Interplay between spin density wave and π\pi phase shifted superconductivity in the Fe pnictide superconductors

We explore if the phase separation or coexistence of the spin density wave (SDW) and superconductivity (SC) states has any relation to the incommensurability of the SDW in the Fe pnictide superconductors. A systematic method of determining the phase separation or coexistence was employed by computing the anisotropy coefficient $\beta$ from the the 4th order terms of the Ginzburg--Landau (GL) expansion of the free energy close to the tricritical/tetracritical point. It was complemented by the self-consistent numerical iterations of the gap equations to map out the boundaries between the phase separation and coexistence of the SDW and SC phases, and between commensurate (C) and incommensurate (IC) SDW in the temperature--doping plane. Our principal results for the sign reversed $s$-wave pairing SC, in terms of the multicritical temperature, $T_c$, the phase separation/coexistence boundary between the SDW and SC, $T^*$, and the boundary between C/IC SDW, $T_M^*$, are: (a) IC-SDW and SC coexist for $T_c < T^*$ and phase separate otherwise, (b) SDW takes the C form for $T_c>T_M^*$ and IC form for $T_c<T_M^*$, and (c) the thermodynamic first order phase transition intervenes in between the C-SDW and IC-SDW boundary for large $T_M^0$, where $T_M^0$ is the SDW transition temperature at zero doping, $T^*=0.35 ~T_M^0$ and $T_M^*=0.56\ T_M^0$. The intervention makes the phase diagram more complicated than previously reported. By contrast no coexistence was found for the equal sign pairing SC. These results will be compared with the experimental reports in the Fe pnictide superconductors.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys.Rev.

Nonmonotonic behavior of resistance in a superconductor-Luttinger liquid junction

Transport through a superconductor-Luttinger liquid junction is considered. When the interaction in the Luttinger liquid is repulsive, the resistance of the junction with a sufficiently clean interface shows nonmonotonic temperature- or voltage-dependence due to the competition between the superconductivity and the repulsive interaction. The result is discussed in connection with recent experiments on single-wall carbon nanotubes in contact with superconducting leads.Comment: Revtex4, 2 eps figure files, slightly revised from an earlier version submitted to PRL on 2001.12.

Inhibition of REV-ERBs stimulates microglial amyloid-beta clearance and reduces amyloid plaque deposition in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer\u27s disease

A promising new therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the circadian system. Although patients with AD are known to have abnormal circadian rhythms and suffer sleep disturbances, the role of the molecular clock in regulating amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology is still poorly understood. Here, we explored how the circadian repressors REV-ERBα and β affected Aβ clearance in mouse microglia. We discovered that, at Circadian time 4 (CT4), microglia expressed higher levels of the master clock protein BMAL1 and more rapidly phagocytosed fibrillary A

Functional analysis of the fructooligosaccharide utilization operon in \u3ci\u3eLactobacillus paracasei\u3c/i\u3e 1195

The fosABCDXE operon encodes components of a putative fructose/mannose phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) and a β- fructosidase precursor (FosE) that are involved in the fructooligosaccharide (FOS) utilization pathway of Lactobacillus paracasei 1195. The presence of an N-terminal signal peptide sequence and a LPQAG cell wall anchor motif at the C-terminal region of the deduced FosE precursor amino acid sequence predicted that the enzyme is cell wall-associated, indicating that FOS may be hydrolyzed extracellularly. In this study, cell fractionation experiments demonstrated that the FOS hydrolysis activity was contained exclusively in the cell wall extract of L. paracasei previously grown on FOS. In contrast, no measurable FOS hydrolysis activity was detected in the cell wall extract from the isogenic fosE mutant. Induction of β-fructosidase activity was observed when cells were grown on FOS, inulin, sucrose, or fructose, but not glucose. A diauxic growth pattern was observed when cells were grown on FOS in the presence of limiting glucose (0.1%). Analysis of the culture supernatant revealed that glucose was consumed first, followed by the longer chain FOS species. Transcription analysis further showed that the fos operon was expressed only after glucose was depleted in the medium. Expression of fosE in a non-FOS-fermenting strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, enabled the recombinant strain to metabolize FOS, inulin, sucrose, and levan

Effects of acute ingestion of different fats on oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight and obese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies show that obese individuals have prolonged elevations in postprandial lipemia and an exacerbated inflammatory response to high fat meals, which can increase risk for cardiovascular diseases. As epidemiological studies indicate an association between type of fat and circulating inflammatory markers, the purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of different fat sources on inflammation and oxidative stress in overweight and obese individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eleven overweight and obese subjects consumed three high fat milkshakes rich in monounsaturated fat (MFA), saturated fat (SFA), or long-chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fat (O3FA) in random order. Blood samples collected at baseline, 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours postprandial were analyzed for markers of inflammation (soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)), oxidative stress (8-epi-prostaglandin-F2α (8-epi) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)), and metabolic factors (glucose, insulin, non-esterified free fatty acids, and triglycerides (TG)).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>O3FA enhanced NF-kB activation compared to SFA, but did not increase any inflammatory factors measured. Conversely, SFA led to higher ICAM-1 levels than MFA (p = 0.051), while MFA increased TG more than SFA (p < 0.05). CRP increased while TNF-α and 8-epi decreased with no difference between treatments.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While most of the inflammatory factors measured had modest or no change following the meal, ICAM-1 and NF-κB responded differently by meal type. These results are provocative and suggest that type of fat in meals may differentially influence postprandial inflammation and endothelial activation.</p

Dynamics of fullerene coalescence

Fullerene coalescence experimentally found in fullerene-embedded single-wall nanotubes under electron-beam irradiation or heat treatment is simulated by minimizing the classical action for many atom systems. The dynamical trajectory for forming a (5,5) C$_{120}$ nanocapsule from two C$_{60}$ fullerene molecules consists of thermal motions around potential basins and ten successive Stone-Wales-type bond rotations after the initial cage-opening process for which energy cost is about 8 eV. Dynamical paths for forming large-diameter nanocapsules with (10,0), (6,6), and (12,0) chiral indexes have more bond rotations than 25 with the transition barriers in a range of 10--12 eV.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 supplementary movie at http://dielc.kaist.ac.kr/yonghyun/coal.mpeg. To be published in Physical Review Letter

Influence of oxygen vacancy on the electronic structure of HfO2_2 film

We investigated the unoccupied part of the electronic structure of the oxygen-deficient hafnium oxide (HfO$_{\sim1.8}$) using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy at O $K$ and Hf $N_3$ edges. Band-tail states beneath the unoccupied Hf 5$d$ band are observed in the O $K$-edge spectra; combined with ultraviolet photoemission spectrum, this indicates the non-negligible occupation of Hf 5$d$ state. However, Hf $N_3$-edge magnetic circular dichroism spectrum reveals the absence of a long-range ferromagnetic spin order in the oxide. Thus the small amount of $d$ electron gained by the vacancy formation does not show inter-site correlation, contrary to a recent report [M. Venkatesan {\it et al.}, Nature {\bf 430}, 630 (2004)].Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Investigation of non-uniform airflow signal oscillation during high frequency chest compression

BACKGROUND: High frequency chest compression (HFCC) is a useful and popular therapy for clearing bronchial airways of excessive or thicker mucus. Our observation of respiratory airflow of a subject during use of HFCC showed the airflow oscillation by HFCC was strongly influenced by the nonlinearity of the respiratory system. We used a computational model-based approach to analyse the respiratory airflow during use of HFCC. METHODS: The computational model, which is based on previous physiological studies and represented by an electrical circuit analogue, was used for simulation of in vivo protocol that shows the nonlinearity of the respiratory system. Besides, airflow was measured during use of HFCC. We compared the simulation results to either the measured data or the previous research, to understand and explain the observations. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We could observe two important phenomena during respiration pertaining to the airflow signal oscillation generated by HFCC. The amplitudes of HFCC airflow signals varied depending on spontaneous airflow signals. We used the simulation results to investigate how the nonlinearity of airway resistance, lung capacitance, and inertance of air characterized the respiratory airflow. The simulation results indicated that lung capacitance or the inertance of air is also not a factor in the non-uniformity of HFCC airflow signals. Although not perfect, our circuit analogue model allows us to effectively simulate the nonlinear characteristics of the respiratory system. CONCLUSION: We found that the amplitudes of HFCC airflow signals behave as a function of spontaneous airflow signals. This is due to the nonlinearity of the respiratory system, particularly variations in airway resistance

Electronic structures of hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films

We investigated the electronic structure of multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films using both optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Using artificially stabilized hexagonal RMnO3, we extended the optical spectroscopic studies on the hexagonal multiferroic manganite system. We observed two optical transitions located near 1.7 eV and 2.3 eV, in addition to the predominant absorption above 5 eV. With the help of first-principles calculations, we attribute the low-lying optical absorption peaks to inter-site transitions from the oxygen states hybridized strongly with different Mn orbital symmetries to the Mn 3d3z2-r2 state. As the ionic radius of the rare earth ion increased, the lowest peak showed a systematic increase in its peak position. We explained this systematic change in terms of a flattening of the MnO5 triangular bipyramid