2,573 research outputs found
Effects of low energy electron irradiation on formation of nitrogen-vacancy centers in single-crystal diamond
Exposure to beams of low energy electrons (2 to 30 keV) in a scanning
electron microscope locally induces formation of NV-centers without thermal
annealing in diamonds that have been implanted with nitrogen ions. We find that
non-thermal, electron beam induced NV-formation is about four times less
efficient than thermal annealing. But NV-center formation in a consecutive
thermal annealing step (800C) following exposure to low energy electrons
increases by a factor of up to 1.8 compared to thermal annealing alone. These
observations point to reconstruction of nitrogen-vacancy complexes induced by
electronic excitations from low energy electrons as an NV-center formation
mechanism and identify local electronic excitations as a means for spatially
controlled room-temperature NV-center formation
Longitudinal study of local authority child and family social workers (wave 1) Findings from a 5 year study of local authority child and family social workers in England.
The longitudinal study investigates recruitment, retention and career progression in local authority child and family social work over 5 years. This is the first of 5 reports.
It provides workforce information for employers and policy makers.
Topics covered in this report include:
•entry routes into local authority child and family social work
•current employment and career history
•workplace wellbeing
•management, supervision and working environment
•job satisfaction
•career progression and future career plan
Susceptibility to Exposure to Heterocyclic Amines from Cooked Food: Role of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases
A number of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (PhIP, MeIQx, and DiMeIQx) are produced from the condensation of creatinine, hexoses and amino acids during the cooking of meat (1). There are many variables that impact the production and subsequent ingestion of these compounds in our diet. Temperature, type of meat product, cooking method, doneness, and other factors affect the quantity of these carcinogens consumed by humans. Estimates of ingestion of these carcinogens are 1-20 ng/kg body weight per day (2). Human case control studies that correlate meat consumption from well-done cooking practices with cancer incidence indicate excess tumors for breast, colon, stomach, esophagus, and possibly prostate (3-5)
Assembly of multicellular constructs and microarrays of cells using magnetic nanowires
An approach is described for controlling the spatial organization of mammalian cells using ferromagnetic nanowires in conjunction with patterned micromagnet arrays. The nanowires are fabricated by electrodeposition in nanoporous templates, which allows for precise control of their size and magnetic properties. The high aspect ratio and large remanent magnetization of the nanowires enable suspensions of cells bound to Ni nanowires to be controlled with low magnetic fields. This was used to produce one- and two-dimensional field-tuned patterning of suspended 3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Self-assembled one-dimensional chains of cells were obtained through manipulation of the wires\u27 dipolar interactions. Ordered patterns of individual cells in two dimensions were formed through trapping onto magnetic microarrays of ellipsoidal permalloy micromagnets. Cell chains were formed on the arrays by varying the spacing between the micromagnets or the strength of fluid flow over the arrays. The positioning of cells on the array was further controlled by varying the direction of an external magnetic field. These results demonstrate the possibility of using magnetic nanowires to organize cells
The High Resolution X-ray Spectrum of SS 433 using the Chandra HETGS
We present observations of SS 433 using the Chandra High Energy Transmission
Grating Spectrometer. Many emission lines of highly ionized elements are
detected with the relativistic blue and red Doppler shifts. The lines are
measurably broadened to 1700 km/s (FWHM) and the widths do not depend
significantly on the characteristic emission temperature, suggesting that the
emission occurs in a freely expanding region of constant collimation with
opening angle of 1.23 +/- 0.06 deg. The blue shifts of lines from low
temperature gas are the same as those of high temperature gas within our
uncertainties, again indicating that the hottest gas we observe to emit
emission lines is already at terminal velocity. Fits to the emission line
fluxes give a range of temperatures in the jet from 5e6 to 1e8 K. We derive the
emission measure as a function of temperature for a four component model that
fits the line flux data. Using the density sensitive Si XIII triplet, the
characteristic electron density is 1e14 cm^{-3}, where the gas temperature is
about 1.3e7 K. Based on an adiabatic expansion model of the jet, the electron
densities drop from ~2e15 to 4e13 cm^{-3} at distances of 2e10 to 2e11 cm from
the apex of the jet cone. The jet mass outflow rate is 1.5e-7 Msun / yr. The
kinetic power is 3.2e38 erg/s, which is x1000 larger than the unabsorbed 2-10
keV X-ray luminosity. The bremsstrahlung emission associated with the lines can
account for the entire continuum; we see no direct evidence for an accretion
disk. The image from zeroth order shows extended emission at a scale of ~2",
aligned in the general direction of the radio jets.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures (1, 4, 5, and 6 are color), to appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
Abiotic O_2 Levels on Planets around F, G, K, and M Stars: Effects of Lightning-produced Catalysts in Eliminating Oxygen False Positives
Over the last few years, a number of authors have suggested that, under certain circumstances, molecular oxygen (O_2) or ozone (O_3) generated by abiotic processes may accumulate to detectable concentrations in a habitable terrestrial planet's atmosphere, producing so-called "false positives" for life. But the models have occasionally disagreed with each other, with some predicting false positives, and some not, for the same apparent set of circumstances. We show here that photochemical false positives derive either from inconsistencies in the treatment of atmospheric and global redox balance or from the treatment (or lack thereof) of lightning. For habitable terrestrial planets with even trace amounts of atmospheric N_2, NO produced by lightning catalyzes the recombination of CO and O derived from CO_2 photolysis and should be sufficient to eliminate all reported false positives. Molecular oxygen thus remains a useful biosignature gas for Earth-like extrasolar planets, provided that the planet resides within the conventional liquid water habitable zone and has not experienced distinctly non-Earth-like, irrecoverable water loss
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Insights into the O-Acetylation Reaction of Hydroxylated Heterocyclic Amines by Human Arylamine N-Acetyltransferases: A Computational Study
A computational study was performed to better understand the differences between human arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) 1 and 2. Homology models were constructed from available crystal structures and comparisons of the active site residues 125, 127, and 129 for these two enzymes provide insight into observed substrate differences. The NAT2 model provided a basis for understanding how some of the common mutations may affect the structure of the protein. Molecular dynamics simulations of the human NAT models and the template structure (NAT from Mycobacterium smegmatis) were performed and showed the models to be stable and reasonable. Docking studies of hydroxylated heterocyclic amines in the models of NAT1 and NAT2 probed the differences exhibited by these two proteins with mutagenic agents. The hydroxylated heterocyclic amines were only able to fit into the NAT2 active site, and an alternative binding site by the P-loop was found using our models and will be discussed. Additionally, quantum mechanical calculations were performed to study the O-acetylation reaction of the hydroxylated heterocyclic amines N-OH MeIQx and N-OH PhIP. This study has given us insight into why there are substrate differences among isoenzymes and explains some of the polymorphic activity differences
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