35 research outputs found
Phase diagram of CeFeAsPO obtained from electric resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat measurements
We performed a systematic study on the properties of CeFeAsPO
() by electrical resistivity, magnetization and specific heat
measurements. The c-axis lattice constant decreases significantly with
increasing P content, suggesting a remarkable chemical pressure. The Fe-3d
electrons show the enhanced metallic behavior upon P-doping and undergo a
magnetic quantum phase transition around . Meanwhile, the Ce-4f
electrons develop a ferromagnetic order near the same doping level. The
ferromagnetic order is vanishingly small around . The data suggest a
heavy-fermion-like behavior as . No superconductivity is observed
down to 2 K. Our results show the ferromagnetic ordered state as an
intermediate phase intruding between the antiferromagnetic bad metal and the
nonmagnetic heavy fermion metal and support the cerium-containing iron
pnictides as a unique layered Kondo lattice system.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, text and figures revised, references added
Superconductivity in LaFeAsPO: effect of chemical pressures and bond covalency
We report the realization of superconductivity by an isovalent doping with
phosphorus in LaFeAsO. X-ray diffraction shows that, with the partial
substitution of P for As, the FeAs layers are squeezed while the
LaO layers are stretched along the c-axis. Electrical resistance and
magnetization measurements show emergence of bulk superconductivity at 10
K for the optimally-doped LaFeAsPO (). The upper
critical fields at zero temperature is estimated to be 27 T, much higher than
that of the LaFePO superconductor. The occurrence of superconductivity is
discussed in terms of chemical pressures and bond covalency.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, more data presente
Structural and superconducting properties in LaFeAs1-xSbxO1-yFy
We report the antimony (Sb) doping effect in a prototype system of iron-based
supercon-ductors LaFeAsO1-yFy (y=0, 0.1, 0.15). X-ray powder diffraction
indicates that the lattice pa-rameters increase with Sb content within the
doping limit. Rietveld structural refinements show that, with the partial
substitution of Sb for As, while the thickness of the Fe2As2 layers increases
significantly, that of the La2O2 layers shrinks simultaneously. So a negative
chemical pressure is indeed "applied" to the superconducting-active Fe2As2
layers, in con-trast to the effect of positive chemical pressure by the
phosphorus doping. Electrical resis-tance and magnetic susceptibility
measurements indicate that, while the Sb doping hardly influences the SDW
anomaly in LaFeAsO, it recovers SDW order for the optimally-doped sample of
y=0.1. In the meantime, the superconducting transition temperature can be
raised up to 30 K in LaFeAs1-xSbxO1-yFy with x=0.1 and y=0.15. The Sb doping
effects are discussed in term of both J1-J2 model and Fermi Surface (FS)
nesting scenario.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. to be published in Science in China
Series
Within-Compound Versus Public Latrine Access and Child Feces Disposal Practices in Low-Income Neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana.
In crowded urban settlements in low-income countries, many households rely on shared sanitation facilities. Shared facilities are not currently considered "improved sanitation" because of concerns about whether hygiene conditions sufficiently protect users from the feces of others. Prevention of fecal exposure at a latrine is only one aspect of sanitary safety. Ensuring consistent use of latrines for feces disposal, especially child feces, is required to reduce fecal contamination in households and communities. Household crowding and shared latrine access are correlated in these settings, rendering latrine use by neighbors sharing communal living areas as critically important for protecting one's own household. This study in Accra, Ghana, found that household access to a within-compound basic latrine was associated with higher latrine use by children of ages 5-12 years and for disposal of feces of children < 5 years, compared with households using public latrines. However, within-compound access was not associated with improved child feces disposal by other caregivers in the compound. Feces was rarely observed in household compounds but was observed more often in compounds with latrines versus compounds relying on public latrines. Escherichia coli and human adenovirus were detected frequently on household surfaces, but concentrations did not differ when compared by latrine access or usage practices. The differences in latrine use for households sharing within-compound versus public latrines in Accra suggest that disaggregated shared sanitation categories may be useful in monitoring global progress in sanitation coverage. However, compound access did not completely ensure that households were protected from feces and microbial contamination
TLR7 gain-of-function genetic variation causes human lupus
Although circumstantial evidence supports enhanced Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) signalling as a mechanism of human systemic autoimmune disease evidence of lupus-causing TLR7 gene variants is lacking. Here we describe human systemic lupus erythematosus caused by a TLR7 gain-of-function variant. TLR7 is a sensor of viral RNA and binds to guanosine. We identified a de novo, previously undescribed missense TLR7Y264H variant in a child with severe lupus and additional variants in other patients with lupus. The TLR7Y264H variant selectively increased sensing of guanosine and 2',3'-cGMP1 and was sufficient to cause lupus when introduced into mice. We show that enhanced TLR7 signalling drives aberrant survival of B cell receptor (BCR)-activated B cells, and in a cell-intrinsic manner, accumulation of CD11c+ age-associated B cells and germinal centre B cells. Follicular and extrafollicular helper T cells were also increased but these phenotypes were cell-extrinsic. Deficiency of MyD88 (an adaptor protein downstream of TLR7) rescued autoimmunity, aberrant B cell survival, and all cellular and serological phenotypes. Despite prominent spontaneous germinal-centre formation in Tlr7Y264H mice, autoimmunity was not ameliorated by germinal-centre deficiency, suggesting an extrafollicular origin of pathogenic B cells. We establish the importance of TLR7 and guanosine-containing self-ligands for human lupus pathogenesis, which paves the way for therapeutic TLR7 or MyD88 inhibition
Calibrating and Validating the MFI-UF Method to Measure Particulate Fouling in Reverse Osmosis
This study aimed to calibrate and validate the MFI-UF method in order to ensure the accuracy of particulate fouling measurements in RO. Firstly, the MFI-UF calibration was examined using two solutions of standard particles (dextran and polystyrene). Two main criteria were investigated: (i) MFI-UF linearity with particle concentrations at both low and high ranges of fouling potential and (ii) the reproducibility of MFI-UF linearity. Dextran solutions showed a strong MFI-UF linearity over the entire range of measured MFI-UF. However, the linearity was not reproducible, and different batches of dextran prepared under the same conditions produced very variable results. For polystyrene solutions, the MFI-UF linearity was verified at the higher range of MFI-UF (>10,000 s/L2), while the MFI-UF at the lower range (<5000 s/L2) appeared to be underestimated. Secondly, MFI-UF linearity was investigated using natural (surface) water under a wide range of testing conditions (at 20–200 L/m2·h using 5–100 kDa membranes). Strong MFI-UF linearity was obtained over the entire range of measured MFI-UF (up to 70,000 s/L2). Thus, the MFI-UF method was validated to measure different levels of particulate fouling in RO. However, future research focusing on MFI-UF calibration is still required through the selection, preparation, and testing of heterogeneous mixtures of standard particles
Outdoor Tourist Destination: Sumur Batu Art Sacred Space
Purpose: This study aims to find how a sacred space be a part of outdoor tourist destination consisting of heritage building law and rules to respect the sacred space.
Research methods: The study is based on a qualitative research by accommodating criterias of heritage building rules and considering the local architecture as base design.
Findings: Sumur Batu is a heritage-listed object in Bekasi. It is a water well that believed by local peoples to be an ancestral heritage and is named Tirta Karuhun. The site is one of the Satellites of The National Gallery of Indonesia (GNI) that plays a role as an art gallery that shows artworks.
Implication: The site enriches the contemporary art displays in a sacred area. The sacred place has opportunity to be a venue for art activities. It can be an outdoor tourist destination
Multipathway Quantitative Assessment of Exposure to Fecal Contamination for Young Children in Low-Income Urban Environments in Accra, Ghana: The SaniPath Analytical Approach.
Lack of adequate sanitation results in fecal contamination of the environment and poses a risk of disease transmission via multiple exposure pathways. To better understand how eight different sources contribute to overall exposure to fecal contamination, we quantified exposure through multiple pathways for children under 5 years old in four high-density, low-income, urban neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. We collected more than 500 hours of structured observation of behaviors of 156 children, 800 household surveys, and 1,855 environmental samples. Data were analyzed using Bayesian models, estimating the environmental and behavioral factors associated with exposure to fecal contamination. These estimates were applied in exposure models simulating sequences of behaviors and transfers of fecal indicators. This approach allows us to identify the contribution of any sources of fecal contamination in the environment to child exposure and use dynamic fecal microbe transfer networks to track fecal indicators from the environment to oral ingestion. The contributions of different sources to exposure were categorized into four types (high/low by dose and frequency), as a basis for ranking pathways by the potential to reduce exposure. Although we observed variation in estimated exposure (108-1016 CFU/day for Escherichia coli) between different age groups and neighborhoods, the greatest contribution was consistently from food (contributing > 99.9% to total exposure). Hands played a pivotal role in fecal microbe transfer, linking environmental sources to oral ingestion. The fecal microbe transfer network constructed here provides a systematic approach to study the complex interaction between contaminated environment and human behavior on exposure to fecal contamination