707 research outputs found
Conductivity of Doped Two-Leg Ladders
Recently, conductivity measurements were performed on the hole-doped two-leg
ladder material Sr_{14-x}Ca_xCu_{24}O_{41}. In this work, we calculate the
conductivity for doped two-leg ladders using a model of hole-pairs forming a
strongly correlated liquid - a single component Luttinger liquid - in the
presence of disorder. Quantum interference effects are handled using
renormalization group methods. We find that our model can account for the low
energy features of the experimental results. However, at higher energies the
experiments show deviations from the predictions of this model. Using the
results of our calculations as well as results on the ground state of doped
two-leg ladders, we suggest a scenario to account for the higher energy
features of the experimental results.Comment: 5 pages, 3 postscript figure
Elevations of intracellular calcium reflect normal voltage-dependent behavior, and not constitutive activity, of voltage-dependent calcium channels in gastrointestinal and vascular smooth muscle
In smooth muscle, the gating of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels may either be stochastic and voltage dependent or coordinated among channels and constitutively active. Each form of gating has been proposed to be largely responsible for Ca2+ influx and determining the bulk average cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration. Here, the contribution of voltage-dependent and constitutively active channel behavior to Ca2+ signaling has been studied in voltage-clamped single vascular and gastrointestinal smooth muscle cells using wide-field epifluorescence with near simultaneous total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Depolarization (−70 to +10 mV) activated a dihydropyridine-sensitive voltage-dependent Ca2+ current (ICa) and evoked a rise in [Ca2+] in each of the subplasma membrane space and bulk cytoplasm. In various regions of the bulk cytoplasm the [Ca2+] increase ([Ca2+]c) was approximately uniform, whereas that of the subplasma membrane space ([Ca2+]PM) had a wide range of amplitudes and time courses. The variations that occurred in the subplasma membrane space presumably reflected an uneven distribution of active Ca2+ channels (clusters) across the sarcolemma, and their activation appeared consistent with normal voltage-dependent behavior. Indeed, in the present study, dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels were not normally constitutively active. The repetitive localized [Ca2+]PM rises (“persistent Ca2+ sparklets”) that characterize constitutively active channels were observed rarely (2 of 306 cells). Neither did dihydropyridine-sensitive constitutively active Ca2+ channels regulate the bulk average [Ca2+]c. A dihydropyridine blocker of Ca2+ channels, nimodipine, which blocked ICa and accompanying [Ca2+]c rise, reduced neither the resting bulk average [Ca2+]c (at −70 mV) nor the rise in [Ca2+]c, which accompanied an increased electrochemical driving force on the ion by hyperpolarization (−130 mV). Activation of protein kinase C with indolactam-V did not induce constitutive channel activity. Thus, although voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels appear clustered in certain regions of the plasma membrane, constitutive activity is unlikely to play a major role in [Ca2+]c regulation. The stochastic, voltage-dependent activity of the channel provides the major mechanism to generate rises in [Ca2+]
Diffusive Release of Photosensitizing Agents (PS) from Novel PVA-Borate Semi-Solid Drug Carriers Through In Vitro Oral Streptococcus mutans Biofilm
Background: Streptococcus mutans, one of the agent of human dental caries, is particularly effective at forming biofilms on the hard tissues of the human oral cavity; the purpose of this study was to investigate and quantify the diffusional release of photosentising agents (PS): methylene blue (MB), toludine blue (TB), rose bengal (RB) and methyl orange (MO) from Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-borate semi-solid gels in the presence of in vitro oral Streptococcus mutans biofilm. Methods: S. mutans biofilm growths were ascertained to ensure proper dental plaque formation and were characterized using confocal microscopy. Release profiles for MB, TB, RB and MO-loaded PVA-borate semi-solids in the absence of biofilms were directly compared to their counterparts in the presence of S. mutans biofilms. In addition, their diffusion coefficients and resistances were determined. Results: The confocal imaging results showed that biofilms grown over a 5-day period had a generally uninterrupted film of colonies occupying the entire surface area of growth surface of a nylon mesh support with approximately 60 µm biofilm size. The overall diffusion resistance of all PVA-borate semi-solids in the presence of S. mutans biofilms was about 1.2 times lower than the diffusion resistance for PVAborate semi-solids in the absence of biofilms. The diffusion resistances for all studied PS, indicate that electrostatic forces and molecular size play an important part in controlled and sustained drug release from PVA-borate semi-solids. Conclusions: PVA-borate semi-solids as novel PSs carriers might offer an innovative delivery system in the treatment against Streptococcus mutans
Reversible melting and equilibrium phase formation of (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+d
The decomposition and the reformation of the (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+d
(?Bi,Pb(2223)?) phase have been investigated in-situ by means of
High-Temperature Neutron Diffraction, both in sintered bulk samples and in
Ag-sheathed monofilamentary tapes. Several decomposition experiments were
performed at various temperatures and under various annealing atmospheres,
under flowing gas as well as in sealed tubes, in order to study the appropriate
conditions for Bi,Pb(2223) formation from the melt. The Bi,Pb(2223) phase was
found to melt incongruently into (Ca,Sr)2CuO3, (Sr,Ca)14Cu24O41 and a
Pb,Bi-rich liquid phase. Phase reformation after melting was successfully
obtained both in bulk samples and Ag-sheathed tapes. The possibility of
crystallising the Bi,Pb(2223) phase from the melt was found to be extremely
sensitive to the temperature and strongly dependent on the Pb losses. The study
of the mass losses due to Pb evaporation was complemented by thermogravimetric
analysis which proved that Pb losses are responsible for moving away from
equilibrium and therefore hinder the reformation of the Bi,Pb(2223) phase from
the melt. Thanks to the full pattern profile refinement, a quantitative phase
analysis was carried out as a function of time and temperature and the role of
the secondary phases was investigated. Lattice distortions and/or transitions
were found to occur at high temperature in Bi,Pb(2223), Bi,Pb(2212),
(Ca,Sr)2CuO3 and (Sr,Ca)14Cu24O41, due to cation diffusion and stoichiometry
changes. The results indicate that it is possible to form the Bi,Pb(2223) phase
from a liquid close to equilibrium conditions, like Bi(2212) and Bi(2201), and
open new unexplored perspectives for high-quality Ag-sheathed Bi,Pb(2223) tape
processing.Comment: 45 pages (including references,figures and captions), 13 figures
Submitted to Supercond. Sci. Techno
Observation of two-magnon bound states in the two-leg ladders of (Ca,La)14Cu24O41
Phonon-assisted 2-magnon absorption is studied at T=4 K in the spin-1/2
two-leg ladders of Ca_14-x La_x Cu_24 O_41 (x=5 and 4) for polarization of the
electrical field parallel to the legs and the rungs, respectively. Two peaks at
about 2140 and 2800 1/cm reflect van-Hove singularities in the density of
states of the strongly dispersing 2-magnon singlet bound state, and a broad
peak at about 4000 1/cm is identified with the 2-magnon continuum. Two
different theoretical approaches (Jordan-Wigner fermions and perturbation
theory) describe the data very well for J_parallel = 1050 - 1100 1/cm and
J_parallel / J_perp = 1 - 1.1. A striking similarity of the high-energy
continuum absorption of the ladders and of the undoped high T_c cuprates is
observed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Revte
Electronic and Magnetic Structures of Chain Structured Iron Selenide Compounds
Electronic and magnetic structures of iron selenide compounds Ce2O2FeSe2
(2212\ast) and BaFe2Se3(123\ast) are studied by the first-principles
calculations. We find that while all these compounds are composed of
one-dimensional (1D) Fe chain (or ladder) structures, their electronic
structures are not close to be quasi-1D. The magnetic exchange couplings
between two nearest-neighbor (NN) chains in 2212\ast and between two NN
two-leg-ladders in 123\ast are both antiferromagnetic (AFM), which is
consistent with the presence of significant third NN AFM coupling, a common
feature shared in other iron-chalcogenides, FeTe (11\ast) and KyFe2-xSe2
(122\ast). In magnetic ground states, each Fe chain of 2212\ast is
ferromagnetic and each two-leg ladder of 123\ast form a block-AFM structure. We
suggest that all magnetic structures in iron-selenide compounds can be unified
into an extended J1-J2-J3 model. Spin-wave excitations of the model are
calculated and can be tested by future experiments on these two systems.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Magnetic excitations and structural change in the S=1/2 quasi-one-dimensional magnet Sr_{14-x}Y_{x}Cu_{24}O_{41} (0<x<1)
Neutron scattering measurements have been performed on the S=1/2
quasi-one-dimensional system Sr_{14-x}Y_{x}Cu_{24}O_{41}, which has both simple
chains and two-leg ladders of copper ions. We observed that when a small amount
of yttrium is substituted for strontium, which is expected to reduce the number
of holes, the dimerized state and the structure in the chain are changed
drastically. The inelastic peaks originating from the dimerized state of the
chain becomes broader in energy but not in momentum space. This implies that
the dimerized state becomes unstable but the spin correlations are unchanged
with yttrium substitution. Furthermore, it was observed that nuclear Bragg peak
intensities originating from the chain show strong temperature and x
dependence, which suggests that the chains slide along the c axis as
temperature and x are varied.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Electronic States and Magnetic Propertis of Edge-sharing Cu-O Chains
The electronic states and magnetic properties for the copper oxides
containing edge-sharing Cu-O chains such as LiCuO,
LaCaCuO and CuGeO are systematically studied. The
optical conductivity and the temperature dependence of the
magnetic susceptibility for single crystalline samples LiCuO
are measured as a reference system and analyzed by using the exact
diagonalization method for small Cu-O clusters. It is shown that the spectral
distribution of is different between edge-sharing and
corner-sharing Cu-O-Cu bonds. The charge transfer gap in edge-sharing chains is
larger than that of high- cuprates. The exchange interaction between
nearest-neighbor copper ions in edge-sharing chains depends sensitively
on the Cu-O-Cu bond angles. In addition to , the exchange interaction
between next-nearest-neighbor copper ions has sufficient contribution to
the magnetic properties. We calculate and for all the copper oxides
containing edge-sharing Cu-O chains and discuss the magnetic properties.Comment: 10 pages,RevTeX,8 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
A Study of the S=1/2 Alternating Chain using Multiprecision Methods
In this paper we present results for the ground state and low-lying
excitations of the alternating Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. Our
more conventional techniques include perturbation theory about the dimer limit
and numerical diagonalization of systems of up to 28 spins. A novel application
of multiple precision numerical diagonalization allows us to determine
analytical perturbation series to high order; the results found using this
approach include ninth-order perturbation series for the ground state energy
and one magnon gap, which were previously known only to third order. We also
give the fifth-order dispersion relation and third-order exclusive neutron
scattering structure factor for one-magnon modes and numerical and analytical
binding energies of S=0 and S=1 two-magnon bound states.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. for submission to Phys.Rev.B. PICT files of figs
available at http://csep2.phy.ornl.gov/theory_group/people/barnes/barnes.htm
The design, construction and performance of the MICE target
The pion-production target that serves the MICE Muon Beam consists of a titanium cylinder that is dipped into the halo of the ISIS proton beam. The design and construction of the MICE target system are described along with the quality-assurance procedures, electromagnetic drive and control systems, the readout electronics, and the data-acquisition system. The performance of the target is presented together with the particle rates delivered to the MICE Muon Beam. Finally, the beam loss in ISIS generated by the operation of the target is evaluated as a function of the particle rate, and the operating parameters of the target are derived
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