751 research outputs found
Structural Rigidity of Paranemic (PX) and Juxtapose (JX) DNA Nanostructures
Crossover motifs are integral components for designing DNA based
nanostructures and nanomechanical devices due to their enhanced rigidity
compared to the normal B-DNA. Although the structural rigidity of the double
helix B-DNA has been investigated extensively using both experimental and
theoretical tools, to date there is no quantitative information about
structural rigidity and the mechanical strength of parallel crossover DNA
motifs. We have used fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations in explicit
solvent to get the force-extension curve of parallel DNA nanostructures to
characterize their mechanical rigidity. In the presence of mono-valent Na+
ions, we find that the stretch modulus (\gamma_1) of the paranemic crossover
(PX) and its topo-isomer JX DNA structure is significantly higher (~ 30%)
compared to normal B-DNA of the same sequence and length. However, this is in
contrast to the original expectation that these motifs are almost twice rigid
compared to the double-stranded B-DNA. When the DNA motif is surrounded by a
solvent with Mg2+ counterions, we find an enhanced rigidity compared to Na+
environment due to the electrostatic screening effects arising from the
divalent nature of Mg2+ ions. This is the first direct determination of the
mechanical strength of these crossover motifs which can be useful for the
design of suitable DNA for DNA based nanostructures and nanomechanical devices
with improved structural rigidity.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure
Photo-active collagen systems with controlled triple helix architecture
The design of photo-active collagen systems is presented as a basis for establishing biomimetic materials with varied network architecture and programmable macroscopic properties. Following in-house isolation of type I collagen, reaction with vinyl-bearing compounds of varied backbone rigidity, i.e. 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (4VBC) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), was carried out. TNBS colorimetric assay, 1H-NMR and ATR-FTIR confirmed covalent and tunable functionalization of collagen lysines. Depending on the type and extent of functionalization, controlled stability and thermal denaturation of triple helices were observed via circular dichroism (CD), whereby the hydrogen-bonding capability of introduced moieties was shown to play a major role. Full gel formation was observed following photo-activation of functionalized collagen solutions. The presence of a covalent network only slightly affected collagen triple helix conformation (as observed by WAXS and ATR-FTIR), confirming the structural organization of functionalized collagen precursors. Photo-activated hydrogels demonstrated an increased denaturation temperature (DSC) with respect to native collagen, suggesting that the formation of the covalent network successfully stabilized collagen triple helices. Moreover, biocompatibility and mechanical competence of obtained hydrogels were successfully demonstrated under physiologically-relevant conditions. These results demonstrate that this novel synthetic approach enabled the formation of biocompatible collagen systems with defined network architecture and programmable macroscopic properties, which can only partially be obtained with current synthetic methods
Slip-Flow and Heat Transfer of a Non-Newtonian Nanofluid in a Microtube
The slip-flow and heat transfer of a non-Newtonian nanofluid in a microtube is theoretically studied. The power-law rheology is adopted to describe the non-Newtonian characteristics of the flow, in which the fluid consistency coefficient and the flow behavior index depend on the nanoparticle volume fraction. The velocity profile, volumetric flow rate and local Nusselt number are calculated for different values of nanoparticle volume fraction and slip length. The results show that the influence of nanoparticle volume fraction on the flow of the nanofluid depends on the pressure gradient, which is quite different from that of the Newtonian nanofluid. Increase of the nanoparticle volume fraction has the effect to impede the flow at a small pressure gradient, but it changes to facilitate the flow when the pressure gradient is large enough. This remarkable phenomenon is observed when the tube radius shrinks to micrometer scale. On the other hand, we find that increase of the slip length always results in larger flow rate of the nanofluid. Furthermore, the heat transfer rate of the nanofluid in the microtube can be enhanced due to the non-Newtonian rheology and slip boundary effects. The thermally fully developed heat transfer rate under constant wall temperature and constant heat flux boundary conditions is also compared
Ratio of the Isolated Photon Cross Sections at \sqrt{s} = 630 and 1800 GeV
The inclusive cross section for production of isolated photons has been
measured in \pbarp collisions at GeV with the \D0 detector at
the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The photons span a transverse energy ()
range from 7-49 GeV and have pseudorapidity . This measurement is
combined with to previous \D0 result at GeV to form a ratio
of the cross sections. Comparison of next-to-leading order QCD with the
measured cross section at 630 GeV and ratio of cross sections show satisfactory
agreement in most of the range.Comment: 7 pages. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 251805, (2001
Search for R-parity Violating Supersymmetry in Dimuon and Four-Jets Channel
We present results of a search for R-parity-violating decay of the neutralino
chi_1^0, taken to be the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle. It is assumed that
this decay proceeds through one of the lepton-number violating couplings
lambda-prime_2jk (j=1,2; k=1,2,3). This search is based on 77.5 pb-1 of data,
collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron in ppbar collisions at
a center of mass energy of 1.8 TeV in 1992-1995.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Search for New Physics Using Quaero: A General Interface to D0 Event Data
We describe Quaero, a method that i) enables the automatic optimization of
searches for physics beyond the standard model, and ii) provides a mechanism
for making high energy collider data generally available. We apply Quaero to
searches for standard model WW, ZZ, and ttbar production, and to searches for
these objects produced through a new heavy resonance. Through this interface,
we make three data sets collected by the D0 experiment at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV
publicly available.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Measurement of Z/gamma*+jet+X angular distributions in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We present the first measurements at a hadron collider of differential cross
sections for Z+jet+X production in delta phi(Z, jet), |delta y(Z, jet)| and
|y_boost(Z, jet)|. Vector boson production in association with jets is an
excellent probe of QCD and constitutes the main background to many small cross
section processes, such as associated Higgs production. These measurements are
crucial tests of the predictions of perturbative QCD and current event
generators, which have varied success in describing the data. Using these
measurements as inputs in tuning event generators will increase the
experimental sensitivity to rare signals.Comment: Published in Physics Letters B 682 (2010), pp. 370-380. 15 pages, 6
figure
Search for the standard model Higgs boson in tau final states
We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson using hadronically
decaying tau leptons, in 1 inverse femtobarn of data collected with the D0
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider. We select two final states:
tau plus missing transverse energy and b jets, and tau+ tau- plus jets. These
final states are sensitive to a combination of associated W/Z boson plus Higgs
boson, vector boson fusion and gluon-gluon fusion production processes. The
observed ratio of the combined limit on the Higgs production cross section at
the 95% C.L. to the standard model expectation is 29 for a Higgs boson mass of
115 GeV.Comment: publication versio
Measurement of the p-pbar -> Wgamma + X cross section at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV and WWgamma anomalous coupling limits
The WWgamma triple gauge boson coupling parameters are studied using p-pbar
-> l nu gamma + X (l = e,mu) events at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. The data were
collected with the DO detector from an integrated luminosity of 162 pb^{-1}
delivered by the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross section times branching
fraction for p-pbar -> W(gamma) + X -> l nu gamma + X with E_T^{gamma} > 8 GeV
and Delta R_{l gamma} > 0.7 is 14.8 +/- 1.6 (stat) +/- 1.0 (syst) +/- 1.0 (lum)
pb. The one-dimensional 95% confidence level limits on anomalous couplings are
-0.88 < Delta kappa_{gamma} < 0.96 and -0.20 < lambda_{gamma} < 0.20.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communication
Measurement of the B0_s semileptonic branching ratio to an orbitally excited D_s** state, Br(B0_s -> Ds1(2536) mu nu)
In a data sample of approximately 1.3 fb-1 collected with the D0 detector
between 2002 and 2006, the orbitally excited charm state D_s1(2536) has been
observed with a measured mass of 2535.7 +/- 0.6 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst) MeV via
the decay mode B0_s -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X. A first measurement is made of the
branching ratio product Br(b(bar) -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X).Br(D_s1(2536)->D*
K0_S). Assuming that D_s1(2536) production in semileptonic decay is entirely
from B0_s, an extraction of the semileptonic branching ratio Br(B0_s ->
D_s1(2536) mu nu X) is made.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, version with minor changes as accepted by
Phys. Rev. Let
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