Coherent manipulation of nitrogen vacancy centers in 4H silicon carbide with resonant excitation

Silicon carbide (SiC) has become a key player in realization of scalable quantum technologies due to its ability to host optically addressable spin qubits and wafer-size samples. Here, we have demonstrated optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) with resonant excitation, and clearly identified the ground state energy levels of the NV centers in 4H-SiC. Coherent manipulation of NV centers in SiC has been achieved with Rabi and Ramsey oscillations. Finally, we show the successful generation and characterization of single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in SiC employing ion implantation. Our results are highlighting the key role of NV centers in SiC as a potential candidate for quantum information processing

Mapping of spatiotemporal auricular electrophysiological signals reveals human biometric clusters

Underneath the ear skin there are rich vascular network and sensory nerve branches. Hence, the 3D mapping of auricular electrophysiological signals can provide new biomedical perspectives. However, it is still extremely challenging for current sensing techniques to cover the entire ultra-curved auricle. Here, a 3D graphene-based ear-conformable sensing device with embedded and distributed 3D electrodes for full-auricle physiological monitoring is reported. As a proof-of-concept, spatiotemporal auricular electrical skin resistance (AESR) mapping is demonstrated for the first time, and human subject-specific AESR distributions are observed. From the data of more than 30 ears (both right and left ears), the auricular region-specific AESR changes after cycling exercise are observed in 98% of the tests and are clustered into four groups via machine learning-based data analyses. Correlations of AESR with heart rate and blood pressure are also studied. This 3D electronic platform and AESR-based biometrical findings show promising biomedical applications

Molecular epidemiology of measles viruses in China, 1995–2003

This report describes the genetic characterization of 297 wild-type measles viruses that were isolated in 24 provinces of China between 1995 and 2003. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene sequences showed that all of the isolates belonged to genotype H1 except 3 isolates, which were genotype A. The nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of the 294-genotype H1 strains were 94.7%–100% and 93.3%–100%, respectively. The genotype H1 isolates were divided into 2 clusters, which differed by approximately 2.9% at the nucleotide level. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Even though other measles genotypes have been detected in countries that border China, this report shows that genotype H1 is widely distributed throughout the country and that China has a single, endemic genotype. This important baseline data will help to monitor the progress of measles control in China

Determinants of flows into retail international equity funds

Diversification benefits appear to be a major reason why investors choose international equity funds. Funds less correlated with the US market tend to receive higher flows from investors. In addition, investors prefer funds that invest in a diversified portfolio of securities from different regions in the world to funds that focus only on a specific region. Risk-adjusted return is shown to exert greater effect on flows into international equity funds than raw return. International equity funds from fund families offering a greater number of investment objectives also receive higher flows. On the other hand, international equity fund investors do not appear to be sensitive to expenses or exchange rates. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 1169–1177. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400408

Exit decisions in the US mutual fund industry

This paper examines the similarities and differences in the determinants of the three mutual fund exit forms: liquidation, within-family merger, and across-family merger. All defunct mutual fund portfolios have smaller size and lower inflows. A family is less willing to liquidate a portfolio but more likely to merge a portfolio within the family if it offers more share classes. Large families are more likely to merge portfolios within the family, while a family with poor performance is more likely to sell relatively unique portfolios to other families to stay focused. This paper also compares within-objective mergers with across-objective mergers