529 research outputs found
Ultrathin compound semiconductor on insulator layers for high performance nanoscale transistors
Over the past several years, the inherent scaling limitations of electron
devices have fueled the exploration of high carrier mobility semiconductors as
a Si replacement to further enhance the device performance. In particular,
compound semiconductors heterogeneously integrated on Si substrates have been
actively studied, combining the high mobility of III-V semiconductors and the
well-established, low cost processing of Si technology. This integration,
however, presents significant challenges. Conventionally, heteroepitaxial
growth of complex multilayers on Si has been explored. Besides complexity, high
defect densities and junction leakage currents present limitations in the
approach. Motivated by this challenge, here we utilize an epitaxial transfer
method for the integration of ultrathin layers of single-crystalline InAs on
Si/SiO2 substrates. As a parallel to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology14,we
use the abbreviation "XOI" to represent our compound semiconductor-on-insulator
platform. Through experiments and simulation, the electrical properties of InAs
XOI transistors are explored, elucidating the critical role of quantum
confinement in the transport properties of ultrathin XOI layers. Importantly, a
high quality InAs/dielectric interface is obtained by the use of a novel
thermally grown interfacial InAsOx layer (~1 nm thick). The fabricated FETs
exhibit an impressive peak transconductance of ~1.6 mS/{\mu}m at VDS=0.5V with
ON/OFF current ratio of greater than 10,000 and a subthreshold swing of 107-150
mV/decade for a channel length of ~0.5 {\mu}m
Interpreting 16S metagenomic data without clustering to achieve sub-OTU resolution
The standard approach to analyzing 16S tag sequence data, which relies on
clustering reads by sequence similarity into Operational Taxonomic Units
(OTUs), underexploits the accuracy of modern sequencing technology. We present
a clustering-free approach to multi-sample Illumina datasets that can identify
independent bacterial subpopulations regardless of the similarity of their 16S
tag sequences. Using published data from a longitudinal time-series study of
human tongue microbiota, we are able to resolve within standard 97% similarity
OTUs up to 20 distinct subpopulations, all ecologically distinct but with 16S
tags differing by as little as 1 nucleotide (99.2% similarity). A comparative
analysis of oral communities of two cohabiting individuals reveals that most
such subpopulations are shared between the two communities at 100% sequence
identity, and that dynamical similarity between subpopulations in one host is
strongly predictive of dynamical similarity between the same subpopulations in
the other host. Our method can also be applied to samples collected in
cross-sectional studies and can be used with the 454 sequencing platform. We
discuss how the sub-OTU resolution of our approach can provide new insight into
factors shaping community assembly.Comment: Updated to match the published version. 12 pages, 5 figures +
supplement. Significantly revised for clarity, references added, results not
change
Словотвір авторських неологізмів у збірці П. Маха "Плеса"
Статья посвящена словообразованию авторських неологизмов, изспользованых в зборнике стихов П. Маха "Озеро". В ней описываются способы словообразования использованых автором неологизмов. Анализируется их речевое
распространение.Стаття присвячена словотвору авторських неологізмів, використаних у
збірці П. Маха "Плеса". В ній описуються способи словотвору вжитих автором
неологізмів. Аналізується їх мовна поширеність.The article is devoted to the word-building of innovations in the creation "Lake"
by P. Mach. Word-building of innovations are described in this article. Its language
distributions are analised
Balancing Robustness against the Dangers of Multiple Attractors in a Hopfield-Type Model of Biological Attractors
Background: Many chronic human diseases are of unclear origin, and persist long beyond any known insult or instigating factor. These diseases may represent a structurally normal biologic network that has become trapped within the basin of an abnormal attractor. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used the Hopfield net as the archetypical example of a dynamic biological network. By progressively removing the links of fully connected Hopfield nets, we found that a designated attractor of the nets could still be supported until only slightly more than 1 link per node remained. As the number of links approached this minimum value, the rate of convergence to this attractor from an arbitrary starting state increased dramatically. Furthermore, with more than about twice the minimum of links, the net became increasingly able to support a second attractor. Conclusions/Significance: We speculate that homeostatic biological networks may have evolved to assume a degree of connectivity that balances robustness and agility against the dangers of becoming trapped in an abnormal attractor
Mammalian cell transfection: the present and the future
Transfection is a powerful analytical tool enabling study of the function of genes and gene products in cells. The transfection methods are broadly classified into three groups; biological, chemical, and physical. These methods have advanced to make it possible to deliver nucleic acids to specific subcellular regions of cells by use of a precisely controlled laser-microcope system. The combination of point-directed transfection and mRNA transfection is a new way of studying the function of genes and gene products. However, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages so the optimum method depends on experimental design and objective
Primary DNA damage and genetic polymorphisms for CYP1A1, EPHX and GSTM1 in workers at a graphite electrode manufacturing plant
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The results of a cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether genetic polymorphisms (biomarkers of susceptibility) for <it>CYP1A1</it>, <it>EPHX </it>and <it>GSTM1 </it>genes that affect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) activation and detoxification might influence the extent of primary DNA damage (biomarker of biologically effective dose) in PAH exposed workers are presented. PAH-exposure of the study populations was assessed by determining the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHP) in urine samples (biomarker of exposure dose).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The exposed group consisted of workers (n = 109) at a graphite electrode manufacturing plant, occupationally exposed to PAH. Urinary 1OHP was measured by HPLC. Primary DNA damage was evaluated by the alkaline comet assay in peripheral blood leukocytes. Genetic polymorphisms for <it>CYP1A1</it>, <it>EPHX</it> and <it>GSTM1</it> were determined by PCR or PCR/RFLP analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1OHP and primary DNA damage were significantly higher in electrode workers compared to reference subjects. Moreover, categorization of subjects as normal or outlier highlighted an increased genotoxic risk OR = 2.59 (CI95% 1.32–5.05) associated to exposure to PAH. Polymorphisms in <it>EPHX</it> exons 3 and 4 was associated to higher urinary concentrations of 1OHP, whereas none of the genotypes analyzed (<it>CYP1A1</it>, <it>EPHX</it>, and <it>GSTM1</it>) had any significant influence on primary DNA damage as evaluated by the comet assay.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The outcomes of the present study show that molecular epidemiology approaches (i.e. cross-sectional studies of genotoxicity biomarkers) can play a role in identifying common genetic risk factors, also attempting to associate the effects with measured exposure data. Moreover, categorization of subjects as normal or outlier allowed the evaluation of the association between occupational exposure to PAH and DNA damage highlighting an increased genotoxic risk.</p
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