Ferroelectricity and resistive switching in BaTiO3_3 thin films with liquid electrolyte top contact for bioelectronic devices

We investigate ferroelectric- and resistive switching behavior in 18-nm-thick epitaxial BaTiO$_3$ (BTO) films in a model electrolyte-ferroelectric-semiconductor (EFS) configuration. The system is explored for its potential as a ferroelectric microelectrode in bioelectronics. The BTO films are grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on semiconducting Nb-doped (0.5 wt\%) SrTiO$_{3}$ (Nb:STO) single crystal substrates. The ferroelectric properties of the bare BTO films are demonstrated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) measurements. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements in EFS configuration, with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) acting as the liquid electrolyte top contact, indicate characteristic ferroelectric switching peaks in the bipolar current-voltage loop. The ferroelectric nature of the observed switching peaks is confirmed by analyzing the current response of the EFS devices to unipolar voltage signals. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements indicate bipolar resisitive switching behavior of the EFS devices, which is controlled by the remanent polarization state of the BTO layer. Our results represent a constitutive step towards the realization of neuroprosthetic implants and hybrid neurocomputational systems based on ferroelectric microelectrodes

Cooperativity‐Driven Reactivity of a Dinuclear Copper Dimethylglyoxime Complex

In this report, we present the dinuclear copper(II) dimethylglyoxime (H$_2$dmg) complex [Cu$_2$(H$_2$dmg)(Hdmg)(dmg)]$^+$ (1), which, in contrast to its mononuclear analogue [Cu(Hdmg)$_2$] (2), is subject to a cooperativity-driven hydrolysis. The combined Lewis acidity of both copper centers increases the electrophilicity of the carbon atom in the bridging μ$_2$-O−N=C-group of H$_2$dmg and thus, facilitates the nucleophilic attack of H2O. This hydrolysis yields butane-2,3-dione monoxime (3) and NH$_2$OH that, depending on the solvent, is then either oxidized or reduced. In ethanol, NH$_2$OH is reduced to NH$_4$$^+$, yielding acetaldehyde as the oxidation product. In contrast, in CH$_3$CN, NH$_2$OH is oxidized by Cu$^{II}$ to form N$_2$O and [Cu(CH$_3$CN)4]$^+$. Herein are presented the combined synthetic, theoretical, spectroscopic and spectrometric methods that indicate and establish the reaction pathway of this solvent-dependent reaction

Optimierungsansätze zur Verbesserung von Nachhaltigkeit, Ressourceneffizienz und Tierwohl in ökologischen und konventionellen Betrieben im Netzwerk Pilotbetriebe

In a network of organic and conventional pilot farms with dairy and/or arable production in Germany (www.pilotbetriebe.de) aspects of sustainability, resource efficiency, animal health and welfare and economic aspects are analysed. This is based on on-farm assessments and on whole farm modelling. In the first interdisciplinary workshops on the project farms results were presented and scenarios were developed in a participatory approach by scientists, consultants and farmers to improve N, P and land use efficiency as well as dairy health and welfare. Typical areas of action to optimize sustainability in these aspects were identified on the farms, e.g., complete accounting of manure N (N balance), enrichment of crop rotations with clover grass and cover crops (humus balance), improving forage quality (productivity, nutritional imbalances), improvement of housing conditions and grazing access (animal health and welfare). Systematic integration and detection of interconnectedness of environmental performance of production, animal welfare, resource efficiency and productivity result in a new quality in development of farm concepts

Ferroelectricity and negative piezoelectric coefficient in orthorhombic phase pure ZrO2 thin films

A new approach for epitaxial stabilisation of ferroelectric orthorhombic (o-) ZrO2 films with negative piezoelectric coefficient in ∼ 8nm thick films grown by ion-beam sputtering is demonstrated. Films on (011)-Nb:SrTiO3 gave the oriented o-phase, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction mapping, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Scanning probe microscopy techniques and macroscopic polarization-electric field hysteresis loops show ferroelectric behavior, with saturation polarization of ∼14.3 µC/cm2, remnant polarization of ∼9.3 µC/cm2 and coercive field ∼1.2 MV/cm. In contrast to the o-films grown on (011)-Nb:SrTiO3, films grown on (001)-Nb:SrTiO3 showed mixed monoclinic (m-) and o-phases causing an inferior remnant polarization of ∼4.8 µC/cm2, over 50% lower than the one observed for the film grown on (011)-Nb:SrTiO3. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the SrTiO3/ZrO2 interfaces support the experimental findings of a stable polar o-phase for growth on (011) Nb:SrTiO3, and they also explain the negative piezoelectric coefficient.This work was supported by: (i) the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding Contract UIDB/04650/2020 and (ii) Project NECL - NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-022096 and Project UID/NAN/50024/2019. This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 958174 (M-ERA-NET3/0003/2021 - NanOx4EStor). This work was also developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology/MCTES. It is also funded by national funds (OE), through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the framework contract foreseen in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 of the article 23, of the Decree-Law 57/2016, of August 29, changed by Law 57/2017, of July 19.The calculations were carried out at the OBLIVION Supercomputer (based at the High Performance Computing Center - University of Évora) funded by the ENGAGE SKA Research Infrastructure (reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022217 - COMPETE 2020 and the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) and by the BigData@UE project (reference ALT20-03-0246-FEDER-000033 - FEDER and the Alentejo 2020 Regional Operational Program). Oblivion resources were accessed through the advanced computing projects CPCA/A2/5649/2020 and CPCA/A2/4628/2020, funded by FCT I.P. The authors gratefully acknowledge the HPC RIVR consortium (www.hpc-rivr.si) and EuroHPC JU (eurohpc-ju.europa.eu) for funding this research by providing computing resources of the HPC system Vega at the Institute of Information Science (www.izum.si)The calculations were carried out at the OBLIVION Supercomputer (based at the High Performance Computing Center - University of Évora) funded by the ENGAGE SKA Research Infrastructure (reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022217 - COMPETE 2020 and the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) and by the BigData@UE project (reference ALT20-03-0246-FEDER-000033 - FEDER and the Alentejo 2020 Regional Operational Program). Oblivion resources were accessed through the advanced computing projects CPCA/A2/5649/2020 and CPCA/A2/4628/2020, funded by FCT I.P. The authors gratefully acknowledge the HPC RIVR consortium (www.hpc-rivr.si) and EuroHPC JU (eurohpc-ju.europa.eu) for funding this research by providing computing resources of the HPC system Vega at the Institute of Information Science (www.izum.si

Low Adiponectin Levels Are an Independent Predictor of Mixed and Non-Calcified Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary artery disease (CAD). There is increasing recognition that lesion composition rather than size determines the acute complications of atherosclerotic disease. Low serum adiponectin levels were reported to be associated with coronary artery disease and future incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The impact of adiponectin on lesion composition still remains to be determined. We measured serum adiponectin levels in 303 patients with stable typical or atypical chest pain, who underwent dual-source multi-slice CT-angiography to exclude coronary artery stenosis. Atherosclerotic plaques were classified as calcified, mixed or non-calcified. In bivariate analysis adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with total coronary plaque burden (r = -0.21, p = 0.0004), mixed (r = -0.20, p = 0.0007) and non-calcified plaques (r = -0.18, p = 0.003). No correlation was seen with calcified plaques (r = -0.05, p = 0.39). In a fully adjusted multivariate model adiponectin levels remained predictive of total plaque burden (estimate: -0.036, 95%CI: -0.052 to -0.020, p<0.0001), mixed (estimate: -0.087, 95%CI: -0.132 to -0.042, p = 0.0001) and non-calcified plaques (estimate: -0.076, 95%CI: -0.115 to -0.038, p = 0.0001). Adiponectin levels were not associated with calcified plaques (estimate: -0.021, 95% CI: -0.043 to -0.001, p = 0.06). Since the majority of coronary plaques was calcified, adiponectin levels account for only 3% of the variability in total plaque number. In contrast, adiponectin accounts for approximately 20% of the variability in mixed and non-calcified plaque burden. Adiponectin levels predict mixed and non-calcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden. Low adiponectin levels may contribute to coronary plaque vulnerability and may thus play a role in the pathophysiology of ACS

Octreotide treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma - a retrospective single centre controlled study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of treatment with octreotide of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) gave conflicting results. We analyzed retrospectively the survival of our patients treated with octreotide monotherapy and compared it to stage-matched patients who received either TACE, multimodal therapy or palliative care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>95 patients seen at the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna with HCC in BCLC stage A or B, who received either TACE, multimodal therapy, long-acting octreotide or palliative care were reviewed for this retrospective study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage B and any "active" treatment (long-acting octreotide, TACE or multimodal therapy) were significantly higher (22.4, 22.0, 35.5 months) compared to patients who received palliative care only (2.9 months). Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage A and "active" treatment (31.4, 37.3, 40.2 months) compared to patients who received only palliative care (15.1 months) did not show statistically significant differences. Octreotide monotherapy showed a similar outcome compared to patients who received TACE or multimodal therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Survival under octreotide treatment was not different compared to TACE or multimodal therapy and might be a therapeutic option for patients with HCC.</p

Searching for eV-scale sterile neutrinos with eight years of atmospheric neutrinos at the IceCube neutrino telescope

We report in detail on searches for eV-scale sterile neutrinos, in the context of a 3+1 model, using eight years of data from the IceCube neutrino telescope. By analyzing the reconstructed energies and zenith angles of 305,735 atmospheric $\nu_\mu$ and $\bar{\nu}_\mu$ events we construct confidence intervals in two analysis spaces: $\sin^2 (2\theta_{24})$ vs. $\Delta m^2_{41}$ under the conservative assumption $\theta_{34}=0$; and $\sin^2(2\theta_{24})$ vs. $\sin^2 (2\theta_{34})$ given sufficiently large $\Delta m^2_{41}$ that fast oscillation features are unresolvable. Detailed discussions of the event selection, systematic uncertainties, and fitting procedures are presented. No strong evidence for sterile neutrinos is found, and the best-fit likelihood is consistent with the no sterile neutrino hypothesis with a p-value of 8\% in the first analysis space and 19\% in the second.Comment: This long-form paper is a companion to the letter "An eV-scale sterile neutrino search using eight years of atmospheric muon neutrino data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory". v2: update other experiments contours on results plo

Measurement of the high-energy all-flavor neutrino-nucleon cross section with IceCube

The flux of high-energy neutrinos passing through the Earth is attenuated due to their interactions with matter. The interaction rate is determined by the neutrino interaction cross section and affects the flux arriving at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a cubic-kilometer neutrino detector embedded in the Antarctic ice sheet. We present a measurement of the neutrino cross section between 60 TeV and 10 PeV using the high-energy starting event (HESE) sample from IceCube with 7.5 years of data. The result is binned in neutrino energy and obtained using both Bayesian and frequentist statistics. We find it compatible with predictions from the Standard Model. While the cross section is expected to be flavor independent above 1 TeV, additional constraints on the measurement are included through updated experimental particle identification (PID) classifiers, proxies for the three neutrino flavors. This is the first such measurement to use a ternary PID observable and the first to account for neutrinos from tau decay