Physical methods for genetic plant transformation

Production of transgenic plants is a routine process for many crop species. Transgenes are introduced into plants to confer novel traits such as improved nutritional qualities, tolerance to pollutants, resistance to pathogens and for studies of plant metabolism. Nowadays, it is possible to insert genes from plants evolutionary distant from the host plant, as well as from fungi, viruses, bacteria and even animals. Genetic transformation requires penetration of the transgene through the plant cell wall, facilitated by biological or physical methods. The objective of this article is to review the state of the art of the physical methods used for genetic plant transformation and to describe the basic physics behind them.     

Morphology and thermal stability of AlF3 thin films grown on Cu(100)

The growth of ultrathin epitaxial layers of aluminum fluoride on Cu(100) has been studied by a combination of surface science techniques. Deposition at room temperature results in step decoration followed by the formation of dendritic two-dimensional islands that coalesce to form porous films. Ultrathin layers (up to 2 monolayers in thickness) are morphologically unstable upon annealing; de-wetting takes place around 430 K with the formation of three-dimensional islands and leaving a large fraction of the Cu surface uncovered. Films several nanometers thick, on the contrary, are stable up to ca. 730 K where desorption in molecular form sets on. The effect of electron irradiation on the AlF₃ has also been characterized by different spectroscopic techniques; we find that even small quantities of stray electrons from rear electron beam heating can provoke significant decomposition of the aluminum fluoride, resulting in the release of molecular fluorine and the formation of deposits of metallic aluminum. These features make AlF₃ an interesting material for spintronic applications.     

X-ray excited optical luminescence of Ce-doped BaAl2O4

The luminescence properties of Ce³⁺ in BaAl₂O₄ are reported. The results of simultaneous measurements of XEOL and XAS in the X-ray energy range that includes the Ba L_II,III-edges and Ce L_III edge are shown. The XEOL yield increases as the energy of the photons increases. The radioluminescence spectra, taken from 200 to 1100 nm, showed broad emission bands corresponding to 5d¹→²F_5/2, ²F_7/2 transitions of Ce³⁺ when incorporated into two nonequivalent Ba sites. The lifetime of the light emission was also measured using the single bunch operation mode at the Brazilian National Synchrotron Laboratory (LNLS), and BaAl₂O₄:Ce³⁺ showed single exponential decay time component of about 44.3 ns.     

Local Primitive Causality and the Common Cause Principle in Quantum Field Theory

If (V) is a net of local von Neumann algebras satisfying standard axioms of algebraic relativistic quantum field theory and V ₁ and V ₂ are spacelike separated spacetime regions, then the system ( (V ₁ ), (V ₂ ), ) is said to satisfy the Weak Reichenbach's Common Cause Principle iff for every pair of projections A (V ₁ ), B (V ₂ ) correlated in the normal state there exists a projection C belonging to a von Neumann algebra associated with a spacetime region V contained in the union of the backward light cones of V ₁ and V ₂ and disjoint from both V ₁ and V ₂ , a projection having the properties of a Reichenbachian common cause of the correlation between A and B. It is shown that if the net has the local primitive causality property then every local system ( (V ₁ ), (V ₂ ), ) with a locally normal and locally faithful state and suitable bounded V ₁ and V ₂ satisfies the Weak Reichenbach's Common Cause Principle.     

The measurements of anisotropy of ultrasound propagation and magnetic susceptibility in viscous ferrofluid

Results of experimental study of anisotropy of ultrasound propagation and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in a ferrofluid of considerable viscosity are reported. The dependence of the propagation velocity and absorption coefficient of ultrasonic wave on the angle between the direction of measurement and that of the magnetic field provides important information on the ferrofluid structure in a magnetic field. The results show that the ultrasonic absorption coefficient of a wave propagating in a viscous ferrofluid in a DC magnetic field depends mainly on the rotational degree of freedom. Measurements of the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility of a ferrofluid bring the information on the magnetic moment of the magnetic particles and their mean radius.     

Biorthogonal decomposition techniques unveil the nature of the irregularities observed in the solar cycle

We present a biorthogonal decomposition of the temporal and latitudinal distribution of sunspots recorded since 1874. We show that the butterfly diagrams can be interpreted as the result of approximately constant amplitudes and phases of two oscillations with periods close to 22 years. Our analysis reveals clear evidence of the absence of low-dimensional chaos, at least for the time scales that can be analyzed with this database. This result suggests that the spatiotemporal irregularities observed in the solar cycle are due to the superposition of regular structures with a stochastic background.     

Slow relaxation,confinement, and solitons

Millisecond crystal relaxation has been used to explain anomalous decay in doped alkali halides. We attribute this slowness to Fermi-Pasta-Ulam solitons. Our model exhibits confinement of mechanical energy released by excitation. Extending the model to long times is justified by its relation to solitons, excitations previously proposed to occur in alkali halides. Soliton damping and observation are also discussed.     

Spiral cracks in drying precipitates

We investigate the formation of spiral crack patterns during the desiccation of thin layers of precipitates in contact with a substrate. This symmetry-breaking fracturing mode is found to arise naturally not from torsion forces but from a propagating stress front induced by the foldup of the fragments. We model their formation mechanism using a coarse-grain model for fragmentation and successfully reproduce the spiral cracks. Fittings of experimental and simulation data show that the spirals are logarithmic. Theoretical aspects of the logarithmic spirals are discussed. In particular we show that this occurs generally when the crack speed is proportional to the propagating speed of stress front.     

LiH-(X2Σ+)+3,4He rotational quenching at ultralow energies: spin-flip and isotopic effects from quantum dynamics on an ionic system

We study in this work the quantum scattering between a helium atom and a LiH^- molecule at low and ultralow energies. For the noble gas we have considered the two natural isotopes ³He, ⁴He, plus a “mock” ^3.5He. Our aim is to clarify the role played by the isotopic changes of the mass in the buffer gas (in this case, helium) during collision events where the interaction is described through a newly computed ab initio rigid rotor potential between He and LiH^-. The main conclusion of the present study is that this anionic species could be a good candidate for He-driven sympathetic cooling in traps since its elastic cross sections are always found to be larger than the inelastic ones in a relevant range of nearly vanishing energies. The ³He isotope is found to be more efficient than the other examples, yielding larger quenching rates in comparison with its heavier counterparts. Spin-flip inelastic channels are also analysed and discussed in terms of their dependence on the present, weak, interaction potential between partners and found to provide a further, interesting feature of the present mixture. The new results are also compared with those found by us in earlier, similar, quantum calculations on different systems.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the mechanism for the kinetic of elimination of methyl carbazate in the gas phase

The elimination kinetic of methyl carbazate in the gas phase was determined in a static system over the temperature range of 340–390 °C and pressure range of 47–118 Torr. The reaction is homogeneous, unimolecular, and obeys a first order rate law. The decomposition products are methyl amine, nitrous acid, and CO gas. The variation of the rate coefficients with temperatures is given by the Arrhenius expression: log k₁ (s^?1) = (11.56 ± 0.34) ? (180.7 ± 4.1) kJ mol^?1(2.303 RT)^?1. The estimated kinetics and thermodynamics parameters are in good agreement to the experimental values using B3LYP/6‐31G (d,p), and MP2/6‐31G (d,p) levels of theory. These calculations imply a molecular mechanism involving a concerted non‐synchronous quasi three‐membered ring cyclic transition state to give an unstable intermediate, 1,2‐oxaziridin‐3‐one. Bond order analysis and natural charges implies that polarization of O (alkyl)? C (alkyl) bond of the ester is rate determining in this reaction. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.