Nonlinear transport in p-type SiGe quantum well structure containing Ge quantum dots

We use magneto-transport spectroscopy to study a dramatic instability between a low and high conductivity mode in Si/SiGe-based resonant tunneling diodes with an embedded layer of self-assembled Ge hut cluster quantum dots in the Si barrier. In the low current regime a simple activation-type behavior with an astonishingly low activation energy in the order of 0.1 meV is determined. In the high current regime a region of negative differential conduction can be observed. We discuss the influence of different layer structures and magnetic fields.     

Surfaces of Demoulin: differential geometry, Bäcklund transformation and integrability

The surfaces of Demoulin constitute an important subclass of surfaces in projective differential geometry which arise in many seemingly unrelated geometric constructions. Analytically, they are described by a two-component system which coincides with the D₃⁽¹⁾ Toda lattice. We review some of the most important geometric properties of the Demoulin surfaces and construct a Bäcklund transformation which may be specialized to the well-known Bäcklund transformation for the Tzitzeica equation governing affine spheres in affine geometry.     

Wireless retrospective gating: Application to cine cardiac imaging

A new “wireless” method of cardiac imaging is introduced, which, unlike ECG triggering, allows imaging the heart at end-diastole, and greatly reduces smearing artifacts in the phase-encoding direction. It is an improvement over ECG-driven retrospective gating, in that patients with poor ECGs can be imaged. This method extends the applicability of cardiac imaging, and since it requires no physiological monitoring hardware, can be implemented easily on any MR imager. The images produced by this method are superior to those from ECG triggering, especially when viewed in a “cine” loop. The technique described herein is, furthermore, extendable to any area where periodic or quasi-periodic motion is a problem.     

Muonic Au: A test of the weak-coupling model

We report the measurement of the energies of various muonic atomic transitions above 500 keV in ¹⁹⁷Au. We have used the weak-coupling model in order to analyze the hyperfine structure of ¹⁹⁷Au. Using transitions to and from the 1s, 2s 2p and 3p levels as well as the fine structure of the 2p states and hyperfine splittings of the 2p, 3p and 3d states we have fitted our data to two deformed Fermi distributions: one with a constant skin thickness, the other with a skin thickness which varies. Both yield equally good fits. We have determined the quadrupole moment of ¹⁹⁷Au to be 0.547±0.016 b. The model dependence of our results is discussed. The weak coupling parameters of de-Shalit Ω_p, Ω₂₂, Ω₂₀ and A² have been determined and are in fair agreement with Coulomb excitation results. There is also good agreement between our results and those of electron scattering.     

On the imaginary simple roots of the Borcherds algebra II9,1

In a recent paper [O. Bärwald, R.W. Gebert, M. Günaydin and H. Nicolai, preprint KCL-MTH-97-22, IASSNS-HEP-97/20, PSU-TH-178, AEI-029, hep-th/9703084, to appear in Commun. Math. Phys.] it was conjectured that the imaginary simple roots of the Borcherds algebra _II9,1 at level 1 are its only ones. We here propose an independent test of this conjecture, establishing its validity for all roots of norm − 8. However, the conjecture fails for roots of norm −10 and beyond, as we show by computing the simple multiplicities down to norm −24, which turn out to be remarkably small in comparison with the corresponding E₁₀ multiplicities. Our derivation is based on a modified denominator formula combining the denominator formulas for E₁₀ and _II9,1, and provides an efficient method for determining the imaginary simple roots. In addition, we compute the E₁₀ multiplicities of all roots up to height 231, including levels up to l = 6 and norms −42.     

Structural phase stability,electronic structure and mechanical properties of alkali metal hydrides AMH4 (A=Li,Na; M=B,AL)

The structural stability of Alkali metal hydrides AMH₄ (A=Li, Na; M=B, Al) is analyzed among the various crystal structures, namely hexagonal (P6₃mc), tetragonal (P4₂/nmc), tetragonal (P-42₁c), tetragonal (I4₁/a), orthorhombic (Pnma) and monoclinic (P2₁/c). It is observed that, orthorhombic (Pnma) phase is the most stable structure for LiBH₄, monoclinic (P2₁/c) for LiAlH₄, tetragonal (P4₂/nmc) for NaBH₄ and tetragonal (I4₁/a) for NaAlH₄ at normal pressure. Pressure induced structural phase transitions are observed in LiBH₄, LiAlH₄, NaBH₄ and NaAlH₄ at the pressures of 4 GPa, 36.1 GPa, 26.5 GPa and 46 GPa respectively. The electronic structure reveals that these metal hydrides are wide band gap insulators. The calculated elastic constants indicate that these metal hydrides are mechanically stable at normal pressure.     

Clustering of rare earths in GeAs sulfide glass

Clustering of rare-earth dopants in GeAs sulfide glasses was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy of Pr-doped glasses and by EPR measurements of Gd-doped samples. The linewidth of the g  2 resonance of Gd³⁺, as well as the relative intensity of emission from the ¹D₂ level of Pr³⁺, was used as a relative measure of rare-earth clustering. Rare earths were found to have low solubility in uncodoped GeAs sulfide glasses, which also displayed poor fluorescence efficiency due to severe clustering. Codoping such glasses with Ga greatly enhanced rare-earth solubility and dispersal, particularly for Ga:rare earth ratios ≥ 10:1, as evidenced by the narrower EPR resonances and more intense luminescence of Gd- and Pr-doped glasses, respectively. In, P and Sn were also observed to ‘decluster’ rare earths, although less efficiently than Ga, whereas codoping with I was found to have no effect on clustering. These phenomena are explained by a structural model in which (1) rare-earth dopants and codopants are spatially associated and (2) rare-earth dispersal is accomplished by a statistical distribution of codopants in tetrahedral network sites.     

Protein family classification and functional annotation

With the accelerated accumulation of genomic sequence data, there is a pressing need to develop computational methods and advanced bioinformatics infrastructure for reliable and large-scale protein annotation and biological knowledge discovery. The Protein Information Resource (PIR) provides an integrated public resource of protein informatics to support genomic and proteomic research. PIR produces the Protein Sequence Database of functionally annotated protein sequences. The annotation problems are addressed by a classification-driven and rule-based method with evidence attribution, coupled with an integrated knowledge base system being developed. The approach allows sensitive identification, consistent and rich annotation, and systematic detection of annotation errors, as well as distinction of experimentally verified and computationally predicted features. The knowledge base consists of two new databases, sequence analysis tools, and graphical interfaces. PIR-NREF, a non-redundant reference database, provides a timely and comprehensive collection of all protein sequences, totaling more than 1,000,000 entries. iProClass, an integrated database of protein family, function, and structure information, provides extensive value-added features for about 830,000 proteins with rich links to over 50 molecular databases. This paper describes our approach to protein functional annotation with case studies and examines common identification errors. It also illustrates that data integration in PIR supports exploration of protein relationships and may reveal protein functional associations beyond sequence homology.     

Radiation synthesis of superabsorbent poly(acrylic acid)–carrageenan hydrogels

A series of superabsorbent hydrogels were prepared from carrageenan and partially neutralized acrylic acid by gamma irradiation at room temperature. The gel fraction, swelling kinetics and the equilibrium degree of swelling (EDS) of the hydrogels were studied. It was found that the incorporation of even 1% carrageenan (sodium salt) increases the EDS of the hydrogels from 320 to 800 g/g. Thermal analysis were carried out to determine the amount of free water and bound water in the hydrogels. Under optimum conditions, poly(acrylic acid)–carrageenan hydrogels with high gel fraction (80%) and very high EDS (800 g/g) were prepared gamma radiolytically from aqueous solution containing 15% partially neutralized acrylic acid and 1–5% carrageenan. The hydrogels were also found to be sensitive to the pH and the ionic strength of the medium.     

Modification of Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein with gold nanoparticles for electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization

The unique binding event between Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) and single-stranded oligonucleotides conjugated to gold (Au) nanoparticles is utilized for the electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization. SSB was attached onto a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of single-stranded oligonucleotide modified Au nanoparticle, and the resulting Au-tagged SSB was used as the hybridization label. Changes in the Au oxidation signal was monitored upon binding of Au tagged SSB to probe and hybrid on the electrode surface. The amplified oxidation signal of Au nanoparticles provided a detection limit of 2.17 pM target DNA, which can be applied to genetic diagnosis applications. This work presented here has important implications with regard to combining a biological binding event between a protein and DNA with a solid transducer and metal nanoparticles.