Shell structure and electron-electron interaction in self-assembled InAs quantum dots

Using far-infrared spectroscopy, we investigate the excitations of self-organized InAs quantum dots as a function of the electron number per dot, 1<n<6, which is monitored in situ by capacitance spectroscopy. Whereas the well-known two-mode spectrum is observed when the lowest s - states are filled, we find a rich excitation spectrum for n=3, which reflects the importance of electron-electron interaction in the present, strongly non-parabolic confining potential. From capacitance spectroscopy we find that the electronic shell structure in our dots gives rise to a distinct pattern in the charging energies which strongly deviates from the monotonic behavior of the Coulomb blockade found in mesoscopic or metallic structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 PostScript figure

Instruments for evaluating social anxiety in children and adolescents in Portuguese language

El diagnóstico de fobia social es el más frecuente entre los trastornos de ansiedad. Algunos de los instrumentos para la evaluación diagnóstica de este trastorno en la infancia y la adolescencia están siendo validados en lengua portuguesa, en Brasil, con el fin de que las evaluaciones de este trastorno sean cada vez más rigurosas y específicas en cada etapa del desarrollo. El objetivo del presente estudio es mostrar los instrumentos de evaluación de la fobia social para niños y adolescentes que han sido validados para su aplicación en lengua portuguesa. Se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica en las bases de datos y se ha podido constatar la existencia de un número significativo de estudios al respecto. Los instrumentos SPAI, SPAI-C, SPIN y el K-SADS-E han sido los más utilizados en las investigaciones sobre fobia social. Hasta el momento de la elaboración del presente artículo, Brasil es el único país de lengua portuguesa en el que se han realizado investigaciones con instrumentos de evaluación de la fobia social. Palabras clave: fobia social, instrumentos, evaluación, niños, adolescentes.The diagnosis of Social Phobia is the most prevalent among the anxiety disorders. Some instruments of diagnostic evaluation have been validated in native Portuguese countries, especially in Brazil, targeting more precise and specific evaluations for each age. The main objective of this study is to review the social phobia evaluation instruments for infants and adolescents currently validated in the Portuguese language. From this goal, it was held a bibliographic review in data bases. It could be observed a significant existence of studies of social phobia evaluation instruments for infants and adolescents already validated, although with limited relevance and narrow utilization in clinical settings. Within these instruments, the SPAI, SPAI-C, SPIN and K-SADS-E were the most utilized on researches involving social phobia. Brazil was the only country found to have performed studies to evaluate social phobia, up to this moment. Key words: social phobia, instruments, evaluation, children, adolescents

El estilo de comunicación del entrenador y la percepción del clima motivacional generado por los entrenadores y compañeros

El presente estudio se propuso evaluar las relaciones entre el estilode comunicación del entrenador y el clima motivacional generado por él ypor los compañeros de equipo. Se observó a tres entrenadores de fútbol conel Sistema de Evaluación de las Conductas del Entrenador (CBAS) en tres partidoscada uno. También participaron 39 jugadores de los mismos equiposque los entrenadores, en la franja de edad de 12 a 14 años, que contestaronlos cuestionarios: a) cuestionario de percepción de los comportamientos delentrenador (CBAS-PBS); b) clima motivacional generado por el entrenador(PMCSQ-2); c) cuestionario del clima motivacional de los iguales en eldeporte (PeerMCYSQ). A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se evidenciauna correlación entre conductas positivas que perciben que emiten los entrenadoresy la percepción de un clima de implicación a la tarea. Además,de una correlación entre el clima de implicación a la tarea generado por elentrenador y el generado por los compañeros. También se encontró unacorrelación positiva entre las percepciones de comportamientos punitivosdel entrenador y la generación de un clima motivacional de implicaciónal ego. El clima de implicación al ego generado por el entrenador tambiénse correlaciona con los dos factores del clima de implicación al ego de loscompañeros, la competencia y el conflicto intra-equipo

Zero-field spin splitting in InAs-AlSb quantum wells revisited

We present magnetotransport experiments on high-quality InAs-AlSb quantum wells that show a perfectly clean single-period Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation down to very low magnetic fields. In contrast to theoretical expectations based on an asymmetry induced zero-field spin splitting, no beating effect is observed. The carrier density has been changed by the persistent photo conductivity effect as well as via the application of hydrostatic pressure in order to influence the electric field at the interface of the electron gas. Still no indication of spin splitting at zero magnetic field was observed in spite of highly resolved Shubnikov- de Haas oscillations up to filling factors of 200. This surprising and unexpected result is discussed in view of other recently published data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Evaluation and reduction of magnetic resonance imaging artefacts induced by distinct plates for osseous fixation: an in vitro study @ 3 T

Objectives: To analyze MRI artefacts induced at 3 T by bioresorbable, titanium (TI) and glass fibre reinforced composite (GFRC) plates for osseous reconstruction.Methods: Fixation plates including bioresorbable polymers (Inion CPS, Inion Oy, Tampere, Finland; Rapidsorb, DePuy Synthes, Umkirch, Germany; Resorb X, Gebrueder KLS Martin GmbH, Tuttlingen, Germany), GFRC (Skulle Implants Oy, Turku, Finland) and TI plates of varying thickness and design (DePuy Synthes, Umkirch, Germany) were embedded in agarose gel and a 3 T MRI was performed using a standard protocol for head and neck imaging including T1W and T2W sequences. Additionally, different artefact reduction techniques (slice encoding for metal artefact reduction & ultrashort echo time) were used and their impact on the extent of artefacts evaluated for each material.Results: All TI plates induced significantly more artefacts than resorbable plates in T1W and T2W sequences. GFRCs induced the least artefacts in both sequences. The total extent of artefacts increased with plate thickness and height. Plate thickness had no influence on the percentage of overestimation in all three dimensions. TI-induced artefacts were significantly reduced by both artefact reduction techniques.Conclusions: Polylactide, GFRC and magnesium plates produce less susceptibility artefacts in MRI compared to TI, while the dimensions of TI plates directly influence artefact extension. Slice encoding for metal artefact reduction and ultrashort echo time significantly reduce metal artefacts at the expense of scan time or image resolution

Instruments for evaluating social anxiety in children and adolescents in Portuguese language

El diagnóstico de fobia social es el más frecuente entre los trastornos de ansiedad. Algunos de los instrumentos para la evaluación diagnóstica de este trastorno en la infancia y la adolescencia están siendo validados en lengua portuguesa, en Brasil, con el fin de que las evaluaciones de este trastorno sean cada vez más rigurosas y específicas en cada etapa del desarrollo. El objetivo del presente estudio es mostrar los instrumentos de evaluación de la fobia social para niños y adolescentes que han sido validados para su aplicación en lengua portuguesa. Se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica en las bases de datos y se ha podido constatar la existencia de un número significativo de estudios al respecto. Los instrumentos SPAI, SPAI-C, SPIN y el K-SADS-E han sido los más utilizados en las investigaciones sobre fobia social. Hasta el momento de la elaboración del presente artículo, Brasil es el único país de lengua portuguesa en el que se han realizado investigaciones con instrumentos de evaluación de la fobia social.Palabras clave: fobia social, instrumentos, evaluación, niños, adolescentes.The diagnosis of Social Phobia is the most prevalent among the anxiety disorders. Some instruments of diagnostic evaluation have been validated in native Portuguese countries, especially in Brazil, targeting more precise and specific evaluations for each age. The main objective of this study is to review the social phobia evaluation instruments for infants and adolescents currently validated in the Portuguese language. From this goal, it was held a bibliographic review in data bases. It could be observed a significant existence of studies of social phobia evaluation instruments for infants and adolescents already validated, although with limited relevance and narrow utilization in clinical settings. Within these instruments, the SPAI, SPAI-C, SPIN and K-SADS-E were the most utilized on researches involving social phobia. Brazil was the only country found to have performed studies to evaluate social phobia, up to this moment.Key words: social phobia, instruments, evaluation, children, adolescents

Membrane Modulates Affinity for Calcium Ion to Create an Apparent Cooperative Binding Response by Annexin a5

Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to characterize the binding of calcium ion (Ca2+) and phospholipid to the peripheral membrane-binding protein annexin a5. The phospholipid was a binary mixture of a neutral and an acidic phospholipid, specifically phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine in the form of large unilamellar vesicles. To stringently define the mode of binding, a global fit of data collected in the presence and absence of membrane concentrations exceeding protein saturation was performed. A partition function defined the contribution of all heat-evolving or heat-absorbing binding states. We find that annexin a5 binds Ca2+ in solution according to a simple independent-site model (solution-state affinity). In the presence of phosphatidylserine-containing liposomes, binding of Ca2+ differentiates into two classes of sites, both of which have higher affinity compared with the solution-state affinity. As in the solution-state scenario, the sites within each class were described with an independent-site model. Transitioning from a solution state with lower Ca2+ affinity to a membrane-associated, higher Ca2+ affinity state, results in cooperative binding. We discuss how weak membrane association of annexin a5 prior to Ca2+ influx is the basis for the cooperative response of annexin a5 toward Ca2+, and the role of membrane organization in this response

Quantitative trait loci conferring grain mineral nutrient concentrations in durum wheat 3 wild emmer wheat RIL population

Mineral nutrient malnutrition, and particularly deficiency in zinc and iron, afflicts over 3 billion people worldwide. Wild emmer wheat, Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides, genepool harbors a rich allelic repertoire for mineral nutrients in the grain. The genetic and physiological basis of grain protein, micronutrients (zinc, iron, copper and manganese) and macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur) concentration was studied in tetraploid wheat population of 152 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from a cross between durum wheat (cv. Langdon) and wild emmer (accession G18-16). Wide genetic variation was found among the RILs for all grain minerals, with considerable transgressive effect. A total of 82 QTLs were mapped for 10 minerals with LOD score range of 3.2–16.7. Most QTLs were in favor of the wild allele (50 QTLs). Fourteen pairs of QTLs for the same trait were mapped to seemingly homoeologous positions, reflecting synteny between the A and B genomes. Significant positive correlation was found between grain protein concentration (GPC), Zn, Fe and Cu, which was supported by significant overlap between the respective QTLs, suggesting common physiological and/or genetic factors controlling the concentrations of these mineral nutrients. Few genomic regions (chromosomes 2A, 5A, 6B and 7A) were found to harbor clusters of QTLs for GPC and other nutrients. These identified QTLs may facilitate the use of wild alleles for improving grain nutritional quality of elite wheat cultivars, especially in terms of protein, Zn and Fe

Novel therapeutics and emerging technology in haemostasis and thrombosis: highlights from the British society for haemostasis and thrombosis annual meeting

The 2023 annual meeting of the British Society for Haemostasis and Thrombosis (BSHT) was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The theme of this year's meeting was novel therapeutics and emerging technology. Here, the exciting research presented at the meeting is discussed