Effect of varying material anisotropy on critical current anistropy in vicinal YBa2_2Cu3_3O7−δ_{7-\delta} thin films

The high $T_{c}$ cuprate superconductors are noted for their anisotropic layered structure, certain of these materials indeed tend toward the limit of a Lawrence-Doniach superconductor. However, YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ has a smaller anisotropy than would be expected from its interlayer spacing. This is due to the cuprate chains in the structure. To investigate the influence of the chain oxygen on transport properties critical current versus applied field angle measurements were performed on fully oxygenated and de-oxygenated YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ thin films and optimally oxygenated Y$_{0.75}$Ca$_{0.2}$Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ thin films. The films were grown on 10$^{\circ}$ mis-cut SrTiO$_3$ substrates to enable the intrinsic vortex channelling effect to be observed. The form of the vortex channelling minimum observed in field angle dependent critical current studies on the films was seen to depend on film oxygenation. The vortex channelling effect is dependent on a angular dependent cross-over to a string-pancake flux line lattice. The results obtained appear to be consistent with the prediction of Blatter et al. [Rev. Mod. Phys., 66 (4): 1125 (1994)] that increased superconducting anisotropy leads to the kinked string-pancake lattice existing over a smaller angular range.Comment: To be submitted to AP

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils, as well as their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. Trans-cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved with using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g. disc-diffusion technique

Inter- and intragrain currents in bulk melt-grown YBaCuO rings

A simple contactless method suitable to discern between the intergrain (circular) current, which flows in the thin superconducting ring, and the intragrain current, which does not cross the weakest link, has been proposed. At first, we show that the intergrain current may directly be estimated from the magnetic flux density $B(\pm z_0)$ measured by the Hall sensor positioned in the special points $\pm z_0$ above/below the ring center. The experimental and the numerical techniques to determine the value $z_0$ are discussed. Being very promising for characterization of a current flowing across the joints in welded YBaCuO rings (its dependencies on the temperature and the external magnetic field as well as the time dissipation), the approach has been applied to study corresponding properties of the intra- and intergrain currents flowing across the $a$-twisted grain boundaries which are frequent in bulk melt-textured YBaCuO samples. We present experimental data related to the flux penetration inside a bore of MT YBaCuO rings both in the non-magnetized, virgin state and during the field reversal. The shielding properties and their dependence on external magnetic fields are also studied. Besides, we consider the flux creep effects and their influence on the current re-distribution during a dwell.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures (EPS), RevTeX4. In the revised version, corrections to perturbing effects near the weak links are introduced, one more figure is added. lin

Scaling of Island Growth in Pb Overlayers on Cu(001)

The growth and ordering of a Pb layer deposited on Cu(001) at 150 K has been studied using atom beam scattering. At low coverage, ordered Pb islands with a large square unit cell and nearly hexagonal internal structure are formed. This is a high order commensurate phase with 30 atoms in the unit cell. From the measurement of the island diffraction peak profiles we find a power law for the mean island - size versus coverage with an exponent $n=0.54 \pm 0.03$. A scaling behavior of growth is confirmed and a simple model describing island growth is presented. Due to the high degeneracy of the monolayer phase, different islands do not diffract coherently. Therefore, when islands merge they still diffract as separate islands and coalescence effects are thus negligible. From the result for $n$ we conclude that the island density is approximately a constant in the coverage range $0.1 < \Theta < 0.5$ where the ordered islands are observed. We thus conclude that most islands nucleate at $\Theta < 0.1$ and then grow in an approximately self similar fashion as $\Theta$ increases.Comment: 23 pages, 10 Figures (available upon request). SU-PHYS-93-443-375

SLAC's polarized electron source laser system for the E-158 parity violation experiment

SLAC E158 is an experiment to make the first measurement of parity violation in Moller scattering. The left-right cross-section asymmetry in the elastic scattering of a 45-GeV polarized electron beam off unpolarized electrons in a liquid hydrogen target will be measured to an accuracy of better than 10-8, with the expected Standard Model asymmetry being approximately 10-7. An intense circularly polarized laser beam for the polarized electron source is required with the ability to quickly switch between left and right polarization states with minimal left-right asymmetries in the parameters of the electron beam. This laser beam is produced by a unique SLAC-designed, flash-lamp pumped, Ti:Sapphire laser. We present this laser system design and initial results from recent commissioning runs

SLAC's polarized electron source laser system for the E-158 parity violation experiment

SLAC E158 is an experiment to make the first measurement of parity violation in Moller scattering. The left-right cross-section asymmetry in the elastic scattering of a 45-GeV polarized electron beam off unpolarized electrons in a liquid hydrogen target will be measured to an accuracy of better than 10-8, with the expected Standard Model asymmetry being approximately 10-7. An intense circularly polarized laser beam for the polarized electron source is required with the ability to quickly switch between left and right polarization states with minimal left-right asymmetries in the parameters of the electron beam. This laser beam is produced by a unique SLAC-designed, flash-lamp pumped, Ti:Sapphire laser. We present this laser system design and initial results from recent commissioning runs

Density and community structure of soil- and bark-dwelling microarthropods along an altitudinal gradient in a tropical montane rainforest

Microarthropod communities in the soil and on the bark of trees were investigated along an elevation gradient (1,850, 2,000, 2,150, 2,300 m) in a tropical montane rain forest in southern Ecuador. We hypothesised that the density of microarthropods declines with depth in soil and increases with increasing altitude mainly due to the availability of resources, i.e. organic matter. In addition, we expected bark and soil communities to differ strongly, since the bark of trees is more exposed to harsher factors. In contrast to our hypothesis, the density of major microarthropod groups (Collembola, Oribatida, Gamasina, Uropodina) was generally low and decreased with altitude. However, as we predicted the density of each of the groups decreased with soil depth. Density of microarthropods on tree bark was lower than in soil. Overall, 43 species of oribatid mites were found, with the most abundant higher taxa being Poronota, pycnonotic Apheredermata, Mixonomata and Eupheredermata. The oribatid mite community on bark did not differ significantly from that in soil. The number of oribatid mite species declined with altitude (24, 23, 17 and 13 species at 1,850, 2,000, 2,150 and 2,300 m, respectively). Rarefaction curves indicate that overall about 50 oribatid mite species are to be expected along the studied altitudinal gradient. Results of this study indicate (1) that microarthropods may be limited by the quality of resources at high altitudes and by the amount of resources at deeper soil layers, and (2) that the bark of trees and the soil are habitats of similar quality for oribatid mites

Antiretroviral-naive and -treated HIV-1 patients can harbour more resistant viruses in CSF than in plasma

Objectives The neurological disorders in HIV-1-infected patients remain prevalent. The HIV-1 resistance in plasma and CSF was compared in patients with neurological disorders in a multicentre study. Methods Blood and CSF samples were collected at time of neurological disorders for 244 patients. The viral loads were >50 copies/mL in both compartments and bulk genotypic tests were realized. Results On 244 patients, 89 and 155 were antiretroviral (ARV) naive and ARV treated, respectively. In ARV-naive patients, detection of mutations in CSF and not in plasma were reported for the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in 2/89 patients (2.2%) and for the protease gene in 1/89 patients (1.1%). In ARV-treated patients, 19/152 (12.5%) patients had HIV-1 mutations only in the CSF for the RT gene and 30/151 (19.8%) for the protease gene. Two mutations appeared statistically more prevalent in the CSF than in plasma: M41L (P = 0.0455) and T215Y (P = 0.0455). Conclusions In most cases, resistance mutations were present and similar in both studied compartments. However, in 3.4% of ARV-naive and 8.8% of ARV-treated patients, the virus was more resistant in CSF than in plasma. These results support the need for genotypic resistance testing when lumbar puncture is performe

Pelvic trauma : WSES classification and guidelines

Complex pelvic injuries are among the most dangerous and deadly trauma related lesions. Different classification systems exist, some are based on the mechanism of injury, some on anatomic patterns and some are focusing on the resulting instability requiring operative fixation. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic impairment of pelvic ring function and the associated injuries. The management of pelvic trauma patients aims definitively to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology associated to the mechanical stability of the pelvic ring. Thus the management of pelvic trauma must be multidisciplinary and should be ultimately based on the physiology of the patient and the anatomy of the injury. This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification of pelvic trauma and the management Guidelines.Peer reviewe