Magnetoelectric properties of magnetite thin films

Resistivity, DC Hall effect and transverse magnetoresistance measurements were made on polycrystalline thin films of magnetite (Fe3O4) from 104K to room temperature. The Verwey transition is observed at TV=123K, about 4K higher than reported for bulk magnetite. The ordinary and extraordinary Hall coefficients are negative over the entire temperature range, consistent with negatively charged carriers. The extraordinary Hall coefficient exhibits a rho 1/3 dependence on the resistivity above TV and a rho 2/3 dependence below TV. The magnetoresistance is negative at all temperatures and for all magnetic field strengths. The planar Hall effect signal was below the sensitivity of the present experiment

The Influence Of Tubule Density And Area Of Solid Dentin On Bond Strength Of Two Adhesive Systems To Dentin.

To determine the correlation between the tubule density (TD) and the area occupied by solid dentin (ASD) with the bond strength of one conventional and one self-etching adhesive system to dentin. The crown of extracted human third molars was transversally sectioned with a diamond saw to expose either superficial, middle, or deep dentin. The three groups of dentin surfaces were randomly divided and bonded with either Clearfil Liner Bond 2V (LB) or Prime & Bond 2.1 (PB) adhesive systems according to manufacturer's directions. Resin composite buildup crowns (10.0 mm high) were incrementally constructed on the bonded surfaces and the teeth stored in water at 37 degrees C. After 24 h of storage, the teeth were vertically, serially sectioned in both x and y directions to obtain several bonded sticks of approximately 0.7 mm2 cross-sectional area. Each stick was tested in tension in a EMIC DL-500 tester at 0.5 mm/min until failure. After testing, the dentin side of the fractured specimen was gently abraded with a 1000-grit SiC paper, etched with 37% phosphoric acid for 15 s and allowed to air dry. SEM micrographs at 1000x and 4000x magnification were taken to permit calculation of the TD (number of tubules/mm2) and ASD (% of total area) at the site of fracture. Correlation between TD and ASD with the bond strength data was performed by linear regression. All statistical analysis was done with alpha = 0.05. Overall bond strength (MPa) for LB was 26.0 +/- 10.2, and 42.6 +/- 15.2 for PB. There was a significant direct relationship between bond strength and ASD for both materials (r2 = 0.20, p 0.05). Mean bond strength of PB was significantly higher than LB for both superficial and middle dentin (p 0.05). Regional variations in TD and ASD may modify bond strength of both conventional and self-etching adhesive systems. Bonding sites with larger ASD seem to yield higher bond strengths regardless of the type of adhesive system used.3315-2

Hydration interactions: aqueous solvent effects in electric double layers

A model for ionic solutions with an attractive short-range pair interaction between the ions is presented. The short-range interaction is accounted for by adding a quadratic non-local term to the Poisson-Boltzmann free energy. The model is used to study solvent effects in a planar electric double layer. The counter-ion density is found to increase near the charged surface, as compared with the Poisson-Boltzmann theory, and to decrease at larger distances. The ion density profile is studied analytically in the case where the ion distribution near the plate is dominated only by counter-ions. Further away from the plate the density distribution can be described using a Poisson-Boltzmann theory with an effective surface charge that is smaller than the actual one.Comment: 11 Figures in 13 files + LaTex file. 20 pages. Accepted to Phys. Rev. E. Corrected typos and reference

Use of crosslinkers to inactivate dentin MMPs

Objectives. This study evaluated the endogenous matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity of demineralized dentin matrix following 1 or 5 min pretreatment by various collagen crosslinkers. Generic MMP activity assay, total protein analysis, in situ zymography, gelatin zymography and multiplex bead technology were used to evaluate matrix-bound MMP activity. Methods. Six different crosslinkers; glutaraldehyde, riboflavin/UVA, riboflavin-5-monophospate/UVA, sumac berry extract, grape seed extract, and curcumin were used. Demineralized dentin beams were pretreated with respective crosslinkers for 1 or 5 min. Demineralized dentin beams with no crosslinker pretreatment served as control. The reduction in the total activity of dentin matrices were measured using generic MMP activity assay. Dentin slabs were used for in situ zymography and evaluated by using hydrolysis of self-quenched fluorescein-conjugated gelatin under confocal microscopy. Dentin beam extracts were used for total protein assay and multiplex analysis and powder extracts were used for gelatin zymography. Results. MMP activity in crosslinker pretreated samples decreased significantly between 21% and 70%, whereas untreated control samples' activity increased up to 84%. Zymograms confirmed a decrease in the gelatinolytic activity and in the amount of extractable total protein content. Multiplex analysis of extracts of crosslinker-treated dentin showed a reduction in the MMP-8, MMP-2 and MMP-9 release. Significance. The result of this work suggests that the effect of the crosslinkers is source dependent. The use of crosslinkers for as little as 1 min on demineralized dentin can inactivate the endogenous protease activity of dentin matrices. (C) 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Optimisation of a current generation ICP-QMS and benchmarking against MC-ICP-MS spectrometry for the determination of lead isotope ratios in environmental samples

© 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Novel ANOVA methodology was used to benchmark ICP-QMS against MC-ICP-MS for Pb isotope ratios, demonstrating "fitness-for-purpose" in environmental source apportionment. The precision and accuracy of lead (Pb) isotope measurements obtained from quadrupole-based mass spectrometers (ICP-QMS) are considered to be limited by a number of factors originating in different components of the instruments. In this study, experimental and instrumental protocols were optimised for determining lead isotope ratios in urban soil digests. Experimental measures included individual dilution of all samples and isotopic standards (SRM-981, NIST) to a single Pb concentration intended to produce an intensity which was high enough to negate blanks and interferences but low enough to ensure the detector operated only in pulse counting mode. Instrumental protocols included batch dead time correction, optimisation of dwell time and the number of scans employed and correction of mass discrimination by sequential application of both internal ( 203 Tl/ 205 Tl ratio) and external (SRM-981, NIST) standards. This optimised methodology was benchmarked against multi-collector mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) measurements of Pb isotope ratios using replicate digest solutions of the same soil; but after these had been subjected to Pb separation using an ion-exchange procedure. On the assumption that MC-ICP-MS measurements are more accurate, small additive and multiplicative differences were observed in only the 4 th decimal place. ANOVA was used to compare the precisions of the two techniques demonstrating equal precisions c. 0.08% for 207 Pb/ 206 Pb, suggesting a sample heterogeneity limitation. By contrast, for 207 Pb/ 204 Pb, the worst-case ratio, ICP-QMS had a 10-fold poorer precision, despite negligible interference from 204 Hg, implying an instrumental limitation. The study concludes that ICP-QMS can provide valuable source apportionment information for most Pb isotope ratios but further efforts should focus on improving assay of the 207 Pb/ 204 Pb ratio

Substantivity of Carbodiimide Inhibition on Dentinal Enzyme Activity over Time

The use of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide HCl (EDC) has recently been investigated for its effectiveness in the prevention of collagen degradation over time and the improvement of resin-dentin bond durability. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a 0.3 M EDC-containing conditioner on endogenous enzymatic activities within the hybrid layer (HL) created by a self-etch or an etch-and-rinse adhesive after 1 y. The activity within the HL was examined using in situ zymography and confocal laser scanning microscopy after 24 h or 1-y storage in artificial saliva. Dentin specimens were bonded with Clearfil SE Bond (CSE) or XP Bond (XPB). For CSE, the self-etching primer was applied and treated with 0.3 M EDC for 1 min, and then the bonding agent was applied. For XPB, dentin was etched and treated with 0.3 M EDC for 1 min and then bonded with the primer-bonding agent. Control specimens were prepared without EDC treatment. Slices containing the adhesive-dentin interface were covered with fluorescein-conjugated gelatin and observed with a multiphoton confocal microscope. Fluorescence intensity emitted by hydrolyzed fluorescein-conjugated gelatin was quantified, and the amount of gelatinolytic activity was represented by the percentage of green fluorescence emitted within the HL. After 24 h of storage, enzymatic activity was detected by in situ zymography within the HLs of both tested adhesives, with XPB higher than CSE (P <0.05). Almost no fluorescence signal was detected when specimens were pretreated with EDC compared to controls (P <0.05). After 1 y of storage, enzymatic activities significantly increased for all groups (excluding XPB control) compared to 24-h storage (P <0.05), with EDC pretreated specimens exhibiting significantly lower activity than controls (P <0.05). The present study showed, for the first time, that the use of EDC for both the self-etch and the etch-and-rinse approaches results in the reduction but not complete inhibition of matrix-bound collagenolytic enzyme activities over time in the HL.Peer reviewe

Investigation of tellurium-implanted silicon

Hall and sheet−resistivity measurements as a function of temperature combined with layer removal have been used to study Si implanted with Te at energies up to 220 keV. At low doses (≲4×10^(12) cm^(−2)), Te has a donor level with a 140−meV activation energy. The activation energy decreases at higher Te doses and is approximately equal to zero for Te doses ≳10^(15) cm^(−2). At high dose levels, the number of conduction electrons per unit area N_s is more than an order of magnitude below the number of Te per unit area. High−temperature anneal treatments followed by quenching did not produce a substantial increase in N_s, suggesting that the formation of Te clusters was not responsible for the low value of N_s. Also, channeling measurements indicated a high substitutional fraction. Based on differential Hall measurements on samples implanted with phosphorus, with and without Si predamage, we conclude that residual radiation damage is not a major factor. A theoretical calculation, which includes the effect of decrease of activation energy with increasing impurity concentrations, indicated that the number of conduction electrons could be much less than the number of implanted Te even though the apparent activation energy is almost zero. Although the results of theoretical calculation do not give quantitative agreement with the experimental results, they do confirm the changes in apparent activation energy with concentration

A lattice gas model of II-VI(001) semiconductor surfaces

We introduce an anisotropic two-dimensional lattice gas model of metal terminated II-IV(001) seminconductor surfaces. Important properties of this class of materials are represented by effective NN and NNN interactions, which result in the competition of two vacancy structures on the surface. We demonstrate that the experimentally observed c(2x2)-(2x1) transition of the CdTe(001) surface can be understood as a phase transition in thermal equilbrium. The model is studied by means of transfer matrix and Monte Carlo techniques. The analysis shows that the small energy difference of the competing reconstructions determines to a large extent the nature of the different phases. Possible implications for further experimental research are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Genetic variability of the bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, occurring on different host plants

The bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest of worldwide occurrence inflicting annual crop damage in India worth US$ 1billion. In India this insect occurs as a major pest in many economically important crops, including cotton, pigeonpea, chickpea, tomato, okra, and blackgram. Understanding the genetic variation among the H. armigera populations occurring on host plants has become essential to understand the variation in their susceptibility to different insecticides, including Bacillus thuringiensis. This preliminary study uses 10 microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, to provide insight into the genetic variability of H. armigera populations from six different host plants. Nine of the SSR primers indicated high variability across the different host associated populations with polymorphism ranging from 75 to 100 per cent. Using the un-weighted pair-group method analysis, H. armigera collected and reared from cotton stood out as unique in one cluster while the insects collected and reared on all other hosts grouped separately

Applying lead (Pb) isotopes to explore mobility in humans and animals

Lead (Pb) isotopes provide a complementary method to other provenance tools for tracking the origin and movement of humans and animals. The method is founded in the geographic distribution of Pb isotope ratios. However, unlike the Sr isotope method that is closely linked to the lithology of underlying rocks, Pb more closely reflects the tectonic regimes. This makes it particularly pertinent to use in Britain as there is major tectonic boundary (the Iapetus Suture) that runs between Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Solway Firth providing a compositional boundary in Pb isotope domains that approximates to the geographic areas of Scotland versus England and Wales. Modern pollution makes it difficult to use modern floral or faunal samples to characterize biosphere variation, and so we use geological datasets to define isoscape variation and present the first Pb isotope map of Britain. We have validated the use of these data form biosphere studies using well provenanced samples. Reference fields of diagnostic compositions, are created in μ-T space and these have been used in a test case to assess the geographic origins of Neolithic animals in Great Britain