437 research outputs found
Gate Stack Dielectric Degradation of Rare-Earth Oxides Grown on High Mobility Ge Substrates
We report on the dielectric degradation of Rare-Earth Oxides (REOs), when
used as interfacial buffer layers together with HfO2 high-k films (REOs/HfO2)
on high mobility Ge substrates. Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) devices with
these stacks,show dissimilar charge trapping phenomena under varying levels of
Constant- Voltage-Stress (CVS) conditions, which also influences the measured
densities of the interface (Nit) and border (NBT) traps. In the present study
we also report on C-Vg hysteresis curves related to Nit and NBT. We also
propose a new model based on Maxwell-Wagner instabilities mechanism that
explains the dielectric degradations (current decay transient behavior) of the
gate stack devices grown on high mobility substrates under CVS bias from low to
higher fields, and which is unlike to those used for other MOS devices.
Finally, the time dependent degradation of the corresponding devices revealed
an initial current decay due to relaxation, followed by charge trapping and
generation of stress-induced leakage which eventually lead to hard breakdown
after long CVS stressing.Comment: 19pages (double space), 7 figures, original research article,
Submitted to JAP (AIP
Gate Coupling to Nanoscale Electronics
The realization of single-molecule electronic devices, in which a
nanometer-scale molecule is connected to macroscopic leads, requires the
reproducible production of highly ordered nanoscale gaps in which a molecule of
interest is electrostatically coupled to nearby gate electrodes. Understanding
how the molecule-gate coupling depends on key parameters is crucial for the
development of high-performance devices. Here we directly address this,
presenting two- and three-dimensional finite-element electrostatic simulations
of the electrode geometries formed using emerging fabrication techniques. We
quantify the gate coupling intrinsic to these devices, exploring the roles of
parameters believed to be relevant to such devices. These include the thickness
and nature of the dielectric used, and the gate screening due to different
device geometries. On the single-molecule (~1nm) scale, we find that device
geometry plays a greater role in the gate coupling than the dielectric constant
or the thickness of the insulator. Compared to the typical uniform nanogap
electrode geometry envisioned, we find that non-uniform tapered electrodes
yield a significant three orders of magnitude improvement in gate coupling. We
also find that in the tapered geometry the polarizability of a molecular
channel works to enhance the gate coupling
Adenylosuccinic acid therapy ameliorates murine Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
International audienceArising from the ablation of the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a debilitating and fatal skeletal muscle wasting disease underpinned by metabolic insufficiency. The inability to facilitate adequate energy production may impede calcium (Ca2+) buffering within, and the regenerative capacity of, dystrophic muscle. Therefore, increasing the metabogenic potential could represent an effective treatment avenue. The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of adenylosuccinic acid (ASA), a purine nucleotide cycle metabolite, to stimulate metabolism and buffer skeletal muscle damage in the mdx mouse model of DMD. Dystrophin-positive control (C57BL/10) and dystrophin-deficient mdx mice were treated with ASA (3000 µg.mL-1) in drinking water. Following the 8-week treatment period, metabolism, mitochondrial density, viability and superoxide (O2-) production, as well as skeletal muscle histopathology, were assessed. ASA treatment significantly improved the histopathological features of murine DMD by reducing damage area, the number of centronucleated fibres, lipid accumulation, connective tissue infiltration and Ca2+ content of mdx tibialis anterior. These effects were independent of upregulated utrophin expression in the tibialis anterior. ASA treatment also increased mitochondrial viability in mdx flexor digitorum brevis fibres and concomitantly reduced O2- production, an effect that was also observed in cultured immortalised human DMD myoblasts. Our data indicates that ASA has a protective effect on mdx skeletal muscles
Determining Absorption, Emissivity Reduction, and Local Suppression Coefficients inside Sunspots
The power of solar acoustic waves is reduced inside sunspots mainly due to
absorption, emissivity reduction, and local suppression. The coefficients of
these power-reduction mechanisms can be determined by comparing time-distance
cross-covariances obtained from sunspots and from the quiet Sun. By analyzing
47 active regions observed by SOHO/MDI without using signal filters, we have
determined the coefficients of surface absorption, deep absorption, emissivity
reduction, and local suppression. The dissipation in the quiet Sun is derived
as well. All of the cross-covariances are width corrected to offset the effect
of dispersion. We find that absorption is the dominant mechanism of the power
deficit in sunspots for short travel distances, but gradually drops to zero at
travel distances longer than about 6 degrees. The absorption in sunspot
interiors is also significant. The emissivity-reduction coefficient ranges from
about 0.44 to 1.00 within the umbra and 0.29 to 0.72 in the sunspot, and
accounts for only about 21.5% of the umbra's and 16.5% of the sunspot's total
power reduction. Local suppression is nearly constant as a function of travel
distance with values of 0.80 and 0.665 for umbrae and whole sunspots
respectively, and is the major cause of the power deficit at large travel
distances.Comment: 14 pages, 21 Figure
M-Theory solutions with AdS factors
Solutions of D=7 maximal gauged supergravity are constructed with metrics
that are a product of a n-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, with
n=2,3,4,5, and certain Einstein manifolds. The gauge fields have the same form
as in the recently constructed solutions describing the near-horizon limits of
M5-branes wrapping supersymmetric cycles. The new solutions do not preserve any
supersymmetry and can be uplifted to obtain new solutions of D=11 supergravity,
which are warped and twisted products of the D=7 metric with a squashed
four-sphere. Some aspects of the stability of the solutions are discussed.Comment: 30 pages. References adde
Structural and biochemical characterization of the environmental MBLs MYO-1, ECV-1 and SHD-1
BACKGROUND: MBLs form a large and heterogeneous group of bacterial enzymes conferring resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems. A large environmental reservoir of MBLs has been identified, which can act as a source for transfer into human pathogens. Therefore, structural investigation of environmental and clinically rare MBLs can give new insights into structure-activity relationships to explore the role of catalytic and second shell residues, which are under selective pressure. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the structure and activity of the environmental subclass B1 MBLs MYO-1, SHD-1 and ECV-1. METHODS: The respective genes of these MBLs were cloned into vectors and expressed in Escherichia coli. Purified enzymes were characterized with respect to their catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km). The enzymatic activities and MICs were determined for a panel of different β-lactams, including penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems. Thermostability was measured and structures were solved using X-ray crystallography (MYO-1 and ECV-1) or generated by homology modelling (SHD-1). RESULTS: Expression of the environmental MBLs in E. coli resulted in the characteristic MBL profile, not affecting aztreonam susceptibility and decreasing susceptibility to carbapenems, cephalosporins and penicillins. The purified enzymes showed variable catalytic activity in the order of <5% to ∼70% compared with the clinically widespread NDM-1. The thermostability of ECV-1 and SHD-1 was up to 8\ub0C higher than that of MYO-1 and NDM-1. Using solved structures and molecular modelling, we identified differences in their second shell composition, possibly responsible for their relatively low hydrolytic activity. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the importance of environmental species acting as reservoirs for MBL-encoding genes
The Geometry of D=11 Null Killing Spinors
We determine the necessary and sufficient conditions on the metric and the
four-form for the most general bosonic supersymmetric configurations of D=11
supergravity which admit a null Killing spinor i.e. a Killing spinor which can
be used to construct a null Killing vector. This class covers all
supersymmetric time-dependent configurations and completes the classification
of the most general supersymmetric configurations initiated in hep-th/0212008.Comment: 30 pages, typos corrected, reference added, new solution included in
section 5.1; uses JHEP3.cl
- …