The color of polarization in cuprate superconductors

A technique for the identification of individual anisotropic grains in a heterogeneous and opaque material involves the observation of grain color in reflected light through crossed polarizers (color of polarization). Such colors are generally characteristic of particular phases. When grains of many members of the class of hole carrier cuprate superconductors are so viewed, using a xenon light source (600 K color temperature), a characteristic color of polarization is observed. This color was studied in many of these cuprate superconductors and a strong correlation was found between color and the existence of superconductivity. One of the members of the electron carrier cuprate superconductors (Nd(1.85)Ce(.15)CuO(4-x) was examined and found that it possesses the same color of polarization as all the electron hole carrier cuprate superconductors so far examined. The commonality of the characteristic color in the cuprate superconductors indicated that the presence of this color is independent of the nature of charge carriers. The correlation of this color with existence of superconductivity suggests that the origin of the color relates to the origin of superconductivity in the cuprate superconductors. Photometric techniques are also discussed

Free Energy Self-Averaging in Protein-Sized Random Heteropolymers

Current theories of heteropolymers are inherently macrpscopic, but are applied to folding proteins which are only mesoscopic. In these theories, one computes the averaged free energy over sequences, always assuming that it is self-averaging -- a property well-established only if a system with quenched disorder is macroscopic. By enumerating the states and energies of compact 18, 27, and 36mers on a simplified lattice model with an ensemble of random sequences, we test the validity of the self-averaging approximation. We find that fluctuations in the free energy between sequences are weak, and that self-averaging is a valid approximation at the length scale of real proteins. These results validate certain sequence design methods which can exponentially speed up computational design and greatly simplify experimental realizations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Assessing the suitability of rice cultivation in Muvumba P-8 marshland of Rwanda using soil properties

This paper deals with the estimation of different soil properties of Muvumba P-8 marshland in Rwanda to assess the soil for its suitability for rice cultivation. The objective of the research is to determine the soil properties. Properties like texture, bulk density, total available water, infiltration rate, hydraulic conductivity and permeability were determined. Soil properties were estimated for different soil depths of 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm. It was found that the layer of the soil with 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm is having the soil texture of sandy clay loam and the depth of 45-60 cm is having the texture of clay loam. The soil of the plots with depths like 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm are having the clay content of 21, 25, 26 and 38% respectively and are having the bulk densities of 1.38, 1.29, 1.33 and 1.12 gm/cm3. It shows that clay content increases as the depth of the soil increases. The average total available water for three different depths mentioned are 8.5, 11.2, 15.5 and 16.5 mm and it varies from 4.5 mm to 26.4 mm. The data were analysed by using GENISTAT in order to get the difference of variation. The average infiltration rate of the field at Muvumba P-8 marshland was 12.8 mm/hour. It means that a water layer of 12.8 mm on the soil surface will take one hour to infiltrate. The experimental plot at Muvumba P-8 marshland was found to be moderately slow infiltration rate but it has rapid permeability. It indicates that there is slow entry of water in top soil surface but the percolation will be faster due rapid permeability. It is good for rice cultivation. Keywords: Soil properties-weather parameters-marshland-assessment-rice cultivatio

SurF: an innovative framework in biosecurity and animal health surveillance evaluation

Surveillance for biosecurity hazards is being conducted by the New Zealand Competent Authority, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to support New Zealand's biosecurity system. Surveillance evaluation should be an integral part of the surveillance life cycle, as it provides a means to identify and correct problems and to sustain and enhance the existing strengths of a surveillance system. The surveillance evaluation Framework (SurF) presented here was developed to provide a generic framework within which the MPI biosecurity surveillance portfolio, and all of its components, can be consistently assessed. SurF is an innovative, cross‐sectoral effort that aims to provide a common umbrella for surveillance evaluation in the animal, plant, environment and aquatic sectors. It supports the conduct of the following four distinct components of an evaluation project: (i) motivation for the evaluation, (ii) scope of the evaluation, (iii) evaluation design and implementation and (iv) reporting and communication of evaluation outputs. Case studies, prepared by MPI subject matter experts, are included in the framework to guide users in their assessment. Three case studies were used in the development of SurF in order to assure practical utility and to confirm usability of SurF across all included sectors. It is anticipated that the structured approach and information provided by SurF will not only be of benefit to MPI but also to other New Zealand stakeholders. Although SurF was developed for internal use by MPI, it could be applied to any surveillance system in New Zealand or elsewhere

A Multicanonical Molecular Dynamics Study on a Simple Bead-Spring Model for Protein Folding

We have performed a multicanonical molecular dynamics simulation on a simple model protein.We have studied a model protein composed of charged, hydrophobic, and neutral spherical bead monomers.Since the hydrophobic interaction is considered to significantly affect protein folding, we particularly focus on the competition between effects of the Coulomb interaction and the hydrophobic interaction. We found that the transition which occurs upon decreasing the temperature is markedly affected by the change in both parameters and forms of the hydrophobic potential function, and the transition changes from first order to second order, when the Coulomb interaction becomes weaker.Comment: 7 pages, 6 postscript figures, To appear in J.Phys.Soc.Jpn. Vol.70 No.

Random walks in the space of conformations of toy proteins

Monte Carlo dynamics of the lattice 48 monomers toy protein is interpreted as a random walk in an abstract (discrete) space of conformations. To test the geometry of this space, we examine the return probability $P(T)$, which is the probability to find the polymer in the native state after $T$ Monte Carlo steps, provided that it starts from the native state at the initial moment. Comparing computational data with the theoretical expressions for $P(T)$ for random walks in a variety of different spaces, we show that conformational spaces of polymer loops may have non-trivial dimensions and exhibit negative curvature characteristic of Lobachevskii (hyperbolic) geometry.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Protein folding using contact maps

We present the development of the idea to use dynamics in the space of contact maps as a computational approach to the protein folding problem. We first introduce two important technical ingredients, the reconstruction of a three dimensional conformation from a contact map and the Monte Carlo dynamics in contact map space. We then discuss two approximations to the free energy of the contact maps and a method to derive energy parameters based on perceptron learning. Finally we present results, first for predictions based on threading and then for energy minimization of crambin and of a set of 6 immunoglobulins. The main result is that we proved that the two simple approximations we studied for the free energy are not suitable for protein folding. Perspectives are discussed in the last section.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figure

Effect of Collagen type-I on the rate of osseointegration of Ca-containing biodegradable Mg-Zr based alloys

Mg-Zr based biodegradable implants alloyed with Ca were investigated to assess their biocompatibility and efficacy in bone formation and osseointegration. Bare alloys, containing Ca, exhibited low surface energy, poor corrosion-resistance, reduced osteoinduction and bone integration activity. Upon coating with Collagen type-I, these alloys demonstrated enhanced performance as an implant material that are suitable for rapid and efficient new bone tissue induction with optimal mineral content and cellular properties