44 research outputs found
Advantageous grain boundaries in iron pnictide superconductors
High critical temperature superconductors have zero power consumption and
could be used to produce ideal electric power lines. The principal obstacle in
fabricating superconducting wires and tapes is grain boundaries-the
misalignment of crystalline orientations at grain boundaries, which is
unavoidable for polycrystals, largely deteriorates critical current density.
Here, we report that High critical temperature iron pnictide superconductors
have advantages over cuprates with respect to these grain boundary issues. The
transport properties through well-defined bicrystal grain boundary junctions
with various misorientation angles (thetaGB) were systematically investigated
for cobalt-doped BaFe2As2 (BaFe2As2:Co) epitaxial films fabricated on bicrystal
substrates. The critical current density through bicrystal grain boundary
(JcBGB) remained high (> 1 MA/cm2) and nearly constant up to a critical angle
thetac of ~9o, which is substantially larger than the thetac of ~5o for YBCO.
Even at thetaGB > thetac, the decay of JcBGB was much smaller than that of
YBCO.Comment: to appear in Nature Communication
To use or not to use cool superconductors?
The high critical temperature and magnetic field in cuprates and Fe-based
superconductors are not enough to assure applications at higher temperatures.
Making these superconductors useful involves complex and expensive technologies
to address many conflicting physics and materials requirements
Understanding Novel Superconductors with Ab Initio Calculations
This chapter gives an overview of the progress in the field of computational
superconductivity.
Following the MgB2 discovery (2001), there has been an impressive
acceleration in the development of methods based on Density Functional Theory
to compute the critical temperature and other physical properties of actual
superconductors from first-principles. State-of-the-art ab-initio methods have
reached predictive accuracy for conventional (phonon-mediated) superconductors,
and substantial progress is being made also for unconventional superconductors.
The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of the existing computational
methods for superconductivity, and present selected examples of material
discoveries that exemplify the main advancements.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures, Contribution to Springer Handbook of Materials
Modellin
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Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI): facing the challenges and pathways of global change in the 21st century
During the past several decades, the Earth system has changed significantly, especially across Northern Eurasia. Changes in the socio-economic conditions of the larger countries in the region have also resulted in a variety of regional environmental changes that can
have global consequences. The Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI) has been designed as an essential continuation of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science
Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), which was launched in 2004. NEESPI sought to elucidate all aspects of ongoing environmental change, to inform societies and, thus, to
better prepare societies for future developments. A key principle of NEFI is that these developments must now be secured through science-based strategies co-designed
with regional decision makers to lead their societies to prosperity in the face of environmental and institutional challenges. NEESPI scientific research, data, and
models have created a solid knowledge base to support the NEFI program. This paper presents the NEFI research vision consensus based on that knowledge. It provides the reader with samples of recent accomplishments in regional studies and formulates new NEFI science questions. To address these questions, nine research foci are identified and their selections are briefly justified. These foci include: warming of the Arctic; changing frequency, pattern, and intensity of extreme and inclement environmental conditions; retreat of the cryosphere; changes in terrestrial water cycles; changes in the biosphere; pressures on land-use; changes in infrastructure; societal actions in response to environmental change; and quantification of Northern Eurasia's role in the global Earth system. Powerful feedbacks between the Earth and human systems in Northern Eurasia (e.g., mega-fires, droughts, depletion of the cryosphere essential for water supply, retreat of sea ice) result from past and current human activities (e.g., large scale water withdrawals, land use and governance change) and
potentially restrict or provide new opportunities for future human activities. Therefore, we propose that Integrated Assessment Models are needed as the final stage of global
change assessment. The overarching goal of this NEFI modeling effort will enable evaluation of economic decisions in response to changing environmental conditions and justification of mitigation and adaptation efforts
Effects of alirocumab on types of myocardial infarction: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial
Aims The third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) Task Force classified MIs into five types: Type 1, spontaneous; Type 2, related to oxygen supply/demand imbalance; Type 3, fatal without ascertainment of cardiac biomarkers; Type 4, related to percutaneous coronary intervention; and Type 5, related to coronary artery bypass surgery. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors reduces risk of MI, but less is known about effects on types of MI. ODYSSEY OUTCOMES compared the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and elevated LDL-C (≥1.8 mmol/L) despite intensive statin therapy. In a pre-specified analysis, we assessed the effects of alirocumab on types of MI. Methods and results Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Myocardial infarction types were prospectively adjudicated and classified. Of 1860 total MIs, 1223 (65.8%) were adjudicated as Type 1, 386 (20.8%) as Type 2, and 244 (13.1%) as Type 4. Few events were Type 3 (n = 2) or Type 5 (n = 5). Alirocumab reduced first MIs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.95; P = 0.003], with reductions in both Type 1 (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99; P = 0.032) and Type 2 (0.77, 0.61–0.97; P = 0.025), but not Type 4 MI. Conclusion After ACS, alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy favourably impacted on Type 1 and 2 MIs. The data indicate for the first time that a lipid-lowering therapy can attenuate the risk of Type 2 MI. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction below levels achievable with statins is an effective preventive strategy for both MI types.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz299</p
OBSERVATION OF INTERFERENCE OF NEUTRONS REFLECTED FROM THIN-FILMS
DURING measurements of the reflection of neutrons from metallic thin films, we have observed an optical interference phenomenon analogous to the interference of light reflected from plane parallel plates; the experimental arrangement is the neutron analogue of the Lummer-Gehrcke interferometer 1. © 1976 Nature Publishing Group
Slopes of 3-dimensional Subshifts of Finite Type
International audienceIn this paper we study the directions of periodicity of three-dimensional subshifts of finite type (SFTs) and in particular their slopes. A configuration of a subshift has a slope of periodicity if it is periodic in exactly one direction, the slope being the angles of the periodicity vector. In this paper, we prove that any Σ_2 set may be realized as a a set of slopes of an SFT