Higher-order contributions to the Rashba-Bychkov effect with application to Bi/Ag(111) surface alloy

In order to explain the anisotropic Rashba-Bychkov effect observed in several metallic surface-state systems, we use k.p perturbation theory with a simple group-theoretical analysis and construct effective Rashba Hamiltonians for different point groups up to third order in the wavenumber. We perform relativistic ab initio calculations for the Bi/Ag(111) ordered surface alloy and from the calculated splitting of the band dispersion we find evidence of the predicted third-order terms. Furthermore, we derive expressions for the corresponding third-order Rashba parameters to provide a simple explanation to the qualitative difference concerning the Rashba-Bychkov splitting of the surface states at Au(111) and Bi/Ag(111).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Beta-Amyloid Peptides Enhance the Proliferative Response of Activated CD4+CD28+ Lymphocytes from Alzheimer Disease Patients and from Healthy Elderly

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia among elderly. Despite the vast amount of literature on non-specific immune mechanisms in AD there is still little information about the potential antigen-specific immune response in this pathology. It is known that early stages of AD include β-amyloid (Aβ)- reactive antibodies production and inflammatory response. Despite some evidence gathered proving cellular immune response background in AD pathology, the specific reactions of CD4+ and CD8+ cells remain unknown as the previous investigations yielded conflicting results. Here we investigated the CD4+CD28+ population of human peripheral blood T cells and showed that soluble β-amyloids alone were unable to stimulate these cells to proliferate significantly, resulting only in minor, probably antigen-specific, proliferative response. On the other hand, the exposure of in vitro pre-stimulated lymphocytes to soluble Aβ peptides significantly enhanced the proliferative response of these cells which had also lead to increased levels of TNF, IL-10 and IL-6. We also proved that Aβ peptide-enhanced proliferative response of CD4+CD28+ cells is autonomous and independent from disease status while being associated with the initial, ex vivo activation status of the CD4+ cells. In conclusion, we suggest that the effect of Aβ peptides on the immune system of AD patients does not depend on the specific reactivity to Aβ epitope(s), but is rather a consequence of an unspecific modulation of the cell cycle dynamics and cytokine production by T cells, occurring simultaneously in a huge proportion of Aβ peptide-exposed T lymphocytes and affecting the immune system performance

Rigidité d'une zone tendue de béton armé

Non linear methods for computing deflections of reinforced concrete linear structures in cracked stage are now spreading rapidly. In some latest reinforced concrete codes and manuals, the basic assumption regarding such calculations lies in the relationship between the mean steel (or concrete) strain and the steel strain in a fully cracked section. The authors have established a state-of-the-art for such relationships. All proposed formulas can practically be written in the following form: {Mathematical expression} where ε m stands for the mean steel and concrete strain, ε s the steel strain in a cracked section and where Δθ represents the tension stiffening effect of concrete lying between the cracks. Various propositions have been made for the relationship between Δθ and the steel stress (e.g. constant, linear, hyperbolic,); other important factors too are the strength of concrete in tension and the reinforcement ratio. Considering that little experimental evidence supports the various propositions, an experimental program on thirteen reinforced concrete prisms (ties) subjected to uniaxial tension was carried out. The influence of the reinforcement ratio is especially studied. Careful assessment of the validity of previous formulas is made. A new bilinear relationship between the tension stiffening effect and the steel stress is proposed for analytical calculations. © 1985 Bordas-Gauthier-Villars.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Assessment of the Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High Purity Niobium after Cold Work and Heat Treatment with the HL-LHC Crab Cavities as Benchmark

The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is the upgrade of the world’s largest particle collider; it will allow the full exploitation of the LHC potential and its operation beyond 2025. An essential part of the HL-LHC project are the Crab Cavities, that are particle de-flecting SRF cavities of non-axisymmetric shape made of bulk ultra-high purity Nb. Since the cavities are produced by complex metal sheet forming processes, followed by a heat treatment (HT) for H outgassing (650 °C, 24 h), there is uncertainty on their mechanical properties after manu-facturing and in service conditions (2 K). Mechanical tests at room temperature have been conducted on RRR300 pure Nb samples. The samples were previously submitted, by cold cross-rolling, to different levels of plastic deformation representative of the effective plastic strain seen by the Nb sheets during forming operations. Moreover, a comparison of the mechanical properties of cold cross-rolled samples before and after HT has been established. Results of evolution of the microstructure and hardness are also presented. This study can be of interest for Nb cavities to be submitted to HT at 650 °C, and may help to push the design of novel SRF cavities

Variation of the crystalline structure of coal char during gasification

The variation of the crystallite structure of several coal chars during gasification in air and carbon dioxide was studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The XRD analysis of the partially gasified coal chars, based on two approaches, Scherrer's equation and Alexander and Sommer's method, shows a contradictory trend of the variation of the crystallite height with carbon conversion, despite giving a similar trend for the crystallite width change. The HRTEM fringe images of the partially gasified coal chars indicate that large and highly ordered crystallites exist at conversion levels as high as 86%. It is also demonstrated that the crystalline structure of chars can be very different although their pore structures are similar, suggesting a combination of crystalline structure analysis with pore structure analysis in studies of carbon gasification