241 research outputs found
Manipulating nonequilibrium magnetism through superconductors
Electrostatic control of the magnetization of a normal mesoscopic conductor
is analyzed in a hybrid superconductor-normal-superconductor system. This
effect stems from the interplay between the non-equilibrium condition in the
normal region and the Zeeman splitting of the quasiparticle density of states
of the superconductor subjected to a static in-plane magnetic field. Unexpected
spin-dependent effects such as magnetization suppression, diamagnetic-like
response of the susceptibility as well as spin-polarized current generation are
the most remarkable features presented. The impact of scattering events is
evaluated and let us show that this effect is compatible with realistic
material properties and fabrication techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Comment on "Experimental determination of superconducting parameters for the intermetallic perovskite superconductor MgCNi"
In a recent paper (Phys. Rev. {\bf B 67}, 094502 (2003)) Mao et al.
investigated the bias-dependent conductance of mechanical junctions between
superconducting MgCNi and a sharp W tip. They interpreted their results in
terms of 'single-particle tunneling'. We show it is more likely that current
transport through those junctions is determined by thermal effects due to the
huge normal-state resistivity of MgCNi. Therefore no conclusion can be
drawn about the possible unconventional pairing or strong-coupling
superconductivity in MgCNi.Comment: 2 pages, 1 Fig. Comment on Z. Q. Mao et al. (Phys. Rev. {\bf B 67},
094502 (2003)
Thermal expansion, heat capacity and magnetostriction of RAl (R = Tm, Yb, Lu) single crystals
We present thermal expansion and longitudinal magnetostriction data for cubic
RAl3 (R = Tm, Yb, Lu) single crystals. The thermal expansion coefficient for
YbAl3 is consistent with an intermediate valence of the Yb ion, whereas the
data for TmAl3 show crystal electric field contributions and have strong
magnetic field dependencies. de Haas-van Alphen-like oscillations were observed
in the magnetostriction data of YbAl3 and LuAl3, several new extreme orbits
were measured and their effective masses were estimated. Zero and 140 kOe
specific heat data taken on both LuAl3 and TmAl3 for T < 200 K allow for the
determination of a CEF splitting scheme for TmAl3
Valence Fluctuations Revealed by Magnetic Field Scan: Comparison with Experiments in YbXCu_4 (X=In, Ag, Cd) and CeYIn_5 (Y=Ir, Rh)
The mechanism of how critical end points of the first-order valence
transitions (FOVT) are controlled by a magnetic field is discussed. We
demonstrate that the critical temperature is suppressed to be a quantum
critical point (QCP) by a magnetic field. This results explain the field
dependence of the isostructural FOVT observed in Ce metal and YbInCu_4.
Magnetic field scan can lead to reenter in a critical valence fluctuation
region. Even in the intermediate-valence materials, the QCP is induced by
applying a magnetic field, at which the magnetic susceptibility also diverges.
The driving force of the field-induced QCP is shown to be a cooperative
phenomenon of the Zeeman effect and the Kondo effect, which creates a distinct
energy scale from the Kondo temperature. The key concept is that the closeness
to the QCP of the FOVT is capital in understanding Ce- and Yb-based heavy
fermions. It explains the peculiar magnetic and transport responses in CeYIn_5
(Y=Ir, Rh) and metamagnetic transition in YbXCu_4 for X=In as well as the sharp
contrast between X=Ag and Cd.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, OPEN SELECT in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
antiSMASH 3.0—a comprehensive resource for the genome mining of biosynthetic gene clusters
Microbial secondary metabolism constitutes a rich source of antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, insecticides and other high-value chemicals. Genome mining of gene clusters that encode the biosynthetic pathways for these metabolites has become a key methodology for novel compound discovery. In 2011, we introduced antiSMASH, a web server and stand-alone tool for the automatic genomic identification and analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters, available at http://antismash.secondarymetabolites.org. Here, we present version 3.0 of antiSMASH, which has undergone major improvements. A full integration of the recently published ClusterFinder algorithm now allows using this probabilistic algorithm to detect putative gene clusters of unknown types. Also, a new dereplication variant of the ClusterBlast module now identifies similarities of identified clusters to any of 1172 clusters with known end products. At the enzyme level, active sites of key biosynthetic enzymes are now pinpointed through a curated pattern-matching procedure and Enzyme Commission numbers are assigned to functionally classify all enzyme-coding genes. Additionally, chemical structure prediction has been improved by incorporating polyketide reduction states. Finally, in order for users to be able to organize and analyze multiple antiSMASH outputs in a private setting, a new XML output module allows offline editing of antiSMASH annotations within the Geneious software
Antimicrobial activity of a silver-microfibrillated cellulose biocomposite against susceptible and resistant bacteria
Transformation of the released asbestos, carbon fibers and carbon nanotubes from composite materials and the changes of their potential health impacts
A Genetic Basis for Mechanosensory Traits in Humans
Hearing and touch are genetically related, and people with excellent hearing are more likely to have a fine sense of touch and vice versa
Acinetobacter baumannii Infection Inhibits Airway Eosinophilia and Lung Pathology in a Mouse Model of Allergic Asthma
Allergic asthma is a dysregulation of the immune system which leads to the development of Th2 responses to innocuous antigens (allergens). Some infections and microbial components can re-direct the immune response toward the Th1 response, or induce regulatory T cells to suppress the Th2 response, thereby inhibiting the development of allergic asthma. Since Acinetobacter baumannii infection can modulate lung cellular and cytokine responses, we studied the effect of A. baumannii in modulating airway eosinophilia in a mouse model of allergic asthma. Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice were treated with live A. baumannii or phosphate buffered saline (PBS), then intranasally challenged with OVA. Compared to PBS, A. baumannii treatment significantly reduced pulmonary Th2 cytokine and chemokine responses to OVA challenge. More importantly, the airway inflammation in A. baumannii-treated mice was strongly suppressed, as seen by the significant reduction of the proportion and the total number of eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In addition, A. baumannii-treated mice diminished lung mucus overproduction and pathology. However, A. baumannii treatment did not significantly alter systemic immune responses to OVA. Serum OVA-specific IgE, IgG1 and IgG2a levels were comparable between A. baumannii- and PBS-treated mice, and tracheobronchial lymph node cells from both treatment groups produced similar levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in response to in vitro OVA stimulation. Moreover, it appears that TLR-4 and IFN-γ were not directly involved in the A. baumannii-induced suppression of airway eosinophilia. Our results suggest that A. baumannii inhibits allergic airway inflammation by direct suppression of local pulmonary Th2 cytokine responses to the allergen
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