Spin Hall effects for cold atoms in a light induced gauge potential

We propose an experimental scheme to observe spin Hall effects with cold atoms in a light induced gauge potential. Under an appropriate configuration, the cold atoms moving in a spatially varying laser field experience an effective spin-dependent gauge potential. Through numerical simulation, we demonstrate that such a gauge field leads to observable spin Hall currents under realistic conditions. We also discuss the quantum spin Hall state in an optical lattice.Comment: 4 pages; The published versio

Inheritance of traits in F1 hybrids of diploid einkorn wheat of the spring crop

Diploid einkorn wheat (2n = 14) is an ancient crop that people cultivate for 10 thousand years. The grain of this wheat is a valuable product for a healthy diet, which determines the increasing interest in einkorn wheat by scientists and agricultural producers. Meanwhile, the wide use of this crop is hindered by several shortcomings that complicate the usage of modern technologies: low yield, ear fragility, a tendency to lodging, and difficult grain threshing. Nevertheless, there are some preconditions for improving the agronomic properties of this crop. We carried out crosses in seven combinations with the use of three wheat species (T. boeoticum, T. monococcum, T. sinskajae) to improve the diploid einkorn wheat in terms of productivity and threshing. In total, the hybrid seed set in the crosses varies from 6.3 % to 79.7 %. In the combination of cultivated wheat T. sinskajae with wild T. boeoticum, differences in the results of reciprocal crosses are observed specifically in the hybrid seed set (in the forward cross it equals 6.3 %; in the reverse one, 48.9 %). Hybrids from reciprocal crosses of T. monococcum var. sofianum UA0300649 and T. sinskajae f. aristata were equivalent in seed set (72 and 82 %) and inheritance patterns and had similar quantitative traits. In other combinations, the seed set varied from 12.5 to 45.6 %. Hybrid depression was the most frequent (22 cases out of 49) inheritance type of the F1 quantitative traits in einkorns; dominance of the parent form with a large trait manifestation was registered in 11 cases, and heterosis in four cases. In hybrids, the inheritance of spike length is correlated with the inheritance type of the ear number (r = 0.92) and the grain number (r = 0.78) per spike. The dominance degrees after these two traits are also highly correlated (r = 0.89). The combination UA0300400 T. boeoticum var. thaoudar ARM / UA0300224 T. sinskajae var. sinskajae RUS, which manifested heterosis for kernel number per spike (Hp = 1.2), the weight of spike (Hp = 11.8) and weight of kernels per spike (Hp = 5.4) is of particular interest. The combination UA0300222 T. monococcum var. hohensteinii / UA0300224 T. sinskajae var. sinskajae is promising for creating easily threshed material

Postfire reliability analysis of axial load bearing capacity of CFRP retrofitted concrete columns

A reliability analysis of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of postfire reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets was presented. A 3D finite element (FE) model was built for heat transfer analysis using software ABAQUS. Based on the temperature distribution obtained from the FE analysis, the residual axial compressive load bearing capacity of RC columns was worked out using the section method. Formulas for calculating the residual axial compressive load bearing capacity of the columns after fire exposure and the axial compressive load bearing capacity of postfire columns retrofitted with CFRP sheets were developed. Then the Monte Carlo method was used to analyze the reliability of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of the RC columns retrofitted with CFRP sheets using a code developed in MATLAB. The effects of fire exposure time, load ratio, number of CFRP layers, concrete cover thickness, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the reliability of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of the columns after fire were investigated. The results show that within 60 minutes of fire exposure time, the reliability index of the RC columns after retrofitting with two layers of CFRPs can meet the requirements of Chinese code GB 50068 (GB 2001) for safety level II. This method is effective and accurate for the reliability analysis of the axial load bearing capacity of postfire reinforced concrete columns retrofitted with CFRP

Conformational studies of the tetramerization site of human erythroid spectrin by cysteine-scanning spin-labeling EPR methods

We used cysteine-scanning and spin-labeling methods to prepare singly spin labeled recombinant peptides for electron paramagnetic resonance studies of the partial domain regions at the tetramerization site (N-terminal end of α and C-terminal end of β) of erythroid spectrin. The values of the inverse line width parameter (ΔH0-1) from a family of SpoI-1-368Δ peptides scanning residues 21-30 exhibited a periodicity of ∼3.5-4. We used molecular dynamics calculations to show that the asymmetric mobility of this helix is not necessarily due to tertiary contacts, but is likely due to intrinsic properties of helix C′, a helix with a heptad pattern sequence. The residues with low ΔH0-1 values (residues at positions 21, 25, and 28/29) were those on the hydrophobic side of this amphipathic helix. Native gel electrophoresis results showed that these residues were functionally important and are involved in the tetramerization process. Thus, EPR results readily identified functionally important residues in the α spectrin partial domain region. Mutations at these positions may lead to clinical symptoms. Similarly, the ΔH0-1 values from a family of spin-labeled SpβI-1898-2083Δ peptides also exhibited a periodicity of ∼3.5-4, indicating a helical conformation in the two scanned regions (residues 2008-2018 and residues 2060-2070). However, the region consisting of residues 2071-2076 was in a disordered conformation. Both helical regions include a hydrophilic side with high ΔH0-1 values and a hydrophobic side with low ΔH0-1 values, demonstrating the amphipathic nature of the helical regions. Residues 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2018 in the first scanned region and residues 2061, 2065, and 2068 in the second scanned region were on the hydrophobic side. These residues were critical in αβ spectrin association at the tetramerization site. Mutations at some of these positions have been reported to be detrimental in clinical studies. © 2005 American Chemical Society

Clinical efficacy and safety of buyang huanwu decoction for acute ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials

Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD) is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal prescription for treating stroke-induced disability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BHD for acute ischemic stroke. A systematic literature search was performed in 6 databases until February 2012. Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) that evaluate efficacy and safety of BHD for acute ischemic stroke were included. Nineteen RCTs with 1580 individuals were identified. The studies were generally of low methodological quality. Only one of the trial included death or dependency as a primary outcome measure. Only 4 trials reported adverse events. Meta-analysis showed the clinical effective rate of neurological deficit improvement favoring BHD when compared with western conventional medicines (WCM), P < 0.001. There is significant difference in the neurologic deficit score between the BHD treatment group and the WCM control group, P < 0.001. In Conclusion, BHD appears to improve neurological deficit and seems generally safe in patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, the current evidence is insufficient to support a routine use of BHD for acute ischemic stroke due to the poor methodological quality and lack of adequate safety data of the included studies. Further rigorously designed trials are required.published_or_final_versio

Empirical modeling of the stellar spectrum of galaxies

An empirical method of modeling the stellar spectrum of galaxies is proposed, based on two successive applications of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA is first applied to the newly available stellar library STELIB, supplemented by the J, H and K$_{s}$ magnitudes taken mainly from the 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Next the resultant eigen-spectra are used to fit the observed spectra of a sample of 1016 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release One (SDSS DR1). PCA is again applied, to the fitted spectra to construct the eigen-spectra of galaxies with zero velocity dispersion. The first 9 galactic eigen-spectra so obtained are then used to model the stellar spectrum of the galaxies in SDSS DR1, and synchronously to estimate the stellar velocity dispersion, the spectral type, the near-infrared SED, and the average reddening. Extensive tests show that the spectra of different type galaxies can be modeled quite accurately using these eigen-spectra. The method can yield stellar velocity dispersion with accuracies better than 10%, for the spectra of typical S/N ratios in SDSS DR1.Comment: 34 pages with 18 figures, submitted to A

Remote light-controlled intracellular target recognition by photochromic fluorescent glycoprobes

Development of powerful fluorescence imaging probes and techniques sets the basis for the spatiotemporal tracking of cells at different physiological and pathological stages. While current imaging approaches rely on passive probe-analyte interactions, here we develop photochromic fluorescent glycoprobes capable of remote light-controlled intracellular target recognition. Conjugation between a fluorophore and spiropyran produces the photochromic probe, which is subsequently equipped with a glycoligand "antenna" to actively localize a target cell expressing a selective receptor. We demonstrate that the amphiphilic glycoprobes that form micelles in water can selectively enter the target cell to operate photochromic cycling as controlled by alternate UV/Vis irradiations. We further show that remote light conversion of the photochromic probe from one isomeric state to the other activates its reactivity toward a target intracellular analyte, producing locked fluorescence that is no longer photoisomerizable. We envision that this research may spur the use of photochromism for the development of bioimaging probes

Bulk electronic state of superconducting topological insulator

We study electronic properties of a superconducting topological insulator whose parent material is a topological insulator. We calculate the temperature dependence of the specific heat and spin susceptibility for four promising superconducting pairings proposed by L. Fu and E. Berg (Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 097001). Since the line shapes of temperature dependence of specific heat are almost identical among three of the four pairings, it is difficult to identify them simply from the specific heat. On the other hand, we obtain wide varieties of the temperature dependence of spin susceptibility for each pairing reflecting the spin structure of Cooper pair. We propose that the pairing symmetry of superconducting topological insulator can be determined from measurement of Knight shift by changing the direction of applied magnetic field.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp