1,648 research outputs found
Dosage compensation in birds
AbstractThe Z and W sex chromosomes of birds have evolved independently from the mammalian X and Y chromosomes [1]. Unlike mammals, female birds are heterogametic (ZW), while males are homogametic (ZZ). Therefore male birds, like female mammals, carry a double dose of sex-linked genes relative to the other sex. Other animals with nonhomologous sex chromosomes possess “dosage compensation” systems to equalize the expression of sex-linked genes. Dosage compensation occurs in animals as diverse as mammals, insects, and nematodes, although the mechanisms involved differ profoundly [2]. In birds, however, it is widely accepted that dosage compensation does not occur [3–5], and the differential expression of Z-linked genes has been suggested to underlie the avian sex-determination mechanism [6]. Here we show equivalent expression of at least six of nine Z chromosome genes in male and female chick embryos by using real-time quantitative PCR [7]. Only the Z-linked ScII gene, whose ortholog in Caenorhabditis elegans plays a crucial role in dosage compensation [8], escapes compensation by this assay. Our results imply that the majority of Z-linked genes in the chicken are dosage compensated
Orbital Selective Magnetism in the Spin-Ladder Iron Selenides BaKFeSe
Here we show that the 2.80(8) {\mu}B/Fe block antiferromagnetic order of
BaFe2Se3 transforms into stripe antiferromagnetic order in KFe2Se3 with a
decrease in moment to 2.1(1) {\mu}B/Fe. This reduction is larger than expected
from the change in electron count from Ba to K, and occurs with
the loss of the displacements of Fe atoms from ideal positions in the ladders,
as found by neutron pair distribution function analysis. Intermediate
compositions remain insulating, and magnetic susceptibility measurements show a
suppression of magnetic order and probable formation of a spin-glass. Together,
these results imply an orbital-dependent selection of magnetic versus bonded
behavior, driven by relative bandwidths and fillings.Comment: Final versio
Chemical analyses of extremely degraded wood using analytical pyrolysis and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy
Alum-treated archaeological woods from the Oseberg collection, excavated and treated in the early 1900s demonstrate an extreme deterioration, only discovered in the past decade. This research was aimed at understanding the characteristics of the naturally aged material through chemical analyses of both organic and inorganic components, in order to provide information for the preservation/conservation of these precious objects. Analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with in situ silylation using hexamethyldisilazane (Py(HMDS)-GC/MS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) were used to investigate a set of samples of alum-treated archaeological wood and untreated archaeological wood. Sound woods of the same species were also analysed in order to compare the results. Results from Py(HMDS)-GC/MS analyses of alum-treated woods from Oseberg showed an extreme depletion of carbohydrates and a highly deteriorated lignin network. The majority of the lignin had undergone oxidation reactions, illustrated by high relative amounts of acidic pyrolysis products. In particular, p-hydroxy-benzoic acid was detected for the first time as a degradation product of archaeological wood. Results from ICP-AES showed variable concentrations of aluminium and potassium from the alum treatment, as well as iron, copper, zinc and calcium. The extent of oxidation observed by Py(HMDS)-GC/MS appeared to correlate with relative amounts of iron and calcium in the samples, which may suggest that degradation promoted by iron compounds is inhibited in the presence of calcium compounds. The results obtained for a sample of archaeological wood treated with alum salts five years ago showed that chemical deterioration of lignin had already begun, mainly involving depolymerisation reactions, though only a slight increase in oxidation was evident. In addition to increased insight into potential deterioration reactions, occurring in a complex material such as alum-treated archaeological wood, it was possible to relate the degree of chemical degradation of the Oseberg woods to their visual condition (observed with the naked eye). © 2015 Elsevier B.V
Epistemic Two-Dimensionalism and Arguments From Epistemic Misclassification
According to Epistemic Two-Dimensional Semantics (E2D), expressions have a counterfactual intension and an epistemic intension. Epistemic intensions reflect cognitive significance such that sentences with necessary epistemic intensions are a priori. We defend E2D against an influential line of criticism: arguments from epistemic misclassification. We focus in particular on the arguments of Speaks [2010] and Schroeter [2005]. Such arguments conclude that E2D is mistaken from (i) the claim that E2D is committed to classifying certain sentences as a priori, and (ii) the claim that such sentences are a posteriori. We aim to show that these arguments are unsuccessful as (i) and (ii) undercut each other. One must distinguish the general framework of E2D from a specific implementation of it. The framework is flexible enough to avoid commitment to the apriority of any particular sentence; only specific implementations are so committed. Arguments from epistemic misclassification are therefore better understood as arguments for favouring one implementation of E2D over another, rather than as refutations of E2D
Disorder from order among anisotropic next-nearest-neighbor Ising spin chains in SrHoO
We describe why Ising spin chains with competing interactions in segregate into ordered and disordered ensembles at low temperatures
(). Using elastic neutron scattering, magnetization, and specific heat
measurements, the two distinct spin chains are inferred to have N\'eel
() and double-N\'eel
() ground states respectively. Below
~K, the N\'eel chains develop three dimensional (3D) long
range order (LRO), which arrests further thermal equilibration of the
double-N\'eel chains so they remain in a disordered incommensurate state for
below ~K. distills an important
feature of incommensurate low dimensional magnetism: kinetically trapped
topological defects in a quasidimensional spin system can preclude order
in dimensions.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Tuning the Charge Density Wave and Superconductivity in CuxTaS2
We report the characterization of layered, 2H-type CuxTaS2, for x between 0
and 0.12. The charge density wave (CDW), at 70 K for TaS2, is destabilized with
Cu doping. The sub-1K superconducting transition in undoped 2H-TaS2 jumps
quickly to 2.5 K at low x, increases to 4.5 K at the optimal composition
Cu0.04TaS2, and then decreases at higher x. The electronic contribution to the
specific heat, first increasing and then decreasing as a function of Cu
content, is 12 mJ mol-1 K-2 at Cu0.04TaS2. Electron diffraction studies show
that the CDW remains present at the optimal superconducting composition, but
with both a changed q vector and decreased coherence length. We present an
electronic phase diagram for the system.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures. To be published in Physical Review
Extreme Sensitivity of Superconductivity to Stoichiometry in FeSe (Fe1+dSe)
The recently discovered iron arsenide superconductors, which display
superconducting transition temperatures as high as 55 K, appear to share a
number of general features with high-Tc cuprates, including proximity to a
magnetically ordered state and robustness of the superconductivity in the
presence of disorder. Here we show that superconductivity in Fe1+dSe, the
parent compound of the superconducting arsenide family, is destroyed by very
small changes in stoichiometry. Further, we show that non-superconducting
Fe1+dSe is not magnetically ordered down to low temperatures. These results
suggest that robust superconductivity and immediate instability against an
ordered magnetic state should not be considered as intrinsic characteristics of
iron-based superconducting systems, and that Fe1+dSe may present a unique
opportunity for determining which materials characteristics are critical to the
existence of superconductivity in high Tc iron arsenide superconductors and
which are not.Comment: Updated to reflect final version and include journal referenc
Trimer Formation and Metal-Insulator Transition in Orbital Degenerate Systems on a Triangular Lattice
As a prototypical self-organization in the system with orbital degeneracy, we
theoretically investigate trimer formation on a triangular lattice, as observed
in LiVO2. From the analysis of an effective spin-orbital coupled model in the
strong correlation limit, we show that the previously-proposed orbital-ordered
trimer state is not the lowest-energy state for a finite Hund's-rule coupling.
Instead, exploring the ground state in a wide range of parameters for a
multiorbital Hubbard model, we find an instability toward a different
orbital-ordered trimer state in the intermediately correlated regime in the
presence of trigonal crystal field. The trimer phase appears in the competing
region among a paramagnetic metal, band insulator, and Mott insulator. The
underlying mechanism is nesting instability of the Fermi surface by a
synergetic effect of Coulomb interactions and trigonal-field splitting. The
results are compared with experiments in triangularlattice compounds, LiVX2
(X=O, S, Se) and NaVO2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Investigation of the spin-glass regime between the antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in FeSeTe
Using bulk magnetization along with elastic and inelastic neutron scattering
techniques, we have investigated the phase diagram of
FeSeTe and the nature of magnetic correlations in three
nonsuperconducting samples of FeSeTe,
FeSeTe and FeSeTe. A cusp
and hysteresis in the temperature dependence of the magnetization for the
and 0.3 samples indicates spin-glass (SG) ordering below K. Neutron scattering measurements indicate that the spin-glass behavior is
associated with short-range spin density wave (SDW) ordering characterized by a
static component and a low-energy dynamic component with a characteristic
incommensurate wave vector of and an anisotropy
gap of 2.5 meV. Our high -resolution data also show that the
systems undergo a glassy structural distortion that coincides with the
short-range SDW order
Evaluation of the United States National Air Quality Forecast Capability experimental real-time predictions in 2010 using Air Quality System ozone and NO<sub>2</sub> measurements
The National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) project provides the US with operational and experimental real-time ozone predictions using two different versions of the three-dimensional Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Routine evaluation using near-real-time AIRNow ozone measurements through 2011 showed better performance of the operational ozone predictions. In this work, quality-controlled and -assured Air Quality System (AQS) ozone and nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>) observations are used to evaluate the experimental predictions in 2010. It is found that both ozone and NO<sub>2</sub> are overestimated over the contiguous US (CONUS), with annual biases of +5.6 and +5.1 ppbv, respectively. The annual root mean square errors (RMSEs) are 15.4 ppbv for ozone and 13.4 ppbv for NO<sub>2</sub>. For both species the overpredictions are most pronounced in the summer. The locations of the AQS monitoring sites are also utilized to stratify comparisons by the degree of urbanization. Comparisons for six predefined US regions show the highest annual biases for ozone predictions in Southeast (+10.5 ppbv) and for NO<sub>2</sub> in the Lower Middle (+8.1 ppbv) and Pacific Coast (+7.1 ppbv) regions. The spatial distributions of the NO<sub>2</sub> biases in August show distinctively high values in the Los Angeles, Houston, and New Orleans areas. In addition to the standard statistics metrics, daily maximum eight-hour ozone categorical statistics are calculated using the current US ambient air quality standard (75 ppbv) and another lower threshold (70 ppbv). Using the 75 ppbv standard, the hit rate and proportion of correct over CONUS for the entire year are 0.64 and 0.96, respectively. Summertime biases show distinctive weekly patterns for ozone and NO<sub>2</sub>. Diurnal comparisons show that ozone overestimation is most severe in the morning, from 07:00 to 10:00 local time. For NO<sub>2</sub>, the morning predictions agree with the AQS observations reasonably well, but nighttime concentrations are overpredicted by around 100%
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