Fabrication, assembly, and characterization of molecular electronic components

One of the ultimate miniaturizations in nanotechnology is molecular electronics, where devices will consist of individual molecules. There are many complications associated with the use of molecules in electronic devices, such as the electronic perturbations in the molecule associated with being bonded to an electrode, how electrons traverse the metal-molecule junction, and the difficulty of macroscopically addressing single to very few molecules. Whether fabricating a test structure or a usable device, the use of self-assembly is fundamental to the fabrication of molecular electronic devices. We will discuss how to fabricate self-assembled monolayers into test assemblies and how to use intermolecular interactions to direct molecules into desired positions to create nanostructures and to connect functional molecules to the outside world. These assemblies serve as test structures for measurements on single or bundled molecules. The development of several experimental techniques, including various scanning probes, mercury drop junctions, break junctions, nanopores, crossed wires, and other techniques using nanoparticles have enabled the ability to test these structures and make reproducible measurements on single molecules. Many of these methods have been developed to test molecules with potential for integration into devices such as oligo (phenylene-ethynylene) molecules and other /spl pi/-conjugated molecules, in ensemble or single-molecule measurements.     

Embryonic stem cells and hematopoietic stem cell biology

Two advances in murine embryonic stem (ES) cell technology and their applications for the study of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are discussed in this article. First, ES cells induced to differentiate in vitro form hematopoietic lineages in a fashion that recapitulates the ontogeny of blood formation in the embryo. This system offers a unique opportunity to isolate, examine, and manipulate the most primitive hematopoietic progenitors. Second, targeted gene ablation (knockout) studies in ES cells have identified several genes that are required for normal hematopoiesis and may function in the formation, maintenance, and differentiation of HSCs. Insights into murine hematopoiesis gained through the study of ES cells generally should be applicable to other vertebrates, including humans.     

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma presenting as an aural polyp

Renal cell carcinoma may metastasize to the head and neck region at different stages of its evolution. We present a case of an undiagnosed renal cell carcinoma presenting as an ear polyp, and discuss the difficulties of the diagnosis and the management of these tumours.     

Retained fetal lung liquid in congenital lobar emphysema: a possible predictor of polyalveolar lobe

The purpose of this study was to determine whether retention of fetal lung liquid is more prevalent in polyalveolar congenital lobar emphysema than in conventional congenital lobar emphysema. Two patients with congenital lobar emphysema were prospectively identified in a 3-year period. Twenty-five such patients were identified in a retrospective study covering 39 years. Medical records were available for 22 patients who had 23 emphysematous lobes. Both babies from the prospective study and six subjects from the retrospective group had respiratory symptoms and underwent chest X-ray in the first day of life. Six of the eight babies with respiratory symptoms and chest imaging in the first day of life had retention of fetal lung liquid in an emphysematous lobe. All six of these lobes were polyalveolar. The lobe in one child was a polyalveolar lobe but without retained fetal lung liquid, and one child exhibited conventional lobar emphysema also without retained fetal lung liquid. One polyalveolar lobe caused no neonatal symptoms and was not imaged until the child was 3 months old. No baby with conventional lobar emphysema was shown to have retained fetal lung liquid. There seems to be a correlation between polyalveolar lobe and onset of respiratory symptoms in the first day of life. Retention of fetal lung liquid within the affected lobe was documented only in cases of polyalveolar lobe.     

HRTEM observation of the monoclinic-to-tetragonal m-t) phase transition in nanocrystalline ZrO2

The orientation relations m(100) || t(001), m[001] || t[110]; m(011) || t(100), m[100] || t[001]; m(100) || t(110), m[001] || t[001]; m(013) || t(116), m[001] || t[001] (indices for the primitive tetragonal cell) have been found between the tetragonal (t) and monoclinic (m) domains during the electron irradiation-induced m-t phase transition observed in-situ with HREM within isolated zirconia nanoparticles. Geometric models of the m-t interfaces are proposed.     

Representation of shift-invariant operators onL 2 byH ∞ transfer functions: An elementary proof,a generalization toL p,and a counterexample forL ∞

We give an elementary proof of the well-known fact that shift-invariant operators onL ²[0, ∞) are represented by transfer functions which are bounded and analytic on the right open half-plane. We prove a generalization to Banach space-valuedL ^p -functions, where 1≤p<∞. We show that the result no longer holds forp=∞. This research was supported partially by the Weizmann Fellowship, and partially by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Contract F49620-86-C-0111.     

Low Temperature Acoustic Properties of Poly-Crystalline Aluminium

As in other structurally disordered solids, the low temperature acoustic properties of poly-crystalline aluminium are governed by atomic two-level tunneling systems. The particular temperature variation of sound velocity and internal friction depends on the dynamical behaviour of these tunneling systems, which is expected to be determined by interaction with thermal phonons and conduction electrons as in metallic glasses. In earlier measurements on aluminium-wires no significant difference was found whether the sample was superconducting or kept in the normal state by a sufficiently high magnetic field and the concluding claim was ‘absence of electron-assisted relaxation for tunneling systems in poly-crystalline metals’. In this report, vibrating reed measurements are presented of pure poly-crystalline Al with a special sample shape that reduces the influence of the clamping. We in fact find significant differences between the sample being normal conducting or superconducting. The overall behaviour indeed resembles very closely that of metallic glasses and clearly demonstrates that also in Al tunneling systems couple to conduction electrons as expected. As a quantitative result we may state that the density of states of tunneling systems in poly-crystalline Al is considerably smaller than in metallic glasses. PACS numbers: 61.43.-j, 62.65.+k, 63.50.+x