Ginzburg-Landau Expansion in Non-Fermi Liquid Superconductors: Effect of the Mass Renormalization Factor

We reconsider the Ginzburg-Landau expansion for the case of a non-Fermi liquid superconductor. We obtain analytical results for the Ginzburg-Landau functional in the critical region around the superconducting phase transition, T <= T_c, in two special limits of the model, i.e., the spin-charge separation case and the anomalous Fermi liquid case. For both cases, in the presence of a mass renormalization factor, we derived the form and the specific dependence of the coherence length, penetration depth, specific heat jump at the critical point, and the magnetic upper critical field. For both limits the obtained results reduce to the usual BCS results for a two dimensional s-wave superconductor. We compare our results with recent and relevant theoretical work. The results for a d--wave symmetry order parameter do not change qualitatively the results presented in this paper. Only numerical factors appear additionally in our expressions.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review

Spectral hardness evolution characteristics of tracking Gamma-ray Burst pulses

Employing a sample presented by Kaneko et al. (2006) and Kocevski et al. (2003), we select 42 individual tracking pulses (here we defined tracking as the cases in which the hardness follows the same pattern as the flux or count rate time profile) within 36 Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) containing 527 time-resolved spectra and investigate the spectral hardness, $E_{peak}$ (where $E_{peak}$ is the maximum of the $\nu F_{\nu}$ spectrum), evolutionary characteristics. The evolution of these pulses follow soft-to-hard-to-soft (the phase of soft-to-hard and hard-to-soft are denoted by rise phase and decay phase, respectively) with time. It is found that the overall characteristics of $E_{peak}$ of our selected sample are: 1) the $E_{peak}$ evolution in the rise phase always start on the high state (the values of $E_{peak}$ are always higher than 50 keV); 2) the spectra of rise phase clearly start at higher energy (the median of $E_{peak}$ are about 300 keV), whereas the spectra of decay phase end at much lower energy (the median of $E_{peak}$ are about 200 keV); 3) the spectra of rise phase are harder than that of the decay phase and the duration of rise phase are much shorter than that of decay phase as well. In other words, for a complete pulse the initial $E_{peak}$ is higher than the final $E_{peak}$ and the duration of initial phase (rise phase) are much shorter than the final phase (decay phase). This results are in good agreement with the predictions of Lu et al. (2007) and current popular view on the production of GRBs. We argue that the spectral evolution of tracking pulses may be relate to both of kinematic and dynamic process even if we currently can not provide further evidences to distinguish which one is dominant. Moreover, our statistical results give some witnesses to constrain the current GRB model.Comment: 32 pages, 26 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in New Astronom

Lipidomic studies revealing serological markers associated with the occurrence of retinopathy in type 2 diabetes

Purpose The duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and blood glucose levels have a significant impact on the development of T2DM complications. However, currently known risk factors are not good predictors of the onset or progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the differences in the serum lipid composition in patients with T2DM, without and with DR, and search for potential serological indicators associated with the development of DR. Methods A total of 622 patients with T2DM hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an JiaoTong University were selected as the discovery set. One-to-one case–control matching was performed according to the traditional risk factors for DR (i.e., age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c level, and hypertension). All cases with comorbid chronic kidney disease were excluded to eliminate confounding factors. A total of 42 pairs were successfully matched. T2DM patients with DR (DR group) were the case group, and T2DM patients without DR (NDR group) served as control subjects. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was used for untargeted lipidomics analysis on serum, and a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was established to screen differential lipid molecules based on variable importance in the projection (VIP)>1. An additional 531 T2DM patients were selected as the validation set. Next, 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed for the traditional risk factors for DR, and a combined 95 pairings in the NDR and DR groups were successfully matched. The screened differential lipid molecules were validated by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) quantification based on mass spectrometry. Results The discovery set showed no differences in traditional risk factors associated with the development of DR (i.e., age, disease duration, HbA1c, blood pressure, and glomerular filtration rate). In the DR group comparedMetabolic health: pathophysiological trajectories and therap

Associations of lifetime concussion history and repetitive head impact exposure with resting-state functional connectivity in former collegiate American football players: An NCAA 15-year follow-up study

The objective of this study was to examine associations of lifetime concussion history (CHx) and an advanced metric of lifetime repetitive head impact exposure with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) across the whole-brain and among large-scale functional networks (Default Mode; Dorsal Attention; and Frontoparietal Control) in former collegiate football players. Individuals who completed at least one year of varsity collegiate football were eligible to participate in this observational cohort study (n = 48; aged 36-41 years; 79.2% white/ Caucasian; 12.5±4.4 years of football played; all men). Individuals were excluded if they reported history/suspicion of psychotic disorder with active symptoms, contraindications to participation in study procedures (e.g., MRI safety concern), or inability to travel. Each participant provided concussion and football playing histories. Self-reported concussion history was analyzed in two different ways based on prior research: dichotomous "High"(≥3 concussions; n = 28) versus "Low"(<3 concussions; n = 20); and four ordinal categories (0-1 concussion [n = 19]; 2-4 concussions [n = 8]; 5-7 concussions [n = 9]; and ≥8 concussions [n = 12]). The Head Impact Exposure Estimate (HIEE) was calculated from football playing history captured via structured interview. Resting-state fMRI and T1-weighted MRI were acquired and preprocessed using established pipelines. Next, rsFC was calculated using the Seitzman et al., (2020) 300-ROI functional atlas. Whole-brain, within-network, and between-network rsFC were calculated using all ROIs and network-specific ROIs, respectively. Effects of CHx and HIEE on rsFC values were examined using separate multivariable linear regression models, with a-priori α set to 0.05. We observed no statistically significant associations between rsFC outcomes and either CHx or HIEE (ps ≥ .12). Neither CHx nor HIEE were associated with neural signatures that have been observed in studies of typical and pathological aging. While CHx and repetitive head impacts have been associated with changes in brain health in older former athletes, our preliminary results suggest that associations with rsFC may not be present in early midlife former football players

Spin Susceptibility in Underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x\bf YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x}

We report a comprehensive polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering study of the evolution of the dynamical spin susceptibility with temperature and doping in three underdoped single crystals of the \YBCO{6+x} high temperature superconductor: \YBCO{6.5} (Tc = 52 K), \YBCO{6.7} (Tc = 67 K), and \YBCO{6.85} (T_c = 87 K). Theoretical implications of these data are discussed, and a critique of recent attempts to relate the spin excitations to the thermodynamics of high temperature superconductors is given.Comment: minor revisions, to appear in PR

Strategies for Controlled Placement of Nanoscale Building Blocks

The capability of placing individual nanoscale building blocks on exact substrate locations in a controlled manner is one of the key requirements to realize future electronic, optical, and magnetic devices and sensors that are composed of such blocks. This article reviews some important advances in the strategies for controlled placement of nanoscale building blocks. In particular, we will overview template assisted placement that utilizes physical, molecular, or electrostatic templates, DNA-programmed assembly, placement using dielectrophoresis, approaches for non-close-packed assembly of spherical particles, and recent development of focused placement schemes including electrostatic funneling, focused placement via molecular gradient patterns, electrodynamic focusing of charged aerosols, and others

Prunella vulgaris: A comprehensive review of chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical applications.

Prunella vulgaris (PV) is a perennial herb belonging to the Labiate family and is widely distributed in northeastern Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. It is reported to display diverse biological activities including anti-microbial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammation as determined by in vitro or in vivo studies. So far, about 200 compounds have been isolated from PV plant and majority of these have been characterized mainly as triterpenoids, sterols and flavonoids, followed by coumarins, phenylpropanoids, polysaccharides and volatile oils. This review summarizes and analyzes the current knowledge on the chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and clinical applications of the PV plant including its potential as a future medicinal plant. Although some of the chemical constituents of the PV plant and their mechanism of action have been investigated the biological activities of many of these remain unknown and further clinical trials are required to further enhance its reputation as a medicinal plant

Quantification of three macrolide antibiotics in pharmaceutical lots by HPLC: Development, validation and application to a simultaneous separation

A new validated high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with rapid analysis time and high efficiency, for the analysis of erythromycin, azithromycin and spiramycin, under isocratic conditions with ODB RP18 as a stationary phase is described. Using an eluent composed of acetonitrile –2-methyl-2-propanol –hydrogenphosphate buffer, pH 6.5, with 1.5% triethylamine (33:7: up to 100, v/v/v), delivered at a flow-rate of 1.0 mL min-1. Ultra Violet (UV) detection is performed at 210 nm. The selectivity is satisfactory enough and no problematic interfering peaks are observed. The procedure is quantitatively characterized and repeatability, linearity, detection and quantification limits are very satisfactory. The method is applied successfully for the assay of the studied drugs in pharmaceutical dosage forms as tablets and powder for oral suspension. Recovery experiments revealed recovery of 97.13–100.28%

Galaxy Clusters Associated with Short GRBs. II. Predictions for the Rate of Short GRBs in Field and Cluster Early-Type Galaxies

We determine the relative rates of short GRBs in cluster and field early-type galaxies as a function of the age probability distribution of their progenitors, P(\tau) \propto \tau^n. This analysis takes advantage of the difference in the growth of stellar mass in clusters and in the field, which arises from the combined effects of the galaxy stellar mass function, the early-type fraction, and the dependence of star formation history on mass and environment. This approach complements the use of the early- to late-type host galaxy ratio, with the added benefit that the star formation histories of early-type galaxies are simpler than those of late-type galaxies, and any systematic differences between progenitors in early- and late-type galaxies are removed. We find that the ratio varies from R(cluster)/R(field) ~ 0.5 for n = -2 to ~ 3 for n = 2. Current observations indicate a ratio of about 2, corresponding to n ~ 0 - 1. This is similar to the value inferred from the ratio of short GRBs in early- and late-type hosts, but it differs from the value of n ~ -1 for NS binaries in the Milky Way. We stress that this general approach can be easily modified with improved knowledge of the effects of environment and mass on the build-up of stellar mass, as well as the effect of globular clusters on the short GRB rate. It can also be used to assess the age distribution of Type Ia supernova progenitors.Comment: ApJ accepted versio