146 research outputs found
Non-equilibrium supercurrent through mesoscopic ferromagnetic weak links
We consider a mesoscopic normal metal, where the spin degeneracy is lifted by
a ferromagnetic exchange field or Zeeman splitting, coupled to two
superconducting reservoirs. As a function of the exchange field or the distance
between the reservoirs, the supercurrent through this device oscillates with an
exponentially decreasing envelope. This phenomenon is similar to the tuning of
a supercurrent by a non-equilibrium quasiparticle distribution between two
voltage-biased reservoirs. We propose a device combining the exchange field and
non-equilibrium effects, which allows us to observe a range of novel phenomena.
For instance, part of the field-suppressed supercurrent can be recovered by a
voltage between the additional probes.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, Europhys. Lett., to be published, corrected two
reference
Threshold detachment of negative ions by electron impact
The description of threshold fragmentation under long range repulsive forces
is presented. The dominant energy dependence near threshold is isolated by
decomposing the cross section into a product of a back ground part and a
barrier penetration probability resulting from the repulsive Coulomb
interaction. This tunneling probability contains the dominant energy variation
and it can be calculated analytically based on the same principles as Wannier's
description for threshold ionization under attractive forces. Good agreement is
found with the available experimental cross sections on detachment by electron
impact from , and .Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures (EPS), to appear in Phys.Rev.Lett, Feb. 22nd, 199
A highly stable atomic vector magnetometer based on free spin precession
We present a magnetometer based on optically pumped Cs atoms that measures
the magnitude and direction of a 1 T magnetic field. Multiple circularly
polarized laser beams were used to probe the free spin precession of the Cs
atoms. The design was optimized for long-time stability and achieves a scalar
resolution better than 300 fT for integration times ranging from 80 ms to 1000
s. The best scalar resolution of less than 80 fT was reached with integration
times of 1.6 to 6 s. We were able to measure the magnetic field direction with
a resolution better than 10 rad for integration times from 10 s up to 2000
s
Out-of-equilibrium physics in driven dissipative coupled resonator arrays
Coupled resonator arrays have been shown to exhibit interesting many- body
physics including Mott and Fractional Hall states of photons. One of the main
differences between these photonic quantum simulators and their cold atoms
coun- terparts is in the dissipative nature of their photonic excitations. The
natural equi- librium state is where there are no photons left in the cavity.
Pumping the system with external drives is therefore necessary to compensate
for the losses and realise non-trivial states. The external driving here can
easily be tuned to be incoherent, coherent or fully quantum, opening the road
for exploration of many body regimes beyond the reach of other approaches. In
this chapter, we review some of the physics arising in driven dissipative
coupled resonator arrays including photon fermionisa- tion, crystallisation, as
well as photonic quantum Hall physics out of equilibrium. We start by briefly
describing possible experimental candidates to realise coupled resonator arrays
along with the two theoretical models that capture their physics, the
Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard and Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonians. A brief review of the
analytical and sophisticated numerical methods required to tackle these systems
is included.Comment: Chapter that appeared in "Quantum Simulations with Photons and
Polaritons: Merging Quantum Optics with Condensed Matter Physics" edited by
D.G.Angelakis, Quantum Science and Technology Series, Springer 201
Polymer-Bonded Magnetic Materials with Various Nd-Fe-B Filler Content
One of the more important developments in magnetic materials, polymer bonded magnets, have opened a new world of application opportunities. The Nd-Fe-B/polymer composite materials offer an excellent combination of strong magnetic and dynamical-mechanical properties. However, the transition temperatures of filler and matrix should be selected carefully considering the future application. Uniform particle distribution and good adhesion between Nd-Fe-B powder particles and polymer are essential for the quality of the composite, while stiffness of polymer matrix is one of the influencing factors as well. The damping properties of Nd-Fe-B/polymer composites with 15 wt.%, 50 wt.% and 75 wt.% of Nd-Fe-B powder were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis and compared with a pure polymer sample. Thermal stability was analyzed using a simultaneous differential scanning calorimetric and thermogravimetric analysis technique.11th Annual Conference of the Materials-Research-Society-of-Serbia (YUCOMAT 2009), Aug 31-Sep 04, 2009, Herceg Novi, Montenegr
Identification of a rare p.G320R alpha-1-antitrypsin variant in emphysema and lung cancer patients
The alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) gene is highly polymorphic, with more than 100 genetic variants identified of which some can affect A1AT protein concentration and/or function and lead to pulmonary and/or liver disease. This study reports on the characterization of a p.G320R variant found in two patients, one with emphysema and the other with lung cancer. This variant results from a single base-pair substitution in exon 4 of the A1AT gene, and has been characterized as P by isoelectric focusing. Functional evaluation of the A1AT p.G320R variant was through comparing specific trypsin inhibitory activity in two patients with pulmonary disorders, carriers of the p.G320R variant, and 19 healthy individuals, carriers of normal A1AT M variants. Results showed that specific trypsin inhibitory activity was lower in both emphysema (2.45 mU/g) and lung cancer (2.07 mU/g) patients than in carriers of the normal variants (range 2.51-3.71 mU/g). This rare A1AT variant is associated with reduced functional activity of A1AT protein. Considering that it was found in patients with severe pulmonary disorders, this variant could be of clinical significance
Incretins in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Background: The precise mechanism linking systemic inflammation with insulin resistance (IR) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains elusive. In the present study, we determined whether the incretin-insulin axis and incretin effect are disrupted in patients with RA and if they are related to the IR found in these patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study that encompassed 361 subjects without diabetes, 151 patients with RA, and 210 sex-matched control subjects. Insulin, C-peptide, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) soluble form, and IR indexes by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) were assessed. A multivariable analysis adjusted for IR-related factors was performed. Additionally, ten patients and ten control subjects underwent a 566-kcal meal test so that we could further study the postprandial differences of these molecules between patients and control subjects. Results: Insulin, C-peptide, and HOMA2-IR indexes were higher in patients than in control subjects. This was also the case for GLP-1 (0.49 ± 1.28 vs. 0.71 ± 0.22 ng/ml, p = 0.000) and GIP (0.37 ± 0.40 vs. 1.78 ± 0.51 ng/ml, p = 0.000). These differences remained significant after multivariable adjustment including glucocorticoid intake. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (? coefficient 46, 95% CI 6?87, p = 0.026) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (? coefficient 7.74, 95% CI 1.29?14.20, p = 0.019) were associated with DPP-4 serum levels. GLP-1 positively correlated with ?-cell function (HOMA2 of ?-cell production calculated with C-peptide) in patients but not in control subjects (interaction p = 0.003). The meal test in patients with RA revealed a higher total and late response AUC for glucose response, a later maximal response of C-peptide, and a flatter curve in GIP response. Conclusions: The incretin-insulin axis, both during fasting and postprandial, is impaired in patients with RA.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Health,
Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Plan
Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013–2016
Instituto de Salud Carlos III [ISCIII] PI14/00394) and by the Fondo Europeo de
Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (to IFA). The research of MAGG was supported
by European Union FEDER funds and by the “Fondo de Investigación
Sanitaria” (grants PI06/0024, PS09/00748, PI12/00060, and PI15/00525) of the
Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII; Spanish Health Ministry). The research of
MAGG was also partially supported by RETICS Programs RD12/0009 (RIER)
and RD12/0009/0013 from the ISCIII (Spanish Health Ministry)
Mast cell glycosaminoglycans
Mast cells contain granules packed with a mixture of proteins that are released on degranulation. The proteoglycan serglycin carries an array of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains, sometimes heparin, sometimes chondroitin or dermatan sulphate. Tight packing of granule proteins is dependent on the presence of serglycin carrying these GAGs. The GAGs of mast cells were most intensively studied in the 1970s and 1980s, and though something is known about the fine structure of chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate in mast cells, little is understood about the composition of the heparin/heparan sulphate chains. Recent emphasis on the analysis of mast cell heparin from different species and tissues, arising from the use of this GAG in medicine, lead to the question of whether variations within heparin structures between mast cell populations are as significant as variations in the mix of chondroitins and heparins
A complex systems approach to constructing better models for managing financial markets and the economy
We outline a vision for an ambitious program to understand the economy and financial markets as a complex evolving system of coupled networks of interacting agents. This is a completely different vision from that currently used in most economic models. This view implies new challenges and opportunities for policy and managing economic crises. The dynamics of such models inherently involve sudden and sometimes dramatic changes of state. Further, the tools and approaches we use emphasize the analysis of crises rather than of calm periods. In this they respond directly to the calls of Governors Bernanke and Trichet for new approaches to macroeconomic modelling.The publication of this work was partially supported by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement No. 284709, a Coordination and Support Action in the Information and Communication Technologies activity area (‘FuturICT’ FET Flagship Pilot Project). Doyne Farmer, Mauro Gallegati and Cars Hommes also acknowledge financial support from the EU-7th framework collaborative project “Complexity Research Initiative for Systemic InstabilitieS (CRISIS)”, grant No. 288501. Cars Hommes acknowledges financial support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), project “Understanding Financial Instability through Complex Systems”. None of the above are responsible for errors in this paper.Publicad
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