353 research outputs found
Evidence for and phases in the morphotropic phase boundary region of : A Rietveld study
We present here the results of the room temperature dielectric constant
measurements and Rietveld analysis of the powder x-ray diffraction data on
(PMN-PT) in the composition range
to show that the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB)
region contains two monoclinic phases with space groups Cm (or type) and
Pm (or type) stable in the composition ranges and
, respectively. The structure of PMN-PT in the
composition ranges 0.26, and is found to be
rhombohedral (R3m) and tetragonal (P4mm), respectively. These results are
compared with the predictions of Vanderbilt & Cohen's theory.Comment: 20 pages, 11 pdf figure
Red cell ABO incompatibility and production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha
Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) is a major mediator of diverse pathophysiological events similar to those of haemolytic transfusion reactions (HTR), such as fever, intravascular coagulation and organ failure. However, the possible role of TNF in HTR has not been investigated. We have constructed an in vitro whole blood model of HTR to examine whether TNF may be produced in red cell ABO incompatibility. TNF was observed in plasma, in a dose dependent manner, when ABO incompatible red cells were added, but not with compatible (group O) cells. Plasma TNF levels were maximal at 2 h, and declined to control levels by 24 h. Haemolysis of incompatible red cells was accompanied by TNF production. Immune haemolysis induced TNF gene expression by buffy coat leucocytes, as determined by Northern blot analysis. Heat inactivation of plasma abolished TNF production, whereas prior treatment with interferongamma augmented the response. These results demonstrate that a major cytokine is produced in response to red cell incompatibility, and suggest that TNF may play a role in the pathogenesis of haemolytic transfusion reactions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75627/1/j.1365-2141.1991.tb04485.x.pd
Excess Mortality in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: A Preliminary Report.
Global Challenges (FGGA
Soil organisms in organic and conventional cropping systems.
Apesar do crescente interesse pela agricultura orgĂąnica, sĂŁo poucas as informaçÔes de pesquisa disponĂveis sobre o assunto. Assim, num Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrĂłfico foram comparados os efeitos de sistemas de cultivo orgĂąnico e convencional, para as culturas do tomate (Lycopersicum esculentum) e do milho (Zea mays), sobre a comunidade de organismos do solo e suas atividades. As populaçÔes de fungos,bactĂ©rias e actinomicetos, determinadas pela contagem de colĂŽnias em meio de cultura, foram semelhantes para os dois sistemas de produção. A atividade microbiana, avaliada pela evolução de CO2, manteve-se superior no sistema orgĂąnico, sendo que em determinadas avaliaçÔes foi o dobro da evolução verificada no sistema convencional. O nĂșmero de espĂ©cimes de minhoca foi praticamente dez vezes maior no sistema orgĂąnico. NĂŁo foi observada diferença na taxa de decomposição de matĂ©ria orgĂąnica entre os dois sistemas. De modo geral, o nĂșmero de indivĂduos de microartrĂłpodos foi superior no sistema orgĂąnico do que no sistema convencional, refletindo no maior Ăndice de diversidade de Shannon. As maiores populaçÔes de insetos foram as da ordem Collembola, enquanto para os ĂĄcaros a maior população foi a da superfamĂlia Oribatuloidea. IndivĂduos dos grupos Aranae, Chilopoda, Dyplopoda, Pauropoda, Protura e Symphyla foram ocasionalmente coletados e de forma similar entre os sistemas
DCC Dynamics in (2+1)D-O(3) model
The dynamics of symmetry-breaking after a quench is numerically simulated on
a lattice for the (2+1)-dimensional O(3) model. In addition to the standard
sigma-model with temperature-dependent Phi^4-potential the energy functional
includes a four-derivative current-current coupling to stabilize the size of
the emerging extended topological textures. The total winding number can be
conserved by constraint. As a model for the chiral phase transition during the
cooling phase after a hadronic collision this allows to investigate the
interference of 'baryon-antibaryon' production with the developing disoriented
aligned domains. The growth of angular correlations, condensate, average
orientation is studied in dependence of texture size, quench rate, symmetry
breaking. The classical dissipative dynamics determines the rate of energy
emitted from the relaxing source for each component of the 3-vector field which
provides a possible signature for domains of Disoriented Chiral Condensate. We
find that the 'pions' are emitted in two distinct pulses; for sufficiently
small lattice size the second one carries the DCC signal, but it is strongly
suppressed as compared to simultaneous 'sigma'-meson emission. We compare the
resulting anomalies in the distributions of DCC pions with probabilities
derived within the commonly used coherent state formalism.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures; several minor insertions in the text; two
references adde
Auxiliary subunit regulation of high-voltage activated calcium channels expressed in mammalian cells
The effects of auxiliary calcium channel subunits on the expression and functional properties of high-voltage activated (HVA) calcium channels have been studied extensively in the Xenopus oocyte expression system, but are less completely characterized in a mammalian cellular environment. Here, we provide the first systematic analysis of the effects of calcium channel beta and alpha(2)-delta subunits on expression levels and biophysical properties of three different types (Ca(v)1.2, Ca(v)2.1 and Ca(v)2.3) of HVA calcium channels expressed in tsA-201 cells. Our data show that Ca(v)1.2 and Ca(v)2.3 channels yield significant barium current in the absence of any auxiliary subunits. Although calcium channel beta subunits were in principle capable of increasing whole cell conductance, this effect was dependent on the type of calcium channel alpha(1) subunit, and beta(3) subunits altogether failed to enhance current amplitude irrespective of channel subtype. Moreover, the alpha(2)-delta subunit alone is capable of increasing current amplitude of each channel type examined, and at least for members of the Ca(v)2 channel family, appears to act synergistically with beta subunits. In general agreement with previous studies, channel activation and inactivation gating was regulated both by beta and by alpha(2)-delta subunits. However, whereas pronounced regulation of inactivation characteristics was seen with the majority of the auxiliary subunits, effects on voltage dependence of activation were only small (< 5 mV). Overall, through a systematic approach, we have elucidated a previously underestimated role of the alpha(2)-delta(1) subunit with regard to current enhancement and kinetics. Moreover, the effects of each auxiliary subunit on whole cell conductance and channel gating appear to be specifically tailored to subsets of calcium channel subtypes
Noise Kernel and Stress Energy Bi-Tensor of Quantum Fields in Hot Flat Space and Gaussian Approximation in the Optical Schwarzschild Metric
Continuing our investigation of the regularization of the noise kernel in
curved spacetimes [N. G. Phillips and B. L. Hu, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 63}, 104001
(2001)] we adopt the modified point separation scheme for the class of optical
spacetimes using the Gaussian approximation for the Green functions a la
Bekenstein-Parker-Page. In the first example we derive the regularized noise
kernel for a thermal field in flat space. It is useful for black hole
nucleation considerations. In the second example of an optical Schwarzschild
spacetime we obtain a finite expression for the noise kernel at the horizon and
recover the hot flat space result at infinity. Knowledge of the noise kernel is
essential for studying issues related to black hole horizon fluctuations and
Hawking radiation backreaction. We show that the Gaussian approximated Green
function which works surprisingly well for the stress tensor at the
Schwarzschild horizon produces significant error in the noise kernel there. We
identify the failure as occurring at the fourth covariant derivative order.Comment: 21 pages, RevTeX
Combustible et conditions stationnelles dans un paysage forestier isolĂ© et non gĂ©rĂ© du centre de lâOregon
Production and Decay of D_1(2420)^0 and D_2^*(2460)^0
We have investigated and final states and
observed the two established charmed mesons, the with mass
MeV/c and width MeV/c and
the with mass MeV/c and width
MeV/c. Properties of these final states, including
their decay angular distributions and spin-parity assignments, have been
studied. We identify these two mesons as the doublet predicted
by HQET. We also obtain constraints on {\footnotesize } as a function of the cosine of the relative phase of the two
amplitudes in the decay.Comment: 15 pages in REVTEX format. hardcopies with figures can be obtained by
sending mail to: [email protected]
Advances in ab-initio theory of Multiferroics. Materials and mechanisms: modelling and understanding
Within the broad class of multiferroics (compounds showing a coexistence of
magnetism and ferroelectricity), we focus on the subclass of "improper
electronic ferroelectrics", i.e. correlated materials where electronic degrees
of freedom (such as spin, charge or orbital) drive ferroelectricity. In
particular, in spin-induced ferroelectrics, there is not only a {\em
coexistence} of the two intriguing magnetic and dipolar orders; rather, there
is such an intimate link that one drives the other, suggesting a giant
magnetoelectric coupling. Via first-principles approaches based on density
functional theory, we review the microscopic mechanisms at the basis of
multiferroicity in several compounds, ranging from transition metal oxides to
organic multiferroics (MFs) to organic-inorganic hybrids (i.e. metal-organic
frameworks, MOFs)Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
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