249 research outputs found
Measurement of Untruncated Nuclear Spin Interactions via Zero- to Ultra-Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Zero- to ultra-low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (ZULF NMR) provides a new
regime for the measurement of nuclear spin-spin interactions free from effects
of large magnetic fields, such as truncation of terms that do not commute with
the Zeeman Hamiltonian. One such interaction, the magnetic dipole-dipole
coupling, is a valuable source of spatial information in NMR, though many terms
are unobservable in high-field NMR, and the coupling averages to zero under
isotropic molecular tumbling. Under partial alignment, this information is
retained in the form of so-called residual dipolar couplings. We report zero-
to ultra-low-field NMR measurements of residual dipolar couplings in
acetonitrile-2-C aligned in stretched polyvinyl acetate gels. This
represents the first investigation of dipolar couplings as a perturbation on
the indirect spin-spin -coupling in the absence of an applied magnetic
field. As a consequence of working at zero magnetic field, we observe terms of
the dipole-dipole coupling Hamiltonian that are invisible in conventional
high-field NMR. This technique expands the capabilities of zero- to
ultra-low-field NMR and has potential applications in precision measurement of
subtle physical interactions, chemical analysis, and characterization of local
mesoscale structure in materials.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Effects of magnetic doping and temperature dependence on phonon dynamics in CaFe\_{1-x}Co\_{x}AsF compounds (x = 0, 0.06, 0.12)
We report detailed measurements of composition as well as temperature
dependence of the phonon density-of-states in a new series of FeAs compounds
with composition CaFe1\_{1-x}Co\_{x}AsF (x = 0, 0.06, 0.12). The composition as
well as temperature dependence of phonon spectra for CaFe\_{1-x}Co\_{x}AsF (x =
0, 0.06, 0.12) compounds have been measured using time of flight IN4C and IN6
spectrometers at ILL, France. The comparison of phonon spectra at 300 K in
these compounds shows that acoustic phonon modes up to 12 meV harden in the
doped compounds in comparison to the parent CaFeAsF. While intermediate energy
phonon modes from 15 meV to 25 meV are also found to shift towards high
energies only in the 12 % Co doped CaFeAsF compound. The experimental results
for CaFe\_{1-x}Co\_{x}AsF (x = 0, 0.06, 0.12) are quite different from our
previous phonon studies on parent and superconducting MFe2As2 (M=Ba, Ca, Sr)
where low-energy acoustic phonon modes do not react with doping, while the
phonon spectra in the intermediate range from 15 to 25 K are found to soften in
these compounds. We argue that stronger spin phonon interaction play an
important role for the emergence of superconductivity in these compounds. The
lattice dynamics of CaFe\_{1-x}Co\_{x}AsF (x = 0, 0.06, 0.12) compounds is also
investigated using the ab-initio as well as shell model phonon calculations. We
show that the nature of the interaction between the Ca and the Fe-As layers in
CaFeAsF compounds is quite different compared with our previous studies on
CaFe2As2.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Phonon spectra in CaFe2As2 and Ca0.6Na0.4Fe2As2: Measurement of the pressure and temperature dependence and comparison with ab-initio and shell model calculations
We report the pressure and temperature dependence of the phonon
density-of-states in superconducting Ca0.6Na0.4Fe2As2 (Tc=21 K) and the parent
compound CaFe2As2, using inelastic neutron scattering. We observe no
significant change in the phonon spectrum for Ca0.6Na0.4Fe2As2 at 295 K up to
pressures of 5 kbar. The phonon spectrum for CaFe2As2 shows softening of the
low-energy modes by about 1 meV when decreasing the temperature from 300 K to
180 K. There is no appreciable change in the phonon density of states across
the structural and anti-ferromagnetic phase transition at 172 K. These results,
combined with our earlier temperature dependent phonon density of states
measurements for Ca0.6Na0.4Fe2As2, indicate that the softening of low-energy
phonon modes in these compounds may be due to the interaction of phonons with
electron or short-range spin fluctuations in the normal state of the
superconducting compound as well as in the parent compound. The phonon spectra
are analyzed with ab-initio and empirical model calculations giving partial
densities of states and dispersion relations.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Collective dynamics in crystalline polymorphs of ZnCl: potential modelling and inelastic neutron scattering study
We report a phonon density of states measurement of -ZnCl using
the coherent inelastic neutron scattering technique and a lattice dynamical
calculation in four crystalline phases of ZnCl using a transferable
interatomic potential. The model calculations agree reasonably well with the
available experimental data on the structures, specific heat, Raman frequencies
and their pressure variation in various crystalline phases. The calculated
results have been able to provide a fair description of the vibrational as well
as the thermodynamic properties of ZnCl in all its four phases.Comment: Accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
A Revealed and Stated Preference Latent Class Model to Examine Homogenous Subgroup Consumer Behavior Responses to Information and Food Safety Technology Treatments
The combination and joint estimation of revealed and stated preference (RP/SP) data approach to examining consumer preferences to relevant policy-based measures has exclusively considered aggregate data and behavior of the average individual. However, in policy-based analyses, where the research is often driven by understanding how different individuals react to different or similar scenarios, a preferred approach would be to analyze preferences of homogenous population subgroups. We accomplish this by developing a latent class RP/SP analysis that examines whether homogenous subgroups (or classes) of the population, based on individual health and behavioral characteristics, respond differently to health-risk information and new food safety technology. The ongoing efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce illness and death associated with consuming raw Gulf of Mexico oysters provide an ideal platform for the analysis as the health risks only relate to a very specific subgroup of consumer. Results from the probabilistic latent class model indicate that the vulnerable at-risk consumers respond differently to the information treatments than other subgroups, illustrating why educational information brochures have had little impact on reducing annual deaths from consuming raw oysters. Also, findings across all subgroups provide strong empirical evidence that the new FDA policy requiring processing technology to be used in oyster production will have detrimental effects on the oyster industry. Key Words: Food safety technology, health-risk information, latent class analysis, revealed preference, stated preference
Ortholog identification in the presence of domain architecture rearrangement
Ortholog identification is used in gene functional annotation, species phylogeny estimation, phylogenetic profile construction and many other analyses. Bioinformatics methods for ortholog identification are commonly based on pairwise protein sequence comparisons between whole genomes. Phylogenetic methods of ortholog identification have also been developed; these methods can be applied to protein data sets sharing a common domain architecture or which share a single functional domain but differ outside this region of homology. While promiscuous domains represent a challenge to all orthology prediction methods, overall structural similarity is highly correlated with proximity in a phylogenetic tree, conferring a degree of robustness to phylogenetic methods. In this article, we review the issues involved in orthology prediction when data sets include sequences with structurally heterogeneous domain architectures, with particular attention to automated methods designed for high-throughput application, and present a case study to illustrate the challenges in this area
Wide dynamic range magnetic field cycler: Harnessing quantum control at low and high fields
We describe the construction of a fast field cycling device capable of
sweeping a 4-order-of-magnitude range of magnetic fields, from ~1mT to 7T, in
under 700ms. Central to this system is a high-speed sample shuttling mechanism
between a superconducting magnet and a magnetic shield, with the capability to
access arbitrary fields in between with high resolution. Our instrument serves
as a versatile platform to harness the inherent dichotomy of spin dynamics on
offer at low and high fields - in particular, the low anisotropy, fast spin
manipulation, and rapid entanglement growth at low field as well as the long
spin lifetimes, spin specific control, and efficient inductive measurement
possible at high fields. Exploiting these complementary capabilities in a
single device open up applications in a host of problems in quantum control,
sensing, and information storage, besides in nuclear hypepolarization,
relaxometry and imaging. In particular, in this paper, we focus on the ability
of the device to enable low-field hyperpolarization of 13C nuclei in diamond
via optically pumped electronic spins associated with Nitrogen Vacancy (NV)
defect centers
Does inter-vertebral range of motion increase after spinal manipulation? A prospective cohort study.
Background: Spinal manipulation for nonspecific neck pain is thought to work in part by improving inter-vertebral range of motion (IV-RoM), but it is difficult to measure this or determine whether it is related to clinical outcomes.
Objectives: This study undertook to determine whether cervical spine flexion and extension IV-RoM increases after a course of spinal manipulation, to explore relationships between any IV-RoM increases and clinical outcomes and to compare palpation with objective measurement in the detection of hypo-mobile segments.
Method: Thirty patients with nonspecific neck pain and 30 healthy controls matched for age and gender received quantitative fluoroscopy (QF) screenings to measure flexion and extension IV-RoM (C1-C6) at baseline and 4-week follow-up between September 2012-13. Patients received up to 12 neck manipulations and completed NRS, NDI
and Euroqol 5D-5L at baseline, plus PGIC and satisfaction questionnaires at follow-up. IV-RoM accuracy, repeatability and hypo-mobility cut-offs were determined. Minimal detectable changes (MDC) over 4 weeks were calculated
from controls. Patients and control IV-RoMs were compared at baseline as well as changes in patients over 4 weeks. Correlations between outcomes and the number of manipulations received and the agreement (Kappa) between palpated and QF-detected of hypo-mobile segments were calculated.
Results: QF had high accuracy (worst RMS error 0.5o) and repeatability (highest SEM 1.1o, lowest ICC 0.90) for
IV-RoM measurement. Hypo-mobility cut offs ranged from 0.8o to 3.5o. No outcome was significantly correlated with increased IV-RoM above MDC and there was no significant difference between the number of hypo-mobile segments in patients and controls at baseline or significant increases in IV-RoMs in patients. However, there was a modest and significant correlation between the number of manipulations received and the number of levels and directions whose IV-RoM increased beyond MDC (Rho=0.39, p=0.043). There was also no agreement between palpation and QF in identifying hypo-mobile segments (Kappa 0.04-0.06).
Conclusions: This study found no differences in cervical sagittal IV-RoM between patients with non-specific neck pain and matched controls. There was a modest dose-response relationship between the number of manipulations given and number of levels increasing IV-RoM - providing evidence that neck manipulation has a mechanical effect at segmental levels. However, patient-reported outcomes were not related to this
A combined photobiological-photochemical route to C-10 cycloalkane jet fuels from carbon dioxide via isoprene
The hemiterpene isoprene is a volatile C-5 hydrocarbon with industrial applications. It is generated today from fossil resources, but can also be made in biological processes. We have utilized engineered photosynthetic cyanobacteria for direct, light-driven production of bio-isoprene from carbon dioxide, and show that isoprene in a subsequent photochemical step, using either near-UV or simulated or natural solar light, can be dimerized into limonene, paradiprene, and isomeric C10H16 hydrocarbons (monoterpenes) in high yields under photosensitized conditions (above 90% after 44 hours with near-UV and 61% with simulated solar light). The optimal sensitizer in our experiments is di(naphth-1-yl)methanone which we use with a loading of 0.1 mol%. It can also easily be recycled for subsequent photodimerization cycles. The isoprene dimers generated are a mixture of [2 + 2], [4 + 2] and [4 + 4] cycloadducts, and after hydrogenation this mixture is nearly ideal as a drop-in jet fuel. Importantly the photodimerization can be carried out at ambient conditions. However, the high content of hydrogenated [2 + 2] dimers in our isoprene dimer mix lowers the flash point below the threshold (38 degrees C); yet, these dimers can be converted thermally into [4 + 2] and [4 + 4] dimers. When hydrogenated these monoterpenoids fully satisfy the criteria for drop-in jet fuels with regard to energy density, flashpoint, kinematic viscosity, density, and freezing point. Life-cycle assessment results show a potential to produce the fuel in an environmentally sustainable way
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