169 research outputs found
Electronic properties and hyperfine fields of nickel-related complexes in diamond
We carried out a first principles investigation on the microscopic properties
of nickel-related defect centers in diamond. Several configurations, involving
substitutional and interstitial nickel impurities, have been considered either
in isolated configurations or forming complexes with other defects, such as
vacancies and boron and nitrogen dopants. The results, in terms of spin,
symmetry, and hyperfine fields, were compared with the available experimental
data on electrically active centers in synthetic diamond. Several microscopic
models, previously proposed to explain those data, have been confirmed by this
investigation, while some models could be discarded. We also provided new
insights on the microscopic structure of several of those centers.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure
Electronic structures of free-standing nanowires made from indirect bandgap semiconductor gallium phosphide
We present a theoretical study of the electronic structures of freestanding
nanowires made from gallium phosphide (GaP)--a III-V semiconductor with an
indirect bulk bandgap. We consider [001]-oriented GaP nanowires with square and
rectangular cross sections, and [111]-oriented GaP nanowires with hexagonal
cross sections. Based on tight binding models, both the band structures and
wave functions of the nanowires are calculated. For the [001]-oriented GaP
nanowires, the bands show anti-crossing structures, while the bands of the
[111]-oriented nanowires display crossing structures. Two minima are observed
in the conduction bands, while the maximum of the valence bands is always at
the -point. Using double group theory, we analyze the symmetry
properties of the lowest conduction band states and highest valence band states
of GaP nanowires with different sizes and directions. The band state wave
functions of the lowest conduction bands and the highest valence bands of the
nanowires are evaluated by spatial probability distributions. For practical
use, we fit the confinement energies of the electrons and holes in the
nanowires to obtain an empirical formula.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
Optical study of the band structure of wurtzite GaP nanowires
We investigated the optical properties of wurtzite (WZ) GaP nanowires by performing photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL measurements in the temperature range from 4 K to 300 K, together with atom probe tomography to identify residual impurities in the nanowires. At low temperature, the WZ GaP luminescence shows donor-acceptor pair emission at 2.115 eV and 2.088 eV, and Burstein-Moss band-filling continuum between 2.180 and 2.253 eV, resulting in a direct band gap above 2.170 eV. Sharp exciton α-β-γ lines are observed at 2.140-2.164-2.252 eV, respectively, showing clear differences in lifetime, presence of phonon replicas, and temperature- dependence. The excitonic nature of those peaks is critically discussed, leading to a direct band gap o
Electronic and magnetic properties of SnO2/CrO2 thin superlattices
In this article, using first-principles electronic structure calculations within the spin density functional theory, alternated magnetic and non-magnetic layers of rutile-CrO2 and rutile-SnO2 respectively, in a (CrO2)n(SnO2)n superlattice (SL) configuration, with n being the number of monolayers which are considered equal to 1, 2, ..., 10 are studied. A half-metallic behavior is observed for the (CrO2)n(SnO2)n SLs for all values of n. The ground state is found to be FM with a magnetic moment of 2 μB per chromium atom, and this result does not depend on the number of monolayers n. As the FM rutile-CrO2 is unstable at ambient temperature, and known to be stabilized when on top of SnO2, the authors suggest that (CrO2)n(SnO2)n SLs may be applied to spintronic technologies since they provide efficient spin-polarized carriers
Group-IV graphene- and graphane-like nanosheets
We performed a first principles investigation on the structural and
electronic properties of group-IV (C, SiC, Si, Ge, and Sn) graphene-like sheets
in flat and buckled configurations and the respective hydrogenated or
fluorinated graphane-like ones. The analysis on the energetics, associated with
the formation of those structures, showed that fluorinated graphane-like sheets
are very stable, and should be easily synthesized in laboratory. We also
studied the changes on the properties of the graphene-like sheets, as result of
hydrogenation or fluorination. The interatomic distances in those graphane-like
sheets are consistent with the respective crystalline ones, a property that may
facilitate integration of those sheets within three-dimensional nanodevices
Restoration of lysosomal acidification rescues autophagy and metabolic dysfunction in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in the world. High levels of free fatty acids in the liver impair hepatic lysosomal acidification and reduce autophagic flux. We investigate whether restoration of lysosomal function in NAFLD recovers autophagic flux, mitochondrial function, and insulin sensitivity. Here, we report the synthesis of novel biodegradable acid-activated acidifying nanoparticles (acNPs) as a lysosome targeting treatment to restore lysosomal acidity and autophagy. The acNPs, composed of fluorinated polyesters, remain inactive at plasma pH, and only become activated in lysosomes after endocytosis. Specifically, they degrade at pH of ~6 characteristic of dysfunctional lysosomes, to further acidify and enhance the function of lysosomes. In established in vivo high fat diet mouse models of NAFLD, re-acidification of lysosomes via acNP treatment restores autophagy and mitochondria function to lean, healthy levels. This restoration, concurrent with reversal of fasting hyperglycemia and hepatic steatosis, indicates the potential use of acNPs as a first-in-kind therapeutic for NAFLD.J.L.Z. and A.M. were supported by a BU Nano Cross-disciplinary fellowship from the BU Nano center at Boston University. J.L.Z. was supported by a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship from Nanyang Technological University, Grant/Award Number: 021229-00001. C.H.L. was supported by Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, Nanyang Technological University, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Grant/Award Number: 021207-00001. E.A. was supported by Azrieli Fellowship (The Azrieli Foundation). This work was also supported in part by funding from the National Institutes of Health (R01AA026914, OSS ML; R21AG063373, MWG OSS; and R21AG06045, OSS
Unintentional high density p-type modulation doping of a GaAs/AlAs core-multi-shell nanowire
Achieving significant doping in GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires (NWs) is of
considerable technological importance but remains a challenge due to the
amphoteric behavior of the dopant atoms. Here we show that placing a narrow
GaAs quantum well in the AlAs shell effectively getters residual carbon
acceptors leading to an \emph{unintentional} p-type doping. Magneto-optical
studies of such a GaAs/AlAs core multi-shell NW reveal quantum confined
emission. Theoretical calculations of NW electronic structure confirm quantum
confinement of carriers at the core/shell interface due to the presence of
ionized carbon acceptors in the 1~nm GaAs layer in the shell.
Micro-photoluminescence in high magnetic field shows a clear signature of
avoided crossings of the Landau level emission line with the Landau
level TO phonon replica. The coupling is caused by the resonant hole-phonon
interaction, which points to a large 2D hole density in the structure.Comment: just published in Nano Letters
(http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nl500818k
Maturation of the angiotensin II cardiovascular response in the embryonic White Leghorn chicken (Gallus gallus)
Angiotensin II (Ang II) is an important regulator of cardiovascular function in adult vertebrates. Although its role in regulating the adult system has been extensively investigated, the cardiovascular response to Ang II in embryonic vertebrates is relatively unknown. We investigated the potential of Ang II as a regulator of cardiovascular function in embryonic chickens, which lack central nervous system control of cardiovascular function throughout the majority of incubation. The cardiovascular response to Ang II in embryonic chickens was investigated over the final 50% of their development. Ang II produced a dose-dependent increase in arterial pressure on each day of development studied, and the response increased in intensity as development progressed. The Ang II type-1 receptor nonspecific competitive peptide antagonist [Sar1 ile8] Ang II blocked the cardiovascular response to subsequent injections of Ang II on day 21 only. The embryonic pressure response to Ang II (hypertension only) differed from that of adult chickens, in which initial hypotension is followed by hypertension. The constant level of gene expression for the Ang II receptor, in conjunction with an increasing pressure response to the peptide, suggests that two Ang II receptor subtypes are present during chicken development. Collectively, the data indicate that Ang II plays an important role in the cardiovascular development of chickens; however, its role in maintaining basal function requires further study
An exceptional horizontal gene transfer in plastids: gene replacement by a distant bacterial paralog and evidence that haptophyte and cryptophyte plastids are sisters
BACKGROUND: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to the plant mitochondrial genome has recently been shown to occur at a surprisingly high rate; however, little evidence has been found for HGT to the plastid genome, despite extensive sequencing. In this study, we analyzed all genes from sequenced plastid genomes to unearth any neglected cases of HGT and to obtain a measure of the overall extent of HGT to the plastid. RESULTS: Although several genes gave strongly supported conflicting trees under certain conditions, we are confident of HGT in only a single case beyond the rubisco HGT already reported. Most of the conflicts involved near neighbors connected by long branches (e.g. red algae and their secondary hosts), where phylogenetic methods are prone to mislead. However, three genes – clpP, ycf2, and rpl36 – provided strong support for taxa moving far from their organismal position. Further taxon sampling of clpP and ycf2 resulted in rejection of HGT due to long-branch attraction and a serious error in the published plastid genome sequence of Oenothera elata, respectively. A single new case, a bacterial rpl36 gene transferred into the ancestor of the cryptophyte and haptophyte plastids, appears to be a true HGT event. Interestingly, this rpl36 gene is a distantly related paralog of the rpl36 type found in other plastids and most eubacteria. Moreover, the transferred gene has physically replaced the native rpl36 gene, yet flanking genes and intergenic regions show no sign of HGT. This suggests that gene replacement somehow occurred by recombination at the very ends of rpl36, without the level and length of similarity normally expected to support recombination. CONCLUSION: The rpl36 HGT discovered in this study is of considerable interest in terms of both molecular mechanism and phylogeny. The plastid acquisition of a bacterial rpl36 gene via HGT provides the first strong evidence for a sister-group relationship between haptophyte and cryptophyte plastids to the exclusion of heterokont and alveolate plastids. Moreover, the bacterial gene has replaced the native plastid rpl36 gene by an uncertain mechanism that appears inconsistent with existing models for the recombinational basis of gene conversion
Improved non-covalent biofunctionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes using carbohydrate amphiphiles with a butterfly-like polyaromatic tail
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