Conserving approximations for response functions of the Fermi gas in a random potential

One- and two-electron Green functions are simultaneously needed to determine the responsefunctions of the electron gas in a random potential. Reliable approximations must retainconsistency between the two types of Green functions expressed via Ward identities so thattheir output is compliant with macroscopic symmetries and conservation laws. Such aconsistency is not directly guaranteed when summing nonlocal corrections to the local(dynamical) mean field. We analyze the reasons for this failure and show how the full Wardidentity can generically be implemented in the diagrammatic approach to the vertexfunctions without breaking the analytic properties of the self-energy. We use thelow-energy asymptotics of the conserving two-particle vertex determining the singular partof response and correlation functions to derive an exact representation of the diffusionconstant in terms of Green functions of the perturbation theory. We then calculateexplicitly the leading vertex corrections to the mean-field diffusion constant due tomaximally-crossed diagrams.     

Large-scale differential display analysis of T helper cell differentiation

We have developed a novel large-scale multicapillary fluorescent differential display (FDD) platform amenable to further automation. The power of the method is demonstrated by the analysis of T helper cell differentiation. Eight RNA samples from wild type, Stat4 knockout and Stat6 knockout mice were analyzed with 16 anchoring primers and 24 arbitrary primers, resulting in 285 294 sample peaks. Visually selected patterns of differential expression suggest two major regulatory mechanisms: activation and Stat4 genotype. A subset of the findings is reproduced in the confirmatory differential display (DD) that included technical and biological replicates. In a small fragment identification pilot study, we identify Ifi27 and Cct8 to be up-regulated by T cell activation. We present a method for the analysis of electropherogram similarity across large datasets, based on correlation of low-resolution representations of electrophoretic data. We show how it can be applied to analyze experimental and technical variables. Using this method, we demonstrate the effect of activation and genotype. In addition, agreement of our real experimental data to the theoretical basis of DD, as well as issues in anchoring primer selectivity, are studied.     

Thio effects on the departure of the 3'-linked ribonucleoside from diribonucleoside 3',3'-phosphorodithioate diesters and triribonucleoside 3',3',5'-phosphoromonothioate triesters: implications for ribozyme catalysis

To provide a solid chemical basis for the mechanistic interpretations of the thio effects observed for large ribozymes, the cleavage of triribonucleoside 3',3',5'-phosphoromonothioate triesters and diribonucleoside 3',3'-phosphorodithioate diesters has been studied. To elucidate the role of the neighboring hydroxy group of the departing 3'-linked nucleoside, hydrolysis of 2',3'-O-methyleneadenosin-5'-yl bis[5'-O-methyluridin-3'-yl] phosphoromonothioate (1 a) has been compared to the hydrolysis of 2',3'-O-methyleneadenosin-5'-yl 5'-O-methyluridin-3'-yl 2',5'-di-O-methyluridin-3'-yl phosphoromonothioate (1 b) and the hydrolysis of bis[uridin-3'-yl] phosphorodithioate (2 a) to the hydrolysis of uridin-3'-yl 2',5'-di-O-methyluridin-3'-yl phosphorodithioate (2 b). The reactions have been followed by RP HPLC over a wide pH range. The phosphoromonothioate triesters 1 a,b undergo two competing reactions: the starting material is cleaved to a mixture of 3',3'- and 3',5'-diesters, and isomerized to 2',3',5'- and 2',2',5'-triesters. With phosphorodithioate diesters 2 a,b, hydroxide-ion-catalyzed cleavage of the P--O3' bond is the only reaction detected at pH >6, but under more acidic conditions desulfurization starts to compete with the cleavage. The 3',3'-diesters do not undergo isomerization. The hydroxide-ion-catalyzed cleavage reaction with both 1 a and 2 a is 27 times as fast as that compared with their 2'-O-methylated counterparts 1 b and 2 b. The hydroxide-ion-catalyzed isomerization of the 3',3',5'-triester to 2',3',5'- and 2',2',5'-triesters with 1 a is 11 times as fast as that compared with 1 b. These accelerations have been accounted for by stabilization of the anionic phosphorane intermediate by hydrogen bonding with the 2'-hydroxy function. Thio substitution of the nonbridging oxygens has an almost negligible influence on the cleavage of 3',3'-diesters 2 a,b, but the hydrolysis of phosphoromonothioate triesters 1 a,b exhibits a sizable thio effect, k(PO)/k(PS)=19. The effects of metal ions on the rate of the cleavage of diesters and triesters have been studied and discussed in terms of the suggested hydrogen-bond stabilization of the thiophosphorane intermediates derived from 1 a and 2 a.     

Novel use of mesoporous aluminas as supports for Cp2ZrCl2 and Cp*ZrMe3: Ethylene polymerization and formation of polyethylene nanofibers

Mesoporous aluminas with average pore sizes of 4.3–7.8 nm were prepared by anodization of an aluminum film (AAO), and by a sol–gel templating method (TPL). In addition to a commercial alumina and sulfated TPL, the aluminas were used as supports for cyclopentadienyl zirconocene dichloride (Cp₂ZrCl₂) and trimethyl(η5‐pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)zirconium (Cp*ZrMe₃) and tested in the polymerization of ethylene. The metallocenes supported on the alumina prepared with the templating method and its sulfated modification exhibited polymerization activities of 440 and 350 kg_PE/(mol_Zr × h × bar), respectively, comparable to that obtained with silica‐supported metallocenes (390 kg_PE/(mol_Zr × h × bar)). The acid site distribution of the aluminas was studied with FTIR and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of pyridine, and also the amount of medium and strong acid sites was determined gravimetrically from the adsorption of pyridine. Relative to the surface area, AAO with the highest amount of acid sites (2.10 μmol_py/m) adsorbed Cp₂ZrCl₂ and Cp*ZrMe₃ the most. Study of the polymers' morphology with a scanning electron microscope revealed polyethylene nanofibers in all the polymer samples, also in those obtained from the reference polymerizations with homogeneous Cp₂ZrCl₂ and Cp*ZrMe₃. This finding suggests that a catalyst support with a tubular pore structure is not a prerequisite for the formation of polymer nanofibers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4002–4012, 2007     

Analysis of the photon–photon resonance influence on the direct modulation bandwidth of dual-longitudinal-mode distributed feedback lasers

The paper explores the possibilities to extend the direct modulation bandwidth in dual-longitudinal-mode distributed feedback lasers by exploiting the photon–photon resonance induced by the interaction of the two modes in the laser cavity. The effects on the direct amplitude modulation and on the direct modulation of the difference frequency between the two modes are analyzed using simulation and experimental results. When the photon–photon resonance, which occurs at the difference frequency between the two modes, is properly placed at a higher frequency than the carrier-photon resonance, the small-signal amplitude modulation (AM) bandwidth of the laser can be significantly increased. However, both simulations and experiments point out that a high small-signal AM bandwidth does not lead to a high large-signal AM bandwidth if the small-signal modulation response has significant variations across the modulation bandwidth. The paper shows that a high large-signal AM bandwidth is obtained when the two modes are significantly unbalanced, whereas a high-bandwidth difference frequency modulation can be best detected when the two modes are balanced and the DC bias is properly chosen.     

Probing surface plasmons by bare V-shaped tips: modeling by geometrical optics and rigorous diffraction theory

Optical Review - We consider probing inhomogeneous waves in the near fields of metallic nanostructures with the aid of a dielectric V-shaped wedge connected to a waveguide. A geometrical model...     

Heteroepitaxial growth of thin InAs layers on GaAs(1 0 0) misoriented substrates: A structural and morphological comparison

Thin InAs epilayers were grown on GaAs(1 0 0) substrates exactly oriented and misoriented toward [1 1 1]A direction by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. InAs growth was monitored by in situ spectral reflectivity. Structural quality of InAs layers were studied by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction. No crystallographic tilting of the layers with respect to any kind of these substrates was found for all thicknesses. This result is discussed in terms of In-rich growth environment. InAs layers grown on 2° misoriented substrate provide an improved crystalline quality. Surface roughness of InAs layers depend on layer thickness and substrate misorientation.     

Quasiregular mappings to generalized manifolds

We establish the basic analytic and geometric properties of quasiregular maps f: ω → X, where ω ? ? ⁿ is a domain and X is a generalized n-manifold with a suitably controlled geometry. Generalizing the classical Väisälä and Poletsky inequalities, our main theorem shows that the path family method applies to these maps.     

Determination of sample temperature and temperature stability with 129Xe NMR

The (129)Xe chemical shift of xenon dissolved in isotropic liquids is very sensitive to solvent density, which in turn is dependent on the sample temperature. Therefore, the (129)Xe chemical shift can be used as the basis of a thermometer for measuring actual sample temperatures in NMR experiments. Good accuracy can be achieved, but the thermometer is particularly useful in monitoring temperature stability. In the present case, carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), ethylbromide (C(2)H(5)Br), and deuterated chloroform (CDCl(3)) were chosen as solvents because of their large thermal expansion coefficient.