Annealing study of A1/GaSb contact with the use of doppler broadening technique

Using a monoenergetic positron beam, annealing study of the Al/n-GaSb system was performed by monitoring the Doppler broadening of the annihilation radiation as a function of the positron implanting energy. The S-parameter against positron energy data was successfully fitted by a three-layer model (Al/interface/GaSb). The annealing out of the open volume defects in the polycrystalline Al layer was revealed by the decrease in the S-parameter and the increase in the effective diffusion length of the Al layer. For the as-deposited samples, a∼5 nm interfacial region with S-parameter larger than those of the Al overlayer and the bulk was identified. After the 400^ºC annealing, this interfacial region extends to over 40 nm and its S-parameter dramatically drops. This is possibly due to the new phase formation at the interface. Annealing behaviors of SB and L+,B of the GaSb bulk showed the annealing out of positron traps (possibly the VGa-related defect) at 250ºC. However, a further annealing at 400ºC induces the formation of positron traps, which are possibly of another kind of VGa-related defect and the positron shallow trap GaSb antisite.published_or_final_versionProceedings of the 35th Polish Seminar on Positron Annihilation (PSPA), Turawa, Poland, 20-24 September 2004. In Acta Physica Polonica Series A: General Physics, Physics of Condensed Matter, Optics and Quantum Electronics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Applied Physics, 2005, v. 107 n. 5, p. 874-87

Zigzag-shaped nickel nanowires via organometallic template-free route

In this manuscript, the formation of nickel nanowires (average size: several tens to hundreds of μm long and 1.0-1.5 μm wide) at low temperature is found to be driven by dewetting of liquid organometallic precursors during spin coating process and by self-assembly of Ni clusters. Elaboration of metallic thin films by low temperature deposition technique makes the preparation process compatible with most of the substrates. The use of iron and cobalt precursor shows that the process could be extended to other metallic systems. In this work, AFM and SEM are used to follow the assembly of Ni clusters into straight or zigzag lines. The formation of zigzag structure is specific to the Ni precursor at appropriate preparation parameters. This template free process allows a control of anisotropic structures with homogeneous sizes and angles on standard Si/SiO2 surface

Expandable and Rapidly Differentiating Human Induced Neural Stem Cell Lines for Multiple Tissue Engineering Applications

Limited availability of human neurons poses a significant barrier to progress in biological and preclinical studies of the human nervous system. Current stem cell-based approaches of neuron generation are still hindered by prolonged culture requirements, protocol complexity, and variability in neuronal differentiation. Here we establish stable human induced neural stem cell (hiNSC) lines through the direct reprogramming of neonatal fibroblasts and adult adipose-derived stem cells. These hiNSCs can be passaged indefinitely and cryopreserved as colonies. Independently of media composition, hiNSCs robustly differentiate into TUJ1-positive neurons within 4 days, making them ideal for innervated co-cultures. In vivo, hiNSCs migrate, engraft, and contribute to both central and peripheral nervous systems. Lastly, we demonstrate utility of hiNSCs in a 3D human brain model. This method provides a valuable interdisciplinary tool that could be used to develop drug screening applications as well as patient-specific disease models related to disorders of innervation and the brain

The FPR2-induced rise in cytosolic calcium in human neutrophils relies on an emptying of intracellular calcium stores and is inhibited by a gelsolin-derived PIP2-binding peptide

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The molecular basis for neutrophil recognition of chemotactic peptides is their binding to specific G-protein-coupled cell surface receptors (GPCRs). Human neutrophils express two pattern recognition GPCRs, FPR1 and FPR2, which belong to the family of formyl peptide receptors. The high degree of homology between these two receptors suggests that they share many functional and signal transduction properties, although they exhibit some differences with respect to signaling. The aims of this study were to determine whether FPR2 triggers a unique signal that allows direct influx of extracellular calcium without the emptying of intracellular calcium stores, and whether the gelsolin-derived PIP₂-binding peptide, PBP10, selectively inhibits FPR2-mediated transient rise in intracellular Ca²⁺.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The transient rise in intracellular Ca²⁺induced by agonists for FPR1 or FPR2 in human neutrophils occurred also in the presence of a chelator of Ca²⁺(EGTA). PBP10 inhibited not only FPR2-induced oxidase activity, but also the transient rise in intracellular Ca²⁺.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ca²⁺signaling mediated <it>via </it>FPR2 follows the same route as FPR1, which involves initial emptying of the intracellular stores. PBP10 inhibits selectively the signals generated by FPR2, both with respect to NADPH-oxidase activity and the transient rise in intracellular Ca²⁺induced by agonist exposure.</p

Graphene Bilayer Structures with Superfluid Magnetoexcitons

We study superfluid behavior of a gas of spatially indirect magnetoexcitons with reference to a system of two graphene layers embedded in a multilayer dielectric structure. The system is considered as an alternative of a double quantum well in a GaAs haterostructure. We determine a range of parameters (interlayer distance, dielectric constant, magnetic field and gate voltage) where magnetoexciton superfluidity can be achieved. Temperature of superfluid transition is computed. A reduction of critical parameters caused by impurities is evaluated and critical impurity concentration is determined

Profile storage of organic/inorganic carbon in soil: From forest to desert

Understanding the distribution of organic/inorganic carbon storage in soil profile is crucial for assessing regional, continental and global soil C stores and predicting the consequences of global change. However, little is known about the organic/inorganic carbon storages in deep soil layers at various landscapes. This study was conducted to determine the soil organic/inorganic carbon storage in soil profile of 0-3 m at 5 sites of natural landscape from forest to desert. Landscapes are temperate forest, temperate grassland, temperate shrub-grassland, temperate shrub desert, and temperate desert. Root mass density and carbon contents at the profile were determined for each site. The results showed that considerable decrease in root biomass and soil organic carbon content at the soil profile of 0-3 m when landscape varied from forest to desert along a precipitation gradient, while soil inorganic carbon content increased significantly along the precipitation gradient. Namely, for density of soil organic carbon: forest &gt; grassland &gt; shrub-grassland &gt; shrub desert &gt; desert; for density of soil inorganic carbon: forest, grassland &lt; shrub-grassland &lt; shrub desert &lt; desert (P&lt;0.05 in all cases). In landscapes other than forest, more than 50% soil carbon storage was found in 1-3 m depth. For grassland and shrub-grassland, the contribution from 1-3 m was mainly in the form of organic carbon, while for shrub desert and desert the contribution from this depth was mainly in the form of inorganic carbon. The comparison of soil C storage between top 0-1 m and 1-3 m showed that the using top 1 m of soil profile to estimate soil carbon storages would considerably underestimate soil carbon storage. This is especially true for organic soil carbon at grassland region, and for soil inorganic carbon at desert region. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Theory of disk accretion onto supermassive black holes

Accretion onto supermassive black holes produces both the dramatic phenomena associated with active galactic nuclei and the underwhelming displays seen in the Galactic Center and most other nearby galaxies. I review selected aspects of the current theoretical understanding of black hole accretion, emphasizing the role of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and gravitational instabilities in driving the actual accretion and the importance of the efficacy of cooling in determining the structure and observational appearance of the accretion flow. Ongoing investigations into the dynamics of the plunging region, the origin of variability in the accretion process, and the evolution of warped, twisted, or eccentric disks are summarized.Comment: Mostly introductory review, to appear in "Supermassive black holes in the distant Universe", ed. A.J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publishers, in pres

Species-level functional profiling of metagenomes and metatranscriptomes.

Functional profiles of microbial communities are typically generated using comprehensive metagenomic or metatranscriptomic sequence read searches, which are time-consuming, prone to spurious mapping, and often limited to community-level quantification. We developed HUMAnN2, a tiered search strategy that enables fast, accurate, and species-resolved functional profiling of host-associated and environmental communities. HUMAnN2 identifies a community's known species, aligns reads to their pangenomes, performs translated search on unclassified reads, and finally quantifies gene families and pathways. Relative to pure translated search, HUMAnN2 is faster and produces more accurate gene family profiles. We applied HUMAnN2 to study clinal variation in marine metabolism, ecological contribution patterns among human microbiome pathways, variation in species' genomic versus transcriptional contributions, and strain profiling. Further, we introduce 'contributional diversity' to explain patterns of ecological assembly across different microbial community types

Multi-parallel qPCR provides increased sensitivity and diagnostic breadth for gastrointestinal parasites of humans: field-based inferences on the impact of mass deworming

BACKGROUND: Although chronic morbidity in humans from soil transmitted helminth (STH) infections can be reduced by anthelmintic treatment, inconsistent diagnostic tools make it difficult to reliably measure the impact of deworming programs and often miss light helminth infections. METHODS: Cryopreserved stool samples from 796 people (aged 2-81 years) in four villages in Bungoma County, western Kenya, were assessed using multi-parallel qPCR for 8 parasites and compared to point-of-contact assessments of the same stools by the 2-stool 2-slide Kato-Katz (KK) method. All subjects were treated with albendazole and all Ascaris lumbricoides expelled post-treatment were collected. Three months later, samples from 633 of these people were re-assessed by both qPCR and KK, re-treated with albendazole and the expelled worms collected. RESULTS: Baseline prevalence by qPCR (n = 796) was 17 % for A. lumbricoides, 18 % for Necator americanus, 41 % for Giardia lamblia and 15% for Entamoeba histolytica. The prevalence was <1% for Trichuris trichiura, Ancylostoma duodenale, Strongyloides stercoralis and Cryptosporidium parvum. The sensitivity of qPCR was 98% for A. lumbricoides and N. americanus, whereas KK sensitivity was 70% and 32%, respectively. Furthermore, qPCR detected infections with T. trichiura and S. stercoralis that were missed by KK, and infections with G. lamblia and E. histolytica that cannot be detected by KK. Infection intensities measured by qPCR and by KK were correlated for A. lumbricoides (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and N. americanus (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001). The number of A. lumbricoides worms expelled was correlated (p < 0.0001) with both the KK (r = 0.63) and qPCR intensity measurements (r = 0.60). CONCLUSIONS: KK may be an inadequate tool for stool-based surveillance in areas where hookworm or Strongyloides are common or where intensity of helminth infection is low after repeated rounds of chemotherapy. Because deworming programs need to distinguish between populations where parasitic infection is controlled and those where further treatment is required, multi-parallel qPCR (or similar high throughput molecular diagnostics) may provide new and important diagnostic information

Formyl Peptide Receptor as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Anxiety-Related Disorders

Formyl peptide receptors (FPR) belong to a family of sensors of the immune system that detect microbe-associated molecules and inform various cellular and sensorial mechanisms to the presence of pathogens in the host. Here we demonstrate that Fpr2/3-deficient mice show a distinct profile of behaviour characterised by reduced anxiety in the marble burying and light-dark box paradigms, increased exploratory behaviour in an open-field, together with superior performance on a novel object recognition test. Pharmacological blockade with a formyl peptide receptor antagonist, Boc2, in wild type mice reproduced most of the behavioural changes observed in the Fpr2/3(-/-) mice, including a significant improvement in novel object discrimination and reduced anxiety in a light/dark shuttle test. These effects were associated with reduced FPR signalling in the gut as shown by the significant reduction in the levels of p-p38. Collectively, these findings suggest that homeostatic FPR signalling exerts a modulatory effect on anxiety-like behaviours. These findings thus suggest that therapies targeting FPRs may be a novel approach to ameliorate behavioural abnormalities present in neuropsychiatric disorders at the cognitive-emotional interface