812 research outputs found
Comparative analysis of model behaviour for flood prediction purposes using Self-Organizing Maps
Distributed watershed models constitute a key component in flood forecasting systems. It is widely recognized that models because of their structural differences have varying capabilities of capturing different aspects of the system behaviour equally well. Of course, this also applies to the reproduction of peak discharges by a simulation model which is of particular interest regarding the flood forecasting problem. <br><br> In our study we use a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) in combination with index measures which are derived from the flow duration curve in order to examine the conditions under which three different distributed watershed models are capable of reproducing flood events present in the calibration data. These indices are specifically conceptualized to extract data on the peak discharge characteristics of model output time series which are obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations with the distributed watershed models NASIM, LARSIM and WaSIM-ETH. The SOM helps to analyze this data by producing a discretized mapping of their distribution in the index space onto a two dimensional plane such that their pattern and consequently the patterns of model behaviour can be conveyed in a comprehensive manner. It is demonstrated how the SOM provides useful information about details of model behaviour and also helps identifying the model parameters that are relevant for the reproduction of peak discharges and thus for flood prediction problems. It is further shown how the SOM can be used to identify those parameter sets from among the Monte-Carlo data that most closely approximate the peak discharges of a measured time series. The results represent the characteristics of the observed time series with partially superior accuracy than the reference simulation obtained by implementing a simple calibration strategy using the global optimization algorithm SCE-UA. The most prominent advantage of using SOM in the context of model analysis is that it allows to comparatively evaluating the data from two or more models. Our results highlight the individuality of the model realizations in terms of the index measures and shed a critical light on the use and implementation of simple and yet too rigorous calibration strategies
Self-consistent Coulomb effects and charge distribution of quantum dot arrays
This paper considers the self-consistent Coulomb interaction within arrays of
self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) which are embedded in a pn structure.
Strong emphasis is being put on the statistical occupation of the electronic QD
states which has to be solved self-consistently with the actual
three-dimensional potential distribution. A model which is based on a Green's
function formalism including screening effects is used to calculate the
interaction of QD carriers within an array of QDs, where screening due to the
inhomogeneous bulk charge distribution is taken into acount. We apply our model
to simulate capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics of a pn structure with
embedded QDs. Different size distributions of QDs and ensembles of spatially
perodic and randomly distributed arrays of QDs are investigated.Comment: submitted to pr
High-field magnetoexcitons in unstrained GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots
The magnetic field dependence of the excitonic states in unstrained GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The diamagnetic shift for the ground and the excited states are studied in magnetic fields of varying orientation. In the theoretical study, calculations are performed within the single band effective mass approximation, including band nonparabolicity, the full experimental three-dimensional dot shape and the electron-hole Coulomb interaction. These calculations are compared with the experimental results for both the ground and the excited states in fields up to 50 Tesla. Good agreement is found between theory and experiment
Effect of wetting layers on the strain and electronic structure of InAs self-assembled quantum dots
The effect of wetting layers on the strain and electronic structure of InAs
self-assembled quantum dots grown on GaAs is investigated with an atomistic
valence-force-field model and an empirical tight-binding model. By comparing a
dot with and without a wetting layer, we find that the inclusion of the wetting
layer weakens the strain inside the dot by only 1% relative change, while it
reduces the energy gap between a confined electron and hole level by as much as
10%. The small change in the strain distribution indicates that strain relaxes
only little through the thin wetting layer. The large reduction of the energy
gap is attributed to the increase of the confining-potential width rather than
the change of the potential height. First-order perturbation calculations or,
alternatively, the addition of an InAs disk below the quantum dot confirm this
conclusion. The effect of the wetting layer on the wave function is
qualitatively different for the weakly confined electron state and the strongly
confined hole state. The electron wave function shifts from the buffer to the
wetting layer, while the hole shifts from the dot to the wetting layer.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, and 3 table
Nalmefene Hydrochloride: Potential Implications for Treating Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorder
MeShell Green,1 Charles A Veltri,1 Oliver Grundmann1,2 1College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA; 2College of Pharmacy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USACorrespondence: Oliver Grundmann, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, 1345 Center Drive, Room P3-20, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA, Tel +1-352-246-4994, Fax +1-352-392-9455, Email [email protected]: Nalmefene hydrochloride was first discovered as an opioid antagonist derivative of naltrexone in 1975. It is among the most potent opioid antagonists currently on the market and is differentiated from naloxone and naltrexone by its partial agonist activity at the kappa-opioid receptor which may benefit in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Oral nalmefene has been approved in the European Union for treatment of alcohol use disorder since 2013. As of 2023, nalmefene is available in the United States as an intranasal spray for reversal of opioid overdose but is not approved for alcohol or opioid use disorder as a maintenance treatment. The substantially longer half-life of nalmefene and 5-fold higher binding affinity to opioid receptors makes it a superior agent over naloxone in the reversal of high potency synthetic opioids like fentanyl and the emerging nitazenes. Nalmefene presents with a comparable side effect profile to other opioid antagonists and should be considered for further development as a maintenance treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders.Keywords: opioid antagonist, withdrawal, substance use disorder, kappa opioid recepto
Eight-band calculations of strained InAs/GaAs quantum dots compared with one, four, and six-band approximations
The electronic structure of pyramidal shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dots is
calculated using an eight-band strain dependent Hamiltonian. The
influence of strain on band energies and the conduction-band effective mass are
examined. Single particle bound-state energies and exciton binding energies are
computed as functions of island size. The eight-band results are compared with
those for one, four and six bands, and with results from a one-band
approximation in which m(r) is determined by the local value of the strain. The
eight-band model predicts a lower ground state energy and a larger number of
excited states than the other approximations.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, revtex, eps
Tight-Binding model for semiconductor nanostructures
An empirical tight-binding (TB) model is applied to the
investigation of electronic states in semiconductor quantum dots. A basis set
of three -orbitals at the anions and one -orbital at the cations is
chosen. Matrix elements up to the second nearest neighbors and the spin-orbit
coupling are included in our TB-model. The parametrization is chosen so that
the effective masses, the spin-orbit-splitting and the gap energy of the bulk
CdSe and ZnSe are reproduced. Within this reduced TB-basis the
valence (p-) bands are excellently reproduced and the conduction (s-) band is
well reproduced close to the -point, i.e. near to the band gap. In
terms of this model much larger systems can be described than within a (more
realistic) -basis. The quantum dot is modelled by using the (bulk)
TB-parameters for the particular material at those sites occupied by atoms of
this material. Within this TB-model we study pyramidal-shaped CdSe quantum dots
embedded in a ZnSe matrix and free spherical CdSe quantum dots (nanocrystals).
Strain-effects are included by using an appropriate model strain field. Within
the TB-model, the strain-effects can be artifically switched off to investigate
the infuence of strain on the bound electronic states and, in particular, their
spatial orientation. The theoretical results for spherical nanocrystals are
compared with data from tunneling spectroscopy and optical experiments.
Furthermore the influence of the spin-orbit coupling is investigated
Surface modification of Co-doped ZnO nanocrystals and its effects on the magnetic properties
A series of chemically prepared Co2+-doped ZnO colloids has been surface modified either by
growing shells of ZnSe or by the in situ encapsulation in poly styrene . The surface modification
effects using these two distinct chemical strategies on the magnetic properties of the nanocrystals
were probed by electron paramagnetic resonance EPR . Structural characterization by means of
x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy gave no evidence of second phase formation
within the detection limits of the used equipment. The EPR analysis was carried out by simulations
of the powderlike EPR spectra. The results confirm that in the core of these nanocrystals Co was
incorporated as Co2+, occupying the Zn2+ sites in the wurtzite structure of ZnO. Additionally we
identify two Co signals stemming from the nanocrystals’ shell. The performed surface modifications
clearly change the relative intensity of the EPR spectrum components, revealing the core and shell
signals
A pseudopotential study of electron-hole excitations in colloidal, free-standing InAs quantum dots
Excitonic spectra are calculated for free-standing, surface passivated InAs
quantum dots using atomic pseudopotentials for the single-particle states and
screened Coulomb interactions for the two-body terms. We present an analysis of
the single particle states involved in each excitation in terms of their
angular momenta and Bloch-wave parentage. We find that (i) in agreement with
other pseudopotential studies of CdSe and InP quantum dots, but in contrast to
k.p calculations, dot states wavefunction exhibit strong odd-even angular
momentum envelope function mixing (e.g. with ) and large
valence-conduction coupling. (ii) While the pseudopotential approach produced
very good agreement with experiment for free-standing, colloidal CdSe and InP
dots, and for self-assembled (GaAs-embedded) InAs dots, here the predicted
spectrum does {\em not} agree well with the measured (ensemble average over dot
sizes) spectra. (1) Our calculated excitonic gap is larger than the PL measure
one, and (2) while the spacing between the lowest excitons is reproduced, the
spacings between higher excitons is not fit well. Discrepancy (1) could result
from surface states emission. As for (2), agreement is improved when account is
taken of the finite size distribution in the experimental data. (iii) We find
that the single particle gap scales as (not ), that the
screened (unscreened) electron-hole Coulomb interaction scales as
(), and that the eccitonic gap sclaes as . These scaling
laws are different from those expected from simple models.Comment: 12 postscript figure
Spin-orbit coupling and crystal-field splitting in the electronic and optical properties of nitride quantum dots with a wurtzite crystal structure
We present an tight-binding model for the calculation of the
electronic and optical properties of wurtzite semiconductor quantum dots (QDs).
The tight-binding model takes into account strain, piezoelectricity, spin-orbit
coupling and crystal-field splitting. Excitonic absorption spectra are
calculated using the configuration interaction scheme. We study the electronic
and optical properties of InN/GaN QDs and their dependence on structural
properties, crystal-field splitting, and spin-orbit coupling.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
- …