Conjugated polymer-fullerene blend with strong optical limiting in the near-infrared

© 2009 Optical Society of AmericaThe definitive version of this paper is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.17.022062DOI: 10.1364/OE.17.022062Optical-quality, melt processable thick films of a conjugated polymer blend containing poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-(phenylene vinylene)) (MEH-PPV), a ₆₀ derivative (PCBM) and a plasticizer (1,2-di-iso-octylphthalate) have been developed and their nonlinear absorption and optical limiting properties have been investigated. These blend materials exhibited strong optical limiting characteristics in the near infrared region (750-900 nm), with broad temporal dynamic range spanning femtosecond to nanosecond pulse widths. The dispersion of the optical limiting figure-of-merit of the MEH-PPV:PCBM:DOP blend shows a peak near the wavelength of the MEH-PPV cation, indicating an important role of one-photon and two-photon induced charge transfer in the nonlinear absorption response

Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America – a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years

Records of aquatic mammal fossils (e.g. cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, mustelids, and desmostylians) from Latin America (Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, including Antartica) span since the mid-1800s. Aquatic mammal fossils received little attention from the scientific community, with most of the first studies conducted by Northern Hemisphere researchers. Over the last 30 years, paleontological research in Latin America has increased considerably, with descriptions of several new species and revisions of published original records. The Latin American fossil record of marine mammals spans from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, with formations and specimens of global significance. All three main groups of cetaceans are represented in the continent (Archaeoceti, Mysticeti, and Odontoceti). Pinnipedia are represented by the families Otariidae and Phocidae, with records starting in the Middle Miocene. Both living families of Sirenia (Trichechidae and Dugongidae) are recorded. While less common, but still relevant, records of desmostylians and mustelids are known from Oligocene and Miocene deposits. This review provides a summary of the aquatic mammals known to date, with a special focus on the advances and developments of the last 30 years, since Cozzuol’s (1996) review of the South American fossil record. An up-to-date complete list of species based on the literature and unpublished data is also provided. The study also provides future directions for paleontological research in Latin America, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the field, including the emergence of a strong new generation of Latin American researchers, many of whom are women. Keywords: Cetacea, Pinnipedia, Sirenia, Southern Hemispher

A supermatrix analysis of genomic, morphological, and paleontological data from crown Cetacea

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cetacea (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) is a clade of aquatic species that includes the most massive, deepest diving, and largest brained mammals. Understanding the temporal pattern of diversification in the group as well as the evolution of cetacean anatomy and behavior requires a robust and well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis. Although a large body of molecular data has accumulated over the past 20 years, DNA sequences of cetaceans have not been directly integrated with the rich, cetacean fossil record to reconcile discrepancies among molecular and morphological characters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We combined new nuclear DNA sequences, including segments of six genes (~2800 basepairs) from the functionally extinct Yangtze River dolphin, with an expanded morphological matrix and published genomic data. Diverse analyses of these data resolved the relationships of 74 taxa that represent all extant families and 11 extinct families of Cetacea. The resulting supermatrix (61,155 characters) and its sub-partitions were analyzed using parsimony methods. Bayesian and maximum likelihood (ML) searches were conducted on the molecular partition, and a molecular scaffold obtained from these searches was used to constrain a parsimony search of the morphological partition. Based on analysis of the supermatrix and model-based analyses of the molecular partition, we found overwhelming support for 15 extant clades. When extinct taxa are included, we recovered trees that are significantly correlated with the fossil record. These trees were used to reconstruct the timing of cetacean diversification and the evolution of characters shared by "river dolphins," a non-monophyletic set of species according to all of our phylogenetic analyses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The parsimony analysis of the supermatrix and the analysis of morphology constrained to fit the ML/Bayesian molecular tree yielded broadly congruent phylogenetic hypotheses. In trees from both analyses, all Oligocene taxa included in our study fell outside crown Mysticeti and crown Odontoceti, suggesting that these two clades radiated in the late Oligocene or later, contra some recent molecular clock studies. Our trees also imply that many character states shared by river dolphins evolved in their oceanic ancestors, contradicting the hypothesis that these characters are convergent adaptations to fluvial habitats.</p

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

A new Miocene penguin from Patagonia and its phylogenetic relationships

We describe a new medium−sized penguin, Madrynornis mirandus gen. et sp. nov., from the early late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. Although it is evident that extant and fossil penguins form a remarkably homogeneous family of birds, Spheniscidae, their within−group phylogenetic relationships are less obvious. In order to identify the phylogenetic position of the new taxon, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis using 44 osteological characters sampled from 14 representative species of all living genera and five fossil species of Spheniscidae. The family is clearly monophyletic and Madrynornis mirandus is closely related to living taxa. Our phylogenetic interpretation is congruent with biostratigraphic data, with Paraptenodytes from the early Miocene (about 20 Ma) located at the base of the Spheniscidae. Classically, two basic tarsometatarsal types were recognized (one for pre−Miocene and the other for the post−Miocene penguins) based on the pattern of the proximal foramina and the hypotarsus. Madrynornis mirandus exhibits an arrangement of the proximal foramina and a degree of metatarsals fusion similar to that in the living forms, although its elongation index (total length/proximal width) is reminiscent of the extinct Paraptenodytes(a penguin historically recognized as a pre−Miocene form, coming from the early Miocene of Argentina). Madrynornis reveals that the two basic tarsometatarsal types co−existed among Miocene penguins

Large optical nonlinearities of conjugated porphyrin polymers in the near infrared

The optical nonlinearities of porphyrin polymers were investigated in the telecommunications band: large values, slow kinetics in solutions revealed efficient optical limiting while large values, fast kinetics in films suggested ultrafast applications should be possible. © 2008 Optical Society of America

Large optical nonlinearities of conjugated porphyrin polymers in the near infrared

The optical nonlinearities of porphyrin polymers were investigated in the telecommunications band: large values, slow kinetics in solutions revealed efficient optical limiting while large values, fast kinetics in films suggested ultrafast applications should be possible. © 2008 Optical Society of America

Zirconium phosphate phosphonate multilayered films based on push-pull stilbazolium salt: synthesis, characterization and second harmonic generation

The preparation of materials featuring enhanced second harmonic generation (SHG) values by self-assembly of molecules characterized by high second-order non-linear optic (NLO) activity is nowadays an important and challenging field of research. In order to show SHG the material must have an acentric structure with the dipoles of the molecular components oriented in the same direction and this is synthetically fairly difficult to achieve. This study describes the synthesis of the push\u2013pull stilbazolium salt 1 and its assembly in multilayered acentric thin films, on quartz glass surface, by using the zirconium phosphate/phosphonate (Zr-POx) technique. A particular care has been paid to the optimization of the surface preparation and of the deposition conditions. This allows to obtain highly homogeneous lamellar inorganic\u2013organic materials showing satisfactory second harmonic generation (SHG) values together with high chemical, thermal and mechanical stabilities which are necessary for their integration in optoelectronic devices