Effect of Pt substitution on the electronic structure of AuTe2

We report a photoemission and x-ray absorption study on Au1-xPtxTe2 (x = 0 and 0.35) triangular lattice in which superconductivity is induced by Pt substitution for Au. Au 4f and Te 3d core-level spectra of AuTe2 suggests a valence state of Au2+(Te2)2-, which is consistent with its distorted crystal structure with Te-Te dimers and compressed AuTe6 otahedra. On the other hand, valence-band photoemission spectra and pre-edge peaks of Te 3d absorption edge indicate that Au 5d bands are almost fully occupied and that Te 5p holes govern the transport properties and the lattice distortion. The two apparently conflicting pictures can be reconciled by strong Au 5d/Au 6s-Te 5p hybridization. Absence of a core-level energy shift with Pt substitution is inconsistent with the simple rigid band picture for hole doping. The Au 4f core-level spectrum gets slightly narrow with Pt substitution, indicating that the small Au 5d charge modulation in distorted AuTe2 is partially suppressed.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Physical Review

Observations of near-inertial waves in acoustic doppler current profiler measurements made during the mixed layer dynamics experiment

Measurements of upper ocean shear made during the Mixed Layer Dynamics Experiment (MILDEX) provide evidence of large horizontal scale motion at near‐inertial frequency. The measurements consist of shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiles. Four large‐scale spatial surveys of 2–4 days duration were made by the R/V Wecoma as a set of boxes approximately 60 km per side around a drifting current meter buoy. Velocity time series from the drifting buoy and from sonar measurements made from FLIP also indicated the presence of motions at near‐inertial frequency. Horizontal length and time scales of the motion are estimated from the phase of the shear vector measured during the spatial surveys. Estimates of the length scale of the waves range from 500 to 1000 km, and the frequency is approximately 1.1f. The behavior of the phase is found to be consistent with a model of narrow‐band inertial waves with vertical structure such that there is a zero crossing in velocity at the base of the mixed layer (40–60 m)

Descriptive oceanography during the Frontal Air‐Sea Interaction Experiment: Medium‐ to large‐scale variability

Medium‐ and large‐scale oceanographic variability in the Sargasso Sea is examined during the Frontal Air‐Sea Interaction Experiment (FASINEX), focusing primarily on processes that influence the formation of subtropical fronts. From Fall to Spring the mean meridional gradient of meridional Ekman transport in the Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ) enhances the meridional sea surface temperature (Ts) gradients between 26° and 32°N. In the presence of this enhanced mean gradient, baroclinic eddies with zonal wavelengths of ≈800 km and periods of ≈200 days exert the dominant influence on the formation of subtropical fronts at medium and large scales. These eddies generate westward propagating Ts anomaly features with the same dominant wavelengths and periods. They are confined between 26° and 32°N and have amplitudes that occasionally exceed ±1°C. Ts fronts tend to be found within bands ≈200 km wide that roughly follow the periphery of these anomaly features. Deformation in the horizontal eddy current field is primarily responsible for the existence of these frontal bands. The migration of the strong front originally bracketed by the FASINEX moored array was related to the westward propagation of the larger‐scale eddy/anomaly/frontal‐band pattern. The moored array was located within a warm‐anomaly feature during most of the experiment, which produced exceptionally warm conditions in the upper ocean. These anomalies are confined between 26° and 32°N, not only because the relatively large seasonal mean Tsy there allows horizontal eddy currents to force strong anomalies, but also because the baroclinic eddies with wavelengths of ≈800 km and periods of ≈200 days are confined to the STCZ. Large meridional variability exists in many properties of the eddy field, much of which can be traced to the influence of the Sargasso Sea mean current field on eddy variability

Deep generative modeling for single-cell transcriptomics.

Single-cell transcriptome measurements can reveal unexplored biological diversity, but they suffer from technical noise and bias that must be modeled to account for the resulting uncertainty in downstream analyses. Here we introduce single-cell variational inference (scVI), a ready-to-use scalable framework for the probabilistic representation and analysis of gene expression in single cells ( https://github.com/YosefLab/scVI ). scVI uses stochastic optimization and deep neural networks to aggregate information across similar cells and genes and to approximate the distributions that underlie observed expression values, while accounting for batch effects and limited sensitivity. We used scVI for a range of fundamental analysis tasks including batch correction, visualization, clustering, and differential expression, and achieved high accuracy for each task

A draft human pangenome reference

Here the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium presents a first draft of the human pangenome reference. The pangenome contains 47 phased, diploid assemblies from a cohort of genetically diverse individual

Nitrogen-Functionalized Graphene Nanoflakes (GNFs:N): Tunable Photoluminescence and Electronic Structures

This study investigates the strong photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray excited optical luminescence observed in nitrogen-functionalized 2D graphene nanoflakes (GNFs:N), which arise from the significantly enhanced density of states in the region of {\pi} states and the gap between {\pi} and {\pi}* states. The increase in the number of the sp2 clusters in the form of pyridine-like N-C, graphite-N-like, and the C=O bonding and the resonant energy transfer from the N and O atoms to the sp2 clusters were found to be responsible for the blue shift and the enhancement of the main PL emission feature. The enhanced PL is strongly related to the induced changes of the electronic structures and bonding properties, which were revealed by the X-ray absorption near-edge structure, X-ray emission spectroscopy, and resonance inelastic X-ray scattering. The study demonstrates that PL emission can be tailored through appropriate tuning of the nitrogen and oxygen contents in GNFs and pave the way for new optoelectronic devices.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures (including toc figure

Increased gene sampling strengthens support for higher-level groups within leaf-mining moths and relatives (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

Background: Researchers conducting molecular phylogenetic studies are frequently faced with the decision of what to do when weak branch support is obtained for key nodes of importance. As one solution, the researcher may choose to sequence additional orthologous genes of appropriate evolutionary rate for the taxa in the study. However, generating large, complete data matrices can become increasingly difficult as the number of characters increases. A few empirical studies have shown that augmenting genes even for a subset of taxa can improve branch support. However, because each study differs in the number of characters and taxa, there is still a need for additional studies that examine whether incomplete sampling designs are likely to aid at increasing deep node resolution. We target Gracillariidae, a Cretaceous-age (similar to 100 Ma) group of leaf-mining moths to test whether the strategy of adding genes for a subset of taxa can improve branch support for deep nodes. We initially sequenced ten genes (8,418 bp) for 57 taxa that represent the major lineages of Gracillariidae plus outgroups. After finding that many deep divergences remained weakly supported, we sequenced eleven additional genes (6,375 bp) for a 27-taxon subset. We then compared results from different data sets to assess whether one sampling design can be favored over another. The concatenated data set comprising all genes and all taxa and three other data sets of different taxon and gene sub-sampling design were analyzed with maximum likelihood. Each data set was subject to five different models and partitioning schemes of non-synonymous and synonymous changes. Statistical significance of non-monophyly was examined with the Approximately Unbiased (AU) test. Results: Partial augmentation of genes led to high support for deep divergences, especially when non-synonymous changes were analyzed alone. Increasing the number of taxa without an increase in number of characters led to lower bootstrap support; increasing the number of characters without increasing the number of taxa generally increased bootstrap support. More than three-quarters of nodes were supported with bootstrap values greater than 80% when all taxa and genes were combined. Gracillariidae, Lithocolletinae + Leucanthiza, and Acrocercops and Parectopa groups were strongly supported in nearly every analysis. Gracillaria group was well supported in some analyses, but less so in others. We find strong evidence for the exclusion of Douglasiidae from Gracillarioidea sensu Davis and Robinson (1998). Our results strongly support the monophyly of a G.B.R.Y. clade, a group comprised of Gracillariidae + Bucculatricidae + Roeslerstammiidae + Yponomeutidae, when analyzed with non-synonymous changes only, but this group was frequently split when synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions were analyzed together. Conclusions: 1) Partially or fully augmenting a data set with more characters increased bootstrap support for particular deep nodes, and this increase was dramatic when non-synonymous changes were analyzed alone. Thus, the addition of sites that have low levels of saturation and compositional heterogeneity can greatly improve results. 2) Gracillarioidea, as defined by Davis and Robinson (1998), clearly do not include Douglasiidae, and changes to current classification will be required. 3) Gracillariidae were monophyletic in all analyses conducted, and nearly all species can be placed into one of six strongly supported clades though relationships among these remain unclear. 4) The difficulty in determining the phylogenetic placement of Bucculatricidae is probably attributable to compositional heterogeneity at the third codon position. From our tests for compositional heterogeneity and strong bootstrap values obtained when synonymous changes are excluded, we tentatively conclude that Bucculatricidae is closely related to Gracillariidae + Roeslerstammiidae + Yponomeutidae

Targeted prevention of common mental health disorders in university students: randomised controlled trial of a transdiagnostic trait-focused web-based intervention

Background: A large proportion of university students show symptoms of common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and eating disorders. Novel interventions are required that target underlying factors of multiple disorders.<p></p> Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic trait-focused web-based intervention aimed at reducing symptoms of common mental disorders in university students.<p></p> Method: Students were recruited online (n = 1047, age: M = 21.8, SD = 4.2) and categorised into being at high or low risk for mental disorders based on their personality traits. Participants were allocated to a cognitive-behavioural trait-focused (n = 519) or a control intervention (n = 528) using computerised simple randomisation. Both interventions were fully automated and delivered online (trial registration: ISRCTN14342225). Participants were blinded and outcomes were self-assessed at baseline, at 6 weeks and at 12 weeks after registration. Primary outcomes were current depression and anxiety, assessed on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD7). Secondary outcome measures focused on alcohol use, disordered eating, and other outcomes.<p></p> Results: Students at high risk were successfully identified using personality indicators and reported poorer mental health. A total of 520 students completed the 6-week follow-up and 401 students completed the 12-week follow-up. Attrition was high across intervention groups, but comparable to other web-based interventions. Mixed effects analyses revealed that at 12-week follow up the trait-focused intervention reduced depression scores by 3.58 (p<.001, 95%CI [5.19, 1.98]) and anxiety scores by 2.87 (p = .018, 95%CI [1.31, 4.43]) in students at high risk. In high-risk students, between group effect sizes were 0.58 (depression) and 0.42 (anxiety). In addition, self-esteem was improved. No changes were observed regarding the use of alcohol or disordered eating.<p></p> Conclusions This study suggests that a transdiagnostic web-based intervention for university students targeting underlying personality risk factors may be a promising way of preventing common mental disorders with a low-intensity intervention