335 research outputs found
Properties of (GaIn)O over the whole range
Using density-functional ab initio theoretical techniques, we study
(GaIn)O in both its equilibrium structures (monoclinic
and bixbyite) and over the whole range of composition. We establish
that the alloy exhibits a large and temperature-independent miscibility gap. On
the low- side, the favored phase is isostructural with -GaO;
on the high- side, it is isostructural with bixbyite InO. The
miscibility gap opens between approximately 15\% and 55\% In content for the
bixbyite alloy grown epitaxially on InO, and 15\% and 85\% In content
for the free-standing bixbyite alloy. The gap, volume and band offsets to the
parent compound also exhibit anomalies as function of . Specifically, the
offsets in epitaxial conditions are predominantly type-B staggered, but have
opposite signs in the two end-of-range phases.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Structure and gap of low- (GaIn)O alloys
We study the electronic and local structural properties of pure and
In-substituted -GaO using density functional theory (DFT). Our
main result is that the structural energetics of In in GaO causes most
sites to be essentially inaccessible to In substitution, thus reducing the
maximum In content in thi to somewhere between 12 and 25 \% in this phase. We
also find that the gap variation with doping is essentially due to "chemical
pressure", i.e. volume variations with doping.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: Links with oxidative stress and cholesterol metabolism
Oxidative stress has been implicated in the progression of a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We carried out an in-depth study of cognitive impairment and its relationships with oxidative stress markers such as ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), plasma malondialdehyde and total antioxidative capacity (TAC), as well as cholesterol parameters, in two subsets of subjects, AD patients (n = 59) and a control group of neurologically normal subjects (n = 29), attending the University Hospital Salvador in Santiago, Chile. Cognitive impairment was assessed by a set of neuropsychological tests (Mini-Mental State Examination, Boston Naming Test, Ideomotor Praxia by imitation, Semantic Verbal Fluency of animals or words with initial A, Test of Memory Alteration, Frontal Assessment Battery), while the levels of those oxidative stress markers and cholesterol metabolism parameters were determined according with standard bioassays in fresh plasma samples of the two subgroups of patients. No significant differences were observed when the cholesterol parameters (low-, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol) of the AD group were compared with normal controls. Interestingly, a correlation was evidenced when the levels of cognitive impairment were analyzed with respect to the plasma antioxidant capacity (AOC) of patients. In this context, the subset of subjects exhibiting cognitive impairment were divided into two subgroups according with their Global Dementia Scale performance: a subgroup with mild AD and a subgroup with moderate to severe AD. Significant differences in AOC were found between subgroups. The different correlations between cognitive impairment of subgroups of subjects with the oxidative stress profile are discussed in the context of AD pathogenesis
Measuring Gravito-magnetic Effects by Multi Ring-Laser Gyroscope
We propose an under-ground experiment to detect the general relativistic
effects due to the curvature of space-time around the Earth (de Sitter effect)
and to rotation of the planet (dragging of the inertial frames or
Lense-Thirring effect). It is based on the comparison between the IERS value of
the Earth rotation vector and corresponding measurements obtained by a
tri-axial laser detector of rotation. The proposed detector consists of six
large ring-lasers arranged along three orthogonal axes.
In about two years of data taking, the 1% sensitivity required for the
measurement of the Lense-Thirring drag can be reached with square rings of 6
side, assuming a shot noise limited sensitivity ().
The multi-gyros system, composed of rings whose planes are perpendicular to one
or the other of three orthogonal axes, can be built in several ways. Here, we
consider cubic and octahedron structures. The symmetries of the proposed
configurations provide mathematical relations that can be used to study the
stability of the scale factors, the relative orientations or the ring-laser
planes, very important to get rid of systematics in long-term measurements,
which are required in order to determine the relativistic effects.Comment: 24 pages, 26 Postscript figure
Repeated administration of the GABAB receptor positive modulator BHF177 decreased nicotine self-administration, and acute administration decreased cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking in rats
Abstract: Rationale -Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and is implicated in the modulation of central reward processes. Acute or chronic administration of GABA receptor agonists or positive modulators decreased self-administration of various drugs of abuse. Furthermore, GABA receptor agonists inhibited cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine- and cocaine-seeking behavior. Because of their fewer adverse side effects compared with GABA receptor agonists, GABA receptor positive modulators are potentially improved therapeutic compounds for the treatment of drug dependence compared with agonists. Objectives and methods: We examined whether the acute effects of the GABA receptor positive modulator N-[(1R,2R,4S)-bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl]-2-methyl-5-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4-pyrimidinamine (BHF177) on nicotine self- administration and food-maintained responding under a fixed-ratio 5 schedule of reinforcement were maintained after repeated administration. The effects of acute BHF177 administration on cue-induced nicotine- and food-seeking behavior, a putative animal model of relapse, were also examined. Results: Repeated administration of BHF177 for 14 days decreased nicotine self-administration, with small tolerance observed during the last 7 days of treatment, whereas BHF177 minimally affected food-maintained responding. Acute BHF177 administration dose-dependently blocked cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine-, but not food-, seeking behavior after a 10-day extinction period. Conclusions: These results showed that BHF177 selectively blocked nicotine self-administration and prevented cueinduced reinstatement of nicotine seeking, with minimal effects on responding for food and no effect on cue-induced reinstatement of food seeking. Thus, GABA receptor positive modulators could be useful therapeutics for the treatment of different aspects of nicotine dependence by facilitating smoking cessation by decreasing nicotine intake and preventing relapse to smoking in humans
NEMO: A Project for a km Underwater Detector for Astrophysical Neutrinos in the Mediterranean Sea
The status of the project is described: the activity on long term
characterization of water optical and oceanographic parameters at the Capo
Passero site candidate for the Mediterranean km neutrino telescope; the
feasibility study; the physics performances and underwater technology for the
km; the activity on NEMO Phase 1, a technological demonstrator that has
been deployed at 2000 m depth 25 km offshore Catania; the realization of an
underwater infrastructure at 3500 m depth at the candidate site (NEMO Phase 2).Comment: Proceeding of ISCRA 2006, Erice 20-27 June 200
Measurement of the atmospheric muon depth intensity relation with the NEMO Phase-2 tower
The results of the analysis of the data collected with the NEMO Phase-2
tower, deployed at 3500 m depth about 80 km off-shore Capo Passero (Italy), are
presented. Cherenkov photons detected with the photomultipliers tubes were used
to reconstruct the tracks of atmospheric muons. Their zenith-angle distribution
was measured and the results compared with Monte Carlo simulations. An
evaluation of the systematic effects due to uncertainties on environmental and
detector parameters is also included. The associated depth intensity relation
was evaluated and compared with previous measurements and theoretical
predictions. With the present analysis, the muon depth intensity relation has
been measured up to 13 km of water equivalent.Comment: submitted to Astroparticle Physic
Measuring gravito-magnetic effects by multi ring-laser gyroscope
We propose an under-ground experiment to detect the general relativistic effects due to the curvature of space-time around the Earth (de Sitter effect) and to the rotation of the planet (dragging
of the inertial frames or Lense-Thirring effect). It is based on the comparison between the IERS value of the Earth rotation vector and corresponding measurements obtained by a tri-axial laser
detector of rotation. The proposed detector consists of six large ring-lasers arranged along three orthogonal axes. In about two years of data taking, the 1% sensitivity required for the measurement of the Lense-Thirring drag can be reached with square rings of 6 m side, assuming a shot noise limited sensitivity (20prad/s/sqrt(Hz). The multi-gyros system, composed of rings whose planes are perpendicular to one or the other of three orthogonal axes, can be built in several ways. Here, we consider cubic and octahedral structures. It is shown that the symmetries of the proposed configurations provide mathematical relations that can be used to ensure the long term stability of the apparatus
Dust in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Interstellar Polarization and Extinction
To elucidate the dust properties in the SMC we have for the first time
measured linear polarization in five colors in the optical region of the
spectrum for a sample of reddened stars. For two of these stars, for which
there were no existing UV spectrophotometric measurements, but for which we
measured a relatively large polarization, we have also obtained data from the
International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) in order to study the extinction. The
main results are: (1) the wavelength of maximum polarization, ,
in the SMC is typically smaller than that in the Galaxy; (2) however, AZV 456,
which shows the UV extinction bump, has a typical of that in
the Galaxy, its polarization curve is narrower, its bump is shifted to shorter
wavelengths as compared to the Galaxy and its UV extinction does not conform to
the Galactic analytical interpolation curve based on the ratio of total to
selective extinction; (3) the 'typical', monotonic SMC extinction curve can be
best fit with amorphous carbon and silicate grains; (4) the extinction towards
AZV456 may only be explained by assuming a larger gas-to-dust ratio than the
observed N(HI)/A(V) value, with a small amount of the available carbon in
graphite form; (5) from an analysis of both the extinction and polarization
data and our model fits it appears that the SMC has typically smaller grains
than those in the Galaxy.Comment: To appear in the ApJ, 50 pages, latex fil
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