Negative oxygen vacancies in HfO2_2 as charge traps in high-k stacks

We calculated the optical excitation and thermal ionization energies of oxygen vacancies in m-HfO$_2$ using atomic basis sets, a non-local density functional and periodic supercell. The thermal ionization energies of negatively charged V$^-$ and V$^{2-}$ centres are consistent with values obtained by the electrical measurements. The results suggest that negative oxygen vacancies are the likely candidates for intrinsic electron traps in the hafnum-based gate stack devices.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

Visual outcome of penetrating keratoplasty, deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty

Purpose: A single-center, cross-sectional study was designed to assess and compare objective and subjective quality of vision of patients intervened with penetrating keratoplasty (PK), deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). Methods: Forty-six patients previously intervened with PK (22 eyes), DALK (7 eyes) and DMEK (17 eyes) were recruited. Visual evaluation included spherical and cylindrical refraction, distance corrected visual acuity (DCVA), photopic contrast sensitivity (CS), optical quality, measured with the HD Analyzer (objective scattering index [OSI], MTF cut-off and Strehl ratio), and ocular and corneal aberrometry, measured with the KR-1W Wavefront Analyzer. Results: Statistically significant between-group differences were found in age (p = 0.006, DMEK patients were older) and time since surgery (p <. 0.001, longest time for PK patients). No statistically significant differences were found in DCVA between the techniques. Between-group differences were encountered in CS at 12 (p = 0.007) and 18 (p <. 0.001) cycles per degree, with DMEK and DALK obtaining the best and worst outcomes, respectively. Differences in optical quality were found between the techniques (OSI, p = 0.004; MTF cut-off, p = 0.048; Strehl ratio p = 0.022), with DMEK displaying the best outcomes. Highest and lowest values in ocular and corneal aberrations were for DALK and DMEK patients, respectively. Between-group differences were found in corneal astigmatism (p <. 0.001; -3.31. ±. 2.00 D in PK; -2.68. ±. 0.94 D in DALK; -1.09. ±. 0.62 D in DMEK). Conclusion: Overall, DMEK proved superior over PK and DALK in terms of quality of vision, with PK offering slightly better outcomes than DALK in most visual function parameters under evaluation.Preprin

Spin crossover in Fe2SiO4 liquid at high pressure

We combine spin-polarized density functional theory with first principle molecular dynamics (FPMD) to study the spin crossover in liquid Fe2SiO4, up to 300 GPa and 6000 K. In contrast to the much sharper transition seen in crystals, we find that the high- to low-spin transition occurs over a very broad pressure interval (>200 GPa) due to structural disorder in the liquid. We find excellent agreement with the experimental Hugoniot. We combine our results with previous FPMD calculations to derive the partial molar volumes of the oxide components MgO, FeO, and SiO2. We find that eutectic melts in the MgO-FeO-SiO2 system are denser than coexisting solids in the bottom 600 km of Earth's mantle

Intra-Species Diversity and Panmictic Structure of Cryptosporidium parvum Populations in Cattle Farms in Northern Spain

The intra-herd and intra-host genetic variability of 123 Cryptosporidium parvum isolates was investigated using a multilocus fragment typing approach with eleven variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) loci and the GP60 gene. Isolates were collected from intensively farmed diarrheic pre-weaned calves originating from 31 dairy farms in three adjoining regions in northern Spain (País Vasco, Cantabria and Asturias). The multilocus tool demonstrated an acceptable typeability, with 104/123 samples amplifying at all twelve loci. The ML2, TP14, GP60 and the previously un-described minisatellite at locus cgd2_3850 were the most discriminatory markers, while others may be dismissed as monomorphic (MSB) or less informative (CP47, ML1 and the novel minisatellites at loci Cgd1_3670 and Cgd6_3940). The 12-satellite typing tool provided a Hunter-Gaston index (HGDI) of 0.987 (95% CI, 0.982–0.992), and differentiated a total of 70 multilocus subtypes (MLTs). The inclusion of only the four most discriminatory markers dramatically reduced the number of MLTs (n: 44) but hardly reduced the HGDI value. A total of 54 MLTs were distinctive for individual farms, indicating that cryptosporidiosis is an endemic condition on most cattle farms. However, a high rate of mixed infections was detected, suggesting frequent meiotic recombination. Namely, multiple MLTs were seen in most farms where several specimens were analyzed (90.5%), with up to 9 MLTs being found on one farm, and individual specimens with mixed populations being reported on 11/29 farms. Bayesian Structure analysis showed that over 35% of isolates had mixed ancestry and analysis of evolutionary descent using the eBURST algorithm detected a high rate (21.4%) of MLTs appearing as singletons, indicating a high degree of genetic divergence. Linkage analysis found evidence of linkage equilibrium and an overall panmictic structure within the C. parvum population in this discrete geographical area

Effect of relative humidity and storage time on the bioactive compounds and functional properties of grapefruit powder

The modified state diagram of freeze-dried grapefruit powder was obtained in order to determine the critical water content and critical water activity that cause the glass transition of the amorphous matrix at storage temperature. At 20 C these values were in the ranges of 0.031 0.057 g water/g product and 0.089 0.210, respectively. Below those critical values, the glassy state of the amorphous matrix is guaranteed, thus avoiding an increase in the rate of the deteriorative reactions related to the loss of the bioactive compounds in the fruit (organic acids, vitamin C, main flavonoids, and total phenols) which contribute to the antioxidant capacity (AAO) of grapefruit. In the rubbery state, a certain time is needed for these degradative reactions to start. This time depends on the water content of the sample, the greater the water content the lower the time needed. In this study, the powder was stable for a relatively long storage time (3 months) regardless the relative humidity, due to the limited mobility of the molecular system. Between 3 and 6 months had to pass before a significant loss of bioactive compounds was observed; the higher the relative humidity, the greater the loss.The authors wish to thank the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia for the financial support given throughout Project AGL 2010-22176 and the Generalitat Valenciana for the financial support given throughout Projects GVPRE/2008/253 and ACOMP/2012/161.Moraga Ballesteros, G.; Igual Ramo, M.; García Martínez, EM.; Mosquera, LH.; Martínez Navarrete, N. (2012). Effect of relative humidity and storage time on the bioactive compounds and functional properties of grapefruit powder. Journal of Food Engineering. 112(3):191-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2012.04.002S191199112

East Asia and the global/transatlantic/Western crisis

This paper introduces the special collection on East Asia and the Global Crisis. After justifying why a focus on East Asia is appropriate, it draws out the main themes that run through the individual contributions. These are the extent to which the region is decoupling from the global economy (or the West), the increasing legitimacy of statist alternatives to neoliberal development strategies, and the impact of crises on the definition of ―region‖ and the functioning of regional institutions and governance mechanisms

Effect of the Coulomb repulsion on the {\it ac} transport through a quantum dot

We calculate in a linear response the admittance of a quantum dot out of equilibrium. The interaction between two electrons with opposite spins simultaneously residing on the resonant level is modeled by an Anderson Hamiltonian. The electron correlations lead to the appearence of a new feature in the frequency dependence of the conductance. For certain parameter values there are two crossover frequencies between a capacitive and an inductive behavior of the imaginary part of the admittance. The experimental implications of the obtained results are briefly discussed.Comment: 13 pages, REVTEX 3.0, 2 .ps figures from [email protected], NUB-308

Simulation studies of CZT Detectors as Gamma-Ray Calorimeter

We describe the results of detailed 3-D Monte Carlo simulations of a "CZT calorimeter" that can be used to detect photons in the keV to several MeV range. Several astrophysics applications require the detection of photons in the energy range of keV up to several MeV with good position and energy resolution. For certain applications Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors might be the detector option of choice. Up to now, CZT detectors have mainly been used in the energy range between a few keV to ~1 MeV, we describe the results of detailed 3-D Monte Carlo simulations of a "CZT calorimeter" that can be used to detect photons in the keV to several MeV range. The main objective of these studies is to evaluate the feasibility of CZT calorimeters, to study their performance and detect and understand performance limiting factors. Such a calorimeter consists of many layers of closely packed pixellated CZT detector units. Our simulations of single detector units reproduce experimental results, indicating that our simulations capture the main factors that limit the performance of a detector unit. Overall the conclusion of our simulation study is that between 1 cm and 1.5 cm thick detector units can be used to build a calorimeter with good performance over the energy range from ~20 keV to ~10 MeV.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics, 20 pages, 14 figure

The DNA methylation landscape of the human oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR): data-driven clusters and their relation to gene expression and childhood adversity

The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is of interest when investigating the effects of early adversity on DNA methylation. However, there is heterogeneity regarding the selection of the most promising CpG sites to target for analyses. The goal of this study was to determine functionally relevant clusters of CpG sites within the OXTR CpG island in 113 mother-infant dyads, with 58 of the mothers reporting childhood maltreatment (CM). OXTR DNA methylation was analyzed in peripheral/umbilical blood mononuclear cells. Different complexity reduction approaches were used to reduce the 188 CpG sites into clusters of co-methylated sites. Furthermore, associations between OXTR DNA methylation (cluster- and site-specific level) and OXTR gene expression and CM were investigated in mothers. Results showed that, first, CpG sections differed strongly regarding their statistical utility for research of individual differences in DNA methylation. Second, cluster analyses and Partial Least Squares (PLS) suggested two clusters consisting of intron1/exon2 and the protein-coding region of exon3, respectively, as most strongly associated with outcome measures. Third, cross-validated PLS regression explained 7% of variance in CM, with low cross-validated variance explained for the prediction of gene expression. Fourth, substantial mother-child correspondence was observed in correlation patterns within the identified clusters, but only modest correspondence outside these clusters. This study makes an important contribution to the mapping of the DNA methylation landscape of the OXTR CpG island by highlighting clusters of CpG sites that show desirable statistical properties and predictive value. We provide a Companion Web Application to facilitate the choice of CpG sites