Microwave studies of the fractional Josephson effect in HgTe-based Josephson junctions

The rise of topological phases of matter is strongly connected to their potential to host Majorana bound states, a powerful ingredient in the search for a robust, topologically protected, quantum information processing. In order to produce such states, a method of choice is to induce superconductivity in topological insulators. The engineering of the interplay between superconductivity and the electronic properties of a topological insulator is a challenging task and it is consequently very important to understand the physics of simple superconducting devices such as Josephson junctions, in which new topological properties are expected to emerge. In this article, we review recent experiments investigating topological superconductivity in topological insulators, using microwave excitation and detection techniques. More precisely, we have fabricated and studied topological Josephson junctions made of HgTe weak links in contact with two Al or Nb contacts. In such devices, we have observed two signatures of the fractional Josephson effect, which is expected to emerge from topologically-protected gapless Andreev bound states. We first recall the theoretical background on topological Josephson junctions, then move to the experimental observations. Then, we assess the topological origin of the observed features and conclude with an outlook towards more advanced microwave spectroscopy experiments, currently under development.Comment: Lectures given at the San Sebastian Topological Matter School 2017, published in "Topological Matter. Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences, vol 190. Springer

Совершенствование технологий для осуществления рентабельного процесса добычи нефти на малодебитном фонде скважин

Материалы XII Междунар. науч. конф. студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 16–17 мая 2019 г

Review of intravascular fluid therapy; 0.9% Normal Saline vs. Balanced Crystalloids

The increasing probability of protracted medical evacuation times in deployed environments has created a fundamental shift in medical doctrine within the military health system. One main shift is the clinical practice guideline of prolonged field care and whole blood transfusion. In previous conflicts of this century, such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, there has been a great disparity in air superiority in favor of coalition forces. This article attempts to evaluate intravascular fluid protocols in critical and non-critical patients. This article reviewed multiple meta-analyses and clinical trials in multiple settings, showing a statistically significant reduction in morbidity and mortality with balanced crystalloids as opposed to normal saline in non-TBI patients. The weaknesses of this article are potential biases, none of the studies were blinded, they all excluded TBI patients, and likely patients in one of the clinical studies received intravascular fluid therapy unnecessarily which potentially confounds safety profile results. The major strength of this article is the inclusion of the SMART, BEST Fluids and PRISMA studies which included very large sample sizes. Appropriate intravascular fluid therapy based on patient physiology is important not only to effective patient care but also in decreasing the healthcare burden to combatant commanders

Josephson Effect in Graphene and 3D Topological Insulators

The study of the proximity effect between a superconductor and a semiconductor or an unconventional metal, has lately received a dramatic boost due to the increasing possibilities to manufacture a larger variety of interfaces and materials

Combining bioinformatics and MS-based proteomics: clinical implications

Clinical proteomics research aims at i) discovery of protein biomarkers for screening, diagnosis and prognosis of disease, ii) discovery of protein therapeutic targets for improvement of disease prevention, treatment and follow-up, and iii) development of mass spectrometry (MS)-based assays that could be implemented in clinical chemistry, microbiology or hematology laboratories. MS has been increasingly applied in clinical proteomics studies for the identification and quantification of proteins. Bioinformatics plays a key role in the exploitation of MS data in several aspects such as the generation and curation of protein sequence databases, the development of appropriate software for MS data treatment and integration with other omics data and the establishment of adequate standard files for data sharing. In this article, we discuss the main MS approaches and bioinformatics solutions that are currently applied to accomplish the objectives of clinical proteomic research