Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering from Valence Excitations in Insulating Copper-Oxides

We report resonant inelastic x-ray measurements of insulating La$_2$CuO$_4$ and Sr$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ taken with the incident energy tuned near the Cu K absorption edge. We show that the spectra are well described in a shakeup picture in 3rd order perturbation theory which exhibits both incoming and outgoing resonances, and demonstrate how to extract a spectral function from the raw data. We conclude by showing {\bf q}-dependent measurements of the charge transfer gap.Comment: minor notational changes, discussion of anderson impurity model fixed, references added; accepted by PR

Atmospheric Oxygenation and Biological Deoxygenation in an Idealized Streamflow Model

Engineerin

Quantitative analysis of cryptic splicing associated with TDP-43 depletion

BACKGROUND: Reliable exon recognition is key to the splicing of pre-mRNAs into mature mRNAs. TDP-43 is an RNA-binding protein whose nuclear loss and cytoplasmic aggregation are a hallmark pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD). TDP-43 depletion causes the aberrant inclusion of cryptic exons into a range of transcripts, but their extent, relevance to disease pathogenesis and whether they are caused by other RNA-binding proteins implicated in ALS/FTD are unknown. METHODS: We developed an analysis pipeline to discover and quantify cryptic exon inclusion and applied it to publicly available human and murine RNA-sequencing data. RESULTS: We detected widespread cryptic splicing in TDP-43 depletion datasets but almost none in another ALS/FTD-linked protein FUS. Sequence motif and iCLIP analysis of cryptic exons demonstrated that they are bound by TDP-43. Unlike the cryptic exons seen in hnRNP C depletion, those repressed by TDP-43 cannot be linked to transposable elements. Cryptic exons are poorly conserved and inclusion overwhelmingly leads to nonsense-mediated decay of the host transcript, with reduced transcript levels observed in differential expression analysis. RNA-protein interaction data on 73 different RNA-binding proteins showed that, in addition to TDP-43, 7 specifically bind TDP-43 linked cryptic exons. This suggests that TDP-43 competes with other splicing factors for binding to cryptic exons and can repress cryptic exon inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Our quantitative analysis pipeline confirms the presence of cryptic exons during the depletion of TDP-43 but not FUS providing new insight into to RNA-processing dysfunction as a cause or consequence in ALS/FTD

Ab initio calculations of the hydrogen bond

Recent x-ray Compton scattering experiments in ice have provided useful information about the quantum nature of the interaction between H$_2$O monomers. The hydrogen bond is characterized by a certain amount of charge transfer which could be determined in a Compton experiment. We use ab-initio simulations to investigate the hydrogen bond in H$_2$O structures by calculating the Compton profile and related quantities in three different systems, namely the water dimer, a cluster containing 12 water molecules and the ice crystal. We show how to extract estimates of the charge transfer from the Compton profiles.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

X-ray microdiffraction studies of an integrated laser-modulator system

The authors report the use of a spatially resolved x-ray microdiffraction technique for the structural study of an integrated laser-modulator system. The monochromatic (11 keV) x-ray beam microfocused to less than 1 {micro}m in the vertical direction was obtained using a phase zone plate. The photon flux at the focal spot exceeded 3 {times} 10{sup 10} photons/s/0.01% bw/{micro}m{sup 2}. The intense flux density and high spatial resolution of the focused beam was used to study the structure of a laser-modulator system, which is a 1-{micro}m-wide and 1-mm-long multi-quantum well structure on an InP substrate. The superlattice d-spacing and the strain field in the direction normal to the diffracting planes were mapped as a function of position along the length of the device

Momentum-Resolved Charge Excitations in a Prototype One Dimensional Mott Insulator

We report momentum resolved charge excitations in a one dimensional (1-D) Mott insulator studied using high resolution (~ 325 meV) inelastic x-ray scattering over the entire Brillouin zone for the first time. Excitations at the insulating gap edge are found to be highly dispersive (momentum dependent)compared to excitations observed in two dimensional Mott insulators. The observed dispersion in 1-D is consistent with charge excitations involving holons which is unique to spin-1/2 quantum chain systems. These results point to the potential utility of inelastic x-ray scattering in providing valuable information about electronic structure of strongly correlated insulators.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, Revised with minor change

The Liberal Playground: Susan Isaacs, Psychoanalysis and Progressive Education in the Interwar Era

The Cambridge Malting House, an experimental school, serves here as a case study for investigating the tensions within 1920s liberal elites between their desire to abandon some Victorian and Edwardian sets of values in favour of more democratic ones, and at the same time their insistence on preserving themselves as an integral part of the English upper class. Susan Isaacs, the manager of the Malting House, provided the parents – some of whom were the most famous scientists and intellectuals of their age – with an opportunity to fulfil their ‘fantasy’ of bringing up children in total freedom. In retrospect, however, she deeply criticized those from their milieu for not fully understanding the real socio-cultural implications of their ideological decision to make independence and freedom the core values in their children’s education. Thus, 1920s progressive education is a paradigmatic case study of the cultural and ideological inner contradictions within liberal thought in the interwar era. The article also shows how psychoanalysis – which attracted many progressive educators – played a crucial role in providing liberals of all sorts with a new language to articulate their political visions, but, at the same time, explored the limits of the liberal discourse as a whole

Transitions in Electrochemical Noise During Pitting Corrosion of Aluminum in Chloride Enviroments

Aluminum, in a chloride containing solutions close to its pitting potential, shows vigorous fluctuations in current and potential. Measurements have been made of the freely corroding potential, and the currents between interconnected electrodes. It is shown that there is a transition in the behavior of the transients. The transition occurs when multiple active pits are present and electrochemical communication occurs between them. The major source of current and potential transients is the growth process in the active pits rather than meta-stable pitting at the passive surface