694 research outputs found
Upper critical field pecularities of superconducting YNi2B2C and LuNi2B2C
We present new upper critical field Hc2(T) data in a broad temperature region
from 0.3K to Tc for LuNi2B2C and YNi2B2C single crystals with well
characterized low impurity scattering rates. The absolute values for all T, in
particular Hc2(0), and the sizeable positive curvature (PC) of Hc2(T) at high
and intermediate T are explained quantitatively within an effective two-band
model. The failure of the isotropic single band approach is discussed in
detail. Supported by de Haas van Alphen data, the superconductivity reveals
direct insight into details of the electronic structure. The observed maximal
PC near Tc gives strong evidence for clean limit type II superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett. accepte
Hydroclimate in the Pamirs Was Driven by Changes in Precipitation‐Evaporation Seasonality Since theLast Glacial Period
The Central Asian Pamir Mountains (Pamirs) are a high‐altitude region sensitive to climatic change, with only few paleoclimatic records available. To examine the glacial‐interglacial hydrological changes in the region, we analyzed the geochemical parameters of a 31‐kyr record from Lake Karakul and performed a set of experiments with climate models to interpret the results. δD values of terrestrial biomarkers showed insolation‐driven trends reflecting major shifts of water vapor sources. For aquatic biomarkers, positive δD shifts driven by changes in precipitation seasonality were observed at ca. 31–30, 28–26, and 17–14 kyr BP. Multiproxy paleoecological data and modelling results suggest that increased water availability, induced by decreased summer evaporation, triggered higher lake levels during those episodes, possibly synchronous to northern hemispheric rapid climate events. We conclude that seasonal changes in precipitation‐evaporation balance significantly influenced the hydrological state of a large waterbody such as Lake Karakul, while annual precipitation amount and inflows remained fairly constant
Serum Bilirubin and Ferritin Levels Link Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene Promoter Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Coronary Artery Disease in Diabetic Patients
OBJECTIVE—Heme oxygenase (HO) leads to the generation of free iron, carbon monoxide, and bilirubin. A length polymorphism of GT repeats in the promoter of human HO-1 gene has been shown to modulate gene transcription. The aim of this study was to assess the association of the length of (GT)n repeats in the HO-1 gene promoter with serum bilirubin, markers of iron status, and the development of coronary artery disease (CAD)
Theory of de Haas-van Alphen Effect in Type-II Superconductors
Theory of quasiparticle spectra and the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillation
in type-II superconductors are developed based on the Bogoliubov-de Gennes
equations for vortex-lattice states. As the pair potential grows through the
superconducting transition, each degenerate Landau level in the normal state
splits into quasiparticle bands in the magnetic Brillouin zone. This brings
Landau-level broadening, which in turn leads to the extra dHvA oscillation
damping in the vortex state. We perform extensive numerical calculations for
three-dimensional systems with various gap structures. It is thereby shown that
(i) this Landau-level broadening is directly connected with the average gap at
H=0 along each Fermi-surface orbit perpendicular to the field H; (ii) the extra
dHvA oscillation attenuation is caused by the broadening around each extremal
orbit. These results imply that the dHvA experiment can be a unique probe to
detect band- and/or angle-dependent gap amplitudes. We derive an analytic
expression for the extra damping based on the second-order perturbation with
respect to the pair potential for the Luttinger-Ward thermodynamic potential.
This formula reproduces all our numerical results excellently, and is used to
estimate band-specific gap amplitudes from available data on NbSe_2, Nb_3Sn,
and YNi_2B_2C. The obtained value for YNi_2B_2C is fairly different from the
one through a specific-heat measurement, indicating presence of gap anisotropy
in this material. C programs to solve the two-dimensional Bogoliubov-de Gennes
equations are available at http://phys.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/~kita/index-e.html .Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
Comparison of coherent and weakly incoherent transport models for the interlayer magnetoresistance of layered Fermi liquids
The interlayer magnetoresistance of layered metals in a tilted magnetic field
is calculated for two distinct models for the interlayer transport. The first
model involves coherent interlayer transport and makes use of results of
semi-classical or Bloch-Boltzmann transport theory. The second model involves
weakly incoherent interlayer transport where the electron is scattered many
times within a layer before tunneling into the next layer. The results are
relevant to the interpretation of experiments on angular-dependent
magnetoresistance oscillations (AMRO) in quasi-one- and quasi-two-dimensional
metals. We find that the dependence of the magnetoresistance on the direction
of the magnetic field is identical for both models except when the field is
almost parallel to the layers. An important implication of this result is that
a three-dimensional Fermi surface is not necessary for the observation of the
Yamaji and Danner oscillations seen in quasi-two- and quasi-one-dimensional
metals, respectively. A universal expression is given for the dependence of the
resistance at AMRO maxima and minima on the magnetic field and scattering time
(and thus the temperature). We point out three distinctive features of coherent
interlayer transport: (i) a beat frequency in the magnetic oscillations of
quasi-two-dimensional systems, (ii) a peak in the angular-dependent
magnetoresistance when the field is sufficiently large and parallel to the
layers, and (iii) a crossover from a linear to a quadratic field dependence for
the magnetoresistance when the field is parallel to the layers. Properties (i)
and (ii) are compared with published experimental data for a range of
quasi-two-dimensional organic metals and for Sr2RuO4.Comment: 21 pages, RevTeX + epsf, 4 figures. Published version. Subsection
added. References update
Bcl-xL Deamidation Is a Critical Switch in the Regulation of the Response to DNA Damage
AbstractThe therapeutic value of DNA-damaging antineoplastic agents is dependent upon their ability to induce tumor cell apoptosis while sparing most normal tissues. Here, we show that a component of the apoptotic response to these agents in several different types of tumor cells is the deamidation of two asparagines in the unstructured loop of Bcl-xL, and we demonstrate that deamidation of these asparagines imports susceptibility to apoptosis by disrupting the ability of Bcl-xL to block the proapoptotic activity of BH3 domain-only proteins. Conversely, Bcl-xL deamidation is actively suppressed in fibroblasts, and suppression of deamidation is an essential component of their resistance to DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Our results suggest that the regulation of Bcl-xL deamidation has a critical role in the tumor-specific activity of DNA-damaging antineoplastic agents
- …