A Theory for the High-T_c Cuprates: Anomalous Normal-State and Spectroscopic Properties, Phase Diagram, and Pairing

A theory of highly correlated layered superconducting materials isapplied for the cuprates. Differently from an independent-electron approximation, their low-energy excitations are approached in terms of auxiliary particles representing combinations of atomic-like electron configurations, where the introduction of a Lagrange Bose field enables treating them as bosons or fermions. The energy spectrum of this field accounts for the tendency of hole-doped cuprates to form stripe-like inhomogeneities. Consequently, it induces a different analytical behavior for auxiliary particles corresponding to "antinodal" and "nodal" electrons, enabling the existence of different pairing temperatures at T^* and T_c. This theory correctly describes the observed phase diagram of the cuprates, including the non-Fermi-liquid to FL crossover in the normal state, the existence of Fermi arcs below T^* and of a "marginal-FL" critical behavior above it. The qualitative anomalous behavior of numerous physical quantities is accounted for, including kink- and waterfall-like spectral features, the drop in the scattering rates below T^* and more radically below T_c, and an effective increase in the density of carriers with T and \omega, reflected in transport, optical and other properties. Also is explained the correspondence between T_c, the resonance-mode energy, and the "nodal gap".Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

No Reliable Association between Runs of Homozygosity and Schizophrenia in a Well-Powered Replication Study

It is well known that inbreeding increases the risk of recessive monogenic diseases, but it is less certain whether it contributes to the etiology of complex diseases such as schizophrenia. One way to estimate the effects of inbreeding is to examine the association between disease diagnosis and genome-wide autozygosity estimated using runs of homozygosity (ROH) in genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Using data for schizophrenia from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (n = 21,868), Keller et al. (2012) estimated that the odds of developing schizophrenia increased by approximately 17% for every additional percent of the genome that is autozygous (β = 16.1, CI(β) = [6.93, 25.7], Z = 3.44, p = 0.0006). Here we describe replication results from 22 independent schizophrenia case-control datasets from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (n = 39,830). Using the same ROH calling thresholds and procedures as Keller et al. (2012), we were unable to replicate the significant association between ROH burden and schizophrenia in the independent PGC phase II data, although the effect was in the predicted direction, and the combined (original + replication) dataset yielded an attenuated but significant relationship between Froh and schizophrenia (β = 4.86,CI(β) = [0.90,8.83],Z = 2.40,p = 0.02). Since Keller et al. (2012), several studies reported inconsistent association of ROH burden with complex traits, particularly in case-control data. These conflicting results might suggest that the effects of autozygosity are confounded by various factors, such as socioeconomic status, education, urbanicity, and religiosity, which may be associated with both real inbreeding and the outcome measures of interest

Estimation of Genetic Correlation via Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression and Genomic Restricted Maximum Likelihood

J. Lönnqvist on työryhmän Psychiat Genomics Consortium jäsen.Genetic correlation is a key population parameter that describes the shared genetic architecture of complex traits and diseases. It can be estimated by current state-of-art methods, i.e., linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and genomic restricted maximum likelihood (GREML). The massively reduced computing burden of LDSC compared to GREML makes it an attractive tool, although the accuracy (i.e., magnitude of standard errors) of LDSC estimates has not been thoroughly studied. In simulation, we show that the accuracy of GREML is generally higher than that of LDSC. When there is genetic heterogeneity between the actual sample and reference data from which LD scores are estimated, the accuracy of LDSC decreases further. In real data analyses estimating the genetic correlation between schizophrenia (SCZ) and body mass index, we show that GREML estimates based on similar to 150,000 individuals give a higher accuracy than LDSC estimates based on similar to 400,000 individuals (from combinedmeta-data). A GREML genomic partitioning analysis reveals that the genetic correlation between SCZ and height is significantly negative for regulatory regions, which whole genome or LDSC approach has less power to detect. We conclude that LDSC estimates should be carefully interpreted as there can be uncertainty about homogeneity among combined meta-datasets. We suggest that any interesting findings from massive LDSC analysis for a large number of complex traits should be followed up, where possible, with more detailed analyses with GREML methods, even if sample sizes are lesser.Peer reviewe

Interactive visualization of large-scale architectural models over the grid: Strolling in Tang Chang'an city

Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2005 - Proceedings of the 11th International CAAD Futures Conference93-10

Impact of culture vessels on micro-morphological features of in vitro Dendrobium Sabin Blue orchid

Different designs of the plant tissue culture vessel, such as size, material, and shape, may alter its microenvironment atmosphere. The present study was conducted on protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Dendrobium Sabin Blue orchid to determine the development of PLBs on plastic and glass culture vessels of different sizes. PLBs were cultured in half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with the same initial weight of 0.5 g in 10 replicates. The growth index of the PLBs was calculated after 11 weeks to study their growth in every vessel; additionally, biochemical analysis was performed to determine carbohydrate content, proline concentration, and photosynthesis pigments in the PLBs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to study stomata development on PLBs in each vessel, and histological analyses were conducted to study the cell structure. Overall, the PLBs cultured in a large 470 ml plastic vessel showed successful growth with a high growth index, high carbohydrate content, low-stress condition, and high chlorophyll content. SEM confirmed that the presence of trichome and rhizoid in PLBs cultured in the 470 ml plastic vessel. Histological analysis showed the formation of the shoot on the PLBs and the presence of starch granules. Thus, the use of plastic as a culture vessel provides a good impact for culturing PLBs and has low cost

A comprehensive classification system for lipids

Lipids are produced, transported, and recognized by the concerted actions of numerous enzymes, binding proteins, and receptors. A comprehensive analysis of lipid molecules, “lipidomics,” in the context of genomics and proteomics is crucial to understanding cellular physiology and pathology; consequently, lipid biology has become a major research target of the postgenomic revolution and systems biology. To facilitate international communication about lipids, a comprehensive classification of lipids with a common platform that is compatible with informatics requirements has been developed to deal with the massive amounts of data that will be generated by our lipid community. As an initial step in this development, we divide lipids into eight categories (fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterol lipids, prenol lipids, saccharolipids, and polyketides) containing distinct classes and subclasses of molecules, devise a common manner of representing the chemical structures of individual lipids and their derivatives, and provide a 12 digit identifier for each unique lipid molecule. The lipid classification scheme is chemically based and driven by the distinct hydrophobic and hydrophilic elements that compose the lipid. This structured vocabulary will facilitate the systematization of lipid biology and enable the cataloging of lipids and their properties in a way that is compatible with other macromolecular databases

Navigating the purchasing power gap in new product development in multinational corporations

Multinational corporations (MNCs) face a significant purchasing power gap of customers between developed and emerging economies. In R&D intensive industries making physical products, MNCs can benefit from economies of scale. Therefore, managers strive to achieve a product standardization–adaptation (S-A) balance when navigating the purchasing power gap. Through focusing on five MNCs headquartered in developed countries, I examined how MNCs can achieve such a balance through new product development (NPD). I found that (1) an S-A balance can be achieved through three NPD strategies (product simplification, product retaining, and reverse innovation); (2) managers need to take into account five key factors when choosing NPD strategies (product complexity, product modularity, brand strategy, position in local competition, and internal technical standards); and (3) the NPD strategies can be implemented through structural separation, temporal separation, and a shared value. This research reveals the complexity of achieving an S-A balance when managers navigate the purchasing power gap in NPD. Different NPD strategies have certain advantages and shortcomings. High product complexity and product modularity can serve as favorable conditions for a product simplification strategy. A brand strategy of leading-edge technologies can serve as an adverse condition for a product retaining strategy. Strong local competitors in emerging markets can be a motivation for a reverse innovation strategy, while stringent internal standards for safety can be an adverse condition. This research also reveals the nuances of implementation of NPD strategies in terms of managing innovation and refinement activities. MNCs may need temporal separation when adopting both downhill and uphill NPD strategies

Acompanhamento do Processamento de Elastômeros Condutores por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura Evaluation of a Conductive Elastomer Processing Using Scanning Electron Microscopy

Neste trabalho, o elastômero EPDM foi misturado à Polianilina (PAni) a qual foi dopada com ácido dodecilbenzeno sulfônico (DBSA) na razão molar 1:3. A mistura de EPDM contendo 40%(m/m) de PAni-(DBSA)3 foi realizada em um misturador interno de dois rotores, acessório do reômetro Haake Rheocord 90, a 150°C e 30 rpm. Foram recolhidas amostras em 5, 10, 20, 30 e 40 min de processamento e a morfologia foi avaliada por MEV. A análise microscópica da superfície da amostra mostrou fases completamente distintas em função do tempo de mistura, passando de uma estrutura de duas fases compacta (5 min) até o aparecimento de uma estrutura "tipo esponja" (30 e 40 min). Estas diferenças afetam as propriedades do material como, por exemplo, o comportamento de absorção de radiação eletromagnética de materiais absorvedores de radiação (MARE).<br>In this work the EPDM elastomer was mixed with Polyaniline (PAni) doped with dodecilbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) using a molar ratio of 1:3 of PAni:DBSA. The EPDM mixture with 40%(w/w) of PAni-(DBSA)3 was carried out using an internal mixer chamber with two rotors coupled to a Haake Rheocord 90 at 150°C and 30 rpm. Aliquots were taken during the processing time of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 min, and the morphology was evaluated by SEM. The morphology of the blends markedly changes as a function of processing time, from a compact, at 5 min to a sponge-like morphology at 30 and 40 min. These differences influence the material properties, such as electromagnetic radiation absorption of radar absorbing materials (RAM)