Nucleation of Stable Superconductivity in YBCO-Films

By means of the linear dynamic conductivity, inductively measured on epitaxial films between 30mHz and 30 MHz, the transition line $T_g (B)$ to generic superconductivity is studied in fields between B=0 and 19T. It follows closely the melting line $T_m (B)$ described recently in terms of a blowout of thermal vortex loops in clean materials. The critical exponents of the correlation length and time near $T_g (B)$, however, seem to be dominated by some intrinsic disorder. Columnar defects produced by heavy-ion irradiation up to field-equivalent-doses of $B_{\phi} = 10T$ lead to a disappointing reduction of $T_g (B \to 0)$ while for $B>B_{\phi}$ the generic line of the pristine film is recovered. These novel results are also discussed in terms of a loop-driven destruction of generic superconductivity.Comment: 11 pages including 7 EPS figures, accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the Spring Meeting of the German Physical Society, Muenster 1999,Festkoerperprobleme/Advances in Solid State Physics 199

Multifunctional platform based on electrospun nanofibers and plasmonic hydrogel. A smart nanostructured pillow for near-infrared light-driven biomedical applications

Multifunctional nanomaterials with the ability to respond to near-infrared (NIR) light stimulation are vital for the development of highly efficient biomedical nanoplatforms with a polytherapeutic approach. Inspired by the mesoglea structure of jellyfish bells, a biomimetic multifunctional nanostructured pillow with fast photothermal responsiveness for NIR light-controlled on-demand drug delivery is developed. We fabricate a nanoplatform with several hierarchical levels designed to generate a series of controlled, rapid, and reversible cascade-like structural changes upon NIR light irradiation. The mechanical contraction of the nanostructured platform, resulting from the increase of temperature to 42 °C due to plasmonic hydrogel-light interaction, causes a rapid expulsion of water from the inner structure, passing through an electrospun membrane anchored onto the hydrogel core. The mutual effects of the rise in temperature and water flow stimulate the release of molecules from the nanofibers. To expand the potential applications of the biomimetic platform, the photothermal responsiveness to reach the typical temperature level for performing photothermal therapy (PTT) is designed. The on-demand drug model penetration into pig tissue demonstrates the efficiency of the nanostructured platform in the rapid and controlled release of molecules, while the high biocompatibility confirms the pillow potential for biomedical applications based on the NIR light-driven multitherapy strategy

Vortex Flow and Transverse Flux Screening at the Bose Glass Transition

We investigate the vortex phase diagram in untwinned YBaCuO single crystals with columnar defects. These randomly distributed defects, produced by heavy ion irradiation, are expected to induce a ``Bose Glass'' phase of localized vortices characterized by a vanishing resistance and a Meissner effect for magnetic fields transverse to the defect axis. We directly observe the transverse Meissner effect using an array of Hall probe magnetometers. As predicted, the Meissner state breaks down at temperatures Ts that decrease linearly with increasing transverse magnetic field. However, Ts falls well below the conventional melting temperature Tm determined by a vanishing resistivity, suggesting an intermediate regime where flux lines are effectively localized even when rotated off the columnar defects.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Is there a vortex-glass transition in high-temperature superconductors?

We show that DC voltage versus current measurements of a YBCO micro-bridge in a magnetic field can be collapsed onto scaling functions proposed by Fisher, Fisher, and Huse, as is widely reported in the literature. We find, however, that good data collapse is achieved for a wide range of critical exponents and temperatures. These results strongly suggest that agreement with scaling alone does not prove the existence of a phase transition. We propose a criterion to determine if the data collapse is valid, and thus if a phase transition occurs. To our knowledge, none of the data reported in the literature meet our criterion.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Vortex dynamics and states of artificially layered superconducting films with correlated defects

Linear resistances and $IV$-characteristics have been measured over a wide range in the parameter space of the mixed phase of multilayered a-TaGe/Ge films. Three films with varying interlayer coupling and correlated defects oriented at an angle $\approx 25$ from the film normal were investigated. Experimental data were analyzed within vortex glass models and a second order phase transition from a resistive vortex liquid to a pinned glass phase. Various vortex phases including changes from three to two dimensional behavior depending on anisotropy have been identified. Careful analysis of $IV$-characteristics in the glass phases revealed a distinctive $T$ and $H$-dependence of the glass exponent $\mu$. The vortex dynamics in the Bose-glass phase does not follow the predicted behavior for excitations of vortex kinks or loops.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 3 table

A method to determine the displacement velocity field in the apical region of the Arabidopsis root

In angiosperms, growth of the root apex is determined by the quiescent centre. All tissues of the root proper and the root cap are derived from initial cells that surround this zone. The diversity of cell lineages originated from these initials suggests an interesting variation of the displacement velocity within the root apex. However, little is known about this variation, especially in the most apical region including the root cap. This paper shows a method of determination of velocity field for this region taking the Arabidopsis root apex as example. Assuming the symplastic growth without a rotation around the root axis, the method combines mathematical modelling and two types of empirical data: the published velocity profile along the root axis above the quiescent centre, and dimensions of cell packet originated from the initials of epidermis and lateral root cap. The velocities, calculated for points of the axial section, vary in length and direction. Their length increases with distance from the quiescent centre, in the root cap at least twice slower than in the root proper, if points at similar distance from the quiescent centre are compared. The vector orientation depends on the position of a calculation point, the widest range of angular changes, reaching almost 90°, in the lateral root cap. It is demonstrated how the velocity field is related to both distribution of growth rates and growth-resulted deformation of the cell wall system. Also changes in the field due to cell pattern asymmetry and differences in slope of the velocity profile are modelled. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00425-012-1707-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Contemporary midwifery practice: Art, science or both?

Current midwifery practice is regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), whose primary role is to safeguard the public through setting standards for education and practice and regulating fitness to practise, conduct and performance through rules and codes (NMC, 2012; 2015a). Practice is informed by evidence-based guidelines developed and implemented by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence based on hierarchies of evidence, with meta-analyses and systematic reviews being identified as the ‘gold standard’. This positivist epistemological approach as developed by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), with scientific evidence at the top of a knowledge hierarchy, fails to acknowledge the ‘art of midwifery’, where a constructivist paradigm of experiential, intuitive and tacit knowledge is used by reflective practitioners to provide high-quality care. As midwifery pre-registration education is now degree-level, is the essence of midwifery practice being ‘with woman’ providing holistic care under threat, as the drive for a systematic and analytical approach to decision-making gathers momentum

Genetic Control of Organ Shape and Tissue Polarity

A combination of experimental analysis and mathematical modelling shows how the genetic control of tissue polarity plays a fundamental role in the development and evolution of form

Drug delivery systems based on nanofibers

W pracy podjęto się zadania stworzenia systemu uwalniania leków opartego na zastosowaniu biodegradowalnych materiałów polimerowych wytworzonych z nanowłókien otrzymywanych metodą elektroprzędzenia. Bezpośrednim celem tej pracy było stworzenie aktywnego opatrunku wspomagającego operacje neurochirurgiczne. Praca zawiera eksperymentalną i numeryczną analizę procesu uwalniania i transportu leku do typowego płynu buforowego oraz analogu tkanki mającą na celu znalezienie optymalnych warunków kontrolowania w czasie i przestrzeni rozkładu stężenia leku. Uwalnianie leku w zaproponowanym modelu matematycznym opisano za pomocą równań adsorpcji-desorpcji, zaś transport w porowatym materiale z wykorzystaniem równania dyfuzji. Przedstawiona analiza parametrów materiałów z nanowłókien mających wpływ na szybkość uwalniania leków, opis matematyczny procesu lokalnego uwalniania leków z materiałów polimerowych, jak również transportu substancji aktywnych w organizmie w szczególności w tkance mózgowej, pozwoliły na zbudowanie modelu numerycznego umożliwiającego parametryczną ocenę wpływu czynników geometrycznych, struktury materiału, metody enkapsulacji leku we włóknach, jak i własności nanowłókien na profile uwalniania leków. W rezultacie przeprowadzonych badań stworzono materiały do operacji chirurgicznych oparte na trzech lekach neuroprotektycznych: lipofilowego alfa-tokoferolu, oraz hydrofilowych czynników wzrostu NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) i BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). Jako nośników leków użyto biodegradowalnych i biokompatybilnych polimerów poli(L-laktydu-co-kaprolaktonu) PLC, poli(L-laktydu) PLLA, poli(DL-laktydu-co-glikolidu) PDLG. Przeprowadzone we współpracy z Instytutem Medycyny Doświadczalnej i Klinicznej PAN operacje neurochirurgiczne wykonane na modelu zwierzęcym potwierdziły pozytywny wpływ wytworzonych z nanowłókien materiałów na proces regeneracji tkanki nerwowej, zapobiegając jednocześnie szkodliwemu dla tego procesu bliznowaceniu tkanki.In this work the task of preparation of drug release system based on the biodegradable polymeric materials made from nanofibers obtained by electrospinning is presented. The main goal of this work was to create an active dressing for the use in neurosurgery. The work includes experimental and numerical analysis of the release process and transport of the drug to the typical buffer fluid and tissue simulator aimed at finding the optimal conditions to control in time and space the drug concentration distribution. The drug release in proposed mathematical model was described by the adsorption-desorption equation while transport in the porous material by the diffusion equation. Presented analysis of nanofibrous material parameters affecting drug release rate, the mathematical description of the process of local drug release from polymeric materials as well as the transport of active substances in the body, in particular in brain tissue, enabled the construction of a numerical model allowing a parametric evaluation of geometric factors, structure of the material, the drug encapsulation in the fibers, as well as the properties of nanofibers on the drug release profiles. In order to calibrate and validate the numerical model, the experimental system have been proposed to assess transport of the drug analog (rhodamine B and the protein BSA) from the material located in a tissue simulating medium. As a result materials for surgical operations based on three neuroprotective drugs: lipophilic alpha-tocopherol and hydrophilic growth factors NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) and BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) were developed. As a drug carriers biocompatible biodegradable polymers poly(L-lactideco-caprolactone) PLCL, poly(L-lactide) PLLA, poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) PDLG were used. Conducted in collaboration with the Mossakowski Medical Research Centre PAS neurosurgeries performed on an animal model confirmed positive impact of nanofibrous materials on the process of regeneration of nerve tissue, preventing at the same time improper process of tissue scarring