826 research outputs found
Environmental Feedbacks and Engineered Nanoparticles: Mitigation of Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Algal-Produced Organic Compounds
The vast majority of nanotoxicity studies measures the effect of exposure to a toxicant on an organism and ignores the potentially important effects of the organism on the toxicant. We investigated the effect of citrate-coated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on populations of the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii at different phases of batch culture growth and show that the AgNPs are most toxic to cultures in the early phases of growth. We offer strong evidence that reduced toxicity occurs because extracellular dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compounds produced by the algal cells themselves mitigate the toxicity of AgNPs. We analyzed this feedback with a dynamic model incorporating algal growth, nanoparticle dissolution, bioaccumulation of silver, DOC production and DOC-mediated inactivation of nanoparticles and ionic silver. Our findings demonstrate how the feedback between aquatic organisms and their environment may impact the toxicity and ecological effects of engineered nanoparticles
Polynomial Realization of and Fusion Rules at Exceptional Values of
Representations of the algebra are constructed in the space of
polynomials of real (complex) variable for . The spin addition rule
based on eigenvalues of Casimir operator is illustrated on few simplest cases
and conjecture for general case is formulated
Theory for the coupling between longitudinal phonons and intrinsic Josephson oscillations in layered superconductors
In this publication a microscopic theory for the coupling of intrinsic
Josephson oscillations in layered superconductors with longitudinal
c-axis-phonons is developed. It is shown that the influence of lattice
vibrations on the c-axis transport can be fully described by introducing an
effective longitudinal dielectric function. Resonances in the
I-V-characteristic appear at van Hove singularities of both acoustical and
optical longitudinal phonon branches. This provides a natural explanation of
the recently discovered subgap structures in the I-V-characteristic of highly
anisotropic cuprate superconductors. The effect of the phonon dispersion on the
damping of these resonances and the coupling of Josephson oscillations in
different resistive junctions due to phonons are discussed in detail.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. B, corrections following referee repor
CenomanianTuronian transition in a shallow water sequence of the Sinai, Egypt
Environmental and depositional changes across the Late Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2) in the Sinai, Egypt, are examined based on biostratigraphy, mineralogy, δ13C values and phosphorus analyses. Comparison with the Pueblo, Colorado, stratotype section reveals the Whadi El Ghaib section as stratigraphically complete across the late Cenomanianearly Turonian. Foraminifera are dominated by high-stress planktic and benthic assemblages characterized by low diversity, low-oxygen and low-salinity tolerant species, which mark shallow-water oceanic dysoxic conditions during OAE2. Oyster biostromes suggest deposition occurred in less than 50 m depths in low-oxygen, brackish, and nutrient-rich waters. Their demise prior to the peak δ13C excursion is likely due to a rising sea-level. Characteristic OAE2 anoxic conditions reached this coastal region only at the end of the δ13C plateau in deeper waters near the end of the Cenomanian. Increased phosphorus accumulations before and after the δ13C excursion suggest higher oxic conditions and increased detrital input. Bulk-rock and clay mineralogy indicate humid climate conditions, increased continental runoff and a rising sea up to the first δ13C peak. Above this interval, a dryer and seasonally well-contrasted climate with intermittently dry conditions prevailed. These results reveal the globally synchronous δ13C shift, but delayed effects of OAE2 dependent on water depth
Flight Mechanics of a Tail-less Articulated Wing Aircraft
This paper explores the flight mechanics of a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) without a vertical tail. The key to stability and control of such an aircraft lies in the ability to control the twist and dihedral angles of both wings independently. Specifically, asymmetric dihedral can be used to control yaw whereas antisymmetric twist can be used to control roll. It has been demonstrated that wing dihedral angles can regulate sideslip and speed during a turn maneuver. The role of wing dihedral in the aircraft's longitudinal performance has been explored. It has been shown that dihedral angle can be varied symmetrically to achieve limited control over aircraft speed even as the angle of attack and flight path angle are varied. A rapid descent and perching maneuver has been used to illustrate the longitudinal agility of the aircraft. This paper lays part of the foundation for the design and stability analysis of an agile flapping wing aircraft capable of performing rapid maneuvers while gliding in a constrained environment
Superconducting fluctuations and the Nernst effect: A diagrammatic approach
We calculate the contribution of superconducting fluctuations above the
critical temperature to the transverse thermoelectric response
, the quantity central to the analysis of the Nernst effect. The
calculation is carried out within the microscopic picture of BCS, and to linear
order in magnetic field. We find that as , the dominant contribution
to arises from the Aslamazov-Larkin diagrams, and is equal to the
result previously obtained from a stochastic time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau
equation [Ussishkin, Sondhi, and Huse, arXiv:cond-mat/0204484]. We present an
argument which establishes this correspondence for the heat current. Other
microscopic contributions, which generalize the Maki-Thompson and density of
states terms for the conductivity, are less divergent as .Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Poor screening and nonadiabatic superconductivity in correlated systems
In this paper we investigate the role of the electronic correlation on the
hole doping dependence of electron-phonon and superconducting properties of
cuprates. We introduce a simple analytical expression for the one-particle
Green's function in the presence of electronic correlation and we evaluate the
reduction of the screening properties as the electronic correlation increases
by approaching half-filling. The poor screening properties play an important
role within the context of the nonadiabatic theory of superconductivity. We
show that a consistent inclusion of the reduced screening properties in the
nonadiabatic theory can account in a natural way for the - phase
diagram of cuprates. Experimental evidences are also discussed.Comment: 12 Pages, 6 Figures, Accepted on Physical Review
NMR and NQR Fluctuation Effects in Layered Superconductors
We study the effect of thermal fluctuations of the s-wave order parameter of
a quasi two dimensional superconductor on the nuclear spin relaxation rate near
the transition temperature Tc. We consider both the effects of the amplitude
fluctuations and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase fluctuations
in weakly coupled layered superconductors. In the treatment of the amplitude
fluctuations we employ the Gaussian approximation and evaluate the longitudinal
relaxation rate 1/T1 for a clean s-wave superconductor, with and without pair
breaking effects, using the static pair fluctuation propagator D. The increase
in 1/T1 due to pair breaking in D is overcompensated by the decrease arising
from the single particle Green's functions. The result is a strong effect on
1/T1 for even a small amount of pair breaking. The phase fluctuations are
described in terms of dynamical BKT excitations in the form of pancake
vortex-antivortex (VA) pairs. We calculate the effect of the magnetic field
fluctuations caused by the translational motion of VA excitations on 1/T1 and
on the transverse relaxation rate 1/T2 on both sides of the BKT transitation
temperature T(BKT)<Tc. The results for the NQR relaxation rates depend strongly
on the diffusion constant that governs the motion of free and bound vortices as
well as the annihilation of VA pairs. We discuss the relaxation rates for real
multilayer systems where the diffusion constant can be small and thus increase
the lifetime of a VA pair, leading to an enhancement of the rates. We also
discuss in some detail the experimental feasibility of observing the effects of
amplitude fluctuations in layered s-wave superconductors such as the
dichalcogenides and the effects of phase fluctuations in s- or d-wave
superconductors such as the layered cuprates.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figure
Interferometric Bell-state preparation using femtosecond-pulse-pumped Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion
We present theoretical and experimental study of preparing maximally
entangled two-photon polarization states, or Bell states, using femtosecond
pulse pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). First, we show how
the inherent distinguishability in femtosecond pulse pumped type-II SPDC can be
removed by using an interferometric technique without spectral and amplitude
post-selection. We then analyze the recently introduced Bell state preparation
scheme using type-I SPDC. Theoretically, both methods offer the same results,
however, type-I SPDC provides experimentally superior methods of preparing Bell
states in femtosecond pulse pumped SPDC. Such a pulsed source of highly
entangled photon pairs is useful in quantum communications, quantum
cryptography, quantum teleportation, etc.Comment: 11 pages, two-column format, to appear in PR
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