321 research outputs found
Interspecific Hybrid Developed in Epidendrum Orchid from the Cross E. radicans Pav. Ex. Lindl. X E. xanthinum Lindl.
An interspecific Epidendrum hybrid was developed using E. radicans (known as 'fire star orchid', 'ground-rooted orchid') as female parent and E. xanthinum known as 'yellow orchid' as male parent. The selected line (NRCO Epidendrum cross/2005-01) was characterized for morphological and floral traits. Flower size (3.5 cm x 3.4 cm) of selected line was bigger than both parents, with bright saffron-orange colour (RHS 44A). Dorsal sepal size (1.8 cm x 0.6 cm), lateral sepal size (1.9 cm x 0.7 cm), petal size (1.8 cm x 0.6 cm), lip size (2.3 cm x 2 cm) and column size (1.1 cm x 0.2 cm) were bigger than in parents. Shape and fimbriated side lobes of lip with deep cleft of anterior margins was similar to the male parent (E. xanthinum), except colour. The F1progeny of 'NRCO-Epidendrum cross/2005-01' flowered with different red-orange to yellow shades is categorized broadly into three types: Red-orange, Orangeyellow and Yellow. Epidendrums are popularly known as 'Crucifix orchid' and 'Poor man's orchid', have a long flowering period with 2-3 flowerings in a year, and are easy to multiply. These attributes are ideal for popularizing this plant in India as a potted plant as well garden plant
Helical edge states in multiple topological mass domains
The two-dimensional topological insulating phase has been experimentally
discovered in HgTe quantum wells (QWs). The low-energy physics of
two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) is described by the
Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang (BHZ) model, where the realization of a topological or a
normal insulating phase depends on the Dirac mass being negative or positive,
respectively. We solve the BHZ model for a mass domain configuration, analyzing
the effects on the edge modes of a finite Dirac mass in the normal insulating
region (soft-wall boundary condition). We show that at a boundary between a TI
and a normal insulator (NI), the Dirac point of the edge states appearing at
the interface strongly depends on the ratio between the Dirac masses in the two
regions. We also consider the case of multiple boundaries such as NI/TI/NI,
TI/NI/TI and NI/TI/NI/TI.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figure
Helical edge states in multiple topological mass domains
The two-dimensional topological insulating phase has been experimentally
discovered in HgTe quantum wells (QWs). The low-energy physics of
two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) is described by the
Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang (BHZ) model, where the realization of a topological or a
normal insulating phase depends on the Dirac mass being negative or positive,
respectively. We solve the BHZ model for a mass domain configuration, analyzing
the effects on the edge modes of a finite Dirac mass in the normal insulating
region (soft-wall boundary condition). We show that at a boundary between a TI
and a normal insulator (NI), the Dirac point of the edge states appearing at
the interface strongly depends on the ratio between the Dirac masses in the two
regions. We also consider the case of multiple boundaries such as NI/TI/NI,
TI/NI/TI and NI/TI/NI/TI.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figure
Coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity in a t-J bilayer
We investigate coexistence of antiferromagnetic and superconducting
correlations in bilayered materials using a two-dimensional t-J model with
couplings across the layers using variational Monte Carlo calculations. It is
found that the underdoped regime supports a coexisting phase, beyond which the
(d-wave) superconducting state becomes stable. Further, the effects of
interplanar coupling parameters on the magnetic and superconducting
correlations as a function of hole doping are studied in details. The magnetic
correlations are found to diminish with increasing interplanar hopping away
from half filling, while the exchange across the layers strengthens interplanar
antiferromagnetic correlations both at and away from half filling. The
superconducting correlations show more interesting features where larger
interplanar hopping considerably reduces planar correlations at optimal doping,
while an opposite behaviour, i.e. stabilisation of the superconducting state is
realised in the overdoped regime, with the interplanar exchange all the while
playing a dormant role.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, RevTex4, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Autoimmune hypophysitis presenting as solid-cystic mass managed conservatively
Background: Autoimmune hypophysitis (AH) is a rare inflammatory condition of the pituitary gland and usually affects women of childbearing age. It commonly leads to pituitary dysfunction. Moreover, pituitary enlargement may lead to compressive symptoms, which necessitates urgent surgical decompression. Resection of the pituitary gland causes iatrogenic hypopituitarism which requires lifelong hormonal supplementation. With an increasing number of suspected cases of pituitary diseases, there has been a paradigm shift in the management by conservative measures, especially, when surgery is not urgently needed. Case Report: We report a case of AH in a premenopausal woman presenting with headache. MRI revealed a solid-cystic mass involving the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. The infundibulum was also thickened and enhancing; however, it was still in the midline. Ancillary MRI findings and hormonal profile were favouring the diagnosis of AH over pituitary neoplasm. The patient was managed conservatively with high doses of glucocorticoids, which resulted in prompt resolution of the lesion. During subsequent follow-up over 6 years, there was no recurrence and partial restoration of the pituitary function was seen. This case is interesting due to an unusual MRI appearance of AH, presenting as a solid-cystic mass. Moreover, disease resolution with conservative treatment strengthens the approach to limit surgery to those patients with compressive symptoms or uncertain diagnosis. Conclusions: AH should be included in the differential diagnosis of solid-cystic pituitary masses along with clinical correlation, which includes early involvement of ACTH and TSH and a relatively rapid development of hypopituitarism. In uncertain cases or with lack of compressive symptoms, a trial of steroids is worthwhile
Multi-wavelength polarimetric study towards the open cluster NGC 1893
We present multi-wavelength linear polarimetric observations for 44 stars of
the NGC 1893 young open cluster region along with V-band polarimetric
observations of stars of other four open clusters located between l ~160 to
~175 degree. We found evidence for the presence of two dust layers located at a
distance of ~170 pc and ~360 pc. The dust layers produce a polarization Pv
~2.2%. It is evident from the clusters studied in the present work that, in the
Galactic longitude range l ~160 to 175 degree and within the Galactic plane
(|b| < 2 degree), the polarization angles remain almost constant, with a mean
~163 degree and a dispersion of 6 degree. The small dispersion in polarization
angle could be due to the presence of uniform dust layer beyond 1 kpc. Present
observations reveal that in case of NGC 1893, the foreground two dust layers,
in addition to the intracluster medium, seems to be responsible for the
polarization effects. It is also found that towards the direction of NGC 1893,
the dust layer that exists between 2-3 kpc has a negligible contribution
towards the total observed polarization. The weighted mean for percentage of
polarization (Pmax) and the wavelength at maximum polarization ({\lambda}max)
are found to be 2.59 \pm 0.02% and 0.55 \pm 0.01 \mum respectively. The
estimated mean value of {\lambda}max indicates that the average size of the
dust grains within the cluster is similar to that in the general interstellar
medium. The spatial variation of the polarization is found to decrease towards
the outer region of the cluster. In the present work, we support the notion, as
already has been shown in previous studies, that polarimetry, in combination
with (U-B)/(B-V) colour-colour diagram, is a useful tool for identifying
non-members in a cluster.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures, 10 tables, accepted for the publication in
MNRA
Theoretical studies on hydrogen bonding in π-electron systems: a note on the structural features of diacetylene-hydrogen fluoride complexes
Ab initio supermolecular SCF calculations at the STO-3G level are reported for the diacetylene-hydrogen fluoride complexes. The reverse σ-complex is predicted to have somewhat higher stability and H-bond strength than the π-complexes
Transcription of the results of quantum chemical calculations in terms of the classical notion of molecular structures: the cases of some small carbonyls in the ground and excited states
Quantum chemical valence parameters of several carbonyl molecules in the ground and excited states are calculated by invoking the INDO-orthogonal gradient method in an MC-SCF framework. These parameters are then used to construct state-specific structural descriptions of these molecules in terms of superposition of several canonical structures. Photochemical reactivities of some of these molecules are sought to be explained on the basis of the picture that emerges
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