833 research outputs found
Effect of Polystyrene Latex Addition on Size and Pore Volume of Porous Calcium Oxide Particles Prepared by Spray-Pyrolysis Method and Its Ability for SO2 Retention
In this study, the effects of polystyrene (PS) latex addition on the particle morphology and the pore content of calcium oxide (CaO) were investigated. The CaO particles were prepared using an ultrasonic nebulizer-assisted spray-pyrolysis method with variation of the PS/Ca(NO3)2·4H2O mass ratio in the precursor. Good crystallinity of CaO was obtained at 825°C of synthesis temperature under 2 l/min of nitrogen gas flow, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterization, the CaO particles synthesized with 0 and 25 wt% PS addition had an almost spherical shape with an average size of 1.58 and 1.48 µm, respectively. In addition, macropores were formed in the CaO particles prepared with 25 wt% PS addition that had an average pore diameter of 583.26 nm. Meanwhile, the CaO particles prepared with 75 wt% PS addition had a random shape and an average size of 1.41 µm. The mesopore content was investigated by Barret-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) analysis, which showed improvement of the pore size from 3.45 nm to 5.42 nm for 0 and 25 wt% PS addition, respectively, which is proportional to the pore volume, pore surface area, and the capacity of SO2 retention
Vortex Glass Phase and Universal Susceptibility Variations in Planar Array of Flux Lines
Some of the properties of the low temperature vortex-glass phase of
randomly-pinned flux lines in 1+1 dimensions are studied. The flux arrays are
found to be sensitive to small changes in external parameters such as the
magnetic field or temperature. These effects are captured by the variations in
the magnetic response and noise, which have universal statistics and should
provide an unambiguous signature of the glass phase.Comment: 11 pages and no figures; revtex 3.
Field Emission of ITO-Coated Vertically Aligned Nanowire Array
An indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated vertically aligned nanowire array is fabricated, and the field emission characteristics of the nanowire array are investigated. An array of vertically aligned nanowires is considered an ideal structure for a field emitter because of its parallel orientation to the applied electric field. In this letter, a vertically aligned nanowire array is fabricated by modified conventional UV lithography and coated with 0.1-μm-thick ITO. The turn-on electric field intensity is about 2.0 V/μm, and the field enhancement factor, β, is approximately 3,078 when the gap for field emission is 0.6 μm, as measured with a nanomanipulator in a scanning electron microscope
Universality Classes in Isotropic, Abelian and non-Abelian, Sandpile Models
Universality in isotropic, abelian and non-abelian, sandpile models is
examined using extensive numerical simulations. To characterize the critical
behavior we employ an extended set of critical exponents, geometric features of
the avalanches, as well as scaling functions describing the time evolution of
average quantities such as the area and size during the avalanche. Comparing
between the abelian Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld model [P. Bak, C. Tang and K.
Wiensenfeld, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 381 (1987)], and the non-abelian models
introduced by Manna [S. S. Manna, J. Phys. A. 24, L363 (1991)] and Zhang [Y. C.
Zhang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 470 (1989)] we find strong indications that each
one of these models belongs to a distinct universality class.Comment: 18 pages of text, RevTeX, additional 8 figures in 12 PS file
Static and Dynamic Properties of Inhomogeneous Elastic Media on Disordered Substrate
The pinning of an inhomogeneous elastic medium by a disordered substrate is
studied analytically and numerically. The static and dynamic properties of a
-dimensional system are shown to be equivalent to those of the well known
problem of a -dimensional random manifold embedded in -dimensions.
The analogy is found to be very robust, applicable to a wide range of elastic
media, including those which are amorphous or nearly-periodic, with local or
nonlocal elasticity. Also demonstrated explicitly is the equivalence between
the dynamic depinning transition obtained at a constant driving force, and the
self-organized, near-critical behavior obtained by a (small) constant velocity
drive.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX. Related (p)reprints also available at
http://matisse.ucsd.edu/~hwa/pub.htm
Fluctuations in Hadronic and Nuclear Collisions
We investigate several fluctuation effects in high-energy hadronic and
nuclear collisions through the analysis of different observables. To introduce
fluctuations in the initial stage of collisions, we use the Interacting Gluon
Model (IGM) modified by the inclusion of the impact parameter. The inelasticity
and leading-particle distributions follow directly from this model. The
fluctuation effects on rapidity distributions are then studied by using
Landau's Hydrodynamic Model in one dimension. To investigate further the
effects of the multiplicity fluctuation, we use the Longitudinal Phase-Space
Model, with the multiplicity distribution calculated within the hydrodynamic
model, and the initial conditions given by the IGM. Forward-backward
correlation is obtained in this way.Comment: 22 pages, RevTex, 8 figures (included); Invited paper to the special
issue of Foundation of Physics dedicated to Mikio Namiki's 70th. birthda
P2Y receptor regulation of sodium transport in human mammary epithelial cells
Primary human mammary epithelial (HME) cells were immortalized by stable, constitutive expression of the catalytic subunit of human telomerase. Purinergic receptors were identified by RT-PCR and quantitative RT-PCR from mRNA isolated from primary and immortalized cells grown to confluence on membrane filters. Several subtypes of P2Y receptor mRNA were identified including P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6 receptors. RT-PCR experiments also revealed expression of A2b adenosine receptor mRNA in primary and immortalized cells. Confluent monolayers of HME cells exhibited a basal short-circuit current (Isc) that was abolished by amiloride and benzamil. When monolayers were cultured in the presence of hydrocortisone, mRNA expression of Na+ channel (ENaC) -, β-, and -subunits increased approximately threefold compared with that in cells grown without hydrocortisone. In addition, basal benzamil-sensitive Na+ transport was nearly twofold greater in hydrocortisone-treated monolayers. Stimulation with UTP, UDP, or adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (ATPS) produced increases in intracellular calcium concentration that were significantly reduced following pretreatment with the calcium-chelating agent BAPTA-AM. Concentration-response relationships indicated that the rank order of potency for these agonists was UTP > UDP > ATPS. Basolateral stimulation with UTP produced a rapid but transient increase in Isc that was significantly reduced if cells were pretreated with BAPTA-AM or benzamil. Moreover, basolateral treatment with either charybdotoxin or clotrimazole significantly inhibited the initial UTP-dependent increase in Isc and eliminated the sustained current response. These results indicate that human mammary epithelial cells express multiple P2 receptor subtypes and that Ca2+ mobilization evoked by P2Y receptor agonists stimulates Na+ absorption by increasing the activity of Ca2+-activated K+ channels located in the basolateral membrane.This work was partly supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant KRF-005-E00076 (to S. Y. Lee) and National Institutes of Health Grants AI-50494 and DK-74010 (to S. M. O'Grady)
Single Molecule Statistics and the Polynucleotide Unzipping Transition
We present an extensive theoretical investigation of the mechanical unzipping
of double-stranded DNA under the influence of an applied force. In the limit of
long polymers, there is a thermodynamic unzipping transition at a critical
force value of order 10 pN, with different critical behavior for homopolymers
and for random heteropolymers. We extend results on the disorder-averaged
behavior of DNA's with random sequences to the more experimentally accessible
problem of unzipping a single DNA molecule. As the applied force approaches the
critical value, the double-stranded DNA unravels in a series of discrete,
sequence-dependent steps that allow it to reach successively deeper energy
minima. Plots of extension versus force thus take the striking form of a series
of plateaus separated by sharp jumps. Similar qualitative features should
reappear in micromanipulation experiments on proteins and on folded RNA
molecules. Despite their unusual form, the extension versus force curves for
single molecules still reveal remnants of the disorder-averaged critical
behavior. Above the transition, the dynamics of the unzipping fork is related
to that of a particle diffusing in a random force field; anomalous,
disorder-dominated behavior is expected until the applied force exceeds the
critical value for unzipping by roughly 5 pN.Comment: 40 pages, 18 figure
Vortices in coupled planes with columnar disorder and bosonic ladders
We consider two coupled strongly correlated bosonic chains. We derive the
phase diagram of the pure system and obtain an antisymmetric charge density
wave, a 4k_F charge density wave, a superfluid phase and a second superfluid
phase which is a condensate of boson pairs. We consider the effect of a weak
disorder on that system and show that the superfluid phase is less localized
than in the one chain case. On the other hand, the pinning length of the
antisymmetric charge density wave is shorter than in the one chain case. We
discuss the consequences of these results for two coupled vortex planes with
columnar disorder. We show that in the vortex system there is a conventional
pinned solid phase for 0<T<T_m, a pinned solid phase with superkinks for
T_mT_L. We obtain the critical currents by a
modified Larkin-Ovchinnikov argument and prove that there is a strong reduction
of critical current for T=T_m.Comment: 38 pages, RevTeX, 9 encapsulated PostScript figures submitted to
Phys. Rev. B some misprints corrected. One Reference added. Version to appear
in Phys. Rev.
Derivation of an endogenous small RNA from double-stranded Sox4 sense and natural antisense transcripts in the mouse brain
Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are involved in cellular development and regulatory processes. Multiple NATs at the Sox4 gene locus are spatiotemporally regulated throughout murine cerebral corticogenesis. In the study, we evaluated the potential functional role of Sox4 NATs at Sox4 gene locus. We demonstrated Sox4 sense and NATs formed dsRNA aggregates in the cytoplasm of brain cells. Over expression of Sox4 NATs in NIH/3T3 cells generally did not alter the level of Sox4 mRNA expression or protein translation. Upregulation of a Sox4 NAT known as Sox4ot1 led to the production of a novel small RNA, Sox4_sir3. Its biogenesis is Dicer1-dependent and has characteristics resemble piRNA. Expression of Sox4_sir3 was observed in the marginal and germinative zones of the developing and postnatal brains suggesting a potential role in regulating neurogenesis. We proposed that Sox4 sense-NATs serve as Dicer1-dependent templates to produce a novel endo-siRNA- or piRNA-like Sox4_sir3
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