We study dynamical phase transitions (DPT) in the driven and damped Dicke model, realizable for example by a driven atomic ensemble collectively coupled to a damped cavity mode. These DPTs are characterized by nonanalyticities of certain observables, primarily the overlap of time evolved and initial state. Even though the dynamics is dissipative, this phenomenon occurs for a wide range of parameters and no fine-tuning is required. #link# Focusing on the state of the "atoms" in the limit of a bad cavity, we are able to asymptotically evaluate an exact path integral representation of the relevant overlaps. The DPTs then arise by minimization of a certain action function, which is related to the large deviation theory of a classical stochastic process. Finally, we present a scheme which allows a measurement of the DPT in a cavity-QED setup.The recent RIKEN experiment on the quenched g_A in the superallowed Gamow-Teller transition from ^100Sn indicates the role of scale anomaly encoded in the anomalous dimension β^' of the gluonic stress tensor Tr G_μν^2. This observation provides support to the notion of hidden scale symmetry emerging by strong nuclear correlations with an infrared (IR) fixed point realized-in the chiral limit-in the Nambu-Goldstone mode. We suggest there is an analogy in the way scale symmetry manifests in a nuclear medium to the continuity from the unitarity limit at low density (in light nuclei) to the dilaton limit at high density (in compact stars). In between the limits, say, at normal nuclear matter density, the symmetry is not visible, hence hidden.The electron-capture decay followed by a prompt fission process was searched for in the hitherto unknown most neutron-deficient Md isotope with mass number 244. Alpha decay with α-particle energies of 8.73-8.86 MeV and with a half-life of 0.30_-0.09^+0.19  s was assigned to ^244Md. No fission event with a similar half-life potentially originating from spontaneous fissioning of the short-lived electron-capture decay daughter ^244Fm was observed, which results in an upper limit of 0.14 for the electron-capture branching of ^244Md. Two groups of fission events with half-lives of 0.9_-0.3^+0.6  ms and 5_-2^+3  ms were observed. The 0.9_-0.3^+0.6  ms activity was assigned to originate from the decay of ^245Md. The origin of eight fission events resulting in a half-life of 5_-2^+3  ms could not be unambiguously identified within the present data while the possible explanation has to invoke previously unseen physics cases.The adsorption of gas molecules at the substrate beneath interfacial nanobubbles modifies the energy of the solid-gas interface, and therefore affects their morphology. In this work, we describe a simple thermodynamic model that captures the influence of gas adsorption and gives flat bubble shapes with reduced gas-side contact angles relative to the zero-adsorption case, in agreement with experimental studies. We show that this effect is general to both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates and has a stabilizing influence that extends nanobubble lifetimes.Gelled non-toxic bicontinuous microemulsions have a great potential for transdermal drug delivery as the microemulsion facilitates the solubilization of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, while the gel network provides mechanical stability and thus an easy application on the skin. In our previous study, we formulated a gelled non-toxic bicontinuous microemulsion we gelled the system H2O-isopropyl myristate (IPM)-Plantacare 1200 UP (C12G1.4)-1,2-octanediol with the low molecular weight organogelator 1,32,4-dibenzylidene-d-sorbitol (DBS). However, a large amount of Plantacare 1200 UP (12 wt %) is needed to form a bicontinuous microemulsion. To solve this problem, we studied a new class of surfactants, namely, alkanoyl methylglucamides (MEGA), which have been rarely used for the formulation of microemulsions. The phase behavior of microemulsions stabilized by MEGA-8/10, MEGA-12/14-PC, and MEGA-12/14-HC was compared with that of systems stabilized by alkyl polyglucosides. We found that even with 2 wt % MEGA-12/14-HC, a bicontinuous microemulsion can be formed, which is 1/6 of the amount of Plantacare 1200 UP. The bicontinuous microstructure of the non-toxic microemulsion H2O-IPM-MEGA-12/14-HC-1,2-octanediol was confirmed by small-angle neutron scattering. Furthermore, the phase boundaries remained unchanged when gelled by DBS. The rheological properties of the gel were studied by oscillatory shear rheometry. Finally, https://www.selleckchem.com/ -fracture electron microscopy images show the coexistence of gel fibers and bicontinuous oil and water domains. These results suggest that the new gelled non-toxic bicontinuous microemulsion is an orthogonal self-assembled system.The interfacial charge transfer from the substrate may influence the electronic structure of the epitaxial van der Waals (vdW) monolayers and, thus, their further technological applications. For instance, the freestanding Sb monolayer in the puckered honeycomb phase (α-antimonene), the structural analogue of black phosphorene, was predicted to be a semiconductor, but the epitaxial one behaves as a gapless semimetal when grown on the Td-WTe2 substrate. Here, we demonstrate that interface engineering can be applied to tune the interfacial charge transfer and, thus, the electron band of the epitaxial monolayer. As a result, the nearly freestanding (semiconducting) α-antimonene monolayer with a band gap of ∼170 meV was successfully obtained on the SnSe substrate. Furthermore, a semiconductor-semimetal crossover is observed in the bilayer α-antimonene. This study paves the way toward modifying the electron structure in two-dimensional vdW materials through interface engineering.The layer-by-layer film deposition is a suitable strategy for the design and functionalization of drug carriers with superior performance, which still lacks information describing the influence of assembly conditions on the mechanisms governing the drug release process. Herein, traditional poly(acrylic acid)/poly(allylamine) polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) were explored as a platform to study the influence of the assembly conditions such as pH, drug loading method, and capping layer deposition on the mechanisms that control the release of calcein, the chosen model drug, from PEM. Films with 20-40 bilayers were assembled at pH 4.5 or 8.8, and the drug loading process was carried out during- or post-film assembly. Release data were fitted to three release models, namely, Higuchi, Ritger-Peppas, and Berens-Hopfenberg, to investigate the mechanism governing the drug transport, such as the apparent diffusion and the relaxation time. The postassembly drug loading method leads to a higher drug loading capacity than the during-assembly method, attributed to the washing out of calcein during film assembly steps in the latter method.