3,288 research outputs found
Fluxon Dynamics of a Long Josephson Junction with Two-gap Superconductors
We investigate the phase dynamics of a long Josephson junction (LJJ) with
two-gap superconductors. In this junction, two channels for tunneling between
the adjacent superconductor (S) layers as well as one interband channel within
each S layer are available for a Cooper pair. Due to the interplay between the
conventional and interband Josephson effects, the LJJ can exhibit unusual phase
dynamics. Accounting for excitation of a stable 2-phase texture arising
from the interband Josephson effect, we find that the critical current between
the S layers may become both spatially and temporally modulated. The spatial
critical current modulation behaves as either a potential well or barrier,
depending on the symmetry of superconducting order parameter, and modifies the
Josephson vortex trajectories. We find that these changes in phase dynamics
result in emission of electromagnetic waves as the Josephson vortex passes
through the region of the 2-phase texture. We discuss the effects of this
radiation emission on the current-voltage characteristics of the junction.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Structural Basis for a Switch in Receptor Binding Specificity of Two H5N1 Hemagglutinin Mutants
SummaryAvian H5N1 influenza viruses continue to spread in wild birds and domestic poultry with sporadic infection in humans. Receptor binding specificity changes are a prerequisite for H5N1 viruses and other zoonotic viruses to be transmitted among humans. Previous reported hemagglutinin (HA) mutants from ferret-transmissible H5N1 viruses of A/Vietnam/1203/2004 and A/Indonesia/5/2005 showed slightly increased, but still very weak, binding to human receptors. From mutagenesis and glycan array studies, we previously identified two H5N1 HA mutants that could more effectively switch receptor specificity to human-like α2-6-linked sialosides with avidity comparable to wild-type H5 HA binding to avian-like α2-3-linked sialosides. Here, crystal structures of these two H5 HA mutants free and in complex with human and avian glycan receptor analogs reveal the structural basis for their preferential binding to human receptors. These findings suggest continuous surveillance should be maintained to monitor and assess human-to-human transmission potential of H5N1 viruses
Atomically Thin Resonant Tunnel Diodes built from Synthetic van der Waals Heterostructures
Vertical integration of two-dimensional van der Waals materials is predicted
to lead to novel electronic and optical properties not found in the constituent
layers. Here, we present the direct synthesis of two unique, atomically thin,
multi-junction heterostructures by combining graphene with the monolayer
transition-metal dichalocogenides: MoS2, MoSe2, and WSe2.The realization of
MoS2-WSe2-Graphene and WSe2-MoSe2-Graphene heterostructures leads toresonant
tunneling in an atomically thin stack with spectrally narrow room temperature
negative differential resistance characteristics
Floating Hem-o-Lok Clips in the Bladder without Stone Formation after Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy
Hem-o-Lok clips (Weck Surgical Instruments, Teleflex Medical, Durham, NC, USA) are widely used in robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy because of their easy application and secure clamping. To date, there have been some reports of intravesical migration of these clips causing urethral erosion, bladder neck contractures, and subsequent calculus formation. We report the first case of bladder migration of Hem-o-Lok clips without stone formation after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. The Hem-o-Lok clips were found during urethral dilation with a guide wire for bladder neck contracture under cystourethroscopy. The Hem-o-Lok clips were floating in the bladder without stone formation and were removed by a cystoscopic procedure
Spontaneously formed porous and composite materials
In recent years, a number of routes to porous materials have been developed which do not involve the use of pre-formed templates or structure-directing agents. These routes are usually spontaneous, meaning they are thermodynamically downhill. Kinetic control, deriving from slow diffusion of certain species in the solid state, allows metastable porous morphologies rather than dense materials to be obtained. While the porous structures so formed are random, the average architectural features can be well-defined, and the porosity is usually highly interconnected. The routes are applicable to a broad range of functional inorganic materials. Consequently, the porous architectures have uses in energy transduction and storage, chemical sensing, catalysis, and photoelectrochemistry. This is in addition to more straightforward uses deriving from the pore structure, such as in filtration, as a structural material, or as a cell-growth scaffold. In this feature article, some of the methods for the creation of porous materials are described, including shape-conserving routes that lead to hierarchical macro/mesoporous architectures. In some of the preparations, the resulting mesopores are aligned locally with certain crystallographic directions. The coupling between morphology and crystallography provides a macroscopic handle on nanoscale structure. Extension of these routes to create biphasic composite materials are also described
Social and cultural origins of motivations to volunteer a comparison of university students in six countries
Although participation in volunteering and motivations to volunteer (MTV) have received substantial attention on the national level, particularly in the US, few studies have compared and explained these issues across cultural and political contexts. This study compares how two theoretical perspectives, social origins theory and signalling theory, explain variations in MTV across different countries. The study analyses responses from a sample of 5794 students from six countries representing distinct institutional contexts. The findings provide strong support for signalling theory but less so for social origins theory. The article concludes that volunteering is a personal decision and thus is influenced more at the individual level but is also impacted to some degree by macro-level societal forces
Some remarks on Bianchi type-II, VIII and IX models
Within the scope of anisotropic non-diagonal Bianchi type-II, VIII and IX
spacetime it is shown that the off-diagonal components of the corresponding
metric impose severe restrictions on the components of the energy momentum
tensor in general. If the energy momentum tensor is considered to be diagonal
one, the spacetime, expect a partial case of BII, becomes locally rotationally
symmetric.Comment: 8 page
- …