Heat Current Characteristics in Nanojunctions with Superconducting Leads

As a fundamental requisite for thermotronics, controlling heat flow has been a longstanding quest in solid state physics. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in nanoscale hybrid systems as possible candidates for thermal devices. In this context, we study the heat current in the simplest hybrid device of a two level system weakly coupled to two heat baths. We use the reduced density matrix approach together with a simple Born-Markov approximation to calculate the heat current in the steady state. We consider different kinds of reservoirs and show that the nature of the reservoir plays a very important role in determining the thermal characteristics of the device. In particular, we investigate the effectiveness of a conventional superconductor as a reservoir with regard to manipulating the heat current. In the emergent temperature characteristics, we find that superconductivity in the reservoirs leads to enhanced thermal currents and that the superconducting phase transition is clearly visible in the heat current. We observe negative differential thermal conductance and a pronounced rectification of the heat current, making this a good building block for a quantum thermal diode.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Single spin probe of Many-Body Localization

We use an external spin as a dynamical probe of many body localization. The probe spin is coupled to an interacting and disordered environment described by a Heisenberg spin chain in a random field. The spin-chain environment can be tuned between a thermalizing delocalized phase and non-thermalizing localized phase, both in its ground- and high-energy states. We study the decoherence of the probe spin when it couples to the environment prepared in three states: the ground state, the infinite temperature state and a high energy N\'eel state. In the non-thermalizing many body localized regime, the coherence shows scaling behaviour in the disorder strength. The long-time dynamics of the probe spin shows a logarithmic dephasing in analogy with the logarithmic growth of entanglement entropy for a bi-partition of a many-body localized system. In summary, we show that decoherence of the probe spin provides clear signatures of many-body localization.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Extraperitoneal versus transperitoneal cesarean section in surgical morbidity in a tertiary care centre

Background: To test the advantages of extraperitoneal cesarean section over transperitoneal cesarean section.Methods: It is a single blinded prospective study. Women who were planned for emergency LSCS in the department of OG, Kanyakumari Government Medical College, Asaripallam were randomly allocated into extraperitoneal cesarean section (ECS) (n=80) or transperitoneal cesarean section (TCS) (n=80) from November 2015 to January 2017 and evaluated.Results: Even though the time taken to deliver the baby was more in ECS group (Average 4:57 minutes) than TCS group (Average 2:05 minutes, there is no change in Apgar score at 1 minute. The postoperative pain measured by VAS was lesser (4.28) in ECS than TCS (7.06). Bowel function returned early in ECS (8.687 hours) than in TCS (16.487 hours) group. None of the cases in ECS group had peroperative vomiting or post-operative wound infection.Conclusions: So, we can conclude that ECS is a better method in experienced hands than the TCS in selected cases

Effect of bio-inoculants on growth and yield of betel vine (Piper betle)

Betel vine (Piper betel) cultivation and the consumption of betel leaves is a very traditional and widespread practice in India and many South-East Asian countries. The marginal and small farmers generally cultivate betel vine in their small holdings which provide them with a means of alternative cash earning to meet their day to day livelihood. Chewing betel leaves is an old habit of the people residing in subtropical countries. It is used in several traditional remedies for the treatment of stomach ailments, infections and as a general tonic. As betel leaf is directly chewed, there is a need to improve the leaf yield and to optimize the usage of manures for the leaf production. A study was taken up to assess the efficacy of some of the bio-inoculants in combination with inorganic fertilizers in betel vine cv. SGM 1 under an open system of deep trench method. Among the various treatments, Azospirillum @ 5 kg coupled with 100 kg each of P and K ha-1 had recorded the highest vine length (195.6 cm), more number of laterals per vine (22.3) and highest leaf yield ha-1 (44.7 lakh)

Thinking after Drinking: Impaired Hippocampal-Dependent Cognition in Human Alcoholics and Animal Models of Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol use disorder currently affects approximately 18 million Americans, with at least half of these individuals having significant cognitive impairments subsequent to their chronic alcohol use. This is most widely apparent as frontal cortex dependent cognitive dysfunction, where executive function and decision making are severely compromised, as well as hippocampus dependent cognitive dysfunction, where contextual and temporal reasoning are negatively impacted. This review discusses the relevant clinical literature to support the theory that cognitive recovery in tasks dependent on the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is temporally different across extended periods of abstinence from alcohol. Additional studies from preclinical models are discussed to support clinical findings. Finally, the unique cellular composition of the hippocampus and cognitive impairment dependent on the hippocampus is highlighted in the context of alcohol dependence

Discovery of Self through Language from the Perspective of Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel

Search for self is the ultimatum of anybody’s life where the realization of their life sprouts with highly endowed discovery. The freedom from despair, destruction, and conflict emerges with the highly evacuated spirit of discontentment. Self-discovery touches the core of the soul when one is alive or on the verge of death. The study aims to converge on the retaliated experience of an old woman who is struck with the concept of ‘pride’ where no room for concern and love for her kith and kin even for herself. The revisit of the past enables her to realize her sense of in-human approach with her deep-rooted sense of class consciousness. The language of despair and destitution of the protagonist witnesses the enlarging vision of her soul in which seclusion resides. The research shows way for further studies on ‘communication gaps’ between the characters

Disease activity and biologic use in patients with psoriatic arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

To compare disease burden and biologic use among psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients recruited to the Corrona registry. Retrospective study of patients with PsA or RA enrolled in Corrona between January 2002 and March 2013 and grouped in 2-year intervals. Clinical outcomes and biologic use were assessed. Biologic use increased over time in both cohorts, with 62 and 52% of patients with PsA and RA, respectively, receiving biologics by 2012-2013. However, 25 and 35% of patients with PsA and RA, respectively, continued to experience moderate/high disease activity. Overall, the progressive increase in biologic use accompanied progressive decreases in Clinical Disease Activity Index (from 14.2 to 10.4 for RA, and 12.4 to 8.1 for PsA) and mean Health Assessment Questionnaire score (from 0.36 to 0.34, and 0.3 to 0.24). Mean patient pain, the proportion of patients reporting morning stiffness, and the mean duration of morning stiffness remained similar for both cohorts. PsA and RA treated in the rheumatology setting had a comparable impact on patient quality of life and functional ability. Disease burden improved with increased biologic utilization in both groups; however, moderate/severe disease remains in a significant proportion of PsA and RA patients

Phase Diagram of the Spin-One Heisenberg System with Dimerization and Frustration

We use the density matrix renormalization group method to study the ground state properties of an antiferromagnetic spin-$1$ chain with a next-nearest neighbor exchange $J_2 ~$ and an alternation $\delta$ of the nearest neighbor exchanges. We find a line running from a gapless point at $(J_2 , \delta) = (0, 0.25 \pm 0.01)$ upto an almost gapless point at $(0.725 \pm 0.01, 0$ such that the open chain ground state is $4$-fold degenerate below the line and is unique above it. A disorder line $2 J_2 + \delta = 1$ runs from $\delta =0$ to about $\delta =0.136$. To the left of this line, the peak in the structure factor $S(q)$ is at $\pi$, while to the right of the line, it is at less than $\pi$.Comment: 11 pages, plain TeX, 3 figures available on reques

Regulation of Adult Neurogenesis by Non-coding RNAs: Implications for Substance Use Disorders

The discovery of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)has been one of the central findings from early genomic sequencing studies. Not only was the presence of these genes unknown previously, it was the staggering disproportionate share of the genome that was predicted to be encoded by ncRNAs that was truly significant in genomic research. Over the years the function of various classes of these ncRNAs has been revealed. One of the first and enduring regulatory programs associated with these factors was development. In the neurosciences, the discovery of adult derived populations of dividing cells within the brain was equally substantial. The brain was hypothesized to be plastic only in its neuronal connectivity, but the discovery of the generation of new neurons was a novel mechanism of neuronal and behavioral plasticity. The process of adult neurogenesis resembles early neuronal development and has been found to share many parallels in the proper stages of specified genetic programs. Adult neurogenesis has also been found to play a role in learning and memory involved in particular hippocampal-dependent behaviors. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are an example of a behavioral condition that is associated with and possibly driven by hippocampal alterations. Our laboratory has determined that hippocampal adult neurogenesis is necessary for a rodent model of methamphetamine relapse. Due to the previous research on ncRNAs in development and in other brain regions involved in SUDs, we posit that ncRNAs may play a role in adult neurogenesis associated with this disorder. This review will cover the regulatory mechanisms of various classes of ncRNAs on the coordinated genetic program associated with adult neurogenesis with a special focus on how these programs could be dysregulated in SUDs