Non-Fermi liquid behavior in nearly charge ordered layered metals

Non-Fermi liquid behavior is shown to occur in two-dimensional metals which are close to a charge ordering transition driven by the Coulomb repulsion. A linear temperature dependence of the scattering rate together with an increase of the electron effective mass occur above T*, a temperature scale much smaller than the Fermi temperature. It is shown that the anomalous temperature dependence of the optical conductivity of the quasi-two-dimensional organic metal alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2MHg(SCN)4, with M=NH4 and Rb, above T*=50-100 K, agrees qualitatively with our predictions for the electronic properties of nearly charge ordered two-dimensional metals.Comment: accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Study to establish cost projections for production of Redox chemicals

A cost study of four proposed manufacturing processes for redox chemicals for the NASA REDOX Energy Storage System yielded favorable selling prices in the range $0.99 to$1.91/kg of chromic chloride, anhydrous basis, including ferrous chloride. The prices corresponded to specific energy storage costs from under $9 to$17/kWh. A refined and expanded cost analysis of the most favored process yielded a price estimate corresponding to a storage cost of $11/kWh. The findings supported the potential economic viability of the NASA REDOX system

Prospects for strangeness measurement in ALICE

The study of strangeness production at LHC will bring significant information on the bulk chemical properties, its dynamics and the hadronisation mechanisms involved at these energies. The ALICE experiment will measure strange particles from topology (secondary vertices) and from resonance decays over a wide range in transverse momentum and shed light on this new QCD regime. These motivations will be presented as well as the identification performance of ALICE for strange hadrons.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures Proceedings of the Workshop on Relativistic Nuclear Physics (WRNP) 2007, Kiev, Ukraine Conference Info: http://wrnp2007.bitp.kiev.ua/ Submitted to "Physics of Atomic Nuclei

Signatures of electron-electron correlations in the optical spectra of α\alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2M_2MHg(SCN)4_4 (MM=NH4_4 and Rb)

We interpret the optical spectra of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2M$Hg(SCN)$_4$ (M=NH$_4$ and Rb) in terms of a 1/4 filled metallic system close to charge ordering and show that in the conductivity spectra of these compounds a fraction of the spectral weight is shifted from the Drude-peak to higher frequencies due to strong electronic correlations. Analyzing the temperature dependence of the electronic parameters, we distinguish between different aspects of the influence of electronic correlations on optical properties. We conclude, that the correlation effects are slightly weaker in the NH$_4$ compound compared to the Rb one.Comment: Proceedings ISCOM0

Notch signaling is associated with ALDH activity and an aggressive metastatic phenotype in murine osteosarcoma cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignancy of bone, and pulmonary metastatic disease accounts for nearly all mortality. However, little is known about the biochemical signaling alterations that drive the progression of metastatic disease. Two murine OS cell populations, K7M2 and K12, are clonally related but differ significantly in their metastatic phenotypes and therefore represent excellent tools for studying metastatic OS molecular biology. K7M2 cells are highly metastatic, whereas K12 cells display limited metastatic potential. Here we report that the expression of Notch genes (Notch1, 2, 4) are up-regulated, including downstream targets Hes1 and Stat3, in the highly metastatic K7M2 cells compared to the less metastatic K12 cells, indicating that the Notch signaling pathway is more active in K7M2 cells. We have previously described that K7M2 cells exhibit higher levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. Here we report that K7M2 cell ALDH activity is reduced with Notch inhibition, suggesting that ALDH activity may be regulated in part by the Notch pathway. Notch signaling is also associated with increased resistance to oxidative stress, migration, invasion, and VEGF expression in vitro. However, Notch inhibition did not significantly alter K7M2 cell proliferation. In conclusion, we provide evidence that Notch signaling is associated with ALDH activity and increased metastatic behavior in OS cells. Both Notch and ALDH are putative molecular targets for the treatment and prevention of OS metastasis. © 2013 Mu, Isaac, Greco, Huard and Weiss

Resistance traits and AFLP characterization of diploid primitive tuber-bearing potatoes.

ISSN: 0925-986

A remark on an overdetermined problem in Riemannian Geometry

Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold with a distinguished point $O$ and assume that the geodesic distance $d$ from $O$ is an isoparametric function. Let $\Omega\subset M$ be a bounded domain, with $O \in \Omega$, and consider the problem $\Delta_p u = -1$ in $\Omega$ with $u=0$ on $\partial \Omega$, where $\Delta_p$ is the $p$-Laplacian of $g$. We prove that if the normal derivative $\partial_{\nu}u$ of $u$ along the boundary of $\Omega$ is a function of $d$ satisfying suitable conditions, then $\Omega$ must be a geodesic ball. In particular, our result applies to open balls of $\mathbb{R}^n$ equipped with a rotationally symmetric metric of the form $g=dt^2+\rho^2(t)\,g_S$, where $g_S$ is the standard metric of the sphere.Comment: 8 pages. This paper has been written for possible publication in a special volume dedicated to the conference "Geometric Properties for Parabolic and Elliptic PDE's. 4th Italian-Japanese Workshop", organized in Palinuro in May 201

The oxygen isotope effect on critical temperature in superconducting copper oxides

The isotope effect provided a crucial key to the development of the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer) microscopic theory of superconductivity for conventional superconductors. In superconducting cooper oxides (cuprates) showing an unconventional type of superconductivity, the oxygen isotope effect is very peculiar: the exponential coefficient strongly depends on doping level. No consensus has been reached so far on the origin of the isotope effect in the cuprates. Here we show that the oxygen isotope effect in cuprates is in agreement with the bisoliton theory of superconductivity.Comment: 3 pages including 4 figures; version 2 is with minor correction

Electronic properties of correlated metals in the vicinity of a charge order transition: optical spectroscopy of α\alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2M_2MHg(SCN)4_4 (MM = NH4_4, Rb, Tl)

The infrared spectra of the quasi-two-dimensional organic conductors $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$$M$Hg(SCN)$_4$ ($M$ = NH$_4$, Rb, Tl) were measured in the range from 50 to 7000 \cm down to low temperatures in order to explore the influence of electronic correlations in quarter-filled metals. The interpretation of electronic spectra was confirmed by measurements of pressure dependant reflectance of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ at T=300 K. The signatures of charge order fluctuations become more pronounced when going from the NH$_4$ salt to Rb and further to Tl compounds. On reducing the temperature, the metallic character of the optical response in the NH$_4$ and Rb salts increases, and the effective mass diminishes. For the Tl compound, clear signatures of charge order are found albeit the metallic properties still dominate. From the temperature dependence of the electronic scattering rate the crossover temperature is estimated below which the coherent charge-carriers response sets in. The observations are in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions for a quarter-filled metallic system close to charge order