474 research outputs found
Non-collinear long-range magnetic ordering in HgCr2S4
The low-temperature magnetic structure of \HG has been studied by
high-resolution powder neutron diffraction. Long-range incommensurate magnetic
order sets in at T22K with propagation vector
\textbf{k}=(0,0,0.18). On cooling below T, the propagation vector
increases and saturates at the commensurate value \textbf{k}=(0,0,0.25). The
magnetic structure below T consists of ferromagnetic layers in the
\textit{ab}-plane stacked in a spiral arrangement along the \textit{c}-axis.
Symmetry analysis using corepresentations theory reveals a point group symmetry
in the ordered magnetic phase of 422 (D), which is incompatible with
macroscopic ferroelectricity. This finding indicates that the spontaneous
electric polarization observed experimentally cannot be coupled to the magnetic
order parameter
Spin and orbital moments of ultra-thin Fe films on various semiconductor surfaces
The magnetic moments of ultrathin Fe films on three different III-V semiconductor substrates, namely GaAs, InAs and In0.2Ga0.8As have been measured with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at room temperature to assess their relative merits as combinations suitable for next-generation spintronic devices. The results revealed rather similar spin moments and orbital moments for the three systems, suggesting the relationship between film and semiconductor lattice parameters to be less critical to magnetic moments than magnetic anisotropy
Unique Structural Features of Mule Deer Prion Protein Provide Insights into Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly infectious prion disease of cervids. Accumulation of prions, the disease-specific structural conformers of the cellular prion protein (PrPC), in the central nervous system, is the key pathological event of the disorder. The analysis of cervid PrPC sequences revealed the existence of polymorphism at position 226, in which deer PrP contains glutamine (Q), whereas elk PrP contains glutamate (E). The effects of this polymorphism on CWD are still unknown. We determined the high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance structure of the mule deer prion protein that was compared to previously published PrP structures of elk and white-tailed deer. We found that the polymorphism Q226E could influence the long-range intramolecular interactions and packing of the \u3b22-\u3b12 loop and the C-terminus of the \u3b13 helix of cervid PrP structures. This solvent-accessible epitope is believed to be involved in prion conversion. Additional differences were observed at the beginning of the well-defined C-terminus domain, in the \u3b12-\u3b13 region, and in its interactions with the \u3b11 helix. Here, we highlight the importance of the PrP structure in prion susceptibility and how single amino acid differences might influence the overall protein folding
Ice sheets as a significant source of highly reactive nanoparticulate iron to the oceans
The Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets cover ~\n10% of global land surface, but are rarely considered as active components of the global iron cycle. The ocean waters around both ice sheets harbour highly productive coastal ecosystems, many of which are iron limited. Measurements of iron concentrations in subglacial runoff from a large Greenland Ice Sheet catchment reveal the potential for globally significant export of labile iron fractions to the near-coastal euphotic zone. We estimate that the flux of bioavailable iron associated with glacial runoff is 0.40–2.54?Tg per year in Greenland and 0.06–0.17?Tg per year in Antarctica. Iron fluxes are dominated by a highly reactive and potentially bioavailable nanoparticulate suspended sediment fraction, similar to that identified in Antarctic icebergs. Estimates of labile iron fluxes in meltwater are comparable with aeolian dust fluxes to the oceans surrounding Greenland and Antarctica, and are similarly expected to increase in a warming climate with enhanced melting
Inelastic neutron scattering studies of the quantum frustrated magnet clinoatacamite, -Cu2(OD)3Cl, a proposed valence bond solid (VBS)
The frustrated magnet clinoatacamite, -Cu(OH)Cl, is
attracting a lot of interest after suggestions that at low temperature it forms
an exotic quantum state termed a Valence Bond Solid (VBS) made from dimerised
Cu () spins.\cite{Lee_clinoatacamite} Key to the arguments
surrounding this proposal were suggestions that the kagom\'e planes in the
magnetic pyrochlore lattice of clinoatacamite are only weakly coupled, causing
the system to behave as a quasi-2-dimensional magnet. This was reasoned from
the near 95 angles made at the bridging oxygens that mediate exchange
between the Cu ions that link the kagom\'e planes.
Recent work pointed out that this exchange model is inappropriate for
-Cu(OH)Cl, where the oxygen is present as a
-OH.\cite{Wills_JPC} Further, it used symmetry calculations and neutron
powder diffraction to show that the low temperature magnetic structure (
K) was canted and involved significant spin ordering on all the Cu
spins, which is incompatible with the interpretation of simultaneous VBS and
N\'eel ordering. Correspondingly, clinoatacamite is best considered a distorted
pyrochlore magnet. In this report we show detailed inelastic neutron scattering
spectra and revisit the responses of this frustrated quantum magnet.Comment: Proceedings of The International Conference on Highly Frustrated
Magnetism 2008 (HFM2008
Prolate and temperature-responsive self-assemblies of amphiphilic random copolymers with perfluoroalkyl and polyoxyethylene side chains in solution
Two amphiphilic random copolymers, PEGMAx-co-FAy (x = 90 and 70 mol%), were synthesized by ATRP and their solutions were investigated as a function of solvent, concentration and temperature by DLS and SANS analyses. Both copolymers self-assembled in nanostructures by single-chain folding in water solutions over a wide range of temperatures. The values of the DLS hydrodynamic radius and the SANS radius of gyration were found to be ~4 nm and ~3.4–3.7 nm, respectively. Moreover, SANS showed the self-folded nanoassemblies to be prolated spheroids with ratio of polar/equatorial axes ~5:1 for PEGMA90-co-FA10 and ~2:1 for PEGMA70-co-FA30. On heating above a critical temperature Tc, multi-chain microassemblies were formed that reverted back to nanoassemblies on cooling below Tc. This temperature-responsive transition was fully and sharply reversible
Early activation of object names in visual search
In a visual search experiment, participants had to decide whether or not a target object was present in a four-object search array. One of these objects could be a semantically related competitor (e.g., shirt for the target trousers) or a conceptually unrelated object with the same name as the target-for example, bat (baseball) for the target bat (animal). In the control condition, the related competitor was replaced by an unrelated object. The participants' response latencies and eye movements demonstrated that the two types of related competitors had similar effects: Competitors attracted the participants' visual attention and thereby delayed positive and negative decisions. The results imply that semantic and name information associated with the objects becomes rapidly available and affects the allocation of visual attention
Stochastic Modelling Approach to the Incubation Time of Prionic Diseases
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies like the bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) and the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans are
neurodegenerative diseases for which prions are the attributed pathogenic
agents. A widely accepted theory assumes that prion replication is due to a
direct interaction between the pathologic (PrPsc) form and the host encoded
(PrPc) conformation, in a kind of an autocatalytic process. Here we show that
the overall features of the incubation time of prion diseases are readily
obtained if the prion reaction is described by a simple mean-field model. An
analytical expression for the incubation time distribution then follows by
associating the rate constant to a stochastic variable log normally
distributed. The incubation time distribution is then also shown to be log
normal and fits the observed BSE data very well. The basic ideas of the
theoretical model are then incorporated in a cellular automata model. The
computer simulation results yield the correct BSE incubation time distribution
at low densities of the host encoded protein
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