Reconfigurable Diodes Based on Vertical WSe Transistors with van der Waals Bonded Contacts.

New device concepts can increase the functionality of scaled electronic devices, with reconfigurable diodes allowing the design of more compact logic gates being one of the examples. In recent years, there has been significant interest in creating reconfigurable diodes based on ultrathin transition metal dichalcogenide crystals due to their unique combination of gate-tunable charge carriers, high mobility, and sizeable band gap. Thanks to their large surface areas, these devices are constructed under planar geometry and the device characteristics are controlled by electrostatic gating through rather complex two independent local gates or ionic-liquid gating.

Trace detection and photothermal spectral characterization by a tuneable thermal lens spectrometer with white-light excitation.

In the thermal lens experimental set-up we replaced the commonly employed pump laser by a halogen lamp, combined with an interference filter, providing a tuneable, nearly monochromatic pump source over the range of wavelengths 430-710 nm. Counter-propagating pump and probe beams are used and a 1 mm path-length sample cell together with the interference filter makes an optical cavity, providing amplification of the thermal lens signal, which leads to enhancement of the measurement sensitivity, and enables detection of absorbances on the order of 5 × 10. Amplified thermal lens signal allows us to replace the typical lock-in amplifier and digital oscilloscope with a silicon photodetector, Arduino, and a personal computer, offering the possibility for a compact, robust and portable device, useful for in-field absorption measurements in low concentration or weakly absorbing species.

Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells in Solid Organ Transplantation: Where Do We Stand?

Over the past century, solid organ transplantation has been improved both at a surgical and postoperative level. However, despite the improvement in efficiency, safety, and survival, we are still far from obtaining full acceptance of all kinds of allograft in the absence of concomitant treatments. Today, transplanted patients are treated with immunosuppressive drugs (IS) to minimize immunological response in order to prevent graft rejection.

Thermal diffusivity measurement in thin metallic filaments using the mirage method with multiple probe beams and a digital camera.

Photothermal beam deflection is a well-established technique for measuring thermal diffusivity. In this technique, a pump laser beam generates temperature variations on the surface of the sample to be studied. These variations transfer heat to the surrounding medium, which may be air or any other fluid.

The androgen receptor in bone marrow progenitor cells negatively regulates fat mass.

It is well established that testosterone negatively regulates fat mass in humans and mice; however, the mechanism by which testosterone exerts these effects is poorly understood. We and others have shown that deletion of the androgen receptor (AR) in male mice results in a phenotype that mimics the three key clinical aspects of hypogonadism in human males; increased fat mass and decreased bone and muscle mass. We now show that replacement of the gene specifically in mesenchymal progenitor cells (PCs) residing in the bone marrow of Global-ARKO mice, in the absence of the AR in all other tissues (PC-AR Gene Replacements), completely attenuates their increased fat accumulation.

Absorption Spectra of Ethanol and Water Using a Photothermal Lens Spectrophotometer.

In this work we report on the absorption spectra of ethanol and water in the region 430-700 nm using a homemade halogen lamp-based photothermal lens spectrophotometer with a multipass probe-beam configuration. The spectra also include well resolved, higher absorption overtones. The instrument achieves high sensitivity due to multiple reflections within the optical cavity containing the sample.

Four days of simulated shift work reduces insulin sensitivity in humans.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 4 consecutive simulated night shifts on glucose homeostasis, mitochondrial function and central and peripheral rhythmicities compared with a simulated day shift schedule.

Methods: Seventeen healthy adults (8M:9F) matched for sleep, physical activity and dietary/fat intake participated in this study (night shift work n = 9; day shift work n = 8). Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity before and after 4 nights of shift work were measured by an intravenous glucose tolerance test and a hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp respectively.

Elastic Fibers and Large Artery Mechanics in Animal Models of Development and Disease.

Development of a closed circulatory system requires that large arteries adapt to the mechanical demands of high, pulsatile pressure. Elastin and collagen uniquely address these design criteria in the low and high stress regimes, resulting in a nonlinear mechanical response. Elastin is the core component of elastic fibers, which provide the artery wall with energy storage and recoil.

Thermal effusivity measurement of conventional and organic coffee oils via photopyroelectric technique.

In this work, oil samples extracted from organic and conventional coffee beans were studied. A fatty acids profile analysis was done using gas chromatography and physicochemical analysis of density and acidity index to verify the oil purity. Additionally, Mid-Infrared Fourier Transform Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS) aided by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify differences between the intensities of the absorption bands related to functional groups.

[Clinical problems in medical mycology: Problem number 52].

The case of a 60 year old woman with hemoptysis and a thin-walled cavitary lesion at the upper lobe of the right lung is presented. The woman presented at the Mycology Unit of the Muñiz Hospital in Buenos Aires City 3 months after the beginning of her clinical manifestations. A hyaline micelial fungus with chlamido-arthroconidias was isolated from the bronchoalveolar lavage.

[Clinical problems in medical mycology: Problem number 51].

A 48 year-old immunocompetent woman, who had a nodular lesion in the neck and a dense infiltrate at the lower lobe of the left lung, presented at the Mycology Unit of Muñiz Hospital of Buenos Aires City. The pulmonary infiltrate disappeared spontaneously 3 months later. The histopathological study of the nodular lesion showed capsulated yeasts (mucicarmin and alcian blue positive stains) compatible with Cryptococcus.

Cryptococcosis in an Infectious Diseases Hospital of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Revision of 2041 cases: Diagnosis, clinical features and therapeutics.

Background: Cryptococcosis is still a life-threatening mycosis that continues to be of serious concern in Latin American countries, especially among HIV+positive population. However, there is not any reliable information about the prevalence of this disease in this region.

Aims: The aim of this study is to report data of 2041 patients with cryptococcosis that were attended at the Infectious Diseases Hospital F.

Human osteoblasts grow transitional Si/N apatite in quickly osteointegrated SiN cervical insert.

Unlabelled: Silicon nitride (SiN) ceramics possesses surface chemistry that accelerates bone repair, as previously established by in vitro experiments using both osteosarcoma and mesenchymal cells. The release of silicic acid and nitrogen compounds from the surface SiN enhanced in vitro cellular activity. The results of this study demonstrate for the first time that the osseointegration behavior previously observed is operative with a peculiar chemistry within the human milieu.

Behaviour of biopolymeric substances in the activated sludge of an MBR system working with high hydraulic retention time.

This study was undertaken to analyse the activated sludge of a membrane bioreactor (MBR), the behaviour of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial products (SMP) as well as their biopolymers composition, in the activated sludge of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and their influence on membrane fouling were analysed. For the experiment an experimental fullscale MBR working with real urban wastewater at high hydraulic retention time with a variable sludge-retention time (SRT) was used. The MBR system worked in denitrification/nitrification conformation at a constant flow rate (Q = 0.

Sensory Neurobiology: Wet Fly Fishing.

A neuron responding to moist air and its ionotropic receptor have been identified in Drosophila melanogaster. Moreover, second-order neurons integrate temperature and humidity information before reaching higher brain centres.

Caesarean Birth in Romania: Safe Motherhood Between Ethical, Medical and Statistical Arguments.

The number of caesarean sections increased significantly in Romania. In 2012, caesarean sections accounted for 41.2% of total births, according to a study of the Romanian National School for Public Health.

Palmitoylation of the ciliary GTPase ARL13b is necessary for its stability and its role in cilia formation.

Primary cilia are hairlike extensions of the plasma membrane of most mammalian cells that serve specialized signaling functions. To traffic properly to cilia, multiple cilia proteins rely on palmitoylation, the post-translational attachment of a saturated 16-carbon lipid. However, details regarding the mechanism of how palmitoylation affects cilia protein localization and function are unknown.

Real time monitoring of water level and temperature in storage fuel pools through optical fibre sensors.

We present an innovative architecture of a Rayleigh-based optical fibre sensor for the monitoring of water level and temperature inside storage nuclear fuel pools. This sensor, able to withstand the harsh constraints encountered under accidental conditions such as those pointed-out during the Fukushima-Daiichi event (temperature up to 100 °C and radiation dose level up to ~20 kGy), exploits the Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry technique to remotely monitor a radiation resistant silica-based optical fibre i.e.

In Vitro versus In Vivo Phase Instability of Zirconia-Toughened Alumina Femoral Heads: A Critical Comparative Assessment.

A clear discrepancy between predicted in vitro and actual in vivo surface phase stability of BIOLOX zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) femoral heads has been demonstrated by several independent research groups. Data from retrievals challenge the validity of the standard method currently utilized in evaluating surface stability and raise a series of important questions: (1) Why do in vitro hydrothermal aging treatments conspicuously fail to model actual results from the in vivo environment? (2) What is the preponderant microscopic phenomenon triggering the accelerated transformation in vivo? (3) Ultimately, what revisions of the current in vitro standard are needed in order to obtain consistent predictions of ZTA transformation kinetics in vivo? Reported in this paper is a new in toto method for visualizing the surface stability of femoral heads. It is based on CAD-assisted Raman spectroscopy to quantitatively assess the phase transformation observed in ZTA retrievals.

France's State of the Art Distributed Optical Fibre Sensors Qualified for the Monitoring of the French Underground Repository for High Level and Intermediate Level Long Lived Radioactive Wastes.

This paper presents the state of the art distributed sensing systems, based on optical fibres, developed and qualified for the French Cigéo project, the underground repository for high level and intermediate level long-lived radioactive wastes. Four main parameters, namely strain, temperature, radiation and hydrogen concentration are currently investigated by optical fibre sensors, as well as the tolerances of selected technologies to the unique constraints of the Cigéo's severe environment. Using fluorine-doped silica optical fibre surrounded by a carbon layer and polyimide coating, it is possible to exploit its Raman, Brillouin and Rayleigh scattering signatures to achieve the distributed sensing of the temperature and the strain inside the repository cells of radioactive wastes.

Development of a SiYAlON glaze for improved osteoconductivity of implantable medical devices.

The application of bioactive coatings onto orthopaedic appliances is commonly performed to compensate for the otherwise bioinert nature of medical devices and to improve their osseointegration. Calcium phosphates, hydroxyapatite (HAp), and bioglasses are commercially available for this purpose. Until recently, few other inorganic compounds have been identified with similar biofunctionality.

High sensitivity thermal lens microscopy: Cr-VI trace detection in water.

In this work, a low detection limit for hexavalent chromium in water of parts per trillions (21ng/L) was achieved using a micro-spatial thermal lens spectroscopy setup with coaxial counter-propagating pump and probe laser beams and an integrated passive optical Fabry-Perot resonator, aided with a well-established diphenyl carbazide colorimetric method. Cr-VI concentrations in the range of μg/L, i.e.

Bioactive silicon nitride: A new therapeutic material for osteoarthropathy.

While the reciprocity between bioceramics and living cells is complex, it is principally governed by the implant's surface chemistry. Consequently, a deeper understanding of the chemical interactions of bioceramics with living tissue could ultimately lead to new therapeutic strategies. However, the physical and chemical principles that govern these interactions remain unclear.