Search results for "Note"

Out of fuzzy chemistry: from prebiotic chemistry to metabolic networks

2012

The origin of life on Earth was a chemical affair. So how did primitive biochemical systems originate from geochemical and cosmochemical processes on the young planet? Contemporary research into the origins of life subscribes to the Darwinian principle of material causes operating in an evolutionary context, as advocated by A. I. Oparin and J. B. S. Haldane in the 1920s. In its simplest form (e.g., a bacterial cell) extant biological complexity relies on the functional integration of metabolic networks and replicative genomes inside a lipid boundary. Different research programmes have explored the prebiotic plausibility of each of these autocatalytic subsystems and combinations thereof: sel…

Magnetometry with Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

2016

This chapter covers magnetic sensing with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect centers in diamond. The NV center fundamentals are introduced and NV optically detected magnetic resonance techniques for dc and ac magnetic sensing are summarized. After reviewing some successful sensing applications, the advantages for using NV magnetometry, as well as some ongoing challenges, are enumerated.

Therapeutic metaphors and personal meanings in group poetry therapy for people with schizophrenia

2021

This article concerns the therapeutic potential of metaphor in group poetry therapy, concentrating on the poetry therapy process of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The data was collected in a one-year poetry therapy group. The main questions were: (1) What kind of therapeutic potential can metaphors offer in group poetry therapy? (2) What are the personal meanings and evaluations that the participants give to the therapy process and its effects on their lives? (3) What are the most significant elements in poetry therapy from the viewpoint of the client? The analysis was based on the Grounded theory method. The results showed that the most significant therapeutic factors of the process …

Material-driven fibronectin assembly rescues matrix defects due to mutations in collagen IV in fibroblasts

2020

Basement membranes (BMs) are specialised extracellular matrices that provide structural support to tissues as well as influence cell behaviour and signalling. Mutations in COL4A1/COL4A2, a major BM component, cause a familial form of eye, kidney and cerebrovascular disease, including stroke, while common variants in these genes are a risk factor for intracerebral haemorrhage in the general population. These phenotypes are associated with matrix defects, due to mutant protein incorporation in the BM and/or its absence by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention. However, the effects of these mutations on matrix stiffness, the contribution of the matrix to the disease mechanism(s) and its effects…

Spontaneous Spatiotemporal Ordering of Shape Oscillations Enhances Cell Migration

2019

The migration of cells is relevant for processes such as morphogenesis, wound healing, and invasion of cancer cells. In order to move, single cells deform cyclically. However, it is not understood how these shape oscillations influence collective properties. Here we demonstrate, using numerical simulations, that the interplay of directed motion, shape oscillations, and excluded volume enables cells to locally "synchronize" their motion and thus enhance collective migration. Our model captures elongation and contraction of crawling ameboid cells controlled by an internal clock with a fixed period, mimicking the internal cycle of biological cells. We show that shape oscillations are crucial f…

Light scattering - diagnostic methods for colloidal dispersions

1993

Abstract The increasing demand from the colloid research community for quick and noninvasive experimental techniques as well as the rapid progress of modern optics and electronics have led to a considerable expansion in the field of light scattering. This review introduces the basic concepts with some emphasis on novel approaches like the study of interacting particle systems, multiple scattering techniques, and non ergodic samples. Particular attention is then devoted to recent experimental progress towards more compact and rugged instruments.

Crystallization of hard-sphere colloids -- deviations from classical nucleation theory

2006

The creation of three-dimensional ordered colloidal crystals, for application in a range of nanotechnologies, has been a goal for many researchers in the past few years. The main difficulty in creating macroscopic sized crystals of densely packed colloidal particles is that colloidal particles always have a range of particle sizes - ie, they are polydisperse. This paper studied the crystallization kinetics of a hard-sphere colloid with a well defined Gaussian polydispersity. The authors find that crystallization occurs in two stages, and does not follow the simple classical nucleation picture. The paper discusses the implications of these results for research into colloidal crystals as poss…

Chemical Routes Toward Multicompartment Colloids

2012

The search for mimicking natural living and non-living systems with synthetic products leads to the fabrication of advanced colloidal morphologies with hierarchical micro- and nanostructures. Different chemical routes toward the synthesis of colloids with complex morphologies are presented and a tentative analogy between these routes and the four basic arithmetic operations is proposed.

Colloids and interfaces in bochum

1990

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance in Colloidal Copper Sulphide (Cu2-xS, x = 0 ≤ x < 1) Nanocrystals and Its Applications

2021

Colloidally prepared copper sulphide (Cu2-xS) nanocrystals are possessing superior structural and optical properties owing to the presence of copper vacancies. The application of colloidal Cu2-xS nanocrystals are critically analysed for several optoelectronic applications. Furthermore, colloidally prepared Cu2-xS nanocrystals undergo facile process such as cation exchange, additives induced structural modifications etc. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the optical properties of these nanomaterials in order to apply them for future optoelectronic applications. Out of other properties, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) by controlling composition of the Cu2-xS nanocrystals is in…