Houselopez1946

Due to the symmetry of the structure, the device performs similarly for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves and it has a high broadband absorption rate regarding different incident angles up to 40°. Due to the presence of 2D graphene material and also using hollow spherical particles, our proposed absorber is also lightweight and it is suitable for novel compact optoelectronic devices due to its sub-wavelength dimensions.Recent studies suggest that in disordered ultrathin films superconducting (SC) state may be intrinsically inhomogeneous. Here we investigate the nature of SC state in ultrathin Nb films, of thickness d ranging from 1.2 to 20 nm, which undergo a transition from amorphous to polycrystalline structure at the thickness [Formula see text] nm. We show that the properties of SC state are very different in polycrystalline and amorphous films. Niraparib The upper critical field ([Formula see text]) is orbitally limited in the first case, and paramagnetically limited in the latter. The magnetic field induced superconductor-metal transition is observed, with the critical field approximately constant or decreasing as a power-law with the film conductance in polycrystalline or amorphous films, respectively. The scaling analysis indicates distinct scaling exponents in these two types of films. Negative contribution of the SC fluctuations to conductivity exists above [Formula see text], particularly pronounced in amorphous films, signaling the presence of fluctuating Cooper pairs. These observations suggest the development of local inhomogeneities in the amorphous films, in the form of proximity-coupled SC islands. An usual evolution of SC correlations on cooling is observed in amorphous films, likely related to the effect of quantum fluctuations on the proximity-induced phase coherence.The lack of bone morphological markers associated with the human control of wild animals has prevented the documentation of incipient animal domestication in archaeology. Here, we assess whether direct environmental changes (i.e. mobility reduction) could immediately affect ontogenetic changes in long bone structure, providing a skeletal marker of early domestication. We relied on a wild boar experimental model, analysing 24 wild-born specimens raised in captivity from 6 months to 2 years old. The shaft cortical thickness of their humerus was measured using a 3D morphometric mapping approach and compared with 23 free-ranging wild boars and 22 pigs from different breeds, taking into account sex, mass and muscle force differences. In wild boars we found that captivity induced an increase in cortical bone volume and muscle force, and a topographic change of cortical thickness associated with muscular expression along a phenotypic trajectory that differed from the divergence induced by selective breeding. These results provide an experimental proof of concept that changes in locomotor behaviour and selective breeding might be inferred from long bones morphology in the fossil and archaeological record. These trends need to be explored in the archaeological record and further studies are required to explore the developmental changes behind these plastic responses.Utilising one-carbon substrates such as carbon dioxide, methane, and methanol is vital to address the current climate crisis. Methylotrophic metabolism enables growth and energy generation from methanol, providing an alternative to sugar fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important industrial microorganism for which growth on one-carbon substrates would be relevant. However, its ability to metabolize methanol has been poorly characterised. Here, using adaptive laboratory evolution and 13C-tracer analysis, we discover that S. cerevisiae has a native capacity for methylotrophy. A systems biology approach reveals that global rearrangements in central carbon metabolism fluxes, gene expression changes, and a truncation of the uncharacterized transcriptional regulator Ygr067cp supports improved methylotrophy in laboratory evolved S. cerevisiae. This research paves the way for further biotechnological development and fundamental understanding of methylotrophy in the preeminent eukaryotic model organism and industrial workhorse, S. cerevisiae.Resistance-nodulation-division efflux pumps play a key role in inherent and evolved multidrug resistance in bacteria. AcrB, a prototypical member of this protein family, extrudes a wide range of antimicrobial agents out of bacteria. Although high-resolution structures exist for AcrB, its conformational fluctuations and their putative role in function are largely unknown. Here, we determine these structural dynamics in the presence of substrates using hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, complemented by molecular dynamics simulations, and bacterial susceptibility studies. We show that an efflux pump inhibitor potentiates antibiotic activity by restraining drug-binding pocket dynamics, rather than preventing antibiotic binding. We also reveal that a drug-binding pocket substitution discovered within a multidrug resistant clinical isolate modifies the plasticity of the transport pathway, which could explain its altered substrate efflux. Our results provide insight into the molecular mechanism of drug export and inhibition of a major multidrug efflux pump and the directive role of its dynamics.Bones of humans and animals combine two unique features, namely they are brittle yet have a very high fracture toughness linked to the tortuosity of the crack path and they have the ability to repeatedly heal local fissures such that full recovery of overall mechanical properties is obtained even if the local bone structure is irreversibly changed by the healing process. Here it is demonstrated that Ti2AlC MAX phase metallo-ceramics also having a bone-like hierarchical microstructure and also failing along zig-zag fracture surfaces similarly demonstrate repeated full strength and toughness recovery at room temperature, even though the (high temperature) healing reaction involves the local formation of dense and brittle alumina within the crack. Full recovery of the fracture toughness depends on the healed zone thickness and process zone size formed in the alumina reaction product. A 3-dimensional finite element method (FEM) analysis of the data obtained from a newly designed wedge splitting test allowed full extraction of the local fracture properties of the healed cracks.