Spin-polarized transport in a quasi-1D wire with Rashba dots

A numerical study on spin-polarized transport properties in a quasi-one-dimensional wire with Rashba quantum dots is presented. The ballistic spin transmission probability and spin density profiles are obtained using the quantum transmitting boundary method. The Fano-Rashba effect on the spin transmission is analyzed as a function of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling strength for single dot and double dot systems. The spin density profiles show the localized states that contribute to the backscattering and spin-flip processes in the Rashba dots. The results enlighten us on the Fano-Rashba effect caused by local Rashba spin-orbit coupling and provide concrete ideas for modeling a system with spin-polarized transport for future applications

ETV2/ER71 regulates the generation of FLK1+ cells from mouse embryonic stem cells through miR-126-MAPK signaling

Previous studies including ours have demonstrated a critical function of the transcription factor ETV2 (ets variant 2; also known as ER71) in determining the fate of cardiovascular lineage development. However, the underlying mechanisms of ETV2 function remain largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated the novel function of the miR (micro RNA)-126-MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathway in ETV2-mediated FLK1 (fetal liver kinase 1; also known as VEGFR2)+ cell generation from the mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). By performing a series of experiments including miRNA sequencing and ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation)-PCR, we found that miR-126 is directly induced by ETV2. Further, we identified that miR-126 can positively regulate the generation of FLK1+ cells by activating the MAPK pathway through targeting SPRED1 (sprouty-related EVH1 domain containing 1). Further, we showed evidence that JUN/FOS activate the enhancer region of FLK1 through AP1 (activator protein 1) binding sequences. Our findings provide insight into the novel molecular mechanisms of ETV2 function in regulating cardiovascular lineage development from mESCs

Stra13/DEC1 and DEC2 inhibit sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c in a hypoxia-inducible factor-dependent mechanism

Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) homodimeric transactivator, which induces itself and several lipogenic enzymes, notably fatty acid synthase (FAS). We demonstrated that hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) represses the SREBP-1c gene by inducing Stimulated with retinoic acid (Stra)13/Differentiated embryo chondrocyte 1(DEC1) and its isoform, DEC2. Stra13/DEC1 and DEC2 are bHLH homodimeric transcription repressors. We found that both Stra13 and DEC2 inhibit SREBP-1c-induced transcription by competing with SREBP-1c for binding to the E-box in the SREBP-1c promoter and/or by interacting with SREBP-1c protein. DEC2 is instantly and temporarily induced in acute hypoxia, while Stra13 is induced in prolonged hypoxia. This expression profile reflects the finding that Stra13 represses DEC2, thus maintains low level of DEC2 in prolonged hypoxia. DEC2-siRNA restores the hypoxic repression but Stra13-siRNA fails to do so, suggesting that DEC2 is the major initiator of hypoxic repression of SREBP-1c, whereas Stra13 substitutes for DEC2 in prolonged hypoxia. Our findings imply that Stra13 and DEC2 are the mediators to repress SREBP-1c gene in response to hypoxia. By doing so, HIF and its targets, Stra13 and DEC2 reduce the ATP consuming anabolic lipogenesis prior to the actual decrease of ATP acting as a feed-forward mechanism

Local properties of a superconductor in the presence of a magnetic impurity

The physics of magnetic impurities in superconducting hosts has long been a subject of theoretical and experimental inquiry. Most theoretical work (14, 52, 53) has focussed on bulk properties, such as the transition temperature and density of states, which can be calculated using the impurity averaging technique. This thesis is devoted to the detailed study of the local properties of a superconductor in the presence of a single such impurity. We develop a general theory for the local environment of a magnetic impurity in a superconductor, using an Anderson Model to describe the impurity. We can thus cover many regimes (i.e. Kondo, mixed valence) of physical interest. We studied the spatial dependence of the order parameter in the two regimes. In the Kondo limit, the spin correlation function between the impurity spin and the conduction spins, and the local density of states near the impurity are studied. In this problem there are two characteristic length scales, the superconducting coherence length, and the Kondo length. The interplay between these two length scales leads to rich spatial structure, which is manifested through various local properties studied here

Adjusting the Block Interval in PoW Consensus by Block Interval Process Improvement

Blockchain is not widely applied in various fields due to the critical issue of scalability as part of the blockchain trilemma. This issue arises during consensus among the nodes in a public blockchain. To address the issue of low scalability with proof-of-work (PoW) consensus, various methods have been proposed for transaction per second (TPS) improvement. However, no such methods include an improvement in the consensus step. Therefore, to improve PoW public blockchain scalability, it is important to shorten the time required for PoW consensus. This paper proposes a method for minimizing the block intervals that occur during consensus over a PoW blockchain network. A shortened block interval leads to an increase in the probability of three different attacks: selfish mining, double-spending, and eclipse attacks. According to an experiment using Ethereum, with a typical PoW blockchain, it is inevitable to provide rewards for stable block mining in competition between mining pools. To find an optimal block interval in the PoW consensus algorithm, we conducted a four-step experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to verify the difficulty level and issues with Mainnet security. Therefore, considering stale block mining rewards, an optimal block interval is proposed. The Ethereum TPS was improved by at least 200%. Given this finding, it is considered possible to achieve a similar improvement in a different PoW blockchain. On balance, even if the block interval is shorter than that of the PoW Mainnet, network security falls by only 1.21% in Testnet, even with a rise in the stale block rate, while performance is increased at up to 120 TPS, which is three times higher than that in Mainnet

Magnetoconductance of a hybrid quantum ring: Effects of antidot potentials

The electronic structures and two-terminal magnetoconductance of a hybrid quantum ring are studied. The backscattering due to energy-resonance is considered in the conductance calculation. The hybrid magnetic-electric quantum ring is fabricated by applying an antidot electrostatic potential in the middle of a magnetic quantum dot. Electrons are both magnetically and electrically confined in the plane. The antidot potential repelling electrons from the center of the dot plays a critical role in the energy spectra and magnetoconductance. The angular momentum transition in the energy dispersion and the magnetoconductance behavior are investigated in consideration of the antidot potential variation. Results are shown using a comparison of the results of the conventional magnetic quantum dot