680 research outputs found
Large Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropy of Metallic Carbon Nanotubes
Through magnetic linear dichroism spectroscopy, the magnetic susceptibility
anisotropy of metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes has been extracted and
found to be 2-4 times greater than values for semiconducting single-walled
carbon nanotubes. This large anisotropy is consistent with our calculations and
can be understood in terms of large orbital paramagnetism of electrons in
metallic nanotubes arising from the Aharonov-Bohm-phase-induced gap opening in
a parallel field. We also compare our values with previous work for
semiconducting nanotubes, which confirm a break from the prediction that the
magnetic susceptibility anisotropy increases linearly with the diameter.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
In vitro heat effect on heterooligomeric subunit assembly of thermostable indolepyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase
AbstractIndolepyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase (IOR) from hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus kodakaraensis KOD1 catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of arylpyruvates by forming a heterooligomeric complex (α2β2). The genes iorA and iorB which encode respective α and β subunits, were coexpressed heterologously in Escherichia coli cells under anaerobic conditions. IOR activity was detected from the cell extract containing both subunits and its activity was enhanced by in vitro heat treatment prior to the assay. The iorA and iorB were expressed individually and each subunit was examined for enzymatic activity with and without heat treatment. IOR activity was detected neither from the extract of α subunit nor β subunit. The α and β subunits were mixed and then IOR activity was examined. Weak IOR activity was detected without heat treatment, however, upon heat treatment its activity was enhanced. The mixture of individually heat treated α and β subunits did not possess any IOR activity even though the mixed sample was heat treated again. IOR α and β subunits were individually purified to homogeneity, mixed with or without heat treatment and subunit assembly was examined by determining molecular mass. Upon heat treatment, inactive α and β were converted to an active high molecular weight complex (195 kDa) which corresponds to the α2β2 structure. However, the active complex was not formed without heat treatment, suggesting that high temperature environments are important for the hetero-oligomerization of IOR subunits
Electron cyclotron mass in undoped CdTe/CdMnTe quantum wells
Optically detected cyclotron resonance of two-dimensional electrons has been
studied in nominally undoped CdTe/(Cd,Mn)Te quantum wells. The enhancement of
carrier quantum confinement results in an increase of the electron cyclotron
mass from 0.099 to 0.112 with well width decreasing from 30 down to
3.6 nm. Model calculations of the electron effective mass have been performed
for this material system and good agreement with experimental data is achieved
for an electron-phonon coupling constant =0.32
Ratio of observed to predicted deaths in pediatric patients after introducing a closing policy in a general ICU
A catalytic combustion-type CO gas sensor incorporating aluminum nitride as an intermediate heat transfer layer for accelerated response time
A catalytic combustion-type carbon monoxide gas sensor exhibiting good
sensing performance even at moderate temperatures was previously developed
by employing a Pt loaded CeO2–ZrO2–SnO2 solid solution as
the CO oxidizing catalyst. The addition of aluminum nitride as an
intermediate heat transfer layer between the Pt coil and the CO oxidizing
catalyst drastically accelerated the response of this device to CO at
temperatures as low as 70 °C
Recommended from our members
Code-sharing in Cost-of-illness Calculations: An Application to Antibiotic-Resistant Bloodstream Infections
Background: More data-driven evidence is needed on the cost of antibiotic resistance. Both Japan and England have large surveillance and administrative datasets. Code sharing of costing models enables reduced duplication of effort in research.
Objective: To estimate the burden of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Japan, utilizing code that was written to estimate the hospital burden of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli BSIs in England. Additionally, the process in which the code-sharing and application was performed is detailed, to aid future such use of code-sharing in health economics.
Methods: National administrative data sources were linked with voluntary surveillance data within the Japan case study. R software code, which created multistate models to estimate the excess length of stay associated with different exposures of interest, was adapted from previous use and run on this dataset. Unit costs were applied to estimate healthcare system burden in 2017 international dollars (I6,392 per S. aureus BSI, whilst oxacillin resistance was associated with an additional I$8,155.
Conclusions: S. aureus resistance profiles other than methicillin may substantially impact hospital costs. The sharing of costing models within the field of antibiotic resistance is a feasible way to increase burden evidence efficiently, allowing for decision makers (with appropriate data available) to gain rapid cost-of-illness estimates
Recommended from our members
Code-Sharing in Cost-of-Illness Calculations: An Application to Antibiotic-Resistant Bloodstream Infections
Data Availability Statement: The linked JANIS-DPC dataset analyzed for this study is not fully available due to patient identifiable data being present. However, JANIS does provide surveillance data in its open report available. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to https://janis.mhlw.go.jp/english/about/index.html.Copyright © 2020 Naylor, Yamashita, Iwami, Kunisawa, Mizuno, Castro-Sánchez, Imanaka, Ahmad and Holmes. Background: More data-driven evidence is needed on the cost of antibiotic resistance. Both Japan and England have large surveillance and administrative datasets. Code sharing of costing models enables reduced duplication of effort in research. Objective: To estimate the burden of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Japan, utilizing code that was written to estimate the hospital burden of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli BSIs in England. Additionally, the process in which the code-sharing and application was performed is detailed, to aid future such use of code-sharing in health economics. Methods: National administrative data sources were linked with voluntary surveillance data within the Japan case study. R software code, which created multistate models to estimate the excess length of stay associated with different exposures of interest, was adapted from previous use and run on this dataset. Unit costs were applied to estimate healthcare system burden in 2017 international dollars (I6,392 per S. aureus BSI, whilst oxacillin resistance was associated with an additional I$8,155. Conclusions: S. aureus resistance profiles other than methicillin may substantially impact hospital costs. The sharing of costing models within the field of antibiotic resistance is a feasible way to increase burden evidence efficiently, allowing for decision makers (with appropriate data available) to gain rapid cost-of-illness estimates.HPRU-2012-1004
DNA Nucleobase Synthesis at Titan Atmosphere Analog by Soft X-rays
Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has an atmosphere chiefly made up of
N2 and CH4 and includes traces of many simple organic compounds. This
atmosphere also partly consists of haze and aerosol particles which during the
last 4.5 gigayears have been processed by electric discharges, ions, and
ionizing photons, being slowly deposited over the Titan surface. In this work,
we investigate the possible effects produced by soft X-rays (and secondary
electrons) on Titan aerosol analogs in an attempt to simulate some prebiotic
photochemistry. The experiments have been performed inside a high vacuum
chamber coupled to the soft X-ray spectroscopy beamline at the Brazilian
Synchrotron Light Source, Campinas, Brazil. In-situ sample analyses were
performed by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The infrared spectra
have presented several organic molecules, including nitriles and aromatic CN
compounds. After the irradiation, the brownish-orange organic residue (tholin)
was analyzed ex-situ by gas chromatographic (GC/MS) and nuclear magnetic
resonance (1H NMR) techniques, revealing the presence of adenine (C5H5N5), one
of the constituents of the DNA molecule. This confirms previous results which
showed that the organic chemistry on the Titan surface can be very complex and
extremely rich in prebiotic compounds. Molecules like these on the early Earth
have found a place to allow life (as we know) to flourish.Comment: To appear in Journal of Physical Chemistry A.; Number of pages: 6;
Number of Figures: 5; Number of Tables: 1; Number of references:49; Full
paper at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp902824
Electronic structure and band parameters for ZnX (X = O, S, Se, Te)
First-principles density-functional calculations have been performed for zinc
monochalcogenides with zinc-blende- and wurtzite-type structures. It is shown
that the local-density approximation underestimates the band gap, misplaces the
energy levels of the Zn-3d states, and overestimates the crystal-field
splitting energy. Without spinorbit coupling, the order of the states at the
top of VB is found to be normal for all the ZnX phases considered. Upon
inclusion of the spinorbit coupling in calculations, ZnO in zinc-blende- and
wurtzite-type phases become anomalous. It is shown that the Zn-3d electrons are
responsible for the anomalous order. The effective masses of electrons and
holes have been calculated and found that holes are much anisotropic and
heavier than the electrons in agreement with experimental findings. The typical
errors in calculated band gaps and related parameters originate from strong
Coulomb correlations, which are found to be highly significant in ZnO. The
LDA+U approach is found to correct the strong correlation of the Zn-3d
electrons, and thus improves the agreement with the experimentally established
location of the Zn-3d levels. Consequently, it increases significantly the
parameters underestimated in the pure LDA calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, ICAM-ICMAT conference, 200
- …