Controlling the Intrinsic Josephson Junction Number in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ\mathbf{Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}} Mesa

In fabricating $\mathrm{Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}}$ intrinsic Josephson junctions in 4-terminal mesa structures, we modify the conventional fabrication process by markedly reducing the etching rates of argon ion milling. As a result, the junction number in a stack can be controlled quite satisfactorily as long as we carefully adjust those factors such as the etching time and the thickness of the evaporated layers. The error in the junction number is within $\pm 1$. By additional ion etching if necessary, we can controllably decrease the junction number to a rather small value, and even a single intrinsic Josephson junction can be produced.Comment: to bu published in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 43(7A) 200

Confirming the 115.5-day periodicity in the X-ray light curve of ULX NGC 5408 X-1

The Swift/XRT light curve of the ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) source NGC 5408 X-1 was re-analyzed with two new numerical approaches, Weighted Wavelet $Z$-transform (WWZ) and CLEANest, that are different from previous studies. Both techniques detected a prominent periodicity with a time scale of $115.5\pm1.5$ days, in excellent agreement with the detection of the same periodicity first reported by Strohmayer (2009). Monte Carlo simulation was employed to test the statisiticak confidence of the 115.5-day periodicity, yielding a statistical significance of $> 99.98$ (or $>3.8\sigma$). The robust detection of the 115.5-day quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), if it is due to the orbital motion of the binary, would infer a mass of a few thousand $M_\odot$ for the central black hole, implying an intermediate-mass black hole in NGC 5408 X-1.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA

A photo-responsive F-box protein FOF2 regulates floral initiation by promoting FLC expression in Arabidopsis.

Floral initiation is regulated by various genetic pathways in response to light, temperature, hormones and developmental status; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between different genetic pathways are not fully understood. Here, we show that the photoresponsive gene FOF2 (F-box of flowering 2) negatively regulates flowering. FOF2 encodes a putative F-box protein that interacts specifically with ASK14, and its overexpression results in later flowering under both long-day and short-day photoperiods. Conversely, transgenic plants expressing the F-box domain deletion mutant of FOF2 (FOF2ΔF), or double loss of function mutant of FOF2 and FOL1 (FOF2-LIKE 1) present early flowering phenotypes. The late flowering phenotype of the FOF2 overexpression lines is suppressed by the flc-3 loss-of-function mutation. Furthermore, FOF2 mRNA expression is regulated by autonomous pathway gene FCA, and the repressive effect of FOF2 in flowering can be overcome by vernalization. Interestingly, FOF2 expression is regulated by light. The protein level of FOF2 accumulates in response to light, whereas it is degraded under dark conditions via the 26S proteasome pathway. Our findings suggest a possible mechanistic link between light conditions and the autonomous floral promotion pathway in Arabidopsis

Investigation of the spin-glass regime between the antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in Fe1+y_{1+y}Sex_xTe1−x_{1-x}

Using bulk magnetization along with elastic and inelastic neutron scattering techniques, we have investigated the phase diagram of Fe$_{1+y}$Se$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ and the nature of magnetic correlations in three nonsuperconducting samples of Fe$_{1.01}$Se$_{0.1}$Te$_{0.9}$, Fe$_{1.01}$Se$_{0.15}$Te$_{0.85}$ and Fe$_{1.02}$Se$_{0.3}$Te$_{0.7}$. A cusp and hysteresis in the temperature dependence of the magnetization for the $x=0.15$ and 0.3 samples indicates spin-glass (SG) ordering below $T_{\rm sg} = 23$K. Neutron scattering measurements indicate that the spin-glass behavior is associated with short-range spin density wave (SDW) ordering characterized by a static component and a low-energy dynamic component with a characteristic incommensurate wave vector of ${\bf Q}_m = (0.46, 0, 0.50)$ and an anisotropy gap of $\sim$ 2.5 meV. Our high ${\bf Q}$-resolution data also show that the systems undergo a glassy structural distortion that coincides with the short-range SDW order

Synthesis and anticancer activities of diquinazoline diselenides compounds

A series of novel diquinazoline diselenide compounds was designed and synthesized with substituted 4-chloroquinazoline and sodium diselenide. Their structures were confirmed by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analyses.The antitumor activity of the new compounds was evaluated by MTT method. Compound 1a, 1c, 1h and 1i were found to have activities against MDA-MB-435, A549,MDA-MB-231, SiHa, and HeLa cells. Moreover, compared with the commercial anticancer drugs Gefitinib, Oxaliplatin,Taxol, 10-Hydroxycamptothec in, and Epirubicin Hydrochloride,1a exerted better antitumor effects on corresponding cell lines at 10 μM

Incidence of diarrhea caused by rotavirus infections in rural Zhengding, China: prospective, population-based surveillance.

Rotavirus is the pathogen most commonly associated with severe gastroenteritis in young children in the People's Republic of China, yet there are few population-based data on the incidence of rotavirus infection. The present study investigated the burden of rotavirus diarrhea and rotavirus infections in rural China, according to age. Population-based surveillance was used to study the incidence of rotavirus infection among children <5 years of age in 4 townships of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, China. The total population in the catchment area in 2002 was 75,630 individuals, including 2997 children aged <5 years. Stool samples were obtained and were tested for rotavirus antigen by use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. During 2002, a total of 2010 cases of diarrhea were detected among children <5 years of age. The incidence of treated cases of diarrhea was 671 cases/1000 children/year for children <5 years of age, and it was highest for children <12 months of age (1467 cases/1000 children/year). The estimated incidence of rotavirus infection was 151 cases/1000 children/year for children <5 years of age. The highest incidence of rotavirus infection was among children aged 1-2 years (340 cases/1000 children/year). Widespread immunization of children against rotavirus before 6 months of age should be considered for the control of rotavirus diarrhea