Phonon drag thermopower and weak localization

Previous experimental work on a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in a Si-on-sapphire device led to the conclusion that both conductivity and phonon drag thermopower $S^g$ are affected to the same relative extent by weak localization. The present paper presents further experimental and theoretical results on these transport coefficients for two very low mobility 2D electron gases in $\delta-$doped GaAs/Ga$_x$Al$_{1-x}$As quantum wells. The experiments were carried out in the temperature range 3-7K where phonon drag dominates the thermopower and, contrary to the previous work, the changes observed in the thermopower due to weak localization were found to be an order of magnitude less than those in the conductivity. A theoretical framework for phonon drag thermopower in 2D and 3D semiconductors is presented which accounts for this insensitivity of $S^g$ to weak localization. It also provides transparent physical explanations of many previous experimental and theoretical results.Comment: 19 page Revtex file, 3 Postscript figur

Proteomic-Based Analysis of Hypoxia- and Physioxia-Responsive Proteins and Pathways in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Hypoxia is a common feature in most tumors, including hematological malignancies. There is a lack of studies on hypoxia- and physioxia-induced global proteome changes in lymphoma. Here, we sought to explore how the proteome of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) changes when cells are exposed to acute hypoxic stress (1% of O-2) and physioxia (5% of O-2) for a long-time. A total of 8239 proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS, of which 718, 513, and 486 had significant changes, in abundance, in the Ri-1, U2904, and U2932 cell lines, respectively. We observed that changes in B-NHL proteome profiles induced by hypoxia and physioxia were quantitatively similar in each cell line; however, differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were specific to a certain cell line. A significant downregulation of several ribosome proteins indicated a translational inhibition of new ribosome protein synthesis in hypoxia, what was confirmed in a pathway enrichment analysis. In addition, downregulated proteins highlighted the altered cell cycle, metabolism, and interferon signaling. As expected, the enrichment of upregulated proteins revealed terms related to metabolism, HIF1 signaling, and response to oxidative stress. In accordance to our results, physioxia induced weaker changes in the protein abundance when compared to those induced by hypoxia. Our data provide new evidence for understanding mechanisms by which DLBCL cells respond to a variable oxygen level. Furthermore, this study reveals multiple hypoxia-responsive proteins showing an altered abundance in hypoxic and physioxic DLBCL. It remains to be investigated whether changes in the proteomes of DLBCL under normoxia and physioxia have functional consequences on lymphoma development and progression

Microsporidian Species Known To Infect Humans Are Present in Aquatic Birds: Implications for Transmission via Water?

Human microsporidiosis, a serious disease of immunocompetent and immunosuppressed people, can be due to zoonotic and environmental transmission of microsporidian spores. A survey utilizing conventional and molecular techniques for examining feces from 570 free-ranging, captive, and livestock birds demonstrated that 21 animals shed microsporidian spores of species known to infect humans, including Encephalitozoon hellem (20 birds; 3.5%) and Encephalitozoon intestinalis (1 bird; 0.2%). Of 11 avian species that shed E. hellem and E. intestinalis, 8 were aquatic birds (i.e., common waterfowl). The prevalence of microsporidian infections in waterfowl (8.6%) was significantly higher than the prevalence of microsporidian infections in other birds (1.1%) (P < 0.03); waterfowl fecal droppings contained significantly more spores (mean, 3.6 × 10(5) spores/g) than nonaquatic bird droppings contained (mean, 4.4 × 10(4) spores/g) (P < 0.003); and the presence of microsporidian spores of species known to infect humans in fecal samples was statistically associated with the aquatic status of the avian host (P < 0.001). We demonstrated that a single visit of a waterfowl flock can introduce into the surface water approximately 9.1 × 10(8) microsporidian spores of species known to infect humans. Our findings demonstrate that waterborne microsporidian spores of species that infect people can originate from common waterfowl, which usually occur in large numbers and have unlimited access to surface waters, including waters used for production of drinking water

Weak Antilocalization in Quantum Wells

Spin relaxation in degenerated two-dimensional (2D) electron gas is studied by measurements of the magnetic field dependence of the weak antilocalization corrections to the conductivity in GaInAs quantum wells. Consistent quantitative (up to order of magnitude) description of weak antilocalization data on GaAs like heterojunctions and quantum wells was obtained. Our results show that spin precession around the effective magnetic field direction as described by the Dyakonov-Perel model is the main spin relaxation mechanism in degenerated 2D electron gas in semiconductors with no inversion symmetry

Management decisions and knowledge gaps: learning by doing in a case of a declining population of slavonian grebe Podiceps auritus

Species of national conservation concern require management action to reduce the threat of extinction. As part of its obligations to reduce national loss of biodiversity, the Norwegian authority for nature management (Th e Norwegian Environment Agency) published an action plan in 2010 for one of these species, the Slavonian grebe Podiceps auritus . Th e American mink Neovison vison , a non-native, invasive species with wide spread negative eff ects on native fauna, was highlighted as a major potential treat. We used an adaptive management approach that included management trials with the aim to assess whether mink predation is likely to be aff ecting grebe numbers signifi cantly. We monitored mink activity, and put in place mink control measures at three of our seven study lakes. We then used 35 pairs of artifi cial nests, with one of each pair equipped with cameras, to measure predation at all seven lakes. Th e combined use of progressive experiments in an adaptive management/monitoring framework showed that mink activity was generally low with a mean activity at raft stations of between 0.41 – 1.22 per lake (n 5), a range of zero to three excavations executed as a result of hunting (n 3), and no incidences of mink nest predation (n 35). Hence we conclude that mink is presently not likely to be a signifi cant negative factor on grebe breeding success in the targeted lakes. We found a high nest predation rate by hooded crow with 18 of 21 identifi ed predation events being identifi ed to this species. Future eff ort should investigate non mink related threats to the Slavonian grebe such as the role of hooded crow in nest predation. Th is case study exemplifi es the usefulness of the adaptive management/monitoring framework as a powerful means of testing hypotheses and to inform management, especially when knowledge of the focal system is poor