Heat dissipation in atomic-scale junctions

Atomic and single-molecule junctions represent the ultimate limit to the miniaturization of electrical circuits. They are also ideal platforms to test quantum transport theories that are required to describe charge and energy transfer in novel functional nanodevices. Recent work has successfully probed electric and thermoelectric phenomena in atomic-scale junctions. However, heat dissipation and transport in atomic-scale devices remain poorly characterized due to experimental challenges. Here, using custom-fabricated scanning probes with integrated nanoscale thermocouples, we show that heat dissipation in the electrodes of molecular junctions, whose transmission characteristics are strongly dependent on energy, is asymmetric, i.e. unequal and dependent on both the bias polarity and the identity of majority charge carriers (electrons vs. holes). In contrast, atomic junctions whose transmission characteristics show weak energy dependence do not exhibit appreciable asymmetry. Our results unambiguously relate the electronic transmission characteristics of atomic-scale junctions to their heat dissipation properties establishing a framework for understanding heat dissipation in a range of mesoscopic systems where transport is elastic. We anticipate that the techniques established here will enable the study of Peltier effects at the atomic scale, a field that has been barely explored experimentally despite interesting theoretical predictions. Furthermore, the experimental advances described here are also expected to enable the study of heat transport in atomic and molecular junctions, which is an important and challenging scientific and technological goal that has remained elusive.Comment: supporting information available in the journal web site or upon reques

Structural Characterization of Minor Ampullate Spidroin Domains and Their Distinct Roles in Fibroin Solubility and Fiber Formation

10.1371/journal.pone.0056142PLoS ONE82

Observation of CR Anisotropy with ARGO-YBJ

The measurement of the anisotropies of cosmic ray arrival direction provides important informations on the propagation mechanisms and on the identification of their sources. In this paper we report the observation of anisotropy regions at different angular scales. In particular, the observation of a possible anisotropy on scales between $\sim$ 10 $^{\circ}$ and $\sim$ 30 $^{\circ}$ suggests the presence of unknown features of the magnetic fields the charged cosmic rays propagate through, as well as potential contributions of nearby sources to the total flux of cosmic rays. Evidence of new weaker few-degree excesses throughout the sky region $195^{\circ}\leq$ R.A. $\leq 315^{\circ}$ is reported for the first time.Comment: Talk given at 12th TAUP Conference 2011, 5-9 September 2011, Munich, German

Strain induced exciton fine-structure splitting and shift in bent ZnO microwires

Lattice strain is a useful and economic way to tune the device performance and is commonly present in nanostructures. Here, we investigated for the first time the exciton spectra evolution in bent ZnO microwires along the radial direction via high spatial/energy resolution cathodeluminescence spectroscopy at 5.5 K. Our experiments show that the exciton peak splits into multi fine peaks towards the compressive part while retains one peak in the tensile part and the emission peak displays a continuous blue-shift from tensile to compressive edges. In combination with first-principles calculations, we show that the observed NBE emission splitting is due to the valence band splitting and the absence of peak splitting in the tensile part maybe due to the highly localized holes in the A band and the carrier density distribution across the microwire. Our studies may pave the way to design nanophotonic and electronic devices using bent ZnO nanowires

Disparities and risks of sexually transmissible infections among men who have sex with men in China: a meta-analysis and data synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including Hepatitis B and C virus, are emerging public health risks in China, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aims to assess the magnitude and risks of STIs among Chinese MSM. METHODS: Chinese and English peer-reviewed articles were searched in five electronic databases from January 2000 to February 2013. Pooled prevalence estimates for each STI infection were calculated using meta-analysis. Infection risks of STIs in MSM, HIV-positive MSM and male sex workers (MSW) were obtained. This review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. RESULTS: Eighty-eight articles (11 in English and 77 in Chinese) investigating 35,203 MSM in 28 provinces were included in this review. The prevalence levels of STIs among MSM were 6.3% (95% CI: 3.5-11.0%) for chlamydia, 1.5% (0.7-2.9%) for genital wart, 1.9% (1.3-2.7%) for gonorrhoea, 8.9% (7.8-10.2%) for hepatitis B (HBV), 1.2% (1.0-1.6%) for hepatitis C (HCV), 66.3% (57.4-74.1%) for human papillomavirus (HPV), 10.6% (6.2-17.6%) for herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) and 4.3% (3.2-5.8%) for Ureaplasma urealyticum. HIV-positive MSM have consistently higher odds of all these infections than the broader MSM population. As a subgroup of MSM, MSW were 2.5 (1.4-4.7), 5.7 (2.7-12.3), and 2.2 (1.4-3.7) times more likely to be infected with chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HCV than the broader MSM population, respectively. CONCLUSION: Prevalence levels of STIs among MSW were significantly higher than the broader MSM population. Co-infection of HIV and STIs were prevalent among Chinese MSM. Integration of HIV and STIs healthcare and surveillance systems is essential in providing effective HIV/STIs preventive measures and treatments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO NO: CRD42013003721

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics

High-Utilisation Nanoplatinum Catalyst (Pt@cPIM) Obtained via Vacuum Carbonisation in a Molecularly Rigid Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM or here PIM-EA-TB) offer a highly rigid host environment into which hexachloroplatinate(IV) anions are readily adsorbed and vacuum carbonised (at 500 °C) to form active embedded platinum nanoparticles. This process is characterised by electron and optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical methods, which reveal that the PIM microporosity facilitates the assembly of nanoparticles of typically 1.0 to 2.5-nm diameter. It is demonstrated that the resulting carbonised “Pt@cPIM” from drop-cast films of ca. 550-nm average thickness, when prepared on tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), contain not only fully encapsulated but also fully active platinum nanoparticles in an electrically conducting hetero-carbon host. Alternatively, for thinner films (50–250 nm) prepared by spin coating, the particles become more exposed due to additional loss of the carbon host. In contrast to catalyst materials prepared by vacuum-thermolysed hexachloroplatinate(IV) precursor, the platinum nanoparticles within Pt@cPIM retain high surface area, electrochemical activity and high catalyst efficiency due to the molecular rigidity of the host. Data are presented for oxygen reduction, methanol oxidation and glucose oxidation, and in all cases, the high catalyst surface area is linked to excellent catalyst utilisation. Robust transparent platinum-coated electrodes are obtained with reactivity equivalent to bare platinum but with only 1 μg Pt cm−2 (i.e. ~100% active Pt nanoparticle surface is maintained in the carbonised microporous host). [Figure not available: see fulltext.