1,866 research outputs found
Exploratory studies of contact angle hysteresis, wetting of solidified rare gases and surface properties of mercury Final report
Contact angle hysteresis, wetting of solidified rare gases, and surface properties of mercur
Maturation Dynamics of Bacteriophage HK97 Capsid
SummaryMaturation of the bacteriophage HK97 capsid requires a large conformational change of the virus capsid. Experimental studies have identified several intermediates along this maturation pathway. To gain insights into the molecular mechanisms of capsid maturation, we examined the fluctuation dynamics of the procapsid and mature capsid using a residue-level computational approach. The most cooperative motions of the procapsid are found to be consistent with the observed change in configuration that takes place during maturation. A few dominant modes of motion are sufficient to describe the anisotropic expansion that accompanies maturation. Based upon these modes, maturation is proposed to occur via an overall expansion and reconfiguration of the capsid initiated by puckering of the pentamers, followed by flattening and crosslinking of the hexameric subunits, and finally crosslinking of the pentameric subunits. The highly mobile E loops are stabilized by anchoring to highly stable residues belonging to neighboring subunits
Perceptual differences between motor carriers and shippers regarding the importance of carrier selection criteria
Ultrafast spin polarization control of Dirac fermions in topological insulators
Three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) are characterized by
spin-polarized Dirac-cone surface states that are protected from backscattering
by time-reversal symmetry. Control of the spin polarization of topological
surface states (TSSs) using femtosecond light pulses opens novel perspectives
for the generation and manipulation of dissipationless surface spin currents on
ultrafast timescales. Using time-, spin-, and angle-resolved spectroscopy, we
directly monitor for the first time the ultrafast response of the spin
polarization of photoexcited TSSs to circularly-polarized femtosecond pulses of
infrared light. We achieve all-optical switching of the transient out-of-plane
spin polarization, which relaxes in about 1.2 ps. Our observations establish
the feasibility of ultrafast optical control of spin-polarized Dirac fermions
in TIs and pave the way for novel optospintronic applications at ultimate
speeds.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Quantitative determination of spin-dependent quasiparticle lifetimes and electronic correlations in hcp cobalt
We report on a quantitative investigation of the spin-dependent quasiparticle
lifetimes and electron correlation effects in ferromagnetic hcp Co(0001) by
means of spin and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The experimental
spectra are compared in detail to state-of-the-art many-body calculations
within the dynamical mean field theory and the three-body scattering
approximation, including a full calculation of the one-step photoemission
process. From this comparison we conclude that although strong local many-body
Coulomb interactions are of major importance for the qualitative description of
correlation effects in Co, more sophisticated many-body calculations are needed
in order to improve the quantitative agreement between theory and experiment,
in particular concerning the linewidths. The quality of the overall agreement
obtained for Co indicates that the effect of non-local correlations becomes
weaker with increasing atomic number
Photoemission of BiSe with Circularly Polarized Light: Probe of Spin Polarization or Means for Spin Manipulation?
Topological insulators are characterized by Dirac cone surface states with
electron spins aligned in the surface plane and perpendicular to their momenta.
Recent theoretical and experimental work implied that this specific spin
texture should enable control of photoelectron spins by circularly polarized
light. However, these reports questioned the so far accepted interpretation of
spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We solve this puzzle and show that
vacuum ultraviolet photons (50-70 eV) with linear or circular polarization
probe indeed the initial state spin texture of BiSe while circularly
polarized 6 eV low energy photons flip the electron spins out of plane and
reverse their spin polarization. Our photoemission calculations, considering
the interplay between the varying probing depth, dipole selection rules and
spin-dependent scattering effects involving initial and final states explain
these findings, and reveal proper conditions for light-induced spin
manipulation. This paves the way for future applications of topological
insulators in opto-spintronic devices.Comment: Submitted for publication (2013
Changes in cholesterol homeostasis modify the response of F1B hamsters to dietary very long chain n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The plasma lipoprotein response of F1B Golden-Syrian hamsters fed diets high in very long chain (VLC) n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is paradoxical to that observed in humans. This anomaly is attributed, in part, to low lipoprotein lipase activity and is dependent on cholesterol status. To further elucidate the mechanism(s) for these responses, hamsters were fed diets containing supplemental fish oil (VLC n-3 PUFA) or safflower oil (n-6 PUFA) (both 10% [w/w]) and either cholesterol-supplemented (0.1% cholesterol [w/w]) or cholesterol-depleted (0.01% cholesterol [w/w] and 10 days prior to killing fed 0.15% lovastatin+2% cholestyramine [w/w]).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cholesterol-supplemented hamsters fed fish oil, relative to safflower oil, had higher non-high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations (P < 0.001) which were associated with lower hepatic low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c and acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyl transferase-2 (ACAT) mRNA and protein (p < 0.05), and higher hepatic apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 and apo E protein levels. In contrast, cholesterol-depleted hamsters fed fish oil, relative to safflower oil, had lower non-HDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations (P < 0.001) which were associated with lower hepatic SREBP-1c (p < 0.05) but not apo B-100, apo E or ACAT-2 mRNA or protein levels. Independent of cholesterol status, fish oil fed hamsters had lower HDL cholesterol concentrations (p < 0.001), which were associated with lower hepatic apoA-I protein levels (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest disturbing cholesterol homeostasis in F1B hamsters alters their response to dietary fatty acids, which is reflected in altered plasma lipoprotein patterns and regulation of genes associated with their metabolism.</p
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