Josephson junction based thermometer and its application in bolometry

We propose a new type of a transition edge sensor based on an Al/AlOx/Ti/AlOx/Al superconductor—insulator—superconductor—insulator—superconductor (SIS'IS) structure. It exhibits sharp dependence of zero bias resistance on temperature of the titanium absorber in the vicinity of its superconducting critical temperature. We demonstrate temperature sensitivity of the device to be 2 μK/√Hz. Noise Equivalent Power (NEP) of the device, limited by the amplifier noise, is estimated to be 4×10−17 W/√Hz at 313 mK. The tunnel junctions between superconducting leads should help to overcome the size limitation imposed by proximity effect in conventional transition edge sensors, without sacrificing the sensitivity. Besides that the input resistance of the device can be tuned in a wide range.Peer reviewe

Motion of magnetotactic bacteria swarms in an external field

Magnetotactic bacteria moving on circular orbits form hydrodynamically bound states. When close to a surface and with the tilting of the field in a direction close to the perpendicular to this surface these swarms move perpendicularly to the tilting angle. We describe quantitatively this motion by a continuum model with couple stress arising from the torques produced by the rotary motors of the amphitrichous magnetotactic bacteria. The model not only correctly describes the change of direction of swarm motion while inverting the tangential field but also predicts reasonable value of the torque produced by the rotary motors

Magnetotactic bacteria Magnetic navigation on the microscale

Magnetotactic bacteria are aquatic microorganisms with the ability to swim along the field lines of a magnetic field, which in their natural environment is provided by the magnetic field of the Earth. They do so with the help of specialized magnetic organelles called magnetosomes, vesicles containing magnetic crystals. Magnetosomes are aligned along cytoskeletal filaments to give linear structures that can function as intracellular compass needles. The predominant viewpoint is that the cells passively align with an external magnetic field, just like a macroscopic compass needle, but swim actively along the field lines, propelled by their flagella. In this minireview, we give an introduction to this intriguing bacterial behavior and discuss recent advances in understanding it, with a focus on the swimming directionality, which is not only affected by magnetic fields, but also by gradients of the oxygen concentration

Lombalgie chronique, COTOREP et reclassement professionnel en Moselle

Objectifs : Décrire les caractéristiques, la prise en charge, les résultats et le coût d\u27un reclassement professionnel concernant les assurés mosellans lombalgiques chroniques bénéficiant d’un accord de la Commission technique d\u27orientation et de reclassement professionnel (COTOREP). Méthodes : Etude descriptive menée entre août 2000 et mars 2001 dans le cadre d\u27un partenariat avec la COTOREP de Moselle intégrant 48 lombalgiques chroniques pour lesquels la COTOREP a donné en 1995 un accord de pré-orientation ou de reclassement professionnels. Résultats : Le lombalgique pris en charge était un homme jeune, de faible niveau scolaire et professionnel, en rupture avec le milieu du travail et souffrant d\u27une pathologie lombaire invalidante. Sur 32 formations suivies, 24 candidats ont réussi leur examen mais seuls dix diplômés ont trouvé un emploi. Huit diplômés ont trouvé un emploi conforme à la formation apprise. Le taux de reprise du travail était semblable pour les diplômés (10/24) et pour les autres lombalgiques (11/24). Le coût global pour l\u27assurance maladie variait de 25 000 en externat à 39 000 en internat. Conclusion : Devant la faible valeur ajoutée du reclassement professionnel que nous avons constatée, il paraît souhaitable de maintenir le lombalgique chronique dans son emploi en restaurant son rachis, en aménageant son poste de travail et, surtout, en gérant ses peurs et croyances liées au couple lombalgietravail

Effective action and the quantum equation of motion

We carefully analyse the use of the effective action in dynamical problems, in particular the conditions under which the equation \frac{\delta \Ga} {\delta \phi}=0 can be used as a quantum equation of motion, and the relation between the asymptotic states involved in the definition of \Ga and the initial state of the system. By considering the quantum mechanical example of a double-well potential, where we can get exact results for the time evolution of the system, we show that an approximation to the effective potential in the quantum equation of motion that correctly describes the dynamical evolution of the system is obtained with the help of the wilsonian RG equation (already at the lowest order of the derivative expansion), while the commonly used one-loop effective potential fails to reproduce the exact results.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures. Revised version to appear in The European Physical Journal

Eutectic Colony Formation: A Stability Analysis

Experiments have widely shown that a steady-state lamellar eutectic solidification front is destabilized on a scale much larger than the lamellar spacing by the rejection of a dilute ternary impurity and forms two-phase cells commonly referred to as `eutectic colonies'. We extend the stability analysis of Datye and Langer for a binary eutectic to include the effect of a ternary impurity. We find that the expressions for the critical onset velocity and morphological instability wavelength are analogous to those for the classic Mullins-Sekerka instability of a monophase planar interface, albeit with an effective surface tension that depends on the geometry of the lamellar interface and, non-trivially, on interlamellar diffusion. A qualitatively new aspect of this instability is the occurence of oscillatory modes due to the interplay between the destabilizing effect of the ternary impurity and the dynamical feedback of the local change in lamellar spacing on the front motion. In a transient regime, these modes lead to the formation of large scale oscillatory microstructures for which there is recent experimental evidence in a transparent organic system. Moreover, it is shown that the eutectic front dynamics on a scale larger than the lamellar spacing can be formulated as an effective monophase interface free boundary problem with a modified Gibbs-Thomson condition that is coupled to a slow evolution equation for the lamellar spacing. This formulation provides additional physical insights into the nature of the instability and a simple means to calculate an approximate stability spectrum. Finally, we investigate the influence of the ternary impurity on a short wavelength oscillatory instability that is already present at off-eutectic compositions in binary eutectics.Comment: 26 pages RevTex, 14 figures (28 EPS files); some minor changes; references adde

Sources and sinks separating domains of left- and right-traveling waves: Experiment versus amplitude equations

In many pattern forming systems that exhibit traveling waves, sources and sinks occur which separate patches of oppositely traveling waves. We show that simple qualitative features of their dynamics can be compared to predictions from coupled amplitude equations. In heated wire convection experiments, we find a discrepancy between the observed multiplicity of sources and theoretical predictions. The expression for the observed motion of sinks is incompatible with any amplitude equation description.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 3 figur

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as MRI contrast agents - a comprehensive physical and theoretical study

Magnetite nanoparticles, especially superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, are established contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Magnetosomes, which are magnetite nanoparticles of biological origin, have been shown to have better contrast properties than current formulations possibly because of their larger size and high monodispersity. Here, we present an integrated study of magnetosomes and synthetic magnetite nanoparticles of varying size, hence, magnetic properties. We investigate not only the relaxation times as a measure for the contrast properties of these particles, but also their cytotoxicity and demonstrate the higher contrast of the larger particles. A theoretical model is presented that enables us to simulate the R2=R1 ratio of a contrast agent and con�rm that larger particles offer higher contrast. The results from this study illustrate the possibility to obtain colloidal stability of large magnetic nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging applications and serve as an impetus for a more quantitative description of the contrast effect as a function of the size

De novo variants disturbing the transactivation capacity of POU3F3 cause a characteristic neurodevelopmental disorder

POU3F3, also referred to as Brain-1, is a well-known transcription factor involved in the development of the central nervous system, but it has not previously been associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder. Here, we report the identification of 19 individuals with heterozygous POU3F3 disruptions, most of which are de novo variants. All individuals had developmental delays and/or intellectual disability and impairments in speech and language skills. Thirteen individuals had characteristic low-set, prominent, and/or cupped ears. Brain abnormalities were observed in seven of eleven MRI reports. POU3F3 is an intronless gene, insensitive to nonsense-mediated decay, and 13 individuals carried protein-truncating variants. All truncating variants that we tested in cellular models led to aberrant subcellular localization of the encoded protein. Luciferase assays demonstrated negative effects of these alleles on transcriptional activation of a reporter with a FOXP2-derived binding motif. In addition to the loss-of-function variants, five individuals had missense variants that clustered at specific positions within the functional domains, and one small in-frame deletion was identified. Two missense variants showed reduced transactivation capacity in our assays, whereas one variant displayed gain-of-function effects, suggesting a distinct pathophysiological mechanism. In bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) interaction assays, all the truncated POU3F3 versions that we tested had significantly impaired dimerization capacities, whereas all missense variants showed unaffected dimerization with wild-type POU3F3. Taken together, our identification and functional cell-based analyses of pathogenic variants in POU3F3, coupled with a clinical characterization, implicate disruptions of this gene in a characteristic neurodevelopmental disorder

DISTO data on Kpp

The data from the DISTO Collaboration on the exclusive pp -> p K+ Lambda production acquired at T_p = 2.85 GeV have been re-analysed in order to search for a deeply bound K- pp (= X) state, to be formed in the binary process pp -> K+ X. The preliminary spectra of the DeltaM_{K+} missing-mass and of the M_{p Lambda} invariant-mass show, for large transverse-momenta of protons and kaons, a distinct broad peak with a mass M_X = 2265 +- 2 MeV/c^2 and a width Gamma_X = 118 +- 8 MeV/c^2.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Talk presented at the "10th International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics" (HYP-X), Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan, September 14th-18th, 2009. To appear in the proceeding