Building Successful Neighborhoods

Reviews the literature on direct interventions to revitalize distressed neighborhoods by improving housing, schools, and services in terms of basic policy and strategy, programmatic strategies, and building institutional infrastructure

Spontaneous formation and stability of small GaP fullerenes

We report the spontaneous formation of a GaP fullerene cage in ab-initio Molecular Dynamics simulations starting from a bulk fragment. A systematic study of the geometric and electronic properties of neutral and ionized GaP clusters suggests the stability of hetero-fullerenes formed by a compound with zincblend bulk structure. We find that GaP fullerenes up to 28 atoms have high symmetry, closed electronic shells, large HOMO-LUMO energy gaps and do not dissociate when ionized. We compare our results for GaP with those obtained by other groups for the corresponding BN clusters.Comment: To appear on PRL, 4 pages, 1 figure, Late

NbSe3: Effect of Uniaxial Stress on the Threshold Field and Fermiology

We have measured the effect of uniaxial stress on the threshold field ET for the motion of the upper CDW in NbSe3. ET exhibits a critical behavior, ET ~ (1 - e/ec)^g, wher e is the strain, and ec is about 2.6% and g ~ 1.2. This ecpression remains valid over more than two decades of ET, up to the highest fields of about 1.5keV/m. Neither g nor ec is very sensitive to the impurity concentraction. The CDW transition temperature Tp decreases linearly with e at a rate dTp/de = -10K/%, and it does not show any anomaly near ec. Shubnikov de-Haas measurements show that the extremal area of the Fermi surface decreases with increasing strain. The results suggest that there is an intimate relationship between pinning of the upper CDW and the Fermiology of NbSe3.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

TLR9-induced interferon β is associated with protection from gammaherpesvirus-induced exacerbation of lung fibrosis

Abstract Background We have shown previously that murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (γHV68) infection exacerbates established pulmonary fibrosis. Because Toll-like receptor (TLR)-9 may be important in controlling the immune response to γHV68 infection, we examined how TLR-9 signaling effects exacerbation of fibrosis in response to viral infection, using models of bleomycin- and fluorescein isothiocyanate-induced pulmonary fibrosis in wild-type (Balb/c) and TLR-9-/- mice. Results We found that in the absence of TLR-9 signaling, there was a significant increase in collagen deposition following viral exacerbation of fibrosis. This was not associated with increased viral load in TLR-9-/- mice or with major alterations in T helper (Th)1 and Th2 cytokines. We examined alveolar epithelial-cell apoptosis in both strains, but this could not explain the altered fibrotic outcomes. As expected, TLR-9-/- mice had a defect in the production of interferon (IFN)-β after viral infection. Balb/c fibroblasts infected with γHV68 in vitro produced more IFN-β than did infected TLR-9-/- fibroblasts. Accordingly, in vitro infection of Balb/c fibroblasts resulted in reduced proliferation rates whereas infection of TLR-9-/- fibroblasts did not. Finally, therapeutic administration of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides ameliorated bleomycin-induced fibrosis in wild-type mice. Conclusions These results show a protective role for TLR-9 signaling in murine models of lung fibrosis, and highlight differences in the biology of TLR-9 between mice and humans.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112877/1/13069_2011_Article_57.pd

Outlook and challenges for hydrogen storage in nanoporous materials

Considerable progress has been made recently in the use of nanoporous materials for hydrogen storage. In this article, the current status of the field and future challenges are discussed, ranging from important open fundamental questions, such as the density and volume of the adsorbed phase and its relationship to overall storage capacity, to the development of new functional materials and complete storage system design. With regard to fundamentals, the use of neutron scattering to study adsorbed H2, suitable adsorption isotherm equations, and the accurate computational modelling and simulation of H2 adsorption are discussed. The new materials covered include flexible metal-organic frameworks, core-shell materials, and porous organic cage compounds. The article concludes with a discussion of the experimental investigation of real adsorptive hydrogen storage tanks, the improvement in the thermal conductivity of storage beds, and new storage system concepts and designs.Scopu

Extensive population subdivision of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) around the Iberian Peninsula indicated by microsatellite DNA variation

8 páginas, 3 tablas, 3 figurasThe Atlantic Ocean-Mediterranean Sea junction has been proposed as an important phylogeographical area on the basis of concordance in genetic patterns observed at allozyme, mtDNA and microsatellite DNA markers in several marine species. This study presents microsatellite DNA data for a mobile invertebrate species in this area, the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, allowing comparison of this relatively new class of DNA marker with previous allozyme results, and examination of the relative effects on gene flow of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Almerı´a-Oran oceanographic front. Genetic variation at seven microsatellite loci screened in six samples from NE Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula was high (mean Na = 9.6, mean He = 0.725). Microsatellites detected highly significant subpopulation structuring (FST = 0.061; RST = 0.104), consistent with an isolation-by-distance model of low levels of gene flow. Distinct and significant clinal changes in allele frequencies between Atlantic and Mediterranean samples found at five out of seven loci, however indicate these results might be also consistent with an alternative model of secondary contact and introgression between previously isolated and divergent populations, as previously proposed for other marine species from the Atlantic-Mediterranean area. A pronounced ‘step’ change between SW Mediterranean samples associated with the Almerı´a-Oran front suggests this oceanographic feature may represent a contemporary barrier to gene flow.This research was partially supported by project AMB94-0371 (CICYT, Spain). MP-L was supported by a fellowship from University of Vigo (Spain).Peer reviewe

A Comparison of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Production Using Continuous Wave and Pulsed Laser Vaporization

AbstractWe have produced single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by Nd:Yag laser vaporization of porous cobalt-nickel/graphite targets for the first time without applying external heat to the target. Both continuous wave (c.w.) and pulsed laser-techniques were explored. In the pulsed experiments, the energy density per pulse was varied between 0.12 and 0.62 J/cm2 and pulse rates ranged from 24 kHz down to 3 kHz corresponding to average powers of 25.5 to 16 W. Continuous wave experiments were conducted at average powers which corresponded to those measured for each of the pulsed runs. An additional run at 30 W was also performed. A rigorous method developed for the analysis of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images was used to estimate SWNT content in the laser-generated carbon samples. The pulsed and continuous wave processes both produced a linear increase in SWNT content with increasing average power. These results are not intuitive for the pulsed laser-production since a higher average power corresponds to a lower peak pulse power. In fact, a pulsed run with the maximum pulse energy of 0.62 J/cm2 (3 kHz, 16 W), produced no detectable SWNTs. A maximum SWNT content of 78% was observed for c.w. experiments at a power of 30 W. Additional laser experiments performed on dense cobalt-nickel / graphite targets at room temperature enabled a better understanding of the carbon removal mechanisms for the pulsed versus c.w. processes. Cumulatively, these investigations indicate that high energy laser pulses produce particles from highly porous targets by ablation which are too large to readily be incorporated into growing nanotubes. Successful high-yield production of SWNTs relies upon remaining in a vaporization regime during synthesis.</jats:p