Improving mobility of silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor devices for quantum dots by high vacuum activation annealing

To improve mobility of fabricated silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) quantum devices, forming gas annealing is a common method used to mitigate the effects of disorder at the Si/SiO2 interface. However, the importance of activation annealing is usually ignored. Here, we show that a high vacuum environment for implantation activation is beneficial for improving mobility compared to nitrogen atmosphere. Low-temperature transport measurements of Hall bars show that peak mobility can be improved by a factor of two, reaching 1.5 m^2/(Vs) using high vacuum annealing during implantation activation. Moreover, the charge stability diagram of a single quantum dot is mapped, with no visible disturbance caused by disorder, suggesting possibility of fabricating high-quality quantum dots on commercial wafers. Our results may provide valuable insights into device optimization in silicon-based quantum computing.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Shape complexity and fractality of fracture surfaces of swelled isotactic polypropylene with supercritical carbon dioxide

We have investigated the fractal characteristics and shape complexity of the fracture surfaces of swelled isotactic polypropylene Y1600 in supercritical carbon dioxide fluid through the consideration of the statistics of the islands in binary SEM images. The distributions of area $A$, perimeter $L$, and shape complexity $C$ follow power laws $p(A)\sim A^{-(\mu_A+1)}$, $p(L)\sim L^{-(\mu_L+1)}$, and $p(C)\sim C^{-(\nu+1)}$, with the scaling ranges spanning over two decades. The perimeter and shape complexity scale respectively as $L\sim A^{D/2}$ and $C\sim A^q$ in two scaling regions delimited by $A\approx 10^3$. The fractal dimension and shape complexity increase when the temperature decreases. In addition, the relationships among different power-law scaling exponents $\mu_A$, $\mu_B$, $\nu$, $D$, and $q$ have been derived analytically, assuming that $A$, $L$, and $C$ follow power-law distributions.Comment: RevTex, 6 pages including 7 eps figure

Familial CJD Associated PrP Mutants within Transmembrane Region Induced Ctm-PrP Retention in ER and Triggered Apoptosis by ER Stress in SH-SY5Y Cells

BACKGROUND: Genetic prion diseases are linked to point and inserted mutations in the prion protein (PrP) gene that are presumed to favor conversion of the cellular isoform of PrP (PrP(C)) to the pathogenic one (PrP(Sc)). The pathogenic mechanisms and the subcellular sites of the conversion are not completely understood. Here we introduce several PRNP gene mutations (such as, PrP-KDEL, PrP-3AV, PrP-A117V, PrP-G114V, PrP-P102L and PrP-E200K) into the cultured cells in order to explore the pathogenic mechanism of familial prion disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address the roles of aberrant retention of PrP in endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the recombinant plasmids expressing full-length human PrP tailed with an ER signal peptide at the COOH-terminal (PrP-KDEL) and PrP with three amino acids exchange in transmembrane region (PrP-3AV) were constructed. In the preparations of transient transfections, 18-kD COOH-terminal proteolytic resistant fragments (Ctm-PrP) were detected in the cells expressing PrP-KDEL and PrP-3AV. Analyses of the cell viabilities in the presences of tunicamycin and brefeldin A revealed that expressions of PrP-KDEL and PrP-3AV sensitized the transfected cells to ER stress stimuli. Western blots and RT-PCR identified the clear alternations of ER stress associated events in the cells expressing PrP-KDEL and PrP-3AV that induced ER mediated apoptosis by CHOP and caspase-12 apoptosis pathway. Moreover, several familial CJD related PrP mutants were transiently introduced into the cultured cells. Only the mutants within the transmembrane region (G114V and A117V) induced the formation of Ctm-PrP and caused the ER stress, while the mutants outside the transmembrane region (P102L and E200K) failed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The data indicate that the retention of PrP in ER through formation of Ctm-PrP results in ER stress and cell apoptosis. The cytopathic activities caused by different familial CJD associated PrP mutants may vary, among them the mutants within the transmembrane region undergo an ER-stress mediated cell apoptosis

Increased Acetylated SNAP25 in the Hippocampus Correlated with Age-Related Deficits in the SAMP8 Mice

Acetylation is an important post-translational modification, which modulates function and localization of cytoplasmic proteins. Synaptosomal-associated protein-25 (SNAP-25) is a presynaptic neurotransmission-regulating protein that can be acetylated. Whether the acetylation level of SNAP25 is affected by aging is unknown. We explored the relative levels of SNAP25 and acetylated SNAP25 in the SAMP8 mice with different ages, and their correlation with spatial cognitive performance in radial six-arm water maze. The SAMP8 mice exhibited decline of spatial learning and memory abilities with aging. The higher hippocampal levels of SNAP25 were found in the 6- and 10-month SAMP8 mice compared to the 2-month mice. The hippocampal level of acetylated SNAP25 in the 10-month mice was higher than those in the 2- and 6-month mice. Positive correlations were found between the age-related increase of SNAP25 and the impairment of spatial learning and memory, and between acetylated SNAP25 level and memory deficits. The results suggested that elevated acetylated SNAP25 during aging might be involved in the age-related memory impairment

Threshold-independent method for single-shot readout of spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots

The single-shot readout data process is essential for the realization of high-fidelity qubits and fault-tolerant quantum algorithms in semiconductor quantum dots. However, the fidelity and visibility of the readout process is sensitive to the choice of the thresholds and limited by the experimental hardware. By demonstrating the linear dependence between the measured spin state probabilities and readout visibilities along with dark counts, we describe an alternative threshold-independent method for the single-shot readout of spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots. We can obtain the extrapolated spin state probabilities of the prepared probabilities of the excited spin state through the threshold-independent method. Then, we analyze the corresponding errors of the method, finding that errors of the extrapolated probabilities cannot be neglected with no constraints on the readout time and threshold voltage. Therefore, by limiting the readout time and threshold voltage we ensure the accuracy of the extrapolated probability. Then, we prove that the efficiency and robustness of this method is 60 times larger than that of the most commonly used method. Moreover, we discuss the influence of the electron temperature on the effective area with a fixed external magnetic field and provide a preliminary demonstration for a single-shot readout up to 0.7 K/1.5T in the future.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Flopping-mode spin qubit in a Si-MOS quantum dot

Spin qubits based on silicon metal-oxide semiconductor (Si-MOS) quantum dots (QDs) are promising platforms for large-scale quantum computers. To control spin qubits in QDs, electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) has been most commonly used in recent years. By delocalizing an electron across a double quantum dots charge state, flopping-mode EDSR has been realized in Si/SiGe QDs. Here, we demonstrate a flopping-mode spin qubit in a Si-MOS QD via Elzerman single-shot readout. When changing the detuning with a fixed drive power, we achieve s-shape spin resonance frequencies, an order of magnitude improvement in the spin Rabi frequencies, and virtually constant spin dephasing times. Our results offer a route to large-scale spin qubit systems with higher control fidelity in Si-MOS QDs.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Multi-Target Screening and Experimental Validation of Natural Products from Selaginella Plants against Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder which is considered to be the most common cause of dementia. It has a greater impact not only on the learning and memory disturbances but also on social and economy. Currently, there are mainly single-target drugs for AD treatment but the complexity and multiple etiologies of AD make them difficult to obtain desirable therapeutic effects. Therefore, the choice of multi-target drugs will be a potential effective strategy inAD treatment. To find multi-target active ingredients for AD treatment from Selaginella plants, we firstly explored the behaviors effects on AD mice of total extracts (TE) from Selaginella doederleinii on by Morris water maze test and found that TE has a remarkable improvement on learning and memory function for AD mice. And then, multi-target SAR models associated with AD-related proteins were built based on Random Forest (RF) and different descriptors to preliminarily screen potential active ingredients from Selaginella. Considering the prediction outputs and the quantity of existing compounds in our laboratory, 13 compounds were chosen to carry out the in vitro enzyme inhibitory experiments and 4 compounds with BACE1/MAO-B dual inhibitory activity were determined. Finally, the molecular docking was applied to verify the prediction results and enzyme inhibitory experiments. Based on these study and validation processes, we explored a new strategy to improve the efficiency of active ingredients screening based on trace amount of natural product and numbers of targets and found some multi-target compounds with biological activity for the development of novel drugs for AD treatment