1,654 research outputs found
Spirit in the Speakers: Collective Spirituality in Electronic Music Subcultures.
By definition subcultures harbor their own sets of norms and unique characteristics. From fashion to slang vocabularies, each subculture stands apart as a world of its own. In the subculture of psychedelic trance, an electronic music based subculture, such marking characteristics are taken beyond superficial expressions. Through repeated exposure to spiritual concepts, language, and rituals, thecommunity fosters spiritual practices and beliefs in individual members. Using in-depth interviews and extended participant observation, Iidentify patterns and commonalities, as well as divergences, in the spiritual practice and beliefs of subculture members. Ultimately psy-trance members draw on organized religious traditions while also distinguishing their activities and group from traditional religion. The role of music in collective ritual and the concept of lived religious experience provide insight into the beliefs and practices of the psy-trance subculture
Kuiper Binary Object Formation
It has been observed that binary Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) exist contrary to
theoretical expectations. Their creation presents problems to most current
models. However, the inclusion of a third body (for example, one of the outer
planets) may provide the conditions necessary for the formation of these
objects. The presence of a third massive body not only helps to clear the
primordial Kuiper Belt but can also result in long lived binary Kuiper belt
objects. The gravitational interaction between the KBOs and the third body
causes one of four effects; scattering into the Oort cloud, collisions with the
growing protoplanets, formation of binary pairs, or creation of a single Kuiper
belt object. Additionally, the initial location of the progenitors of the
Kuiper belt objects also has a significant effect on binary formation
Andreev bound states in normal and ferromagnet/high-Tc superconducting tunnel junctions
Ag/BSCCO and Fe/Ag/BSCCO planar tunnel junctions were constructed in order to
study experimentally the effect of an exchange potential on the spin polarized
current transported through Andreev bound states appearing at the interface
with a superconductor with broken time reversal pairing symmetry. The zero bias
conductance peak (ZBCP) resulting from the Andreev bound states (ABS) is split
into two symmetric peaks shifted at finite energies when the counterlectrode is
normal. Four asymmetric peaks are observed when the ferromagnetic spin
polarized charge reservoir is added, due to the combined effect of a
spin-filtering exchange energy in the barrier, which is a spin dependent
phenomenon, and the spin independent effect of a broken time reversal symmetry
(BTRS). The polarization in the iron layer leads to asymmetry. Due to the shift
of ABS peaks to finite energies, the conductance at zero energy behaves as
predicted by recent theoretical developments for pure d-wave junctions without
Andreev reflections.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to Physica
Evidence for field-induced excitations in low-temperature thermal conductivity of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8
The thermal conductivity ,, of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 was studied as a
function of magnetic field. Above 5 K, after an initial decrease,
presents a kink followed by a plateau, as recently reported by Krishana et al..
By contrast, below 1K, the thermal conductivity was found to \emph{increase}
with increasing field. This behavior is indicative of a finite density of
states and is not compatible with the existence of a field-induced fully gapped
state which was recently proposed to describe the
plateau regime. Our low-temperature results are in agreement with recent works
predicting a field-induced enhancement of thermal conductivity by Doppler shift
of quasi-particle spectrum.Comment: 4 pages including 4 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Localized surface states in HTSC: Alternative mechanism of zero-bias conductance peaks
It is shown that the quasiparticle states localized in the vicinity of
surface imperfections of atomic size can be responsible for the zero-bias
tunneling conductance peaks in high-Tc superconductors. The contribution from
these states can be easily separated from other mechanisms using their
qualitatively different response on an external magnetic field.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 2 figs; to be published in PR
Mixing of superconducting state with s-wave states for different filling and temperature
We study the order parameter for mixed-symmetry states involving a major
state and various minor s-wave states (, , and
) for different filling and temperature for mixing angles 0 and
. We employ a two-dimensional tight-binding model incorporating
second-neighbor hopping for tetragonal and orthorhombic lattice. There is
mixing for the symmetric state both on tetragonal and orthorhombic lattice.
The state mixes with the state only on orthorhombic
lattice. The state never mixes with the state. The
temperature dependence of the order parameters is also studied.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted in Physica
Anomalous proximity effect in d-wave superconductors
The anomalous proximity effect between a d-wave superconductor and a surface
layer with small electronic mean free path is studied theoretically in the
framework of the Eilenberger equations. The angular and spatial structure of
the pair potential and the quasiclassical propagators in the interface region
is calculated selfconsistently. The variation of the spatially-resolved
quasiparticle density of states from the bulk to the surface is studied. It is
shown that the isotropic gapless superconducting state is induced in the
disordered layer.Comment: 6 pages, 5 postscript figures. Submitted to Phys.Rev.
Eight Weeks of Combined Exercise Training Induced Improvements in Insulin Sensitivity is Associated with Improvement in Aerobic Capacity, but not with Improvement in Strength.
A lifestyle compromised of predominantly sedentary behavior is a risk factor that promotes the development of metabolic syndrome. It has been demonstrated that individuals with blunted insulin sensitivity (IS) and metabolic flexibility (MF) tend to be more prone to develop the disease. An increase in physical activity is recommended in order to prevent cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. PURPOSE: to determine whether healthy, sedentary, normoglycemic, Mexican American men without a family history of type 2 diabetes are able to improve IS and MF after participating in a combined (aerobic/resistance) exercise intervention. METHODS: Subjects (n=6; 21.83±0.8 years; BMI 28.92 ± 1.6 kg/m2), participated in 8 weeks of combined exercise training three times per week (35 minutes of aerobic training & 45 minutes of resistance training/session). Upper body 1 repetition maximum (1RM) was measured using the flat barbell bench press and lower body 1RM was measured using a back leg strength dynamometer. IS was assessed using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp (clamp). Insulin dose administered to each subject was set 80mU/m2/min. MF was assessed by determining change in RQ (ΔRQ) at the steady state of the clamp compared to RQ measured at baseline/resting. Participants were provided with standard diet 5 days before pre and post intervention testing in order to control for the effects of diet on insulin sensitivity. Body composition was measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: IS improved significantly after the 8 weeks of combined exercise training (3.18±0.35 to 3.75±0.34 mg/kg EMBS/min, p=0.05). There was no significant improvement in MF (0.06±0.02 to 0.08±0.02 ∆RER, p=0.19). Body weight significantly increased (3.76%; 81.06±5.38 to 84.11±5.67 kg, p=0.01) with no change in fat mass and a trend to increase in fat free mas (2.8%; 55.92±2.77 to 57.5±2.38 kg, p=0.1). Upper body strength significantly increased (168.3±26.57 to 195±26.04 lb., p=0.001). Lower body strength increased (356.7±46.52 to 428.3±34.51 lb., p=0.02).VO2 max improved significantly (3.90±0.14 to 4.19±0.16 L/min, p=0.037). Improvement in IS was associated with an increase in VO2max (r=0.92, p=0.008) but not with the improvement in strength. Improvement in MF was significantly correlated with fasting glucose (r=-0.83, p=0.04), and an increase in lean mass (r=0.82, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: 8 weeks of combined exercise improves insulin sensitivity in healthy, sedentary, normoglycemic Hispanic men. Improvement in insulin sensitivity is associated with improvement in aerobic fitness but not gain in upper and lower body strength
Charge Transport Processes in a Superconducting Single-Electron Transistor Coupled to a Microstrip Transmission Line
We have investigated charge transport processes in a superconducting
single-electron transistor (S-SET) fabricated in close proximity to a
two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. The
macroscopic bonding pads of the S-SET along with the 2DEG form a microstrip
transmission line. We observe a variety of current-carrying cycles in the S-SET
which we attribute to simultaneous tunneling of Cooper pairs and emission of
photons into the microstrip. We find good agreement between these experimental
results and simulations including both photon emission and photon-assisted
tunneling due to the electromagnetic environment.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX
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