BINA

Particle hopping is a common feature in heterogeneous media. We explore such motion by using the widely applicable formalism of the continuous time random walk and focus on the statistics of rare events. Numerous experiments have shown that the decay of the positional probability density function P (X, t), describing the statistics of rare events, exhibits universal exponential decay. We show that such universality ceases to exist once the threshold of exponential distribution of particle hops is crossed. While the mean hop is not diverging and can attain a finite value; the transition itself is critical. The exponential universality of rare events arises due to the contribution of all the different states occupied during the process. Once the reported threshold is crossed, a single large event determines the statistics. In this realm, the big jump principle replaces the large deviation principle, and the spatial part of the decay is unaffected by the temporal properties of rare events.

We demonstrate an improved YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ-based microwave kinetic inductance detector with a quality factor and noise equivalent power, $\sim {10^{-12}}{\mkern 1mu}{\text {W}}{\mkern 1mu}{\sqrt {{\text {Hz}}}^{-1}} $ at 10 K. Zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) measurements of the magnetic field dependence of the resonance characteristics, show substantially different behavior, indicating that both the screening currents and vortices play a role. The ZFC measurements exhibit a sharp decrease of the resonance frequency, , and at low fields, up to the full penetration field, revealing the dominant role of the screening currents. In contrast, the FC measurements exhibit a moderate decrease of and with field, revealing the role of vortices and reflecting the field dependence of the penetration depth in a d-wave superconductor.

Opto-electronic oscillators are sources of microwave-frequency tones that may reach very low noise levels. Much effort is being dedicated to the realization of oscillators based on photonic integrated devices. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a thermo-elastic opto-electronic oscillator at 2.213 GHz frequency based on a standard silicon-photonic integrated circuit. A microwave-frequency electrical signal modulates an optical pump wave carrier. The modulated waveform launches surface acoustic waves in a silicon-on-insulator substrate, through absorption in a metallic grating and thermo-elastic actuation. The waveform is reconverted to the optical domain through photoelastic modulation of an optical probe wave carrier in a standard racetrack resonator waveguide. Both the thermo-elastic actuation and the photoelastic modulation are radio-frequency selective. The output probe wave is detected, and the receiver voltage is amplified and fed back to modulate the optical pump input. Sufficient gain drives the loop into oscillations. The oscillator does not involve piezoelectricity and can be realized on any substrate. Long acoustic delays may be implemented in compact devices. The frequency of operation is scalable to tens of GHz. The principle may be useful in integrated microwave-photonic signal processing and in the elastic analysis of surfaces and thin layers.

We study optimal restart times for the quantum first hitting time problem. Using a monitored one-dimensional lattice quantum walk with restarts, we find an instability absent in the corresponding classical problem. This instability implies that a small change in parameters can lead to a rather large change of the optimal restart time. We show that the optimal restart time versus a control parameter, exhibits sets of staircases and plunges. The plunges, are due to the mentioned instability, which in turn is related to the quantum oscillation of the first hitting time probability, in the absence of restarts. Furthermore, we prove that there are only two patterns of the staircase structures, dependent on the parity of the distance between the target and source in units of lattice constant.

During embryonic development, mutually antagonistic signaling cascades determine gonadal fate toward a testicular or ovarian identity. Errors in this process result in disorders of sex development (DSDs), characterized by discordance between chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical sex. The absence of an appropriate, accessible in vitro system is a major obstacle in understanding mechanisms of sex-determination/DSDs. Here, we describe protocols for differentiation of mouse and human pluripotent cells toward gonadal progenitors. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that the in vitro–derived murine gonadal cells are equivalent to embryonic day 11.5 in vivo progenitors. Using similar conditions, Sertoli-like cells derived from 46,XY human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) exhibit sustained expression of testis-specific genes, secrete anti-Müllerian hormone, migrate, and form tubular structures. Cells derived …

Wilms’ tumors are pediatric malignancies that are thought to arise from faulty kidney development. They contain a wide range of poorly differentiated cell states resembling various distorted developmental stages of the fetal kidney, and as a result, differ between patients in a continuous manner that is not well understood. Here, we used three computational approaches to characterize this continuous heterogeneity in high-risk blastemal-type Wilms’ tumors. Using Pareto task inference, we show that the tumors form a triangle-shaped continuum in latent space that is bounded by three tumor archetypes with “stromal”,“blastemal”, and “epithelial” characteristics, which resemble the un-induced mesenchyme, the cap mesenchyme, and early epithelial structures of the fetal kidney. By fitting a generative probabilistic “grade of membership” model, we show that each tumor can be represented as a unique mixture of three hidden “topics” with blastemal, stromal, and epithelial characteristics. Likewise, cellular deconvolution allows us to represent each tumor in the continuum as a unique combination of fetal kidney-like cell states. These results highlight the relationship between Wilms’ tumors and kidney development, and we anticipate that they will pave the way for more quantitative strategies for tumor stratification and classification.

The short time (large energy) behavior of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model (SYK) is one of the main reasons for the growing interest garnered by this model. True chaotic behavior sets in at the Thouless time, which can be extracted from the energy spectrum. In order to do so, it is necessary to unfold the spectrum, ie, to filter out global tendencies. Using a simple ensemble average for unfolding results in a parametically low estimation of the Thouless energy. By examining the behavior of the spectrum as the distribution of the matrix elements is changed into a log-normal distribution, it is shown that the sample-to-sample level spacing variance determines this estimation of the Thouless energy. Using the singular value decomposition method, which filters out these global sample-to-sample fluctuations, the Thouless energy becomes parametrically much larger, essentially of the order of the band width. It is shown that the …

The intestinal epithelial barrier facilitates homeostatic host-microbiota interactions and immunological tolerance. However, mechanistic dissections of barrier dynamics following luminal stimulation pose a substantial challenge. Here, we describe an ex-vivo intestinal permeability assay, X-IPA, for quantitative analysis of gut permeability dynamics at the whole-tissue level. We demonstrate that specific gut microbes and metabolites induce rapid, dose-dependent increases to gut permeability, thus providing a powerful approach for precise investigation of barrier functions.

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is an adaptive response of the lower esophagus to recurring exposure to gastroesophageal reflux that leads to intestinal metaplasia and/or gastric metaplasia depending on the specific criteria in each country. 1 The tissue microenvironment and local resident fibroblasts are critically involved in tissue homeostasis and repair processes 2; however, the involvement of stromal-derived fibroblasts in BE and, in particular, their involvement in rare instances of metaplastic transformation and progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are poorly understood. To examine this, we have leveraged a human organ-on-a-chip (Organ Chip) microfluidic culture methodology 3 to construct tissue recombinant models containing esophageal epithelial cells isolated from organoids derived from multiple BE patients (Figure A1A and B and Table) interfaced with fibroblasts isolated from normal …

A hydrothermal method was conducted to synthesize Ni(1−α)Co(α)MoO4 (α = 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 M) nanorods, which were proven as excellent electrode materials in a hybrid supercapacitor. Their electrochemical properties were also dependent on the Ni/Co ratio as demonstrated by different electrochemical techniques. Ni0.5Co0.5MoO4 (α = 0.5 M) offered specific capacity (Qg) = 354 Cg–1@1 Ag–1, a remarkable specific capacity with a notable retention capacity of 92% after 8000 repeated cycles at 10 Ag–1. Ni0.5Co0.5MoO4 with a high surface area outperformed the mono-metallic (NiMoO4) and bimetallic (Ni0.9Co0.1MoO4 and Ni0.7Co0.3MoO4) nanostructures. The hybrid supercapacitor (Ni0.5Co0.5MoO4//activated carbon) delivered a maximum Qcell of 53 Cg–1 at 1 Ag–1 with an energy density of 16.2 Wh kg–1 and power density of 725 W kg–1.

Sonochemistry in now well recognized as a technique for the fabrication of nanomaterials. This is reflected in the many review articles on sonochemistry and nanoparticles that have been published over the last few years. It is so happened that Suslick, one of the forefathers of this field, has lately written a very comprehensive review on this topic (Bang, 2010). In his review, Suslick has summarized the work published on sonochemistry and nanomaterials until 2010. The current review will try to scan the work done in this area until the end of 2012. The current review will concentrate first on explaining why nano? Namely, when, why, and what kind of nanomaterials are produced upon the collapse of the acoustic bubble?

Being nearly unlimited natural resource containing mostly Na cations, the use of seawater as an electrolyte solution (aka seawater batteries) for electrochemical energy storage has received growing attention. To date, the vast majority of studies have focused on the use of seawater in Na-metal batteries protected by ion-conductive membranes hermetic to water. These systems, however, are complex and expensive, and suffer from a short cycling life. Here, we present alternative seawater batteries that utilize polyimide anodes. With its high capacity of more than 140 mAh/g, impressive rate capability, and excellent long-term stability (98% capacity retention after more than 9000 cycles), the prepared polyimide electrodes demonstrated to be promising candidate anodes for seawater electrochemical energy storage devices. Looking for a suitable cathode, we explored the use of nickel hexacyanoferrate (Ni-HCF) and …

Biosensors are analytical devices with a wide range of uses in various fields such as food, military, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostics. Similarly, polymers and their composites have sparked a lot of interest in biosensing because of their properties, including compatibility with biological molecules, efficient electron transfer during biochemical reactions, bioreagent loading, and biomolecule immobilization. Different nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes, graphenes, gold nanoparticles, etc., have been efficiently integrated into the polymer matrix to improve performance features such as rapid response, high selectivity, improved sensitivity, long-term stability, and lower detection limit. Polymers in combination with nanomaterials provide a three-dimensional matrix that preserves biomolecule activity and provides an excellent platform for immobilization due to their good durability, porosity, selectivity …

This review describes the use of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) to measure residue specific dynamics in proteins with a specific focus on Cu(II)‐based spin labels. First, we outline approaches used to measure protein motion by nitroxide‐based spin labels. Here, we describe conceptual details and outline challenges that limit the use of nitroxide spin labels to solvent‐exposed α‐helical sites. The bulk of this review showcases the use of newly developed Cu(II)‐based protein labels. In this approach, the strategic mutation of native residues on a protein to generate two neighboring Histidine residues (i.e., the dHis motif) is exploited to enable a rigid site‐selective binding of a Cu(II) complex. The chelation of the Cu(II) complex to dHis directly anchors the Cu(II) spin label to the protein backbone. The improvement in rigidity expands both the spin‐labeling toolkit as well as the resolution of many EPR …

PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE Page 1 PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE SPIEDigitalLibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie Front Matter: Volume 12397 , "Front Matter: Volume 12397," Proc. SPIE 12397, Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XV, 1239701 (2 May 2023); doi: 10.1117/12.2679008 Event: SPIE BiOS, 2023, San Francisco, California, United States Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie on 04 May 2023 Terms of Use: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/terms-of-use Page 2 PROGRESS IN BIOMEDICAL OPTICS AND IMAGING Vol. 24 No. 46 Volume 12397 Proceedings of SPIE, 1605-7422, V. 12397 SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XV Amos Danielli Benjamin L. Miller Sharon M. Weiss Editors 29 …

Efficient and stable electrocatalysts are critically needed for the development of practical overall seawater splitting. The nanocomposite of RuCoBO has been rationally engineered to be an electrocatalyst that fits these criteria. The study has shown that a calcinated RuCoBO-based nanocomposite (Ru2Co1BO-350) exhibits an extremely high catalytic activity for H2 and O2 production in alkaline seawater (overpotentials of 14 mV for H2 evolution and 219 mV for O2 evolution) as well as a record low cell voltage (1.466 V@10 mA cm–2) and long-term stability (230 h @50 mA cm–2 and @100 mA cm–2) for seawater splitting. The results show that surface reconstruction of Ru2Co1BO-350 occurs during hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, which leads to the high activity and stability of the catalyst. The reconstructed surface is highly resistant to Cl– corrosion. The investigation suggests that a new …

Large grid energy storage devices are critical for the success of the clean and sustainable energy revolution. As Li-ion batteries are earmarked for electric vehicles and portable devices such as laptops and cellphones, other electrochemical systems should be developed that enable cost-effective, safe, and durable large-scale energy storage. Due to the low cost and non-flammability of aqueous electrolyte solutions, much effort is being put into the development of ‘beyond-Li’ batteries and super capacitors that can work in these environments. Here, we propose new proton batteries comprising an acetic acid electrolyte solution, NiII [FeIII(CN)6]2/3·4H2O Prussian blue analog cathodes, and Ti3C2Tx MXene anodes. Both electrodes were investigated independently to discover ideal settings for the electrochemical performance and stability. Significant attention was given to the cathodes' protons storage mechanism. In …

A distinguishing feature of ultracold collisions of bosonic lithium atoms is the presence of two near-degenerate two-body continua. The influence of such a near-degeneracy on the few-body physics in the vicinity of a narrow Feshbach resonance is investigated within the framework of a minimal model with two atomic continua and one closed molecular channel. The model allows analysis of the spin composition of loosely bound dimers and trimers. In the two-body sector the well-established coupled-channels calculations phenomenology of lithium is qualitatively reproduced, and its particularities are emphasized and clarified. In the three-body sector we find that the Efimov trimer energy levels follow a different functional form as compared to a single continuum scenario while the thresholds remain untouched. This three-channel model with two atomic continua complements our earlier developed three-channel model with two molecular channels [Y. Yudkin and L. Khaykovich, Phys. Rev. A 103, 063303 (2021)] and suggests that the experimentally observed exotic behavior of the first excited Efimov energy level [Y. Yudkin, R. Elbaz and L. Khaykovich, arXiv:2004.02723] is most probably caused by the short-range details of the interaction potential.

The work reported herein discusses the improved electrochemical and thermal behavior of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) spinel cathodes via surface engineering using a series of zeolites. The limiting issues of these high voltage electrodes are phase transition during Li-ions intercalation/de-intercalation processes, weakening the active material's structure. Besides, it initiates harmful interfacial side reactions, including solution species oxidation and Ni & Mn dissolution, affecting their long-term cycling stability severely and detrimentally. Therefore, we propose a zeolite-based surface modification of LNMO involving a simple surface coating strategy that includes liquid-phase (ethanol) mixing followed by heat treatment at 200°C under nitrogen gas flow. The cathodes comprising LNMO coated with 2 wt% zeolites exhibited significantly improved cycling stability than the reference cathodes with the uncoated material …

A major challenge in radiation oncology is predicting and optimizing a clinical response on a personalized manner. Recently, nanotechnology-based cancer treatments are being combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). Machine learning predictive models can be used to optimize the clinical setup configuration, such as: laser radiation intensity, treatment duration, and nanoparticles features. In this work we demonstrate a methodology to find the optimized treatment parameters for PDT and PTT by collecting data of in vitro cytotoxicity assay of PDT/PTT-induced cell death using a single nanocomplex. We examine three machine learning prediction models of regression, interpolation, and low degree analytical function to predict the laser radiation intensity and duration that maximize the treatment efficiency. To examine these prediction models accuracy, we built a dedicated dataset for PDT, PTT, and a combined treatment that is based on cell death measurements after light radiation treatment, divided to training and test sets. The preliminary results show that all models offer sufficient performance with death rate error of 0.09, 0.15, and 0.12 for the regression, interpolation, and analytical function fitting. Nevertheless, the analytical function due to its simple form has a clinical application advantage that can be used for further sensitivity analysis of the treatment parameters on the performance. In all, the results of this work form a baseline for a future machine learning base personal prediction model in combined nanotechnology-based phototherapy cancer treatment.

The increasing interest and need to shift to sustainable energy give rise to the utilization of fuel cell technologies in various applications. The challenging task of hydrogen storage and transport led to the development of liquid hydrogen carriers (LHCs) as fuels for direct LHC fuel cells, such as methanol in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Although simpler to handle, most direct LHC fuel cells suffer from durability and price issues derived from high catalysts’ loadings and byproducts of the oxidation reaction of the fuel. Herein, we report on the development of direct hydroquinone fuel cells (DQFCs) based on anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid (AQDS) as an LHC. We have shown that DQFC can operate with a continuous flow of quinone as a hydrogen carrier, outperforming the incumbent state-of-the-art DMFC by a factor of 3 in peak power density while completely removing the need for any catalyst at the anode. In …