Quench Protection Design and Simulation of a 7 Tesla Superconducting Magnet

A 7 Tesla superconducting magnet with a clear warm bore of 156 mm in diameter has been developed for Lanzhou Penning Trap at the Institute of Modern Physics for high precision mass measurement. The magnet is comprised of 9 solenoid coils and operates in persistent mode with a total energy of 2.3 MJ. Due to the considerable amount of energy stored during persistent mode operation, the quench protection system is very important when designing and operating the magnet. A passive protection system based on a subdivided scheme is adopted to protect the superconducting magnet from damage caused by quenching. Cold diodes and resistors are put across the subdivision to reduce both the voltage and temperature hot spots. Computational simulations have been carried in Opera-quench. The designed quench protection circuit and the finite element method model for quench simulations are described; the time changing of temperature, voltage and current decay during the quench process is also analysed.

Novel pH- and temperature-responsive block copolymers with tunable pH-responsive range

A series of novel pH- and temperature-responsive diblock copolymers composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly[(L-glutamic acid)-co-(gamma-benzyl L-glutamate)] [P(GA-co-BLG)] were prepared. The influence of hydrophobic benzyl groups on the phase transition of the copolymers was studied for the first time. With increasing BLG content in P(GA-co-BLG) block, the thermal phase transition of the diblock copolymer became sharper at a designated pH and the critical curve of phase diagram of the diblock copolymer shifted to a higher pH region.

Design of Fluorescent Assays for Cyanide and Hydrogen Peroxide Based on the Inner Filter Effect of Metal Nanoparticles

We have demonstrated the design of a new type fluorescent assay based on the inner filter effect (IFE) of metal nanoparticles (NPs), which is conceptually different from the previously reported metal NPs-based fluorescent assays. With a high extinction coefficient and tunable plasmon absorption feature, metal NPs are expected to be capable of functioning as a powerful absorber to tune the emission of the fluorophore in the IFE-based fluorescent assays. In this work, we presented two proof-of-concept examples based on the IFE of Au NPs by choosing MDMO-PPV as a model fluorophore, whose fluorescence could be tuned by the absorbance of Au NPs with a much higher sensitivity than the corresponding absorbance approach.

Tuning the Energy Level of Organic Sensitizers for High-Performance Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Cost-effective organic sensitizers will play a pivotal role in the future large-scale production and application of dye-sensitized solar cells. Here we report two new organic D-pi-A dyes featuring electron-rich 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene- and 2,2'-bis(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-conjugated linkers, showing a remarkable red-shifting of photocurrent action spectra compared with their thiophene and bithiophene counterparts. On the basis of the 3-f{5'-[N,N-bis(9,9-dimethylfluorene-2-yl)phenyl]-2,2'-bis(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-5-yl}2-cyanoacrylic acid dye, we have set a new efficiency record of 7.6% for solvent-free dye-sensitized solar cells based on metal-free organic sensitizers. Importantly, the cell exhibits an excellent stability, keeping over 92% of its initial efficiency after 1000 h accelerated tests under full sunlight soaking at 60 degrees C. This achievement will considerably encourage further design and exploration of metal-free organic dyes for higher performance dye-sensitized solar cells.

A Simple, Universal Colorimetric Assay for Endonuclease/Methyltransferase Activity and Inhibition Based on an Enzyme-Responsive Nanoparticle System

An enzyme responsive nanoparticle system that uses a DNA-gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assembly as the substrate has been developed for the simple, sensitive, and universal monitoring of restriction endonucleases in real time. This new assay takes advantage of the palindromic recognition sequence of the restriction nucleases and the unique optical properties of AuNPs and is simpler than the procedure previously described by by Xu et al. (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 2007, 46, 3468-3470). Because it involves only one type of ssDNA modified AuNPs, this assay can be directed toward most of the endonucleases by simply changing the recognition sequence found within the linker DNA. In addition, the endonuclease activity could be quantitatively analyzed by the value of the reciprocal of hydrolysis half time (t(1/2)(-1). Furthermore, our new design could also be applied to the assay of methyltransferase activity since the methylation of DNA inhibits its cleavage by the corresponding restriction endonuclease, and thus, this new methodology can be easily adapted to high-throughput screening of methyltransferase inhibitors.

Quantifying robustness and dissipation cost of yeast cell cycle network: The funneled energy landscape perspectives

We study the origin of robustness of yeast cell cycle cellular network through uncovering its underlying energy landscape. This is realized from the information of the steady-state probabilities by solving a discrete set of kinetic master equations for the network. We discovered that the potential landscape of yeast cell cycle network is funneled toward the global minimum, G1 state. The ratio of the energy gap between G1 and average versus roughness of the landscape termed as robustness ratio ( RR) becomes a quantitative measure of the robustness and stability for the network. The funneled landscape is quite robust against random perturbations from the inherent wiring or connections of the network. There exists a global phase transition between the more sensitive response or less self-degradation phase leading to underlying funneled global landscape with large RR, and insensitive response or more self-degradation phase leading to shallower underlying landscape of the network with small RR. Furthermore, we show that the more robust landscape also leads to less dissipation cost of the network. Least dissipation and robust landscape might be a realization of Darwinian principle of natural selection at cellular network level. It may provide an optimal criterion for network wiring connections and design.

Molecular design on highly efficient white electroluminescence from a single-polymer system with simultaneous blue, green, and red emission

A highly efficient white electroluminescent polymer with simultaneous blue, green, and red emission is reported, developed using a dopant/host strategy by covalently attaching both a green- and a red-light-emitting dopant to the side chain of a blue-light-emitting polymer host (see figure). In a single-layer device a maximum luminance efficiency of 7.3 cd A(-1) with CIE coordinates of (0.31,0.32) is achieved.

Triplex selective 2-(2-naphthyl)quinoline compounds: Origins of affinity and new design principles

A novel competition dialysis assay was used to investigate the structural selectivity of a series of substituted 2-(2-naphthyl)quinoline compounds designed to target triplex DNA. The interaction of 14 compounds with 13 different nucleic acid sequences and structures was studied. A striking selectivity for the triplex structure poly dA:[poly dT](2) was found for the majority of compounds studied. Quantitative analysis of the competition dialysis binding data using newly developed metrics revealed that these compounds are among the most selective triplex-binding agents synthesized to date. A quantitative structure-affinity relationship (QSAR) was derived using triplex binding data for all 14 compounds used in these studies. The QSAR revealed that the primary favorable determinant of triplex binding free energy is the solvent accessible surface area. Triplex binding affinity is negatively correlated with compound electron affinity and the number of hydrogen bond donors. The QSAR provides guidelines for the design of improved triplex-binding agents.