Uptake and fecal excretion of Coxiella burnetii by Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor marginatus ticks

Background: The bacterium Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of Q fever and is mainly transmitted via inhalation of infectious aerosols. DNA of C. burnetii is frequently detected in ticks, but the role of ticks as vectors in the epidemiology of this agent is still controversial. In this study, Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor marginatus adults as well as I. ricinus nymphs were fed on blood spiked with C. burnetii in order to study the fate of the bacterium within putative tick vectors. Methods: Blood-feeding experiments were performed in vitro in silicone-membrane based feeding units. The uptake, fecal excretion and transstadial transmission of C. burnetii was examined by quantitative real-time PCR as well as cultivation of feces and crushed tick filtrates in L-929 mouse fibroblast cells and cell-free culture medium. Results: Ticks successfully fed in the feeding system with engorgement rates ranging from 29% (D. marginatus) to 64% (I. ricinus adults). Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected in the feces of both tick species during and after feeding on blood containing 105 or 106 genomic equivalents per ml blood (GE/ml), but not when fed on blood containing only 104 GE/ml. Isolation and cultivation demonstrated the infectivity of C. burnetii in shed feces. In 25% of the I. ricinus nymphs feeding on inoculated blood, a transstadial transmission to the adult stage was detected. Females that molted from nymphs fed on inoculated blood excreted C. burnetii of up to 106 genomic equivalents per mg of feces. Conclusions: These findings show that transstadial transmission of C. burnetii occurs in I. ricinus and confirm that I. ricinus is a potential vector for Q fever. Transmission from both tick species might occur by inhalation of feces containing high amounts of viable C. burnetii rather than via tick bites

LEED Holography applied to a complex superstructure: a direct view of the adatom cluster on SiC(111)-(3x3)

For the example of the SiC(111)-(3x3) reconstruction we show that a holographic interpretation of discrete Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) spot intensities arising from ordered, large unit cell superstructures can give direct access to the local geometry of a cluster around an elevated atom, provided there is only one such prominent atom per surface unit cell. By comparing the holographic images obtained from experimental and calculated data we illuminate validity, current limits and possible shortcomings of the method. In particular, we show that periodic vacancies such as cornerholes may inhibit the correct detection of the atomic positions. By contrast, the extra diffraction intensity due to slight substrate reconstructions, as for example buckling, seems to have negligible influence on the images. Due to the spatial information depth of the method the stacking of the cluster can be imaged down to the fourth layer. Finally, it is demonstrated how this structural knowledge of the adcluster geometry can be used to guide the dynamical intensity analysis subsequent to the holographic reconstruction and necessary to retrieve the full unit cell structure.Comment: 11 pages RevTex, 6 figures, Phys. Rev. B in pres

Prediction of huge X-ray Faraday rotation at the Gd N_4,5 threshold

X-ray absorption spectra in a wide energy range around the 4d-4f excitation threshold of Gd were recorded by total electron yield from in-plane magnetized Gd metal films. Matching the experimental spectra to tabulated absorption data reveals unprecedented short light absorption lengths down to 3 nm. The associated real parts of the refractive index for circularly polarized light propagating parallel or antiparallel to the Gd magnetization, determined through the Kramers-Kronig transformation, correspond to a magneto-optical Faraday rotation of 0.7 degrees per atomic layer. This finding shall allow the study of magnetic structure and magnetization dynamics of lanthanide elements in nanosize systems and dilute alloys.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, final version resubmitted to Phys. Rev. B, Brief Reports. Minor change

Tracking primary thermalization events in graphene with photoemission at extreme timescales

Direct and inverse Auger scattering are amongst the primary processes that mediate the thermalization of hot carriers in semiconductors. These two processes involve the annihilation or generation of an electron-hole pair by exchanging energy with a third carrier, which is either accelerated or decelerated. Inverse Auger scattering is generally suppressed, as the decelerated carriers must have excess energies higher than the band gap itself. In graphene, which is gapless, inverse Auger scattering is instead predicted to be dominant at the earliest time delays. Here, $<8$ femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses are used to detect this imbalance, tracking both the number of excited electrons and their kinetic energy with time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Over a time window of approximately 25 fs after absorption of the pump pulse, we observe an increase in conduction band carrier density and a simultaneous decrease of the average carrier kinetic energy, revealing that relaxation is in fact dominated by inverse Auger scattering. Measurements of carrier scattering at extreme timescales by photoemission will serve as a guide to ultrafast control of electronic properties in solids for PetaHertz electronics.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Enhanced electron-phonon coupling in graphene with periodically distorted lattice

Electron-phonon coupling directly determines the stability of cooperative order in solids, including superconductivity, charge and spin density waves. Therefore, the ability to enhance or reduce electron-phonon coupling by optical driving may open up new possibilities to steer materials' functionalities, potentially at high speeds. Here we explore the response of bilayer graphene to dynamical modulation of the lattice, achieved by driving optically-active in-plane bond stretching vibrations with femtosecond mid-infrared pulses. The driven state is studied by two different ultrafast spectroscopic techniques. Firstly, TeraHertz time-domain spectroscopy reveals that the Drude scattering rate decreases upon driving. Secondly, the relaxation rate of hot quasi-particles, as measured by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, increases. These two independent observations are quantitatively consistent with one another and can be explained by a transient three-fold enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling constant. The findings reported here provide useful perspective for related experiments, which reported the enhancement of superconductivity in alkali-doped fullerites when a similar phonon mode was driven.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

A METHODOLOGY FOR SIMULATION AND ASSESSMENT OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANTS

A thermal analysis of Concentrated Solar Power plants is conducted considering parabolic trough collectors (PTC), linear Fresnel collectors using direct steam generation scheme (LFC-DSG) and central receiver system using both molten nitrate salts (CRS-MNS) direct steam generation (CRS-DSG). The plant capacities were ranged from 50 to 800 MWth and the analysis focuses on the environmental conditions of selected locations in South America. Thus, the study considers a parametric analysis of the main design parameter for different plant scales, in terms of the thermal performance indicators as solar field aperture area, power block rating capacity and plant annual efficiencies. The annual production of the plants is calculated by using the Transient System Simulation program (TRNSYS), which considers a new component library developed for that purpose. This library is based in the open access models developed by the U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory and currently employed by the System Advisor Model (SAM) program. In addition, a new fluid properties subroutine compatible with TRNSYS codes standards was developed, which uses the freeware CoolProp library. These approaches allowed to modify and create new configurations for CSP plants, e.g. thermal storage for the DSG scheme

Graphene formed on SiC under various environments: Comparison of Si-face and C-face

The morphology of graphene on SiC {0001} surfaces formed in various environments including ultra-high vacuum, 1 atm of argon, and 10^-6 to 10^-4 Torr of disilane is studied by atomic force microscopy, low-energy electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The graphene is formed by heating the surface to 1100 - 1600 C, which causes preferential sublimation of the Si atoms. The argon atmosphere or the background of disilane decreases the sublimation rate so that a higher graphitization temperature is required, thus improving the morphology of the films. For the (0001) surface, large areas of monolayer-thick graphene are formed in this way, with the size of these areas depending on the miscut of the sample. Results on the (000-1) surface are more complex. This surface graphitizes at a lower temperature than for the (0001) surface and consequently the growth is more three-dimensional. In an atmosphere of argon the morphology becomes even worse, with the surface displaying markedly inhomogeneous nucleation, an effect attributed to unintentional oxidation of the surface during graphitization. Use of a disilane environment for the (000-1) surface is found to produce improved morphology, with relatively large areas of monolayer-thick graphene.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, Proceedings of STEG-2 Conference; eliminated Figs. 4 and 7 from version 1, for brevity, and added Refs. 18, 29, 30, 31 together with associated discussio

Spin-orbit splitting of image states

We quantify the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the Rydberg-like series of image state electrons at the (111) and (001) surface of Ir, Pt and Au. Using relativistic multiple-scattering methods we find Rashba-like dispersions with Delta E(K)=gamma K with values of gamma for n=1 states in the range 38-88 meV Angstrom. Extending the phase-accumulation model to include spin-orbit scattering we find that the splittings vary like 1/(n+a)^3 where a is the quantum defect and that they are related to the probability of spin-flip scattering at the surface. The splittings should be observable experimentally being larger in magnitude than some exchange-splittings that have been resolved by inverse photoemission, and are comparable to linewidths from inelastic lifetimes.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure