Short-lived brominated hydrocarbons – observations in the source regions and the tropical tropopause layer

We conducted measurements of the five important short-lived organic bromine species in the marine boundary layer (MBL). Measurements were made in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes (Sylt Island, North Sea) in June 2009 and in the tropical Western Pacific during the TransBrom ship campaign in October 2009. For the one-week time series on Sylt Island, mean mixing ratios of CHBr3, CH2Br2, CHBr2Cl and CH2BrCl were 2.0, 1.1, 0.2, 0.1 ppt, respectively. We found maxima of 5.8 and 1.6 ppt for the two main components CHBr3 and CH2Br2. Along the cruise track in the Western Pacific (between 41° N and 13° S) we measured mean mixing ratios of 0.9, 0.9, 0.2, 0.1 and 0.1 ppt for CHBr3, CH2Br2, CHBrCl2, CHBr2Cl and CH2BrCl. Air samples with coastal influence showed considerably higher mixing ratios than the samples with open ocean origin. Correlation analyses of the two data sets yielded strong linear relationships between the mixing ratios of four of the five species (except for CH2BrCl). Using a combined data set from the two campaigns and a comparison with the results from two former studies, rough estimates of the molar emission ratios between the correlated substances were: 9/1/0.35/0.35 for CHBr3/CH2Br2/CHBrCl2/CHBr2Cl. Additional measurements were made in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) above Teresina (Brazil, 5° S) in June 2008, using balloon-borne cryogenic whole air sampling technique. Near the level of zero clear-sky net radiative heating (LZRH) at 14.8 km about 2.25 ppt organic bromine was bound to the five short-lived species, making up 13% of total organic bromine (17.82 ppt). CH2Br2 (1.45 ppt) and CHBr3 (0.56 ppt) accounted for 90% of the budget of short-lived compounds in that region. Near the tropopause (at 17.5 km) organic bromine from these substances was reduced to 1.35 ppt, with 1.07 and 0.12 ppt attributed to CH2Br2 and CHBr3, respectively

Deformation and phase transformation in polycrystalline cementite (Fe3_{3}C) during single- and multi-pass sliding wear

Cementite (Fe$_{3}$C) plays a major role in the tribological performance of rail and bearing steels. Nonetheless, the current understanding of its deformation behavior during wear is limited because it is conventionally embedded in a matrix. Here, we investigate the deformation and chemical evolution of bulk polycrystalline cementite during single-pass sliding at a contact pressure of 31 GPa and reciprocating multi-pass sliding at 3.3 GPa. The deformation behavior of cementite was studied by electron backscatter diffraction for slip trace analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Our results demonstrate activation of several deformation mechanisms below the contact surface: dislocation slip, shear band formation, fragmentation, grain boundary sliding, and grain rotation. During sliding wear, cementite ductility is enhanced due to the confined volume, shear/compression domination, and potentially frictional heating. The microstructural alterations during multi-pass wear increase the subsurface nanoindentation hardness by up to 2.7 GPa. In addition, we report Hägg carbide (Fe$_{5}$C$_{2}$) formation in the uppermost deformed regions after both sliding experiments. Based on the results of electron and X-ray diffraction, as well as atom probe tomography, we propose potential sources of excess carbon and mechanisms that promote the phase transformation

Increased fibrosis in a mouse model of anti-laminin 332 mucous membrane pemphigoid remains unaltered by inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase

Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by autoantibodies against the basal membrane zone of skin and surface-close epithelia and predominant mucosal lesions. The oral cavity and conjunctivae are most frequently affected, albeit clinical manifestations can also occur on the skin. MMP-associated lesions outside the oral cavity typically lead to scarring. Mechanisms underlying scarring are largely unknown in MMP and effective treatment options are limited. Herein, we assessed the collagen architecture in tissue samples of an antibody-transfer mouse model of anti-laminin-332 MMP. In MMP mice, increased collagen fibril density was observed in skin and conjunctival lesions compared to mice injected with normal rabbit IgG. The extracellular matrix of MMP skin samples also showed altered post-translational collagen cross-linking with increased levels of both lysine- and hydroxylysine-derived collagen crosslinks supporting the fibrotic phenotype in experimental MMP compared to control animals. In addition, we evaluated a potential anti-fibrotic therapy in experimental anti-laminin-332 MMP using disulfiram, an inhibitor of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), which has been implicated in immune-mediated mucosal scarring. In addition, disulfiram also acts as a copper chelator that was shown to block lysyl oxidase activity, an enzyme involved in formation of collagen crosslinks. Topical use of disulfiram (300 μM in 2 [w/v] methocel) did not improve ocular lesions in experimental MMP over the 12-day treatment period in disulfiram-treated mice compared to vehicle-treated mice (n=8/group). Furthermore, C57BL6/J mice (n=8/group) were treated prophylactically with 200 mg/kg p.o. disulfiram or the solvent once daily over a period of 12 days. Systemic treatment did not show any reduction in the severity of oral and ocular lesions in MMP mice, albeit some improvement in skin lesions was observed in disulfiram- vs. vehicle-treated mice (p=0.052). No reduction in fibrosis was seen, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. Whilst blocking of ALDH failed to significantly ameliorate disease activity, our data provide new insight into fibrotic processes highlighting changes in the collagenous matrix and cross-linking patterns in IgG-mediated MMP

Interlayer pair tunneling and gap anisotropy in YBa2_2Cu3_3O7−δ_{7-\delta}

Recent ARPES measurement observed a large $ab$-axis gap anisotropy, $\Delta(0,\pi)/\Delta(\pi,0)=1.5$, in clean YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$. This indicates that some sub-dominant component may exist in the $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave dominant gap. We propose that the interlayer pairing tunneling contribution can be determined through the investigation of the order parameter anisotropy. Their potentially observable features in transport and spin dynamics are also studied.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

The magnetic neutron scattering resonance of high-T_c superconductors in external magnetic fields: an SO(5) study

The magnetic resonance at 41 meV observed in neutron scattering studies of Y Ba_2 Cu_3 O_7 holds a key position in the understanding of high-T_c superconductivity. Within the SO(5) model for superconductivity and antiferromagnetism, we have calculated the effect of an applied magnetic field on the neutron scattering cross-section of the magnetic resonance. In the presence of vortices, the neutron scattering cross-section shows clear signatures of not only the fluctuations in the superconducting order parameter \psi, but also the modulation of the phase of \psi due to vortices. In reciprocal space we find that i) the scattering amplitude is zero at (pi/a,pi/a), ii) the resonance peak is split into a ring with radius pi/d centered at (pi/a,pi/a), d being the vortex lattice constant, and consequently, iii) the splitting pi/d scales with the magnetic field as sqrt{B}.Comment: 4 pages including 3 eps-figures - minor changes and one reference added. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

A link between the spin fluctuation and Fermi surface in high T_C cuprates --- A consistent description within the single-band Hubbard model

A link between the spin fluctuation and the "fermiology" is explored for the single-band Hubbard model within the fluctuation exchange (FLEX) approximation. We show that the experimentally observed peak position of the spin structure in the high T_C cuprates can be understood from the model that reproduces the experimentally observed Fermi surface. In particular, both the variation of the incommensurability of the peak in the spin structure and the evolution of the Fermi surface with hole doping in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 may be understood with a second nearest neighbor hopping decreasing with hole doping.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX, uses epsf.sty and multicol.st

Doping dependence of the resonance peak and incommensuration in high-TcT_{c} superconductors

The doping and frequency evolutions of the incommensurate spin response and the resonance mode are studied based on the scenario of the Fermi surface topology. We use the slave-boson mean-field approach to the $t-t^{\prime}-J$ model and including the antiferromagnetic fluctuation correction in the random-phase approximation. We find that the equality between the incommensurability and the hole concentration is reproduced at low frequencies in the underdoped regime. This equality observed in experiments was explained {\it only} based on the stripe model before. We also obtain the downward dispersion for the spin response and predict its doping dependence for further experimental testing, as well as a proportionality between the low-energy incommensurability and the resonance energy. Our results suggest a common origin for the incommensuration and the resonance peak based on the Fermi surface topology and the d-wave symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 4 PS figure