Atomic Layer Deposition of Ternary Indium/Tin/Aluminum Oxide Thin Films, their characterization and Transistor Performance under Illumination.

Multilayered heterostructures comprising of In 2 O 3, SnO 2, and Al 2 O 3 were studied for their application in thin-film transistors (TFT). The compositional influence of tin oxide on the properties of the thin-film, as well as on the TFT characteristics is investigated. The heterostructures are fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 200°C, employing trimethylindium (TMI), tetrakis(dimethylamino)tin (TDMASn), trimethylaluminum (TMA), and water as precursors. After post-deposition annealing at 400°C the thin-films are found to be amorphous, however, they show a discrete layer structure of the individual oxides of uniform film thickness and high optical transparency in the visible region. Incorporation of only two monolayers of Al 2 O 3 in the active semiconducting layer the formation of oxygen vacancies can be effectively suppressed, resulting in an improved semiconducting and switching behavior. The heterostacks comprising of In 2 O 3 /SnO 2 /Al 2 O 3 are incorporated into TFT devices, exhibiting a saturation field-effect mobility (µ sat ) of 2.0 cm 2 ·V -1 s -1, a threshold-voltage (V th ) of 8.6 V, a high current on/off ratio (I On /I Off ) of 1.0·10 7, and a subthreshold swing (SS) of 485 mV·dec -1. The stability of the TFT under illumination is also altered to a significant extent. A change in the transfer characteristic towards conductive behavior is evident when illuminated with light of an energy of 3.1 eV (400 nm)

Tempered mlo broad-spectrum resistance to barley powdery mildew in an Ethiopian landrace

Recessive mutations in the Mlo gene confer broad spectrum resistance in barley (Hordeum vulgare) to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei), a widespread and damaging disease. However, all alleles discovered to date also display deleterious pleiotropic effects, including the naturally occurring mlo-11 mutant which is widely deployed in Europe. Recessive resistance was discovered in Eth295, an Ethiopian landrace, which was developmentally controlled and quantitative without spontaneous cell wall appositions or extensive necrosis and loss of photosynthetic tissue. This resistance is determined by two copies of the mlo-11 repeat units, that occur upstream to the wild-type Mlo gene, compared to 11-12 in commonly grown cultivars and was designated mlo-11 (cnv2). mlo-11 repeat unit copy number-dependent DNA methylation corresponded with cytological and macroscopic phenotypic differences between copy number variants. Sequence data indicated mlo-11 (cnv2) formed via recombination between progenitor mlo-11 repeat units and the 3' end of an adjacent stowaway MITE containing region. mlo-11 (cnv2) is the only example of a moderated mlo variant discovered to date and may have arisen by natural selection against the deleterious effects of the progenitor mlo-11 repeat unit configuration

Fluctuation-Driven Neural Dynamics Reproduce Drosophila Locomotor Patterns.

The neural mechanisms determining the timing of even simple actions, such as when to walk or rest, are largely mysterious. One intriguing, but untested, hypothesis posits a role for ongoing activity fluctuations in neurons of central action selection circuits that drive animal behavior from moment to moment. To examine how fluctuating activity can contribute to action timing, we paired high-resolution measurements of freely walking Drosophila melanogaster with data-driven neural network modeling and dynamical systems analysis. We generated fluctuation-driven network models whose outputs-locomotor bouts-matched those measured from sensory-deprived Drosophila. From these models, we identified those that could also reproduce a second, unrelated dataset: the complex time-course of odor-evoked walking for genetically diverse Drosophila strains. Dynamical models that best reproduced both Drosophila basal and odor-evoked locomotor patterns exhibited specific characteristics. First, ongoing fluctuations were required. In a stochastic resonance-like manner, these fluctuations allowed neural activity to escape stable equilibria and to exceed a threshold for locomotion. Second, odor-induced shifts of equilibria in these models caused a depression in locomotor frequency following olfactory stimulation. Our models predict that activity fluctuations in action selection circuits cause behavioral output to more closely match sensory drive and may therefore enhance navigation in complex sensory environments. Together these data reveal how simple neural dynamics, when coupled with activity fluctuations, can give rise to complex patterns of animal behavior

Loss of susceptibility as a novel breeding strategy for durable and broad-spectrum resistance

Recent studies on plant immunity have suggested that a pathogen should suppress induced plant defense in order to infect a plant species, which otherwise would have been a nonhost to the pathogen. For this purpose, pathogens exploit effector molecules to interfere with different layers of plant defense responses. In this review, we summarize the latest findings on plant factors that are activated by pathogen effectors to suppress plant immunity. By looking from a different point of view into host and nonhost resistance, we propose a novel breeding strategy: disabling plant disease susceptibility genes (S-genes) to achieve durable and broad-spectrum resistance

Individuelle und strukturelle Faktoren der Mitgliederbindung im Sportverein

This article analyses the conditions influencing the commitment of members of sports clubs. It focuses not only on individual characteristics of members, but also on the corresponding structural conditions of sports clubs related to the individual decision to quit or continue their membership. The influences of both the individual and context levels on the commitment of members are estimated in different multi-level models. Results of these multi-level analyses indicate that commitment of members is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as strong commitment to the club, positively perceived communication and cooperation, satisfaction with sports clubsʼ offers, or voluntary engagement. It is also influenced by club-specific structural conditions: commitment is more probable in rural sports clubs, and clubs who explicitly support sociability, whereas success-oriented sporting goals in clubs have a destabilizing effect.In diesem Beitrag werden Bedingungen analysiert, die die Mitgliederbindung in Sportvereinen beeinflussen. Neben individuellen Merkmalen interessieren dabei auch die Strukturbedingungen der Sportvereine, die im Zusammenhang mit der individuellen Wahlhandlung zwischen stabiler Mitgliedschaft oder Austritt stehen. Der Einfluss der Individual- und Kontextebene auf die Mitgliederbindung in Sportvereinen wird anhand unterschiedlicher Mehrebenenmodelle geschätzt. Die Analysen machen deutlich, dass sich die dauerhafte Mitgliedschaft in Sportvereinen nicht allein auf individuelle Merkmale der Mitgliedschaft, wie eine ausgeprägte Verbundenheit, ein positiv wahrgenommenes soziales Miteinander, die Zufriedenheit mit der Vereinsarbeit sowie die ehrenamtliche Mitarbeit zurückführen lässt. Darüber hinaus nehmen vereinsspezifische Strukturbedingungen Einfluss auf die Mitgliederbindung, wobei in ländlich geprägten Sportvereinen und in Vereinen, die Geselligkeit explizit fördern und in denen das Vereinsziel sportlicher Erfolg eher eine untergeordnete Rolle spielt, die Austrittswahrscheinlichkeit geringer ist

Intracellular recordings from nonspiking interneurons in a semiintact, tethered walking insect

Schmitz J, Büschges A, Kittmann R. Intracellular recordings from nonspiking interneurons in a semiintact, tethered walking insect. J.Neurobiol. 1991;22(9):907-921.Nonspiking interneurons were investigated in a tethered, walking insect, Carausius morosus, that was able to freely perform walking movements. Experiments were carried out with animals walking on a lightweight, double-wheel treadmill. Although the animal was opened dorsally, the walking system was left intact. Intracellular recordings were obtained from the dorsal posterior neuropil of the mesothoracic ganglion. Nonspiking interneurons, in which modulations of the membrane potential were correlated with the walking rhythm, were described physiologically and stained with Lucifer Yellow. Interneurons are demonstrated in which membrane potential oscillations mirror the leg position or show correlation with the motoneuronal activity of the protractor and retractor coxae muscles during walking. Other interneurons showed distinct hyperpolarizations at certain important trigger points in the step cycle, for example, at the extreme posterior position. Through electrical stimulation of single, nonspiking interneurons during walking, the motoneuronal activity in two antagonistic muscles-protractor and retractor coxae-could be reversed and even the movement of the ipsilateral leg could be influenced. The nonspiking interneurons described appear to be important premotor elements involved in walking. They receive, integrate, and process information from different leg proprioceptors and drive groups of leg motoneurons during walking

Identified nonspiking interneurons in leg reflexes and during walking in the stick insect

Büschges A, Kittmann R, Schmitz J. Identified nonspiking interneurons in leg reflexes and during walking in the stick insect. Journal of Comparative Physiology, A - Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology. 1994;174(6):685-700.In the stick insect Carausius morosus identified nonspiking interneurons (type E4) were investigated in the mesothoracic ganglion during intra- and intersegmental reflexes and during searching and walking. In the standing and in the actively moving animal interneurons of type E4 drive the excitatory extensor tibiae motoneurons, up to four excitatory protractor coxae motoneurons, and the common inhibitor 1 motoneuron (Figs. 1-4). In the standing animal a depolarization of this type of interneuron is induced by tactile stimuli to the tarsi of the ipsilateral front, middle and hind legs (Fig. 5). This response precedes and accompanies the observed activation of the affected middle leg motoneurons. The same is true when compensatory leg placement reflexes are elicited by tactile stimuli given to the tarsi of the legs (Fig. 6). During forward walking the membrane potential of interneurons of type E4 is strongly modulated in the step-cycle (Figs. 8-10). The peak depolarization occurs at the transition from stance to swing. The oscillations in membrane potential are correlated with the activity profile of the extensor motoneurons and the common inhibitor 1 (Fig. 9). The described properties of interneuron type E4 in the actively behaving animal show that these interneurons are involved in the organization and coordination of the motor output of the proximal leg joints during reflex movements and during walking

Rhythmic patterns in the thoracic nerve cord of the stick insect induced by pilocarpine

Büschges A, Schmitz J, Bässler U. Rhythmic patterns in the thoracic nerve cord of the stick insect induced by pilocarpine. Journal of Experimental Biology. 1995;198(2):435-456.Bath application of the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine onto the deafferented stick insect thoracic nerve cord induced long-lasting rhythmic activity in leg motoneurones. Rhythmicity was induced at concentrations as low as 1 times 10-4 mol l-1 pilocarpine. The most stable rhythms were reliably elicited at concentrations from 2 times 10-3 mol l-1 to 5 times 101-3 mol l-1. Rhythmicity could be completely abolished by application of atropine. The rhythm in antagonistic motoneurone pools of the three proximal leg joints, the subcoxal, the coxo-trochanteral (CT) and the femoro-tibial (FT), was strictly alternating. In the subcoxal motoneurones, the rhythm was characterised by the retractor burst duration being correlated with cycle period, whereas the protractor burst duration was almost independent of it. The cycle periods of the rhythms in the subcoxal and CT motoneurone pools were in a similar range for a given preparation. In contrast, the rhythm exhibited by motoneurones supplying the FT joint often had about half the duration. The pilocarpine-induced rhythm was generated independently in each hemiganglion. There was no strict intersegmental coupling, although the protractor motoneurone pools of the three thoracic ganglia tended to be active in phase. There was no stereotyped cycle-to-cycle coupling in the activities of the motoneurone pools of the subcoxal joint, the CT joint and the FT joint in an isolated mesothoracic ganglion. However, three distinct 'spontaneous, recurrent patterns' (SRPs) of motoneuronal activity were reliably generated. Within each pattern, there was strong coupling of the activity of the motoneurone pools. The SRPs resembled the motor output during step-phase transitions in walking: for example, the most often generated SRP (SRP1) was exclusively exhibited coincident with a burst of the fast depressor trochanteris motoneurone. During this burst, there was a switch from subcoxal protractor to retractor activity after a constant latency. The activity of the FT joint extensor motoneurones was strongly decreased during SRP1. SRP1 thus qualitatively resembled the motoneuronal activity during the transition from swing to stance of the middle legs in forward walking. Hence, we refer to SRPs as 'fictive step-phase transitions'. In intact, restrained animals, application of pilocarpine also induced alternating activity in antagonistic motoneurone pools supplying the proximal leg joints. However, there were marked differences from the deafferented preparation. For example, SRP1 was not generated in the latter situation. However, if the ipsilateral main leg nerve was cut, SRP1s reliably occurred. Our results on the rhythmicity in leg motoneurone pools of deafferented preparations demonstrate central coupling in the activity of the leg motoneurones that might be incorporated into the generation of locomotion in vivo

An improved electrode design for en passant recording from small nerves

Schmitz J, Büschges A, Delcomyn F. An improved electrode design for en passant recording from small nerves. Comp.Biochem.Physiol. A. 1988;91(4):769-772