Element-specific probe of quantum criticality in CeCoIn5\mathrm{CeCoIn_{5}}

Employing the elemental sensitivity of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), we study the valence and magnetic order in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn$_5$. We probe spin population of the f-electrons in Ce and d-electrons in Co as a function of temperature (down to 0.1 K) and magnetic field (up to 6 T). From the XAS we find a pronounced contribution of Ce$^{4+}$ component at low temperature and a clear temperature dependence of the Ce valence below 5 K, suggesting enhanced valence fluctuations, an indication for the presence of a nearby quantum critical point (QCP). We observe no significant corresponding change with magnetic field. The XMCD displays a weak signal for Ce becoming clear only at 6 T. This splitting of the Kramers doublet ground state of Ce$^{3+}$ is significantly smaller than expected for independent but screened ions, indicating strong antiferromagnetic pair interactions. The unconventional character of superconductivity in CeCoIn$_5$ is evident in the extremely large specific heat step at the superconducting transition.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Supplementary information (4 pages, 5 figures

The role of released ATP in killing Candida albicans and other extracellular microbial pathogens by cationic peptides

A unifying theme common to the action of many cationic peptides that display lethal activities against microbial pathogens is their specific action at microbial membranes that results in selective loss of ions and small nucleotides chiefly ATP. One model cationic peptide that induces non-lytic release of ATP from the fungal pathogen Candida albicans is salivary histatin 5 (Hst 5). The major characteristic of Hst 5-induced ATP release is that it occurs rapidly while cells are still metabolically active and have polarized membranes, thus precluding cell lysis as the means of release of ATP. Other cationic peptides that induce selective release of ATP from target microbes are lactoferricin, human neutrophil defensins, bactenecin, and cathelicidin peptides. The role of released extracellular ATP induced by cationic peptides is not known, but localized increases in extracellular ATP concentration may serve to potentiate cell killing, facilitate further peptide uptake, or function as an additional signal to activate the host innate immune system at the site of infection

Кислотно-основные свойства поверхности оксида хрома(III)

The article is devoted to the study of the nature and number of acid-base centers on the surface of chromium(III) oxide obtained by precipitation from an aqueous nitrate solution. The curve of the distribution of the number of acidbase centers of the samples is plotted depending on the indicator of the ionization constant of indicators. It was determined that the main Lewis centers make the main contribution to the acidity of the samples; there are also Bronsted centers of different acidity. A comparative analysis of the structural features of the surface of oxides of chromium, zinc and binary systems Cr (III)–Zn (II) was carried out according to the results of X-ray phase analysis of oxides and thermolysis of the corresponding hydroxides. Based on this, the possibility of obtaining nanosized catalysts based on oxide-hydroxide systems of chromium with a number of 3d-metals obtained in the process of polynuclear hydroxocomplexation is predicted.Проведено исследование природы и количества кислотно-основных центров на поверхности оксида хрома(III), полученного осаждением из водного нитратного раствора. Определено, что основной вклад в кислотность образцов вносят основные центры Льюиса, присутствуют также различные по кислотности центры Бренстеда. Проведен анализ структурных особенностей поверхности оксидов хрома, цинка и двойных систем Cr(III)–Zn(II) по результатам рентгенофазового анализа оксидов и термолиза соответствующих гидроксидов. На основании этого прогнозируется возможность получения наноразмерных катализаторов на основе оксидно-гидроксидных систем хрома с рядом 3d-металлов, получаемых в процессе полиядерного гидроксокомплексообразования

Relating gene expression data on two-component systems to functional annotations in Escherichia coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obtaining physiological insights from microarray experiments requires computational techniques that relate gene expression data to functional information. Traditionally, this has been done in two consecutive steps. The first step identifies important genes through clustering or statistical techniques, while the second step assigns biological functions to the identified groups. Recently, techniques have been developed that identify such relationships in a single step.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed an algorithm that relates patterns of gene expression in a set of microarray experiments to functional groups in one step. Our only assumption is that patterns co-occur frequently. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated as part of a study of regulation by two-component systems in <it>Escherichia coli</it>. The significance of the relationships between expression data and functional annotations is evaluated based on density histograms that are constructed using product similarity among expression vectors. We present a biological analysis of three of the resulting functional groups of proteins, develop hypotheses for further biological studies, and test one of these hypotheses experimentally. A comparison with other algorithms and a different data set is presented.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our new algorithm is able to find interesting and biologically meaningful relationships, not found by other algorithms, in previously analyzed data sets. Scaling of the algorithm to large data sets can be achieved based on a theoretical model.</p

Destination development in Western Siberia:Tourism governance and evolutionary economic geography

Tourism development has often been identified as a tool for balancing negative effects of economic restructuring, especially in peripheral regions. Tourism-based activities often utilize the availability of abundant nature, but although most English language studies of destination development are presented from western contexts, examples from post-Soviet Russia are rare. Western Siberia is a periphery with access to natural resources and heavy industrialization but remotely located from domestic (Russian) and international markets, where tourism is often considered a saviour, especially for the regional economies. Stakeholders in this Russian resource periphery face challenges in managing governance and cooperation in destinations development due to frequent institutional, economic and social changes. Using evolutionary economic geography and based on primary sources and interview data, tourism development and stakeholder relations are assessed in three Western Siberia regions: Tomsk, Kemerovo and Altai Krai. Findings show that for tourism to make a significant contribution, it must be more central to the economic development agenda in all three regions. However, it is currently only achieving a permanent high-profile in one of them, being crowded out by other (mostly primary) industries in the other two. Although the specific tourism governance set-up varies between the three regions, it is clear that public tourism governance still sits somewhat uneasily between state control and the market economy. Tourism receives substantial public subsidies, especially in large-scale investment projects, which depend on federal support within a governance system where decentralization seems to be somewhat limited and unstable. As a result, the tourism path development in the Siberian periphery is highly dependent on state intervention and success in other sectors.</p

Doppler Effect in Resonant Photoemission from SF6 : Correlation between Doppler Profile and Auger Emission Anisotropy

Fragmentation of the SF6 molecule upon F 1s excitation has been studied by resonant photoemission. The F atomiclike Auger line exhibits the characteristic Doppler profile that depends on the direction of the photoelectron momentum relative to the polarization vector of the radiation as well as on the photon energy. The measured Doppler profiles are analyzed by the model simulation that takes account of the anisotropy of the Auger emission in the molecular frame. The Auger anisotropy extracted from the data decreases with an increase in the F–SF5 internuclear distance

Auger electron wave packet interferometry on extreme timescales with coherent soft x rays

Wave packet interferometry provides benchmark information on light-induced electronic quantum states by monitoring their relative amplitudes and phases during coherent excitation, propagation,and decay. The relative phase control of soft x-ray pulse replicas on the single-digit attosecond timescale achieved in our experiments makes this method a powerful tool to probe ultrafast quantum phenomena such as the excitation of Auger shake-up states with sub-cycle precision. In this contribution we present first results obtained for different Auger decay channels upon generating L-shell vacancies in argon atoms using Michelson-type all-reflective interferometric autocorrelation at a central free-electron laser photon energy of 274.7 eV

Особенности распространения подповерхностных и поверхностных волн в объектах со слоистой структурой. Ч. 1. Влияние геометрических параметров объекта

Application of surface and subsurface waves for control of objects with a double-layer structure allows to extend possibilities of diagnostics of their physico-mechanical properties. The purpose of work was to determine conditions and offer recommendations providing measuring of ultrasonic velocity and amplitude of the former modes in protective layers and in basis of object at one-sided access to its surface.The analysis of an acoustic path of a measuring system in relation to ultrasonic evaluation of the objects having the restricted sizes and the protective coating according to velocity data of the surface and subsurface waves propagation is made. On the basis of representations of beam acoustics the dependences connecting a wavelength of the excited surface and subsurface modes, thickness and width of a controlled object, acoustic base of a sounding are defined. There are to provide a condition leveling of the influence of an acoustical noise created by the reflected and accompanying waves on parameters of acoustic signal with the given quantity of oscillations in an impulse.The principle opportunity is shown and conditions for determination of velocity of subsurface body waves in the base material which is under a protective coating layer are established. For these purposes on the basis of use of the block of ultrasonic probes the optimum scheme of a sounding is offered and the analytical expression for calculation of required velocity considering varying of thickness of a covering is received.The method of acoustical measuring realized by a direct and reverse sounding of the objects with small aperture and angle probes was analysed and formulas for determination of speed of subsurface wave under protective layer of the wedge form have been got. An ultrasonic device is suggested for the excitationreception of subsurface waves with different speed in objects (on 20–35 %) using for the acoustic concordance of environments of metallic sound duct as a wedge. Possibility of leveling of interference in a protective layer to control efects in basis of material by a volume wave by creation of supporting echo-signal of longitudinal wave of the set frequency and entered normally to the surface of object was studied.Применение поверхностных и подповерхностных волн для контроля изделий с двухслойной структурой позволяет расширить возможности диагностирования физико-механических свойств объектов. Цель работы состояла в установлении условий и выдаче рекомендаций, обеспечивающих измерение скорости и амплитуды упругих мод в защитном покрытии и в основе объекта при одностороннем доступе к его поверхности.На основе представлений лучевой акустики проанализирован акустический тракт и получены соотношения между геометрическими параметрами объектов, акустической базой прозвучивания, длиной волны упругих мод, количеством осцилляций в импульсе, необходимые для нивелирования акустического шума при акустических измерениях.Проведено сопоставление данных расчетной модели с опытными данными, предложенными для использования в качестве опорных для определения оптимальных условий измерения скорости упругих мод, амплитуды, спектра сигнала и др. Изучены условия устранения паразитного влияния вращающихся мод на измерения при осевом прозвучивании поверхностной волной цилиндрического объекта.Проанализирован способ измерений, реализуемый путем прямого и обратного прозвучивания объекта малоапертурными и наклонными преобразователями, и получены выражения для определения скорости подповерхностной волны под защитным покрытием в виде клина. Предложено ультразвуковое устройство для возбуждения-приема поверхностных волн с разной скоростью распространения в объектах (изменяющейся на 20–35 %), использующее для акустического согласования сред металлического звукопровода в виде клина. Изучена возможность нивелирования влияния интерференции в защитном слое на выявляемость дефектов в основе материала объемной волной путем создания опорного эхо-сигнала продольной волны заданной частоты и вводимой нормально к поверхности объекта

Electronic quantum coherence in glycine molecules probed with ultrashort x ray pulses in real time

Here, we use x rays to create and probe quantum coherence in the photoionized amino acid glycine. The outgoing photoelectron leaves behind the cation in a coherent superposition of quantum mechanical eigenstates. Delayed x ray pulses track the induced coherence through resonant x ray absorption that induces Auger decay and by photoelectron emission from sequential double photoionization. Sinusoidal temporal modulation of the detected signal at early times 0 to 25 fs is observed in both measurements. Advanced ab initio many electron simulations allow us to explain the first 25 fs of the detected coherent quantum evolution in terms of the electronic coherence. In the kinematically complete x ray absorption measurement, we monitor its dynamics for a period of 175 fs and observe an evolving modulation that may implicate the coupling of electronic to vibronic coherence at longer time scales. Our experiment provides a direct support for the existence of long lived electronic coherence in photoionized biomolecule