A diode device combining lateral field-effect transport and vertical tunneling in a multi-quantum-well heterostructure

The authors discuss an electronic device with asymmetric contacts to a InGaAs-InP multilayer heterostructure. Current enters via an alloyed ohmic contact into the quantum wells (QWs) and flows laterally along capacitively coupled channels. It leaves via tunneling between the layers and through a forward-biased surface Schottky contact. A step-like I-V dependence is observed and interpreted by a model calculation

Electrophysiological correlates of cross-linguistic semantic integration in hearing signers:. N400 and LPC

We explored semantic integration mechanisms in native and non-native hearing users of sign language and non-signing controls. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants performed a semantic decision task for priming lexeme pairs. Pairs were presented either within speech or across speech and sign language. Target-related ERP responses were subjected to principal component analyses (PCA), and neurocognitive basis of semantic integration processes were assessed by analyzing the N400 and the late positive complex (LPC) components in response to spoken (auditory) and signed (visual) antonymic and unrelated targets. Semantically-related effects triggered across modalities would indicate a similar tight interconnection between the signers&#39; two languages like that described for spoken language bilinguals. Remarkable structural similarity of the N400 and LPC components with varying group differences between the spoken and signed targets were found. The LPC was the dominant response. The controls&#39; LPC differed from the LPC of the two signing groups. It was reduced to the auditory unrelated targets and was less frontal for all the visual targets. The visual LPC was more broadly distributed in native than non-native signers and was left-lateralized for the unrelated targets in the native hearing signers only. Semantic priming effects were found for the auditory N400 in all groups, but only native hearing signers revealed a clear N400 effect to the visual targets. Surprisingly, the non-native signers revealed no semantically-related processing effect to the visual targets reflected in the N400 or the LPC; instead they appeared to rely more on visual post-lexical analyzing stages than native signers. We conclude that native and non-native signers employed different processing strategies to integrate signed and spoken semantic content. It appeared that the signers&#39; semantic processing system was affected by group-specific factors like language background and/or usage.</p

Orthorhombic distortion on Li intercalation in anatase

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Selected 'Starter kit' energy system modelling data for selected countries in Africa, East Asia, and South America (#CCG, 2021)

Energy system modeling can be used to develop internally-consistent quantified scenarios. These provide key insights needed to mobilise finance, understand market development, infrastructure deployment and the associated role of institutions, and generally support improved policymaking. However, access to data is often a barrier to starting energy system modeling, especially in developing countries, thereby causing delays to decision making. Therefore, this article provides data that can be used to create a simple zero-order energy system model for a range of developing countries in Africa, East Asia, and South America, which can act as a starting point for further model development and scenario analysis. The data are collected entirely from publicly available and accessible sources, including the websites and databases of international organisations, journal articles, and existing modeling studies. This means that the datasets can be easily updated based on the latest available information or more detailed and accurate local data. As an example, these data were also used to calibrate a simple energy system model for Kenya using the Open Source Energy Modeling System (OSeMOSYS) and three stylized scenarios (Fossil Future, Least Cost and Net Zero by 2050) for 2020–2050. The assumptions used and the results of these scenarios are presented in the appendix as an illustrative example of what can be done with these data. This simple model can be adapted and further developed by in-country analysts and academics, providing a platform for future work

Processing of Abstract Rule Violations in Audition

The ability to encode rules and to detect rule-violating events outside the focus of attention is vital for adaptive behavior. Our brain recordings reveal that violations of abstract auditory rules are processed even when the sounds are unattended. When subjects performed a task related to the sounds but not to the rule, rule violations impaired task performance and activated a network involving supratemporal, parietal and frontal areas although none of the subjects acquired explicit knowledge of the rule or became aware of rule violations. When subjects tried to behaviorally detect rule violations, the brain's automatic violation detection facilitated intentional detection. This shows the brain's capacity for abstraction – an important cognitive function necessary to model the world. Our study provides the first evidence for the task-independence (i.e. automaticity) of this ability to encode abstract rules and for its immediate consequences for subsequent mental processes

Multicentered analysis of percutaneous sclerotherapies in venous malformations of the face

ObjectivesTo evaluate the safety and outcome of image-guided sclerotherapy for treating venous malformations (VMs) of the face.Materials and methodsA multicenter cohort of 68 patients with VMs primarily affecting the face was retrospectively investigated. In total, 142 image-guided sclerotherapies were performed using gelified ethanol and/or polidocanol. Clinical and imaging findings were assessed to evaluate clinical response, lesion size reduction, and complication rates. Sub-analyses of complication rates depending on type and injected volume of the sclerosant as well as of pediatric versus adult patient groups were conducted.ResultsMean number of procedures per patient was 2.1 (±1.7) and mean follow-up consisted of 8.7 months (±6.8 months). Clinical response (n = 58) revealed a partial relief of symptoms in 70.7% (41/58), 13/58 patients (22.4%) presented symptom-free while only 4/58 patients (6.9%) reported no improvement. Post-treatment imaging (n = 52) revealed an overall objective response rate of 86.5% (45/52). The total complication rate was 10.6% (15/142) including 4.2% (7/142) major complications, mostly (14/15, 93.3%) resolved by conservative means. In one case, a mild facial palsy persisted over time. The complication rate in the gelified ethanol subgroup was significantly higher compared to polidocanol and to the combination of both sclerosants (23.5 vs. 6.0 vs. 8.3%, p = 0.01). No significant differences in complications between the pediatric and the adult subgroup were observed (12.1 vs. 9.2%, p = 0.57). Clinical response did not correlate with lesion size reduction on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).ConclusionImage-guided sclerotherapy is effective for treating VMs of the face. Clinical response is not necessarily associated with size reduction on imaging. Despite the complex anatomy of this location, the procedures are safe for both adults and children