466 research outputs found
NMR and NQR study of pressure-induced superconductivity and the origin of critical-temperature enhancement in the spin-ladder cuprate SrCaCuO
Pressure-induced superconductivity was studied for a spin-ladder cuprate
SrCaCuO using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) under
pressures up to the optimal pressure 3.8 GPa. Pressure application leads to a
transitional change from a spin-gapped state to a Fermi-liquid state at
temperatures higher than . The relaxation rate shows
activated-type behavior at an onset pressure, whereas Korringa-like behavior
becomes predominant at the optimal pressure, suggesting that an increase in the
density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy leads to enhancement of .
Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectra suggest that pressure application
causes transfer of holes from the chain to the ladder sites. The transfer of
holes increases DOS below the optimal pressure. A dome-shaped versus
pressure curve arises from naive balance between the transfer of holes and
broadening of the band width
An fMRI-constrained MEG source analysis with procedures for dividing and grouping activation
1
Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling of a Fluxon in a Long Josephson Junction
Macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT) for a single fluxon moving along a long
Josephson junction is studied theoretically. To introduce a fluxon-pinning
force, we consider inhomogeneities made by modifying thickness of an insulating
layer locally. Two different situations are studied: one is the quantum
tunneling from a metastable state caused by a single inhomogeneity, and the
other is the quantum tunneling in a two-state system made by two
inhomogeneities. In the quantum tunneling from a metastable state, the decay
rate is estimated within the WKB approximation. Dissipation effects on a fluxon
dynamics are taken into account by the Caldeira-Leggett theory. We propose a
device to observe quantum tunneling of a fluxon experimentally. Required
experimental resolutions to observe MQT of a fluxon seem attainable within the
presently available micro-fabrication technique. For the two-state system, we
study quantum resonance between two stable states, i.e., macroscopic quantum
coherence (MQC). From the estimate for dissipation coefficients due to
quasiparticle tunneling, the observation of MQC appears to be possible within
the Caldeira-Leggett theory.Comment: 30 pages LaTeX including 11 PS figures, using jpsj.sty. To be
published on J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Overestimates for damping amplitude is
correcte
Comparison of heath-related quality of life in sibling allogeneic transplant donors using bone marrow or peripheral blood
Stability of Ge-related point defects and complexes in Ge-doped SiO_2
We analyze Ge-related defects in Ge-doped SiO_2 using first-principles
density functional techniques. Ge is incorporated at the level of ~ 1 mol % and
above. The growth conditions of Ge:SiO_2 naturally set up oxygen deficiency,
with vacancy concentration increasing by a factor 10^5 over undoped SiO_2, and
O vacancies binding strongly to Ge impurities. All the centers considered
exhibit potentially EPR-active states, candidates for the identification of the
Ge(n) centers. Substitutional Ge produces an apparent gap shrinking via its
extrinsic levels.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, 2 ps figure
Effect of a magnetic field on the spin- and charge-density wave order in La1.45Nd0.4Sr0.15CuO4
The spin-density wave (SDW) and charge-density wave (CDW) order in
superconducting La1.45Nd0.4Sr0.15CuO4 were studied under an applied magnetic
field using neutron and X-ray diffraction techniques. In zero field,
incommensurate (IC) SDW order appears below ~ 40 K, which is characterized by
neutron diffraction peaks at (1/2 +/- 0.134, 1/2 +/- 0.134, 0). The intensity
of these IC peaks increases rapidly below T_Nd ~ 8 K due to an ordering of the
Nd^3+ spins. The application of a 1 T magnetic field parallel to the c-axis
markedly diminishes the intensity below T_Nd, while only a slight decrease in
intensity is observed at higher temperatures for fields up to 7 T. Our
interpretation is that the c-axis field suppresses the parasitic Nd^3+ spin
order at the incommensurate wave vector without disturbing the stripe order of
Cu^2+ spins. Consistent with this picture, the CDW order, which appears below
60 K, shows no change for magnetic fields up to 4 T. These results stand in
contrast to the significant field-induced enhancement of the SDW order observed
in superconducting La2-xSrxCuO4 with x ~ 0.12 and stage-4 La2CuO4+y. The
differences can be understood in terms of the relative volume fraction
exhibiting stripe order in zero field, and the collective results are
consistent with the idea that suppression of superconductivity by vortices
nucleates local patches of stripe order.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Usefulness of Choline-PET for the detection of residual hemangiopericytoma in the skull base: comparison with FDG-PET
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Choline is a new PET tracer that is useful for the detection of malignant tumor. Choline is a precursor of the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, a major phospholipid in the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells. Malignant tumors have an elevated level of phosphatidylcholine in cell membrane. Thus, choline is a marker of tumor malignancy.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The patient was a 51-year-old man with repeated recurrent hemangiopericytoma in the skull base. We performed Choline-PET in this patient after various treatments and compared findings with those of FDG-PET.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Choline accumulated in this tumor, but FDG did not accumulate. We diagnosed this tumor as residual hemangiopericytoma and performed the resection of the residual tumor. FDG-PET is not appropriate for skull base tumor detection because uptake in the brain is very strong.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We emphasize the usefulness of Choline-PET for the detection of residual hemangiopericytoma in the skull base after various treatments, compared with FDG-PET.</p
Reading Speed, Comprehension and Eye Movements While Reading Japanese Novels: Evidence from Untrained Readers and Cases of Speed-Reading Trainees
BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence suggests that meditative training enhances perception and cognition. In Japan, the Park-Sasaki method of speed-reading involves organized visual training while forming both a relaxed and concentrated state of mind, as in meditation. The present study examined relationships between reading speed, sentence comprehension, and eye movements while reading short Japanese novels. In addition to normal untrained readers, three middle-level trainees and one high-level expert on this method were included for the two case studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In Study 1, three of 17 participants were middle-level trainees on the speed-reading method. Immediately after reading each story once on a computer monitor, participants answered true or false questions regarding the content of the novel. Eye movements while reading were recorded using an eye-tracking system. Results revealed higher reading speed and lower comprehension scores in the trainees than in the untrained participants. Furthermore, eye-tracking data by untrained participants revealed multiple correlations between reading speed, accuracy and eye-movement measures, with faster readers showing shorter fixation durations and larger saccades in X than slower readers. In Study 2, participants included a high-level expert and 14 untrained students. The expert showed higher reading speed and statistically comparable, although numerically lower, comprehension scores compared with the untrained participants. During test sessions this expert moved her eyes along a nearly straight horizontal line as a first pass, without moving her eyes over the whole sentence display as did the untrained students. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In addition to revealing correlations between speed, comprehension and eye movements in reading Japanese contemporary novels by untrained readers, we describe cases of speed-reading trainees regarding relationships between these variables. The trainees overall tended to show poor performance influenced by the speed-accuracy trade-off, although this trade-off may be reduced in the case of at least one high-level expert
- …