Interaction between human interleukin-16 and CD4 receptor of HIV-1

AIM: To study the interaction between human interleukin-16 (IL-16) and the receptor CD4 (T-lymphocyte differentiation antigen) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). METHODS: Two structurally con served regions (SCRs) of human IL-16 were built by the SYBYL/Biopolymer module using the corresponding transmembrane (TM) domain of human interleukin-1 (HIL-4) and HIL-2 as the templates. The coordinates for amino-terminal residue sequence, carboxyl-terminal residue sequences, and cytoplasm loops were generated using Biopolymer's LOOP SEARCH algorithm. RESULTS: HIL-16 first formed a homodimer, then contacted with CD4 dimer further forming a dimeric complex. Subsequently, the dimeric complex constructed the tetrameric complex by two disulfide bridges between the cysteines of HIL-16 (Cys31-Cys31). CONCLUSION: The interaction model is useful to propose the action mechanism of HIL-16 and is beneficial for rational designing of novel anti-HIV drugs.

Sorptive interaction between goethite and strongly reducing organic substances from anaerobic decomposition of green manures

Strongly reducing organic substances (SROS) and iron oxides exist widely in soils and sediments and have been implicated in many soil and sediment processes. In the present work, the sorptive interaction between goethite and SROS derived from anaerobic decomposition of green manures was investigated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Both green manures, Astragaltus sinicus (Astragalus) and Vicia varia (Vicia) were chosen to be anaerobically decomposed by the mixed microorganisms isolated from paddy soils for 30 d to prepare different SROS. Goethite used in experiments was synthesized in laboratory. The anaerobic incubation solutions from green manures at different incubation time were arranged to react with goethite, in which SROS concentration and Fe(II) species were analyzed. The anaerobic decomposition of Astragalus generally produced SROS more in amount but weaker in reducibility than that of Vicia in the same incubation time. The available SROS from Astragalus that could interact with goethite was 0.69 +/- 0.04, 0.84 +/- 0.04 and 1.09 +/- 0.03 cmol kg(-1) as incubated for 10, 15 and 30 d, respectively, for Vicia, it was 0.12 +/- 0.03, 0.46 +/- 0.02 and 0.70 +/- 0.02 cmol kg(-1). One of the fates of SROS as they interacted with goethite was oxidation. The amounts of oxidizable SROS from Astragalus decreased over increasing incubation time from 0.51 +/- 0.05 cmol kg(-1) at day 10 to 0.39 +/- 0.04 cmol kg(-1) at day 30, but for Vicia, it increased with the highest reaching to 0.58 +/- 0.04 cmol kg(-1) at day 30. Another fate of these substances was sorption by goethite. The SROS from Astragalus were sorbed more readily than those from Vicia, and closely depended upon the incubation time, whereas for those from Vicia, the corresponding values were remarkably less and apparently unchangeable with incubation time. The extent of goethite dissolution induced by the anaerobic solution from Vicia was greater than that from Astragalus, showing its higher reactivity. (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Electrically controllable RKKY interaction in semiconductor quantum wires

We demonstrate in theory that it is possible to all-electrically manipulate the RKKY interaction in a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas embedded in a semiconductor heterostructure, in the presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction. In an undoped semiconductor quantum wire where intermediate excitations are gapped, the interaction becomes the short-ranged Bloembergen-Rowland superexchange interaction. Owing to the interplay of different types of spin-orbit interaction, the interaction can be controlled to realize various spin models, e.g., isotropic and anisotropic Heisenberg-like models, Ising-like models with additional Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya terms, by tuning the external electric field and designing the crystallographic directions. Such controllable interaction forms a basis for quantum computing with localized spins and quantum matters in spin lattices.

Tuning of the two electron states in quantum rings through the spin-orbit interaction

The effect of the Coulomb interaction on the energy spectrum and anisotropic distribution of two electron states in a quantum ring in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI) and Dresselhaus SOI (DSOI) is investigated in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. We find that the interplay between the RSOI and DSOI makes the single quantum ring behaves like a laterally coupled quantum dot and the interdot coupling can be tuned by changing the strengths of the SOIs. The interplay can lead to singlet-triplet state mixing and anticrossing behavior when the singlet and triplet states meet with increasing magnetic field. The two electron ground state displays a bar-bell-like spatial anisotropic distribution in a quantum ring at a specific crystallographic direction, i.e., [110] or [1 (1) over bar0], which can be switched by reversing the direction of the perpendicular electric field. The ground state exhibits a singlet-triplet state transition with increasing magnetic field and strengths of RSOI and DSOI. An anisotropic electron distribution is predicted which can be detected through the measurement of its optical properties.

Direct detection of the relative strength of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction: Utilizing the SU(2) symmetry

We propose a simple method to detect the relative strength of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions in quantum wells (QWs) without relying on the directional-dependent physical quantities. This method utilizes the two different critical gate voltages that leading to the remarkable signals of SU(2) symmetry, which happens to reflect the intrinsic-structure-inversion asymmetry of the QW. We support our proposal by the numerical calculation of in-plane relaxation times based on the self-consistent eight-band Kane model. We find that the two different critical gate voltages leading to the maximum spin-relaxation times [one effect of the SU(2) symmetry] can simply determine the ratio of the coefficients of Rashba and Dresselhaus terms. Our proposal can also be generalized to extract the relative strengths of the spin-orbit interactions in quantum-wire and quantum-dot structures.

Geometric phase of a bipartite system with Dzyaloshinski-Moriya interaction

The Berry phase of a bipartite system described by a Heisenberg XXZ model driven by a one-site magnetic field is investigated. The effect of the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya (DM) anisotropic interaction on the Berry phase is discussed. It is found that the DM interaction affects the Berry phase monotonously. and can also cause sudden change of the Berry phase for some weak magnetic field cases. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature-dependent transport and spin accumulation in a quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We study the theory of temperature-dependent electron transport, spin polarization, and spin accumulation in a Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI) quantum wire connected nonadiabatically to two normal conductor electrode leads. The influence of both the wire-lead connection and the RSOI on the electron transport is treated analytically by means of a scattering matrix technique and by using an effective free-electron approximation. Through analytical analysis and numerical examples, we demonstrate a simple way to design a sensitive spin-transfer switch that operates without applying any external magnetic fields or attaching ferromagnetic contacts. We also demonstrate that the antisymmetry of the spin accumulation can be destroyed slightly by the coupling between the leads and the wire. Moreover, temperature can weaken the polarization and smear out the oscillations in the spin accumulation.

Electrical control of dynamic spin splitting induced by exchange interaction as revealed by time-resolved Kerr rotation in a degenerate spin-polarized electron gas

Manipulation of the spin degree of freedom has been demonstrated in a spin-polarized electron plasma in a heterostructure by using exchange-interaction-induced dynamic spin splitting rather than the Rashba and Dresselhaus types, as revealed by time-resolved Kerr rotation. The measured spin splitting increases from 0.256 meV to 0.559 meV as the bias varies from -0.3 V to -0.6 V. Both the sign switch of the Kerr signal and the phase reversal of Larmor precessions have been observed with biases, which all fit into the framework of exchange-interaction-induced spin splitting. The electrical control of it may provide a new effective scheme for manipulating spin-selected transport in spin FET-like devices. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2008.

Exact result for the Green's function of a two-dimensional interacting electron gas with spin-orbit interaction in a perpendicular magnetic field

An exact property is established for the Green's function of a uniform two-dimensional interacting electron gas in a perpendicular magnetic field with spin-orbit interaction. It is shown that the spin-diagonal Green's function is exactly diagonal in the Landau level index even in the presence of electron-electron interactions. For the Green's function with different spin indexes, only that with adjacent Landau level indexes is non-zero. This exact result should be helpful in calculating the Green's function approximately.

Interaction between the intrinsic second- and third-order optical fields in an Al0.53Ga0.47N/GaN heterostructure

We present an experimental demonstration of the interaction between the intrinsic second- and third-order optical fields in an Al0.53Ga0.47N/GaN heterostructure. The sample was deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on (0001) sapphire. The nonlinear optical coefficients of the sample, which were measured with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer system, quadratically increase with the applied modulating voltage, indicating the existence of the third-order optical field. The third-order signal was then detected by the Z-scan method and we calculated the built-in dc field on the AlGaN/GaN interface to confirm the strong interaction between the intrinsic second- and third-order optical fields. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Anomalous Rashba spin-orbit interaction in InAs/GaSb quantum wells

We theoretically investigate the Rashba spin-orbit interaction in InAs/GaSb quantum wells (QWs). We find that the Rashba spin-splitting (RSS) sensitively depends on the thickness of the InAs layer. The RSS exhibits nonlinear behavior for narrow InAs/GaSb QWs and the oscillating feature for wide InAs/GaSb QWs. The nonlinear and oscillating behaviors arise from the weakened and enhanced interband coupling. The RSS also show asymmetric features respect to the direction of the external electric field. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Spin current diode based on an electron waveguide with spin-orbit interaction

We propose a spin current diode which can work even in a small applied bias condition (the linear-response regime). The prototypal device consists of a hornlike electron waveguide with Rashba spin-orbit interaction, which is connected to two leads with different widths. It is demonstrated that when electrons are incident from the narrow lead, the generated spin conductance fluctuates around a constant value in a wide range of incident energy. When the transport direction is reversed, the spin conductance is suppressed strongly. Such a remarkable difference arises from spin-flipped transitions caused by the spin-orbit interaction. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Electric-field tuning s-d exchange interaction in quantum dots

We investigate theoretically the electron-hole pair states in CdTe quantum dot (QD) containing a single Mn2+ ion by the magneto-optical spectrum tuned by the electric field. It is shown that the electric field does not only tune the spin splitting via the sp-d exchange interaction but also affect significantly the anticrossing behavior in the photoluminescence spectrum. This anticrossing is caused by the s-d exchange interaction and/or the hole mixing effect, which depends sensitively on the shape of the QD. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Properties of exchange interaction in Yb3Fe5O12 under extreme conditions

In Yb3Fe5O12, the exchange effective field can be expressed as H-eff = -lambda center dot center dot center dot M-Fe = -lambda chi(eff)center dot center dot center dot H-e = -gamma center dot center dot center dot H-e where gamma is named as the exchange field parameter and H-e is the external magnetic field. Then, in this paper, by the discussions on the characteristics of the exchange field parameter gamma, the properties of exchange interaction in ytterbium iron garnet (Yb3Fe5O12) are analyzed under extreme conditions (high magnetic fields and low temperatures). Our theory suggests that the exchange field parameter gamma is the function of the temperatures under different external magnetic fields, and gamma = a+b center dot center dot center dot T+c center dot center dot center dot T-2, where the coefficients a, b, c are associated with the external magnetic fields and the magnetized directions. Thus, the temperature-dependence, field-dependence and anisotropic characteristics of the exchange interaction in Yb3Fe5O12 are revealed. Also, excellent fits to the available experiments are obtained. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.