Magnetic Characteristics of Mn-Implanted GaN Nanorods Followed by Thermal Annealing

We have investigated the magnetic and optical properties of dislocation-free vertical GaN nanorods with diameters of 150 nm grown on (111) Si substrates by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy followed by Mn ion implantation and annealing. The GaN nanorods are fully relaxed and have a very good crystal quality characterized by extremely strong and narrow photoluminescence excitonic lines near 3.47 eV. For GaMnN nanorods, it can be concluded that the ferromagnetic property of GaMnN nanorod with a Curie temperature over 300 K is associated with the formation of Mn 4 Si 7 magnetic phase which results from the effects of magnetic and structural disorder introduced by a random incorporation and inhomogeneous distribution of Mn atoms in the porous layer between the nanorods that form precipitates in the Si substrate before or during the annealing step amongst the GaN nanorods

Integrative description of a new Dactylobiotus (Eutardigrada: Parachela) from Antarctica that reveals an intraspecific variation in tardigrade egg morphology

Tardigrades constitute one of the most important group in the challenging Antarctic terrestrial ecosystem. Living in various habitats, tardigrades play major roles as consumers and decomposers in the trophic networks of Antarctic terrestrial and freshwater environments; yet we still know little about their biodiversity. The Eutardigrada is a species rich class, for which the eggshell morphology is one of the key morphological characters. Tardigrade egg morphology shows a diverse appearance, and it is known that, despite rare, intraspecific variation is caused by seasonality, epigenetics, and external environmental conditions. Here we report Dactylobiotus ovimutans sp. nov. from King George Island, Antarctica. Interestingly, we observed a range of eggshell morphologies from the new species, although the population was cultured under controlled laboratory condition. Thus, seasonality, environmental conditions, and food source are eliminated, leaving an epigenetic factor as a main cause for variability in this case

Mapping Listvenite Occurrences in the Damage Zones of Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica Using ASTER Satellite Remote Sensing Data

Listvenites normally form during hydrothermal/metasomatic alteration of mafic and ultramafic rocks and represent a key indicator for the occurrence of ore mineralizations in orogenic systems. Hydrothermal/metasomatic alteration mineral assemblages are one of the significant indicators for ore mineralizations in the damage zones of major tectonic boundaries, which can be detected using multispectral satellite remote sensing data. In this research, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) multispectral remote sensing data were used to detect listvenite occurrences and alteration mineral assemblages in the poorly exposed damage zones of the boundaries between the Wilson, Bowers and Robertson Bay terranes in Northern Victoria Land (NVL), Antarctica. Spectral information for detecting alteration mineral assemblages and listvenites were extracted at pixel and sub-pixel levels using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA)/Independent Component Analysis (ICA) fusion technique, Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) and Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM) algorithms. Mineralogical assemblages containing Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ , Fe-OH, Al-OH, Mg-OH and CO3 spectral absorption features were detected in the damage zones of the study area by implementing PCA/ICA fusion to visible and near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands of ASTER. Silicate lithological groups were mapped and discriminated using PCA/ICA fusion to thermal infrared (TIR) bands of ASTER. Fraction images of prospective alteration minerals, including goethite, hematite, jarosite, biotite, kaolinite, muscovite, antigorite, serpentine, talc, actinolite, chlorite, epidote, calcite, dolomite and siderite and possible zones encompassing listvenite occurrences were produced using LSU and CEM algorithms to ASTER VNIR+SWIR spectral bands. Several potential zones for listvenite occurrences were identified, typically in association with mafic metavolcanic rocks (Glasgow Volcanics) in the Bowers Mountains.Comparison of the remote sensing results with geological investigations in the study area demonstrate invaluable implications of the remote sensing approach for mapping poorly exposed lithological units, detecting possible zones of listvenite occurrences and discriminating subpixel abundance of alteration mineral assemblages in the damage zones of the Wilson-Bowers and Bowers-Robertson Bay terrane boundaries and in intra-Bowers and Wilson terranes fault zones with high fluid flow. The satellite remote sensing approach developed in this research is explicitly pertinent to detecting key alteration mineral indicators for prospecting hydrothermal/metasomatic ore minerals in remote and inaccessible zones situated in other orogenic systems around the world

Virtual palaeontology: the effects of mineral composition and texture of fossil shell and hosting rock on the quality of X-ray microtomography (XMT) outcomes using Palaeozoic brachiopods

X-ray microtomography (XMT) has become a popular tool for detailed investigations of a diverse range of fossils. However, XMT has not always guaranteed a satisfactory result, as the resolution of XMT images critically depends on the contrast between the fossil and its hosting rock. In this paper, XMT was applied to 11 Palaeozoic brachiopod specimens selected from a range of sedimentary rocks in order to investigate the extent of effects of mineral composition and texture in the rock and fossil shell on the quality of XMT outcomes. Our study shows that sufficient contrast in mineral composition and texture between the brachiopod shell and its infilling material is required to reproduce high-quality XMT results. Specifically, brachiopod specimens with their original calcium carbonate shell, infilled mainly with quartz grains, appear to produce the best XMT results characterized by sharply defined shell internal structures. We also found that diagenesis is significant in determining the XMT quality. Diagenetic processes including silicification and recrystallization in the brachiopod shell and/or the infilling material generally tends to diminish the resolution of the XMT results, although this impact is considerably complicated by the degree and aspect of diagenesis. Another factor of minor significance concerns the presence of bioclasts scattered in the hosting sediment that potentially could be confused with genuine shell internal structures

A possibly deep branching artiopodan arthropod from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte (North Greenland)

Artiopoda was a diverse group of Palaeozoic euarthropods that proliferated in the early Palaeozoic, epitomized by the ubiquitous trilobites. Their possible phylogenetic position outside mandibulates and chelicerates offers the potential for understanding the evolution of euarthropods in more detail. However, this opportunity remains unexploited given that identification of deep-splitting artiopodans remains to be fully explored. Here, we describe a new non-trilobite artiopodan from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, North Greenland. Thulaspis tholops gen. et sp. nov. is a large species with a broad, domed head shield, followed by a trunk consisting of 15 thoracic tergites and a small pygidium, giving the body an ovoid appearance when viewed dorsally. Thulaspis is distinctive with its rounded genae and anterior thoracic pleural tips, as well as short pleural spines posteriorly. A heart-shaped hypostome with an anterior lobe is present. Appendages, partly obscured by the tergal skeleton, have many moderate length gnathobasic spines, and large flap-like exopods with a fringe of small setae. Cladistic analyses recover Thulaspis as the sister taxon to Squamacula, a genus found in the Chengjiang and Emu Bay Shale biotas, in either a polytomy with a number of artiopodan taxa or as a sister group to all other artiopodans, indicating an important role in understanding the roots of artiopodan anatomy and evolution

Abnormal phase flip in the coherent phonon oscillations of Ca2RuO4

We employ an optical pump-probe technique to study coherent phonon oscillations in Ca2RuO4. We find that oscillation amplitude of an Ag symmetric phonon mode is strongly suppressed at 260 K, a putative transition point of orbital ordering. The oscillation also shows a gradual but huge change in its phase, such that the oscillation even flips over with a 180 change across the temperature. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the Ag phonon has an eigenmode of octahedral distortion with conventional tilting along the a axis and antipolar distortion of apical oxygen. Careful inspection of the lattice captures an unusually large antipolar distortion in low-temperature structures, which may play a crucial role for the phase transition at 260 K. ©2018 American Physical Societ

Overcoming evasive resistance from vascular endothelial growth factor a inhibition in sarcomas by genetic or pharmacologic targeting of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α

Increased levels of hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in human sarcomas correlate with tumor progression and radiation resistance. Prolonged antiangiogenic therapy of tumors not only delays tumor growth but may also increase hypoxia and HIF-1α activity. In our recent clinical trial, treatment with the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) antibody, bevacizumab, followed by a combination of bevacizumab and radiation led to near complete necrosis in nearly half of sarcomas. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis of microarrays from pretreatment biopsies found that the Gene Ontology category “Response to hypoxia” was upregulated in poor responders and that the hierarchical clustering based on 140 hypoxia-responsive genes reliably separated poor responders from good responders. The most commonly used chemotherapeutic drug for sarcomas, doxorubicin (Dox), was recently found to block HIF-1α binding to DNA at low metronomic doses. In four sarcoma cell lines, HIF-1α shRNA or Dox at low concentrations blocked HIF-1α induction of VEGF-A by 84–97% and carbonic anhydrase 9 by 83–93%. HT1080 sarcoma xenografts had increased hypoxia and/or HIF-1α activity with increasing tumor size and with anti-VEGF receptor antibody (DC101) treatment. Combining DC101 with HIF-1α shRNA or metronomic Dox had a synergistic effect in suppressing growth of HT1080 xenografts, at least in part via induction of tumor endothelial cell apoptosis. In conclusion, sarcomas respond to increased hypoxia by expressing HIF-1α target genes that may promote resistance to antiangiogenic and other therapies. HIF-1α inhibition blocks this evasive resistance and augments destruction of the tumor vasculature. What’s new? Despite their initial promise, anti-angiogenic therapies have been a disappointment in the clinic. One reason is that solid tumors often become resistant to these drugs. Tumors that respond poorly to this type of therapy have increased activation of the hypoxia-induced transcription factor HIF-1α which can enhance tumor survival and progression. In this study, the authors report that this evasive resistance can be overcome by adding low-dose doxorubicin or shRNA to inhibit HIF-1α activity. They are thus developing a clinical trial combining the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab with metronomic doxorubicin in sarcoma patients

A giant stem-group chaetognath.

Chaetognaths, with their characteristic grasping spines, are the oldest known pelagic predators, found in the lowest Cambrian (Terreneuvian). Here, we describe a large stem chaetognath, gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, which exhibits lateral and caudal fins, a distinct head region with long antennae and a jaw apparatus similar to . has previously been interpreted as a total-group chaetognathiferan, as either a stem-chaetognath or gnathostomulid. We show that shares a ventral ganglion with chaetognaths to the exclusion of other animal groups, firmly placing these fossils on the chaetognath stem. The large size (up to 30 cm) and gut contents in suggest that early chaetognaths occupied a higher trophic position in pelagic food chains than today

BFT embedding of noncommutative D-brane system

We study noncommutative geometry in the framework of the Batalin-Fradkin-Tyutin(BFT) scheme, which converts second class constraint system into first class one. In an open string theory noncommutative geometry appears due to the mixed boundary conditions having second class constraints, which arise in string theory with $D$-branes under a constant Neveu-Schwarz $B$-field. Introduction of a new coordinate $y$ on $D$-brane through BFT analysis allows us to obtain the commutative geometry with the help of the first class constraints, and the resulting action corresponding to the first class Hamiltonian in the BFT Hamiltonian formalism has a new local symmetry.Comment: 12 pages, no figure, some expressions corrected, to appear Phys. Rev.