8,821 research outputs found
Stress relief as the driving force for self-assembled Bi nanolines
Stress resulting from mismatch between a substrate and an adsorbed material
has often been thought to be the driving force for the self-assembly of
nanoscale structures. Bi nanolines self-assemble on Si(001), and are remarkable
for their straightness and length -- they are often more than 400 nm long, and
a kink in a nanoline has never been observed. Through electronic structure
calculations, we have found an energetically favourable structure for these
nanolines that agrees with our scanning tunneling microscopy and photoemission
experiments; the structure has an extremely unusual subsurface structure,
comprising a double core of 7-membered rings of silicon. Our proposed structure
explains all the observed features of the nanolines, and shows that surface
stress resulting from the mismatch between the Bi and the Si substrate are
responsible for their self-assembly. This has wider implications for the
controlled growth of nanostructures on semiconductor surfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Hollingsworth v. Perry, Brief for Foreign and Comparative Law Experts Harold Hongju Koh et. al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents
Brief for Foreign and Comparative Law Experts Harold Hongju Koh et al. as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners
Self-reported domain-specific and accelerometer-based physical activity and sedentary behaviour in relation to psychological distress among an urban Asian population
Background: The interpretation of previous studies on the association of physical activity and sedentary behaviour with psychological health is limited by the use of mostly self-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and a focus on Western populations. We aimed to explore the association of self-reported and devise-based measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour domains on psychological distress in an urban multi-ethnic Asian population.
Methods: From a population-based cross-sectional study of adults aged 18-79 years, data were used from an overall sample (n = 2653) with complete self-reported total physical activity/sedentary behaviour and domain-specific physical activity data, and a subsample (n = 703) with self-reported domain-specific sedentary behaviour and accelerometry data. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour data were collected using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), a domain-specific sedentary behaviour questionnaire and accelerometers. The Kessler Screening Scale (K6) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to assess psychological distress. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals, adjusted for socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics.
Results: The sample comprised 45.0% men (median age = 45.0 years). The prevalence of psychological distress based on the K6 and GHQ-12 was 8.4% and 21.7%, respectively. In the adjusted model, higher levels of self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were associated with significantly higher odds for K6 (OR = 1.47 [1.03-2.10]; p-trend = 0.03) but not GHQ-12 (OR = 0.97 [0.77-1.23]; p-trend = 0.79), when comparing the highest with the lowest tertile. Accelerometry-assessed MVPA was not significantly associated with K6 (p-trend = 0.50) nor GHQ-12 (p-trend = 0.74). The highest tertile of leisure-time physical activity, but not work- or transport-domain activity, was associated with less psychological distress using K6 (OR = 0.65 [0.43-0.97]; p-trend = 0.02) and GHQ-12 (OR = 0.72 [0.55-0.93]; p-trend = 0.01). Self-reported sedentary behaviour was not associated with K6 (p-trend = 0.90) and GHQ-12 (p-trend = 0.33). The highest tertile of accelerometry-assessed sedentary behaviour was associated with significantly higher odds for K6 (OR = 1.93 [1.00-3.75]; p-trend = 0.04), but not GHQ-12 (OR = 1.34 [0.86-2.08]; p-trend = 0.18).
Conclusions: Higher levels of leisure-time physical activity and lower levels of accelerometer-based sedentary behaviour were associated with lower psychological distress. This study underscores the importance of assessing accelerometer-based and domain-specific activity in relation to mental health, instead of solely focusing on total volume of activity
Rehabilitation impact indices and their independent predictors: A systematic review
10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003483BMJ Open39
Electronic Structure of Electron-doped Sm1.86Ce0.14CuO4: Strong `Pseudo-Gap' Effects, Nodeless Gap and Signatures of Short Range Order
Angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) data from the electron doped cuprate
superconductor SmCeCuO shows a much stronger pseudo-gap
or "hot-spot" effect than that observed in other optimally doped -type
cuprates. Importantly, these effects are strong enough to drive the
zone-diagonal states below the chemical potential, implying that d-wave
superconductivity in this compound would be of a novel "nodeless" gap variety.
The gross features of the Fermi surface topology and low energy electronic
structure are found to be well described by reconstruction of bands by a
order. Comparison of the ARPES and optical data from
the sample shows that the pseudo-gap energy observed in optical data is
consistent with the inter-band transition energy of the model, allowing us to
have a unified picture of pseudo-gap effects. However, the high energy
electronic structure is found to be inconsistent with such a scenario. We show
that a number of these model inconsistencies can be resolved by considering a
short range ordering or inhomogeneous state.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Catharanthus mosaic virus: A potyvirus from a gymnosperm, Welwitschia mirabilis
A virus from a symptomatic plant of the gymnosperm Welwitschia mirabilis Hook. growing as an ornamental plant in a domestic garden in Western Australia was inoculated to a plant of Nicotiana benthamiana where it established a systemic infection. The complete genome sequence of 9636 nucleotides was determined using high-throughput and Sanger sequencing technologies. The genome sequence shared greatest identity (83% nucleotides and 91% amino acids) with available partial sequences of catharanthus mosaic virus, indicating that the new isolate belonged to that taxon. Analysis of the phylogeny of the complete virus sequence placed it in a monotypic group in the genus Potyvirus. This is the first record of a virus from W. mirabilis, the first complete genome sequence of catharanthus mosaic virus determined, and the first record from Australia. This finding illustrates the risk to natural and managed systems posed by the international trade in live plants and propagules, which enables viruses to establish in new regions and infect new hosts
Neuroprotective roles of asiaticoside on hydrogen peroxide-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells
This study aims to determine whether the neuroprotective role of asiaticoside at maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) or half MNTD (½MNTD) on H2O2-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells was mediated by regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) through inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and heme-oxygenase 1 (HO-1). The levels of ROS, NO, iNOS and HO-1 in SH-SY5Y cells pre-treated with asiaticoside ½MNTD were significantly reduced by 15.3, 55.6, 24.8 and 6.7 %, respectively as compared to the H2O2 treatment group. Cells pre-treated MNTD only reduced the iNOS level significantly. Asiaticoside, particularly at ½MNTD reduced the ROS, NO and iNOS levels. Contrarily, the HO-1 expression was down-regulated when treated with asiaticoside, which further suggest that asiaticoisde exerted its neuroprotective effects via HO-1 regulation.Keywords: Asiaticoside; Heme-oxygenase 1; Inducible nitric oxide synthase; Nitric oxide; Reactive oxygen species
A Wave Function Describing Superfluidity in a Perfect Crystal
We propose a many-body wave function that exhibits both diagonal and
off-diagonal long-range order. Incorporating short-range correlations due to
interatomic repulsion, this wave function is shown to allow condensation of
zero-point lattice vibrations and phase rigidity. In the presence of an
external velocity field, such a perfect crystal will develop non-classical
rotational inertia, exhibiting the supersolid behavior. In a sample calculation
we show that the superfluid fraction in this state can be as large as of order
0.01 in a reasonable range of microscopic parameters. The relevance to the
recent experimental evidence of a supersolid state by Chan and Kim is
discussed.Comment: final version to be published in Journal of Statistical Mechanics:
Theory and Experimen
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