6,077 research outputs found
Structural and Correlation Effects in the Itinerant Insulating Antiferromagnetic Perovskite NaOsO3
The orthorhombic perovskite NaOsO3 undergoes a continuous metal-insulator
transition (MIT), accompanied by antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at T_N=410 K,
suggested to be an example of the rare Slater (itinerant) MIT. We study this
system using ab initio and related methods, focusing on the origin and nature
of magnetic ordering and the MIT. The rotation and tilting of OsO6 octahedra in
the GdFeO3 structure result in moderate narrowing the band width of the t_{2g}
manifold, but sufficient to induce flattening of bands and AFM order within the
local spin density approximation (LSDA), where it remains metallic but with a
deep pseudogap. Including on-site Coulomb repulsion U, at U_c ~2 eV a MIT
occurs only in the AFM state. Effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on the band
structure seem minor as expected for a half-filled shell, but SOC
doubles the critical value U_c necessary to open a gap and also leads to large
magnetocrystalline energy differences in spite of normal orbital moments no
greater than 0.1. Our results are consistent with a Slater MIT driven by
magnetic order, induced by a combination of structurally-induced band narrowing
and moderate Coulomb repulsion, with SOC necessary for a full picture. Strong
p-d hybridization reduces the moment, and when bootstrapped by the reduced
Hund's rule coupling (proportional to the moment) gives a calculated moment of
~1 , consistent with the observed moment and only a third of the formal
value. We raise and discuss one important question: since this AFM
ordering is at q=0 (in the 20 atom cell) where nesting is a moot issue, what is
the microscopic driving force for ordering and the accompanying MIT?Comment: 9 page
A novel route to a finite center-of-mass momentum pairing state; current driven FFLO state
The previously studied Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state is
stabilized by a magnetic field via the Zeeman coupling in spin-singlet
superconductors. Here we suggest a novel route to achieve non-zero
center-of-mass momentum pairing states in superconductors with Fermi surface
nesting. We investigate two-dimensional superconductors under a uniform
external current, which leads to a finite pair-momentum of . We
find that an FFLO state with a spontaneous pair-momentum of is
stabilized above a certain critical current which depends on the direction of
the external current. A finite arises in order to make the total
pair-momentum of perpendicular to the
nesting vector, which lowers the free energy of the FFLO state, as compared to
the superconducting and normal states. We also suggest experimental signatures
of the FFLO state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Moving boundary and photoelastic coupling in GaAs optomechanical resonators
Chip-based cavity optomechanical systems are being considered for
applications in sensing, metrology, and quantum information science. Critical
to their development is an understanding of how the optical and mechanical
modes interact, quantified by the coupling rate . Here, we develop GaAs
optomechanical resonators and investigate the moving dielectric boundary and
photoelastic contributions to . First, we consider coupling between the
fundamental radial breathing mechanical mode and a 1550 nm band optical
whispering gallery mode in microdisks. For decreasing disk radius from
m to m, simulations and measurements show that changes
from being dominated by the moving boundary contribution to having an equal
photoelastic contribution. Next, we design and demonstrate nanobeam
optomechanical crystals in which a GHz mechanical breathing mode couples
to a 1550 nm optical mode predominantly through the photoelastic effect. We
show a significant (30 ) dependence of on the device's in-plane
orientation, resulting from the difference in GaAs photoelastic coefficients
along different crystalline axes, with fabricated devices exhibiting
as high as 1.1 MHz for orientation along the [110] axis.
GaAs nanobeam optomechanical crystals are a promising system which can combine
the demonstrated large optomechanical coupling strength with additional
functionality, such as piezoelectric actuation and incorporation of optical
gain media
Parity violation in low energy neutron deuteron scattering
Parity violating effects for low energy elastic neutron deuteron scattering
are calculated for DDH and EFT-type of weak potentials in a Distorted Wave Born
Approximation, using realistic hadronic strong interaction wave functions,
obtained by solving three-body Faddeev equations in configuration space. The
results of relation between physical observables and low energy constants can
be used to fix low energy constants from experiments. Potential model
dependencies of parity violating effects are discussed.Comment: version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Body mass-normalized moderate dose of dietary nitrate intake improves endothelial function and walking capacity in patients with peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is characterized by the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques in the lower extremity conduit arteries, which impairs blood flow and walking capacity. Dietary nitrate has been used to reduce blood pressure (BP) and improve walking capacity in PAD. However, a standardized dose for PAD has not been determined. Therefore, we sought to determine the effects of a body mass-normalized moderate dose of nitrate (0.11 mmol nitrate/kg) as beetroot juice on serum nitrate/nitrite, vascular function, walking capacity, and tissue oxygen utilization capacity in patients with PAD. A total of 11 patients with PAD received either nitrate supplement or placebo in a randomized crossover design. Total serum nitrate/nitrite, resting BP, brachial and popliteal artery endothelial function (flow-mediated dilation, FMD), arterial stiffness (pulse-wave velocity, PWV), augmentation index (AIx), maximal walking distance and time, claudication onset time, and skeletal muscle oxygen utilization were measured pre- and postnitrate and placebo intake. There were significant group × time interactions (P \u3c 0.05) for serum nitrate/nitrite, FMD, BP, walking distance and time, and skeletal muscle oxygen utilization. The nitrate group showed significantly increased serum nitrate/nitrite (Δ1.32 μM), increased brachial and popliteal FMD (Δ1.3% and Δ1.7%, respectively), reduced peripheral and central systolic BP (Δ−4.7 mmHg and Δ−8.2 mmHg, respectively), increased maximal walking distance (Δ92.7 m) and time (Δ56.3 s), and reduced deoxygenated hemoglobin during walking. There were no changes in PWV, AIx, or claudication (P \u3e 0.05). These results indicate that a body-mass normalized moderate dose of nitrate may be effective and safe for reducing BP, improving endothelial function, and improving walking capacity in patients with PAD
MMP9 mediates acute hyperglycemia-induced human cardiac stem cell death by upregulating apoptosis and pyroptosis in vitro
Providing a conducive microenvironment is critical to increase survival of transplanted stem cells in regenerative therapy. Hyperglycemia promotes stem cell death impairing cardiac regeneration in the diabetic heart. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of high glucose-induced stem cell death is important for improving cardiac regeneration in diabetic patients. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), a collagenase, is upregulated in the diabetic heart, and ablation of MMP9 decreases infarct size in the non-diabetic myocardial infarction heart. In the present study, we aim to investigate whether MMP9 is a mediator of hyperglycemia-induced cell death in human cardiac stem cells (hCSCs) in vitro. We created MMP9−/− hCSCs to test the hypothesis that MMP9 mediates hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and cell death via apoptosis and pyroptosis in hCSCs, which is attenuated by the lack of MMP9. We found that hyperglycemia induced oxidative stress and increased cell death by promoting pyroptosis and apoptosis in hCSCs, which was prevented in MMP9−/− hCSCs. These findings revealed a novel intracellular role of MMP9 in mediating stem cell death and provide a platform to assess whether MMP9 inhibition could improve hCSCs survival in stem cell therapy at least in acute hyperglycemic microenvironment
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