The Hydration of Vanadyl Doped into Magnesium Acetate: Single Crystal Proton ENDOR at 20 K

The single crystal ESR and proton ENDOR of VO²⁺ doped into magnesium acetate tetrahydrate have been studied at 20 K. The VO²⁺ ion occupies Mg²⁺ sites, replacing Mg²⁺ together with one water molecule. Hyperfine tensors for the six protons in the three coordinating water molecules have been determined and their dipolar components used to construct a model of the proton geometry. The relation of the structure to that of {VO(H₂O)₅}²⁺ in a Tutton salt and in frozen aqueous solutions of vanadyl sulphate is discussed.     

Comparison of the BAX System with a multiplex PCR method for simultaneous detection and identification of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in environmental samples

The Campylobacter detection is performed by conventional culture methods and the identification of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli is principally based on the hippurate hydrolysis test. The two major drawbacks of this biochemical test for species identification include the inconsistency of the results and the presence of atypical strains, which can lead to the misidentification of an isolate. As an alternative, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) protocols for the simultaneous detection and identification of different Campylobacter species have been developed. This study examined the performances of an experimental BAX System assay for the C. jejuni and C. coli identification in comparison to a multiplex PCR protocol recently published. The samples tested were represented by 106 environmental swabs collected on Teflon strips and tables, stainless steel saws, hooks and trays, ceramic floors and walls, as well as equipment surfaces, located in a swine (N=50) and a poultry (N=56) slaughterhouse. The highest Campylobacter detection rate was obtained after 48 h of enrichment by using both the PCR procedures. After 24 h, the BAX System provides a more rapid and accurate Campylobacter detection and identification assay than the multiplex PCR. Except for two samples, all the broths where Campylobacter cells were detected after 24 or 48 h of enrichment, with at least one of the PCR protocols, gave Campylobacter colonies using the culture method.     

Somatic cell nuclear transfer in horses: effect of oocyte morphology, embryo reconstruction method and donor cell type

The objective of the present work was to investigate and clarify the factors affecting the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) in the horse, including embryo reconstruction, in vitro culture to the blastocyst stage, embryo transfer, pregnancy monitoring and production of offspring. Matured oocytes, with zona pellucida or after zona removal, were fused to cumulus cells, granulosa cells, and fetal and adult fibroblasts, and fused couplets were cultured in vitro. Blastocyst development to Day 8 varied significantly among donor cells (from 1.3% to 16%, P < 0.05). In total, 137 nuclear transfer-embryos were transferred nonsurgically to 58 recipient mares. Pregnancy rate after transfer of NT-embryos derived from adult fibroblasts from three donor animals was 24.3% (9/37 mares transferred corresponding to 9/101 blastocysts transferred), while only 1/18 (5.6%) of NT-blastocysts derived from one fetal cell line gave rise to a pregnancy (corresponding to 1/33 blastocysts transferred). Overall, seven pregnancies were confirmed at 35 days, and two went to term delivering two live foals. One foal died 40 h after birth of acute septicemia while the other foal was healthy and is currently 2 months old. These results indicate that (a) the zona-free method allows high fusion rate and optimal use of equine oocytes, (b) different donor cell cultures have different abilities to support blastocyst development, (c) blastocyst formation rate does not correlate with pregnancy fate and (d) healthy offspring can be obtained by somatic cell nuclear transfer in the horse.     

Studies on clinker calcium silicates bearing CaF2 and CaSO4

The system CaOC₂SCaSO₄CaF₂ was studied at temperatures of 1000°C and 1150°C. The solid state equilibrium relations were determined only partially since liquid phase was present in many samples at the aforesaid temperatures. The system contains only a quaternary compound: the flour-ellestadite 3C₂S.3CaSO₄.CaF₂. The tests carried out lead the authors to think that the two silico-fluorides 2C₂S.CaF₂ and 3C₃S.CaF₂ can form only in the cement raw meals with Fwt%/SO₃wt% ratio > 0.158. Therefore the intermediate compounds which can generally interest the firing process of clinker are the fluor-ellestadite and the calcium silico-sulphate (2C₂S.CaSO₄). Analytical determinations carried out also by microprobe showed that the composition of “3C₃S.CaF₂” better corresponds to the formula 19CaO.7SiO₂.2CaF₂.     

Hydration kinetics of tricalcium silicate solid solutions at early ages

The hydration kinetics, during the first 24 hours of reaction, of synthetic alites bearing Al, Fe, Mg has been followed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In respect to the pure tricalcium silicate, lower hydration degrees, in particular for the Al - and Fe-alites, were found.The SEM morphological features of the newly-formed products allowed the course of hydration for each sample to be followed and confirmed the sequence of reactivity pointed out by kinetic curves.     

Iterative channel estimation and decoding of pilot symbol assistedturbo codes over flat-fading channels

A method for coherently detecting and decoding turbo-coded binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signals transmitted over frequency-flat fading channels is discussed. Estimates of the complex channel gain and variance of the additive noise are derived first from known pilot symbols and an estimation filter. After each iteration of turbo decoding, the channel estimates are refined using information fed back from the decoder. Both hard-decision and soft-decision feedback are considered and compared with three baseline turbo-coded systems: (1) a BPSK system that has perfect channel estimates; (2) a system that uses differential phase shift keying and hence needs no estimates; and (3) a system that performs channel estimation using pilot symbols but has no feedback path from decoder to estimator. Performance can be further improved by borrowing channel estimates from the previously decoded frame. Simulation results show the influence of pilot symbol spacing, estimation filter size and type, and fade rate. Performance within 0.49 and 1.16 dB of turbo-coded BPSK with perfect coherent detection is observed at a bit-error rate of 10^-4 for normalized fade rates of f_dT_s=0.005 and f_dT_s=0.02, respectively     

A non-parametric segmentation methodology for oral videocapillaroscopic images

We aim to describe a new non-parametric methodology to support the clinician during the diagnostic process of oral videocapillaroscopy to evaluate peripheral microcirculation. Our methodology, mainly based on wavelet analysis and mathematical morphology to preprocess the images, segments them by minimizing the within-class luminosity variance of both capillaries and background. Experiments were carried out on a set of real microphotographs to validate this approach versus handmade segmentations provided by physicians. By using a leave-one-patient-out approach, we pointed out that our methodology is robust, according to precision–recall criteria (average precision and recall are equal to 0.924 and 0.923, respectively) and it acts as a physician in terms of the Jaccard index (mean and standard deviation equal to 0.858 and 0.064, respectively).     

Tailoring the vapor-liquid-solid growth toward the self-assembly of GaAs nanowire junctions

New insights into understanding and controlling the intriguing phenomena of spontaneous merging (kissing) and the self-assembly of monolithic Y- and T-junctions is demonstrated in the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition growth of GaAs nanowires. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy for determining polar facets was coupled to electrostatic-mechanical modeling and position-controlled synthesis to identify nanowire diameter, length, and pitch, leading to junction formation. When nanowire patterns are designed so that the electrostatic energy resulting from the interaction of polar surfaces exceeds the mechanical energy required to bend the nanowires to the point of contact, their fusion can lead to the self-assembly of monolithic junctions. Understanding and controlling this phenomenon is a great asset for the realization of dense arrays of vertical nanowire devices and opens up new ways toward the large scale integration of nanowire quantum junctions or nanowire intracellular probes.     

Novel Heterogeneous Integration Technology of III–V Layers and InGaAs FinFETs to Silicon

Heterogeneous integration of III–V compound semiconductors to Si substrates is regarded as a necessary step for advancing high‐speed electronics and hybrid optoelectronic systems for data processing and communications, and is extensively being pursued by the semiconductor industry. Here, an innovative fab‐compatible, hybrid integration process of III–V materials to Si, namely InGaAs thin films to insulator‐on‐Si, is reported, and the first III–V FinFET devices on Si are demonstrated. Transfer of crystalline InGaAs layers with high quality to SiO2/Si is accomplished by the formation of a robust interfacial nickel‐silicide (NiSi) bonding interface, marking the first report for using silicides in III–V hybrid integration technology. The performance of optimally fabricated InGaAs FinFETs on insulator on Si is systematically investigated for a broad range of channel lengths and Fin perimeters with excellent switching characteristics. This demonstrates a viable approach to large‐scale hybrid integration of active III‐V devices to mainstream Si CMOS technology, enabling low‐power electronic and fully‐integrated optoelectronic applications.