Electron emission of Au nanoparticles embedded in ZnO for highly conductive oxide

We investigated the effect of embedded Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) on electrical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) for highly conductive oxide semiconductor. Au NPs in ZnO films influenced both the structural and electrical properties of the mixture films. The electrical resistivity decreases by as much as five orders of magnitude. This is explained by the electron emission from Au NPs to the ZnO matrix. Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements show that an electron emission mechanism changes from tunneling to thermionic emission at T = 180 K. The electron mobility in the mixture film is mainly limited by the grain boundaries at lower temperature (80-180 K), and the Au/ZnO heterogeneous interface at higher temperature (180-340 K). In addition to the electron emission, embedded Au NPs alter the ZnO matrix microstructure and improve the electron mobility. Compared to the undoped ZnO film, the carrier concentration of the Au NP-embedded ZnO film can be increased by as much as six orders of magnitude with a small change in the carrier mobility. This result suggests a way to circumvent the inherent tradeoff between the carrier concentration and the carrier mobility in transparent conductive oxide (TCO) materials. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

Super-Yang-Mills and M5-branes

We uplift 5-dimensional super-Yang-Mills theory to a 6-dimensional gauge theory with the help of a space-like constant vector $\eta^M$, whose norm determines the Yang-Mills coupling constant. After the localization of $\eta^M$ the 6D gauge theory acquires Lorentzian invariance as well as scale invariance. We discuss KK states, instantons and the flux quantization. The 6D theory admits extended solutions like 1/2 BPS `strings' and monopoles.Comment: 15 pages; minor changes, to appear in JHE

A validation of the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index

Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI) in an external population. The OSRI predicts survival in patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC). Methods We analysed the data of 100 patients undergoing surgical intervention for MSCC at a tertiary spinal unit and recorded the primary tumour pathology and Karnofsky performance status to calculate the OSRI. Logistic regression models and survival plots were applied to the data in accordance with the original paper. Results Lower OSRI scores predicted longer survival. The OSRI score predicted survival accurately in 74% of cases (p = 0.004). Conclusions Our study has found that the OSRI is a significant predictor of survival at levels similar to those of the original authors and is a useful and simple tool in aiding complex decision making in patients presenting with MSC

Regulatory role of miR-142-3p on the functional hepatic cancer stem cell marker CD133

This journal suppl. entitled: Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CATumor relapse after therapy typifies hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is believed to be attributable to residual cancer stem cells (CSCs) that survive initial treatment. We have previously identified a CSC population derived from HCC that is characterized by the expression of the transmembrane glycoprotein, CD133. Despite our growing knowledge of the importance of a functional CD133+ liver CSC subset in driving HCC, the regulatory mechanism of CD133 is not known. Epigenetic changes are believed to be essential in the control of cancer and stem cells. We report here the dynamic epigenetic regulation of the functional liver CSC marker CD133 by promoter methylation and miR-142-3p regulation. Unlike in other tumor types, we found DNA methylation to only play a minor role in the control of CD133 expression in HCC. More importantly, our results revealed that miR-142-3p plays an integral part in the direct targeting of ...postprin

Gauge-invariant correlation functions in light-cone superspace

We initiate a study of correlation functions of gauge-invariant operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory using the light-cone superspace formalism. Our primary aim is to develop efficient methods to compute perturbative corrections to correlation functions. This analysis also allows us to examine potential subtleties which may arise when calculating off-shell quantities in light-cone gauge. We comment on the intriguing possibility that the manifest N=4 supersymmetry in this approach may allow for a compact description of entire multiplets and their correlation functions.Comment: 35 pages, several figure

The effects of climatic fluctuations and extreme events on running water ecosystems

Most research on the effects of environmental change in freshwaters has focused on incremental changes in average conditions, rather than fluctuations or extreme events such as heatwaves, cold snaps, droughts, floods or wildfires, which may have even more profound consequences. Such events are commonly predicted to increase in frequency, intensity and duration with global climate change, with many systems being exposed to conditions with no recent historical precedent. We propose a mechanistic framework for predicting potential impacts of environmental fluctuations on running water ecosystems by scaling up effects of fluctuations from individuals to entire ecosystems. This framework requires integration of four key components: effects of the environment on individual metabolism, metabolic and biomechanical constraints on fluctuating species interactions, assembly dynamics of local food webs and mapping the dynamics of the meta-community onto ecosystem function. We illustrate the framework by developing a mathematical model of environmental fluctuations on dynamically assembling food webs. We highlight (currently limited) empirical evidence for emerging insights and theoretical predictions. For example, widely supported predictions about the effects of environmental fluctuations are: high vulnerability of species with high per capita metabolic demands such as large-bodied ones at the top of food webs; simplification of food web network structure and impaired energetic transfer efficiency; reduced resilience and top-down relative to bottom-up regulation of food web and ecosystem processes. We conclude by identifying key questions and challenges that need to be addressed to develop more accurate and predictive bio-assessments of the effects of fluctuations, and implications of fluctuations for management practices in an increasingly uncertain world

Self-duality of the D1-D5 near-horizon

We explore fermionic T-duality and self-duality in the geometry AdS3 x S3 x T4 in type IIB supergravity. We explicitly construct the Killing spinors and the fermionic T-duality isometries and show that the geometry is self-dual under a combination of two bosonic AdS3 T-dualities, four fermionic T-dualities and either two additional T-dualities along T4 or two T-dualities along S3. In addition, we show that the presence of a B-field acts as an obstacle to self-duality, a property attributable to S- duality and fermionic T-duality not commuting. Finally, we argue that fermionic T-duality may be extended to CY2 = K3, a setting where we cannot explicitly construct the Killing spinors.Comment: 24 pages, references added, changes made to reinforce the point that S-duality and fermionic T-duality generically do not commute, version accepted to JHE

Partonic description of a supersymmetric p-brane

We consider supersymmetric extensions of a recently proposed partonic description of a bosonic p-brane which reformulates the Nambu-Goto action as an interacting multi-particle action with Filippov-Lie algebra gauge symmetry. We construct a worldline supersymmetric action by postulating, among others, a p-form fermion. Demanding a local worldline supersymmetry rather than the full worldvolume supersymmetry, we circumvent a known no-go theorem against the construction of a Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz supersymmetric action for a p-brane of p>1. We also derive a spacetime supersymmetric Green-Schwarz extension from the preexisting kappa-symmetric action.Comment: 1+16 pages, no figure; References added and Concluding section expanded. Final version to appear in JHE

Worldvolume Superalgebra Of BLG Theory With Nambu-Poisson Structure

Recently it was proposed that the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory with Nambu-Poisson structure describes an M5-brane in a three-form flux background. In this paper we investigate the superalgebra associated with this theory. We derive the central charges corresponding to M5-brane solitons in 3-form backgrounds. We also show that double dimensional reduction of the superalgebra gives rise to the Poisson bracket terms of a non-commutative D4-brane superalgebra. We provide interpretations of the D4-brane charges in terms of spacetime intersections.Comment: 23 pages; references added, section 4 clarification