163 research outputs found
Transnational Business Governance Interactions, Regulatory Quality and Marginalized Actors: An Introduction
In what circumstances can transnational business governance interactions (TBGIs)—the myriad overlaps, intersections, conflicts, collisions and synergies amongst the actors and institutions involved in transnational regulation of business activity—be harnessed to enhance the quality of transnational regulation and advance the interests of marginalized actors? This chapter introduces the concept of transnational business governance interactions (TBGIs), summarizes the TBGI analytical framework and defines regulatory quality and marginalized actors. It proposes to investigate the relationship between TBGIs, regulatory quality and marginalized actors at three levels: regulatory capacities, outputs and outcomes. The chapter presents the plan of the book and summarizes the key messages of the chapters
RNA secondary structure design
We consider the inverse-folding problem for RNA secondary structures: for a
given (pseudo-knot-free) secondary structure find a sequence that has that
structure as its ground state. If such a sequence exists, the structure is
called designable. We implemented a branch-and-bound algorithm that is able to
do an exhaustive search within the sequence space, i.e., gives an exact answer
whether such a sequence exists. The bound required by the branch-and-bound
algorithm are calculated by a dynamic programming algorithm. We consider
different alphabet sizes and an ensemble of random structures, which we want to
design. We find that for two letters almost none of these structures are
designable. The designability improves for the three-letter case, but still a
significant fraction of structures is undesignable. This changes when we look
at the natural four-letter case with two pairs of complementary bases:
undesignable structures are the exception, although they still exist. Finally,
we also study the relation between designability and the algorithmic complexity
of the branch-and-bound algorithm. Within the ensemble of structures, a high
average degree of undesignability is correlated to a long time to prove that a
given structure is (un-)designable. In the four-letter case, where the
designability is high everywhere, the algorithmic complexity is highest in the
region of naturally occurring RNA.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Voltage-tunable singlet-triplet transition in lateral quantum dots
Results of calculations and high source-drain transport measurements are
presented which demonstrate voltage-tunable entanglement of electron pairs in
lateral quantum dots. At a fixed magnetic field, the application of a
judiciously-chosen gate voltage alters the ground-state of an electron pair
from an entagled spin singlet to a spin triplet.Comment: 8.2 double-column pages, 10 eps figure
MASPECTRAS: a platform for management and analysis of proteomics LC-MS/MS data
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The advancements of proteomics technologies have led to a rapid increase in the number, size and rate at which datasets are generated. Managing and extracting valuable information from such datasets requires the use of data management platforms and computational approaches.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed the MAss SPECTRometry Analysis System (MASPECTRAS), a platform for management and analysis of proteomics LC-MS/MS data. MASPECTRAS is based on the Proteome Experimental Data Repository (PEDRo) relational database schema and follows the guidelines of the Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI). Analysis modules include: 1) import and parsing of the results from the search engines SEQUEST, Mascot, Spectrum Mill, X! Tandem, and OMSSA; 2) peptide validation, 3) clustering of proteins based on Markov Clustering and multiple alignments; and 4) quantification using the Automated Statistical Analysis of Protein Abundance Ratios algorithm (ASAPRatio). The system provides customizable data retrieval and visualization tools, as well as export to PRoteomics IDEntifications public repository (PRIDE). MASPECTRAS is freely available at <url>http://genome.tugraz.at/maspectras</url></p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given the unique features and the flexibility due to the use of standard software technology, our platform represents significant advance and could be of great interest to the proteomics community.</p
An NMR-based nanostructure switch for quantum logic
We propose a nanostructure switch based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
which offers reliable quantum gate operation, an essential ingredient for
building a quantum computer. The nuclear resonance is controlled by the magic
number transitions of a few-electron quantum dot in an external magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 2 separate PostScript figures. Minor changes included. One
reference adde
Energy-time entanglement of quasi-particles in solid-state devices
We present a proposal for the experimental observation of energy-time
entanglement of quasi-particles in mesoscopic physics. This type of
entanglement arises whenever correlated particles are produced at the same time
and this time is uncertain in the sense of quantum uncertainty, as has been
largely used in photonics. We discuss its feasibility for electron-hole pairs.
In particular, we argue that the recently fabricated 2DEG-2DHG junctions,
irradiated with a continuous laser, behave as "entanglers" for energy-time
entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
A vertical diatomic artificial molecule in the intermediate coupling regime in a parallel and perpendicular magnetic field
We present experimental results for the ground state electrochemical
potentials of a few electron semiconductor artificial molecule made by
vertically coupling two quantum dots, in the intermediate coupling regime, in
perpendicular and parallel magnetic fields up to 5 T. We perform a quantitative
analysis based on local-spin density functional theory. The agreement between
theoretical and experimental results is good, and the phase transitions are
well reproduced.Comment: Typeset using Revtex, 13 pages and 8 Postscript figure
Guided self-assembly of lateral InAs/GaAs quantum-dot molecules for single molecule spectroscopy
We report on the growth and characterization of lateral InAs/GaAs (001) quantum-dot molecules (QDMs) suitable for single QDM optical spectroscopy. The QDMs, forming by depositing InAs on GaAs surfaces with self-assembled nanoholes, are aligned along the [] direction. The relative number of isolated single quantum dots (QDs) is substantially reduced by performing the growth on GaAs surfaces containing stepped mounds. Surface morphology and X-ray measurements suggest that the strain produced by InGaAs-filled nanoholes superimposed to the strain relaxation at the step edges are responsible for the improved QDM properties. QDMs are Ga-richer compared to single QDs, consistent with strain- enhanced intermixing. The high optical quality of single QDMs is probed by micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy in samples with QDM densities lower than 108 cm−2
Spin Electronics and Spin Computation
We review several proposed spintronic devices that can provide new
functionality or improve available functions of electronic devices. In
particular, we discuss a high mobility field effect spin transistor, an
all-metal spin transistor, and our recent proposal of an all-semiconductor spin
transistor and a spin battery. We also address some key issues in
spin-polarized transport, which are relevant to the feasibility and operation
of hybrid semiconductor devices. Finally, we discuss a more radical aspect of
spintronic research--the spin-based quantum computation and quantum information
processing.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Quantum Information Processing with Ferroelectrically Coupled Quantum Dots
I describe a proposal to construct a quantum information processor using
ferroelectrically coupled Ge/Si quantum dots. The spin of single electrons form
the fundamental qubits. Small (<10 nm diameter) Ge quantum dots are optically
excited to create spin polarized electrons in Si. The static polarization of an
epitaxial ferroelectric thin film confines electrons laterally in the
semiconductor; spin interactions between nearest neighbor electrons are
mediated by the nonlinear process of optical rectification. Single qubit
operations are achieved through "g-factor engineering" in the Ge/Si structures;
spin-spin interactions occur through Heisenberg exchange, controlled by
ferroelectric gates. A method for reading out the final state, while required
for quantum computing, is not described; electronic approaches involving single
electron transistors may prove fruitful in satisfying this requirement.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
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