Synthesis and characterization of Na03RhO206H2O - a semiconductor with a weak ferromagnetic component

We have prepared the oxyhydrate Na03RhO206H2O by extracting Na+ cations from NaRhO2 and intercalating water molecules using an aqueous solution of Na2S2O8. Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) reveal that a non-stoichiometric Na03(H2O)06 network separates layers of edge-sharing RhO6 octahedra containing Rh3+(4d6, S=0) and Rh4+ (4d5, S=1/2). The resistivities of NaRhO2 and Na03RhO206H2O (T < 300) reveal insulating and semi-conducting behavior with activation gaps of 134 meV and 7.8 meV, respectively. Both Na03RhO206H2O and NaRhO2 show paramagnetism at room temperature, however, the sodium-deficient sample exhibits simultaneously a weak but experimentally reproducible ferromagnetic component. Both samples exhibit a temperature-independent Pauli paramagnetism, for NaRhO2 at T > 50 K and for Na03RhO206H2O at T > 25 K. The relative magnitudes of the temperature-independent magnetic susceptibilities, that of the oxide sample being half that of the oxyhydrate, is consistent with a higher density of thermally accessible electron states at the Fermi level in the hydrated sample. At low temperatures the magnetic moments rise sharply, providing evidence of localized and weakl -ordered electronic spins.Comment: 15 fages 5 figures Solid State Communications in prin

Andreev Reflection and Spin Injection into s−s- and d−d-wave Superconductors

We study the effect of spin injection into $s-$ and $d-$wave superconductors, with an emphasis on the interplay between boundary and bulk spin transport properties. The quantities of interest include the amount of non-equilibrium magnetization ($m$), as well as the induced spin-dependent current ($I_s$) and boundary voltage ($V_s$). In general, the Andreev reflection makes each of the three quantities depend on a different combination of the boundary and bulk contributions. The situation simplifies either for half-metallic ferromagnets or in the strong barrier limit, where both $V_s$ and $m$ depend solely on the bulk spin transport/relaxation properties. The implications of our results for the on-going spin injection experiments in high $T_c$ cuprates are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX, 1 figure included; typos correcte

Optogenetic control of iPS cell-derived neurons in 2D and 3D culture systems using channelrhodopsin-2 expression driven by the synapsin-1 and calcium-calmodulin kinase II promoters

Development of an optogenetically controllable human neural network model in three-dimensional (3D) cultures can provide an investigative system that is more physiologically relevant and better able to mimic aspects of human brain function. Light-sensitive neurons were generated by transducing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) into human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived neural progenitor cells (Axol) using lentiviruses and cell-type specific promoters. A mixed population of human iPSC-derived cortical neurons, astrocytes and progenitor cells were obtained (Axol-ChR2) upon neural differentiation. Pan-neuronal promoter synapsin-1 (SYN1) and excitatory neuron-specific promoter calcium-calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) were used to drive reporter gene expression in order to assess the differentiation status of the targeted cells. Expression of ChR2 and characterisation of subpopulations in differentiated Axol-ChR2 cells were evaluated using flow cytometry and immunofluorescent staining. These cells were transferred from 2D culture to 3D alginate hydrogel functionalised with arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) and small molecules (Y-27632). Improved RGD-alginate hydrogel was physically characterised and assessed for cell viability to serve as a generic 3D culture system for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and neuronal cells. Prior to cell encapsulation, neural network activities of Axol-ChR2 cells and primary neurons were investigated using calcium imaging. Results demonstrate that functional activities were successfully achieved through expression of ChR2- by both the CaMKII and SYN1 promoters. The RGD-alginate hydrogel system supports the growth of differentiated Axol-ChR2 cells whilst allowing detection of ChR2 expression upon light stimulation. This allows precise and non-invasive control of human neural networks in 3D

Glycotope structures and intramolecular affinity factors of plant lectins for Tn/T antigens

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COMPARISONS OF CRYSTALLINE SILICOTITANATE AND RESORCINOL FORMALDEHYDE MEDIA FOR CESIUM REMOVAL BY IN-TANK COLUMN PROCESSING

Chemical and thermal performance of crystalline silicotitanate (CST) and resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) ion exchange media were predicted for column configurations designed for installation in high level waste tanks and intended for cesium removal from radioactive waste supernates. Modeling predictions for the processing of a known Savannah River Site tank waste composition were generated. In a two column configuration under presumed nominal operating conditions (432 gallon packed bed, 10 gpm liquid flow, 25 C, 45 nCi/g average breakthrough limit) with lead/lag column rotation between processing cycles, approximately two cycles were predicted to treat 1,000,000 gallons of radioactive waste with CST as compared to three cycles predicted for RF. However, this processing mode was shown to be highly unfavorable for RF due to the fact that the lead column is unnecessarily exposed to large radiation doses during movement of the cesium mass transfer zone into the lag column. Thermal modeling calculations indicated that maximum temperatures within stagnant, packed CST and RF columns containing the highest anticipated cesium loading and no active cooling will reach 128 and 78 C, respectively, within 6 days. Active cooling maintains the cesium-saturated CST and RF columns below 88 and 41 C, respectively, under stagnant flow conditions

Profilin modulates sarcomeric organization and mediates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy

Aims: Heart failure is often preceded by cardiac hypertrophy, which is characterized by increased cell size, altered protein abundance, and actin-cytoskeletal reorganization. Profilin is a well-conserved, ubiquitously expressed, multi-functional actin-binding protein, whose role in cardiomyocytes is largely unknown. Given its involvement in vascular hypertrophy, we aimed to test the hypothesis that profilin-1 is a key mediator of cardiomyocyte-specific hypertrophic remodeling. Methods and Results: Profilin-1 was elevated in multiple mouse models of hypertrophy, and a cardiomyocyte-specific increase of profilin in Drosophila resulted in significantly larger heart tube dimensions. Moreover, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of profilin-1 in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) induced a hypertrophic response, measured by increased myocyte size and gene expression. Profilin-1 silencing suppressed the response in NRVMs stimulated with phenylephrine or endothelin-1. Mechanistically, we found that profilin-1 regulates hypertrophy, in part, through activation of the ERK1/2 signaling cascade. Confocal microscopy showed that profilin localized to the Z-line of Drosophila myofibrils under normal conditions and accumulated near the M-line when overexpressed. Elevated profilin levels resulted in elongated sarcomeres, myofibrillar disorganization, and sarcomeric disarray, which correlated with impaired muscle function. Conclusion: Our results identify novel roles for profilin as an important mediator of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. We show that overexpression of profilin is sufficient to induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and sarcomeric remodeling, and silencing of profilin attenuates the hypertrophic response

Dynamic Susceptibility and Phonon Anomalies in the Bilayer tt-JJ Model

We consider a bilayer version of the extended $t$-$J$ model, with a view to computing the form of certain experimentally observable properties. Using the slave-boson decomposition, we show at the mean-field level that in the bilayer system the existence of in-plane $d$-wave singlet pairing excludes any interplane singlet order for reasonable values of the interplane superexchange parameter. Restricting the analysis to the regime of no interplane singlet pairing, we deduce parameter sets reproducing the Fermi surfaces of YBCO- and BSCCO-like bilayer systems. From these we calculate the form of the dynamic susceptibility $\chi( {\bf q}, \omega )$ in both systems, and of the anomalies in frequency and linewidth of selected phonon modes in YBCO. We compare the results with experiment, and discuss the features which differ from the single-layer case.Comment: 24 pages. 12 figures on 6 pages, available only by fax or s-mail; send request by fax to -(81)-3-5800-6791 or by e-mail to normand%[email protected]

Magnetic softness in iron-based superconductors

We examine the relevance of several major material-dependent parameters to the magnetic softness in iron-base superconductors by first-principles electronic structure analysis of their parent compounds. The results are explained in the spin-fermion model where localized spins and orbitally degenerate itinerant electrons coexist and are coupled by Hund's rule coupling. We found that the difference in the strength of the Hund's rule coupling term is the major material-dependent microscopic parameter for determining the ground-state spin pattern. The magnetic softness in iron-based superconductors is essentially driven by the competition between the double-exchange ferromagnetism and the superexchange antiferromagnetism.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Zero-temperature magnetism in the periodic Anderson model in the limit of large dimensions

We study the magnetism in the periodic Anderson model in the limit of large dimensions by mapping the lattice problem into an equivalent local impurity self-consistent model. Through a recently introduced algorithm based on the exact diagonalization of an effective cluster hamiltonian, we obtain solutions with and without magnetic order in the half-filled case. We find the exact AFM-PM phase boundary which is shown to be of $2^{nd}$ order and obeys $\frac{V^2}{U} \approx const.$ We calculate the local staggered moments and the density of states to gain insights on the behavior of the AFM state as it evolves from itinerant to a local-moment magnetic regimeComment: 9 pages + 9 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B, 1 Sept. 1995 issu