Fluctuating valence in a correlated solid and the anomalous properties of delta-plutonium

Although the nuclear properties of the late actinides (plutonium, americium and curium) are fully understood and widely applied to energy generation, their solid-state properties do not fit within standard models and are the subject of active research. Plutonium displays phases with enormous volume differences, and both its Pauli-like magnetic susceptibility and resistivity are an order of magnitude larger than those of simple metals. Curium is also highly resistive, but its susceptibility is Curie-like at high temperatures and orders antiferromagnetically at low temperatures. The anomalous properties of the late actinides stem from the competition between itinerancy and localization of their f-shell electrons, which makes these elements strongly correlated materials. A central problem in this field is to understand the mechanism by which these conflicting tendencies are resolved in such materials. Here we identify the electronic mechanisms responsible for the anomalous behaviour of late actinides, revisiting the concept of valence using a theoretical approach that treats magnetism, Kondo screening, atomic multiplet effects and crystal field splitting on the same footing. We find that the ground state in plutonium is a quantum superposition of two distinct atomic valences, whereas curium settles into a magnetically ordered single valence state at low temperatures. The f(7) configuration of curium is contrasted with the multiple valences of the plutonium ground state, which we characterize by a valence histogram. The balance between the Kondo screening and magnetism is controlled by the competition between spin-orbit coupling, the strength of atomic multiplets and the degree of itinerancy. Our approach highlights the electronic origin of the bonding anomalies in plutonium, and can be applied to predict generalized valences and the presence or absence of magnetism in other compounds starting from first principles.     

中国西周以前织物素材、结构和织具的研究

对西周以前的织物工艺的研究已经不少,但大多比较零散,而且主要着眼于丝绸。本文以迄今为止在中国出土的西周以前典型纺织文物的文献为基础,系统地研究这个时期的织造工艺,包括原料、织物结构、织具。对浙江河姆渡遗址出土的织具零件,结合甲骨文、金文中提示织具的文字,进行了研究。结果显示,所有主要天然纤维已经用上;所有简单和复合的织物组织,除缎纹外,已经出现;所用的织具除已知的原始腰机外可能还有3点或4点支持的地织机。     

A high-resolution map of human chromosome 12

Our sequence-tagged site-content map of chromosome 12 is now integrated with the whole-genome fingerprinting effort. It provides accurate and nearly complete bacterial clone coverage of chromosome 12. We propose that this integrated mapping protocol serves as a model for constructing physical maps for entire genomes.     

Cancer spheres from gastric cancer patients provide an ideal model system for cancer stem cell research

Cancer stem cells have been hypothesized to drive the growth and metastasis of tumors. Because they need to be targeted for cancer treatment, they have been isolated from many solid cancers. However, cancer stem cells from primary human gastric cancer tissues have not been isolated as yet. For the isolation, we used two cell surface markers: the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and CD44. When analyzed by flow cytometry, the EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺ population accounts for 4.5% of tumor cells. EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺ gastric cancer cells formed tumors in immunocompromised mice; however, EpCAM^?/CD44^?, EpCAM⁺/CD44^? and EpCAM^?/CD44⁺ cells failed to do so. Xenografts of EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺ gastric cancer cells maintained a differentiated phenotype and reproduced the morphological and phenotypical heterogeneity of the original gastric tumor tissues. The tumorigenic subpopulation was serially passaged for several generations without significant phenotypic alterations. Moreover, EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺, but not EpCAM^?/CD44^?, EpCAM⁺/CD44^? or EpCAM^?/CD44⁺ cells grew exponentially in vitro as cancer spheres in serum-free medium, maintaining the tumorigenicity. Interestingly, a single cancer stem cell generated a cancer sphere that contained various differentiated cells, supporting multi-potency and self-renewal of a cancer stem cell. EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺ cells had greater resistance to anti-cancer drugs than other subpopulation cells. The above in vivo and in vitro results suggest that cancer stem cells, which are enriched in the EpCAM⁺/CD44⁺ subpopulation of gastric cancer cells, provide an ideal model system for cancer stem cell research.     

中国古代织花技艺与织机发展的研究

纺织品的织花技术与织机、织具的进步,是衡量纺织品种生产和科技发展水平的重要标志。本文主要依据历年和近期的出土纺织品实物和图象(画象石和绘画等),结合丰富的记载文献资料,进行系统的综合分析与归纳,阐明中国古代纺织品织花技艺与工具机械的发生与进展历程。中国古代纹织物织花技术与工具机械的概略发展过程有下列几个阶段:(1)原始时代的编织和挑花机具;(2)商代绮织造的纹综杆式踞织机;(3)周、汉代经锦织造的多综多蹑机和束综提花机的创制;(4)唐代以后纬线显花技术和束综提花机的全面发展。     

Synthesis and Characterization of Fluorene-based Polymers Containing Electron-withdrawing Thiazolo Thiazole Unit

1 Results Low bandgap polymers can be used for pure red light emitting materials or solar cell materials.To make low bandgap polymers,we designed conjugated polymers with alternating sequences of the appropriate donor/acceptor units in the main chain.3-hexyl thiophene was used as a electron donating unit.For the electron accepting unit,we selected thiazolothiazole and bithiazole units having electron withdrawing property.Polyfluorene(PF) is the preferred conjugated polymer in light-emitting applications...     

Synthesis and Field-effect Transistor Behavior of New Oligo-selenophene Derivatives

1 Results In recent years,interests in organic semiconductor have increased due to the applications in optoelectronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)[1],field-effect transistors (FETs)[2],and photovoltaic devices[3]. These organic electronics have several advantages over conventional inorganic electronics including facile processability,chemical tunability,compatibility with plastic substrates,and low cost to fabricate. Selenophene-based molecules show good π-conjugating electron o...     

Robust signals of coevolution of interacting residues in mammalian proteomes identified by phylogeny-aided structural analysis

The structure of a protein depends critically on the complex interactions among its amino acid residues. It has long been hypothesized that interacting residues might tend to coevolve, but it is not known whether such coevolution is a general phenomenon across the proteome. Here, we describe a novel methodology called phylogeny-aided structural analysis, which uncovers robust signals of interacting-residue coevolution in mammalian proteomes. Furthermore, this new method allows the magnitude of coevolution to be quantified. Finally, it facilitates a comprehensive evaluation of various factors that affect interacting-residue coevolution, such as the physicochemical properties of the interactions between residues, solvent accessibility of the residues and their secondary structure context.