880 research outputs found
Temperature dependence growth of CdO thin film prepared by spray pyrolysis
AbstractCdO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique show temperature dependence growth when the spray time is constant. In contrast, the growth is film thickness dependent when the substrate temperature is constant. The films are polycrystalline in the covered spray time and substrate temperature ranges. The crystallite size and microstrain are calculated and analyzed. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) micrographs prove that the grains are uniformly distributed within the scanning areas (5μm×5μm) and (50μm×50μm). The roughness shows a considerable decrease with substrate temperature. All samples show an abrupt change in transmission which indicates a direct transition and good crystallinity. The transmission of films is increased up to 80% with increasing substrate temperature in wavelength ranged from 450nm to 1000nm. Also, a broad absorption band is observed in the range 1500–2000nm. This band could be attributed to the increase in free carrier concentration which confirmed by a reasonable decrease in the film sheet resistance. The band gap Eg is determined and found to be in the range 2.45–2.55eV. The sheet resistance is reduced with increasing deposition temperature due to the increase in free carrier concentration and found to be 66Ω/□ at 450°C
Contrasting alterations to synaptic and intrinsic properties in upper-cervical superficial dorsal horn neurons following acute neck muscle inflammation
Background:
Acute and chronic pain in axial structures, like the back and neck, are difficult to treat, and have incidence as high as 15%. Surprisingly, most preclinical work on pain mechanisms focuses on cutaneous structures in the limbs and animal models of axial pain are not widely available. Accordingly, we developed a mouse model of acute cervical muscle inflammation and assessed the functional properties of superficial dorsal horn (SDH) neurons.<p></p>
Results:
Male C57/Bl6 mice (P24-P40) were deeply anaesthetised (urethane 2.2?g/kg i.p) and the rectus capitis major muscle (RCM) injected with 40??l of 2% carrageenan. Sham animals received vehicle injection and controls remained anaesthetised for 2?hrs. Mice in each group were sacrificed at 2?hrs for analysis. c-Fos staining was used to determine the location of activated neurons. c-Fos labelling in carrageenan-injected mice was concentrated within ipsilateral (87% and 63% of labelled neurons in C1 and C2 segments, respectively) and contralateral laminae I - II with some expression in lateral lamina V. c-Fos expression remained below detectable levels in control and sham animals. In additional experiments, whole cell recordings were obtained from visualised SDH neurons in transverse slices in the ipsilateral C1 and C2 spinal segments. Resting membrane potential and input resistance were not altered. Mean spontaneous EPSC amplitude was reduced by ~20% in neurons from carrageenan-injected mice versus control and sham animals (20.63???1.05 vs. 24.64???0.91 and 25.87???1.32 pA, respectively). The amplitude (238???33 vs. 494???96 and 593???167 pA) and inactivation time constant (12.9???1.5 vs. 22.1???3.6 and 15.3???1.4?ms) of the rapid A type potassium current (IAr), the dominant subthreshold current in SDH neurons, were reduced in carrageenan-injected mice.<p></p>
Conclusions:
Excitatory synaptic drive onto, and important intrinsic properties (i.e., IAr) within SDH neurons are reduced two hours after acute muscle inflammation. We propose this time point represents an important transition period between peripheral and central sensitisation with reduced excitatory drive providing an initial neuroprotective mechanism during the early stages of the progression towards central sensitisation
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BIOCTIVE FRACTIONS OF THE LEAVES OF SCAEVOLA TACCADA (GAERTN.) ROXB
Objective: Scaevola taccada. (Gaertn.) Roxb. is widely dispersed all along the coasts of Africa. It is used in folk medicine for diversity of ailments. This study aims to investigate the major phytoconstituents and biological activities of the leaves of S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb.
Methods: In vitro biological examination viz. antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract of the leaves (EE) and its fractions; (petroleum ether (PE), methylene chloride (MC), ethyl acetate (EA) and n-butanol(BuOH)) were carried out. Estimation of the phytochemicals of biologically active fractions was done.
Results: n-butanol fraction displayed remarkable antimycobacterium activity. Petroleum ether as well as n-butanol fractions evidenced a cytotoxic effect on breast carcinoma cell line (MCF7) and colon carcinoma cell line (HCT) with IC50 11.7 and 15.04 µg/ml respectively. Moreover, ethyl acetate fraction exhibits an antioxidant effect with EC50 476.7±0.57 µg/ml. n-tetradecane 1, α-amyrin palmitate 2, α-amyrin acetate 3, α-amyrin 4, stigmasterol 5, luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside 6, rutin 7 and alidyjosioside 8 were identified in S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. leaves.
Conclusion: Petroleum ether fraction is a cytotoxic candidate, especially against (MCF-7). It exhibited a moderate antifungal and antibacterial against certain Gram-positive bacteria. Ethyl acetate showed an antioxidant effect along with moderate antifungal activity. n-butanol fraction exerted potential antimycobacterial, significant cytotoxic activity against (HCT), good antifungal and antibacterial against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Stigmasterol, luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside, rutin and alidyjosioside were isolated for the first time from S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. Leaves
Power Spectrum of Velocity Fluctuations in the Universe
We investigate the power spectrum of velocity fluctuations in the universe,
, starting from four different measures of velocity: (1) the power
spectrum of velocity fluctuations from peculiar velocities of galaxies; (2) the
rms peculiar velocity of galaxy clusters; (3) the power spectrum of velocity
fluctuations from the power spectrum of density fluctuations in the galaxy
distribution; (4) and the bulk velocity from peculiar velocities of galaxies.
We show that measures (1) and (2) are not consistent with each other and either
the power spectrum from peculiar velocities of galaxies is overestimated or the
rms cluster peculiar velocity is underestimated. The amplitude of velocity
fluctuations derived from the galaxy distribution (measure 3) depends on the
parameter . We estimate the parameter on the basis of measures
(2) and (4). The power spectrum of velocity fluctuations from the galaxy
distribution in the Stromlo-APM redshift survey is consistent with the observed
rms cluster velocity and with the observed large-scale bulk flow when the
parameter is in the range 0.4-0.5. In this case the value of the
function at wavelength Mpc is km s
and the rms amplitude of the bulk flow at the radius Mpc is km s. The velocity dispersion of galaxy systems originates mostly
from the large-scale velocity fluctuations with wavelengths Mpc.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 493, in press: 23 pages, uses AAS Latex,
and 14 separate postscript figure
Steps toward the power spectrum of matter. I.The mean spectrum of galaxies
We calculate the mean power spectrum of galaxies using published power
spectra of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. On small scales we use the power
spectrum derived from the 2-dimensional distribution of APM galaxies, on large
scales we use power spectra derived from 3-dimensional data for galaxy and
cluster samples. Spectra are reduced to real space and to the amplitude of the
power spectrum of APM galaxies. Available data indicate the presence of two
different populations in the nearby Universe. Clusters of galaxies sample a
relatively large region in the Universe where rich, medium and poor
superclusters are well represented. Their mean power spectrum has a spike on
scale 120 h^{-1}Mpc, followed by an approximate power-law spectrum of index n =
-1.9 towards small scales. The power spectrum found from LCRS and IRAS 1.2 Jy
surveys is flatter around the maximum, which may represent regions of the
Universe with medium-rich and poor superclusters.Comment: LaTex (sty files added), 35 pages, 5 PostScript figures and Table
with mean power spectrum embedded, Astrophysical Journal (accepted
The Power Spectrum of the PSC Redshift Survey
We measure the redshift-space power spectrum P(k) for the recently completed
IRAS Point Source Catalogue (PSC) redshift survey, which contains 14500
galaxies over 84% of the sky with 60 micron flux >= 0.6 Jansky. Comparison with
simulations shows that our estimated errors on P(k) are realistic, and that
systematic errors due to the finite survey volume are small for wavenumbers k
>~ 0.03 h Mpc^-1. At large scales our power spectrum is intermediate between
those of the earlier QDOT and 1.2 Jansky surveys, but with considerably smaller
error bars; it falls slightly more steeply to smaller scales. We have fitted
families of CDM-like models using the Peacock-Dodds formula for non-linear
evolution; the results are somewhat sensitive to the assumed small-scale
velocity dispersion \sigma_V. Assuming a realistic \sigma_V \approx 300 km/s
yields a shape parameter \Gamma ~ 0.25 and normalisation b \sigma_8 ~ 0.75; if
\sigma_V is as high as 600 km/s then \Gamma = 0.5 is only marginally excluded.
There is little evidence for any `preferred scale' in the power spectrum or
non-Gaussian behaviour in the distribution of large-scale power.Comment: Latex, uses mn.sty, 14 pages including 11 Postscript figures.
Accepted by MNRA
CIRCULAR DICHROISM OF LIGHT-HARVESTING COMPLEXES FROM PURPLE PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA
The CD spectra of a range of antenna complexes from several different species of purple photosynthetic bacteria were recorded in the wavelength range of 190 to 930 nm. Analysis of the far UV CD (190 to 250 nm) showed that in each case except for the B800-850 from Chr. vinosum the secondary structure of the light-harvesting complexes contains a large amount of α-helix (50%) and very little 0-pleated sheet. This confirms the predictions of the group of Zuber of a high a-helical content based upon consideration of the primary structures of several antenna apoproteins. The CD spectra from the carotenoids and the bacteriochlorophylls show considerable variations depending upon the type of antenna complex. The different amplitude ratios in the CD spectrum for the bacteriochlorophyll Qy, Qx and Soret bands indicate not only different degrees of exciton coupling, but also a strong and variable hyperchromism (Scherz and Parson, 1984a, b)
Origin and evolution of halo bias in linear and non-linear regimes
We present results from a study of bias and its evolution for galaxy-size
halos in a large, high-resolution simulation of a LCDM model. We consider the
evolution of bias estimated using two-point correlation function (b_xi), power
spectrum (b_P), and a direct correlation of smoothed halo and matter
overdensity fields (b_d). We present accurate estimates of the evolution of the
matter power spectrum probed deep into the stable clustering regime
(k~[0.1-200]h/Mpc at z=0). The halo power spectrum evolves much slower than the
power spectrum of matter and has a different shape which indicates that the
bias is time- and scale-dependent. At z=0, the halo power spectrum is
anti-biased with respect to the matter power spectrum at wavenumbers
k~[0.15-30]h/Mpc, and provides an excellent match to the power spectrum of the
APM galaxies at all probed k. In particular, it nicely matches the inflection
observed in the APM power spectrum at k~0.15h/Mpc. We complement the power
spectrum analysis with a direct estimate of bias using smoothed halo and matter
overdensity fields and show that the evolution observed in the simulation in
linear and mildly non-linear regimes can be well described by the analytical
model of Mo & White (1996), if the distinction between formation redshift of
halos and observation epoch is introduced into the model. We present arguments
and evidence that at higher overdensities, the evolution of bias is
significantly affected by dynamical friction and tidal stripping operating on
the satellite halos in high-density regions of clusters and groups; we
attribute the strong anti-bias observed in the halo correlation function and
power spectrum to these effects. (Abridged)Comment: submitted to the Astrophys.Journal; 19 pages, 9 figures LaTeX (uses
emulateapj.sty
Measuring the galaxy power spectrum with future redshift surveys
Precision measurements of the galaxy power spectrum P(k) require a data
analysis pipeline that is both fast enough to be computationally feasible and
accurate enough to take full advantage of high-quality data. We present a
rigorous discussion of different methods of power spectrum estimation, with
emphasis on the traditional Fourier method, the linear (Karhunen-Loeve; KL),
and quadratic data compression schemes, showing in what approximations they
give the same result. To improve speed, we show how many of the advantages of
KL data compression and power spectrum estimation may be achieved with a
computationally faster quadratic method. To improve accuracy, we derive
analytic expressions for handling the integral constraint, since it is crucial
that finite volume effects are accurately corrected for on scales comparable to
the depth of the survey. We also show that for the KL and quadratic techniques,
multiple constraints can be included via simple matrix operations, thereby
rendering the results less sensitive to galactic extinction and mis-estimates
of the radial selection function. We present a data analysis pipeline that we
argue does justice to the increases in both quality and quantity of data that
upcoming redshift surveys will provide. It uses three analysis techniques in
conjunction: a traditional Fourier approach on small scales, a pixelized
quadratic matrix method on large scales and a pixelized KL eigenmode analysis
to probe anisotropic effects such as redshift-space distortions.Comment: Major revisions for clarity. Matches accepted ApJ version. 23 pages,
with 2 figs included. Color figure and links at
http://www.sns.ias.edu/~max/galpower.html (faster from the US), from
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~max/galpower.html (faster from Europe) or
from [email protected]
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