An in-situ surface electrochemistry approach toward whole-cell studies: Charge transfer between Geobacter sulfurreducens and electrified metal/electrolyte interfaces through linker molecules

Electrochemical reactivity and structure properties of electrogenic bacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens (Gs) were studied to explore the heterogeneous electron transfer at the bacteria/electrode interface using electrochemical and in-situ spectroscopic techniques. The redox behavior of Gs adsorbed on a gold electrode, which is modified with a ω-functionalized self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of alkanethiols, depends strongly on the terminal group. The latter interacts directly with outermost cytochromes embedded into the outer membrane of the Gs cells. The redox potential of bacterial cells bound electrostatically to a carboxyl-terminated SAM is close to that observed for bacteria attached to a bare gold electrode, revealing a high electronic coupling at the cell/SAM interface. The redox potentials of bacterial cells adsorbed on amino- and pyridyl-terminated SAMs are significantly different suggesting that the outermost cytochromes changes their conformation upon adsorption on these SAMs. No redox activity of Gs was found with CH3-, N(CH3)3+- and OH-terminated SAMs. Complementary in-situ spectroscopic studies on bacteria/SAMs/Au electrode assemblies were carried out to monitor structure changes of the bacterial cells upon polarization. Spectro-electrochemical techniques revealed the electrochemical turnover of the oxidized and reduced states of outer membrane cytochromes (OMCs) in Gs, providing evidence that the OMCs are responsible for the direct electron transfer to metal electrodes, such as gold or silver, during the electricity production. Furthermore, we observed spectroscopic signatures of the native structure of the OMCs and no conformational change during the oxidation/reduction process of the microorganisms. These findings indicate that the carboxyl-anchoring group provides biocompatible conditions for the outermost cytochromes of the Gs, which facilitate the heterogeneous electron transfer at the microorganism/electrode interface.

In Situ SHINERS at Electrochemical Single-Crystal Electrode/Electrolyte Interfaces: Tuning Preparation Strategies and Selected Applications

We have studied Au(55 nm)@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) on two low-index phases of gold and platinum single crystal electrodes in ClO4– and SO42– ion-containing electrolytes by both electrochemical methods and in-situ shell-isolated nanoparticle enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). We showed the blocking of the electrode with surfactants originating from the synthesis of as-prepared SHINERS NPs. We introduce an efficient procedure to overcome this problem, which provides a fundamental platform for the application of SHINERS in surface electrochemistry and beyond. Our method is based on a hydrogen evolution treatment of the SHINERS-NP-modified single-crystal surfaces. The reliability of our preparation strategy is demonstrated in electrochemical SHINERS experiments on the potential-controlled adsorption and phase formation of pyridine on Au(hkl) and Pt(hkl). We obtained high-quality Raman spectra on these well-defined and structurally carefully characterized single-crystal surfaces. The analysis of the characteristic A1 vibrational modes revealed perfect agreement with the interpretation of single-crystal voltammetric and chronoamperometric experiments. Our study demonstrates that the SHINERS protocol developed in this work qualifies this Raman method as a pioneering approach with unique opportunities for in situ structure and reactivity studies at well-defined electrochemical solid/liquid interfaces.

In-situ X-ray micro-diffraction studies of heterogeneous interfaces between cementitious materials and geological formations

In the present study the challenge of analyzing complex micro X-ray diffraction (microXRD) patterns from cement–clay interfaces has been addressed. In order to extract the maximum information concerning both the spatial distribution and the crystal structure type associated with each of the many diffracting grains in heterogeneous, polycrystalline samples, an approach has been developed in which microXRD was applied to thin sections which were rotated in the X-ray beam. The data analysis, performed on microXRD patterns collected from a filled vein of a cement–clay interface from the natural analogue in Maqarin (Jordan), and a sample from a two-year-old altered interface between cement and argillaceous rock, demonstrate the potential of this method.

Interfaces, strings, and a soft mode in the square lattice quantum dimer model

The quantum dimer model on the square lattice is a U(1) gauge theory that addresses aspects of the physics of high-Tc superconductors. Using a quantum Monte Carlo method, we show that the theory exists in a confining columnar valence bond solid phase. The interfaces separating distinct columnar phases display plaquette order, which, however, is not realized as a bulk phase. Static “electric” charges are confined by flux tubes that consist of multiple strands, each carrying a fractionalized flux ¼. A soft pseudo-Goldstone mode (which becomes exactly massless at the Rokhsar-Kivelson point) extends deep into the columnar phase, with potential implications for high-Tc physics.

Optogenetics: opsins and optical interfaces in neuroscience.

Optogenetics is defined as the integration of optics and genetics to control well-defined events within specified cells of living tissue. In this introduction, we focus on the basic techniques necessary for employing microbial opsins as optogenetic tools in mammalian brains. We provide a guide for the fundamentals of optogenetic application-selecting an opsin, implementing expression of opsins based on the neuroscientific experimental requirements, and adapting the corresponding optical hardware for delivery of light into mammalian brains.

An in situ surface electrochemistry approach towards whole-cell studies: the structure and reactivity of a Geobacter sulfurreducens submonolayer on electrified metal/electrolyte interfaces

A direct electron transfer process between bacterial cells of electrogenic species Geobacter sulfurreducens (Gs) and electrified electrode surfaces was studied to exploit the reactivity of Gs submonolayers on gold and silver surfaces. A submonolayer of Gs was prepared and studied to explore specifically the heterogeneous electron transfer properties at the bacteria/electrode interface. In situ microscopic techniques characterised the morphology of the Gs submonolayers under the operating conditions. In addition, complementary in situ spectroscopic techniques that allowed us to access in situ molecular information of the Gs with high surface selectivity and sensitivity were employed. The results provided clear evidence that the outermost cytochrome C in Gs is responsible for the heterogeneous electron transfer, which is in direct contact with the metal electrode. Feasibility of single cell in situ studies under operating conditions was demonstrated where the combination of surface-electrochemical tools at the nano- and micro-scale with microbiological approaches can offer unique opportunities for the emerging field of electro-microbiology to explore processes and interactions between microorganisms and electrical devices.

Textes classiques de la littérature religieuse des Israélites : précédés d'un précis de grammaire Hébrai͏̈que ...

par Léon Nordmann, aum ônier Israélite du Lycée Louis-le-Grand ...

Interfaces entre as políticas educacionais e os marcadores sociais : Quem sao os alunos que fracassam num contexto em todos têm direito a educaçao?

A implantaçao da obrigatoriedade do acesso à escola pública de Ensino Fundamental no Brasil, a partir do final dos aos 1980, produziu uma nova realidade no sistema de ensino. Por um lado, a taxa de frequência da escola básica passou de 75,03 (1990) para 92,14 (2010). Em contrapartida, a taxa de analfabetismo de pessoas com mais de 18 anos ainda é de 10,19 e somente 54,92 das pessoas com 18 anos ou mais tem Ensino Fundamental completo. Um conjunto de contradiçoes produzidas e reproduzidas sob o enfoque da justiça escolar a qual, norteia à universalizaçao do acesso a escola básica. Neste sentido, a ideia central desse trabalho foi reconhecer o perfil socioeducacional dos alunos em situaçao de fracasso escolar (repetência, distorçao idade-série e evasao escolar) no estado brasileiro que apresenta o melhor índice desenvolvimento da escola básica. Para tanto, foram analisadas as respostas de 87.607 questionários respondidos por alunos do 9o ano, participantes da Prova Brasil 2011. Com auxílio do software SPSS, foram produzidos procedimentos estatísticos para sistematizar e ampliar a análise que teve com suporte teórico as reflexoes preconizadas por distintos autores da Sociologia da Educaçao

Desarrollo de una guía de control para interfaces de búsqueda por materia en catálogos en línea de acceso web

El presente trabajo pretende desarrollar una guía de control (checklist) que permita evaluar la búsqueda por materia en la interfaz usuario-sistema de los catálogos en línea de bibliotecas accesibles vía Web, y probar su funcionamiento mediante la evaluación de diez interfaces de catálogos de bibliotecas argentinas, desarrollados en su mayoría en Microisis con una interfaz vía CGI para servidores Web y una interfaz de un catálogo español, desarrollado con un producto comercial altamente reconocido y difundido. Asimismo, se selecciona un método de análisis multivariante para el análisis de los resultados como una alternativa del análisis clásico por característica soportada y se evalúa su eficacia y utilidad.

XIII Congreso de la Federación Internacional de las Asociaciones de Estudios Clásicos (3ème Conférence de la Fédération Internationale des Associations d'Études Classiques)

Fil: Fernández, Claudia Nélida. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.