Plasmonic interferometry: probing launching dipoles in scanning-probe plasmonics

We develop a semi-analytical method for analyzing surface plasmon interferometry using near-field scanning optical sources. We compare our approach to Young double hole interferometry experiments using scanning tunneling microscope (STM) discussed in the literature and realize experiments with an aperture near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) source positioned near a ring like aperture slit milled in a thick gold film. In both cases the agreement between experiments and model is very good. We emphasize the role of dipole orientations and discuss the role of magnetic versus electric dipole contributions to the imaging process as well as the directionality of the effective dipoles associated with the various optical and plasmonic sources.Comment: To appear in Journal of Applied Physics (2014

Quantum plasmonics: second-order coherence of surface plasmons launched by quantum emitters into a metallic film

We address the issue of the second-order coherence of single surface plasmons launched by a quantum source of light into extended gold films. The quantum source of light is made of a scanning fluorescent nanodiamond hosting five nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers. By using a specially designed microscopy that combines near-field optics with far-field leakage-radiation microscopy in the Fourier space and adapted spatial filtering, we find that the quantum statistics of the initial source of light is preserved after conversion to surface plasmons and propagation along the polycrystalline gold film.Comment: Second version with minor changes made to comply with Referees' comments. Editorially approved for publication in Phys. Rev. B on 22 June 201

Directional Next-Generation RNA Sequencing and Examination of Premature Termination Codon Mutations in Endoglin/Hereditary Haemorrhagic Telangiectasia

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a disease characterised by abnormal vascular structures, and most commonly caused by mutations in ENG, ACVRL1 or SMAD4 encoding endothelial cell-expressed proteins involved in TGF-β superfamily signalling. The majority of mutations reported on the HHT mutation database are predicted to lead to stop codons, either due to frameshifts or direct nonsense substitutions. The proportion is higher for ENG (67%) and SMAD4 (65%) than for ACVRL1 (42%), p < 0.0001. Here, by focussing on ENG, we report why conventional views of these mutations may need to be revised. Of the 111 stop codon-generating ENG mutations, on ExPASy translation, all except one were premature termination codons (PTCs), sited at least 50-55 bp upstream of the final exon-exon boundary of the main endoglin isoform, L-endoglin. This strongly suggests that the mutated RNA species will undergo nonsense-mediated decay. We provide new in vitro expression data to support dominant negative activity of stable truncated endoglin proteins but suggest these will not generate HHT: the single natural stop codon mutation in L-endoglin (sited within 50-55 nucleotides of the final exon-exon boundary) is unlikely to generate functional protein since it replaces the entire transmembrane domain, as would 8 further natural stop codon mutations, if the minor S-endoglin isoform were implicated in HHT pathogenesis. Finally, next-generation RNA sequencing data of 7 different RNA libraries from primary human endothelial cells demonstrate that multiple intronic regions of ENG are transcribed. The potential consequences of heterozygous deletions or duplications of such regions are discussed. These data support the haploinsufficiency model for HHT pathogenesis, explain why final exon mutations have not been detected to date in HHT, emphasise the potential need for functional examination of non-PTC-generating mutations, and lead to proposals for an alternate stratification system of mutational types for HHT genotype-phenotype correlations

The educational theories of Rudolf Steiner. An exposition of the concepts fundamental to Steiner's theories and an examination of their validity by means of a comparison with the theories of other educationalists.

The main thesis deals with the educational theories of Rudolf Steiner. These theories are dealt with in Parts III to VIII of the thesis. Before this, in Part 1, there occurs a brief description of the background and life of Steiner; and, in Part II, a,, philosophical discussion of the basic tenets and assumptions upon which Steiner's educational theories rest. The areas dealt with in Parts III to VIII are divided into three. The first is an exposition of Steiner's ideas; the second is a comparison and appraisal of Steiner's theories with other educationalists; the third is an examination and evaluation of some of the concepts which are fundamental to Steiner's theories. The first of these areas i. e. the exposition of Steiner's ideas, is subdivided into three: his views on the nature of the child and the'way in which the child grows and develops; methodologies of teaching; and content and curriculum. An exposition of Steiner's theories on the nature of the child and its development occurs in Part III. - This is followed, in Part IV, by an evaluation of his theories by comparing them with other educationaliits. In Part V an examination of Steiner's theories on methodologies of teaching, by considering his views of "The Temperaments", occurs; - reference and comparisons to other educationalists are made in the same section. In. Part VI descriptions of the Waldorf curriculum are given and this is followed by an evaluation at the end of the section. The evaluation examines 'a number of concepts upon which the Waldorf curriculum has bpen formulated in the context of modern day curriculum objectives, design and learning experiences. In Part VII a brief historical perspective : is obtained of Steiner's theories by comparing his views with those of Plato, Rousseau and Montessori. This perspective is placed in a modern day context in Part VIII, and is obtained by an examination of many of the concepts fundamental to Steiner's theories. This includes a detailed critique of two of the main assumptions upon which Steiner's theories of education rest; an examination of the relationship of the individual to society in an educational context; and a discussion of the nature and aims of the educational process

Campus Climate, Peer Dispositions, and the Inclusion of LGBQ and Transgender Students at a Jesuit University

Using a campus climate framework, this study identifies students who hold positive dispositions towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer (LGBQ) and transgender students at a Jesuit university. Findings reveal that just more than one-quarter of students hold positive dispositions toward LGBQ and transgender students and desire that the campus work towards being more inclusive towards this group. Our binomial logistic regression of 602 student responses demonstrated that women are more inclined to hold positive dispositions. Similarly, students who agree that non-Catholics should be supported by their campus are also inclined to hold positive dispositions toward LGBQ and transgender students. Further, we observed positive effects when students attended multicultural events and completed diversity courses

Interview Erwin Muller en Werner Overdijk

Erwin Muller en Werner Overdijk zijn beide werkzaam bij het Crisis Onderzoek Team, dat verbonden is aan de vakgroep bestuurskunde Rotterdam/Leiden. In dit artikel willen wij jullie nader kennis laten maken met hen en met het Crisis Onderzoek Team

Monolithes de silice et de carbone à porosité hiérarchisée obtenus par frittage SPS

La silice SBA-15 et le carbone CMK-3 possèdent une grande surface spécifique et un volume important de mésopores ordonnés dans une symétrie hexagonale (groupe d’espace p6 mm). Il est nécessaire de préserver leurs caractéristiques lors de la mise en forme de ces matériaux, pour un grand nombre d’applications. Le frittage SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) des poudres a été effectué sans charge ou avec une charge uniaxiale de 25 MPa et à des températures de 600 à 800 ◦C pour la silice et 1100 à 1300 ◦C pour le carbone, pendant 5 minutes. Les isothermes d’adsorption/désorption d’azote montrent que les monolithes obtenus conservent une surface spécifique élevée (300 à 500 m2/g) et un volume mésoporeux de l’ordre de 0,7 cm3/g. La coexistence de la mésoporosité et d’une macroporosité interconnectée de volume voisin est observée par MEB (Microscopie Électronique à Balayage) et MET (Microscopie Électronique en Transmission). En outre, l’organisation de la mésoporosité est partiellement maintenue comme le mettent en évidence la DRX (Diffraction des Rayons X) et la MET

Cell sorting in a Petri dish controlled by computer vision.

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) applying flow cytometry to separate cells on a molecular basis is a widespread method. We demonstrate that both fluorescent and unlabeled live cells in a Petri dish observed with a microscope can be automatically recognized by computer vision and picked up by a computer-controlled micropipette. This method can be routinely applied as a FACS down to the single cell level with a very high selectivity. Sorting resolution, i.e., the minimum distance between two cells from which one could be selectively removed was 50-70 micrometers. Survival rate with a low number of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts and NE-4C neuroectodermal mouse stem cells was 66 +/- 12% and 88 +/- 16%, respectively. Purity of sorted cultures and rate of survival using NE-4C/NE-GFP-4C co-cultures were 95 +/- 2% and 62 +/- 7%, respectively. Hydrodynamic simulations confirmed the experimental sorting efficiency and a cell damage risk similar to that of normal FACS

Evidence for Color Fluctuations in Hadrons from Coherent Nuclear Diffraction}

A QCD-based treatment of projectile size fluctuations is used to compute inelastic diffractive cross sections $\sigma_{diff}$ for coherent hadron-nuclear processes. We find that fluctuations near the average size give the major contribution to the cross section with $\le few \%$ contribution from small size configurations. The computed values of $\sigma_{diff}$ are consistent with the limited available data. The importance of coherent diffraction studies for a wide range of projectiles for high energy Fermilab fixed target experiments is emphasized. The implications of these significant color fluctuations for relativistic heavy ion collisions are discussed.Comment: Report number DOE/ER 40427-13-N93 11 pages, 3 figures available from author Mille

Contamination de l’environnement et de la faune par des polluants industriels : les diphényles polychlorés (P.C.B.)

Richou-Bac Lucien, Cumont G., Mollet M. F., Pantaléon Jean. Contamination de l’environnement et de la faune par des polluants industriels : les diphenyles polychlorés (P.C.B.). In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 125 n°6, 1972. pp. 293-303