1,863 research outputs found
First-principles study on the intermediate compounds of LiBH
We report the results of the first-principles calculation on the intermediate
compounds of LiBH. The stability of LiBH and LiBH has been examined with the ultrasoft pseudopotential method based on
the density functional theory. Theoretical prediction has suggested that
monoclinic LiBH is the most stable among the candidate
materials. We propose the following hydriding/dehydriding process of LiBH
via this intermediate compound : LiBHLiBH LiH HLiH B H. The hydrogen content and enthalpy of the first
reaction are estimated to be 10 mass% and 56 kJ/mol H, respectively, and
those of the second reaction are 4 mass% and 125 kJ/mol H. They are in good
agreement with experimental results of the thermal desorption spectra of
LiBH. Our calculation has predicted that the bending modes for the
-phonon frequencies of monoclinic LiBH are lower than
that of LiBH, while stretching modes are higher. These results are very
useful for the experimental search and identification of possible intermediate
compounds.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Different regulation of limb development by p63 transcript variants
The apical ectodermal ridge (AER), located at the distal end of each limb bud, is a key signaling center which controls outgrowth and patterning of the proximal-distal axis of the limb through secretion of various molecules. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), particularly Fgf8 and Fgf4, are representative molecules produced by AER cells, and essential to maintain the AER and cell proliferation in the underlying mesenchyme, meanwhile Jag2-Notch pathway negatively regulates the AER and limb development. p63, a transcription factor of the p53 family, is expressed in the AER and indispensable for limb formation. However, the underlying mechanisms and specific roles of p63 variants are unknown. Here, we quantified the expression of p63 variants in mouse limbs from embryonic day (E) 10.5 to E12.5, and found that DeltaNp63gamma was strongly expressed in limbs at all stages, while TAp63gamma expression was rapidly increased in the later stages. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of limb bud cells from reporter mouse embryos at E11.5 revealed that all variants were abundantly expressed in AER cells, and their expression was very low in mesenchymal cells. We then generated AER-specific p63 knockout mice by mating mice with a null and a flox allele of p63, and Msx2-Cre mice (Msx2-Cre;p63Delta/fl). Msx2-Cre;p63Delta/fl neonates showed limb malformation that was more obvious in distal elements. Expression of various AER-related genes was decreased in Msx2-Cre;p63Delta/fl limb buds and embryoid bodies formed by p63-knockdown induced pluripotent stem cells. Promoter analyses and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated Fgf8 and Fgf4 as transcriptional targets of DeltaNp63gamma, and Jag2 as that of TAp63gamma. Furthermore, TAp63gamma overexpression exacerbated the phenotype of Msx2-Cre;p63Delta/fl mice. These data indicate that DeltaNp63 and TAp63 control limb development through transcriptional regulation of different target molecules with different roles in the AER. Our findings contribute to further understanding of the molecular network of limb development
Exact results of the mixed-spin Ising model on a decorated square lattice with two different decorating spins of integer magnitudes
The mixed-spin Ising model on a decorated square lattice with two different
decorating spins of the integer magnitudes S_B = 1 and S_C = 2 placed on
horizontal and vertical bonds of the lattice, respectively, is examined within
an exact analytical approach based on the generalized decoration-iteration
mapping transformation. Besides the ground-state analysis, finite-temperature
properties of the system are also investigated in detail. The most interesting
numerical result to emerge from our study relates to a striking critical
behaviour of the spontaneously ordered 'quasi-1D' spin system. It was found
that this quite remarkable spontaneous order arises when one sub-lattice of the
decorating spins (either S_B or S_C) tends towards their 'non-magnetic' spin
state S = 0 and the system becomes disordered only upon further single-ion
anisotropy strengthening. The effect of single-ion anisotropy upon the
temperature dependence of the total and sub-lattice magnetization is also
particularly investigated.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Intraguild predation of water scorpion Laccotrephes japonensis (Nepidae: Heteroptera)
Previous work on community structure of the invertebrate fauna of Japanese wetlands indicates the presence of intraguild predation between the heteropterans Laccotrephes japonensis (Nepidae) and Kirkaldyia deyrolli (Belostomatidae). We designed a series of experiments to understand the biotic interactions of several species of sympatric heteroptera and their shared prey. Adult Laccotrephes japonensis (Nepidae), first-instar nymph of Kirkaldyia (=Lethocerus) deyrolli (Belostomatidae), Hyla japonica tadpole, and fourth-instar nymph of Appasus japonicus (Belostomatidae) have been shown to be intraguild predator, intraguild prey, common prey, and prey of L. japonensis, respectively. To further understand the factors affecting prey preference by L. japonensis, we also examined the comparison of swimming speed in the three prey animals (K. deyrolli first-instar nymph, A. japonicus fourth-instar nymph, and H. japonica tadpole), and effects of prey animals on weight gain of L. japonensis adult. Despite there being no significant difference in weight gain or swimming speed of the three prey species, L. japonensis exhibited a strong preference for the 1st-instar nymph of K. deyrolli. We suggested that this may be evidence for one of elimination of a potential competitor, K. deyrolli, by L. japonensis through intraguild predation
Quantum-well states in ultrathin Ag(111) films deposited onto H-passivated Si(111)-(1x1) surfaces
Ag(111) films were deposited at room temperature onto H-passivated
Si(111)-(1x1) substrates, and subsequently annealed at 300 C. An abrupt
non-reactive Ag/Si interface is formed, and very uniform non-strained Ag(111)
films of 6-12 monolayers have been grown. Angle resolved photoemission
spectroscopy has been used to study the valence band electronic properties of
these films. Well-defined Ag sp quantum-well states (QWS) have been observed at
discrete energies between 0.5-2eV below the Fermi level, and their dispersions
have been measured along the GammaK, GammaMM'and GammaL symmetry directions.
QWS show a parabolic bidimensional dispersion, with in-plane effective mass of
0.38-0.50mo, along the GammaK and GammaMM' directions, whereas no dispersion
has been found along the GammaL direction, indicating the low-dimensional
electronic character of these states. The binding energy dependence of the QWS
as a function of Ag film thickness has been analyzed in the framework of the
phase accumulation model. According to this model, a reflectivity of 70% has
been estimated for the Ag-sp states at the Ag/H/Si(111)-(1x1) interface.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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Simple model of adsorption on external surface of carbon nanotubes: a new analytical approach basing on molecular simulation data
Nitrogen adsorption on carbon nanotubes is wide- ly studied because nitrogen adsorption isotherm measurement is a standard method applied for porosity characterization. A further reason is that carbon nanotubes are potential adsorbents for separation of nitrogen from oxygen in air. The study presented here describes the results of GCMC simulations of nitrogen (three site model) adsorption on single and multi walled closed nanotubes. The results obtained are described by a new adsorption isotherm model proposed in this study. The model can be treated as the tube analogue of the GAB isotherm taking into account the lateral adsorbate-adsorbate interactions. We show that the model describes the simulated data satisfactorily. Next this new approach is applied for a description of experimental data measured on different commercially available (and characterized using HRTEM) carbon nanotubes. We show that generally a quite good fit is observed and therefore it is suggested that the observed mechanism of adsorption in the studied materials is mainly determined by adsorption on tubes separated at large distances, so the tubes behave almost independently
On the possibility of magneto-structural correlations: detailed studies of di-nickel carboxylate complexes
A series of water-bridged dinickel complexes of the general formula [Ni<sub>2</sub>(Ό<sub>2</sub>-OH<sub>2</sub>)(Ό2-
O<sub>2</sub>C<sup>t</sup>Bu)<sub>2</sub>(O<sub>2</sub>C<sup>t</sup>Bu)2(L)(L0)] (L = HO<sub>2</sub>C<sup>t</sup>Bu, L0 = HO<sub>2</sub>C<sup>t</sup>Bu (1), pyridine (2),
3-methylpyridine (4); L = L0 = pyridine (3), 3-methylpyridine (5)) has been synthesized
and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The magnetic properties
have been probed by magnetometry and EPR spectroscopy, and detailed measurements
show that the axial zero-field splitting, D, of the nickel(ii) ions is on the same order as
the isotropic exchange interaction, J, between the nickel sites. The isotropic exchange
interaction can be related to the angle between the nickel centers and the bridging
water molecule, while the magnitude of D can be related to the coordination sphere at
the nickel sites
Static black holes with a negative cosmological constant: Deformed horizon and anti-de Sitter boundaries
Using perturbative techniques, we investigate the existence and properties of
a new static solution for the Einstein equation with a negative cosmological
constant, which we call the deformed black hole. We derive a solution for a
static and axisymmetric perturbation of the Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black
hole that is regular in the range from the horizon to spacelike infinity. The
key result is that this perturbation simultaneously deforms the two boundary
surfaces--i.e., both the horizon and spacelike two-surface at infinity. Then we
discuss the Abbott-Deser mass and the Ashtekar-Magnon one for the deformed
black hole, and according to the Ashtekar-Magnon definition, we construct the
thermodynamic first law of the deformed black hole. The first law has a
correction term which can be interpreted as the work term that is necessary for
the deformation of the boundary surfaces. Because the work term is negative,
the horizon area of the deformed black hole becomes larger than that of the
Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black hole, if compared under the same mass,
indicating that the quasistatic deformation of the Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter
black hole may be compatible with the thermodynamic second law (i.e., the area
theorem).Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, one reference added, to be published in PR
Entanglement of Electrons Field-Emitted from a Superconductor
Under appropriate circumstances the electrons emitted from a superconducting
tip can be entangled. We analyze these nonlocal correlations by studying the
coincidences of the field-emitted electrons and show that electrons emitted in
opposite directions violate Bell's inequality. We scrutinize the interplay
between the bosonic nature of Cooper pairs and the fermionic nature of
electrons. We further discuss the feasibility of our analysis in the light of
present experimental capabilities.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, final versio
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