Hidden magnetic excitation in the pseudogap phase of a high-T(c) superconductor

The elucidation of the pseudogap phenomenon of the high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) copper oxides-a set of anomalous physical properties below the characteristic temperature T* and above T(c)-has been a major challenge in condensed matter physics for the past two decades. Following initial indications of broken time-reversal symmetry in photoemission experiments, recent polarized neutron diffraction work demonstrated the universal existence of an unusual magnetic order below T* (refs 3, 4). These findings have the profound implication that the pseudogap regime constitutes a genuine new phase of matter rather than a mere crossover phenomenon. They are furthermore consistent with a particular type of order involving circulating orbital currents, and with the notion that the phase diagram is controlled by a quantum critical point. Here we report inelastic neutron scattering results for HgBa(2)CuO(4+δ) that reveal a fundamental collective magnetic mode associated with the unusual order, and which further support this picture. The mode's intensity rises below the same temperature T* and its dispersion is weak, as expected for an Ising-like order parameter. Its energy of 52-56?meV renders it a new candidate for the hitherto unexplained ubiquitous electron-boson coupling features observed in spectroscopic studies.     

Impaired hydroxylation of 5-methylcytosine in myeloid cancers with mutant TET2

TET2 is a close relative of TET1, an enzyme that converts 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in DNA. The gene encoding TET2 resides at chromosome 4q24, in a region showing recurrent microdeletions and copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (CN-LOH) in patients with diverse myeloid malignancies. Somatic TET2 mutations are frequently observed in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), MDS/MPN overlap syndromes including chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) and secondary AML (sAML). We show here that TET2 mutations associated with myeloid malignancies compromise catalytic activity. Bone marrow samples from patients with TET2 mutations displayed uniformly low levels of 5hmC in genomic DNA compared to bone marrow samples from healthy controls. Moreover, small hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated depletion of Tet2 in mouse haematopoietic precursors skewed their differentiation towards monocyte/macrophage lineages in culture. There was no significant difference in DNA methylation between bone marrow samples from patients with high 5hmC versus healthy controls, but samples from patients with low 5hmC showed hypomethylation relative to controls at the majority of differentially methylated CpG sites. Our results demonstrate that Tet2 is important for normal myelopoiesis, and suggest that disruption of TET2 enzymatic activity favours myeloid tumorigenesis. Measurement of 5hmC levels in myeloid malignancies may prove valuable as a diagnostic and prognostic tool, to tailor therapies and assess responses to anticancer drugs.     

岩柱失稳的非线性突变模型及其混沌演化特征

首先从静力学角度出发,利用非线性突变理论的方法,以岩石材料弱化的本构关系为基础,建立了方形岩柱失稳的尖点突变模型,并给出了岩柱失稳的静力学判据:即只有当上履岩体的刚度小于岩柱弱化段拐点的刚度时,岩柱将发生静力失稳;其次利用静力突变的结果,从远离平衡的角度出发利用突变方程的结果导出了岩柱在非平衡态运动的非线性微分方程,研究了线刚度变化情况下岩柱运动的混沌特征。结果表明:当线刚度处于一定范围内时,系统的运动将会是混沌的,并利用最大李雅普诺夫指数及庞加莱截面进行了验证。     

Rational general solutions of higher order algebraic odes

This paper generalizes the method of Ngô and Winkler (2010, 2011) for finding rational general solutions of a first order non-autonomous algebraic ordinary differential equation (AODE) to the case of a higher order AODE, provided a proper parametrization of its solution hypersurface. The authors reduce the problem of finding the rational general solution of a higher order AODE to finding the rational general solution of an associated system. The rational general solutions of the original AODE and its associated system are in computable 1-1 correspondence. The authors give necessary and sufficient conditions for the associated system to have a rational solution based on proper reparametrization of invariant algebraic space curves. The authors also relate invariant space curves to first integrals and characterize rationally solvable systems by rational first integrals.     

Structure of a beta1-adrenergic G-protein-coupled receptor

G-protein-coupled receptors have a major role in transmembrane signalling in most eukaryotes and many are important drug targets. Here we report the 2.7 A resolution crystal structure of a beta(1)-adrenergic receptor in complex with the high-affinity antagonist cyanopindolol. The modified turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) receptor was selected to be in its antagonist conformation and its thermostability improved by earlier limited mutagenesis. The ligand-binding pocket comprises 15 side chains from amino acid residues in 4 transmembrane alpha-helices and extracellular loop 2. This loop defines the entrance of the ligand-binding pocket and is stabilized by two disulphide bonds and a sodium ion. Binding of cyanopindolol to the beta(1)-adrenergic receptor and binding of carazolol to the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor involve similar interactions. A short well-defined helix in cytoplasmic loop 2, not observed in either rhodopsin or the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor, directly interacts by means of a tyrosine with the highly conserved DRY motif at the end of helix 3 that is essential for receptor activation.     

Superconductivity at 43 K in SmFeAsO1-xFx

Since the discovery of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity in layered copper oxides, extensive effort has been devoted to exploring the origins of this phenomenon. A T(c) higher than 40 K (about the theoretical maximum predicted from Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory), however, has been obtained only in the copper oxide superconductors. The highest reported value for non-copper-oxide bulk superconductivity is T(c) = 39 K in MgB(2) (ref. 2). The layered rare-earth metal oxypnictides LnOFeAs (where Ln is La-Nd, Sm and Gd) are now attracting attention following the discovery of superconductivity at 26 K in the iron-based LaO(1-x)F(x)FeAs (ref. 3). Here we report the discovery of bulk superconductivity in the related compound SmFeAsO(1-x)F(x), which has a ZrCuSiAs-type structure. Resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal a transition temperature as high as 43 K. This provides a new material base for studying the origin of high-temperature superconductivity.     

Unusual magnetic order in the pseudogap region of the superconductor HgBa2CuO4+delta

The pseudogap region of the phase diagram is an important unsolved puzzle in the field of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity, characterized by anomalous physical properties. There are open questions about the number of distinct phases and the possible presence of a quantum-critical point underneath the superconducting dome. The picture has remained unclear because there has not been conclusive evidence for a new type of order. Neutron scattering measurements for YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+delta) (YBCO) resulted in contradictory claims of no and weak magnetic order, and the interpretation of muon spin relaxation measurements on YBCO and of circularly polarized photoemission experiments on Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta)(refs 12, 13) has been controversial. Here we use polarized neutron diffraction to demonstrate for the model superconductor HgBa(2)CuO(4+delta) (Hg1201) that the characteristic temperature T* marks the onset of an unusual magnetic order. Together with recent results for YBCO, this observation constitutes a demonstration of the universal existence of such a state. The findings appear to rule out theories that regard T* as a crossover temperature rather than a phase transition temperature. Instead, they are consistent with a variant of previously proposed charge-current-loop order that involves apical oxygen orbitals, and with the notion that many of the unusual properties arise from the presence of a quantum-critical point.     

A laser frequency comb that enables radial velocity measurements with a precision of 1 cm s(-1)

Searches for extrasolar planets using the periodic Doppler shift of stellar spectral lines have recently achieved a precision of 60 cm s(-1) (ref. 1), which is sufficient to find a 5-Earth-mass planet in a Mercury-like orbit around a Sun-like star. To find a 1-Earth-mass planet in an Earth-like orbit, a precision of approximately 5 cm s(-1) is necessary. The combination of a laser frequency comb with a Fabry-Pérot filtering cavity has been suggested as a promising approach to achieve such Doppler shift resolution via improved spectrograph wavelength calibration, with recent encouraging results. Here we report the fabrication of such a filtered laser comb with up to 40-GHz (approximately 1-A) line spacing, generated from a 1-GHz repetition-rate source, without compromising long-term stability, reproducibility or spectral resolution. This wide-line-spacing comb, or 'astro-comb', is well matched to the resolving power of high-resolution astrophysical spectrographs. The astro-comb should allow a precision as high as 1 cm s(-1) in astronomical radial velocity measurements.     

陕北子洲黄土丘陵区古聚湫洪水沉积层的确定及其产沙模数的研究

陕北黄土丘陵区聚湫坝和淤地坝众多, 以子洲县黄土洼古聚湫为研究对象, 采集了总深度达12.73 m的沉积泥沙剖面样品. 根据泥沙粒度和孢粉浓度的变化, 将全剖面分为54个洪水沉积层. 并根据剖面中融冻扰动层的分布, 将54个洪水沉积层分为31个年度的洪水沉积层的组合. 根据锥台法计算, 每次暴雨洪水的产沙模数介于715.53~30376.47 t?km^-2, 平均7105.87 t?km^-2; 年产沙模数介于968.36~55579.37 t?(km²?a)^-1, 平均12629.49 t?(km2?a)^-1, 与淮宁河中游年输沙量相近, 表明该地区明代的土壤侵蚀强度与现代接近. 31个年度的后5年产沙模数急剧增加, 5年内的年均产沙模数达31309.12 t?(km²?a)^-1, 结合明代当地戍边屯垦的历史分析, 这一现象应为滑坡灾害发生后新的土地大开发所造成.