Impact of high-frequency pumping on anomalous finite-size effects in three-dimensional topological insulators

Lowering of the thickness of a thin-film three-dimensional topological insulator down to a few nanometers results in the gap opening in the spectrum of topologically protected two-dimensional surface states. This phenomenon, which is referred to as the anomalous finite-size effect, originates from hybridization between the states propagating along the opposite boundaries. In this work, we consider a bismuth-based topological insulator and show how the coupling to an intense high-frequency linearly polarized pumping can further be used to manipulate the value of a gap. We address this effect within recently proposed Brillouin-Wigner perturbation theory that allows us to map a time-dependent problem into a stationary one. Our analysis reveals that both the gap and the components of the group velocity of the surface states can be tuned in a controllable fashion by adjusting the intensity of the driving field within an experimentally accessible range and demonstrate the effect of light-induced band inversion in the spectrum of the surface states for high enough values of the pump.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Lithium-conductive LiNbO₃ coated high-voltage LiNi₀₅Co₀₂Mn₀₃O₂ cathode with enhanced rate and cyclability

LiNi_{0.5}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.3}O_{2} (NCM523) cathode materials can operate at extremely high voltages and have exceptional energy density. However, their use is limited by inherent structure instability during charge/discharge and exceptionally oxidizing Ni^{4+} at the surface. Herein, we have developed a citrate-assisted deposition concept to achieve a uniform lithium-conductive LiNbO_{3} coating layer on the NCM523 surface that avoids self-nucleation of Nb-contained compounds in solution reaction. The electrode–electrolyte interface is therefore stabilized by physically blocking the detrimental parasitic reactions and Ni^{4+} dissolution whilst still maintaining high Li+ conductivity. Consequently, the modified NCM523 exhibits an encouraging Li-storage specific capacity of 207.4 mAh g^{−1} at 0.2C and 128.9 mAh g^{−1} at 10C over the range 3.0–4.5 V. Additionally, a 92% capacity retention was obtained after 100 cycles at 1C, much higher than that of the pristine NCM523 (73%). This surface engineering strategy can be extended to modify other Ni-rich cathode materials with durable electrochemical performances

Fasudil in Combination With Bone Marrow Stromal Cells (BMSCs) Attenuates Alzheimer\u27s Disease-Related Changes Through the Regulation of the Peripheral Immune System.

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease. Its mechanism is still not clear. Majority of research focused on the central nervous system (CNS) changes, while few studies emphasize on peripheral immune system modulation. Our study aimed to investigate the regulation of the peripheral immune system and its relationship to the severity of the disease after treatment in an AD model of APPswe/PSEN1dE9 transgenic (APP/PS1 Tg) mice. APP/PS1 Tg mice (8 months old) were treated with the ROCK-II inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-homo-piperazine (Fasudil) (intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections, 25 mg/kg/day), bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs; caudal vein injections, 1 × 1

(R)-2-(2-Methoxy­phen­yl)-2,5-dihydro­thio­phene-3-carbaldehyde

In the title compound, C12H12O2S, the asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules. The chiral C atoms of both mol­ecules were established to be in the R configuration. In both mol­ecules, the 2,5-dihydro­thio­phene rings adopt S-envelope conformations wherein the S atoms are displaced by 0.315 (5) and −0.249 (5) Å from the mean planes of the remaining ring atoms. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O interactions

Computational prediction of novel non-coding RNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana

BackgroundNon-coding RNA (ncRNA) genes do not encode proteins but produce functional RNA molecules that play crucial roles in many key biological processes. Recent genome-wide transcriptional profiling studies using tiling arrays in organisms such as human and Arabidopsis have revealed a great number of transcripts, a large portion of which have little or no capability to encode proteins. This unexpected finding suggests that the currently known repertoire of ncRNAs may only represent a small fraction of ncRNAs of the organisms. Thus, efficient and effective prediction of ncRNAs has become an important task in bioinformatics in recent years. Among the available computational methods, the comparative genomic approach seems to be the most powerful to detect ncRNAs. The recent completion of the sequencing of several major plant genomes has made the approach possible for plants.ResultsWe have developed a pipeline to predict novel ncRNAs in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome. It starts by comparing the expressed intergenic regions of Arabidopsis as provided in two whole-genome high-density oligo-probe arrays from the literature with the intergenic nucleotide sequences of all completely sequenced plant genomes including rice (Oryza sativa), poplar (Populus trichocarpa), grape (Vitis vinifera), and papaya (Carica papaya). By using multiple sequence alignment, a popular ncRNA prediction program (RNAz), wet-bench experimental validation, protein-coding potential analysis, and stringent screening against various ncRNA databases, the pipeline resulted in 16 families of novel ncRNAs (with a total of 21 ncRNAs).ConclusionIn this paper, we undertake a genome-wide search for novel ncRNAs in the genome of Arabidopsis by a comparative genomics approach. The identified novel ncRNAs are evolutionarily conserved between Arabidopsis and other recently sequenced plants, and may conduct interesting novel biological functions