290 research outputs found
A Proposed Frequency Synthesis Approach to Accurately Measure the Angular Position of a Spacecraft
This article describes an approach for measuring the angular position of a spacecraft with reference to a nearby calibration source (quasar) with an accuracy of a few tenths of a nanoradian using a very long baseline interferometer of two antennas that measures the interferometer phase with a modest accuracy. It employs (1) radio frequency phase to determine the spacecraft position with high precision and (2) multiple delay measurements using either frequency tones or telemetry signals at different frequency spacings to resolve ambiguity of the location of the fringe (cycle) containing the direction of the spacecraft
Reactive Molecular Dynamics study on the first steps of DNA-damage by free hydroxyl radicals
We employ a large scale molecular simulation based on bond-order ReaxFF to
simulate the chemical reaction and study the damage to a large fragment of
DNA-molecule in the solution by ionizing radiation. We illustrate that the
randomly distributed clusters of diatomic OH-radicals that are primary products
of megavoltage ionizing radiation in water-based systems are the main source of
hydrogen-abstraction as well as formation of carbonyl- and hydroxyl-groups in
the sugar-moiety that create holes in the sugar-rings. These holes grow up
slowly between DNA-bases and DNA-backbone and the damage collectively propagate
to DNA single and double strand break.Comment: 6 pages and 8 figures. movies and simulations are available at:
http://qmsimulator.wordpress.com
Computational studies for reduced graphene oxide in hydrogen-rich environment
We employ molecular dynamic simulations to study the reduction process of
graphene-oxide (GO) in a chemically active environment enriched with hydrogen.
We examine the concentration and pressure of hydrogen gas as a function of
temperature in which abstraction of oxygen is possible with minimum damage to
C-sp bonds hence preserving the integrity of the graphene sheet. Through
these studies we find chemical pathways that demonstrate beneficiary mechanisms
for the quality of graphene including formation of water as well as suppression
of carbonyl pair holes in favor of hydroxyl and epoxy formation facilitated by
hydrogen gas in the environment.Comment: 9 pages and 9 figures. Animations and movies are available at:
http://qmsimulatorgojpc.wordpress.com
X/Ka Celestial Frame Improvements: Vision to Reality
In order to extend the International Celestial Reference Frame from its S/X-band (2.3/8.4 GHz) basis to a complementary frame at X/Ka-band (8.4/32 GHz), we began in mid-2005 an ongoing series of X/Ka observations using NASA s Deep Space Network (DSN) radio telescopes. Over the course of 47 sessions, we have detected 351 extra-galactic radio sources covering the full 24 hours of right ascension and declinations down to -45 degrees. Angular source position accuracy is at the part-per-billion level. We developed an error budget which shows that the main errors arise from limited sensitivity, mismodeling of the troposphere, uncalibrated instrumental effects, and the lack of a southern baseline. Recent work has improved sensitivity by improving pointing calibrations and by increasing the data rate four-fold. Troposphere calibration has been demonstrated at the mm-level. Construction of instrumental phase calibrators and new digital baseband filtering electronics began in recent months. We will discuss the expected effect of these improvements on the X/Ka frame
Sonic Hedgehog Is a Chemoattractant for Midbrain Dopaminergic Axons
Midbrain dopaminergic axons project from the substantia nigra (SN) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to rostral target tissues, including the striatum, pallidum, and hypothalamus. The axons from the medially located VTA project primarily to more medial target tissues in the forebrain, whereas the more lateral SN axons project to lateral targets including the dorsolateral striatum. This structural diversity underlies the distinct functions of these pathways. Although a number of guidance cues have been implicated in the formation of the distinct axonal projections of the SN and VTA, the molecular basis of their diversity remains unclear. Here we investigate the molecular basis of structural diversity in mDN axonal projections. We find that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is expressed at a choice point in the course of the rostral dopaminergic projections. Furthermore, in midbrain explants, dopaminergic projections are attracted to a Shh source. Finally, in mice in which Shh signaling is inactivated during late neuronal development, the most medial dopaminergic projections are deficient
Probing the Thermal Deoxygenation of Graphene Oxide using High Resolution In Situ X-Ray based Spectroscopies
Despite the recent developments in Graphene Oxide due to its importance as a
host precursor of Graphene, the detailed electronic structure and its evolution
during the thermal reduction remain largely unknown, hindering its potential
applications. We show that a combination of high resolution in situ X-ray
photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopies offer a powerful approach to
monitor the deoxygenation process and comprehensively evaluate the electronic
structure of Graphene Oxide thin films at different stages of the thermal
reduction process. It is established that the edge plane carboxyl groups are
highly unstable, whereas carbonyl groups are more difficult to remove. The
results consistently support the formation of phenol groups through reaction of
basal plane epoxide groups with adjacent hydroxyl groups at moderate degrees of
thermal activation (~400 {\deg}C). The phenol groups are predominant over
carbonyl groups and survive even at a temperature of 1000 {\deg}C. For the
first time a drastic increase in the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi
level at 600 {\deg}C is observed, suggesting a progressive restoration of
aromatic structure in the thermally reduced graphene oxideComment: Pagona Papakonstantinou as Corresponding author, E-mail:
[email protected]
The Effect of Thermal Reduction on the Photoluminescence and Electronic Structures of Graphene Oxides
[[abstract]]Electronic structures of graphene oxide (GO) and hydro-thermally reduced graphene oxides (rGOs)processed at low temperatures (120–1806C) were studied using X-ray absorption near-edge structure XANES), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). C K-edge XANES spectra of rGOs reveal that thermal reduction restores C 5 C sp2 bonds and removes some of the oxygen and hydroxyl groups of GO, which initiates the evolution of carbonaceous species. The combination of C K-edge XANES and Ka XES spectra shows that the overlapping p and p* orbitals in rGOs and GO are similar to that of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), which has no band-gap. C Ka RIXS spectra provide evidence that thermal reduction changes the density of states (DOSs) that is generated in the p-region and/or in the gap between the p and p* levels of the GO and rGOs. Two-dimensional C Ka RIXS mapping of the heavy reduction of rGOs further confirms that the residual oxygen and/or oxygen-containing functional groups modify the p and s features, which are dispersed by the photon excitation energy. The dispersion behavior near the K point is approximately linear and differs from the parabolic-like dispersion observed in HOPG.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[ispeerreviewed]]Y[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]GB
Dislocations and Grain Boundaries in Two-Dimensional Boron Nitride
A new dislocation structure-square-octagon pair (4|8) is discovered in
two-dimensional boron nitride (h-BN), via first-principles calculations. It has
lower energy than corresponding pentagon-heptagon pairs (5|7), which contain
unfavorable homo-elemental bonds. Based on the structures of dislocations,
grain boundaries (GB) in BN are investigated. Depending on the tilt angle of
grains, GB can be either polar (B-rich or N-rich), constituted by 5|7s, or
un-polar, composed of 4|8s. The polar GBs carry net charges, positive at B-rich
and negative at N-rich ones. In contrast to GBs in graphene which generally
impede the electronic transport, polar GBs have smaller bandgap compared to
perfect BN, which may suggest interesting electronic and optic applications
Transient Neuronal Populations Are Required to Guide Callosal Axons: A Role for Semaphorin 3C
Neurons, glia, and callosal axons operate as a “ménage à trois” in the development of the corpus callosum
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