Intermodal microwave-to-optical transduction using silicon-on-sapphire optomechanical ring resonator.

Optomechanical and electro-optomechanical systems have emerged as one of the most promising approaches for quantum microwave-to-optical transduction to interconnect distributed quantum modalities for scaling the quantum systems. These systems use suspended structures to increase mode overlap and mitigate loss to achieve high efficiency. However, the suspended design's poor heat dissipation under strong drive limits the ultimate efficiency.

Lifetimes of the Metastable 6d ^{2}D_{5/2} and 6d ^{2}D_{3/2} State of Ra^{+}.

We report lifetime measurements of the metastable 6d ^{2}D_{5/2} and 6d ^{2}D_{3/2} states of Ra^{+}. The measured lifetimes, τ_{5}=303.8(1.

Efficient production of sodium Bose-Einstein condensates in a hybrid trap.

We describe an apparatus that efficiently produces 23Na Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in a hybrid trap that combines a quadrupole magnetic field with a far-detuned optical dipole trap. Using a Bayesian optimization framework, we systematically optimize all BEC production parameters in modest-sized batches of highly correlated parameters. Furthermore, we introduce a Lagrange multiplier-based technique to optimize the duration of different evaporation stages constrained to have a fixed total duration; this enables the progressive creation of increasingly rapid experimental sequences that still generate high-quality BECs.

The energy landscape of folding in n-C14H30 described by a machine-learned potential.

Folding and unfolding in molecules as simple as short hydrocarbons and as complicated as large proteins continue to be an active research field. Here, we investigate folding in n-C14H30 using both density functional theory (DFT)/B3LYP calculations of 27 772 local minima and a kinetic transition network calculated for a previously reported potential energy surface (PES) obtained by fitting roughly 250 000 B3LYP energies. In addition to generating a database of minima and the transition states that connect them, these calculations and the PES based on them have been used to develop a simple and accurate model for the energy landscape.

Clustering DNA and RNA molecular dynamics ensembles via secondary structure.

Macromolecular structure is central to biology. Yet, not all biomolecules have a well-defined fold. Intrinsically disordered regions are ubiquitous, conveying a versatility to function even in otherwise folded structures.

Altermagnetic Band Splitting in 10 nm Epitaxial CrSb Thin Films.

Altermagnets are a newly identified family of collinear antiferromagnets with a momentum-dependent spin-split band structure of non-relativistic origin, derived from spin-group symmetry-protected crystal structures. Among candidate altermagnets, CrSb is attractive for potential applications because of a large spin-splitting near the Fermi level and a high Néel transition temperature of around 700 K. Molecular beam epitaxy is used to synthesize CrSb (0001) thin films with thicknesses ranging from 10 to 100 nm.

Extending the Linear Dynamic Range of Single Particle ICP-MS for the Quantification of Microplastics.

In response to the growing concern of microplastics (1 μm to 5 mm) accumulation affecting human health, the development of analytical methods continues to be critical for the detection and characterization of microplastic particles. In this context, pursuing exceptional particle detection capability down to practical low levels and rapid analyses with high sample throughput makes single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) very attractive for microplastics analysis. Existing spICP-MS-based studies have routinely shown limitations in the accurate sizing and quantification of particle number concentration through targeting carbon content, with reported size limits of detection in the range of 0.

Topology and kinetic pathways of colloidosome assembly and disassembly.

Closed capsules, such as lipid vesicles, soap bubbles, and emulsion droplets, are ubiquitous throughout biology, engineered matter, and everyday life. Their creation and disintegration are defined by a singularity that separates a topologically distinct extended liquid film from a boundary-free closed shell. Such topology-changing processes are of fundamental interest.

Enantiomeric Determination of Medetomidine in Street Drug Samples (August 2024-February 2025) and Implications for Immunoassay Test Strip Analysis.

Over the last several years, there has been an influx of α-agonists into the street drug supply, beginning with the proliferation of xylazine, a potent veterinary sedative. Since 2023, another sedative, medetomidine, has been widely detected. Medetomidine, broadly, encompasses two enantiomers-dexmedetomidine and levomedetomidine-with the dex enantiomer being pharmacologically active and present in human-use pharmaceuticals.

Measurement quality metrics to improve absolute microbial cell counting.

Total and viable microbial cell counts are increasingly important for applications including live biotherapeutic products, food safety, and probiotics. In microbiology, cells are quantified using methods such as colony forming unit (CFU), flow cytometry, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but different methods measure different aspects of the cells (measurands), and results may not be directly comparable across methods. In the absence of a ground-truth reference material for cell count, one cannot quantify the accuracy of any cell counting method, which limits method performance assessments and comparisons.

Comparative metabolomic analysis of human lung slices (hu-PCLS) exposed to either standard or FLASH protons: a pilot study.

Background: Recent advances in radiation biology and preclinical research have identified that high doses of radiation at ultra-high dose rate can lead to sparing of normal tissue, while maintaining tumor control. This has been termed the FLASH effect and has been extended from electrons to protons, heavy ions and photons. Lung cancer treatments, despite the advancements in radiotherapy with precise protons, are still associated with significant damage to the normal tissue.

Spatial uniformity and resolution in inkjet-printed Am phantoms imaged by digital autoradiography.

Quantitative imaging of alpha-emitting radionuclides is essential for accurate dosimetry in radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT). This study evaluates the performance of inkjet-deposited Am sources imaged with the ionizing-radiation Quantum Imaging Detector (iQID), focusing on spatial resolution, substrate effects, and activity recovery. Line and areal phantom patterns were printed onto stainless steel, nickel, and gold-coated nickel substrates.

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a binary quantum fluid.

Instabilities, where small fluctuations seed the formation of large-scale structures, govern dynamics in a variety of fluid systems. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI), present from tabletop to astronomical scales, is an iconic example characterized by mushroom-shaped incursions appearing when immiscible fluids are forced together. Despite its ubiquity, RTI experiments are challenging; here, we report the observation of the RTI in an immiscible binary superfluid consisting of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate.

Per-Event Uncertainty Quantification for Flow Cytometry Using Calibration Beads.

Flow cytometry measurements are widely used in diagnostics and medical decision making. Incomplete understanding of sources of measurement uncertainty can make it difficult to distinguish autofluorescence and background sources from signals of interest. Moreover, established methods for modeling uncertainty overlook the fact that the apparent distribution of measurements is a convolution of the inherent population variability (e.

High performance bilayer 2D VO cathode for Zn-ion and Zn/Li hybrid metal-ion intercalation battery.

The deteriorating and unevenly distributed Li reserves lead to the quest for Li-ion battery's alternatives.Hybrid metal-ion batteries are gaining attention as they effectively address the limited diffusion of heavier ions into cathode materials, typically involving the combination of multi and mono-valent metal-ions.The unavailability of high-performance cathode materials restricts the use of heavier ion (e.

A mathematical model of cell-free transcription-translation with plasmid crosstalk.

Cell-free expression (CFE) systems are emerging as a powerful tool in synthetic biology, with diverse applications from prototyping genetic circuits to serving as a platform for point-of-care biosensors. When multiple genes need to be expressed in the same CFE reaction, their DNA templates (often added as plasmids) are generally assumed to behave independently of each other, with neither affecting the other's expression. However, recent work in CFE systems shows that multiple aspects of these templates can lead to antagonistic or synergistic interactions in expression levels of individual genes, a phenomenon referred to as plasmid crosstalk.

Cryogenic Optical Lattice Clock with 1.7×10^{-20} Blackbody Radiation Stark Uncertainty.

Controlling the Stark perturbation from ambient thermal radiation is key to advancing the performance of many atomic frequency standards, including state-of-the-art optical lattice clocks (OLCs). We demonstrate a cryogenic OLC that utilizes a dynamically actuated radiation shield to control the perturbation at 1.7×10^{-20} fractional frequency, a factor of ∼40 beyond the best OLC to date.

Capturing Current Practices and Characterizing Measurement Reproducibility for Seized Drug Analysis Using Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry: An Interlaboratory Study.

The use of ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AI-MS) to aid in the preliminary screening of seized drug evidence has steadily increased over the past two decades. Unlike gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), where electron ionization using a single quadrupole analyzer is commonplace, a wide range of ionization sources and mass spectrometers can be used in AI-MS. Differences in instrument configuration can lead to substantial variability in the mass spectral data obtained.

First-Principles Calculation of - Effects in the Second Virial Coefficients of H and D at Low Temperatures.

We report calculations of the second virial coefficient () of molecular hydrogen isotopologues in the rigid-rotor approximation using the path-integral Monte Carlo method. We present a novel method for efficient sampling of rotational degrees of freedom based on Doob's -transform that can be used with any spin isomer, including those for which the quantum mechanical propagator in imaginary time is negative, e.g.

Aligned Boron Nitride Nanotube Thin Films and Their Cocomposites with Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes through Slow Vacuum Filtration.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are a promising nanomaterial due to their remarkable optical and mechanical properties, chemical robustness, and extended aspect ratios. Herein, we report the formation of strongly biaxially aligned thin films of BNNTs using automated slow vacuum filtration (SVF), as well as their cocomposites with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Pure BNNT SVF-generated films are found to differ in optimization conditions from those identified previously for SWCNTs but display similar improvements in alignment and uniformity with advanced purification for nanotube length and homogeneity, with globally aligned films observed.

AutoSAS: A new human-aside-the-loop paradigm for automated SAS fitting for high throughput and autonomous experimentation.

The advancement of artificial-intelligence driven autonomous experiments demands physics-based modeling and decision-making processes, not only to improve the accuracy of the experimental trajectory but also to increase trust by allowing transparent human-machine collaboration. High-quality structural characterization techniques (e.g.

Poly-Arginine Tails and Helical Segments of Natural Antimicrobial Peptides Display Concerted Action at Membranes for Enhanced Antimicrobial Effects.

Sequence motifs or patterns found in natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a great impact on their microbicidal activities. Here, through database inquiries and biological assays, we explore the enhanced antibacterial function associated with poly arginine (poly-R) motifs that typically occur as 3-5 concatenated R residues in many natural AMPs. Using a suite of biophysical techniques, we explore the structural consequences of a C-terminal poly-R motif at membranes and correlate our findings with the functional assays.

Liquid sample holder for optimal fluid magnetic measurements.

Magnetic fluids have been the subject of intense research for several decades due to their numerous applications and for their fundamental science. Commercial magnetometers are accurate and well-characterized for solid and powder samples, but artifacts can occur in magnetic measurements of fluid samples. These measurement artifacts originate primarily from the dynamic nature of the sample center position, size, shape, and particle distribution.

Computational metrology for materials.

Unlabelled: Advanced materials hold great promise, but their adoption is impeded by the challenges of developing, characterizing, and modeling them, then of designing, processing, and producing something with them. Even if the results are open, the means to do each of these steps are typically proprietary and segregated. We show how principles of open-source software and hardware can be used to develop open instrumentation for materials science, so that a measurement can be accompanied by a complete computational description of how to reproduce it.