178 research outputs found
Large single crystal growth of BaFe1.87Co0.13As2 using a nucleation pole
Co-doped iron arsenic single crystal of BaFe1.87Co0.13As2 with dimension up
to 20 x 10 x 2 mm3 were grown by a nucleation pole: an alumina stick served as
nucleation center during growth. The high quality of crystalline was
illustrated by the measurements of neutron rocking curve and X-ray diffraction
pattern. A very sharp superconducting transition temperature Tc~25 K was
revealed by both resistivity and susceptibility measurements. A nearly 100%
shielding fraction and bulk nature of the superconductivity for the single
crystal were confirmed using magnetic susceptibility data.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Complex Analysis of a Piece of Toda Lattice
We study a small piece of two dimensional Toda lattice as a complex dynamical
system. In particular the Julia set, which appears when the piece is deformed,
is shown analytically how it disappears as the system approaches to the
integrable limit.Comment: 17 pages, LaTe
Rare earth magnetism in CeFeAsO: A single crystal study
Single crystals of CeFeAsO, large enough to study the anisotropy of the
magnetic properties, were grown by an optimized Sn-flux technique. The high
quality of our single crystals is apparent from the highest residual
resistivity ratio, RRR = 12, reported among undoped RFeAsO compounds (R=rare
earth) as well as sharp anomalies in resistivity, specific heat, C(T), and
thermal expansion at the different phase transitions. The magnetic
susceptibility chi(T) presents a large easy-plane anisotropy consistent with
the lowest crystal electric field doublet having a dominant Gamma_6 character.
Curie-Weiss like susceptibilities for magnetic field parallel and perpendicular
to the crystallographic c-axis do not reveal an influence of a staggered field
on the Ce site induced by magnetic ordering of the Fe. Furthermore, the
standard signatures for antiferromagnetic order of Ce at T_N = 3.7 K observed
in chi(T) and C(T) are incompatible with a Zeeman splitting Delta = 10 K of the
CEF ground state doublet at low temperature due to the Fe-magnetic order as
previously proposed. Our results can be reconciled with the earlier observation
by assuming a comparatively stronger effect of the Ce-Ce exchange leading to a
reduction of this Zeeman splitting below 15 K.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, added section on magn. susceptibilit
Iron pnictides: Single crystal growth and effect of doping on structural, transport and magnetic properties
We demonstrate the preparation of large, free standing iron pnictide single
crystals with a size up to 20 x 10 x 1 mm3 using solvents in zirconia crucibles
under argon atmosphere. Transport and magnetic properties are investigated to
study the effect of potassium doping on the structural and superconducting
property of the compounds. The spin density wave (SDW) anomaly at Ts ~138 K in
BaFe2As2 single crystals from self-flux shifts to Ts ~85 K due to Sn solvent
growth. We show direct evidence for an incorporation of Sn on the Fe site. The
electrical resistivity data show a sharp superconducting transition temperature
Tc~38.5 K for the single crystal of Ba0.68K0.32Fe2As2. A nearly 100% shielding
fraction and bulk nature of the superconductivity for the single crystal were
confirmed by magnetic susceptibility data. A sharp transition Tc~25 K occurred
for the single crystal of Sr0.85K0.15Fe2As2. There is direct evidence for a
coexistence of the SDW and superconductivity in the low doping regime of
Sr1-xKxFe2As2 single crystals. Structural implications of the doping effects as
well as the coexistence of the two order parameters are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
High-power laser experiment forming a supercritical collisionless shock in a magnetized uniform plasma at rest
We present a new experimental method to generate quasi-perpendicular supercritical magnetized collisionless shocks. In our experiment, ambient nitrogen (N) plasma is at rest and well-magnetized, and it has uniform mass density. The plasma is pushed by laser-driven ablation aluminum (Al) plasma. Streaked optical pyrometry and spatially resolved laser collective Thomson scattering clarify structures of plasma density and temperatures, which are compared with one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is indicated that just after the laser irradiation, the Al plasma is magnetized by a self-generated Biermann battery field, and the plasma slaps the incident N plasma. The compressed external field in the N plasma reflects N ions, leading to counter-streaming magnetized N flows. Namely we identify the edge of the reflected N ions. Such interacting plasmas form a magnetized collisionless shock
Bmi1 Confers Resistance to Oxidative Stress on Hematopoietic Stem Cells
The polycomb-group (PcG) proteins function as general regulators of stem cells. We previously reported that retrovirus-mediated overexpression of Bmi1, a gene encoding a core component of polycomb repressive complex (PRC) 1, maintained self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during long-term culture. However, the effects of overexpression of Bmi1 on HSCs in vivo remained to be precisely addressed.In this study, we generated a mouse line where Bmi1 can be conditionally overexpressed under the control of the endogenous Rosa26 promoter in a hematopoietic cell-specific fashion (Tie2-Cre;R26Stop(FL)Bmi1). Although overexpression of Bmi1 did not significantly affect steady state hematopoiesis, it promoted expansion of functional HSCs during ex vivo culture and efficiently protected HSCs against loss of self-renewal capacity during serial transplantation. Overexpression of Bmi1 had no effect on DNA damage response triggered by ionizing radiation. In contrast, Tie2-Cre;R26Stop(FL)Bmi1 HSCs under oxidative stress maintained a multipotent state and generally tolerated oxidative stress better than the control. Unexpectedly, overexpression of Bmi1 had no impact on the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS).Our findings demonstrate that overexpression of Bmi1 confers resistance to stresses, particularly oxidative stress, onto HSCs. This thereby enhances their regenerative capacity and suggests that Bmi1 is located downstream of ROS signaling and negatively regulated by it
Ecological implications of a flower size/number trade-off in tropical forest trees
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Tunicate cytostatic factor TC14-3 induces a polycomb group gene and histone modification through Ca2+ binding and protein dimerization
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As many invertebrate species have multipotent cells that undergo cell growth and differentiation during regeneration and budding, many unique and interesting homeostatic factors are expected to exist in those animals. However, our understanding of such factors and global mechanisms remains very poor. Single zooids of the tunicate, <it>Polyandrocarpa </it><it>misakiensis</it>, can give off as many as 40 buds during the life span. Bud development proceeds by means of transdifferentiation of very limited number of cells and tissues. TC14-3 is one of several different but closely related polypeptides isolated from <it>P. misakiensis</it>. It acts as a cytostatic factor that regulates proliferation, adhesion, and differentiation of multipotent cells, although the molecular mechanism remains uncertain. The Polycomb group (PcG) genes are involved in epigenetic control of genomic activity in mammals. In invertebrates except <it>Drosophila</it>, PcG and histone methylation have not been studied so extensively, and genome-wide gene regulation is poorly understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When Phe<sup>65 </sup>of TC14-3 was mutated to an acidic amino acid, the resultant mutant protein failed to dimerize. The replacement of Thr<sup>69 </sup>with Arg<sup>69 </sup>made dimers unstable. When Glu<sup>106 </sup>was changed to Gly<sup>106</sup>, the resultant mutant protein completely lost Ca<sup>2+ </sup>binding. All these mutant proteins lacked cytostatic activity, indicating the requirement of protein dimerization and calcium for the activity. <it>Polyandrocarpa </it><it>Eed</it>, a component of PcG, is highly expressed during budding, like TC14-3. When wild-type and mutant TC14-3s were applied in vivo and in vitro to <it>Polyandrocarpa </it>cells, only wild-type TC14-3 could induce <it>Eed </it>without affecting histone methyltransferase gene expression. Eed-expressing cells underwent trimethylation of histone H3 lysine27. <it>PmEed </it>knockdown by RNA interference rescued cultured cells from the growth-inhibitory effects of TC14-3.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results show that in <it>P. misakiensis</it>, the cytostatic activity of TC14-3 is mediated by <it>PmEed </it>and resultant histone modification, and that the gene expression requires both the protein dimerization and Ca<sup>2+</sup>-binding of TC14-3. This system consisting of a humoral factor, PcG, and histone methylation would contribute to the homeostatic regulation of cell growth and terminal differentiation of invertebrate multipotent cells.</p
Publisher Correction: Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries (Nature, (2022), 611, 7934, (115-123), 10.1038/s41586-022-05165-3)
In the version of this article initially published, the name of the PRECISE4Q Consortium was misspelled as “PRECISEQ” and has now been amended in the HTML and PDF versions of the article. Further, data in the first column of Supplementary Table 55 were mistakenly shifted and have been corrected in the file accompanying the HTML version of the article
Unrelated cord blood transplantation for adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia: higher incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease and lower survival in male patients transplanted with female unrelated cord blood—a report from Eurocord, the Acute Leukemia Working Party, and the Cord Blood Committee of the Cellular Therapy and Immunobiology Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
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