Time-resolved transmissivity and reflectivity of exfoliated graphene and thin graphite films on a 295 K SiO(2)/Si substrate are measured at 1300 nm following excitation by 150 fs, 800 nm pump pulses. From the extracted transient optical conductivity we identify a fast recovery time constant which increases from approximately 200 to 300 fs and a longer one which increases from 2.5 to 5 ps as the number of atomic layers increases from 1 to approximately 260. We attribute the temporal recovery to carrier cooling and recombination with the layer dependence related to substrate coupling. Results are compared with related measurements for epitaxial, multilayer graphene.

A scintillating bolometer based on a large cubic Li 2 100 MoO 4 crystal (45 mm side) and a Ge wafer (scintillation detector) has been operated in the CROSS cryogenic facility at the Canfranc underground laboratory in Spain. The dual-readout detector is a prototype of the technology that will be used in the next-generation 0 2 experiment CUPID. The measurements were performed at 18 and 12 mK temperature in a pulse tube dilution refrigerator. This setup utilizes the same technology as the CUORE cryostat that will host CUPID and so represents an accurate estimation of the expected performance. The Li 2 100 MoO 4 bolometer shows a high energy resolution of 6 keV FWHM at the 2615 keV line. The detection of scintillation light for each event triggered by the Li 2 100 MoO 4 bolometer allowed for a full separation (∼8) between () and events above 2 MeV. The Li 2 100 MoO 4 crystal also shows a high internal radiopurity with 228 Th and 226 Ra activities of less than 3 and 8 Bq/kg, respectively. Taking also into account the advantage of a more compact and massive detector array, which can be made of cubic-shaped crystals (compared to the cylindrical ones), this test demonstrates the great potential of cubic Li 2 100 MoO 4 scintillating bolometers for high-sensitivity searches for the 100 Mo 0 2 decay in CROSS and CUPID projects.

Background-Little is known about whether direct angiotensin receptor blockade can reduce atherosclerosis and plaque disruption. This study evaluated the effect of angiotensin receptor blockade on both the development of atherosclerosis and the disruption of plaque in a modified Constantinides animal model. Methods and Results-Twenty-eight New Zealand White rabbits underwent aortic balloon injury followed by a 1% cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. Thirteen rabbits received candesartan at 0.5 mg · kg Ϫ1 · d Ϫ1 beginning 2 days before aortic balloon injury and continued for the total 8 weeks of the cholesterol diet. The rabbits were then pharmacologically triggered and humanely killed, and their aortas were analyzed. The degree of atherosclerosis was determined by intima-media ratio of the infrarenal portion of the aorta. The frequency of intra-aortic thrombosis, a measure of plaque disruption, and the percentages of macrophage area and collagen-staining area of the plaque were determined. Candesartan-treated rabbits had less atherosclerosis (intima-media infrarenal aorta ratio of 1.18Ϯ0.08 versus 1.57Ϯ0.08[meanϮSEM] for the placebo group, PϽ0.001); fewer thrombi (3 of 13 versus 11 of 15; PϽ0.05); lower percentage area of macrophages to total plaque (18.8Ϯ2.7% versus 27Ϯ2.5%, PϽ0.05); and higher collagen to total plaque area (45Ϯ3% versus 35Ϯ2%, PϽ0.01).Conclusions-These results demonstrate that angiotensin receptor blockade attenuates the degree of atherosclerosis and reduces both plaque disruption and macrophage accumulation while increasing collagen deposition in the aortas of this animal model.