757 research outputs found
Effects of Boron Purity, Mg Stoichiometry and Carbon Substitution on Properties of Polycrystalline MgB
By synthesizing MgB using boron of different nominal purity we found
values of the residual resistivity ratio () from 4 to
20, which covers almost all values found in literature. To obtain high values
of , high purity reagents are necessary. With the isotopically pure boron
we obtained the highest 20 for the stoichiometric compound. We also
investigated MgB samples with 0.8 1.2. For the range
MgB up to MgB we found average values
of between 14 and 24. For smaller variations in stoichiometry () . All of our data point to the conclusion that high
() and low () are intrinsic
material properties associated with high purity MgB. In addition we have
performed initial work on optimizing the formation of carbon doped MgB
via the use of BC. Nearly single phase material can be formed by reaction
of nominal Mg(BC) for 24 hours at . The
for this composition is between and (depending on
criterion).Comment: accepted to Physica C, special MgB2 issu
Effects of stoichiometry, purity, etching and distilling on resistance of MgB2 pellets and wire segments
We present a study of the effects of non-stoichiometry, boron purity, wire
diameter and post-synthesis treatment (etching and Mg distilling) on the
temperature dependent resistance and resistivity of sintered MgB2 pellets and
wire segments. Whereas the residual resistivity ratio (RRR) varies between RRR
\~ 4 to RRR > 20 for different boron purity, it is only moderately affected by
non-stoichiometry (from 20% Mg deficiency to 20% Mg excess) and is apparently
independent of wire diameter and presence of Mg metal traces on the wire
surface. The obtained set of data indicates that RRR values in excess of 20 and
residual resistivities as low as rho{0} ~ 0.4 mu Ohm cm are intrinsic material
properties of high purity MgB2
Phosphate: from stardust to eukaryotic cell cycle control
Phosphorus is a pivotal element in all biochemical systems: it serves to store metabolic energy as ATP, it forms the backbone of genetic material such as RNA and DNA, and it separates cells from the environment as phospholipids. In addition to this “big hits”, phosphorus has recently been shown to play an important role in other important processes such as cell cycle regulation. In the present review, we briefly summarize the biological processes in which phosphorus is involved in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae before discussing our latest findings on the role of this element in the regulation of DNA replication in this eukaryotic model organism. We describe both the role of phosphorus in the regulation of G1 progression by means of the Cyclin Dependent Kinase (CDK) Pho85 and the stabilization of the cyclin Cln3, as well as the role of other molecule composed of phosphorus–the polyphosphate–in cell cycle progression, dNTP synthesis, and genome stability. Given the eminent role played by phosphorus in life, we outline the future of phosphorus in the context of one of the main challenges in human health: cancer treatment. [Int Microbiol 19(3):133-141 (2016)]Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae · Pho85 · cyclin · polyphosphate · cell cycl
Proteinase activity regulation by glycosaminoglycans
There are few reports concerning the biological role and the mechanisms of interaction between proteinases and carbohydrates other than those involved in clotting. It has been shown that the interplay of enzymes and glycosaminoglycans is able to modulate the activity of different proteases and also to affect their structures. From the large number of proteases belonging to the well-known protease families and also the variety of carbohydrates described as widely distributed, only few events have been analyzed more deeply. The term family is used to describe a group of proteases in which every member shows an evolutionary relationship to at least one other protease. This relationship may be evident throughout the entire sequence, or at least in that part of the sequence responsible for catalytic activity. The majority of proteases belong to the serine, cysteine, aspartic or metalloprotease families. By considering the existing limited proteolysis process, in addition to the initial idea that the proteinases participate only in digestive processes, it is possible to conclude that the function of the enzymes is strictly limited to the cleavage of intended substrates since the destruction of functional proteins would result in normal tissue damage. In addition, the location as well as the eventual regulation of protease activity promoted by glycosaminoglycans can play an essential role in the development of several physiopathological conditions.Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação BioquímicaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de BiofísicaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de BiofísicaSciEL
Carbon doping of superconducting magnesium diboride
We present details of synthesis optimization and physical properties of
nearly single phase carbon doped MgB2 with a nominal stoichiometry of
Mg(B{0.8}C{0.2})2 synthesized from magnesium and boron carbide (B4C) as
starting materials. The superconducting transition temperature is ~ 22 K (~ 17
K lower than in pure MgB2). The temperature dependence of the upper critical
field is steeper than in pure MgB2 with Hc2(10K) ~ 9 T. Temperature dependent
specific heat data taken in different applied magnetic fields suggest that the
two-gap nature of superconductivity is still preserved for carbon doped MgB2
even with such a heavily suppressed transition temperature. In addition, the
anisotropy ratio of the upper critical field for T/Tc ~ 2/3 is gamma ~ 2. This
value is distinct from 1 (isotropic) and also distinct from 6 (the value found
for pure MgB2).Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Physica
Effect of pressure on the superconducting transition temperature of doped and neutron-damaged MgB2
Measurements of the superconducting transition temperatures for Al-doped,
C-doped and neutron-damaged-annealed MgB2 samples under pressure up to ~8 kbar
are presented. The dT_c/dP values change systematically with the decrease of
the ambient pressure T_c in a regular fashion. The evolution of the pressure
derivatives can be understood assuming that the change in phonon spectrum is a
dominant contribution to dT_c/dP
Superconductivity in MgB_2 doped with Ti and C
Measurements of the superconducting upper critical field, H_{c2}, and
critical current density, J_c, have been carried out for MgB_2 doped with Ti
and/or C in order to explore the problems encountered if these dopants are used
to enhance the superconducting performance. Carbon replaces boron in the MgB_2
lattice and apparently shortens the electronic mean free path thereby raising
H_c2. Titanium forms precipitates of either TiB or TiB_2 that enhance the flux
pinning and raise J_c. Most of these precipitates are intra-granular in the
MgB_2 phase. If approximately 0.5% Ti and approximately 2% C are co-deposited
with B to form doped boron fibers and these fibers are in turn reacted in Mg
vapor to form MgB_2, the resulting superconductor has H_{c2}(T=0) ~ 25 T and
J_c ~ 10,000 A/cm**2 at 5 K and 2.2 T.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Angular dependence of the bulk nucleation field Hc2 of aligned MgB2 crystallites
Studies on the new MgB2 superconductor, with a critical temperature Tc ~ 39
K, have evidenced its potential for applications although intense magnetic
relaxation effects limit the critical current density, Jc, at high magnetic
fields. This means that effective pinning centers must be added into the
material microstructure, in order to halt dissipative flux movements.
Concerning the basic microscopic mechanism to explain the superconductivity in
MgB2, several experimental and theoretical works have pointed to the relevance
of a phonon-mediated interaction, in the framework of the BCS theory. Questions
have been raised about the relevant phonon modes, and the gap and Fermi surface
anisotropies, in an effort to interpret spectroscopic and thermal data that
give values between 2.4 and 4.5 for the gap energy ratio. Preliminary results
on the anisotropy of Hc2 have shown a ratio, between the in-plane and
perpendicular directions, around 1.7 for aligned MgB2 crystallites and 1.8 for
epitaxial thin films. Here we show a study on the angular dependence of Hc2
pointing to a Fermi velocity anisotropy around 2.5. This anisotropy certainly
implies the use of texturization techniques to optimize Jc in MgB2 wires and
other polycrystalline components.Comment: 10 pages + 4 Figs.; Revised version accepted in Phys. Rev.
On perfect fluid models in non-comoving observational spherical coordinates
We use null spherical (observational) coordinates to describe a class of
inhomogeneous cosmological models. The proposed cosmological construction is
based on the observer past null cone. A known difficulty in using inhomogeneous
models is that the null geodesic equation is not integrable in general. Our
choice of null coordinates solves the radial ingoing null geodesic by
construction. Furthermore, we use an approach where the velocity field is
uniquely calculated from the metric rather than put in by hand. Conveniently,
this allows us to explore models in a non-comoving frame of reference. In this
frame, we find that the velocity field has shear, acceleration and expansion
rate in general. We show that a comoving frame is not compatible with expanding
perfect fluid models in the coordinates proposed and dust models are simply not
possible. We describe the models in a non-comoving frame. We use the dust
models in a non-comoving frame to outline a fitting procedure.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Phys.Rev.
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