1,591 research outputs found
Enhancement of ferromagnetism by nickel doping in the 112 cobaltite EuBaCo2O5.50
The study of the ordered oxygen deficient perovskite EuBaCo2-xNixO5.50 shows
that the doping of cobalt sites by nickel induces a strong ferromagnetic
component at low temperature in the antiferromagnetic matrix of EuBaCo2O5.50.
This system exhibits indeed phase separation, i.e. consists of ferromagnetic
domains embedded in the antiferromagnetic matrix of EuBaCo2O5.50. Besides, a
magnetic transition is observed for the first time at 40K in the undoped and
nickel doped phases, which can be attributed to the ferromagnetic ordering of
the Eu3+ moments below this temperature. Moreover sharp ultra magnetization
multisteps are observed below 5K, characteristic of motion of domain walls in a
strong pinning system and very different from any metamagnetic transition
Correlation effects during liquid infiltration into hydrophobic nanoporous mediums
Correlation effects arising during liquid infiltration into hydrophobic
porous medium are considered. On the basis of these effects a mechanism of
energy absorption at filling porous medium by nonwetting liquid is suggested.
In accordance with this mechanism, the absorption of mechanical energy is a
result expenditure of energy for the formation of menisci in the pores on the
shell of the infinite cluster and expenditure of energy for the formation of
liquid-porous medium interface in the pores belonging to the infinite cluster
of filled pores. It was found that in dependences on the porosity and,
consequently, in dependences on the number of filled pores neighbors, the
thermal effect of filling can be either positive or negative and the cycle of
infiltration-defiltration can be closed with full outflow of liquid. It can
occur under certain relation between percolation properties of porous medium
and the energy characteristics of the liquid-porous medium interface and the
liquid-gas interface. It is shown that a consecutive account of these
correlation effects and percolation properties of the pores space during
infiltration allow to describe all experimental data under discussion
Cavity QED with Diamond Nanocrystals and Silica Microspheres
Normal mode splitting is observed in a cavity QED system, in which nitrogen
vacancy centers in diamond nanocrystals are coupled to whispering gallery modes
in a silica microsphere. The composite nanocrystal-microsphere system takes
advantage of the exceptional spin properties of nitrogen vacancy centers as
well as the ultra high quality factor of silica microspheres. The observation
of the normal mode splitting indicates that the dipole optical interaction
between the relevant nitrogen vacancy center and whispering gallery mode has
reached the strong coupling regime of cavity QED
Modeling the Dust Properties of z ~ 6 Quasars with ART^2 -- All-wavelength Radiative Transfer with Adaptive Refinement Tree
The detection of large quantities of dust in z ~ 6 quasars by infrared and
radio surveys presents puzzles for the formation and evolution of dust in these
early systems. Previously (Li et al. 2007), we showed that luminous quasars at
z > 6 can form through hierarchical mergers of gas-rich galaxies. Here, we
calculate the dust properties of simulated quasars and their progenitors using
a three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer code, ART^2 --
All-wavelength Radiative Transfer with Adaptive Refinement Tree. ART^2
incorporates a radiative equilibrium algorithm for dust emission, an adaptive
grid for inhomogeneous density, a multiphase model for the ISM, and a
supernova-origin dust model. We reproduce the SED and dust properties of SDSS
J1148+5251, and find that the infrared emission are closely associated with the
formation and evolution of the quasar host. The system evolves from a cold to a
warm ULIRG owing to heating and feedback from stars and AGN. Furthermore, the
AGN has significant implications for the interpretation of observation of the
hosts. Our results suggest that vigorous star formation in merging progenitors
is necessary to reproduce the observed dust properties of z~6 quasars,
supporting a merger-driven origin for luminous quasars at high redshifts and
the starburst-to-quasar evolutionary hypothesis. (Abridged)Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, accepted by ApJ. Version with full resolution
images is available at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~yxli/ARTDUST/astroph0706.3706.pd
The fitness of African malaria vectors in the presence and limitation of host behaviour
<p>Background
Host responses are important sources of selection upon the host species range of ectoparasites and phytophagous insects. However little is known about the role of host responses in defining the host species range of malaria vectors. This study aimed to estimate the relative importance of host behaviour to the feeding success and fitness of African malaria vectors, and assess its ability to predict their known host species preferences in nature.</p>
<p>Methods
Paired evaluations of the feeding success and fitness of African vectors Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles gambiae s.s in the presence and limitation of host behaviour were conducted in a semi-field system (SFS) at Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania. In one set of trials, mosquitoes were released within the SFS and allowed to forage overnight on a host that was free to exhibit natural behaviour in response to insect biting. In the other, mosquitoes were allowed to feed directly on from the skin surface of immobile hosts. The feeding success and subsequent fitness of vectors under these conditions were investigated on 6 host types (humans, calves, chickens, cows, dogs and goats) to assess whether physical movements of preferred host species (cattle for An. arabiensis, humans for An. gambiae s.s.) were less effective at preventing mosquito bites than those of common alternatives.</p>
<p>Results
Anopheles arabiensis generally had greater feeding success when applied directly to host skin than when foraging on unrestricted hosts (in five of six host species). However, An. gambiae s.s obtained blood meals from free and restrained hosts with similar success from most host types (four out of six). Overall, the blood meal size, oviposition rate, fecundity and post-feeding survival of mosquito vectors were significantly higher after feeding on hosts free to exhibit behaviour, than those who were immobilized during feeding trials.</p>
<p>Conclusions
Allowing hosts to move freely during exposure to mosquitoes was associated with moderate reductions in mosquito feeding success, but no detrimental impact to the subsequent fitness of mosquitoes that were able to feed upon them. This suggests that physical defensive behaviours exhibited by common host species including humans do not impose substantial fitness costs on African malaria vectors.</p>
Horizontal DNA transfer mechanisms of bacteria as weapons of intragenomic conflict
Horizontal DNA transfer (HDT) is a pervasive mechanism of diversification in many microbial species, but its primary evolutionary role remains controversial. Much recent research has emphasised the adaptive benefit of acquiring novel DNA, but here we argue instead that intragenomic conflict provides a coherent framework for understanding the evolutionary origins of HDT. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mathematical model of a clonally descended bacterial population undergoing HDT through transmission of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and genetic transformation. Including the known bias of transformation toward the acquisition of shorter alleles into the model suggested it could be an effective means of counteracting the spread of MGEs. Both constitutive and transient competence for transformation were found to provide an effective defence against parasitic MGEs; transient competence could also be effective at permitting the selective spread of MGEs conferring a benefit on their host bacterium. The coordination of transient competence with cell-cell killing, observed in multiple species, was found to result in synergistic blocking of MGE transmission through releasing genomic DNA for homologous recombination while simultaneously reducing horizontal MGE spread by lowering the local cell density. To evaluate the feasibility of the functions suggested by the modelling analysis, we analysed genomic data from longitudinal sampling of individuals carrying Streptococcus pneumoniae. This revealed the frequent within-host coexistence of clonally descended cells that differed in their MGE infection status, a necessary condition for the proposed mechanism to operate. Additionally, we found multiple examples of MGEs inhibiting transformation through integrative disruption of genes encoding the competence machinery across many species, providing evidence of an ongoing "arms race." Reduced rates of transformation have also been observed in cells infected by MGEs that reduce the concentration of extracellular DNA through secretion of DNases. Simulations predicted that either mechanism of limiting transformation would benefit individual MGEs, but also that this tactic's effectiveness was limited by competition with other MGEs coinfecting the same cell. A further observed behaviour we hypothesised to reduce elimination by transformation was MGE activation when cells become competent. Our model predicted that this response was effective at counteracting transformation independently of competing MGEs. Therefore, this framework is able to explain both common properties of MGEs, and the seemingly paradoxical bacterial behaviours of transformation and cell-cell killing within clonally related populations, as the consequences of intragenomic conflict between self-replicating chromosomes and parasitic MGEs. The antagonistic nature of the different mechanisms of HDT over short timescales means their contribution to bacterial evolution is likely to be substantially greater than previously appreciated
Observation of an Excited Bc+ State
Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date
Observation of the decay
The decay is observed in collision
data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb recorded by the
LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV. This is the first
observation of this decay channel, with a statistical significance of 15
standard deviations. The mass of the meson is measured to be
MeV/c. The branching fraction ratio
is measured to be 0.0115\,\pm\, 0.0012\, ^{+0.0005}_{-0.0009}.
In both cases, the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is
systematic. No evidence for non-resonant or decays is found.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-033.htm
Study of decays to the final state and evidence for the decay
A study of decays is performed for the first time
using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0
collected by the LHCb experiment in collisions at centre-of-mass energies
of and TeV. Evidence for the decay
is reported with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, resulting in the
measurement of
to
be .
Here denotes a branching fraction while and
are the production cross-sections for and mesons.
An indication of weak annihilation is found for the region
, with a significance of
2.4 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-022.html,
link to supplemental material inserted in the reference
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