717 research outputs found
Measurement of the ground-state distributions in bistable mechanically interlocked molecules using slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry
In donorâacceptor mechanically interlocked molecules that exhibit bistability, the relative populations of the translational isomersâpresent, for example, in a bistable [2]rotaxane, as well as in a couple of bistable [2]catenanes of the donorâacceptor vintageâcan be elucidated by slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry. The practice of transitioning from a fast scan rate regime to a slow one permits the measurement of an intermediate redox couple that is a function of the equilibrium that exists between the two translational isomers in the case of all three mechanically interlocked molecules investigated. These intermediate redox potentials can be used to calculate the ground-state distribution constants, K. Whereas, (i) in the case of the bistable [2]rotaxane, composed of a dumbbell component containing Ï-electron-rich tetrathiafulvalene and dioxynaphthalene recognition sites for the ring component (namely, a tetracationic cyclophane, containing two Ï-electron-deficient bipyridinium units), a value for K of 10 ± 2 is calculated, (ii) in the case of the two bistable [2]catenanesâone containing a crown ether with tetrathiafulvalene and dioxynaphthalene recognition sites for the tetracationic cyclophane, and the other, tetrathiafulvalene and butadiyne recognition sitesâthe values for K are orders (one and three, respectively) of magnitude greater. This observation, which has also been probed by theoretical calculations, supports the hypothesis that the extra stability of one translational isomer over the other is because of the influence of the enforced side-on donorâacceptor interactions brought about by both Ï-electron-rich recognition sites being part of a macrocyclic polyether
Electric field tunable superconductor-semiconductor coupling in Majorana nanowires
We study the effect of external electric fields on
superconductor-semiconductor coupling by measuring the electron transport in
InSb semiconductor nanowires coupled to an epitaxially grown Al superconductor.
We find that the gate voltage induced electric fields can greatly modify the
coupling strength, which has consequences for the proximity induced
superconducting gap, effective g-factor, and spin-orbit coupling, which all
play a key role in understanding Majorana physics. We further show that level
repulsion due to spin-orbit coupling in a finite size system can lead to
seemingly stable zero bias conductance peaks, which mimic the behavior of
Majorana zero modes. Our results improve the understanding of realistic
Majorana nanowire systems.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, supplemental information as ancillary fil
Quantized Majorana conductance
Majorana zero-modes hold great promise for topological quantum computing.
Tunnelling spectroscopy in electrical transport is the primary tool to identify
the presence of Majorana zero-modes, for instance as a zero-bias peak (ZBP) in
differential-conductance. The Majorana ZBP-height is predicted to be quantized
at the universal conductance value of 2e2/h at zero temperature. Interestingly,
this quantization is a direct consequence of the famous Majorana symmetry,
'particle equals antiparticle'. The Majorana symmetry protects the quantization
against disorder, interactions, and variations in the tunnel coupling. Previous
experiments, however, have shown ZBPs much smaller than 2e2/h, with a recent
observation of a peak-height close to 2e2/h. Here, we report a quantized
conductance plateau at 2e2/h in the zero-bias conductance measured in InSb
semiconductor nanowires covered with an Al superconducting shell. Our
ZBP-height remains constant despite changing parameters such as the magnetic
field and tunnel coupling, i.e. a quantized conductance plateau. We distinguish
this quantized Majorana peak from possible non-Majorana origins, by
investigating its robustness on electric and magnetic fields as well as its
temperature dependence. The observation of a quantized conductance plateau
strongly supports the existence of non-Abelian Majorana zero-modes in the
system, consequently paving the way for future braiding experiments.Comment: 5 figure
The dimer interface of the SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein adapts a porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus-like structure
AbstractWe have employed NMR to investigate the structure of SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein dimer. We found that the secondary structure of the dimerization domain consists of five α helices and a ÎČ-hairpin. The dimer interface consists of a continuous four-stranded ÎČ-sheet superposed by two long α helices, reminiscent of that found in the nucleocapsid protein of porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus. Extensive hydrogen bond formation between the two hairpins and hydrophobic interactions between the ÎČ-sheet and the α helices render the interface highly stable. Sequence alignment suggests that other coronavirus may share the same structural topology
Pairwise Feature Learning for Unseen Plant Disease Recognition
With the advent of Deep Learning, people have begun to use it with computer vision approaches to identify plant diseases on a large scale targeting multiple crops and diseases. However, this requires a large amount of plant disease data, which is often not readily available, and the cost of acquiring disease images is high. Thus, developing a generalized model for recognizing unseen classes is very important and remains a major challenge to date. Existing methods solve the problem with general supervised recognition tasks based on the seen composition of the crop and the disease. However, ignoring the composition of unseen classes during model training can lead to a reduction in model generalisation. Therefore, in this work, we propose a new approach that leverages the visual features of crop and disease from the seen composition, using them to learn the features of unseen crop-disease composition classes. We show that our proposed method can improve the classification performance of these unseen classes and outperform the state-of-the-art in the identification of multiple crop-diseases
Collecting wild Miscanthus germplasm in Asia for crop improvement and conservation in Europe whilst adhering to the guidelines of the United Nationsâ Convention on Biological Diversity
We would like to thank Dr Helen Ougham and Professor Howard Thomas for their valuable comments on this manuscript; Sarah Hawkins at IBERS for the leading of harvesting and phenotyping works; and Paul Barber at Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate, Wales & West Midlands, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for advice on germplasm collection practice and quarantine management. This research was supported by the UKâs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under a project entitled âAccession of CBD compliant Miscanthus and Triarrhena germplasm from China, Japan and Taiwan for incorporation in the UK Miscanthus breeding programmeâ [grant no. NF0436]. The breeding and evaluation were conducted under âGenetic improvement of Miscanthus as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy in the UK (GIANT)â [supported by Defra and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000690, âResearch Councils UKâ), UK, grant no. LK0863]. LH, ID and JCB were supported by BBSRC grant nos BBS/E/G/00003134 and BBS/E/W/0012843A.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Author Correction:In-plane selective area InSbâAl nanowire quantum networks (Communications Physics, (2020), 3, 1, (59), 10.1038/s42005-020-0324-4)
The Data availability statement of this article has been modified to add the accession link to the raw data. The old Data availability statement read âMaterials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. All data are available from the corresponding author upon requestâ. This has been replaced by âMaterials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. The raw data have been deposited at https://zenodo.org/record/4589484#.YEoEOy1Y7Sdâ. This has been corrected in both the HTML and PDF version of the article.</p
A Randomized Phase II Trial of Epigenetic Priming with Guadecitabine and Carboplatin in Platinum-resistant, Recurrent Ovarian Cancer.
PURPOSE: Platinum resistance in ovarian cancer is associated with epigenetic modifications. Hypomethylating agents (HMA) have been studied as carboplatin resensitizing agents in ovarian cancer. This randomized phase II trial compared guadecitabine, a second-generation HMA, and carboplatin (G+C) against second-line chemotherapy in women with measurable or detectable platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients received either G+C (guadecitabine 30 mg/m2 s.c. once-daily for 5 days and carboplatin) or treatment of choice (TC; topotecan, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, paclitaxel, or gemcitabine) in 28-day cycles until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary endpoints were RECIST v1.1 and CA-125 response rate, 6-month PFS, and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Of 100 patients treated, 51 received G+C and 49 received TC, of which 27 crossed over to G+C. The study did not meet its primary endpoint as the median PFS was not statistically different between arms (16.3 weeks vs. 9.1 weeks in the G+C and TC groups, respectively; P = 0.07). However, the 6-month PFS rate was significantly higher in the G+C group (37% vs. 11% in TC group; P = 0.003). The incidence of grade 3 or higher toxicity was similar in G+C and TC groups (51% and 49%, respectively), with neutropenia and leukopenia being more frequent in the G+C group. CONCLUSIONS: Although this trial did not show superiority for PFS of G+C versus TC, the 6-month PFS increased in G+C treated patients. Further refinement of this strategy should focus on identification of predictive markers for patient selection
Factors Affecting Trypanosome Maturation in Tsetse Flies
Trypanosoma brucei brucei infections which establish successfully in the tsetse fly midgut may subsequently mature into mammalian infective trypanosomes in the salivary glands. This maturation is not automatic and the control of these events is complex. Utilising direct in vivo feeding experiments, we report maturation of T. b. brucei infections in tsetse is regulated by antioxidants as well as environmental stimuli. Dissection of the maturation process provides opportunities to develop transmission blocking vaccines for trypanosomiasis. The present work suggests L-cysteine and/or nitric oxide are necessary for the differentiation of trypanosome midgut infections in tsetse
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