Technologieangebote

Our scientists have identified a conserved defense mechanism covering a new metabolite in tobacco that protects against leafhoppers. They have discovered how to reconstitute it in vitro and engineer the compound in crop plants, demonstrating that it confers resistance to herbivores.

File no.: MI-1012-5677-LI-ZE
(liked to MI-1012-4430-LI-ZE describing the generation of neuro- epithelial stem cells as precursors for microtissue generation)

A robust method for producing and analyzing highly homogenous human neural organoids.

Recently, many efforts have been made to improve growth and yield of crop plants. CO₂ fixation in plants is primarily catalyzed by the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco). The inherent inefficiency of Rubisco necessitates an additional metabolic process termed photorespiration, which results in the loss of carbon and energy. In fact, it has been estimated that plants lose approximately 25% of the fixed carbon due to photorespiration. Despite several attempts to improve ...

With approximately 600,000 deaths annually colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancer types worldwide. Early cancer and pre-cancer (polyps) detection by colonoscopy over the age of 50 until now is the best strategy for disease control and the chance of the cancer to be curable. Epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation has been shown to occur already at early stages of tumor development making such differentially methylated regions (DMRs) highly attractive for biomarker development ...

Cancer remains a major health burden and is the second leading cause of death globally (WHO). The microenvironment of cancer cells plays an important role in disease progression. In particular, the composition of the extracellular matrix regulates angiogenesis, cell proliferation, differentiation, cell survival and apoptosis. Dysregulation and accumulation of the extracellular matrix promotes cellular transformation and metastasis leading to cancer progression. A better understanding of the role ...

Human influenza A virus (IAV) is responsible for seasonal disease in people and can cause worldwide pandemics. The main lines of defense against IAV are vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Influenza vaccines, including killed and live vaccines, recombinant virus-like particles and viral particles, have been available commercially for many years. Typically, the composition of influenza vaccines is based on the major influenza virus strains causing infection in the previous season. Accordingly, ...

In contrast to target-based drug discovery, phenotypic screening discloses the effect of a compound on a biological system without revealing its mode of action or its interaction sites. Phenotypic screening has delivered several new valuable drugs, however, the major challenge remains target deconvolution (1). In recent years, “omics” techniques and bioinformatics have brought significant advances to target identification in drug discovery phenotypic screening. However, such analyses can become ...

The offered invention relates to a device adapted to measure in real time the absolute chirality of a material. The device uses cavity-enhanced polarimetry (CCP), which allows for accurate enantiomeric excess determination of chiral compounds within mixtures at trace levels, without the need for calibration, even in the gas phase. Furthermore, by measuring the central frequency of any cavity mode, the device can directly measure the average refractive index of the intracavity medium.

This invention includes two alternative advanced methods to achieve a homogenous collector power distribution, which improves the collector capability of high power vacuum-tubes by a factor of two as compared to conventional methods. Furthermore the applied method has a high flexibility to vary the power distribution over a wide range of profiles and match the deposition profiles to different designs of collectors in existing or future electron tubes.

The dynamics of complex flows and turbulences are dominated by vortices of many different scales. In general, the vortex describes the group motion of fluid elements in a circular fashion, whereas the vorticity quantizes this spinning moment of a fluid element confined to a small neighborhood.

For diagnosis of flows, conventional techniques track the movements of small particles added into the flow (e.g., Lagrangian particle tracking, LPT, and particle image velocimetry, PIV). However, ...

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. B.anthracis can cause human disease via the gastrointestinal, cutaneous or inhalational routes. There is still a considerably high rate of mortality from inhalational anthrax of up to 75 percent, even though fluorquinolone class antibiotics (e.g., ciprofloxacin) are being administered as a first-line therapy. This strategy, in addition, is being threatened by the spread of plasmid-mediated ...

Anti-IgG secondary antibodies are major tools for the detection or immobilization of primary antibodies in approaches such as western blotting, ELISA, Co-IP and immunofluorescence. Polyclonal anti-IgG secondary antibodies are produced in animals, such as mouse, rabbit, rat, and goat and are directed against the IgG classes of these animals. Thus, the generation of such secondary antibodies requires the keeping and use of a large number of animals, which is not only costly but also a major ethical ...

The invention relates to an apparatus for generating random numbers, using an optical parametric oscillator.

The generation of random numbers is important in information science as well as in modelling and simulation. In cryptography, for instance, random numbers are needed for encryption algorithms. Preferably, the generated numbers are true (i.e. non-predictable) and have an equal distribution.

The apparatus according to the invention is based on the bi-stable outcome of an optical ...

To monitor crystallization processes a special camera setup to measure the crystal size and 3D shape distribution was developed.
The setup consists of two high-speed cameras that are positioned orthogonally to one another such that a precise overlap of both fields of view can be achieved. The setup further contains a specially designed flow-through cell that allows to observe the crystal suspension from both camera directions and given the opportunity to temperate the solution within the cell. ...

BiQ Analyzer is a software tool for easy visualization and quality control of DNA methylation data. With more than a thousand users worldwide, BiQ Analyzer has become a standard tool for processing DNA methylation data from bisulfite sequencing. BiQ Analyzer has been selected by ABI to be part of the Applied Biosystems Software Community Program.

Prof. Klaus Müllen an co-workers at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research developed a straightforward C-H borylation at the 2- and 2,7-positions of pyrene derivatives. The small neutral organic molecules show sharp fluorescence emission peeks between 400-550 nm and high photoluminiscense quantum yields.

Carbon fixation is arguably the most important biochemical processes on earth, supporting our biosphere by transforming inorganic carbon into organic matter and literally feeding all life forms. The reductive pentose phosphate cycle (rPP, also known as the Calvin–Benson–Bassham Cycle) is responsible for ≥95% of the carbon fixed in the biosphere. Although under a strong selective pressure for eons, this process displays major inefficiencies, some are due to the low catalytic rate and the ...

CellNetAnalyzer (CNA) is a MATLAB toolbox providing various computational methods for analyzing structure and function of metabolic, signaling, and regulatory networks. For metabolic networks, CNA supports a variety of stoichiometric and constraint-based modeling techniques, including flux balance analysis (FBA), metabolic flux analysis, elementary-modes analysis, or computational strain design (e.g., minimal cut set analysis). Signal transduction and (gene) regulatory networks can be ...

Evaporation cells for thin film deposition often operate under ultrahigh vacuum or special gas atmosphere, requiring long growth campaigns and short maintenance openings to preserve the best possible vacuum environment. The deposition leads to coating of the inner chamber walls, the removal of which is difficult and very time consuming. Growth control and interruptions during material deposition may require frequent operation of the closure device or shutter. The commonly used shutter (Fig. 1) ...

Many viruses use programmed ribosome frameshifting (FS) to increase genome-coding capacity and to regulate the stoichiometric ratio between viral proteins. Among them are human-pathogenic viruses HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and alphaviruses such as Semliki Forest virus (SFV). Synthesis of two major HIV-1 genes, gag and pol, requires –1FS. The ratio between Gag and Gag-Pol is crucial for virus propagation and its dysregulation is detrimental for replication, particle formation and infectivity of HIV-1. ...

Cryogenic fluorescent light microscopy of flash-frozen cells presents significant advantages and provides an important complement to electron cryo-microscopy. In particular, bleaching decreases drastically at low temperature while the fluorescence yield of many fluorophores increases and the spectral bands narrow. The application of modern super-resolution methods such as STED, PALM, STORM, or SIM at cryogenic temperature holds the prospect of imaging fluorescent proteins with high precision in ...

Prof. Klaus-Richard Pörschke and co-workers from the MPI for Coal Research developed a highly hydrophobic perfluoroaryl borate (FAB) ligand for trapping the radioative 134/137 Cs isotopes with 100% specificity. The novel approach could improve the decontamination of humans compared to the administration of so called insouble Prussian blue currently in use.

Light microscopy enables fascinating insights into the microcosm of life. It is one of the key techniques in life science and provides access to a better understanding of biology across many orders of magnitude in time and space. The use of visible light allows for minimally invasive imaging - even of living cells - and direct observation with the human eye. However, the use of visible light limits the resolution of the image obtained to about half the wavelength of the used light. The limiting ...

A novel molecular target of the semaphorin-plexin system to develop treatment options for cancer and for osteoporosis.

The invention relates to a new method to reduce acquisition time in MR imaging. It is based on the variation of the sensitivity profile of the RF coils and allows an easy access to an additional source of spatial information to further improve imaging.
MR imaging is among the most important tools for modern medical diagnostics with a unique range of applications. The imaging duration however limits the applicability for situations with movements within the volume of interest. Therefore, many ...

The invention relates to an innovative detector concept for the identification of analytes in a gas that is extremely versatile and yet easy to construct and to operate. The superior properties were reached by an optical readout system for electrical signal of multiple detector cells.

Detecting and quantifying concentrations of analytes of interest is usually achieved using materials that change their electrical properties upon exposure. As different materials combined in one sensor need ...

The invention relates to a new method for imaging setting optimization for electron microscopy
based on deep learning. The AI is a robust and simple to implement optimization possibility for
direct operation with various types of electron microscopes.

For a wide spectrum of applications automated precision electron microscopy is a powerful
method. Existing auto focusing routines are often based on physical models of the microscope
and are hence lacking general applicability ...

The invention relates to a new and durable system, which brings the possibility of accurate size measuring and simultaneous counting of airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter of up to 2.5 microns.

Measuring the particulate matter contamination in a gas in the range of PM_2.5 is advantageous or crucial for various applications. Monitoring the concentration of the corresponding particles, for example in air, reveals information about pollution. The possibility of aerosol ...

Prof. Klaus-Richard Pörschke and co-workers at the MPI for Coal Research developed a novel cyclic process for the quantitative extraction of cesium with 100% selectivity from any given aqueous or acidic solution, irrespective of the other components.

The development of the cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Prof. Ernst Bamberg and his colleagues, and its application to light-induced modulation of neurons paved the way for the field of optogenetics.
Over time the light-gated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has become an indispensable tool in neuroscience. Based on the pioneering work on ChR2 new variants have emerged, differing in their spectrum of light absorption, their kinetic ...

Fusion Tags Comprising Ubiquitin-like Modifiers and Corresponding Proteases For Protein Purification From Selected Eukaryotic Expression Hosts

The invention relates to a new method for processing magnetic resonance (MR) data based on a neural network (NN). After training, the NN quickly delivers high quality CEST images with low computational effort. Additionally, it provides uncertainty data aiding to judge the images appropriately.

Typically, sophisticated MR contrasts are calculated based on complex mathematical models, which is computationally expensive, and it requires long processing durations. Besides that, the results ...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is nowadays a leading mo¬dality for diagnostic imaging with about 100 million examinations per year worldwide. However, when invented by Paul Christian Lauterbur in 1973, MRI was too slow to allow for routine medical applications. A breakthrough was achieved in 1985 by the FLASH (Fast Low Angle Shot) technique developed by Jens Frahm and his team at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. With FLASH the measuring time for a cross-sectional ...

An accurate dispensing device for powders and irregularly shaped particles

Conjugation of a NAD-capped nucleic acid to a protein catalysed by an ART to generate novel RNA therapeutics.

Precise genome editing demands for homology-directed repair (HDR) by aiming to introduce a new double stranded DNA substituting for a homologous sequence but partially defect one. This substrate dependent reaction does compete with direct non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) of the double strand breaks. NHEJ is error-prone and is therefor mainly used for gene inactivation.
The rate of NHEJ is directly limiting the rate of HDR. For this reason HDR in vitro does occur on a very low level only and ...

A Cas nuclease such as Cas9 can introduce a DNA double strand break in a sequence target that is complementary to a 20-nt spacer sequence of its bound guide RNA (gRNA) when a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) is present. The gRNA can be provided as duplex of spacer containing CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA). Or as a single gRNA (sgRNA) where crRNA and tracrRNA are fused by an artificial loop.
Hence a gRNA consists of the target-specific spacer and a constant part typically ...

In mass spectroscopy, many ion sources that transform the specimen to be tested into gas phase ions operate at ambient or elevated pressure. The generated ions have to be transferred into vacuum for further characterization, for instance in a mass analyzer.
The ion transfer into vacuum represents a major bottleneck. Because the pumping power increases rapidly with the size of an opening, long capillaries or small pinholes have to be used. Their transmission is commonly as low as 1%, in optimal ...

The CRISPR-Cas system is a powerful tool for site-specific genome editing. It allows for the inactivation or substitution of entire genes. However, most hereditary diseases in humans are caused by single point mutations, the correction of which requires only subtle changes to the DNA. Recently, base editors (BEs) were developed that allow the introduction of selective nucleotide substitutions. A Cas9 enzyme is fused to a nucleobase deaminase catalysing C-to-T mutations (by C-to-U deamination) ...

An innovative high throughput screening method for measurement of RNA- and DNA-polymerase activity at room temperature, based on time-resolved FRET.

The invention relates to a new and easy to use device for real-time monitoring of the thermal power of a nuclear reactor. It is based on the easy to access ¹⁶N decay rate in the cooling water. The robust and easy to implement method significantly improves the safety of nuclear facilities.

Nuclear reactors require high standards of safety and detailed information about changes are needed in order to control them in a safe manner. Besides detailed real-time simulations, direct ...

A laser device (100), configured for generating laser pulses, has a laser resonator (10) with a gain disk medium (11) and a Kerr medium (12). The laser resonator (10) includes a first mode shaping section (13) which is adapted for shaping a circulating electric field coupled into the gain disk medium (11), and a second mode shaping section (14), which is adapted for shaping the circulating electric field coupled into the Kerr medium (12) independently of the electric field shaping in the first ...

The LITESEC-T3SS (Light-induced translocation of effectors through sequestration of endogenous components of the T3SS) system represents a novel, fast, specific, and reversible method to control protein secretion into eukaryotic cells, enabling various medicinal and biotechnological applications, such as targeted drug delivery for tumor therapy.

The efficiency of solar cells is strongly affected by local inhomogeneities. Especially inhomogeneities of the dark-current voltage (I-V) characteristic are of interest: The local dark current-voltage characteristic is a measure for the local recombination properties of the solar cell. Lock-in thermography performed in the dark (DLIT) can be used to detect and evaluate locally increased dark current densities.

The invention relates to a monolithic optical frequency comb generator. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of generating an optical frequency comb.

An improved method to perform cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) assays or other fluorescent assays in the context of CFPS with very low reaction mix volumes. Various additional advantages allow to significantly reduce costs and time.

Biological fixation of CO₂ is an important process carried out by plants and several microorganisms, which can be harnessed for sustainable, biobased production of fuels and chemicals. Particularly, the fixation of CO₂ by autotrophic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and microalgae can be employed for converting CO₂ into value-added products, such as commodity chemicals or fuels. However, the sustainable autotrophic production ...

The invention relates to a new method for a plasmon emitting transistor that operates in the single quantum regime. It is a major step towards future data processing technology that is no longer based on electric currents but on the transition of light.

Developments over past decades have gradually increased the performance of computer chips, but new technologies are needed to overcome the sizing limit of classical transistors. Replacing the role of electrical currents by the use of light ...

A synthetic virus-like particle, comprising a lipid bilayer, that can be adjusted precisely to mimic biophysical features of various natural pathogens. The lipid bilayer can also be equipped with relevant molecules such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein ectodomain.

A tRNA^ALA heteroplasmy mouse model to study mitochondrial disorders such as encephalomyophathies, that recapitulates symptoms as observed in human patients with disease-causing mutation in the same mitochondrial gene.

Exploiting the benefits offered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at ultra-high fields (≥ 7 Tesla) requires optimized radiofrequency (RF) coils. MRI at UHF operates in a regime where the RF wavelength is comparable to the dimensions of the sample size, resulting in an inhomogeneous distribution of the transmit field (B₁⁺) and in an impaired image quality. An array of independent transmit coils arranged in multiple rows provides the degrees of freedom to influence the ...

We offer a new family of cationic ligands, namely N-alkyl/aryl pyridiniophosphines. The ligands can be synthesized through a short, scalable, and highly modular route.

Evaluation of their electronic properties evidenced weak σ-donor and quite strong π-acceptor character when used as ancillary ligands.

The invention relates to a new concept for a high efficiency light antenna, namely the Truncated Omnidirectional Reflector (TOR). It is well suited for obtaining directional emission and efficient fiber coupling from various types of light sources like single photon emitters.
Especially in the fast-growing field of quantum technologies efficient collectors for solid-state single photon emitters are needed. Achieving collector efficiencies of more than 95% into the fundamental Gaussian mode, ...

We present an extremely sensitive, reliable and fast novel Lysine deacetylase (KDAC) assay, which can be performed in a continuous format. This novel KDAC assay is based on Firefly luciferase harboring an acetylation on an essential active site lysine, incorporated by genetic code expansion.

We furthermore offer a bacterial selection system that can help engineer KDACs. The selection system uses a reporter enzyme inactivated by lysine modifications at an essential active site residue, thereby ...

A classical spin valve (SV) is a device in which the electrical resistance depends on the relative position of the magnetic moments of two ferromagnetic (FM) layers: with parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) ordering, the SV resistance is minimum and maximum, respectively. Nowadays SVs are actively used in magnetic sensors, hard disk read heads and magnetic random-access memory. Thus, the SV, analogous to a transistor in conventional electronics, is a binary (digital) device. Here we offer a new ...

Biomarkers of ageing have long been sought after to help assess the biological age and general health status of individuals. Considerable efforts have been invested to identify such biomarkers, including physiologic readouts, metabolic parameters, glycomic profiles and others. Nevertheless, markers with strong predictive power have remained elusive.

Work in model organisms has identified several conserved signaling pathways that extend life span, such as reduced insulin/IGF signaling and ...

The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in collaboration with the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research (IBWF) developed novel lignin nanocarriers that can be used for smart pesticide delivery in plants for crop protection. The nanocarriers are characterised by a narrow size distribution and an easy manufacturing, furthermore, they can be loaded with hydrophobic pesticides. Injected to plants, the nanocarriers act as a safe store of pesticide, which is released in situ by lignin degrading ...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires optimal radio-frequency (RF) coil performance that ensures the highest RF magnetic field per unit power delivered to the coil, while maintaining the highest achievable RF field homogeneity. For MRI at high magnetic field level, it is important to use a multi-channel transmit coil for producing the desired RF field. However, it is impossible to design a multi-channel coil without considerable coupling between its coil elements. The major challenge in multi-channel ...

The mRNA processing factor YBX1 is a novel target in Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which in an combinatorial inhibitor treatment with JAK inhibitors completely overcomes disease persistance.

A process for parallel synthesis of glycans on cellulose membranes by using a novel VaporSPOT method and an experimental setup that ensures controlled conditions suitable for glycosylation reactions.

One of biotechnology’s central goals is the synthesis of multicarbon compounds under mild and sustainable conditions from renewable resources. This requires biocatalysts and methods that enable selective C-C bond formation (carboligation) between two carbon units.

Moreover, optically active compounds can be used for optically resolving agents of medical or agriculture supplies such as 2-amino-1-butanol which is a starting material of the antituberculous drug ethambutol, diltiazem hydrochloride ...

Fluorescent dyes are widely used as indispensable markers in biology, optical microscopy, and analytical chemistry. In particular, the sensitive and stable imaging of cellular components depends on the favourable combination of chemical, biological and physical factors. The availability and proper choice of fluorescent dyes is a key factor to success in the entire labelling and imaging procedure. Due to their superior brightness and photostability, synthetic dyes represent an attractive alternative ...

The invention relates to a new method for light beam angle detection that is based on interferometry. High precision and sensitivity for slight changes of the beam direction can be achieved with this method.
For high precision light microscopy, the light beam must be aligned accurately, and the beam direction stability must be ensured in order to maintain a sufficient imaging resolution over longer periods of time. In standard microscopy environments even small temperature changes can result ...

Mesoporous materials present a large surface-to-volume ratio providing sites for catalysis, molecular separation, adsorption or chemical sensing. Some of the classical mesoporous materials employed include silica, alumina, zirconia, zeolites, and other diverse oxides such Ti or Co, and they are synthetized by routes as self-assembly, sol-gel, spray drying and some variations of these methods known in the state of the art. Additionally, some elements of the platinum group such as Pd, Ru, and their ...

Direct quantification of the absolute amount of multiple proteins in one a SILAC experiment using Protein Epitope Signature Tags (PrESTs) which consist of a short and unique region of the protein of interest as well as purification and solubility tags and are expressed recombinantly in E. coli

The invention relates to a newly developed image processing method for optical coherence tomography (OCT) to be used in particular on the (human) eye’s anterior chamber. Said OCT images are used to diagnose glaucoma, but the required assessing methods are not yet available as automated and fully unsupervised.

Glaucoma is the main reason for irreversible blindness. Early-stage diagnosis is typically based on images of the anterior chamber. Various automated techniques for image analysis ...

The invention describes an easy and cheap to produce, compact coupling part, manufactured out of one workpiece. This part, scalable for shaft diameters as low as 1 mm upwards, enables a quick and secure, backlash-free one- or two-sided engagement of shafts without the need for working space or additional tools (like a screwdriver). If requested, torque limited coupling (in one or both rotation directions) is possible. The production methods comprise a variety of materials and manufacturing processes. ...

SIMNRA is a Microsoft Windows program for the simulation of energy spectra for ion beam analysis with incident ions from about 100 keV to many MeV. SIMNRA can be used for the simulation of Rutherford backscattering (RBS), elastic backscattering with non-Rutherford cross-sections (EBS), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Almost 3000 different non-Rutherford and nuclear reactions cross-sections for incident protons, ...

Fluorescence microscopy is one of the key techniques in the life and materials sciences, with applications ranging from routine diagnostics to state-of-the-art research investigations. Key to this success has been its intrinsic advantages combined with continuous improvement in its fundamental features such as resolution, speed, and sensitivity.

Two key challenges are fast single-fluorophore imaging of multi-color samples. This need arises in a broad range of settings such as very high-resolution ...

The invention relates to a new detection method for small periodic signals in Scanning Near Field Optical Microscopy (s-SNOM). Solving the problem of the rapid sampling rates necessary for lock-in amplification, the method is a powerful new readout system for various other applications as well.

Lock-in detection is a widespread technique, which enables the detection of very small periodic signals. However, it imposes constraints between the lock-in modulation frequency and the sampling ...

This invention relates to means and methods for conjugating/attaching target molecules such as proteins to a label and/or carrier.

SUMOvera enables versatile purification strategies for broad applications in eukaryotic hosts.

The invention relates to a new solar battery half-cell that can be recharged by natural resources like sunlight. Remarkable sustainability is provided by the possibility to use sunlight as a source of primary energy and by solving the problem of low capacity of state-of-the-art battery technologies.

Sustainable solutions for efficient storage of electrical energy are of great importance for the global energy transition and other applications. Typical batteries, however, are often charged ...

The presented technology offers an enhanced streaming rendering pipeline that enables the display of high fidelity, high framerate and high solution for noval views in real time on thin lightweight HMDs suitable especially for VR experiences.

How does it work?

The key idea of this technology is based on a novel algorithm for Potentially Visible Set (PVS) creation: the camera offset space (COS), which for a given point on the image plane provides information under which camera ...

The invention relates to a new dynamic optical component based on a metasurface that can be operated electrically at visible frequencies. Realizing pixel level addressability of the metasurface properties paves the way towards the next generation of optical devices for data storage and communication.

Nanoantennas on a metasurface are used to directly change properties of light but are typically limited to static effects. However, state-of-the-art devices with optical reconfigurability are ...

We offer the new composite nanomaterial for sodium ion battery cathodes. These carbon-coated nanosized Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ particles embedded in a highly effective mixed conducting porous carbon matrix can be easily prepared by means of facile soft-chemistry based preparation method with a post heat treatment procedure. The resulting cathodes can be charged and discharged in 6 s with high current density of 22 A/g, deliver the specific capacity of 44 mAh/g and ...

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) facilitates efficient production of thin films using a laser ablation technique. Targets are selected according to the coating desired. Multiple targets are either moved mechanically to the incidence area, or they are fixed so that the laser beam is alternatively focused on each of them. Multiple targets are, however, known to cause discontinuities, whereas single multicomponent target usually doesn’t ensure compositional homogeneity. The technology presented here ...

In arid and semiarid regions biological soil crusts (BSC) cover about 1/3 of the soil surface. As far as it is known, these BSC (consisting of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, bryophytes, and other bacteria living in contact with soil particles) are crucial for the global terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycle. The water status plays a major role, since their water content directly controls the activity of these poikilohydric organisms.