3,625 research outputs found
The anomalous 0.5 and 0.7 conductance plateaus in quantum point contacts
The anomalous 0.5 and 0.7 conductance plateaus in quantum point contacts in
zero magnetic field are analyzed within a phenomenological model. The model
utilizes the Landauer-Buttiker formalism and involves enhanced spin
correlations and thermal depopulation of spin subbands. In particular we can
account for the plateau values 0.5 and 0.7, as well as the unusual temperature
and magnetic field dependences of the 0.7 plateau. Finally, the model predicts
the possibility of coexisting 0.5 and 0.7 plateaus.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A New Phytochemical Screening Programme used for Crops grown with Organic and Conventional Methods
A broad screening programme, covering the most general phytochemical groups of compounds, was developed on the basis of Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). A total of 46 TLC systems, comprising 26 derivatization reagents, 3 stationary phases, and 4 mobile phases, were included. The TLC systems were classified according to the groups of phytochemical compounds detected: Alcohols and phenolic compounds; Carbohydrates; N-containing compounds; Organic acids and lipids; P-containing compounds; S-containing compounds, and Terpenoids. Furthermore, one group of TLC systems detected compounds from several of the mentioned groups.
The screening programme was applied in the screening of potatoes (S. tuberosum L.), peas (P. sativum L.), kale (B. oleracea L.), carrots (D. carota L.), and apples (M. domestica Borkh.), cultivated with combinations of organic and conventional methods for plant protection and nutrient supply, for phytochemical differences (biomarkers).
Distinctive phytochemical differences were found between the differently cultivated samples of these crops. In peas and carrots only one biomarker was found. In peas the biomarker was related to the soil conditions, while the biomarker in carrots was related to the use of pesticides. In potato, two biomarkers related to the use of pesticides were found. Three biomarkers were found in kale. Two of these could be related to the use of pesticide, while the last was related to either fertiliser or soil conditions. Several biomarkers were found apples, but a relation to the cultivation methods was not clear. Three of the biomarkers in apples could be related to either the use of pesticides or fertiliser, while no conclusions could be drawn from the other biomarkers found.
The results of the screening programme form the basis for a potential development of a kit to detect whether crops are organically- or conventionally cultivated. Furthermore, the results from this part and other parts of the project "Organic food and health – a multigenerational animal experiment" provide basis for the selection of which secondary compounds to quantify by specific chemical analysis, isolate, and/or structure elucidation
Conductance of a quantum point contact based on spin-density-functional theory
We present full quantum mechanical conductance calculations of a quantum
point contact (QPC) performed in the framework of the density functional theory
(DFT) in the local spin-density approximation (LDA). We show that a
spin-degeneracy of the conductance channels is lifted and the total conductance
exhibits a broad plateau-like feature at 0.5*2e^{2}/h. The lifting of the
spin-degeneracy is a generic feature of all studied QPC structures (both very
short and very long ones; with the lengths in the range 40<l<500 nm). The
calculated conductance also shows a hysteresis for forward- and backward sweeps
of the gate voltage. These features in the conductance can be traced to the
formation of weakly coupled quasi-bound states (magnetic impurities) inside the
QPC (also predicted in previous DFT-based studies). A comparison of obtained
results with the experimental data shows however, that while the spin-DFT based
"first-principle" calculations exhibits the spin polarization in the QPC, the
calculated conductance clearly does not reproduce the 0.7 anomaly observed in
almost all QPCs of various geometries. We critically examine major features of
the standard DFT-based approach to the conductance calculations and argue that
its inability to reproduce the 0.7 anomaly might be related to the infamous
derivative discontinuity problem of the DFT leading to spurious
self-interaction errors not corrected in the standard LDA. Our results indicate
that the formation of the magnetic impurities in the QPC might be an artefact
of the LDA when localization of charge is expected to occur. We thus argue that
an accurate description of the QPC structure would require approaches that go
beyond the standard DFT+LDA schemes.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Electron transport through quantum wires and point contacts
We have studied quantum wires using the Green's function technique and the
density-functional theory, calculating the electronic structure and the
conductance. All the numerics are implemented using the finite-element method
with a high-order polynomial basis. For short wires, i.e. quantum point
contacts, the zero-bias conductance shows, as a function of the gate voltage
and at a finite temperature, a plateau at around 0.7G_0. (G_0 = 2e^2/h is the
quantum conductance). The behavior, which is caused in our mean-field model by
spontaneous spin polarization in the constriction, is reminiscent of the
so-called 0.7-anomaly observed in experiments. In our model the temperature and
the wire length affect the conductance-gate voltage curves in the same way as
in the measured data.Comment: 8 page
Integrative taxonomy identifies two new tardigrade species (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae) from Greenland
In this paper we describe Macrobiotus engbergi sp. nov. and Tenuibiotus zandrae sp. nov. from Greenland. Our study has involved both classical taxonomic methods, which include morphological and morphometric analyses conducted with the use of light and scanning electron microscopy, and genetic analysis based on four molecular markers (three nuclear: 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS-2, and one mitochondrial: COI). Moreover, we re-examined the type series of Tenuibiotus voronkovi (Tumanov, 2007) as well as the original sample where the species was found and we provide new morphological data from light and scanning electron microscopy which enabled us to amend its description. Finally, we also analysed slides with animals and egg of two populations from Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya (archipelago of Svalbard, Norway) designated as T. voronkovi within its recent redescription. The results and comparisons presented in our study question the validity of this designation.
Integrative taxonomy identifies two new tardigrade species (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae) from Greenland
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