Shearing Interferometer for Quantifying the Coherence of Hard X-Ray Beams

We report a quantitative measurement of the full transverse coherence function of the 14.4 keV x-ray radiation produced by an undulator at the Swiss Light Source. An x-ray grating interferometer consisting of a beam splitter phase grating and an analyzer amplitude grating has been used to measure the degree of coherence as a function of the beam separation out to 30 m. Importantly, the technique provides a model-free and spatially resolved measurement of the complex coherence function and is not restricted to high resolution detectors and small fields of view. The spatial characterization of the wave front has important applications in discovering localized defects in beam line optics

Developing a Molecular Roadmap of Drug-Food Interactions

Recent research has demonstrated that consumption of food -especially fruits and vegetables- can alter the effects of drugs by interfering either with their pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic processes. Despite the recognition of such drug-food associations as an important element for successful therapeutic interventions, a systematic approach for identifying, predicting and preventing potential interactions between food and marketed or novel drugs is not yet available. The overall objective of this work was to sketch a comprehensive picture of the interference of ∼ 4,000 dietary components present in ∼1800 plant-based foods with the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics processes of medicine, with the purpose of elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved. By employing a systems chemical biology approach that integrates data from the scientific literature and online databases, we gained a global view of the associations between diet and dietary molecules with drug targets, metabolic enzymes, drug transporters and carriers currently deposited in DrugBank. Moreover, we identified disease areas and drug targets that are most prone to the negative effects of drug-food interactions, showcasing a platform for making recommendations in relation to foods that should be avoided under certain medications. Lastly, by investigating the correlation of gene expression signatures of foods and drugs we were able to generate a completely novel drug-diet interactome map.published_or_final_versio

Probe-diverse ptythography

We propose an extension of ptychography where the target sample is scanned separately through several probes with distinct amplitude and phase profiles and a diffraction image is recorded for each probe and each sample translation. The resulting probe-diverse dataset is used to iteratively retrieve high-resolution images of the sample and all probes simultaneously. The method is shown to yield significant improvement in the reconstructed sample image compared to the image obtained using the standard single-probe ptychographic phase-retrieval scheme

Anomalous microwave conductivity coherence peak in c-axis MgB2 thin film

The temperature dependence of the real part of the microwave complex conductivity at 17.9 GHz obtained from surface impedance measurements of two c-axis oriented MgB2 thin films reveals a pronounced maximum at a temperature around 0.6 times the critical temperature. Calculations in the frame of a two-band model based on Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory suggest that this maximum corresponds to an anomalous coherence peak resembling the two-gap nature of MgB2. Our model assumes there is no interband impurity scattering and a weak interband pairing interaction, as suggested by bandstructure calculations. In addition, the observation of a coherence peak indicates that the pi-band is in the dirty limit and dominates the total conductivity of our filmsComment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Orphan G protein-coupled receptors MrgA1 and MrgC11 are distinctively activated by RF-amide-related peptides through the G{alpha}q/11 pathway

MrgA1 and MrgC11 belong to a recently identified family of orphan G-protein coupled receptors, called mrgs (mas-related genes). They are only expressed in a specific subset of sensory neurons that are known to detect painful stimuli. However, the precise physiological function of Mrg receptors and their underlying mechanisms of signal transduction are not known. We therefore have screened a series of neuropeptides against human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells that stably express either MrgA1 or MrgC11 to identify ligands and/or agonists. MrgA1- or MrgC11-specific agonists stimulated dose-dependent increases in intracellular free Ca2+ in a pertussis toxin-insensitive manner, but failed to alter basal or forskolin-stimulated levels of intracellular cAMP. Furthermore, studies using embryonic fibroblasts derived from various G{alpha} protein knockout mice demonstrated that both the MrgA1 and MrgC11 receptors are coupled to the G{alpha}q/11 signaling pathway. Screening of neuropeptides identified surrogate agonists, most of these peptides included a common C-terminal -RF(Y)G or -RF(Y) amide motif. Structure-function studies suggest that endogenous ligands of Mrg receptors are likely to be RF(Y)G and/or RF(Y) amide-related peptides and that postprocessing of these peptides may serve to determine Mrg receptor-ligand specificity. The differences in ligand specificity also suggest functional diversity amongst the Mrg receptors

Analisis Produktivitas Tanaman Padi di Kabupaten Badung Provinsi Bali

The development of agricultural production in Badung Regency is more emphasized on increasing its productivity compared to the enhancement of the land area. Local governments in calculating rice production using the method known as tile. Results tile is very important because it is used as the official statistical data to calculate production, productivity, forecasting, etc.. Handling of production factors in the process of planting, fertilizer use, chemical product, pest management, and lack of knowledge about the tile farmers make rice productivity did not increase significantly. This research aims to assess development of rice plants productivity, to identify and determine factors affecting rice plants productivity in Badung, reviewing, analyzing the magnitude of gap between the estimated production produced by tile to rill production of selected farmers on rice fields.The method used is multiple linear regression and the average test pairs with 550 plots using secondary data and primary data sample tile by 41 respondents. Research results show that variables which have positive relation to the yied tile variable is the amount of clumps of rice, seed, and fertilizer. Whereas, the variable that have negative relation is the presence or absence of pesticides, plant pests attacks. The coefficient of determination the five independent variables in the tile result of rice is by 82.1%, and 17.9% explained by other variables. With the confidence level of 95% the five independent variables in the regression equation simultaneously can be used on explaining the outcome variable of rice tile. All the independent variables include (1) The number of clumps, (2) quantities of seed; (3) amount of fertilizer; (4) amount of pesticides, and (5) whether there is any plant pests attacks have a significant influence on yieldof rice tile. Based on primary data obtained from 41 samples of rice farmers, there is a difference between the estimated production produced by the rice tile to the real farmers results. The average the estimated value of the rice tile results is by 81.66 kg/acres while the real production output is by 69.10 kg/acres. The results of the estimation rice production is higher 18.18% compared to the real production.This estimate gives a higher estimate of the impact on local rice production and farmers income estimates excess of Rp 48,500 per are

Superconducting energy gap distribution in c-axis oriented MgB2_2 thin film from point contact study

We have analyzed about 100 voltage-dependent differential resistance dV/dI(V) curves of metallic point contacts between c-axis oriented MgB$_2$ thin film and Ag, which exhibit clear Andreev reflection features connected with the superconducting gap. About one half of the curves show the presence of a second larger gap. The histogram of the double-gap distribution reveals distinct maxima at 2.4 and 7 meV, while curves with a single-gap features result in more broad maximum at 3.5 meV. The double-gap distribution is in qualitative agreement with the distribution of gap values over the Fermi surface calculated by H. J. Choi et al. (cond-mat/0111183). The data unequivocally show the presence of two gaps $\Delta_{S}=2.45\pm 0.15$ meV and $\Delta_{L}=7.0\pm 0.45$ meV in MgB$_2$ with gap ratio $2.85\pm 0.15$. Our observations prove further a widely discussed multi-gap scenario for MgB$_2$, where two distinct gaps are seen in the clean limit, while a single averaged gap is present in the dirty one.Comment: V1:4 pages incl. 4 figures, RevTex4. V2: version for JETP Letters, 4 pages incl 3 Figs., jetpl.cl

Effect of magnetic order on the superfluid response of single-crystal ErNi2_{2}B2_{2}C: A penetration depth study

We report measurements of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth $\Delta \lambda$(T) in single crystals of ErNi$_{2}$B$_{2}$C down to $\sim$0.1 K using a tunnel-diode based, self-inductive technique at 21 MHz. We observe four features: (1) a slight dip in $\Delta \lambda$(T) at the N$\acute{e}$el temperature $T_{N}$ = 6.0 K, (2) a peak at $T_{WFM}$ = 2.3 K, where a weak ferromagnetic component sets in, (3) another maximum at 0.45 K, and (4) a final broad drop down to 0.1 K. Converting to superfluid density $\rho_{s}$, we see that the antiferromagnetic order at 6 K only slightly depresses superconductivity. We seek to explain some of the above features in the context of antiferromagnetic superconductors, where competition between the antiferromagnetic molecular field and spin fluctuation scattering determines increased or decreased pairbreaking. Superfluid density data show only a slight decrease in pair density in the vicinity of the 2.3 K feature, thus supporting other evidences against bulk ferromagnetism in this temperature range.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

The origin of galaxy scaling laws in LCDM

It has long been recognized that tight relations link the mass, size, and characteristic velocity of galaxies. These scaling laws reflect the way in which baryons populate, cool, and settle at the center of their host dark matter halos; the angular momentum they retain in the assembly process; as well as the radial distribution and mass scalings of the dark matter halos. There has been steady progress in our understanding of these processes in recent years, mainly as sophisticated N-body and hydrodynamical simulation techniques have enabled the numerical realization of galaxy models of ever increasing complexity, realism, and appeal. These simulations have now clarified the origin of these galaxy scaling laws in a universe dominated by cold dark matter: these relations arise from the tight (but highly non-linear) relations between (i) galaxy mass and halo mass, (ii) galaxy size and halo characteristic radius; and (iii) from the self-similar mass nature of cold dark matter halo mass profiles. The excellent agreement between simulated and observed galaxy scaling laws is a resounding success for the LCDM cosmogony on the highly non-linear scales of individual galaxies.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the Simons Conference "Illuminating Dark Matter", held in Kruen, Germany, in May 2018, eds. R. Essig, K. Zurek, J. Fen

Muon-Spin-Rotation Measurements of the Penetration Depth in the Infinite-Layer Electron-Doped Cuprate Superconductor Sr0.9La0.1CuO2

Muon spin rotation (mSR) measurements of the in-plane penetration depth lambda_ab have been performed in the electron-doped infinite layer high-Tc superconductor (HTS) Sr0.9La0.1CuO2. Absence of the magnetic rare-earth ions in this compound allowed to measure for the first time the absolute value of lambda_ab(0) in electron-doped HTS using mSR. We found lambda_ab(0)=116(2) nm. The zero-temperature depolarization rate sigma(0)?1/lambda_ab(0)^2=4.6(1) MHz is more than four times higher than expected from the Uemura line. Therefore this electron-doped HTS does not follow the Uemura relation found for hole-doped HTS.Comment: to be published in Physical Review Letter