Theoretical Study of Spin-dependent Electron Transport in Atomic Fe Nanocontacts

We present theoretical predictions of spintronic transport phenomena that should be observable in ferromagnetic Fe nanocontacts bridged by chains of Fe atoms. We develop appropriate model Hamiltonians based on semi-empirical considerations and the known electronic structure of bulk Fe derived from ab initio density functional calculations. Our model is shown to provide a satisfactory description of the surface properties of Fe nano-clusters as well as bulk properties. Lippmann-Schwinger and Green's function techniques are used together with Landauer theory to predict the current, magneto-resistance, and spin polarization of the current in Fe nanocontacts bridged by atomic chains under applied bias. Unusual device characteristics are predicted including negative magneto-resistance and spin polarization of the current, as well as spin polarization of the current for anti-parallel magnetization of the Fe nanocontacts under moderate applied bias. We explore the effects that stretching the atomic chain has on the magneto-resistance and spin polarization and predict a cross-over regime in which the spin polarization of the current for parallel magnetization of the contacts switches from negative to positive. We find resonant transmission due to dangling bond formation on tip atoms as the chain is stretched through its breaking point to play an important role in spin-dependent transport in this regime. The physical mechanisms underlying the predicted phenomena are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Physical Review

When, how and for whom changes in engagement happen:A transition analysis of instructional variables

The pace of our knowledge on online engagement has not been at par with our need to understand the temporal dynamics of online engagement, the transitions between engagement states, and the factors that influence a student being persistently engaged, transitioning to disengagement, or catching up and transitioning to an engaged state. Our study addresses such a gap and investigates how engagement evolves or changes over time, using a person-centered approach to identify for whom the changes happen and when. We take advantage of a novel and innovative multistate Markov model to identify what variables influence such transitions and with what magnitude, i.e., to answer the why. We use a large data set of 1428 enrollments in six courses (238 students). The findings show that online engagement changes differently —across students— and at different magnitudes —according to different instructional variables and previous engagement states. Cognitively engaging instructions helped cognitively engaged students stay engaged while negatively affecting disengaged students. Lectures —a resource that requires less mental energy— helped improve disengaged students. Such differential effects point to the different ways interventions can be applied to different groups, and how different groups may be supported. A balanced, carefully tailored approach is needed to design, intervene, or support students' engagement that takes into account the diversity of engagement states as well as the varied response magnitudes that intervention may incur across diverse students’ profiles

SEOM clinical guidelines in early stage breast cancer (2018)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in our country and it is usually diagnosed in the early and potentially curable stages. Nevertheless, around 20–30% of patients will relapse despite appropriate locoregional and systemic therapies. A better knowledge of this disease is improving our ability to select the most appropriate therapy for each patient with a recent diagnosis of an early stage breast cancer, minimizing unnecessary toxicities and improving long-term efficacy

Even-odd parity effects in conductance and shot noise of metal-atomic wire-metal(superconducting) junctions

In this paper, we study the conductance and shot noise in transport through a multi-site system in a two terminal configuration. The dependence of the transport on the number of atoms in the atomic wire is investigated using a tight-binding Hamiltonian and the nonequilibrium Green's function method. In addition to reproducing the even-odd behavior in the transmission probability at the Fermi energy or the linear response conductance in the normal-atomic wire-normal metallic(NAN) junctions, we find the following: (i) The shot noise is larger in the even-numbered atomic wire than in the odd-numbered wire. (ii) The Andreev conductance displays the same even-odd parity effects in the normal-atomic wire-superconducting(NAS) junctions. In general, the conductance is higher in the odd-numbered atomic wire than in the even-numbered wire. When the number of sites ($N$) is odd and the atomic wire is mirror symmetric with respect to the center of the atomic wire, the conductance does not depend on the details of the hopping matrices in the atomic wire, but is solely determined by the coupling strength to the two leads. When $N$ is even, the conductance is sensitive to the values of the hopping matrices.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Expression of a barley cystatin gene in maize enhances resistance against phytophagous mites by altering their cysteine-proteases

Phytocystatins are inhibitors of cysteine-proteases from plants putatively involved in plant defence based on their capability of inhibit heterologous enzymes. We have previously characterised the whole cystatin gene family members from barley (HvCPI-1 to HvCPI-13). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of barley cystatins on two phytophagous spider mites, Tetranychus urticae and Brevipalpus chilensis. The determination of proteolytic activity profile in both mite species showed the presence of the cysteine-proteases, putative targets of cystatins, among other enzymatic activities. All barley cystatins, except HvCPI-1 and HvCPI-7, inhibited in vitro mite cathepsin L- and/or cathepsin B-like activities, HvCPI-6 being the strongest inhibitor for both mite species. Transgenic maize plants expressing HvCPI-6 protein were generated and the functional integrity of the cystatin transgene was confirmed by in vitro inhibitory effect observed against T. urticae and B. chilensis protein extracts. Feeding experiments impaired on transgenic lines performed with T. urticae impaired mite development and reproductive performance. Besides, a significant reduction of cathepsin L-like and/or cathepsin B-like activities was observed when the spider mite fed on maize plants expressing HvCPI-6 cystatin. These findings reveal the potential of barley cystatins as acaricide proteins to protect plants against two important mite pests

Perturbation Study of the Conductance through an Interacting Region Connected to Multi-Mode Leads

We study the effects of electron correlation on transport through an interacting region connected to multi-mode leads based on the perturbation expansion with respect to the inter-electron interaction. At zero temperature the conductance defined in the Kubo formalism can be written in terms of a single-particle Green's function at the Fermi energy, and it can be mapped onto a transmission coefficient of the free quasiparticles described by an effective Hamiltonian. We apply this formulation to a two-dimensional Hubbard model of finite size connected to two noninteracting leads. We calculate the conductance in the electron-hole symmetric case using the order $U^2$ self-energy. The conductance shows several maximums in the $U$ dependence in some parameter regions of $t_y/t_x$, where $t_x$ ($t_y$) is the hopping matrix element in the $x$- ($y$-) directions. This is caused by the resonance occurring in some of the subbands, and is related with the $U$ dependence of the eigenvalues of the effective Hamiltonian.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, to be published in J.Phys.Soc.Jpn. 71(2002)No.

Electron transport across a quantum wire in the presence of electron leakage to a substrate

We investigate electron transport through a mono-atomic wire which is tunnel coupled to two electrodes and also to the underlying substrate. The setup is modeled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian and can be realized with a scanning tunnel microscope (STM). The transmission of the wire is obtained from the corresponding Green's function. If the wire is scanned by the contacting STM tip, the conductance as a function of the tip position exhibits oscillations which may change significantly upon increasing the number of wire atoms. Our numerical studies reveal that the conductance depends strongly on whether or not the substrate electrons are localized. As a further ubiquitous feature, we observe the formation of charge oscillations.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

ab initio modeling of open systems: charge transfer, electron conduction, and molecular switching of a C_{60} device

We present an {\it ab initio} analysis of electron conduction through a $C_{60}$ molecular device. Charge transfer from the device electrodes to the molecular region is found to play a crucial role in aligning the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the $C_{60}$ to the Fermi level of the electrodes. This alignment induces a substantial device conductance of $\sim 2.2 \times (2e^2/h)$. A gate potential can inhibit charge transfer and introduce a conductance gap near $E_F$, changing the current-voltage characteristics from metallic to semi-conducting, thereby producing a field effect molecular current switch

In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Cysteine Protease Inhibitor from Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)

The need for replacing traditional pesticides with alternative agents for the management of agricultural pathogens is rising worldwide. In this study, a cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI), 11 kDa in size, was purified from green kiwifruit to homogeneity. We examined the growth inhibition of three plant pathogenic Gram-negative bacterial strains by kiwi CPI and attempted to elucidate the potential mechanism of the growth inhibition. CPI influenced the growth of phytopathogenic bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens (76.2 % growth inhibition using 15 mu M CPI), Burkholderia cepacia (75.6 % growth inhibition) and, to a lesser extent, Erwinia carotovora (44.4 % growth inhibition) by inhibiting proteinases that are excreted by these bacteria. Identification and characterization of natural plant defense molecules is the first step toward creation of improved methods for pest control based on naturally occurring molecules