402 research outputs found
Short-range charge-order in NiO perovskites (=Pr,Nd,Eu) probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy
The short-range organization around Ni atoms in orthorhombic NiO
(=Pr,Nd,Eu) perovskites has been studied over a wide temperature range by Ni
K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate that two
different Ni sites, with different average Ni-O bond lengths, coexist in those
orthorhombic compounds and that important modifications in the Ni nearest
neighbors environment take place across the metal-insulator transition. We
report evidences for the existence of short-range charge-order in the
insulating state, as found in the monoclinic compounds. Moreover, our results
suggest that the two different Ni sites coexists even in the metallic state.
The coexistence of two different Ni sites, independently on the ion,
provides a common ground to describe these compounds and shed new light in the
understanding of the phonon-assisted conduction mechanism and unusual
antiferromagnetism present in all NiO compounds.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted PRB - Brief Report Dec.200
Spin-orbit induced mixed-spin ground state in NiO perovskites probed by XAS: new insight into the metal to insulator transition
We report on a Ni L edges x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) study
in NiO perovskites. These compounds exhibit a metal to insulator ()
transition as temperature decreases. The L edge presents a clear
splitting in the insulating state, associated to a less hybridized ground
state. Using charge transfer multiplet calculations, we establish the
importance of the crystal field and 3d spin-orbit coupling to create a
mixed-spin ground state. We explain the transition in NiO
perovskites in terms of modifications in the Ni crystal field splitting
that induces a spin transition from an essentially low-spin (LS) to a
mixed-spin state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted as PRB - Rapid Comm. Dez. 200
Differences in decision-making behavior between elite and amateur team-handball players in a near-game test situation
Athletic features distinguishing experts from non-experts in team sports are relevant for performance analyses, talent identification and successful training. In this respect, perceptual-cognitive factors like decision making have been proposed to be important predictor of talent but, however, assessing decision making in team sports remains a challenging endeavor. In particular, it is now known that decisions expressed by verbal reports or micro-movements in the laboratory differ from those actually made in on-field situations in play. To address this point, our study compared elite and amateur players' decision-making behavior in a near-game test environment including sport-specific sensorimotor responses. Team-handball players (N = 44) were asked to respond as quickly as possible to representative, temporally occluded attack sequences in a team-handball specific defense environment on a contact plate system. Specifically, participants had to choose and perform the most appropriate out of four prespecified, defense response actions. The frequency of responses and decision time were used as dependent variables representing decision-making behavior. We found that elite players responded significantly more often with offensive responses (p < 0.05, odds ratios: 2.76-3.00) in left-handed attack sequences. Decision time decreased with increasing visual information, but no expertise effect was found. We suppose that expertise-related knowledge and processing of kinematic information led to distinct decision-making behavior between elite and amateur players, evoked in a domain-specific and near-game test setting. Results also indicate that the quality of a decision might be of higher relevance than the required time to decide. Findings illustrate application opportunities in the context of performance analyses and talent identification processes
Performance of soil-matrix composite reinforced with recycled shredded fibers from waste tires
Abstract Some experimental results concerning the performance of fiber-reinforced soil composites made of soil and shredded fibers from waste tires are presented. The composite mixtures were prepared with fiber addition of 0, 15, 30, and 45 wt%. After molding, the specimens were oven-dried and tested for unconfined compressive strength and water immersion durability. The results showed an improvement in durability with the addition of fiber. The results also indicated good compressive strength performance for the composites with a fiber content of 15 and 30 wt%. The 30 wt% fiber addiction was the best choice because of the environmental sustainability appeal to solid waste reduction
Inhibition of DNA replication fork progression and mutagenic potential of 1, N6-ethenoadenine and 8-oxoguanine in human cell extracts
Comparative mutagenesis of 1,N6-ethenoadenine (ĪµA) and 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), two endogenous DNA lesions that are also formed by exogenous DNA damaging agents, have been evaluated in HeLa and xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XPV) cell extracts. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the duplex M13mp2SV vector containing these lesions established that there was significant inhibition of replication fork movement past ĪµA, whereas 8-oxoG caused only minor stalling of fork progression. In extracts of HeLa cells, ĪµA was weakly mutagenic inducing all three base substitutions in approximately equal frequency, whereas 8-oxoG was 10-fold more mutagenic inducing primarily GāT transversions. These data suggest that 8-oxoG is a miscoding lesion that presents a minimal, if any, block to DNA replication in human cells. We hypothesized that bypass of ĪµA proceeded principally by an error-free mechanism in which the undamaged strand was used as a template, since this lesion strongly blocked fork progression. To examine this, we determined the sequence of replication products derived from templates in which a G was placed across from the ĪµA. Consistent with our hypothesis, 93% of the progeny were derived from replication of the undamaged strand. When translesion synthesis occurred, ĪµAāT mutations increased 3-fold in products derived from the mismatched ĪµA: G construct compared with those derived from the ĪµA: T construct. More efficient repair of ĪµA in the ĪµA: T construct may have been responsible for lower mutation frequency. Primer extension studies with purified pol Ī· have shown that this polymerase is highly error-prone when bypassing ĪµA. To examine if pol Ī· is the primary mutagenic translesion polymerase in human cells, we determined the lesion bypass characteristics of extracts derived from XPV cells, which lack this polymerase. The ĪµA: T construct induced ĪµAāG and ĪµAāC mutant frequencies that were approximately the same as those observed using the HeLa extracts. However, ĪµAāT events were increased 5-fold relative to HeLa extracts. These data support a model in which pol Ī·-mediated translesion synthesis past this adduct is error-free in the context of semiconservative replication in the presence of fidelity factors such as PCNA
A combined XAS and XRD Study of the High-Pressure Behaviour of GaAsO4 Berlinite
Combined X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)
experiments have been carried out on GaAsO4 (berlinite structure) at high
pressure and room temperature. XAS measurements indicate four-fold to six-fold
coordination changes for both cations. The two local coordination
transformations occur at different rates but appear to be coupled. A reversible
transition to a high pressure crystalline form occurs around 8 GPa. At a
pressure of about 12 GPa, the system mainly consists of octahedral gallium
atoms and a mixture of arsenic in four-fold and six-fold coordinations. A
second transition to a highly disordered material with both cations in six-fold
coordination occurs at higher pressures and is irreversible.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX2
Momentum-resolved charge excitations in high-Tc cuprates studied by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
We report a Cu K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of
high-Tc cuprates. Momentum-resolved charge excitations in the CuO2 plane are
examined from parent Mott insulators to carrier-doped superconductors. The Mott
gap excitation in undoped insulators is found to commonly show a larger
dispersion along the [pi,pi] direction than the [pi,0] direction. On the other
hand, the resonance condition displays material dependence. Upon hole doping,
the dispersion of the Mott gap excitation becomes weaker and an intraband
excitation appears as a continuum intensity below the gap at the same time. In
the case of electron doping, the Mott gap excitation is prominent at the zone
center and a dispersive intraband excitation is observed at finite momentum
transfer
On the stability of 2 \sqrt{2} x 2 \sqrt{2} oxygen ordered superstructures in YBa2Cu3O6+x
We have compared the ground-state energy of several observed or proposed " 2
\sqrt{2} x 2 \sqrt{2} oxygen (O) ordered superstructures " (from now on HS),
with those of "chain superstructures" (CS) (in which the O atoms of the basal
plane are ordered in chains), for different compositions x in YBa2Cu3O6+x. The
model Hamiltonian contains i) the Madelung energy, ii) a term linear in the
difference between Cu and O hole occupancies which controls charge transfer,
and iii) covalency effects based on known results for models in one and
two dimensions. The optimum distribution of charge is determined minimizing the
total energy, and depends on two parameters which are determined from known
results for x=1 and x=0.5. We obtain that on the O lean side, only CS are
stable, while for x=7/8, a HS with regularly spaced O vacancies added to the
x=1 structure is more stable than the corresponding CS for the same x. We find
that the detailed positions of the atoms in the structure, and long-range
Coulomb interactions, are crucial for the electronic structure, the mechanism
of charge transfer, the stability of the different phases, and the possibility
of phase separation.Comment: 24 text pages, Latex, one fig. included as ps file, to be publisheb
in Phys. Rev.
Concerning Order and Disorder in the Ensemble of Cu-O Chain Fragments in Oxygen Deficient Planes of Y-Ba-Cu-O
In connection with numerous X-ray and neutron investigations of some high
temperature superconductors (YBaCuO and related compounds) a
non-trivial part of the structure factor, coming from partly disordered
Cu-O--O-Cu chain fragments, situated within basal planes, CuO, can
be a subject of theoretical interest. Closely connected to such a diffusive
part of the structure factor are the correlation lengths, which are also
available in neutron and X-ray diffraction studies and depend on a degree of
oxygen disorder in a basal plane. The quantitative measure of such a disorder
can be associated with temperature of a sample anneal, , at which oxygen
in a basal plane remains frozen-in high temperature equilibrium after a fast
quench of a sample to room or lower temperature. The structure factor evolution
with is vizualized in figures after the numerical calculations. The
theoretical approach employed in the paper has been developed for the
orthorhombic state of YBCO.Comment: Revtex, 27 pages, 14 PostScript figures upon request, ITP/GU/94/0
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