Icosahedral multi-component model sets

A quasiperiodic packing Q of interpenetrating copies of C, most of them only partially occupied, can be defined in terms of the strip projection method for any icosahedral cluster C. We show that in the case when the coordinates of the vectors of C belong to the quadratic field Q[\sqrt{5}] the dimension of the superspace can be reduced, namely, Q can be re-defined as a multi-component model set by using a 6-dimensional superspace.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX2e in IOP styl

Glitz

The crystal structure of the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases of La(Ba 2-xLax)Cu3-yO 6+x/2-y+ z are determined on twinned crystals. The orthorhombic structure, obtained for low x, is close to the regular Y-Ba-Cu-O type (twin a * b * c-b * a * c), but is highly copper deficient on the Cu(1) site (~ 30 %). The local correlations (ξ ~ 20 Å) between copper atoms and vacancies, as deduced from X-ray diffuse scattering, correspond to a short-range segregation of vacancies in chains. As a consequence of the large amount of defects, these crystals are non-typical semiconductors. The tetragonal structure, x ≃ 0.50, leads to tri-twinned crystals with 90° faulting, a * a * 3 a-a * 3 a * a -3 a * a * a (a, the perovskite lattice constant). In these materials the copper sites are found to be strongly anharmonic. This is due to the disorder introduced by the La-Ba substitution. These crystals are also semiconductors with a T-1/4 activation law for the conductivity which indicates that variable range hopping is expected to set in, a consequence of localization by the disorder

Crystallization of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanometric phase change material clusters made by gas-phase condensation

International audienceThe crystallization behavior of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanometric clusters was studied using X-ray diffraction with in situannealing. Clusters were made using a sputtering gas-phase condensation source, which allowed for the growth of well-defined, contaminant-free, and isolated clusters. The average size for the clusters is 5.7 ± 1 nm. As-deposited amorphous clusters crystallize in the fcc cubic phase at 180 °C, while for thin films, the phase change temperature is 155 °C. This observation illustrates the scalability of the Ge2Sb2Te5phase change from the amorphous to the cubic state in three-dimensionally confined systems in this size range

History and philosophy of science in Biology teaching

Neste trabalho, buscamos evidenciar a concepção de História da Biologia que é veiculada nos livros didáticos. Para tanto, analisamos três coleções de livros de Biologia destinados ao Ensino Médio, e alguns livros universitários usados em cursos de formação de professores. Ao analisar este material curricular foi possível observar que a história apresentada é desvinculada do contexto cultural de cada período histórico, o que pode levar o aluno a construir uma falsa representação da ciência e do fazer científico.In this work, we search forto evidences the conception of the History of Biology being is propagated in textbooks. We analyze three Biology book collections designed estined forto middle schooledium education, and some university books used in teacher education courses. When analyzing this curricular material it was possible to observe that the history of biology presented is disengaged from entailedofthe cultural context of each historical period, and this what can lead the student to construct a false representation of science and of scientific meaning making

Phason elasticity of a three-dimensional quasicrystal: transfer-matrix method

We introduce a new transfer matrix method for calculating the thermodynamic properties of random-tiling models of quasicrystals in any number of dimensions, and describe how it may be used to calculate the phason elastic properties of these models, which are related to experimental measurables such as phason Debye-Waller factors, and diffuse scattering wings near Bragg peaks. We apply our method to the canonical-cell model of the icosahedral phase, making use of results from a previously-presented calculation in which the possible structures for this model under specific periodic boundary conditions were cataloged using a computational technique. We give results for the configurational entropy density and the two fundamental elastic constants for a range of system sizes. The method is general enough allow a similar calculation to be performed for any other random tiling model.Comment: 38 pages, 3 PostScript figures, self-expanding uuencoded compressed tar file, LaTeX using RevTeX macros and epsfig.st

Polytetrahedral Clusters

By studying the structures of clusters bound by a model potential that favours polytetrahedral order, we find a previously unknown series of `magic numbers' (i.e. sizes of special stability) whose polytetrahedral structures are characterized by disclination networks that are analogous to hydrocarbons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Structure of the icosahedral Ti-Zr-Ni quasicrystal

The atomic structure of the icosahedral Ti-Zr-Ni quasicrystal is determined by invoking similarities to periodic crystalline phases, diffraction data and the results from ab initio calculations. The structure is modeled by decorations of the canonical cell tiling geometry. The initial decoration model is based on the structure of the Frank-Kasper phase W-TiZrNi, the 1/1 approximant structure of the quasicrystal. The decoration model is optimized using a new method of structural analysis combining a least-squares refinement of diffraction data with results from ab initio calculations. The resulting structural model of icosahedral Ti-Zr-Ni is interpreted as a simple decoration rule and structural details are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Characterization of an Orphan Diterpenoid Biosynthetic Operon from Salinispora arenicola

While more commonly associated with plants than microbes, diterpenoid natural products have been reported to have profound effects in marine microbe–microbe interactions. Intriguingly, the genome of the marine bacterium Salinispora arenicola CNS-205 contains a putative diterpenoid biosynthetic operon, terp1. Here recombinant expression studies are reported, indicating that this three-gene operon leads to the production of isopimara-8,15-dien-19-ol (4). Although 4 is not observed in pure cultures of S. arenicola, it is plausible that the terp1 operon is only expressed under certain physiologically relevant conditions such as in the presence of other marine organisms

Catecholamine up-regulates MMP-7 expression by activating AP-1 and STAT3 in gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stress, anxiety and depression can cause complex physiological and neuroendocrine changes, resulting in increased level of stress related hormone catecholamine, which may constitute a primary mechanism by which physiological factors impact gene expression in tumors. In the present study, we investigated the effects of catecholamine stimulation on MMP-7 expression in gastric cancer cells and elucidated the molecular mechanisms of the up-regulation of MMP-7 level by catecholamine through an adrenergic signaling pathway.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Increased MMP-7 expression was identified at both mRNA and protein levels in the gastric cancer cells in response to isoproterenol stimulation. β2-AR antigonist effectively abrogated isoproterenol-induced MMP-7 expression. The activation of STAT3 and AP-1 was prominently induced by isoproterenol stimulation and AP-1 displayed a greater efficacy than STAT3 in isoproterenol-induced MMP-7 expression. Mutagenesis of three STAT3 binding sites in MMP-7 promoter failed to repress the transactivation of MMP-7 promoter and silencing STAT3 expression was not effective in preventing isoproterenol-induced MMP-7 expression. However, isoproterenol-induced MMP-7 promoter activities were completely disappeared when the AP-1 site was mutated. STAT3 and c-Jun could physically interact and bind to the AP-1 site, implicating that the interplay of both transcriptional factors on the AP-1 site is responsible for isoproterenol-stimulated MMP-7 expression in gastric cancer cells. The expression of MMP-7 in gastric cancer tissues was found to be at the site where β2-AR was overexpressed and the levels of MMP-7 and β2-AR were the highest in the metastatic locus of gastric cancer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Up-regulation of MMP-7 expression through β2-AR-mediated signaling pathway is involved in invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer.</p