696 research outputs found
Intrinsic Josephson Effects in the Magnetic Superconductor RuSr2GdCu2O8
We have measured interlayer current transport in small sized RuSr2GdCu2O8
single crystals. We find a clear intrinsic Josephson effect showing that the
material acts as a natural
superconductor-insulator-ferromagnet-insulator-superconductor superlattice. So
far, we detected no unconventional behavior due to the magnetism of the RuO2
layers.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Metal-to-insulator transition and magnetic ordering in CaRu_{1-x}Cu_xO_3
CaRuO_3 is perovskite with an orthorhombic distortion and is believed to be
close to magnetic ordering. Magnetic studies of single crystal and
polycrystalline CaRu_{1-x}Cu_xO_3 (0\le x \le 15 at.%Cu) reveal that
spin-glass-like transition develops for x\le 7 at.%Cu and obtained value for
effective magnetic moment p_{eff}=3.55 mu_B for x=5 at.% Cu, single crystal,
indicates presence of Ru^{5+}. At higher Cu concentrations more complex
magnetic behaviors are observed. Electrical resistivity measured on
polycrystalline samples shows metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) at 51 K for
only 2 at.% Cu. Charge compensation, which is assumed to be present upon
Cu^{2+/3+} substitution, induces appearance of Ru^{5+} and/or creation of
oxygen vacancies in crystal structure. Since the observed changes in physical
properties are completely attributable to the charge compensation, they cannot
be related to behaviors of pure compound where no such mechanism is present.
This study provides the criterion for "good" chemical probes for studying
Ru-based perovskites.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
On the effect of heterovalent substitutions in ruthenocuprates
We discuss the properties of superconducting derivatives of the RuSr2GdCu2O8
(1212-type) ruthenocuprate, for which heterovalent doping has been achieved
through partial substitution of Cu ions into the RuO2 planes
(Ru1-xSr2GdCu2+xO8-d, 0<x<0.75, Tcmax=72 K for x=0.3-0.4) and Ce ions into the
Gd sites (RuSr2Gd1-yCeyCu2O8, 0<y<0.1). The measurements of XANES, thermopower,
and magnetization under external pressure reveal an underdoped character of all
compounds. Muon spin rotation experiments indicate the presence of magnetic
order at low temperatures (Tm=14-2 K for x=0.1-0.4). Properties of these two
series lead us to the qualitative phase diagram for differently doped 1212-type
ruthenocuprates. The difference in temperature of magnetic ordering found for
superconducting and non-superconducting RuSr2GdCu2O8 is discussed in the
context of the properties of substituted compounds. The high pressure oxygen
conditions required for synthesis of Ru1-xSr2RECu2+xO8-d, have been extended to
synthesis of a Ru1-xSr2Eu2-yCeyCu2+xO10-d series. The Cu->Ru doping achieved in
these phases is found to decrease the temperature for magnetic ordering as well
the volume fraction of the magnetic phase.Comment: Proceedings of the 3rd Polish-US Workshop on Magnetism and
Superconductivity of Advanced Materials, July 14-19, 2002, Ladek Zdroj
(Poland) to appear in Physica
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Anomalous lattice expansion of RuSr2Eu1.5Ce0.5Cu2O10(Ru-1222) magneto superconductor: A low temperature X-ray diffraction study
This is the first report of the observation of the onset of excess volume and
also of the strain along the a-axis near the magnetic ordering temperature in
Ru-1222 superconductor, and indicates a coupling between the lattice and the
magnetism in this system. Magnetization, magneto transport and thermoelectric
power measurements being carried out on the same sample are also reported.Comment: 15 Pages Text Plus Figs. Physica C (2006) accepte
Antiferromagnetic vs ferromagnetic interactions and spin-glass-like behavior in ruthenates
We have made a series of gradient-corrected relativistic full-potential
density-functional calculation for Ca-substituted and hole-doped SrRuO in
para, ferro, and -, -, and -type antiferromagnetic states. Magnetic
phase-diagram data for SrCaRuO at 0 K are presented. Neutron
diffraction measurement combined with total energy calculations show that
spin-glass behavior with short-range antiferromagnetic interactions rules in
CaRuO. The substitution of Sr by Ca in SrRuO decreases the
ferromagnetic interaction and enhances the -type antiferromagnetic
interaction; the -AF state is found to stabilize around = 0.75
consistent with experimental observations. Inclusion of spin-orbit coupling is
found to be important in order to arrive at the correct magnetic ground state
in ruthenates.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Solid state communications (in press
Coupling between intrinsic prefrontal HbO2 and central EEG beta power oscillations in the resting brain.
There is increasing interest in the intrinsic activity in the resting brain, especially that of ultraslow and slow oscillations. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), electroencephalography (EEG), blood pressure (BP), respiration and heart rate recordings during 5 minutes of rest, combined with cross spectral and sliding cross correlation calculations, we identified a short-lasting coupling (duration [Formula: see text] s) between prefrontal oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) in the frequency band between 0.07 and 0.13 Hz and central EEG alpha and/or beta power oscillations in 8 of the 9 subjects investigated. The HbO2 peaks preceded the EEG band power peaks by 3.7 s in 6 subjects, with moderate or no coupling between BP and HbO2 oscillations. HbO2 and EEG band power oscillations were approximately in phase with BP oscillations in the 2 subjects with an extremely high coupling (squared coherence [Formula: see text]) between BP and HbO2 oscillation. No coupling was identified in one subject. These results indicate that slow precentral (de)oxyhemoglobin concentration oscillations during awake rest can be temporarily coupled with EEG fluctuations in sensorimotor areas and modulate the excitability level in the brains' motor areas, respectively. Therefore, this provides support for the idea that resting state networks fluctuate with frequencies of between 0.01 and 0.1 Hz (Mantini et.al. PNAS 2007)
Decoupled CuO_2 and RuO_2 layers in superconducting and magnetically ordered RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8
Comprehensive measurements of dc and ac susceptibility, dc resistance,
magnetoresistance, Hall resistivity, and microwave absorption and dispersion in
fields up to 8 T have been carried out on RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8 with the aim to
establish the properties of RuO_2 and CuO_2 planes. At ~130 K, where the
magnetic order develops in the RuO_2 planes, one observes a change in the slope
of dc resistance, change in the sign of magnetoresistance, and the appearance
of an extraordinary Hall effect. These features indicate that the RuO_2 planes
are conducting. A detailed analysis of the ac susceptibility and microwave data
on both, ceramic and powder samples show that the penetration depth remains
frequency dependent and larger than the London penetration depth even at low
temperatures. We conclude that the conductivity in the RuO_2 planes remains
normal even when superconducting order is developed in the CuO_2 planes below
\~45 K. Thus, experimental evidence is provided in support of theoretical
models which base the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetic order on
decoupled CuO_2 and RuO_2 planes.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, submitted to PR
Elevation and cholera: an epidemiological spatial analysis of the cholera epidemic in Harare, Zimbabwe, 2008-2009
BACKGROUND: In highly populated African urban areas where access to clean water is a challenge, water source contamination is one of the most cited risk factors in a cholera epidemic. During the rainy season, where there is either no sewage disposal or working sewer system, runoff of rains follows the slopes and gets into the lower parts of towns where shallow wells could easily become contaminated by excretes. In cholera endemic areas, spatial information about topographical elevation could help to guide preventive interventions. This study aims to analyze the association between topographic elevation and the distribution of cholera cases in Harare during the cholera epidemic in 2008 and 2009. METHODS: We developed an ecological study using secondary data. First, we described attack rates by suburb and then calculated rate ratios using whole Harare as reference. We illustrated the average elevation and cholera cases by suburbs using geographical information. Finally, we estimated a generalized linear mixed model (under the assumption of a Poisson distribution) with an Empirical Bayesian approach to model the relation between the risk of cholera and the elevation in meters in Harare. We used a random intercept to allow for spatial correlation of neighboring suburbs. RESULTS: This study identifies a spatial pattern of the distribution of cholera cases in the Harare epidemic, characterized by a lower cholera risk in the highest elevation suburbs of Harare. The generalized linear mixed model showed that for each 100 meters of increase in the topographical elevation, the cholera risk was 30% lower with a rate ratio of 0.70 (95% confidence interval=0.66-0.76). Sensitivity analysis confirmed the risk reduction with an overall estimate of the rate ratio between 20% and 40%. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of considering topographical elevation as a geographical and environmental risk factor in order to plan cholera preventive activities linked with water and sanitation in endemic areas. Furthermore, elevation information, among other risk factors, could help to spatially orientate cholera control interventions during an epidemic
Evolutionary divergence of gene and protein expression in the brains of humans and chimpanzees
Although transcriptomic profiling has become the standard approach for exploring molecular differences in the primate brain, very little is known about how the expression levels of gene transcripts relate to downstream protein abundance. Moreover, it is unknown whether the relationship changes depending on the brain region or species under investigation. We performed high-throughput transcriptomic (RNA-Seq) and proteomic (liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry) analyses on two regions of the human and chimpanzee brain: The anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus. In both brain regions, we found a lower correlation between mRNA and protein expression levels in humans and chimpanzees than has been reported for other tissues and cell types, suggesting that the brain may engage extensive tissue-specific regulation affecting protein abundance. In both species, only a few categories of biological function exhibited strong correlations between mRNA and protein expression levels. These categories included oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis and modification, indicating that the expression levels of mRNA transcripts supporting these biological functions are more predictive of protein expression compared with other functional categories. More generally, however, the two measures of molecular expression provided strikingly divergent perspectives into differential expression between human and chimpanzee brains: mRNA comparisons revealed significant differences in neuronal communication, ion transport, and regulatory processes, whereas protein comparisons indicated differences in perception and cognition, metabolic processes, and organization of the cytoskeleton. Our results highlight the importance of examining protein expression in evolutionary analyses and call for a more thorough understanding of tissue-specific protein expression levels
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