Structure of glassy lithium sulfate films sputtered in nitrogen (LISON): Insight from Raman spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

Raman spectra of thin solid electrolyte films obtained by sputtering a lithium sulfate target in nitrogen plasma are measured and compared to ab initio electronic structure calculations for clusters composed of 28 atoms. Agreement between measured and calculated spectra is obtained when oxygen atoms are replaced by nitrogen atoms and when the nitrogen atoms form bonds with each other. This suggests that the incorporation of nitrogen during the sputtering process leads to structures in the film, which prevent crystallization of these thin film salt glasses.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A role for TSPO in mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis and redox stress signaling

The 18 kDa translocator protein TSPO localizes on the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Systematically overexpressed at sites of neuroinflammation it is adopted as a biomarker of brain conditions. TSPO inhibits the autophagic removal of mitochondria by limiting PARK2-mediated mitochondrial ubiquitination via a peri-organelle accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here we describe that TSPO deregulates mitochondrial Ca2+ signaling leading to a parallel increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ pools that activate the Ca2+-dependent NADPH oxidase (NOX) thereby increasing ROS. The inhibition of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake by TSPO is a consequence of the phosphorylation of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC1) by the protein kinase A (PKA), which is recruited to the mitochondria, in complex with the Acyl-CoA binding domain containing 3 (ACBD3). Notably, the neurotransmitter glutamate, which contributes neuronal toxicity in age-dependent conditions, triggers this TSPO-dependent mechanism of cell signaling leading to cellular demise. TSPO is therefore proposed as a novel OMM-based pathway to control intracellular Ca2+ dynamics and redox transients in neuronal cytotoxicity

Protein-DNA computation by stochastic assembly cascade

The assembly of RecA on single-stranded DNA is measured and interpreted as a stochastic finite-state machine that is able to discriminate fine differences between sequences, a basic computational operation. RecA filaments efficiently scan DNA sequence through a cascade of random nucleation and disassembly events that is mechanistically similar to the dynamic instability of microtubules. This iterative cascade is a multistage kinetic proofreading process that amplifies minute differences, even a single base change. Our measurements suggest that this stochastic Turing-like machine can compute certain integral transforms.Comment: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC129313/ http://www.pnas.org/content/99/18/11589.abstrac

On generalizations of Ostrowski inequality via Euler harmonic identities

Copyright © 2002 L. J. Dedić et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.Some generalizations of Ostrowski inequality are given, by using some Euler identities involving harmonic sequences of polynomials.L. J. Dedić, M. Matić, J. Pečarić, and A. Vukeli

High frequency dynamics in a monatomic glass

The high frequency dynamics of glassy Selenium has been studied by Inelastic X-ray Scattering at beamline BL35XU (SPring-8). The high quality of the data allows one to pinpoint the existence of a dispersing acoustic mode for wavevectors ($Q$) of $1.5<Q<12.5$ nm$^{-1}$, helping to clarify a previous contradiction between experimental and numerical results. The sound velocity shows a positive dispersion, exceeding the hydrodynamic value by $\approx$ 10% at $Q<3.5$ nm$^{-1}$. The $Q^2$ dependence of the sound attenuation $\Gamma(Q)$, reported for other glasses, is found to be the low-$Q$ limit of a more general $\Gamma(Q) \propto \Omega(Q)^2$ law which applies also to the higher $Q$ region, where $\Omega(Q)\propto Q$ no longer holds.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (Accepted

Living IoT: A Flying Wireless Platform on Live Insects

Sensor networks with devices capable of moving could enable applications ranging from precision irrigation to environmental sensing. Using mechanical drones to move sensors, however, severely limits operation time since flight time is limited by the energy density of current battery technology. We explore an alternative, biology-based solution: integrate sensing, computing and communication functionalities onto live flying insects to create a mobile IoT platform. Such an approach takes advantage of these tiny, highly efficient biological insects which are ubiquitous in many outdoor ecosystems, to essentially provide mobility for free. Doing so however requires addressing key technical challenges of power, size, weight and self-localization in order for the insects to perform location-dependent sensing operations as they carry our IoT payload through the environment. We develop and deploy our platform on bumblebees which includes backscatter communication, low-power self-localization hardware, sensors, and a power source. We show that our platform is capable of sensing, backscattering data at 1 kbps when the insects are back at the hive, and localizing itself up to distances of 80 m from the access points, all within a total weight budget of 102 mg.Comment: Co-primary authors: Vikram Iyer, Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, Anran Wang, In Proceedings of Mobicom. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 15 pages, 201

Observation of the onset of strong scattering on high frequency acoustic phonons in densified silica glass

The linewidth of longitudinal acoustic waves in densified silica glass is obtained by inelastic x-ray scattering. It increases with a high power alpha of the frequency up to a crossover where the waves experience strong scattering. We find that \alpha is at least 4, and probably larger. Resonance and hybridization of acoustic waves with the boson-peak modes seems to be a more likely explanation for these findings than Rayleigh scattering from disorder.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Letter

Electropolished Titanium Implants with a Mirror-Like Surface Support Osseointegration and Bone Remodelling

This work characterises the ultrastructural composition of the interfacial tissue adjacent to electropolished, commercially pure titanium implants with and without subsequent anodisation, and it investigates whether a smooth electropolished surface can support bone formation in a manner similar to surfaces with a considerably thicker surface oxide layer. Screw-shaped implants were electropolished to remove all topographical remnants of the machining process, resulting in a thin spontaneously formed surface oxide layer and a smooth surface. Half of the implants were subsequently anodically oxidised to develop a thickened surface oxide layer and increased surface roughness. Despite substantial differences in the surface physicochemical properties, the microarchitecture and the composition of the newly formed bone were similar for both implant surfaces after 12 weeks of healing in rabbit tibia. A close spatial relationship was observed between osteocyte canaliculi and both implant surfaces. On the ultrastructural level, the merely electropolished surface showed the various stages of bone formation, for example, matrix deposition and mineralisation, entrapment of osteoblasts within the mineralised matrix, and their morphological transformation into osteocytes. The results demonstrate that titanium implants with a mirror-like surface and a thin, spontaneously formed oxide layer are able to support bone formation and remodelling

Positive temperature versions of two theorems on first-passage percolation

The estimates on the fluctuations of first-passsage percolation due to Talagrand (a tail bound) and Benjamini--Kalai--Schramm (a sublinear variance bound) are transcribed into the positive-temperature setting of random Schroedinger operators.Comment: 15 pp; to appear in GAFA Seminar Note