the electronic radial distribution function, ...

Two of the primary hurdles facing organic electronics and photovoltaics are their low charge mobility and the inability to disentangle morphological and molecular effects on charge transport. Specific chemical groups such as alkyl side chains are often added to enable spin-casting and to improve overall power efficiency and morphologies, but ...

The refinement of the previously proposed energy partitioning scheme, self-consistent charge and configuration method for subsystems (Korchowiec and Uchimaru, J Chem Phys 2000, 112, 1623), is proposed. Our new realization takes rigorously into account all the interactions between subsystems and guarantees proper symmetry of the intermediate wavefunctions. In addition, the ...

We present a spiro-linked molecule 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(3-hexyl-5-(7-(4-hexylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazol-4-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-9,9'-spirobifluorene which acts as a secondary absorber in solid-state excitonic solar cells. Blending with a hole-transporting material 2,2'7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenyl-amine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene and used in conjunction with a near-infrared dye (termed TT1) results in an extended spectral response which yields a notable increase in short-circuit current and power conversion ...

A facile route has been developed for the preparation of a new family of contorted 1.2,3.4,7.8,9.10-tetrabenzocoronenes (TBCs). A two-step cyclization reaction, i.e., oxidative photocyclization followed by FeCl(3)-mediated intramolecular cyclodehydrogenation, was carried out on the olefin precursors to obtain the final TBC compounds. These new TBC molecules have contorted conformation due ...

Intra- and intermolecular charge fluxes induced by the OH stretching mode of water and their effects on the infrared (IR) intensities and intermolecular vibrational coupling are analyzed theoretically. Density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations are carried out for the clusters consisting of 28 and 30 water molecules, and the change in ...

One inherent limitation to the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells based on polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) is the accumulation of positive charges at the anodic interface. The unsymmetrical charge collection of holes and electrons dramatically decreases the short-circuit current. Interfacial layers (IFLs) such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) have no effect on the ...

The electron accepting properties of the 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone and iodine and electron donating properties of the drug cilostazole have been studied using the UV-vis, FT-IR, GC-MS and Far-IR techniques. The interaction of cilostazole drug with iodine and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone resulted via the initial formation of charge-transfer complex as an intermediate. The rate ...

We show that excitation of solutions of well-passivated PbSe semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) with ultraviolet (3.1 eV) photons can produce long-lived charge-separated states in which the NC core is left with a nonzero net charge. Since this process is not observed for lower-energy (1.5 eV) excitation, we ascribe it to hot-carrier ...

The electronic description of octahedral (fac-[M(CO)(3)L(3)](n), with M = Re, Ru, and Mn, and [Cr(CO)(5)L](n)), square-planar (cis-[Pt(CO)(2)L(2)](n)), and tetrahedral ([Ni(CO)(3)L](n)) carbonyl complexes (where L = monodentate ligand) was obtained via density functional theory and natural population analyses in order to understand what effects are probed in these species by vibrational ...

Theoretical calculations at the semiempirical and ab initio levels of theory have been completed for a series of methacrylate compounds reported in the literature as measured by pulsed-laser initiated polymerization in conjunction with size-exclusion chromatography (PLP-SEC). Modeling includes calculation of the Gibb's free energies (ΔG(‡)) and activation energies (E(a)). These ...

Charge transfer complexes are interfacial charge pairs residing at the donor-acceptor heterointerface in organic solar cell. Experimental evidence shows that it is crucial for the photovoltaic performance, as both photocurrent and open circuit voltage directly depend on it. For charge photogeneration, charge transfer complexes represent the intermediate but essential step ...

A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectrometer of a five-channel spectral system is designed for ITER main plasma impurity measurement. To develop and verify the system design, a two-channel prototype system is fabricated with No. 3 (14.4-31.8 nm) and No. 4 (29.0-60.0 nm) among the five channels. The optical system consists of ...

Electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) induces fragmentation along the peptide backbone by transferring an electron from a radical anion to a protonated peptide. In contrast with collision-induced dissociation, side chains and modifications such as phosphorylation are left intact through the ETD process. Because the precursor charge state is an important input to ...

Phtalocyanine compounds deserved a considerable interest in recent times, particularly because of their possible use in the field of nanoelectronics. In particular, the charge mobility (of both electrons and holes) in phtalocyanine stacked arrangements has been recently extensively investigated. The present work focuses on the study of the hole-transfer mechanism ...

Integral cross-section measurements for the system water-H(2) in molecular-beam scattering experiments are reported. Their analysis demonstrates that the average attractive component of the water-H(2) intermolecular potential in the well region is about 30% stronger than dispersion and induction forces would imply. An extensive and detailed theoretical analysis of the electron ...

We propose a new process of μ- e- → e- e- in a muonic atom for a quest of charged lepton flavor violation. The Coulomb attraction from the nucleus in a heavy muonic atom leads to significant enhancement in its rate, compared to μ+ e- → e+ e-. The upper ...

We have studied the influence of three different fullerene derivatives on the charge generation and recombination dynamics of polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell blends. Charge generation in APFO3/[70]PCBM and APFO3/[60]PCBM is very similar and somewhat slower than charge generation in APFO3/[70]BTPF. This difference qualitatively matches the trend in free ...

The geometric and electronic structures, as well as the thermodynamic properties of trivalent lanthanide hydrates {Ln(H(2)O)(8,9)(3+) and Ln(H(2)O)(8,9)(H(2)O)(12,14)(3+), Ln = La-Lu} have been examined using unrestricted density functional theory (UDFT), unrestricted Möller-Plesset perturbation theory (UMP2), and multiconfigurational self-consistent field methods (MCSCF). While Ln-hydrates with 2-5 unpaired f-electrons have some multiconfigurational ...

We present a coarse-grained tight-binding method based on density functional theory (DFT) for the simulation of charge transfer in complex materials. The charge-transfer parameters are computed using a fragment-orbital approach combined with the approximative DFT method self-consistent charge density functional tight binding (SCC-DFTB), which allows to follow the dynamics of ...

Charge order is proposed as a driving force behind ferroelectricity in iron fluoride K(0.6)Fe(0.6)(II)Fe(0.4)(III)F(3). By means of density functional theory, we propose several noncentrosymmetric d(5)/d(6) charge-ordering patterns, each giving rise to polarization with different direction and magnitude. Accordingly, we introduce the concept of "ferroelectric anisotropy" (peculiar to improper ferroelectrics with ...

We examine the significance of hot exciton dissociation in two archetypical polymer-fullerene blend solar cells. Rather than evolving through a bound charge transfer state, hot processes are proposed to convert excitons directly into free charges. But we find that the internal quantum yields of carrier photogeneration are similar for both ...

We present a measurement of the electric charge of the top quark using pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb(-1) at the CDF II detector. We reconstruct tt events in the lepton + jets final state. We use soft lepton taggers to determine the flavor of the ...

We report our results on the influence of the dipole moment of small molecules anchored to the surface of CdSe nanocrystals, over the interfacial charge recombination dynamics in CdSe/P3HT (P3HT : poly-3-hexylthiophene). The polarizability of the CdSe/P3HT interface is key to achieving efficient charge separation and slow back electron transfer, two of ...

Electron transfer reaction of a self-assembled donor-acceptor dyad formed by axial coordination of zinc naphthalocyanine, ZnNc, and subphthalocyanine appended with pyridine coordinating ligand, SubPc(py), was investigated in the present study. The SubPc(Py) : ZnNc self-assembled dyad absorbs the light in a wide section of the UV/Vis/NIR spectra. The formation constant of SubPc(py) : ZnNc ...

Electronic many-body effects alone can be responsible for the migration of a positive charge created upon ionization in molecular systems. Here, we report an ultrafast charge migration taking place after valence ionization of the molecule 4-methylphenol. The results obtained by a fully ab initio methodology show that the positive charge ...

Molecular and interfacial electronic structure at organic semiconductor interfaces shows a rich and subtle dependence on short- and long-range electrostatic interactions. Interface dipoles can be controlled making use of the anisotropic charge distribution at the interface, often with direct consequences also for the molecular electronic structure. In this Perspective, we ...

Several new fullerene-heptamethine conjugates, which absorb as far as into the infrared spectrum as 800 nm, have been synthesized and fully characterized by physicochemical means. In terms of optical and electrochemical characteristics, appreciable electronic coupling between both electroactive species is deduced. The latter also reflect the excited-state features. To this ...

We measure the charge asymmetry A ≡ (N++ - N--)/(N++ + N--) of like-sign dimuon events in 6.1 fb-1 of pp collisions recorded with the D0 detector at a center-of-mass energy square root(s) = 1.96   TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. From A we extract the like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry ...

In the chemistry of metallic complexes, two important concepts have been used to rationalize the recognition and selectivity of a host by a guest: preorganization and complementarity. Both of these concepts stem from geometrical features. Less explored in the literature has been the interactional complementarity, where mainly the electronic factors ...

The apparent formal potentials for the one-electron redox process of most Keggin-type heteropolytungstates, XW(12)O(40)(q-), have long been shown to linearly depend on their overall negative charges, in the absence of proton interference in the process. However, for a given overall negative charge, these formal potentials are also shown here to ...

The origin of the lowest triplet states--locally excited or charge shifted (T(LE)vs. T(CS))--is a key point in the discussion of the charge shift phenomena of 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium (see Fukuzumi et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5159 vs. Benniston et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5156). Coordination of ...

We present simulations of exciton dissociation and charge separation processes in the prototypical conjugated polymer, poly-p-phenylenevinylene. Our mixed quantum/classical simulations focus on the nonadiabatic excited state dynamics of single and pi-stacked oligomers of varying length. By applying a constant external electric field, our simulations reveal the details and time scale ...

Over the last decade, nanopores have emerged as a new and interesting tool for the study of biological macromolecules like proteins and DNA. While biological pores, especially alpha-haemolysin, have been promising for the detection of DNA, their poor chemical stability limits their use. For this reason, researchers are trying to ...

Combining first-principles calculations and non-Condon charge transfer rates proposed by us recently [Y. Zhao and W. Z. Liang, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 034111 (2009)], we investigated non-Condon effect on charge carrier mobility of organic semiconductor dithiophene-tetrathiafulvalene (DT-TTF) crystal. The first-principles results reveal that only several high-frequency intramolecular vibrational modes dominate ...

In molecular devices, the importance of interfaces cannot be neglected as they determine charge injection and charge flow and, therefore, the device performance. Herein we report on the interaction of one single layer of Zn-tetraphenyl-porphyrin with Ag(110) and Si(111). Photoemission, near-edge X-ray absorption, and resonant photoemission are used to study ...

The absorption spectra of dianionic tetrocyanoethylene and dicationic tetrathiafulvalene dimers have been studied theoretically with the time-dependent density functional theory and the recently proposed Coulomb-attenuated model. The nature of the excited states was further explored by means of the two-dimensional (2D) site (transition density matrix) and three-dimensional (3D) cube (transition ...