Characterization of starch synthetic genes and starch granule during seeds development between synthetic hexaploid wheat and its parents

To study the development of starch granules in polyploid wheats, we investigated the expression of starch synthetic genes between the synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1, its parents T. turgidum AS2255 and diploid Ae. tauschii AS60. The synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1 showed significantly higher starch content and grain weight than its parents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that SHW-L1 rapidly developed starch granules than AS2255 and AS60. The amount of B-type granule in AS60 was less than that in SHW-L1 and AS2255. RT-qPCR result showed that the starch synthetic genes AGPLSU1, AGPLSU2, AGPSSU1, AGPSSU2, GBSSI, SSIII, PHO1 and PHO2 expressed at earlier stages with larger quantity in SHW-L1 than in its parents during wheat grain development. The expression of the above mentioned genes in AS60 was slower than in SHW-L1 and AS2255. The expression pattern of starch synthase genes was also associated with the grain weight and starch content in all three genotypes. The results suggested that the synthetic hexaploid wheat inherited the pattern of starch granule development and starch synthase gene expression from tetraploid parent. The results suggest that tetraploid wheat could plays more important role for starch quality improvement in hexaploid wheat

Process Modules for GeSn Nanoelectronics with high Sn-contents

This paper systematically studies GeSn n-FETs, from individual process modules to a complete device. High-k gate stacks and NiGeSn metallic contacts for source and drain are characterized in independent experiments. To study both direct and indirect bandgap semiconductors, a range of 0 at.% to 14.5 at.% Sn-content GeSn alloys are investigated. Special emphasis is placed on capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics and Schottky-barrier optimization. GeSn n-FET devices are presented including temperature dependent I-V characteristics. Finally, as an important step towards implementing GeSn in tunnel-FETs, negative differential resistance in Ge0.87Sn0.13 tunnel-diodes is demonstrated at cryogenic temperatures. The present work provides a base for further optimization of GeSn FETs and novel tunnel FET devices

Room Temperature Lattice Thermal Conductivity of GeSn Alloys

CMOS-compatible materials for efficient energy harvesters at temperatures characteristic for on-chip operation and body temperature are the key ingredients for sustainable green computing and ultralow power Internet of Things applications. In this context, the lattice thermal conductivity (κ) of new group IV semiconductors, namely Ge1–xSnx alloys, are investigated. Layers featuring Sn contents up to 14 at.% are epitaxially grown by state-of-the-art chemical-vapor deposition on Ge buffered Si wafers. An abrupt decrease of the lattice thermal conductivity (κ) from 55 W/(m·K) for Ge to 4 W/(m·K) for Ge0.88Sn0.12 alloys is measured electrically by the differential 3ω-method. The thermal conductivity was verified to be independent of the layer thickness for strained relaxed alloys and confirms the Sn dependence observed by optical methods previously. The experimental κ values in conjunction with numerical estimations of the charge transport properties, able to capture the complex physics of this quasi-direct bandgap material system, are used to evaluate the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT for n- and p-type GeSn epitaxial layers. The results highlight the high potential of single-crystal GeSn alloys to achieve similar energy harvest capability as already present in SiGe alloys but in the 20 °C–100 °C temperature range where Si-compatible semiconductors are not available. This opens the possibility of monolithically integrated thermoelectric on the CMOS platform

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters