384 research outputs found
Tidally generated high-frequency internal wave packets and their effects on plankton in Massachussetts Bay
Tidally generated internal wave packets occur twice a day during late summer in Massachusetts Bay, U.S.A. The packets are formed at Stellwagen Bank and propagate into the Bay at about 60 cm sec—1; they dissipate in shallow water at the western side of the Bay. The dominant waves in packets have lengths of about 300 m, periods of between 8 and 10 min, and amplitudes of up to 30 m. Overturning of the waves has been observed acoustically over Stellwagen Bank, in the deep (80 m) waters in the center of the Bay, and during dissipation in shallow water. The effects of the internal waves on the distribution of plankton were investigated in August 1977 using an instrument package (Longhurst-Hardy Plankton Recorder, in situ fluorometer, CTD) towed either at a constant depth or following an isotherm through wave packets. Phytoplankton and zooplankton appear to be carried passively up and down by the internal waves; the data were insufficient to resolve any active response by zooplankton to vertical displacements by the waves. Vertical distributions of the plankton were altered by overturning of waves and subsequent mixing. Patterns of horizontal distributions of plankton determined by constant-depth tows were dominated by the effects of internal wave vertical displacements. Isotherm-following tows removed much of the variability due to wave displacement, but problems of following rapidly moving isotherms introduced considerable smaller-scale variability. Changes in zooplankton abundance on tow length scales (600-1200 m) were not correlated with temperature, salinity, or density; some significant correlations with chlorophyll fluorescence occurred when internal wave activity was present. Twice a day for several hours or more, phytoplankton were vertically displaced by as much as 30 m, with a period of about 10 min. The light level plant cells experienced varied from 0.1 to 26% of the ambient surface illumination. This rapid change in light should alter fluorescence yields of plant cells and affect continuous in situ measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence. The timing of internal wave packets varies with the semidiurnal tidal cycle and therefore interacts with the day-night cycle to significantly alter the light regime experienced by plant cells over a two-week period. This could affect the primary productivity of the Bay in the area affected by internal wave packets. The sporadic occurrence of internal wave overturning and mixing events in the deep waters of the Bay could enhance primary production by increasing nutrient input to the mixed layer. This effect should be greatly enhanced in the shallow waters where the internal waves dissipate. Comparison of acoustic and plankton recorder data showed that much of the intense acoustic backscattering seen in high-amplitude (10-20 m) internal waves is due to physical structure and processes, and not to the presence of zooplankton
Interlayer coupling in ferromagnetic semiconductor superlattices
We develop a mean-field theory of carrier-induced ferromagnetism in diluted
magnetic semiconductors. Our approach represents an improvement over standard
RKKY model allowing spatial inhomogeneity of the system, free-carrier spin
polarization, finite temperature, and free-carrier exchange and correlation to
be accounted for self-consistently. As an example, we calculate the electronic
structure of a MnGaAs/GaAs superlattice with alternating
ferromagnetic and paramagnetic layers and demonstrate the possibility of
semiconductor magnetoresistance systems with designed properties.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Theory of Magnetic Anisotropy in III_{1-x}Mn_{x}V Ferromagnets
We present a theory of magnetic anisotropy in diluted magnetic semiconductors with carrier-induced
ferromagnetism. The theory is based on four and six band envelope functions
models for the valence band holes and a mean-field treatment of their exchange
interactions with ions. We find that easy-axis reorientations
can occur as a function of temperature, carrier density , and strain. The
magnetic anisotropy in strain-free samples is predicted to have a
hole-density dependence at small , a dependence at large , and
remarkably large values at intermediate densities. An explicit expression,
valid at small , is given for the uniaxial contribution to the magnetic
anisotropy due to unrelaxed epitaxial growth lattice-matching strains. Results
of our numerical simulations are in agreement with magnetic anisotropy
measurements on samples with both compressive and tensile strains. We predict
that decreasing the hole density in current samples will lower the
ferromagnetic transition temperature, but will increase the magnetic anisotropy
energy and the coercivity.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure
Observation of the spin-charge thermal isolation of ferromagnetic Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As by time-resolved magneto-optical measurement
The dynamics of magnetization under femtosecond optical excitation is studied
in a ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As with a time-resolved
magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement with two color probe beams. The
transient reflectivity change indicates the rapid rise of the carrier
temperature and relaxation to a quasi-thermal equilibrium within 1 ps, while a
very slow rise of the spin temperature of the order of 500ps is observed. This
anomalous behavior originates from the thermal isolation between the charge and
spin systems due to the spin polarization of carriers (holes) contributing to
ferromagnetism. This constitutes experimental proof of the half-metallic nature
of ferromagnetic Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As arising from double exchange type
mechanism originates from the d-band character of holes
Light and electric field control of ferromagnetism in magnetic quantum structures
A strong influence of illumination and electric bias on the Curie temperature
and saturation value of the magnetization is demonstrated for semiconductor
structures containing a modulation-doped p-type Cd0.96Mn0.04Te quantum well
placed in various built-in electric fields. It is shown that both light beam
and bias voltage generate an isothermal and reversible cross-over between the
paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases, in the way that is predetermined by the
structure design. The observed behavior is in quantitative agreement with the
expectations for systems, in which ferromagnetic interactions are mediated by
the weakly disordered two-dimensional hole liquid.Comment: 4 pages and 3 figure
Theory of Magnetic Properties and Spin-Wave Dispersion for Ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As
We present a microscopic theory of the long-wavelength magnetic properties of
the ferromagnetic diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. Details of the host
semiconductor band structure, described by a six-band Kohn-Luttinger
Hamiltonian, are taken into account. We relate our quantum-mechanical
calculation to the classical micromagnetic energy functional and determine
anisotropy energies and exchange constants. We find that the exchange constant
is substantially enhanced compared to the case of a parabolic heavy-hole-band
model.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
A theory of ferromagnetism in planar heterostructures of (Mn,III)-V semiconductors
A density functional theory of ferromagnetism in heterostructures of compound
semiconductors doped with magnetic impurities is presented. The variable
functions in the density functional theory are the charge and spin densities of
the itinerant carriers and the charge and localized spins of the impurities.
The theory is applied to study the Curie temperature of planar heterostructures
of III-V semiconductors doped with manganese atoms. The mean-field,
virtual-crystal and effective-mass approximations are adopted to calculate the
electronic structure, including the spin-orbit interaction, and the magnetic
susceptibilities, leading to the Curie temperature. By means of these results,
we attempt to understand the observed dependence of the Curie temperature of
planar -doped ferromagnetic structures on variation of their
properties. We predict a large increase of the Curie Temperature by additional
confinement of the holes in a -doped layer of Mn by a quantum well.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Ferromagnetism in semiconductors and oxides: prospects from a ten years' perspective
Over the last decade the search for compounds combining the resources of
semiconductors and ferromagnets has evolved into an important field of
materials science. This endeavour has been fuelled by continual demonstrations
of remarkable low-temperature functionalities found for ferromagnetic
structures of (Ga,Mn)As, p-(Cd,Mn)Te, and related compounds as well as by ample
observations of ferromagnetic signatures at high temperatures in a number of
non-metallic systems. In this paper, recent experimental and theoretical
developments are reviewed emphasising that, from the one hand, they disentangle
many controversies and puzzles accumulated over the last decade and, on the
other, offer new research prospects.Comment: review, 13 pages, 8 figures, 109 reference
The influence of feature selection methods on accuracy, stability and interpretability of molecular signatures
Motivation: Biomarker discovery from high-dimensional data is a crucial
problem with enormous applications in biology and medicine. It is also
extremely challenging from a statistical viewpoint, but surprisingly few
studies have investigated the relative strengths and weaknesses of the plethora
of existing feature selection methods. Methods: We compare 32 feature selection
methods on 4 public gene expression datasets for breast cancer prognosis, in
terms of predictive performance, stability and functional interpretability of
the signatures they produce. Results: We observe that the feature selection
method has a significant influence on the accuracy, stability and
interpretability of signatures. Simple filter methods generally outperform more
complex embedded or wrapper methods, and ensemble feature selection has
generally no positive effect. Overall a simple Student's t-test seems to
provide the best results. Availability: Code and data are publicly available at
http://cbio.ensmp.fr/~ahaury/
Recent advances in nanocarrier-loaded gels: Which drug delivery technologies against which diseases?
The combination of pharmaceutical technologies can be a wise choice for developing innovative therapeutic strategies. The association of nanocarriers and gels provides new therapeutic possibilities due to the combined properties of the two technologies. Gels support the nanocarriers, localize their administration to the target tissue, and sustain their release. In addition to the properties afforded by the gel, nanocarriers can provide additional drug sustained release or different pharmacokinetic and biodistribution profiles than those from nanocarriers administered by the conventional route to improve the drug therapeutic index. This review focuses on recent (over the last ten years) in vivo data showing the advances and advantages of using nanocarrier-loaded gels. Liposomes, micelles, liquid and solid lipid nanocapsules, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and fullerenes are all nanotechnologies which have been recently assessed for medical applications, such as cancer therapy, the treatment of cutaneous and infectious diseases, anesthesia, the administration of antidepressants, and the treatment of unexpected diseases, such as alopecia
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