194 research outputs found
Defect formation in superconducting rings: external fields and finite-size effects
Consistent with the predictions of Kibble and Zurek, scaling behaviour has
been seen in the production of fluxoids during temperature quenches of
superconducting rings. However, deviations from the canonical behaviour arise
because of finite-size effects and stray external fields.
Technical developments, including laser heating and the use of long Josephson
tunnel junctions, have improved the quality of data that can be obtained. With
new experiments in mind we perform large-scale 3D simulations of quenches of
small, thin rings of various geometries with fully dynamical electromagnetic
fields, at nonzero externally applied magnetic flux. We find that the outcomes
are, in practice, indistinguishable from those of much simpler Gaussian
analytical approximations in which the rings are treated as one-dimensional
systems and the magnetic field fluctuation-free.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, presentation at QFS2012, to appear in JLT
Optical properties and electronic structure of Ca-doped alpha'-NaV2O5
The dielectric function of alpha'-Na(1-x)Ca(x)V2O5 (0 < x < 20%) was measured
for the a and b axes in the photon energy range 0.8-4.5 eV at room temperature.
By varying the Ca-concentration we control the relative abundancy of V4+ and
V5+. We observe that the intensity of the main optical absorption peak at 1 eV
is proportional to the number of V5+ ions. This rules out the interpretation as
a V4+ d-d excitation, and it establishes that this is the on-rung
bonding-antibonding transition.Comment: 6 pages, ReVTeX, 5 figures in encapsulated postscript forma
Infrared and Raman spectra of LiV2O5 single crystals
The phonon dynamics of LiV2O5 single crystals is studied using infrared and
Raman spectroscopy techniques. The infrared-active phonon frequencies and
dielectric constants are obtained by oscillator fitting procedure of the
reflectivity data measured at room temperature. The Raman scattering spectra
are measured at room temperature and at T=10 K in all nonequivalent polarized
configurations. The assignment of the phonons is done by comparing the infrared
and Raman spectra of LiV2O5 and NaV2O5. The factor-group-analysis of the LiV2O5
crystal symmetry and of its constituent layers is performed to explain the
symmetry properties of the observed modes. We concluded that layer symmetry
dominates in the vibrational properties of this compound.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Magnetic bound states in the quarter-filled ladder system }
Raman scattering in the quarter-filled spin ladder system alpha'-NaV_2O_5
shows in the dimerized singlet ground state () an unexpected
sequence of three magnetic bound states. Our results suggest that the recently
proposed mapping onto an effective spin chain for has to be given
up in favor of the full topology and exchange paths of a ladder in the
dimerized phase for . As the new ground state we propose a dynamic
superposition of energetically nearly degenerate dimer configurations on the
ladder.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PRB, brief reports, Dec. 199
Low temperature ellipsometry of NaV2O5
The dielectric function of alpha'NaV2O5 was measured with electric field
along the a and b axes in the photon energy range 0.8-4.5 eV for temperatures
down to 4K. We observe a pronounced decrease of the intensity of the 1 eV peak
upon increasing temperature with an activation energy of about 25meV,
indicating that a finite fraction of the rungs becomes occupied with two
electrons while others are emptied as temperature increases. No appreciable
shifts of peaks were found s in the valence state of individual V atoms at the
phase transition is very small. A remarkable inflection of this temperature
dependence at the phase transition at 34 K indicates that charge ordering is
associated with the low temperature phase.Comment: Revisions in style and order of presentation. One new figure. In
press in Physical Review B. REVTeX, 4 pages with 4 postscript figure
Ultrasensitive PCR system for HBV DNA detection: Risk stratification for occult hepatitis B virus infection in English blood donors
Occult hepatitis B (HBV) infection (OBI), characterized by low viral loads, accounts for much of the risk of HBV transfusion-transmitted infection. With anticore antibodies (anti-HBc) screening introduced in England, the imperative to identify OBI donors has increased. We aimed to develop an ultra-sensitive PCR system and investigate risk factors for HBV DNA presence in blood donations. Seven extraction methods and three PCR assays were compared. The optimal system was sought to determine HBV DNA presence in anti-HBc-positive donations. Predictors of DNA positivity were subsequently investigated. Extraction from 5 mL of plasma increased sample representation and resulted in HBV DNA detection in low viral load samples (~0.5 IU/mL). Screening of 487 763 donations in 2022 identified two OBI donors and 2042 anti-HBc-positive donors, 412 of the latter with anti-HBs < 100 mIU/mL. Testing of 134 anti-HBc-positive donations utilizing the 5 mL extraction method identified two further HBV DNA-positive donations. Higher anti-HBc titer and anti-HBs negativity were significant predictors of DNA detectability in anti-HBc-positive donations. An ultrasensitive PCR assay identified potentially infectious donations increasing HBV DNA detection in anti-HBc-positive donors from 0.5% to 1.9%. Anti-HBc titers may further complement the risk stratification for DNA positivity in anti-HBc screening and minimize unnecessary donor deferral
One-dimensional dynamics of the d-electrons in -NaVO
We have studied the electronic properties of the ladder compound
-NaVO, adopting a joint experimental and theoretical
approach. The momentum-dependent loss function was measured using electron
energy-loss spectroscopy in transmission. The optical conductivity derived from
the loss function by a Kramers-Kronig analysis agrees well with our results
from LSDA+U band-structure calculations upon application of an
antiferromagnetic alignment of the V~3 spins along the legs and an
on-site Coulomb interaction U of between 2 and 3 eV. The decomposition of the
calculated optical conductivity into contributions from transitions between
selected energy regions of the DOS reveals the origin of the observed
anisotropy of the optical conductivity. In addition, we have investigated the
plasmon excitations related to transitions between the vanadium states within
an effective 16 site vanadium cluster model. Good agreement between the
theoretical and experimental loss function was obtained using the hopping
parameters derived from the tight binding fit to the band-structure and
moderate Coulomb interactions between the electrons within the ab plane.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures; submitted to PR
Healthcare-associated outbreak of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: role of a cryptic variant of an epidemic clone
BACKGROUND
New strains of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be associated with changes in rates of disease or clinical presentation. Conventional typing techniques may not detect new clonal variants that underlie changes in epidemiology or clinical phenotype.
AIM
To investigate the role of clonal variants of MRSA in an outbreak of MRSA bacteraemia at a hospital in England.
METHODS
Bacteraemia isolates of the major UK lineages (EMRSA-15 and -16) from before and after the outbreak were analysed by whole-genome sequencing in the context of epidemiological and clinical data. For comparison, EMRSA-15 and -16 isolates from another hospital in England were sequenced. A clonal variant of EMRSA-16 was identified at the outbreak hospital and a molecular signature test designed to distinguish variant isolates among further EMRSA-16 strains.
FINDINGS
By whole-genome sequencing, EMRSA-16 isolates during the outbreak showed strikingly low genetic diversity (P < 1 × 10(-6), Monte Carlo test), compared with EMRSA-15 and EMRSA-16 isolates from before the outbreak or the comparator hospital, demonstrating the emergence of a clonal variant. The variant was indistinguishable from the ancestral strain by conventional typing. This clonal variant accounted for 64/72 (89%) of EMRSA-16 bacteraemia isolates at the outbreak hospital from 2006.
CONCLUSIONS
Evolutionary changes in epidemic MRSA strains not detected by conventional typing may be associated with changes in disease epidemiology. Rapid and affordable technologies for whole-genome sequencing are becoming available with the potential to identify and track the emergence of variants of highly clonal organisms
Lattice vibrations of alpha'-NaV2O5
We have measured far infrared reflectance and transmittance spectra as well
as Raman scattering spectra of \alpha'-NaV2O5 single crystals for all the
principal polarizations. The temperature range above the phase transition
temperature T_c=35 K was investigated, mainly. On the basis of this
experimental study and of the lattice dynamics calculations we conclude that
the symmetry of NaV2O5 in the high temperature phase is described by the
centrosymmetric D_{2h}^{13} space group. The assignment of the observed phonons
is given. Values of dielectric constants are obtained from the infrared data.
Asymmetric shapes of several infrared lines as well as higher order infrared
vibrational spectra are discussed. The crystal field energy levels of the 3d
electron localized at the V^{4+} site have been calculated in the framework of
the exchange charge model using the values of effective charges obtained from
the lattice dynamics calculations. According to the results of these
calculations, the earlier observed broad optical bands in the region of 1 eV
can be interpreted as phonon assisted d-d transitions.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables; submitted to PR
Lattice vibrations of alpha'-NaV_2O_5 in the low-temperature phase. Magnetic bound states?
We report high resolution polarized infrared studies of the quarter-filled
spin ladder compound alpha'-NaV_2O_5 as a function of temperature (5K <= T <=
300K). Numerous new modes were detected below the temperature T_c=34K of the
phase transition into a charge ordered nonmagnetic state accompanied by a
lattice dimerization. We analyse the Brillouin zone (BZ) folding due to lattice
dimerization at T_c and show that some peculiarities of the low-temperature
vibrational spectrum come from quadruplets folded from the BZ point (1/2, 1/2,
1/4). We discuss an earlier interpretation of the 70, 107, and 133cm-1 modes as
magnetic bound states and propose the alternative interpretation as folded
phonon modes strongly interacting with charge and spin excitations.Comment: 15 pages, 13 Postscript figure
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