Direct observation of melting in a 2-D superconducting vortex lattice

Topological defects such as dislocations and disclinations are predicted to determine the twodimensional (2-D) melting transition. In 2-D superconducting vortex lattices, macroscopic measurements evidence melting close to the transition to the normal state. However, the direct observation at the scale of individual vortices of the melting sequence has never been performed. Here we provide step by step imaging through scanning tunneling spectroscopy of a 2-D system of vortices up to the melting transition in a focused-ion-beam nanodeposited W-based superconducting thin film. We show directly the transition into an isotropic liquid below the superconducting critical temperature. Before that, we find a hexatic phase, characterized by the appearance of free dislocations, and a smectic-like phase, possibly originated through partial disclination unbinding. These results represent a significant step in the understanding of melting of 2-D systems, with impact across several research fields, such as liquid crystal molecules, or lipids in membranes.Comment: Submitted to Nature Physic

International Courts and the Crime of Genocide

En este trabajo realizo un análisis jurídico de los elementos constitutivos (tanto subjetivos como objetivos) del crimen de genocidio, tal y como han sido interpretados y aplicados por la jurisprudencia internacional. En concreto, se estudia la jurisprudencia de la Corte Internacional de Justicia, del Tribunal Internacional Penal para la antigua Yugoslavia y del Tribunal Internacional Penal para Ruanda sobre el crimen de genocidio

Magnetotransport properties of iron microwires fabricated by focused electron beam induced autocatalytic growth

We have prepared iron microwires in a combination of focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) and autocatalytic growth from the iron pentacarbonyl, Fe(CO)5, precursor gas under UHV conditions. The electrical transport properties of the microwires were investigated and it was found that the temperature dependence of the longitudinal resistivity (rhoxx) shows a typical metallic behaviour with a room temperature value of about 88 micro{\Omega} cm. In order to investigate the magnetotransport properties we have measured the isothermal Hall-resistivities in the range between 4.2 K and 260 K. From these measurements positive values for the ordinary and the anomalous Hall coefficients were derived. The relation between anomalous Hall resistivity (rhoAN) and longitudinal resistivity is quadratic, rhoAN rho^2 xx, revealing an intrinsic origin of the anomalous Hall effect. Finally, at low temperature in the transversal geometry a negative magnetoresistance of about 0.2 % was measured

Produtos de hidratação em argamassas geopoliméricas à base de argila da Tunísia para reparação de estruturas de concreto

A reparação de estruturas degradadas de concreto representa uma oportunidade para a indústria da construção mas também um desafio para a comunidade científica. O desenvolvimento de novas argamassas de reparação constitui por isso uma importante área de investigação. Os geopolímeros são ligantes inovadores alternativos ao cimento Portland pelo que as argamassas à base destes materiais, geopolíméricas, apresentam algumas potencialidades no campo da reparação das estruturas de concreto. O presente artigo apresenta resultados de uma investigação sobre o desenvolvimento de argamassas geopoliméricas à base de uma argila da Tunísia sujeita a tratamento térmico. É incluída uma análise da argila e também dos produtos de hidratação da argamassa os quais apresentam fases geopoliméricas típicas

A magnetic shift register with out-of-plane magnetized layers

Using out-of-plane magnetized layers, a lateral shift register made from discrete elements is demonstrated. By carefully designing the in-plane shape of the elements which make up the shift register, both the position of nucleation of new domains and the coercivity of the element can be controlled. The dipole field from a neighbouring element placed tens of nanometers away creates a bias field on the nucleation site, which can be used to create a NOT gate. By chaining these NOT gates together, a shift register can be created where data bits consisting of neighbouring layers with aligned magnetization are propagated synchronously under a symmetric applied magnetic field. The operation of a 16 element shift register is shown, including field coupled data injection.This research is funded by the European Community under the Seventh Framework Program ERC Contract No. 247368: 3SPIN, and by EMRP JRP EXL04 SpinCal. The EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the EU. AB acknowledges DTA funding from the EPSRC. A.F.-P. acknowledges support from the EPSRC Early Career Fellowship EP/M008517/1 and a Winton Fellowship

When the optimal is not the best: parameter estimation in complex biological models

Background: The vast computational resources that became available during the past decade enabled the development and simulation of increasingly complex mathematical models of cancer growth. These models typically involve many free parameters whose determination is a substantial obstacle to model development. Direct measurement of biochemical parameters in vivo is often difficult and sometimes impracticable, while fitting them under data-poor conditions may result in biologically implausible values. Results: We discuss different methodological approaches to estimate parameters in complex biological models. We make use of the high computational power of the Blue Gene technology to perform an extensive study of the parameter space in a model of avascular tumor growth. We explicitly show that the landscape of the cost function used to optimize the model to the data has a very rugged surface in parameter space. This cost function has many local minima with unrealistic solutions, including the global minimum corresponding to the best fit. Conclusions: The case studied in this paper shows one example in which model parameters that optimally fit the data are not necessarily the best ones from a biological point of view. To avoid force-fitting a model to a dataset, we propose that the best model parameters should be found by choosing, among suboptimal parameters, those that match criteria other than the ones used to fit the model. We also conclude that the model, data and optimization approach form a new complex system, and point to the need of a theory that addresses this problem more generally

Nucleobindin-1 regulates ECM degradation by promoting intra-Golgi trafficking of MMPs.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade several ECM components and are crucial modulators of cell invasion and tissue organization. Although much has been reported about their function in remodeling ECM in health and disease, their trafficking across the Golgi apparatus remains poorly understood. Here we report that the cis-Golgi protein nucleobindin-1 (NUCB1) is critical for MMP2 and MT1-MMP trafficking along the Golgi apparatus. This process is Ca2+-dependent and is required for invasive MDA-MB-231 cell migration as well as for gelatin degradation in primary human macrophages. Our findings emphasize the importance of NUCB1 as an essential component of MMP transport and its overall impact on ECM remodeling. © 2020 Pacheco-Fernandez et al

Effects of Zn Substitution in the Magnetic and Morphological Properties of Fe-Oxide-Based Core-Shell Nanoparticles Produced in a Single Chemical Synthesis

Magnetic, compositional, and morphological properties of Zn-Fe-oxide core-shell bimagnetic nanoparticles were studied for three samples with 0.00, 0.06, and 0.10 Zn/Fe ratios, as obtained from particle-induced X-ray emission analysis. The bimagnetic nanoparticles were produced in a one-step synthesis by the thermal decomposition of the respective acetylacetonates. The nanoparticles present an average particle size between 25 and 30 nm as inferred from transmission electron microscopy (TEM). High-resolution TEM images clearly show core-shell morphology for the particles in all samples. The core is composed by an antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase with a Wüstite (Fe1-yO) structure, whereas the shell is composed by a ZnxFe3-xO4 ferrimagnetic (FiM) spinel phase. Despite the low solubility of Zn in the Wüstite, electron energy-loss spectroscopy analysis indicates that Zn is distributed almost homogeneously in the whole nanoparticle. This result gives information on the formation mechanisms of the particle, indicating that the Wüstite is formed first, and the superficial oxidation results in the FiM ferrite phase with similar Zn concentration than the core. Magnetization and in-field Mössbauer spectroscopy of the Zn-richest nanoparticles indicate that the AFM phase is strongly coupled to the FiM structure of the ferrite shell, resulting in a bias field (HEB) appearing below TNFeO, with HEB values that depend on the core-shell relative proportion. Magnetic characterization also indicates a strong magnetic frustration for the samples with higher Zn concentration, even at low temperatures

The one-dimensional contact process: duality and renormalisation

We study the one-dimensional contact process in its quantum version using a recently proposed real space renormalisation technique for stochastic many-particle systems. Exploiting the duality and other properties of the model, we can apply the method for cells with up to 37 sites. After suitable extrapolation, we obtain exponent estimates which are comparable in accuracy with the best known in the literature.Comment: 15 page

On the possible sources of gravitational wave bursts detectable today

We discuss the possibility that galactic gravitational wave sources might give burst signals at a rate of several events per year, detectable by state-of-the-art detectors. We are stimulated by the results of the data collected by the EXPLORER and NAUTILUS bar detectors in the 2001 run, which suggest an excess of coincidences between the two detectors, when the resonant bars are orthogonal to the galactic plane. Signals due to the coalescence of galactic compact binaries fulfill the energy requirements but are problematic for lack of known candidates with the necessary merging rate. We examine the limits imposed by galactic dynamics on the mass loss of the Galaxy due to GW emission, and we use them to put constraints also on the GW radiation from exotic objects, like binaries made of primordial black holes. We discuss the possibility that the events are due to GW bursts coming repeatedly from a single or a few compact sources. We examine different possible realizations of this idea, such as accreting neutron stars, strange quark stars, and the highly magnetized neutron stars (``magnetars'') introduced to explain Soft Gamma Repeaters. Various possibilities are excluded or appear very unlikely, while others at present cannot be excluded.Comment: 24 pages, 20 figure