723 research outputs found
Microscopy techniques for dye distribution in DSCs nanocrystalline TiO2 filmsÂ
Capture of sunlight has attracted an increasing interest in the scientific community and triggered the development of efficient and cheap photovoltaic devices. Amongst recent generation technologies for solar energy conversion, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) show an optimal trade-off between high-conversion efficiency and low-cost manufacturing. For the last two decades, significant progress has been made and best energy conversion efficiency of the DSC at the laboratory scale has surpassed 12% [1]. A lot of work
has focused on the enlargement of surface areas to enhance the amount of adsorbed dyes by reduction of nanoparticle sizes or utilization of novel structures. Nevertheless there remain some crucial details of DSC operation for which limited information is available, namely dye diffusion and adsorption, surface coverage and dye distribution throughout the nc-TiO2 film. Microprobe techniques can be powerful tools to evaluate the dye load, the dye distribution and dye depth profile in sensitized films. Electron Probe Microanalysis
(EPMA) and Ion Beam Analytical (IBA) techniques using a micro-ion beam, namely micro-Particle Induced X-ray Emission ( PIXE) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), were used to quantify and to study the distribution of the ruthenium organometallic (N719) dye in TiO2 films, profiting from the different penetration depth and beam sizes of each technique. Two different types of films were prepared and sensitized, mesoporous nanoparticles and 1D nanostructured TiO2 films (figure 1). Despite the low concentration of Ru, the high sensitive analytical techniques used allowed to assess the Ru surface distribution and depth profile. Fig. 2 shows the PIXE maps of Ru and Ti indicating an homogeneous surface distribution. The same figure presents the RBS spectra obtained with a 2 MeV proton beam of the same sample showing that a good spectra fit is obtained considering only two sample layers: the first one with a 1.7 ìm thickness; the second one being the SiO2 substrate. The Ru RBS signal also shows that the dye has an homogeneous depth distribution. Due to the fine spatial resolution of the EPMA/WDS (Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy) technique it was possible to visualise the dye distribution in sample cross-section (with micrometer or submicrometer dimensions) as presented in Fig. 3 for the elemental mapping of a mesoporous nanoparticle TiO2 film. Dye load evaluation by two different techniques (ìPIXE and EPMA/WDS) provided similar results (Ru/Ti values around 0.5 %). The distribution analysis of the organometallic dye (N719) was done through ruthenium distribution via X-ray mapping. RBS was used to assess the ruthenium depth profile. This assessment can lead to a better understanding of the device performance
Aspectos fitossanitários em olival na Beira Interior Norte e na Beira Interior Sul
Comunicação oral apresentada no 6.º Encontro Nacional de Protecção Integrada que decorreu em Castelo Branco, na Escola Superior Agrária do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, no âmbito do painel sobre o OlivalPara uma análise dos problemas fitossanitários do olival na Beira Interior foram realizados observações e
estimativas do risco, em 2002, em quatro olivais na Beira Interior Norte e outros quatro na Beira Interior Sul.
Os olivais da Beira Interior Norte ficam localizados nos concelhos de Seia, Pinhel, Guarda e Figueira de
Castelo Rodrigo e os da Beira Interior Sul nos concelhos de Penamacor, Fundão, Proença-a-Nova e Vila Velha
de Ródão. Os inimigos mais importantes e para que foram feitas estimativas do risco foram: gafa, olho de
pavão, mosca-da-azeitona, traça-da-oliveira e cochonilha-negra.
Em todos os olivais foram encontrados todos os inimigos avaliados, mas com pouca expressão para o olho de
pavão nos olivais da cultivar Galega. Os dados da estimativa do risco são apresentados, assim como o número
das intervenções quÃmicas que foram necessárias realizar. São discutidas e comparadas as intervenções
realizadas
Inhibition of Proliferation by PERK Regulates Mammary Acinar Morphogenesis and Tumor Formation
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling can be mediated by the ER kinase PERK, which phosphorylates its substrate eIF2α. This in turn, results in translational repression and the activation of downstream programs that can limit cell growth through cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis. These responses can also be initiated by perturbations in cell adhesion. Thus, we hypothesized that adhesion-dependent regulation of PERK signaling might determine cell fate. We tested this hypothesis in a model of mammary acini development, a morphogenetic process regulated in part by adhesion signaling. Here we report a novel role for PERK in limiting MCF10A mammary epithelial cell proliferation during acinar morphogenesis in 3D Matrigel culture as well as in preventing mammary tumor formation in vivo. We show that loss of adhesion to a suitable substratum induces PERK-dependent phosphorylation of eIF2α and selective upregulation of ATF4 and GADD153. Further, inhibition of endogenous PERK signaling during acinar morphogenesis, using two dominant-negative PERK mutants (PERK-ΔC or PERK-K618A), does not affect apoptosis but results instead in hyper-proliferative and enlarged lumen-filled acini, devoid of proper architecture. This phenotype correlated with an adhesion-dependent increase in translation initiation, Ki67 staining and upregulation of Laminin-5, ErbB1 and ErbB2 expression. More importantly, the MCF10A cells expressing PERKΔC, but not a vector control, were tumorigenic in vivo upon orthotopic implantation in denuded mouse mammary fat pads. Our results reveal that the PERK pathway is responsive to adhesion-regulated signals and that it is essential for proper acinar morphogenesis and in preventing mammary tumor formation. The possibility that deficiencies in PERK signaling could lead to hyperproliferation of the mammary epithelium and increase the likelihood of tumor formation, is of significance to the understanding of breast cancer
Reproduction of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, in western Portugal: microscopic gonad analysis reveals indeterminate fecundity and skipped spawning patterns
Blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, is the fifth most landed fish species in mainland Portugal, but
information on its reproductive biology is scarce. From September 2018 to August 2019, 626 specimens
were collected from commercial vessels to clarify the reproductive strategy of the T. picturatus population
off the west coast of Portugal. The proportion and length range of males and females were similar. Only
three of the specimens collected were categorized as immature, indicating that the fish caught in the
fishery are primarily mature. The spawning season lasted from late January until the end of March, with
gonadosomatic indices being similar for males and females. Fecundity was indeterminate, and estimated
batch fecundity ranged between 6,798 (at 25.4 cm TL) and 302,358 oocytes (at 33.8 cm TL). The low
number of females showing direct evidence of imminent or recent spawning suggests a low number
of spawning events. In addition, 12.7% of females were considered non-reproductive due to ovary
abnormalities including parasitic infection by Kudoa species, atretic structures and skipped spawning
events. This study highlights the importance of accounting for skipped spawning events and ovary
abnormalities in the management of species fisheries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Manganese oxides as biominerals in a granitic subterranean environment
Black coatings were detected on granite surfaces in groundwater catch work tunnels from Porto city (NW Portugal). XRD, FTIR, Micro-Raman, ICP-MS, TEM-EDS, SEM-EDS and SEM-FIB were the analytical procedures carried out to investigate the origin of the black coatings. In this subterranean environment, the enrichment in metals and other trace elements, such as Mn and Fe, and clay minerals characterize the black microbial mats, mainly composed of Mn/Fe-oxidising bacteria.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Late Holocene climatic oscillations traced by clay mineral assemblages and other palaeoceanographic proxies in Ria de Vigo (NW Spain)
This work aims to study recent climatic oscillations and their influence on sedimentation in the Ria de Vigo, a
coastal embayment in Galicia, NW Spain. It is based on the study of clay mineral assemblages, in conjunction with other
proxies (granulometric, geochemical, geochronological and microfaunal), in the core KSGX 24. A Benthic Foraminifera
High Productivity (BFHP) proxy was used to determine changes in the flux of organic matter (OM) at the bottom of
the study area. Total organic carbon (TOC) content is not a suitable proxy to estimate changes in the past supply of OM
due to diagenetic processes.The sedimentation was finest in 3 sections: ~ 230–214 cm, ~ 185–73 cm and ~ 20–0 cm. These muddy sections are
characterised, in general, by higher proportions of detrital minerals, concentrations of several chemical elements related
to lithogenic sources and BFHP values. In addition, these sections are impoverished in carbonates, Ca, Sr and La when
compared with the layers with the highest sand content.The clay mineral assemblage of the studied site, characterised by the dominance of illite, intermediate concentrations
of kaolinite and minor amounts of smectite and chlorite, reveals the prevalence of a typical temperate humid climate in
the last 3 ka BP, the estimated age for the core base. However, the quantities of illite and chlorite increase in the muddy
layers. The characteristics of these muddy layers were interpreted as representing relatively cold climatic oscillations
associated with the strengthening of northerly winds and the prevalence of an upwelling regime corresponding to wellknown
periods, such as the first cold period of the Upper Holocene (~ 2.9 ka cal BP), the Dark Ages (between ~ 2.2 - 1.2
ka cal BP) and the Little Ice Age (~ 0.6 ka cal BP)
C-axis lattice dynamics in Bi-based cuprate superconductors
We present results of a systematic study of the c axis lattice dynamics in
single layer Bi2Sr2CuO6 (Bi2201), bilayer Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) and trilayer
Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi2223) cuprate superconductors. Our study is based on both
experimental data obtained by spectral ellipsometry on single crystals and
theoretical calculations. The calculations are carried out within the framework
of a classical shell model, which includes long-range Coulomb interactions and
short-range interactions of the Buckingham form in a system of polarizable
ions. Using the same set of the shell model parameters for Bi2201, Bi2212 and
Bi2223, we calculate the frequencies of the Brillouin-zone center phonon modes
of A2u symmetry and suggest the phonon mode eigenvector patterns. We achieve
good agreement between the calculated A2u eigenfrequencies and the experimental
values of the c axis TO phonon frequencies which allows us to make a reliable
phonon mode assignment for all three Bi-based cuprate superconductors. We also
present the results of our shell model calculations for the Gamma-point A1g
symmetry modes in Bi2201, Bi2212 and Bi2223 and suggest an assignment that is
based on the published experimental Raman spectra. The
superconductivity-induced phonon anomalies recently observed in the c axis
infrared and resonant Raman scattering spectra in trilayer Bi2223 are
consistently explained with the suggested assignment.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figure
Reliability and validity of MINCIR scale for methodological quality in dental therapy research
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