Terahertz-field-induced insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide metamaterial

Electron-electron interactions can render an otherwise conducting material insulating, with the insulator-metal phase transition in correlated-electron materials being the canonical macroscopic manifestation of the competition between charge-carrier itinerancy and localization. The transition can arise from underlying microscopic interactions among the charge, lattice, orbital and spin degrees of freedom, the complexity of which leads to multiple phase-transition pathways. For example, in many transition metal oxides, the insulator-metal transition has been achieved with external stimuli, including temperature, light, electric field, mechanical strain or magnetic field. Vanadium dioxide is particularly intriguing because both the lattice and on-site Coulomb repulsion contribute to the insulator-to-metal transition at 340?K (ref. 8). Thus, although the precise microscopic origin of the phase transition remains elusive, vanadium dioxide serves as a testbed for correlated-electron phase-transition dynamics. Here we report the observation of an insulator-metal transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a terahertz electric field. This is achieved using metamaterial-enhanced picosecond, high-field terahertz pulses to reduce the Coulomb-induced potential barrier for carrier transport. A nonlinear metamaterial response is observed through the phase transition, demonstrating that high-field terahertz pulses provide alternative pathways to induce collective electronic and structural rearrangements. The metamaterial resonators play a dual role, providing sub-wavelength field enhancement that locally drives the nonlinear response, and global sensitivity to the local changes, thereby enabling macroscopic observation of the dynamics. This methodology provides a powerful platform to investigate low-energy dynamics in condensed matter and, further, demonstrates that integration of metamaterials with complex matter is a viable pathway to realize functional nonlinear electromagnetic composites.     

Real-time detection of electron tunnelling in a quantum dot

Nanostructures in which strong (Coulomb) interactions exist between electrons are predicted to exhibit temporal electronic correlations. Although there is ample experimental evidence that such correlations exist, electron dynamics in engineered nanostructures have been observed directly only on long timescales. The faster dynamics associated with electrical currents or charge fluctuations are usually inferred from direct (or quasi-direct) current measurements. Recently, interest in electron dynamics has risen, in part owing to the realization that additional information about electronic interactions can be found in the shot noise or higher statistical moments of a direct current. Furthermore, interest in quantum computation has stimulated investigation of quantum bit (qubit) readout techniques, which for many condensed-matter systems ultimately reduces to single-shot measurements of individual electronic charges. Here we report real-time observation of individual electron tunnelling events in a quantum dot using an integrated radio-frequency single-electron transistor. We use electron counting to measure directly the quantum dot's tunnelling rate and the occupational probabilities of its charge state. Our results provide evidence in favour of long (10 micros or more) inelastic scattering times in nearly isolated dots.     

Effect of pyrophosphate and orotidine monophosphate on cytosine deaminase regulatory properties

Summary The maximal velocity of the reaction (V_max) and the half-saturation constant (K_0.5) values of theS. typhimurium cytosine deaminase were altered in the presence of its effectors, pyrophosphate and orotidine monophosphate. From the kinetics of orotidine monophosphate inhibition of cytosine deaminase, it was characterized as a mixed-type noncompetitive inhibitor.     

铝合金精密模锻润滑剂的研究与应用

本文针对高强度铝合金精密模锻工艺润滑剂的类型、性能及配方进行了探讨,采用圆环压缩等试验方法优选品种用于生产。成功地解决了为国外某公司制造航空铝锻件产品的质量问题。研究结果表明:油基石墨中加入适当的添加剂比水基石墨润滑剂更能获得高质量的产品。     

太原市西山地区开山取石停采面植被恢复的试验

利用边试验、边推广的方法，通过人工造林的方式，对停采多年的开山破坏面进行植被恢复，树种以侧柏、油松为主，臭椿为辅，苗木宜采用带土胎的移植苗，实行水平阶式整地，乔灌草相结合的种植方法，辅以浇水措施，约需10年，植被覆盖率可达到60％以上。     

Temperature Control System for Biochemical Reactions in Microchip-Based Devices

IntroductionIn recent years,the development of miniaturizedsystems for chemical and biochemical reactions hasrapidly progressed[1] .Most of the microdevices forconducting these reactions are made of silicon orglass using conventional microfabrication methodsused in the microelectronic industry or bymodifying the processing technologies for microelectromechanical systems ( MEMS) . Severalresearch groups have developed polymerase chainreactions ( PCR) chips with various features toperform sim…     

Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability of ecosystem response to CO2

Enhanced plant biomass accumulation in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration could dampen the future rate of increase in CO2 levels and associated climate warming. However, it is unknown whether CO2-induced stimulation of plant growth and biomass accumulation will be sustained or whether limited nitrogen (N) availability constrains greater plant growth in a CO2-enriched world. Here we show, after a six-year field study of perennial grassland species grown under ambient and elevated levels of CO2 and N, that low availability of N progressively suppresses the positive response of plant biomass to elevated CO2. Initially, the stimulation of total plant biomass by elevated CO2 was no greater at enriched than at ambient N supply. After four to six years, however, elevated CO2 stimulated plant biomass much less under ambient than enriched N supply. This response was consistent with the temporally divergent effects of elevated CO2 on soil and plant N dynamics at differing levels of N supply. Our results indicate that variability in availability of soil N and deposition of atmospheric N are both likely to influence the response of plant biomass accumulation to elevated atmospheric CO2. Given that limitations to productivity resulting from the insufficient availability of N are widespread in both unmanaged and managed vegetation, soil N supply is probably an important constraint on global terrestrial responses to elevated CO2.     

Study on the Synthesis of Monoolein and Its Practical Application in Wool Spinning

Oleic acid was used as a raw material to synthesize mo-noolein by means of esterifying and ester exchanging. Through synthetically judging every possible influential factor, a new method was found to synthesize moloolein under moderate condition. Then, monoolein was applied as a main component to mix with Polyoxyethylene alkyl-phenol ether Sodium Phosphate and Polyoxyethylene al-kylphcnol ether - 10 for preparing a new kind of wool lubricant. The testing its performances in wool spinning were conducted.     

Cooperation and competition in pathogenic bacteria

Explaining altruistic cooperation is one of the greatest challenges for evolutionary biology. One solution to this problem is if costly cooperative behaviours are directed towards relatives. This idea of kin selection has been hugely influential and applied widely from microorganisms to vertebrates. However, a problem arises if there is local competition for resources, because this leads to competition between relatives, reducing selection for cooperation. Here we use an experimental evolution approach to test the effect of the scale of competition, and how it interacts with relatedness. The cooperative trait that we examine is the production of siderophores, iron-scavenging agents, in the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As expected, our results show that higher levels of cooperative siderophore production evolve in the higher relatedness treatments. However, our results also show that more local competition selects for lower levels of siderophore production and that there is a significant interaction between relatedness and the scale of competition, with relatedness having less effect when the scale of competition is more local. More generally, the scale of competition is likely to be of particular importance for the evolution of cooperation in microorganisms, and also the virulence of pathogenic microorganisms, because cooperative traits such as siderophore production have an important role in determining virulence.