397 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of nano-cluster phases: a unifying theory
We propose a unifying, analytical theory accounting for the self-organization
of colloidal systems in nano- or micro-cluster phases. We predict the
distribution of cluter sizes with respect to interaction parameters and colloid
concentration. In particular, we anticipate a proportionality regime where the
mean cluster size grows proportionally to the concentration, as observed in
several experiments. We emphasize the interest of a predictive theory in soft
matter, nano-technologies and biophysics.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Simulation of ozone production in a complex circulation region using nested grids
International audienceDuring ESCOMPTE precampaign (15 June to 10 July 2000), three days of intensive pollution (IOP0) have been observed and simulated. The comprehensive RAMS model, version 4.3, coupled online with a chemical module including 29 species, has been used to follow the chemistry of the zone polluted over southern France. This online method can be used because the code is paralleled and the SGI 3800 computer is very powerful. Two runs have been performed: run1 with one grid and run2 with two nested grids. The redistribution of simulated chemical species (ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) was compared to aircraft measurements and surface stations. The 2-grid run has given substantially better results than the one-grid run only because the former takes the outer pollutants into account. This online method helps to explain dynamics and to retrieve the chemical species redistribution with a good agreement
Scaling the Temperature-dependent Boson Peak of Vitreous Silica with the high-frequency Bulk Modulus derived from Brillouin Scattering Data
The position and strength of the boson peak in silica glass vary considerably
with temperature . Such variations cannot be explained solely with changes
in the Debye energy. New Brillouin scattering measurements are presented which
allow determining the -dependence of unrelaxed acoustic velocities. Using a
velocity based on the bulk modulus, scaling exponents are found which agree
with the soft-potential model. The unrelaxed bulk modulus thus appears to be a
good measure for the structural evolution of silica with and to set the
energy scale for the soft potentials.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Electric-field induced capillary interaction of charged particles at a polar interface
We study the electric-field induced capillary interaction of charged
particles at a polar interface. The algebraic tails of the electrostatic
pressure of each charge results in a deformation of the interface . The resulting capillary interaction is repulsive and varies as with the particle distance. As a consequence, electric-field induced
capillary forces cannot be at the origin of the secondary minimum observed
recently for charged PMMA particles at on oil-water interface.Comment: June 200
Correction: Ocean acidification at a coastal CO2 vent induces expression of stress-related transcripts and transposable elements in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210358.]
Anharmonic vs. relaxational sound damping in glasses: II. Vitreous silica
The temperature dependence of the frequency dispersion in the sound velocity
and damping of vitreous silica is reanalyzed. Thermally activated relaxation
accounts for the sound attenuation observed above 10 K at sonic and ultrasonic
frequencies. Its extrapolation to the hypersonic regime reveals that the
anharmonic coupling to the thermal bath becomes important in
Brillouin-scattering measurements. At 35 GHz and room temperature, the damping
due to this anharmonicity is found to be nearly twice that produced by
thermally activated relaxation. The analysis also reveals a sizeable velocity
increase with temperature which is not related with sound dispersion. This
suggests that silica experiences a gradual structural change that already
starts well below room temperature.Comment: 13 pages with 8 figure
Isolation of an antimicrobial compound produced by bacteria associated with reef-building corals
� 2016 Raina et al. Bacterial communities associated with healthy corals produce antimicrobial compounds that inhibit the colonization and growth of invasive microbes and potential pathogens. To date, however, bacteria-derived antimicrobial molecules have not been identified in reef-building corals. Here, we report the isolation of an antimicrobial compound produced by Pseudovibrio sp. P12, a common and abundant coral-associated bacterium. This strain was capable of metabolizing dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur molecule produced in high concentrations by reef-building corals and playing a role in structuring their bacterial communities. Bioassay-guided fractionation coupled with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS), identified the antimicrobial as tropodithietic acid (TDA), a sulfur-containing compound likely derived from DMSP catabolism. TDA was produced in large quantities by Pseudovibrio sp., and prevented the growth of two previously identified coral pathogens, Vibrio coralliilyticus and V. owensii, at very low concentrations (0.5 μg/mL) in agar diffusion assays. Genome sequencing of Pseudovibrio sp. P12 identified gene homologs likely involved in the metabolism of DMSP and production of TDA. These results provide additional evidence for the integral role of DMSP in structuring coral-associated bacterial communities and underline the potential of these DMSP-metabolizing microbes to contribute to coral disease prevention
Unconventional ferromagnetic and spin-glass states of the reentrant spin glass Fe0.7Al0.3
Spin excitations of single crystal Fe0.7Al0.3 were investigated over a wide
range in energy and reciprocal space with inelastic neutron scattering. In the
ferromagnetic phase, propagating spin wave modes become paramagnon-like
diffusive modes beyond a critical wave vector q0, indicating substantial
disorder in the long-range ordered state. In the spin glass phase, spin
dynamics is strongly q-dependent, suggesting remnant short-range spin
correlations. Quantitative model for S(energy,q) in the ``ferromagnetic'' phase
is determined.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
An alternative scenario for the formation of specialized protein nano-domains (cluster phases) in biomembranes
We discuss a realistic scenario, accounting for the existence of
sub-micrometric protein domains in cell membranes. At the biological level,
such membrane domains have been shown to be specialized, in order to perform a
determined biological task, in the sense that they gather one or a few protein
species out of the hundreds of different ones that a cell membrane may contain.
By analyzing the balance between mixing entropy and protein affinities, we
propose that such protein sorting in distinct domains can be explained without
appealing to pre-existing lipidic micro-phase separations, as in the lipid raft
scenario. We show that the proposed scenario is compatible with known physical
interactions between membrane proteins, even if thousands of different species
coexist.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, published versio
Numerical study of anharmonic vibrational decay in amorphous and paracrystalline silicon
The anharmonic decay rates of atomic vibrations in amorphous silicon (a-Si)
and paracrystalline silicon (p-Si), containing small crystalline grains
embedded in a disordered matrix, are calculated using realistic structural
models. The models are 1000-atom four-coordinated networks relaxed to a local
minimum of the Stillinger-Weber interatomic potential. The vibrational decay
rates are calculated numerically by perturbation theory, taking into account
cubic anharmonicity as the perturbation. The vibrational lifetimes for a-Si are
found to be on picosecond time scales, in agreement with the previous
perturbative and classical molecular dynamics calculations on a 216-atom model.
The calculated decay rates for p-Si are similar to those of a-Si. No modes in
p-Si reside entirely on the crystalline cluster, decoupled from the amorphous
matrix. The localized modes with the largest (up to 59%) weight on the cluster
decay primarily to two diffusons. The numerical results are discussed in
relation to a recent suggestion by van der Voort et al. [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 62},
8072 (2000)] that long vibrational relaxation inferred experimentally may be
due to possible crystalline nanostructures in some types of a-Si.Comment: 9 two-column pages, 13 figure
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