Period-doubling-bifurcation readout for a Josephson qubit

We propose a threshold detector with an operation principle, based on a parametric period-doubling bifurcation in an externally pumped nonlinear resonance circuit. The ac-driven resonance circuit includes a dc-current-biased Josephson junction ensuring parametric frequency conversion (period-doubling bifurcation) due to its quadratic nonlinearity. A sharp onset of oscillations at the half-frequency of the drive allows for detection of small variations of an effective inductance and, therefore, the read-out of the quantum state of a coupled Josephson qubit. The bifurcation characteristics of this circuit are compared with those of the conventional Josephson bifurcation amplifier, and its possible advantages are discussed.Comment: 6 page

Improvement of Mechanical Properties and Adhesion of Ti-Al-Si-N Coatings by Alloying with Ta

The effect of the Ta content on the structure, mechanical properties and adhesion of magnetron-sputtered Ti1-x-y-zAlxTaySizN coatings was studied. According to the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, the coatings studied had the following chemical compositions: Ti0.41Al0.49Si0.10N, Ti0.38Al0.47Ta0.05Si0.10N, Ti0.36Al0.44Ta0.10Si0.10N and Ti0.35Al0.40Ta0.15Si0.10N. The X-ray diffraction experiments revealed the B1-type fcc crystal structure of the coatings. The increasing Ta content was found to induce the texture evolution from (200) to (111), which was attributed to a significant increase in the residual compressive stress in the coatings. The hardness monotonically increased from 32.7 to 42.2 GPa with increasing the Ta content, while the reduced Young’s modulus decreased from 369 to 353 GPa. The adhesion of the coatings to the Ti substrate was evaluated by scratch testing. It was found that the Ti0.36Al0.44Ta0.10Si0.10N coating was characterized by maximum adhesion strength, while incorporation of a larger amount of Ta resulted in earlier coating spallation due to the high residual compressive stress

Improvement of Mechanical Properties and Adhesion of Ti-Al-Si-N Coatings by Alloying with Ta

The effect of the Ta content on the structure, mechanical properties and adhesion of magnetron-sputtered Ti1-x-y-zAlxTaySizN coatings was studied. According to the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, the coatings studied had the following chemical compositions: Ti0.41Al0.49Si0.10N, Ti0.38Al0.47Ta0.05Si0.10N, Ti0.36Al0.44Ta0.10Si0.10N and Ti0.35Al0.40Ta0.15Si0.10N. The X-ray diffraction experiments revealed the B1-type fcc crystal structure of the coatings. The increasing Ta content was found to induce the texture evolution from (200) to (111), which was attributed to a significant increase in the residual compressive stress in the coatings. The hardness monotonically increased from 32.7 to 42.2 GPa with increasing the Ta content, while the reduced Young’s modulus decreased from 369 to 353 GPa. The adhesion of the coatings to the Ti substrate was evaluated by scratch testing. It was found that the Ti0.36Al0.44Ta0.10Si0.10N coating was characterized by maximum adhesion strength, while incorporation of a larger amount of Ta resulted in earlier coating spallation due to the high residual compressive stress

[Orloff chicken breed: history, current status and studies] Орловская порода кур. История, современное состояние, научные исследования

Моисеева И.Г.; Севастьянова А.А.; Александров А.В.; Вахрамеев А.Б.; Романов М.Н.; Дмитриев Ю.И.; Семенова С.К.; Сулимова Г.Е. Настоящая публикация представляет собой обзор материалов о старинной отечественной орловской породе кур. Приведены исторические сведения о месте (средняя полоса России) и времени происхождения (конец XVIII в.). Информация о предполагаемых предшественниках породы дополнена генетическими исследованиями авторов. Представлено описание орловской породы кур русского типа. Рассмотрены данные о распространении породы в России и за рубежом, современном ее состоянии, участии в выставках птицеводства. Проанализированы факторы, затрудняющие разведение породы, и намечены первоочередные задачи по ее сохранению. The present article provides an overview of the information on the Orloff chicken breed. Historical information about the place (central Russia), time of origin (late 18th century), and alleged progenitors of this domestic breed. The literature data is supplemented with the authors’ genetic studies. Description of the Orloff chicken breed of Russian type is given. Data on the dissemination of the breed in Russia and abroad, its modern state, standard and demonstration in poultry shows is also provided. Factors are discussed that hinder preservation of the breed and priorities for breeding the Orloff chickens are outlined

Identification of Novel Epigenetic Markers of Prostate Cancer by NotI-Microarray Analysis

A significant need for reliable and accurate cancer diagnostics and prognosis compels the search for novel biomarkers that would be able to discriminate between indolent and aggressive tumors at the early stages of disease. The aim of this work was identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers for characterization of different types of prostate tumors. NotI-microarrays with 180 clones associated with chromosome 3 genes/loci were applied to determine genetic and epigenetic alterations in 33 prostate tumors. For 88 clones, aberrations were detected in more than 10% of tumors. The major types of alterations were DNA methylation and/or deletions. Frequent methylation of the discovered loci was confirmed by bisulfite sequencing on selective sampling of genes: FGF12, GATA2, and LMCD1. Three genes (BHLHE40, BCL6, and ITGA9) were tested for expression level alterations using qPCR, and downregulation associated with hypermethylation was shown in the majority of tumors. Based on these data, we proposed the set of potential biomarkers for detection of prostate cancer and discrimination between prostate tumors with different malignancy and aggressiveness: BHLHE40, FOXP1, LOC285205, ITGA9, CTDSPL, FGF12, LOC440944/SETD5, VHL, CLCN2, OSBPL10/ZNF860, LMCD1, FAM19A4, CAND2, MAP4, KY, and LRRC58. Moreover, we probabilistically estimated putative functional relations between the genes within each set using the network enrichment analysis