Measurement of the Permanent Electric Dipole Moment of the 129^{129}Xe Atom

We report on a new measurement of the CP-violating permanent Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) of the neutral $^{129}$Xe atom. Our experimental approach is based on the detection of the free precession of co-located nuclear spin-polarized $^3$He and $^{129}$Xe samples. The EDM measurement sensitivity benefits strongly from long spin coherence times of several hours achieved in diluted gases and homogeneous weak magnetic fields of about 400~nT. A finite EDM is indicated by a change in the precession frequency, as an electric field is periodically reversed with respect to the magnetic guiding field. Our result, $\left(-4.7\pm6.4\right)\cdot 10^{-28}$ ecm, is consistent with zero and is used to place a new upper limit on the $^{129}$Xe EDM: $|d_\text{Xe}|<1.5 \cdot 10^{-27}$ ecm (95% C.L.). We also discuss the implications of this result for various CP-violating observables as they relate to theories of physics beyond the standard model

Precise Measurement of Magnetic Field Gradients from Free Spin Precession Signals of 3^{3}He and 129^{129}Xe Magnetometers

We report on precise measurements of magnetic field gradients extracted from transverse relaxation rates of precessing spin samples. The experimental approach is based on the free precession of gaseous, nuclear spin polarized $^3$He and $^{129}$Xe atoms in a spherical cell inside a magnetic guiding field of about 400 nT using LT$_C$ SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. The transverse relaxation rates of both spin species are simultaneously monitored as magnetic field gradients are varied. For transverse relaxation times reaching 100 h, the residual longitudinal field gradient across the spin sample could be deduced to be$|\vec{\nabla}B_z|=(5.6 \pm 0.4)$ pT/cm. The method takes advantage of the high signal-to-noise ratio with which the decaying spin precession signal can be monitored that finally leads to the exceptional accuracy to determine magnetic field gradients at the sub pT/cm scale

Constraining the nature of the accreting binary in CXOGBS J174623.5-310550

We report optical and infrared observations of the X-ray source CXOGBS J174623.5-310550. This Galactic object was identified as a potential quiescent low-mass X-ray binary accreting from an M-type donor on the basis of optical spectroscopy and the broad Halpha emission line. The analysis of X-shooter spectroscopy covering 3 consecutive nights supports an M2/3-type spectral classification. Neither radial velocity variations nor rotational broadening is detected in the photospheric lines. No periodic variability is found in I- and r'-band light curves. We derive r' = 20.8, I = 19.2 and Ks = 16.6 for the optical and infrared counterparts with the M-type star contributing 90% to the I-band light. We estimate its distance to be 1.3-1.8 kpc. The lack of radial velocity variations implies that the M-type star is not the donor star in the X-ray binary. This could be an interloper or the outer body in a hierarchical triple. We constrain the accreting binary to be a < 2.2 hr orbital period eclipsing cataclysmic variable or a low-mass X-ray binary lying in the foreground of the Galactic Bulge.Comment: (9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Light absorption enhancement in thin film hydrgenated amorphus Si solar cells

In this paper, light absorption enhancement in thin film solar cell (SC) is reported and analyzed. The suggested design is based on a nanostructured pattern that increases the diffuse scattered component of radiation and hence the absorption through the active layer. An ion beam sputtering (lBS) approach is used to texture large areas of the glass substrate with high aspect-ratio ripples in order to increase light scattering. Then, thin film SC supported on the textured glass is simulated and analyzed using 3D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The suggested SC can offer an ultimate efficiency of 19.26% with short circuit current of 15.76 mA/cm2 with an enhancement of 31.435% over the SC without texturing surface

Magnetism of Fe clusters and islands on Pt surfaces

Clusters and islands of Fe atoms have been prepared by noble gas buffer layer assisted growth as well as by standard molecular beam epitaxy on Pt substrates. Xe buffer layers have been utilized to promote the formation of compact, relaxed Fe clusters with narrow size distribution. Without the Xe buffer, strained Fe islands with a characteristic misfit dislocation network are formed. Magnetization loops obtained by magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements reveal that in-plane easy magnetization axis is only found for the relaxed clusters, pointing out the important role of epitaxial lattice deformations for the magnetic anisotropy

Correction to:Electro-optic sensor for static fields (vol 125, pg 212, 2019)

The article “Electro-optic sensor for static fields”, written by “J. O. Grasdijk, X. F. Bai, I. Engin, K. Jungmann, H. J. Krause, B. Niederländer, A. Off enhäuser, M. Repetto, L. Willmann, S. Zimmer”, was published incorrectly with Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 4.0 International License. Correct is that the article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat iveco mmons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The original article has been corrected.</p

PUF60-related developmental disorder:A case series and phenotypic analysis of 10 additional patients with monoallelic PUF60 variants

PUF60-related developmental disorder (also referred to as Verheij syndrome), resulting from haploinsufficiency of PUF60, is associated with multiple congenital anomalies affecting a wide range of body systems. These anomalies include ophthalmic coloboma, and congenital anomalies of the heart, kidney, and musculoskeletal system. Behavioral and intellectual difficulties are also observed. While less common than other features associated with PUF60-related developmental disorder, for instance hearing impairment and short stature, identification of specific anomalies such as ophthalmic coloboma can aid with diagnostic identification given the limited spectrum of genes linked with this feature. We describe 10 patients with PUF60 gene variants, bringing the total number reported in the literature, to varying levels of details, to 56 patients. Patients were recruited both via locally based exome sequencing from international sites and from the DDD study in the United Kingdom. Eight of the variants reported were novel PUF60 variants. The addition of a further patient with a reported c449-457del variant to the existing literature highlights this as a recurrent variant. One variant was inherited from an affected parent. This is the first example in the literature of an inherited variant resulting in PUF60-related developmental disorder. Two patients (20%) were reported to have a renal anomaly consistent with 22% of cases in previously reported literature. Two patients received specialist endocrine treatment. More commonly observed were clinical features such as: cardiac anomalies (40%), ocular abnormalities (70%), intellectual disability (60%), and skeletal abnormalities (80%). Facial features did not demonstrate a recognizable gestalt. Of note, but remaining of unclear causality, we describe a single pediatric patient with pineoblastoma. We recommend that stature and pubertal progress should be monitored in PUF60-related developmental disorder with a low threshold for endocrine investigations as hormone therapy may be indicated. Our study reports an inherited case with PUF60-related developmental disorder which has important genetic counseling implications for families.Published version, accepted version (12 month embargo)The article is available via Open Access. Click on the 'Additional link' above to access the full-text

Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) Ameliorates Diabetic Nephropathy in Rats

The protective action against oxidative stress of red cabbage (Brassica oleracea) extract was investigated. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats using streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight). Throughout the experimental period (60 days), diabetic rats exhibited many symptoms including loss of body weight, hyperglycemia, polyuria, polydipsia, renal enlargement and renal dysfunction. Significant increase in malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation marker, was observed in diabetic kidney. This was accompanied by a significant increase in reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity and a decrease in catalase activity and in the total antioxidant capacity of the kidneys. Daily oral ingestion (1 g/kg body weight) of B. oleracea extract for 60 days reversed the adverse effect of diabetes in rats. B. oleracea extract lowered blood glucose levels and restored renal function and body weight loss. In addition, B. oleracea extract attenuated the adverse effect of diabetes on malondialdehyde, glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity as well as catalase activity and total antioxidant capacity of diabetic kidneys. In conclusion, the antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties of B. oleracea extract may offer a potential therapeutic source for the treatment of diabetes