Interfacial magnetoelectric coupling is a viable path to achieve electrical writing of magnetic information in spintronic devices. For the prototypical Fe/BaTiO3 system, only tiny changes of the interfacial Fe magnetic moment upon reversal of the BaTiO3 dielectric polarization have been predicted so far. Here, by using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism in combination with high resolution electron microscopy and first principles calculations, we report on an undisclosed physical mechanism for interfacial magnetoelectric coupling in the Fe/BaTiO3 system. At this interface, an ultrathin oxidized iron layer exists, whose magnetization can be electrically and reversibly switched on-off at room-temperature by reversing the BaTiO3 polarization. The suppression / recovery of interfacial ferromagnetism results from the asymmetric effect that ionic displacements in BaTiO3 produces on the exchange coupling constants in the interfacial oxidized Fe layer. The observed giant magnetoelectric response holds potential for optimizing interfacial magnetoelectric coupling in view of efficient, low-power spintronic devices.

An understanding of the mechanisms that determine plant response to reduced water availability is essential to improve water-use efficiency (WUE) of stone fruit crops. The physiological, biochemical and molecular drought responses of four Prunus rootstocks (GF 677, Cadaman, ROOTPAC 20 and ROOTPAC(®) R) budded with 'Catherina' peach cultivar were studied. Trees were grown in 15-l containers and subjected to a progressive water stress for 26 days, monitoring soil moisture content by time domain reflectometry. Photosynthetic and gas exchange parameters were determined. Root and leaf soluble sugars and proline content were also measured. At the end of the experiment, stressed plants showed lower net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate, and higher intrinsic leaf WUE (AN/gs). Soluble sugars and proline concentration changes were observed, in both root and leaf tissues, especially in an advanced state of stress. The accumulation of proline in roots and leaves with drought stress was related to the decrease in osmotic potential and increase in WUE, whereas the accumulation of sorbitol in leaves, raffinose in roots and proline in both tissues was related only to the increase in the WUE. Owing to the putative role of raffinose and proline as antioxidants and their low concentration, they could be ameliorating deleterious effects of drought-induced oxidative stress by protecting membranes and enzymes rather than acting as active osmolytes. Higher expression of P5SC gene in roots was also consistent with proline accumulation in the tolerant genotype GF 677. These results indicate that accumulation of sorbitol, raffinose and proline in different tissues and/or the increase in P5SC expression could be used as markers of drought tolerance in peach cultivars grafted on Prunus rootstocks.

Organic paramagnetic and electroactive molecules are attracting interest as core components of molecular electronic and spintronic devices. Currently, further progress is hindered by the modest stability and reproducibility of the molecule/electrode contact. We report the synthesis of a persistent organic radical bearing one and two terminal alkyne groups to form Au-C σ bonds. The formation and stability of self-assembled monolayers and the electron transport through single-molecule junctions at room temperature have been studied. The combined analysis of both systems demonstrates that this linker forms a robust covalent bond with gold and a better-defined contact when compared to traditional sulfur-based linkers. Density functional theory and quantum transport calculations support the experimental observation highlighting a reduced variability of conductance values for the C-Au based junction. Our findings advance the quest for robustness and reproducibility of devices based on electroactive molecules.

Pt/BaTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 tunnel junctions, at negative voltage bias, for two polarization directions are represented. It is demonstrated that reversing the polarization direction of a ferroelectric barrier in a tunnel junction leads to a change of junction conductance and capacitance, with concomitant variations on the barrier height and effective thickness, both contributing to produce larger electroresistance.

We present an extension of the standard model to the local gauge group SU(3) c SU(4) L U(1) X with a family nonuniversal treatment and anomalies canceled among the three families in a nontrivial fashion. The mass scales, the gauge boson masses, and the masses for the spin 1/2 particles in the model are analyzed. The neutral currents coupled to all neutral vector bosons in the model are studied, and particular values of the parameters are used in order to simplify the mixing between the three neutral currents present in the theory, mixing which is further constrained by experimental results from the CERN LEP, SLAC Linear Collider, and atomic parity violation.

This communication presents a novel electrolyte gated field-effect transistor based on a blend of dibenzo-tetrathiafulvalene and polystyrene deposited through bar-assisted meniscus shearing. This technique allows the fabrication of high performing electronic devices suitable for (bio)sensing applications and might capture industrial interest due to its scalability. The reported devices can operate in aqueous solution with comparable complexity to real samples.

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A study was conducted over 2 years to determine whether growth under elevated CO(2) (700 μmol mol(-1) ) and temperature (ambient + 4 °C) conditions modifies photochemical efficiency or only the use of electron transport products in spring wheat grown in field chambers. Elevated atmospheric CO(2) concentrations increased crop dry matter at maturity by 12-17%, while above-ambient temperatures did not significantly affect dry matter yield. In measurements with ambient CO(2) at ear emergence and after anthesis, growth at elevated CO(2) concentrations decreased flag leaf light-saturated carbon assimilation. The quantum yield of electron transport (Φ(PSII) ) measured at ambient CO(2) and higher irradiances increased at ear emergence and decreased after anthesis in plants grown at elevated CO(2) . At higher light intensities, but not in low light, photochemical quenching (qP) decreased after growth in elevated CO(2) conditions. Growth under CO(2) enrichment increased dark- (Fv:Fm) and light-adapted (Fv':Fm') photochemical efficiencies, and decreased the chlorophyll a:b ratio, suggesting an increase in light-harvesting complexes relative to PSII reaction centres. A relatively higher decrease in carbon assimilation than the decrease in Φ(PSII) pointed to a sink other than CO(2) assimilation for electron transport products at defined growth stages. With higher light intensities, warmer temperatures increased Φ(PSII) and Fv':Fm' at ear emergence and decreased Φ(PSII) after anthesis; in ambient-but not elevated-CO(2) , warmer temperatures also decreased qP after anthesis. CO(2) fixation increased or did not change with temperature, depending on the growth stage and year. We conclude that elevated CO(2) decreases the carbon assimilation capacity, but increases photochemistry and resource allocation to light harvesting, and that elevated levels of CO(2) can mitigate photochemistry inhibition as a result of warm temperatures.