133 research outputs found
Magnetism in Closed-shell Quantum Dots: Emergence of Magnetic Bipolarons
Similar to atoms and nuclei, semiconductor quantum dots exhibit formation of
shells. Predictions of magnetic behavior of the dots are often based on the
shell occupancies. Thus, closed-shell quantum dots are assumed to be inherently
nonmagnetic. Here, we propose a possibility of magnetism in such dots doped
with magnetic impurities. On the example of the system of two interacting
fermions, the simplest embodiment of the closed-shell structure, we demonstrate
the emergence of a novel broken-symmetry ground state that is neither
spin-singlet nor spin-triplet. We propose experimental tests of our predictions
and the magnetic-dot structures to perform them.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures;
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.177201; minor change
Mechanical biofilm disruption causes microbial and immunological shifts in periodontitis patients
Periodontitis is characterized by subgingival biofilm dysbiosis, inflammation and tissue destruction. Current treatment involves mechanical biofilm disruption known as non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). This study sought to characterise the impact of treatment on microbial diversity and overall community, and the parallel impact on host inflammation in the oral cavity. Fourty-two periodontitis patients were included in this study, with periodontal clinical parameters, subgingival plaque and saliva samples collected at baseline and 90 days after treatment. Salivary cytokines were quantified, and subgingival plaque was analysed using 16S rRNA sequencing. After treatment, there were marked health-associated alterations in microbial composition and diversity, including differential abundance of 42 genera and 61 species. These changes were accompanied by substantial clinical improvement (pockets ≥ 5 mm, 27.50% to 9.00%, p < 0.001) and a decrease in salivary IL-1β (p < 0.001)—a putative marker of periodontal inflammation. Despite significant reductions in disease associated anaerobes, several genera (Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Tanenerella, Treponema) remained present and formed a distinct subnetwork associated with residual disease. Collectively, this study shows that current periodontal treatment results in partial restoration of a healthy microbial ecosystem, but features of biofilm dysbiosis and host inflammation remain in some patients, which were surprisingly independent of clinical response
Global Optimization by Basin-Hopping and the Lowest Energy Structures of Lennard-Jones Clusters Containing up to 110 Atoms
We describe a global optimization technique using `basin-hopping' in which
the potential energy surface is transformed into a collection of
interpenetrating staircases. This method has been designed to exploit the
features which recent work suggests must be present in an energy landscape for
efficient relaxation to the global minimum. The transformation associates any
point in configuration space with the local minimum obtained by a geometry
optimization started from that point, effectively removing transition state
regions from the problem. However, unlike other methods based upon hypersurface
deformation, this transformation does not change the global minimum. The lowest
known structures are located for all Lennard-Jones clusters up to 110 atoms,
including a number that have never been found before in unbiased searches.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, revte
In situ redox reactions facilitate the assembly of a mixed-valence metal-organic nanocapsule
C-alkylpyrogallol[4]arenes (PgCs) have been studied for their ability to form metal-organic nanocapsules (MONCs) through coordination to appropriate metal ions. Here we present the synthesis and characterization of an MnII/MnIII-seamed MONC in addition to its electrochemical and magnetic behavior. This MONC assembles from 24 manganese ions and 6 PgCs, while an additional metal ion is located on the capsule interior, anchored through the introduction of bridging nitrite ions. The latter originate from an in situ redox reaction that occurs during the self-assembly process, thus representing a new route to otherwise unobtainable nanocapsules
Analysis and Application of Potential Energy Smoothing and Search Methods for Global Optimization
'I think it's a price that I'm willing to Pay':Experiences of Access to Higher Education students in England in the context of shifting educational policies
Interpretation of phase inversion in liquid-liquid flows by minimal dissipation rate approach
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