15 research outputs found
Modulated optical reflectance measurements on La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 thin films
The modulated optical reflectance (MOR) measurement technique was applied to
colossal magnetoresistive materials, in particular, La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) thin
films. The contactless measurement scheme is prospective for many applications
spanning from materials characterization to new devices like reading heads for
magnetically recorded media. A contrasted room temperature surface scan of a
100 microns wide 400 microns long bridge patterned into LSMO film provided
preliminary information about the film homogeneity. Then the temperature was
varied between 240 and 400 K, i.e. through the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic
transition. A clear relation between the MOR signal measured as function of the
temperature and the relative derivative of the resistivity up to the Curie
temperature was observed. This relationship is fundamental for the MOR
technique and its mechanism was explored in the particular case of LSMO.
Analysis in the framework of the Drude model showed that, within certain
conditions, the measured MOR signal changes are correlated to changes in the
charge carrier concentration.Comment: 29 pages, accepted for publication in J. Appl. Phy
The Doping Phase Diagram of Y1-xcaxba2(Cu1-yzny)3O7-d from Transport Measurements: Tracking the Pseudogap Below Tc (y = 0)
The effects of planar hole concentration, p, on the resistivity, r(T), of
sintered Y1-xCaxBa2(Cu1-yZny)3O7-d samples were investigated over a wide range
of Ca, Zn, and oxygen contents. Zn was used to suppress superconductivity and
this enabled us to extract the characteristic pseudogap temperature, T*(p),
from r(T,p) data below Tco(p) [ = Tc (y = 0)]. We have also located the
characteristic temperature, Tscf, marking the onset of significant
superconducting fluctuations above Tc, from the analysis of r(T,H,p) and r(T,p)
data. This enabled us to identify T*(p) near the optimum doping level where the
values of T*(p) and Tscf(p) are very close and hard to distinguish. We again
found that T*(p) depends only on the hole concentration p, and not on the level
of disorder associated with Zn or Ca substitutions. We conclude that (i) T*(p)
(and therefore, the pseudogap) persists below Tco(p) on the overdoped side and
does not merge with the Tco(p) line and (ii) T*(p), and thus the pseudogap
energy, extrapolates to zero at the doping p = 0.19 +/- 0.01.
PACS numbers: 74.25.Dw, 74.25. 74.62.Dh, 74.72.-h Key words: Pseudoap,
Superconducting fluctuationsComment: 14 pages (Text), 7 figure
Vortex Fluctuations in High-Tc Films: Flux Noise Spectrum and Complex Impedance
The flux noise spectrum and complex impedance for a 500 {\AA} thick YBCO film
are measured and compared with predictions for two dimensional vortex
fluctuations. It is verified that the complex impedance and the flux noise
spectra are proportional to each other, that the logarithm of the flux noise
spectra for different temperatures has a common tangent with slope , and that the amplitude of the noise decreases as , where is
the height above the film at which the magnetic flux is measured. A crossover
from normal to anomalous vortex diffusion is indicated by the measurements and
is discussed in terms of a two-dimensional decoupling.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figures in two columns, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Let
Distinct cognitive changes in male patients with obstructive sleep apnoea without co-morbidities
Introduction
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a multisystem, debilitating, chronic disorder of breathing during sleep, resulting in a relatively consistent pattern of cognitive deficits. More recently, it has been argued that those cognitive deficits, especially in middle-aged patients, may be driven by cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities, rather than by distinct OSA-processes, such as are for example ensuing nocturnal intermittent hypoxaemia, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and sleep fragmentation.
Methods
Thus, we undertook to define cognitive performance in a group of 27 middle-aged male patients with untreated OSA, who had no concomitant comorbidities, compared with seven matched controls (AHI mean ± S.D.: 1.9 ± 1.4 events/h; mean age 34.0 ± 9.3 years; mean BMI 23.8 ± 2.3 kg/m
2
). Of the 27 patients, 16 had mild OSA (AHI mean ± S.D.:11.7 ± 4.0 events/h; mean age 42.6 ± 8.2 years; mean BMI 26.7 ± 4.1 kg/m
2
), and 11 severe OSA (AHI 41.8 ± 20.7 events/h; age: 46.9 ± 10.9 years, BMI: 28.0 ± 3.2 kg/m
2
).
Results
In our patient cohort, we demonstrate poorer executive-functioning, visuospatial memory, and deficits in vigilance sustained attention, psychomotor and impulse control. Remarkably, we also report, for the first time, effects on social cognition in this group of male, middle-aged OSA patients.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that distinct, OSA-driven processes may be sufficient for cognitive changes to occur as early as in middle age, in otherwise healthy individuals
Ten simple rules for an inclusive summer coding program for non-computer-science undergraduates.
Since 2015, we have run a free 9-week summer program that provides non-computer science (CS) undergraduates at San Francisco State University (SFSU) with experience in coding and doing research. Undergraduate research experiences remain very limited at SFSU and elsewhere, so the summer program provides opportunities for many more students beyond the mentoring capacity of our university laboratories. In addition, we were concerned that many students from historically underrepresented (HU) groups may be unable to take advantage of traditional summer research programs because these programs require students to relocate or be available full time, which is not feasible for students who have family, work, or housing commitments. Our program, which is local and part-time, serves about 5 times as many students as a typical National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, on a smaller budget. Based on our experiences, we present 10 simple rules for busy faculty who want to create similar programs to engage non-CS HU undergraduates in computational research. Note that while some of the strategies we implement are based on evidence-based publications in the social sciences or education research literature, the original suggestions we make here are based on our trial-and-error experiences, rather than formal hypothesis testing