758 research outputs found
Cu_{2}O as nonmagnetic semiconductor for spin transport in crystalline oxide electronics
We probe spin transport in Cu_{2}O by measuring spin valve effect in
La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/Co and
La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3} epitaxial
heterostructures. In La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}/Cu_{2}O/Co systems we find that a
fraction of out-of-equilibrium spin polarized carrier actually travel across
the Cu_{2}O layer up to distances of almost 100 nm at low temperature. The
corresponding spin diffusion length dspin is estimated around 40 nm.
Furthermore, we find that the insertion of a SrTiO_{3} tunneling barrier does
not improve spin injection, likely due to the matching of resistances at the
interfaces. Our result on dspin may be likely improved, both in terms of
Cu_{2}O crystalline quality and sub-micrometric morphology and in terms of
device geometry, indicating that Cu_{2}O is a potential material for efficient
spin transport in devices based on crystalline oxides.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Unusual behaviour of the ferroelectric polarization in PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices
Artificial PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices were constructed using
off-axis RF magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction and piezoelectric atomic
force microscopy were used to study the evolution of the ferroelectric
polarization as the ratio of PbTiO to SrTiO was changed. For
PbTiO layer thicknesses larger than the 3-unit cells SrTiO
thickness used in the structure, the polarization is found to be reduced as the
PbTiO thickness is decreased. This observation confirms the primary role
of the depolarization field in the polarization reduction in thin films. For
the samples with ratios of PbTiO to SrTiO of less than one a
surprising recovery of ferroelectricity that cannot be explained by
electrostatic considerations was observed
On the dynamical conditions concomitant with the bottom anoxia in the Northern Adriatic Sea: A numerical case study for the 1977 event
The aim of the present investigation is to explain the dramatic phenomenon of anoxia/hypoxia waters observed in the Northern Adriatic Sea during August 1977 by using the data collected in the DINAS 2 oceanographic campaign and modelling them by means of a three-dimensional numerical model for the Whole basin. The model has been forced with ECMWF surface reanalysis data—wind stress, heat fluxes and river discharges. The main result lies in the high temporal and spatial correlation between the observed anoxia areas and the centres of anticyclonic circulation produced by the model. Further investigations seem to be necessary for a better matching between observed and simulated thermohaline fields
Processing and properties of ferroelectric relaxor lead scandium tantalate Pb(Sc1/2Ta1/2)O3 thin films
Thin films of Pb(Sc1/2Ta1/2)O3 (PST) were fabricated using an optimized chemical solution deposition procedure involving the de-hydration of scandium acetate and the addition of up to 30% excess lead in solution. The choice of substrate was found to impact the thermal induced stress in the films as confirmed by wafer bending and in-plane grazing angle x-ray diffraction measurements. The presence of either a compressive or a tensile in-plane stress led to a reduction in the temperature of the dielectric maximum, whereas the value of the dielectric maximum remained relatively unchanged; its value reduced by an order of magnitude compared with ceramic samples. It is concluded that mechanical stress alone is not the sole factor in the reduction of PST thin film permittivity. Microstructural features resulting from processing induced defects or an incomplete transformation to the relaxor state may be responsible for this commonly observed phenomeno
Effects of intraarticular treatment with stanozolol on synovial membrane and cartilage in an ovine model of osteoarthritis
Aim of the study was to verify the clinical and morphological effects of intra-articular stanozolol or placebo
treatment, lasting 3 and 9 months, in sheep in which a femoro-tibial osteo-arthritis (OA) were surgically
induced (medial bilateral meniscectomy).
Twenty healthy sheep divided into four groups and two control animals group, after surgical medial
bilateral meniscectomy, were weekly injected in femoral-tibial joint (FTJ) with stanozolol or placebo.
Lameness evaluation was performed and synovial fluid was collected from all sheep at each treatment
time. Necropsies were performed after 3 or 9 month as described in experimental design. Gross pathologies
were described and specimen tissues collected from femoro-tibial articular joints were processed
for routine histological examination.
The gross anatomy of the FTJ was well-preserved in stanozolol-treated sheep; this also applied to the
histological features of articular cartilage. Joint aseptic inflammation and fibrosis were observed in placebo-
treated sheep, associated with a different degree of severity of condylar and tibial plate cartilage
degeneration.
Stanozolol intra-articular treatment reduces osteophytes formation and subchondral bone reaction and
promotes articular cartilage regeneration
Cathodoluminescence Mapping of Cherenkov-Radiation Generated Bloch-Modes in Planar Photonic Crystals by Fast Electrons
Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 - August 5, 201
The Geometric Phase and Ray Space Isometries
We study the behaviour of the geometric phase under isometries of the ray
space. This leads to a better understanding of a theorem first proved by
Wigner: isometries of the ray space can always be realised as projections of
unitary or anti-unitary transformations on the Hilbert space. We suggest that
the construction involved in Wigner's proof is best viewed as an use of the
Pancharatnam connection to ``lift'' a ray space isometry to the Hilbert space.Comment: 17 pages, Latex file, no figures, To appear in Pramana J. Phy
Risks Posed by Reston, the Forgotten Ebolavirus
Out of the five members of the Ebolavirus family, four cause lifethreatening disease, whereas the fifth, Reston virus (RESTV), is nonpathogenic in humans. The reasons for this discrepancy remain unclear. In this review, we analyze the currently available information to provide a state-of-the-art summary of the factors that determine the human pathogenicity of Ebolaviruses. RESTV causes sporadic infections in cynomolgus monkeys and is found in domestic pigs throughout the Philippines and China. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that RESTV is most closely related to the Sudan virus, which causes a high mortality rate in humans. Amino acid sequence differences between RESTV and the other Ebolaviruses are found in all nine Ebolavirus proteins, though no one residue appears sufficient to confer pathogenicity. Changes in the glycoprotein contribute to differences in Ebolavirus pathogenicity but are not sufficient to confer pathogenicity on their own. Similarly, differences in VP24 and VP35 affect viral immune evasion and are associated with changes in human pathogenicity. A recent in silico analysis systematically determined the functional consequences of sequence variations between RESTV and human-pathogenic Ebolaviruses. Multiple positions in VP24 were differently conserved between RESTV and the other Ebolaviruses and may alter human pathogenicity. In conclusion, the factors that determine the pathogenicity of Ebolaviruses in humans remain insufficiently understood. An improved understanding of these pathogenicity-determining factors is of crucial importance for disease prevention and for the early detection of emergent and potentially human-pathogenic RESTVs
Classification accuracy of blood-based and neurophysiological markers in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Background: In the last decade, non-invasive blood-based and neurophysiological biomarkers have shown great potential for the discrimination of several neurodegenerative disorders. However, in the clinical workup of patients with cognitive impairment, it will be highly unlikely that any biomarker will achieve the highest potential predictive accuracy on its own, owing to the multifactorial nature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Methods: In this retrospective study, performed on 202 participants, we analysed plasma neurofilament light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and tau phosphorylated at amino acid 181 (p-Tau181) concentrations, as well as amyloid β42 to 40 ratio (Aβ1–42/1–40) ratio, using the ultrasensitive single-molecule array (Simoa) technique, and neurophysiological measures obtained by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF), long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI), and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI). We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of combinations of both plasma and neurophysiological biomarkers in the differential diagnosis between healthy ageing, AD, and FTLD. Results: We observed significant differences in plasma NfL, GFAP, and p-Tau181 levels between the groups, but not for the Aβ1–42/Aβ1–40 ratio. For the evaluation of diagnostic accuracy, we adopted a two-step process which reflects the clinical judgement on clinical grounds. In the first step, the best single biomarker to classify “cases” vs “controls” was NfL (AUC 0.94, p < 0.001), whilst in the second step, the best single biomarker to classify AD vs FTLD was SAI (AUC 0.96, p < 0.001). The combination of multiple biomarkers significantly increased diagnostic accuracy. The best model for classifying “cases” vs “controls” included the predictors p-Tau181, GFAP, NfL, SICI, ICF, and SAI, resulting in an AUC of 0.99 (p < 0.001). For the second step, classifying AD from FTD, the best model included the combination of Aβ1–42/Aβ1–40 ratio, p-Tau181, SICI, ICF, and SAI, resulting in an AUC of 0.98 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The combined assessment of plasma and neurophysiological measures may greatly improve the differential diagnosis of AD and FTLD
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