19 research outputs found
Practical quantum realization of the ampere from the electron charge
One major change of the future revision of the International System of Units
(SI) is a new definition of the ampere based on the elementary charge \emph{e}.
Replacing the former definition based on Amp\`ere's force law will allow one to
fully benefit from quantum physics to realize the ampere. However, a quantum
realization of the ampere from \emph{e}, accurate to within in
relative value and fulfilling traceability needs, is still missing despite many
efforts have been spent for the development of single-electron tunneling
devices. Starting again with Ohm's law, applied here in a quantum circuit
combining the quantum Hall resistance and Josephson voltage standards with a
superconducting cryogenic amplifier, we report on a practical and universal
programmable quantum current generator. We demonstrate that currents generated
in the milliampere range are quantized in terms of
( is the Josephson frequency) with a measurement uncertainty of
. This new quantum current source, able to deliver such accurate
currents down to the microampere range, can greatly improve the current
measurement traceability, as demonstrated with the calibrations of digital
ammeters. Beyond, it opens the way to further developments in metrology and in
fundamental physics, such as a quantum multimeter or new accurate comparisons
to single electron pumps.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Quantum Hall effect in exfoliated graphene affected by charged impurities: metrological measurements
Metrological investigations of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) completed by
transport measurements at low magnetic field are carried out in
a-few--wide Hall bars made of monolayer (ML) or bilayer (BL)
exfoliated graphene transferred on substrate. From the
charge carrier density dependence of the conductivity and from the measurement
of the quantum corrections at low magnetic field, we deduce that transport
properties in these devices are mainly governed by the Coulomb interaction of
carriers with a large concentration of charged impurities. In the QHE regime,
at high magnetic field and low temperature (), the Hall
resistance is measured by comparison with a GaAs based quantum resistance
standard using a cryogenic current comparator. In the low dissipation limit, it
is found quantized within 5 parts in (one standard deviation, ) at the expected rational fractions of the von Klitzing constant,
respectively and in the ML and BL
devices. These results constitute the most accurate QHE quantization tests to
date in monolayer and bilayer exfoliated graphene. It turns out that a main
limitation to the quantization accuracy, which is found well above the
accuracy usually achieved in GaAs, is the low value of the QHE
breakdown current being no more than . The current dependence
of the longitudinal conductivity investigated in the BL Hall bar shows that
dissipation occurs through quasi-elastic inter-Landau level scattering,
assisted by large local electric fields. We propose that charged impurities are
responsible for an enhancement of such inter-Landau level transition rate and
cause small breakdown currents.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in rehabilitation and chronic-care-facilities: what is the best strategy?
BACKGROUND: The risk associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been decreasing for several years in intensive care departments, but is now increasing in rehabilitation and chronic-care-facilities (R-CCF). The aim of this study was to use published data and our own experience to discuss the roles of screening for MRSA carriers, the type of isolation to be implemented and the efficiency of chemical decolonization. DISCUSSION: Screening identifies over 90% of patients colonised with MRSA upon admission to R-CCF versus only 50% for intensive care units. Only totally dependent patients acquire MRSA. Thus, strict geographical isolation, as opposed to "social reinsertion", is clearly of no value. However, this should not lead to the abandoning of isolation, which remains essential during the administration of care. The use of chemicals to decolonize the nose and healthy skin appeared to be of some value and the application of this procedure could make technical isolation unnecessary in a non-negligible proportion of cases. SUMMARY: Given the increase in morbidity associated with MRSA observed in numerous hospitals, the emergence of a community-acquired disease associated with these strains and the evolution of glycopeptide-resistant strains, the voluntary application of a strategy combining screening, technical isolation and chemical decolonization in R-CCF appears to be an urgent matter of priority
Localization of a Susceptibility Gene for Familial Nonmedullary Thyroid Carcinoma to Chromosome 2q21
The familial form of nonmedullary thyroid carcinoma (NMTC) is a complex genetic disorder characterized by multifocal neoplasia and a higher degree of aggressiveness than its sporadic counterpart. In a large Tasmanian pedigree (Tas1) with recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most common form of NMTC, an extensive genomewide scan revealed a common haplotype on chromosome 2q21 in seven of the eight patients with PTC. To verify the significance of the 2q21 locus, we performed linkage analysis in an independent sample set of 80 pedigrees, yielding a multipoint heterogeneity LOD score (HLOD) of 3.07 (α=0.42), nonparametric linkage (NPL) 3.19, (P=.001) at marker D2S2271. Stratification based on the presence of at least one case of the follicular variant of PTC, the phenotype observed in the Tas1 family, identified 17 such pedigrees, yielding a maximal HLOD score of 4.17 (α=0.80) and NPL=4.99 (P=.00002) at markers AFMa272zg9 and D2S2271, respectively. These results indicate the existence of a susceptibility locus for familial NMTC on chromosome 2q21
Germ-line mutation analysis in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and related disorders.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant syndrome predisposing to tumors of the parathyroid, endocrine pancreas, anterior pituitary, adrenal glands, and diffuse neuroendocrine tissues. The MEN1 gene has been assigned, by linkage analysis and loss of heterozygosity, to chromosome 11q13 and recently has been identified by positional cloning. In this study, a total of 84 families and/or isolated patients with either MEN1 or MEN1-related inherited endocrine tumors were screened for MEN1 germ-line mutations, by heteroduplex and sequence analysis of the MEN1 gene-coding region and untranslated exon 1. Germ-line MEN1 alterations were identified in 47/54 (87%) MEN1 families, in 9/11 (82%) isolated MEN1 patients, and in only 6/19 (31.5%) atypical MEN1-related inherited cases. We characterized 52 distinct mutations in a total of 62 MEN1 germ-line alterations. Thirty-five of the 52 mutations were frameshifts and nonsense mutations predicted to encode for a truncated MEN1 protein. We identified eight missense mutations and five in-frame deletions over the entire coding sequence. Six mutations were observed more than once in familial MEN1. Haplotype analysis in families with identical mutations indicate that these occurrences reflected mainly independent mutational events. No MEN1 germ-line mutations were found in 7/54 (13%) MEN1 families, in 2/11 (18%) isolated MEN1 cases, in 13/19 (68. 5%) MEN1-related cases, and in a kindred with familial isolated hyperparathyroidism. Two hundred twenty gene carriers (167 affected and 53 unaffected) were identified. No evidence of genotype-phenotype correlation was found. Age-related penetrance was estimated to be >95% at age >30 years. Our results add to the diversity of MEN1 germ-line mutations and provide new tools in genetic screening of MEN1 and clinically related cases