Thermal expansion and magnetostriction of GdAg2, and relations to the magnetoelastic paradox

The antiferromagnet GdAg₂ has been shown to be a good model system for the magnetoelastic paradox (MEP), because it exhibits large symmetry conserving magnetoelastic strains and the antiferromagnetic propagation vector breaks the tetragonal lattice symmetry (therefore a large symmetry breaking magnetoelastic strain can be expected in a single magnetic structure). As in many similar Gd based compounds no symmetry breaking strain has been found in the experiment. In order to investigate this MEP further, we have measured magnetostriction and magnetization on a textured polycrystal. The behaviour closely resembles that of GdNi₂B₂C, the prototype system for the magnetoelastic paradox (MEP). Our forced magnetostriction data indicate that the crystal distorts in applied magnetic field and gives further evidence that the MEP is a low field effect. The observed phase transitions are in agreement with available specific heat and neutron diffraction data. Moreover, the saturation magnetic field was measured in high pulsed magnetic fields and agrees well with the value calculated from the Standard Model of Rare Earth Magnetism (SMREM).     

Design, folding, and activities of metal-assembled coiled coil proteins

Metal ions serve many purposes in natural proteins, from the stabilization of tertiary structure to the direction of protein folding to crucial roles in electron transfer and catalysis. There is considerable interest in creating metal binding sites in designed proteins to understand the structural role of metal ions and to design new metalloproteins with useful functions. The de novo design of metalloproteins and the role of metals in the folding of designed proteins are reviewed here, with particular focus on the design, folding, and activities of the [M(bpy-peptide)(3)](2+) structure. This maquette is constructed by the covalent attachment of 2,2'-bipyridine to the N-termini of amphiphilic peptides, and it is assembled into a folded trimeric coiled coil by the addition of a six-coordinate transition metal ion and the resulting hydrophobic collapse of the peptides. The [M(bpy-peptide)(3)](2+) structure has been employed in diverse applications, ranging from electron transfer pathway studies to the study of optimal hydrophobic packing in a virtual library to the construction of receptors and biosensors.     

Lognormal distribution in the digg online social network

We analyse the number of votes, called the digg value, which measures the impact or popularity of submitted information in the Online Social Network Digg. Experiments over five years indicate that the digg value of a story on the first frontpage follows closely a lognormal distribution. While the law of proportionate effect explains lognormal behavior, the proportionality factor a in that law is assumed to have a constant mean, whereas experiments show that a decreases linearly with time. Our hypothesis, the probability that a user diggs (votes) on a story given that he observes a certain digg value m equals a×m, can explain observations, provided that the population of users that can digg on that story is close to a Gaussian.     

ChemInform Abstract: Lattice Distortions in Layered Type Arsenides LnTAs2 (Ln: La—Nd,Sm, Gd,Tb; T: Ag,Au): Crystal Structures,Electronic and Magnetic Properties.

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