3,760 research outputs found
Decay dynamics of quantum dots influenced by the local density of optical states of two-dimensional photonic crystal membranes
We have performed time-resolved spectroscopy on InAs quantum dot ensembles in
photonic crystal membranes. The influence of the photonic crystal is
investigated by varying the lattice constant systematically. We observe a
strong slow down of the quantum dots' spontaneous emission rates as the
two-dimensional bandgap is tuned through their emission frequencies. The
measured band edges are in full agreement with theoretical predictions. We
characterize the multi-exponential decay curves by their mean decay time and
find enhancement of the spontaneous emission at the bandgap edges and strong
inhibition inside the bandgap in good agreement with local density of states
calculations.Comment: 9 pages (preprint), 3 figure
Zebrafish hhex, nk2.1a, and pax2.1 regulate thyroid growth and differentiation downstream of Nodal-dependent transcription factors
AbstractDuring zebrafish development, the thyroid primordium initiates expression of molecular markers such as hhex and nk2.1a in the endoderm prior to pharynx formation. As expected for an endodermally derived organ, initiation of thyroid development depends on Nodal signalling. We find that it also depends on three downstream effectors of Nodal activity, casanova (cas), bonnie and clyde (bon), and faust (fau)/gata5. Despite their early Nodal-dependent expression in the endoderm, both hhex and nk2.1a are only required relatively late during thyroid development. In hhex and nk2.1a loss-of-function phenotypes, thyroid development is initiated and arrests only after the primordium has evaginated from the pharyngeal epithelium. Thus, like pax2.1, both hhex and nk2.1a have similarly late roles in differentiation or growth of thyroid follicular cells, and here, we show that all three genes act in parallel rather than in a single pathway. Our functional analysis suggests that these genes have similar roles as in mammalian thyroid development, albeit in a different temporal mode of organogenesis
Quantification of Ophthalmic Changes After Long-Duration Spaceflight, and Subsequent Recovery
A subset of crewmembers are subjected to ophthalmic structure changes due to long-duration spaceflight (>6 months). Crewmembers who experience these changes are described as having Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS). Characteristics of SANS include optic disk edema, cotton wool spots, choroidal folds, refractive error, and posterior globe flattening. SANS remains a major obstacle to deep-space and planetary missions, requiring a better understanding of its etiology. Quantification of ocular, structural changes will improve our understanding of SANS pathophysiology. Methods were developed to quantify 3D optic nerve (ON) and ON sheath (ONS) geometries, ON tortuosity, and posterior globe deformation using MR imaging
Ion and polymer dynamics in polymer electrolytes PPO-LiClO4: II. 2H and 7Li NMR stimulated-echo experiment
We use 2H NMR stimulated-echo spectroscopy to measure two-time correlation
functions characterizing the polymer segmental motion in polymer electrolytes
PPO-LiClO4 near the glass transition temperature Tg. To investigate effects of
the salt on the polymer dynamics, we compare results for different ether oxygen
to lithium ratios, namely, 6:1, 15:1, 30:1 and infinity. For all compositions,
we find nonexponential correlation functions, which can be described by a
Kohlrausch function. The mean correlation times show quantitatively that an
increase of the salt concentration results in a strong slowing down of the
segmental motion. Consistently, for the high 6:1 salt concentration, a high
apparent activation energy E_a=4.1eV characterizes the temperature dependence
of the mean correlation times at Tg < T< 1.1T_g, while smaller values E_a=2.5eV
are observed for moderate salt contents. The correlation functions are most
nonexponential for 15:1 PPO-LiClO4, whereas the stretching is reduced for
higher and lower salt concentrations. A similar dependence of the correlation
functions on the evolution time in the presence and in the absence of ions
indicates that addition of salt hardly affects the reorientational mechanism.
For all compositions, mean jump angles of about 15 degree characterize the
segmental reorientation. In addition, comparison of results from 2H and 7Li NMR
stimulated-echo experiments suggests a coupling of ion and polymer dynamics in
15:1 PPO-LiClO4.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure
Practical Implementations of Twirl Operations
Twirl operations, which convert impure singlet states into Werner states,
play an important role in many schemes for entanglement purification. In this
paper we describe strategies for implementing twirl operations, with an
emphasis on methods suitable for ensemble quantum information processors such
as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computers. We implement our twirl
operation on a general two-spin mixed state using liquid state NMR techniques,
demonstrating that we can obtain the singlet Werner state with high fidelity.Comment: 6 pages RevTex4 including 2 figures (fig 1 low quality to save space
Superconductivity and magnetism in RbxFe2-ySe2: Impact of thermal treatment on mesoscopic phase separation
An extended study of the superconducting and normal-state properties of
various as-grown and post-annealed RbxFe2-ySe2 single crystals is presented.
Magnetization experiments evidence that annealing of RbxFe2-ySe2 at 413 K, well
below the onset of phase separation Tp=489 K, neither changes the magnetic nor
the superconducting properties of the crystals. In addition, annealing at 563
K, well above Tp, suppresses the superconducting transition temperature Tc and
leads to an increase of the antiferromagnetic susceptibility accompanied by the
creation of ferromagnetic impurity phases, which are developing with annealing
time. However, annealing at T=488K=Tp increases Tc up to 33.3 K, sharpens the
superconducting transition, increases the lower critical field, and strengthens
the screening efficiency of the applied magnetic field. Resistivity
measurements of the as-grown and optimally annealed samples reveal an increase
of the upper critical field along both crystallographic directions as well as
its anisotropy. Muon spin rotation and scanning transmission electron
microscopy experiments suggest the coexistence of two phases below Tp: a
magnetic majority phase of Rb2Fe4Se5 and a non-magnetic minority phase of
Rb0.5Fe2Se2. Both microscopic techniques indicate that annealing the specimens
just at Tp does not affect the volume fraction of the two phases, although the
magnetic field distribution in the samples changes substantially. This suggests
that the microstructure of the sample, caused by mesoscopic phase separation,
is modified by annealing just at Tp, leading to an improvement of the
superconducting properties of RbxFe2-ySe2 and an enhancement of Tc.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure
Experimental and computational analyses reveal that environmental restrictions shape HIV-1 spread in 3D cultures
Here, using an integrative experimental and computational approach, Imle et al. show how cell motility and density affect HIV cell-associated transmission in a three-dimensional tissue-like culture system of CD4+ T cells and collagen, and how different collagen matrices restrict infection by cell-free virions
Computing Topology Preservation of RBF Transformations for Landmark-Based Image Registration
In image registration, a proper transformation should be topology preserving.
Especially for landmark-based image registration, if the displacement of one
landmark is larger enough than those of neighbourhood landmarks, topology
violation will be occurred. This paper aim to analyse the topology preservation
of some Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) which are used to model deformations in
image registration. Mat\'{e}rn functions are quite common in the statistic
literature (see, e.g. \cite{Matern86,Stein99}). In this paper, we use them to
solve the landmark-based image registration problem. We present the topology
preservation properties of RBFs in one landmark and four landmarks model
respectively. Numerical results of three kinds of Mat\'{e}rn transformations
are compared with results of Gaussian, Wendland's, and Wu's functions
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