Low-Temperature Specific Heat of an Extreme-Type-II Superconductor at High Magnetic Fields

We present a detailed study of the quasiparticle contribution to the low-temperature specific heat of an extreme type-II superconductor at high magnetic fields. Within a T-matrix approximation for the self-energies in the mixed state of a homogeneous superconductor, the electronic specific heat is a linear function of temperature with a linear-$T$ coefficient $\gamma_s(H)$ being a nonlinear function of magnetic field $H$. In the range of magnetic fields H\agt (0.15-0.2)H_{c2} where our theory is applicable, the calculated $\gamma_s(H)$ closely resembles the experimental data for the borocarbide superconductor YNi$_2$B$_2$C.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Phenotypic expansion of the BPTF-related neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and distal limb anomalies

Neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and distal limb anomalies (NEDDFL), defined primarily by developmental delay/intellectual disability, speech delay, postnatal microcephaly, and dysmorphic features, is a syndrome resulting from heterozygous variants in the dosage-sensitive bromodomain PHD finger chromatin remodeler transcription factor BPTF gene. To date, only 11 individuals with NEDDFL due to de novo BPTF variants have been described. To expand the NEDDFL phenotypic spectrum, we describe the clinical features in 25 novel individuals with 20 distinct, clinically relevant variants in BPTF, including four individuals with inherited changes in BPTF. In addition to the previously described features, individuals in this cohort exhibited mild brain abnormalities, seizures, scoliosis, and a variety of ophthalmologic complications. These results further support the broad and multi-faceted complications due to haploinsufficiency of BPTF.Genetics of disease, diagnosis and treatmen

Agonistic behaviour and electric signalling in a mormyrid fish, Gnathonemus petersii

1. Agonistic motor behaviour and concurrent electric signalling were studied in individually held, residential Gnathonemus petersii. Aggressive behaviour was elicited by presenting a specimen of a closely related species, Mormyrus rume, for 3 min a day. 2. The principal agonistic motor patterns are described (Fig. 2). Among them head butt, approach and lateral display were further analysed. 3. The electrical activity displayed during agonistic behaviour was found to differ fundamentally both from isolated resting and swimming conditions. The mean discharge rate recorded during aggressive behaviour (31 Hz, Fig. 3 c) is approximately twice the rate observed in an isolated swimming fish (Fig. 3b) and three times the rate displayed by a resting animal (Fig. 3a). An attacking G. petersii exhibits a much greater range of electric organ discharge (EOD) intervals than isolated swimming or resting individuals. EOD-interval histograms recorded from attacking fish show two sharp modes at high discharge rate; there are no intermediate intervals. 4. During the course of an attack, the initially low and variable discharge rate increases fairly linearly as the distance from the attacked fish diminishes (Fig. 9). The EOD rate associated with physical contact (head butt) comprises between 60 and 80 Hz in 24 of 28 attacks analysed; the dominant mode of the distribution is 61 Hz (Fig. 8). 5. During subsequent lateral display, G. petersii emits a high discharge rate pattern consisting of two types of ldquosteady-staterdquo activities which may last up to a few seconds: the first is a fairly regular alternation of approx. 16 and 8 ms intervals (paired pulses); this pattern gives rise to the two peaks of high discharge rate in the interval histogram (Fig. 3c). The second is a regular sequence of either 16 or 8 ms intervals (Fig. 4A). The only female among the animals used in our study showed the same display but did not exhibit the highest possible discharge rate (i.e. a regular sequence or 8 ms intervals; Fig. 4B). The high discharge rate is terminated by a sudden discharge break (Figs. 4A and 6). 6. It is suggested that the attack-associated EOD rate increase is a remnant of an ordinary locomotory pattern which has changed its function to a ritualised aggressive signal that occurs in a socially significant and well-defined context. The high discharge rate might serve three functions: (i) behavioural isolation of closely related, sympatrically living mormyrids (perhaps by character displacement); (ii) recognition of sexes; (iii)_synchronisation of mates during courtship

Dynamical decay of 32

The target-like C-yield in the decay of compound systems 32S* and 31P* formed in 20Ne+12C and 19F+12C reactions at E*CN=60 MeV, is studied for the contribution of fusion-fission (ff) decay cross section σff and the deep inelastic (DI) orbiting σorb from the compound nucleus (CN) and non-compound nucleus nCN processes, respectively. The calculations are performed using the collective clusterization of fragments within the dynamical cluster-decay model (DCM) of Gupta and collaborators. Besides studying the competition between ff and DI orbiting phenomenon in the C-yield of these systems, we exclusively investigate the preformation and barrier penetration probabilities P0 and P as a function of angular momentum ℓ values which subsequently affects the contributions of σff and σorb. For calculating the contribution of σff in the C-yield, we have added the contributions from all the minimized intermediate mass fragments (IMFs) for Z=6 in the calculated fragmentation potentials for 32S* (IMFs 11,12,13C are minimized) and for 31P* (IMFs 12,13C are minimized), while calculating subsequently, P0 and the P for these IMFs. The distribution of preformed clusters/fragments as a function of fragment mass visibly explore the nuclear structure effects for the C-yield in decay of these compound systems, wherein, it is shown to be more favoured in the decay of 31P* in comparison to 32S* decay. The contribution of σorb to the C-yield is calculated from P at different allowed ℓ-values (upto ℓmax and also P≤1) of the outgoing fragments (same as that in the entrance channel, i.e., P0=1). Though preliminary but useful results indicates the competition between the CN and nCN process in the C-yield for the compound system 32S* only while the decay of 31P* is of pure CN origin, as observed in the experimental study. The calculations are in good comparison with the available experimental data