Chelate-modified polymers for atmospheric gas chromatography

Chromatographic materials were developed to serve as the stationary phase of columns used in the separation of atmospheric gases. These materials consist of a crosslinked porous polymer matrix, e.g., a divinylbenzene polymer, into which has been embedded an inorganic complexed ion such as N,N'-ethylene-bis-(acetylacetoniminato)-cobalt (2). Organic nitrogenous bases, such as pyridine, may be incorporated into the chelate polymer complexes to increase their chromatographic utility. With such materials, the process of gas chromatography is greatly simplified, especially in terms of time and quantity of material needed for a gas separation

Evolution of magnetic states in frustrated diamond lattice antiferromagnetic Co(Al1-xCox)2O4 spinels

Using neutron powder diffraction and Monte-Carlo simulations we show that a spin-liquid regime emerges at $all compositions in the diamond-lattice antiferromagnets Co(Al1-xCox)2O4. This spin-liquid regime induced by frustration due to the second-neighbour exchange coupling J2, is gradually superseded by antiferromagnetic collinear long-range order (k=0) at low temperatures. Upon substitution of Al3+ by Co3+ in the octahedral B-site the temperature range occupied by the spin-liquid regime narrows and TN increases. To explain the experimental observations we considered magnetic anisotropy D or third-neighbour exchange coupling J3 as degeneracy-breaking perturbations. We conclude that Co(Al1-xCox)2O4 is below the theoretical critical point J2/J1=1/8, and that magnetic anisotropy assists in selecting a collinear long-range ordered ground state, which becomes more stable with increasing x due to a higher efficiency of O-Co3+-O as an interaction path compared to O-Al3+-O

Ultraviolet downconverting phosphor for use with silicon CCD imagers

The properties and application of a UV downconverting phosphor (coronene) to silicon charge coupled devices are discussed. Measurements of the absorption spectrum have been extended to below 1000 A, and preliminary results indicate the existence of useful response to at least 584 A. The average conversion efficiency of coronene was measured to be ~20% at 2537 A. Imagery at 3650 A using a backside illuminated 800 X 800 CCD coated with coronene is presented

Finiteness and Dual Variables for Lorentzian Spin Foam Models

We describe here some new results concerning the Lorentzian Barrett-Crane model, a well-known spin foam formulation of quantum gravity. Generalizing an existing finiteness result, we provide a concise proof of finiteness of the partition function associated to all non-degenerate triangulations of 4-manifolds and for a class of degenerate triangulations not previously shown. This is accomplished by a suitable re-factoring and re-ordering of integration, through which a large set of variables can be eliminated. The resulting formulation can be interpreted as a ``dual variables'' model that uses hyperboloid variables associated to spin foam edges in place of representation variables associated to faces. We outline how this method may also be useful for numerical computations, which have so far proven to be very challenging for Lorentzian spin foam models.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur

Observational Artifacts of NuSTAR: Ghost Rays and Stray Light

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), launched in June 2012, flies two conical approximation Wolter-I mirrors at the end of a 10.15m mast. The optics are coated with multilayers of Pt/C and W/Si that operate from 3--80 keV. Since the optical path is not shrouded, aperture stops are used to limit the field of view from background and sources outside the field of view. However, there is still a sliver of sky (~1.0--4.0 degrees) where photons may bypass the optics altogether and fall directly on the detector array. We term these photons Stray-light. Additionally, there are also photons that do not undergo the focused double reflections in the optics and we term these Ghost Rays. We present detailed analysis and characterization of these two components and discuss how they impact observations. Finally, we discuss how they could have been prevented and should be in future observatories.Comment: Published in Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems. Open Access. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.3.4.04400

Lasing on a narrow transition in a cold thermal strontium ensemble

Highly stable laser sources based on narrow atomic transitions provide a promising platform for direct generation of stable and accurate optical frequencies. Here we investigate a simple system operating in the high-temperature regime of cold atoms. The interaction between a thermal ensemble of $^{88}$Sr at mK temperatures and a medium-finesse cavity produces strong collective coupling and facilitates high atomic coherence which causes lasing on the dipole forbidden $^1$S$_0 \leftrightarrow ^3$P$_1$ transition. We experimentally and theoretically characterize the lasing threshold and evolution of such a system, and investigate decoherence effects in an unconfined ensemble. We model the system using a Tavis-Cummings model, and characterize velocity-dependent dynamics of the atoms as well as the dependency on the cavity-detuning.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Drosophila Ctf4 is essential for efficient DNA replication and normal cell cycle progression

Background Proper coordination of the functions at the DNA replication fork is vital to the normal functioning of a cell. Specifically the precise coordination of helicase and polymerase activity is crucial for efficient passage though S phase. The Ctf4 protein has been shown to be a central member of the replication fork and links the replicative MCM helicase and DNA polymerase α primase. In addition, it has been implicated as a member of a complex that promotes replication fork stability, the Fork Protection Complex (FPC), and as being important for sister chromatid cohesion. As such, understanding the role of Ctf4 within the context of a multicellular organism will be integral to our understanding of its potential role in developmental and disease processes. Results We find that Drosophila Ctf4 is a conserved protein that interacts with members of the GINS complex, Mcm2, and Polymerase α primase. Using in vivo RNAi knockdown of CTF4 in Drosophila we show that Ctf4 is required for viability, S phase progression, sister chromatid cohesion, endoreplication, and coping with replication stress. Conclusions Ctf4 remains a central player in DNA replication. Our findings are consistent with what has been previously reported for CTF4 function in yeast, Xenopus extracts, and human tissue culture. We show that Ctf4 function is conserved and that Drosophila can be effectively used as a model to further probe the precise function of Ctf4 as a member of the replication fork and possible roles in development

Strain-Rate Frequency Superposition in Large-Amplitude Oscillatory Shear

In a recent work, Wyss, {\it et.al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 98}, 238303 (2007)] have noted a property of `soft solids' under oscillatory shear, the so-called strain-rate frequency superposition (SRFS). We extend this study to the case of soft solids under large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). We show results from LAOS studies in a monodisperse hydrogel suspension, an aqueous gel, and a biopolymer suspension, and show that constant strain-rate frequency sweep measurements with soft solids can be superimposed onto master curves for higher harmonic moduli, with the {\it same} shift factors as for the linear viscoelastic moduli. We show that the behavior of higher harmonic moduli at low frequencies in constant strain-rate frequency sweep measurements is similar to that at large strain amplitudes in strain-amplitude sweep tests. We show surface plots of the harmonic moduli and the energy dissipation rate per unit volume in LAOS for soft solids, and show experimentally that the energy dissipated per unit volume depends on the first harmonic loss modulus alone, in both the linear and the nonlinear viscoelastic regime.Comment: 10 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review E. Incorporates referee comment