1,624 research outputs found
Impact of temperature and mode polarization on the acoustic phonon range in complex crystalline phases: A case study on intermetallic clathrates
The low and weakly temperature-varying lattice thermal conductivity, κL (T), in crystals with a complex unit
cell such as type-I clathrates is assumed to originate from a reduced momentum and energy space available for
propagative lattice vibrations, which is caused by the occurrence of low-energy optical phonon modes. In the
context of ab initio self-consistent phonon (SCP) theory, it has been shown that the cubic and quartic anharmonic
interactions result in a temperature-induced energy renormalization of these low-lying optical branches which
contributes to the anomalous behavior of κL (T) in structurally ordered type-I clathrates [T. Tadano and S.
Tsuneyuki, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 105901 (2018)]. By means of inelastic neutron scattering, we provide evidence
for this energy renormalization in temperature, which has been resolved for transversely and longitudinally
polarized phonons in the single crystal type-I clathrate Ba7.81Ge40.67Au5.33. By mapping the neutron intensity
in the momentum space, we demonstrate the coherent character of the low-lying optical phonons. The overall
phonon spectrum and dynamical structure factors are satisfactorily reproduced by ab initio harmonic calculations
using density functional theory with the meta-GGA SCAN functional and a fully ordered structure. However, a
polarization-dependent cutoff energy with opposing temperature shifts for longitudinal and transverse acoustic
dispersions is experimentally observed which is not reproduced by the simulations. Anharmonicity affects the
energies of the low-lying optical phonons in the transverse polarization, which compares quantitatively well with
available results from SCP theory, whereas differences are observed for the longitudinal polarizatio
Maternal deaths in Pakistan : intersection of gender, class and social exclusion.
Background: A key aim of countries with high maternal mortality rates is to increase availability of competent
maternal health care during pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, despite significant investment, countries with the
highest burdens have not reduced their rates to the expected levels. We argue, taking Pakistan as a case study,
that improving physical availability of services is necessary but not sufficient for reducing maternal mortality
because gender inequities interact with caste and poverty to socially exclude certain groups of women from
health services that are otherwise physically available.
Methods: Using a critical ethnographic approach, two case studies of women who died during childbirth were
pieced together from information gathered during the first six months of fieldwork in a village in Northern Punjab,
Pakistan.
Findings: Shida did not receive the necessary medical care because her heavily indebted family could not afford it.
Zainab, a victim of domestic violence, did not receive any medical care because her martial family could not afford
it, nor did they think she deserved it. Both women belonged to lower caste households, which are materially poor
households and socially constructed as inferior.
Conclusions: The stories of Shida and Zainab illustrate how a rigidly structured caste hierarchy, the gendered
devaluing of females, and the reinforced lack of control that many impoverished women experience conspire to
keep women from lifesaving health services that are physically available and should be at their disposal
Exposure of bakery and pastry apprentices to airborne flour dust using PM2.5 and PM10 personal samplers
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study describes exposure levels of bakery and pastry apprentices to flour dust, a known risk factor of occupational asthma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Questionnaires on work activity were completed by 286 students. Among them, 34 performed a series of two personal exposure measurements using a PM<sub>2.5 </sub>and PM<sub>10 </sub>personal sampler during a complete work shift, one during a cold ("winter") period, and the other during a hot ("summer") period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bakery apprentices experience greater average PM<sub>2.5 </sub>and PM<sub>10 </sub>exposures than pastry apprentices (p < 0.006). Exposure values for both particulate fractions are greater in winter (average PM<sub>10 </sub>values among bakers = 1.10 mg.m<sup>-3 </sup>[standard deviation: 0.83]) than in summer (0.63 mg.m<sup>-3 </sup>[0.36]). While complying with current European occupational limit values, these exposures exceed the ACGIH recommendations set to prevent sensitization to flour dust (0.5 mg.m<sup>-3</sup>). Over half the facilities had no ventilation system.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Young bakery apprentices incur substantial exposure to known airways allergens, a situation that might elicit early induction of airways inflammation.</p
Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente
Tandem application of C-C bond-forming reactions with reductive ozonolysis
Several variants of reductive ozonolysis, defined here as the in situ generation of aldehydes or ketones during ozonolytic cleavage of alkenes, are demonstrated to work effectively in tandem with a number of C-C bond-forming reactions. For reactions involving basic nucleophiles (1,2- addition of Grignard reagents, Wittig or Horner-Emmons olefinations, and directed Aldol reactions of lithium enolates) the one-pot process offers a rapid and high-yielding alternative to traditional two-step protocols
Adenylyl Cyclase Plays a Regulatory Role in Development, Stress Resistance and Secondary Metabolism in Fusarium fujikuroi
The ascomycete fungus Fusarium fujikuroi (Gibberella fujikuroi MP-C) produces secondary metabolites of biotechnological interest, such as gibberellins, bikaverin, and carotenoids. Production of these metabolites is regulated by nitrogen availability and, in a specific manner, by other environmental signals, such as light in the case of the carotenoid pathway. A complex regulatory network controlling these processes is recently emerging from the alterations of metabolite production found through the mutation of different regulatory genes. Here we show the effect of the targeted mutation of the acyA gene of F. fujikuroi, coding for adenylyl cyclase. Mutants lacking the catalytic domain of the AcyA protein showed different phenotypic alterations, including reduced growth, enhanced production of unidentified red pigments, reduced production of gibberellins and partially derepressed carotenoid biosynthesis in the dark. The phenotype differs in some aspects from that of similar mutants of the close relatives F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides: contrary to what was observed in these species, ΔacyA mutants of F. fujikuroi showed enhanced sensitivity to oxidative stress (H2O2), but no change in heavy metal resistance or in the ability to colonize tomato tissue, indicating a high versatility in the regulatory roles played by cAMP in this fungal group
- …