10,783 research outputs found
Optical imaging of resonant electrical carrier injection into individual quantum dots
We image the micro-electroluminescence (EL) spectra of self-assembled InAs
quantum dots (QDs) embedded in the intrinsic region of a GaAs p-i-n diode and
demonstrate optical detection of resonant carrier injection into a single QD.
Resonant tunneling of electrons and holes into the QDs at bias voltages below
the flat-band condition leads to sharp EL lines characteristic of individual
QDs, accompanied by a spatial fragmentation of the surface EL emission into
small and discrete light- emitting areas, each with its own spectral
fingerprint and Stark shift. We explain this behavior in terms of Coulomb
interaction effects and the selective excitation of a small number of QDs
within the ensemble due to preferential resonant tunneling paths for carriers.Comment: 4 page
Spin fluctuations and superconductivity in powders of Fe_1+xTe_0.7Se_0.3 as a function of interstitial iron concentration
Using neutron inelastic scattering, we investigate the role of interstitial
iron on the low-energy spin fluctuations in powder samples of
Fe_{1+x}Te_{0.7}Se_{0.3}. We demonstrate how combining the principle of
detailed balance along with measurements at several temperatures allows us to
subtract both temperature-independent and phonon backgrounds from S(Q,\omega)
to obtain purely magnetic scattering. For small values of interstitial iron
(x=0.009(3)), the sample is superconducting (T_{c}=14 K) and displays a spin
gap of 7 meV peaked in momentum at wave vector q_{0}=(\pi,\pi) consistent with
single crystal results. On populating the interstitial iron sites, the
superconducting volume fraction decreases and we observe a filling in of the
low-energy magnetic fluctuations and a decrease of the characteristic wave
vector of the magnetic fluctuations. For large concentrations of interstitial
iron (x=0.048(2)) where the superconducting volume fraction is minimal, we
observe the presence of gapless spin fluctuations at a wave vector of
q_{0}=(\pi,0). We estimate the absolute total moment for the various samples
and find that the amount of interstitial iron does not change the total
magnetic spectral weight significantly, but rather has the effect of shifting
the spectral weight in Q and energy. These results show that the
superconducting and magnetic properties can be tuned by doping small amounts of
iron and are suggestive that interstitial iron concentration is also a
controlling dopant in the Fe_{1+x}Te_{1-y}Se_{y} phase diagram in addition to
the Te/Se ratio.Comment: (10 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B
Fetal heterotaxy with tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia, and isomerism of the right atrial appendages at 22 weeks.
We report the accurate prenatal diagnosis at 22 weeks gestation of right atrial isomerism in association with tricuspid atresia. Several distinctive sonographic features of isomerism of the right atrial appendages were present in this fetus: complex cardiac abnormality, ventriculoarterial discordance, juxtaposition of the aorta and the inferior vena cava to the right side, pulmonary atresia, and anomalous pulmonary venous return to the morphological right atrium. Tricuspid atresia, which is an extremely rare lesion within heterotaxy spectrum disorders, was present. Postnatal investigations confirmed all prenatally diagnosed abnormalities, with additional findings of pulmonary atresia with discontinuous pulmonary arteries and bilateral arterial ducts, asplenia, and bilateral eparterial bronchi. To our knowledge, tricuspid atresia in the setting of isomerism of the right atrial appendages has not previously been diagnosed or reported prenatally. Because of the complexity of cardiac lesions that may be present in cases of atrial isomerism, these disorders should be considered even if sonographic findings are uncommon or atypical
Telomeres in interstitial lung diseases
Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) encompass a group of conditions involving fibrosis and/or inflammation of the pulmonary parenchyma. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences at chromosome ends which protect against genome instability. At each cell division, telomeres shorten, but the telomerase complex partially counteracts progressive loss of telomeres by catalysing the synthesis of telomeric repeats. Once critical telomere shortening is reached, cell cycle arrest or apoptosis are triggered. Telomeres progressively shorten with age. A number of rare genetic mutations have been identified in genes encoding for components of the telomerase complex, including telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and telomerase RNA component (TERC), in familial and, less frequently, in sporadic fibrotic ILDs. Defects in telomerase result in extremely short telomeres. More rapidly progressive disease is observed in fibrotic ILD patients with telomere gene mutations, regardless of underlying diagnosis. Associations with common single nucleotide polymorphisms in telomere related genes have also been demonstrated for various ILDs. Shorter peripheral blood telomere lengths compared to age-matched healthy individuals are found in a proportion of patients with fibrotic ILDs, and in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) have been linked to worse survival, independently of disease severity. Greater susceptibility to immunosuppressant-induced side effects in patients with short telomeres has been described in patients with IPF and with fibrotic HP. Here, we discuss recent evidence for the involvement of telomere length and genetic variations in the development, progression, and treatment of fibrotic ILDs
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