165 research outputs found
Thermodynamic Properties of the Spin-1/2 Antiferromagnetic ladder Cu2(C2H12N2)2Cl4 under Magnetic Field
Specific heat () measurements in the spin-1/2
Cu(CHN)Cl system under a magnetic field up to
are reported and compared to the results of numerical calculations
based on the 2-leg antiferromagnetic Heisenberg ladder. While the temperature
dependences of both the susceptibility and the low field specific heat are
accurately reproduced by this model, deviations are observed below the critical
field at which the spin gap closes. In this Quantum High Field phase,
the contribution of the low-energy quantum fluctuations are stronger than in
the Heisenberg ladder model. We argue that this enhancement can be attributed
to dynamical lattice fluctuations. Finally, we show that such a Heisenberg
ladder, for , is unstable, when coupled to the 3D lattice, against a
lattice distortion. These results provide an alternative explanation for the
observed low temperature ( -- ) phase (previously
interpreted as a 3D magnetic ordering) as a new type of incommensurate gapped
state.Comment: Minor changes, list of authors complete
Quantum-critical spin dynamics in quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets
By means of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1, we follow the spin
dynamics as a function of the applied magnetic field in two gapped
one-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets: the anisotropic spin-chain system
NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2 and the spin-ladder system (C5H12N)2CuBr4. In both systems,
spin excitations are confirmed to evolve from magnons in the gapped state to
spinons in the gapples Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid state. In between, 1/T1
exhibits a pronounced, continuous variation, which is shown to scale in
accordance with quantum criticality. We extract the critical exponent for 1/T1,
compare it to the theory, and show that this behavior is identical in both
studied systems, thus demonstrating the universality of quantum critical
behavior
Effects mediated by the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on cell proliferation and migration in rat adipose-derived stem cells
Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are an attractive source for regenerative medicine as they can be easily iso-lated, rapidly expandable in culture and show excellent in vitro differentiation potential. Acetylcholine (ACh), one of the main neurotransmitters in central and peripheral nervous systems, plays key roles in the control of several physiological processes also in non-neural tissues. As demonstrated in our previous studies, ACh can contribute to the rat ASCs physiology, negatively modulating ASCs proliferation and migration via M2 mus-carinic receptor (mAChR) activation. In the present work we show that rat ASCs also express α7 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs). In particular, we have investigated the effects mediated by the selective activation of α7 nAChRs, which causes a reduction of ASC proliferation without affecting cell survival and morphology, and significantly promotes cell migration via upregulation of the CXCR4 expression. Interestingly, the activation of the α7 nAChR also upregulates the expression of M2 mAChR protein, indicating a cooperation between muscarinic and nicotinic receptors in the inhibition of ASC proliferation
Peptidomic approach for the identification of peptides with potential antioxidant and anti-hyperthensive effects derived from Asparagus by-products
Asparagus waste represents products of great interest since many compounds with high biological value are located in the lower portion of the spears. The extraction of bioactive compounds from asparagus by-products is therefore crucial for the purpose of adding value to these by-products. In this paper, bioactive peptides from asparagus waste were extracted, digested, purified and identified. In particular, Alcalase® was chosen as the enzyme to use to obtain protein hydrolysate due to its low cost and, consequently, the possibility of implementing the method on a large scale. In order to simplify the peptide extract to reach better identification, the hydrolysate was fractionated by reversed-phase chromatography in 10 fractions. Two tests were carried out for antioxidant activity (ABTS-DPPH) and one for antihypertensive activity (ACE). Fractions with a higher bioactivity score were identified by peptidomics technologies and screened for bioactivity with the use of bioinformatics. For ACE-inhibitor activity, two peptides were synthetized, PDWFLLL and ASQSIWLPGWL, which provided an EC50 value of 1.76 µmol L-1 and 4.02 µmol L-1, respectively. For the antioxidant activity, by DPPH assay, MLLFPM exhibited the lowest EC50 value at 4.14 µmol L-1, followed by FIARNFLLGW and FAPVPFDF with EC50 values of 6.76 µmol L-1 and 10.01 µmol L-1, respectively. A validation of the five identified peptides was also carried out. The obtained results showed that peptides obtained from asparagus by-products are of interest for their biological activity and are suitable for being used as functional ingredients
Identification of Nuclear Relaxation Processes in a Gapped Quantum Magnet: Proton NMR in the S=1/2 Heisenberg Ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4
The proton hyperfine shift K and NMR relaxation rate have been
measured as a function of temperature in the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic
ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4. The presence of a spin gap in this strongly coupled ladder ()
is supported by the K and results. By comparing at two
different proton sites, we infer the evolution of the spectral functions
and . When the gap is significantly
reduced by the magnetic field, two different channels of nuclear relaxation,
specific to gapped antiferromagnets, are identified and are in agreement with
theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Letter
Exploratory structural assessment in craniocervical dystonia: global and differential analyses
FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOOur goal was to investigate the cortical thickness and subcortical volume in subjects with craniocervical dystonia and its subgroups. We studied 49 subjects, 17 with cervical dystonia, 18 with blepharospasm or oromandibular dystonia, and 79 healthy cont128FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO2013/13270-62010/11085-92013/07559-
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