Induction of Short-Term Sensitization by an Aversive Chemical Stimulus in Zebrafish Larvae.

Larval zebrafish possess a number of molecular and genetic advantages for rigorous biological analyses of learning and memory. These advantages have motivated the search for novel forms of memory in these animals that can be exploited for understanding the cellular and molecular bases of vertebrate memory formation and consolidation. Here, we report a new form of behavioral sensitization in zebrafish larvae that is elicited by an aversive chemical stimulus [allyl isothiocyanate (AITC)] and that persists for ≥30 min.

Hydration of α-UO following storage under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity.

Changes in chemical speciation of uranium oxides following storage under varied conditions of temperature and relative humidity are valuable for characterizing material provenance. In this study, subsamples of high purity α-UO were stored under four sets of controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity over several years, and then measured periodically for chemical speciation. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy confirm hydration of α-UO to a schoepite-like end product following storage under each of the varied storage conditions, but the species formed during exposure to the lower relative humidity and lower temperature condition follows different trends from those formed under the other three storage conditions (high relative humidity with high or low temperatures, and low relative humidity with a high temperature).

Ab initio study of gallium stabilized δ-plutonium alloys and hydrogen-vacancy complexes.

All-electron density functional theory was used to investigate δ-plutonium (δ-Pu) alloyed with gallium (Ga) impurities at 3.125, 6.25, 9.

Hydrogen trapping in δ-Pu: insights from electronic structure calculations.

Density functional theory calculations have been performed to provide details of the structural and charge-transfer details related to the solid solution of hydrogen in (δ)-plutonium. We follow the Flanagan model that outlines the process by which hydrogen interacts with a metal to produce hydride phases, via a sequence of surface, interstitial and defect-bound (trapped) states. Due to the complexities of the electronic structure in plutonium solid-state systems, we take the pragmatic approach of adopting the 'special quasirandom structure' to disperse the atomic magnetic moments.