Quantum phase transition in organic charge-transfer complexes

A phase transition in an organic charge-transfer complex, which originates from the neutral-ionic valence instability, can be tuned toward zero kelvin with use of external pressure or chemical modification as a control parameter. The phase diagram and observed dielectric behaviors are typical of quantum paraelectricity, yet this zero-kelvin transition point namely, the quantum critical point, accompanies large quantum fluctuation of the molecular charge, as demonstrated by the molecular vibrational mode spectra. The result indicates that the pi-electron transfer between donor and acceptor molecules is coupled with the zero-point lattice dynamics around the quantum critical point.     

Quantum phase extraction in isospectral electronic nanostructures

Quantum phase is not directly observable and is usually determined by interferometric methods. We present a method to map complete electron wave functions, including internal quantum phase information, from measured single-state probability densities. We harness the mathematical discovery of drum-like manifolds bearing different shapes but identical resonances, and construct quantum isospectral nanostructures with matching electronic structure but divergent physical structure. Quantum measurement (scanning tunneling microscopy) of these "quantum drums"-degenerate two-dimensional electron states on the copper(111) surface confined by individually positioned carbon monoxide molecules-reveals that isospectrality provides an extra topological degree of freedom enabling robust quantum state transplantation and phase extraction.     

Feeding effects of dsNPF interference in Ostrinia furnacalis

The corn borer is a world-wide agricultural pest. In this study, a high-efficiency RNAi method was explored to knock down the neuropeptide F(NPF) to determine if NPF regulates larval feeding in the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. Results showed that the expression peaks of npf mRNA in both midgut and fat body are at 28 h of early 5th instar larvae. When NPF was knocked down either by feeding dsNPF-containing artificial diet or direct dsNPF injection into the 5th instar larvae, npf expression was effectively inhibited in the midgut. Larval feeding, body weight and development time were significantly impacted. In contrast, the expression of the npf receptors npfr1 and npfr2 in fat body of 5th instar larvae was significantly increased by dsNPF injection. These results indicate that NPF can be effectively knocked down in O. furnacalis, and dsNPF by injection is an effective and fast way to silence npf expression. This study provides a critical basis for further exploration in mechanism of feeding regulation in O. furnacalis.     

Quantum spin Hall effect and topological phase transition in HgTe quantum wells

We show that the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, a state of matter with topological properties distinct from those of conventional insulators, can be realized in mercury telluride-cadmium telluride semiconductor quantum wells. When the thickness of the quantum well is varied, the electronic state changes from a normal to an "inverted" type at a critical thickness d(c). We show that this transition is a topological quantum phase transition between a conventional insulating phase and a phase exhibiting the QSH effect with a single pair of helical edge states. We also discuss methods for experimental detection of the QSH effect.     

Quantum phase transition of a magnet in a spin bath

The excitation spectrum of a model magnetic system, LiHoF4, was studied with the use of neutron spectroscopy as the system was tuned to its quantum critical point by an applied magnetic field. The electronic mode softening expected for a quantum phase transition was forestalled by hyperfine coupling to the nuclear spins. We found that interactions with the nuclear spin bath controlled the length scale over which the excitations could be entangled. This generic result places a limit on our ability to observe intrinsic electronic quantum criticality.     

Asymmetric phase effects and mantle convection patterns

Recent high-pressure experiments and thermodynamic calculations have shown that the Clapeyron slope of the spinel-perovskite phase transition at a depth of 660 kilometers in the Earth's mantle changes from negative to positive at temperatures above 1700 degrees to 2000 degrees C. In numerical experiments that account for this phase behavior, cold downwelling flows were impeded at the phase boundary, but hot plumes ascended to the upper mantle with ease. The resultant mantle convection was partially layered and strongly time-dependent. Mantle layering was weaker when the mantle was hotter and when the Rayleigh number was larger.     

磁性固相萃取–液质联用测定环境水体中喹诺酮类抗生素

建立了一种联合高效液相色谱–三重四级杆质谱法检测环境水体中15种喹诺酮类抗生素的方法。该方法以Fe3O4磁性石墨烯为固相萃取吸附剂,以喹诺酮类抗生素的回收率为检测指标。对该方法中洗脱剂、萃取剂用量、萃取时间等主要参数进行优化后得到的较优试验条件为:以10%氨水甲醇为洗脱剂,磁性石墨烯用量为30 mg,萃取吸附时间为30 min。在优化条件下,15种喹诺酮类抗生素的检出限为6.5~12.8 ng/L,在10~500 ng/L范围内线性关系良好(R为0.999 1~0.999 8)。利用该方法分别对自来水样、养殖水样以及医疗废水样进行分析测定,3种实际样品的加标回收率为70.0%~90.7%,相对标准偏差均小于10%。     

磁性生物质炭对水体中芘的去除效果研究

以柳树枝为原料,于600℃制备原始生物质炭LZ,再通过化学沉淀法制备两种磁性强度不同的生物质炭LZ1.5和LZ2.5。利用静态氮吸附(BET-N2)、傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)等分析手段对生物质炭的表面结构和化学组成等理化性质进行表征,并研究生物质炭对水体中芘的吸附行为。结果表明:原始生物质炭在24 h吸附即达到表观吸附平衡,磁性生物质炭在72 h吸附达到表观吸附平衡;LZ1.5的吸附效果最佳,其最大吸附容量Qm=2 758.6μg·g-1,其次是LZ2.5和LZ,Qm分别为833.3、322.6μg·g-1;LZ1.5投加量在375 mg·L~(-1)时,芘的去除率达到90%以上。三种生物质炭的吸附行为均符合Freundlich模型和Langmuir模型。磁性生物质炭对芘吸附较多的原因一方面在于其保留了原有的芳香性官能团,另一方面是Fe3O4的存在造成了磁性炭表面微孔化以及表面羟基化。     

A magnetic nanoprobe technology for detecting molecular interactions in live cells

Technologies to assess the molecular targets of biomolecules in living cells are lacking. We have developed a technology called magnetism-based interaction capture (MAGIC) that identifies molecular targets on the basis of induced movement of superparamagnetic nanoparticles inside living cells. Efficient intracellular uptake of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (coated with a small molecule of interest) was mediated by a transducible fusogenic peptide. These nanoprobes captured the small molecule's labeled target protein and were translocated in a direction specified by the magnetic field. Use of MAGIC in genome-wide expression screening identified multiple protein targets of a drug. MAGIC was also used to monitor signal-dependent modification and multiple interactions of proteins.     

华南地区荷斯坦牛泌乳性能在季节、胎次、泌乳时期影响下的变化规律

【目的】分析华南地区季节变化、繁育胎次、泌乳时期对泌乳性状的影响。【方法】采集广州某规模化牛场2015年全年10 450头次的荷斯坦牛的奶牛群改良计划(DHI)测定数据,提取产奶量、乳脂率、蛋白率和脂蛋比等泌乳性状数据,运用统计模型评估季节、胎次、泌乳时期等因素对泌乳性状的影响,分析各性状之间的相关性。【结果】季节、泌乳时期和胎次分别对产奶量和乳成分含量产生极显著的影响(P0.001)。夏季产奶量极显著低于其他季节(P0.01);在乳成分上,夏季的各项指标均为最低值,且极显著低于春冬季节(P0.01),春季各项指标值极显著高于冬季(P0.01);产奶量和乳蛋白率在12月(非气温最低的1月)达到最高值;不同胎次牛的产奶量上,1胎牛在第3个泌乳月份达到泌乳高峰,其他胎次牛则出现在第2个泌乳月且峰值高于1胎牛,但1胎牛产奶量下降速率明显低于其他胎次牛。1胎至2胎牛产奶总量逐渐升高,之后随着胎次的增加而下降;从乳成分的变化来看,各项指标在第1胎次时最高,随着胎次的增加逐步降低,到4和5胎时出现增加。在泌乳时期内,脂蛋比出现前期高后期低的变化规律,且乳脂率和乳蛋白率之间存在极显著的正相关性(r=0.63,P0.01)。【结论】华南地区泌乳牛不仅遭受长期的热应激影响,在冬季同样受到低温冷应激作用而制约其泌乳性能。高胎次(3胎以上)奶牛所占的群体比例较低导致全年泌乳胎次较低,同时当前的日粮营养和饲养水平已严重阻碍高胎次牛在泌乳后期的生产表现。     

土壤环境中的小分子有机酸及其环境效应

小分子有机酸是土壤环境中一类重要的活性物质。土壤中的小分子有机酸主要来源于植物根系的分泌、动植物残体的分解、微生物的分泌与合成、土壤中有机物的转化等,其组成比较复杂,主要为脂肪族和芳香族羧酸,且在土壤中的含量较低(小于10 mmol/kg)。土壤中的小分子有机酸具有重要的环境效应,除对土壤中重金属的迁移、毒性和生物有效性有影响外,同时还对有机污染物的迁移、转化和降解也有一定的影响,其作用机制不同。本文对土壤环境中的小分子有机酸的来源、种类及其环境效应等进行综合阐述,并对小分子有机酸的进一步研究进行展望。     

论电路中的干扰形成及干扰抑制技术

本文对电路中的噪声的形成进行分析,并对噪声干扰的抑制技术进行探讨。     

Theoretical study of geometric phase effects in the hydrogen-exchange reaction

The crossing of two electronic potential surfaces (a conical intersection) should result in geometric phase effects even for molecular processes confined to the lower surface. However, recent quantum simulations of the hydrogen exchange reaction (H + H2 --> H2 + H) have predicted a cancellation in such effects when product distributions are integrated over all scattering angles. We used a simple topological argument to extract reaction paths with different senses from a nuclear wave function that encircles a conical intersection. In the hydrogen-exchange reaction, these senses correspond to paths that cross one or two transition states. These two sets of paths scatter their products into different regions of space, which causes the cancellation in geometric phase effects. The analysis should generalize to other direct reactions.     

Charging effects on bonding and catalyzed oxidation of CO on Au8 clusters on MgO

Gold octamers (Au8) bound to oxygen-vacancy F-center defects on Mg(001) are the smallest clusters to catalyze the low-temperature oxidation of CO to CO2, whereas clusters deposited on close-to-perfect magnesia surfaces remain chemically inert. Charging of the supported clusters plays a key role in promoting their chemical activity. Infrared measurements of the stretch vibration of CO adsorbed on mass-selected gold octamers soft-landed on MgO(001) with coadsorbed O2 show a red shift on an F-center-rich surface with respect to the perfect surface. The experiments agree with quantum ab initio calculations that predict that a red shift of the C-O vibration should arise via electron back-donation to the CO antibonding orbital.     

Scattering and interference in epitaxial graphene

A single sheet of carbon, graphene, exhibits unexpected electronic properties that arise from quantum state symmetries, which restrict the scattering of its charge carriers. Understanding the role of defects in the transport properties of graphene is central to realizing future electronics based on carbon. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy was used to measure quasiparticle interference patterns in epitaxial graphene grown on SiC(0001). Energy-resolved maps of the local density of states reveal modulations on two different length scales, reflecting both intravalley and intervalley scattering. Although such scattering in graphene can be suppressed because of the symmetries of the Dirac quasiparticles, we show that, when its source is atomic-scale lattice defects, wave functions of different symmetries can mix.     

Large magnetic anisotropy of a single atomic spin embedded in a surface molecular network

Magnetic anisotropy allows magnets to maintain their direction of magnetization over time. Using a scanning tunneling microscope to observe spin excitations, we determined the orientation and strength of the anisotropies of individual iron and manganese atoms on a thin layer of copper nitride. The relative intensities of the inelastic tunneling processes are consistent with dipolar interactions, as seen for inelastic neutron scattering. First-principles calculations indicate that the magnetic atoms become incorporated into a polar covalent surface molecular network in the copper nitride. These structures, which provide atom-by-atom accessibility via local probes, have the potential for engineering anisotropies large enough to produce stable magnetization at low temperatures for a single atomic spin.     

The effects of direct-current magnetic fields on turtle retinas in vitro

Direct-current magnetic fields of 10 to 100 gauss cause a significant short-term reduction of the in vitro electroretinographic b-wave response in turtle retina. This response compression is not accompanied by the usual reduction in retinal sensitivity that occurs with background illumination. Furthermore, this effect is obtained only briefly after the offset of ambient lighting in the diurnal light-dark cycle of nonhibernating animals.