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Now showing 1 - 10 of 20
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    Magnetic domain wall gratings for magnetization reversal tuning and confined dynamic mode localization
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Trützschler, Julia; Sentosun, Kadir; Mozooni, Babak; Mattheis, Roland; McCord, Jeffrey
    High density magnetic domain wall gratings are imprinted in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic thin films by local ion irradiation by which alternating head-to-tail-to-head-to-tail and head-to-head-to-tail-to-tail spatially overlapping domain wall networks are formed. Unique magnetic domain processes result from the interaction of anchored domain walls. Non-linear magnetization response is introduced by the laterally distributed magnetic anisotropy phases. The locally varying magnetic charge distribution gives rise to localized and guided magnetization spin-wave modes directly constrained by the narrow domain wall cores. The exchange coupled multiphase material structure leads to unprecedented static and locally modified dynamic magnetic material properties.
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    Development of a miniaturized protein microarray as a new serological IgG screening test for zoonotic agents and production diseases in pigs
    (San Francisco, California, US : PLOS, 2019) Loreck, Katharina; Mitrenga, Sylvia; Meemken, Diana; Heinze, Regina; Reissig, Annett; Mueller, Elke; Ehricht, Ralf; Engemann, Claudia; Greiner, Matthias
    In order to monitor the occurrence of zoonotic agents in pig herds as well as to improve herd health management, the development of new cost-effective diagnostic methods for pigs is necessary. In this study, a protein microarray-based assay for the simultaneous detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against different zoonotic agents and pathogens causing production diseases in pigs was developed. Therefore, antigens of ten different important swine pathogens (Toxoplasma gondii, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella spp., Trichinella spp., Mycobacterium avium, Hepatitis E virus, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, Influenza A virus) were spotted and covalently immobilized as ‘antigen-spots’ on microarray chips in order to test pig serum for the occurrence of antibodies. Pig serum was sampled at three German abattoirs and ELISA tests for the different pathogens were conducted with the purpose of creating a panel of reference samples for microarray analysis. To evaluate the accuracy of the antigens on the microarray, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis using the ELISA test results as reference was performed for the different antigens. High area under curve values were achieved for the antigens of two zoonotic agents: Toxoplasma gondii (0.91), Yersinia enterocolitica (0.97) and for three production diseases: Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (0.77), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (0.94) and the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (0.87). With the help of the newly developed microarray assay, collecting data on the occurrence of antibodies against zoonotic agents and production diseases in pig herds could be minimized to one measurement, resulting in an efficient screening test.
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    Ultrathin niobium nanofilms on fiber optical tapers--a new route towards low-loss hybrid plasmonic modes
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Wieduwilt, Torsten; Tuniz, Alessandro; Linzen, Sven; Goerke, Sebastian; Dellith, Jan; Hübner, Uwe; Schmidt, Markus A.
    Due to the ongoing improvement in nanostructuring technology, ultrathin metallic nanofilms have recently gained substantial attention in plasmonics, e.g. as building blocks of metasurfaces. Typically, noble metals such as silver or gold are the materials of choice, due to their excellent optical properties, however they also possess some intrinsic disadvantages. Here, we introduce niobium nanofilms (~10 nm thickness) as an alternate plasmonic platform. We demonstrate functionality by depositing a niobium nanofilm on a plasmonic fiber taper and observe a dielectric-loaded niobium surface-plasmon excitation for the first time, with a modal attenuation of only 3–4 dB/mm in aqueous environment and a refractive index sensitivity up to 15 μm/RIU if the analyte index exceeds 1.42. We show that the niobium nanofilm possesses bulk optical properties, is continuous, homogenous and inert against any environmental influence, thus possessing several superior properties compared to noble metal nanofilms. These results demonstrate that ultrathin niobium nanofilms can serve as a new platform for biomedical diagnostics, superconducting photonics, ultrathin metasurfaces or new types of optoelectronic devices.
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    Bessel beam CARS of axially structured samples
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Heuke, Sandro; Zheng, Juanjuan; Akimov, Denis; Heintzmann, Rainer; Schmitt, Michael; Popp, Jürgen
    We report about a Bessel beam CARS approach for axial profiling of multi-layer structures. This study presents an experimental implementation for the generation of CARS by Bessel beam excitation using only passive optical elements. Furthermore, an analytical expression is provided describing the generated anti-Stokes field by a homogeneous sample. Based on the concept of coherent transfer functions, the underling resolving power of axially structured geometries is investigated. It is found that through the non-linearity of the CARS process in combination with the folded illumination geometry continuous phase-matching is achieved starting from homogeneous samples up to spatial sample frequencies at twice of the pumping electric field wave. The experimental and analytical findings are modeled by the implementation of the Debye Integral and scalar Green function approach. Finally, the goal of reconstructing an axially layered sample is demonstrated on the basis of the numerically simulated modulus and phase of the anti-Stokes far-field radiation pattern.
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    Ultrafast in cellulo photoinduced dynamics processes of the paradigm molecular light switch [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) De la Cadena, Alejandro; Davydova, Dar’ya; Tolstik, Tatiana; Reichardt, Christian; Shukla, Sapna; Akimov, Denis; Heintzmann, Rainer; Popp, Jürgen; Dietzek, Benjamin
    An in cellulo study of the ultrafast excited state processes in the paradigm molecular light switch [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ by localized pump-probe spectroscopy is reported for the first time. The localization of [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ in HepG2 cells is verified by emission microscopy and the characteristic photoinduced picosecond dynamics of the molecular light switch is observed in cellulo. The observation of the typical phosphorescence stemming from a 3MLCT state suggests that the [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ complex intercalates with the DNA in the nucleus. The results presented for this benchmark coordination compound reveal the necessity to study the photoinduced processes in coordination compounds for intracellular use, e.g. as sensors or as photodrugs, in the actual biological target environment in order to derive a detailed molecular mechanistic understanding of the excited-state properties of the systems in the actual biological target environment.
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    Detection of vancomycin resistances in enterococci within 3 1/2 Hours
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Schröder, U.-Ch.; Beleites, C.; Assmann, C.; Glaser, U.; Hübner, U.; Pfister, W.; Fritzsche, W.; Popp, J.; Neugebauer, U.
    Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) constitute a challenging problem in health care institutions worldwide. Novel methods to rapidly identify resistances are highly required to ensure an early start of tailored therapy and to prevent further spread of the bacteria. Here, a spectroscopy-based rapid test is presented that reveals resistances of enterococci towards vancomycin within 3.5 hours. Without any specific knowledge on the strain, VRE can be recognized with high accuracy in two different enterococci species. By means of dielectrophoresis, bacteria are directly captured from dilute suspensions, making sample preparation very easy. Raman spectroscopic analysis of the trapped bacteria over a time span of two hours in absence and presence of antibiotics reveals characteristic differences in the molecular response of sensitive as well as resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. Furthermore, the spectroscopic fingerprints provide an indication on the mechanisms of induced resistance in VRE.
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    Toroidal qubits: Naturally-decoupled quiet artificial atoms
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Zagoskin, Alexandre M.; Chipouline, Arkadi; Il’ichev, Evgeni; Johansson, J. Robert; Nori, Franco
    The requirements of quantum computations impose high demands on the level of qubit protection from perturbations; in particular, from those produced by the environment. Here we propose a superconducting flux qubit design that is naturally protected from ambient noise. This decoupling is due to the qubit interacting with the electromagnetic field only through its toroidal moment, which provides an unusual qubit-field interaction, which is suppressed at low frequencies.
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    Spatially resolved spectroscopic differentiation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains on individual insulin amyloid fibrils
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Deckert-Gaudig, Tanja; Kurouski, Dmitry; Hedegaard, Martin A. B.; Singh, Pushkar; Lednev, Igor K.; Deckert, Volker
    The formation of insoluble β-sheet-rich protein structures known as amyloid fibrils is associated with numerous neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. A detailed understanding of the molecular structure of the fibril surface is of interest as the first contact with the physiological environment in vivo and plays a decisive role in biological activity and associated toxicity. Recent studies reveal that the inherent sensitivity and specificity of tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) renders this technique a compelling method for fibril surface analysis at the single-particle level. Here, the reproducibility of TERS is demonstrated, indicating its relevance for detecting molecular variations. Consequently, individual fibrils are systematically investigated at nanometer spatial resolution. Spectral parameters were obtained by band-fitting, particularly focusing on the identification of the secondary structure via the amide III band and the differentiation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains on the surface. In addition multivariate data analysis, specifically the N-FINDR procedure, was employed to generate structure-specific maps. The ability of TERS to localize specific structural domains on fibril surfaces shows promise to the development of new fibril dissection strategies and can be generally applied to any (bio)chemical surface when structural variations at the nanometer level are of interest.
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    Aqueous Black Colloids of Reticular Nanostructured Gold
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Stanca, S.E.; Fritzsche, W.; Dellith, J.; Froehlich, F.; Undisz, A.; Deckert, V.; Krafft, C.; Popp, J.
    Since ancient times, noble gold has continuously contributed to several aspects of life from medicine to electronics. It perpetually reveals its new features. We report the finding of a unique form of gold, reticular nanostructured gold (RNG), as an aqueous black colloid, for which we present a one-step synthesis. The reticules consist of gold crystals that interconnect to form compact strands. RNG exhibits high conductivity and low reflection and these features, coupled with the high specific surface area of the material, could prove valuable for applications in electronics and catalysis. Due to high absorption throughout the visible and infrared domain, RNG has the potential to be applied in the construction of sensitive solar cells or as a substrate for Raman spectroscopy.
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    Single cell analysis in native tissue: Quantification of the retinoid content of hepatic stellate cells
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Galler, Kerstin; Requardt, Robert Pascal; Glaser, Uwe; Markwart, Robby; Bocklitz, Thomas; Bauer, Michael; Popp, Jürgen; Neugebauer, Ute
    Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are retinoid storing cells in the liver: The retinoid content of those cells changes depending on nutrition and stress level. There are also differences with regard to a HSC’s anatomical position in the liver. Up to now, retinoid levels were only accessible from bulk measurements of tissue homogenates or cell extracts. Unfortunately, they do not account for the intercellular variability. Herein, Raman spectroscopy relying on excitation by the minimally destructive wavelength 785 nm is introduced for the assessment of the retinoid state of single HSCs in freshly isolated, unprocessed murine liver lobes. A quantitative estimation of the cellular retinoid content is derived. Implications of the retinoid content on hepatic health state are reported. The Raman-based results are integrated with histological assessments of the tissue samples. This spectroscopic approach enables single cell analysis regarding an important cellular feature in unharmed tissue.