4,430 research outputs found
Type I superconductivity in the Dirac semimetal PdTe2
The superconductor PdTe was recently classified as a Type II Dirac
semimetal, and advocated to be an improved platform for topological
superconductivity. Here we report magnetic and transport measurements conducted
to determine the nature of the superconducting phase. Surprisingly, we find
that PdTe is a Type I superconductor with K and a critical
field mT. Our crystals also exhibit the intermediate
state as demonstrated by the differential paramagnetic effect. For we
observe superconductivity of the surface sheath. This calls for a close
examination of superconductivity in PdTe in view of the presence of
topological surface states.Comment: 5 page
Measuring Integrity for Selection into Medical School : Development of a Situational Judgement Test
This thesis examines the use of a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) for the selection into medical school based on the noncognitive attribute of integrity. Specifically, this thesis describes five studies that investigate how several test characteristics influence a number of quality criteria of an SJT in measuring integrity among medical school applicants
Muon spin rotation study of the topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3
We report transverse-field (TF) muon spin rotation experiments on single
crystals of the topological superconductor SrBiSe with nominal
concentrations and ( K). The TF spectra (
mT), measured after cooling to below in field, did not show any
additional damping of the muon precession signal due to the flux line lattice
within the experimental uncertainty. This puts a lower bound on the magnetic
penetration depth m. However, when we induce disorder in
the vortex lattice by changing the magnetic field below a sizeable
damping rate is obtained for . The data provide microscopic
evidence for a superconducting volume fraction of in the
crystal and thus bulk superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages, includes 4 figure
Superconductivity under pressure in the Dirac semimetal PdTe2
The Dirac semimetal PdTe was recently reported to be a type-I
superconductor (1.64 K, mT) with unusual
superconductivity of the surface sheath. We here report a high-pressure study,
GPa, of the superconducting phase diagram extracted from
ac-susceptibility and transport measurements on single crystalline samples.
shows a pronounced non-monotonous variation with a maximum 1.91 K around 0.91 GPa, followed by a gradual decrease to 1.27 K at 2.5 GPa.
The critical field of bulk superconductivity in the limit ,
, follows a similar trend and consequently the -curves
under pressure collapse on a single curve: .
Surface superconductivity is robust under pressure as demonstrated by the large
superconducting screening signal that persists for applied dc-fields . Surprisingly, for GPa the superconducting transition
temperature at the surface is larger than of the bulk. Therefore
surface superconductivity may possibly have a non-trivial nature and is
connected to the topological surface states detected by ARPES. We compare the
measured pressure variation of with recent results from band structure
calculations and discuss the importance of a Van Hove singularity.Comment: manuscript 9 pages with 8 figures + supplemental material 3 pages
with 6 figure
CD74-dependent Deregulation of the Tumor Suppressor Scribble in Human Epithelial and Breast Cancer Cells
The γ subunit of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II complex, CD74, is overexpressed in a significant proportion of metastatic breast tumors, but the mechanistic foundation and biologic significance of this phenomenon are not fully understood. Here, we show that when CD74 is overexpressed in human cancer and noncancerous epithelial cells, it interacts and interferes with the function of Scribble, a product of a well-known tumor suppressor gene. Furthermore, using epithelial cell lines expressing CD74 under the control of tetracycline-inducible promoter and quantitative high-resolution mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that, as a result of CD74 overexpression, the phosphorylation pattern of the C-terminal part of Scribble undergoes specific changes. This is accompanied with a translocation of the protein from the sites of cell-to-cell contacts at the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm, which is likely to effectively enhance the motility and invasiveness of the cancer cells. © 2013 Neoplasia Press, Inc. All rights reserved
MIF contributes to Trypanosoma brucei associated immunopathogenicity development
African trypanosomiasis is a chronic debilitating disease affecting the health and economic well-being of many people in developing countries. The pathogenicity associated with this disease involves a persistent inflammatory response, whereby M1-type myeloid cells, including Ly6C(high) inflammatory monocytes, are centrally implicated. A comparative gene analysis between trypanosusceptible and trypanotolerant animals identified MIF (macrophage migrating inhibitory factor) as an important pathogenic candidate molecule. Using MIF-deficient mice and anti-MIF antibody treated mice, we show that MIF mediates the pathogenic inflammatory immune response and increases the recruitment of inflammatory monocytes and neutrophils to contribute to liver injury in Trypanosoma brucei infected mice. Moreover, neutrophil-derived MIF contributed more significantly than monocyte-derived MIF to increased pathogenic liver TNF production and liver injury during trypanosome infection. MIF deficient animals also featured limited anemia, coinciding with increased iron bio-availability, improved erythropoiesis and reduced RBC clearance during the chronic phase of infection. Our data suggest that MIF promotes the most prominent pathological features of experimental trypanosome infections (i.e. anemia and liver injury), and prompt considering MIF as a novel target for treatment of trypanosomiasis-associated immunopathogenicity
Type-I superconductivity in PdTe probed by SR
The Dirac semimetal PdTe was recently reported to be a type-I
superconductor with K and a critical field mT.
Since type-I superconductivity is unexpected for binary compounds, we have
conducted muon spin rotation experiments to probe the superconducting phase on
the microscopic scale via its intermediate state. For crystals with a finite
demagnetization factor, , the intermediate state forms in applied fields
. We have carried out transverse field muon spin rotation
measurements on a thin disk-like crystal with the field perpendicular to
() and in the plane () of the disk. By
analysing the SR signal we find that the volume fraction of the normal
domains grows quasi-linearly with applied field at the expense of the Meissner
domain fraction. This then provides solid evidence for the intermediate state
and type-I superconductivity in the bulk of PdTe
- …