Decay Kinetics of GdAlGaO:Ce Luminescence under Dense Laser Irradiation.

The decay kinetics of GdAlGaO:Ce single crystal luminescence were studied under dense laser excitation. It was shown that the decay times as well as the intensity of Ce luminescence depend on the excitation density. The observed effects were ascribed to the interaction between excitons as well as to the features of energy transfer from the excitons to Ce.

Aurore: A platform for ultrafast sciences.

We present the Aurore platform for ultrafast sciences. This platform is based on a unique 20 W, 1 kHz, 26 fs Ti:sapphire laser system designed for reliable operation and high intensity temporal contrast. The specific design ensures the high stability in terms of pulse duration, energy, and beam pointing necessary for extended experimental campaigns.

Light yield sensitization by X-ray irradiation of the BaAl4O7:Eu(2+)ceramic scintillator obtained by full crystallization of glass.

We report the scintillation properties of BaAl4O7:Eu(2+), a transparent polycrystalline ceramic prepared by full and congruent crystallization of glass. We show that a small deviation from the stoichiometric composition as well as thermal treatment duration play a crucial role in the formation of charge carrier traps, leading to a strong influence on the scintillation yield. We demonstrate that when the traps are not entirely removed, X-ray irradiation allows them to be permanently filled in order to significantly enhance the scintillation output.

Weight bias in 2001 versus 2013: contradictory attitudes among obesity researchers and health professionals.

Objectives: To assess levels of two types of anti-fat bias in obesity specialists, explicit bias, or consciously accessible anti-fat attitudes, and implicit bias, or attitudes that are activated outside of conscious awareness, were examined. This study also assessed changes over time by comparing levels of bias in 2013 to published data from 2001.

Methods: In 232 attendees at the ObesityWeek 2013 conference, we measured explicit anti-fat bias and conducted the Implicit Association Test.

Interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with KDP and DKDP crystals in the short wavelength regime.

We investigate the electronic photo-excitation and relaxation mechanisms involved in the optical breakdown of potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal (KH2PO4) and its deuterated form. The dynamics and spectroscopic properties of electron-hole pair formation are investigated using time-resolved measurement of the dielectric function, and luminescence spectroscopy. The non-common mechanical and electronic characteristics of these dielectric materials are revealed by the particular structure of ablation craters and also by the complex dynamics observed in the relaxation of excited carriers.

The Perseus Exobiology mission on MIR: behaviour of amino acids and peptides in Earth orbit.

Leucine, alpha-methyl leucine and two peptides were exposed to space conditions on board the MIR station during the Perseus-Exobiology mission. This long duration space mission was aimed at testing the delivery of prebiotic building blocks. During this mission, two amino acids (leucine and alpha-methyl leucine) and two peptides (leucine-diketopiperazine and trileucine thioethylester) were exposed in Earth orbit for three months.

New developments in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD): accessibility in support of materials research and design.

The materials community in both science and industry use crystallographic data models on a daily basis to visualize, explain and predict the behavior of chemicals and materials. Access to reliable information on the structure of crystalline materials helps researchers concentrate experimental work in directions that optimize the discovery process. The Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is a comprehensive collection of more than 60,000 crystal structure entries for inorganic materials and is produced cooperatively by Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe (FIZ), Germany, and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Application of Herbivore Optimization Theory to Rangelands of the Western United States.

Ecological research can be misinterpreted by the popular press and misapplied in land management. One example of this concerns the controversial concepts of overcompensation by grazed plants and herbivore optimization of plant productivity (or, as popularly phrased, the idea that plants benefit from being grazed). Although available evidence indicates that whole-plant overcompensation and optimization of productivity rarely occur and may have little or no evolutionary or applied significance, these concepts have been accepted by some popular writers and land managers, and are being used to justify heavy livestock grazing on western North American rangelands.