Strategies for Controlled Placement of Nanoscale Building Blocks

The capability of placing individual nanoscale building blocks on exact substrate locations in a controlled manner is one of the key requirements to realize future electronic, optical, and magnetic devices and sensors that are composed of such blocks. This article reviews some important advances in the strategies for controlled placement of nanoscale building blocks. In particular, we will overview template assisted placement that utilizes physical, molecular, or electrostatic templates, DNA-programmed assembly, placement using dielectrophoresis, approaches for non-close-packed assembly of spherical particles, and recent development of focused placement schemes including electrostatic funneling, focused placement via molecular gradient patterns, electrodynamic focusing of charged aerosols, and others

Signatures of triaxiality in low-spin spectra of ⁸⁶Ge

Low-spin states of neutron-rich ⁸⁴,⁸⁶,⁸⁸Ge were measured by in-flight γ-ray spectroscopy at 270 MeV/u at the RIKEN-RIBF facility. The exotic beams have been produced by primary ²³⁸U in-flight fission reactions and impinged on the MINOS device. MINOS combines a 10-cm long LH₂ target with a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) to reconstruct the reaction vertices. The reactions were selected by the BigRIPS and the ZeroDegree spectrometers for the incoming and outgoing channels, respectively. Emitted γ radiation was detected by the NaI-array DALI2. De-excitations from the 6₁⁺, 4₁,₂⁺ , and 2₁,₂⁺ states of ⁸⁴,⁸⁶Ge and 4₁⁺ and 2₁,₂⁺ states of ⁸⁸Ge were observed. The data are compared to state-of-the-art shell model and beyond-mean-field calculations. Furthermore, a candidate for a 3₁⁺ state of ⁸⁶Ge was identified. This state plays a key role in the discussion of ground-state triaxiality of ⁸⁶Ge, along with other features of the low-energy level scheme. This work was published in [1]

KDBI: Kinetic data of Bio-molecular interactions database

10.1093/nar/gkg067Nucleic Acids Research311255-257NARH

Metastable States of ^{92,94}Se: Identification of an Oblate K Isomer of ^{94}Se and the Ground-State Shape Transition between N=58 and 60

6 pags., 4 figs.Here we present new information on the shape evolution of the very neutron-rich ^{92,94}Se nuclei from an isomer-decay spectroscopy experiment at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. High-resolution germanium detectors were used to identify delayed γ rays emitted following the decay of their isomers. New transitions are reported extending the previously known level schemes. The isomeric levels are interpreted as originating from high-K quasineutron states with an oblate deformation of β∼0.25, with the high-K state in ^{94}Se being metastable and K hindered. Following this, ^{94}Se is the lowest-mass neutron-rich nucleus known to date with such a substantial K hindrance. Furthermore, it is the first observation of an oblate K isomer in a deformed nucleus. This opens up the possibility for a new region of K isomers at low Z and at oblate deformation, involving the same neutron orbitals as the prolate orbitals within the classic Z∼72 deformed hafnium region. From an interpretation of the level scheme guided by theoretical calculations, an oblate deformation is also suggested for the ^{94}Se_{60} ground-state band.This work was carried out at the RIBF operated by RIKEN Nishina Center, RIKEN and CNS, University of Tokyo. We acknowledge the EUROBALL Owners Committee for the loan of germanium detectors and the PreSpec Collaboration for the readout electronics of the cluster detectors. The authors thank the RIBF and BigRIPS teams for providing a stable high-intensity uranium beam and operating the secondary beams. We acknowledge support from the German BMBF Grants No. 05P15RDFN1, No. 05P19RDFN1, No. 05P15PKFNA, and No. 05P19PKFNA, the ERC Grant No. MINOS-258567, the Spanish MEC under Contracts No. FPA2014-57196-C5-4-P and No. FIS2014-53434, the National Key R&D Program of China (Contract No. 2018YFA0404402), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 11961141004, No. 11735017, No. 11675225, No. 11635003), the Vietnam MOST via the Physics Development Program Grant No. ĐTĐLCN.25/18, as well as from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). We further thank GSI for providing computing facilities

Sequential Nature of (p,3p) Two-Proton Knockout from Neutron-Rich Nuclei

7 pags., 4 figs.Twenty-one two-proton knockout (p,3p) cross sections were measured from neutron-rich nuclei at ∼250 MeV/nucleon in inverse kinematics. The angular distribution of the three emitted protons was determined for the first time, demonstrating that the (p,3p) kinematics are consistent with two sequential proton-proton collisions within the projectile nucleus. Ratios of (p,3p) over (p,2p) inclusive cross sections follow the trend of other many-nucleon removal reactions, further reinforcing the sequential nature of (p,3p) in neutron-rich nuclei.We thank the RIBF and BigRIPS teams for providing a stable beam and optimum settings over the two experimental campaigns. A. F. acknowledges support from the DFG under Grant No. SFB1245. M. G.-R. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. A. O. thanks the European Research Council for its support through ERC Grant No. MINOS-258567, the JSPS Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science for the long-term fellowship L-13520, the German DFG for its support from the SFB Grant No. 1245, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for its support. K. Mo. acknowledges support from German BMBF Grant No. 05P15PKFNA. M. L. C., M. L., and V. W. acknowledge support from German BMBF Grants No. 05P15RDFN1, and No. 05P19RDFN1, as well as DFG Grant No. SFB 1245. L. X. C. and B. D. L. are supported by the Vietnam MOST through Physics Development Program Grant No. Ð TÐ LCN.25/18 and acknowledge the Radioactive Isotope Physics Laboratory of the RIKEN Nishina Center for supporting their stay during the experiment. A. J. and V. V. acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under Contract No. FPA2017-84756-C4-2- P. U.K. participants acknowledge support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Collaborators from I. M. P. were supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. R. T. was supported by the JSPS Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellows JP14J08718. Zs. D., Z. K., and Zs. V. acknowledge the support from Projects No. OTKA K128947 and No. GINOP-2.3.3-15-2016-00034. C. Santamaria acknowledges support by the IPA program at the RIKEN Nishina Center

Genetic diversity in soybean germplasm identified by SSR and EST-SSR markers Diversidade genética em germoplasma de soja identificada por marcadores SSR e EST-SSR

The objectives of this work were to investigate the genetic variation in 79 soybean (Glycine max) accessions from different regions of the world, to cluster the accessions based on their similarity, and to test the correlation between the two types of markers used. Simple sequence repeat markers present in genomic (SSR) and in expressed regions (EST-SSR) were used. Thirty SSR primer-pairs were selected (20 genomic and 10 EST-SSR) based on their distribution on the 20 genetic linkage groups of soybean, on their trinucleotide repetition unit and on their polymorphism information content. All analyzed loci were polymorphic, and 259 alleles were found. The number of alleles per locus varied from 2-21, with an average of 8.63. The accessions exhibit a significant number of rare alleles, with genotypes 19, 35, 63 and 65 carrying the greater number of exclusive alleles. Accessions 75 and 79 were the most similar and accessions 31 and 35, and 40 and 78, were the most divergent ones. A low correlation between SSR and EST-SSR data was observed, thus genomic and expressed microsatellite markers are required for an appropriate analysis of genetic diversity in soybean. The genetic diversity observed was high and allowed the formation of five groups and several subgroups. A moderate relationship between genetic divergence and geographic origin of accessions was observed.<br>Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a diversidade genética de 79 acessos de soja de diferentes regiões do mundo, agrupá-los de acordo com a similaridade e testar a correlação entre os dois tipos de marcadores utilizados. Foram utilizados marcadores microssatélites genômicos (SSR) e funcionais (EST-SSR). Trinta pares de primers SSR foram selecionados (20 genômicos e 10 EST-SSR) de acordo com sua distribuição nos 20 grupos de ligação da soja, com sua unidade de repetição trinucleotídica e com seu conteúdo de informação polimórfica. Todos os lócus analisados foram polimórficos, e 259 alelos foram encontrados. O número de alelos por lócus variou entre 2-21, com média de 8,63. Os acessos possuem uma quantidade significativa de alelos raros, sendo os acessos 19, 35, 63 e 65 os que apresentaram maior número de alelos exclusivos. Os acessos 75 e 79 são os mais similares e os acessos 31 e 35, e 40 e 78 são os mais divergentes. Foi observada baixa correlação entre resultados de SSR e EST-SSR. Portanto, uma análise adequada de diversidade em soja deve ser feita utilizando-se tanto marcadores microssatélites genômicos como funcionais. A diversidade genética dos acessos selecionados é alta, tendo sido encontrados cinco grupos e vários subgrupos. Observou-se moderada relação entre divergência genética e origem geográfica dos acessos