Static dielectric response and Born effective charge of BN nanotubes from {\it ab initio} finite electric field calculations

{\it Ab initio} investigations of the full static dielectric response and Born effective charge of BN nanotubes (BN-NTs) have been performed for the first time using finite electric field method. It is found that the ionic contribution to the static dielectric response of BN-NTs is substantial and also that a pronounced chirality-dependent oscillation is superimposed on the otherwise linear relation between the longitudinal electric polarizability and the tube diameter ($D$), as for a thin dielectric cylinderical shell. In contrast, the transverse dielectric response of the BN-NTs resemble the behavior of a thin (non-ideal) conducting cylindrical shell of a diameter of $D+4$\AA$$, with a screening factor of 2 for the inner electric field. The medium principal component $Z_y^*$ of the Born effective charge corresponding to the transverse atomic displacement tangential to the BN-NT surface, has a pronounced $D$-dependence (but independent of chirality), while the large longitudinal component $Z_z^*$ exhibits a clear chirality dependence (but nearly $D$-independent), suggesting a powerful way to characterize the diameter and chirality of a BN-NT.Comment: submitted to PR

Deletion of Gpr27 in vivo reduces insulin mRNA but does not result in diabetes.

Gpr27 is a highly conserved, orphan G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) previously implicated in pancreatic beta cell insulin transcription and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vitro. Here, we characterize a whole-body mouse knockout of Gpr27. Gpr27 knockout mice were born at expected Mendelian ratios and exhibited no gross abnormalities. Insulin and Pdx1 mRNA in Gpr27 knockout islets were reduced by 30%, but this did not translate to a reduction in islet insulin content or beta cell mass. Gpr27 knockout mice exhibited slightly worsened glucose tolerance with lower plasma insulin levels while maintaining similar insulin tolerance. Unexpectedly, Gpr27 deletion reduced expression of Eif4e3, a neighboring gene, likely by deleting transcription start sites on the anti-sense strand of the Gpr27 coding exon. Our data confirm that loss of Gpr27 reduces insulin mRNA in vivo but has only minor effects on glucose tolerance

Excitons and Many-Electron Effects in the Optical Response of Single-Walled Boron Nitride Nanotubes

We report first-principles calculations of the effects of quasiparticle self-energy and electron-hole interaction on the optical properties of single-walled BN nanotubes. Excitonic effects are shown to be even more important in BN nanotubes than in carbon nanotubes. Electron-hole interactions give rise to complexes of bright (and dark) excitons, which qualitatively alter the optical response. Excitons with binding energy larger than 2 eV are found in the (8,0) BN nanotubes. Moreover, unlike the carbon nanotubes, theory predicts that these exciton states are comprised of coherent supposition of transitions from several different subband pairs, giving rise to novel behaviors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

A Case of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Presenting as Anxiety

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare but potentially lethal complication of dopamine antagonist use. A 34-year-old male presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of feeling anxious for the past several days. He presented with his family who helped provide history as he had become less communicative over the preceding two days. It was revealed that the patient had a recent psychiatric hospitalization for suspected new-onset psychosis and was discharged six days prior to his presentation. It was reported that the patient was discharged with unknown psychiatric medications but stopped taking them two days prior because he felt they were increasing his anxiety. On physical examination, the patient was found to have upper extremity rigidity and appeared tremulous. A review of records revealed that the patient was discharged from inpatient psychiatric treatment on dual antipsychotic therapy. With this information, the patient met the diagnostic criteria for NMS. He was hospitalized and his symptoms resolved following treatment. Without the knowledge of antipsychotic use, the diagnosis of a serious, life-threatening condition may have been missed. Our case highlights an important but occasionally overlooked aspect of evaluating a patient in the emergency department, namely, outside chart and documentation reviewing

First-Principle Description of Correlation Effects in Layered Materials

We present a first-principles description of anisotropic materials characterized by having both weak (dispersion-like) and strong covalent bonds, based on the Adiabatic--Connection Fluctuation--Dissipation Theorem within Density Functional Theory. For hexagonal boron nitride the in-plane and out of plane bonding as well as vibrational dynamics are well described both at equilibrium and when the layers are pulled apart. Also bonding in covalent and ionic solids is described. The formalism allows to ping-down the deficiencies of common exchange-correlation functionals and provides insight towards the inclusion of dispersion interactions into the correlation functional.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Excitons in boron nitride nanotubes: dimensionality effects

We show that the optical absorption spectra of boron nitride (BN) nanotubes are dominated by strongly bound excitons. Our first-principles calculations indicate that the binding energy for the first and dominant excitonic peak depends sensitively on the dimensionality of the system, varying from 0.7 eV in bulk hexagonal BN via 2.1 eV in the single sheet of BN to more than 3 eV in the hypothetical (2,2) tube. The strongly localized nature of this exciton dictates the fast convergence of its binding energy with increasing tube diameter towards the sheet value. The absolute position of the first excitonic peak is almost independent of the tube radius and system dimensionality. This provides an explanation for the observed "optical gap" constancy for different tubes and bulk hBN [R. Arenal et al., to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2005)].Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Transient Thermal Diffusion in Conical Bodies

A numerical solution has been obtained for transient thermal diffusion in a cone in which chemical, electrical or nuclear energy at a constant rate. An implicit method is used to set up the finite difference equations and detailed analysis is carried out to trace the time history of the temperature distribution from the initial stages to the steady state. The effect of the rate of heat generation on the time required to reach steady state thermal distribution has also been depicted

Broad boron sheets and boron nanotubes: An ab initio study of structural, electronic, and mechanical properties

Based on a numerical ab initio study, we discuss a structure model for a broad boron sheet, which is the analog of a single graphite sheet, and the precursor of boron nanotubes. The sheet has linear chains of sp hybridized sigma bonds lying only along its armchair direction, a high stiffness, and anisotropic bonds properties. The puckering of the sheet is explained as a mechanism to stabilize the sp sigma bonds. The anisotropic bond properties of the boron sheet lead to a two-dimensional reference lattice structure, which is rectangular rather than triangular. As a consequence the chiral angles of related boron nanotubes range from 0 to 90 degrees. Given the electronic properties of the boron sheets, we demonstrate that all of the related boron nanotubes are metallic, irrespective of their radius and chiral angle, and we also postulate the existence of helical currents in ideal chiral nanotubes. Furthermore, we show that the strain energy of boron nanotubes will depend on their radii, as well as on their chiral angles. This is a rather unique property among nanotubular systems, and it could be the basis of a different type of structure control within nanotechnology.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, Versions: v1=preview, v2=first final, v3=minor corrections, v4=document slightly reworke