Electrodynamic modeling of strong coupling between a metasurface and intersubband transitions in quantum wells

Strong light-matter coupling has recently been demonstrated in sub-wavelength volumes by coupling engineered optical transitions in semiconductor heterostructures (e.g., quantum wells) to metasurface resonances via near fields. It has also been shown that different resonator shapes may lead to different Rabi splittings, though this has not yet been well explained. In this paper, our aim is to understand the correlation between resonator shape and Rabi splitting, and in particular determine and quantify the physical parameters that affect strong coupling by developing an equivalent circuit network model whose elements describe energy and dissipation. Because of the subwavelength dimension of each metasurface element, we resort to the quasi-static (electrostatic) description of the near-field and hence define an equivalent capacitance associated to each dipolar element of a flat metasurface, and we show that this is also able to accurately model the phenomenology involved in strong coupling between the metasurface and the intersubband transitions in quantum wells. We show that the spectral properties and stored energy of a metasurface/quantum-well system obtained using our model are in good agreement with both full-wave simulation and experimental results. We then analyze metasurfaces made of three different resonator geometries and observe that the magnitude of the Rabi splitting increases with the resonator capacitance in agreement with our theory, providing a phenomenological explanation for the resonator shape dependence of the strong coupling process.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Giant supercurrent states in a superconductor-InAs/GaSb-superconductor junction

Superconductivity in topological materials has attracted a great deal of interest in both electron physics and material sciences since the theoretical predictions that Majorana fermions can be realized in topological superconductors [1-4]. Topological superconductivity could be realized in a type II, band-inverted, InAs/GaSb quantum well if it is in proximity to a conventional superconductor. Here we report observations of the proximity effect induced giant supercurrent states in an InAs/GaSb bilayer system that is sandwiched between two superconducting tantalum electrodes to form a superconductor-InAs/GaSb-superconductor junction. Electron transport results show that the supercurrent states can be preserved in a surprisingly large temperature-magnetic field (T-H) parameter space. In addition, the evolution of differential resistance in T and H reveals an interesting superconducting gap structure

Correlates and outcomes of posttransplant smoking in solid organ transplant recipients : a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Despite smoking being an absolute or relative contraindication for transplantation, about 11% to 40% of all patients continue or resume smoking posttransplant. This systematic review with meta-analysis investigated the correlates and outcomes associated with smoking after solid organ transplantation.; We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from inception until January 2016, using state-of-the art methodology. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed for correlates/outcomes investigated 5 times or more.; Seventy-three studies (43 in kidney, 17 in heart, 12 in liver, 1 in lung transplantation) investigated 95 correlates and 24 outcomes, of which 6 correlates and 4 outcomes could be included in the meta-analysis. The odds of smoking posttransplant were 1.33 times higher in men (95% CI, 1.12-1.57). Older individuals were significantly less likely to smoke (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.38-0.62), as were patients with a higher body mass index (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.89). Hypertension (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.77-1.75), diabetes mellitus (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.15-1.78), and having a history of cardiovascular disease (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.77-1.09) were not significant correlates. Posttransplant smokers had higher odds of newly developed posttransplant cardiovascular disease (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.02-1.95), nonskin malignancies (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.26-5.29), a shorter patient survival time (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.44-0.79), and higher odds of mortality (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.21-2.48).; Posttransplant smoking is associated with poor outcomes. Our results might help clinicians to understand which patients are more likely to smoke posttransplant, guide interventional approaches, and provide recommendations for future research

Influenza Research Database: An integrated bioinformatics resource for influenza virus research

The Influenza Research Database (IRD) is a U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-sponsored Bioinformatics Resource Center dedicated to providing bioinformatics support for influenza virus research. IRD facilitates the research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics against influenza virus by providing a comprehensive collection of influenza-related data integrated from various sources, a growing suite of analysis and visualization tools for data mining and hypothesis generation, personal workbench spaces for data storage and sharing, and active user community support. Here, we describe the recent improvements in IRD including the use of cloud and high performance computing resources, analysis and visualization of user-provided sequence data with associated metadata, predictions of novel variant proteins, annotations of phenotype-associated sequence markers and their predicted phenotypic effects, hemagglutinin (HA) clade classifications, an automated tool for HA subtype numbering conversion, linkouts to disease event data and the addition of host factor and antiviral drug components. All data and tools are freely available without restriction from the IRD website at https://www.fludb.org.National Institutes of Health/National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases [HHSN272201400028C]. Funding for open access charge: J. Craig Venter Institute

The Spin Structure of the Nucleon

We present an overview of recent experimental and theoretical advances in our understanding of the spin structure of protons and neutrons.Comment: 84 pages, 29 figure

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Manejo agronômico do abacaxizeiro CV. Vitória visando otimizar a produtividade e qualidade dos frutos

Na cultura do abacaxizeiro diferentes estratégias de manejo podem ser utilizadas para otimizar a produção e qualidade dos frutos visando atender as exigências da cadeia produtiva. Dentre as estratégias recomendadas estão a indução artificial da floração, contudo, o sucesso desta tecnologia é altamente dependente do estádio de desenvolvimento vegetativo da cultura, que depende principalmente do tamanho, tipo da muda e época de plantio. Sendo assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho estabelecer uma estratégia de manejo do florescimento para otimizar a produção e qualidade dos frutos, utilizando diferentes tipos de mudas e idades de indução floral. O genótipo estudado foi a cultivar Vitória, por ser resistente à Fusariose, ausência de espinhos, excelente produtividade e qualidade dos frutos. Nesse contexto, dois trabalhos foram desenvolvidos. O primeiro, intitulado Desempenho do abacaxizeiro Vitória em resposta aos tipos de mudas e idades de indução floral e o segundo, intitulado Qualidade pós-colheita do abacaxizeiro Vitória obtida pelos diferentes tipos de mudas e idades de indução floral. O experimento foi conduzido na área da Fazenda Experimental do Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural, no município de Sooretama-ES. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados em parcelas subdivididas no tempo, com quatro repetições, sendo cada parcela constituída por mudas do tipo filhote de 100 a 200 g e rebentão de 201 a 300 viii g. As subparcelas foram as idades de indução floral artificial (8, 10 e 12 meses após o plantio) e indução natural. Foram avaliadas diversas características referente ao desenvolvimento vegetativo, fenologia, produtividade e qualidade físico-químicas dos frutos. Foi observada interação significativa entre os fatores estudados para as variáveis de largura da folha D e área foliar total, número de rebentos produzidos, bem como, para as variáveis químicas dos frutos. O florescimento natural ocorreu entre os 16 e 18 meses após o plantio alongando o ciclo da cultura, no entanto, obteve maior produção de mudas filhotes e elevada produtividade. A indução artificial do florescimento realizada aos oito meses após o plantio antecipa a colheita em até 167 dias comparado com as demais induções artificiais. A biomassa dos frutos com coroa, foi superior no florescimento natural, com 58% de ganho de biomassa comparada com a indução aos oito meses. As induções artificiais resultaram em frutos de menor circunferência, diâmetro e espessura de polpa. As plantas induzidas artificialmente aos 12 meses e natural produziram frutos com qualidade físico-química superiores, para ambos os tipos de mudas utilizadas. Pode-se concluir que o manejo do florescimento através da indução floral é uma importante estratégia para obtenção de frutos com características variadas que atendam às exigências dos diferentes tipos de mercados interno e externo. Portanto, para indústrias de sucos ou doces, a indução pode ser realizada em todos os períodos avaliados a depender apenas, da época de demanda de frutos. Para mercados de frutos in natura e/ou exportação, recomenda-se efetuar a indução artificial a partir dos 12 meses para obter colheita mais uniforme ou induzir naturalmente, caso necessite prolongar o período de colheita