A geometry for optimizing nanoscale magnetic resonance force microscopy

We implement magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) in an experimental geometry, where the long axis of the cantilever is normal to both the external magnetic field and the RF microwire source. Measurements are made of the statistical polarization of $^1$H in polystyrene with negligible magnetic dissipation, gradients greater than $10^5$ T/m within 100 nm of the magnetic tip, and rotating RF magnetic fields over 12 mT at 115 MHz. This geometry could facilitate the application of nanometer-scale MRFM to nuclear species with low gyro-magnetic ratios and samples with broadened resonances, such as In spins in quantum dots.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Accelerated Stress Tests for Solid Oxide Cells via Artificial Aging of the Fuel Electrode

Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) are under intensive development due to their great potential to meet the 2030 targets for decarbonization. One of their advantages is that they can work in reversible mode. However, in respect to durability, there are still some technical challenges. Although the quick development of experimental and modeling approaches gives insight into degradation mechanisms, an obligatory step that cannot be avoided is the performance of long‐term tests. Taking into account the target for a commercial lifetime is 80,000 h, experiments lasting years are not acceptable for market needs. This work aims to develop accelerated stress tests (ASTs) for SOCs by the artificial aging of the fuel electrode via redox cycling, which follows the degradation processes of calendar aging (Ni coarsening and migration). However, it can cause irreversible damage by the formation of cracks at the interface anode/electrolyte. The advantages of the developed procedure are that it offers a mild level of oxidation, which can be governed and regulated by the direct impedance monitoring of the Ni network resistance changes during oxidation/reduction on a bare anode sample. Once the redox cycling conditions are fixed and the anode/electrolyte sample is checked for cracks, the procedure is introduced for the AST in full‐cell configuration. The developed methodology is evaluated by a comparative analysis of current voltage and impedance measurements of pristine, artificially aged, and calendar‐aged button cells, combined with microstructural characterization of their anodes. It can be applied in both fuel cell and electrolyzer mode. The results obtained in this study from the electrochemical tests show that the artificially aged experimental cell corresponds to at least 3500 h of nominal operation. The number of hours is much bigger in respect to the microstructural aging of the anode. Taking into consideration that the duration of the performed 20 redox cycles is about 50 to 60 working hours, the acceleration factor in respect to experimental timing is estimated to be higher than 60, without any damaging of the sample. This result shows that the selected approach is very promising for a large decrease in testing times for SOCs

Testing the Dispersion of Nanoparticles in a Nanocomposite with an Ultra-Low Fill Content Using a Novel Non-Destructive Evaluation Technique

A non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique capable of testing the dispersion of nanoparticles in a nanocomposite would be of great use to the industry to check the quality of the products made and to ensure compliance with their specifications. Very few NDE techniques found in the literature can evaluate the level of dispersion of the nanoparticles in the whole nanocomposite. Here, a recently developed NDE technique based on pulsed phase thermography (PPT) in transmission mode was used to assess the particle dispersion in ultra-low, less than 0.05 wt%, Ag enriched polymeric based nanocomposite manufactured with an innovative nano-coating fragmentation technique. The phasegrams obtained with the presented technique clearly showed clusters or bundles of Ag nanoparticles when present, down to the size of 6 µm. Therefore, the new NDE approach can be applied to verify that the expected levels of dispersion are met in the production process

West Asian sources of the Eurasian component in Ethiopians: a reassessment

The presence of genomic signatures of Eurasian origin in contemporary Ethiopians has been reported by several authors and estimated to have arrived in the area from 3000 years ago. Several studies reported plausible source populations for such a signature, using haplotype based methods on modern data or single-site methods on modern or ancient data. These studies did not reach a consensus and suggested an Anatolian or Sardinia-like proxy, broadly Levantine or Neolithic Levantine as possible sources. We demonstrate, however, that the deeply divergent, autochthonous African component which accounts for ~50% of most contemporary Ethiopian genomes, affects the overall allele frequency spectrum to an extent that makes it hard to control for it and, at once, to discern between subtly different, yet important, Eurasian sources (such as Anatolian or Levant Neolithic ones). Here we re-assess pattern of allele sharing between the Eurasian component of Ethiopians (here called “NAF” for Non African) and ancient and modern proxies. Our results unveil a genomic legacy that may connect the Eurasian genetic component of contemporary Ethiopians with Sea People and with population movements that affected the Mediterranean area and the Levant after the fall of the Minoan civilization

Electrochemical performances and post-operational characterization of a segmented sofc operated under load for 15k hours

In the frame of the ENDURANCE FCH-JU-FP7 project (2014-2017) a segmented cell (20 segments regularly distributed from fuel inlet to fuel outlet) was operated for 15k hours in co-flow at 750\ub0C (average temperature) in hydrogen under load. Each segment was carefully monitored during operation by periodically acquiring the impedance spectra and constantly checking the voltage under current load. After 15k hours of operation the test was stopped and the cell used for further investigations in order to compare the cell evolution with the segment degradation. The overall observation in cross section of the cell has shown a good stability, however some differences were observed in the electrodes that might be related to the local operating conditions: temperature, H2 /H2O ratio in the fuel stream. The gathered results will contribute to increase the understanding the evolution of a SOFC in real operating conditions. Evidences of the effect of temperature, time and fuel pollutants were found

Atorvastatin pretreatment improves outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention: results of the ARMYDA-ACS randomized trial.

This study sought to investigate potential protective effects of atorvastatin in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background Randomized studies have shown that pretreatment with atorvastatin may reduce periprocedural myocardial infarction in patients with stable angina during elective PCI; however, this therapy has not been tested in patients with ACS. Methods A total of 171 patients with non–ST-segment elevation ACS were randomized to pretreatment with atorvastatin (80 mg 12 h before PCI, with a further 40-mg preprocedure dose [n 86]) or placebo (n 85). All patients were given a clopidogrel 600-mg loading dose. All patients received long-term atorvastatin treatment thereafter (40 mg/day). The main end point of the trial was a 30-day incidence of major adverse cardiac events (death, myocardial infarction, or unplanned revascularization). Results The primary end point occurred in 5% of patients in the atorvastatin arm and in 17% of those in the placebo arm (p 0.01); this difference was mostly driven by reduction of myocardial infarction incidence (5% vs. 15%; p 0.04). Postprocedural elevation of creatine kinase-MB and troponin-I was also significantly lower in the atorvastatin group (7% vs. 27%, p 0.001 and 41% vs. 58%, p 0.039, respectively). At multivariable analysis, pretreatment with atorvastatin conferred an 88% risk reduction of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (odds ratio 0.12, 95% confidence interval 0.05 to 0.50; p 0.004). Conclusions The ARMYDA-ACS trial indicates that even short-term pretreatment with atorvastatin may improve outcomes in patients with ACS undergoing early invasive strategy. These findings may support routine use of high-dose statins before intervention in patients with ACS

Ancestry deconvolution and partial polygenic score can improve susceptibility predictions in recently admixed individuals

Polygenic Scores (PSs) describe the genetic component of an individual’s quantitative phenotype or their susceptibility to diseases with a genetic basis. Currently, PSs rely on population-dependent contributions of many associated alleles, with limited applicability to understudied populations and recently admixed individuals. Here we introduce a combination of local ancestry deconvolution and partial PS computation to account for the population-specific nature of the association signals in individuals with admixed ancestry. We demonstrate partial PS to be a proxy for the total PS and that a portion of the genome is enough to improve susceptibility predictions for the traits we test. By combining partial PSs from different populations, we are able to improve trait predictability in admixed individuals with some European ancestry. These results may extend the applicability of PSs to subjects with a complex history of admixture, where current methods cannot be applied

Detecting Genetic Isolation in Human Populations: A Study of European Language Minorities

The identification of isolation signatures is fundamental to better understand the genetic structure of human populations and to test the relations between cultural factors and genetic variation. However, with current approaches, it is not possible to distinguish between the consequences of long-term isolation and the effects of reduced sample size, selection and differential gene flow. To overcome these limitations, we have integrated the analysis of classical genetic diversity measures with a Bayesian method to estimate gene flow and have carried out simulations based on the coalescent. Combining these approaches, we first tested whether the relatively short history of cultural and geographical isolation of four "linguistic islands" of the Eastern Alps (Lessinia, Sauris, Sappada and Timau) had left detectable signatures in their genetic structure. We then compared our findings to previous studies of European population isolates. Finally, we explored the importance of demographic and cultural factors in shaping genetic diversity among the groups under study. A combination of small initial effective size and continued genetic isolation from surrounding populations seems to provide a coherent explanation for the diversity observed among Sauris, Sappada and Timau, which was found to be substantially greater than in other groups of European isolated populations. Simulations of micro-evolutionary scenarios indicate that ethnicity might have been important in increasing genetic diversity among these culturally related and spatially close populations. © 2013 Capocasa et al

The impact of puberty on the onset, frequency, location, and severity of attacks in hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency: A survey from the Italian Network for Hereditary and Acquired Angioedema (ITACA)

Introduction. Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency is influenced by hormonal factors, with a more severe course of disease in women. Our study aims to deepen the impact of puberty on onset, frequency, location and severity of attacks.MethodsRetrospective data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire and shared by 10 Italian reference centers of the Italian Network for Hereditary and Acquired Angioedema (ITACA).ResultsThe proportion of symptomatic patients increased significantly after puberty (98.2% vs 83.9%, p=0.002 in males; 96.3% vs 68,4%, p<0.001 in females); the monthly mean of acute attacks was significantly higher after puberty, and this occurred both in females (median (IQR) = 0.41(2) in the three years before puberty vs 2(2.17) in the three years after, p<0.001) and in males (1(1.92) vs 1.25(1.56) respectively, p<0.001). The increase was greater in females. No significant differences were detected in attack location before and after puberty.DiscussionOverall, our study confirms previous reports on a more severe phenotype in the female gender. Puberty predisposes to increased numbers of angioedema attacks, in particular in female patients

Genome-wide analysis of Corsican population reveals a close affinity with Northern and Central Italy

Despite being the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean basin, the genetic variation of Corsica has not been explored as exhaustively as Sardinia, which is situated only 11 km South. However, it is likely that the populations of the two islands shared, at least in part, similar demographic histories. Moreover, the relative small size of the Corsica may have caused genetic isolation, which, in turn, might be relevant under medical and translational perspectives. Here we analysed genome wide data of 16 Corsicans, and integrated with newly (33 individuals) and previously generated samples from West Eurasia and North Africa. Allele frequency, haplotype-based, and ancient genome analyses suggest that although Sardinia and Corsica may have witnessed similar isolation and migration events, the latter is genetically closer to populations from continental Europe, such as Northern and Central Italians