189 research outputs found
Fluctuations of g-factors in metal nanoparticles: Effects of electron-electron interaction and spin-orbit scattering
We investigate the combined effect of spin-orbit scattering and
electron-electron interactions on the probability distribution of -factors
of metal nanoparticles. Using random matrix theory, we find that even a
relatively small interaction strength %(ratio of exchange constant and mean
level %spacing \spacing ) significantly increases -factor
fluctuations for not-too-strong spin-orbit scattering (ratio of spin-orbit rate
and single-electron level spacing 1/\tau_{\rm so} \spacing \lesssim 1), and
leads to the possibility to observe -factors larger than two.Comment: RevTex, 2 figures inserte
Valence and magnetic ordering in intermediate valence compounds : TmSe versus SmB6
The intermediate valent systems TmSe and SmB6 have been investigated up to 16
and 18 GPa by ac microcalorimetry with a pressure (p) tuning realized in situ
at low temperature. For TmSe, the transition from an antiferromagnetic
insulator for p<3 GPa to an antiferromagnetic metal at higher pressure has been
confirmed. A drastic change in the p variation of the Neel temperature (Tn) is
observed at 3 GPa. In the metallic phase (p>3 GPa), Tn is found to increase
linearly with p. A similar linear p increase of Tn is observed for the
quasitrivalent compound TmS which is at ambiant pressure equivalent to TmSe at
p=7 GPa. In the case of SmB6 long range magnetism has been detected above p=8
GPa, i.e. at a pressure slightly higher than the pressure of the insulator to
metal transition. However a homogeneous magnetic phase occurs only above 10
GPa. The magnetic and electronic properties are related to the renormalization
of the 4f wavefunction either to the divalent or the trivalent configurations.
As observed in SmS, long range magnetism in SmB6 occurs already far below the
pressure where a trivalent Sm3+ state will be reached. It seems possible, to
describe roughly the physical properties of the intermediate valence
equilibrium by assuming formulas for the Kondo lattice temperature depending on
the valence configuration. Comparison is also made with the appearance of long
range magnetism in cerium and ytterbium heavy fermion compounds.Comment: 22 pages including figure
Antiplasmodial hirsutinolides from Vernonia staehelinoides and their utilization towards a simplified pharmacophore
Please open article to read abstractThis work was financially supported by the Department of Science and Technology which awarded an innovation fund to five South African institutions (The Medical Research Council, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria) to scientifically validate South African medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria
Interlayer Magnetic Frustration in Quasi-stoichiometric Li1-xNi1+xO2
Susceptibility, high-field magnetization and submillimeter wave electron spin
resonance measurements of layered quasi-stoichiometric Li1-xNi1+xO2 are
reported and compared to isomorphic NaNiO2. A new mechanism of magnetic
frustration induced by the excess Ni ions always present in the Li layers is
proposed. We finally comment on the possible realization of an orbital liquid
state in this controversial compound.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.B, Rapid Com
High magnetic field transport measurement of charge-ordered PrCaMnO strained thin films
We have investigated the magnetic-field-induced phase transition of
charge-ordered (CO) PrCaMnO thin films, deposited onto
(100)-oriented LaAlO and (100)-oriented SrTiO substrates using the
pulsed laser deposition technique, by measuring the transport properties with
magnetic fields up to 22T. The transition to a metallic state is observed on
both substrates by application of a critical magnetic field ( at 60K).
The value of the field required to destroy the charge-ordered insulating state,
lower than the bulk compound, depends on both the substrate and the thickness
of the film. The difference of the critical magnetic field between the films
and the bulk material is explained by the difference of in-plane parameters at
low temperature (below the CO transition). Finally, these results confirm that
the robustness of the CO state, depends mainly on the stress induced by the
difference in the thermal dilatations between the film and the substrate.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.
No evidence for differential survival or predation between sympatric color morphs of an aposematic poison frog
Heterologous Replacement of the Supposed Host Determining Region of Avihepadnaviruses: High In Vivo Infectivity Despite Low Infectivity for Hepatocytes
Hepadnaviruses, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), a highly relevant human pathogen, are small enveloped DNA viruses that replicate via reverse transcription. All hepadnaviruses display a narrow tissue and host tropism. For HBV, this restricts efficient experimental in vivo infection to chimpanzees. While the cellular factors mediating infection are largely unknown, the large viral envelope protein (L) plays a pivotal role for infectivity. Furthermore, certain segments of the PreS domain of L from duck HBV (DHBV) enhanced infectivity for cultured duck hepatocytes of pseudotyped heron HBV (HHBV), a virus unable to infect ducks in vivo. This implied a crucial role for the PreS sequence from amino acid 22 to 90 in the duck tropism of DHBV. Reasoning that reciprocal replacements would reduce infectivity for ducks, we generated spreading-competent chimeric DHBVs with L proteins in which segments 22–90 (Du-He4) or its subsegments 22–37 and 37–90 (Du-He2, Du-He3) are derived from HHBV. Infectivity for duck hepatocytes of Du-He4 and Du-He3, though not Du-He2, was indeed clearly reduced compared to wild-type DHBV. Surprisingly, however, in ducks even Du-He4 caused high-titered, persistent, horizontally and vertically transmissable infections, with kinetics of viral spread similar to those of DHBV when inoculated at doses of 108 viral genome equivalents (vge) per animal. Low-dose infections down to 300 vge per duck did not reveal a significant reduction in specific infectivity of the chimera. Hence, sequence alterations in PreS that limited infectivity in vitro did not do so in vivo. These data reveal a much more complex correlation between PreS sequence and host specificity than might have been anticipated; more generally, they question the value of cultured hepatocytes for reliably predicting in vivo infectivity of avian and, by inference, mammalian hepadnaviruses, with potential implications for the risk assessment of vaccine and drug resistant HBV variants
Local Extinction in the Bird Assemblage in the Greater Beijing Area from 1877 to 2006
Recent growth in industrialization and the modernization of agricultural activities, combined with human population growth, has greatly modified China’s natural environment, particularly in the vicinity of large cities. We compared avifauna checklists made between 1877 and 1938 with current checklists to determine the extent of local bird extinctions during the last century in the greater Beijing area. Our study shows that of the 411 bird species recorded from 1877–1938, 45 (10.9%) were no longer recorded from 2004–2006. Birds recorded as ‘rare’ in 1938 were more likely to have disappeared in subsequent years. Migrant status also influenced the probability of local bird extinction with winter migrants being the most affected class. Moreover, larger birds were more likely to have disappeared than smaller ones, potentially explained by differential ecological requirements and anthropogenic exploitation. Although our habitat descriptions and diet classification were not predictors of local bird extinction, the ecological processes driving local bird extinction are discussed in the light of historical changes that have impacted this region since the end of the 1930 s. Our results are of importance to the broader conservation of bird wildlife
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