Dispersively detected Pauli Spin-Blockade in a Silicon Nanowire Field-Effect Transistor

We report the dispersive readout of the spin state of a double quantum dot formed at the corner states of a silicon nanowire field-effect transistor. Two face-to-face top-gate electrodes allow us to independently tune the charge occupation of the quantum dot system down to the few-electron limit. We measure the charge stability of the double quantum dot in DC transport as well as dispersively via in-situ gate-based radio frequency reflectometry, where one top-gate electrode is connected to a resonator. The latter removes the need for external charge sensors in quantum computing architectures and provides a compact way to readout the dispersive shift caused by changes in the quantum capacitance during interdot charge transitions. Here, we observe Pauli spin-blockade in the high-frequency response of the circuit at finite magnetic fields between singlet and triplet states. The blockade is lifted at higher magnetic fields when intra-dot triplet states become the ground state configuration. A lineshape analysis of the dispersive phase shift reveals furthermore an intradot valley-orbit splitting $\Delta_{vo}$ of 145 $\mu$eV. Our results open up the possibility to operate compact CMOS technology as a singlet-triplet qubit and make split-gate silicon nanowire architectures an ideal candidate for the study of spin dynamics

The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war

Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage

Multicommuted flow system for the determination of glucose in animal blood serum exploiting enzymatic reaction and chemiluminescence detection

An automatic flow procedure based on multicommutation dedicated for the determination of glucose in animal blood serum using glucose oxidase with chemiluminescence detection is described. The flow manifold consisted of a set of three-way solenoid valves assembled to implement multicommutation. A microcomputer furnished with an electronic interface and software written in Quick BASIC 4.5 controlled the manifold and performed data acquisition. Glucose oxidase was immobilized on porous silica beads (glass aminopropyl) and packed in a minicolumn (15 × 5 mm). The procedure was based on the enzymatic degradation of glucose, producing hydrogen peroxide, which oxidized luminol in the presence of hexacyanoferrate(III), causing the chemiluminescence. The system was tested by analysing a set of serum animal samples without previous treatment. Results were in agreement with those obtained with the conventional method (LABTEST Kit) at the 95% confidence level. The detection limit and variation coefficient were estimated as 12.0 mg l(−1) (99.7% confidence level) and 3.5% (n = 20), respectively. The sampling rate was about 60 determinations h(−1) with sample concentrations ranging from 50 to 600 mg l(−1) glucose. The consumptions of serum sample, hexacyanoferrate(III) and luminol were 46 μl, 10.0 mg and 0.2 mg/determination, respectively

Population changes in Leishmania chagasi promastigote developmental stages due to serial passage

Leishmania chagasi causes visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal disease of humans. Within the sand fly vector, L. chagasi replicates as promastigotes which undergo complex changes in morphology as they progress from early stage procyclic promastigotes, to intermediate stage leptomonad and nectomonad promastigotes, and ultimately to terminal stage metacyclic promastigotes that are highly infective to vertebrates. This developmental progression is largely recapitulated in vitro using axenic promastigote cultures that have been passaged only a few times. Within a single passage (which takes about a week), axenic cultures progress from logarithmic to stationary growth phases; parasites within those growth phases progress from stages that do not have metacyclic cell properties to ones that do. Interestingly, repeated serial passage of promastigote cultures will result in cell populations that exhibit perturbations in developmental progression, in expression levels of surface macromolecules (major surface protease, MSP, and promastigote surface antigen, PSA), and in virulence properties, including resistance to serum lysis. Experiments were performed to determine whether there exists a direct relationship between promastigote developmental form and perturbations associated with repeated serial passage. Passage 2 to passage 4 L. chagasi cultures at stationary growth phase were predominately (\u3e85%) comprised of metacyclic promastigotes and exhibited high resistance to serum lysis and high levels of MSP and PSA. Serial passaging 8, or more, times resulted in a stationary phase population that was largely (\u3e85%) comprised of nectomonad promastigotes, almost completely devoid (\u3c2%) of metacyclic promastigotes, and that exhibited low resistance to serum lysis and low levels of MSP and PSA. The study suggests that the loss of particular cell properties seen in cells from serially passaged cultures is principally due to a dramatic reduction in the proportion of metacyclic promastigotes. Additionally, the study suggests that serially passaged cultures may be a highly enriched source of nectomonad-stage promastigotes, a stage that has largely been characterized only in mixtures containing other promastigote forms

Coherent spin qubit transport in silicon

A fault-tolerant quantum processor may be configured using stationary qubits interacting only with their nearest neighbours, but at the cost of significant overheads in physical qubits per logical qubit. Such overheads could be reduced by coherently transporting qubits across the chip, allowing connectivity beyond immediate neighbours. Here we demonstrate high-fidelity coherent transport of an electron spin qubit between quantum dots in isotopically-enriched silicon. We observe qubit precession in the inter-site tunnelling regime and assess the impact of qubit transport using Ramsey interferometry and quantum state tomography techniques. We report a polarization transfer fidelity of 99.97% and an average coherent transfer fidelity of 99.4%. Our results provide key elements for high-fidelity, on-chip quantum information distribution, as long envisaged, reinforcing the scaling prospects of silicon-based spin qubits

Cupuassu byproduct in supplements for buffalo cows: milk yield and calf performance.

The aim of this study was to evaluate milk yield and calf performances of Murrah buffalo cows supplemented with rations containing cupuassu byproduct in substitution of ground corn

Internal Temperature of Girolando (Holstein×Gir) heifers in integrated crop, livestock (ICLS) and forestry (ICLFS) systems.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the internal temperature (IT) of Girolando heifers in integrated crop, livestock (ICLS) and forestry (ICLFS) systems. Trial was carried out at experimental field of Embrapa Rondônia, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil