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Interconnected Self-Propagating Photopolymer Waveguides: An Alternative to Stereolithography for Rapid Formation of Lattice-Based Open-Cellular Materials
Recently, a new technique has been developed to create unique open-cellular materials with
micro-scale truss, or lattice features ranging from tens to hundreds of microns. These materials
are formed from a three-dimensional, interconnected array of self-propagating photopolymer
waveguides. By utilizing this self-propagating effect, three-dimensional open-cellular polymer
materials can be formed in seconds. In addition, intrinsic to the process is the ability to control
specific micro-lattice parameters which ultimately affect the bulk material properties. Unlike
stereolithography, this new fabrication technique is rapid (~ minutes to form an entire part) and
relies on a single two-dimensional exposure surface to form three-dimensional structures
(thickness > 25 mm possible). This combination of speed and planar scalability opens the
possibility for large-scale mass manufacturing. The utility of these new materials range from
lightweight energy absorbing structures to thermal management materials to bio-scaffolds.Mechanical Engineerin
Radiocarbon as a novel tracer of extra-Antarctic feeding in Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales
Bulk stable isotope analysis provides information regarding food web interactions, and has been applied to several cetacean species for the study of migration ecology. One limitation in bulk stable isotope analysis arises when a species, such as Southern hemisphere humpback whales, utilises geographically distinct food webs with differing isotopic baselines. Migrations to areas with different baselines can result in isotopic changes that mimic changes in feeding relations, leading to ambiguous food web interpretations. Here, we demonstrate the novel application of radiocarbon measurement for the resolution of such ambiguities. Radiocarbon was measured in baleen plates from humpback whales stranded in Australia between 2007 and 2013, and in skin samples collected in Australia and Antarctica from stranded and free-ranging animals. Radiocarbon measurements showed lower values for Southern Ocean feeding than for extra-Antarctic feeding in Australian waters. While the whales mostly relied on Antarctic-derived energy stores during their annual migration, there was some evidence of feeding within temperate zone waters in some individuals. This work, to our knowledge, provides the first definitive biochemical evidence for supplementary feeding by southern hemisphere humpback whales within temperate waters during migration. Further, the work contributes a powerful new tool (radiocarbon) for tracing source regions and geographical feeding
Quantification of phenoxytalkanoic acid degraders and investigation of PCR inhibiting effects in aquifer sediment by real-time PCR
Comprometimentos cognitivos em pacientes com gliomas de baixo grau e gliomas de alto grau
OBJECTIVE: The relationship between brain tumors and cognitive deficits is well established in the literature. However, studies investigating the cognitive status in low and high-grade gliomas patients are scarce, particularly in patients with average or lower educational level. This study aimed at investigating the cognitive functioning in a sample of patients with low and high-grade gliomas before surgical intervention. METHOD: The low-grade (G1, n=19) and high-grade glioma (G2, n=8) patients underwent a detailed neuropsychological assessment of memory, executive functions, visuo-perceptive and visuo-spatial abilities, intellectual level and language. RESULTS: There was a significant impairment on verbal and visual episodic memory, executive functions including mental flexibility, nominal and categorical verbal fluency and speed of information processing in G2. G1 showed only specific deficits on verbal and visual memory recall, mental flexibility and processing speed. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated different levels of impairments in the executive and memory domains in patients with low and high grade gliomas.OBJETIVO: A associação entre tumores cerebrais e déficits cognitivos é bem estabelecida na literatura. No entanto, estudos sobre a cognição de pacientes com gliomas de baixo e alto grau são escassos, especialmente, em sujeitos com baixa escolaridade. Este estudo investigou o funcionamento cognitivo de uma amostra de pacientes com gliomas de baixo e alto grau antes da intervenção cirúrgica. MÉTODO: Os pacientes com glioma de baixo grau (G1, n=19) e alto grau (G2, n=8) foram avaliados quanto à memória, funções executivas, habilidades visuo-perceptivas e visuo-espaciais, nível intelectual e linguagem. RESULTADOS: Houve prejuízo significativo em G2 na memória episódica verbal e visual, funções executivas incluindo flexibilidade mental, fluência verbal nominal e categórica e velocidade de processamento de informações. G1 demonstrou apenas déficits específicos de evocação verbal e visual, flexibilidade mental e velocidade de processamento. CONCLUSÃO: Estes achados demonstraram níveis diferenciados de comprometimento nos domínios executivos e mnésticos de pacientes com gliomas de baixo e alto grau
Charge and spin order in one-dimensional electron systems with long-range Coulomb interactions
We study a system of electrons interacting through long--range Coulomb forces
on a one--dimensional lattice, by means of a variational ansatz which is the
strong--coupling counterpart of the Gutzwiller wave function. Our aim is to
describe the quantum analogue of Hubbard's classical ``generalized Wigner
crystal''. We first analyse charge ordering in a system of spinless fermions,
with particular attention to the effects of lattice commensurability. We argue
that for a general (rational) number of electrons per site there are three
regimes, depending on the relative strength of the long--range Coulomb
interaction (as compared to the hopping amplitude ). For very large the
quantum ground state differs little from Hubbard's classical solution, for
intermediate to large values of we recover essentially the Wigner crystal
of the continuum model, and for small the charge modulation amounts to a
small--amplitude charge--density wave. We then include the spin degrees of
freedom and show that in the Wigner crystal regimes (i.e. for large ) they
are coupled by an antiferromagnetic kinetic exchange , which turns out to be
smaller than the energy scale governing the charge degrees of freedom. Our
results shed new light on the insulating phases of organic quasi--1D compounds
where the long--range part of the interaction is unscreened, and magnetic and
charge orderings coexist at low temperatures.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.
Transport properties of strongly correlated metals:a dynamical mean-field approach
The temperature dependence of the transport properties of the metallic phase
of a frustrated Hubbard model on the hypercubic lattice at half-filling are
calculated. Dynamical mean-field theory, which maps the Hubbard model onto a
single impurity Anderson model that is solved self-consistently, and becomes
exact in the limit of large dimensionality, is used. As the temperature
increases there is a smooth crossover from coherent Fermi liquid excitations at
low temperatures to incoherent excitations at high temperatures. This crossover
leads to a non-monotonic temperature dependence for the resistance,
thermopower, and Hall coefficient, unlike in conventional metals. The
resistance smoothly increases from a quadratic temperature dependence at low
temperatures to large values which can exceed the Mott-Ioffe-Regel value, hbar
a/e^2 (where "a" is a lattice constant) associated with mean-free paths less
than a lattice constant. Further signatures of the thermal destruction of
quasiparticle excitations are a peak in the thermopower and the absence of a
Drude peak in the optical conductivity. The results presented here are relevant
to a wide range of strongly correlated metals, including transition metal
oxides, strontium ruthenates, and organic metals.Comment: 19 pages, 9 eps figure
Neutral-ionic phase transition : a thorough ab-initio study of TTF-CA
The prototype compound for the neutral-ionic phase transition, namely TTF-CA,
is theoretically investigated by first-principles density functional theory
calculations. The study is based on three neutron diffraction structures
collected at 40, 90 and 300 K (Le Cointe et al., Phys. Rev. B 51, 3374 (1995)).
By means of a topological analysis of the total charge densities, we provide a
very precise picture of intra and inter-chain interactions. Moreover, our
calculations reveal that the thermal lattice contraction reduces the indirect
band gap of this organic semi-conductor in the neutral phase, and nearly closes
it in the vicinity of the transition temperature. A possible mechanism of the
neutral-ionic phase transition is discussed. The charge transfer from TTF to CA
is also derived by using three different technics.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 7 table
Electronic Collective Modes and Superconductivity in Layered Conductors
A distinctive feature of layered conductors is the presence of low-energy
electronic collective modes of the conduction electrons. This affects the
dynamic screening properties of the Coulomb interaction in a layered material.
We study the consequences of the existence of these collective modes for
superconductivity. General equations for the superconducting order parameter
are derived within the strong-coupling phonon-plasmon scheme that account for
the screened Coulomb interaction. Specifically, we calculate the
superconducting critical temperature Tc taking into account the full
temperature, frequency and wave-vector dependence of the dielectric function.
We show that low-energy plasmons may contribute constructively to
superconductivity. Three classes of layered superconductors are discussed
within our model: metal-intercalated halide nitrides, layered organic materials
and high-Tc oxides. In particular, we demonstrate that the plasmon contribution
(electronic mechanism) is dominant in the first class of layered materials. The
theory shows that the description of so-called ``quasi-two-dimensional
superconductors'' cannot be reduced to a purely 2D model, as commonly assumed.
While the transport properties are strongly anisotropic, it remains essential
to take into account the screened interlayer Coulomb interaction to describe
the superconducting state of layered materials.Comment: Final version (minor changes) 14 pages, 6 figure
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