Amplitude spectroscopy of a solid-state artificial atom

The energy-level structure of a quantum system, which has a fundamental role in its behaviour, can be observed as discrete lines and features in absorption and emission spectra. Conventionally, spectra are measured using frequency spectroscopy, whereby the frequency of a harmonic electromagnetic driving field is tuned into resonance with a particular separation between energy levels. Although this technique has been successfully employed in a variety of physical systems, including natural and artificial atoms and molecules, its application is not universally straightforward and becomes extremely challenging for frequencies in the range of tens to hundreds of gigahertz. Here we introduce a complementary approach, amplitude spectroscopy, whereby a harmonic driving field sweeps an artificial atom through the avoided crossings between energy levels at a fixed frequency. Spectroscopic information is obtained from the amplitude dependence of the system's response, thereby overcoming many of the limitations of a broadband-frequency-based approach. The resulting 'spectroscopy diamonds', the regions in parameter space where transitions between specific pairs of levels can occur, exhibit interference patterns and population inversion that serve to distinguish the atom's spectrum. Amplitude spectroscopy provides a means of manipulating and characterizing systems over an extremely broad bandwidth, using only a single driving frequency that may be orders of magnitude smaller than the energy scales being probed.     

复合Li2SO4质子传导膜的制备及电化学性能

制备了以Li2SO4为基体、Al2O3为填充物的复合质子传导膜.采用电化学阻抗波谱分析法(EIS)研究了掺杂不同组分(Li2WO4或Na2SO4)以及掺杂不同比例时制备的不同厚度的复合质子传导膜的离子(电)传导率.分析结果表明,在Li2SO4中掺杂一定比例的Li2WO4或Na2SO4均可提高膜的离子传导率,Li2WO4对复合膜性能的影响优于Na2SO4.扫描电镜(SEM)分析显示,掺杂Li2WO4的复合膜结构更加致密和紧凑.实验结果表明,由Li2SO4、Li2WO4和Al2O3制备的复合膜的适宜组成为75%Li2SO4/Li2WO4混合物(Li2SO4与Li2WO4摩尔比为9: 1) 25%Al2O3,其离子传导率在600,650,700和750 ℃时分别高达0.16,0.38,0.46和0.52 S/cm,适宜的膜厚为0.8 mm.文中还研究了以H2S为燃料、复合Mo-Ni-S为阳极、复合Li2SO4为质子传导膜、复合NiO为阴极、空气为氧化剂的单电池的电化学性能,发现Li2SO4 Li2WO4 Al2O3复合膜的电化学性能较优.     

Boosting charge collection efficiency via large-area free-standing Ag/ZnO core-shell nanowire array electrodes

Hybrid nanostructures, comprising of a metal core and a semiconductor shell layer, show great potential for a new generation of low-cost solar cells due to their unique electronic and optical properties. However, experimental results have fallen far short of the ultra-high efficiency(i.e. beyond Shockley-Queisser limit) predicted by theoretical simulations. This limits the commercial application of these materials. Here, a non-transparent organic solar cell with an array of Ag/ZnO nanowires has been experimentally fabricated to increase the internal quantum efficiency(IQE) by a factor of 2.5 compared to a planar counterpart. This result indicates a significant enhancement of charge collection efficiency due to the ultrafast Ag nanowire channels. This hybrid nanostructure can also serve as a perfect back reflector for semi-transparent solar cells, which can result in enhanced light absorption by a factor of 1.8 compared to the reference samples. The enhanced charge collection and light absorption can make these Ag/ZnO nanostructures available for the application of modern optoelectronic devices.     

Do plants explore habitats before exploiting them? An explicit test using two stoloniferous herbs

We tested whether the processes of exploration and exploitation can be explicitly distinguished as plants grow and develop within a habitat using two stoloniferous clonal herbs,Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides(Umbelliferae) and Potentilla anserina(Rosaceae).Ramets were planted in four circular trays differing in diameter.One replicate from each diameter-group was sampled at intervals corresponding to plant coverage of the trays,and plant biomass allocation to leaves,stolons,and roots and internode length were quantified.For both species,at early sampling times(when the smallest trays were full),total plant biomass and ramet number were larger in the smaller trays than in the larger trays.However,this trend was reversed for plants collected at later times.For H.sibthorpioides,leaf mass ratios(leaf mass to total plant mass) were significantly greater,but stolon mass ratios(stolon mass to total plant mass) were less in the small trays than in the larger ones,particularly during the early stages of the experiment.Similarly,for P.anserina,leaf mass ratios decreased in the smaller trays but increased in the larger ones as the experiment progressed.Root mass ratios showed contrasting pattern to leaf mass ratios for both species;stolon mass ratios were significantly smaller in the smaller trays than in the larger ones,although there were no obvious patterns during the course of the experiment.In addition,for both species,internode length was shorter but the number of ramets was greater in the smaller trays at early sampling times.We conclude that plants invest greater biomass in resource-exploring organs(stolons) than in resource-exploiting organs(leaves or roots) as they initially establish in a habitat.The relatively lower plant productivity in the largest trays at early sampling times presumably reflects the cost of exploration prior to resource exploitation and utilization.     

Genetic dissection of an amygdala microcircuit that gates conditioned fear

The role of different amygdala nuclei (neuroanatomical subdivisions) in processing Pavlovian conditioned fear has been studied extensively, but the function of the heterogeneous neuronal subtypes within these nuclei remains poorly understood. Here we use molecular genetic approaches to map the functional connectivity of a subpopulation of GABA-containing neurons, located in the lateral subdivision of the central amygdala (CEl), which express protein kinase C-δ (PKC-δ). Channelrhodopsin-2-assisted circuit mapping in amygdala slices and cell-specific viral tracing indicate that PKC-δ(+) neurons inhibit output neurons in the medial central amygdala (CEm), and also make reciprocal inhibitory synapses with PKC-δ(-) neurons in CEl. Electrical silencing of PKC-δ(+) neurons in vivo suggests that they correspond to physiologically identified units that are inhibited by the conditioned stimulus, called CEl(off) units. This correspondence, together with behavioural data, defines an inhibitory microcircuit in CEl that gates CEm output to control the level of conditioned freezing.     

Encoding of conditioned fear in central amygdala inhibitory circuits

The central amygdala (CEA), a nucleus predominantly composed of GABAergic inhibitory neurons, is essential for fear conditioning. How the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear are encoded within CEA inhibitory circuits is not understood. Using in vivo electrophysiological, optogenetic and pharmacological approaches in mice, we show that neuronal activity in the lateral subdivision of the central amygdala (CEl) is required for fear acquisition, whereas conditioned fear responses are driven by output neurons in the medial subdivision (CEm). Functional circuit analysis revealed that inhibitory CEA microcircuits are highly organized and that cell-type-specific plasticity of phasic and tonic activity in the CEl to CEm pathway may gate fear expression and regulate fear generalization. Our results define the functional architecture of CEA microcircuits and their role in the acquisition and regulation of conditioned fear behaviour.     

High star formation rates as the origin of turbulence in early and modern disk galaxies

Observations of star formation and kinematics in early galaxies at high spatial and spectral resolution have shown that two-thirds are massive rotating disk galaxies, with the remainder being less massive non-rotating objects. The line-of-sight-averaged velocity dispersions are typically five times higher than in today's disk galaxies. This suggests that gravitationally unstable, gas-rich disks in the early Universe are fuelled by cold, dense accreting gas flowing along cosmic filaments and penetrating hot galactic gas halos. These accreting flows, however, have not been observed, and cosmic accretion cannot power the observed level of turbulence. Here we report observations of a sample of rare, high-velocity-dispersion disk galaxies in the nearby Universe where cold accretion is unlikely to drive their high star formation rates. We find that their velocity dispersions are correlated with their star formation rates, but not their masses or gas fractions, which suggests that star formation is the energetic driver of galaxy disk turbulence at all cosmic epochs.     

Whole-genome sequencing of multiple Arabidopsis thaliana populations

The plant Arabidopsis thaliana occurs naturally in many different habitats throughout Eurasia. As a foundation for identifying genetic variation contributing to adaptation to diverse environments, a 1001 Genomes Project to sequence geographically diverse A. thaliana strains has been initiated. Here we present the first phase of this project, based on population-scale sequencing of 80 strains drawn from eight regions throughout the species' native range. We describe the majority of common small-scale polymorphisms as well as many larger insertions and deletions in the A. thaliana pan-genome, their effects on gene function, and the patterns of local and global linkage among these variants. The action of processes other than spontaneous mutation is identified by comparing the spectrum of mutations that have accumulated since A. thaliana diverged from its closest relative 10 million years ago with the spectrum observed in the laboratory. Recent species-wide selective sweeps are rare, and potentially deleterious mutations are more common in marginal populations.     

Cancellation of cellular responses to nanoelectroporation by reversing the stimulus polarity

Nanoelectroporation of biomembranes is an effect of high-voltage, nanosecond-duration electric pulses (nsEP). It occurs both in the plasma membrane and inside the cell, and nanoporated membranes are distinguished by ion-selective and potential-sensitive permeability. Here we report a novel phenomenon of bioeffects cancellation that puts nsEP cardinally apart from the conventional electroporation and electrostimulation by milli- and microsecond pulses. We compared the effects of 60- and 300-ns monopolar, nearly rectangular nsEP on intracellular Ca²⁺ mobilization and cell survival with those of bipolar 60 + 60 and 300 + 300 ns pulses. For diverse endpoints, exposure conditions, pulse numbers (1–60), and amplitudes (15–60 kV/cm), the addition of the second phase cancelled the effects of the first phase. The overall effect of bipolar pulses was profoundly reduced, despite delivering twofold more energy. Cancellation also took place when two phases were separated into two independent nsEP of opposite polarities; it gradually tapered out as the interval between two nsEP increased, but was still present even at a 10-µs interval. The phenomenon of cancellation is unique for nsEP and has not been predicted by the equivalent circuit, transport lattice, and molecular dynamics models of electroporation. The existing paradigms of membrane permeabilization by nsEP will need to be modified. Here we discuss the possible involvement of the assisted membrane discharge, two-step oxidation of membrane phospholipids, and reverse transmembrane ion transport mechanisms. Cancellation impacts nsEP applications in cancer therapy, electrostimulation, and biotechnology, and provides new insights into effects of more complex waveforms, including pulsed electromagnetic emissions.     

Evolution of indirect reciprocity

Natural selection is conventionally assumed to favour the strong and selfish who maximize their own resources at the expense of others. But many biological systems, and especially human societies, are organized around altruistic, cooperative interactions. How can natural selection promote unselfish behaviour? Various mechanisms have been proposed, and a rich analysis of indirect reciprocity has recently emerged: I help you and somebody else helps me. The evolution of cooperation by indirect reciprocity leads to reputation building, morality judgement and complex social interactions with ever-increasing cognitive demands.