4,899 research outputs found
Preferential antiferromagnetic coupling of vacancies in graphene on SiO_2: Electron spin resonance and scanning tunneling spectroscopy
Monolayer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition and transferred to
SiO_2 is used to introduce vacancies by Ar^+ ion bombardment at a kinetic
energy of 50 eV. The density of defects visible in scanning tunneling
microscopy (STM) is considerably lower than the ion fluence implying that most
of the defects are single vacancies. The vacancies are characterized by
scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) on graphene and HOPG exhibiting a peak
close to the Fermi level. The peak persists after air exposure up to 180 min,
albeit getting broader. After air exposure for less than 60 min, electron spin
resonance (ESR) at 9.6 GHz is performed. For an ion flux of 10/nm^2, we find a
signal corresponding to a g-factor of 2.001-2.003 and a spin density of 1-2
spins/nm^2. The ESR signal consists of a mixture of a Gaussian and a Lorentzian
of equal weight exhibiting a width down to 0.17 mT, which, however, depends on
details of the sample preparation. The g-factor anisotropy is about 0.02%.
Temperature dependent measurements reveal antiferromagnetic correlations with a
Curie-Weiss temperature of -10 K. Albeit the electrical conductivity of
graphene is significantly reduced by ion bombardment, the spin resonance
induced change in conductivity is below 10^{-5}.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, discussion on STM images in the literature of
defects in graphene adde
Effects of anisotropy in a nonlinear crystal for squeezed vacuum generation
Squeezed vacuum (SV) can be obtained by an optical parametric amplifier (OPA)
with the quantum vacuum state at the input. We are interested in a degenerate
type-I OPA based on parametric down-conversion (PDC) where due to phase
matching requirements, an extraordinary polarized pump must impinge onto a
birefringent crystal with a large \chi(2) nonlinearity. As a consequence of the
optical anisotropy of the medium, the direction of propagation of the pump
wavevector does not coincide with the direction of propagation of its energy,
an effect known as transverse walk-off. For certain pump sizes and crystal
lengths, the transverse walk-off has a strong influence on the spatial spectrum
of the generated radiation, which in turn affects the outcome of any experiment
in which this radiation is employed. In this work we propose a method that
reduces the distortions of the two-photon amplitude (TPA) of the states
considered, by using at least two consecutive crystals instead of one. We show
that after anisotropy compensation the TPA becomes symmetric, allowing for a
simple Schmidt expansion, a procedure that in practice requires states that
come from experimental systems free of anisotropy effects
Increased tolerance of Litopenaeus vannamei to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection after oral application of the viral envelope protein VP28
It has been generally accepted that invertebrates such as shrimp do not have an adaptive immune response system comparable to that of vertebrates. However, in the last few years, several studies have suggested the existence of such a response in invertebrates. In one of these studies, the shrimp Penaeus monodon showed increased protection against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) using a recombinant VP28 envelope protein of WSSV. In an effort to further investigate whether this increased protection is limited to P. monodon or can be extended to other penaeid shrimp, experiments were performed using the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. As found with P. monodon, a significantly lower cumulative mortality for VP28-fed shrimp was found compared to the controls. These experiments demonstrate that there is potential to use oral application of specific proteins to protect the 2 most important cultured shrimp species, P. monodon and L. vannamei, against WSSV. Most likely, this increased protection is based on a shared and, therefore, general defence mechanism present in all shrimp species. This makes the design of intervention strategies against pathogens based on defined proteins a viable option for shrimp cultur
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Modulation of sterol homeostasis by the Cdc42p effectors Cla4p and Ste20p in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
This article is available open access through the publisherâs website at the link below. Copyright @ 2009 The Authors.The conserved Rho-type GTPase Cdc42p is a key regulator of signal transduction and polarity in eukaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cdc42p promotes polarized growth through the p21-activated kinases Ste20p and Cla4p. Previously, we demonstrated that Ste20p forms a complex with Erg4p, Cbr1p and Ncp1p, which all catalyze important steps in sterol biosynthesis. CLA4 interacts genetically with ERG4 and NCP1. Furthermore, Erg4p, Ncp1p and Cbr1p play important roles in cell polarization during vegetative growth, mating and filamentation. As Ste20p and Cla4p are involved in these processes it seems likely that sterol biosynthetic enzymes and p21-activated kinases act in related pathways. Here, we demonstrate that the deletion of either STE20 or CLA4 results in increased levels of sterols. In addition, higher concentrations of steryl esters, the storage form of sterols, were observed in cla4Î cells. CLA4 expression from a multicopy plasmid reduces enzyme activity of Are2p, the major steryl ester synthase, under aerobic conditions. Altogether, our data suggest that Ste20p and Cla4p may function as negative modulators of sterol biosynthesis. Moreover, Cla4p has a negative effect on steryl ester formation. As sterol homeostasis is crucial for cell polarization, Ste20p and Cla4p may regulate cell polarity in part through the modulation of sterol homeostasis.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Austrian FWF
Coexisting patterns of population oscillations: the degenerate Neimark Sacker bifurcation as a generic mechanism
We investigate a population dynamics model that exhibits a Neimark Sacker
bifurcation with a period that is naturally close to 4. Beyond the bifurcation,
the period becomes soon locked at 4 due to a strong resonance, and a second
attractor of period 2 emerges, which coexists with the first attractor over a
considerable parameter range. A linear stability analysis and a numerical
investigation of the second attractor reveal that the bifurcations producing
the second attractor occur naturally in this type of system.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
The Power in Dice and Foam Swords: Gendered Resistance in Dungeons and Dragons and Live-Action Roleplay
Much of the existing research on gaming suggests that women are often excluded from or discriminated against in gaming communities. However, few scholars focus on womenâs positive experiences within those communities, and even fewer examine tabletop and live-action roleplaying games. In this thesis, I utilized Jurgen Habermasâ theory of communicative action, Judith Butlerâs theory of gender performativity, and James C. Scottâs theory of hidden transcripts to analyze how in-game and out-of-game comradery among players created a space in which passive resistance against normative gender expectations was possible. Specifically, the question I wanted to answer was how do women communicatively enact passive resistance in roleplaying games? In order to answer this question, I interviewed twenty-four women about their experiences playing Dungeons and Dragons and live-action roleplay and conducted participant. During the interviews, many interviewees described the gendered expectations that they were subjected to in their everyday lives. They also described how supportive gaming groups allowed them to subvert those expectations through roleplay. They did this by adopting two distinct roleplay styles: Oppositional Personas and Reflective Characters. I concluded that although few participants overtly challenged gender expectations with Oppositional Personas, many used Reflective Characters to passively resist gender expectations. In-game resistance was not relegated to that arena; it had a positive impact on the participantsâ everyday lives, e.g., gaining closure from past trauma and creating equitable racial policies in LARP companies
âAre There Any Girls There?â Empowering Excursions and Gender Role Subversion in Dungeons and Dragons
In this article, the author examines the gendered experiences of twelve women who play Dungeons and Dragons, a popular roleplaying tabletop game. The author utilizes Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmannâs concept of the excursion to analyze how participants use roleplay in Dungeons and Dragons to achieve empowerment. Many of the women interviewed described being subjected to gendered behavioral expectations both in their everyday life and during gameplay. With an empowering gaming group, however, roleplay allowed the participants to challenge, and subvert, those gendered expectations. The author concludes that roleplay provides an empowering excursion from everyday life that allows women participants to deal with frustration about gendered treatment and challenge institutional gender roles
Heating and Turbulence Driving by Galaxy Motions in Galaxy Clusters
Using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, we investigate heating and
turbulence driving in an intracluster medium (ICM) by orbital motions of
galaxies in a galaxy cluster. We consider Ng member galaxies on isothermal and
isotropic orbits through an ICM typical of rich clusters. An introduction of
the galaxies immediately produces gravitational wakes, providing perturbations
that can potentially grow via resonant interaction with the background gas.
When Ng^{1/2}Mg_11 < 100, where Mg_11 is each galaxy mass in units of 10^{11}
Msun, the perturbations are in the linear regime and the resonant excitation of
gravity waves is efficient to generate kinetic energy in the ICM, resulting in
the velocity dispersion sigma_v ~ 2.2 Ng^{1/2}Mg_11 km/s. When Ng^{1/2}Mg_11 >
100, on the other hand, nonlinear fluctuations of the background ICM destroy
galaxy wakes and thus render resonant excitation weak or absent. In this case,
the kinetic energy saturates at the level corresponding to sigma_v ~ 220 km/s.
The angle-averaged velocity power spectra of turbulence driven in our models
have slopes in the range of -3.7 to -4.3. With the nonlinear saturation of
resonant excitation, none of the cooling models considered are able to halt
cooling catastrophe, suggesting that the galaxy motions alone are unlikely to
solve the cooling flow problem.Comment: 12 pages including 3 figures, To appear in ApJ
Compensation of anisotropy effects in the generation of two-photon light
We analyse a method to compensate for anisotropy effects in the spatial
distribution of parametric down-conversion (PDC) radiation in bulk crystals. In
this method, a single nonlinear crystal is replaced by two consecutive crystals
with opposite transverse walk-off directions. We implement a simple numerical
model to calculate the spatial distribution of intensity and correlations, as
well as the Schmidt mode structure, with an account for the anisotropy.
Experimental results are presented which prove the validity of both the model
and the method.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
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