2012, Sanges, C., Scheuermann, C., Zahedi, R.P., Sickmann, A., Lamberti, A., Migliaccio, N., Baljuls, A., Marra, M., Zappavigna, S., Reinders, J., Rapp, U., Abbruzzese, A., Caraglia, M., Arcari, P.

We identified eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) Raf-mediated phosphorylation sites and defined their role in the regulation of eEF1A half-life and of apoptosis of human cancer cells. Mass spectrometry identified in vitro S21 and T88 as phosphorylation sites mediated by B-Raf but not C-Raf on eEF1A1 whereas S21 was phosphorylated on eEF1A2 by both B- and C-Raf. Interestingly, S21 belongs to the first eEF1A GTP/GDP-binding consensus sequence. Phosphorylation of S21 was strongly enhanced when both eEF1A isoforms were preincubated prior the assay with C-Raf, suggesting that the eEF1A isoforms can heterodimerize thus increasing the accessibility of S21 to the phosphate. Overexpression of eEF1A1 in COS 7 cells confirmed the phosphorylation of T88 also in vivo. Compared with wt, in COS 7 cells overexpressed phosphodeficient (A) and phospho-mimicking (D) mutants of eEF1A1 (S21A/D and T88A/D) and of eEF1A2 (S21A/D), resulted less stable and more rapidly proteasome degraded. Transfection of S21 A/D eEF1A mutants in H1355 cells increased apoptosis in comparison with the wt isoforms. It indicates that the blockage of S21 interferes with or even supports C-Raf induced apoptosis rather than cell survival. Raf-mediated regulation of this site could be a crucial mechanism involved in the functional switching of eEF1A between its role in protein biosynthesis and its participation in other cellular processes.

2015, Melzer, Michael, Kaltenbrunner, Martin, Makarov, Denys, Karnaushenko, Dmitriy, Karnaushenko, Daniil, Sekitani, Tsuyoshi, Someya, Takao, Schmidt, Oliver G.

Future electronic skin aims to mimic nature’s original both in functionality and appearance. Although some of the multifaceted properties of human skin may remain exclusive to the biological system, electronics opens a unique path that leads beyond imitation and could equip us with unfamiliar senses. Here we demonstrate giant magnetoresistive sensor foils with high sensitivity, unmatched flexibility and mechanical endurance. They are <2 μm thick, extremely flexible (bending radii <3 μm), lightweight (≈3 g m−2) and wearable as imperceptible magneto-sensitive skin that enables proximity detection, navigation and touchless control. On elastomeric supports, they can be stretched uniaxially or biaxially, reaching strains of >270% and endure over 1,000 cycles without fatigue. These ultrathin magnetic field sensors readily conform to ubiquitous objects including human skin and offer a new sense for soft robotics, safety and healthcare monitoring, consumer electronics and electronic skin devices.

2016, Ly, Thuc Hue, Perello, David J., Zhao, Jiong, Deng, Qingming, Kim, Hyun, Han, Gang Hee, Chae, Sang Hoon, Jeong, Hye Yun, Lee, Young Hee

Grain boundaries in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides have unique atomic defect structures and band dispersion relations that depend on the inter-domain misorientation angle. Here, we explore misorientation angle-dependent electrical transport at grain boundaries in monolayer MoS2 by correlating the atomic defect structures of measured devices analysed with transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that grain boundaries are primarily composed of 5–7 dislocation cores with periodicity and additional complex defects formed at high angles, obeying the classical low-angle theory for angles <22°. The inter-domain mobility is minimized for angles <9° and increases nonlinearly by two orders of magnitude before saturating at ∼16 cm2 V−1 s−1 around misorientation angle≈20°. This trend is explained via grain-boundary electrostatic barriers estimated from density functional calculations and experimental tunnelling barrier heights, which are ≈0.5 eV at low angles and ≈0.15 eV at high angles (≥20°).

2012, Kozlova, N .V., Mori, N., Makarovsky, O., Eaves, L., Zhuang, Q.D., Krier, A., Patanè, A.

Linear transverse magnetoresistance is commonly observed in many material systems including semimetals, narrow band-gap semiconductors, multi-layer graphene and topological insulators. It can originate in an inhomogeneous conductor from distortions in the current paths induced by macroscopic spatial fluctuations in the carrier mobility and it has been explained using a phenomenological semiclassical random resistor network model. However, the link between the linear magnetoresistance and the microscopic nature of the electron dynamics remains unknown. Here we demonstrate how the linear magnetoresistance arises from the stochastic behaviour of the electronic cycloidal trajectories around low-mobility islands in high-mobility inhomogeneous conductors and that this process is only weakly affected by the applied electric field strength. Also, we establish a quantitative link between the island morphology and the strength of linear magnetoresistance of relevance for future applications.

2014, Huang, Y., Fang, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhu, L., Sun, M.

Due to its amazing ability to manipulate light at the nanoscale, plasmonics has become one of the most interesting topics in the field of light-matter interaction. As a promising application of plasmonics, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been widely used in scientific investigations and material analysis. The large enhanced Raman signals are mainly caused by the extremely enhanced electromagnetic field that results from localized surface plasmon polaritons. Recently, a novel SERS technology called remote SERS has been reported, combining both localized surface plasmon polaritons and propagating surface plasmon polaritons (PSPPs, or called plasmonic waveguide), which may be found in prominent applications in special circumstances compared to traditional local SERS. In this article, we review the mechanism of remote SERS and its development since it was first reported in 2009. Various remote metal systems based on plasmonic waveguides, such as nanoparticle-nanowire systems, single nanowire systems, crossed nanowire systems and nanowire dimer systems, are introduced, and recent novel applications, such as sensors, plasmon-driven surface-catalyzed reactions and Raman optical activity, are also presented. Furthermore, studies of remote SERS in dielectric and organic systems based on dielectric waveguides remind us that this useful technology has additional, tremendous application prospects that have not been realized in metal systems.

2017, Kosub, Tobias, Kopte, Martin, Hühne, Ruben, Appel, Patrick, Shields, Brendan, Maletinsky, Patrick, Hübner, René, Liedke, Maciej Oskar, Fassbender, Jürgen, Schmidt, Oliver G., Makarov, Denys

Magnetic random access memory schemes employing magnetoelectric coupling to write binary information promise outstanding energy efficiency. We propose and demonstrate a purely antiferromagnetic magnetoelectric random access memory (AF-MERAM) that offers a remarkable 50-fold reduction of the writing threshold compared with ferromagnet-based counterparts, is robust against magnetic disturbances and exhibits no ferromagnetic hysteresis losses. Using the magnetoelectric antiferromagnet Cr2O3, we demonstrate reliable isothermal switching via gate voltage pulses and all-electric readout at room temperature. As no ferromagnetic component is present in the system, the writing magnetic field does not need to be pulsed for readout, allowing permanent magnets to be used. Based on our prototypes, we construct a comprehensive model of the magnetoelectric selection mechanisms in thin films of magnetoelectric antiferromagnets, revealing misfit induced ferrimagnetism as an important factor. Beyond memory applications, the AF-MERAM concept introduces a general all-electric interface for antiferromagnets and should find wide applicability in antiferromagnetic spintronics.

2015, Bogdanov, Nikolay A., Katukuri, Vamshi M., Romhányi, Judit, Yushankhai, Viktor, Kataev, Vladislav, Büchner, Bernd, van den Brink, Jeroen, Hozoi, Liviu

A promising route to tailoring the electronic properties of quantum materials and devices rests on the idea of orbital engineering in multilayered oxide heterostructures. Here we show that the interplay of interlayer charge imbalance and ligand distortions provides a knob for tuning the sequence of electronic levels even in intrinsically stacked oxides. We resolve in this regard the d-level structure of layered Sr2IrO4 by electron spin resonance. While canonical ligand-field theory predicts g

2015, Oliveira, Myriano H., Jr., Lopes, Joao Marcelo J., Schumann, Timo, Galves, Lauren A., Ramsteiner, Manfred, Berlin, Katja, Trampert, Achim, Riechert, Henning

Scaling graphene down to nanoribbons is a promising route for the implementation of this material into devices. Quantum confinement of charge carriers in such nanostructures, combined with the electric field-induced break of symmetry in AB-stacked bilayer graphene, leads to a band gap wider than that obtained solely by this symmetry breaking. Consequently, the possibility of fabricating AB-stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbons with high precision is very attractive for the purposes of applied and basic science. Here we show a method, which includes a straightforward air annealing, for the preparation of quasi-free-standing AB-bilayer nanoribbons with different widths on SiC(0001). Furthermore, the experiments reveal that the degree of disorder at the edges increases with the width, indicating that the narrower nanoribbons are more ordered in their edge termination. In general, the reported approach is a viable route towards the large-scale fabrication of bilayer graphene nanostructures with tailored dimensions and properties for specific applications.

2016, Trotta, Rinaldo, Martín-Sánchez, Javier, Wildmann, Johannes S., Piredda, Giovanni, Reindl, Marcus, Schimpf, Christian, Zallo, Eugenio, Stroj, Sandra, Edlinger, Johannes, Rastelli, Armando

The prospect of using the quantum nature of light for secure communication keeps spurring the search and investigation of suitable sources of entangled photons. A single semiconductor quantum dot is one of the most attractive, as it can generate indistinguishable entangled photons deterministically and is compatible with current photonic-integration technologies. However, the lack of control over the energy of the entangled photons is hampering the exploitation of dissimilar quantum dots in protocols requiring the teleportation of quantum entanglement over remote locations. Here we introduce quantum dot-based sources of polarization-entangled photons whose energy can be tuned via three-directional strain engineering without degrading the degree of entanglement of the photon pairs. As a test-bench for quantum communication, we interface quantum dots with clouds of atomic vapours, and we demonstrate slow-entangled photons from a single quantum emitter. These results pave the way towards the implementation of hybrid quantum networks where entanglement is distributed among distant parties using optoelectronic devices.

2016, Lehtipalo, Katrianne, Rondo, Linda, Kontkanen, Jenni, Schobesberger, Siegfried, Jokinen, Tuija, Sarnela, Nina, Kürten, Andreas, Ehrhart, Sebastian, Franchin, Alessandro, Nieminen, Tuomo, Kulmala, Markku, Riccobono, Francesco, Sipila, Mikko, Yli-Juuti, Taina, Duplissy, Jonathan, Adamov, Alexey, Ahlm, Lars, Almeida, Joa˜o, Amorim, Antonio, Bianchi, Federico, Breitenlechner, Martin, Dommen, Josef, Downard, Andrew J., Dunne, Eimear M., Flagan, Richard C., Guida, Roberto, Hakala, Jani, Hansel, Armin, Jud, Werner, Kangasluoma, Juha, Kerminen, Veli-Matti, Keskinen, Helmi, Kim, Jaeseok, Kirkby, Jasper, Kupc, Agnieszka, Kupiainen-Määttä, Oona, Laaksonen, Ari, Lawler, Michael J., Leiminger, Markus, Mathot, Serge, Olenius, Tinja, Ortega, Ismael K., Onnela, Antti, Petäjä, Tuukka, Praplan, Arnaud, Rissanen, Matti P., Ruuskanen, Taina, Santos, Filipe D., Schallhart, Simon, Schnitzhofer, Ralf, Simon, Mario, Smith, James N., Tröstl, Jasmin, Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios, Tomé, António, Vaattovaara, Petri, Vehkamäki, Hanna, Vrtala, Aron E., Wagner, Paul E., Williamson, Christina, Wimmer, Daniela, Winkler, Paul M., Virtanen, Annele, Donahue, Neil M., Carslaw, Kenneth S., Baltensperger, Urs, Riipinen, Ilona, Curtius, Joachim, Worsnop, Douglas R., Kulmala, Markku

The growth of freshly formed aerosol particles can be the bottleneck in their survival to cloud condensation nuclei. It is therefore crucial to understand how particles grow in the atmosphere. Insufficient experimental data has impeded a profound understanding of nano-particle growth under atmospheric conditions. Here we study nano-particle growth in the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoors Droplets) chamber, starting from the formation of molecular clusters. We present measured growth rates at sub-3 nm sizes with different atmospherically relevant concentrations of sulphuric acid, water, ammonia and dimethylamine. We find that atmospheric ions and small acid-base clusters, which are not generally accounted for in the measurement of sulphuric acid vapour, can participate in the growth process, leading to enhanced growth rates. The availability of compounds capable of stabilizing sulphuric acid clusters governs the magnitude of these effects and thus the exact growth mechanism. We bring these observations into a coherent framework and discuss their significance in the atmosphere.