92 research outputs found
Quantitative analysis of electronic transport through weakly-coupled metal/organic interfaces
Using single-crystal transistors, we have performed a systematic experimental
study of electronic transport through oxidized copper/rubrene interfaces as a
function of temperature and bias. We find that the measurements can be
reproduced quantitatively in terms of the thermionic emission theory for
Schottky diodes, if the effect of the bias-induced barrier lowering is
included. Our analysis emphasizes the role of the coupling between metal and
molecules, which in our devices is weak due to the presence of an oxide layer
at the surface of the copper electrodes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Evaporative Deposition Patterns Revisited: Spatial Dimensions of the Deposit
A model accounting for finite spatial dimensions of the deposit patterns in
the evaporating sessile drops of colloidal solution on a plane substrate is
proposed. The model is based on the assumption that the solute particles occupy
finite volume and hence these dimensions are of the steric origin. Within this
model, the geometrical characteristics of the deposition patterns are found as
functions of the initial concentration of the solute, the initial geometry of
the drop, and the time elapsed from the beginning of the drying process. The
model is solved analytically for small initial concentrations of the solute and
numerically for arbitrary initial concentrations of the solute. The agreement
between our theoretical results and the experimental data is demonstrated, and
it is shown that the observed dependence of the deposit dimensions on the
experimental parameters can indeed be attributed to the finite dimensions of
the solute particles. These results are universal and do not depend on any free
or fitting parameters; they are important for understanding the evaporative
deposition and may be useful for creating controlled deposition patterns.Comment: 34 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX; submitted to Physical Review
Evaluation of the irradiation treatment effects on ancient parchment samples
In this work, the effect of X-ray irradiation as a disinfection treatment in original ancient parchment samples, belonging to a discarded book cover of a 16th-century archival register, has been evaluated. Specifically, the bacterial and fungal species isolated from the book cover have been characterized and then irradiated with increasing doses of X-rays with the aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the antimicrobial protocol on the isolated microorganisms. The deterioration effects induced by the X-ray treatment as well as the natural aging on the collagen matrix of the parchment sample have been tested by employing several techniques, namely, Light Transmission Analysis, Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy, UV Resonant Raman spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The results reveal that the irradiation treatment applied to our ancient parchment samples deteriorated by biological attack and other naturally occurring phenomena, possibly associated with inappropriate conservation conditions, does not seem to induce further damage factors even when large doses of irradiation are employed. The X-rays-based disinfection treatment effects are limited on the collagen support and this confirms the potential of this method in mass disinfection of library and archival materials
Semi-classical study of the Quantum Hall conductivity
The semi-classical study of the integer Quantum Hall conductivity is
investigated for electrons in a bi-periodic potential .
The Hall conductivity is due to the tunnelling effect and we concentrate our
study to potentials having three wells in a periodic cell. A non-zero
topological conductivity requires special conditions for the positions, and
shapes of the wells. The results are derived analytically and well confirmed by
numerical calculations.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure
Stable directions for small nonlinear Dirac standing waves
We prove that for a Dirac operator with no resonance at thresholds nor
eigenvalue at thresholds the propagator satisfies propagation and dispersive
estimates. When this linear operator has only two simple eigenvalues close
enough, we study an associated class of nonlinear Dirac equations which have
stationary solutions. As an application of our decay estimates, we show that
these solutions have stable directions which are tangent to the subspaces
associated with the continuous spectrum of the Dirac operator. This result is
the analogue, in the Dirac case, of a theorem by Tsai and Yau about the
Schr\"{o}dinger equation. To our knowledge, the present work is the first
mathematical study of the stability problem for a nonlinear Dirac equation.Comment: 62 page
Impact of Sample Preparation Methods on Single-Cell X-ray Microscopy and Light Elemental Analysis Evaluated by Combined Low Energy X-ray Fluorescence, STXM and AFM
Background: Although X-ray fluorescence microscopy is becoming a widely used technique for single-cell analysis, sample preparation for this microscopy remains one of the main challenges in obtaining optimal conditions for the measurements in the X-ray regime. The information available to researchers on sample treatment is inadequate and unclear, sometimes leading to wasted time and jeopardizing the experiment's success. Many cell fixation methods have been described, but none of them have been systematically tested and declared the most suitable for synchrotron X-ray microscopy. Methods: The HEC-1-A endometrial cells, human spermatozoa, and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells were fixed with organic solvents and cross-linking methods: 70% ethanol, 3.7%, and 2% paraformaldehyde; in addition, HEK-293 cells were subjected to methanol/ C3H6O treatment and cryofixation. Fixation methods were compared by coupling low-energy X-ray fluorescence with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Results: Organic solvents lead to greater dehydration of cells, which has the most significant effect on the distribution and depletion of diffusion elements. Paraformaldehyde provides robust and reproducible data. Finally, the cryofixed cells provide the best morphology and element content results. Conclusion: Although cryofixation seems to be the most appropriate method as it allows for keeping cells closer to physiological conditions, it has some technical limitations. Paraformaldehyde, when used at the average concentration of 3.7%, is also an excellent alternative for X-ray microscopy
Spacial and temporal dynamics of the volume fraction of the colloidal particles inside a drying sessile drop
Using lubrication theory, drying processes of sessile colloidal droplets on a
solid substrate are studied. A simple model is proposed to describe temporal
dynamics both the shape of the drop and the volume fraction of the colloidal
particles inside the drop. The concentration dependence of the viscosity is
taken into account. It is shown that the final shapes of the drops depend on
both the initial volume fraction of the colloidal particles and the capillary
number. The results of our simulations are in a reasonable agreement with the
published experimental data. The computations for the drops of aqueous solution
of human serum albumin (HSA) are presented.Comment: Submitted to EPJE, 7 pages, 8 figure
Glioma-associated stem cells: A novel class of tumor-supporting cells able to predict prognosis of human low-grade gliomas.
Background: Translational medicine aims at transferring advances in basic science research into new approaches for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Low-grade gliomas (LGG) have a heterogeneous clinical behavior that can be only partially predicted employing current state-of-the-art markers, hindering the decision-making process. To deepen our comprehension on tumor heterogeneity, we dissected the mechanism of interaction between tumor cells and relevant components of the neoplastic environment, isolating, from LGG and high-grade gliomas (HGG), proliferating stem cell lines from both the glioma stroma and, where possible, the neoplasm. Methods and Findings: We isolated glioma-associated stem cells (GASC) from LGG (n=40) and HGG (n=73). GASC showed stem cell features, anchorage-independent growth, and supported the malignant properties of both A172 cells and human glioma-stem cells, mainly through the release of exosomes. Finally, starting from GASC obtained from HGG (n=13) and LGG (n=12) we defined a score, based on the expression of 9 GASC surface markers, whose prognostic value was assayed on 40 subsequent LGG-patients. At the multivariate Cox analysis, the GASC-based score was the only independent predictor of overall survival and malignant progression free-survival. Conclusions: The microenvironment of both LGG and HGG hosts non-tumorigenic multipotent stem cells that can increase in vitro the biological aggressiveness of glioma-initiating cells through the release of exosomes. The clinical importance of this finding is supported by the strong prognostic value associated with the characteristics of GASC. This patient-based approach can provide a groundbreaking method to predict prognosis and to exploit novel strategies that target the tumor stroma
«La relation de limitation et dâexception dans le français dâaujourdâhui : exceptĂ©, sauf et hormis comme pivots dâune relation algĂ©brique »
Lâanalyse des emplois prĂ©positionnels et des emplois conjonctifs dâ âexceptĂ©â, de âsaufâ et dâ âhormisâ permet dâenvisager les trois prĂ©positions/conjonctions comme le pivot dâun binĂŽme, comme la plaque tournante dâune structure bipolaire. PlacĂ©es au milieu du binĂŽme, ces prĂ©positions sont forcĂ©es par leur sĂ©mantisme originaire dĂ»ment mĂ©taphorisĂ© de jouer le rĂŽle de marqueurs dâinconsĂ©quence systĂ©matique entre lâĂ©lĂ©ment se trouvant Ă leur gauche et celui qui se trouve Ă leur droite. Lâopposition qui surgit entre les deux Ă©lĂ©ments nâest donc pas une incompatibilitĂ© naturelle, intrinsĂšque, mais extrinsĂšque, induite. Dans la plupart des cas (emplois limitatifs), cette opposition prend la forme dâun rapport entre une « classe » et le « membre (soustrait) de la classe », ou bien entre un « tout » et une « partie » ; dans dâautres (emplois exceptifs), cette opposition se manifeste au contraire comme une attaque de front portĂ©e par un « tout » Ă un autre « tout ». De plus, lâinconsĂ©quence induite mise en place par la prĂ©position/conjonction paraĂźt, en principe, tout Ă fait insurmontable. Dans lâassertion « les Ă©cureuils vivent partout, sauf en Australie » (que lâon peut expliciter par « Les Ă©cureuils vivent partout, sauf [quâils ne vivent pas] en Australie »), la prĂ©position semble en effet capable dâimpliquer le prĂ©dicat principal avec signe inverti, et de bĂątir sur une telle implication une sorte de sous Ă©noncĂ© qui, Ă la rigueur, est totalement inconsĂ©quent avec celui qui le prĂ©cĂšde (si « les Ă©cureuils ne vivent pas en Australie », le fait quâils « vivent partout » est faux). NĂ©anmoins, lâanalyse montre quâalors que certaines de ces oppositions peuvent enfin ĂȘtre dĂ©passĂ©es, dâautres ne le peuvent pas. Câest, respectivement, le cas des relations limitatives et des relations exceptives. La relation limitative, impliquant le rapport « tout » - « partie », permet de rĂ©soudre le conflit dans les termes dâune somme algĂ©brique entre deux sous Ă©noncĂ©s pourvus de diffĂ©rent poids informatif et de signe contraire. Les valeurs numĂ©riques des termes de la somme Ă©tant dĂ©sĂ©quilibrĂ©es, le rĂ©sultat est toujours autre que zĂ©ro. La relation exceptive, au contraire, qui nâimplique pas le rapport « tout » - « partie », nâest pas capable de rĂ©soudre le conflit entre deux sous Ă©noncĂ©s pourvus du mĂȘme poids informatif et en mĂȘme temps de signe contraire : les valeurs numĂ©riques des termes de la somme Ă©tant symĂ©triques et Ă©gales, le rĂ©sultat sera toujours Ă©quivalent Ă zĂ©ro
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