1,241 research outputs found
Hall effect and resistivity in underdoped cuprates
The behaviour of the Hall ratio as a function of temperature is
one of the most intriguing normal state properties of cuprate superconductors.
One feature of all the data is a maximum of in the normal state that
broadens and shifts to temperatures well above with decreasing doping. We
show that a model of preformed pairs-bipolarons provides a selfconsistent
quantitative description of together with in-plane resistivity and
uniform magnetic susceptibility for a wide range of doping.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, the model and fits were refine
A dedicated haem lyase is required for the maturation of a novel bacterial cytochrome c with unconventional covalent haem binding
In bacterial c-type cytochromes, the haem cofactor is covalently attached via two cysteine residues organized in a haem c-binding motif. Here, a novel octa-haem c protein, MccA, is described that contains only seven conventional haem c-binding motifs (CXXCH), in addition to several single cysteine residues and a conserved CH signature. Mass spectrometric analysis of purified MccA from Wolinella succinogenes suggests that two of the single cysteine residues are actually part of an unprecedented CX15CH sequence involved in haem c binding. Spectroscopic characterization of MccA identified an unusual high-potential haem c with a red-shifted absorption maximum, not unlike that of certain eukaryotic cytochromes c that exceptionally bind haem via only one thioether bridge. A haem lyase gene was found to be specifically required for the maturation of MccA in W. succinogenes. Equivalent haem lyase-encoding genes belonging to either the bacterial cytochrome c biogenesis system I or II are present in the vicinity of every known mccA gene suggesting a dedicated cytochrome c maturation pathway. The results necessitate reconsideration of computer-based prediction of putative haem c-binding motifs in bacterial proteomes
Polaronic Signatures in Mid-Infrared Spectra: Prediction for LaMnO3 and CaMnO3
Hole-doped LaMnO3 and electron-doped CaMnO3 form self-trapped electronic
states. The spectra of these states have been calculated using a two orbital
(Mn eg Jahn-Teller) model, from which the non-adiabatic optical conductivity
spectra are obtained. In both cases the optical spectrum contains weight in the
gap region, whose observation will indicate the self-trapped nature of the
carrier states. The predicted spectra are proportional to the concentration of
the doped carriers in the dilute regime, with coefficients calculated with no
further model parameters.Comment: 6 pages with 3 figures imbedde
Phonon Hall effect in ionic crystals in the presence of static magnetic field
We study phonon Hall effect (PHE) for ionic crystals in the presence of
static magnetic field. Using Green-Kubo formula, we present an exact
calculation of thermal conductivity tensor by considering both positive and
negative frequency phonons. Numerical results are shown for some lattices such
as hexagonal lattices, triangular lattices, and square lattices. We find that
the PHE occurs on the nonmagnetic ionic crystal NaCl, although the magnitude is
very small which is due to the tiny charge-to-mass ratio of the ions. The
off-diagonal thermal conductivity is finite for nonzero magnetic field and
changes sign for high value of magnetic field at high temperature. We also
found that the off-diagonal thermal conductivity diverges as at low
temperature
(R)-Doxylaminium (R,R)-tartrate
In the title compound (systematic name: (R)-dimethyl{2-[1-phenyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethoxy]ethyl}azanium (R,R)-3-carboxy-2,3-dihydroxypropanoate), C17H23N2O+·C4H5O6
−, the doxylaminium cation is protonated at the N atom. The tartrate monoanions are linked by short, almost linear O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into chains extended along [100]. These chains are interlinked by anion–pyridine O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds into a two-dimensional grid structure. WeakC—H⋯O interactions also play a role in the crystal packing. An intramolecular hydroxy–carboxylate O—H⋯O hydrogen bond influences the conformation of the anion: the hydrogen-bonded fragment is almost planar, the maximum deviation from the mean plane being 0.059 (14) Å. In the cation, the aromatic rings are almost perpendicular [dihedral angle = 84.94 (8)°] and the conformation of the O—C—C—N chain is gauche(−), the dihedral angle is −76.6 (2)°. The absolute configuration was assigned on the basis of known chirality of the parent compound
Mental health in UK Biobank: development, implementation and results from an online questionnaire completed by 157 366 participants
Background
UK Biobank is a well-characterised cohort of over 500 000 participants that offers unique opportunities to investigate multiple diseases and risk factors.
Aims
An online mental health questionnaire completed by UK Biobank participants was expected to expand the potential for research into mental disorders.
Method
An expert working group designed the questionnaire, using established measures where possible, and consulting with a patient group regarding acceptability. Case definitions were defined using operational criteria for lifetime depression, mania, anxiety disorder, psychotic-like experiences and self-harm, as well as current post-traumatic stress and alcohol use disorders.
Results
157 366 completed online questionnaires were available by August 2017. Comparison of self-reported diagnosed mental disorder with a contemporary study shows a similar prevalence, despite respondents being of higher average socioeconomic status than the general population across a range of indicators. Thirty-five per cent (55 750) of participants had at least one defined syndrome, of which lifetime depression was the most common at 24% (37 434). There was extensive comorbidity among the syndromes. Mental disorders were associated with high neuroticism score, adverse life events and long-term illness; addiction and bipolar affective disorder in particular were associated with measures of deprivation.
Conclusions
The questionnaire represents a very large mental health survey in itself, and the results presented here show high face validity, although caution is needed owing to selection bias. Built into UK Biobank, these data intersect with other health data to offer unparalleled potential for crosscutting biomedical research involving mental health
A New Approach to Assess the Gastrocnemius Muscle Volume in Rodents Using Ultrasound; Comparison with the Gastrocnemius Muscle Index
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of a new non-invasive ultrasound technique to measure gastrocnemius muscle atrophy after nerve denervation in an animal model. Methods: In sixteen rodents an eight mm sciatic nerve gap was created. In the following 8 weeks, each week, two rodents were euthanized and the gastrocnemius muscle was examined using two different ultrasound systems and two investigators. The standardized ultrasound measurement protocol consisted of identifying pre-defined anatomical landmarks: 1) the fibula, 2) the fibular nerve, and 3) the junction between the most distal point of the semitendinosus muscle and gastrocnemius muscle. Consequently, we measured the muscle thickness as the length of the line between the fibula and the junction between the two muscles, perpendicular to the fibular nerve. After the ultrasound recording, the muscle mass was determined. Results: A steep decline of muscle weight of 24% was observed after one week. In the following weeks, the weight further decreased and then remained stable from 6 weeks onwards, resulting in a maximal muscle weight decrease of 82%. The correlation coefficient was >0.96 between muscle diameter and weight using both ultrasound systems. The inter-rater reliability was excellent for both devices on the operated side (ICC of 0.99 for both ultrasound systems) and good for the non-operated site (ICC's: 0.84 & 0.89). The difference between the muscle mass ratio and the muscle thickness ratio was not more than 5% with two outliers of approximately 13%. Discussion: We have developed an innovative, highly reliable technique for quantifying muscle atrophy after nerve injury. This technique allows serial measurements in the same animal over time. This is a significant advantage compared to the conventional technique for quantifying muscle atrophy, which requires sacrificing the animal
Dynamics of ions in the selectivity filter of the KcsA channel
The statistical and dynamical properties of ions in the selectivity filter of the KcsA ion channel are considered on the basis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the KcsA protein embedded in a lipid membrane surrounded by an ionic solution. A new approach to the derivation of a Brownian dynamics (BD) model of ion permeation through the filter is discussed, based on unbiased MD simulations. It is shown that depending on additional assumptions, ion’s dynamics can be described either by under-damped Langevin equation with constant damping and white noise or by Langevin equation with a fractional memory kernel. A comparison of the potential of the mean force derived from unbiased MD simulations with the potential produced by the umbrella sampling method demonstrates significant differences in these potentials. The origin of these differences is an open question that requires further clarifications
Evaluating Food Policy Councils Using Structural Equation Modeling
At least 282 Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are currently working to improve access to healthy foods in their communities by connecting food system sectors, gathering community input, and advising food policy. Empirical research on FPCs is limited. This study empirically evaluates FPCs to better understand the relationships between Organizational Capacity, Social Capital, and Council Effectiveness by testing a FPC Framework adapted from Allen and colleagues (2012). Members of all FPCs in the U.S., Canada, and Native American Tribes and First Nations were invited to complete the Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool (FPC-SAT). Structural equation modeling was used to test the FPC Framework. Three hundred and fifty-four FPC members from 95 councils completed the FPC-SAT. After slight modification, a revised FPC Framework was a good fit with the data (χ2 = 40.085, df = 24, p-value =.021, comparative fit index = 0.988, Tucker Lewis index = 0.982, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.044, p-close =.650). A moderation analysis revealed that community context influences the relationship between Social Capital and Council Effectiveness within the FPC Framework. The FPC Framework can guide capacity building interventions and FPC evaluations. The empirically tested framework can help FPCs efficiently work toward achieving their missions and improving their local food system
Optical sum rule violation, superfluid weight and condensation energy in the cuprates
The model of hole superconductivity predicts that the superfluid weight in
the zero-frequency -function in the optical conductivity has an
anomalous contribution from high frequencies, due to lowering of the system's
kinetic energy upon entering the superconducting state. The lowering of kinetic
energy, mainly in-plane in origin, accounts for both the condensation energy of
the superconductor as well as an increased potential energy due to larger
Coulomb repulsion in the paired state. It leads to an apparent violation of the
conductivity sum rule, which in the clean limit we predict to be substantially
larger for in-plane than for c-axis conductivity. However, because cuprates are
in the dirty limit for c-axis transport, the sum rule violation is found to be
greatly enhanced in the c-direction. The model predicts the sum rule violation
to be largest in the underdoped regime and to decrease with doping, more
rapidly in the c-direction that in the plane. So far, experiments have detected
sum rule violation in c-axis transport in several cuprates, as well as a
decrease and disappearance of this violation for increasing doping, but no
violation in-plane. We explore the predictions of the model for a wide range of
parameters, both in the absence and in the presence of disorder, and the
relation with current experimental knowledge.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.
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