Effective shell charge of electrons on a sphere

By ignoring the radial motions of the electrons in the valence shell of an atom one formally obtains the problem of electrons constrained to move on a sphere. This sphere will be attracted by the core as if it had an effective charge equal to the number of electrons on it minus a certain quantity resulting from the mutual repulsion of the electrons. This “effective shell charge” is a very simple, but still precise and quantitative concept which provides a good understanding of many empirical facts about atoms and ions, most notably Hund's rules. Implications for negative ions are discussed and chemical bonding is touched briefly. A qualitative difference in physical behavior for small and large sphere radii is pointed out.     

Difference gel electrophoresis identifies differentially expressed proteins in endoscopically collected pancreatic fluid

Alterations in the pancreatic fluid proteome of individuals with chronic pancreatitis (CP) may offer insights into the development and progression of the disease. The endoscopic pancreatic function test (ePFT) can safely collect large volumes of pancreatic fluid that are potentially amenable to proteomic analyses using difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Pancreatic fluid was collected endoscopically using the ePFT method following secretin stimulation from three individuals with severe CP and three chronic abdominal pain (CAP) controls. The fluid was processed to minimize protein degradation and the protein profiles of each cohort, as determined by DIGE and LC-MS/MS, were compared. This DIGE-LC-MS/MS analysis reveals proteins that are differentially expressed in CP compared with CAP controls. Proteins with higher abundance in pancreatic fluid from CP individuals include: actin, desmoplankin, α-1-antitrypsin, SNC73, and serotransferrin. Those of relatively lower abundance include carboxypeptidase B, lipase, α-1-antichymotrypsin, α-2-macroglobulin, actin-related protein (Arp2/3) subunit 4, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and protein disulfide isomerase. Endoscopic collection (ePFT) in tandem with DIGE-LC-MS/MS is a suitable approach for pancreatic fluid proteome analysis; however, further optimization of our protocol, as outlined herein, may improve proteome coverage in future analyses.     

Epitaxial stabilization of ferromagnetism in the nanophase of FeGe

Epitaxial nanocrystals of FeGe have been stabilized on Ge(111). The nanocrystals assume a quasi-one-dimensional shape as they grow exclusively along the <110> direction of the Ge(111) substrate, culminating in a compressed monoclinic modification of FeGe. Whereas monoclinic FeGe is antiferromagnetic in the bulk, the nanowires are surprisingly strong ferromagnets below approximately 200 K with an average magnetic moment of 0.8 microB per Fe atom. Density functional calculations indicate an unusual stabilization mechanism for the observed ferromagnetism: lattice compression destabilizes the antiferromagnetic Peierls-like ground state observed in the bulk while increased p-d hybridization suppresses the magnetic moments and stabilizes ferromagnetism.     

Study of radiation damage induced by 12 keV X‐rays in MOS structures built on high‐resistivity n‐type silicon

Imaging experiments at the European X‐ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) require silicon pixel sensors with extraordinary performance specifications: doses of up to 1 GGy of 12 keV photons, up to 10⁵ 12 keV photons per 200 µm × 200 µm pixel arriving within less than 100 fs, and a time interval between XFEL pulses of 220 ns. To address these challenges, in particular the question of radiation damage, the properties of the SiO₂ layer and of the Si–SiO₂ interface, using MOS (metal‐oxide‐semiconductor) capacitors manufactured on high‐resistivity n‐type silicon irradiated to X‐ray doses between 10 kGy and 1 GGy, have been studied. Measurements of capacitance/conductance–voltage (C/G–V) at different frequencies, as well as of thermal dielectric relaxation current (TDRC), have been performed. The data can be described by a dose‐dependent oxide charge density and three dominant radiation‐induced interface states with Gaussian‐like energy distributions in the silicon band gap. It is found that the densities of the fixed oxide charges and of the three interface states increase up to dose values of approximately 10 MGy and then saturate or even decrease. The shapes and the frequency dependences of the C/G–V measurements can be quantitatively described by a simple model using the parameters extracted from the TDRC measurements.