Nonequilibrium transport equations and ab initio study of adsorption processes on carbon nanotubes

In a theoretical study of gas adsorption on carbon nanotubes (CNT) nonequilibrium processes of ionization, polarization, surface diffusion and desorption of atoms are considered self-consistently. The approach is based on Zubarev's method of nonequilibrium statistical operator and reaction-diffusion theory. The set of nonlinear transport equations are obtained for the chosen parameters of description: the average numbers of adsorbed atoms, ionized and polarized atoms in the electromagnetic field of CNT, and the average number of atoms desorbed from the CNT surface. Ab initio simulations are conducted for a "gas-single wall carbon nanotube" system for gases of particular practical interest: He and NO. The obtained values of adsorption energy reveal preferable localization sites of absorbed He atoms as well as their dependency on adsorption distances. A significant effect of NO adsorption on CNT electronic properties is demonstrated. The effect of presence of vacancies on adsorption nature is analyzed. It is shown that under the influence of vacancy formation the CNT structure undergoes reconstruction that enables chemisorption of NO molecules.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

The Instrument Set for Generating Fast Adiabatic Passage

The design and construction of a high-performance, low-cost, and easy to assemble adiabatic extension set for homebuilt and commercial spectrometers is described. Described apparatus set was designed for the fast adiabatic passage generation and is based on direct digital synthesizer DDS. This solution gives generator high signal to noise ratio, phase stability even during frequency change which is only possible in expansive commercial high-end hardware. Critical synchronization and timing issues are considered and solutions are discussed. Different experimental conditions and techniques for the measurements are briefly discussed. The proposed system is very flexible and might be used for the measurement of low-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance

A facility and a web application for real-time monitoring of the TTC backbone status

The Timing Trigger and Control (TTC) system distributes timing signals from the LHC Radio Frequency (RF) source to the four experiments (ATLAS, ALICE, CMS and LHCb). A copy of these signals is also transmitted to a monitoring system, installed in the CERN Control Centre, which provides continuous measurement of selected parameters. A web application has been designed to ensure real time remote monitoring and post-mortem analysis of these data. The implemented system is aimed at providing a tool for a fast detection of TTC signal abnormality and unavailability which results in reliability improvement of the whole TTC dependent infrastructure. The paper discusses the architecture of the monitoring system including measurement setup as well as various concerns of data acquisition, storage and visualization

New records of lichens and allied fungi from the Leningrad Region, Russia. V

Eight species of lichens and seven lichenicolous fungi are reported from the Leningrad Region. Agonimia repleta, Protoparmelia hypotremella and Stereocaulon taeniarum are reported for the first time for Russia; Clypeococcum cetrariae is new to the European Russia; Lepraria nivalis, Merismatium aff. nigritellum (on Physcia aipolia) and Stigmidium leprariae are new to the North-Western European Russia; Cladonia macroceras, C. strepsilis, Endococcus fusiger, Lichenoconium erodens, Lobothallia melanaspis, Niesslia cladoniicola and Skyttella mulleri are new to the Leningrad Region; Sclerophora coniophaea is new to Saint Petersburg. The most noteworthy records are briefly discussed.

The lichens of Bolshoy Tuters Island (Tytärsaari), Leningrad Region, Russia

The updated checklist of Tuters Island (Leningrad Region, Russia) is presented. Of 331 species of recognized biota, 314 species of lichens, 16 lichenicolous fungi and one non-lichenized saprobic fungus are reported from Tuters Island. Of them, 202 species are new to the study area. Aspicilia epiglypta, Fuscidea praeruptorum, Micarea byssacea and Sarcogyne hypophaeoides are reported for the first time for Russia, Roselliniella stereocaulorum – for European Russia, Aspicilia polychroma, Carbonea vorticosa, Cercidospora stereocaulorum, Cladonia ciliata f. flavicans, C. rangiformis, Parmelia ernstiae, Plectocarpon cf. encausticum and Roselliniella cladoniae – for North-Western European Russia; Bachmanniomyces uncialicola, Bacidina sulphurella, Micarea botryoides, Miriquidica griseoatra and Stereocaulon nanodes are new to the Leningrad Region.Peer reviewe

USP11 controls R-loops by regulating senataxin proteostasis

R-loops are by-products of transcription that must be tightly regulated to maintain genomic stability and gene expression. Here, we describe a mechanism for the regulation of the R-loop-specific helicase, senataxin (SETX), and identify the ubiquitin specific peptidase 11 (USP11) as an R-loop regulator. USP11 de-ubiquitinates SETX and its depletion increases SETX K48-ubiquitination and protein turnover. Loss of USP11 decreases SETX steady-state levels and reduces R-loop dissolution. Ageing of USP11 knockout cells restores SETX levels via compensatory transcriptional downregulation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase, KEAP1. Loss of USP11 reduces SETX enrichment at KEAP1 promoter, leading to R-loop accumulation, enrichment of the endonuclease XPF and formation of double-strand breaks. Overexpression of KEAP1 increases SETX K48-ubiquitination, promotes its degradation and R-loop accumulation. These data define a ubiquitination-dependent mechanism for SETX regulation, which is controlled by the opposing activities of USP11 and KEAP1 with broad applications for cancer and neurological disease

The fiscal and macroeconomic effects of government wages and employment reform

This paper examines the overall macroeconomic impact arising from reform in government wages and employment, at times of fiscal consolidation. Reform of these two components of the government wage bill appeared necessary for containing the deterioration of the public finances in several EU countries, as a consequence of the financial crisis. Such reforms entailed in some instances, but not always, the implementation of cost-cutting measures affecting the government wage bill, as part of broader consolidation packages that typically hinged more heavily on other fiscal instruments, like public investment. While such measures have adverse short-term macroeconomic effects, public wage bill restraining policy changes present the idiosyncrasy that they can yield medium- to longer-term benefits due to possible competitiveness and efficiency gains through their impact on labour market dynamics. This paper provides some evidence of such medium- to long-run effects, based on a wealth of micro and macro data in the euro area and the EU. It concludes that appropriately designed government wage bill moderation could indeed produce positive dividends to the economy, which depend on certain country-specific conditions. These gains can be reinforced by relevant fiscal-structural reforms