Self-regulated charge transfer and band tilt in nm-scale polar GaN films

To date, the generic polarization of Bernardini, Fiorentini and Vanderbilt (PBFV) has been widely used to address the issue of polarity in III-V nitride semiconductors, but improvements in nitride materials and the performance of optoelectronic devices have been limited. The current first-principles calculation for the electronic structures of nm-scale [0001] GaN films show that the internal electric fields and the band tilt of these films are in opposite direction to those predicted by PBFV. Additionally, it is determined that an intrinsic self-regulated charge transfer across the film limits the electrostatic potential difference across the film, which renders the local conduction band energy minimum (at the Ga-terminated surface) approximately equal to the local valence band energy maximum (at the N-terminated surface). This effect is found to occur in films thicker than ~4nm

Differential expression analysis for sequence count data

*Motivation:* High-throughput nucleotide sequencing provides quantitative readouts in assays for RNA expression (RNA-Seq), protein-DNA binding (ChIP-Seq) or cell counting (barcode sequencing). Statistical inference of differential signal in such data requires estimation of their variability throughout the dynamic range. When the number of replicates is small, error modelling is needed to achieve statistical power.

*Results:* We propose an error model that uses the negative binomial distribution, with variance and mean linked by local regression, to model the null distribution of the count data. The method controls type-I error and provides good detection power. 

*Availability:* A free open-source R software package, _DESeq_, is available from the Bioconductor project and from "http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq":http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq

Electronic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor TTF-TCNQ

We study the electronic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor TTF-TCNQ by means of density-functional band theory, Hubbard model calculations, and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). The experimental spectra reveal significant quantitative and qualitative discrepancies to band theory. We demonstrate that the dispersive behavior as well as the temperature-dependence of the spectra can be consistently explained by the finite-energy physics of the one-dimensional Hubbard model at metallic doping. The model description can even be made quantitative, if one accounts for an enhanced hopping integral at the surface, most likely caused by a relaxation of the topmost molecular layer. Within this interpretation the ARPES data provide spectroscopic evidence for the existence of spin-charge separation on an energy scale of the conduction band width. The failure of the one-dimensional Hubbard model for the {\it low-energy} spectral behavior is attributed to interchain coupling and the additional effect of electron-phonon interaction.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Purifying Selection in Deeply Conserved Human Enhancers Is More Consistent than in Coding Sequences

(c) 2014 De Silva et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

CpG Deamination Creates Transcription Factor–Binding Sites with High Efficiency

The formation of new transcription factor–binding sites (TFBSs) has a major impact on the evolution of gene regulatory networks. Clearly, single nucleotide mutations arising within genomic DNA can lead to the creation of TFBSs. Are molecular processes inducing single nucleotide mutations contributing equally to the creation of TFBSs? In the human genome, a spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosine in the context of CpG dinucleotides results in the creation of thymine (C → T), and this mutation has the highest rate among all base substitutions. CpG deamination has been ascribed a role in silencing of transposons and induction of variation in regional methylation. We have previously shown that CpG deamination created thousands of p53-binding sites within genomic sequences of Alu transposons. Interestingly, we have defined a ∼30 bp region in Alu sequence, which, depending on a pattern of CpG deamination, can be converted to functional p53-, PAX-6-, and Myc-binding sites. Here, we have studied single nucleotide mutational events leading to creation of TFBSs in promoters of human genes and in genomic regions bound by such key transcription factors as Oct4, NANOG, and c-Myc. We document that CpG deamination events can create TFBSs with much higher efficiency than other types of mutational events. Our findings add a new role to CpG methylation: We propose that deamination of methylated CpGs constitutes one of the evolutionary forces acting on mutational trajectories of TFBSs formation contributing to variability in gene regulation

Mechanical and Electronic Properties of MoS2_2 Nanoribbons and Their Defects

We present our study on atomic, electronic, magnetic and phonon properties of one dimensional honeycomb structure of molybdenum disulfide (MoS$_2$) using first-principles plane wave method. Calculated phonon frequencies of bare armchair nanoribbon reveal the fourth acoustic branch and indicate the stability. Force constant and in-plane stiffness calculated in the harmonic elastic deformation range signify that the MoS$_2$ nanoribbons are stiff quasi one dimensional structures, but not as strong as graphene and BN nanoribbons. Bare MoS$_2$ armchair nanoribbons are nonmagnetic, direct band gap semiconductors. Bare zigzag MoS$_2$ nanoribbons become half-metallic as a result of the (2x1) reconstruction of edge atoms and are semiconductor for minority spins, but metallic for the majority spins. Their magnetic moments and spin-polarizations at the Fermi level are reduced as a result of the passivation of edge atoms by hydrogen. The functionalization of MoS$_2$ nanoribbons by adatom adsorption and vacancy defect creation are also studied. The nonmagnetic armchair nanoribbons attain net magnetic moment depending on where the foreign atoms are adsorbed and what kind of vacancy defect is created. The magnetization of zigzag nanoribbons due to the edge states is suppressed in the presence of vacancy defects.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, first submitted at November 23th, 200

Genetic determinants of co-accessible chromatin regions in activated T cells across humans.

Over 90% of genetic variants associated with complex human traits map to non-coding regions, but little is understood about how they modulate gene regulation in health and disease. One possible mechanism is that genetic variants affect the activity of one or more cis-regulatory elements leading to gene expression variation in specific cell types. To identify such cases, we analyzed ATAC-seq and RNA-seq profiles from stimulated primary CD4+ T cells in up to 105 healthy donors. We found that regions of accessible chromatin (ATAC-peaks) are co-accessible at kilobase and megabase resolution, consistent with the three-dimensional chromatin organization measured by in situ Hi-C in T cells. Fifteen percent of genetic variants located within ATAC-peaks affected the accessibility of the corresponding peak (local-ATAC-QTLs). Local-ATAC-QTLs have the largest effects on co-accessible peaks, are associated with gene expression and are enriched for autoimmune disease variants. Our results provide insights into how natural genetic variants modulate cis-regulatory elements, in isolation or in concert, to influence gene expression

Multiband model of high Tc superconductors

We propose an extension to other high T_{c } compounds of a model introduced earlier for YBCO. In the ''self-doped'' compounds we assume that the doping part (namely the BiO, HgO, TlO planes in BSCCO, HBCCO, TBCCO respectively) is metallic, which leads to a multiband model. This assumption is supported by band structure calculations. Taking a repulsive pairing interaction between these doping bands and the CuO_{2} bands leads to opposite signs for the order parameter on these bands and to nodes whenever the Fermi surfaces of these bands cross. We show that in BSCCO the low temperature dependence of the penetration depth is reasonably accounted for. In this case the nodes are not located near the 45^{o} direction, which makes the experimental determination of the node locations an important test for our model. The situation in HBCCO and TBCCO is rather analogous to BSCCO. We consider the indications given by NMR and find that they rather favor a metallic character for the doping bands. Finally we discuss the cases of NCCO and LSCO which are not ''self-doped'' and where our model does not give nodes.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, 1 figure

Extensive Variation in Chromatin States Across Humans

The majority of disease-associated variants lie outside protein-coding regions, suggesting a link between variation in regulatory regions and disease predisposition. We studied differences in chromatin states using five histone modifications, cohesin, and CTCF in lymphoblastoid lines from 19 individuals of diverse ancestry. We found extensive signal variation in regulatory regions, which often switch between active and repressed states across individuals. Enhancer activity is particularly diverse among individuals, whereas gene expression remains relatively stable. Chromatin variability shows genetic inheritance in trios, correlates with genetic variation and population divergence, and is associated with disruptions of transcription factor binding motifs. Overall, our results provide insights into chromatin variation among humans

Correlated local distortions of the TlO layers in Tl2_2Ba2_2CuOy_{y}: An x-ray absorption study

We have used the XAFS (x-ray-absorption fine structure) technique to investigate the local structure about the Cu, Ba, and Tl atoms in orthorhombic Tl-2201 with a superconducting transition temperature T$_c$=60 K. Our results clearly show that the O(1), O(2), Cu, and Ba atoms are at their ideal sites as given by the diffraction measurements, while the Tl and O(3) atoms are more disordered than suggested by the average crystal structure. The Tl-Tl distance at 3.5 \AA{ } between the TlO layers does not change, but the Tl-Tl distance at 3.9 \AA{ } within the TlO layer is not observed and the Tl-Ba and Ba-Tl peaks are very broad. The shorter Tl-O(3) distance in the TlO layer is about 2.33 \AA, significantly shorter than the distance calculated with both the Tl and O(3) atoms at their ideal $4e$ sites ( $x=y=$0 or $\frac{1}{2}$). A model based on these results shows that the Tl atom is displaced along the directions from its ideal site by about 0.11 \AA; the displacements of neighboring Tl atoms are correlated. The O(3) atom is shifted from the $4e$ site by about 0.53 \AA{ } roughly along the directions. A comparison of the Tl L$_{III}$-edge XAFS spectra from three samples, with T$_c$=60 K, 76 K, and 89 K, shows that the O environment around the Tl atom is sensitive to T$_c$ while the Tl local displacement is insensitive to T$_c$ and the structural symmetry. These conclusions are compared with other experimental results and the implications for charge transfer and superconductivity are discussed. This paper has been submitted to Phys. Rev. B.Comment: 20 pages plus 14 ps figures, REVTEX 3.