Probing variations of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling at the nanometer scale

The Rashba effect as an electrically tunable spin-orbit interaction is the base for a multitude of possible applications such as spin filters, spin transistors, and quantum computing using Majorana states in nanowires. Moreover, this interaction can determine the spin dephasing and antilocalization phenomena in two dimensions. However, the real space pattern of the Rashba parameter has never been probed, albeit it critically influences, e.g., the more robust spin transistors using the spin helix state and the otherwise forbidden electron backscattering in topologically protected channels. Here, we map this pattern down to nanometer length scales by measuring the spin splitting of the lowest Landau level using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. We reveal strong fluctuations correlated with the local electrostatic potential for an InSb inversion layer with a large Rashba coefficient (~1 eV{\AA}). The novel type of Rashba field mapping enables a more comprehensive understanding of the critical fluctuations, which might be decisive towards robust semiconductor-based spintronic devices.Comment: A modified version will be published in Nature Physic

Treatment of infected dental pulps of monkeys with vancomycin and hyaluronidase

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)This study was undertaken to investigate histologically the effect of a combination of an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory enzyme when used as a medication in direct pulp therapy. The pulps of 56 teeth in two Macaca Speciosa monkeys, exposed and left open to the oral environment for 24 hours to insure contamination, received direct treatment with one of four experimental medications: (1) vancomycin, starch, and hyaluronidase; (2) vancomycin, starch, and water; (3) starch and water; and (4) starch and hyaluronidase. At 30 days the teeth were removed from one animal and at 90 days•from the other for histologic interpretation. A satisfactory response was observed in 92.9 per cent of the teeth treated with vancomycin, starch, and hyaluronidase; in 71.5 per cent of the teeth treated with vancomycin, starch, and water; and in 42.9 per cent of the teeth treated with both starch and water and starch and hyaluronidase. None of the teeth treated with vancomycin, starch, and water and vancomycin, starch, and hyaluronidase became necrotic,while 35.7 per cent of the teeth treated with starch and water or starch and hyaluronidase became necrotic. Under the conditions of this investigation, vancomycin containing pulp capping agents are effective in controlling infection and in promoting reparative dentin formation in monkeys. The benefit of hyaluronidase when used in combination with vancomycin was questionable

The Ursinus Weekly, December 17, 1917

Schaff presents annual play • Girls\u27 indoor baseball game • A savior for the times: Christmas thoughts • Central Seminary notes • On the campus • Varsity defeats Temple quintet • College directoryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/2543/thumbnail.jp

Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the liver: presence of biliary communication

A 35-year-old woman was referred for a symptomatic liver mass. Diagnostic workup detected a septated cyst located centrally in the liver measuring 10 × 7 cm. The cyst had gradually increased in size from previous studies with new intrahepatic biliary dilation. Due to concern for malignancy and symptomatic presentation of the patient, a partial central hepatectomy was performed. Pathology revealed a smooth-walled, multiloculated cyst lined with mucinous epithelium and ovarian-type stroma. The diagnosis of low-grade mucinous cystic neoplasm of the liver (MCN-L) was made. Characteristics of MCN-L have not been elucidated due to its rarity

Optical Multiple Access Network (OMAN) for advanced processing satellite applications

An OMAN breadboard for exploring advanced processing satellite circuit switch applications is introduced. Network architecture, hardware trade offs, and multiple user interference issues are presented. The breadboard test set up and experimental results are discussed

Identification of an Endogenous Ligand Bound to a Native Orphan Nuclear Receptor

Orphan nuclear receptors have been instrumental in identifying novel signaling pathways and therapeutic targets. However, identification of ligands for these receptors has often been based on random compound screens or other biased approaches. As a result, it remains unclear in many cases if the reported ligands are the true endogenous ligands, – i.e., the ligand that is bound to the receptor in an unperturbed in vivo setting. Technical limitations have limited our ability to identify ligands based on this rigorous definition. The orphan receptor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 α (HNF4α) is a key regulator of many metabolic pathways and linked to several diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, hemophilia and cancer. Here we utilize an affinity isolation/mass-spectrometry (AIMS) approach to demonstrate that HNF4α is selectively occupied by linoleic acid (LA, C18:2ω6) in mammalian cells and in the liver of fed mice. Receptor occupancy is dramatically reduced in the fasted state and in a receptor carrying a mutation derived from patients with Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young 1 (MODY1). Interestingly, however, ligand occupancy does not appear to have a significant effect on HNF4α transcriptional activity, as evidenced by genome-wide expression profiling in cells derived from human colon. We also use AIMS to show that LA binding is reversible in intact cells, indicating that HNF4α could be a viable drug target. This study establishes a general method to identify true endogenous ligands for nuclear receptors (and other lipid binding proteins), independent of transcriptional function, and to track in vivo receptor occupancy under physiologically relevant conditions

Raman spectrum and lattice parameters of MgB2 as a function of pressure

We report Raman spectra and synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements of lattice parameters of polycrystalline MgB2 under hydrostatic pressure conditions up to 15 GPa. An anomalously broadened Raman band at 620 cm-1 is observed that exhibits a large linear pressure shift of its frequency. The large mode damping and Gruneisen parameter indicate a highly anharmonic nature of the mode, broadly consistent with theoretical predictions for the E2g in-plane boron stretching mode. The results obtained may provide additional constraints on the electron-phonon coupling in the system.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure