Density of states of helically symmetric boron carbon nitride nanotubes.

Motivated by the existence of helical wrapping patterns in composite nanotube systems, in this work we study the effects of the helical incorporation of carbon atoms in boron nitride nanotubes. We consider the substitutional carbon atoms distributed in stripes forming helical patterns along the nanotube axis. The density of states and energy band gap were calculated adopting Green function formalism by using the Rubio-Sancho technique in order to solve the matrix Dyson equation. We report the effects of the helical atomic distribution of carbon atoms on the behaviour of the density of states and the energy band gap. In particular, we show that the electronic energy band gap displays a non-monotonical dependence on the helical pattern, oscillating as a function of the helical angle θ.

Low levels of realized seed and pollen gene flow and strong spatial genetic structure in a small, isolated and fragmented population of the tropical tree Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.

Over the past century, the Brazilian Atlantic forest has been reduced to small, isolated fragments of forest. Reproductive isolation theories predict a loss of genetic diversity and increases in inbreeding and spatial genetic structure (SGS) in such populations. We analysed eight microsatellite loci to investigate the pollen and seed dispersal patterns, genetic diversity, inbreeding and SGS of the tropical tree Copaifera langsdorffii in a small (4.8 ha), isolated population. All 112 adult trees and 128 seedlings found in the stand were sampled, mapped and genotyped. Seedlings had significantly lower levels of genetic diversity (A=16.5±0.45, mean±95% s.e.; H(e)=0.838±0.006) than did adult trees (A=23.2±0.81; H(e)=0.893±0.030). Parentage analysis did not indicate any seed immigration (m(seeds)=0) and the pollen immigration rate was very low (m(pollen)=0.047). The average distance of realized pollen dispersal within the stand was 94 m, with 81% of the pollen travelling <150 m. A significant negative correlation was found between the frequency and distance of pollen dispersal (r=-0.79, P<0.01), indicating that short-distance pollinations were more frequent. A significant SGS for both adults (∼50 m) and seedlings (∼20 m) was also found, indicating that most of the seeds were dispersed over short distances. The results suggested that the spatial isolation of populations by habitat fragmentation can restrict seed and pollen gene flow, increase SGS and affect the genetic diversity of future generations.