1,974 research outputs found
Magnetic correlations in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 from NQR relaxation and specific heat
La-139 and Cu-63 Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) relaxation measurements in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 for O = to or less than 0.3 and in the temperature range 1.6 + 450 K are analyzed in terms of Cu(++) magnetic correlations and dynamics. It is described how the magnetic correlations that would result from Cu-Cu exchange are reduced by mobile charge defects related to x-doping. A comprehensive picture is given which explains satisfactorily the x and T dependence of the correlation time, of the correlation length and of the Neel temperature T(sub n)(x) as well as being consistent with known electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. It is discussed how, in the superconducting samples, the mobile defects also cause the decrease, for T yields T(sub c)(+) of the hyperfine Cu electron-nucleus effective interaction, leading to the coexistence of quasi-localized, reduced magnetic moments from 3d Cu electrons and mobile oxygen p-hole carriers. The temperature dependence of the effective hyperfine field around the superconducting transition yields an activation energy which could be related to the pairing energy. New specific heat measurements are also presented and discussed in terms of the above picture
ADIPOSE TISSUE GROWTH AND MAINTENANCE
Because obesity is fast becoming a global health pandemic, understanding the
molecular and cellular processes that regulate fat mass has acquired new
importance. Characterized by an increase in adipose tissue to the point where it is
associated with adverse health effects, the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled
over the past fifty years. Though for many years adipose tissue was considered to
be merely a storage depot for fatty acids, it is now regarded as an important
endocrine organ involved in the regulation of energy balance, glucose and lipid
homeostasis, blood pressure control, reproduction, inflammation and immune
response. Obesity has an enormous economic burden and it is the second leading
cause of preventable death. The source of increased fat mass in obesity is currently
attributed to two mechanisms: adipocyte hypertrophy, the process by which preexisting
fat cells increase in size due to an accumulation of lipids, and adipocyte
differentiation from fat precursor cells.
Stem cells are defined by the ability to self-renew and differentiate into a variety of
cell types. While some adult organs, including the intestine (Cheng and Leblond,
1974), skin (Oshima et al., 2001), blood (Spangrude et al., 1988), and parts of the
brain (Doetsch et al., 1999; Reynolds and Weiss, 1992), are maintained by stem
cells, others, such as the pancreas (Dor et al., 2004), are not. Though it was recently
demonstrated that there is a substantial degree of cellular turnover within the human
adipocyte population (Spalding et al., 2008), the source of new adipocytes during
one\u2019s lifetime has been entirely attributed to the differentiation of new adipocytes
from preadipocytes and/or stem cells (Avram et al., 2007; Greenwood and Hirsch,
1974; Hausman et al., 2001; Lemonnier, 1972; Salans et al., 1971; Spalding et al.,
2008; Tang et al., 2008). Adipocytes are thought to represent a terminal stage of
differentiation and are widely believed to lack proliferative ability (Prins and
O'Rahilly, 1997). Through four independent experimental approaches \u2014dilution of
an inducible histone 2B-green fluorescent protein (H2BGFP) through cell division,
incorporation of BrdU, labeling with the cell cycle marker Ki67, and genetic
lineage analysis, we aimed to investigate the adult adipose tissue maintenance and
its behavior in the cell cycle
Anelastic relaxation and La NQR in LaSrCuO around the critical Sr content x=0.02
Anelastic relaxation and La NQR relaxation measurements in
LaSrCuO for Sr content x around 2 and 3 percent, are presented
and discussed in terms of spin and lattice excitations and ordering processes.
It is discussed how the phase diagram of LaSrCuO at the
boundary between the antiferromagnetic (AF) and the spin-glass phase (x = 0.02)
could be more complicate than previous thought, with a transition to a
quasi-long range ordered state at T = 150 K, as indicated by recent neutron
scattering data. On the other hand, the La NQR spectra are compatible
with a transition to a conventional AF phase around T = 50 K, in agreement with
the phase diagram commonly accepted in the literature. In this case the
relaxation data, with a peak of magnetic origin in the relaxation rate around
150 K at 12 MHz and the anelastic counterparts around 80 K in the kHz range,
yield the first evidence in LaSrCuO of freezing involving
simultaneously lattice and spin excitations. This excitation could correspond
to the motion of charged stripes.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Two-bands effect on the superconducting fluctuating diamagnetism in MgB₂
The field dependence of the magnetization above the transition temperature Tc
in MgB₂ is shown to evidence a diamagnetic contribution consistent with
superconducting fluctuations reflecting both the σ and π bands. In
particular, the upturn field Hup in the magnetization curve, related to the
incipient effect of the magnetic field in quenching the fluctuating pairs,
displays a double structure, in correspondence to two correlation lengths. The
experimental findings are satisfactorily described by the extension to the
diamagnetism of a recent theory for paraconductivity, in the framework of a
zero-dimensional model for the fluctuating superconducting droplets above Tc
Coupling between 4f and itinerant electrons in SmFeAsO1-xFx (0.15 < x < 0.2) superconductors: an NMR study
F NMR measurements in SmFeAsOF, for ,
are presented. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate increases upon
cooling with a trend analogous to the one already observed in
CeCuAu, a quasi two-dimensional heavy-fermion intermetallic
compound with an antiferromagnetic ground-state. In particular, the behaviour
of the relaxation rate either in SmFeAsOF or in
CeCuAu can be described in the framework of the self-consistent
renormalization theory for weakly itinerant electron systems. Remarkably, no
effect of the superconducting transition on F is detected, a
phenomenon which can hardly be explained within a single band model.Comment: 4 figure
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