88 research outputs found
Effect of sintering under CO+N2/H2 and CO2+air atmospheres on the physicochemical features of a commercial nano-YSZ
Given the need to process anodes and composites based on nano-YSZ in reducing or in air containing additional CO2 atmospheres for the fabrication of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), we have studied the effect of the exposure to CO+N2/H2 or CO2+air mixtures during sintering of YSZ green pellets, prepared from commercial nanopowders, on their structure, microstructure, chemical composition and their electrical properties. The reduced sample shows Raman bands at 1298 and 1605 cm−1 that are assigned to the D and G bands of carbon, respectively. The bands intensity ratio ID/IG indicates a larger content of disordered carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that C is present in the reduced samples as reduced carbon. However, the samples sintered in CO2+air present C as carbonate-type. Impedance spectroscopy reveals that the highest total conductivity is for the reduced samples in the whole range of studied temperatures. In addition, sintering in CO2+air causes a detrimental effect on the grain boundary conductivity and therefore, on the total electrical conductivity of YSZ. It can be due to the presence of impurities such as carbonates and oxidised or even, polymerised carbonaceous species located at those areas.España Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and cofinanced with FEDER Funds under the Grant PID2019-104118RB-C2
Observation of negative absolute resistance in a Josephson junction
We experimentally demonstrate the occurrence of negative absolute resistance
(NAR) up to about in response to an externally applied dc current
for a shunted Nb-Al/AlO-Nb Josephson junction, exposed to a microwave
current at frequencies in the GHz range. The realization (or not) of NAR
depends crucially on the amplitude of the applied microwave current.
Theoretically, the system is described by means of the resistively and
capacitively shunted junction model in terms of a moderately damped, classical
Brownian particle dynamics in a one-dimensional potential. We find excellent
agreement of the experimental results with numerical simulations of the model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Revie
Electron paramagnetic resonance study of ferroelectric phase transition and dynamic effects in a Mn²⁺ doped [NH₄][Zn(HCOO)₃] hybrid formate framework
We present an X- and Q-band continuous wave (CW) and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of a manganese doped [NH4][Zn(HCOO)3] hybrid framework, which exhibits a ferroelectric structural phase transition at 190 K. The CW EPR spectra obtained at different temperatures exhibit clear changes at the phase transition temperature. This suggests a successful substitution of the Zn2+ ions by the paramagnetic Mn2+ centers, which is further confirmed by the pulse EPR and 1H ENDOR experiments. Spectral simulations of the CW EPR spectra are used to obtain the temperature dependence of the Mn2+ zero-field splitting, which indicates a gradual deformation of the MnO6 octahedra indicating a continuous character of the transition. The determined data allow us to extract the critical exponent of the order parameter (β = 0.12), which suggests a quasi two-dimensional ordering in [NH4][Zn(HCOO)3]. The experimental EPR results are supported by the density functional theory calculations of the zero-field splitting parameters. Relaxation time measurements of the Mn2+ centers indicate that the longitudinal relaxation is mainly driven by the optical phonons, which correspond to the vibrations of the metal–oxygen octahedra. The temperature behavior of the transverse relaxation indicates a dynamic process in the ordered ferroelectric phase
Brownian motion exhibiting absolute negative mobility
We consider a single Brownian particle in a spatially symmetric, periodic
system far from thermal equilibrium. This setup can be readily realized
experimentally. Upon application of an external static force F, the average
particle velocity is negative for F>0 and positive for F<0 (absolute negative
mobility).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PR
Vilnius Declaration on chronic respiratory diseases : multisectoral care pathways embedding guided self-management, mHealth and air pollution in chronic respiratory diseases
Correction: Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Article Number: 49 DOI: 10.1186/s13601-020-00357-4 Published: DEC 17 2020Background: Over 1 billion people suffer from chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, rhinitis and rhinosinusitis. They cause an enormous burden and are considered as major non-communicable diseases. Many patients are still uncontrolled and the cost of inaction is unacceptable. A meeting was held in Vilnius, Lithuania (March 23, 2018) under the patronage of the Ministry of Health and several scientific societies to propose multisectoral care pathways embedding guided self-management, mHealth and air pollution in selected chronic respiratory diseases (rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma and COPD). The meeting resulted in the Vilnius Declaration that was developed by the participants of the EU Summit on chronic respiratory diseases under the leadership of Euforea. Conclusion: The Vilnius Declaration represents an important step for the fight against air pollution in chronic respiratory diseases globally and has a clear strategic relevance with regard to the EU Health Strategy as it will bring added value to the existing public health knowledge.Peer reviewe
Electronic properties and phase transitions in low-dimensional semiconductors
We present the first review of the current state of the literature on
electronic properties and phase transitions in TlX and TlMX2 (M = Ga, In; X =
Se, S, Te) compounds. These chalcogenides belong to a family of the
low-dimensional semiconductors possessing chain or layered structure. They are
of significant interest because of their highly anisotropic properties, semi-
and photoconductivity, non-linear effects in their I-V characteristics
(including a region of negative differential resistance), switching and memory
effects, second harmonic optical generation, relaxor behavior and potential
applications for optoelectronic devices. We review the crystal structure of TlX
and TlMX2 compounds, their transport properties under ambient conditions,
experimental and theoretical studies of the electronic structure, transport
properties and semiconductor-metal phase transitions under high pressure, and
sequences of temperature-induced structural phase transitions with intermediate
incommensurate states. Electronic nature of the ferroelectric phase transitions
in the above-mentioned compounds, as well as relaxor behavior, nanodomains and
possible occurrence of quantum dots in doped and irradiated crystals is
discussed.Comment: 70 pages, 38 figure
Clinical relevance and biology of circulating tumor cells
Most breast cancer patients die due to metastases, and the early onset of this multistep process is usually missed by current tumor staging modalities. Therefore, ultrasensitive techniques have been developed to enable the enrichment, detection, isolation and characterization of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow and circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of cancer patients. There is increasing evidence that the presence of these cells is associated with an unfavorable prognosis related to metastatic progression in the bone and other organs. This review focuses on investigations regarding the biology and clinical relevance of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer
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