Seawater carbonate chemistry, physiology, morphology of larval sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus in a laboratory experiment

Ocean warming and ocean acidification, both consequences of anthropogenic production of CO2, will combine to influence the physiological performance of many species in the marine environment. In this study, we used an integrative approach to forecast the impact of future ocean conditions on larval purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) from the northeast Pacific Ocean. In laboratory experiments that simulated ocean warming and ocean acidification, we examined larval development, skeletal growth, metabolism and patterns of gene expression using an orthogonal comparison of two temperature (13°C and 18°C) and pCO2 (400 and 1100 µatm) conditions. Simultaneous exposure to increased temperature and pCO2 significantly reduced larval metabolism and triggered a widespread downregulation of histone encoding genes. pCO2 but not temperature impaired skeletal growth and reduced the expression of a major spicule matrix protein, suggesting that skeletal growth will not be further inhibited by ocean warming. Importantly, shifts in skeletal growth were not associated with developmental delay. Collectively, our results indicate that global change variables will have additive effects that exceed thresholds for optimized physiological performance in this keystone marine species.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and carbon allocation, growth and morphology of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (calcifying strain CCMP 371) during experiments, 2011

Coccolithophores are unicellular phytoplankton that produce calcium carbonate coccoliths as an exoskeleton. Emiliania huxleyi, the most abundant coccolithophore in the world's ocean, plays a major role in the global carbon cycle by regulating the exchange of CO2 across the ocean-atmosphere interface through photosynthesis and calcium carbonate precipitation. As CO2 concentration is rising in the atmosphere, the ocean is acidifying and ammonium (NH4) concentration of future ocean water is expected to rise. The latter is attributed to increasing anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition, increasing rates of cyanobacterial N2 fixation due to warmer and more stratified oceans, and decreased rates of nitrification due to ocean acidification. Thus future global climate change will cause oceanic phytoplankton to experience changes in multiple environmental parameters including CO2, pH, temperature and nitrogen source. This study reports on the combined effect of elevated pCO2 and increased NH4 to nitrate (NO3) ratio (NH4/NO3) on E. huxleyi, maintained in continuous cultures for more than 200 generations under two pCO2 levels and two different N sources. Here we show that NH4 assimilation under N-replete conditions depresses calcification at both low and high pCO2, alters coccolith morphology, and increases primary production. We observed that N source and pCO2 synergistically drive growth rates, cell size and the ratio of inorganic to organic carbon. These responses to N source suggest that, compared to increasing CO2 alone, a greater disruption of the organic carbon pump could be expected in response to the combined effect of increased NH4/NO3 ratio and CO2 level in the future acidified ocean. Additional experiments conducted under lower nutrient conditions are needed prior to extrapolating our findings to the global oceans. Nonetheless, our results emphasize the need to assess combined effects of multiple environmental parameters on phytoplankton biology in order to develop accurate predictions of phytoplankton responses to ocean acidification.

Mineral and chemical composition of surface bottom sediments from the Onega Bay, White Sea

The distribution of temperature and salinity, current velocities, suspended particulate matter, bottom sediments, bottom morphology, and planktonic and benthic organisms during the summer period are studied in the estuary of the large Onega River and coastal areas of the Onega Bay (White Sea) influenced by interacting marine and riverine factors.

Geographical variation in shell morphology of juvenile snails (Concholepas concholepas) along the physical-chemical gradient of the Chilean coast

Changes in phenotypic traits, such as mollusc shells, are indicative of variations in selective pressure along environmental gradients. Recently, increased sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean acidification (OA) due to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the seawater have been described as selective agents that may affect the biological processes underlying shell formation in calcifying marine organisms. The benthic snail Concholepas concholepas (Muricidae) is widely distributed along the Chilean coast, and so is naturally exposed to a strong physical-chemical latitudinal gradient. In this study, based on elliptical Fourier analysis, we assess changes in shell morphology (outlines analysis) in juvenile C. concholepas collected at northern (23°S), central (33°S) and southern (39°S) locations off the Chilean coast. Shell morphology of individuals collected in northern and central regions correspond to extreme morphotypes, which is in agreement with both the observed regional differences in the shell apex outlines, the high reclassification success of individuals (discriminant function analysis) collected in these regions, and the scaling relationship in shell weight variability among regions. However, these extreme morphotypes showed similar patterns of mineralization of calcium carbonate forms (calcite and aragonite). Geographical variability in shell shape of C. concholepas described by discriminant functions was partially explained by environmental variables (pCO2, SST). This suggests the influence of corrosive waters, such as upwelling and freshwaters penetrating into the coastal ocean, upon spatial variation in shell morphology. Changes in the proportion of calcium carbonate forms precipitated by C. concholepas across their shells and its susceptibility to corrosive coastal waters are discussed.

Temperature affects the morphology and calcification of Emiliania huxleyi strains

The global warming debate has sparked an unprecedented interest in temperature effects on coccolithophores. The calcification response to temperature changes reported in the literature, however, is ambiguous. The two main sources of this ambiguity are putatively differences in experimental setup and strain-specificity. In this study we therefore compare three strains isolated in the North Pacific under identical experimental conditions. Three strains of Emiliania huxleyi type A were grown under non-limiting nutrient and light conditions, at 10, 15, 20 and 25 ºC. All three strains displayed similar growth rate versus temperature relationships, with an optimum at 20-25 ºC. Elemental production (particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), particulate organic carbon (POC), total particulate nitrogen (TPN)), coccolith mass, coccolith size, and width of the tube elements cycle were positively correlated with temperature over the sub-optimum to optimum temperature range. The correlation between PIC production and coccolith mass/size supports the notion that coccolith mass can be used as a proxy for PIC production in sediment samples. Increasing PIC production was significantly positively correlated with the percentage of incomplete coccoliths in one strain only. Generally, coccoliths were heavier when PIC production was higher. This shows that incompleteness of coccoliths is not due to time shortage at high PIC production. Sub-optimal growth temperatures lead to an increase in the percentage of malformed coccoliths in a strain-specific fashion. Since in total only six strains have been tested thus far, it is presently difficult to say whether sub-optimal temperature is an important factor causing malformations in the field. The most important parameter in biogeochemical terms, the PIC:POC, shows a minimum at optimum growth temperature in all investigated strains. This clarifies the ambiguous picture featuring in the literature, i.e. discrepancies between PIC:POC-temperature relationships reported in different studies using different strains and different experimental setups. In summary, global warming might cause a decline in coccolithophore's PIC contribution to the rain ratio, as well as improved fitness in some genotypes due to less coccolith malformations.

Microsensor studies on Padina from a natural CO2 seep: implications of morphology on acclimation to low pH

Low seawater pH can be harmful to many calcifying marine organisms, but the calcifying macroalgae Padina spp. flourish at natural submarine carbon dioxide seeps where seawater pH is low. We show that the microenvironment created by the rolled thallus margin of Padina australis facilitates supersaturation of CaCO3 and calcifi-cation via photosynthesis-induced elevated pH. Using microsensors to investigate oxygen and pH dynamics in the microenvironment of P. australis at a shallow CO2 seep, we found that, under saturating light, the pH inside the microenvironment (pHME) was higher than the external seawater (pHSW) at all pHSW levels investigated, and the difference (i.e., pHME-pHSW) increased with decreasing pHSW (0.9 units at pHSW 7.0). Gross photosynthesis (Pg) inside the microenvironment increased with decreasing pHSW, but algae from the control site reached a threshold at pH 6.5. Seep algae showed no pH threshold with respect to Pg within the pHSW range investigated. The external carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitor, acetazolamide, strongly inhibited Pg of P. australis at pHSW 8.2, but the effect was diminished under low pHSW (6.4-7.5), suggesting a greater dependence on membrane-bound CA for the dehydration of HCO3- ions during dissolved inorganic carbon uptake at the higher pHSW. In comparison, a calcifying green alga, Halimeda cuneata f. digitata, was not inhibited by AZ, suggesting efficient bicarbonate transport. The ability of P. australis to elevate pHME at the site of calcification and its strong dependence on CA may explain why it can thrive at low pHSW.

Surface InGaAs nanostructures for sensing applications

El desarrollo de sensores está ganando cada vez mayor importancia debido a la concienciación ciudadana sobre el medio ambiente haciendo que su desarrollo sea muy elevado en todas las disciplinas, entre las que cabe destacar, la medicina, la biología y la química. A pesar de la existencia de estos dispositivos, este área está aún por mejorar, ya que muchos de los materiales propuestos hasta el momento e incluso los ya comercializados muestran importantes carencias de funcionamiento, eficiencia e integrabilidad entre otros. Para la mejora de estos dispositivos, se han propuesto diversas aproximaciones basadas en nanosistemas. Quizá, uno de las más prometedoras son las nanoestructuras de punto cuántico, y en particular los semiconductores III-V basados en la consolidada tecnología de los arseniuros, las cuáles ofrecen excelentes propiedades para su uso como sensores. Además, estudios recientes demuestran su gran carácter sensitivo al medio ambiente, la posibilidad de funcionalizar la superficie para la fabricación de sensores interdisciplinares y posibilididad de mejorar notablemente su eficiencia. A lo largo de esta tesis, nos centramos en la investigación de SQD de In0.5Ga0.5As sobre substratos de GaAs(001) para el desarrollo de sensores de humedad. La tesis abarca desde el diseño, crecimiento y caracterización de las muestras hasta la el posterior procesado y caracterización de los dispositivos finales. La optimización de los parámetros de crecimiento es fundamental para conseguir una nanoestructura con las propiedades operacionales idóneas para un fin determinado. Como es bien sabido en la literatura, los parámetros de crecimiento (temperatura de crecimiento, relación de flujos del elemento del grupo V y del grupo I II (V/III), velocidad de crecimiento y tratamiento térmico después de la formación de la capa activa) afectan directamente a las propiedades estructurales, y por tanto, operacionales de los puntos cuánticos (QD). En esta tesis, se realiza un estudio de las condiciones de crecimiento para el uso de In0.5Ga0.5As SQDs como sensores. Para los parámetros relacionados con la temperatura de crecimiento de los QDs y la relación de flujos V / I I I se utilizan los estudios previamente realizados por el grupo. Mientras que este estudio se centrará en la importancia de la velocidad de crecimiento y en el tratamiento térmico justo después de la nucleación de los QDs. Para ello, se establece la temperatura de creciemiento de los QDs en 430°C y la relación de flujos V/III en 20. Como resultado, los valores más adecuados que se obtienen para la velocidad de crecimiento y el tratamiento térmico posterior a la formación de los puntos son, respectivamente, 0.07ML/s y la realización de una bajada y subida brusca de la temperatura del substrato de 100°C con respecto a la temperatura de crecimiento de los QDs. El crecimiento a una velocidad lo suficientemente alta que permita la migración de los átomos por la superficie, pero a su vez lo suficientemente baja para que se lleve a cabo la nucleación de los QDs; en combinación con el tratamiento brusco de temperatura que hace que se conserve la forma y composición de los QDs, da lugar a unos SQDs con un alto grado de homogeneidad y alta densidad superficial. Además, la caracterización posterior indica que estas nanoestructuras de gran calidad cristalina presentan unas propiedades ópticas excelentes incluso a temperatura ambiente. Una de las características por la cual los SQD de Ino.5Gao.5As se consideran candidatos prometedores para el desarrollo de sensores es el papel decisivo que juega la superficie por el mero hecho de estar en contacto directo con las partículas del ambiente y, por tanto, por ser capaces de interactuar con sus moléculas. Así pues, con el fin de demostrar la idoneidad de este sistema para dicha finalidad, se evalúa el impacto ambiental en las propiedades ópticas y eléctricas de las muestras. En un primer lugar, se analiza el efecto que tiene el medio en las propiedades ópticas. Para dicha evaluación se compara la variación de las propiedades de emisión de una capa de puntos enterrada y una superficial en distintas condiciones externas. El resultado que se obtiene es muy claro, los puntos enterrados no experimentan un cambio óptico apreciable cuando se varían las condiciones del entorno; mientras que, la emisión de los SQDs se modifica significativamente con las condiciones del medio. Por una parte, la intensidad de emisión de los puntos superficiales desaparece en condiciones de vacío y decrece notablemente en atmósferas secas de gases puros (N2, O2). Por otra parte, la fotoluminiscencia se conserva en ambientes húmedos. Adicionalmente, se observa que la anchura a media altura y la longitud de onda de emisión no se ven afectadas por los cambios en el medio, lo que indica, que las propiedades estructurales de los puntos se conservan al variar la atmósfera. Estos resultados apuntan directamente a los procesos que tienen lugar en la superficie entre estados confinados y superficiales como responsables principales de este comportamiento. Así mismo, se ha llevado a cabo un análisis más detallado de la influencia de la calidad y composición de la atmósfera en las propiedades ópticas de los puntos cuánticos superficiales. Para ello, se utilizan distintas sustancias con diferente polaridad, composición atómica y masa molecular. Como resultado se observa que las moléculas de menor polaridad y más pesadas causan una mayor variación en la intensidad de emisión. Además, se demuestra que el oxígeno juega un papel decisivo en las propiedades ópticas. En presencia de moléculas que contienen oxígeno, la intensidad de fotoluminiscencia disminuye menos que en atmósferas constituidas por especies que no contienen oxígeno. Las emisión que se observa respecto a la señal en aire es del 90% y del 77%, respectivamente, en atmósferas con presencia o ausencia de moléculas de oxígeno. El deterioro de la señal de emisión se atribuye a la presencia de defectos, enlaces insaturados y, en general, estados localizados en la superficie. Estos estados actúan como centros de recombinación no radiativa y, consecuentemente, se produce un empeoramiento de las propiedades ópticas de los SQDs. Por tanto, la eliminación o reducción de la densidad de estos estados superficiales haría posible una mejora de la intensidad de emisión. De estos experimentos de fotoluminiscencia, se deduce que las interacciones entre las moléculas presentes en la atmósfera y la superficie de la muestra modifican la superficie. Esta alteración superficial se traduce en un cambio significativo en las propiedades de emisión. Este comportamiento se atribuye a la posible adsorción de moléculas sobre la superficie pasivando los centros no radiativos, y como consecuencia, mejorando las propiedades ópticas. Además, los resultados demuestran que las moléculas que contienen oxígeno con mayor polaridad y más ligeras son adsorbidas con mayor facilidad, lo que hace que la intensidad óptica sufra variaciones despreciables con respecto a la emisión en aire. Con el fin de desarrollar sensores, las muestras se procesan y los dispositivos se caracterizan eléctricamente. El procesado consiste en dos contactos cuadrados de una aleación de Ti/Au. Durante el procesado, lo más importante a tener en cuenta es no realizar ningún ataque o limpieza que pueda dañar la superficie y deteriorar las propiedades de las nanostructuras. En este apartado, se realiza un análisis completo de una serie de tres muestras: GaAs (bulk), un pozo cuántico superficial (SQW) de Ino.5Gao.5As y SQDs de Ino.5Gao.5As. Para ello, a cada una de las muestras se le realizan medidas de I-V en distintas condiciones ambientales. En primer lugar, siguiendo los resultados obtenidos ópticamente, se lleva a cabo una comparación de la respuesta eléctrica en vacío y aire. A pesar de que todas las muestras presentan un carácter más resistivo en vacío que en aire, se observa una mayor influencia sobre la muestra de SQD. En vacío, la resistencia de los SQDs decrece un 99% respecto de su valor en aire, mientras que la variación de la muestras de GaAs e Ino.5Gao.5As SQW muestran una reducción, respectivamente, del 31% y del 20%. En segundo lugar, se realiza una evaluación aproximada del posible efecto de la humedad en la resistencia superficial de las muestras mediante la exhalación humana. Como resultado se obtiene, que tras la exhalación, la resistencia disminuye bruscamente y recupera su valor inicial cuando dicho proceso concluye. Este resultado preliminar indica que la humedad es un factor crítico en las propiedades eléctricas de los puntos cuánticos superficiales. Para la determinación del papel de la humedad en la respuesta eléctrica, se somete a las muestras de SQD y SQW a ambientes con humedad relativa (RH, de la siglas del inglés) controlada y se analiza el efecto sobre la conductividad superficial. Tras la variación de la RH desde 0% hasta el 70%, se observa que la muestra SQW no cambia su comportamiento eléctrico al variar la humedad del ambiente. Sin embargo, la respuesta de la muestra SQD define dos regiones bien diferenciadas, una de alta sensibilidad para valores por debajo del 50% de RH, en la que la resistencia disminuye hasta en un orden de magnitud y otra, de baja sensibilidad (>50%), donde el cambio de la resistencia es menor. Este resultado resalta la especial relevancia no sólo de la composición sino también de la morfología de la nanostructura superficial en el carácter sensitivo de la muestra. Por último, se analiza la influencia de la iluminación en la sensibilidad de la muestra. Nuevamente, se somete a las muestras SQD y SQW a una irradiación de luz de distinta energía y potencia a la vez que se varía controladamente la humedad ambiental. Una vez más, se observa que la muestra SQW no presenta ninguna variación apreciable con las alteraciones del entorno. Su resistencia superficial permanece prácticamente inalterable tanto al modificar la potencia de la luz incidente como al variar la energía de la irradiación. Por el contrario, en la muestra de SQD se obtiene una reducción la resistencia superficial de un orden de magnitud al pasar de condiciones de oscuridad a iluminación. Con respecto a la potencia y energía de la luz incidente, se observa que a pesar de que la muestra no experimenta variaciones notables con la potencia de la irradiación, esta sufre cambios significativos con la energía de la luz incidente. Cuando se ilumina con energías por encima de la energía de la banda prohibida (gap) del GaAs (Eg ~1.42 eV ) se produce una reducción de la resistencia de un orden de magnitud en atmósferas húmedas, mientras que en atmósferas secas la conductividad superficial permanece prácticamente constante. Sin embargo, al inicidir con luz de energía menor que Eg, el efecto que se produce en la respuesta eléctrica es despreciable. Esto se atribuye principalmente a la densidad de portadores fotoactivados durante la irradiación. El volumen de portadores excita dos depende de la energía de la luz incidente. De este modo, cuando la luz que incide tiene energía menor que el gap, el volumen de portadores generados es pequeño y no contribuye a la conductividad superficial. Por el contrario, cuando la energía de la luz incidente es alta (Eg), el volumen de portadores activados es elevado y éstos contribuyen significantemente a la conductividad superficial. La combinación de ambos agentes, luz y humedad, favorece el proceso de adsorción de moléculas y, por tanto, contribuye a la reducción de la densidad de estados superficiales, dando lugar a una modificación de la estructura electrónica y consecuentemente favoreciendo o dificultando el transporte de portadores. ABSTRACT Uncapped three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures have been generally grown to assess their structural quality. However, the tremendous growing importance of the impact of the environment on life has become such nanosystems in very promising candidates for the development of sensing devices. Their direct exposure to changes in the local surrounding may influence their physical properties being a perfect sign of the atmosphere quality. The goal of this thesis is the research of Ino.5Gao.5As surface quantum dots (SQDs) on GaAs(001), covering from their growth to device fabrication, for sensing applications. The achievement of this goal relies on the design, growth and sample characterization, along with device fabrication and characterization. The first issue of the thesis is devoted to analyze the main growth parameters affecting the physical properties of the Ino.5Gao.5As SQDs. It is well known that the growing conditions (growth temperature , deposition rate, V/III flux ratio and treatment after active layer growth) directly affect the physical properties of the epilayer. In this part, taking advantage of the previous results in the group regarding Ino.5Gao.5As QD growth temperature and V/III ratio, the effect of the growth rate and the temperature treatment after QDs growth nucleation is evaluated. Setting the QDs growth temperature at 430°C and the V/III flux ratio to ~20, it is found that the most appropriate conditions rely on growing the QDs at 0.07ML/s and just after QD nucleation, rapidly dropping and again raising 100°C the substrate temperature with respect to the temperature of QD growth. The combination of growing at a fast enough growth rate to promote molecule migration but sufficiently slow to allow QD nucleation, together with the sharp variation of the temperature preserving their shape and composition yield to high density, homogeneous Ino.5Gao.5As SQDs. Besides, it is also demonstrated that this high quality SQDs show excellent optical properties even at room temperature (RT). One of the characteristics by which In0.5Ga0.5As/GaAs SQDs are considered promising candidates for sensing applications is the crucial role that surface plays when interacting with the gases constituting the atmosphere. Therefore, in an attempt to develop sensing devices, the influence of the environment on the physical properties of the samples is evaluated. By comparing the resulting photoluminescence (PL) of SQDs with buried QDs (BQDs), it is found that BQDs do not exhibit any significant variation when changing the environmental conditions whereas, the external conditions greatly act on the SQDs optical properties. On one hand, it is evidenced that PL intensity of SQDs sharply quenches under vacuum and clearly decreases under dry-pure gases atmospheres (N2, O2). On the other hand, it is shown that, in water containing atmospheres, the SQDs PL intensity is maintained with respect to that in air. Moreover, it is found that neither the full width at half maximun nor the emission wavelength manifest any noticeable change indicating that the QDs are not structurally altered by the external atmosphere. These results decisively point to the processes taking place at the surface such as coupling between confined and surface states, to be responsible of this extraordinary behavior. A further analysis of the impact of the atmosphere composition on the optical characteristics is conducted. A sample containing one uncapped In0.5Ga0.5As QDs layer is exposed to different environments. Several solvents presenting different polarity, atomic composition and molecular mass, are used to change the atmosphere composition. It is revealed that low polarity and heavy molecules cause a greater variation on the PL intensity. Besides, oxygen is demonstrated to play a decisive role on the PL response. Results indicate that in presence of oxygen-containing molecules, the PL intensity experiments a less reduction than that suffered in presence of nonoxygen-containing molecules, 90% compared to 77% signal respect to the emission in air. In agreement with these results, it is demonstrated that high polarity and lighter molecules containing oxygen are more easily adsorbed, and consequently, PL intensity is less affected. The presence of defects, unsaturated bonds and in general localized states in the surface are proposed to act as nonradiative recombination centers deteriorating the PL emission of the sample. Therefore, suppression or reduction of the density of such states may lead to an increase or, at least, conservation of the PL signal. This research denotes that the interaction between sample surface and molecules in the atmosphere modifies the surface characteristics altering thus the optical properties. This is attributed to the likely adsoption of some molecules onto the surface passivating the nonradiative recombination centers, and consequently, not deteriorating the PL emission. Aiming for sensors development, samples are processed and electrically characterized under different external conditions. Samples are processed with two square (Ti/Au) contacts. During the processing, especial attention must be paid to the surface treatment. Any process that may damage the surface such as plasma etching or annealing must be avoided to preserve the features of the surface nanostructures. A set of three samples: a GaAs (bulk), In0.5Ga0.5As SQDs and In0.5Ga0.5As surface quantum well (SQW) are subjected to a throughout evaluation. I-V characteristics are measured following the results from the optical characterization. Firstly, the three samples are exposed to vacuum and air. Despite the three samples exhibit a more resistive character in vacuum than in air, it is revealed a much more clear influence of the pressure atmosphere in the SQDs sample. The sheet resistance (Rsh) of SQDs decreases a 99% from its response value under vacuum to its value in air, whereas Rsh of GaAs and In0.5Ga0.5As SQW reduces its value a 31% and a 20%, respectively. Secondly, a rough analysis of the effect of the human breath on the electrical response evidences the enormous influence of moisture (human breath is composed by several components but the one that overwhelms all the rest is the high concentration of water vapor) on the I-V characteristics. Following this result, In0.5Ga0.5As SQDs and In0.5Ga0.5As SQW are subjected to different controlled relative humidity (RH) environments (from 0% to 70%) and electrically characterized. It is found that SQW shows a nearly negligible Rsh variation when increasing the RH in the surroundings. However, the response of SQDs to changes in the RH defines two regions. Below 50%, high sensitive zone, Rsh of SQD decreases by more than one order of magnitude, while above 50% the dependence of Rsh on the RH becomes weaker. These results remark the role of the surface and denote the existence of a finite number of surface states. Nevertheless, most significantly, they highlight the importance not only of the material but also of the morphology. Finally, the impact of the illumination is determined by means of irradiating the In0.5Ga0.5As SQDs and In0.5Ga0.5As SQW samples with different energy and power sources. Once again, SQW does not exhibit any correlation between the surface conductivity and the external conditions. Rsh remains nearly unalterable independently of the energy and power of the incident light. Conversely, Rsh of SQD experiences a decay of one order of magnitude from dark-to-photo conditions. This is attributed to the less density of surface states of SQW compared to that of SQDs. Additionally, a different response of Rsh of SQD with the energy of the impinging light is found. Illuminating with high energy light results in a Rsh reduction of one order of mag nitude under humid atmospheres, whereas it remains nearly unchanged under dry environments. On the contrary, light with energy below the bulk energy bandgap (Eg), shows a negligible effect on the electrical properties regardless the local moisture. This is related to the density of photocarriers generated while lighting up. Illuminating with excitation energy below Eg affects a small absorption volume and thus, a low density of photocarriers may be activated leading to an insignificant contribution to the conductivity. Nonetheless, irradiating with energy above the Eg can excite a high density of photocarriers and greatly improve the surface conductivity. These results demonstrate that both illumination and humidity are therefore needed for sensing. The combination of these two agents improves the surface passivation by means of molecule adsorption reducing the density of surface states, thus modifying the electronic structures, and consequently, promoting the carrier motion.

Volume, Surface, Connectivity and Size Distribution of Soil Pore Space in CT Images: Comparison of Samples at Different Depths from Nearby Natural and Tillage Areas

The study of soil structure, i.e., the pores, is of vital importance in different fields of science and technology. Total pore volume (porosity), pore surface, pore connectivity and pore size distribution are some (probably the most important) of the geometric measurements of pore space. The technology of X-ray computed tomography allows us to obtain 3D images of the inside of a soil sample enabling study of the pores without disturbing the samples. In this work we performed a set of geometrical measures, some of them from mathematical morphology, to assess and quantify any possible difference that tillage may have caused on the soil. We compared samples from tilled soil with samples from a soil with natural vegetation taken in a very close area. Our results show that the main differences between these two groups of samples are total surface area and pore connectivity per unit pore volume.

Soil aggregate geometry: Measurements and morphology

Aggregates provide physical microenvironments for microorganisms, the vital actors of soil systems, and thus play a major role as both, an arena and a product of soil carbon stabilization and dynamics. The surface of an aggregate is what enables exchange of the materials and air and water fluxes between aggregate exterior and interior regions. We made use of 3D images from X-ray CT of aggregates and mathematical morphology to provide an exhaustive quantitative description of soil aggregate morphology that includes both intra-aggregate pore space structure and aggregate surface features. First, the evolution of Minkowski functionals (i.e. volume, boundary surface, curvature and connectivity) for successive dilations of the solid part of aggregates was investigated to quantify its 3D geometrical features. Second, the inner pore space was considered as the object of interest. We devised procedures (a) to define the ends of the accessible pores that are connected to the aggregate surface and (b) to separate accessible and inaccessible porosity. Geometrical Minkowski functionals of the intra-aggregate pore space provide the exhaustive characterization of the inner structure of the aggregates. Aggregates collected from two different soil treatments were analyzed to explore the utility of these morphological tools in capturing the impact on their morphology of two different soil managements, i.e. conventional tillage management, and native succession vegetation treatment. The quantitative tools of mathematical morphology distinguished differences in patterns of aggregate structure associated to the different soil managements.

Morphology of the Yeast Endocytic Pathway

Positively charged Nanogold (Nanoprobes, Stony Brook, NY) has been developed as a new marker to follow the endocytic pathway in yeast. Positively charged Nanogold binds extensively to the surface of yeast spheroplasts and is internalized in an energy-dependent manner. Internalization of gold is blocked in the end3 mutant. During a time course of incubation of yeast spheroplasts with positively charged Nanogold at 15°C, the gold was detected sequentially in small vesicles, a peripheral, vesicular/tubular compartment that we designate as an early endosome, a multivesicular body corresponding to the late endosome near the vacuole, and in the vacuole. Experiments examining endocytosis in the sec18 mutant showed an accumulation of positively charged Nanogold in approximately 30–50 nm diameter vesicles. These vesicles most likely represent the primary endocytic vesicles as no other intermediates were detected in the mutant cells, and they correspond in size to the first vesicles detected in wild-type spheroplasts at 15°C. These data lend strong support to the idea that the internalization step of endocytosis in yeast involves formation of small vesicles of uniform size from the plasma membrane.

Targeted disruption of vinculin genes in F9 and embryonic stem cells changes cell morphology, adhesion, and locomotion.

Vinculin, a major constituent of focal adhesions and zonula adherens junctions, is thought to be involved in linking the microfilaments to areas of cell-substrate and cell-cell contacts. To test the role of vinculin in cell adhesion and motility, we used homologous recombination to generate F9 embryonal carcinoma and embryonic stem cell clones homozygous for a disrupted vinculin gene. When compared to wild-type cells, vinculin-mutant cells displayed a rounder morphology and a reduced ability to adhere and spread on plastic or fibronectin. Decreased adhesion of the mutant cells was associated with a reduction in lamellipodial extensions, as observed by time-lapse video microscopy. The locomotive activities of control F9 and the vinculin-null cells were compared in two assays. Loss of vinculin resulted in a 2.4-fold increase in cell motility. These results demonstrate an important role for vinculin in determining cell shape, adhesion, surface protrusive activity, and cell locomotion.