138 research outputs found

    Structural Transformation in Ge\u3csub\u3e\u3cem\u3ex\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eS\u3csub\u3e100βˆ’x\u3c/sub\u3e (10 ≀\u3cem\u3e x \u3c/em\u3e≀ 40) Network Glasses: Structural Varieties in Short-Range, Medium-Range, and Nanoscopic Scale

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    Precise x-ray diffraction measurements using high-energy x rays of synchrotron radiation and systematic Raman scattering measurements were carried out for GexS100βˆ’x (10 β©½ x β©½ 40) network glasses. The structural models of the network glasses were proposed based on the results. In the stoichiometric composition Ge33S67, GeS4 tetrahedral units are connected forming either corner-sharing or edge-sharing structures. In the S-rich glasses, S atoms are inserted between two neighboring GeS4 tetrahedra, resulting in a flexible floppy network. In a much more S-rich region, some S8 ring molecules are isolated from the network, and assemble to form a crystal in nanoscopic scale. In this respect, Ge10S90 samples are regarded as crystallized glasses. In the Ge-rich region, the GeS4 tetrahedra are connected with bridging Ge atoms. The connection makes a new rigid network. The bridging Ge-S bond is weaker than the intratetrahedron bond, and this leads to drastic changes in the optical properties

    Structural peculiarities of Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 / GaN epitaxial layers unveiled by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and neutron reflectometry

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    The present paper is dedicated to the structural study of crystallographic peculiarities appearing in epitaxial films of metastable epsilon iron oxide (Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3) grown by pulsed laser deposition onto a semiconductor GaN (0001) substrate. The columnar structure of the nanoscale Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 films has been for the first time investigated using high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) direct space technique complemented by reciprocal space methods of high-energy electron diffraction and color-enhanced HRTEM image Fourier filtering. The study of Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 / GaN interface formation has been further expanded by carrying out a depth resolved analysis of density and chemical composition by neutron reflectometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The obtained results shed light onto the properties and the origin of the enigmatic few-nanometer thick low density transition layer residing at the Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 / GaN interface. A detailed knowledge of the properties of this layer is believed to be highly important for the development of Ξ΅\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 / GaN heterostructures that can potentially become part of the iron-oxide based ferroic-on-semiconductor devices with room temperature magneto-electric coupling.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

    Microfluidic Mixing of Polyamine with Acrolein Enables the Detection of the [4+4] Polymerization of Intermediary Unsaturated Imines: The Properties of a Cytotoxic 1,5-Diazacyclooctane Hydrogel

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    Β© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart New York. The [4+4] polymerization of an unsaturated imine, generated from the condensation of a polyamine and excess acrolein, was investigated. The polyamine was added by micropipet to acrolein, immediately yielding a mixture of the immiscible polymeric material. Microfluidic mixing was used to gradually form the soluble diazacyclooctane polymers. The polymerization reaction ultimately gave an insoluble cationic hydrogel that adhered strongly to anionic compounds on cell surfaces, including sialoglycan, and displayed a high cytotoxicity

    Microfluidic Mixing of Polyamine with Acrolein Enables the Detection of the [4+4] Polymerization of Intermediary Unsaturated Imines: The Properties of a Cytotoxic 1,5-Diazacyclooctane Hydrogel

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    The [4+4] polymerization of an unsaturated imine, generated from the condensation of a polyamine and excess acrolein, was investigated. The polyamine was added by micropipet to acrolein, immediately yielding a mixture of the immiscible polymeric material. Microfluidic mixing was used to gradually form the soluble diazacyclooctane polymers. The polymerization reaction ultimately gave an insoluble cationic hydrogel that adhered strongly to anionic compounds on cell surfaces, including sialoglycan, and displayed a high cytotoxicity. Β© Georg Thieme Verlag

    Polyamine modification by acrolein exclusively produces 1,5-diazacyclooctanes: A previously unrecognized mechanism for acrolein-mediated oxidative stress

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    Acrolein, a toxic unsaturated aldehyde generated as a result of oxidative stress, readily reacts with a variety of nucleophilic biomolecules. Polyamines, which produced acrolein in the presence of amine oxidase, were then found to react with acrolein to produce 1,5-diazacyclooctane, a previously unrecognized but significant downstream product of oxidative stress. Although diazacyclooctane formation effectively neutralized acrolein toxicity, the diazacyclooctane hydrogel produced through a sequential diazacyclooctane polymerization reaction was highly cytotoxic. This study suggests that diazacyclooctane formation is involved in the mechanism underlying acrolein-mediated oxidative stress. Β© 2014 the Partner Organisations

    Time-of-Flight Three Dimensional Neutron Diffraction in Transmission Mode for Mapping Crystal Grain Structures

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    The physical properties of polycrystalline materials depend on their microstructure, which is the nano-to centimeter scale arrangement of phases and defects in their interior. Such microstructure depends on the shape, crystallographic phase and orientation, and interfacing of the grains constituting the material. This article presents a new non-destructive 3D technique to study centimeter-sized bulk samples with a spatial resolution of hundred micrometers: time-of-flight three-dimensional neutron diffraction (ToF 3DND). Compared to existing analogous X-ray diffraction techniques, ToF 3DND enables studies of samples that can be both larger in size and made of heavier elements. Moreover, ToF 3DND facilitates the use of complicated sample environments. The basic ToF 3DND setup, utilizing an imaging detector with high spatial and temporal resolution, can easily be implemented at a time-of-flight neutron beamline. The technique was developed and tested with data collected at the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility of the Japan Proton Accelerator Complex (J-PARC) for an iron sample. We successfully reconstructed the shape of 108 grains and developed an indexing procedure. The reconstruction algorithms have been validated by reconstructing two stacked Co-Ni-Ga single crystals, and by comparison with a grain map obtained by post-mortem electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)

    RNA activation of haploinsufficient Foxg1 gene in murine neocortex

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    More than one hundred distinct gene hemizygosities are specifically linked to epilepsy, mental retardation, autism, schizophrenia and neuro-degeneration. Radical repair of these gene deficits via genome engineering is hardly feasible. The same applies to therapeutic stimulation of the spared allele by artificial transactivators. Small activating RNAs (saRNAs) offer an alternative, appealing approach. As a proof-of-principle, here we tested this approach on the Rett syndrome-linked, haploinsufficient, Foxg1 brain patterning gene. We selected a set of artificial small activating RNAs (saRNAs) upregulating it in neocortical precursors and their derivatives. Expression of these effectors achieved a robust biological outcome. saRNA-driven activation (RNAa) was limited to neural cells which normally express Foxg1 and did not hide endogenous gene tuning. saRNAs recognized target chromatin through a ncRNA stemming from it. Gene upregulation required Ago1 and was associated to RNApolII enrichment throughout the Foxg1 locus. Finally, saRNA delivery to murine neonatal brain replicated Foxg1-RNAa in vivo

    Extensions of MADM (Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers) in Mice

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    Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers (MADM) is a method for generating genetically mosaic mice, in which sibling mutant and wild-type cells are labeled with different fluorescent markers. It is a powerful tool that enables analysis of gene function at the single cell level in vivo. It requires transgenic cassettes to be located between the centromere and the mutation in the gene of interest on the same chromosome. Here we compare procedures for introduction of MADM cassettes into new loci in the mouse genome, and describe new approaches for expanding the utility of MADM. We show that: 1) Targeted homologous recombination outperforms random transgenesis in generation of reliably expressed MADM cassettes, 2) MADM cassettes in new genomic loci need to be validated for biallelic and ubiquitous expression, 3) Recombination between MADM cassettes on different chromosomes can be used to study reciprocal chromosomal deletions/duplications, and 4) MADM can be modified to permit transgene expression by combining it with a binary expression system. The advances described in this study expand current, and enable new and more versatile applications of MADM
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