Abstract: It is known that solid-state reaction in high-pressure oxygen can stabilize high-oxidation phases of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors in powder form. We extend this superoxygenation concept of synthesis to thin films which, due to their large surface-to-volume ratio, are more reactive thermodynamically. Epitaxial thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-delta grown by pulsed laser deposition are annealed at up to 700 atm O-2 and 900 degrees C, in conjunction with Cu enrichment by solid-state diffusion. The films show the clear formation of Y2Ba4Cu7O15-delta and Y2Ba4Cu8O16 as well as regions of YBa2Cu5O9-delta and YBa2Cu6O10-delta phases, according to scanning transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Similarly annealed YBa2Cu3O7-delta powders show no phase conversion. Our results demonstrate a route of synthesis towards discovering more complex phases of cuprates and other superconducting oxides.

Abstract: Plasma bioscience and medicine are both rapidly growing fields. Their aim is to utilize cold physical plasmas for desired biological outcomes in medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, and general hygienic purposes. Great success has been achieved in many applications with individually designed plasma sources and plasma parameters. Although lab and application-specific tuning of plasmas is a great advantage of this technology, standardized units to define plasma treatments are required to facilitate comparison of the effects found by different researchers who do not use the same plasma sources. By drawing conclusions from over a century of plasma biomedical research, we propose that all researchers adopt the use of a standardized value, the plasma treatment unit (PTU), to describe the biological effects of different cold plasma sources and treatment regimens. It quantifies a key plasma effector in biological systems as an indicator and may provide the foundation for an analogous and clinically relevant unit in the future.

Abstract: Magnetic hyperthermia has the potential to play an important role in cancer therapy and its efficacy relies on the nanomaterials selected. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are excellent candidates due to the ability of producing enough heat to kill tumor cells by thermal ablation. However, their heating properties depend strongly on crystalline structure and size, which may not be controlled and tuned during the synthetic process; therefore, a postprocessing is needed. We show how thermal annealing can be simultaneously coupled with ligand exchange to stabilize the SPIONs in polar solvents and to modify their crystal structure, which improves hyperthermia behavior. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and lock-in thermography, we systematically investigate the impact of size and ligand exchange procedure on crystallinity, their magnetism, and heating ability. We describe a valid and simple approach to optimize SPIONs for hyperthermia by carefully controlling the size, colloidal stability, and crystallinity.

Abstract: The effect of thermal cycling parameters on the phase transformation temperatures of micron and submicron grain size recrystallized Ni-Ti microwires was investigated. The suppression of martensitic transformation by thermal cycling was found to enhance when combined with room temperature aging between the cycles and enhances even more when aged at elevated temperature of 100 degrees C. While aging at room temperature alone has no clear effect on the martensitic transformation, elevated temperature aging at 100 degrees C alone suppresses the martensitic transformation. All aforementioned effects were found to be stronger in large grain samples than in small grain samples. Martensitic transformation suppression in all cases was in line with the formation of Ni4Ti3 precursors in the form of < 111 & rang;(B2) Ni clusters as concluded from the observed diffuse intensity in the electron diffraction patterns revealing short-range ordering enhancement. Performing thermal cycling in some different temperature ranges to separate the effect of martensitic transformation and high temperature range of DSC cycling revealed that both high temperature- and martensitic transformation-included cycles enhance the short-range ordering.

Abstract: High strength 7XXX aluminium series reach exceptional strength, higher than all other industrial aluminium alloys. However, they suffer from a lack of ductility compared to softer series. This work presents a procedure to improve the ductility of 7475 Al alloy in high strength condition, reaching a true fracture strain of 70% at full 500 MPa T6 yield strength. Using friction stir processing (FSP) and post-FSP heat treatments, 100% of industrial rolled material T6 yield stress is maintained but a 180% increase in fracture strain is measured for the processed material. This ductility improvement is studied by in-situ synchrotron X-ray tomography and is explained by the reduction of intermetallic particles size and the homogenization of their spatial distribution. Furthermore, the microstructure after FSP shows equiaxed refined grains which favour crack deviation as opposed to large cracks parallel to the elongated coarse grains in rolled plate. These results are paving the way to better formability and crashworthiness of 7XXX alloys.

Abstract: Lakes provide considerable social, economic, and ecological benefits. However, lakes are shrinking and the water quality is declining, due to human pressures such as water withdrawal and land use change, particularly in the developing world. Despite this, information regarding the economic impact of lake level reduction and local willingness to support restoration programs is lacking. This study employed a contingent valuation method to estimate willingness to pay and to contribute labor to Lake Ziway restoration program, Ethiopia. Face-to-face interviews were administered to 259 randomly selected respondents. Our findings revealed that about one-third of the respondents are willing to pay and about two-third are willing to contribute labor to restore the lake. From the interval regression models, the annual mean willingness to pay was estimated about 21.0 USD for the status quo scenario (the program works to keep water levels constant at current levels) and 31.1 USD for the improvement scenario (the program works to increase the water levels permanently). The annual mean willingness to contribute labor was estimated about 27.7 man-days for the status quo and 39.3 man-days for the improvement scenarios. 'Farm income' positively influenced the willingness to pay together with 'farm plot area.' Similarly, labor contribution was positively influenced by 'farm plot area' and 'education' and negatively by 'farm plot distance.' The economic values derived from this study reflect societal preferences and can form a significant input for policymakers, in support of informed and evidence-based decision-making regarding lake management and restoration in developing countries like Ethiopia.

Abstract: In this work, the carbon (C) and silicon (Si) doping and codoping effects on beta-arsenene (As) monolayer structural, electronic, and magnetic properties have been comprehensively investigated using first-principles calculations. The studied two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit good stability. Pristine beta-As single layer is an indirect gap semiconductor with a band gap of 1.867(2.441) eV as determined by PBE(HSE06) functional. Due to the difference in atomic size and electronic interactions, C and Si substitution induces a significant local structural distortion. Depending upon dopant concentration and doping sites, feature-rich electronic properties including non-magnetic semiconductor, magnetic semiconductor and half-metallicity may be obtained, which result from p-p interactions. High spin-polarization at the Fermi level vicinity and significant magnetism suggest As:1C, As:2C, As:1Si, As:2Si, and As:CSi systems as prospective spintronic 2D materials. While, the C-C, Si-Si, and C-Si dimer doping decreases electronic band gap, making the layer more suitable for applications in optoelectronic devices. Results presented herein may suggest an efficient approach to create novel multi-functional 2D materials from beta-As monolayer.

Abstract: Although largely studied, contradictory results on nickel oxide (NiO) properties can be found in the literature. We herein propose a comprehensive study that aims at leveling contradictions related to NiO materials with a focus on its conductivity, surface properties, and the intrinsic charge defects compensation mechanism with regards to the conditions preparation. The experiments were performed by in situ photo-electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and optical as well as electrical measurements on polycrystalline NiO thin films prepared under various preparation conditions by reactive sputtering. The results show that surface and bulk properties were strongly related to the deposition temperature with in particular the observation of Fermi level pinning, high work function, and unstable oxygen-rich grain boundaries for the thin films produced at room temperature but not at high temperature (>200 degrees C). Finally, this study provides substantial information about surface and bulk NiO properties enabling to unveil the origin of the high electrical conductivity of room temperature NiO thin films and also for supporting a general electronic charge compensation mechanism of intrinsic defects according to the deposition temperature.

Abstract: Recent studies in which X-ray beams of (sub)micrometre to millimetre dimensions have been used for non-destructive analysis and characterization of pigments, minute paint samples and/or entire paintings from fifteenth to twentieth century artists are discussed. The overview presented encompasses the use of laboratory and synchrotron radiation-based instrumentation and deals with the use of several variants of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as a method of elemental analysis and imaging as well as with the combined use with X-ray diffraction (XRD). Microscopic XRF (μ-XRF) is a variant of the XRF method able to visualize the elemental distribution of key elements, mostly metals, on the scale from 1 μm to 100 μm present inside multi-layered micro samples taken from paintings. In the context of the characterization of artists’ pigments subjected to natural degradation, in many cases the use of methods limited to elemental analysis or imaging does not suffice to elucidate the chemical transformations that have taken place. However, at synchrotron facilities, combinations of μ-XRF with related methods such as μ-XAS (microscopic X-ray absorption spectroscopy) and μ-XRD have proven themselves to be very suitable for such studies. Since microscopic investigation of a relatively limited number of minute paint samples may not yield representative information about the complete artefact they were taken from, several methods for macroscopic, non-invasive imaging have recently been developed. Combined macroscopic XRF/XRD scanning is able to provide a fairly complete overview of the inorganic pigments employed to create a work of art, to answer questions about ongoing degradation phenomena and about its authenticity. As such these newly developed non-invasive and highly specific imaging methods are of interest for many cultural heritage stakeholders.

Abstract: This publication introduces the audiovisual geometry database with Gielis transformations as initial records for a prototype of the database. A concise overview is given of the rationale behind the database and studying wave phenomena with Gielis transformations. First results on a form of timbral polyphony observed in Gielis curves and future work are briefly discussed.

Abstract: In this theoretical study, we assess the impact of a graphene capping layer on the resistivity of defective, extremely scaled interconnects. We investigate the effect of graphene capping on the electronic transport in ultrascaled interconnects, in the presence of grain boundary defects in the metal layer. We compare the results obtained using our quantum mechanical model to a simple parallel-conductor model and find that the parallel-conductor model does not capture the effect of the graphene cap correctly. At 0.5 nm metal thickness, the parallel-conductor model underestimates the conductivity by 3.0% to 4.0% for single-sided and double sided graphene capping, respectively.

Abstract: Inelastic excitation as exploited in Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) contains a rich source of information that is revealed in the scattering process. To accurately quantify core-loss EELS, it is common practice to fit the observed spectrum with scattering cross-sections calculated using experimental parameters and a Generalized Oscillator Strength (GOS) database [1].   The GOS is computed using Fermi’s Golden Rule and orbitals of bound and excited states. Previously, the GOS was based on Hartree-Fock solutions [2], but more recently Density Functional Theory (DFT) has been used [3]. In this work, we have chosen to use the Dirac equation to incorporate relativistic effects and have performed calculations using Flexible Atomic Code (FAC) [4]. This repository contains a tabulated GOS database based on Dirac solutions for computing double differential cross-sections under experimental conditions.   We hope the Dirac-based GOS database can benefit the EELS community for both academic use and industry integration.   Database Details: – Covers all elements (Z: 1-108) and all edges – Large energy range: 0.01 – 4000 eV – Large momentum range: 0.05 -50 Å-1 – Fine log sampling: 128 points for energy and 256 points for momentum – Data format: GOSH [3]   Calculation Details: – Single atoms only; solid-state effects are not considered – Unoccupied states before continuum states of ionization are not considered; no fine structure – Plane Wave Born Approximation – Frozen Core Approximation is employed; electrostatic potential remains unchanged for orthogonal states when – core-shell electron is excited – Self-consistent Dirac–Fock–Slater iteration is used for Dirac calculations; Local Density Approximation is assumed for electron exchange interactions; continuum states are normalized against asymptotic form at large distances – Both large and small component contributions of Dirac solutions are included in GOS – Final state contributions are included until the contribution of the previous three states falls below 0.1%. A convergence log is provided for reference.   Version 1.1 release note: – Update to be consistent with GOSH data format [3], all the edges are now within a single hdf5 file. A notable change in particular, the sampling in momentum is in 1/m, instead of previously in 1/Å. Great thanks to Gulio Guzzinati for his suggestions and sending conversion script.  Version 1.2 release note: – Add “File Type / File version” information [1] Verbeeck, J., and S. Van Aert. Ultramicroscopy 101.2-4 (2004): 207-224. [2] Leapman, R. D., P. Rez, and D. F. Mayers. The Journal of Chemical Physics 72.2 (1980): 1232-1243. [3] Segger, L, Guzzinati, G, & Kohl, H. Zenodo (2023). doi:10.5281/zenodo.7645765 [4] Gu, M. F. Canadian Journal of Physics 86(5) (2008): 675-689.

Abstract: Electron tomography is essential for investigating the three-dimensional (3D) structure of nanomaterials. However, many of these materials, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are extremely sensitive to electron radiation, making it difficult to acquire a series of projection images for electron tomography without inducing electron-beam damage. Another significant challenge is the high contrast in high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy that can be expected for nanocomposites composed of a metal nanoparticle and an MOF. This strong contrast leads to so-called metal artifacts in the 3D reconstruction. To overcome these limitations, we here present low-dose electron tomography based on four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) data sets, collected using an ultrafast and highly sensitive direct electron detector. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the applicability of the method for an Au nanostar embedded in a ZIF-8 MOF, which is of great interest for applications in various fields, including drug delivery.