In this work, we present experimental results on the behavior of liquid water at megabar pressure. The experiment was performed using the HIPER (High-Intensity Plasma Experimental Research) laser facility, a uniaxial irradiation chamber of GEKKO XII (GXII) at the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE), and the PHELIX at GSI (GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research), a single-beam high-power laser facility, to launch a planar shock into solid multilayered water samples. Equation-of-state data of water (H2O are obtained in the pressure range 0.50–4.6 Mbar by tuning the laser-drive parameters. The Hugoniot parameters (pressure, density, etc.) and the shock temperature were simultaneously determined by using VISAR and SOP as diagnostic tools and quartz as the standard material for impedance mismatch experiments. Finally, our experimental results are compared with hydrodynamic simulations tested with different equations of state, showing good compatibility with tabulated SESAME tables for water.

Laser–plasma interaction and hot electrons have been characterized in detail in laser irradiation conditions relevant for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. The experiment was carried out at the Gekko XII laser facility in multibeam planar target geometry at an intensity of approximately $3\times {10}^{15}$ W/cm2. Experimental data suggest that high-energy electrons, with temperatures of 20–50 keV and conversion efficiencies of $\eta <1\%$, were mainly produced by the damping of electron plasma waves driven by two-plasmon decay (TPD). Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is observed in a near-threshold growth regime, producing a reflectivity of approximately $0.01\%$, and is well described by an analytical model accounting for the convective growth in independent speckles. The experiment reveals that both TPD and SRS are collectively driven by multiple beams, resulting in a more vigorous growth than that driven by single-beam laser intensity.

Gravity measurements were made with a very sensitive gravimeter in permafrost terrain containing massive ground ice and other segregated ice. Measurements were first taken along a line over undisturbed terrain where a road cut was to be made; a second gravity profile parallel to the first profile but laterally displaced from it by about 36 m was subsequently made along the edge of the roadbed after road construction. Data from pre-construction borings and a profile of subsurface soil and ice conditions, synthesized from information obtained during cutting, were used for ground-truth information and compared with the gravity measurements. The horizontal dimensions and locations of the deposits of ground ice embedded in the soil layer correlated reasonably well with the dimensions and locations of the lows in the gravity profile. However, the second profile, taken along the roadbed, also showed significant variation even after the usual types of gravity corrections were applied, suggesting that there are significant horizontal variations in the density of the topmost layers of the underlying bedrock (schist) through which the cut was made.

The density contrast of the undisturbed ice-rich soil as a function of distance along the first pro-file was estimated assuming the contrast was produced by infinitely long, transverse, rectangular blocks of given dimensions but unknown density. A set of equations dependent (to a first approximation) only on the unknown block densities was constructed from the corrected gravity data and solved by the Gauss-Seidel method. The maximum contrast for one block was found to be about 0.4 Mg m3 which gives a volumetric ice content of about 80% for the block, if the mean den-sity for all the blocks is taken to be 1.45 Mgg m3

A third gravity profile was made over an artificially-constructed ice mass with dimensions of 34 × 0.69 × 3.2 m buried at a depth of 1.2 m. This profile did not show conclusively the presence of the ice mass, partly because the anomaly it produces is close to the nominal limit of detection of the gravimeter.

It is concluded that large massive ground ice can be detected by means of its gravitational field using sensitive commercially-available gravimeters in conjunction with some ground-truth data. However, the application of such gravimeters to routine pre-construction investigations and terrain reconnaissance for ground ice is limited by their sensitivity and by the requirement for a stable measuring platform. At present, the gravity method and possibly impulse radar are the only non-contacting remote methods for obtaining an estimate of the excess ice in permafrost.

The presence of the fermentable sugar d-mannitol in the diet improves nitrogen (N) utilization in rabbits. To clarify the mechanism by which d-mannitol improves N utilization, we studied the effect of d-mannitol on the fate of blood urea N in growing rabbits. Growing rabbits received a control diet or a diet containing d-mannitol, which were formulated by adding 80 g/kg glucose or d-mannitol to timothy hay. After 9 days of feeding of the experimental diets, 15N-urea was administrated intravenously under anesthesia 1 h before slaughter. The blood urea level (concentration of both urea N (43.6% of the control group (CG), P < 0.05) and 15N (95% of the CG, P < 0.05) in blood serum) was reduced in the mannitol group. The concentration and amount of N, and 15N atom % excess in the contents of the cecum and colon were higher (P < 0.05) in the rabbits fed the mannitol diet than in rabbits fed the control diet, especially in the cecum. The consumption of mannitol caused bacterial proliferation in the cecum characterized by marked short-chain fatty acid production (165% of the CG, P < 0.05), decreased cecal ammonia N (73% of the CG, P < 0.05) and elevated cecal bacterial N (150% of the CG, P < 0.05). On the other hand, addition of d-mannitol to the diet decreased N (80% of the CG, P < 0.05) and 15N (77% of the CG, P < 0.05) excretion in the urine. These results indicate that d-mannitol increases the transfer of blood urea N to the large intestine, where it is used for bacterial N synthesis.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 – August 5, 2010.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 – August 5, 2010.

Wolbachia bacteria are among the most common endosymbionts in insects. In Wolbachia research, the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene has been used as a phylogenetic tool, but relationships inferred by single-locus analysis can be unreliable because of the extensive genome recombination among Wolbachia strains. Therefore, a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method for Wolbachia, which relies upon a set of five conserved genes, is recommended. In this study, we examined whether the alnus ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford), is infected with Wolbachia using wsp and MLST genes. Wolbachia was detected from all tested specimens of X. germanus (n=120) by wsp amplification. Five distinct sequences (i.e. five alleles) for wsp were found, and labeled as wXge1–5. MLST analysis and molecular phylogeny of concatenated sequences of MLST genes identified wXge3 and wXge5 as closely-related strains. The detection rate of wXge4 and wXge1 was 100% and 63.3%, respectively; wXge2, wXge3 and wXge5 were detected from less than 15% of specimens. We performed mitochondrial haplotype analyses that identified three genetic types of X. germanus, i.e. Clades A, B and C. Wsp alleles wXge1, wXge2 and wXge4 were detected in all clade A beetles; wXge2 allele was absent from Clades B and C. We concluded that (i) five wsp alleles were found from X. germanus, (ii) use of MLST genes, rather than the wsp gene, are more suited to construct Wolbachia phylogenies and (iii) wsp alleles wXge2 and wXge3/wXge5 would infect clade A and clade B/C of X. germanus, respectively.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

Few electron optical inventions have revolutionized the TEM/ STEM as profoundly as the spherical aberration (Cs) corrector has. Characterization of technologically important materials increasingly needs to be done at the atomic or even sub-atomic level. This characterization includes determination of atomic structure as well as structural chemistry. With Cs correctors, the sub-Angstrom imaging barrier has been passed, and fast atomic scale spectroscopy is possible. In addition to improvements in resolution, Cs correctors offer a number of other significant improvements and benefits.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2007 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA, August 5 – August 9, 2007

Heteroepitaxial oxide thin films are usually grown on single crystal substrate which offer a similar lattice constant as the target material. In general, there are no substrates that are suitable for film fabrication and have a good lattice matching. In our previous report, we succeeded in fabricating a lattice constant tunable buffer by using a Ba1-xSrxTiO3 / BaTiO3 bilayer structure on SrTiO3. The in-plane lattice constant of the buffer layer can be tuned from 3.91 to 3.99 Å and the lattice constant is determined only by the Ba/Sr ratio in the Ba1-xSrxTiO3 layer. The buffer is suitable for growing both strain-free films and strained films. In this report we demonstrate the use of the lattice constant tunable buffer for strain control in SrRuO3 magnetic thin films. SrRuO3 has a magnetic anisotropy which changes under lattice strain. We show that the easy axis of magnetization is parallel to the film surface under tensile strain on a Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 buffer. The easy axis is perpendicular to the surface in compressively strained films. The tensile strain in a film also results in an increase of the ferromagnetic ordering temperature from a bulk value of 160 K to 164 K.