793 research outputs found

    Multisensory integration of dynamic voices and faces in the monkey brain

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    [...] Primates are social animals whose communication is based on their conspecifics' vocalizations and facial expressions. Although a lot of work to date has studied the unimodal representation of vocal or facial information, little is known about the way the nervous system supports the processing of communication signals from different sensory modalities to combine them into a coherent audiovisual percept. [... click on "Download fulltext" for full abstract

    Monolayer doping of silicon-germanium alloys: a balancing act between phosphorus incorporation and strain relaxation

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    This paper presents the application of monolayer doping (MLD) to silicon-germanium (SiGe). This study was carried out for phosphorus dopants on wafers of epitaxially grown thin films of strained SiGe on silicon with varying concentrations of Ge (18%, 30%, and 60%). The challenge presented here is achieving dopant incorporation while minimizing strain relaxation. The impact of high temperature annealing on the formation of defects due to strain relaxation of these layers was qualitatively monitored by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy prior to choosing an anneal temperature for the MLD drive-in. Though the bulk SiGe wafers provided are stated to have 18%, 30%, and 60% Ge in the epitaxial SiGe layers, it does not necessarily mean that the surface stoichiometry is the same, and this may impact the reaction conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angle-resolved XPS were carried out to compare the bulk and surface stoichiometry of SiGe to allow tailoring of the reaction conditions for chemical functionalization. Finally, dopant profiling was carried out by secondary ion mass spectrometry to determine the impurity concentrations achieved by MLD. It is evident from the results that phosphorus incorporation decreases for increasing mole fraction of Ge, when the rapid thermal annealing temperature is a fixed amount below the melting temperature of each alloy

    Health and population effects of rare gene knockouts in adult humans with related parents.

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    Examining complete gene knockouts within a viable organism can inform on gene function. We sequenced the exomes of 3222 British adults of Pakistani heritage with high parental relatedness, discovering 1111 rare-variant homozygous genotypes with predicted loss of function (knockouts) in 781 genes. We observed 13.7% fewer homozygous knockout genotypes than we expected, implying an average load of 1.6 recessive-lethal-equivalent loss-of-function (LOF) variants per adult. When genetic data were linked to the individuals' lifelong health records, we observed no significant relationship between gene knockouts and clinical consultation or prescription rate. In this data set, we identified a healthy PRDM9-knockout mother and performed phased genome sequencing on her, her child, and control individuals. Our results show that meiotic recombination sites are localized away from PRDM9-dependent hotspots. Thus, natural LOF variants inform on essential genetic loci and demonstrate PRDM9 redundancy in humans.The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust (WT102627 and WT098051), Barts Charity (845/1796), Medical Research Council (MR/M009017/1). This paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Yorkshire and Humber. Core support for Born in Bradford is also provided by the Wellcome Trust (WT101597). V.N. was supported by the Wellcome Trust PhD Studentship (WT099769). D.G.M. and K.K. were supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01GM104371. E.R.M. is funded by NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. H.H. is supported by awards to establish the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, London, from the Medical Research Council, Arthritis Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office, Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, NIHR, National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, and Wellcome Trust.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Association for the Advancement of Science via https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac862

    Exploring conductivity in ex-situ doped Si thin films as thickness approaches 5nm

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    Silicon (Si) has been scaled below 10 nm in multigate and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) device technologies, but clearly Si thickness cannot be reduced indefinitely, as we will run out of atoms eventually. As thickness approaches 5 nm, surfaces and interfaces will significantly impact the electrical behavior of Si, and surface physics cannot be discounted. Below that, bulk material properties will be altered considerably in the few-monolayer limit. One of the most basic defining properties of a semiconductor is its conductivity. To improve conductivity, while inducing a channel by appropriate biasing, it is necessary to define an accurate impurity doping strategy to reduce parasitic resistance. In this paper, we investigated the changing electrical conductivity of SOI films as a function of the Si thickness, in the range of 3–66 nm. SOI films were ex situ doped using three different approaches: liquid/vapor phase monolayer doping of phosphorus using allyldiphenylphosphine, gas-phase doping of arsenic using arsine (AsH3), and room-temperature beam-line ion implantation of phosphorus. The circular transfer length method and micro-four-point probe measurements were used to determine the resistivity of the Si films, mitigating the contribution from contact resistance. The resistivity of the Si films was observed to increase with decreasing Si film thickness below 20 nm, with a dramatic increase observed for a Si thickness at 4.5 nm. This may drastically impact the number of parallel conduction paths (i.e., nanowires) required in gate-all-around devices. Density functional theory modeling indicates that the surface of the Si film with a thickness of 4.5 nm is energetically more favorable for the dopant atom compared to the core of the film

    A Conserved Supergene Locus Controls Colour Pattern Diversity in Heliconius Butterflies

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    We studied whether similar developmental genetic mechanisms are involved in both convergent and divergent evolution. Mimetic insects are known for their diversity of patterns as well as their remarkable evolutionary convergence, and they have played an important role in controversies over the respective roles of selection and constraints in adaptive evolution. Here we contrast three butterfly species, all classic examples of Müllerian mimicry. We used a genetic linkage map to show that a locus, Yb, which controls the presence of a yellow band in geographic races of Heliconius melpomene, maps precisely to the same location as the locus Cr, which has very similar phenotypic effects in its co-mimic H. erato. Furthermore, the same genomic location acts as a “supergene”, determining multiple sympatric morphs in a third species, H. numata. H. numata is a species with a very different phenotypic appearance, whose many forms mimic different unrelated ithomiine butterflies in the genus Melinaea. Other unlinked colour pattern loci map to a homologous linkage group in the co-mimics H. melpomene and H. erato, but they are not involved in mimetic polymorphism in H. numata. Hence, a single region from the multilocus colour pattern architecture of H. melpomene and H. erato appears to have gained control of the entire wing-pattern variability in H. numata, presumably as a result of selection for mimetic “supergene” polymorphism without intermediates. Although we cannot at this stage confirm the homology of the loci segregating in the three species, our results imply that a conserved yet relatively unconstrained mechanism underlying pattern switching can affect mimicry in radically different ways. We also show that adaptive evolution, both convergent and diversifying, can occur by the repeated involvement of the same genomic regions

    Diagnosis of phosphorus monolayer doping in silicon based on nanowire electrical characterisation

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    The advent of high surface-to-volume ratio devices has necessitated a revised approach to parameter extraction and process evaluation in field-effect transistor technologies. In this work, active doping concentrations are extracted from the electrical analysis of Si nanowire devices with high surface-to-volume ratios. Nanowire resistance and Si resistivity are extracted, by first extracting and subtracting out the contact resistance. Resistivity (ρ) is selected as the benchmark parameter to compare different doping processes with each other. The impacts of nanowire diameter scaling to 10 nm and of nanowire spacing scaling to <20 nm are extracted for monolayer doping and beam-line ion implantation. Despite introducing significant crystal damage, P beam-line ion implantation beats allyldiphenylphosphine (ADP) P monolayer doping with a SiO2 cap in terms of lower Si resistivity and higher dopant activation, with dependencies on the nanowire width greater than on nanowire spacing. Limitations in ADP P monolayer doping with a SiO2 cap are due to the difficulties in dopant incorporation, as it is based on in-diffusion, and P atoms must overcome a potential barrier on the Si surface

    A framework and resource for global collaboration in non-human primate neuroscience

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    As science and technology evolve, there is an increasing need for promotion of international scientific exchange. Collaborations, while offering substantial opportunities for scientists and benefit to society, also present challenges for those working with animal models, such as non-human primates (NHPs). Diversity in regulation of animal research is sometimes mistaken for the absence of common international welfare standards. Here, the ethical and regulatory protocols for 13 countries that have guidelines in place for biomedical research involving NHPs were assessed with a focus on neuroscience. Review of the variability and similarity in trans-national NHP welfare regulations extended to countries in Asia, Europe and North America. A tabulated resource was established to advance solution-oriented discussions and scientific collaborations across borders. Our aim is to better inform the public and other stakeholders. Through cooperative efforts to identify and analyze information with reference to evidence-based discussion, the proposed key ingredients may help to shape and support a more informed, open framework. This framework and resource can be expanded further for biomedical research in other countries

    Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

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    Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

    Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

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    One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

    Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

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    This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good
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