Salisbury screen optical color filter with ultra-thin titanium nitride film.

Titanium nitride (TiN) is a metal-like refractory material that can be used as a substitution for metals in many applications. In this paper, we report the use of an ultra-thin TiN film in the Salisbury screen structure to spectral selectively absorb visible light for forming an optical color filter. The ultra-thin TiN film functions as a partial reflector as well as a protection capping layer in the structure. Spectral selective perfect absorption color filters with TiN-ZnO-Al multilayer films were fabricated and characterized.

Rosmarinic acid down-regulates NO and PGE2 expression via MAPK pathway in rat chondrocytes.

Rosmarinic acid (RosA) is a water-soluble polyphenol, which can be isolated from many herbs such as orthosiphon diffuses and rosmarinus officinalis. Previous studies have shown that RosA possesses various biological properties. In this study, we investigate the anti-osteoarthritic effects of RosA in rat articular chondrocytes. Chondrocytes were pre-treated with RosA, followed by the stimulation of IL-1ß. Real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to detect the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-3 and MMP-13. Nitric oxide and PGE2 production were measured by Griess reagent and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was also investigated by Western blot analysis. We found that RosA down-regulated the MMPs expression as well as nitric oxide and PGE2 production in IL-1ß-induced chondrocytes. In addition, RosA inhibited p38 and JNK phosphorylation as well as p65 translocation. The results suggest that RosA may be considered a possible agent in the treatment of OA.

Simulation study on kinetic temperatures of vibrated binary granular mixtures.

We study the unequal kinetic temperatures in two-dimensional binary granular mixtures heated by vertical vibrations under gravity by molecular dynamics simulations. By introducing several variable parameters describing particle and composition properties of mixtures, the coexistence of two different kinetic temperatures for the two components is exhibited. In dilute situations, our numerical results confirm the overall experimental measurements by Feitosa and Menon recently [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 198301 (2002)]. For example, the temperature ratio along the vertical direction is constant in the bulk of a system, and is insensitive to external driving or relative concentration of the two components, but mainly influenced by their masses. However, outside of the dilute situations, especially as the number density becomes high enough where the spatial and momentum correlations become salient, the ratio profiles show some different characteristics. Generally, the plateau shape along the vertical direction is broken, and instead, a saddlelike shape appears. Furthermore, the physical implications are discussed.

Dithia[3.3]paracyclophane-bridged bimetallic ruthenium acetylide complexes: synthesis, structures and influence of transannular π-π interactions on their electronic properties.

Two dithia[3.3]paracyclophane-bridged bimetallic ruthenium acetylide complexes 2 and 3, in which the upper deck of the cyclophanes were assembled with naphthalenyl and anthracenyl rings, have been designed and synthesized. X-ray crystal structures of 2 and 3 show that there are effective transannular π­π interactions between the two rings in the cyclophane unit. Electrochemistry studies revealed that the successive introduction of naphthalenyl and anthracenyl rings reduced the thermodynamic stability of the corresponding mixed-valence states of 2 and 3. Radical cations and dications of complexes 2 and 3 were generated after the addition of 1.0 or 2.0 equivalents of ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate ([FcH][PF6]). The ν(C≡C) of radicals 2+ and 3+ shift 86 nm and 88 nm in contrast to 2 and 3, respectively. UV-Vis-NIR spectra of 2+ and 3+ exhibited three enveloped transitions in the NIR (10,000­4000 cm(−1)) range. DFT studies showed that the compositions of the FMOs of 2 and 3 are more naphthalenyl and anthracenyl in character than the upper deck of complex 1. Spectroscopy and DFT studies indicated that the influence of transannular π­π interactions on the electronic transitions is more pronounced than in complex 1.