A device-level characterization approach to quantify the impacts of different random variation sources in FinFET technology

A simple device-level characterization approach to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of different random variation sources in FinFETs is proposed. The impacts of random dopant fluctuation are negligible for FinFETs with lightly doped channel, leaving metal gate granularity and line-edge roughness as the two major random variation sources. The variations of Vth induced by these two major categories are theoretically decomposed based on the distinction in physical mechanisms and their influences on different electrical characteristics. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed through both TCAD simulations and experimental results. This letter can provide helpful guidelines for variation-aware technology development

Polarization description of successive ferroelectric switching in hafnia

Intertwined ionic conduction and ferroelectric (FE) switching in HfO2 lead to extensive focuses. To describe its fundamental phenomena, we present a free-energy model describing the potential of ferroelectrics with successive FE switching paths, and extend the domain model of ionic conduction to ferroelectric domains. Associate theoretical analyses and first-principles calculations suggest a nesting-domain pattern with opposite piezoelectric loops during the nucleation-and-growth process in displacive FE-HfO2. A collective oxygen ion conduction mechanism is also proposed with a field-dependent ionic conductivity following the Merz's law. We conclude that the ionic conductibility is concomitant with the ferroelectricity in HfO2, and it may provide a new venue for pursuing low temperature fast oxide-ion conductors and artificial synapses.Comment: 26 page

Ultrafast Switching from the Charge Density Wave Phase to a Metastable Metallic State in 1T-TiSe2_2

The ultrafast electronic structures of the charge density wave material 1T-TiSe$_2$ were investigated by high-resolution time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We found that the quasiparticle populations drove ultrafast electronic phase transitions in 1T-TiSe$_2$ within 100 fs after photoexcitation, and a metastable metallic state, which was significantly different from the equilibrium normal phase, was evidenced far below the charge density wave transition temperature. Detailed time- and pump-fluence-dependent experiments revealed that the photoinduced metastable metallic state was a result of the halted motion of the atoms through the coherent electron-phonon coupling process, and the lifetime of this state was prolonged to picoseconds with the highest pump fluence used in this study. Ultrafast electronic dynamics were well captured by the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model. Our work demonstrates a mechanism for realizing novel electronic states by photoinducing coherent motion of atoms in the lattice.Comment: 13 Pages, 10 figure

Refining the accuracy of validated target identification through coding variant fine-mapping in type 2 diabetes.

We aggregated coding variant data for 81,412 type 2 diabetes cases and 370,832 controls of diverse ancestry, identifying 40 coding variant association signals (P < 2.2 × 10-7); of these, 16 map outside known risk-associated loci. We make two important observations. First, only five of these signals are driven by low-frequency variants: even for these, effect sizes are modest (odds ratio ≤1.29). Second, when we used large-scale genome-wide association data to fine-map the associated variants in their regional context, accounting for the global enrichment of complex trait associations in coding sequence, compelling evidence for coding variant causality was obtained for only 16 signals. At 13 others, the associated coding variants clearly represent 'false leads' with potential to generate erroneous mechanistic inference. Coding variant associations offer a direct route to biological insight for complex diseases and identification of validated therapeutic targets; however, appropriate mechanistic inference requires careful specification of their causal contribution to disease predisposition

Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Background: Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery. Results: To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3–5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk.Peer reviewe

Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis

Abstract Background Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery. Results To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3–5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism. Conclusions Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk

Precision Higgs physics at the CEPC

The discovery of the Higgs boson with its mass around 125 GeV by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations marked the beginning of a new era in high energy physics. The Higgs boson will be the subject of extensive studies of the ongoing LHC program. At the same time, lepton collider based Higgs factories have been proposed as a possible next step beyond the LHC, with its main goal to precisely measure the properties of the Higgs boson and probe potential new physics associated with the Higgs boson. The Circular Electron Positron Collider~(CEPC) is one of such proposed Higgs factories. The CEPC is an $e^+e^-$ circular collider proposed by and to be hosted in China. Located in a tunnel of approximately 100~km in circumference, it will operate at a center-of-mass energy of 240~GeV as the Higgs factory. In this paper, we present the first estimates on the precision of the Higgs boson property measurements achievable at the CEPC and discuss implications of these measurements.Comment: 46 pages, 37 figure

Generation of flavors and fragrances through biotransformation and de novo synthesis

Flavors and fragrances are the result of the presence of volatile and non-volatile compounds, appreciated mostly by the sense of smell once they usually have pleasant odors. They are used in perfumes and perfumed products, as well as for the flavoring of foods and beverages. In fact the ability of the microorganisms to produce flavors and fragrances has been described for a long time, but the relationship between the flavor formation and the microbial growth was only recently established. After that, efforts have been put in the analysis and optimization of food fermentations that led to the investigation of microorganisms and their capacity to produce flavors and fragrances, either by de novo synthesis or biotransformation. In this review, we aim to resume the recent achievements in the production of the most relevant flavors by bioconversion/biotransformation or de novo synthesis, its market value, prominent strains used, and their production rates/maximum concentrations.We would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145FEDER-006684), and BiotecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio