Chemical Physics Letters, 516 (2011) 149-153. doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2011.10.001

This review focuses on the novel CuZ center of nitrous oxide reductase, an important enzyme owing to the environmental significance of the reaction it catalyzes, reduction of nitrous oxide, and the unusual nature of its catalytic center, named CuZ. The structure of the CuZ center, the unique tetranuclear copper center found in this enzyme, opened a novel area of research in metallobiochemistry. In the last decade, there has been progress in defining the structure of the CuZ center, characterizing the mechanism of nitrous oxide reduction, and identifying intermediates of this reaction. In addition, the determination of the structure of the CuZ center allowed a structural interpretation of the spectroscopic data, which was supported by theoretical calculations. The current knowledge of the structure, function, and spectroscopic characterization of the CuZ center is described here. We would like to stress that although many questions have been answered, the CuZ center remains a scientific challenge, with many hypotheses still being formed.

The effect of different mild post-annealing treatments in air, at 270 degrees C, for 4-6 min, on the optical, electrical, structural and chemical properties of copper sulphide (CuxS) thin films deposited at room temperature are investigated. CuxS films, 70nm thick, are deposited on glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation from a Cu2S:S (50:50 wt.%) sulphur rich powder mixture. The as-deposited highly conductive crystalline CuS (covellite) films show high carrier concentration (similar to 10(22) cm(-3)), low electrical resistivity (similar to 10(-4) Omega cm) and inconclusive p-type conduction. After the mild post-annealing, these films display increasing values of resistivity (similar to 10(-3) to similar to 10(-2) Omega cm) with annealing time and exhibit conclusive p-type conduction. An increase of copper content in CuxS phases towards the semiconductive Cu2S (chalcocite) compound with annealing time is reported, due to re-evaporation of sulphur from the films. However, the latter stoichiometry was not obtained, which indicates the presence of vacancies in the Cu lattice. In the most resistive films a Cu2O phase is also observed, diminishing the amount of available copper to combine with sulphur, and therefore the highest values of optical transmittance are reached (65%). The appearance on the surface of amorphous sulphates with annealing time increase is also detected as a consequence of sulphur oxidation and replacement of sulphur with oxygen. All annealed films are copper deficient in regards to the stoichiometric Cu2S and exhibit stable p-type conductivity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of different mild post-annealing treatments in air, at 270 degrees C, for 4-6 min, on the optical, electrical, structural and chemical properties of copper sulphide (CuxS) thin films deposited at room temperature are investigated. CuxS films, 70nm thick, are deposited on glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation from a Cu2S:S (50:50 wt.%) sulphur rich powder mixture. The as-deposited highly conductive crystalline CuS (covellite) films show high carrier concentration (similar to 10(22) cm(-3)), low electrical resistivity (similar to 10(-4) Omega cm) and inconclusive p-type conduction. After the mild post-annealing, these films display increasing values of resistivity (similar to 10(-3) to similar to 10(-2) Omega cm) with annealing time and exhibit conclusive p-type conduction. An increase of copper content in CuxS phases towards the semiconductive Cu2S (chalcocite) compound with annealing time is reported, due to re-evaporation of sulphur from the films. However, the latter stoichiometry was not obtained, which indicates the presence of vacancies in the Cu lattice. In the most resistive films a Cu2O phase is also observed, diminishing the amount of available copper to combine with sulphur, and therefore the highest values of optical transmittance are reached (65%). The appearance on the surface of amorphous sulphates with annealing time increase is also detected as a consequence of sulphur oxidation and replacement of sulphur with oxygen. All annealed films are copper deficient in regards to the stoichiometric Cu2S and exhibit stable p-type conductivity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Portugal is ranked within the ten countries with more dinosaur taxa and the Lourinhã Formation is known
by the Late Jurassic findings of dinosaurs and other fossils. Often, studies of the external morphological
characteristics of the fossils are not sufficient and, observations of internal structures, using non-
destructive techniques, are required. The fossils here presented belong to the Museum da Lourinhã
(Portugal) and comprise a lower jaw of a basal crocodilian (possibly a Tomistomidae), eggshells and
several vertebrae from the exceptionally well preserved in ovo remains of Late Jurassic theropod dinosaur
Lourinhanosaurus. Neutron Tomography (NT) experiments with this material has been carried out at the
Geesthacht Neutron Facility in Germany. Additionally, eggshell fragments and several vertebrae have
been studied by Synchrotron-Radiation based Micro-Computed Tomography (SRμCT) at the HARWI II and
BW2 beamlines, respectively. These beamlines are operated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht at the
storage ring DORIS III at the Deutsches Elektronen–Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, Germany. In both cases
(NT and SRμCT) complete 3D recordings have been obtained using a non-destructive procedure. The high-
quality tomographic datasets can be effectively studied through interactive digital visualization. Hence,
these visualization methods provide precious information about the 3D internal micro morphology of
fossils, like the network of the eggshell pores, often invisible in more traditional techniques, and provide a
direct window into the evolutionary history of organisms.

Spreadsheets are notoriously error-prone. To help avoid the introduction of errors when changing spreadsheets, models that capture the structure and interdependencies of spreadsheets at a conceptual level have been proposed. Thus, spreadsheet evolution can be made safe within the confines of a model. As in any other model/instance setting, evolution may not only require changes at the instance level but also at the model level. When model changes are required, the safety of instance evolution can not be guarded by the model alone. We have designed an appropriate representation of spreadsheet models, including the fundamental notions of formulæand references. For these models and their instances, we have designed coupled transformation rules that cover specific spreadsheet evolution steps, such as the insertion of columns in all occurrences of a repeated block of cells. Each model-level transformation rule is coupled with instance level migration rules from the source to the target model and vice versa. These coupled rules can be composed to create compound transformations at the model level inducing compound transformations at the instance level. This approach guarantees safe evolution of spreadsheets even when models change.

The relative populations of the 1H- and 2H-tautomer of gas-phase 5-methyltetrazole (5MTZ) have been assessed through core-level photoelectron spectroscopy, and compared with the results obtained from Gaussian-n (Gn, n = 1, 2 and 3) and Complete Basis Set methods (CBS-4M and CBS-Q). The C 1s and N 1s core‚Äìelectron binding energies (CEBEs) for each ionization site of both tautomers have been computed using the Œîself-consistent-field (ŒîSCF) approach. The C 1s and N 1s XPS spectra, obtained at 313 K, yield a 1H/2H tautomer ratio of ca. 0.16/0.84 and 0.21/0.79, respectively.

The relative populations of the 1H- and 2H-tautomer of gas-phase 5-methyltetrazole (5MTZ) have been assessed through core-level photoelectron spectroscopy, and compared with the results obtained from Gaussian-n (Gn, n = 1, 2 and 3) and Complete Basis Set methods (CBS-4M and CBS-Q). The C 1s and N 1s core‚Äìelectron binding energies (CEBEs) for each ionization site of both tautomers have been computed using the Œîself-consistent-field (ŒîSCF) approach. The C 1s and N 1s XPS spectra, obtained at 313 K, yield a 1H/2H tautomer ratio of ca. 0.16/0.84 and 0.21/0.79, respectively.

The present work proposes the development of a bio-battery composed by an ultrathin monolithic structure of an electrospun cellulose acetate membrane, over which was deposited metallic thin film electrodes by thermal evaporation on both surfaces. The electrochemical characterization of the bio-batteries was performed under simulated body fluids like sweat and blood plasma [salt solution - 0.9% (w/w) NaCl]. Reversible electrochemical reactions were detected through the cellulose acetate structure. Thus, a stable electrochemical behavior was achieved for a bio-battery with silver and aluminum thin films as electrodes. This device exhibits the ability to supply a power density higher than 3μWcm-2.Finally, a bio-battery prototype was tested on a sweated skin, demonstrating the potential of applicability of this bio-device as a micropower source. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated using a 20-nm-thick indium molybdenum oxide (IMO) semiconductor layer at room temperature. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that the deposited films are amorphous. The average transmittance (400-2500 nm) and the optical band gap are ∼88% and 3.95 eV, respectively. The TFTs fabricated on glass substrates showed a saturation mobility of 4.0 cm2/Vċ s with an I ON/IOFF ratio of 2 × 103 and a threshold voltage of-1.1 V, which are encouraging preliminary results in order to develop IMO as high-performance semiconductor layer. © 2011 IEEE.