CdxHg(1−x)Te Alloy Colloidal Quantum Dots: Tuning Optical Properties from the Visible to Near‐Infrared by Ion Exchange

The energy gap between valence and conduction levels in colloidal semiconductor quantum dots can be tuned via the nanoparticle diameter when this is comparable to or less than the Bohr radius. In materials such as cadmium mercury telluride, which readily forms a single phase ternary alloy, this quantum confinement tuning can also be augmented by compositional tuning, which brings a further degree of freedom in the bandgap engineering. Here it is shown that compositional control of 2.3 nm diameter Cd_xHg_(1?x)Te nanocrystals by exchange of Hg²⁺ in place of Cd²⁺ ions can be used to tune their optical properties across a technologically useful range, from 500 nm to almost 1200 nm. Data on composition‐dependent changes in the optical properties are provided, including bandgap, extinction coefficient, emission energy and spectral shape, Stokes shift, quantum efficiency, and radiative lifetimes as the exchange process occurs, which are highly relevant for those seeking to use these technologically important QD materials.     

Minimum SNR and acquisition for bias-free estimation of fractional anisotropy in diffusion tensor imaging - a comparison of two analytical techniques and field strengths

Although it is known that low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can affect tensor metrics, few studies reporting disease or treatment effects on fractional anisotropy (FA) report SNR; the implicit assumption is that SNR is adequate. However, the level at which low SNR causes bias in FA may vary with tissue FA, field strength and analytical methodology. We determined the SNR thresholds at 1.5 T vs. 3 T in regions of white matter (WM) with different FA and compared FA derived using manual region-of-interest (ROI) analysis to tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), an operator-independent whole-brain analysis tool. Using ROI analysis, SNR thresholds on our hardware-software magnetic resonance platforms were 25 at 1.5 T and 20 at 3 T in the callosal genu (CG), 40 at 1.5 and 3 T in the anterior corona radiata (ACR), and 50 at 1.5 T and 70 at 3 T in the putamen (PUT). Using TBSS, SNR thresholds were 20 at 1.5 T and 3 T in the CG, and 35 at 1.5 T and 40 at 3 T in the ACR. Below these thresholds, the mean FA increased logarithmically, and the standard deviations widened. Achieving bias-free SNR in the PUT required at least nine acquisitions at 1.5 T and six acquisitions at 3 T. In the CG and ACR, bias-free SNR was achieved with at least three acquisitions at 1.5 T and one acquisition at 3 T. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study regions of low FA, e.g., basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, and WM in the abnormal brain, SNR should be documented. SNR thresholds below which FA is biased varied with the analytical technique, inherent tissue FA and field strength. Studies using DTI to study WM injury should document that bias-free SNR has been achieved in the region of the brain being studied as part of quality control.     

Studying anomalous scaling and heat transport of turbulent thermal convection using a dynamical model

Turbulent thermal convection is a well-studied problem with various issues of interest. In this paper, we review our work which shows the nature and origin of anomalous scaling and heat transport in the limit of very strong thermal forcing, can be gained by studying a dynamical model, known as shell model, of homogeneous turbulent thermal convection in which buoyancy acts directly at most scales. Specifically, we have obtained two results. The first result is that when buoyancy acts directly at most scales such that the dynamics are governed by a cascade of entropy, the scaling behavior is described by Bolgiano and Obukhov scaling plus corrections that are due to the variations of the local entropy transfer rate. This result indicates the validity of the extension of refined similarity hypothesis to turbulent thermal convection. The second result is that when buoyancy is acting directly at most scales, a damping term acting on the largest scale, which has to be added for the system to achieve stationarity, plays a crucial role in heat transport, and that the heat transport depends on the strength of thermal forcing in the same manner as that predicted for the ultimate state of very strong thermal forcing. With our interpretation of the damping term representing the effect of the boundaries, this result indicates that in the ultimate state of turbulent thermal convection, when buoyancy is acting at most scales, boundaries would play a significant role in heat transport.     

Pyrenoimidazole‐Based Deep‐Blue‐Emitting Materials: Optical,Electrochemical, and Electroluminescent Characteristics

A series of pyrenoimidazoles that contained various functional chromophores, such as anthracene, pyrene, triphenylamine, carbazole, and fluorene, were synthesized and characterized by optical, electrochemical, and theoretical studies. The absorption spectra of the dyes are dominated by electronic transitions that arise from the pyrenoimidazole core and the additional chromophore. All of the dyes exhibited blue‐light photoluminescence with moderate‐to‐high quantum efficiencies. They also displayed high thermal stability and their thermal‐decomposition temperatures fell within the range 462–512 °C; the highest decomposition temperature was recorded for a carbazole‐containing dye. The oxidation propensity of the dyes increased on the introduction of electron‐rich chromophores, such as triphenylamine or carbazole. The application of selected dyes that featured additional chromophores such as pyrene, carbazole, and triphenylamine as blue‐emissive dopants into multilayered organic light‐emitting diodes with a 4,4′‐bis(9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)biphenyl (CBP) host was investigated. Devices that were based on triphenylamine‐ and carbazole‐containing dyes exhibited deep‐blue emission (CIE 0.157, 0.054 and 0.163, 0.041), whereas a device that was based on a pyrene‐containing dye showed a bright‐blue emission (CIE 0.156, 0.135).     

L1-regularisation for ill-posed problems in variational data assimilation

We consider four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) and show that it can be interpreted as Tikhonov or L₂-regularisation, a widely used method for solving ill-posed inverse problems. It is known from image restoration and geophysical problems that an alternative regularisation, namely L₁-norm regularisation, recovers sharp edges better than L₂-norm regularisation. We apply this idea to 4DVar for problems where shocks and model error are present and give two examples which show that L₁-norm regularisation performs much better than the standard L₂-norm regularisation in 4DVar. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Development and Validation of a Computer‐Administered Number Sense Scale for Fifth‐Grade Children in Taiwan

To investigate the structure of number sense and then to assess its uses in fifth‐grade children's number sense development, a computerized number sense scale was developed and evaluated. The findings of the study indicate that the newly developed scale, with four dominant factors identified and reconfirmed, is internally consistent and substantially valid. It can be reliably used as a screening measure for a quick check of students' number sense development via online self‐assessment. Compared with our previous study, both qualitative and quantitative changes were detected in students' number sense development at different grades. The qualitative change in number sense development is manifested in different numbers of factor components produced at different grades. The quantitative change is manifested in different amounts of factor variance explained at different grades. Furthermore, among the four aspects of number sense, Taiwanese students perform best on recognizing the relative number size yet relatively worse on judging the reasonableness of computational results.     

Cyclic orbifolds of lattice vertex operator algebras having group-like fusions

Letters in Mathematical Physics - Let L be an even (positive definite) lattice and $$gin O(L)$$. In this article, we prove that the orbifold vertex operator algebra $$V_{L}^{{hat{g}}}$$ has...     

Aromatic interactions impact ligand binding and function at serotonin 5-HT2C G protein-coupled receptors: receptor homology modelling,ligand docking,and molecular dynamics results validated by experimental studies

The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) 5-HT₂ G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family consists of types 2A, 2B, and 2C that share ～75% transmembrane (TM) sequence identity. Agonists for 5-HT_2C receptors are under development for psychoses; whereas, at 5-HT_2A receptors, antipsychotic effects are associated with antagonists – in fact, 5-HT_2A agonists can cause hallucinations and 5-HT_2B agonists cause cardiotoxicity. It is known that 5-HT_2A TM6 residues W6.48, F6.51, and F6.52 impact ligand binding and function; however, ligand interactions with these residues at the 5-HT_2C receptor have not been reported. To predict and validate molecular determinants for 5-HT_2C-specific activation, results from receptor homology modelling, ligand docking, and molecular dynamics simulation studies were compared with experimental results for ligand binding and function at wild type and W6.48A, F6.51A, and F6.52A point-mutated 5-HT_2C receptors.     

Accuracy and variability of acoustic measures of voicing onset

Five commonly used methods for determining the onset of voicing of syllable-initial stop consonants were compared. The speech and glottal activity of 16 native speakers of Cantonese with normal voice quality were investigated during the production of consonant vowel (CV) syllables in Cantonese. Syllables consisted of the initial consonants /ph/, /th/, /kh/, /p/, /t/, and /k/ followed by the vowel /a/. All syllables had a high level tone, and were all real words in Cantonese. Measurements of voicing onset were made based on the onset of periodicity in the acoustic waveform, and on spectrographic measures of the onset of a voicing bar (f0), the onset of the first formant (F1), second formant (F2), and third formant (F3). These measurements were then compared against the onset of glottal opening as determined by electroglottography. Both accuracy and variability of each measure were calculated. Results suggest that the presence of aspiration in a syllable decreased the accuracy and increased the variability of spectrogram-based measurements, but did not strongly affect measurements made from the acoustic waveform. Overall, the acoustic waveform provided the most accurate estimate of voicing onset; measurements made from the amplitude waveform were also the least variable of the five measures. These results can be explained as a consequence of differences in spectral tilt of the voicing source in breathy versus modal phonation.