Effects of nonorthogonality in the time-dependent current through tunnel junctions

A theoretical technique which allows to include contributions from non-orthogonality of the electron states in the leads connected to a tunneling junction is derived. The theory is applied to a single barrier tunneling structure and a simple expression for the time-dependent tunneling current is derived showing explicit dependence of the overlap. The overlap proves to be necessary for a better quantitative description of the tunneling current, and our theory reproduces experimental results substantially better compared to standard approaches.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 1 figur

Resistive Random Access Memories (RRAMs) Based on Metal Nanoparticles

It is demonstrated that planar structures based on silver nanoparticleshosted in a polymer matrix show reliable and reproducible switching properties attractive for non-volatile memory applications. These systems can be programmed between a low conductance (off-state) and high conductance (on-state) with an on/off ratio of 3 orders of magnitude, large retention times and good cycle endurance. The planar structure design offers a series of advantages discussed in this contribution, which make it an ideal tool to elucidate the resistive switching phenomena

New electronic memory device concepts based on metal oxide-polymer nanostructures planer diodes

Nanostructure silver oxide thin films diodes can exhibit resistive switching effects. After an electroforming process the device can be programmed between a low conductance (off-state) and high conductance (on- state) with a voltage pulse and they are already being considered for non-volatile memory applications. However, the origin of programmable resistivity changes in a network of nanostructure silver oxide embedded in polymer is still a matter of debate. This work provides some results on a planer diode which may help to elucidate resistive switching phenomena in nanostructure metal oxide diodes. The XRD pattern after switching appears with different crystalline planes, plus temperature dependent studies reveal that conduction of both on and off states is weak thermal activated. Intriguing the carrier transport is the same for both on and off-states. Difference between states comes from the dramatic changes in the carrier density. The main mechanism of charge transport for on-state is tunneling. The charge transport leads to SCLC in higher voltages pulse for the off state. The mechanism will be explained based on percolation concepts

c-Axis tunneling in YBa2Cu3O7-\delta/PrBa2Cu3O7-\delta superlattices

In this work we report c-axis conductance measurements done on a superlattice based on a stack of 2 layers YBa2Cu3O{7-\delta} and 7 layers PrBa2Cu3O{7-\delta} (2:7). We find that these quasi-2D structures show no clear superconducting coupling along the c-axis. Instead, we observe tunneling with a gap of \Delta_c=5.0\pm 0.5 meV for the direction perpendicular to the superconducting planes. The conductance spectrum show well defined quasi-periodic structures which are attributed to the superlattice structure. From this data we deduce a low temperature c-axis coherence length of \xi_c=0.24\pm 0.03 nm.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.

Ideal hierarchical secret sharing schemes

Hierarchical secret sharing is among the most natural generalizations of threshold secret sharing, and it has attracted a lot of attention from the invention of secret sharing until nowadays. Several constructions of ideal hierarchical secret sharing schemes have been proposed, but it was not known what access structures admit such a scheme. We solve this problem by providing a natural definition for the family of the hierarchical access structures and, more importantly, by presenting a complete characterization of the ideal hierarchical access structures, that is, the ones admitting an ideal secret sharing scheme. Our characterization deals with the properties of the hierarchically minimal sets of the access structure, which are the minimal qualified sets whose participants are in the lowest possible levels in the hierarchy. By using our characterization, it can be efficiently checked whether any given hierarchical access structure that is defined by its hierarchically minimal sets is ideal. We use the well known connection between ideal secret sharing and matroids and, in particular, the fact that every ideal access structure is a matroid port. In addition, we use recent results on ideal multipartite access structures and the connection between multipartite matroids and integer polymatroids. We prove that every ideal hierarchical access structure is the port of a representable matroid and, more specifically, we prove that every ideal structure in this family admits ideal linear secret sharing schemes over fields of all characteristics. In addition, methods to construct such ideal schemes can be derived from the results in this paper and the aforementioned ones on ideal multipartite secret sharing. Finally, we use our results to find a new proof for the characterization of the ideal weighted threshold access structures that is simpler than the existing one.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Мультипарадигмальний підхід до аналізу феномену нігілізму

У статті розглянуто нігілізм як неоднозначне й поліморфне поняття. Досліджено різні підходи до тлумачення та розв’язання питань, пов’язаних із нігілізмом. Розкрито людиномірність нігілізму в контексті відстеження варіативного смислового навантаження феномену. Встановлено, що нігілізм потрібно позиціонувати як спосіб пробудження людського духу, заперечення деструктивного конформізму й відсутності опору (пасивний песимізм).В статье рассмотрен нигилизм как неоднозначное и полиморфное понятие. Исследованы различные подходы к толкованию и решению вопросов, связанных с нигилизмом. Раскрыта человекомерность нигилизма в контексте отслеживания вариативной смысловой нагрузки феномена. Установлено, что нигилизм нужно позиционировать как способ пробуждения человеческого духа, отрицание деструктивного конформизма и отсутствия сопротивления (пассивный пессимизм).Nihilism is considered as ambiguous and polymorphic concept. Different approaches to the interpretation and solution of issues associated with nihilism are investigated. Human measurement of nihilism in the context of tracking meaning of varied semantic capacity of the phenomenon is revealed. It is determined that nihilism must be positioned as a way of awakening of the human spirit, denial of destructive conformism and absence of resistance (passive pessimism)

Calibration of the length of a chain of single gold atoms

Using a scanning tunneling microscope or mechanically controllable break junctions it has been shown that it is possible to control the formation of a wire made of single gold atoms. In these experiments an interatomic distance between atoms in the chain of ~3.6 Angstrom was reported which is not consistent with recent theoretical calculations. Here, using precise calibration procedures for both techniques, we measure length of the atomic chains. Based on the distance between the peaks observed in the chain length histogram we find the mean value of the inter-atomic distance before chain rupture to be 2.6 +/- 0.2 A . This value agrees with the theoretical calculations for the bond length. The discrepancy with the previous experimental measurements was due to the presence of He gas, that was used to promote the thermal contact, and which affects the value of the work function that is commonly used to calibrate distances in scanning tunnelling microscopy and mechanically controllable break junctions at low temperatures.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Dual Vortex Theory of Strongly Interacting Electrons: Non-Fermi Liquid to the (Hard) Core

As discovered in the quantum Hall effect, a very effective way for strongly-repulsive electrons to minimize their potential energy is to aquire non-zero relative angular momentum. We pursue this mechanism for interacting two-dimensional electrons in zero magnetic field, by employing a representation of the electrons as composite bosons interacting with a Chern-Simons gauge field. This enables us to construct a dual description in which the fundamental constituents are vortices in the auxiliary boson fields. The resulting formalism embraces a cornucopia of possible phases. Remarkably, superconductivity is a generic feature, while the Fermi liquid is not -- prompting us to conjecture that such a state may not be possible when the interactions are sufficiently strong. Many aspects of our earlier discussions of the nodal liquid and spin-charge separation find surprising incarnations in this new framework.Comment: Modified dicussion of the hard-core model, correcting several mistake

TRPV1: A Target for Next Generation Analgesics

Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a Ca2+ permeant non-selective cation channel expressed in a subpopulation of primary afferent neurons. TRPV1 is activated by physical and chemical stimuli. It is critical for the detection of nociceptive and thermal inflammatory pain as revealed by the deletion of the TRPV1 gene. TRPV1 is distributed in the peripheral and central terminals of the sensory neurons and plays a role in initiating action potentials at the nerve terminals and modulating neurotransmitter release at the first sensory synapse, respectively. Distribution of TRPV1 in the nerve terminals innervating blood vessels and in parts of the CNS that are not subjected to temperature range that is required to activate TRPV1 suggests a role beyond a noxious thermal sensor. Presently, TRPV1 is being considered as a target for analgesics through evaluation of different antagonists. Here, we will discuss the distribution and the functions of TRPV1, potential use of its agonists and antagonists as analgesics and highlight the functions that are not related to nociceptive transmission that might lead to adverse effects

Expression of insulin-like growth factor I by activated hepatic stellate cells reduces fibrogenesis and enhances regeneration after liver injury

BACKGROUND/AIM: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) express alpha-smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA) and acquire a profibrogenic phenotype upon activation by noxious stimuli. Insulin-like growth I (IGF-I) has been shown to stimulate HSCs proliferation in vitro, but it has been reported to reduce liver damage and fibrogenesis when given to cirrhotic rats. METHODS: The authors used transgenic mice (SMP8-IGF-I) expressing IGF-I under control of alphaSMA promoter to study the influence of IGF-I synthesised by activated HSCs on the recovery from liver injury. RESULTS: The transgene was expressed by HSCs from SMP8-IGF-I mice upon activation in culture and in the livers of these animals after CCl4 challenge. Twenty four hours after administration of CCl4 both transgenic and wild type mice showed similar extensive necrosis and increased levels of serum transaminases. However at 72 hours SMP8-IGF-I mice exhibited lower serum transaminases, reduced hepatic expression of alphaSMA, and improved liver morphology compared with wild type littermates. Remarkably, at this time all eight CCl4 treated wild type mice manifested histological signs of liver necrosis that was severe in six of them, while six out of eight transgenic animals had virtually no necrosis. In SMP8-IGF-I mice robust DNA synthesis occurred earlier than in wild type animals and this was associated with enhanced production of HGF and lower TGFbeta1 mRNA expression in the SMP8-IGF-I group. Moreover, Colalpha1(I) mRNA abundance at 72 hours was reduced in SMP8-IGF-I mice compared with wild type controls. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted overexpression of IGF-I by activated HSCs restricts their activation, attenuates fibrogenesis, and accelerates liver regeneration. These effects appear to be mediated in part by upregulation of HGF and downregulation of TGFbeta1. The data indicate that IGF-I can modulate the cytokine response to liver injury facilitating regeneration and reducing fibrosis