Depairing critical current achieved in superconducting thin films with through-thickness arrays of artificial pinning centers

Large area arrays of through-thickness nanoscale pores have been milled into superconducting Nb thin films via a process utilizing anodized aluminum oxide thin film templates. These pores act as artificial flux pinning centers, increasing the superconducting critical current, Jc, of the Nb films. By optimizing the process conditions including anodization time, pore size and milling time, Jc values approaching and in some cases matching the Ginzburg-Landau depairing current of 30 MA/cm^2 at 5 K have been achieved - a Jc enhancement over as-deposited films of more than 50 times. In the field dependence of Jc, a matching field corresponding to the areal pore density has also been clearly observed. The effect of back-filling the pores with magnetic material has then been investigated. While back-filling with Co has been successfully achieved, the effect of the magnetic material on Jc has been found to be largely detrimental compared to voids, although a distinct influence of the magnetic material in producing a hysteretic Jc versus applied field behavior has been observed. This behavior has been tested for compatibility with currently proposed models of magnetic pinning and found to be most closely explained by a model describing the magnetic attraction between the flux vortices and the magnetic inclusions.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Mobile/Modular BSL-4 Containment Facilities Integrated into a Curation Receiving Laboratory for Restricted Earth Return Missions

NASA robotic sample return missions designated Category V Restricted Earth Return by the NASA Planetary Protection (PP) Office require sample containment and biohazard testing upon return to Earth. Since the 1960s, sample containment from an unknown extraterrestrial biohazard have been related to the highest containment standards and protocols known to modern science. Today, this is Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 containment. In the U.S., the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories publication authored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health houses the primary recommendations, standards, and design requirements for all BSL labs. Past mission concept studies for constructing a NASA Curation Receiving Laboratory with an integrated BSL-4 quarantine and biohazard testing facility have been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). As an alternative option, we have conducted a trade study for constructing a mobile and/or modular sample containment laboratory that would meet all BSL-4 and planetary protection standards and protocols at a fraction of the cost. Mobile and modular BSL-2 and 3 facilities have been successfully constructed and deployed world-wide for government testing of pathogens and pharmaceutical production. Our study showed that a modular BSL-4 construction could result in ~ 90% cost reduction when compared to traditional BSL-4 construction methods without compromising the preservation of the samples or Earth. For the design/construction requirements of a mobile/modular BSL-4 containment, we used the established HHS document standards and protocols for manipulation of agents in Class III Biosafety Cabinets (BSC; i.e., negative pressure gloveboxes) that are currently followed in operational BSL-4 facilities in the U.S

Superconductor-ferromagnet nanocomposites created by co-deposition of niobium and dysprosium

We have created superconductor-ferromagnet composite films in order to test the enhancement of critical current density, Jc, due to magnetic pinning. We co-sputter the type-II superconductor niobium (Nb) and the low-temperature ferromagnet dysprosium (Dy) onto a heated substrate; the immiscibility of the two materials leads to a phase-separated composite of magnetic regions within a superconducting matrix. Over a range of compositions and substrate temperatures, we achieve phase separation on scales from 5 nm to 1 micron. The composite films exhibit simultaneous superconductivity and ferromagnetism. Transport measurements show that while the self-field Jc is reduced in the composites, the in-field Jc is greatly enhanced up to the 3 T saturation field of Dy. In one instance, the phase separation orders into stripes, leading to in-plane anisotropy in Jc.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Matches the version published in SUST: Added one reference and some discussion in Section

Sex Differences in Revascularization, Treatment Goals, and Outcomes of Patients With Chronic Coronary Disease: Insights From the ISCHEMIA Trial

BACKGROUND: Women with chronic coronary disease are generally older than men and have more comorbidities but less atherosclerosis. We explored sex differences in revascularization, guideline-directed medical therapy, and outcomes among patients with chronic coronary disease with ischemia on stress testing, with and without invasive management. METHODS AND RESULTS: The ISCHEMIA (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches) trial randomized patients with moderate or severe ischemia to invasive management with angiography, revascularization, and guideline-directed medical therapy, or initial conservative management with guideline-directed medical therapy alone. We evaluated the primary outcome (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest) and other end points, by sex, in 1168 (22.6%) women and 4011 (77.4%) men. Invasive group catheterization rates were similar, with less revascularization among women (73.4% of invasive-assigned women revascularized versus 81.2% of invasive-assigned men; CONCLUSIONS: Women had less extensive coronary artery disease and, therefore, lower revascularization rates in the invasive group. Despite lower risk factor goal attainment, women with chronic coronary disease experienced similar risk-adjusted outcomes to men in the ISCHEMIA trial

Examining the Proposed Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Diagnosis in Children in the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms Study

To examine the proposed disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) diagnosis in a child psychiatric outpatient population. Evaluation of DMDD included 4 domains: clinical phenomenology, delimitation from other diagnoses, longitudinal stability, and association with parental psychiatric disorders

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Phenomenology of bipolar disorder not otherwise specified in youth: a comparison of clinical characteristics across the spectrum of manic symptoms

Controversy surrounds the diagnostic categorization of children with episodic moods that cause impairment, but do not meet DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I (BD-I) or bipolar II (BD-II) disorder. This study aims to characterize the degree to which these children, who meet criteria for bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BD-NOS), are similar to those with full syndromal BD, versus those with no bipolar spectrum diagnosis (no BSD)

Modeling the TNFα-Induced Apoptosis Pathway in Hepatocytes

The proinflammatory cytokine TNFα fails to provoke cell death in isolated hepatocytes but has been implicated in hepatocyte apoptosis during liver diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Recently, we showed that TNFα is able to sensitize primary murine hepatocytes cultured on collagen to Fas ligand-induced apoptosis and presented a mathematical model of the sensitizing effect. Here, we analyze how TNFα induces apoptosis in combination with the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D (ActD). Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to TNFR activation turns out to be critical for sustained activation of JNK which then triggers mitochondrial pathway-dependent apoptosis. In addition, the amount of JNK is strongly upregulated in a ROS-dependent way. In contrast to TNFα plus cycloheximide no cFLIP degradation is observed suggesting a different apoptosis pathway in which the Itch-mediated cFLIP degradation and predominantly caspase-8 activation is not involved. Time-resolved data of the respective pro- and antiapoptotic factors are obtained and subjected to mathematical modeling. On the basis of these data we developed a mathematical model which reproduces the complex interplay regulating the phosphorylation status of JNK and generation of ROS. This model was fully integrated with our model of TNFα/Fas ligand sensitizing as well as with a published NF-κB-model. The resulting comprehensive model delivers insight in the dynamical interplay between the TNFα and FasL pathways, NF-κB and ROS and gives an example for successful model integration