Adiabatically slow and adiabatically fast driven ratchets

We revisit two known models of deterministically driven ratchets, which exhibit high energetic efficiency, with the goal to uncover similarities and differences in the principles of their operation. Both the models rely on adiabaticity of the potential change process, however, the adiabaticity that we deal with in the two cases is of different types, slow and fast. It is shown that in the former (latter) case the drift velocity is an even (odd) functional of the potential, with the notable consequence that for the adiabatically slow driven ratchet the necessary symmetry breaking occurs only due to time-dependent parametric perturbations, while the spatial asymmetry of the potential is a mandatory condition for the adiabatically fast driven ratchet to operate. To treat energetic characteristics, the models are restated in terms of traveling potential ratchets. With such an approach, we find that in these cases (i) the conditions of high energetic efficiency to be reached are similar, and (ii) the symmetry properties of the kinetic coefficients are different. Based on our results, a strategy for designing efficient Brownian motors is suggested.

Development of DRAGON electron cyclotron resonance ion source at Institute of Modern Physics

A new room temperature electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source, DRAGON, is under construction at IMP. DRAGON is designed to operate at microwaves of frequencies of 14.5-18 GHz. Its axial solenoid coils are cooled with evaporative medium to provide an axial magnetic mirror field of 2.5 T at the injection and 1.4 T at the extraction, respectively. In comparison to other conventional room temperature ECR ion sources, DRAGON has so far the largest bore plasma chamber of inner diameter of 126 mm with maximum radial fields of 1.4-1.5 T produced by a non-Halbach permanent sextupole magnet.

Status of the laser ion source at IMP

A laser (Nd:YAG laser, 3 J, 1064 nm, 8-10 ns) ion source has been built and under development at IMP to provide pulsed high-charge-state heavy ion beams to a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) for upgrading the IMP accelerators with a new low-energy beam injector. The laser ion source currently operates in a direct plasma injection scheme to inject the high charge state ions produced from a solid target into the RFQ. The maximum power density on the target was about 8.4 × 10(12) W∕cm(2). The preliminary experimental results will be presented and discussed in this paper.

A 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance proton ion source and a dual-lens low energy beam transport

The structure and preliminary commissioning results of a new 2.45 GHz ECR proton ion source and a dual-lens low energy beam transport (LEBT) system are presented in this paper. The main magnetic field of the ion source is provided by a set of permanent magnets with two small electro-solenoid magnets at the injection and the extraction to fine tune the magnetic field for better microwave coupling. A 50 keV pulsed proton beam extracted by a three-electrode mechanism passes through the LEBT system of length of 1183 mm. This LEBT consists of a diagnosis chamber, two Glaser lenses, two steering magnets, and a final beam defining cone. A set of inner permanent magnetic rings is embedded in each of the two Glaser lenses to produce a flatter axial-field to reduce the lens aberrations.

Study of ion beam transport from the SECRAL electron cyclotron resonance ion source at the Institute of Modern Physics

Ion beam transport from the Superconducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance ion source with Advanced design in Lanzhou (SECRAL) electron cyclotron resonance ion source was studied at the Institute of Modern Physics during 2010. Particle-in-cell simulations and experimental results have shown that both space charge and magnetic aberrations lead to a larger beam envelope and emittance growth. In the existing SECRAL extraction beam line, it has been shown that raising the solenoid lens magnetic field reduces aberrations in the subsequent dipole and results in lower emittance. Detailed beam emittance measurements are presented in this paper.

Characterization of carbapenem-nonsusceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream isolates at a Taiwanese hospital: clinical impacts of lowered breakpoints for carbapenems

This study was conducted in order to characterize carbapenem-nonsusceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and to evaluate the impacts of recently lowered interpretative breakpoints for carbapenems for Enterobacteriaceae. Among 152 K. pneumoniae bloodstream isolates suspected as AmpC or extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers, 58 (38.2%) isolates were currently interpreted as nonsusceptible to ertapenem, imipenem, or meropenem, and 42 (72.4%) of them were categorized as carbapenem-susceptible by the previous criteria. The high revision rate was associated with the predominance (79.3%) of DHA-1 among the carbapenem-nonsusceptible isolates due to both polyclonal and clonal spread. ESBLs were common (~57%) in both ertapenem-susceptible and -nonsusceptible isolates; however, 84.8% of the carbapenem-nonsusceptible isolates were also AmpC producers. The IMP-8 metallo-β-lactamase was detected in three isolates. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggested decreased OmpK35 expression in all but one ertapenem-nonsusceptible isolate, and genetic disruptions of ompK35 and ompK36 were detected in 30 and six ertapenem-nonsusceptible isolates, respectively. A comparison between patients infected by AmpC- or ESBL-producing ertapenem-susceptible (n=62) isolates and those with isolates revised as ertapenem-nonsusceptible (n=41) revealed more cases of malignancies (36.6% versus 14.5%; p=0.01) and higher Charlson score (p=0.033) among the patients with ertapenem-nonsusceptible isolates; however, the acquisition of an isolate revised as carbapenem-nonsusceptible was not identified as an independent mortality risk factor.

Patients with high body mass index tend to have lower stage of esophageal carcinoma at diagnosis

High body mass index (H-BMI; ≥25 kg/m(2) ) is common in US adults. In a small cohort of esophageal cancer (EC) patients treated with surgery, H-BMI and diagnosis of early stage EC appeared associated. We evaluated a much larger cohort of EC patients. From a prospectively maintained database, we analyzed 925 EC patients who had surgery with or without adjunctive therapy. Various statistical methods were used. Among 925 patients, 69% had H-BMI, and 31% had normal body mass index (<25 kg/m(2) ; N-BMI). H-BMI was associated with men (P<0.001), Caucasians (P=0.064; trend), lower esophageal localization (P<0.001), adenocarcinoma histology (P<0.001), low baseline cT-stage (P=0.003), low baseline overall clinical stage (P=0.003), coronary artery disease (P=0.036), and diabetes (P<0.001). N-BMI was associated with weight loss (P<0.001), alcohol abuse (P=0.056; trend), ever/current smoking (P=0.014), and baseline cN+ (P=0.018). H-BMI patients with cT1 tumors (n=110) had significantly higher rates of gastresophageal reflux disease symptoms (P<0.001), gastresophageal reflux disease history (P<0.001), and Barrett's esophagus history (P<0.001) compared with H-BMI patients with cT2 tumors (n=114). Median survival of N-BMI patients was 36.66 months compared with 53.20 months for H-BMI patients (P=0.005). In multivariate analysis, older age (P<0.001), squamous histology (P=0.002), smoking (P=0.040), weight loss (P=0.002), high baseline stage (P<0.001), high number of ypN+ (P=0.005), high surgical stage (P<0.001), and American Society of Anesthesia scores, three out of four (P<0.001) were independent prognosticators for poor overall survival. We were able to perform propensity-based analysis of surgical complications between H-BMI and N-BMI patients. A comparison of fully matched 376 patients (188 with H-BMI and 188 with N-BMI) found no significant differences in the rate of complications between the two groups. This larger data set confirms that a fraction of H-BMI patients with antecedent history is diagnosed with early baseline EC. Upon validation of our data in an independent cohort, refinements in surveillance of symptomatic H-BMI patients are warranted and could be implemented. Our data also suggest that H-BMI patients do not experience higher rate of surgical complications compared with N-BMI patients.

Two-state Brownian motor driven by synchronously fluctuating unbiased forces

As a model of the Brownian motor, we consider a particle moving unidirectionally under the action of two synchronously fluctuating unbiased forces, transverse and longitudinal with respect to the particle track. The former force induces track-normal transitions of the particle between the attached and detached states (with and without a periodic potential, respectively), whereas the latter drives track-parallel motion in either state. Analytical expressions of the current and efficiency are derived for different regimes, with due account of the delayed response of the system to force fluctuations. For a sawtooth potential in the attached state, we reveal several motion regimes affording the maximum current or the maximum efficiency. A special emphasis is placed on the possibility of current reversal. As shown, the interplay between two phase-shifted harmonically varied forces as well as inherent and externally induced asymmetry can lead to the emergence of multiple current reversals, thus enabling the flexible controllability of the motion direction.

Infections caused by Gordonia species at a medical centre in Taiwan, 1997 to 2008

The inability of conventional identification systems to accurately identify Gordonia spp. often results in the misdiagnosis of infections by these rare pathogens, which require genomic sequencing for precise identification. In the present study, we describe nine cases of the various types of infection caused by Gordonia spp. From 1997 to 2008, 66 isolates (from 30 patients) initially identified as Rhodoccus spp. by conventional biochemical methods, by the Bacteriology Laboratory of National Taiwan University Hospital, were retrospectively analysed to assess the accuracy of species identification. Fifteen of these isolates (from nine patients) were later found to be Gordonia spp. by two molecular methods: PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism for heat shock protein gene (hsp65) and the 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Gordonia sputi (n = 8) was the most common species, followed by Gordonia terrae (n = 7). Most of the isolates were isolated from blood (n = 11), followed by soft tissue (n = 2) and eye (n = 2). Five patients presented with bacteraemia and two of these had catheter-related bloodstream infection. Two patients had soft tissue infections and another two patients had infective keratitis and conjunctivitis. The random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns for isolates from different patients were different, indicating that they were genetically unrelated. Accurate identification with molecular methods is required if the role of Gordonia spp. in causing infection is to be recognized.

A master equation approach to the dynamics of zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) states and ZEKE spectroscopy

We have theoretically studied important dynamic processes involved in zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy using the density matrix method with the inverse Born-Oppenheimer approximation basis sets. In ZEKE spectroscopy, the ZEKE Rydberg states are populated by laser excitation (either a one- or two-photon process), which is followed by autoionizations and l-mixing due to a stray field. The discrimination field is then applied to ionize loosely bound electrons in the ZEKE states. This is followed by using the extraction field to extract electrons from the ZEKE levels which have a strength comparable to that of the extraction field. These extracted electrons are measured for the relative intensities of the ion states under investigation. The spectral positions are determined by the applied laser wavelength and modified by the extraction electric field. In this paper, all of these processes are conducted within the context of the density matrix method. The density matrix method can provide not only the dynamics of system's population and coherence (or phase) but also the rate constants of the processes involved in the ZEKE spectroscopy. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the theoretical treatments.

Clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolates in elderly Taiwanese patients

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolates in elderly Taiwanese patients. From 2004 through 2008, patients >65 years old with NTM isolation were identified. The definitions of NTM disease followed the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Disease Society of America (ATS/IDSA) criteria. Among the 3,175 NTM isolates, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC; n = 1,118, 35.2%) was the most prevalent species, followed by M. abscessus (n = 545, 17.2%). Among the 1,633 elderly patients with NTM isolates, the most prevalent NTM species were MAC (n = 592, 36.3%) and M. fortuitum complex (n = 311, 19.0%). NTM colonization was found in 1,339 (80.4%) patients and only 326 (19.6%) patients had NTM diseases. During the study period, the annual incidence rates (per 100,000 inpatients and outpatients) of NTM colonization and disease both increased significantly (p < 0.0001) from 10.5 to 15.8 and from 2.1 to 4.3, respectively. Isolated pulmonary NTM infections compromised 294 (90.2%) of the 326 elderly cases of NTM disease. In conclusion, this study found an increasing trend in the incidence of both NTM isolates and NTM diseases among elderly Taiwanese patients. MAC and M. abscessus were the most frequent species causing various types of NTM disease.

A theoretical study of resonance Raman scattering from molecules: High pressure effect

The main purpose of this paper has been to study the high pressure effect on the resonance Raman scattering (RRS) of molecules in a dense medium. In deriving the RRS cross section under high pressure, a different approach from that presented in the previous papers has been used, and the resulting expression for the RRS cross section can be used to treat both pressure and temperature effects.

Mechanisms of triboluminescence

The purpose of this paper has been to develop the theoretical treatment of the triboexcitation mechanisms due to the electric field effect and the pressure effect and to show how to analyze the triboluminescent spectra to determine the external factors that affect or induce the triboluminescence.

Quantum statistical theory of optical phenomena

The purpose of this paper is to develop a density matrix formulation for optical phenomena that can be applied to both steady and transient states and to both resonance and off-resonance regions. To demonstrate the application, this theory has been applied to the steady-state one-photon and two-photon processes. We have found that, in the resonance region, the conventional equation used is incomplete; other terms that are comparable in importance have been ignored.

Solution of the time-dependent schrödinger equation by the laplace transform method

The time-dependent Schrödinger equation for two quite general types of perturbation has been solved by introducing the Laplace transforms to eliminate the time variable. The resulting time-independent differential equation can then be solved by the perturbation method, the variation method, the variation-perturbation method, and other methods.

A general treatment of relaxation phenomena

The singular perturbation method has been applied to solve the quantum mechanical Liouville equation for the relaxation phenomenon of the system in thermal contact with a heat bath. The master equation derived gives the proper expressions for both diagonal and off-diagonal elements of the density matrix and is capable of describing the time-dependent behavior of the system in the time range comparable with the reciprocal of the damping constants and the time range t --> infinity compared with the reciprocal of the damping constants.

Quantum statistical theory of rate processes

A general quantum mechanical approach for treating a great number of rate processes is developed and the temperature dependence of the rate constants is discussed.

Study of vibronic and born-oppenheimer couplings

The purpose of this paper has been to develop a systematic approach for classifying and distinguishing the relative orders of approximation of various types of couplings like the vibronic (Herzberg-Teller) couplings and Born-Oppenheimer couplings, and for studying the importance of the anharmonicity in the quantitative calculation of the spectral intensity and electronic relaxation. It will be shown that the perturbation parameter introduced by Born and Oppenheimer in separating the electronic and nuclear motion involved in the molecular Schrödinger equation, lambda = (m/M)(1/4), can be used for this purpose by expanding wavefunctions and energies in power series of lambda.

Medium-induced radiationless transitions and effect of solvent on radiationless transitions

The purpose of this paper has been to investigate the effect of solvent on radiationless transitions. Two types of the solvent effect have been studied: one is the so-called medium-induced radiationless transition, i.e., the radiationless transition induced by the interaction between the solute and solvent, and the other is the effect of solvent on the radiationless transition through the change in energy gap induced by the solute-solvent interaction.

Investigation of the composition and formation constant of molecular complexes

It has been the purpose of the present paper to investigate and explore the conditions under which the linear relation between Delta/C(D) (0) and Delta in the Hanna-Ashbaugh-Foster-Fyfe equation for the evaluation of equilibrium constants holds, (C(D) (0) is initial concentration of a donor and Delta is the observed chemical shift relative to the chemical shift of the acceptor) to obtain the equation representing the exact linear relation between Delta/C(D) (0) and Delta, when the linear relation between Delta/C(D) (0) and Delta holds, and to discuss how to use the Job method in nuclear magnetic resonance measurements to determine the stoichiometry of molecular complexes. We have found that the conventional belief that C(D) (0) should always be chosen to be much greater than C(A) (0) (initial concentration of acceptor) is not necessarily always true and the exact linear relation between Delta/C(D) (0) and Delta is represented by the equation Delta/C(D) (0) = K(1)Delta(0)/(1 + K(1)C(A) (0)) - K(1)Delta/(1 + K(1)C(A) (0))(2), where K(1) is the formation constant of the complex. It is shown that in the Job method of nuclear magnetic resonance measurements one has to plot DeltaC(A) (0) against the mole fraction, and the mole fraction at the maximum should give us the composition of the complex. Theoretical results have been verified experimentally on the weak interaction between naphthalene and methyl iodide.

Study of the franck-condon and herzberg-teller approximations

Using the Born-Oppenheimer parameter lambda = (m/M)(1/4) as a perturbation parameter, we find that for allowed transitions, the zeroth order approximation of the spectral intensity gives rise to the Condon approximation, the first order vibronic coupling and anharmonic effect appear in the first order approximation of the spectral intensity, which gives us the non-Condon scheme, and only the intensity of the transitions of totally-symmetric modes with nonvanishing normal coordinate displacements is affected by the inclusion of the first order vibronic coupling and anharmonic effect. For symmetry-forbidden but vibronic-allowed transitions, the first nonvanishing term of the spectral intensity is second order with respect to lambda and the B-O couplings do not appear in the calculation of the spectral intensity until the fourth order approximation with respect to lambda; in this case, other high order vibronic couplings and anharmonic effect are competing with the B-O couplings.

Application of the singular perturbation method to reaction kinetics

The purpose of this paper is to show how to apply the singular perturbation method to the rate equations in reaction kinetics that involve different time scales. The Lindemann scheme has been chosen for illustration, and the steady-state and equilibrium approximations used in the Lindemann scheme are discussed.

Stochastic Model of Unimolecular Reactions and the RRKM Theory

A stochastic model of unimolecular reactions has been adopted for investigation of the validity and limitation of the RRKM theory. The error caused by the steady-state approximation for distribution of energized molecules is small, while the assumption of the internal energy equilibration of energized molecules might cause serious errors for reactions of low activation energies.