93 research outputs found
Moving Pearl Vortices in Thin-Film Superconductors
The magnetic field hz of a moving Pearl vortex in a superconducting thin-film in (x,y) plane is studied with the help of the time-dependent London equation. It is found that for a vortex at the origin moving in +x direction, hz(x,y) is suppressed in front of the vortex, x\u3e0, and enhanced behind (x\u3c0). The distribution asymmetry is proportional to the velocity and to the conductivity of normal quasiparticles. The vortex self-energy and the interaction of two moving vortices are evaluated
Pearl vortices in anisotropic superconducting films
The magnetic field of vortices in anisotropic superconducting films is considered in the framework of an anisotropic London approach. It is found that at distances large relative to the core size, the magnetic field normal to the film surface may change sign. We find that the magnetic field attenuates at large distances as 1/r(3) as it does in isotropic films, but the anisotropy induces an angular dependence to the supercurrents which causes the sign of the field to change for anisotropy parameters gamma = lambda(2)/lambda(1) > root 2 in some parts of the (x, y) plane.This article is published as Kogan, V. G., N. Nakagawa, and J. R. Kirtley. "Pearl vortices in anisotropic superconducting films." Physical Review B 104, no. 14 (2021): 144512.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.144512.
Copyright 2021 American Physical Society.
DOE Contract Number(s): AC02-07CH11358.
Posted with permission
Eddy-Current Detection Methods for Surface-Breaking Tight Cracks
The eddy-current (EC) NDE method has been in use for quite some time, and efforts have been made to make it a fully quantitative method. To evaluate impedance signals for a given EC inspection system, one has to characterize the system as a whole, including both probes and specimens. In particular, until probes are characterized, the electromagnetic fields cannot be calculated. Naturally, the amount of numerical computation becomes a serious issue during the course of development. It is necessary to choose probes carefully so as to maximize the flaw-characterization capability, while keeping numerical tasks within a reasonable size. Probes that are suitable for quantitative assessment are presumably different in nature from those with maximum detection capability. Among all kinds of existing probes, the simplest characterizable probe is the uniform-field-eddy-current (UFEC) probe. In fact, a series of studies, both theoretical and experimental, were devoted to demonstrating potential capabilities of UFEC probes [1–9]. The present theoretical work is another entry in this series. The numerical procedure developed in this work is limited to the case where cracks are tightly closed. The procedure is nevertheless capable, in principle, of dealing with an arbitrary range of frequencies
Utilisation of Postnatal Care among Rural Women in Nepal
Background: Postnatal care is uncommon in Nepal, and where it is available the quality is often poor. Adequate utilisation of postnatal care can help reduce mortality and morbidity among mothers and their babies. Therefore, our study assessed the utilisation of postnatal care at a rural community level.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in two neighbouring villages in early 2006. A total of 150 women who had delivered in the previous 24 months were asked to participate in the study using a semi-structured questionnaire.
Results: The proportion of women who had received postnatal care after delivery was low (34%). Less than one in five women (19%) received care within 48 hours of giving birth. Women in one village had less access to postnatal care than women in the neighbouring one. Lack of awareness was the main barrier to the utilisation of postnatal care.
The woman's own occupation and ethnicity, the number of pregnancies and children and the husband's socio-economic status, occupation and education were significantly associated with the utilisation of postnatal care.
Multivariate analysis showed that wealth as reflected in occupation and having attended antenatal are important factors associated with the uptake of postnatal care. In addition, women experiencing health problems appear strongly motivated to seek postnatal care.
Conclusion: The postnatal care has a low uptake and is often regarded as inadequate in Nepal. This is an important message to both service providers and health-policy makers. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the actual quality of postnatal care provided. Also there appears to be a need for awareness-raising programmes highlighting the availability of current postnatal care where this is of sufficient quality
Interplay between magnetism and superconductivity and appearance of a second superconducting transition in alpha-FeSe at high pressure
We synthesized tetragonal alpha-FeSe by melting a powder mixture of iron and
selenium at high pressure. Subsequent annealing at normal pressure results in
removing traces of hexagonal beta- FeSe, formation of a rather sharp transition
to superconducting state at Tc ~ 7 K, and the appearance of a magnetic
transition near Tm = 120 K. Resistivity and ac-susceptibility were measured on
the annealed sample at hydrostatic pressure up to 4.5 GPa. A magnetic
transition visible in ac-susceptibility shifts down under pressure and the
resistive anomaly typical for a spin density wave (SDW) antiferromagnetic
transition develops near the susceptibility anomaly. Tc determined by the
appearance of a diamagnetic response in susceptibility, increases linearly
under pressure at a rate dTc/dP = 3.5 K/GPa. Below 1.5 GPa, the resistive
superconducting transition is sharp; the width of transition does not change
with pressure; and, Tc determined by a peak in drho/dT increases at a rate ~
3.5 K/GPa. At higher pressure, a giant broadening of the resistive transition
develops. This effect cannot be explained by possible pressure gradients in the
sample and is inherent to alpha-FeSe. The dependences drho(T)/dT show a
signature for a second peak above 3 GPa which is indicative of the appearance
of another superconducting state in alpha-FeSe at high pressure. We argue that
this second superconducting phase coexists with SDW antiferromagnetism in a
partial volume fraction and originates from pairing of charge carriers from
other sheets of the Fermi surface
Gefitinib in patients with progressive high-grade gliomas: a multicentre phase II study by Gruppo Italiano Cooperativo di Neuro-Oncologia (GICNO)
To investigate the role of gefitinib in patients with high-grade gliomas (HGGs), a phase II trial (1839IL/0116) was conducted in patients with disease recurrence following surgery plus radiotherapy and first-line chemotherapy. Adult patients with histologically confirmed recurrent HGGs following surgery, radiotherapy and first-line chemotherapy, were considered eligible. Patients were treated with gefitinib (250 mgday−1) continuously until disease progression. The primary end point was progression-free survival at 6 months progression-free survival at 6 months (PFS-6). Tissue biomarkers (epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene status and expression, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) expression) were assessed. Twenty-eight patients (median age, 55 years; median ECOG performance status, 1) were enrolled; all were evaluable for drug activity and safety. Sixteen patients had glioblastoma, three patients had anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and nine patients had anaplastic astrocytoma. Five patients (17.9%, 95% CI 6.1–36.9%) showed disease stabilisation. The overall median time to progression was 8.4 (range 2–104+) weeks and PFS-6 was 14.3% (95% CI 4.0–32.7%). The median overall survival was 24.6 weeks (range 4–104+). No grade 3–4 gefitinib-related toxicity was found. Gefitinib showed limited activity in patients affected by HGGs. Epidermal growth factor receptor expression or gene status, and p-Akt expression do not seem to predict activity of this drug
Acute loss of TET function results in aggressive myeloid cancer in mice
TET-family dioxygenases oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA, and exert tumour suppressor activity in many types of cancers. Even in the absence of TET coding region mutations, TET loss-of-function is strongly associated with cancer. Here we show that acute elimination of TET function induces the rapid development of an aggressive, fully-penetrant and cell-autonomous myeloid leukaemia in mice, pointing to a causative role for TET loss-of-function in this myeloid malignancy. Phenotypic and transcriptional profiling shows aberrant differentiation of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, impaired erythroid and lymphoid differentiation and strong skewing to the myeloid lineage, with only a mild relation to changes in DNA modification. We also observe progressive accumulation of phospho-H2AX and strong impairment of DNA damage repair pathways, suggesting a key role for TET proteins in maintaining genome integrityopen0
Moving Pearl Vortices in Thin-Film Superconductors
The magnetic field hz of a moving Pearl vortex in a superconducting thin-film in (x,y) plane is studied with the help of the time-dependent London equation. It is found that for a vortex at the origin moving in +x direction, hz(x,y) is suppressed in front of the vortex, x>0, and enhanced behind (x<0). The distribution asymmetry is proportional to the velocity and to the conductivity of normal quasiparticles. The vortex self-energy and the interaction of two moving vortices are evaluated.</p
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