1,409 research outputs found
Switching of the topologically trivial and non-trivial quantum phase transitions in compressed 1T-TiTe2: Experiments and Theory
We report the structural, vibrational and electrical transport properties up
to 16 GPa of the 1T-TiTe2, a prominent layered 2D system, which is predicted to
show a series of topologically trivial - nontrivial transitions under
hydrostatic compression. We clearly show signatures of two iso-structural
transition at 2 GPa and 4 GPa obtained from the minima in c/a ratio concomitant
with the phonon linewidth anomalies of Eg and A1g modes at around the same
pressures, providing strong indication of unusual electron-phonon coupling
associated to these transitions. Resistivity presents nonlinear behavior over
similar pressure ranges providing a strong indication of the electronic origin
of these pressure driven isostructural transitions. Our data thus provide clear
evidences of topological changes at A and L point of the Brillouin zone
predicted to be present in the compressed 1T-TiTe2. Between 4 GPa and 8 GPa,
the c/a ratio shows a plateau suggesting a transformation from an anisotropic
2D layer to a quasi 3D crystal network. First principles calculations suggest
that the 2D to quasi 3D evolution without any structural phase transitions is
mainly due to the increased interlayer Te-Te interactions (bridging) via the
charge density overlap. In addition to the pressure dependent isostructural
phase transitions, our data also evidences the occurrence of a first order
structural phase transition from the trigonal (P-3m1) phase at higher
pressures. We estimate the start of this structural phase transition to be 8
GPa and the symmetric of the new high-pressure phase to be monoclinic (C2/m).Comment: 22 pages, 11 Figures, 2 Table
Aqueous Angiography with Fluorescein and Indocyanine Green in Bovine Eyes.
PurposeWe characterize aqueous angiography as a real-time aqueous humor outflow imaging (AHO) modality in cow eyes with two tracers of different molecular characteristics.MethodsCow enucleated eyes (n = 31) were obtained and perfused with balanced salt solution via a Lewicky AC maintainer through a 1-mm side-port. Fluorescein (2.5%) or indocyanine green (ICG; 0.4%) were introduced intracamerally at 10 mm Hg individually or sequentially. With an angiographer, infrared and fluorescent images were acquired. Concurrent anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed, and fixable fluorescent dextrans were introduced into the eye for histologic analysis of angiographically positive and negative areas.ResultsAqueous angiography in cow eyes with fluorescein and ICG yielded high-quality images with segmental patterns. Over time, ICG maintained a better intraluminal presence. Angiographically positive, but not negative, areas demonstrated intrascleral lumens with anterior segment OCT. Aqueous angiography with fluorescent dextrans led to their trapping in AHO pathways. Sequential aqueous angiography with ICG followed by fluorescein in cow eyes demonstrated similar patterns.ConclusionsAqueous angiography in model cow eyes demonstrated segmental angiographic outflow patterns with either fluorescein or ICG as a tracer.Translational relevanceFurther characterization of segmental AHO with aqueous angiography may allow for intelligent placement of trabecular bypass minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries for improved surgical results
Fluctuation conductivity in superconductors in strong electric fields
We study the effect of a strong electric field on the fluctuation
conductivity within the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory for the case of
arbitrary dimension. Our results are based on the analytical derivation of the
velocity distribution law for the fluctuation Cooper pairs, from the Boltzmann
equation. Special attention is drawn to the case of small nonlinearity of
conductivity, which can be investigated experimentally. We obtain a general
relation between the nonlinear conductivity and the temperature derivative of
the linear Aslamazov-Larkin conductivity, applicable to any superconductor. For
the important case of layered superconductors we derive an analogous relation
between the small nonlinear correction for the conductivity and the
fluctuational magnetoconductivity. On the basis of these relations we provide
new experimental methods for determining both the lifetime constant of
metastable Cooper pairs above T_c and the coherence length. A systematic
investigation of the 3rd harmonic of the electric field generated by a harmonic
current can serve as an alternative method for the examination of the
metastable Cooper-pair relaxation time.Comment: 18 pages, REVTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The clustering of intermediate redshift quasars as measured by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
We measure the quasar two-point correlation function over the redshift range
2.2<z<2.8 using data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We use a
homogeneous subset of the data consisting of 27,129 quasars with spectroscopic
redshifts---by far the largest such sample used for clustering measurements at
these redshifts to date. The sample covers 3,600 square degrees, corresponding
to a comoving volume of 9.7(Gpc/h)^3 assuming a fiducial LambdaCDM cosmology,
and it has a median absolute i-band magnitude of -26, k-corrected to z=2. After
accounting for redshift errors we find that the redshift space correlation
function is fit well by a power-law of slope -2 and amplitude s_0=(9.7\pm
0.5)Mpc/h over the range 3<s<25Mpc/h. The projected correlation function, which
integrates out the effects of peculiar velocities and redshift errors, is fit
well by a power-law of slope -1 and r_0=(8.4\pm 0.6)Mpc/h over the range
4<R<16Mpc/h. There is no evidence for strong luminosity or redshift dependence
to the clustering amplitude, in part because of the limited dynamic range in
our sample. Our results are consistent with, but more precise than, previous
measurements at similar redshifts. Our measurement of the quasar clustering
amplitude implies a bias factor of b~3.5 for our quasar sample. We compare the
data to models to constrain the manner in which quasars occupy dark matter
halos at z~2.4 and infer that such quasars inhabit halos with a characteristic
mass of ~10^{12}Msun/h with a duty cycle for the quasar activity of 1 per
cent.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures. Minor modifications to match version accepted
by journa
The Uncertainty Principle in the Presence of Quantum Memory
The uncertainty principle, originally formulated by Heisenberg, dramatically
illustrates the difference between classical and quantum mechanics. The
principle bounds the uncertainties about the outcomes of two incompatible
measurements, such as position and momentum, on a particle. It implies that one
cannot predict the outcomes for both possible choices of measurement to
arbitrary precision, even if information about the preparation of the particle
is available in a classical memory. However, if the particle is prepared
entangled with a quantum memory, a device which is likely to soon be available,
it is possible to predict the outcomes for both measurement choices precisely.
In this work we strengthen the uncertainty principle to incorporate this case,
providing a lower bound on the uncertainties which depends on the amount of
entanglement between the particle and the quantum memory. We detail the
application of our result to witnessing entanglement and to quantum key
distribution.Comment: 5 pages plus 12 of supplementary information. Updated to match the
journal versio
Rainfall and Elevation Influence the Local-Scale Distribution of Tree Community in the Southern Region of Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot (India)
The present study characterises the tree communities with respect to topographic and climatic variables and identifies the most important environmental correlate of species richness in the southern region of Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India. Digitally derived environmental variables in combination with tree species richness information were analysed using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to characterise the communities. Multiple regression technique based on stepwise backward elimination was used to identify the most important environment correlate of species richness. Canonical correspondence analysis results in six major tree communities along the first and second axes. Rainfall is the dominant environmental gradient influencing vegetation patterns on the first CCA axis while elevation showed the highest correlation with the second CCA axis. Backward elimination regression technique yielded rainfall as the most important environmental correlate of species richness. Results were in agreement with the observations in the Neotropics that rainier areas maintain high species diversity
A Simple Iterative Model Accurately Captures Complex Trapline Formation by Bumblebees Across Spatial Scales and Flower Arrangements
PMCID: PMC3591286This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
A broad distribution of the alternative oxidase in microsporidian parasites
Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular parasitic eukaryotes that were considered to be amitochondriate until the recent discovery of highly reduced mitochondrial organelles called mitosomes. Analysis of the complete genome of Encephalitozoon cuniculi revealed a highly reduced set of proteins in the organelle, mostly related to the assembly of ironsulphur clusters. Oxidative phosphorylation and the Krebs cycle proteins were absent, in keeping with the notion that the microsporidia and their mitosomes are anaerobic, as is the case for other mitosome bearing eukaryotes, such as Giardia. Here we provide evidence opening the possibility that mitosomes in a number of microsporidian lineages are not completely anaerobic. Specifically, we have identified and characterized a gene encoding the alternative oxidase (AOX), a typically mitochondrial terminal oxidase in eukaryotes, in the genomes of several distantly related microsporidian species, even though this gene is absent from the complete genome of E. cuniculi. In order to confirm that these genes encode functional proteins, AOX genes from both A. locustae and T. hominis were over-expressed in E. coli and AOX activity measured spectrophotometrically using ubiquinol-1 (UQ-1) as substrate. Both A. locustae and T. hominis AOX proteins reduced UQ-1 in a cyanide and antimycin-resistant manner that was sensitive to ascofuranone, a potent inhibitor of the trypanosomal AOX. The physiological role of AOX microsporidia may be to reoxidise reducing equivalents produced by glycolysis, in a manner comparable to that observed in trypanosome
Reordering Hierarchical Tree Based on Bilateral Symmetric Distance
BACKGROUND: In microarray data analysis, hierarchical clustering (HC) is often used to group samples or genes according to their gene expression profiles to study their associations. In a typical HC, nested clustering structures can be quickly identified in a tree. The relationship between objects is lost, however, because clusters rather than individual objects are compared. This results in a tree that is hard to interpret. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study proposes an ordering method, HC-SYM, which minimizes bilateral symmetric distance of two adjacent clusters in a tree so that similar objects in the clusters are located in the cluster boundaries. The performance of HC-SYM was evaluated by both supervised and unsupervised approaches and compared favourably with other ordering methods. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The intuitive relationship between objects and flexibility of the HC-SYM method can be very helpful in the exploratory analysis of not only microarray data but also similar high-dimensional data
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