525 research outputs found
Formation of Power-law Energy Spectra in Space Plasmas by Stochastic Acceleration due to Whistler-Mode Waves
A non-relativistic Fokker-Planck equation for the electron distribution
function is formulated incorporating the effects of stochastic acceleration by
whistler-mode waves and Coulomb collisions. The stationary solution to the
equation, subject to a zero-flux boundary condition, is found to be a
generalized Lorentzian (or kappa) distribution, which satisfies for large velocity , where is the spectral index.
The parameter depends strongly on the relative wave intensity .
Taking into account the critical energy required for resonance of electrons
with whistlers, we calculate a range of values of for each of a number of
different space plasmas for which kappa distributions can be expected to be
formed. This study is one of the first in the literature to provide a
theoretical justification for the formation of generalized Lorentzian (or
kappa) particle distribution functions in space plasmas.Comment: 14 page-Latex, 1 ps-figure, agums.st
Scaling and exact solutions for the flux creep problem in a slab superconductor
The flux creep problem for a superconductor slab placed in a constant or
time-dependent magnetic field is considered. Logarithmic dependence of the
activation energy on the current density is assumed, U=U0 ln(J/Jc), with a
field dependent Jc. The density B of the magnetic flux penetrating into the
superconductor, is shown to obey a scaling law, i.e., the profiles B(x) at
different times can be scaled to a function of a single variable. We found
exact solution for the scaling function in some specific cases, and an
approximate solution for a general case. The scaling also holds for a slab
carrying transport current I resulting in a power-law V(I) with exponent p~1.
When the flux fronts moving from two sides of the slab collapse at the center,
the scaling is broken and p crosses over to U0/kT.Comment: RevTex, 10 pages including 6 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Hollow carbon spheres as an efficient dopant for enhancing critical current density of MgB2 based tapes
A significant enhancement of Jc and Hirr in MgB2 tapes has been achieved by
the in situ powder-in-tube method utilizing hollow carbon spheres (HCS) as
dopants. At 4.2 K, the transport Jc for the 850C sintered samples reached
3.1x10^4, and 1.4x10^4 A/cm^2 at 10 and 12 T, respectively, and were better
than those of optimal nano-SiC doped tapes. Furthermore, the Hirr for doped
sample was raised up to 16.8 T at 10 K due to the carbon substitution effect.
The results demonstrate that HCS is one of the most promising dopants besides
nano-carbon and SiC for the enhancement of current capacity for MgB2 in high
fields.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
New Fe-based superconductors: properties relevant for applications
Less than two years after the discovery of high temperature superconductivity
in oxypnictide LaFeAs(O,F) several families of superconductors based on Fe
layers (1111, 122, 11, 111) are available. They share several characteristics
with cuprate superconductors that compromise easy applications, such as the
layered structure, the small coherence length, and unconventional pairing, On
the other hand the Fe-based superconductors have metallic parent compounds, and
their electronic anisotropy is generally smaller and does not strongly depend
on the level of doping, the supposed order parameter symmetry is s wave, thus
in principle not so detrimental to current transmission across grain
boundaries. From the application point of view, the main efforts are still
devoted to investigate the superconducting properties, to distinguish intrinsic
from extrinsic behaviours and to compare the different families in order to
identify which one is the fittest for the quest for better and more practical
superconductors. The 1111 family shows the highest Tc, huge but also the most
anisotropic upper critical field and in-field, fan-shaped resistive transitions
reminiscent of those of cuprates, while the 122 family is much less anisotropic
with sharper resistive transitions as in low temperature superconductors, but
with about half the Tc of the 1111 compounds. An overview of the main
superconducting properties relevant to applications will be presented. Upper
critical field, electronic anisotropy parameter, intragranular and
intergranular critical current density will be discussed and compared, where
possible, across the Fe-based superconductor families
Prospects for Improving the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Properties of Magnesium Diboride Superconducting Strands
The magnetic and transport properties of magnesium diboride films represent
performance goals yet to be attained by powder-processed bulk samples and
conductors. Such performance limits are still out of the reach of even the best
magnesium diboride magnet wire. In discussing the present status and prospects
for improving the performance of powder-based wire we focus attention on (1)
the intrinsic (intragrain) superconducting properties of magnesium diboride,
Hc2 and flux pinning, (2) factors that control the efficiency with which
current is transported from grain-to-grain in the conductor, an extrinsic
(intergrain) property. With regard to Item-(1), the role of dopants in Hc2
enhancement is discussed and examples presented. On the other hand their roles
in increasing Jc, both via Hc2 enhancement as well as direct
fluxoid/pining-center interaction, are discussed and a comprehensive survey of
Hc2 dopants and flux-pinning additives is presented. Current transport through
the powder-processed wire (an extrinsic property) is partially blocked by the
inherent granularity of the material itself and the chemical or other
properties of the intergrain surfaces. These and other such results indicate
that in many cases less than 15% of the conductor's cross sectional area is
able to carry transport current. It is pointed out that densification in
association with the elimination of grain-boundary blocking phases would yield
five-to ten-fold increases in Jc in relevant regimes, enabling the performance
of magnesium diboride in selected applications to compete with that of Nb-Sn
Identification of the bulk pairing symmetry in high-temperature superconductors: Evidence for an extended s-wave with eight line nodes
we identify the intrinsic bulk pairing symmetry for both electron and
hole-doped cuprates from the existing bulk- and nearly bulk-sensitive
experimental results such as magnetic penetration depth, Raman scattering,
single-particle tunneling, Andreev reflection, nonlinear Meissner effect,
neutron scattering, thermal conductivity, specific heat, and angle-resolved
photoemission spectroscopy. These experiments consistently show that the
dominant bulk pairing symmetry in hole-doped cuprates is of extended s-wave
with eight line nodes, and of anisotropic s-wave in electron-doped cuprates.
The proposed pairing symmetries do not contradict some surface- and
phase-sensitive experiments which show a predominant d-wave pairing symmetry at
the degraded surfaces. We also quantitatively explain the phase-sensitive
experiments along the c-axis for both Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+y} and
YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-y}.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
Cosmic Microwave Background Temperature and Polarization Anisotropy in Brans-Dicke Cosmology
We develop a formalism for calculating cosmic microwave background (CMB)
temperature and polarization anisotropies in cosmological models with
Brans-Dicke gravity. We then modify publicly available Boltzmann codes to
calculate numerically the temperature and polarization power spectra. Results
are illustrated with a few representative models. Comparing with the
general-relativistic model with the same cosmological parameters, both the
amplitude and the width of the acoustic peaks are different in the Brans-Dicke
models. We use a covariance-matrix calculation to investigate whether the
effects of Brans-Dicke gravity are degenerate with those of variation in other
cosmological parameters and to simultaneously determine whether forthcoming CMB
maps might be able to distinguish Brans-Dicke and general-relativistic
cosmology. Although the predicted power spectra for plausible Brans-Dicke
models differ from those in general relativity only slightly, we find that MAP
and/or the Planck Surveyor may in principle provide a test of Brans-Dicke
theory that is competitive to solar-system tests. For example, if all other
parameters except for the CMB normalization are fixed, a value of the
Brans-Dicke parameter omega as large as 500 could be identified with MAP, and
for Planck, values as large as omega \simeq3000 could be identified; these
sensitivities are decreased roughly by a factor of 3 if we marginalize over the
baryon density, Hubble constant, spectral index, and reionization optical
depth. In more general scalar-tensor theories, omega may evolve with time, and
in this case, the CMB probe would be complementary to that from solar-system
tests.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, typeset using RevTe
Crystal structure of rhodopsin bound to arrestin by femtosecond X-ray laser.
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) signal primarily through G proteins or arrestins. Arrestin binding to GPCRs blocks G protein interaction and redirects signalling to numerous G-protein-independent pathways. Here we report the crystal structure of a constitutively active form of human rhodopsin bound to a pre-activated form of the mouse visual arrestin, determined by serial femtosecond X-ray laser crystallography. Together with extensive biochemical and mutagenesis data, the structure reveals an overall architecture of the rhodopsin-arrestin assembly in which rhodopsin uses distinct structural elements, including transmembrane helix 7 and helix 8, to recruit arrestin. Correspondingly, arrestin adopts the pre-activated conformation, with a âŒ20° rotation between the amino and carboxy domains, which opens up a cleft in arrestin to accommodate a short helix formed by the second intracellular loop of rhodopsin. This structure provides a basis for understanding GPCR-mediated arrestin-biased signalling and demonstrates the power of X-ray lasers for advancing the frontiers of structural biology
The Functional DRD3 Ser9Gly Polymorphism (rs6280) Is Pleiotropic, Affecting Reward as Well as Movement
Abnormalities of motivation and behavior in the context of reward are a fundamental component of addiction and mood disorders. Here we test the effect of a functional missense mutation in the dopamine 3 receptor (DRD3) gene (ser9gly, rs6280) on reward-associated dopamine (DA) release in the striatum. Twenty-six healthy controls (HCs) and 10 unmedicated subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) completed two positron emission tomography (PET) scans with [11C]raclopride using the bolus plus constant infusion method. On one occasion subjects completed a sensorimotor task (control condition) and on another occasion subjects completed a gambling task (reward condition). A linear regression analysis controlling for age, sex, diagnosis, and self-reported anhedonia indicated that during receipt of unpredictable monetary reward the glycine allele was associated with a greater reduction in D2/3 receptor binding (i.e., increased reward-related DA release) in the middle (anterior) caudate (p<0.01) and the ventral striatum (p<0.05). The possible functional effect of the ser9gly polymorphism on DA release is consistent with previous work demonstrating that the glycine allele yields D3 autoreceptors that have a higher affinity for DA and display more robust intracellular signaling. Preclinical evidence indicates that chronic stress and aversive stimulation induce activation of the DA system, raising the possibility that the glycine allele, by virtue of its facilitatory effect on striatal DA release, increases susceptibility to hyperdopaminergic responses that have previously been associated with stress, addiction, and psychosis
The Echinococcus canadensis (G7) genome: A key knowledge of parasitic platyhelminth human diseases
Background: The parasite Echinococcus canadensis (G7) (phylum Platyhelminthes, class Cestoda) is one of the causative agents of echinococcosis. Echinococcosis is a worldwide chronic zoonosis affecting humans as well as domestic and wild mammals, which has been reported as a prioritized neglected disease by the World Health Organisation. No genomic data, comparative genomic analyses or efficient therapeutic and diagnostic tools are available for this severe disease. The information presented in this study will help to understand the peculiar biological characters and to design species-specific control tools. Results: We sequenced, assembled and annotated the 115-Mb genome of E. canadensis (G7). Comparative genomic analyses using whole genome data of three Echinococcus species not only confirmed the status of E. canadensis (G7) as a separate species but also demonstrated a high nucleotide sequences divergence in relation to E. granulosus (G1). The E. canadensis (G7) genome contains 11,449 genes with a core set of 881 orthologs shared among five cestode species. Comparative genomics revealed that there are more single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between E. canadensis (G7) and E. granulosus (G1) than between E. canadensis (G7) and E. multilocularis. This result was unexpected since E. canadensis (G7) and E. granulosus (G1) were considered to belong to the species complex E. granulosus sensu lato. We described SNPs in known drug targets and metabolism genes in the E. canadensis (G7) genome. Regarding gene regulation, we analysed three particular features: CpG island distribution along the three Echinococcus genomes, DNA methylation system and small RNA pathway. The results suggest the occurrence of yet unknown gene regulation mechanisms in Echinococcus. Conclusions: This is the first work that addresses Echinococcus comparative genomics. The resources presented here will promote the study of mechanisms of parasite development as well as new tools for drug discovery. The availability of a high-quality genome assembly is critical for fully exploring the biology of a pathogenic organism. The E. canadensis (G7) genome presented in this study provides a unique opportunity to address the genetic diversity among the genus Echinococcus and its particular developmental features. At present, there is no unequivocal taxonomic classification of Echinococcus species; however, the genome-wide SNPs analysis performed here revealed the phylogenetic distance among these three Echinococcus species. Additional cestode genomes need to be sequenced to be able to resolve their phylogeny.Fil: Maldonado, Lucas Luciano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Assis, Juliana. FundaciĂłn Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Gomes AraĂșjo, FlĂĄvio M.. FundaciĂłn Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Salim, Anna C. M.. FundaciĂłn Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Macchiaroli, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Cucher, Marcela Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Camicia, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Fox, Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Rosenzvit, Mara Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; ArgentinaFil: Oliveira, Guilherme. Instituto TecnolĂłgico Vale; Brasil. FundaciĂłn Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Kamenetzky, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en MicrobiologĂa y ParasitologĂa MĂ©dica; Argentin
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