Search results for "Electricity"
showing 10 items of 1225 documents
Bioelectrical model of head-tail patterning based on cell ion channels and intercellular gap junctions
2020
Robust control of anterior-posterior axial patterning during regeneration is mediated by bioelectric signaling. However, a number of systems-level properties of bioelectrochemical circuits, including stochastic outcomes such as seen in permanently de-stabilized "cryptic" flatworms, are not completely understood. We present a bioelectrical model for head-tail patterning that combines single-cell characteristics such as membrane ion channels with multicellular community effects via voltage-gated gap junctions. It complements the biochemically-focused models by describing the effects of intercellular electrochemical coupling, cutting plane, and gap junction blocking of the multicellular ensemb…
Ferroelectric polysiloxane liquid crystals with ‘de Vries’-type smectic A*–smectic C* transitions
2004
We report preliminary results of optical and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments on the smectic A*−smectic C* transition in two ferroelectric liquid crystalline polysiloxanes. Although the optical tilt angle in the SmC* phases reaches values up to 30°, temperature-dependent SAXS measurements clearly reveal that the smectic layer spacing is basically conserved during the A*–C* transition as well as in the subsequent C* phase. Connected with the A*–C* transition we further observed a significant increase in birefringence, hence reflecting an increase of orientational order. The practical absence of layer shrinkage and the enhanced orientational ordering are consistent with the de …
New perspectives on the human occupation of the Gulf of Palermo during the Metal Ages: the funerary cave of Zubbio di Cozzo San Pietro (Bagheria) and…
2020
Abstract The Archaeological Superintendency of Palermo (Sicily), with the chair of Anthropology at the University of Palermo, carried out a preliminary investigation in the Zubbio of Cozzo San Pietro (Bagheria) – a cave known so far only from a speleological point of view - which proved to be a funerary cave dating to the Copper/Bronze Age. In the course of archaeological work during the installation of the electricity grid in the Mondello area (Palermo), part of a necropolis consisting of three oven-shaped tombs was exposed. The tombs multiple depositions, whose remains were found in a very bad state of preservation. Based on the type of funerary structures and the equipment found in them,…
Zinc-blende AlN and GaN under pressure: structural, electronic, elastic and piezoelectric properties
2004
In this paper we report a theoretical study of the structural, elastic, electronic and piezoelectric properties of zinc-blende AlN and GaN under the pressure effect. The study is focused on the first-principles all electron full-potential augmented plane wave plus local orbitals calculations within the density-functional theory. The results of bulk properties, including lattice constants, bulk modulus and derivatives and band structures are obtained and compared using both the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation functional. We find that the GGA does not give a significant improvement over LDA. We also report calcula…
Boundary elements analysis of adhesively bonded piezoelectric active repair
2009
Abstract This paper presents the analysis of active piezoelectric patches for cracked structures by the boundary element method. A two-dimensional boundary integral formulation based on the multidomain technique is used to model cracks and to assemble the multi-layered piezoelectric patches to the host damaged structures. The fracture mechanics behavior of the repaired structures is analyzed for both perfect and imperfect interface between patches and host beams. The imperfect interface, representing the adhesive between two different layers, is modeled by using a “spring model” that involves linear relationships between the interface tractions, in normal and tangential directions, and the …
Observation of topological gravity-capillary waves in a water wave crystal
2019
The discovery of topological phases of matter, initially driven by theoretical advances in quantum condensed matter physics, has been recently extended to classical wave systems, reaching out to a wealth of novel potential applications in signal manipulation and energy concentration. Despite the fact that many realistic wave media (metals at optical frequencies, polymers at ultrasonic frequencies) are inherently dispersive, topological wave transport in photonic and phononic crystals has so far been limited to ideal situations and proof-of-concept experiments involving dispersionless media. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of topological edge states in a classical water …
Divalent Cations Reduce the pH Sensitivity of OmpF Channel Inducing the PKA Shift of Key Acidic Residues
2011
In contrast to the highly-selective channels of neurophysiology employing mostly the exclusion mechanism, different factors account for the selectivity of large channels. Elucidation of these factors is essential for understanding the permeation mechanisms in ion channels and their regulation in vivo. The interaction between divalent cations and a protein channel, the bacterial porin OmpF, has been investigated paying attention to the channel selectivity and its dependence on the solution pH. Unlike the experiments performed in salts of monovalent cations, the channel is now practically insensitive to pH, being anion selective all over the pH range considered. Electrostatic calculations bas…
Semi-empirical Hartree-Fock calculations for KNbO 3 and KTaO 3
1997
As a first step in modeling the electronic structure of Perovskite-type ferroelectric mixed crystals K(Nb,Ta)O3, semiempirical calculations for pure KNbO3 and KTaO3 are performed with the intermediate neglect of the differential overlap (INDO) quantum chemical method. The calculations are mostly done for 40-atom supercells. The choice of the INDO parameters based on the comparison of results with ab initio and experimental data is discussed. INDO results for the equilibrium geometry and the (Gamma) -TO phonon frequencies are given. The results show that the accuracy of the INDO method is sufficient for reliably reproducing the energy differences on the order of 1 mRy (per formula unit) scal…
Insights on the origin of catalysis on glycine N-methyltransferase from computational modeling.
2018
The origin of enzyme catalysis remains a question of debate despite much intense study. We report a QM/MM theoretical study of the SN2 methyl transfer reaction catalyzed by a glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) and three mutants to test whether recent experimental observations of rate-constant reductions and variations in inverse secondary α-3H kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) should be attributed to changes in the methyl donor−acceptor distance (DAD): is catalysis due to a compression effect? Semiempirical (AM1) and DFT (M06-2X) methods were used to describe the QM subset of atoms, while OPLS-AA and TIP3P classical force fields were used for the protein and water molecules, respectively. The …
Ab initio modelling of the effects of varying Zr (Ti) concentrations on the atomic and electronic properties of stoichiometric PZT solid solutions
2017
Abstract Lead zirconate titanate Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 solid solution is considered as one of the most advanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials. Consequent variation of Zr (Ti) concentrations significantly affects the atomic and electronic properties of PZT structures. To perform ab initio modelling of different morphologies for lead zirconate titanate, we are using approach of hybrid density functional B3PW as implemented in CRYSTAL14 computer code. In this study, we are performing large-scale calculations of such PZT parameters as optimized lattice constants, atomic charges and bond populations, as well as band structure (e.g., band gap) and density of states.