Steady-state thermally annealed GaAs with room-temperature-implanted Si

Semi-insulating Cr-doped single-crystal GaAs samples were implanted at room temperature with 300-keV Si ions in the dose range of (0.17–2.0)×1015 cm–2 and were subsequently steady-state annealed at 900 and 950°C for 30 min in a H2 ambient with a Si3N4 coating. Differential Hall measurements showed that an upper threshold of about 2×1018/cm3 exists for the free-electron concentration. The as-implanted atomic-Si profile measured by SIMS follows the theoretical prediction, but is altered during annealing. The Cr distribution also changes, and a band of dislocation loops ~2–3 kÅ wide is revealed by cross-sectional TEM at a mean depth of Rp~3 kÅ. Incomplete electrical activation of the Si is shown to be the primary cause for the effect

Helium Ion Irradiation Experiments Using Controlled Energy Degrader

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Quantum Fluctuation Theorems

Recent advances in experimental techniques allow one to measure and control systems at the level of single molecules and atoms. Here gaining information about fluctuating thermodynamic quantities is crucial for understanding nonequilibrium thermodynamic behavior of small systems. To achieve this aim, stochastic thermodynamics offers a theoretical framework, and nonequilibrium equalities such as Jarzynski equality and fluctuation theorems provide key information about the fluctuating thermodynamic quantities. We review the recent progress in quantum fluctuation theorems, including the studies of Maxwell's demon which plays a crucial role in connecting thermodynamics with information.Comment: As a chapter of: F. Binder, L. A. Correa, C. Gogolin, J. Anders, and G. Adesso (eds.), "Thermodynamics in the quantum regime - Fundamental Aspects and New Directions", (Springer International Publishing, 2018

A Conditional Deletion of the NR1 Subunit of the NMDA Receptor in Adult Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn Reduces NMDA Currents and Injury-Induced Pain

To determine the importance of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) in pain hypersensitivity after injury, the NMDAR1 (NR1) subunit was selectively deleted in the lumbar spinal cord of adult mice by the localized injection of an adenoassociated virus expressing Cre recombinase into floxed NR1 mice. NR1 subunit mRNA and dendritic protein are reduced by 80% in the area of the virus injection, and NMDA currents, but not AMPA currents, are reduced 86–88% in lamina II neurons. The spatial NR1 knock-out does not alter heat or cold paw-withdrawal latencies, mechanical threshold, or motor function. However, injury-induced pain produced by intraplantar formalin is reduced by 70%. Our results demonstrate conclusively that the postsynaptic NR1 receptor subunit in the lumbar dorsal horn of the spinal cord is required for central sensitization, the central facilitation of pain transmission produced by peripheral injury

Microstructural Evolution of Boron Nitride Particles in Advanced 9Cr Power Plant Steels

The final publication is available at Springer via: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-013-1642-x.B and N can be used to increase the creep strength of advanced 9Cr power plant steels by means of microstructural stabilization and precipitation strengthening; however, the formation of boron nitride (BN) particles removes B and N from solution and reduces the strengthening effect of B and N simultaneously. In the current study, the BN precipitation/dissolution conditions in 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb steels have been investigated to understand how to prevent the formation of BN. A series of austenitizing heat treatments have been designed using thermodynamic predictions as a guide in an attempt to dissolve the BN present after the production of 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb type steels and to prevent also the precipitation of BN during the subsequent heat treatments. Advanced electron microscopy has been carried out to investigate the evolution of the BN particles in relation to the austenitization temperature. Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) has been used to identify the B-containing phases, and a method has been developed using secondary electron images to quantify the amount of BN present within the microstructure. It has been found that BN solubility is sensitive to the B and N levels in the steel composition, as indicated by thermodynamic calculations. However, it is proposed that austenitizing heat treatments at temperatures ranging from 1448 K to 1473 K (from 1175 °C to 1200 °C) with durations from 1 to 7 hours can effectively prevent the precipitation of BN as well as dissolving most of the BN particles formed during initial steel manufacture

Sensitivity of PCR Assays for Murine Gammaretroviruses and Mouse Contamination in Human Blood Samples

Gammaretroviruses related to murine leukemia virus (MLV) have variously been reported to be present or absent in blood from chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) patients and healthy controls. Using subjects from New York State, we have investigated by PCR methods whether MLV-related sequences can be identified in nucleic acids isolated from whole blood or from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or following PBMC culture. We have also passaged the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP following incubation with plasma from patients and controls and assayed nucleic acids for viral sequences. We have used 15 sets of primers that can effectively amplify conserved regions of murine endogenous and exogenous retrovirus sequences. We demonstrate that our PCR assays for MLV-related gag sequences and for mouse DNA contamination are extremely sensitive. While we have identified MLV-like gag sequences following PCR on human DNA preparations, we are unable to conclude that these sequences originated in the blood samples

Functional characterization of Rad18 domains for Rad6, ubiquitin, DNA binding and PCNA modification

Rad18 is a ubiquitin E3 ligase that monoubiquitinates PCNA on stalled replications forks. This allows recruitment of damage-tolerant polymerases for damage bypass and DNA repair. In this activity, the Rad18 protein has to interact with Rad6, the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, ubiquitin, PCNA and DNA. Here we analyze the biochemical interactions of specific domains of the Rad18 protein. We found that the Rad6/Rad18 complex forms stable dimers in vitro. Consistent with previous findings, both the Ring domain and a C-terminal region contribute to the Rad6 interaction, while the C-terminus is not required for the interaction with PCNA. Surprisingly we find that the C2HC zinc finger is important for interaction with ubiquitin, apparently analogous to the interactions of classical zinc fingers with ubiquitin such as found in the UBZ and UBM domains in Y-family polymerases. Finally we find that the SAP domain, but not the zinc finger domain, is capable of DNA binding in vitro