Micropatterned Electrostatic Traps for Indirect Excitons in Coupled GaAs Quantum Wells

We demonstrate an electrostatic trap for indirect excitons in a field-effect structure based on coupled GaAs quantum wells. Within the plane of a double quantum well indirect excitons are trapped at the perimeter of a SiO2 area sandwiched between the surface of the GaAs heterostructure and a semitransparent metallic top gate. The trapping mechanism is well explained by a combination of the quantum confined Stark effect and local field enhancement. We find the one-dimensional trapping potentials in the quantum well plane to be nearly harmonic with high spring constants exceeding 10 keV/cm^2.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Inductive queries for a drug designing robot scientist

It is increasingly clear that machine learning algorithms need to be integrated in an iterative scientific discovery loop, in which data is queried repeatedly by means of inductive queries and where the computer provides guidance to the experiments that are being performed. In this chapter, we summarise several key challenges in achieving this integration of machine learning and data mining algorithms in methods for the discovery of Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSARs). We introduce the concept of a robot scientist, in which all steps of the discovery process are automated; we discuss the representation of molecular data such that knowledge discovery tools can analyse it, and we discuss the adaptation of machine learning and data mining algorithms to guide QSAR experiments

Tensile strained InxGa1−xPIn_{x}Ga_{1-x}P membranes for cavity optomechanics

We investigate the optomechanical properties of tensile-strained ternary InGaP nanomembranes grown on GaAs. This material system combines the benefits of highly strained membranes based on stoichiometric silicon nitride, with the unique properties of thin-film semiconductor single crystals, as previously demonstrated with suspended GaAs. Here we employ lattice mismatch in epitaxial growth to impart an intrinsic tensile strain to a monocrystalline thin film (approximately 30 nm thick). These structures exhibit mechanical quality factors of 2*10^6 or beyond at room temperature and 17 K for eigenfrequencies up to 1 MHz, yielding Q*f products of 2*10^12 Hz for a tensile stress of ~170 MPa. Incorporating such membranes in a high finesse Fabry-Perot cavity, we extract an upper limit to the total optical loss (including both absorption and scatter) of 40 ppm at 1064 nm and room temperature. Further reductions of the In content of this alloy will enable tensile stress levels of 1 GPa, with the potential for a significant increase in the Q*f product, assuming no deterioration in the mechanical loss at this composition and strain level. This materials system is a promising candidate for the integration of strained semiconductor membrane structures with low-loss semiconductor mirrors and for realizing stacks of membranes for enhanced optomechanical coupling.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

How was it for you? Experiences of participatory design in the UK health service

Improving co-design methods implies that we need to understand those methods, paying attention to not only the effect of method choices on design outcomes, but also how methods affect the people involved in co-design. In this article, we explore participants' experiences from a year-long participatory health service design project to develop ‘Better Outpatient Services for Older People’. The project followed a defined method called experience-based design (EBD), which represented the state of the art in participatory service design within the UK National Health Service. A sample of participants in the project took part in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their involvement in and their feelings about the project. Our findings suggest that the EBD method that we employed was successful in establishing positive working relationships among the different groups of stakeholders (staff, patients, carers, advocates and design researchers), although conflicts remained throughout the project. Participants' experiences highlighted issues of wider relevance in such participatory design: cost versus benefit, sense of project momentum, locus of control, and assumptions about how change takes place in a complex environment. We propose tactics for dealing with these issues that inform the future development of techniques in user-centred healthcare design

A comparison of Helicobacter pylori and non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter spp. Binding to Canine Gastric Mucosa with Defined Gastric Glycophenotype

Background: The gastric mucosa of dogs is often colonized by non-Helicobacter pylori helicobacters (NHPH), while H. pylori is the predominant gastric Helicobacter species in humans. The colonization of the human gastric mucosa by H. pylori is highly dependent on the recognition of host glycan receptors. Our goal was to define the canine gastric mucosa glycophenotype and to evaluate the capacity of different gastric Helicobacter species to adhere to the canine gastric mucosa. Materials and Methods: The glycosylation profile in body and antral compartments of the canine gastric mucosa, with focus on the expression of histo-blood group antigens was evaluated. The in vitro binding capacity of FITC-labeled H. pylori and NHPH to the canine gastric mucosa was assessed in cases representative of the canine glycosylation pattern. Results: The canine gastric mucosa lacks expression of type 1 Lewis antigens and presents a broad expression of type 2 structures and A antigen, both in the surface and glandular epithelium. Regarding the canine antral mucosa, H. heilmannii s.s. presented the highest adhesion score whereas in the body region the SabA-positive H. pylori strain was the strain that adhered more. Conclusions: The canine gastric mucosa showed a glycosylation profile different from the human gastric mucosa suggesting that alternative glycan receptors may be involved in Helicobacter spp. binding. Helicobacter pylori and NHPH strains differ in their ability to adhere to canine gastric mucosa. Among the NHPH, H. heilmannii s.s. presented the highest adhesion capacity in agreement with its reported colonization of the canine stomach.We kindly thank Prof. Thomas Boren from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umea University, Sweden for providing the 17875/Leb and 17875babA1A2H. pylori strains. The authors thank Dr. Fernando Rodrigues, Dr. Ana Laura Saraiva, and Cristina Bacelar who kindly provided technical support. I. Amorim (SFRH/BD/76237/2011) and A. Magalhães (SFRH/BPD/75871/2011) acknowledge FCT for financial support. This study was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CTM-BPC/121149/2010; PTDC/CVT/117610/2010; PTDC/BBB-EBI/0786/2012). The Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP) is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and is partially supported by FCT

Two ways to solve ASEP

The purpose of this article is to describe the two approaches to compute exact formulas (which are amenable to asymptotic analysis) for the probability distribution of the current of particles past a given site in the asymmetric simple exclusion process (ASEP) with step initial data. The first approach is via a variant of the coordinate Bethe ansatz and was developed in work of Tracy and Widom in 2008-2009, while the second approach is via a rigorous version of the replica trick and was developed in work of Borodin, Sasamoto and the author in 2012.Comment: 10 pages, Chapter in "Topics in percolative and disordered systems

Therapie der blanden Struma: Erfahrungen mit einer Kombination von 100 µg L-Thyroxin und 10 µg L-Trijodthyronin

Dtsch med Wochenschr 1981; 106: 579-583 DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1070359 © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York Therapie der blanden Struma: Erfahrungen mit einer Kombination von 100 µg L-Thyroxin und 10 µg L-Trijodthyronin Treatment of non-toxic goitre: results of combined treatment with 100 µg L-thyroxine and 10 µg L-triiodothyronine C. R. Pickardt, R. Gärtner, J. Habermann, K. Horn, P. C. Scriba, F. A. Horster, H. Wagner, K. Hengst Medizinische Klinik Innenstadt der Universität München, Klinik für Innere Medizin, Medizinische Hochschule Lübeck, Medizinische Klinik C und Poliklinik der Universität Düsseldorf sowie Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik der Universität Münster Zusammenfassung Bei 96 Patienten mit blander Struma wurde eine offene Prüfung mit einem neuen Schilddrüsenhormonpräparat durchgeführt, das 100 µg L-Thyroxin (T4) und 10 µg L-Trijodthyronin (T3) pro Tablette enthält. Als Parameter für die therapeutisch wirksame Tagesdosis wurde die Suppression des TRH-stimulierten Thyreotropinspiegels im Serum gewählt. Hierbei war eine Tagesdosis von 50 µg T4 und 5 µg T3 bei 16 Patienten unwirksam; 75 µg T4 und 7,5 µg T3waren bei nur 4 von 12 Patienten suppressiv wirksam, während 100 µg T4 und 10 µg T3 bei allen Düsseldorfer und Münsteraner Patienten, aber nur bei 17 von 31 Patienten in München den TRH-stimulierten TSH-Anstieg supprimierte. Während der gesamten Therapiedauer blieben Thyroxin- und Trijodthyroninspiegel im Serum im Normbereich; bei einigen Patienten erhöhte sich der Quotient aus Thyroxin und thyroxinbindendem Globulin über die Norm. Zeichen einer Überdosierung oder Unverträglichkeit wurden nicht beobachtet. In pharmakokinetischen Untersuchungen an acht freiwilligen schilddrüsengesunden Probanden erreichte der mittlere Thyroxin- und Trijodthyroninspiegel etwa 2 Stunden nach Applikation sein Maximum und näherte sich nach sechs Stunden wieder der Norm. Es zeigten sich deutliche individuelle Schwankungen in den ersten Stunden nach Applikation. Wir empfehlen deshalb, Schilddrüsenhormonspiegel erst 12 oder 24 Stunden nach Applikation eines Schilddrüsenhormonpräparates zu bestimmen; zu dieser Zeit sollte auch der TRH-Test durchgeführt werden. Die Untersuchungen bestätigen die Notwendigkeit, bei der Strumatherapie mit einem Schilddrüsenhormonpräparat die suppressiv wirksame Dosis individuell zu ermitteln; diese Dosis beträgt vorzugsweise 100 µg Thyroxin und 10 µg Trijodthyronin oder 150 µg Thyroxin oder 100 µg Thyroxin und 20 µg Trijodthyronin pro Tag.A new thyroid hormone preparation (100 µg L-thyroxine [T4] and 10 µg L-triiodothyronine [T3] per tablet) was given to 96 patients with non-toxic goitre. Suppression of the TRH-stimulated thyrotropin level in serum was chosen as a measure of therapeutic effectiveness. Daily dose of 50 µg T4 and 5 µg T3 was ineffective in 16 patients; 75 µg T4 and 7.5 µg T3 was effective in only four of twelve patients, while 100 µg T4and 10 µg T3 was effective in all patients from clinics in Düsseldorf and Münster, but in only 17 of 31 patients from Munich, in suppressing the TRH-stimulated TSH rise. During the entire period of treatment serum thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels remained normal. In some patients the ratio of thyroxine to thyroxine-binding globulin was above normal. Signs of overdosage or intolerance were not observed. Pharmacokinetic studies on eight volunteers with normal thyroid function demonstrated that the mean thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels reached maximum about two hours after administration, returning towards normal after six hours. There were marked individual variations in the first hours after administration. It is therefore recommended that the thyroid hormone level be determined no earlier than 12 or 24 hours after the thyroid hormone preparation has been administered; TRH test should also be performed at this time. These results indicate the need for determining individually the effective suppressive dose of a thyroid hormone preparation in the treatment of goitre. Preferably the dose should be 100 µg thyroxine and 10 µg triiodothyronine, or 150 µg thyroxine or 100 µg thyroxine and 20 µg triiodothyronine per day