Theory of pinning in a Superconducting Thin Film Pierced by a Ferromagnetic Columnar Defect

This is an analytical study of pinning and spontaneous vortex phase is a system consisting of a superconducting thin film pierced by a long ferromagnetic columnar defect of finite radius $R$. The magnetic fields, screening currents, energy and pinning forces for this system are calculated. The interaction between the magnetic field of vortices and the magnetization outside the plane of the film and its close proximity enhances vortex pinning significantly. Spontaneous vortex phase appears when the magnetization of the columnar defect is increased above a critical value. Transitions between phases characterized by different number of flux quanta are also studied. These results are generalized to the case when the superconductor is pierced by an array of columnar defects.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Magnetooptical sum rules close to the Mott transition

We derive new sum rules for the real and imaginary parts of the frequency-dependent Hall constant and Hall conductivity. As an example, we discuss their relevance to the doped Mott insulator that we describe within the dynamical mean-field theory of strongly correlated electron systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 ps figures; accepted for publication in PR

How to run a brain bank. A report from the Austro-German brain bank

The sophisticated analysis of and growing information on the human brain requires that acquisition, dissection, storage and distribution of rare material are managed in a professional way. In this publication we present the concept and practice of our brain bank. Both brain tissue and information are handled by standardized procedures and flow in parallel from pathology to neuropathology and neurochemistry. Data concerning brain material are updated with clinical information gained by standardized procedures

Structure and microtubule-nucleation activity of isolated Drosophila embryo centrosomes characterized by whole mount scanning and transmission electron microscopy

Experimental approaches in Drosophila melanogaster over the last 20 years have played a fundamental role in elucidating the function, structure and molecular composition of the centrosome. However, quantitative data on the structure and function of the Drosophila centrosome are still lacking. This study uses, for the first time, whole mount electron microscopy in combination with negative staining on isolated centrosomes from the early Drosophila embryos to analyze its dimensions, structure and capacity to nucleate microtubules in vitro. We show that these organelles are on average 0.75 μm in diameter and have abundant pericentriolar material which often appears fibrillar and with bulbous protrusions. Corresponding to the abundant pericentriolar material, extensive microtubule nucleation occurs. Quantification of the number of microtubules nucleated showed that 50–300 active nucleation sites are present. We examined via electron microscopy immunogold labeling the distribution of γ-tubulin, CNN, Asp and the MPM-2 epitopes that are phosphorylated through Polo and the Cdk1 kinase. The distribution of these proteins is homogeneous, with the MPM-2 epitopes exhibiting the highest density. In contrast, centrosomal subdomains are identified using a centriole marker to relate centrosome size to the centriole number by electron microscopy. In conclusion, we present a clear-cut technique assaying and quantifying the microtubule nucleation capacity and antigen distribution complementing molecular studies on centrosome protein complexes, cell organelle assembly and protein composition

Absolute quantification of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation with multidistance broadband NIRS in newborn brain

Tissue oximetry with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a technique for the measurement of absolute tissue oxygen saturation (StO2). Offering a real-time and non-invasive assessment of brain oxygenation and haemodynamics, StO2 has potential to be used for the assessment of newborn brain injury. Multiple algorithms have been developed to measure StO2, however, issues with low measurement accuracy or extracranial tissue signal contamination remain. In this work, we present a novel algorithm to recover StO2 in the neonate, broadband multidistance oximetry (BRUNO), based on a measurement of the gradient of attenuation against distance measured with broadband NIRS. The performance of the algorithm was compared to two other published algorithms, broadband fitting (BF) and spatially resolved spectroscopy (SRS). The median error when recovering StO2 in light transport simulations on a neonatal head mesh was 0.4% with BRUNO, 4.2% with BF and 9.5% with SRS. BRUNO was more sensitive to brain tissue oxygenation changes, shown in layered head model simulations. Comparison of algorithm performance during full oxygenation-deoxygenation cycles in a homogeneous dynamic blood phantom showed significant differences in the dynamic range of the algorithms; BRUNO recovered StO2 over 0–100%, BF over 0–90% and SRS over 39–80%. Recovering StO2 from data collected in a neonate treated at the neonatal intensive care showed different baseline values; mean StO2 was 64.9% with BRUNO, 67.2% with BF and 73.2% with SRS. These findings highlight the effect of StO2 algorithm selection on oxygenation recovery; applying BRUNO in the clinical care setting could reveal further insight into complex haemodynamic processes occurring during neonatal brain injury

3D sensors for the HL-LHC

In order to increase its discovery potential, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) accelerator will be upgraded in the next decade. The high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) period demands new sensor technologies to cope with increasing radiation fluences and particle rates. The ATLAS experiment will replace the entire inner tracking detector with a completely new silicon-only system. 3D pixel sensors are promising candidates for the innermost layers of the Pixel detector due to their excellent radiation hardness at low operation voltages and low power dissipation at moderate temperatures. Recent developments of 3D sensors for the HL-LHC are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, International Workshops on Radiation Imaging Detectors 201

Current Results of the EC-sponsored Catchment Modelling (CatchMod) Cluster

To support the Water Framework Directive implementation, much research has been commissioned at both national and European levels. CatchMod is a cluster of these projects, which is focusing on the development of computational catchment models and related tools. This paper presents an overview of the results of the CatchMod cluster to dat

Chapter Broadband NIRS Cerebral Evaluation of the Hemodynamic and Oxidative State of Cytochrome-c-Oxidase Responses to +Gz Acceleration in Healthy Volunteers

We used a miniature broadband NIRS system to monitor concentration changes in brain oxygenation (oxy- and deoxy- haemoglobin [HbO2], [HHb]) and oxidised cytochrome-c-oxidase ([oxCCO]) during a high +Gz acceleration, induced by a human centrifuge, on two healthy experienced volunteers (2 male, 34 and 37 years). We performed a sequence of several +Gz exposures that were terminated at the onset of visual symptoms (loss of peripheral vision). Systemic parameters were recorded (i.e. heart rate, blood pressure and arterial saturation), and brain tissue blood volume changes ([HbT] = [HbO2] + [HHb]) and oxygen delivery ([HbDiff] = [HbO2] - [HHb]) were calculated. Volunteer 1 demonstrated a decrease in [HbT] of −3.49 ± 0.02 μMol and [HbDiff] of −3.23 ± 0.44 μMol, and an increase of [oxCCO] of 0.42 ± 0.01μMol. Volunteer 2 demonstrated a decrease in [HbDiff] of −4.37 ± 0.23 μMol, and no significant change in [HbT] (0.53 ± 0.06 μMol) and [oxCCO] (0.09 ± 0.06 μMol). The variability of the brain metabolic response was related to the level of ischaemia, suggesting that suppression of metabolism was due to lack of glucose substrate delivery rather than oxygen availability

In-Plane Magnetic Field Induced Anisotropy of 2D Fermi Contours and the Field Dependent Cyclotron Mass

The electronic structure of a 2D gas subjected to a tilted magnetic field, with a strong component parallel to the GaAs/AlGaAs interface and a weak component oriented perpendicularly, is studied theoretically. It is shown that the parallel field component modifies the originally circular shape of a Fermi contour while the perpendicular component drive an electron by the Lorentz force along a Fermi line with a cyclotron frequency given by its shape. The corresponding cyclotron effective mass is calculated self-consistently for several concentrations of 2D carriers as a function of the in-plane magnetic field. The possibility to detect its field-induced deviations from the zero field value experimentally is discussed.Comment: written in LaTeX, 9 pages, 4 figures (6 pages) in 1 PS file (compressed and uuencoded) available on request from [email protected], SM-JU-93-