778 research outputs found
Phase diagram and spin-glass phenomena in electron-doped La1-xHfxMnO3 (0.05 β€ x β€ 0.3) manganite oxides
The effects of tetravalent hafnium doping on the structural, transport, and magnetic properties of polycrystalline La1βxHfxMnO3 (LHMO) (0.05ββ€βxββ€β0.3) were investigated systematically. LHMO exhibited a typical colossal magnetoresistance effect via the double-exchange between Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions, instead of that between Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions in hole-doped manganites. A phase diagram was obtained for the first time through magnetization and resistance measurements in a broad temperature range. As the Hf concentration varied from xβ=β0.05 to 0.3, the Curie point and metal-to-insulator transition temperature increased significantly, whereas the magnetization and resistivity decreased remarkably. An abnormal enhancement of the magnetization was observed at about 42 K. It was further confirmed that a second magnetic phase MnO2 in LHMO gives rise to such a phenomenon. The possible causes are discussed in detail. The dynamic magnetic properties of LHMO, including relaxation and aging processes, were studied, demonstrating a spin-glass state at low temperature accompanied by a ferromagnetic phase.published_or_final_versio
Molecular Valves for Controlling Gas Phase Transport Made from Discrete Angstrom-Sized Pores in Graphene
An ability to precisely regulate the quantity and location of molecular flux
is of value in applications such as nanoscale 3D printing, catalysis, and
sensor design. Barrier materials containing pores with molecular dimensions
have previously been used to manipulate molecular compositions in the gas
phase, but have so far been unable to offer controlled gas transport through
individual pores. Here, we show that gas flux through discrete angstrom-sized
pores in monolayer graphene can be detected and then controlled using
nanometer-sized gold clusters, which are formed on the surface of the graphene
and can migrate and partially block a pore. In samples without gold clusters,
we observe stochastic switching of the magnitude of the gas permeance, which we
attribute to molecular rearrangements of the pore. Our molecular valves could
be used, for example, to develop unique approaches to molecular synthesis that
are based on the controllable switching of a molecular gas flux, reminiscent of
ion channels in biological cell membranes and solid state nanopores.Comment: to appear in Nature Nanotechnolog
Synthesis and characterization of VO2-based thermochromic thin films for energy-efficient windows
Thermochromic VO2 thin films have successfully been grown on SiO2-coated float glass by reactive DC and pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering. The influence of substitutional doping of V by higher valence cations, such as W, Mo, and Nb, and respective contents on the crystal structure of VO2 is evaluated. Moreover, the effectiveness of each dopant element on the reduction of the intrinsic transition temperature and infrared modulation efficiency of VO2 is discussed. In summary, all the dopant elements--regardless of the concentration, within the studied range-- formed a solid solution with VO2, which was the only compound observed by X-ray diffractometry. Nb showed a clear detrimental effect on the crystal structure of VO2. The undoped films presented a marked thermochromic behavior, specially the one prepared by pulsed-DC sputtering. The dopants effectively decreased the transition of VO2 to the proximity of room temperature. However, the IR modulation efficiency is markedly affected as a consequence of the increased metallic character of the semiconducting phase. Tungsten proved to be the most effective element on the reduction of the semiconducting-metal transition temperature, while Mo and Nb showed similar results with the latter being detrimental to the thermochromism
The Actin Associated Protein Palladin Is Important for the Early Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation
Palladin, an actin associated protein, plays a significant role in regulating cell adhesion and cell motility. Palladin is important for development, as knockdown in mice is embryonic lethal, yet its role in the development of the vasculature is unknown. We have shown that palladin is essential for the expression of smooth muscle cells (SMC) marker genes and force development in response to agonist stimulation in palladin deficient SMCs. The goal of the study was to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying palladin's ability to regulate the expression of SMC marker genes. Results showed that palladin expression was rapidly induced in an A404 cell line upon retinoic acid (RA) induced differentiation. Suppression of palladin expression with siRNAs inhibited the expression of RA induced SMC differentiation genes, SM Ξ±-actin (SMA) and SM22, whereas over-expression of palladin induced SMC gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays provided evidence that palladin bound to SMC genes, whereas co-immunoprecipitation assays also showed binding of palladin to myocardin related transcription factors (MRTFs). Endogenous palladin was imaged in the nucleus, increased with leptomycin treatment and the carboxyl-termini of palladin co-localized with MRTFs in the nucleus. Results support a model wherein palladin contributes to SMC differentiation through regulation of CArG-SRF-MRTF dependent transcription of SMC marker genes and as previously published, also through actin dynamics. Finally, in E11.5 palladin null mouse embryos, the expression of SMA and SM22 mRNA and protein is decreased in the vessel wall. Taken together, our findings suggest that palladin plays a key role in the differentiation of SMCs in the developing vasculature
Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay
The decay channel
is studied using a sample of events collected
by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is
observed in the invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit
with an -wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of
and a
narrow width that is at the 90% confidence level.
These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width
values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics
The unpolarized macronova associated with the gravitational wave event GW 170817
The merger of two dense stellar remnants including at least one neutron star
(NS) is predicted to produce gravitational waves (GWs) and short duration gamma
ray bursts (GRBs). In the process, neutron-rich material is ejected from the
system and heavy elements are synthesized by r-process nucleosynthesis. The
radioactive decay of these heavy elements produces additional transient
radiation termed "kilonova" or "macronova". We report the detection of linear
optical polarization P = (0.50 +/- 0.07)% at 1.46 days after detection of the
GWs from GW170817, a double neutron star merger associated with an optical
macronova counterpart and a short GRB. The optical emission from a macronova is
expected to be characterized by a blue, rapidly decaying, component and a red,
more slowly evolving, component due to material rich of heavy elements, the
lanthanides. The polarization measurement was made when the macronova was still
in its blue phase, during which there is an important contribution from a
lanthanide-free outflow. The low degree of polarization is consistent with
intrinsically unpolarized emission scattered by Galactic dust, suggesting a
symmetric geometry of the emitting region and low inclination of the merger
system. Stringent upper limits to the polarization degree from 2.45 - 9.48 days
post-burst are consistent with the lanthanides-rich macronova interpretation.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, Nature Astronomy, in pres
Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV
A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3
detector at LEP using data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV,
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.4 pb^-1. Higgs decays into a
charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its associated neutrino are
considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from
Standard Model background processes. A lower limit of 65.5 GeV on the charged
Higgs mass is derived at 95 % confidence level, independent of the decay
branching ratio Br(H^{+/-} -> tau nu)
Antioxidant intervention of smoking-induced lung tumor in mice by vitamin E and quercetin
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidemiological and in vitro studies suggest that antioxidants such as quercetin and vitamin E (VE) can prevent lung tumor caused by smoking; however, there is limited evidence from animal studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the present study, Swiss mouse was used to examine the potential of quercetin and VE for prevention lung tumor induced by smoking.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results suggest that the incidence of lung tumor and tumor multiplicity were 43.5% and 1.00 Β± 0.29 in smoking group; Quercetin has limited effects on lung tumor prevention in this in vivo model, as measured by assays for free radical scavenging, reduction of smoke-induced DNA damage and inhibition of apoptosis. On the other hand, vitamin E drastically decreased the incidence of lung tumor and tumor multiplicity which were 17.0% and 0.32 Β± 0.16, respectively (p < 0.05); and demonstrated prominent antioxidant effects, reduction of DNA damage and decreased cell apoptosis (p < 0.05). Combined treatment with quercetin and VE in this animal model did not demonstrate any effect greater than that due to vitamin E alone. In addition, gender differences in the occurrence of smoke induced-lung tumor and antioxidant intervention were also observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that VE might prevent lung tumor induced by smoking in Swiss mice.</p
The Mechanism of Ubiquitination in the Cullin-RING E3 Ligase Machinery: Conformational Control of Substrate Orientation
In cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases, substrate binding proteins, such as VHL-box, SOCS-box or the F-box proteins, recruit substrates for ubiquitination, accurately positioning and orienting the substrates for ubiquitin transfer. Yet, how the E3 machinery precisely positions the substrate is unknown. Here, we simulated nine substrate binding proteins: Skp2, Fbw7, Ξ²-TrCP1, Cdc4, Fbs1, TIR1, pVHL, SOCS2, and SOCS4, in the unbound form and bound to Skp1, ASK1 or Elongin C. All nine proteins have two domains: one binds to the substrate; the other to E3 ligase modules Skp1/ASK1/Elongin C. We discovered that in all cases the flexible inter-domain linker serves as a hinge, rotating the substrate binding domain, optimally and accurately positioning it for ubiquitin transfer. We observed a conserved proline in the linker of all nine proteins. In all cases, the prolines pucker substantially and the pucker is associated with the backbone rotation toward the E2/ubiquitin. We further observed that the linker flexibility could be regulated allosterically by binding events associated with either domain. We conclude that the flexible linker in the substrate binding proteins orients the substrate for the ubiquitin transfer. Our findings provide a mechanism for ubiquitination and polyubiquitination, illustrating that these processes are under conformational control
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