Computational investigation of rules governing selective adsorption intensities

Rules previously derived by Wolfe and Weare governing selective adsorption scattering intensities are investigated computationally via the attractive corrugated wall (ACW) model of Harvie and Weare. These rules, which correlate features of the scattering intensity with the form of the atom surface potential, correctly predict intensity features seen in the ACW calculation.     

Rapid formation kinetics of a long-lived electron-hole drop in Ge under pulsed excitation

The buildup of a large long-lived electron-hole drop in stressed Ge is studied using its Alfvén wave resonances. This microwave method permits rapid time resolution of the formation process after a short intense (100 nsec, 7 W) laser excitation pulse. A delay of about 1 μsec is observed before the drop radius rapidly increases from zero to ～ 100 μm within the next μsec. This is consistent with the interpretation that the photo-produced electron-hole pairs are quickly accelerated to the strain-induced potential minimum which is well within the crystal.     

Neutron spectra at 0° from (p,n) reactions on 9Be, 12C,and 27Al at 647 and 800 MeV

The measured cross sections show a narrow high-energy peak (20–30 MeV/cFWHM) and a broad bump at lower momenta associated with pion production. Comparison is made to an intranuclear cascade calculation.     

Effect of surface states on the amphoteric behavior of Sn in vapor epitaxial GaAs

The amphoteric behavior of Sn, a commonly-used dopant in AsCl₃GaH₂ vapor epitaxy, is examined for Sn concentration from 5 × 10¹⁴ to 5 × 10¹⁷cm^?3. The compensation ratio $\text{(}\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{A}}\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{D}}\text{)}$ remains constant at 0.23 for low concentrations and begins to increase in the 10¹⁶cm^?3 range. This behavior can be explained quantitatively with non-equilibrium impurity incorporation model which takes into account 3 × 10¹¹ cm^?2 surface states.     

Validation of subgradient optimization

The “relaxation” procedure introduced by Held and Karp for approximately solving a large linear programming problem related to the traveling-salesman problem is refined and studied experimentally on several classes of specially structured large-scale linear programming problems, and results on the use of the procedure for obtaining exact solutions are given. It is concluded that the method shows promise for large-scale linear programming     

Note on a method of conjugate subgradients for minimizing nondifferentiable functions

An algorithm is described for finding the minimum of any convex, not necessarily differentiable, functionf of several variables. The algorithm yields a sequence of points tending to the solution of the problem, if any; it requires the calculation off and one subgradient off at designated points. Its rate of convergence is estimated for convex and also for twice differentiable convex functions. It is an extension of the method of conjugate gradients, and terminates whenf is quadratic. Editor's note. The communications of Wolfe and Lemarechal which follow — received almost simultaneously — display different points of view, but deal with the same problem and use similar techniques. They are preliminary versions of promising attacks on the problem of minimizing a convex, but not necessarily differentiable, function of many variables. MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING STUDY 3 entitledNondifferentiable optimization is to be devoted to this subject.     

Extended iterative methods for the solution of operator equations

Summary Given an iterative methodM ₀, characterized byx ^(k+1=G ₀(x( ^k )) (k0) (x(⁰) prescribed) for the solution of the operator equationF(x)=0, whereF:XX is a given operator andX is a Banach space, it is shown how to obtain a family of methodsM _p characterized byx ^(k+1=G _p (x( ^k )) (k0) (x(⁰) prescribed) with order of convergence higher than that ofM _o. The infinite dimensional multipoint methods of Bosarge and Falb [2] are a special case, in whichM ₀ is Newton's method.Analogues of Theorems 2.3 and 2.36 of [2] are proved for the methodsM _p, which are referred to as extensions ofM ₀. A number of methods with order of convergence greater than two are discussed and existence-convergence theorems for some of them are proved.Finally some computational results are presented which illustrate the behaviour of the methods and their extensions when used to solve systems of nonlinear algebraic equations, and some applications currently being investigated are mentioned.     

Designed helical peptides inhibit an intramembrane protease

gamma-Secretase cleaves the transmembrane domain of the amyloid precursor protein, a process implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and this enzyme is a founding member of an emerging class of intramembrane proteases. Modeling and mutagenesis suggest a helical conformation for the substrate transmembrane domain upon initial interaction with the protease. Moreover, biochemical evidence supports the presence of an initial docking site for substrate on gamma-secretase that is distinct from the active site, a property predicted to be generally true of intramembrane proteases. Here we show that short peptides designed to adopt a helical conformation in solution are inhibitors of gamma-secretase in both cells and enzyme preparations. Helical peptides with all d-amino acids are the most potent inhibitors and represent potential therapeutic leads. Subtle modifications that disrupt helicity also substantially reduce potency, suggesting that this conformation is critical for effective inhibition. Fluorescence lifetime imaging in intact cells demonstrates that helical peptides disrupt binding between substrate and protease, whereas an active site-directed inhibitor does not. These findings are consistent with helical peptides interacting with the initial substrate docking site of gamma-secretase, suggesting a general strategy for the development of potent and specific inhibitors of intramembrane proteases.