1,867 research outputs found
Superconducting gap and pair breaking in CeRu2 studied by point contacts
The superconducting gap in a CeRu single crystal is investigated by
point contacts. BCS-like behavior of the gap in the temperature range
below TT, where T is the critical temperature, is
established, indicating the presence of a gapless superconductivity region
(between T and T). The pair-breaking effect of paramagnetic
impurities, supposedly Ce ions, is taken into consideration using the
Scalski-Betbeder-Matibet-Weiss approach based on Abrikosov-Gorkov theory. It
allows us to recalculate the superconducting order parameter (in the presence of paramagnetic impurities) and the gap (in
the pure case) for the single crystal and for the previously studied
polycrystalline CeRu. The value 2(0)2 meV, with
2(0)kT3.75, is found in both cases,
indicating that CeRu is a ``moderate'' strong-coupling superconductor.Comment: 4 pages incl. 3 figs., publ. in Fiz. Nizk. Temp.
(http://fnte.ilt.kharkov.ua/list.html
Nonlocal Effects and Shrinkage of the Vortex Core Radius in YNi2B2C Probed by muSR
The magnetic field distribution in the vortex state of YNi2B2C has been
probed by muon spin rotation (muSR). The analysis based on the London model
with nonlocal corrections shows that the vortex lattice has changed from
hexagonal to square with increasing magnetic field H. At low fields the vortex
core radius, rho_v(H), decreases with increasing H much steeper than what is
expected from the sqrt(H) behavior of the Sommerfeld constant gamma(H),
strongly suggesting that the anomaly in gamma(H) primarily arises from the
quasiparticle excitations outside the vortex cores.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Application of Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction for Determination of Chloro-Organic Compounds in Sewage Samples
Solid phase microextraction (SPME) has been optimized and applied to the determination of the volatile halogenated compounds (VHCs) and semi-volatile halogenated compounds (SVHCs). Three types of SPME fiber coated with different stationary phases (PDMS–100 μm, CAR/PDMS-75 μm, PDMS/DVB–65 μm) were used to examine their extraction efficiencies for the compounds tested. Experimental parameters such as the selection of SPME coatings, extraction time, and addition of salts were studied. The carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) fiber appears to be the most suitable for the determination of VHCs. Analytical parameters such as linearity, limit of detection, and precision were also evaluated. Application of ECD detector for the determination of VHCs and SVHCs allows their determination on the low concentration level, ranging from 0.005 to 0.8 μg/L−1. The HS-SPME-GC/ECD procedure gave good analytical precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) (ranged from 5.08% to 8.07%) for a concentration level of 5 μg/L−1 and good linearity (r2 > 0.98) in a wide calibration range. The applied HS-SPME-GC/ECD method was found to be a quick and effective technique for the determination of microtrace amounts of volatile and semi-volatile halogenated compounds in samples containing high amounts of various organic compounds
The comparative anatomy of the folds, fossae, and adhesions around the duodenojejunal flexure in mammals
Background: Anatomical knowledge of the duodenojejunal flexure is necessary for abdominal surgeries, and also important for physiologic studies about the duodenum. But little is known about the anatomy of this region in mammals. Here, we examined comparative anatomy to understand the anatomical formation of the duodenojejunal flexure in mammals.
Materials and methods: The areas around the duonenojejunal flexure were observed in mouse, rat, dog, pig, and human, and the anatomical structures around the duodenojejunal junction in the animals were compared with those in human.
Results: The superior and inferior duodenal folds, and the superior and inferior duodenal fossae were identified in all examined humans. In pig, the structures were not clearly identified because the duodenum strongly adhered to the retroperitoneum and to the mesocolon. In mouse, rat, and dog, only the plica duodenocolica, which is regarded as the animal counterpart of the superior duodenal fold in human, was identified, and other folds or fossae were not observed, probably because the duodenum was not fixed to the parietal peritoneum in those animals. Transection of the plica duodenocolica could return the normally rotated intestine back to the state of non-rotation in rat.
Conclusions: This study showed the anatomical similarities and dissimilarities of the duodenojejunal flexure among the mammals. Anatomical knowledge of the area is useful for duodenal and pancreatic surgeries, and for animal studies about the duodenum. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 286–292
A compact statistical model of the song syntax in Bengalese finch
Songs of many songbird species consist of variable sequences of a finite
number of syllables. A common approach for characterizing the syntax of these
complex syllable sequences is to use transition probabilities between the
syllables. This is equivalent to the Markov model, in which each syllable is
associated with one state, and the transition probabilities between the states
do not depend on the state transition history. Here we analyze the song syntax
in a Bengalese finch. We show that the Markov model fails to capture the
statistical properties of the syllable sequences. Instead, a state transition
model that accurately describes the statistics of the syllable sequences
includes adaptation of the self-transition probabilities when states are
repeatedly revisited, and allows associations of more than one state to the
same syllable. Such a model does not increase the model complexity
significantly. Mathematically, the model is a partially observable Markov model
with adaptation (POMMA). The success of the POMMA supports the branching chain
network hypothesis of how syntax is controlled within the premotor song nucleus
HVC, and suggests that adaptation and many-to-one mapping from neural
substrates to syllables are important features of the neural control of complex
song syntax
Universal Static and Dynamic Properties of the Structural Transition in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3
The relaxors Pb(ZnNb)O (PZN) and
Pb(MgNb)O (PMN) have very similar properties based on the
dielectric response around the critical temperature (defined by the
structural transition under the application of an electric field). It has been
widely believed that these materials are quite different below with the
unit cell of PMN remaining cubic while in PZN the low temperature unit cell is
rhombohedral in shape. However, this has been clarified by recent high-energy
x-ray studies which have shown that PZN is rhombohedral only in the skin while
the shape of the unit cell in the bulk is nearly cubic. In this study we have
performed both neutron elastic and inelastic scattering to show that the
temperature dependence of both the diffuse and phonon scattering in PZN and PMN
is very similar. Both compounds show a nearly identical recovery of the soft
optic mode and a broadening of the acoustic mode below . The diffuse
scattering in PZN is suggestive of an onset at the high temperature Burns
temperature similar to that in PMN. In contrast to PMN, we observe a broadening
of the Bragg peaks in both the longitudinal and transverse directions below
. We reconcile this additional broadening, not observed in PMN, in terms
of structural inhomogeneity in PZN. Based on the strong similarities between
PMN and PZN, we suggest that both materials belong to the same universality
class and discuss the relaxor transition in terms of the three-dimensional
Heisenberg model with cubic anisotropy in a random field.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Updated version after helpful referee comment
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