2,213 research outputs found
Abrupt transition in quasiparticle dynamics at optimal doping in a cuprate superconductor system
We report time-resolved measurements of the photoinduced change in
reflectivity, Delta R, in the Bi2Sr2Ca(1-y)Dy(y)Cu2O(8+delta) (BSCCO) system of
cuprate superconductors as a function of hole concentration. We find that the
kinetics of quasiparticle decay and the sign of Delta R both change abruptly
where the superconducting transition temperature Tc is maximal. These
coincident changes suggest that a sharp transition in quasiparticle dynamics
takes place precisely at optimal doping in the BSCCO system.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Parallel Exhaustive Search without Coordination
We analyze parallel algorithms in the context of exhaustive search over
totally ordered sets. Imagine an infinite list of "boxes", with a "treasure"
hidden in one of them, where the boxes' order reflects the importance of
finding the treasure in a given box. At each time step, a search protocol
executed by a searcher has the ability to peek into one box, and see whether
the treasure is present or not. By equally dividing the workload between them,
searchers can find the treasure times faster than one searcher.
However, this straightforward strategy is very sensitive to failures (e.g.,
crashes of processors), and overcoming this issue seems to require a large
amount of communication. We therefore address the question of designing
parallel search algorithms maximizing their speed-up and maintaining high
levels of robustness, while minimizing the amount of resources for
coordination. Based on the observation that algorithms that avoid communication
are inherently robust, we analyze the best running time performance of
non-coordinating algorithms. Specifically, we devise non-coordinating
algorithms that achieve a speed-up of for two searchers, a speed-up of
for three searchers, and in general, a speed-up of
for any searchers. Thus, asymptotically, the speed-up is only four
times worse compared to the case of full-coordination, and our algorithms are
surprisingly simple and hence applicable. Moreover, these bounds are tight in a
strong sense as no non-coordinating search algorithm can achieve better
speed-ups. Overall, we highlight that, in faulty contexts in which coordination
between the searchers is technically difficult to implement, intrusive with
respect to privacy, and/or costly in term of resources, it might well be worth
giving up on coordination, and simply run our non-coordinating exhaustive
search algorithms
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Determination of the spin-flip time in ferromagnetic SrRuO3 from time-resolved Kerr measurements
We report time-resolved Kerr effect measurements of magnetization dynamics in
ferromagnetic SrRuO3. We observe that the demagnetization time slows
substantially at temperatures within 15K of the Curie temperature, which is ~
150K. We analyze the data with a phenomenological model that relates the
demagnetization time to the spin flip time. In agreement with our observations
the model yields a demagnetization time that is inversely proportional to T-Tc.
We also make a direct comparison of the spin flip rate and the Gilbert damping
coefficient showing that their ratio very close to kBTc, indicating a common
origin for these phenomena
Observation of ferromagnetic resonance in strontium ruthenate (SrRuO3)
We report the observation of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in SrRuO3 using
the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The FMR oscillations in the
time-domain appear in response to a sudden, optically induced change in the
direction of easy-axis anistropy. The high FMR frequency, 250 GHz, and large
Gilbert damping parameter, alpha ~ 1, are consistent with strong spin-orbit
coupling. We find that the parameters associated with the magnetization
dynamics, including alpha, have a non-monotonic temperature dependence,
suggestive of a link to the anomalous Hall effect.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Gene expression induced by interleukin-17 in fibroblast-like synoviocytes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: upregulation of hyaluronan-binding protein TSG-6
Interleukin-17 (IL-17) has been characterized as a proinflammatory cytokine produced by CD4(+ )CD45RO(+ )memory T cells. Overproduction of IL-17 was detected in the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with patients with osteoarthritis. This study examines differentially expressed genes after the stimulation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes of RA patients by IL-17. Among these genes we identified the following: tumor necrosis factor-stimulated gene-6 (TSG-6), IL-6, IL-8, GRO-β, and bone morphogenetic protein-6 with an expression 3.6–10.6-fold that in the unstimulated control. IL-17 augmented the expression of TSG-6, a hyaluronan-binding protein, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. IL-17 showed additive effects with IL-1β and tumour necrosis factor-α on the expression of TSG-6, IL-6 and IL-8. The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 seems to be necessary for the regulation of TSG-6 expression by IL-17, as shown by inhibition with SB203580. Our results support the hypothesis that IL-17 is important in the pathogenesis of RA, contributing to an unbalanced production of cytokines as well as participating in connective tissue remodeling
High quality superconducting niobium films produced by Ultra High Vacuum Cathodic Arc
The vacuum arc is a well-known technique to produce coating with enhanced
adhesion and film density. Many cathodic arc deposition systems are actually in
use in industry and research. They all work under (high) vacuum conditions in
which water vapor pressure is an important source of film contamination,
especially in the pulsed arc mode of operation. Here we present a Cathodic Arc
system working under Ultra High Vacuum conditions (UHVCA). UHVCA has been used
to produce ultra-pure niobium films with excellent structural and electrical
properties at a deposition temperature lower than 100oC. The UHVCA technique
therefore opens new perspectives for all applications requiring ultra-pure
films or, as in the case of Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation, ultra-pure
plasmas.Comment: submitted to AP
The Physical Health of Caregivers of Children With Life-Limiting Conditions: A Systematic Review
CONTEXT: Parental caregiving for a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC) is complex physical and mental work. The impact of this caregiving on parents' physical health is unknown. OBJECTIVES: (1) To review existing evidence on the physical health of parents caring for a child with a LLC and (2) to determine how physical health of parents is measured. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched. STUDY SELECTION: Peer-reviewed articles were included if they reported primary data on the physical health of a caregiver of a child with a LLC. Studies were excluded if they described only the caregiver's mental health or if the caregivers were bereaved at the time of data collection. DATA EXTRACTION: Of 69 335 unique citations, 81 studies were included in the review. RESULTS: Caregiver health was negatively impacted in 84% of studies. Pain and sleep disturbance were the most common problems. Ways of measuring the physical health of caregiver varied widely. We found an absence of in-depth explorations of the social and economic contexts, which could potentially mitigate the impact of caregiving. Furthermore, we find health interventions tailored to this group remain largely unexplored. LIMITATIONS: Studies were heterogenous in methodology, making comparisons of results across studies difficult. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the need for improving access to interventions aimed at improving physical health in this population. The rate of health-seeking behaviors, preventive health care access and screening for health conditions is understudied and represent important directions for further research
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