6,300 research outputs found
An update on antibiotic prophylaxis in trans-rectal ultra-sound (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy
Magnetic and transport properties of Pr2Pt3Si5
We have investigated the magnetic and transport properties of a
polycrystalline Pr2Pt3Si5 sample through the dc and ac magnetic
susceptibilities, electrical resistivity, and specific heat measurements. The
Rietveld refinement of the powder X-ray diffraction data reveals that Pr2Pt3Si5
crystallizes in the U2Co3Si5-type orthorhombic structure (space group Ibam).
Both the dc and ac magnetic susceptibility data measured at low fields exhibit
sharp anomaly near 15 K. In contrast, the specific heat data exhibit only a
broad anomaly implying no long range magnetic order down to 2 K. The broad
Schottky-type anomaly in low temperature specific heat data is interpreted in
terms of crystal electric field (CEF) effect, and a CEF-split singlet ground
state is inferred. The absence of the long range order is attributed to the
presence of nonmagnetic singlet ground state of the Pr3+ ion. The electrical
resistivity data exhibit metallic behavior and are well described by the
Bloch-Gr\"uniesen-Mott relation.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
Strong enhancement of Jc in binary and alloyed in-situ MgB2 wires by a new approach: Cold high pressure densification
Cold high pressure densification (CHPD) is presented as a new way to
substantially enhance the critical current density of in situ MgB2 wires at 4.2
and 20 K at fields between 5 and 14 T. The results on two binary MgB2 wires and
an alloyed wire with 10 wt.% B4C are presented The strongest enhancement was
measured at 20K, where cold densification at 1.85 GPa on a binary Fe/MgB2 wire
raised both Jcpara and Jcperp by more than 300% at 5T, while Birr was enhanced
by 0.7 T. At 4.2K, the enhancement of Jc was smaller, but still reached 53% at
10 T. After applying pressures up to 6.5 GPa, the mass density dm of the
unreacted (B+Mg) mixture inside the filaments reached 96% of the theoretical
density. After reaction under atmospheric pressure, this corresponds to a
highest mass density df in the MgB2 filaments of 73%. After reaction, the
electrical resistance of wires submitted to cold densification was found to
decrease, reflecting an improved connectivity. A quantitative correlation
between filament mass density and the physical properties was established.
Monofilamentary rectangular wires with aspect ratios a/b < 1.25 based on low
energy ball milled powders exhibited very low anisotropy ratios, Gamma =
Jcpara/Jcperp being < 1.4 at 4.2 K and 10T. The present results can be
generalized to alloyed MgB2 wires, as demonstrated on a wire with B4C
additives. Based on the present data, it follows that cold densification has
the potential of further improving the highest Jcpara and Jcperp values
reported so far for in situ MgB2 tapes and wires with SiC and C additives.
Investigations are under work in our laboratory to determine whether the
densification method CHPD can be applied to longer wire or tape lengths.Comment: Submitted to Superconductors Science and Technolog
Quasiquartet CEF ground state with possible quadrupolar ordering in the tetragonal compound YbRuGe
e have investigated the magnetic properties of YbRuGe by means of
magnetic susceptibility (T), specific heat C(T) and electrical
resistivity (T) measurements performed on flux grown single crystals. The
Curie-Weiss behavior of (T) along the easy plane, the large magnetic
entropy at low temperatures and the weak Kondo like increase in (T)
proves a stable trivalent Yb state. Anomalies in C(T), (T) and (T)
at T = 10.2 K, T = 6.5 K and T = 5.7 K evidence complex
ordering phenomena, T being larger than the highest Yb magnetic ordering
temperature found up to now. The magnetic entropy just above T amounts to
almost Rln4, indicating that the crystal electric field (CEF) ground state is a
quasiquartet instead of the expected doublet. The behavior at T is rather
unusual and suggest that this transition is related to quadrupolar ordering,
being a consequence of the CEF quasiquartet ground state. The combination of a
quasiquartet CEF ground state, a high ordering temperature, and the relevance
of quadrupolar interactions makes YbRuGe a rather unique system
among Yb based compounds.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure, submitted to PRB rapi
Dirac Point and Edge States in a Microwave Realization of Tight-Binding Graphene-like Structures
We present a microwave realization of finite tight-binding graphene-like
structures. The structures are realized using discs with a high index of
refraction. The discs are placed on a metallic surface while a second surface
is adjusted atop the discs, such that the waves coupling the discs in the air
are evanescent, leading to the tight-binding behavior. In reflection
measurements the Dirac point and a linear increase close to the Dirac point is
observed, if the measurement is performed inside the sample. Resonances due to
edge states are found close to the Dirac point if the measurements are
performed at the zigzag-edge or at the corner in case of a broken benzene ring.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Background independent quantization and wave propagation
We apply a type of background independent "polymer" quantization to a free
scalar field in a flat spacetime. Using semi-classical states, we find an
effective wave equation that is both nonlinear and Lorentz invariance
violating. We solve this equation perturbatively for several cases of physical
interest, and show that polymer corrections to solutions of the Klein-Gordon
equation depend on the amplitude of the field. This leads to an effective
dispersion relation that depends on the amplitude, frequency and shape of the
wave-packet, and is hence distinct from other modified dispersion relations
found in the literature. We also demonstrate that polymer effects tend to
accumulate with time for plane-symmetric waveforms. We conclude by discussing
the possibility of measuring deviations from the Klein-Gordon equation in
particle accelerators or astrophysical observations.Comment: 15 pages, minor revision to match PRD versio
Quantitative and qualitative assessment of plankton: some ecological aspect and water quality parameters of the river Meghna, Bangladesh
Investigation on the seasonal distribution and abundance of various major taxa of phyto and zooplankton and the corresponding physico-chemical characteristics were carried out in four selected stations between the latitude 22°35.494N N-23°23.987 N and longitude 90°35.793 E- 90°49.061 E of the Meghna river system, Bangladesh. Drop count method was followed for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of both phyto- and zooplankton. A total of 41 phytoplankton genera belonging to 17 families and 13 zooplankton genera belonging to 11 families were recorded. Zooplankton growth cycle was noticeably less (3.0%) than the phytoplankton abundance almost throughout the study period. Quantity of plankton registered to increase chronologically from the upper to lower stretches of the river. During summer investigation the load of phytoplankton was recorded maximum (11,300-51,850 No/1). Ratio-wise quantitative difference between zoo- and phytoplankton in composition of the total standing crop fluctuated between 1.0:5.5 and 1:1037. Among the phytoplanktonic groups, Chlorophyceae was found to be dominating (95.0%) in all sampling stations. Protococcus, a single genus of Chlorophyceae played a unique role during summer, contributing the highest density of about 74.0%. The pattern of qualitative and quantitative difference of plankton standing crop in different sampling sites can be attributed to the existing physico-chemical characteristics, mainly water temperature, pH and hardness
A highly efficient two level diamond based single photon source
An unexplored diamond defect centre which is found to emit stable single
photons at a measured rate of 1.6 MHz at room temperature is reported. The
novel centre, identified in chemical vapour deposition grown diamond crystals,
exhibits a sharp zero phonon line at 734 nm with a full width at half maximum
of ~ 4 nm. The photon statistics confirm the center is a single emitter and
provides direct evidence of the first true two-level single quantum system in
diamond.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Antidiabetic Effects of Momordica Charantia (Karela) in Male Long Evans Rat
The hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia (Karela) has been reported from many laboratories. To our knowledge, the underlying biochemical mechanism of action of this important clinical effect has not been reported. During the course of investigation of this aspect of the herbal fruit, it was reported from our laboratory that ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia suppressed gluconeogenesis in normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats by depressing the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The herbal extract had also enhanced the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of hexose monophosphate shunt (a pathway for the oxidation of glucose)
Composition, temperature and frequency dependent magnetic, dielectric and electrical properties of magnesium-zinc ferrites
Polycrystalline spinel MgxZn0.3Cu0.7-2xFe2+xO4, where x = 0.10, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35 ferrites (hereafter abbreviated as Mg-Zn) have been prepared by conventional double sintering technique. The samples were sintered at 1250°C in air for 6 hours. Measurements have been done at temperature and frequency ranges of 0 - 350°C and 0 - 500 kHz, respectively. In this work, some extrinsic magnetic properties such as Curie temperature, initial permeability, loss factor, quality factor, dielectric constant and resistivity of the samples have been studied. The Curie temperature and loss tangent of the samples decreased with increase in Cu-content whereas permeability, Qfactor, resistivity and dielectric constant have been noticed to be increased with the increase in Cucontent. The decrease in Curie temperature related to fact of weakening the strength of exchange AB interaction. Maxwell-Wagner type of interfacial polarization might have found correlated with the normal dielectric behavior of the samples, however no relaxation peaks were observed in the dielectric dispersion curves of the Mg-Zn samples in virgin state or doped state
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