Anomalous thermoelectric transport of Dirac particles in graphene

We report a thermoelectric study of graphene in both zero and applied magnetic fields. As a direct consequence of the linear dispersion of massless particles, we find that the Seebeck coefficient Sxx diverges with 1 /, where n2D is the carrier density. We observe a very large Nernst signal Sxy (~ 50 uV/K at 8 T) at the Dirac point, and an oscillatory dependence of both Sxx and Sxy on n2D at low temperatures. Our results underscore the anomalous thermoelectric transport in graphene, which may be used as a highly sensitive probe for impurity bands near the Dirac point

Anomalous thermoelectric transport of Dirac particles in graphene

We report a thermoelectric study of graphene in both zero and applied magnetic fields. As a direct consequence of the linear dispersion of massless particles, we find that the Seebeck coefficient Sxx diverges with 1 /, where n2D is the carrier density. We observe a very large Nernst signal Sxy (~ 50 uV/K at 8 T) at the Dirac point, and an oscillatory dependence of both Sxx and Sxy on n2D at low temperatures. Our results underscore the anomalous thermoelectric transport in graphene, which may be used as a highly sensitive probe for impurity bands near the Dirac point

2-Meth­oxy-4-methyl-1-[1-(phenyl­sulfon­yl)propan-2-yl]benzene

The title mol­ecule, C17H20O3S, displays a U-shaped structure; the two benzene rings are nearly parallel and partially overlapped to each other, the dihedral angle and centroid-to-centroid distance being 15.0 (2)° and 3.723 (2) Å. In the crystal, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules, forming supra­molecular chains running along the a axis

Single-shot, full characterization of the spatial wavefunction of light fields via Stokes tomography

Since the diffraction behavior of a light field is fully determined by its spatial wavefunction, i.e., its spatial complex amplitude (SCA), full characterization of spatial wavefunction, plays a vital role in modern optics from both the fundamental and applied aspects. In this work, we present a novel complex-amplitude profiler based on spatial Stokes tomography with the capability to fully determine the SCA of a light field in a single shot with high precision and resolution. The SCA slice observed at any propagation plane provides complete information about the light field, thus allowing us to further retrieve the complete beam structure in 3 dimensions space, as well as the exact modal constitution in terms of spatial degrees of freedom. The principle demonstrated here provides an important advancement for the full characterization of light beams with a broad spectrum of potential applications in various areas of optics, especially for the growing field of structured light

1-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one

In the crystal of the title compound, C15H11ClN2O, the molecules are linked by C—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯π inter­actions. The chloro­phenyl and phenyl rings are twisted with respect to the central pyrazolone ring, making dihedral angles of 18.23 (8) and 8.35 (8)°, respectively. The N—N and C=O bond lengths are comparable to those reported for pyrazolone compounds

Suspension and Measurement of Graphene and Bi2Se3 Atomic Membranes

Coupling high quality, suspended atomic membranes to specialized electrodes enables investigation of many novel phenomena, such as spin or Cooper pair transport in these two dimensional systems. However, many electrode materials are not stable in acids that are used to dissolve underlying substrates. Here we present a versatile and powerful multi-level lithographical technique to suspend atomic membranes, which can be applied to the vast majority of substrate, membrane and electrode materials. Using this technique, we fabricated suspended graphene devices with Al electrodes and mobility of 5500 cm^2/Vs. We also demonstrate, for the first time, fabrication and measurement of a free-standing thin Bi2Se3 membrane, which has low contact resistance to electrodes and a mobility of >~500 cm^2/Vs

Effect of mild moxibustion on intestinal microbiota and NLRP6 inflammasome signaling in rats with post-inflammatory irritable bowel syndrome

BACKGROUND: About one-third of refractory irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) cases are caused by gastrointestinal (GI) infection/inflammation, known as post-infectious/post-inflammatory IBS (PI-IBS). Although it is known that intestinal microbiota and host NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 6 (NLRP6) inflammsome signaling are closely related to PI-IBS and moxibustion has a therapeutic effect on PI-IBS, whether moxibustion regulates the intestinal flora and host NLRP6 events in PI-IBS remains unclear. AIM: To examine the regulatory effect of moxibustion on intestinal microbiota and host NLRP6 inflammatory signaling in PI-IBS. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a normal control group, a model control group, a mild moxibustion group, and a sham mild moxibustion group. PI-IBS rats in the mild moxibustion group were treated with moxibusiton at bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST36) for 7 consecutive days for 10 min each time. The sham group rats were given the same treatment as the mild moxibustion group except the moxa stick was not ignited. Abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) score was measured to assess the visceral sensitivity, and colon histopathology and ultrastructure, colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level were measured to evaluate low-grade colonic inflammation in rats. The relative abundance of selected intestinal bacteria in rat feces was detected by 16S rDNA PCR and the NLRP6 inflammsome signaling in the colon was detected by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and Western blot. RESULTS: The AWR score was significantly decreased and the low-grade intestinal inflammation reflected by serum CRP and colonic MPO levels was inhibited in the mild moxibustion group compared with the sham group. Mild moxibustion remarkably increased the relative DNA abundances of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii but decreased that of Escherichia coli in the gut of PI-IBS rats. Additionally, mild moxibustion induced mRNA and protein expression of intestine lectin 1 but inhibited the expression of IL-1β, IL-18, and resistance-like molecule β by promoting the NLRP6 and reducing the mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC) and cysteinyl-aspartate-specific proteinase 1 (Caspase-1). The relative DNA abundances of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Escherichia coli in each group were correlated with the mRNA and protein expression of NLRP6, ASC, and Caspase-1 in the colon. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that mild moxibustion can relieve low-grade GI inflammation and alleviate visceral hypersensitivity in PI-IBS by regulating intestinal microbes and controlling NLRP6 inflammasome signaling

Alterations in microRNA expression profiles in inflamed and non-inflamed ascending colon mucosae of patients with active Crohn's disease

Background and aims The miRNA expression profiles of the terminal ileum, sigmoid colon, and rectal mucosa of adult patients with active Crohn';s disease (CD) have been previously reported. The purpose of this study was to identify dysregulated miRNAs in the mucosa of the ascending colon. Methods Biopsy tissue samples were taken from the mucosae of inflammatory (iCD) or non-inflammatory (niCD) areas of the ascending colons of adult patients with active CD. miRNA and mRNA expression profiles were detected using microarray analyses. miRNAs and mRNAs demonstrating significant differences were validated via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Luciferase reporter genes were used to measure two miRNAs inhibition of potential target genes in human 293T cells in vitro. Results Compared with the HC group, the ascending colon miRNA expression profiles revealed that 43 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 35 were down-regulated in the iCD group. The mRNA expression profiles indicated that 3,370 transcripts were significantly differentially expressed in the ascending colon, with 2169 up-regulated and 1201 down-regulated mRNAs in the iCD group, and only 20 miRNAs demonstrated significant differential expression in the niCD group. In contrast, nearly 100 miRNAs significantly varied between the iCD and niCD groups. Finally, luciferase reporter gene assays showed that hsa-miR-16-1 directly regulated the human C10orf54 gene and that they were negatively correlated. Conclusions Our results indicated that the differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were related to immune inflammation and intestinal flora. The data provide preliminary evidence that the occurrence of CD involves the inhibition of C10orf54 expression by hsa-miR-16-1