45 research outputs found
Ergodic versus nonergodic behavior in oxygen deficient high-T_c superconductors
The oxygen defects induced phase transition from nonergodic to ergodic state
in superconductors with intragrain granularity is considered within the
superconductive glass model. The model predictions are found to be in a
qualitative agreement with some experimental observations in deoxygenated
high-T_c single crystals
High temporal stability of supercurrents in MgB(2) materials
Fine grained polycrystalline samples of MgB(2) superconductor were
synthesized from the elements to contain < 5 % of impurity phases, according to
X-ray powder diffractometry. The superconductive transition was sharp with a
midpoint Tc = 38.5 K. The magnetization in the vortex state was studied as a
function of applied field H, temperature T, and time t. From the equilibrium
magnetization, the London penetration depth was obtained. The supercurrent
density J(T,H,t) in the vortex state (derived from the irreversible
magnetization) decreases approximately linearly with T, in contrast to the
quasi-exponential falloff in high-Tc superconductors. The current is highly
stable in time, with normalized decay rates S = -d ln(J)/d ln(t) well below
those in high-Tc materials. These results are compared with those of other
superconductors.Comment: PDF file containing text and 6 figures, 12 pages tota
Magnetoresistance of Junctions made of Underdoped YBCO Separated by a Ga-doped YBCO Barrier
We report magnetoresistance measurements of ramp type
superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNS) junctions. The junctions consist of
underdoped (YBCO) electrodes separated by a barrier of
. We observe a large positive magnetoresistance,
linear in the field. We suggest that this unusual magnetoresistance originates
in the field dependence of the proximity effect. Our results indicate that in
underdoped YBCO/N/YBCO SNS structures, the proximity effect does not exhibit
the anomalously long range found in optimally doped YBCO structures. From our
data we obtain the diffusion coefficient and relaxation time of quasiparticles
in underdoped YBCO.Comment: 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Effect of neutron irradiation on the London penetration depth for polycrystalline Bi(1.8)Pb(0.3)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconductor
Magnetization studies of polycrystalline Bi(1.8)Pb(0.3)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconductor, prior to and after neutron irradiation, showed an increase in J(sub c) due to irradiation damage. Analysis of the equilibrium magnetization revealed significant increases in other more fundamental properties. In particular, the London penetration depth increased by approximately 15 percent following irradiation with 8 x 10(exp 16) neutrons/sq cm. Corresponding changes were observed in the upper critical magnetic field H(sub c2). However, the most fundamental thermodynamic property, the superconductive condensation energy F(sub c), was unaffected by the moderate level of neutron-induced damage
Higher harmonics of ac voltage response in narrow strips of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films: Evidence for strong thermal fluctuations
We report on measurements of higher harmonics of the ac voltage response in
strips of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films as a function of temperature, frequency and ac
current amplitude. The third (fifth) harmonic of the local voltage is found to
exhibit a negative (positive) peak at the superconducting transition
temperature and their amplitudes are closely related to the slope (derivative)
of the first (Ohmic) harmonic. The peaks practically do not depend on frequency
and no even (second or fourth) harmonics are detected. The observed data can be
interpreted in terms of ac current induced thermal modulation of the sample
temperature added to strong thermally activated fluctuations in the transition
region.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures (PDF file
The superfluid density in cuprate high-Tc superconductors - a new paradigm
The doping dependence of the superfluid density, r_s, of high-Tc
superconductors is usually considered in the context of the Uemura relation,
namely Tc proportional to rs, which is generally assumed to apply in the
underdoped regime. We show that a modified plot of Tc/Do versus rs, where Do is
the maximum d-wave gap at T=0, exhibits universal features that point to an
alternative interpretation of the underlying physics. In the underdoped region
this plot exhibits the canonical negative curvature expected when a
ground-state correlation competes with superconductivity (SC) by opening up a
gap in the normal-state DOS. In particular rs is suppressed much faster than
Tc/Do or indeed Tc. The pseudogap is found to strongly modify the SC ground
state.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted Phys. Rev. Let
Human Gamma Oscillations during Slow Wave Sleep
Neocortical local field potentials have shown that gamma oscillations occur spontaneously during slow-wave sleep (SWS). At the macroscopic EEG level in the human brain, no evidences were reported so far. In this study, by using simultaneous scalp and intracranial EEG recordings in 20 epileptic subjects, we examined gamma oscillations in cerebral cortex during SWS. We report that gamma oscillations in low (30–50 Hz) and high (60–120 Hz) frequency bands recurrently emerged in all investigated regions and their amplitudes coincided with specific phases of the cortical slow wave. In most of the cases, multiple oscillatory bursts in different frequency bands from 30 to 120 Hz were correlated with positive peaks of scalp slow waves (“IN-phase” pattern), confirming previous animal findings. In addition, we report another gamma pattern that appears preferentially during the negative phase of the slow wave (“ANTI-phase” pattern). This new pattern presented dominant peaks in the high gamma range and was preferentially expressed in the temporal cortex. Finally, we found that the spatial coherence between cortical sites exhibiting gamma activities was local and fell off quickly when computed between distant sites. Overall, these results provide the first human evidences that gamma oscillations can be observed in macroscopic EEG recordings during sleep. They support the concept that these high-frequency activities might be associated with phasic increases of neural activity during slow oscillations. Such patterned activity in the sleeping brain could play a role in off-line processing of cortical networks
Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level
Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- A nd middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs