144 research outputs found
Epitaxial growth and structural characterization of Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films
We have grown lead iron niobate thin films with composition Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3
(PFN) on (0 0 1) SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The influence of
the deposition conditions on the phase purity was studied. Due to similar
thermodynamic stability spaces, a pyrochlore phase often coexists with the PFN
perovskite phase. By optimizing the kinetic parameters, we succeeded in
identifying a deposition window which resulted in epitaxial perovskite-phase
PFN thin films with no identifiable trace of impurity phases appearing in the
X-ray diffractograms. PFN films having thicknesses between 20 and 200 nm were
smooth and epitaxially oriented with the substrate and as demonstrated by RHEED
streaks which were aligned with the substrate axes. X-ray diffraction showed
that the films were completely c-axis oriented and of excellent crystalline
quality with low mosaicity (X-ray rocking curve FWHM<0.09). The surface
roughness of thin films was also investigated by atomic force microscopy. The
root-mean-square roughness varies between 0.9 nm for 50-nm-thick films to 16 nm
for 100-nm-thick films. We also observe a correlation between grain size,
surface roughness and film thickness.Comment: 13 Pages, 6 figures. To be published in J. Mag. Mag Mater.
proceedings of EMRS200
Mapping and functional characterization of the murine Smoothelin-like 1 promoter
BACKGROUND: Smoothelin-like 1 (SMTNL1, also known as CHASM) plays a role in promoting relaxation as well as adaptive responses to exercise, pregnancy and sexual development in smooth and skeletal muscle. Investigations of Smtnl1 transcriptional regulation are still lacking. Thus, in this study, we identify and characterize key regulatory elements of the mouse Smtnl1 gene. RESULTS: We mapped the key regulatory elements of the Smtnl1 promoter region: the transcriptional start site (TSS) lays -44 bp from the translational start codon and a TATA-box motif at -75 bp was conserved amongst all mammalian Smtnl1 promoters investigated. The Smtnl1 proximal promoter enhances expression up to 8-fold in smooth muscle cells and a second activating region lays 500 bp further upstream. Two repressing motifs were present (-118 to -218 bp and -1637 to -1869 bp). The proximal promoter is highly conserved in mammals and contains a mirror repeat sequence. In silico analysis suggests many transcription factors (notably MyoD) could potentially bind within the Smtnl1 proximal promoter sequence. CONCLUSION: Smtnl1 transcript was identified in all smooth muscle tissues examined to date, albeit at much lower levels than found in skeletal muscle. It is unlikely that multiple SMTNL1 isoforms exist since a single Smtnl1 transcription start site was identified in both skeletal and intestinal smooth muscle. Promoter studies suggest restrictive control of Smtnl1 expression in non-muscle cells
Spin-lattice coupling in multiferroic Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films
We have made magnetization and x-ray diffraction measurements on an epitaxial
Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 200 nm film. From the temperature dependence of the
out-of-plane lattice parameter we can assign a Burns' temperature at Td ~ 640
K, a temperature at T* ~ 510 K, related to the appearance of static polar
nanoregions, and an anomaly occurring at 200 K. The latter is precisely the
N\'eel temperature TN determined from magnetization and points to spin-lattice
coupling at TN ~ 200 K. We also observe "weak ferromagnetism" up to 300K and
propose superantiferromagnetic clusters as a plausible scenario to explain this
hysteresis above TN.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Ultra-low temperature structure determination of a Mn12 single-molecule magnet and the interplay between lattice solvent and structural disorder
We have determined the ultra-low temperature crystal structure of the archetypal single-molecule magnet (SMM) [Mn12O12(O2CMe)16(H2O)4]·4H2O·2MeCO2H (1) at 2 K, by using a combination of single-crystal X-ray and single-crystal neutron diffraction. This is the first structural study of any SMM in the same temperature regime where slow magnetic relaxation occurs. We reveal an additional hydrogen bonding interaction between the {Mn12} cluster and its solvent of crystallisation, which shows how the lattice solvent transmits disorder to the acetate ligands in the {Mn12} complex. Unusual quantum properties observed in 1 have long been attributed to disorder. Hence, we studied the desolvation products of 1, in order to understand precisely the influence of lattice solvent on the structure of the cluster. We present two new axially symmetric structures corresponding to different levels of desolvation of 1, [Mn12O12(O2CMe)16(H2O)4]·4H2O (2) and [Mn12O12(O2CMe)16(H2O)4] (3). In 2, removal of acetic acid of crystallisation largely resolves positional disorder in the affected acetate ligands, whereas removal of lattice water molecules further resolves the acetate ligand disorder in 3. Due to the absence of acetic acid of crystallisation, both 2 and 3 have true, unbroken S4 symmetry, showing for the first time that it is possible to prepare fully axial Mn12–acetate analogues from 1, via single-crystal to single-crystal transformations
Effect of elevated PCO2 on optical properties of the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi grown under nitrate limitation
Side scatter and red fluorescence properties of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi
were investigated by flow cytometry when NO3-limited continuous cultures
were submitted to a CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) increase from 400 to 700 ppm.
Cultures renewed at the rate of 0.5 d-1 and were submitted to saturating light
level. pCO2 was controlled by bubbling CO2-rich or CO2- free air in the cultures.
Most of the analyses were repeated 5 times and the average SD were < 1.6%, 0.1
and 0.2% for counting, fluorescence and side scatter respectively. Considering the
possible decalcification induced by the increase of CO2 in the chemostat atmosphere,
the maximum variation that can be expected for side scatter is that provided
by the coccolith depletion upon acidification of the cell suspension. The acidification
induced a large (36%) decrease of the side scatter signal but had no
detectable effect on the red fluorescence. A control was run with a non-calcifying
species, Dunaliella tertiolecta, where acidification induced no detectable change,
both on fluorescence and side scatter. During the time of the experiment, the
decline of side scatter in chemostat 1 never approached the potential 36% change
observed when coccoliths are fully dissolved. Interestingly, the specific chl a fluorescence
of E. huxleyi slightly increased during the period of high CO2 level. At
the end of the experiment this increase amounted to a significant 2.8% of the initial
signal. Furthermore, it progressed linearly with time over the period of observation.
However, the experiment did not last enough to know if the fluorescence
increase had already reached its maximum value. The acidification experiment
supported the use of side scatter as a relevant parameter to trace potential changes
in calcification. Since the estimated 25% decrease in calcification induced by the
rise in CO2 atmosphere did not result in dramatic changes in side scatter values,
we can conclude that the number of cocoliths and the overall shape and granulosity
of cells was not significantly affected by this decrease. Changes must have
only affected tiny structure details of the coccoliths which is supported by scanning
electron microscopy observations. The small but significant increase of the
fluorescence signal can be considered as a physiological response to the CO2 rise.
This suggests a more dynamic photosynthetic process that would result in a higher
rate of organic matter production providing that the system is not nutrient limited
as in the present situation
Maximizing the Products Display for Purchaser Lucidity and Alleviation in Circulation to Augment the Sale of Supermarket: Milieu of Bangladesh
The purpose of this study is to appraise the accessible products display for the purchaser lucidity which may maximizes offers and actions of business with the alleviation in circulation to augment the random sale in the arena of supermarket. The study scrutinizes a fundamental research on the context of Bangladesh and especially for the Dhaka zone. A supermarket, a large form of the traditional grocery store, is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food and household products, organized into aisles. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store, but is smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a hypermarket or big-box market. The traditional supermarket occupies a large amount of floor space, usually on a single level. It is usually situated near a residential area in order to be convenient to consumers. The basic appeal is the availability of a broad selection of goods under a single roof, at relatively low prices. Other advantages include ease of parking and frequently the convenience of shopping hours that extend far into the evening or even 24 hours a day. Key words: Circulation, Supermarket, Alleviation, Sale, Products, Variation, Lucidit
Homogeneous search for helium in the atmosphere of 11 gas giant exoplanets with SPIRou
The metastable helium triplet in the near-infrared (10833{\AA}) is among the
most important probes of exoplanet atmospheres. It can trace their extended
outer layers and constrain mass-loss. We use the near-infrared high-resolution
spectropolarimeter SPIRou on the CFHT to search for the spectrally resolved
helium triplet in the atmospheres of eleven exoplanets, ranging from warm
mini-Neptunes to hot Jupiters and orbiting G, K, and M dwarfs. Observations
were obtained as part of the SPIRou Legacy Survey and complementary open-time
programs. We apply a homogeneous data reduction to all datasets and set
constraints on the presence of metastable helium, despite the presence of
systematics in the data. We confirm published detections for HAT-P-11b,
HD189733b, and WASP-69b and set upper limits for the other planets. We apply
the p-winds open source code to set upper limits on the mass-loss rate for the
non-detections and to constrain the thermosphere temperature, mass-loss rate,
line-of-sight velocity, and the altitude of the thermosphere for the
detections. We confirm that the presence of metastable helium correlates with
the stellar mass and the XUV flux received by the planets. We investigated the
correlation between the mass-loss rate and the presence of metastable helium,
but it remains difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Finally, some of our
results are in contradiction with previous results in the literature, therefore
we stress the importance of repeatable, homogeneous, and larger-scale analyses
of the helium triplet to obtain robust statistics, study temporal variability,
and better understand how the helium triplet can be used to explore the
evolution of exoplanets.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, Accepted in A&A for publicatio
Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions: A Handbook for Practitioners
The Handbook aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive NBS impact assessment framework, and a robust set of indicators and methodologies to assess impacts of nature-based solutions across 12 societal challenge areas: Climate Resilience; Water Management; Natural and Climate Hazards; Green Space Management; Biodiversity; Air Quality; Place Regeneration; Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation; Participatory Planning and Governance; Social Justice and Social Cohesion; Health and Well-being; New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs. Indicators have been developed collaboratively by representatives of 17 individual EU-funded NBS projects and collaborating institutions such as the EEA and JRC, as part of the European Taskforce for NBS Impact Assessment, with the four-fold objective of: serving as a reference for relevant EU policies and activities; orient urban practitioners in developing robust impact evaluation frameworks for nature-based solutions at different scales; expand upon the pioneering work of the EKLIPSE framework by providing a comprehensive set of indicators and methodologies; and build the European evidence base regarding NBS impacts. They reflect the state of the art in current scientific research on impacts of nature-based solutions and valid and standardized methods of assessment, as well as the state of play in urban implementation of evaluation frameworks
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