High Frequency Acousto-electric Single Photon Source

We propose a single optical photon source for quantum cryptography based on the acousto-electric effect. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) propagating through a quasi-one-dimensional channel have been shown to produce packets of electrons which reside in the SAW minima and travel at the velocity of sound. In our scheme these electron packets are injected into a p-type region, resulting in photon emission. Since the number of electrons in each packet can be controlled down to a single electron, a stream of single (or N) photon states, with a creation time strongly correlated with the driving acoustic field, should be generated.

NaCl对液-液扩散法生长溶菌酶晶体的影响

用动态光散射法研究了不同浓度NaCl对液—液扩散法生长溶菌酶晶体的影响，并测量了晶体生长前后体系的Zeta电势．结果表明，NaCl浓度较高时，在溶菌酶溶液—凝胶界面处会发生液液分层现象，溶液中一直存在较大的聚集体，生长出的晶体质量较差．而在合适的NaCl浓度下，随着溶液Zeta电势降低，溶液中溶菌酶的大的聚集体发生解聚集，生长出的晶体质量较高．

Efectos de la salinidad y la alcalinidad sobre la germinación y el crecimiento vegetativo temprano de Chloris gayana Kunth

Resumen: Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: i) determinar el efecto de la salinidad y la alcalinidad sobre la germinación final y el tiempo al 50% de germinación (T50) de 4 cultivares de C. gayana y ii) estudiar las respuestas de plantas de C. gayana cv. Finecut a la salinidad y alcalinidad. Las semillas se incubaron durante 21 días en soluciones que contenían (mM) 0, 100 y 200 de NaCl combinadas con dos niveles de pH: 5,8 y 9,5. Las plantas se cultivaron en soluciones nutritivas que contenían (mM) 0 y 200 de NaCl y dos niveles de pH: 5,8 y 8,5. La combinación 0 mM de NaClpH= 5,8 se consideró el control en ambos experimentos. La germinación final y el T50 de todos los cultivares mostraron valores similares a los del control con 100 mM de NaCl y pH 9,5. Todos los cultivares cuadriplicaron el T50 en 200 mM de NaCl respecto del control, excepto Tolgar que sólo lo duplicó. En las mismas condiciones, el incremento del pH de 5,8 a 9,5 incrementó aún más el T50 de los cultivares Finecut, Tolgar y Katambora. El cultivo de plantas de C. gayana en una solución nutritiva con 200 mM de NaCl indujo la disminución del peso seco del vástago (29 %) y la raíz (49%), del contenido relativo de agua (6%), del contenido de K+ y Ca2+ y de la relación [K+] / [Na+] y el aumento de la relación V/R y del contenido de Na+ y Cl-, en relación a los valores de las plantas control. En cambio, el incremento del pH de 5,8 a 8,5 solamente indujo el aumento de la MFE (24%) y del contenido de Na+ del vástago de las plantas cultivadas en las soluciones sin agregado de NaCl. En conclusión, para condiciones similares a las existentes en las zonas marginales de la Cuenca del Salado (10 dSm-1 y pH  8,5), todos los cultivares de C. gayana evaluados mostraron porcentajes de germinación similares al control. La alcalinidad tuvo poco efecto sobre el crecimiento de las plantas de C. gayana cv. Finecut, ya sea en ausencia o presencia de NaCl en la solución nutritiva (0 y 200 mM, respectivamente). Por lo tanto, desde el punto de vista de la tolerancia a la alcalinidad, C. gayana podría mostrar un nivel de crecimiento adecuado en los suelos salino/alcalinos de la Cuenca del Salado.

Copurification of the Lac repressor with polyhistidine-tagged proteins in immobilized metal affinity chromatography.

One of the commonly used resins for immobilized metal affinity purification of polyhistidine-tagged recombinant proteins is TALON resin, a cobalt (II)--carboxymethylaspartate-based matrix linked to Sepharose CL-6B. Here, we show that TALON resin efficiently purifies the native form of Lac repressor, which represents the major contaminant when (His)(6)-tagged proteins are isolated from Escherichia coli host cells carrying the lacI(q) gene. Inspection of the crystal structure of the repressor suggests that three His residues (residues 163, 173, and 202) in each subunit of the tetramer are optimally spaced on an exposed face of the protein to allow interaction with Co(II). In addition to establishing a more efficient procedure for purification of the Lac repressor, these studies indicate that non-lacI(q)-based expression systems yield significantly purer preparations of recombinant polyhistidine-tagged proteins.

Anaesthetic impairment of immune function is mediated via GABA(A) receptors.

BACKGROUND: GABA(A) receptors are members of the Cys-loop family of neurotransmitter receptors, proteins which are responsible for fast synaptic transmission, and are the site of action of wide range of drugs. Recent work has shown that Cys-loop receptors are present on immune cells, but their physiological roles and the effects of drugs that modify their function in the innate immune system are currently unclear. We are interested in how and why anaesthetics increase infections in intensive care patients; a serious problem as more than 50% of patients with severe sepsis will die. As many anaesthetics act via GABA(A) receptors, the aim of this study was to determine if these receptors are present on immune cells, and could play a role in immunocompromising patients. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrate, using RT-PCR, that monocytes express GABA(A) receptors constructed of α1, α4, β2, γ1 and/or δ subunits. Whole cell patch clamp electrophysiological studies show that GABA can activate these receptors, resulting in the opening of a chloride-selective channel; activation is inhibited by the GABA(A) receptor antagonists bicuculline and picrotoxin, but not enhanced by the positive modulator diazepam. The anaesthetic drugs propofol and thiopental, which can act via GABA(A) receptors, impaired monocyte function in classic immunological chemotaxis and phagocytosis assays, an effect reversed by bicuculline and picrotoxin. SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that functional GABA(A) receptors are present on monocytes with properties similar to CNS GABA(A) receptors. The functional data provide a possible explanation as to why chronic propofol and thiopental administration can increase the risk of infection in critically ill patients: their action on GABA(A) receptors inhibits normal monocyte behaviour. The data also suggest a potential solution: monocyte GABA(A) receptors are insensitive to diazepam, thus the use of benzodiazepines as an alternative anesthetising agent may be advantageous where infection is a life threatening problem.

Investigation of Mn-Implanted n-Si by Low-Energy Ion Beam Deposition

Mn ions were implanted to n-type Si(0 0 1) single crystal by low-energy ion beam deposition technique with an energy of 1000 eV and a dose of 7.5 x 10^{17} cm^{-2}. The samples were held at room temperature and at 300degreesC during implantation. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiles of samples indicate that the Mn ions reach deeper in the sample implanted at 300degreesC than in the sample implanted at room temperature. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the structure of the sample implanted at room temperature is amorphous while that of the sample implanted at 300degreesC is crystallized. There are no new phases found except silicon both in the two samples. Atomic force microscopy images of samples indicate that the sample implanted at 300degreesC has island-like humps that cover the sample surface while there is no such kind of characteristic in the sample implanted at room temperature. The magnetic properties of samples were investigated by alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM). The sample implanted at 300degreesC shows ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature.

Reproduccion de piña (Ananas comosus L. Merrill) a partir de tallos e hijos en los cultivares Cayena lisa y monte lirio

Se determinó el efecto del tipo de material vegetativo y del regulador de crecimiento (Hoja verde 48 SL) sobre la brotación de yemas en los cultivares de piña (Ananas comosus L. Merrill) Cayena Lisa (CL) y Monte Lirio (ML). Se establecieron tres ensayos en arreglo de diseño de bloques completos al azar en canteros de arena. En el primer ensayo se evaluó durante tres cortes (cada 30 días) el empleo detallo entero de planta adulta(TE), tallo de planta adulta cortado longitudinalmente (TCL), tallo de planta adulta cortado transversalmente (TCT) y tallo entero de hijo (HE) en el cultivar ML; en el segundo ensayo se evaluaron TE y TCT en el cultivar CL. En el tercer ensayo se estudió la aplicación de 0.5, 1.0 y 2.0 ml l-1 agua de Hoja verde 48 SL y el testigo en el cultivar ML, durante doscortes. Se comparó la brotación de los cultivares CL y ML usando TE y TCT. A los datos de longitud (cm), grosor (cm), peso (g), número de hojas e hijos por tratamiento se les realizó análisis de varianza y separación de media (Waller-Duncan,α = 5%). En el primer ensayo no hubo diferencia significativa en número de brotes, sin embargo los provenientes TE presentaron mayor peso (8.0 y 9.3 g), grosor (1.35 cm) y longitud (8.02 cm). En el segundo ensayo hubo diferencias significativas solamente en número de brotes en el corte 1, TE produjo 2.1 brotes. TCL usando TE registró los mejores promedios en longitud, grosor, peso, número de hojas e hijos. En el tercer ensayo no hubo diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos, a excepción del corte 1 donde presentó la mayor longitud el testigo (11.60 cm). Se produjeron 800 plantas en total, la mayoría establecidas en el campo.

Probing biomolecular interaction forces using an anharmonic acoustic technique for selective detection of bacterial spores.

Receptor-based detection of pathogens often suffers from non-specific interactions, and as most detection techniques cannot distinguish between affinities of interactions, false positive responses remain a plaguing reality. Here, we report an anharmonic acoustic based method of detection that addresses the inherent weakness of current ligand dependant assays. Spores of Bacillus subtilis (Bacillus anthracis simulant) were immobilized on a thickness-shear mode AT-cut quartz crystal functionalized with anti-spore antibody and the sensor was driven by a pure sinusoidal oscillation at increasing amplitude. Biomolecular interaction forces between the coupled spores and the accelerating surface caused a nonlinear modulation of the acoustic response of the crystal. In particular, the deviation in the third harmonic of the transduced electrical response versus oscillation amplitude of the sensor (signal) was found to be significant. Signals from the specifically-bound spores were clearly distinguishable in shape from those of the physisorbed streptavidin-coated polystyrene microbeads. The analytical model presented here enables estimation of the biomolecular interaction forces from the measured response. Thus, probing biomolecular interaction forces using the described technique can quantitatively detect pathogens and distinguish specific from non-specific interactions, with potential applicability to rapid point-of-care detection. This also serves as a potential tool for rapid force-spectroscopy, affinity-based biomolecular screening and mapping of molecular interaction networks.

半焦与垃圾衍生燃料混烧的排放特性

在非均匀布风流化床中进行了半焦与垃圾衍生燃料(RDF)的混合燃烧实验,研究了不同半焦混烧率对烟气组分的影响以及二者混烧的可行性与经济性.实验结果表明,随着半焦混烧率的增加,H2O(气态)、CO、HCl、NO及C3H6含量均呈下降趋势,而CO2、SO2含量则呈增加趋势.同时发现,在燃烧过程中增加Cl元素含量,可以促进NO的生成.

Magnetic Properties of Mn-Implanted n-Type Ge

Mn+ ions were implanted into n-type Ge(111) single crystal at room temperature at an energy of 100 keV with a dose of 3 x 1016 cm-2. Subsequent annealing was performed on the samples at 400 °C and 600 °C in a flowing nitrogen atmosphere. The magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated by alternating gradient magnetometer at room temperature. The compositional properties of the annealed samples were studied by Auger electron spectroscopy and the structural properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction measurements. Magnetization measurements reveal room-temperature ferromagnetism for the annealed samples. The magnetic analysis supported by compositional and structural properties indicates that forming the diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) MnxGe1-x after annealing may account for the ferromagnetic behavior in the annealed samples.

Impacto de la preparación del suelo sobre las características físicas del suelo, calidad y rendimiento de las raíces de yuca (Manihot esculenta Crantz), variedad algodón, Nueva Guinea-RAAS

El estudio se realizó en el Centro de Desarrollo Tecnológico (CDT) del Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) en Nueva Guinea, RAAS desde Octubre de 2005 a Agosto de 2006. El objetivo general fue evaluar cuatro sistemas de labranza sobre las propiedades físicas del suelo, el crecimiento y rendimiento del cultivo de la yuca variedad Algodón, así como la calidad de las raíces. Los tratamientos estudiados fueron: subsoleo más encamado (SE), grada más encamado (GE), cero labranza (CL) y tracción animal (TA). El diseño utilizado fue un arreglo de bloques completos al azar (BCA) con tres repeticiones. Las variables de suelo evaluadas fueron: densidad aparente, densidad real, porosidad total y capacidad de campo. Las variables agronómicas estudiadas fueron altura de planta, diámetro del tallo, peso fresco de la planta, número de raíces totales por planta, número de raíces exportables, longitud de raíces exportables, diámetro de raíces exportables, peso de raíces exportables, rendimiento de raíces exportables, rendimiento de raíces no exportables y rendimiento total de raíces. Para el análisis de los datos se usó el paquete estadístico SAS Institute V 8 a base de Análisis de Varianza (ANDEVA) y comparación de rangos múltiples de medias por TUKEY al 5% de margen de error. El suelo preparado con tracción animal (TA), presentó los menores valores de densidad aparente y mayor porcentaje de porosidad del suelo. Las plantas de yuca alcanzaron la mayor altura, el mayor diámetro y mayor peso fresco con cero labranza (CL) y tracción animal (TA). El mayor número de raíces totales por planta fue alcanzado con tracción animal (TA) seguido de cero labranza (CL). El mayor número de raíces exportables, el mayor diámetro de raíces exportables y peso de las raíces exportables fue alcanzado con el método cero labranza (CL) seguido de tracción animal (TA). El mayor rendimiento de raíces totales fue alcanzado en el suelo con Cero labranza (CL), así como el mayor rendimiento de raíces exportables y no exportables con una relación de 76% de raíces exportables.

Structural and magnetic properties of insulating Zn1-xCoxO thin films

Cobalt-doped ZnO (Zn1-xCoxO) thin films were fabricated by reactive magnetron cosputtering. The processing conditions were carefully designed to avoid the occurrence of Co precipitations. The films are c-axis oriented, and the solubility limit of Co in ZnO is less than 17%, determined by x-ray diffraction. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements show Co ions have a chemical valance of 2+. In this paper, hysteresis loops were clearly observed for Zn1-xCoxO films at room temperature. The coercive field, as well as saturation magnetization per Co atom, decreases with increasing Co content, within the range of 0.07

Properties of high k gate dielectric gadolinium oxide deposited on Si(100) by dual ion beam deposition (DIBD)

Gadolinium oxide thin films have been prepared on silicon (100) substrates with a low-energy dual ion-beam epitaxial technique. Substrate temperature was an important factor to affect the crystal structures and textures in an ion energy range of 100-500 eV. The films had a monoclinic Gd2O3 structure with preferred orientation ((4) over bar 02) at low substrate temperatures. When the substrate temperature was increased, the orientation turned to (202), and finally, the cubic structure appeared at the substrate temperature of 700 degreesC, which disagreed with the previous report because of the ion energy. The AES studies found that Gadolinium oxide shared Gd2O3 structures, although there were a lot of oxygen deficiencies in the films, and the XPS results confirmed this. AFM was also used to investigate the surface images of the samples. Finally, the electrical properties were presented. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FexSi grown with mass-analyzed low-energy dual ion beam deposition

Heavily iron-implanted silicon was prepared by mass-analyzed low-energy dual ion beam deposition technique. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiles indicate that iron ions are shallowly implanted into the single-crystal silicon substrate and formed 35 nm thick FexSi films. X-ray diffraction measurements show that as-implanted sample is amorphous and the structure of crystal is partially restored after as-implanted sample was annealed at 400degreesC. There are no new phases formed. Carrier concentration depth profile of annealed sample was measured by Electrochemical C-V method and indicated that FexSi film shows n-type conductivity while silicon substrate is p-type. The p-n junction is formed between FexSi film and silicon substrate showing rectifying effect. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The magnetic and structure properties of room-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)N

Diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)N were prepared by the implantation of Mn ions into GaN/Al2O3 substrate. Clear X-ray diffraction peak from (Ga,Mn)N is observed. It indicates that the solid solution (Ga,Mn)N phase was formed with the same lattice structure as GaN and different lattice constant. Magnetic hysteresis-loops of the (Ga,Mn)N were obtained at room temperature (293 K) with the coercivity of about 2496.97 A m(-1). (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.