Can graphene improve the thermal conductivity of copper nanofluids?

Copper (Cu) nanofluids (NFs) have attracted attention due to their high thermal conductivity, which has conferred a wide variety of applications. However, their high reactivity favors oxidation, corrosion and aggregation, leading them to lose their properties of interest. Copper capped by graphene (Cu@G) core@shell nanoparticles (NPs) have also attracted interest from the medical and industrial sectors because graphene can shield the Cu NPs from undesired phenomena. Additionally, they share some properties that expand the range of applications of Cu NFs. In this work, new Morse potentials are reported to reproduce the behavior of Cu@G NPs through molecular dynamics. Coordination-dependent Morse parameters were fitted for C, H, and Cu based on density functional theory calculations. Then, these parameters were implemented to evaluate the thermal conductivity of Cu@G NFs employing the Green-Kubo formalism, with NPs from 1.5 to 6.1 nm at 100 to 800 K, varying the size, the number of layers and the orientation of the graphene flakes. It was found that Cu@G NFs are stable and have an improved thermal conductivity compared to the Cu NFs, being 3.7 to 18.2 times higher at 300 K with only one graphene layer and above 26.2 times higher for the graphene-trilayered NPs. These values can be higher for temperatures below 300 K. Oppositely, the size, homogeneity and orientations of the graphene flakes did not affect the thermal conductivity of the Cu@G NFs.

Self-consistent molecular dynamics calculation of diffusion in higher n-alkanes

Diffusion is one of the key subjects of molecular modeling and simulation studies. However, there is an unresolved lack of consistency between Einstein-Smoluchowski (E-S) and Green-Kubo (G-K) methods for diffusion coefficient calculations in systems of complex molecules. In this paper, we analyze this problem for the case of liquid n-triacontane. The non-conventional long-time tails of the velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) are found for this system. Temperature dependence of the VACF tail decay exponent is defined. The proper inclusion of the long-time tail contributions to the diffusion coefficient calculation results in the consistency between G-K and E-S methods. Having considered the major factors influencing the precision of the diffusion rate calculations in comparison with experimental data (system size effects and force field parameters), we point to hydrogen nuclear quantum effects as, presumably, the last obstacle to fully consistent n-alkane description.

Molecular dynamics simulations of bubble nucleation in dark matter detectors

Bubble chambers and droplet detectors used in dosimetry and dark matter particle search experiments use a superheated metastable liquid in which nuclear recoils trigger bubble nucleation. This process is described by the classical heat spike model of F. Seitz [Phys. Fluids (1958-1988) 1, 2 (1958)PFLDAS0031-917110.1063/1.1724333], which uses classical nucleation theory to estimate the amount and the localization of the deposited energy required for bubble formation. Here we report on direct molecular dynamics simulations of heat-spike-induced bubble formation. They allow us to test the nanoscale process described in the classical heat spike model. 40 simulations were performed, each containing about 20 million atoms, which interact by a truncated force-shifted Lennard-Jones potential. We find that the energy per length unit needed for bubble nucleation agrees quite well with theoretical predictions, but the allowed spike length and the required total energy are about twice as large as predicted. This could be explained by the rapid energy diffusion measured in the simulation: contrary to the assumption in the classical model, we observe significantly faster heat diffusion than the bubble formation time scale. Finally we examine α-particle tracks, which are much longer than those of neutrons and potential dark matter particles. Empirically, α events were recently found to result in louder acoustic signals than neutron events. This distinction is crucial for the background rejection in dark matter searches. We show that a large number of individual bubbles can form along an α track, which explains the observed larger acoustic amplitudes.

Characterization of 23S rRNA gene mutation in primary and secondary clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori strains from East China

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Clarithromycin is an effective antibiotic for treating Helicobacter pylori; however, the development clarithromycin- resistance by multiple strains prevents the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. We aimed to characterize mutations in the 23S rRNA gene of primary clarithromycin-sensitive, primary clarithromycin-resistant and secondary clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori strains that were collected in East China and elucidate the mechanisms of clarithromycin resistance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The disk diffusion test and E-test method were used to determine the clarithromycin susceptibility of clinical Helicobacter pylori strains. The 23S rRNA gene fragments were amplified by polymerase chain reaction from 18 primary clarithromycin- resistant strains, 15 primary sensitive strains and 8 secondary clarithromycin-resistant strains. Polymerase chain reaction-products were sequenced to determine mutations of the 23S rRNA gene.

RESULTS

We found an A2143G (8 strains) mutation in primary clarithromycin-resistant strains, an A2143T (5 strains) mutation in secondary clarithromycin-resistant strains; but no mutations were found in position 2143 of sensitive strains. A T2182C mutation in primary clarithromycin-sensitive, primary clarithromycinresistant and secondary clarithromycin-resistant strains was found with a prevalence of 86.7% (13 strains), 72.2% (13 strains) or 87.5% (7 strains), respectively. In addition, we found a G2254T (8 strains) and a G2172T (7 strains) mutation in secondary clarithromycin- resistant strains. These point mutations were absent in primary clarithromycin-resistant and -sensitive strains.

CONCLUSION

The gene mutation in position 2143 was associated with resistance to clarithromycin, but the mutation was different between primary and secondary clarithromycin-resistant strains. The T2182C mutation was not associated with clarithromycin resistance. Two new hotspot mutations: G2254T and G2172T, in 23S rRNA were discovered in secondary clarithromycin-resistant strains.

Molecular dynamics simulation of a pressure-driven liquid transport process in a cylindrical nanopore using two self-adjusting plates

Fluid transport through a nanopore in a membrane was investigated by using a novel molecular dynamics approach proposed in this study. The advantages of this method, relative to dual-control-volume grand-canonical molecular dynamics method, are that it eliminates disruptions to the system dynamics that are normally created by inserting or deleting particles from control volumes, and that it functions well for dense systems due to the number of particles being fixed in the system. Using the proposed method, we examined liquid argon transport through a nanopore by performing nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations under different back pressures. Validation of the code was performed by comparing simulation results to published experimental data obtained under equilibrium conditions. NEMD results show that constant pressure difference across the membrane was readily achieved.