The experiment that the high spin selectivity and the length-dependent spin polarization are observed in double-stranded DNA [Science 331, 894 (2011)], is elucidated by considering the combination of the spin-orbit coupling, the environment-induced dephasing, and the helical symmetry. We show that the spin polarization in double-stranded DNA is significant even in the case of weak spin-orbit coupling, while no spin polarization appears in single-stranded DNA. Furthermore, the underlying physical mechanism and the parameters-dependence of the spin polarization are studied.PACS numbers: 87.14.gk, 87.15.Pc, Molecular spintronics, by combining molecular electronics with spintronics to manipulate the transport of electron spins in organic molecular systems, is regarded as one of the most promising research fields and is now attracting extensive interest [1][2][3][4], owing to the long spin relaxation time and the flexibility of organic materials. Unconventional magnetic properties of molecular systems reported in organic spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions, are attributed to the hybrid states in the organicmagnetic interfaces [5][6][7][8][9] and to single-molecule magnet [4]. Organic molecules would not be suitable candidates for spin-selective transport because of their nonmagnetic properties and weak spin-orbit coupling (SOC) [10].However, very recently, Göhler et al. reported the spin selectivity of photoelectron transmission through selfassembled monolayers of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) deposited on gold substrate [11]. They found that wellorganized monolayers of the dsDNA act as very efficient spin filters with high spin polarization at room temperature for long dsDNA, irrespective of the polarization of the incident light. The spin filtration efficiency increases with increasing length of the dsDNA and contrarily no spin polarization could be observed for single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). These results were further substantiated by direct charge transport measurements of single ds-DNA connected between two leads [12]. Although several theoretical models were put forward to investigate the spin-selective properties of DNA molecule based on single helical chain-induced Rashba SOC [13,14], the models neglect the double helix feature of the dsDNA and are somewhat inconsistent with the experimental results that the ssDNA could not be a spin filter. Until now the underlying physical mechanism remains unclear for high spin selectivity observed in the dsDNA [15,16].In this Letter, a model Hamiltonian, including the small environment-induced dephasing, the weak SOC, and the helical symmetry, is proposed to investigate the quantum spin transport through the ssDNA and dsDNA connected to nonmagnetic leads. We interpret the experimental results that the electrons transmitted through the dsDNA exhibit high spin polarization, the spin filtration efficiency will be enhanced by increasing the DNA length, and no spin polarization appears for the ssDNA. The physical mechanism arises from the combination of the dephasing, the S...

We report on a theoretical study of spin-dependent electron transport through single-helical molecules connected by two nonmagnetic electrodes, and explain the experiment of significant spin-selective phenomenon observed in α-helical protein and the contradictory results between the protein and single-stranded DNA. Our results reveal that the α-helical protein is an efficient spin filter and the spin polarization is robust against the disorder. These results are in excellent agreement with recent experiments [Mishra D, et al. (2013) S pintronics is a multidisciplinary field that manipulates the electron spin transport in solid-state systems and has been receiving much attention among the physics, chemistry, and biology communities (1-4). Recent experiments have made significant progress in this research field, finding that doublestranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules are highly efficient spin filters (5-7). This chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) is surprising because the DNA molecules are nonmagnetic and their spin-orbit couplings (SOCs) are small. Additionally, the CISS effect opens new opportunities for using chiral molecules in spintronic applications and could provide a deeper understanding of the spin effects in biological processes. For the above reasons, there has been considerable interest in the spin transport along various chiral systems including dsDNA (8-11), single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) (12-15), and carbon nanotubes (16). However, no spin selectivity was measured in the ssDNA above the experimental noise (5).Very recently, spin-dependent electron transmission and electrochemical experiments were performed on bacteriorhodopsinan α-helical protein of which the structure is single helicalembedded in purple membrane which was physisorbed on a variety of substrates (17). It was reported by means of two distinct techniques that the electrons transmitted through the membrane are spin polarized, independent of the experimental environments, implying that this α-helical protein can exhibit the ability of spin filtering. Meanwhile, a chiral-based magnetic memory device was fabricated by using self-assembled monolayer of another α-helical protein called polyalanine (18). All of these results seem to be inconsistent with previous experiments' conclusions that the single-stranded helical molecules, such as ssDNA, may not polarize the electrons (5). We note that the electron transport/transfer has been widely investigated in many proteins (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). However, to our knowledge, the underlying physics is still unclear for spin-selective phenomenon observed in the α-helical protein and for the contradictory behaviors between the protein and the ssDNA.In this paper, we propose a model Hamiltonian to explore the spin transport through single-helical molecules connected by two nonmagnetic electrodes, and provide an unambiguous physical mechanism for efficient spin selectivity observed in the protein and for the contrary experimental results between the protein and the ssDNA. Our results reveal that t...

BackgroundSuboptimal health status (SHS) is characterized by ambiguous health complaints, general weakness, and lack of vitality, and has become a new public health challenge in China. It is believed to be a subclinical, reversible stage of chronic disease. Studies of intervention and prognosis for SHS are expected to become increasingly important. Consequently, a reliable and valid instrument to assess SHS is essential. We developed and evaluated a questionnaire for measuring SHS in urban Chinese.MethodsFocus group discussions and a literature review provided the basis for the development of the questionnaire. Questionnaire validity and reliability were evaluated in a small pilot study and in a larger cross-sectional study of 3000 individuals. Analyses included tests for reliability and internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and tests for discriminative ability and convergent validity.ResultsThe final questionnaire included 25 items on SHS (SHSQ-25), and encompassed 5 subscales: fatigue, the cardiovascular system, the digestive tract, the immune system, and mental status. Overall, 2799 of 3000 participants completed the questionnaire (93.3%). Test-retest reliability coefficients of individual items ranged from 0.89 to 0.98. Item-subscale correlations ranged from 0.51 to 0.72, and Cronbach’s α was 0.70 or higher for all subscales. Factor analysis established 5 distinct domains, as conceptualized in our model. One-way ANOVA showed statistically significant differences in scale scores between 3 occupation groups; these included total scores and subscores (P < 0.01). The correlation between the SHS scores and experienced stress was statistically significant (r = 0.57, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe SHSQ-25 is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring sub-health status in urban Chinese.

Hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength steel is an obstacle for using these steels in sustainable energy production. Hydrogen embrittlement involves hydrogen-defect interactions at multiple-length scales. However, the challenge of measuring the precise location of hydrogen atoms limits our understanding. Thermal desorption spectroscopy can identify hydrogen retention or trapping, but data cannot be easily linked to the relative contributions of different microstructural features. We used cryo-transfer atom probe tomography to observe hydrogen at specific microstructural features in steels. Direct observation of hydrogen at carbon-rich dislocations and grain boundaries provides validation for embrittlement models. Hydrogen observed at an incoherent interface between niobium carbides and the surrounding steel provides direct evidence that these incoherent boundaries can act as trapping sites. This information is vital for designing embrittlement-resistant steels.

We report spin-selective tunneling of electrons along natural and artificial double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) sandwiched by nonmagnetic leads. The results reveal that the spin polarization strongly depends on the dsDNA sequence and is dominated by its end segment. Both genomic and artificial dsDNA could be efficient spin filters. The spin-filtering effects are sensitive to point mutation which occurs in the end segment. These results are in good agreement with recent experiments and are robust against various types of disorder, and could help for designing DNA-based spintronic devices.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure