Yongseong Choi

Grain Unloading of Arsenic Species in Rice

Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food for over half the worlds population yet may represent a significant dietary source of inorganic arsenic (As), a nonthreshold, class 1 human carcinogen. Rice grain As is dominated by the inorganic species, and the organic species dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). To investigate how As species are unloaded into grain rice, panicles were excised during grain filling and hydroponically pulsed with arsenite, arsenate, glutathione-complexed As, or DMA. Total As concentrations in flag leaf, grain, and husk, were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and As speciation in the fresh grain was determined by x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy. The roles of phloem and xylem transport were investigated by applying a ± stem-girdling treatment to a second set of panicles, limiting phloem transport to the grain in panicles pulsed with arsenite or DMA. The results demonstrate that DMA is translocated to the rice grain with over an order magnitude greater efficiency than inorganic species and is more mobile than arsenite in both the phloem and the xylem. Phloem transport accounted for 90% of arsenite, and 55% of DMA, transport to the grain. Synchrotron x-ray fluorescence mapping and fluorescence microtomography revealed marked differences in the pattern of As unloading into the grain between DMA and arsenite-challenged grain. Arsenite was retained in the ovular vascular trace and DMA dispersed throughout the external grain parts and into the endosperm. This study also demonstrates that DMA speciation is altered in planta, potentially through complexation with thiols.

Phloem transport of arsenic species from flag leaf to grain during grain filling

• Strategies to reduce arsenic (As) in rice grain, below concentrations that represent a serious human health concern, require that the mechanisms of As accumulation within grain be established. Therefore, retranslocation of As species from flag leaves into filling rice grain was investigated. • Arsenic species were delivered through cut flag leaves during grain fill. Spatial unloading within grains was investigated using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) microtomography. Additionally, the effect of germanic acid (a silicic acid analog) on grain As accumulation in arsenite-treated panicles was examined. • Dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) were extremely efficiently retranslocated from flag leaves to rice grain; arsenate was poorly retranslocated, and was rapidly reduced to arsenite within flag leaves; arsenite displayed no retranslocation. Within grains, DMA rapidly dispersed while MMA and inorganic As remained close to the entry point. Germanic acid addition did not affect grain As in arsenite-treated panicles. Three-dimensional SXRF microtomography gave further information on arsenite localization in the ovular vascular trace (OVT) of rice grains. • These results demonstrate that inorganic As is poorly remobilized, while organic species are readily remobilized, from leaves to grain. Stem translocation of inorganic As may not rely solely on silicic acid transporters.

Narrowband Y-Ba-Cu-O filter with quasi-elliptic characteristic

The compact meander-shape configuration of planar resonators is suggested for applications in narrowband filters with quasi-elliptic characteristic. The quasi-elliptic frequency response with two transmission zeroes at the edges of the passband is provided by the specific symmetry of the coupled resonators and is controlled by an appropriate choice of the resonator dimensions and the couplings between the resonators. The 12-pole quasi-elliptic filter with 0.5% fractional bandwidth at 1.775 GHz has been designed using meander-line microstrip resonators and manufactured on a double-sided YBCO film on a LaAlO/sub 3/ substrate. The filter exhibited the in-band insertion loss less than 0.5 dB at T=60 K, the return loss of 20 dB, the out-of-band rejection better than 75 dB, and 40 dB/MHz slope of the characteristic.

Grain Accumulation of Selenium Species in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Efficient Se biofortification programs require a thorough understanding of the accumulation and distribution of Se species within the rice grain. Therefore, the translocation of Se species to the filling grain and their spatial unloading were investigated. Se species were supplied via cut flag leaves of intact plants and excised panicle stems subjected to a ± stem-girdling treatment during grain fill. Total Se concentrations in the flag leaves and grain were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Spatial accumulation was investigated using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microtomography. Selenomethionine (SeMet) and selenomethylcysteine (SeMeSeCys) were transported to the grain more efficiently than selenite and selenate. SeMet and SeMeSeCys were translocated exclusively via the phloem, while inorganic Se was transported via both the phloem and xylem. For SeMet- and SeMeSeCys-fed grain, Se dispersed throughout the external grain layers and into the endosperm and, for SeMeSeCys, into the embryo. Selenite was retained at the point of grain entry. These results demonstrate that the organic Se species SeMet and SeMeSeCys are rapidly loaded into the phloem and transported to the grain far more efficiently than inorganic species. Organic Se species are distributed more readily, and extensively, throughout the grain than selenite.

Probing Ag nanoparticle surface oxidation in contact with (in)organics: an X-ray scattering and fluorescence yield approach.

Characterizing interfacial reactions is a crucial part of understanding the behavior of nanoparticles in nature and for unlocking their functional potential. Here, an advanced nanostructure characterization approach to study the corrosion processes of silver nanoparticles (Ag-Nps), currently the most highly produced nanoparticle for nanotechnology, is presented. Corrosion of Ag-Nps under aqueous conditions, in particular in the presence of organic matter and halide species common to many natural environments, is of particular importance because the release of toxic Ag(+) from oxidation/dissolution of Ag-Nps may strongly impact ecosystems. In this context, Ag-Nps capped with polyvinolpyrrolidone (PVP) in contact with a simple proxy of organic matter in natural waters [polyacrylic acid (PAA) and Cl(-) in solution] has been investigated. A combination of synchrotron-based X-ray standing-wave fluorescence yield- and X-ray diffraction-based experiments on a sample consisting of an approximately single-particle layer of Ag-Nps deposited on a silicon substrate and coated by a thin film of PAA containing Cl revealed the formation of a stable AgCl corrosion product despite the presence of potential surface stabilizers (PVP and PAA). Diffusion and precipitation processes at the Ag-Nps-PAA interface were characterized with a high spatial resolution using this new approach.

Magnetic structure in Fe/Sm-Co exchange spring bilayers with intermixed interfaces

The depth profile of the intrinsic magnetic properties in an Fe/Sm-Co bilayer fabricated under nearly optimal spring-magnet conditions was determined by complementary studies of polarized neutron reflectometry and micromagnetic simulations. We found that at the Fe/Sm-Co interface, the magnetic properties change gradually at the length scale of 8 nm. In this intermixed interfacial region, the saturation magnetization and magnetic anisotropy are lower and the exchange stiffness is higher than values estimated from the model based on a mixture of Fe and Sm-Co phases. Therefore, the intermixed interface yields superior exchange coupling between the Fe and Sm-Co layers, but at the cost of average magnetization.

Atomic-scale control of magnetic anisotropy via novel spin-orbit coupling effect in La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/SrIrO3 superlattices.

Significance Interfaces of transition-metal oxides (TMOs) offer a fertile platform to uncover emergent states, which has been extensively explored in 3d TMOs with strong electron correlations. Recently research on 5d TMOs with pronounced spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is flourishing due to the emergence of new topological states and potential application in spintronics. Interfaces between 3d and 5d TMOs provide a unique test bed to combine the merits of these two fundamental interactions. However, so far research is limited. Here we present results on one model system comprising the ferromagnet La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 and the strong SOC paramagnet SrIrO3. We observe a manipulation of the magnetic anisotropy by tuning the SrIrO3 dimensionality, which is accompanied by a novel SOC state in SrIrO3. Magnetic anisotropy (MA) is one of the most important material properties for modern spintronic devices. Conventional manipulation of the intrinsic MA, i.e., magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA), typically depends upon crystal symmetry. Extrinsic control over the MA is usually achieved by introducing shape anisotropy or exchange bias from another magnetically ordered material. Here we demonstrate a pathway to manipulate MA of 3d transition-metal oxides (TMOs) by digitally inserting nonmagnetic 5d TMOs with pronounced spin–orbit coupling (SOC). High-quality superlattices comprising ferromagnetic La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) and paramagnetic SrIrO3 (SIO) are synthesized with the precise control of thickness at the atomic scale. Magnetic easy-axis reorientation is observed by controlling the dimensionality of SIO, mediated through the emergence of a novel spin–orbit state within the nominally paramagnetic SIO.

Quantifying interlayer exchange coupling via layer-resolved hysteresis loops in antiferromagnetically coupled manganite/nickelate superlattices

In superlattices made of a half metallic ferromagnet La2/3Ba1/3MnO3(LBMO) and a metallic paramagnet LaNiO3(LNO), the field dependence of the LBMO magnetization was studied using depth- and element-sensitive x-ray resonant magnetic scattering measurements. The superlattices have ten bilayers of LBMO and LNO, and the LBMO layers were antiferromagnetically coupled across LNO spacer layers. From the x-ray measurements, the magnetic hysteresis loop of each LBMO layer was obtained, and subsequently the obtained layer-resolved LBMO hysteresis loops were utilized to determine the interlayer exchange coupling.

Extracting the model parameters of high-temperature superconductor film microwave surface impedance from the experimental characteristics of resonators and filters

A procedure of extracting the model parameters of a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) film from the experimental characteristics of resonators and filters is proposed. It is based on a correct phenomenological model of the HTS film surface impedance and an accurate simulation of the filter (resonator) structure by taking into account the temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity of the substrate and its thermal expansion coefficient. The experimental characteristics measured at different temperatures have to be used. The procedure was successfully applied, in order to extract the HTS film parameters from the characteristics of a single hairpin microstrip resonator and an 11-pole hairpin-comb filter. The proposed procedure of extracting the model parameters seems suitable to be used at an earlier stage in the design of high-performance trimmingless HTS devices.

Cross-coupled band-pass filter using HTS microstrip resonators

We have fabricated microstrip band-pass filters based on the quadruplet geometry using high-temperature superconductor. Every half-wavelength resonator in the filter consists of a loop-like inductor and two patch capacitors at both ends. The inductive coupling in between the loop-like inductors of non-adjacent resonators produces transmission zeros in the frequency response. The transmission zero can be allocated by changing the polarity and the strength of the cross coupling. We have designed a 9-pole filter for personal communication services (PCS) application using combination of a CAD tool and a full-wave analysis EM simulator. We have fabricated filters using double-sided YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) thin films on LaAlO/sub 3/ substrates. The filter has 1.784 GHz center frequency, 11 MHz 3-dB bandwidth, and 0.8 dB insertion loss at 60 K. Due to the transmission zeros near the passband, the steep skirt characteristic is exhibited. The attenuation at 1 MHz away from the edge of the passband is -34 dB.