Nanoscale, Phonon-Coupled Calorimetry with Sub-Attojoule/Kelvin Resolution

We have developed an ultrasensitive nanoscale calorimeter that enables heat capacity measurements upon minute, externally affixed (phonon-coupled) samples at low temperatures. For a 5 s measurement at 2 K, we demonstrate an unprecedented resolution of ΔC ~ 0.5 aJ/K (~36 000 k_B). This sensitivity is sufficient to enable heat capacity measurements upon zeptomole-scale samples or upon adsorbates with sub-monolayer coverage across the minute cross sections of these devices. We describe the fabrication and operation of these devices and demonstrate their sensitivity by measuring an adsorbed ^4He film with optimum resolution of ~3 × 10^(-5) monolayers upon an active surface area of only ~1.2 × 10^(-9) m^2

Kinetics and Inhibition Studies of the L205R Mutant of cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Involved in Cushing’s Syndrome

Overproduction of cortisol by the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal hormone system results in the clinical disorder known as Cushing\u27s syndrome. Genomics studies have identified a key mutation (L205R) in the α‐isoform of the catalytic subunit of cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKACα) in adrenal adenomas of patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone‐independent Cushing\u27s syndrome. Here, we conducted kinetics and inhibition studies on the L205R‐PKACα mutant. We have found that the L205R mutation affects the kinetics of both Kemptide and ATP as substrates, decreasing the catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) for each substrate by 12‐fold and 4.5‐fold, respectively. We have also determined the IC50 and Ki for the peptide substrate‐competitive inhibitor PKI(5–24) and the ATP‐competitive inhibitor H89. The L205R mutation had no effect on the potency of H89, but causes a \u3e 250‐fold loss in potency for PKI(5–24). Collectively, these data provide insights for the development of L205R‐PKACα inhibitors as potential therapeutics

Including All the Lines

I present a progress report on including all the lines in the linelists, including all the lines in the opacities, including all the lines in the model atmosphere and spectrum synthesis calculations, producing high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise atlases that show (not quite) all the lines, so that finally we can determine the properties of stars from a few of the lines.Comment: 9 pages, no figures. Presented at "Dimitrifest" conference in Boulder, Colorado, March 30 - April 3, 200

Oxidative Stress Response to Short Duration Bout of Submaximal Aerobic Exercise in Healthy Young Adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate the oxidative stress response to a short duration bout of submaximal exercise in a cohort of healthy young adults. 15 apparently healthy college age males and females completed a modified Bruce-protocol treadmill test to 75–80% of their heart rate reserve. Blood samples collected immediately before (pre-exercise), immediately after, 30, 60 and 120 minutes post-exercise were assayed for total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide disumutase (SOD), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and protein carbonyls (PC). SOD activity was significantly increased from pre-exercise levels at 30 minutes (77%), 60 minutes (33%), and 120 minutes (37%) post-exercise. TAC levels were also significantly increased from pre-exercise levels at 60 minutes (30%) and 120 minutes (33%) post-exercise. There were no significant changes in biomarkers for reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (RONS) mediated damage (TBARS and PC) across all post-exercise time points. In a cohort of healthy young adults, a short duration bout of submaximal aerobic exercise elicited increases in antioxidant activity/concentration, but did not evoke changes in oxidative stress-induced damage. These results may suggest that: (1) short duration bouts of submaximal aerobic exercise are sufficient to induce RONS generation; and (2) the antioxidant defense system is capable of protecting against enhanced RONS production induced by a short duration, submaximal exercise bout in healthy young adults

Parametric Amplification and Back-Action Noise Squeezing by a Qubit-Coupled Nanoresonator

We demonstrate the parametric amplification and noise squeezing of nanomechanical motion utilizing dispersive coupling to a Cooper-pair box qubit. By modulating the qubit bias and resulting mechanical resonance shift, we achieve gain of 30 dB and noise squeezing of 4 dB. This qubit-mediated effect is 3000 times more effective than that resulting from the weak nonlinearity of capacitance to a nearby electrode. This technique may be used to prepare nanomechanical squeezed states

THE DETERMINANTS OF FOOD STAMP PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

Food Security and Poverty,

Benchmarking high fidelity single-shot readout of semiconductor qubits

Determination of qubit initialisation and measurement fidelity is important for the overall performance of a quantum computer. However, the method by which it is calculated in semiconductor qubits varies between experiments. In this paper we present a full theoretical analysis of electronic single-shot readout and describe critical parameters to achieve high fidelity readout. In particular, we derive a model for energy selective state readout based on a charge detector response and examine how to optimise the fidelity by choosing correct experimental parameters. Although we focus on single electron spin readout, the theory presented can be applied to other electronic readout techniques in semiconductors that use a reservoir.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

An ECOOP web portal for visualising and comparing distributed coastal oceanography model and in situ data

As part of a large European coastal operational oceanography project (ECOOP), we have developed a web portal for the display and comparison of model and in situ marine data. The distributed model and in situ datasets are accessed via an Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) respectively. These services were developed independently and readily integrated for the purposes of the ECOOP project, illustrating the ease of interoperability resulting from adherence to international standards. The key feature of the portal is the ability to display co-plotted timeseries of the in situ and model data and the quantification of misfits between the two. By using standards-based web technology we allow the user to quickly and easily explore over twenty model data feeds and compare these with dozens of in situ data feeds without being concerned with the low level details of differing file formats or the physical location of the data. Scientific and operational benefits to this work include model validation, quality control of observations, data assimilation and decision support in near real time. In these areas it is essential to be able to bring different data streams together from often disparate locations