Absence of room-temperature ferromagnetism in Al-codoped Zn0.95Co0.05O nanoparticles

Nanocrystalline Zn0.95-xCo0.05AlxO (x=0, 0.01, 0.05) diluted magnetic semiconductors have been synthesized by an auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that Al-doped Zn0.95Co0.05O samples had the pure wurtzite structure. X-ray absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and Co 2p core-level photoemission spectroscope analyses indicated that Co2+ substituted for Zn2+ without forming any secondary phases or impurities. Resistance measurements showed that the resistance values of Co and Al codoped samples were still so large in the giga magnitude. Magnetic investigations showed that nanocrystalline Al-doped Zn0.95Co0.05O samples had no indication of room temperature ferromagnetism. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Absence of association between SNPs in the promoter region of the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) gene and longevity in the Han Chinese population

Previous studies have indicated that genetic variations in the factors of insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway could influence human life-span by affecting IGF-1 levels. The promoter region of the IGF-1 gene is an obvious candida

Absence of association between SERPINE2 genetic polymorphisms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Han Chinese: a case-control cohort study

Background: Recent studies have proposed that the serine protease inhibitor E2 (SERPINE2) was a novel susceptibility gene for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Caucasians. However, this issue still remained controversial. Additional evidence

The toxicities of single-celled Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7820 and liberated M-aeruginosa to Daphnia carinata in the absence and presence of the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus

We evaluated the toxic effect of Microcystis aeruginosa on Daphnia carinata King using survival rate, population growth rate, and body length. When fed Microcystis aerugionsa PCC7820 and liberated colonial Microcystis spp., all D. carinata died within five days. When fed a mixture of M. aeruginosa PCC7820 and the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus, the survival rate, population growth rate, and body length of D. carinata generally increased. The survival rates were all above 80% after ten days. However, with liberated colonial M. aeruginosa, the toxic effect on D. carinata was more pronounced, and only at higher concentration of S. obliquus did that toxic effect abate. Our results indicated that green algae could greatly weaken the toxic effect of cyanobacteria.

Molecular and evolutionary analyses of formyl peptide receptors suggest the absence of VNO-specific FPRs in primates

Formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) were observed to expand in rodents and were recently suggested as candidate vomeronasal chemosensory receptors. Since vomeronasal chemosensory receptors usually underwent positive selection and evolved concordantly with the vomeronasal organ (VNO) morphology, we surveyed FPRs in primates in which VNO morphology is greatly diverse and thus it would provide us a clearer view of VNO-FPRs evolution. By screening available primate genome sequences, we obtained the FPR repertoires in representative primate species. As a result, we did not find FPR family size expansion in primates. Further analyses showed no evolutionary force variance between primates with or without VNO structure, which indicated that there was no functional divergence among primates FPRs. Our results suggest that primates lack the VNO-specific FPRs and the FPR expansion is not a common phenomenon in mammals outside rodent lineage, regardless of VNO complexity.

Evolution of the interfacial tension between polydisperse "immiscible" polymers in the absence and in the presence of a compatibilizer

The interfacial tension sigma between two polyisobutylenes (PIB) of dissimilar polydispersity and two polydisperse samples of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was measured as a function of time by means of a pendent drop apparatus at different temperatures ranging from 30 to 110 degreesC. In addition to three of the four possible binary blends, the time evolution of sigma was also determined for one ternary system, where the PIB phase contained 0.03 wt % of a diblock copolymer poly(isobutylene-b-dimethylsiloxane). The pronounced decrease of sigma with advancing time, observed in all cases, is attributed to the migration of the interfacially active lower molecular weight components of the homopolymers and of the compatibilizer into the interphase. Several days are normally required until a becomes constant. These time independent values are not considered as equilibrium data, but accredited to stationary states. A kinetic model is established for sigma(t), which enables a detailed investigation of the rates of transport of the different migrating species of average molar mass of M.

Synthesis of chitosan-stabilized gold nanoparticles in the absence/presence of tripolyphosphate

Gold nanoparticles were prepared by reducing gold salt with a polysaccharide, chitosan, in the absence/ presence of tripolyphosphate (TPP). Here, chitosan acted as a reducing/stabilizing agent. The obtained gold nanoparticles were characterized with UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the shape and size distribution of gold nanoparticles changed with the molecular weight and concentration of chitosan. More interestingly, the gelation of chitosan upon contacting with polyanion (TPP) can also affect the shape and size distribution of gold nanoparticles. By adding TPP to chitosan solution before the reduction of gold salt, gold nanoparticles have a bimodal size distribution, and at the same time, polygonal gold particles were obtained in addition to spherical gold nanoparticles.

Methane dehydro-aromatization over a Mo/phosphoric rare earth-containing penta-sil type zeolite in the absence of oxygen

The dehydro-aromatization of methane over a Mo-modified penta-sil type high-silica zeolite containing phosphoric and rare earth oxide (abbreviated as Mo/HZRP-1) was investigated. As a modification of HZSM-5, HZRP-1 is also a good support for the preparation of Mo-based zeolite catalysts, and is active for methane dehydro-aromatization. Mo/HZRP-1 catalysts are more active at high Mo loadings compared with Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts. Al-27 MAS NMR spectra of Mo/HZRP-1 reveal that there are two kinds of framework Al in HZRP-1. It is suggested that only the tetrahedral coordinated Al atoms in the form of Al-O-Si species in the zeolite, in the proton forms, are responsible for the formation of aromatics.