Density fluctuations of hard-sphere fluids in narrow confinement

Spatial confinement induces microscopic ordering of fluids, which in turn alters many of their dynamic and thermodynamic properties. However, the isothermal compressibility has hitherto been largely overlooked in the literature, despite its obvious connection to the underlying microscopic structure and density fluctuations in confined geometries. Here, we address this issue by probing density profiles and structure factors of hard- sphere fluids in various narrow slits, using x-ray scattering from colloid-filled nanofluidic containers and integral-equation-based statistical mechanics at the level of pair distributions for inhomogeneous fluids. Most importantly, we demonstrate that density fluctuations and isothermal compressibilities in confined fluids can be obtained experimentally from the long-wavelength limit of the structure factor, providing a formally exact and experimentally accessible connection between microscopic structure and macroscopic, thermodynamic properties. Our approach will thus, for example, allow direct experimental verification of theoretically predicted enhanced density fluctuations in liquids near solvophobic interfaces

Island dynamics and anisotropy during vapor phase epitaxy of m-plane GaN

Using in situ grazing-incidence x-ray scattering, we have measured the diffuse scattering from islands that form during layer-by-layer growth of GaN by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on the (101⎯⎯0)(101¯0)(101¯0) m-plane surface. The diffuse scattering is extended in the (0001)(0001)(0001) in-plane direction in reciprocal space, indicating a strong anisotropy with islands elongated along [12⎯⎯10][12¯10] [12¯10] and closely spaced along [0001][0001][0001]. This is confirmed by atomic force microscopy of a quenched sample. Islands were characterized as a function of growth rate F and temperature. The island spacing along [0001][0001][0001] observed during the growth of the first monolayer obeys a power-law dependence on growth rate F−nF−nF−n, with an exponent n=0.25±0.02n=0.25±0.02n=0.25±0.02. The results are in agreement with recent kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, indicating that elongated islands result from the dominant anisotropy in step edge energy and not from surface diffusion anisotropy. The observed power-law exponent can be explained using a simple steady-state model, which gives n = 1/4

X-ray absorption study of the ferromagnetic Cu moment at the YBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3{\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}/{\mathrm{La}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3} interface and variation of its exchange interaction with the Mn moment

With x-ray absorption spectroscopy and polarized neutron reflectometry we studied how the magnetic proximity effect at the interface between the cuprate high-TC superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and the ferromagnet La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) is related to the electronic and magnetic properties of the LCMO layers. In particular, we explored how the magnitude of the ferromagnetic Cu moment on the YBCO side depends on the strength of the antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange coupling with the Mn moment on the LCMO side. We found that the Cu moment remains sizable if the AF coupling with the Mn moments is strongly reduced or even entirely suppressed. The ferromagnetic order of the Cu moments thus seems to be intrinsic to the interfacial CuO2 planes and related to a weakly ferromagnetic intraplanar exchange interaction. The latter is discussed in terms of the partial occupation of the Cu 3d3z2−r2 orbitals, which occurs in the context of the so-called orbital reconstruction of the interfacial Cu ions

Granular superconductivity and charge/orbital order in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 /manganite trilayers

We studied how the electronic, superconducting, and magnetic properties of YBa2Cu3O7/Nd1−x(Ca1−ySry )xMnO3 multilayers depend on the tolerance factor and the hole doping of the manganite. In particular, we investigated the granular superconducting state and the related magnetic-field-driven insulator-to- superconductor transition that was previously discovered in corresponding multilayers with Pr0.5La0.2Ca0.3MnO3 [B. P. P. Mallett et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 180503(R) (2016)]. We found that this granular uperconducting state occurs only when the manganite layer is in a charge/orbital ordered and CE-type antiferromagnetic state (Mn-CO/OO). The coupling mechanism underlying this intriguing proximity effect seems to involve the domain boundaries of the Mn-CO/OO and/or the charge disordered regions of the manganite layer that become more numerous as the hole doping is reduced below x = 0.5

Conspecific and heterospecific pheromones stimulate dispersal of entomopathogenic nematodes during quiescence

Ascaroside pheromones stimulate dispersal, a key nematode behavior to find a new food source. Ascarosides produced by entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) drive infective juvenile (IJ) emergence from consumed cadavers and dispersal in soil. Without ascarosides from host cadavers, Steinernema feltiae (EPN) reduce dispersal substantially. To determine whether other Steinernema spp. exhibit the same behavior, we compared S. feltiae and S. carpocapsae IJs without host cadaver pheromones. Unlike S. feltiae, S. carpocapsae IJs continued to disperse. However, S. carpocapsae IJs exhibited a temperature-dependent quiescent period. The IJ quiescent period increased at ≤20 °C but did not appear at ≥25 °C. Consistent with this, S. carpocapsae IJ quiescence increased from 30 min to 24 h at ≤20 °C over 60 days. The quiescent period was overcome by dispersal pheromone extracts of their own, other Steinernema spp. and Heterorhabditis spp. Furthermore, S. carpocapsae IJ ambush foraging associated behaviors (tail standing, waving, and jumping) were unaffected by the absence or presence of host cadaver pheromones. For S. feltiae, IJ dispersal declined at all temperatures tested. Understanding the interaction between foraging strategies and pheromone signals will help uncover molecular mechanisms of host seeking, pathogenicity and practical applications to improve the EPN’s efficacy as biocontrol agents.AFRI (2018-67013-28064)Space Florida Israel Innovation Partnerships (018-057)USDA-ARS (58-6042-6-001)USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food Research InitiativeU.S. Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and AgricultureSmall Business Innovation Research (2017-33610-26808

Coupled Cu and Mn charge and orbital orders in YBa₂Cu₃O₇/Nd 0.65 (Ca 1-y Sr y ) 0.35 MnO₃ multilayers

The observation of a charge density wave in the underdoped cuprate high Tc superconductors (Cu-CDW) raised a debate about its relationship with superconductivity. In bulk YBa2Cu3O7−δ the Cu-CDW is incipient and mainly pinned by defects. Nevertheless, a large magnetic field can induce a true long-range Cu- CDW order as it suppresses superconductivity. An enhanced Cu-CDW order was also observed in YBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 multilayers. Here, we show that the magnitude of the Cu-CDW in YBa2Cu3O7−δ / Nd0.65(Ca1-ySry)0.35MnO3 multilayers can be varied by adjusting the strength of the manganite charge and orbital order via the Sr content (tolerance factor). Furthermore, we resolve the reconstruction of the crystal field levels of the interfacial Cu ions that are also affected by the manganite charge and orbital order. This tuneable interfacial coupling and Cu- CDW in YBa2Cu3O7−δ can be used for studying the relationship between the Cu- CDW and superconductivity and, possibly, for inducing new intertwined quantum states

Integrating Genome-Wide Genetic Variations and Monocyte Expression Data Reveals Trans-Regulated Gene Modules in Humans

One major expectation from the transcriptome in humans is to characterize the biological basis of associations identified by genome-wide association studies. So far, few cis expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) have been reliably related to disease susceptibility. Trans-regulating mechanisms may play a more prominent role in disease susceptibility. We analyzed 12,808 genes detected in at least 5% of circulating monocyte samples from a population-based sample of 1,490 European unrelated subjects. We applied a method of extraction of expression patterns—independent component analysis—to identify sets of co-regulated genes. These patterns were then related to 675,350 SNPs to identify major trans-acting regulators. We detected three genomic regions significantly associated with co-regulated gene modules. Association of these loci with multiple expression traits was replicated in Cardiogenics, an independent study in which expression profiles of monocytes were available in 758 subjects. The locus 12q13 (lead SNP rs11171739), previously identified as a type 1 diabetes locus, was associated with a pattern including two cis eQTLs, RPS26 and SUOX, and 5 trans eQTLs, one of which (MADCAM1) is a potential candidate for mediating T1D susceptibility. The locus 12q24 (lead SNP rs653178), which has demonstrated extensive disease pleiotropy, including type 1 diabetes, hypertension, and celiac disease, was associated to a pattern strongly correlating to blood pressure level. The strongest trans eQTL in this pattern was CRIP1, a known marker of cellular proliferation in cancer. The locus 12q15 (lead SNP rs11177644) was associated with a pattern driven by two cis eQTLs, LYZ and YEATS4, and including 34 trans eQTLs, several of them tumor-related genes. This study shows that a method exploiting the structure of co-expressions among genes can help identify genomic regions involved in trans regulation of sets of genes and can provide clues for understanding the mechanisms linking genome-wide association loci to disease

Surface-specific ordering of reverse micelles in confinement

We have applied holographic X-ray diffraction from fluid-filled channel arrays for model-independent density reconstruction of spherical AOT/water/isooctane reverse micelles (average diameter σ***Missing image substitution***12–13 nm) confined between planar surfaces. We find the confinement-induced ordering of the reverse micelles to strongly depend on the surface potential of the confining surfaces: for hydrophilic surfaces we find diffuse monolayers centered at 13 ± 3 nm away from the solid–fluid interface, while for hydrophobic surfaces we observe close-packed monolayers at the solid–fluid interface