A Microscopic Mechanism for Muscle's Motion

The SIRM (Stochastic Inclined Rods Model) proposed by H. Matsuura and M. Nakano can explain the muscle's motion perfectly, but the intermolecular potential between myosin head and G-actin is too simple and only repulsive potential is considered. In this paper we study the SIRM with different complex potential and discuss the effect of the spring on the system. The calculation results show that the spring, the effective radius of the G-actin and the intermolecular potential play key roles in the motion. The sliding speed is about $4.7\times10^{-6}m/s$ calculated from the model which well agrees with the experimental data.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Tunable hybrid surface waves supported by a graphene layer

We study surface waves localized near a surface of a semi-infinite dielectric medium covered by a layer of graphene in the presence of a strong external magnetic field. We demonstrate that both TE-TM hybrid surface plasmons can propagate along the graphene surface. We analyze the effect of the Hall conductivity on the disper- sion of hybrid surface waves and suggest a possibility to tune the plasmon dispersion by the magnetic field.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Plastic flow and failure resistance of metallic glass: Insight from \u3cem\u3ein situ\u3c/em\u3e compression of nanopillars

We report in situ nanocompression tests of Cu-Zr-Al metallic glass (MG) pillars in a transmission electron microscope. This technique is capable of spatially and temporally resolving the plastic flow in MGs. The observations reveal the intrinsic ability of fully glassy MGs to sustain large plastic strains, which would otherwise be preempted by catastrophic instability in macroscopic samples and conventional tests. The high ductility in volume-limited MGs and the sample size effects in suppressing the rapid failure common to MGs are analyzed by modeling the evolution of the collectivity of flow defects toward localization

On the global well-posedness of a class of Boussinesq- Navier-Stokes systems

In this paper we consider the following 2D Boussinesq-Navier-Stokes systems \partial_{t}u+u\cdot\nabla u+\nabla p+ |D|^{\alpha}u &= \theta e_{2} \partial_{t}\theta+u\cdot\nabla \theta+ |D|^{\beta}\theta &=0 \quad with $\textrm{div} u=0$ and $0<\beta<\alpha<1$. When $\frac{6-\sqrt{6}}{4}<\alpha< 1$, $1-\alpha<\beta\leq f(\alpha)$, where $f(\alpha)$ is an explicit function as a technical bound, we prove global well-posedness results for rough initial data.Comment: 23page

The Double-Time Green's Function Approach to the Two-Dimensional Heisenberg Antiferromagnet with Broken Bonds

We improved the decoupling approximation of the double-time Green's function theory, and applied it to study the spin-${1\over 2}$ two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with broken bonds at finite temperature. Our decoupling approximation is applicable to the spin systems with spatial inhomogeneity, introduced by the local defects, over the whole temperature region. At low temperatures, we observed that the quantum fluctuation is reduced in the neighborhood of broken bond, which is in agreement with previous theoretical expectations. At high temperatures our results showed that the quantum fluctuation close to the broken bond is enhanced. For the two parallel broken bonds cases, we found that there exists a repulsive interaction between the two parallel broken bonds at low temperatures.Comment: Revtex, 6 pages, 5 Postscript figures (include

miR-9 and miR-124 synergistically affect regulation of dendritic branching via the AKT/GSK3β pathway by targeting Rap2a

A single microRNA (miRNA) can regulate expression of multiple proteins, and expression of an individual protein may be controlled by numerous miRNAs. This regulatory pattern strongly suggests that synergistic effects of miRNAs play critical roles in regulating biological processes. miR-9 and miR-124, two of the most abundant miRNAs in the mammalian nervous system, have important functions in neuronal development. In this study, we identified the small GTP-binding protein Rap2a as a common target of both miR-9 and miR-124. miR-9 and miR-124 together, but neither miRNA alone, strongly suppressed Rap2a, thereby promoting neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) and dendritic branching of differentiated neurons. Rap2a also diminished the dendritic complexity of mature neurons by decreasing the levels of pAKT and pGSK3β. Our results reveal a novel pathway in which miR-9 and miR-124 synergistically repress expression of Rap2a to sustain homeostatic dendritic complexity during neuronal development and maturation

Mesoscale magnetism at the grain boundaries in colossal magnetoresistive films

We report the discovery of mesoscale regions with distinctive magnetic properties in epitaxial La$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ films which exhibit tunneling-like magnetoresistance across grain boundaries. By using temperature-dependent magnetic force microscopy we observe that the mesoscale regions are formed near the grain boundaries and have a different Curie temperature (up to 20 K {\it higher}) than the grain interiors. Our images provide direct evidence for previous speculations that the grain boundaries in thin films are not magnetically and electronically sharp interfaces. The size of the mesoscale regions varies with temperature and nature of the underlying defect.Comment: 4 pages of text, 4 figure

Temperature Dependence of Low-Lying Electronic Excitations of LaMnO_3

We report on the optical properties of undoped single crystal LaMnO_3, the parent compound of the colossal magneto-resistive manganites. Near-Normal incidence reflectance measurements are reported in the frequency range of 20-50,000 cm-1 and in the temperature range 10-300 K. The optical conductivity, s_1(w), is derived by performing a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the reflectance data. The far-infrared spectrum of s_1(w) displays the infrared active optical phonons. We observe a shift of several of the phonon to high frequencies as the temperature is lowered through the Neel temperature of the sample (T_N = 137 K). The high-frequency s_1(w) is characterized by the onset of absorption near 1.5 eV. This energy has been identified as the threshold for optical transitions across the Jahn-Teller split e_g levels. The spectral weight of this feature increases in the low-temperature state. This implies a transfer of spectral weight from the UV to the visible associated with the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic state. We discuss the results in terms of the double exchange processes that affect the optical processes in this magnetic material.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Surface patterning of carbon nanotubes can enhance their penetration through a phospholipid bilayer

Nanotube patterning may occur naturally upon the spontaneous self-assembly of biomolecules onto the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). It results in periodically alternating bands of surface properties, ranging from relatively hydrophilic to hydrophobic, along the axis of the nanotube. Single Chain Mean Field (SCMF) theory has been used to estimate the free energy of systems in which a surface patterned nanotube penetrates a phospholipid bilayer. In contrast to un-patterned nanotubes with uniform surface properties, certain patterned nanotubes have been identified that display a relatively low and approximately constant system free energy (10 kT) as the nanotube traverses through the bilayer. These observations support the hypothesis that the spontaneous self-assembly of bio-molecules on the surface of SWNTs may facilitate nanotube transduction through cell membranes.Comment: Published in ACS Nano http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn102763