Preparation of delafossite CuFeO2 thin films by rf-sputtering on conventional glass substrate

CuFeO2 CuFeO2 is a delafossite-type compound and is a well known p-type semiconductor. The growth of delafossite CuFeO2 thin films on conventional glass substrate by radio-frequency sputtering is reported. The deposition, performed at room temperature leads to an amorphous phase with extremely low roughness and high density. The films consisted of a well crystallized delafossite CuFeO2 after heat treatment at 450 °C in inert atmosphere. The electrical conductivity of the film was 1 mS/cm. The direct optical band gap was estimated to be 2 eV

Chiral symmetry breaking and stability of strangelets

We discuss the stability of strangelets by considering dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and confinement. We use a $U(3)_{L} \times U(3)_{R}$ symmetric Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model for chiral symmetry breaking supplemented by a boundary condition for confinement. It is shown that strangelets with baryon number $A < 2 \times 10^{3}$ can stably exist. For the observables, we obtain the masses and the charge-to-baryon number ratios of the strangelets. These quantities are compared with the observed data of the exotic particles.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundaryfrom surface wave dispersion data

International audienceAbstract According to different types of observations, the nature of lithosphere-asthenosphereboundary (LAB) is controversial. Using a massive data set of surface wave dispersions in a broad periodrange (15–300 s), we have developed a three-dimensional upper mantle tomographic model (first-orderperturbation theory) at the global scale. This is used to derive maps of the LAB from the resolved elasticparameters. The key effects of shallow layers and anisotropy are taken into account in the inversion process.We investigate LAB distribution primarily below the oceans, according to different kinds of proxies thatcorrespond to the base of the lithosphere from the shear velocity variation at depth, the amplituderadial anisotropy, and the changes in azimuthal anisotropy G orientation. The estimations of the LAB depthbased on the shear velocity increase from a thin lithosphere (∼20 km) in the ridges, to a thick old-oceanlithosphere (∼120–130 km). The radial anisotropy proxy shows a very fast increase in the LAB depth fromthe ridges, from ∼50 km to the older ocean where it reaches a remarkable monotonic subhorizontal profile(∼70–80 km). The LAB depths inferred from the azimuthal anisotropy proxy show deeper values for theincreasing oceanic lithosphere (∼130–135 km). The difference between the evolution of the LAB depth withthe age of the oceanic lithosphere computed from the shear velocity and azimuthal anisotropy proxies andfrom the radial anisotropy proxy raises questions about the nature of the LAB in the oceanic regions and ofthe formation of the oceanic plate

Exploring American Oil Palm (Elaeis oleifera) genetic resources in Brazil through a combination of genetic and genomic approaches.

We started a project to explore American Oil Palm genetic resources through a combination of genetic and genomic approaches.Pôster W551

Embrapa Agrienergy oil palm research platform focuses in developing biotechnology and bioinformatics to assist breeding.

D 157

Extensão e organização da diversidade genética da coleção brasileira de germoplasma de Elaeis oleifera.

Objetivou-se neste trabalho avaliar a dissimilaridade de 206 acessos do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de E. oleifera mantido pela Embrapa, como forma de investigar a extensão e organização da diversidade genética amostrada nesta coleção

Can cosmic strangelets reach the earth?

The mechanism for the propagation of strangelets with low baryon number through the atmosphere of the Earth has been explored. It has been shown that under suitable initial conditions, such strangelets may indeed reach depths near mountain altitudes with mass numbers and charges close to the observed values in cosmic ray experiments.Comment: RevTeX text, with 3 encoded eps figures. To appear in Physical Review Letter

Effects of cytomegalovirus infection in human neural precursor cells depend on their differentiation state

© 2015, Journal of NeuroVirology, Inc. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection in developed countries and a major cause of neurological disability in children. Although CMV can affect multiple organs, the most important sequelae of intrauterine infection are related to lesions of the central nervous system. However, little is known about the pathogenesis and the cellular events responsible for neuronal damage in infants with congenital infection. Some studies have demonstrated that neural precursor cells (NPCs) show the greatest susceptibility to CMV infection in the developing brain. We sought to establish an in vitro model of CMV infection of the developing brain in order to analyze the cellular events associated with invasion by this virus. To this end, we employed two cell lines as a permanent source of NPC, avoiding the continuous use of human fetal tissue, the human SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cell line, and an immortalized cell line of human fetal neural origin, hNS-1. We also investigated the effect of the differentiation stage in relation to the susceptibility of these cell lines by comparing the neuroblastoma cell line with the multipotent cell line hNS-1. We found that the effects of the virus were more severe in the neuroblastoma cell line. Additionally, we induced hNS-1 to differentiate and evaluated the effect of CMV in these differentiated cells. Like SK-N-MC cells, hNS-1-differentiated cells were also susceptible to infection. Viability of differentiated hNS-1 cells decreased after CMV infection in contrast to undifferentiated cells. In addition, differentiated hNS-1 cells showed an extensive cytopathic effect whereas the effect was scarce in undifferentiated cells. We describe some of the effects of CMV in neural stem cells, and our observations suggest that the degree of differentiation is important in the acquisition of susceptibility.CONACYT (CB16782 and #120452), PROMEP (103.5/10/7697), and FAI-UASLP (C12-FAI-03-62.62).Peer Reviewe