Surface effects in magnetic superconductors with a spiral magnetic structure

We consider a magnetic superconductor MS with a spiral magnetic structure. On the basis of generalized Eilenberger and Usadel equations we show that near the boundary of the MS with an insulator or vacuum the condensate (Gor'kov's) Green's functions are disturbed by boundary conditions and differ essentially from their values in the bulk. Corrections to the bulk quasiclassical Green's functions oscillate with the period of the magnetic spiral, $2\pi /Q$, and decay inside the superconductor over a length of the order $v/\pi T$ (ballistic limit) or $\sqrt{D/\pi T}$ (diffusive limit). We calculate the dc Josephson current in an MS/I/MS tunnel junction and show that the critical Josephson current differs substantially from that obtained with the help of the tunnel Hamiltonian method and bulk Green's functions.Comment: 10 pages 3 Figs; some misprints in fromulae corrected; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Molecular alliance of Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus and a short unmodified antisense oligonucleotide of its anti-apoptotic IAP-3 gene: A novel approach for gypsy moth control

Baculovirus IAP (inhibitor-of-apoptosis) genes originated by capture of host genes. Unmodified short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligoDNAs) from baculovirus IAP genes can down-regulate specific gene expression profiles in both baculovirus-free and baculovirus-infected insects. In this study, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae infected with multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV), and LdMNPV-free larvae, were treated with oligoDNA antisense to the RING (really interesting new gene) domain of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene. The results with respect to insect mortality, biomass accumulation, histological studies, RT-PCR, and analysis of DNA apoptotic fragmentation suggest that oligoRING induced increased apoptotic processes in both LdMNPV-free and LdMNPV-infected insect cells, but were more pronounced in the latter. These data open up possibilities for promising new routes of insect pest control using antisense phosphodiester DNA oligonucleotides

Emission Monitoring Mobile Experiment (EMME): An overview and first results of the St. Petersburg megacity campaign 2019

Global climate change is one of the most important scientific, societal and economic contemporary challenges. Fundamental understanding of the major processes driving climate change is the key problem which is to be solved not only on a global but also on a regional scale. The accuracy of regional climate modelling depends on a number of factors. One of these factors is the adequate and comprehensive information on the anthropogenic impact which is highest in industrial regions and areas with dense population – modern megacities. Megacities are not only “heat islands”, but also significant sources of emissions of various substances into the atmosphere, including greenhouse and reactive gases. In 2019, the mobile experiment EMME (Emission Monitoring Mobile Experiment) was conducted within the St. Petersburg agglomeration (Russia) aiming to estimate the emission intensity of greenhouse (CO$_{2}$, CH$_{4}$) nd reactive (CO, NO$_{x}$) gases for St. Petersburg, which is the largest northern megacity. St. Petersburg State University (Russia), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and the University of Bremen (Germany) jointly ran this experiment. The core instruments of the campaign were two portable Bruker EM27/SUN Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers which were used for ground-based remote sensing measurements of the total column amount of CO$_{2}$, CH$_{4}$ and CO at upwind and downwind locations on opposite sides of the city. The NO$_{2}$ tropospheric column amount was observed along a circular highway around the city by continuous mobile measurements of scattered solar visible radiation with an OceanOptics HR4000 spectrometer using the differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique. Simultaneously, air samples were collected in air bags for subsequent laboratory analysis. The air samples were taken at the locations of FTIR observations at the ground level and also at altitudes of about 100 m when air bags were lifted by a kite (in case of suitable landscape and favourable wind conditions). The entire campaign consisted of 11 mostly cloudless days of measurements in March–April 2019. Planning of measurements for each day included the determination of optimal location for FTIR spectrometers based on weather forecasts, combined with the numerical modelling of the pollution transport in the megacity area. The real-time corrections of the FTIR operation sites were performed depending on the actual evolution of the megacity NO$_{x}$ plume as detected by the mobile DOAS observations. The estimates of the St. Petersburg emission intensities for the considered greenhouse and reactive gases were obtained by coupling a box model and the results of the EMME observational campaign using the mass balance approach. The CO$_{2}$ emission flux for St. Petersburg as an area source was estimated to be 89 ± 28 ktkm$^{-2}$ yr $^{-2}$ , which is 2 times higher than the corresponding value in the EDGAR database. The experiment revealed the CH$_{4}$ emission flux of 135 ± 68 tkm $^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$, which is about 1 order of magnitude greater than the value reported by the official inventories of St. Petersburg emissions (∼ 25 tkm$^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$ or 2017). At the same time, for the urban territory of St. Petersburg, both the EMME experiment and the official inventories for 2017 give similar results for the CO anthropogenic flux (251 ± 104 tkm $^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$ s. 410 tkm $^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$) nd for the NO$_{x}$ anthropogenic flux (66 ± 28 tkm$^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$ vs. 69 tkm $^{-2}$ yr $^{-1}$)

Molecular Alliance of Lymantria dispar Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus and a Short Unmodified Antisense Oligonucleotide of Its Anti-Apoptotic IAP-3 Gene: A Novel Approach for Gypsy Moth Control

Baculovirus IAP (inhibitor-of-apoptosis) genes originated by capture of host genes. Unmodified short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligoDNAs) from baculovirus IAP genes can down-regulate specific gene expression profiles in both baculovirus-free and baculovirus-infected insects. In this study, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae infected with multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV), and LdMNPV-free larvae, were treated with oligoDNA antisense to the RING (really interesting new gene) domain of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene. The results with respect to insect mortality, biomass accumulation, histological studies, RT-PCR, and analysis of DNA apoptotic fragmentation suggest that oligoRING induced increased apoptotic processes in both LdMNPV-free and LdMNPV-infected insect cells, but were more pronounced in the latter. These data open up possibilities for promising new routes of insect pest control using antisense phosphodiester DNA oligonucleotides

Melilite-group minerals at Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania

Oldoinyo Lengai and the volcanic centres of the Lake Natron–Engaruka province contain melilite as a widespread mineral. Extraordinarily Na–Al-rich melilites (up to 6 wt.% Na₂O and 9 wt.% Al₂O₃) from recent explosive eruptions are among the most Na-rich ever reported. Their unusual mineral composition leads to optical properties with vivid birefringence colours of 2nd order. The continuous variation in mineral composition from common åkermanite to Na–Al–melilite (alumoåkermanite) is documented and reflects the whole peralkaline trend of Oldoinyo Lengai. The data presented allow the volcano's evolution from primitive olivine melilitites to highly evolved and peralkaline combeite–wollastonite nephelinites to be traced. Melilite compositions of Oldoinyo Lengai extend the magmatic field in the Ca₂Fe(Si₂O₇)–Ca₂Mg(Si₂O₇)–(CaNa)Al(Si₂O₇) end-member ternary compositional diagram

Jörgkellerite, Na3Mn3+\mathrm{Na_{3}Mn^{3+}}3(PO4)\mathrm{_{3}(PO_{4})}2(CO3)O2⋅5H2O\mathrm{_{2}(CO_{3})O_{2}·5H_{2}O}, a new layered phosphate-carbonate mineral from the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano, Gregory rift, northern Tanzania

Jörgkellerite, ideally Na$_{3}$Mn$^{3+}$$_{3}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{2}$(CO$_{3}$)O$_{2}$·5H$_{2}$O, is a new layered phosphate-carbonate from the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano in the Gregory Rift (northern Tanzania). The mineral occurs as spherulites, up to 200 μm in diameter, consisting of plates up to 10 μm in thickness in shortite-calcite and calcite carbonatites. Jörgkellerite is brown with a vitreous lustre and has a perfect micaceous cleavage on {001}, Mohs hardness is 3. The calculated density is 2.56 g/cm3. Jörgkellerite is uniaxial (-), ω = 1.700(2), ε = 1.625(2) (Na light, 589 nm) with distinct pleochroism: O = dark brown, E = light brown. The empirical formula of the mineral (average of 10 electron microprobe analyses) is (Na$_{2.46}$K$_{0.28}$Ca$_{0.08}$Sr$_{0.04}$Ba$_{0.02}$)$_{Σ2.88}$(Mn$^{3+}_{2.39}$Fe$^{3+}_{0.56}$)$_{Σ2.95}$((PO$_4$)$_{1.95}$(SiO$_4$)$_{0.05}$))$_{Σ2.00}$(CO$_3$)(O$_{1.84}$(OH)$_{0.16}$)$_{Σ2.00}$·5H$_2$O. The oxidation state of Mn has been determined by XANES. Jörgkellerite is trigonal, space group P-3, a = 11.201(2) Å, c = 10.969(2) Å, V = 1191.9(7) Å$^{3}$ and Z = 3. The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I/I$_o$), (hkl)] are: 10.970 (100) (001), 5.597 (15) (002), 4.993 (8) (111), 2.796 (14) (220) and 2.724 (20) (004). The crystal structure is built up of the layers composed of disordered edge-sharing [MnO6] octahedra. Each fourth Mn site in octahedral layer is vacant that results in appearance of ordered system of hexagonal “holes” occupied by (CO$_3$) groups. The overall composition of the layer can be expressed as [Mn$_3$O$_8$(CO$_3$)]. These manganese-carbonate layers are linked in the third dimension by (PO$_4$) tetrahedra and Na-polyhedra. The origin of jörgkellerite is related to low-temperature oxidative alteration of gregoryite-nyerereite carbonatites

Incommensurately modulated twin structure of nyerereite Na 1.64 K 0.36 Ca(CO 3 ) 2

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