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Abstract Triplex-forming peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) require chemical modifications for efficient sequence-specific recognition of DNA and RNA at physiological pH. Our research groups have developed 2-aminopyridine (M) as an effective mimic of protonated cytosine in C+•G-C triplets. M-modified PNAs have a high binding affinity and sequence specificity as well as promising biological properties for improving PNA applications. This communication reports the optimization of synthetic procedures that give PNA M monomer in seven steps, with minimal need for column chromatography and in good yields and high purity. The optimized route uses inexpensive reagents and easily performed reactions, which will be useful for the broad community of nucleic acid chemists. Thought has also been given to the potential for future development of industrial syntheses of M monomers. 

Analysis of interdigitated transducers often relies on phenomenological models to approximate device electrical performance. While these approaches prove essential for signal processing applications, phenomenological models provide limited information on the device’s mechanical response and physical characteristics of the generated acoustic field. Finite element method modeling, in comparison, offers a robust platform to study the effects of the full device geometry on critical performance parameters of interdigitated transducer devices. In this study, we fabricate a surface acoustic wave resonator on semi-insulating GaAs [Formula: see text], which consists of an interdigitated transducer and acoustic mirror assembly. The device is subsequently modeled using fem software. A vector network analyzer is used to measure the experimental device scattering response, which compares well with the simulated results. The wave characteristics of the experimental device are measured by contact-mode atomic force microscopy, which validates the simulation’s mechanical response predictions. We further show that a computational parametric analysis can be used to optimize device designs for series resonance frequency, effective coupling coefficient, quality factor, and maximum acoustic surface displacement. 

Abstract Observing exoplanets through transmission spectroscopy supplies detailed information about their atmospheric composition, physics and chemistry. Before the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations were limited to a narrow wavelength range across the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared, alongside broadband photometry at longer wavelengths. To understand more complex properties of exoplanet atmospheres, improved wavelength coverage and resolution are necessary to robustly quantify the influence of a broader range of absorbing molecular species. Here we present a combined analysis of JWST transmission spectroscopy across four different instrumental modes spanning 0.5–5.2 μm using Early Release Science observations of the Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39 b. Our uniform analysis constrains the orbital and stellar parameters within subpercentage precision, including matching the precision obtained by the most precise asteroseismology measurements of stellar density to date, and it further confirms the presence of Na, K, H₂O, CO, CO₂and SO₂as atmospheric absorbers. Through this process, we have improved the agreement between the transmission spectra of all modes, except for the NIRSpec PRISM, which is affected by partial saturation of the detector. This work provides strong evidence that uniform light curve analysis is an important aspect to ensuring reliability when comparing the high-precision transmission spectra provided by JWST. 

Interdigitated transducer devices provide an advantageous platform to study stress-enhanced interfacial phenomena at elevated temperatures but require a thorough understanding of temperature-dependent material properties. In this study, the temperature dependence of the piezoelectric coefficient for gallium arsenide is determined from 22 ℃ to 177 ℃. Experimental scattering parameter responses are measured for a two-port surface acoustic wave resonator at different temperatures and piezoelectric coefficient values are extracted using a frequency-domain finite element method simulation. Device measurements are taken using an interdigitated transducer fabricated on semi-insulating GaAs(100), oriented in the 〈110〉 direction and device resonant frequencies are shown to decrease with increasing temperature. The experimental scattering response is used to reconcile the simulated scattering response and extract the 𝑒14 piezoelectric coefficient, which is shown to increase linearly with temperature. Using the extracted 𝑒14, surface acoustic wave analysis is completed to study the magnitude of bulk stress values and surface displacement over the experimental temperature range produced by a standing surface acoustic wave field. Surface displacement measurements are taken at room temperature using contact-mode AFM, which corroborate the simulation predictions. The modeling results demonstrate an interdigitated transducers potential as an experimental stage to study surface and bulk stress effects on temperature-sensitive phenomena. 

Interdigitated transducer devices provide an advantageous platform to study stress-enhanced interfacial phenomena at elevated temperatures but require a thorough understanding of temperature-dependent material properties. In this study, the temperature dependence of the piezoelectric coefficient for gallium arsenide is determined from 22 ℃ to 177 ℃. Experimental scattering parameter responses are measured for a two-port surface acoustic wave resonator at different temperatures and piezoelectric coefficient values are extracted using a frequency-domain finite element method simulation. Device measurements are taken using an interdigitated transducer fabricated on semi-insulating GaAs(100), oriented in the 〈110〉 direction and device resonant frequencies are shown to decrease with increasing temperature. The experimental scattering response is used to reconcile the simulated scattering response and extract the e_14 piezoelectric coefficient, which is shown to increase linearly with temperature. Using the extracted e_14, surface acoustic wave analysis is completed to study the magnitude of bulk stress values and surface displacement over the experimental temperature range produced by a standing surface acoustic wave field. Surface displacement measurements are taken at room temperature using contact-mode AFM, which corroborate the simulation predictions. The modeling results demonstrate an interdigitated transducers potential as an experimental stage to study surface and bulk stress effects on temperature-sensitive phenomena. 

Abstract The recent IceCube detection of TeV neutrino emission from the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068 suggests that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) could make a sizable contribution to the diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos. The absence of TeVγ-rays from NGC 1068 indicates neutrino production in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole, where the high radiation density leads toγ-ray attenuation. Therefore, any potential neutrino emission from similar sources is not expected to correlate with high-energyγ-rays. Disk-corona models predict neutrino emission from Seyfert galaxies to correlate with keV X-rays because they are tracers of coronal activity. Using through-going track events from the Northern Sky recorded by IceCube between 2011 and 2021, we report results from a search for individual and aggregated neutrino signals from 27 additional Seyfert galaxies that are contained in the Swift's Burst Alert Telescope AGN Spectroscopic Survey. Besides the generic single power law, we evaluate the spectra predicted by the disk-corona model assuming stochastic acceleration parameters that match the measured flux from NGC 1068. Assuming all sources to be intrinsically similar to NGC 1068, our findings constrain the collective neutrino emission from X-ray bright Seyfert galaxies in the northern sky, but, at the same time, show excesses of neutrinos that could be associated with the objects NGC 4151 and CGCG 420-015. These excesses result in a 2.7σsignificance with respect to background expectations.