320 research outputs found
A study of the electronic properties of liquid alkali metals. A self--consistent approach
We study the electronic properties (density of states, conductivity and
thermopower) of some nearly--free--electron systems: the liquid alkali metals
and two liquid alloys, Li-Na and Na-K. The study has been performed within the
self-consistent second order Renormalized Propagator Perturbation Expansion
(RPE) for the self-energy. The input ionic pseudopotentials and static
correlation functions are derived from the neutral pseudoatom method and the
modified hypernetted chain theory of liquids, respectively. Reasonable
agreement with experiment is found for Na, K, Rb and Na-K, whereas for Li and
Cs and Li-Na the agreement is less satisfactoryComment: 14 pages, Latex, 1 figure, 1 tabl
Identification of the dimer interface of the lactose transport protein from Streptococcus thermophilus
The lactose transporter from Streptococcus thermophilus catalyses the symport of galactosides and protons. The carrier domain of the protein harbours the contact sites for dimerization, and the individual subunits in the dimer interact functionally during the transport reaction. As a first step towards the elucidation of the mechanism behind the cooperation between the subunits, regions involved in the dimer interface were determined by oxidative and chemical cross-linking of 12 cysteine substitution mutants. Four positions in the protein were found to be susceptible to intermolecular cross-linking. To ensure that the observed cross-links were not the result of randomly colliding particles, the cross-linking was studied in samples in which either the concentration of LacS in the membrane was varied or the oligomeric state was manipulated. These experiments showed that the cross-links were formed specifically within the dimer. The four regions of the protein located at the dimer interface are close to the extracellular ends of transmembrane segments V and VIII and the intracellular ends of transmembrane segments VI and VII
Functional interactions between the subunits of the lactose transporter from Streptococcus thermophilus
Although the quaternary state has been assessed in detail for only a few members of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), it is clear that multiple oligomeric states are represented within the MFS. One of its members, the lactose transporter LacS from Streptococcus thermophilus assumes a dimeric structure in the membrane and in vitro analysis showed functional interactions between both subunits when proton motive force (Delta p)-driven transport was assayed. To study the interactions in further detail, a covalent dimer was constructed consisting of in tandem fused LacS subunits. These covalent dimers, composed of active and completely inactive subunits, were expressed in Escherichia coli, and initial rates of Delta p-driven lactose uptake and lactose counterflow were determined. We now show that also in vivo, both subunits interact functionally; that is, partial complementation of the inactive subunit was observed for both transport modes. Thus, both subunits interact functionally in Delta p-driven uptake and in counterflow transport. In addition, analysis of in tandem fused LacS subunits containing one regulatory LacS-IIA domain showed that regulation is primarily an intramolecular event. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Intrinsic peculiarities of real material realizations of a spin-1/2 kagome lattice
Spin-1/2 magnets with kagome geometry, being for years a generic object of
theoretical investigations, have few real material realizations. Recently, a
DFT-based microscopic model for two such materials, kapellasite Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2
and haydeeite Cu3Mg(OH)6Cl2, was presented [O. Janson, J. Richter and H.
Rosner, arXiv:0806.1592]. Here, we focus on the intrinsic properties of real
spin-1/2 kagome materials having influence on the magnetic ground state and the
low-temperature excitations. We find that the values of exchange integrals are
strongly dependent on O--H distance inside the hydroxyl groups, present in most
spin-1/2 kagome compounds up to date. Besides the original kagome model,
considering only the nearest neighbour exchange, we emphasize the crucial role
of the exchange along the diagonals of the kagome lattice.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. A paper for the proceedings of the HFM 2008
conferenc
Interchain interactions and magnetic properties of Li2CuO2
An effective Hamiltonian is constructed for an insulating cuprate with
edge-sharing chains Li2CuO2.The Hamiltonian contains the nearest and
next-nearest neighboring intrachain and zigzag-type interchain interactions.The
values of the interactions are obtained from the analysis of the magnetic
susceptibility, and this system is found to be described as coupled frustrated
chains.We calculate the dynamical spin correlation function S(q,\omega) by
using the exact diagonalization method, and show that the spectra of
S(q,\omega) are characterized by the zigzag-type interchain interactions. The
results of the recent inelastic neutron scattering experiment are discussed in
the light of the calculated spectra.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTe
Fracture Propagation Driven by Fluid Outflow from a Low-permeability Aquifer
Deep saline aquifers are promising geological reservoirs for CO2
sequestration if they do not leak. The absence of leakage is provided by the
caprock integrity. However, CO2 injection operations may change the
geomechanical stresses and cause fracturing of the caprock. We present a model
for the propagation of a fracture in the caprock driven by the outflow of fluid
from a low-permeability aquifer. We show that to describe the fracture
propagation, it is necessary to solve the pressure diffusion problem in the
aquifer. We solve the problem numerically for the two-dimensional domain and
show that, after a relatively short time, the solution is close to that of
one-dimensional problem, which can be solved analytically. We use the relations
derived in the hydraulic fracture literature to relate the the width of the
fracture to its length and the flux into it, which allows us to obtain an
analytical expression for the fracture length as a function of time. Using
these results we predict the propagation of a hypothetical fracture at the In
Salah CO2 injection site to be as fast as a typical hydraulic fracture. We also
show that the hydrostatic and geostatic effects cause the increase of the
driving force for the fracture propagation and, therefore, our solution serves
as an estimate from below. Numerical estimates show that if a fracture appears,
it is likely that it will become a pathway for CO2 leakage.Comment: 21 page
Elementary excitations, exchange interaction and spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO
The microscopic description of the spin-Peierls transition in pure and doped
CuGeO_3 is developed taking into account realistic details of crystal
structure. It it shown that the presence of side-groups (here Ge) strongly
influences superexchange along Cu-O-Cu path, making it antiferromagnetic.
Nearest-neighbour and next-nearest neighbour exchange constants and
are calculated. Si doping effectively segments the CuO_2-chains
leading to or even slightly ferromagnetic. Strong
sensitivity of the exchange constants to Cu-O-Cu and (Cu-O-Cu)-Ge angles may be
responsible for the spin-Peierls transition itself (``bond-bending mechanism''
of the transition). The nature of excitations in the isolated and coupled
spin-Peierls chains is studied and it is shown that topological excitations
(solitons) play crucial role. Such solitons appear in particular in doped
systems (Cu_{1-x}Zn_xGeO_3, CuGe_{1-x}Si_xO_3) which can explain the
phase diagram.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, 7 Postscript figure
Field-induced structural evolution in the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO: high-field ESR study
The dimerized-incommensurate phase transition in the spin-Peierls compound
CuGeO is probed using multifrequency high-resolution electron spin
resonance (ESR) technique, in magnetic fields up to 17 T. A field-induced
development of the soliton-like incommensurate superstructure is clearly
indicated as a pronounced increase of the ESR linewidth (magnon
excitations), with a at 13.8 T. The anomaly is
explained in terms of the magnon-soliton scattering, and suggests that the
soliton-like phase exists close to the boundary of the dimerized-incommensurate
phase transition. In addition, magnetic excitation spectra in 0.8% Si-doped
CuGeO are studied. Suppression of the anomaly observed in the
doped samples suggests a collapse of the long-range-ordered soliton states upon
doping, that is consistent with high-field neutron scattering experiments.Comment: Accepted to Phys. Rev.
Characterizing the differential distribution and targets of Sumo paralogs in the mouse brain
SUMOylation is an evolutionarily conserved and essential mechanism whereby Small Ubiquitin Like Modifiers, or SUMO proteins (Sumo in mice), are covalently bound to protein substrates in a highly dynamic and reversible manner. SUMOylation is involved in a variety of basic neurological processes including learning and memory, and central nervous system development, but is also linked with neurological disorders. However, studying SUMOylation in vivo remains challenging due to limited tools to study Sumo proteins and their targets in their native context. More complexity arises from the fact that Sumo1 and Sumo2 are ∼50% homologous, whereas Sumo2 and Sumo3 are nearly identical and indistinguishable with antibodies. While Sumo paralogues can compensate for one another’s loss, Sumo2 is highest expressed and only paralog essential for embryonic development making it critical to uncover roles specific to Sumo2 in vivo. To further examine the roles of Sumo2, and to begin to tease apart the redundancy and similarity between key Sumo paralogs, we generated (His6-)HA epitope-tagged Sumo2 knock-in mouse alleles, expanding the current Sumo knock-in mouse tool-kit comprising of the previously generated His6-HA-Sumo1 knock-in model. Using these HA-Sumo mouse lines, we performed whole brain imaging and mapping to the Allen Brain Atlas to analyze the relative distribution of the Sumo1 and Sumo2 paralogues in the adult mouse brain. We observed differential staining patterns between Sumo1 and Sumo2, including a partial localization of Sumo2 in nerve cell synapses of the hippocampus. Combining immunoprecipitation with mass spectrometry, we identified native substrates targeted by Sumo1 or Sumo2 in the mouse brain. We validated select hits using proximity ligation assays, further providing insight into the subcellular distribution of neuronal Sumo2-conjugates. These mouse models thus serve as valuable tools to study the cellular and biochemical roles of SUMOylation in the central nervous system
Weak antiferromagnetism due to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in BaCuOCl
The antiferromagnetic insulating cuprate BaCuOCl contains
folded CuO chains with four magnetic copper ions () per unit cell.
An underlying multiorbital Hubbard model is formulated and the superexchange
theory is developed to derive an effective spin Hamiltonian for this cuprate.
The resulting spin Hamiltonian involves a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya term and a more
weak symmetric anisotropic exchange term besides the isotropic exchange
interaction. The corresponding Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vectors of each magnetic
Cu-Cu bond in the chain reveal a well defined spatial order. Both, the
superexchange theory and the complementary group theoretical consideration,
lead to the same conclusion on the character of this order. The analysis of the
ground-state magnetic properties of the derived model leads to the prediction
of an additional noncollinear modulation of the antiferromagnetic structure.
This weak antiferromagnetism is restricted to one of the Cu sublattices.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 4 figure
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