Alpine glaciers are valuable archives for the reconstruction of human impact on the environment. Besides dating purposes, measurement of radiocarbon (14C) content provides a powerful tool for long-term source apportionment studies on the carbonaceous aerosols incorporated in ice cores. In this work, we present an extraction system for 14C analyses of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in ice cores. The setup can process ice samples of up to 350 g mass and offers ultra-clean working conditions for all extraction steps. A photo-oxidation method is applied by means of external UV irradiation of the sample. For an irradiation time of 30 min with catalyzation by addition of Fe2+ and H2O2, we achieve an efficiency of 96 ± 6% on average. Inert gas working conditions and stringent decontamination procedures enable a low overall blank of 1.9 ± 1.6 μg C with a F14C value of 0.68 ± 0.13. This makes it possible to analyze the DOC in ice samples with a carbon content of as low as 25 μg C kg−1 ice. For a first validation, the new method was applied to ice core samples from the Swiss Alps. The average DOC concentration and F14C values for the Fiescherhorn ice core samples show good agreement with previously reported data for the investigated period of 1925–1936 AD.

The enrichment of the Intra-Cluster Medium (ICM) with heavy elementsis reviewed. There is now good observational evidence for enrichment includingabundance ratios and metallicity distributions. Various processes involved in the enrichment process –ram-pressure stripping, galactic winds, galaxy-galaxy interactions,AGN outflows and intra-cluster supernovae – are described. Simulationsof the ICM evolution taking into account metal enrichment are presented.

We present XMM-Newton observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 514. This cluster shows a very complex X-ray morphology. Radio observations show that there are six radio sources located inside the cluster. This makes it possible to determine the magnetic field strength using the Faraday rotation method. This cluster is an example for the hierarchical growth of structure and a very interesting object for studying the correlation between magnetic field strength and X-ray properties.

Ternidens deminutus (Strongylida) is a parasitic nematode infecting non-human and human primates in parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands. The present study genetically characterized T. deminutus and defined genetic markers in nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) as a basis for developing molecular-diagnostic tools. The sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of rDNA were determined for adult specimens of T. deminutus (Nematoda: Strongylida: Oesophagostominae) from the Olive baboon and the Mona monkey.Nucleotide sequence data used in this paper are available in the EMBL, GenBank and DDJB databases under the Accession nos. AJ888729, AJ888730, AF136576, Y10789, Y10790, Y11733, Y11735, Y11736, AJ001594, AJ001599, AJ006149 and AJ006150. The former 2 sequences represent original data reported in this paper. The length and G+C content of the ITS-2 sequences was 216 bp and ~43%, respectively. While there was no sequence variation among individual T. deminutus specimens from the baboon, 6 (2·8%) nucleotide differences were detected in the ITS-2 between the parasite from baboon and that of the Mona monkey, which is similar to the difference (3·2%) between 2 other species of Oesophagostominae (Oesophagostomum bifurcum and O. stephanostomum) from non-human primates, suggesting significant population variation or the existence of cryptic (i.e. hidden) species within T. deminutus. Pairwise comparisons of the ITS-2 sequences of the 2 operational taxonomic units of T. deminutus with previously published ITS-2 sequences for selected members of the subfamilies Oesophagostominae and Chabertiinae indicated that species from primates (including those representing the subgenera Conoweberia and Ihleia) are closely related, in accordance with previous morphological studies. The sequence differences (27–48·3%) in the ITS-2 between the 2 taxonomic units of T. deminutus and hookworms (superfamily Ancylostomatoidea) enabled their identification and delineation by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based mutation scanning. The genetic markers in the ITS-2 provide a foundation for improved, PCR-based diagnosis of T. deminutus infections and for investigating the life-cycle, transmission patterns and ecology of this parasite.

Epitaxial Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films with excellent electrical transport characteristics are grown in a two-step process involving metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of a BaCaCuO(F) thin film followed by a postanneal in the presence of Tl2O vapor. Vapor pressure characteristics of the recently developed liquid metal-organic precursors Ba(hfa)2 • mep (hfa = hexafluoroacetylacetonate, mep = methylethylpentaglyme), Ca(hfa)2 • tet (tet = tetraglyme), and the solid precursor Cu(dpm)2 (dpm = dipivaloylmethanate) are characterized by low pressure thermogravimetric analysis. Under typical film growth conditions, transport is shown to be diffusion limited. The transport rate of Ba(hfa)2 • mep is demonstrated to be stable for over 85 h at typical MOCVD temperatures (120 °C). In contrast, the vapor pressure stability of the commonly used Ba precursor, Ba(dpm)2, deteriorates rapidly at typical growth temperatures, and the decrease in vapor pressure is approximately exponential with a half-life of ∼9.4 h. These precursors are employed in a low pressure (5 Torr) horizontal, hot-wall, film growth reactor for growth of BaCaCuO(F) thin films on (110) LaAlO3 substrates. From the dependence of film deposition rate on substrate temperature and precursor partial pressure, the kinetics of deposition are shown to be mass-transport limited over the temperature range 350–650 °C at a 20 nm/min deposition rate. A ligand exchange process which yields volatile Cu(hfa)2 and Cu(hfa) (dpm) is also observed under film growth conditions. The MOCVD-derived BaCaCuO(F) films are postannealed in the presence of bulk Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 at temperatures of 720–890 °C in flowing atmospheres ranging from 0–100% O2. The resulting Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 films are shown to be epitaxial by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface, with in-plane alignment, and with abrupt film-substrate interfaces. The best films exhibit a Tc = 105 K, transport-measured Jc= 1.2 × 105 A/cm2 at 77 K, and surface resistances as low as 0.4 mΩ (40 K, 10 GHz).

The application of a 3-dimensional geoscience information system (GSIS) in the performance assessment of the geological barrier of the nuclear waste disposal site Morsleben is presented. A primary objective is the development of a geometrically consistent three-dimensional model, representing all relevant hydrostratigraphic units in the model area. Following the completion of the structural model, Finite-Element mesh generation techniques are applied to derive a threedimensional spatial discretisation for numerical modelling of the regional groundwater movement.

This contribution reports the in situ growth of transparent, conducting GaxIn2-xO3 and ZnkIn2Ok+3 films by MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) techniques using In(dpm)3, Ga(dpm)3, and Zn(dpm)2 (dpm = dipivaloylmethanate) as volatile precursors. In the former series, film microstructure in the x = 0.4 – 1.0 range is predominantly cubic with 25° C electrical conductivities as high as 1300 S/cm (n-type; carrier density = 1.2 × 1020 cm−3, mobility = 68 cm2/Vs) and optical transparency in the visible region greater than that of ITO. In the latter series, films in the composition range K = 0.16 – 3.60 were studied; the microstructural systematics are rather complex. Electrical conductivities (25° C) as high as 1000 S/cm (n-type; carrier density = 3.7 × 1020 cm−3, mobility = 18.6 cm2/Vs) for K = 0.66 were measured. The optical transparency window is significantly broader than that of ITO.

Thin films of the Bi-2212 and T1–2212 compounds were prepared by MOCVD deposition techniques. Resistivity versus temperature and critical current density measurements were used to characterize the electrical properties. An analysis of the data based on a proposed model determined the influence of intragranular weak links. Thin film samples in both systems with near optimum oxygen doping showed a correlation between the slope and magnitude of the resistivity in the normal state. Samples with reduced oxygen content displayed a strong increase in the intragrain boundary resistance, consistent with weak link defects. The results agree with a similar analysis of YBCO samples and support a common mechanism for the development of weak links in cuprates.

Low pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition has been used to grow dielectric thin films of the tetragonal perovskites LaSrGaO4 and PrSrGaO4 on (110) LaAlO3 using the volatile metal sources Pr(dpm) 3, La(hfa) 3•tri, Ga(dpm) 3, and Sr(hfa) 2•tet (dpm = dipivaloylmethanate, hfa = hexafluoroacetylacetonate, tet = tetraglyme, and tri = triglyme). The PrSrGaO4, a new ternary oxide, was found to have a body-centered tetragonal lattice with a = b = 3.80 and c = 12.59 Å. Epitaxial c-axis oriented growth of these materials has been revealed by both x-ray and electron diffraction, with an average surface roughness, measured by AFM, of 1.2 nm for LaSrGaO4 and 3.0 nm for PrSrGaO4. In addition to this, the ability of these materials to function as lattice-matched buffer layers for the growth of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−, has been explored. The superconductive properties of the YBCO layer do not indicate any degradation attributable to the buffer layers, with the onset of superconductivity displaying a sharp metal-superconductor transition at Tc = 87.3 K and 84.5 K for the LaSrGaO4 and PrSrGaO4 systems, respectively.

Superconducting thin films of Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10−x (TL-2223) have been grown on single crystal (110) LaAlO3 using a two-step process. Ba2Ca2Cu3Ox precursor films are deposited via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in a horizontal hot walled reactor. The second generation precursors Ba(hfa)2•tet, Ca(hfa)2•tet, and Cu(hfa)2 (hfa = hexafluoroacetylacetonate, tet = tetraglyme) were used as volatile metal sources due to their superior volatility and stability. Tl was introduced into the film via a high temperature post anneal in the presence of a Tl2O3:BaO:CaO:CuO pellet (1:2:2:3 ratio). Low O2 partial pressures were used to reduce the temperature in which the TI-2223 phase forms and to improve the surface morphology associated with a liquid phase intermediate. Films are highly oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate and a-b axis epitaxy is seen from x-ray φ- scans. The best films have a resistively measured Tc of 115K and a magnetically derived Jc of 6×105 A/cm2 (77K, 0 T). Preliminary surface resistance measurements, using parallel plate techniques, give Rs = 0.35 mΩ at 5K (ω = 10 GHz).