3,475 research outputs found
Theory of the critical current in two-band superconductors with application to MgB2
Using a Green's function formulation of the superfluid current j_s, where a
momentum q_s is applied to the Cooper pair, we have calculated j_s as a
function of q_s, temperature, and impurity scattering for a two-band
superconductor. We consider both renormalized BCS and full strong-coupling
Eliashberg theory. There are two peaks in the current as a function of q_s due
to the two energy scales for the gaps and this can give rise to non-standard
behavior for the critical current. The critical current j_c, which is given as
the maximum in j_s, can exhibit a kink as a function of temperature as the
maximum is transferred from one peak to other. Other temperature variations are
also possible and the universal BCS behavior is violated. The details depend on
the material parameters of the system, such as the amount of coupling between
the bands, the gap anisotropy, the Fermi velocities, and the density of states
of each band. The Ginzburg-Landau relation between j_c, the penetration depth
lambda_L and thermodynamic critical field H_c, is modified. Using Eliashberg
theory with the electron-phonon spectral densities given from bandstructure
calculations, we have applied our calculations for j_s and j_c to the case of
MgB2 and find agreement with experiment.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR
Nonlinear current response of one- and two-band superconductors
We have calculated the nonlinear current of a number of single band s-wave
electron-phonon superconductors. Among issues considered were those of
dimensionality, strong electron-phonon coupling, impurities, and comparison
with BCS. For the case of two bands, particular attention is paid to the role
of anisotropy, the integration effects of the off-diagonal electron-phonon
interaction, as well as inter- and intraband impurities. For the specific case
of MgB2, we present results based on the known microscopic parameters of band
theory.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Considering the impact of situation-specific motivations and constraints in the design of naturally ventilated and hybrid buildings
A simple logical model of the interaction between a building and its occupants is presented based on the principle that if free to do so, people will adjust their posture, clothing or available building controls (windows, blinds, doors, fans, and thermostats) with the aim of achieving or restoring comfort and reducing discomfort. These adjustments are related to building design in two ways: first the freedom to adjust depends on the availability and ease-of-use of control options; second the use of controls affects building comfort and energy performance. Hence it is essential that these interactions are considered in the design process. The model captures occupant use of controls in response to thermal stimuli (too warm, too cold etc.) and non-thermal stimuli (e.g. desire for fresh air). The situation-specific motivations and constraints on control use are represented through trigger temperatures at which control actions occur, motivations are included as negative constraints and incorporated into a single constraint value describing the specifics of each situation. The values of constraints are quantified for a range of existing buildings in Europe and Pakistan. The integration of the model within a design flow is proposed and the impact of different levels of constraints demonstrated. It is proposed that to minimise energy use and maximise comfort in naturally ventilated and hybrid buildings the designer should take the following steps: 1. Provide unconstrained low energy adaptive control options where possible, 2. Avoid problems with indoor air quality which provide motivations for excessive ventilation rates, 3. Incorporate situation-specific adaptive behaviour of occupants in design simulations, 4. Analyse the robustness of designs against variations in patterns of use and climate, and 5. Incorporate appropriate comfort standards into the operational building controls (e.g. BEMS)
Analysis of the transcriptome of the infective stage of the beet cyst nematode, H. schachtii
The beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii, is a major root pest that significantly impacts the yield of sugar beet, brassicas and related species. There has been limited molecular characterisation of this important plant pathogen: to identify target genes for its control the transcriptome of the pre-parasitic J2 stage of H. schachtii was sequenced using Roche GS FLX. Ninety seven percent of reads (i.e., 387,668) with an average PHRED score > 22 were assembled with CAP3 and CLC Genomics Workbench into 37,345 and 47,263 contigs, respectively. The transcripts were annotated by comparing with gene and genomic sequences of other nematodes and annotated proteins on public databases. The annotated transcripts were much more similar to sequences of Heterodera glycines than to those of Globodera pallida and root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.). Analysis of these transcripts showed that a subset of 2,918 transcripts was common to free-living and plant parasitic nematodes suggesting that this subset is involved in general nematode metabolism and development. A set of 148 contigs and 183 singletons encoding putative homologues of effectors previously characterised for plant parasitic nematodes were also identified: these are known to be important for parasitism of host plants during migration through tissues or feeding from cells or are thought to be involved in evasion or modulation of host defences. In addition, the presence of sequences from a nematode virus is suggested. The sequencing and annotation of this transcriptome significantly adds to the genetic data available for H. schachtii, and identifies genes primed to undertake required roles in the critical pre-parasitic and early post-parasitic J2 stages. These data provide new information for identifying potential gene targets for future protection of susceptible crops against H. schachtii
Symmetry dependence of phonon lineshapes in superconductors with anisotropic gaps
The temperature dependence below of the lineshape of optical phonons
of different symmetry as seen in Raman scattering is investigated for
superconductors with anisotropic energy gaps. It is shown that the symmetry of
the electron-phonon vertex produces non-trivial couplings to an anisotropic
energy gap which leads to unique changes in the phonon lineshape for phonons of
different symmetry. The phonon lineshape is calculated in detail for
and phonons in a superconductor with pairing
symmetry. The role of satellite peaks generated by the electron-phonon coupling
are also addressed. The theory accounts for the substantial phonon narrowing of
the phonon, while narrowing of the phonon which is
indistinguishable from the normal state is shown, in agreement with recent
measurements on BSCCO.Comment: 15 pages (3 Figures available upon request), Revtex, 1
The effect of lockdown on intentional and nonintentional injury during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa: A preliminary report
Background. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown restrictions and a ban on alcohol sales were introduced in South Africa. Objectives. To investigate the impact of lockdown measures on the number of patients who visited a tertiary urban trauma centre. Methods. The period of investigation was from 1 February to 30 June 2020 and was segmented into three intervals: pre-lockdown (February and March 2020), hard lockdown (April and May 2020) and immediately post lockdown (June 2020). The electronic HECTIS health record registry was interrogated for the total number of patients that were seen per month. These were further categorised according to mechanism of injury (stab, gunshot, blunt assault and road traffic injuries). Penetrating (stab and gunshot) and blunt assault victims were collectively grouped as violent trauma. Results. The mean total number of patients seen decreased by 53% during the hard lockdown period. There was a moderate reduction (15%) in patients with gunshot injuries seen during the hard lockdown phase, but there was an 80% increase in the post-lockdown period. The proportion of patients injured in road traffic collisions pre lockdown, hard lockdown and immediate post lockdown was 16.4%, 8.9% and 11.1%, respectively. Patients injured in road traffic collisions decreased by 74% during the hard lockdown period and maintained a reduction of 32% during the immediate post-lockdown period. The mean total number of patients who visited the trauma unit returned to pre-lockdown levels in June. Conclusions. There was an overall trend of reduced number of patients who visited the trauma unit during the hard lockdown period; however, these numbers returned to pre-lockdown levels during the immediate post-lockdown period. The number of road traffic injury admissions remained reduced during all three phases of lockdown, while the number of gunshot victims increased substantially during the post-lockdown period
Injury Severity Score coding: Data analyst v. emerging m-health technology
Background. The cost of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) coding has limited its utility in areas of the world with the highest incidence of trauma. We hypothesised that emerging mobile health (m-health) technology could offer a cost-effective alternative to the current goldstandard AIS mechanism in a high-volume trauma centre in South Africa.Methods. A prospectively collected sample of consecutive patients admitted following a traumatic injury that required an operation during a 1-month period was selected for the study. AISs and Injury Severity Scores (ISSs) were generated by clinician-entered data using an m-health application (ISS eTHR) as well as by a team of AIS coders at Vancouver General Hospital, Canada (ISS VGH). Rater agreements for ISSs were analysed using Bland-Altman plots with 95% limits of agreement (LoA) and kappa statistics of the ISSs grouped into ordinal categories. Reliability was analysed using a two-way mixed-model intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Calibration and discrimination of univariate logistic regression models built to predict in-hospital complications using ISSs coded by the two methods were also compared.Results. Fifty-seven patients were managed operatively during the study period. The mean age of the cohort was 27.2 years (range 14 - 62), and 96.3% were male. The mechanism of injury was penetrating in 93.4% of cases, of which 52.8% were gunshot injuries. The LoA fell within –8.6 - 9.4. The mean ISS difference was 0.4 (95% CI –0.8 - 1.6). The kappa statistic was 0.53. The ICC of the individual ISS was 0.88 (95% CI 0.81 - 0.93) and the categorical ISS was 0.81 (95% CI 0.68 - 0.87). Model performance to predict in-hospital complications using either the ISS eTHR or the ISS VGH was equivalent.Conclusions. ISSs calculated by the eTHR and gold-standard coding were comparable. Emerging m-health technology provides a costeffective alternative for injury severity scoring
Parity Fluctuations Between Coulomb Blockaded Superconducting Islands
We find that if two superconducting islands of different number parity are
linked by a tunnel junction the unpaired electron in the odd island has a
tendency to tunnel into the even island. This process leads to fluctuations in
time of the number parity of each island, giving rise to a random telegraph
noise spectrum with a characteristic frequency that has an unusual temperature
dependence. This new phenomenon should be observable in a Cooper-pair pump and
similar single-electron tunneling devices.Comment: 4 pages, self-unpacking uuencoded gz-compressed postscript file with
3 figures included; also available at
http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/janko/publications.htm
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