6,654 research outputs found
NaV_2O_5 as an Anisotropic t-J Ladder at Quarter Filling
Based on recent experimental evidences that the electronic charge degrees of
freedom plays an essential role in the spin-Peierls--like phase transition of
NaVO, we first make the mapping of low-energy electronic states of the
model for NaVO to the quarter-filled ladder with
anisotropic parameter values between legs and rungs, and then show that this
anisotropic ladder is in the Mott insulating state, of which
lowest-energy states can be modeled by the one-dimensional Heisenberg
antiferromagnet with the effective exchange interaction whose value
is consistent with experimental estimates. We furthermore examine the coupling
between the ladders as the trellis lattice model and show that the
nearest-neighbor Coulomb repulsion on the zigzag-chain bonds can lead to the
instability in the charge degrees of freedom of the ladders.Comment: 4 pages, 5 gif figures. Fig.3 corrected. Hardcopies of figures (or
the entire manuscript) can be obtained by e-mail request to
[email protected]
Cryptococcus neoformans ex vivo capsule size is associated with intracranial pressure and host immune response in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis
<p>Background.âThe Cryptococcus neoformans polysaccharide capsule is a well-characterised virulence factor with immunomodulatory properties. The organism and/or shed capsule is postulated to raise intracranial pressure(ICP) in cryptococcal meningitis(CM) by mechanical obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) outflow. Little is known regarding capsule phenotype in human cryptococcosis. We investigated the relationship of ex vivo CSF capsular phenotype with ICP and CSF immune response, as well as in vitro phenotype.</p>
<p>Methods.â134 HIV-infected Ugandan adults with CM had serial lumbar punctures with measurement of CSF opening pressures, quantitative cultures, ex vivo capsule size and shedding, viscosity, and CSF cytokines. 108 had complete data. Induced capsular size and shedding were measured in vitro for 48 C. neoformans isolates.</p>
<p>Results.âCryptococcal strains producing larger ex vivo capsules in the baseline(pre-treatment) CSF correlated with higher ICP(P=.02), slower rate of fungal clearance(P=.02), and paucity of CSF inflammation, including decreased CSF white blood cell(WBC) count(P<.001), interleukin(IL)-4(P=.02), IL-6(P=.01), IL-7(P=.04), IL-8(P=.03), and interferon-gamma(P=.03). CSF capsule shedding did not correlate with ICP. On multivariable analysis, capsule size remained independently associated with ICP. Ex vivo capsular size and shedding did not correlate with that of the same isolates grown in vitro.</p>
<P>Conclusions.âCryptococcal capsule size ex vivo is an important contributor to virulence in human cryptococcal meningitis.</P>
Application of precise 142Nd/144Nd analysis of small samples to inclusions in diamonds (Finsch, South Africa) and Hadean Zircons (Jack Hills, Western Australia)
146Sm-142Nd and 147Sm-143Nd systematics were investigated in garnet inclusions in diamonds from Finsch (S. Africa) and Hadean zircons from Jack Hills (W. Australia) to assess the potential of these systems as recorders of early Earth evolution. The stud
Gamma-Ray Telescopes (in "400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes")
The last half-century has seen dramatic developments in gamma-ray telescopes,
from their initial conception and development through to their blossoming into
full maturity as a potent research tool in astronomy. Gamma-ray telescopes are
leading research in diverse areas such as gamma-ray bursts, blazars, Galactic
transients, and the Galactic distribution of aluminum-26.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures/ in "400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes: A
Review of History, Science and Technology", ed. B.R. Brandl, R. Stuik, & J.K.
Katgert-Merkeli (Exp. Astron. 26, 111-122 [2009]
Coronal Diagnostics from Narrowband Images around 30.4 nm
Images taken in the band centered at 30.4 nm are routinely used to map the
radiance of the He II Ly alpha line on the solar disk. That line is one of the
strongest, if not the strongest, line in the EUV observed in the solar
spectrum, and one of the few lines in that wavelength range providing
information on the upper chromosphere or lower transition region. However, when
observing the off-limb corona the contribution from the nearby Si XI 30.3 nm
line can become significant. In this work we aim at estimating the relative
contribution of those two lines in the solar corona around the minimum of solar
activity. We combine measurements from CDS taken in August 2008 with
temperature and density profiles from semiempirical models of the corona to
compute the radiances of the two lines, and of other representative coronal
lines (e.g., Mg X 62.5 nm, Si XII 52.1 nm). Considering both diagnosed
quantities from line ratios (temperatures and densities) and line radiances in
absolute units, we obtain a good overall match between observations and models.
We find that the Si XI line dominates the He II line from just above the limb
up to ~2 R_Sun in streamers, while its contribution to narrowband imaging in
the 30.4 nm band is expected to become smaller, even negligible in the corona
beyond ~2 - 3 R_Sun, the precise value being strongly dependent on the coronal
temperature profile.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures; to be published in: Solar Physic
Spin and orbital ordering in double-layered manganites
We study theoretically the phase diagram of the double-layered perovskite
manganites taking into account the orbital degeneracy, the strong Coulombic
repulsion, and the coupling with the lattice deformation. Observed spin
structural changes as the increased doping are explained in terms of the
orbital ordering and the bond-length dependence of the hopping integral along
-axis. Temperature dependence of the neutron diffraction peak corresponding
to the canting structure is also explained. Comparison with the 3D cubic system
is made.Comment: 7 figure
Optimal scaling of average queue sizes in an input-queued switch: an open problem
We review some known results and state a few versions of an open problem related to the scaling of the total queue size (in steady state) in an nĂn input-queued switch, as a function of the port number n and the load factor Ï. Loosely speaking, the question is whether the total number of packets in queue, under either the maximum weight policy or under an optimal policy, scales (ignoring any logarithmic factors) as O(n/(1 â Ï)).National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CCF-0728554
PT-symmetric Solutions of Schrodinger Equation with position-dependent mass via Point Canonical Transformation
PT-symmetric solutions of Schrodinger equation are obtained for the Scarf and
generalized harmonic oscillator potentials with the position-dependent mass. A
general point canonical transformation is applied by using a free parameter.
Three different forms of mass distributions are used. A set of the energy
eigenvalues of the bound states and corresponding wave functions for target
potentials are obtained as a function of the free parameter.Comment: 13 page
Calculated optical properties of Si, Ge, and GaAs under hydrostatic pressure
The macroscopic dielectric function in the random-phase-approximation without
local field effect has been implemented using the local density approximation
with an all electron, full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital basis-set. This
method is used to investigate the optical properties of the semiconductors Si,
Ge, and GaAs under hydrostatic pressure. The pressure dependence of the
effective dielectric function is compared to the experimental data of Go\~ni
and coworkers, and an excellent agreement is found when the so called
``scissors-operator'' shift (SOS) is used to account for the correct band gap
at . The effect of the semi-core states in the interband
transitions hardly changes the static dielectric function, ;
however, their contribution to the intensity of absorption for higher photon
energies is substantial. The spin-orbit coupling has a significant effect on
of Ge and GaAs, but not of Si. The peak in the
dynamical dielectric function is strongly underestimated for Si, but only
slightly for Ge and GaAs, suggesting that excitonic effects might be important
only for Si.Comment: 29 RevTex pages and 12 figs; in press in Physical Review
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