Critical Diagnosis of Electronic Dimensionality Reduction in Semiconductor Quantum Well Structures

Two-dimensional (2D) systems, such as high-temperature superconductors, surface states of topological insulators, and layered materials, have been intensively studied using vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In semiconductor films (heterostructures), quantum well (QW) states arise due to electron/hole accumulations at the surface (interface). The quantized states due to quantum confinement can be observed by VUV-ARPES, while the periodic intensity modulations along the surface normal (kz) direction of these quantized states are also observable by varying incident photon energy, resembling three-dimensional (3D) band dispersion. We have conducted soft X-ray (SX) ARPES measurements on thick and ultrathin III-V semiconductor InSb(001) films to investigate the electronic dimensionality reduction in semiconductor QWs. In addition to the dissipation of the kz dispersion, the SX-ARPES observations demonstrate the changes of the symmetry and periodicity of the Brillouin zone in the ultrathin film as 2D QW compared with these of the 3D bulk one, indicating the electronic dimensionality reduction of the 3D bulk band dispersion caused by the quantum confinement. The results provide a critical diagnosis using SX-ARPES for the dimensionality reduction in semiconductor QW structures

Parameterless-Growing-SOM and Its Application to a Voice Instruction Learning System

An improved self-organizing map (SOM), parameterless-growing-SOM (PL-G-SOM), is proposed in this paper. To overcome problems existed in traditional SOM (Kohonen, 1982), kinds of structure-growing-SOMs or parameter-adjusting-SOMs have been invented and usually separately. Here, we combine the idea of growing SOMs (Bauer and Villmann, 1997; Dittenbach et al. 2000) and a parameterless SOM (Berglund and Sitte, 2006) together to be a novel SOM named PL-G-SOM to realize additional learning, optimal neighborhood preservation, and automatic tuning of parameters. The improved SOM is applied to construct a voice instruction learning system for partner robots adopting a simple reinforcement learning algorithm. User's instructions of voices are classified by the PL-G-SOM at first, then robots choose an expected action according to a stochastic policy. The policy is adjusted by the reward/punishment given by the user of the robot. A feeling map is also designed to express learning degrees of voice instructions. Learning and additional learning experiments used instructions in multiple languages including Japanese, English, Chinese, and Malaysian confirmed the effectiveness of our proposed system

Preoperative estimation of remnant hepatic function by fusion images of CT scans and single photon emission CT (SPECT) using 99mTc-GSA.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of hepatic functional reserve is important in hepatic resection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) analysis in the preoperative estimation of remnant liver function in liver surgery. METHODS: One hundred and one patients undergoing hepatic resection for liver tumours were studied. Seventeen patients had preoperative percutaneous transhepatic portal vein embolization (PTPE). Function of the hepatic remnant was estimated before surgery using radioactivity in fusion images of both liver single-photon emission computed tomography and computed tomography scans using (99m)Tc-labelled diethylene triamine penta-acetate-galactosyl-human serum albumin. RESULTS: All three patients with an ASGP-R concentration below 400 nmol/l and preoperative total amount of receptor in the future remnant liver (R0-remnant) of less than 53.0 nmol per liver died. Two patients with chronic hepatitis and R0-remnant values between 53.0 and 65.0 nmol per liver and a receptor concentration lower than 600 nmol/l developed liver dysfunction. The incidence of liver failure decreased inversely with increasing R0-remnant value. CONCLUSION: A combination of receptor concentration and the amount of hepatic receptor in the future liver remnant as detected on fusion images is useful in evaluating the risk of postoperative liver failure

Isotropic orbital magnetic moments in magnetically anisotropic SrRuO3 films

Epitaxially strained SrRuO3 films have been a model system for understanding the magnetic anisotropy in metallic oxides. In this paper, we investigate the anisotropy of the Ru 4d and O 2p electronic structure and magnetic properties using high-quality epitaxially strained (compressive and tensile) SrRuO3 films grown by machine-learning-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The element-specific magnetic properties and the hybridization between the Ru 4d and O 2p orbitals were characterized by Ru M2,3-edge and O K-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements. The magnetization curves for the Ru 4d and O 2p magnetic moments are identical, irrespective of the strain type, indicating the strong magnetic coupling between the Ru and O ions. The electronic structure and the orbital magnetic moment relative to the spin magnetic moment are isotropic despite the perpendicular and in-plane magnetic anisotropy in the compressive-strained and tensile-strained SrRuO3 films; i.e., the orbital magnetic moments have a negligibly small contribution to the magnetic anisotropy. This result contradicts Bruno model, where magnetic anisotropy arises from the difference in the orbital magnetic moment between the perpendicular and in-plane directions. Contributions of strain-induced electric quadrupole moments to the magnetic anisotropy are discussed, too

キュウジカ ニ オケル ゼニガタアザラシ イナイ マダコカ トウソクルイ ノ ガクバンザンリュウヒョウカ

高次捕食者であるアザラシ類は沿岸生態系において生態学的に重要な位置を占めていると考えられるが，その影響評価に必要な食性については，採餌行動を直接観察できないことから間接的な手法の他，胃内容分析による調査が行われている。このうち，胃内容分析は死亡する直前の1日間程度の採餌生物と採餌量を直接特定することができるものの，胃内の消化状況によって種の同定や採餌量の推定が過小評価になる恐れが指摘されている。本研究では，個体数管理上の殺処分が予定されているゼニガタアザラシ1個体に対して8日間連続で1日1個体のマダコ科頭足類を給餌した後に安楽死させ，胃中に残った顎板を解析することにより消化の影響を検討した。その結果，顎板は上顎，下顎ともに胃内に7日間程度保持された後，腸内へ消化されると推定された。顎板は消化により摩耗が進行するが，捕食されたマダコ科頭足類の重量を推定するのに必要な額板重量の再現には，下顎のLower-Hood Length（LHL）を使用することが最も精度が高いことが示唆された。Seals are considered ecologically important because they are the top predator in coastal ecosystems. However, the dietary habits necessary for assessing their impact have been investigated using indirect methods because foraging behavior cannot be directly observed. Of these, stomach content analysis can directly identify the foraging organisms and the amount of food consumed during the day or so immediately prior to death. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that the digestion in the stomach may lead to underestimation of species identification and foraging volume estimation. In this study, we euthanized a harbor seal, which was scheduled to be killed for population control purposes, after feeding it one octopus per day for eight consecutive days and examined the effect of digestion by analyzing the remaining lower beaks in the stomach. As a result, it was estimated that both the upper and lower jaw plates were retained in the stomach for about 7 days, and then migrated to the intestine. The Lower-Hood Length (LHL) of the lower beak was suggested to be the most accurate method for reproducing the weight of the forehead plate, which is necessary for estimating the weight of a predated octopus

Magnetic Properties of Ternary DyMn_2X_2 Compounds (X=Si and Ge)(Magnetism)

Magnetic properties of DyMn_2Si_2, DyMn_2Ge_2 and their mixed compounds DyMn_2(Si_Ge_x)_2, which display a variety of interesting magnetic behaviors originating in competing magnetic interactions and anisotropy, have been investigated systematically by magnetization mesurements ^Dy Mossbauer spectroscopy and neutron diffraction experiments. This report presents a review of the results mainly obtained by the magnetization measurements

Evolution of the Fe-3dd impurity band state as the origin of high Curie temperature in p-type ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Fe)Sb

(Ga$_{1-x}$,Fe$_x$)Sb is one of the promising ferromagnetic semiconductors for spintronic device applications because its Curie temperature ($T_{\rm C}$) is above 300 K when the Fe concentration $x$ is equal to or higher than ~0.20. However, the origin of the high $T_{\rm C}$ in (Ga,Fe)Sb remains to be elucidated. To address this issue, we use resonant photoemission spectroscopy (RPES) and first-principles calculations to investigate the $x$ dependence of the Fe 3$d$ states in (Ga$_{1-x}$,Fe$_x$)Sb ($x$ = 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25) thin films. The observed Fe 2$p$-3$d$ RPES spectra reveal that the Fe-3$d$ impurity band (IB) crossing the Fermi level becomes broader with increasing $x$, which is qualitatively consistent with the picture of double-exchange interaction. Comparison between the obtained Fe-3$d$ partial density of states and the first-principles calculations suggests that the Fe-3$d$ IB originates from the minority-spin ($\downarrow$) $e$ states. The results indicate that enhancement of the interaction between $e_\downarrow$ electrons with increasing $x$ is the origin of the high $T_{\rm C}$ in (Ga,Fe)Sb

The Shigella OspC3 Effector Inhibits Caspase-4, Antagonizes Inflammatory Cell Death, and Promotes Epithelial Infection

SummaryCaspase-mediated inflammatory cell death acts as an intrinsic defense mechanism against infection. Bacterial pathogens deploy countermeasures against inflammatory cell death, but the mechanisms by which they do this remain largely unclear. In a screen for Shigella flexneri effectors that regulate cell death during infection, we discovered that Shigella infection induced acute inflammatory, caspase-4-dependent epithelial cell death, which is counteracted by the bacterial OspC3 effector. OspC3 interacts with the caspase-4-p19 subunit and inhibits its activation by preventing caspase-4-p19 and caspase-4-p10 heterodimerization by depositing the conserved OspC3 X1-Y-X2-D-X3 motif at the putative catalytic pocket of caspase-4. Infection of guinea pigs with a Shigella ospC3-deficient mutant resulted in enhanced inflammatory cell death and associated symptoms, correlating with decreased bacterial burdens. Salmonella Typhimurium and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection also induced caspase-4-dependent epithelial death. These findings highlight the importance of caspase-4-dependent innate immune responses and demonstrate that Shigella delivers a caspase-4-specific inhibitor to delay epithelial cell death and promote infection