Visualizing Poiseuille flow of hydrodynamic electrons

Hydrodynamics is a general description for the flow of a fluid, and is expected to hold even for fundamental particles such as electrons when inter-particle interactions dominate. While various aspects of electron hydrodynamics were revealed in recent experiments, the fundamental spatial structure of hydrodynamic electrons, the Poiseuille flow profile, has remained elusive. In this work, we provide the first real-space imaging of Poiseuille flow of an electronic fluid, as well as visualization of its evolution from ballistic flow. Utilizing a scanning nanotube single electron transistor, we image the Hall voltage of electronic flow through channels of high-mobility graphene. We find that the profile of the Hall field across the channel is a key physical quantity for distinguishing ballistic from hydrodynamic flow. We image the transition from flat, ballistic field profiles at low temperature into parabolic field profiles at elevated temperatures, which is the hallmark of Poiseuille flow. The curvature of the imaged profiles is qualitatively reproduced by Boltzmann calculations, which allow us to create a 'phase diagram' that characterizes the electron flow regimes. Our results provide long-sought, direct confirmation of Poiseuille flow in the solid state, and enable a new approach for exploring the rich physics of interacting electrons in real space

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Code-division-multiplexed electrical impedance tomography spectroscopy

Electrical impedance tomography uses multiple impedance measurements to image the internal conductivity of an object, such as the human body. Code-division multiplexing is proposed as a new method that can provide simultaneous impedance measurements of the multiple channels. Code division provides clear advantages of a wide frequency range at reduced cost and reduced complexity of sources. A potential drawback is the lack of perfectly orthogonal code sets. This caused an increase of 0.62% in root-mean-square spectral error when two codes were used to record two impedance channels simultaneously on a low-pass filter network. The method described provides images and spectra which are equivalent to the conventional time-multiplexed method, with increases in frequency resolution and measurement speed which may be of benefit in some applications of electrical impedance tomography spectroscopy

Spread spectrum EIT by code devision multiplexing

Code division multiplexing is proposed as a new EIT method that can provide simultaneous impedance measurements of the multiple channels. Code division provides clear advantages of a wide frequency range at reduced cost and reduced complexity of sources. A potential drawback is the lack of perfectly orthogonal code sets. The method described provides images and spectra which are equivalent to the conventional time multiplexed method, with increases in frequency resolution and measurement speed which may be of benefit in some applications of EITS

Feasibility of electrical impedance tomography in haemorrhagic stroke treatment using adaptive mesh

EIT has been proposed for acute stroke differentiation, specifically to determine the type of stroke, either ischaemia (clot) or haemorrhage (bleed) to allow the rapid use of clot-busting drugs in the former (Romsauerova et al 2006) . This addresses an important medical need, although there is little treatment offered in the case of haemorrhage. Also the demands on EIT are high with usually no availability to take a before measurement, ruling out time difference imaging. Recently a new treatment option for haemorrhage has been proposed and is being studied in international randomised controlled trial: the early reduction of elevated blood pressure to attenuate the haematoma. This has been shown via CT to reduce bleeds by up to 1mL by Anderson et al 2008. The use of EIT as a continuous measure is desirable here to monitor the effect of blood pressure reduction. A 1mL increase of haemorrhagic lesion located near scalp on the right side of head caused a boundary voltage change of less than 0.05% at 50 kHz. This could be visually observed in a time difference 3D reconstruction with no change in electrode positions, mesh, background conductivity or drift when baseline noise was less than 0.005% but not when noise was increased to 0.01%. This useful result informs us that the EIT system must have noise of less than 0.005% at 50 kHz including instrumentation, physiological and other biases

Synthesis and Characterization of (Sn,Zn)O Alloys

SnO exhibits electrical properties that render it promising for solar energy conversion applications, but it also has a strongly indirect band gap. Recent theoretical calculations predict that this disadvantage can be mitigated by isovalent alloying with other group II oxides, such as ZnO. Here, we have synthesized new metastable isovalent (Sn,Zn)­O alloy thin films by combinatorial reactive co-sputtering and characterized their structural, optical, and electrical properties. The alloying of ZnO into SnO leads to a change of the valence state of the tin from Sn⁰ via Sn²⁺ to Sn⁴⁺, which can be counteracted by reducing the oxygen partial pressure during the deposition. The optical characterization of the smooth <10 at. % Sn_1–<i>x</i>Zn_<i>x</i>O thin films showed an increase in the absorption coefficient in the range from 1 eV to 2 eV, which is consistent with the theoretical predictions for the isovalent alloying. However, the experimentally observed alloying effect may be convoluted with the effect of local variations of the Sn oxidation state. This effect would have to be minimized to improve the (Sn,Zn)O optical and electrical properties for their use as absorbers in solar energy conversion applications