Fluorescence, PRI and canopy temperature for water stress detection in cereal crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panigada, C.; Rossini, M.; Meroni, M.; Cilia, C.; Busetto, L.; Amaducci, S.; Boschetti, M.; Cogliati, S.; Picchi, V.; Pinto, F.; Marchesi, A.; Colombo, R.

2014-08-01

Narrow-band multispectral remote sensing techniques and thermal imagery were investigated for water stress detection in cereal crops. Visible and near infrared AISA Eagle (Specim, Finland) and thermal AHS-160 (Sensytech Inc., USA) imageries were acquired with an airborne survey on a farm-level experimental site where maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) were grown with three different irrigation treatments. Vegetation biophysical and eco-physiological measurements were collected concurrently with the airborne campaign. Leaf fluorescence yield (ΔF/Fm‧) resulted to be a good indirect measure of water stress. Therefore, ΔF/Fm‧ measurements were compared against remotely sensed indicators: (i) the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), (ii) the sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence at 760 nm (F760), retrieved by the Fraunhofer line depth method and (iii) the canopy temperature (TC) calculated decoupling soil and vegetation contributions. TC was related to ΔF/Fm‧ with the highest determination coefficient (R2 = 0.65), followed by PRI586 (reference band at 586 nm) (R2 = 0.51). The relationship with F760 was significant but weaker (R2 = 0.36). The coefficient of determination increased up to 0.54 when pigment concentration was considered by multiplying ΔF/Fm‧ and chlorophyll content, confirming the close relationship between passive fluorescence signal, pigment content and light photosystem efficiency. PRI586, F760 and TC maps were produced in maize and sorghum plots. The differences in the average values of PRI586, F760 and TC extracted from the plots with different water treatments showed that water treatments were well discriminated in maize plots by the three remotely sensed indicators. This was confirmed by the visual observation of the PRI586, F760 and TC maps, while in sorghum plots, F760 and TC appeared more sensitive to water stress compared to PRI586.

Giant piezoelectric voltage coefficient in grain-oriented modified PbTiO3 material

PubMed Central

Yan, Yongke; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam; Wang, Yu U.; Priya, Shashank

2016-01-01

A rapid surge in the research on piezoelectric sensors is occurring with the arrival of the Internet of Things. Single-phase oxide piezoelectric materials with giant piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g, induced voltage under applied stress) and high Curie temperature (Tc) are crucial towards providing desired performance for sensing, especially under harsh environmental conditions. Here, we report a grain-oriented (with 95% <001> texture) modified PbTiO3 ceramic that has a high Tc (364 °C) and an extremely large g33 (115 × 10−3 Vm N−1) in comparison with other known single-phase oxide materials. Our results reveal that self-polarization due to grain orientation along the spontaneous polarization direction plays an important role in achieving large piezoelectric response in a domain motion-confined material. The phase field simulations confirm that the large piezoelectric voltage coefficient g33 originates from maximized piezoelectric strain coefficient d33 and minimized dielectric permittivity ɛ33 in [001]-textured PbTiO3 ceramics where domain wall motions are absent. PMID:27725634

A technique for estimating time of concentration and storage coefficient values for Illinois streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graf, Julia B.; Garklavs, George; Oberg, Kevin A.

1982-01-01

Values of the unit hydrograph parameters time of concentration (TC) and storage coefficient (R) can be estimated for streams in Illinois by a two-step technique developed from data for 98 gaged basins in the State. The sum of TC and R is related to stream length (L) and main channel slope (S) by the relation (TC + R)e = 35.2L0.39S-0.78. The variable R/(TC + R) is not significantly correlated with drainage area, slope, or length, but does exhibit a regional trend. Regional values of R/(TC + R) are used with the computed values of (TC + R)e to solve for estimated values of time of concentration (TCe) and storage coefficient (Re). The use of the variable R/(TC + R) is thought to account for variations in unit hydrograph parameters caused by physiographic variables such as basin topography, flood-plain development, and basin storage characteristics. (USGS)

Thermal effects of diagnostic ultrasound in an anthropomorphic skull model.

PubMed

Vyskocil, E; Pfaffenberger, S; Kollmann, C; Gleiss, A; Nawratil, G; Kastl, S; Unger, E; Aumayr, K; Schuhfried, O; Huber, K; Wojta, J; Gottsauner-Wolf, M

2012-12-01

Exposure to diagnostic ultrasound (US) can significantly heat biological tissue although conventional routine examinations are regarded as safe. The risk of unwanted thermal effects increases with a high absorption coefficient and extended insonation time. Certain applications of transcranial diagnostic US (TC-US) require prolonged exposure. An anthropomorphic skull model (ASM) was developed to evaluate thermal effects induced by TC-US of different modalities. The objective was to determine whether prolonged continuous TC-US application results in potentially harmful temperature increases. The ASM consists of a human skull with tissue mimicking material and exhibits acoustic and anatomical characteristics of the human skull and brain. Experiments are performed with a diagnostic US device testing four different US modalities: Duplex PW (pulsed wave) Doppler, PW Doppler, color flow Doppler and B-mode. Temperature changes are recorded during 180 minutes of insonation. All measurements revealed significant temperature increases during insonation independent of the US modality. The maximum temperature elevation of + 5.25° C (p < 0.001) was observed on the surface of the skull exposed to duplex PW Doppler. At the bone-brain border a maximum temperature increae of + 2.01 °C (p < 0.001) was noted. Temperature increases within the brain were < 1.23 °C (p = 0.001). The highest values were registered using the duplex PW Doppler modality. TC-US induces significant local heating effects in an ASM. An application duration that extends routine clinical periods causes potentially harmful heating especially in tissue close to bone. TC-US elevates the temperature in the brain mimicking tissue but is not capable of producing harmful temperature increases during routine examinations. However, the risk of thermal injury in brain tissue increases significantly after an exposure time of > 2 hours. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Colloquium: High pressure and road to room temperature superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gor'kov, Lev P.; Kresin, Vladimir Z.

2018-01-01

This Colloquium is concerned with the superconducting state of new high-Tc compounds containing hydrogen ions (hydrides). Recently superconductivity with the record-setting transition temperature of Tc=203 K was reported for sulfur hydrides under high pressure. In general, high pressure serves as a path finding tool toward novel structures, including those with very high Tc . The field has a rich and interesting history. Currently, it is broadly recognized that superconductivity in sulfur hydrides owes its origin to the phonon mechanism. However, the picture differs from the conventional one in important ways. The phonon spectrum in sulfur hydride is both broad and has a complex structure. Superconductivity arises mainly due to strong coupling to the high-frequency optical modes, although the acoustic phonons also make a noticeable contribution. A new approach is described, which generalizes the standard treatment of the phonon mechanism and makes it possible to obtain an analytical expression for Tc in this phase. It turns out that, unlike in the conventional case, the value of the isotope coefficient (for the deuterium-hydrogen substitution) varies with the pressure and reflects the impact of the optical modes. The phase diagram, that is the pressure dependence of Tc , is rather peculiar. A crucial feature is that increasing pressure results in a series of structural transitions, including the one which yields the superconducting phase with the record Tc of 203 K. In a narrow region near P ≈150 GPa the critical temperature rises sharply from Tc≈120 to ≈200 K . It seems that the sharp structural transition, which produces the high-Tc phase, is a first-order phase transition caused by interaction between the order parameter and lattice deformations. A remarkable feature of the electronic spectrum in the high-Tc phase is the appearance of small pockets at the Fermi level. Their presence leads to a two-gap spectrum, which can, in principle, be observed with the future use of tunneling spectroscopy. This feature leads to nonmonotonic and strongly asymmetric pressure dependence of Tc . Other hydrides, e.g., CaH6 and MgH6 , can be expected to display even higher values of Tc up to room temperature. The fundamental challenge lies in the creation of a structure capable of displaying high Tc at ambient pressure.

Multiferroic magnetoelectric coupling effect of bilayer La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7/PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3 complex thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, K.; Zhou, P.; Ma, Z. J.; Qi, Y. J.; Mei, Z. H.; Zhang, T. J.

2017-05-01

Magnetoelectric (ME) coupling effect of 2-2-type ferromagnetic/ferroelectric bi-layer multiferroic epitaxial thin film (La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7/PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3, LSMO/PZT) on SrRuO3 (SRO) substrate is investigated systematically by using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) thermodynamic theory and modified constitutive equations. The calculating results clarify the detail relationships between ME coupling response and the residual strain, the volume fraction of constituent phases, the interface coupling coefficients, the magnetic field and the temperature. It also shows that improved ME coupling response can be modulated by these parameters. External magnetic fields (H1) induced ME coupling effect could be enhanced around Curie Temperature (Tc) of ferromagnetic phase and ME voltage coefficient (αE31) approaches a maximum at H1 ∼ 4.5 kOe near Tc. The remarkable variations of ME coupling response can be used to provide useful guidelines on the design of multifunctional devices.

Restoring canonical partition functions from imaginary chemical potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bornyakov, V. G.; Boyda, D.; Goy, V.; Molochkov, A.; Nakamura, A.; Nikolaev, A.; Zakharov, V. I.

2018-03-01

Using GPGPU techniques and multi-precision calculation we developed the code to study QCD phase transition line in the canonical approach. The canonical approach is a powerful tool to investigate sign problem in Lattice QCD. The central part of the canonical approach is the fugacity expansion of the grand canonical partition functions. Canonical partition functions Zn(T) are coefficients of this expansion. Using various methods we study properties of Zn(T). At the last step we perform cubic spline for temperature dependence of Zn(T) at fixed n and compute baryon number susceptibility χB/T2 as function of temperature. After that we compute numerically ∂χ/∂T and restore crossover line in QCD phase diagram. We use improved Wilson fermions and Iwasaki gauge action on the 163 × 4 lattice with mπ/mρ = 0.8 as a sandbox to check the canonical approach. In this framework we obtain coefficient in parametrization of crossover line Tc(µ2B) = Tc(C-ĸµ2B/T2c) with ĸ = -0.0453 ± 0.0099.

Applications using high-Tc superconducting terahertz emitters

PubMed Central

Nakade, Kurama; Kashiwagi, Takanari; Saiwai, Yoshihiko; Minami, Hidetoshi; Yamamoto, Takashi; Klemm, Richard A.; Kadowaki, Kazuo

2016-01-01

Using recently-developed THz emitters constructed from single crystals of the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ, we performed three prototype tests of the devices to demonstrate their unique characteristic properties for various practical applications. The first is a compact and simple transmission type of THz imaging system using a Stirling cryocooler. The second is a high-resolution Michelson interferometer used as a phase-sensitive reflection-type imaging system. The third is a system with precise temperature control to measure the liquid absorption coefficient. The detailed characteristics of these systems are discussed. PMID:26983905

High temperature (NaBi)0.48□0.04Bi2Nb2O9-based piezoelectric ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gai, Zhi-Gang; Wang, Jin-Feng; Zhao, Ming-Lei; Wang, Chun-Ming; Zang, Guo-Zhong; Ming, Bao-Quan; Qi, Peng; Zhang, Shujun; Shrout, Thomas R.

2006-07-01

The effect of (LiCe) substitution for A site on the properties of (NaBi)0.48◻0.04Bi2Nb2O9 (NB◻N)-based ceramics was investigated. The coercive fields (EC) of NB◻N)-based ceramics were significantly decreased from 61.0to32.5kV/cm and the Curie temperature (TC) gradually decreases from 820to803°C with increasing the (LiCe) modification. The piezoelectric coefficient d33, planar coupling factor kp, and mechanical quality factor Q of (NaBi)0.38(LiCe)0.05◻0.14Bi2Nb2O9 ceramic were found to be 27pC/N, 11.2%, and 2600, respectively, together with the high TC (˜809°C) and stable piezoelectric properties, demonstrating that the (LiCe) modified NB◻N-based material a promising candidate for high temperature applications.

Kinetics of the R + NO2 reactions (R = i-C3H7, n-C3H7, s-C4H9, and t-C4H9) in the temperature range 201-489 K.

PubMed

Rissanen, Matti P; Arppe, Suula L; Eskola, Arkke J; Tammi, Matti M; Timonen, Raimo S

2010-04-15

The bimolecular rate coefficients of four alkyl radical reactions with NO(2) have been measured in direct time-resolved experiments. Reactions were studied under pseudo-first-order conditions in a temperature-controlled tubular flow reactor coupled to a laser photolysis/photoionization mass spectrometer (LP-PIMS). The measured reaction rate coefficients are independent of helium bath gas pressure within the experimental ranges covered and exhibit negative temperature dependence. For i-C(3)H(7) + NO(2) and t-C(4)H(9) + NO(2) reactions, the dependence of ordinate (logarithm of reaction rate coefficients) on abscissa (1/T or log(T)) was nonlinear. The obtained results (in cm(3) s(-1)) can be expressed by the following equations: k(n-C(3)H(7) + NO(2)) = ((4.34 +/- 0.08) x 10(-11)) (T/300 K)(-0.14+/-0.08) (203-473 K, 1-7 Torr), k(i-C(3)H(7) + NO(2)) = ((3.66 +/- 2.54) x 10(-12)) exp(656 +/- 201 K/T)(T/300 K)(1.26+/-0.68) (220-489 K, 1-11 Torr), k(s-C(4)H(9) + NO(2)) = ((4.99 +/- 0.16) x 10(-11))(T/300 K)(-1.74+/-0.12) (241-485 K, 2 - 12 Torr) and k(t-C(4)H(9) + NO(2)) = ((8.64 +/- 4.61) x 10(-12)) exp(413 +/- 154 K/T)(T/300 K)(0.51+/-0.55) (201-480 K, 2-11 Torr), where the uncertainties shown refer only to the 1 standard deviations obtained from the fitting procedure. The estimated overall uncertainty in the determined bimolecular rate coefficients is about +/-20%.

Effects of configurational changes on molecular dynamics in polyvinylidene fluoride and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ferroelectric polymers

DOE PAGES

Jalarvo, N.; Pramanick, A.; Do, C.; ...

2015-08-28

Here, we present a comparative study of proton dynamics in unpoled non-ferroelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and in its trifluoroethylene containing ferroelectric copolymer (with 70/30 molar proportion), using quasi-elastic neutron scattering. The neutron data reveal the existence of two distinct types of molecular motions in the temperature range investigated. Moreover, the slower motion, which is characterized in details here, is ascribed to protons jump diffusion along the polymeric carbon chains, while the faster motion could be attributed to localized rotational motion of methylene groups. At temperatures below the Curie point (T-c similar to 385 K) of the composite polymer, themore » slower diffusive mode experiences longer relaxation times in the ferroelectric blend than in the bare PVDF, although the net corresponding diffusion coefficient remains comparatively the same in both polymers with characteristic activation energy of E-A approximate to 27-33 kJ/mol. This arises because of a temperature dependent jump length r(0), which we observe to be effectively longer in the copolymer, possibly due to the formation of ordered ferroelectric domains below Tc. Above Tc, there is no appreciable difference in r(0) between the two systems. Our observation directly relates the known dependence of Tc on molar ratio to changes in r(0), providing fundamental insight into the ferroelectric properties of PVDF-based copolymers.« less

Thermal properties of Pr2/3Sr1/3MnO3 manganites:PdO composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Ashok; Manjunatha, S. O.; Bhatt, Ramesh Chandra; Awana, V. P. S.; Lin, C. F.; Kuo, Y. K.; Poornesh, P.

2017-10-01

In the present communication the results on thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and specific heat of Pr2/3Sr1/3MnO3:PdO composites are reported. All the samples exhibit a pronounced anomaly in thermal conductivity (κ) at their respective Curie temperatures, TC of the samples. It is also observed that the overall magnitude of κ decreases with increasing Pd content. The observed reduction of the total k(T) is discussed with various thermal scattering mechanisms. The temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient data S(T) in the high temperature region is analyzed within the framework of Mott's polaron hopping model. The analysis of low-temperature S(T) data reveals that the electron-magnon scattering contribution dominates the thermoelectric transport at low temperatures. The magnetic contribution for the CP and change in entropy (ΔS) during the magnetic phase transition is also evaluated.

Mixing effects in a ternary Hf-Zr-Ni metallic melt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowak, B.; Holland-Moritz, D.; Yang, F.; Evenson, Z.; Meyer, A.

2018-03-01

We study the effect of the substitution of Zr by Hf on the dynamical behavior in the Zr36Ni64 melt. A reduced measured self-diffusion coefficient and a higher measured melt viscosity for an increased amount of Hf were observed. The ternary Hf10Zr25Ni65 melt, which exhibits a pronounced deviation from Arrhenius behavior over a studied temperature range of 550 K, can be accurately described by the scaling law of mode-coupling theory (MCT) with almost equal parameters for the self-diffusion and the viscosity. Although we only substitute alloy components with a nearly equal atomic size and the measured overall packing fraction remains almost unchanged, the dynamics in Hf10Zr25Ni65 are slower compared to Zr36Ni64 . This corresponds also to a higher critical temperature Tc and might be induced by different chemical interactions in the melts. The increased Tc results in a significantly smaller difference between liquidus and critical temperature Δ TLC=TL-Tc for the ternary melt in comparison with Zr36Ni64 , which may favor the glass formation in the Hf10Zr25Ni65 melt.

The 3-Dimensional Fermi Liquid Description for the Iron-Based Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misawa, Setsuo

2018-01-01

The quasiparticles in the normal state of iron-based superconductors have been shown to behave universally as a 3-dimensional Fermi liquid. Because of interactions and the presence of sharp Fermi surfaces, the quasiparticle energy contains, as a function of the momentum \\varvec{p}, a term of the form ( p - p_0)^3 ln {( |p-p_0|/p_0)} , where p = | \\varvec{p} | and p_0 is the Fermi momentum. The electronic specific heat coefficient, magnetic susceptibility (Knight shift), electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient and thermoelectric power divided by temperature follow, as functions of temperature T, the logarithmic formula a-b T^2 ln {(T/T^*)}, a, b and T^* being constant; these formulae have been shown to explain the observed data for all iron-based superconductors. It is shown that the concept of non-Fermi liquids or anomalous metals which appears in the literature is not needed for descriptions of the present systems. When the superconducting transition temperature TC and the b / a value for the resistivity are plotted as functions of the doping content x, there appear various characteristic diagrams in which regions of positive correlation and those of negative correlation between TC and b / a are interconnected; from these diagrams, we may make speculations about the types of superconductivity and the crossover between them.

Growth of 4-(dimethylamino) benzaldehyde doped triglycine sulphate single crystals and its characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Chitharanjan; Sreenivas, K.; Dharmaprakash, S. M.

2009-11-01

Single crystals of triglycine sulphate (TGS) doped with 1 mol% of 4-(dimethylamino) benzaldehyde (DB) have been grown from aqueous solution at ambient temperature by slow evaporation technique. The effect of dopant on the crystal growth and dielectric, pyroelectric and mechanical properties of TGS crystal have been investigated. X-ray powder diffraction pattern for pure and doped TGS was collected to determine the lattice parameters. FTIR spectra were employed to confirm the presence of 4-(dimethylamino) benzaldehyde in TGS crystal, qualitatively. The dielectric permittivity has been studied as a function of temperature by cooling the sample at a rate of 1 °C/min. An increase in the Curie temperature Tc=51 °C (for pure TGS, Tc=48.5 °C) and decrease in maximum permittivity has been observed for doped TGS when compared to pure TGS crystal. Pyroelectric studies on doped TGS were carried out to determine pyroelectric coefficient. The Vickers's hardness of the doped TGS crystals along (0 1 0) face is higher than that of pure TGS crystal for the same face. Domain patterns on b-cut plates were observed using scanning electron microscope. The low dielectric constant, higher pyroelectric coefficient and higher value of hardness suggest that doped TGS crystals could be a potential material for IR detectors.

Epitaxial effects in thin films of high-Tc cuprates with the K2NiF4 structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naito, Michio; Sato, Hisashi; Tsukada, Akio; Yamamoto, Hideki

2018-03-01

La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) and La2-xBaxCuO4 (LBCO) have been recognized as the archetype materials of "hole-doped" high-Tc superconductors. Their crystal structures are relatively simple with a small number of constituent cation elements. In addition, the doping level can be varied by the chemical substitution over a wide range enough to obtain the full spectrum of doping-dependent electronic and magnetic properties. These attractive features have dedicated many researchers to thin-film growth of LSCO and LBCO. The critical temperature (Tc) of LSCO and LBCO is sensitive to strain as manifested by a positive pressure coefficient of Tc in bulk samples. In general, films are strained if they are grown on lattice-mismatched substrates (epitaxial strain). Early attempts (before 1997) at the growth of LSCO and LBCO films resulted in depressed Tc below 30 K as they were grown on a commonly used SrTiO3 substrate (in-plane lattice parameter asub = 3.905 Å): the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO and LBCO are ≤3.80 Å, and hence tensile epitaxial strain is introduced. The situation was changed by the use of LaSrAlO4 substrates with a slightly shorter in-plane lattice constant (asub = 3.756 Å). On LaSrAlO4 substrates, the Tc reaches 45 K in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4, 47 K in La1.85Ba0.15CuO4, and 56 K in ozone-oxidized La2CuO4+δ films, substantially higher than the Tc's of the bulk compounds. The Tc increase in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 films on LaSrAlO4 and decrease on SrTiO3 are semi-quantitatively in accord with the phenomenological estimations based on the anisotropic strain coefficients of Tc (dTc/dεi). In this review article, we describe the growth and properties of films of cuprates having the K2NiF4 structure, mainly focusing on the increase/decrease of Tc by epitaxial strain and quasi-stable phase formation by epitaxial stabilization. We further extract the structural and/or physical parameters controlling Tc toward microscopic understanding of the variation of Tc by epitaxial strain.

Crystal structure and anisotropic magnetic properties of new ferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound Ce(Cu,Al,Si)2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurya, A.; Thamizhavel, A.; Dhar, S. K.; Provino, A.; Pani, M.; Costa, G. A.

2017-03-01

Single crystals of the new compound CeCu0.18Al0.24Si1.58 have been grown by high-temperature solution growth method using a eutectic Al-Si mixture as flux. This compound is derived from the binary CeSi2 (tetragonal α-ThSi2-type, Pearson symbol tI12, space group I41/amd) obtained by partial substitution of Si by Cu and Al atoms but showing full occupation of the Si crystal site (8e). While CeSi2 is a well-known valence-fluctuating paramagnetic compound, the CeCu0.18Al0.24Si1.58 phase orders ferromagnetically at TC=9.3 K. At low temperatures the easy-axis of magnetization is along the a-axis, which re-orients itself along the c-axis above 30 K. The presence of hysteresis in the magnetization curve, negative temperature coefficient of resistivity at high temperatures, reduced jump in the heat capacity and a relatively lower entropy released up to the ordering temperature, and enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient (≈100 mJ/mol K2) show that CeCu0.18Al0.24Si1.58 is a Kondo lattice ferromagnetic, moderate heavy fermion compound. Analysis of the high temperature heat capacity data in the paramagnetic region lets us infer that the crystal electric field split doublet levels are located at 178 and 357 K, respectively, and Kondo temperature (8.4 K) is of the order of TC in CeCu0.18Al0.24Si1.58.

Ion Exchange Column Tests Supporting Technetium Removal Resin Maturation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nash, C.; McCabe, D.; Hamm, L.

2013-12-20

The primary treatment of the tank waste at the DOE Hanford site will be done in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, currently under construction. The baseline plan for this facility is to treat the waste, splitting it into High Level Waste (HLW) and Low Activity Waste (LAW). Both waste streams are then separately vitrified as glass and sealed in canisters. The LAW glass will be disposed on site. There are currently no plans to treat the waste to remove technetium, so its disposition path is the LAW glass. Due to the soluble properties of pertechnetate and long half-life ofmore » 99Tc, effective management of 99Tc is important. Options are being explored to immobilize the supplemental LAW portion of the tank waste, as well as to examine the volatility of 99Tc during the vitrification process. Removal of 99Tc, followed by off-site disposal has potential to reduce treatment and disposal costs. A conceptual flow sheets for supplemental LAW treatment and disposal that could benefit from technetium removal will specifically examine removing 99Tc from the LAW feed stream to supplemental immobilization. SuperLig® 639 is an elutable ion exchange resin. In the tank waste, 99Tc is predominantly found in the tank supernate as pertechnetate (TcO 4 -). Perrhenate (ReO 4 -) has been shown to be a good non-radioactive surrogate for pertechnetate in laboratory testing for this ion exchange resin. This report contains results of experimental ion exchange distribution coefficient and column resin maturation kinetics testing using the resin SuperLig® 639a to selectively remove perrhenate from simulated LAW. This revision includes results from testing to determine effective resin operating temperature range. Loading tests were performed at 45°C, and the computer modeling was updated to include the temperature effects. Equilibrium contact testing indicated that this batch of SuperLig® 639 resin has good performance, with an average perrhenate distribution coefficient of 291 mL/g at a 100:1 phase ratio. This slightly exceeds the computer-modeled equilibrium distribution. The modeling agreed well with the experimental data for perrhenate removal with minor adjustments. Predicted breakthrough performance was on average within about 20% of measured values.« less

Investigation of relationships between removals of tetracycline and degradation products and physicochemical parameters in municipal wastewater treatment plant.

PubMed

Topal, Murat; Uslu Şenel, Gülşad; Öbek, Erdal; Arslan Topal, E Işıl

2016-05-15

Determination of the effect of physicochemical parameters on the removal of tetracycline (TC) and degradation products is important because of the importance of the removal of antibiotics in Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between removals of TC and degradation products and physicochemical parameters in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWWTP). For this aim, (i) the removals of physicochemical parameters in a MWWTP located in Elazığ city (Turkey) were determined (ii) the removals of TC and degradation products in MWWTP were determined (iii) the relationships between removals of TC and degradation products and physicochemical parameters were investigated. TC, 4-epitetracycline (ETC), 4-epianhydrotetracycline (EATC), anhydrotetracycline (ATC), and physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), suspended solids (SS), BOD5, COD, total organic carbon (TOC), NH4(+)-N, NO2(-)-N, NO3(-)-N and O-PO4(-3)) were determined. The calculation of the correlation coefficients of relationships between the physicochemical parameters and TC, EATC, ATC showed that, among the investigated parameters, EATC and SS most correlated. The removals of other physicochemical parameters were not correlated with TC, EATC and ATC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Charge Order and Superconductivity in Underdoped YBa2 Cu3 O7 -δ under Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putzke, Carsten; Ayres, Jake; Buhot, Jonathan; Licciardello, Salvatore; Hussey, Nigel E.; Friedemann, Sven; Carrington, Antony

2018-03-01

In underdoped cuprates, an incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) order is known to coexist with superconductivity. A dip in Tc at the hole doping level where the CDW is strongest (np≃0.12 ) suggests that CDW order may suppress superconductivity. We investigate the interplay of charge order with superconductivity in underdoped YBa2 Cu3 O7 -δ by measuring the temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient RH(T ) at high magnetic field and at high hydrostatic pressure. We find that, although pressure increases Tc by up to 10 K at 2.6 GPa, it has very little effect on RH(T ). This suggests that pressure, at these levels, only weakly affects the CDW and that the increase in Tc with pressure cannot be attributed to a suppression of the CDW. We argue, therefore, that the dip in Tc at np≃0.12 at ambient pressure is probably not caused by the CDW formation.

Density and Adiabatic Compressibility of the Immiscible Molten AgBr+LiCl Mixture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanov, Victor P.; Kulik, Nina P.

2017-04-01

The adiabatic compressibility, β, of the immiscible liquid mixture 0.52 LiCl+0.48 AgBr (the top of the miscibility gap) was experimentally investigated in the temperature range from the melting point to the critical mixing temperature using the sound velocity values, u, measured by the pulse method, and the density quantities, ρ, which were determined using the hydrostatic weight procedure based on the relationship β=u- 2ρ- 1. It is shown that the coefficients of the temperature dependencies for the compressibility and density of the upper and lower equilibrium phases have opposite signs because of the superposition of the intensity of the thermal motion of the ions and the change in the composition of the phases. The differences, ∆β and ∆ρ, in the magnitudes of the compressibility and density for the equilibrium phases decrease with temperature elevation. The temperature dependencies of the compressibility and density difference are described using the empirical equations ∆β≈(Tc-T)0.438 and ∆ρ≈(Tc-T)0.439.

High Thermal Conductivity Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC) for Advanced Space Radiators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, E. Eugene; Bowman, Cheryl; Beach, Duane

2007-01-01

High temperature polymer matrix composites (PMC) reinforced with high thermal conductivity (approx. 1000 W/mK) pitch-based carbon fibers are evaluated for a facesheet/fin structure of large space radiator systems. Significant weight reductions along with improved thermal performance, structural integrity and space durability toward its metallic counterparts were envisioned. Candidate commercial resin systems including Cyanate Esters, BMIs, and polyimide were selected based on thermal capabilities and processability. PMC laminates were designed to match the thermal expansion coefficient of various metal heat pipes or tubes. Large, but thin composite panels were successfully fabricated after optimizing cure conditions. Space durability of PMC with potential degradation mechanisms was assessed by simulated thermal aging tests in high vacuum, 1-3 x 10(exp -6) torr, at three temperatures, 227 C, 277 C, and 316 C for up to one year. Nanocomposites with vapor-grown carbon nano-fibers and exfoliated graphite flakes were attempted to improve thermal conductivity (TC) and microcracking resistance. Good quality nanocomposites were fabricated and evaluated for TC and durability including radiation resistance. TC was measured in both in-plan and thru-the-thickness directions, and the effects of microcracks on TC are also being evaluated. This paper will discuss the systematic experimental approaches, various performance-durability evaluations, and current subcomponent design and fabrication/manufacturing efforts.

Evaluation of WRF model simulations of tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific over the CORDEX East Asia domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wenqiang; Tang, Jianping; Wang, Yuan; Wang, Shuyu; Niu, Xiaorui

2017-04-01

In this study, the characteristics of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the East Asia Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment domain are examined with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Eight 20-year (1989-2008) simulations are performed using the WRF model, with lateral boundary forcing from the ERA-Interim reanalysis, to test the sensitivity of TC simulation to interior spectral nudging (SN, including nudging time interval, nudging variables) and radiation schemes [Community Atmosphere Model (CAM), Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM)]. The simulated TCs are compared with the observation from the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers TC best tracks. It is found that all WRF runs can simulate the climatology of key TC features such as the tracks and location/frequency of genesis reasonably well, and reproduce the inter-annual variations and seasonal cycle of TC counts. The SN runs produce enhanced TC activity compare to the runs without SN. The thermodynamic profile suggests that nudging with horizontal wind increases the unstable of thermodynamic states in tropics, which results in excessive TCs genesis. The experiments with wind and temperature nudging improve the overestimation of TCs numbers, especially suppress the TCs intensification by correct the thermodynamic profile. Weak SN coefficient enhances TCs activity significantly even with wind and temperature nudging. The analysis of TCs numbers and large scale circulation shows that the SN parameters adopted in our experiments do not appear to suppress the formation of TC. The excessive TCs activity in CAM runs relative to RRTM runs are also due to the enhanced atmospheric instability.

Multigap superconductivity and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in single crystals of the layered boride OsB2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Yogesh; Martin, C.; Bud'Ko, S. L.; Ellern, A.; Prozorov, R.; Johnston, D. C.

2010-10-01

Single crystals of superconducting OsB2 [Tc=2.10(5)K] have been grown using a Cu-B eutectic flux. We confirm that OsB2 crystallizes in the reported orthorhombic structure (space group Pmmn ) at room temperature. Both the normal and superconducting state properties of the crystals are studied using various techniques. Heat capacity versus temperature C(T) measurements yield the normal state electronic specific heat coefficient γ=1.95(1)mJ/molK2 and the Debye temperature ΘD=539(2)K . The measured frequencies of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are in good agreement with those predicted by band structure calculations. Magnetic susceptibility χ(T,H) , electrical resistivity ρ(T) , and C(T,H) measurements ( H is the magnetic field) demonstrate that OsB2 is a bulk low- κ [κ(Tc)=2(1)] type-II superconductor that is intermediate between the clean and dirty limits [(ξ(T=0)/ℓ=0.97)] with a small upper critical magnetic field Hc2(T=0)=186(4)Oe . The penetration depth is λ(T=0)=0.300μm . An anomalous (not single-gap BCS) T dependence of λ was fitted by a two-gap model with Δ1(T=0)/kBTc=1.9 and Δ2(T=0)/kBTc=1.25 , respectively. The discontinuity in the heat capacity at Tc , ΔC/γTc=1.32 , is smaller than the weak-coupling BCS value of 1.43, consistent with the two-gap nature of the superconductivity in OsB2 . An anomalous increase in ΔC at Tc of unknown origin is found in finite H ; e.g., ΔC/γTc≈2.5 for H≈25Oe .

Precursor dynamics in the ferroelectric phase transition of barium titanate single crystals studied by Brillouin light scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Jae-Hyeon; Kim, Tae Hyun; Roleder, K.; Rytz, D.; Kojima, Seiji

2011-09-01

The acoustic anomalies and precursor dynamics of high-quality barium titanate single crystals were investigated by Brillouin light scattering and the birefringence measurements in the paraelectric phase above the cubic-to-tetragonal ferroelectric phase transition temperature (Tc). Two elastic stiffness coefficients C11 and C44, the related sound velocities, and their absorption coefficients were determined from Tc to 400∘C for the first time. The longitudinal acoustic (LA) mode showed a substantial softening over a wide temperature range above Tc which was accompanied by a remarkable increase in the acoustic damping as well as growth of central peaks. The broad central peak (CP) exhibited a two-mode and one-mode behavior in the paraelectric and ferroelectric phase, respectively, which was consistent with recent far-infrared reflectivity measurements and first-principle-based calculations [Ponomareva , Phys. Rev. BPRBMDO1098-012110.1103/PhysRevB.77.012102 77, 012102 (2008)]. The acoustic anomalies and CP behavior were correlated with the anomalous birefringence, piezoelectric effect, and the deviation of the Curie-Weiss law observed from the same crystal. This strongly indicates similarity between the dynamics of polar clusters in typical ferroelectrics and the dynamics of polar nanoregions in relaxors, consistent with recent acoustic emission measurements [Dul’kin , Appl. Phys. Lett.APPLAB0003-695110.1063/1.3464968 97, 032903 (2010)]. The relaxation times estimated from the central peak and the LA mode anomalies exhibited similar temperature dependences with comparable orders of magnitude, indicating that the polarization fluctuations due to the precursor polar clusters couples to the LA mode through density fluctuations. All these anomalies share common microscopic origin, correlated Ti off-centered motions forming polar clusters having local symmetry breaking in the paraelectric phase. The existence of the polar clusters were directly evidenced by the temperature evolution of the precise birefringence map. The narrow central peak within ±5 GHz proposed before was not confirmed to exist in the present study.

Macrocyclic triamine derived glucose analogues for 99m Tc(CO)3 labeling: synthesis and biological evaluation as potential tumor-imaging agents.

PubMed

Liu, Teli; Gan, Qianqian; Zhang, Junbo

2017-02-01

[ 99m Tc(CO) 3 (H 2 O) 3 ] + has attracted great attention among 99m Tc-labeling techniques, due to its ease of preparation, readily substituted water molecules of the precursor fac-[ 99m Tc(CO) 3 (H 2 O) 3 ] + by a variety of functional groups, small size and inertness. Bifunctional chelator based on a macrocyclic polyamine framework shows easy complexation with [ 99m Tc(CO) 3 (H 2 O) 3 ] + to produce stable complex. In this study, two novel 1, 5, 9-triazacyclododecane derivatives containing a glucose group (6 and 7) were successfully synthesized by reacting different glucose-azides with alkyne-[12]aneN 3 via the so-called click chemistry and radiolabeled with [ 99m Tc(CO) 3 (H 2 O) 3 ] + to form 99m Tc(CO) 3 -6 (C-1-substituted complex) and 99m Tc(CO) 3 -7 (C-2-substituted complex) in high yields. The complexes were stable in vitro over 6 h when incubated in saline at room temperature and in mouse serum at 37 °C. The partition coefficient results showed that they were hydrophilic. The biodistribution studies in Kunming mice bearing S 180 tumor showed both complexes showed accumulation in the tumor. Between them, 99m Tc(CO) 3 -7 had the advantages of much higher tumor uptake and tumor/muscle ratio. Compared with other reported 99m Tc-radiolabeled glucose derivatives, 99m Tc(CO) 3 -7 also showed a higher tumor uptake and tumor/muscle ratio, suggesting it would be a potential candidate for further development as a tumor-imaging agent. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Transport properties of Y1-xNdxCo2 compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchima, K.; Takeda, M.; Zukeran, C.; Nakamura, A.; Arakaki, N.; Komesu, S.; Takaesu, Y.; Hedo, M.; Nakama, T.; Yagasaki, K.; Uwatoko, Y.; Burkov, A. T.

2012-12-01

Electrical resistivity ρ and thermopower S of light rare earth-based pseudo-binary Y1-xNdxCo2 alloys have been measured at temperatures from 2 K to 300 K and under pressures up to 3.5 GPa. The Curie temperature of the alloys, TC, determined from characteristic features in the temperature dependences of the transport properties, decreases with decreasing Nd concentration x and vanishes around xc = 0.3. The residual resistivity has a pronounced maximum at x = xc. The temperature coefficient of thermopower dS/dT at low temperature limit shows a complex dependence on alloy composition: it changes its sign from negative to positive at x ≍ 0.2, having a maximum at x = xc, and is nearly composition independent at x > 0.5. The pressure dependences of TC and ρ0 of Yo.6Ndo.4Co2 reveal the behavior similar to that observed in the Y1-xRxHCo2 (RH = heavy rare earth) alloy systems, which implies that the magnetic state of the Co-3d electron subsystem is responsible for the transport properties in the Y1-xNdxCo2 alloys.

Systematics of first and second shape transition temperatures in heavy nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Alan L.; Jin, Taihao

1996-09-01

Thirty-one even-even isotopes (Z=72-80 and N=110-126) have two shape transition temperatures, where Tc2>~Tc1. For temperatures above Tc1, the equilibrium shape is spherical if the rotational frequency is zero. For these 31 nuclei, a slow rotation of the spherical shape creates a prolate shape rotating about its symmetry axis if the temperature is between Tc1 and Tc2, and an oblate shape rotating about its symmetry axis if the temperature is above Tc2.

Cooper Pair-Like Systems at High Temperature and their Role on Fluctuations Near the Critical Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausloos, M.; Dorbolo, S.

A logarithmic behavior is hidden in the linear temperature regime of the electrical resistivity R(T) of some YBCO sample below 2Tc where "pairs" break apart, fluctuations occur and "a gap is opening". An anomalous effect also occurs near 200 K in the normal state Hall coefficient. In a simulation of oxygen diffusion in planar 123 YBCO, an anomalous behavior is found in the oxygen-vacancy motion near such a temperature. We claim that the behavior of the specific heat above and near the critical temperature should be reexamined in order to show the influence and implications of fluctuations and dimensionality on the nature of the phase transition and on the true onset temperature.

Spatiotemporal Co-existence of Female Thyroid and Breast Cancers in Hangzhou, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fei, Xufeng; Christakos, George; Lou, Zhaohan; Ren, Yanjun; Liu, Qingmin; Wu, Jiaping

2016-06-01

Thyroid and breast cancers (TC, BC) are common female malignant tumors worldwide. Studies suggest that TC patients have a higher BC risk, and vice versa. However, it has not been investigated quantitatively if there is an association between the space-time TC and BC incidence distributions at the population level. This work aims to answer this question. 5358 TC and 8784 BC (female) cases were diagnosed in Hangzhou (China, 2008-2012). Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients of the TC and BC incidences were high, and their patterns were geographically similar. The spatiotemporal co-existence of TC and BC distributions was investigated using the integrative disease predictability (IDP) criterion: if TC-BC association is part of the disease mapping knowledge bases, it should yield improved space-time incidence predictions. Improved TC (BC) incidence predictions were generated when integrating both TC and BC data than when using only TC (BC) data. IDP consistently demonstrated the spatiotemporal co-existence of TC and BC distributions throughout Hangzhou (2008-2012), which means that when the population experiences high incidences of one kind of cancer attention should be paid to the other kind of cancer too. The strength of TC-BC association was measured by the IDP coefficients and incidence prediction accuracy.

Spatiotemporal Co-existence of Female Thyroid and Breast Cancers in Hangzhou, China

PubMed Central

Fei, Xufeng; Christakos, George; Lou, Zhaohan; Ren, Yanjun; Liu, Qingmin; Wu, Jiaping

2016-01-01

Thyroid and breast cancers (TC, BC) are common female malignant tumors worldwide. Studies suggest that TC patients have a higher BC risk, and vice versa. However, it has not been investigated quantitatively if there is an association between the space-time TC and BC incidence distributions at the population level. This work aims to answer this question. 5358 TC and 8784 BC (female) cases were diagnosed in Hangzhou (China, 2008–2012). Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients of the TC and BC incidences were high, and their patterns were geographically similar. The spatiotemporal co-existence of TC and BC distributions was investigated using the integrative disease predictability (IDP) criterion: if TC-BC association is part of the disease mapping knowledge bases, it should yield improved space-time incidence predictions. Improved TC (BC) incidence predictions were generated when integrating both TC and BC data than when using only TC (BC) data. IDP consistently demonstrated the spatiotemporal co-existence of TC and BC distributions throughout Hangzhou (2008–2012), which means that when the population experiences high incidences of one kind of cancer attention should be paid to the other kind of cancer too. The strength of TC-BC association was measured by the IDP coefficients and incidence prediction accuracy. PMID:27341638

Enhanced 99Tc retention in glass waste form using Tc(IV)-incorporated Fe minerals

DOE PAGES

Um, Wooyong; Luksic, Steven A.; Wang, Guohui; ...

2017-09-07

We present that technetium ( 99Tc) immobilization by doping into iron oxide mineral phases may alleviate the problems with Tc volatility during vitrification of nuclear waste. Because reduced Tc, Tc(IV), substitutes for Fe(III) in the crystal structure by a process of Tc reduction from Tc(VII) to Tc(IV) followed by co-precipitation of Fe oxide minerals, two Tc-incorporated Fe minerals (Tc-goethite and Tc-magnetite/maghemite) were prepared and tested for Tc retention in glass melt samples at temperatures between 600 and 1000 °C. After being cooled, the solid glass specimens prepared at different temperatures at 600, 800, and 1000 °C were analyzed for Tcmore » oxidation state using Tc K-edge XANES. In most samples, Tc was partially (<60%) oxidized from Tc(IV) to Tc(VII) as the melt temperature increased up to 600 °C. However, most of Tc(IV) was completely (>95%) oxidized to Tc(VII) at temperature above 800 °C. Tc retention in glass melt samples prepared using Tc-incorporated Fe minerals were slightly higher (~10%) than in glass prepared using KTcO4 because of limited and delayed Tc volatilization.« less

Enhanced 99Tc retention in glass waste form using Tc(IV)-incorporated Fe minerals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Um, Wooyong; Luksic, Steven A.; Wang, Guohui

We present that technetium ( 99Tc) immobilization by doping into iron oxide mineral phases may alleviate the problems with Tc volatility during vitrification of nuclear waste. Because reduced Tc, Tc(IV), substitutes for Fe(III) in the crystal structure by a process of Tc reduction from Tc(VII) to Tc(IV) followed by co-precipitation of Fe oxide minerals, two Tc-incorporated Fe minerals (Tc-goethite and Tc-magnetite/maghemite) were prepared and tested for Tc retention in glass melt samples at temperatures between 600 and 1000 °C. After being cooled, the solid glass specimens prepared at different temperatures at 600, 800, and 1000 °C were analyzed for Tcmore » oxidation state using Tc K-edge XANES. In most samples, Tc was partially (<60%) oxidized from Tc(IV) to Tc(VII) as the melt temperature increased up to 600 °C. However, most of Tc(IV) was completely (>95%) oxidized to Tc(VII) at temperature above 800 °C. Tc retention in glass melt samples prepared using Tc-incorporated Fe minerals were slightly higher (~10%) than in glass prepared using KTcO4 because of limited and delayed Tc volatilization.« less

Enhanced 99 Tc retention in glass waste form using Tc(IV)-incorporated Fe minerals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Um, Wooyong; Luksic, Steven A.; Wang, Guohui

Technetium (99Tc) immobilization by doping into iron oxide mineral phases may alleviate the problems with Tc volatility during vitrification of nuclear waste. Reduced Tc, Tc(IV), substitutes for Fe(III) in the crystal structure by a process of Tc reduction from Tc(VII) to Tc(IV) followed by co-precipitation of Fe oxide minerals. Two Tc-incorporated Fe minerals (Tc-goethite and Tc-magnetite/maghemite) were prepared and tested for Tc retention in glass melt samples at temperatures between 600 – 1,000 oC. After being cooled, the solid glass specimens prepared at different temperatures were analyzed for Tc oxidation state using Tc K-edge XANES. In most samples, Tc wasmore » partially oxidized from Tc(IV) to Tc(VII) as the melt temperature increased. However, Tc retention in glass melt samples prepared using Tc-incorporated Fe minerals were moderately higher than in glass prepared using KTcO4 because of limited and delayed Tc volatilization.« less

Pressure effect in cuprates - manifestation of Le Chatelier's principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallio, A.; Bräysy, V.; Hissa, J.

We show that the pressure dependence of Tc, the Hall coefficient scaling, resistivities etc. can be explained by the chemical equilibrium of bosons and their decay products the fermions applying essentially the classical theory. Above a temperature TBL the bosons form a lattice, which causes diffusion term in τab-1. Treatment of equilibrium in a magnetic field explains the dependence of quantities like the penetration depth λab uponm the field.

The flexoelectric effect associated size dependent pyroelectricity in solid dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Gang; Liu, Zhiguo; Xie, Qiyun; Guo, Yanyan; Li, Wei; Yan, Xiaobing

2015-09-01

A phenomenological thermodynamic theory is used to investigate the effect of strain gradient on the pyroelectric effect in centrosymmetric dielectric solids. Direct pyroelectricity can exist as external mechanical stress is applied to non-pyroelectric dielectrics with shapes such as truncated pyramids, due to elastic strain gradient induced flexoelectric polarization. Effective pyroelectric coefficient was analyzed in truncated pyramids. It is found to be controlled by size, ambient temperature, stress, and aspect ratio and depends mainly on temperature sensitivity of flexoelectric coefficient (TSFC) and strain gradient of the truncated pyramids dielectric solids. These results show that the pyroelectric property of Ba0.67Sr0.33TiO3 above Tc similar to PZT and other lead-based ferroelectrics can be obtained. This feature might widely broaden the selection of materials for infrared detectors with preferable properties.

Temperature Measurement Inside Protective Headgear: Comparison With Core Temperatures and Indicators of Physiological Strain During Exercise in a Hot Environment.

PubMed

Mitchell, Joel B; Goldston, Kelly R; Adams, Amy N; Crisp, Kelli M; Franklin, Brian B; Kreutzer, Andreas; Montalvo, Diego X; Turner, Marcell G; Phillips, Melody D

2015-01-01

Non-invasive temperature monitoring with a sensor inside protective headgear may be effective in detecting temperatures that are associated with heat illness. The purpose was to establish the relationship between in-hardhat temperatures (Tih) and core temperature (Tc) as measured by rectal (Tre) and esophageal (Tes) probes. Thirty males (age 24.57 ± 4.32 yrs.) completed two trials: continuous submaximal exercise (CSE) and a series of high intensity 30-s sprints (HIE) with a one-minute rest between each. Exercise in both conditions was in a 36(°)C environment (40% RH) while wearing a standard hardhat with sensors mounted on the forehead that were monitored remotely. Exercise continued until voluntary termination or until Tc reached 39.5(°)C. Temperatures, heart rate, cardiorespiratory, and perceptual responses were monitored throughout. A physiological strain index (PSI) was calculated from Tc and HR. The final temperatures in the CSE condition were 38.77 ± 0.41, 38.90 ± 0.49 and 39.29 ± 0.58(°)C and in the HIE condition, final temperatures were 38.76 ± 0.37, 38.91 ± 0.47, and 39.19 ± 0.57 f (o)C for Tih, Tre, and Tes, respectively. The PSI in CSE was 9.62 ± 062, 9.18 ± 1.11, and 10.04 ± 1.05, and in the HIE condition 9.67 ± 068, 9.29 ± 0.99. and 9.86 ± 1.02 based on Tih, Tre and Tes, respectively. The general agreement between the Tih and other temperature measures along with the consistency as indicated by a low coefficient of variation (approx. 1%) in the recordings of the Tih sensors at the point of termination suggest that this device, or similar devices, may have application as a warning system for impending heat-related problems.

Contribution of industrial density and socioeconomic status to the spatial distribution of thyroid cancer risk in Hangzhou, China.

PubMed

Fei, Xufeng; Lou, Zhaohan; Christakos, George; Liu, Qingmin; Ren, Yanjun; Wu, Jiaping

2018-02-01

The thyroid cancer (TC) incidence in China has increased dramatically during the last three decades. Typical in this respect is the case of Hangzhou city (China), where 7147 new TC cases were diagnosed during the period 2008-2012. Hence, the assessment of the TC incidence risk increase due to environmental exposure is an important public health matter. Correlation analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Poisson regression were first used to evaluate the statistical association between TC and key risk factors (industrial density and socioeconomic status). Then, the Bayesian maximum entropy (BME) theory and the integrative disease predictability (IDP) criterion were combined to quantitatively assess both the overall and the spatially distributed strength of the "exposure-disease" association. Overall, higher socioeconomic status was positively correlated with higher TC risk (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.687, P<0.01). Compared to people of low socioeconomic status, people of median and high socioeconomic status showed higher TC risk: the Relative Risk (RR) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) were found to be, respectively, RR=2.29 with 95% CI=1.99 to 2.63, and RR=3.67 with 95% CI=3.22 to 4.19. The "industrial density-TC incidence" correlation, however, was non-significant. Spatially, the "socioeconomic status-TC" association measured by the corresponding IDP coefficient was significant throughout the study area: the mean IDP value was -0.12 and the spatial IDP values were consistently negative at the township level. It was found that stronger associations were distributed among residents mainly on a stripe of land from northeast to southwest (consisting mainly of sub-district areas). The "industrial density-TC" association measured by its IDP coefficient was spatially non-consistent. Socioeconomic status is an important indicator of TC risk factor in Hangzhou (China) whose effect varies across space. Hence, socioeconomic status shows the highest TC risk effect in sub-district areas. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pseudogap temperature T* of cuprate superconductors from the Nernst effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyr-Choinière, O.; Daou, R.; Laliberté, F.; Collignon, C.; Badoux, S.; LeBoeuf, D.; Chang, J.; Ramshaw, B. J.; Bonn, D. A.; Hardy, W. N.; Liang, R.; Yan, J.-Q.; Cheng, J.-G.; Zhou, J.-S.; Goodenough, J. B.; Pyon, S.; Takayama, T.; Takagi, H.; Doiron-Leyraud, N.; Taillefer, Louis

2018-02-01

We use the Nernst effect to delineate the boundary of the pseudogap phase in the temperature-doping phase diagram of hole-doped cuprate superconductors. New data for the Nernst coefficient ν (T ) of YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO), La1.8 -xEu0.2SrxCuO4 (Eu-LSCO), and La1.6 -xNd0.4SrxCuO4 (Nd-LSCO) are presented and compared with previously published data on YBCO, Eu-LSCO, Nd-LSCO, and La2 -xSrxCuO4 (LSCO). The temperature Tν at which ν /T deviates from its high-temperature linear behavior is found to coincide with the temperature at which the resistivity ρ (T ) deviates from its linear-T dependence, which we take as the definition of the pseudogap temperature T★—in agreement with the temperature at which the antinodal spectral gap detected in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) opens. We track T★ as a function of doping and find that it decreases linearly vs p in all four materials, having the same value in the three LSCO-based cuprates, irrespective of their different crystal structures. At low p ,T★ is higher than the onset temperature of the various orders observed in underdoped cuprates, suggesting that these orders are secondary instabilities of the pseudogap phase. A linear extrapolation of T★(p ) to p =0 yields T★(p →0 ) ≃TN (0), the Néel temperature for the onset of antiferromagnetic order at p =0 , suggesting that there is a link between pseudogap and antiferromagnetism. With increasing p ,T★(p ) extrapolates linearly to zero at p ≃pc 2 , the critical doping below which superconductivity emerges at high doping, suggesting that the conditions which favor pseudogap formation also favor pairing. We also use the Nernst effect to investigate how far superconducting fluctuations extend above the critical temperature Tc, as a function of doping, and find that a narrow fluctuation regime tracks Tc, and not T★. This confirms that the pseudogap phase is not a form of precursor superconductivity, and fluctuations in the phase of the superconducting order parameter are not what causes Tc to fall on the underdoped side of the Tc dome.

Sorption--desorption studies on granite. I. Initial studies of strontium, technetium, cesium, barium, cerium, europium, uranium, plutonium, and americium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Erdal, B.R.; Aguilar, R.D.; Bayhurst, B.P.

Distribution ratios were determined for sorption--desorption of radioactive tracers between the Climax Stock granite (quartz monzonite porphyry) obtained at Nevada Test Site and a water prepared to be resonably representative of the natural composition of water in equilibrium with the Climax Stock granite. The measurements were performed at 22 and 70{sup 0}C under atmospheric oxygen conditions. Elements given in order of increasing distribution coefficient at ambient temperature are: U(VI), Sr, Tc(VII), Ba, Ce(III), Cs, Eu(III), Pu, and Am. At 70{sup 0}C the order is: Tc(VII), Sr, Ce(III), Eu(III), Ba, Cs, Pu, and Am. The effects of surface area and mineralogymore » on sorption were also investigated.« less

Temperature-independent ferroelectric property and characterization of high-TC 0.2Bi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-0.8PbTiO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Linxing; Chen, Jun; Zhao, Hanqing; Fan, Longlong; Rong, Yangchun; Deng, Jinxia; Yu, Ranbo; Xing, Xianran

2013-08-01

Ferroelectric property stability against elevated temperature is significant for ferroelectric film applications, such as non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories. The high-TC 0.2Bi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-0.8PbTiO3 thin films show the temperature-independent ferroelectric properties, which were fabricated on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates via sol-gel method. The present thin films were well crystallized in a phase-pure perovskite structure with a high (100) orientation and uniform texture. A remanent polarization (2Pr) of 77 μC cm-2 and a local effective piezoelectric coefficient d33* of 60 pm/V were observed in the 0.2Bi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-0.8PbTiO3 thin films. It is interesting to observe a behavior of temperature-independent ferroelectric property in the temperature range of room temperature to 125 °C. The remanent polarization, coercive field, and polarization at the maximum field are almost constant in the investigated temperature range. Furthermore, the dielectric loss and fatigue properties of 0.2Bi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-0.8PbTiO3 thin films have been effectively improved by the Mn-doping.

A low-temperature study of manganese-induced ferromagnetism and valence band convergence in tin telluride

DOE PAGES

Chi, Hang; Tan, Gangjian; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; ...

2016-05-02

In this study, SnTe is renowned for its promise in advancing energy-related technologies based on thermoelectricity and for its topological crystalline insulator character. Here, we demonstrate that each Mn atom introduces ~4 μ B (Bohr magneton) of magnetic moment to Sn 1–xMn xTe. The Curie temperatureTC reaches ~14K for x = 0.12, as observed in the field dependent hysteresis of magnetization and the anomalous Hall effect. In accordance with a modified two-band electronic Kane model, the light L-valence-band and the heavy Σ-valence-band gradually converge in energy with increasing Mn concentration, leading to a decreasing ordinary Hall coefficient R H andmore » a favorably enhanced Seebeck coefficient S at the same time. With the thermal conductivityκ lowered chiefly via point defects associated with the incorporation of Mn, the strategy of Mn doping also bodes well for efficient thermoelectric applications at elevated temperatures.« less

Structural and magnetic properties of morphotropic phase boundary involved Tb 1-xGd xFe 2 compounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murtaza, Adil; Yang, Sen; Zhou, Chao

2016-09-01

In the present paper, structural, magnetic and magnetostrictive properties of Tb 1-xGd xFe 2 (0 <= x <= 1.0) were studied. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD) results show the non-cubic symmetry of Tb 1-xGd xFe 2 at room temperature and composition-induced crystallographic phase transition from rhombohedral phase to tetragonal phase. The Gd concentration dependent lattice parameters, lattice distortion and change of easy magnetic direction were detected by synchrotron XRD. With the Gd concentration increases, Curie temperature Tc increases while room temperature magnetization and magnetostriction coefficient lambda(111) and the anisotropy of TbFe 2 decrease. The decrease in spontaneous magnetostriction coefficient lambda(111) withmore » increasing Gd substitution can be understood on the basis of the single-ion model; the corresponding decrease of magnetostriction for Tb 1-xGd xFe 2, and the large magnetostriction value occurs on the Tb-rich side, are ascribed to decrease of lambda(111)« less

Unshocked Equilibrated H Chondrites: A Common Low-Temperature Record from Fe-Mg Ordering in Orthopyroxene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folco, L.; Mellini, M.; Pillinger, C. T.

1995-09-01

The study of the thermal metamorphism of ordinary chondrites through geothermometers can provide significant constraints on the parent body thermal models which remain controversial. We report here results from Fe-Mg ordering closure temperatures (Tc) of orthopyroxenes from eight unshocked equilibrated H-chondrites obtained by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction. The method is based on the fact that cation partitioning in orthopyroxene is sensitive to temperature [1], and makes use of the experimental calibration by Molin et al. [2]. The goal of the investigation is to check how petrographic types relate to cation ordering thermal records. Results: The orthopyroxenes show a very similar degree of Fe-Mg ordering (see Table 1.). The Tc's cluster within the 384+/-48 to 480+/-28 degrees C interval, and show no correlation with petrographic type. The lack of a correlation does not mean that the distribution is random, rather, it appears to be controlled in individual samples by the degree of equilibration. In fact, the higher the petrographic type, the more coherent the results of the grains from individual chondrites. The spread of Tc's in the least equilibrated chondrites could be either a memory of heterogeneous pre-metamorphic records related to individual chondrule histories, or an artefact due to crystal defects. Therefore (1) the thermal records, inferred from the Fe-Mg ordering, are nearly the same for all the equilibrated H-chondrites; (2) the most equilibrated chondrites record distinct Tc values within the larger common Tc range; (3) the spread of Tc in H4's maybe indicative of disequilibrium and merits further study. The closure temperature conveys information on the cooling rate close to its value, regardless of the temperature regimes when the ordering process started. Extrapolation to high temperatures can be made only if the cooling path is constrained. Since we have no data to establish the temperature when ordering began and to decide whether the cooling was linear, we have not attempted quantitative estimates of cooling rates. However we can say that as equilibrated H-chondrites carry similar Tc records, they cooled at similar rates through 380-480 degrees C. However, the k(sub)D's (i.e., the intracrystalline Fe-Mg distribution coefficient) range 0.029 to 0.054, suggesting that H-chondrites cooled in petrogenetic environments intermediate between those of volcanic [3] and granulitic rocks [3,4]. Conclusion: Our results provide the following constraints: (1) Equilibrated H-chondrites, regardless the petrographic type, were located in petrogenetic environments characterized by similar temperature-time conditions when cooling through 380-480 degrees C, and, in terms of terrestrial environments, intermediate between those of volcanic and granulitic facies. (2) Different petrographic types reflect distinct metamorphic thermal regimes. Thus, to account for constraint (1), petrographic type was determined at temperatures above the 380-480 degrees C interval. This implies that equilibrated H-chondrites were placed in different geological environments characterized by distinct temperature-time regimes when still above this temperature range. In the case of the least equilibrated chondrites, for which the two events could coincide. Acknowledgments: We thank EUROMET for providing us with the Frontier Mt. samples, and PNRA for supporting this study. References: [1] Saxena S. K. and Dal Negro A. (1983) Bull. Min ral., 106, 443-449. [2] Molin G. M. et al. (1991) EPSL, 105, 260-265. [3] Bertolo S. and Nimis P. (1993) EJM, 5, 707-719. [4] Tribaudino M. and Talarico F. (1992) EJM, 4, 453-463.

Novel Method of Estimating Metabolic Rates of Soldiers Engaged in Chemical Biological Defense Training

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Simplified example of estimating metabolic rate from core temperature using the SCENARIO thermoregulatory model. 7 4 Edgewood training site, Day 1, core... temperature (TC) and metabolic rate (Ṁ). 10 5 Edgewood training site, Day 2, core temperature (TC) and metabolic rate (Ṁ). 11 6 Hayward...training site, Day 1, core temperature (TC) and metabolic rate (Ṁ). 12 7 Hayward training site, Day 2, core temperature (TC) and metabolic rate (Ṁ). 13

Accuracy of Transcutaneous CO2 Values Compared With Arterial and Capillary Blood Gases.

PubMed

Lambert, Laura L; Baldwin, Melissa B; Gonzalez, Cruz Velasco; Lowe, Gary R; Willis, J Randy

2018-05-08

Transcutaneous monitors are utilized to monitor a patient's respiratory status. Some patients have similar values when comparing transcutaneous carbon dioxide ( P tcCO 2 ) values with blood gas analysis, whereas others show extreme variability. A retrospective review of data was performed to determine how accurately P tcCO 2 correlated with CO 2 values obtained by arterial blood gas (ABG) or capillary blood gas. To determine whether P tcCO 2 values correlated with ABG or capillary blood gas values, subjects' records were retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included the P tcCO 2 value at the time of blood gas procurement and the ABG or capillary blood gas P CO 2 value. Agreement of pairs of methods (ABG vs P tcCO 2 and capillary blood gas vs P tcCO 2 ) was assessed with the Bland-Altman approach with limits of agreement estimated with a mixed model to account for serial measurements per subject. A total of 912 pairs of ABG/ P tcCO 2 values on 54 subjects and 307 pairs of capillary blood gas/ P tcCO 2 values on 34 subjects were analyzed. The P CO 2 range for ABG was 24-106 mm Hg, and P tcCO 2 values were 27-133 mm Hg. The P CO 2 range for capillary blood gas was 29-108 mm Hg, and P tcCO 2 values were 30-103 mm Hg. For ABG/ P tcCO 2 comparisons, the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.82, 95% CI was 0.80-0.84, and P was <.001. For capillary blood gas/ P tcCO 2 comparisons, the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.77, 95% CI was 0.72-0.81, and P was <.001. For ABG/ P tcCO 2 , the estimated difference ± SD was -6.79 t± 7.62 mm Hg, and limits of agreement were -22.03 to 8.45. For capillary blood gas/ P tcCO 2 , the estimated difference ± SD was -1.61 ± 7.64 mm Hg, and limits of agreement were -16.88 to 13.66. The repeatability coefficient was about 30 mm Hg. Based on these data, capillary blood gas comparisons showed less variation and a slightly lower correlation with P tcCO 2 than did ABG comparisons. After accounting for serial measurements per patient, due to the wide limits of agreement and poor repeatability, the utility of relying on P tcCO 2 readings for this purpose is questionable. Copyright © 2018 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Ultrasonic attenuation in superconducting molybdenum-rhenium alloys.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashkin, M.; Deis, D. W.; Gottlieb, M.; Jones, C. K.

1971-01-01

Investigation of longitudinal sound attenuation in superconducting Mo-Re alloys as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and frequency. Evaporated thin film CdS transducers were used for the measurements at frequencies up to 3 GHz. The normal state attenuation coefficient was found to be proportional to the square of frequency over this frequency range. Measurements in zero magnetic field yielded a value of the energy gap parameter close to the threshold value of 3.56 kTc, appropriate to a weakly coupled dirty limit superconductor.

Comparison of infrared canopy temperature in a rubber plantation and tropical rain forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Qing-Hai; Deng, Yun; Zhang, Yi-Ping; Deng, Xiao-Bao; Lin, You-Xing; Zhou, Li-Guo; Fei, Xue-Hai; Sha, Li-Qing; Liu, Yun-Tong; Zhou, Wen-Jun; Gao, Jin-Bo

2017-10-01

Canopy temperature is a result of the canopy energy balance and is driven by climate conditions, plant architecture, and plant-controlled transpiration. Here, we evaluated canopy temperature in a rubber plantation (RP) and tropical rainforest (TR) in Xishuangbanna, southwestern China. An infrared temperature sensor was installed at each site to measure canopy temperature. In the dry season, the maximum differences (Tc - Ta) between canopy temperature (Tc) and air temperature (Ta) in the RP and TR were 2.6 and 0.1 K, respectively. In the rainy season, the maximum (Tc - Ta) values in the RP and TR were 1.0 and -1.1 K, respectively. There were consistent differences between the two forests, with the RP having higher (Tc - Ta) than the TR throughout the entire year. Infrared measurements of Tc can be used to calculate canopy stomatal conductance in both forests. The difference in (Tc - Ta) at three gc levels with increasing direct radiation in the RP was larger than in the TR, indicating that change in (Tc - Ta) in the RP was relatively sensitive to the degree of stomatal closure.

Evaporation of Lennard-Jones fluids.

PubMed

Cheng, Shengfeng; Lechman, Jeremy B; Plimpton, Steven J; Grest, Gary S

2011-06-14

Evaporation and condensation at a liquid/vapor interface are ubiquitous interphase mass and energy transfer phenomena that are still not well understood. We have carried out large scale molecular dynamics simulations of Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluids composed of monomers, dimers, or trimers to investigate these processes with molecular detail. For LJ monomers in contact with a vacuum, the evaporation rate is found to be very high with significant evaporative cooling and an accompanying density gradient in the liquid domain near the liquid/vapor interface. Increasing the chain length to just dimers significantly reduces the evaporation rate. We confirm that mechanical equilibrium plays a key role in determining the evaporation rate and the density and temperature profiles across the liquid/vapor interface. The velocity distributions of evaporated molecules and the evaporation and condensation coefficients are measured and compared to the predictions of an existing model based on kinetic theory of gases. Our results indicate that for both monatomic and polyatomic molecules, the evaporation and condensation coefficients are equal when systems are not far from equilibrium and smaller than one, and decrease with increasing temperature. For the same reduced temperature T/T(c), where T(c) is the critical temperature, these two coefficients are higher for LJ dimers and trimers than for monomers, in contrast to the traditional viewpoint that they are close to unity for monatomic molecules and decrease for polyatomic molecules. Furthermore, data for the two coefficients collapse onto a master curve when plotted against a translational length ratio between the liquid and vapor phase.

ECG compression using Slantlet and lifting wavelet transform with and without normalisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, Vibha; Singh Patterh, Manjeet

2013-05-01

This article analyses the performance of: (i) linear transform: Slantlet transform (SLT), (ii) nonlinear transform: lifting wavelet transform (LWT) and (iii) nonlinear transform (LWT) with normalisation for electrocardiogram (ECG) compression. First, an ECG signal is transformed using linear transform and nonlinear transform. The transformed coefficients (TC) are then thresholded using bisection algorithm in order to match the predefined user-specified percentage root mean square difference (UPRD) within the tolerance. Then, the binary look up table is made to store the position map for zero and nonzero coefficients (NZCs). The NZCs are quantised by Max-Lloyd quantiser followed by Arithmetic coding. The look up table is encoded by Huffman coding. The results show that the LWT gives the best result as compared to SLT evaluated in this article. This transform is then considered to evaluate the effect of normalisation before thresholding. In case of normalisation, the TC is normalised by dividing the TC by ? (where ? is number of samples) to reduce the range of TC. The normalised coefficients (NC) are then thresholded. After that the procedure is same as in case of coefficients without normalisation. The results show that the compression ratio (CR) in case of LWT with normalisation is improved as compared to that without normalisation.

Atomic structure and transport properties of Cu50Zr45Al5 metallic liquids and glasses: Molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Mattern, N.; Eckert, J.

2011-11-01

We have simulated the atomic structure and the transport properties of Cu50Zr45Al5 metallic liquids and glasses within a wide cooling temperature range from 2000 to 300 K, using molecular dynamics simulations. High fractions of Cu- and Al-centered full icosahedra and Zr-centered icosahedra-like clusters have been detected in both supercooled liquids and glasses. The heat capacity and linear thermal expansion coefficients of both liquids and glasses are also calculated, which have not been reported for this off-eutectic composition previously. The critical temperature (Tc) of Cu50Zr45Al5 liquids is determined to be 874.7 K by investigating the self-diffusivity using the mode coupling theory. A dynamics cross-over is detected in the vicinity of Tc, which can be reflected by different diffusion mechanisms and a remarkable deviation from the Einstein-Stokes relation. The results further suggest a fragile to strong transition of Cu50Zr45Al5 liquids between 1500 K and 1300 K upon cooling, which may result from a drastic increase of stable clusters within this temperature range.

Study of electrical and magneto-transport properties in La0.5Sr0.5CoO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Gaurav; Tyagi, Shekhar; Rawat, R.; Sathe, V. G.

2018-04-01

Electric and Magneto-Transport properties of La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 have been investigated in the temperature range of 5-300K and under the magnetic field up to 8T. The para- to ferromagnetic transition is reflected in zero field R-T measurements in the form of change in slope. La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 is a well-known cluster glass compound with Tc˜250K. The compound show metallic behavior throughout the whole temperature range of measurement. The compound exhibits negative magneto-resistance around the magnetic ordering temperature due to suppression of spin disorder resistivity. The Seebeck coefficient as a function of temperature is also measured and the results are discussed.

The activity of TcCYS4 modified by variations in pH and temperature can affect symptoms of witches' broom disease of cocoa, caused by the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa.

PubMed

Freitas, Ana Camila Oliveira; Souza, Cristiane Ferreira; Monzani, Paulo Sérgio; Garcia, Wanius; de Almeida, Alex Alan Furtado; Costa, Marcio Gilberto Cardoso; Pirovani, Carlos Priminho

2015-01-01

The phytocystatins regulate various physiological processes in plants, including responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, mainly because they act as inhibitors of cysteine proteases. In this study, we have analyzed four cystatins from Theobroma cacao L. previously identified in ESTs libraries of the interaction with the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa and named TcCYS1, TcCYS2, TcCYS3 and TcCYS4. The recombinant cystatins were purified and subjected to the heat treatment, at different temperatures, and their thermostabilities were monitored using their ability to inhibit papain protease. TcCYS1 was sensitive to temperatures above 50°C, while TcCYS2, TcCYS3, and TcCYS4 were thermostable. TcCYS4 presented a decrease of inhibitory activity when it was treated at temperatures between 60 and 70°C, with the greater decrease occurring at 65°C. Analyses by native gel electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatography showed that TcCYS4 forms oligomers at temperatures between 60 and 70°C, condition where reduction of inhibitory activity was observed. TcCYS4 oligomers remain stable for up to 20 days after heat treatment and are undone after treatment at 80°C. TcCYS4 presented approximately 90% of inhibitory activity at pH values between 5 and 9. This protein treated at temperatures above 45°C and pH 5 presented reduced inhibitory activity against papain, suggesting that the pH 5 enhances the formation of TcCYS4 oligomers. A variation in the titratable acidity was observed in tissues of T. cacao during the symptoms of witches' broom disease. Our findings suggest that the oligomerization of TcCYS4, favored by variations in pH, is an endergonic process. We speculate that this process can be involved in the development of the symptoms of witches' broom disease in cocoa.

The Activity of TcCYS4 Modified by Variations in pH and Temperature Can Affect Symptoms of Witches’ Broom Disease of Cocoa, Caused by the Fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa

PubMed Central

Freitas, Ana Camila Oliveira; Souza, Cristiane Ferreira; Monzani, Paulo Sérgio; Garcia, Wanius; de Almeida, Alex Alan Furtado; Costa, Marcio Gilberto Cardoso; Pirovani, Carlos Priminho

2015-01-01

The phytocystatins regulate various physiological processes in plants, including responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, mainly because they act as inhibitors of cysteine proteases. In this study, we have analyzed four cystatins from Theobroma cacao L. previously identified in ESTs libraries of the interaction with the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa and named TcCYS1, TcCYS2, TcCYS3 and TcCYS4. The recombinant cystatins were purified and subjected to the heat treatment, at different temperatures, and their thermostabilities were monitored using their ability to inhibit papain protease. TcCYS1 was sensitive to temperatures above 50°C, while TcCYS2, TcCYS3, and TcCYS4 were thermostable. TcCYS4 presented a decrease of inhibitory activity when it was treated at temperatures between 60 and 70°C, with the greater decrease occurring at 65°C. Analyses by native gel electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatography showed that TcCYS4 forms oligomers at temperatures between 60 and 70°C, condition where reduction of inhibitory activity was observed. TcCYS4 oligomers remain stable for up to 20 days after heat treatment and are undone after treatment at 80°C. TcCYS4 presented approximately 90% of inhibitory activity at pH values between 5 and 9. This protein treated at temperatures above 45°C and pH 5 presented reduced inhibitory activity against papain, suggesting that the pH 5 enhances the formation of TcCYS4 oligomers. A variation in the titratable acidity was observed in tissues of T. cacao during the symptoms of witches’ broom disease. Our findings suggest that the oligomerization of TcCYS4, favored by variations in pH, is an endergonic process. We speculate that this process can be involved in the development of the symptoms of witches’ broom disease in cocoa. PMID:25830226

Anomalous Damping of a Microelectromechanical Oscillator in Superfluid ^{3}He-B.

PubMed

Zheng, P; Jiang, W G; Barquist, C S; Lee, Y; Chan, H B

2016-11-04

The mechanical resonance properties of a microelectromechanical oscillator with a gap of 1.25  μm was studied in superfluid ^{3}He-B at various pressures. The oscillator was driven in the linear damping regime where the damping coefficient is independent of the oscillator velocity. The quality factor of the oscillator remains low (Q≈80) down to 0.1T_{c}, 4 orders of magnitude less than the intrinsic quality factor measured in vacuum at 4 K. In addition to the Boltzmann temperature dependent contribution to the damping, a damping proportional to temperature was found to dominate at low temperatures. We propose a multiple scattering mechanism of the surface Andreev bound states to be a possible cause for the anomalous damping.

Attachment of Free Filament Thermocouples for Temperature Measurements on CMC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lei, Jih-Fen; Cuy, Michael D.; Wnuk, Stephen P.

1997-01-01

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) are being developed for use as enabling materials for advanced aeropropulsion engine and high speed civil transport applications. The characterization and testing of these advanced materials in hostile, high-temperature environments require accurate measurement of the material temperatures. Commonly used wire Thermo-Couples (TC) can not be attached to this ceramic based material via conventional spot-welding techniques. Attachment of wire TC's with commercially available ceramic cements fail to provide sufficient adhesion at high temperatures. While advanced thin film TC technology provides minimally intrusive surface temperature measurement and has good adhesion on the CMC, its fabrication requires sophisticated and expensive facilities and is very time consuming. In addition, the durability of lead wire attachments to both thin film TC's and the substrate materials requires further improvement. This paper presents a newly developed attachment technique for installation of free filament wire TC's with a unique convoluted design on ceramic based materials such as CMC's. Three CMC's (SiC/SiC CMC and alumina/alumina CMC) instrumented with type IC, R or S wire TC's were tested in a Mach 0.3 burner rig. The CMC temperatures measured from these wire TC's were compared to that from the facility pyrometer and thin film TC's. There was no sign of TC delamination even after several hours exposure to 1200 C. The test results proved that this new technique can successfully attach wire TC's on CMC's and provide temperature data in hostile environments. The sensor fabrication process is less expensive and requires very little time compared to that of the thin film TC's. The same installation technique/process can also be applied to attach lead wires for thin film sensor systems.

Iron isotope effect in the iron arsenide superconductor (Ca0.4Na0.6)Fe2As2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuge, Y.; Nishio, T.; Iyo, A.; Tanaka, Y.; Eisaki, H.

2014-05-01

We report a new sample synthesis technique for polycrystalline (Ca1-xNax)Fe2As2 (0

Upper critical fields and superconducting transition temperatures of some zirconium-base amorphous transition-metal alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karkut, M. G.; Hake, R. R.

1983-08-01

Superconducting upper critical fields Hc2(T), transition temperatures Tc and normal-state electrical resistivities ρn have been measured in the amorphous transition-metal alloy series Zr1-xCox, Zr1-xNix, (Zr1-xTix)0.78Ni0.22, and (Zr1-xNbx)0.78Ni0.22. Structural integrity of these melt-spun alloys is indicated by x-ray, density, bend-ductility, normal-state electrical resistivity, superconducting transition width, and mixed-state flux-pinning measurements. The specimens display Tc=2.1-3.8 K, ρn=159-190 μΩ cm, and |(dHc2dT)Tc|=28-36 kG/K. These imply electron mean free paths l~2-6 Å, zero-temperature Ginzburg-Landau coherence distances ξG0~50-70 Å, penetration depths λG0~(7-10)×103 Å, and extremely high dirtiness parameters ξ0l~300-1300. All alloys display Hc2(T) curves with negative curvature and (with two exceptions) fair agreement with the standard dirty-limit theory of Werthamer, Helfand, Hohenberg, and Maki (WHHM) for physically reasonable values of spin-orbit-coupling induced, electron-spin-flip scattering time τso. This is in contrast to the anomalously elevated Hc2(T) behavior which is nearly linear in T that is observed by some, and the unphysically low-τso fits to WHHM theory obtained by others, for various amorphous alloys. Current ideas that such anomalies may be due to alloy inhomogeneity are supported by present results on two specimens for which relatively low-τso fits of Hc2(T) to WHHM theory are coupled with superconductive evidence for inhomogeneity: relatively broad transitions at Tc and Hc2 current-density-dependent transitions at Hc2 and (in one specimen) a J-dependent, high-H (>Hc2), resistive "beak effect." In the Zr1-xCox and Zr1-xNix series, Tc decreases linearly with x (and with unfilled-shell average electron-to-atom ratio < ea > in the range 5.05<=< ea ><=6.40 in fair agreement with previous results for these systems and contrary to the Tc vs < ea > behavior of both amorphous and crystalline transition-metal alloys formed between near neighbors in the Periodic Table. Upper-critical-field and normal-state electrical resistivity measurements suggest that the molar electronic specific-heat coefficient γm decreases with x in parallel with Tc in the Zr1-xCox and Zr1-xNix series. In the equal-< ea > (Zr1-xTix)0.78Ni0.22 system, Tc decreases with x; in the (Zr1-xNbx)0.78Ni0.22 system, Tc first increases and then decreases with x (hence with < ea >). These diverse < ea > dependencies of Tc appear consistent with the ultraviolet-photoemission-spectroscopy indicated split-band model of such amorphous transition-metal alloys and the associated idea that the alloying dependence of Tc cannot be described by general Tc vs < ea > rules.

Pressure effect on the superconducting and the normal state of β -B i2Pd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pristáš, G.; Orendáč, Mat.; Gabáni, S.; Kačmarčík, J.; Gažo, E.; Pribulová, Z.; Correa-Orellana, A.; Herrera, E.; Suderow, H.; Samuely, P.

2018-04-01

The pressure effect up to 24.0 kbar on superconducting and normal-state properties of β -B i2Pd single crystal (Tc≈4.98 K at ambient pressure) has been investigated by measurements of the electrical resistivity. In addition, we have performed the heat capacity measurements in the temperature range 0.7-300 K at ambient pressure. The recent calculations of electronic density of states, electron-phonon interaction spectral function, and phonon density of states of β -B i2Pd [Zheng and Margine, Phys. Rev. B 95, 014512 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.014512], are used to fit the resistivity and the heat capacity data. In the superconducting state we have focused on the influence of pressure on the superconducting transition temperature Tc and upper critical field Hc 2 and a negative effect with d Tc/d p =-0.025 K /kbar and d Hc 2/d p =-8 mT /kbar is found. A simplified Bloch-Grüneisen model was used to analyze the pressure effect on the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity. The obtained results point to a decrease of the electron-phonon coupling parameter λ and to a shift of phonon frequencies to higher values with pressure. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity follows a T2 dependence above Tc up to about 25 K. Together with the enhanced value of Sommerfeld coefficient γ =13.23 mJ mo l-1K-2 these results point to a certain role of the electron-electron interaction in the superconducting pairing mechanism in β -B i2Pd .

Effects of Dopant on Depoling Temperature in Modified BiScO3 - PbTiO3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kowalski, Benjamin; Sehirlioglu, Alp

2014-01-01

In recent years there has been a renewed interest for high temperature piezoelectrics for both terrestrial and aerospace applications. These applications are limited in part by the operating temperature, which is usually taken as one half of the Curie temperature (Tc), and is 200C for one of the most widely used commercial piezoelectrics, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). In an effort to increase Tc, subsequent research into high temperature Bi(BB)O3 PbTiO3 piezoelectrics led to the discovery of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in the high-Tc BiScO3 PbTiO3 (BS-PT) system with a Tc of 460C and a d33 of 460 pmV. The Tc marks the ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transformation and while, in general, a phase transformation leads to thermal depoling in piezoelectrics with low or moderate Tcs, for high Tc piezoelectrics thermally assisted dipole rotation can lead to randomization of domains at temperatures below Tc. It becomes necessary to determine the depoling temperature (Td) which dictates the actual working temperature range. By doping for Sc and Ti the Td can be shifted while maintaining similar electromechanical properties as a function of temperature. The effect of this B-site doping on depoling temperature has been explored through the characterization of microstructure and weakhigh field measurements.

Properties of binary transition-metal arsenides (TAs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saparov, Bayrammurad; Mitchell, Jonathan E.; Sefat, Athena S.

2012-08-01

We present thermodynamic and transport properties of transition-metal (T) arsenides, TAs, with T = Sc to Ni (3d), Zr, Nb, Ru (4d), Hf and Ta (5d). Characterization of these binaries is carried out with powder x-ray diffraction, temperature- and field-dependent magnetization and resistivity, temperature-dependent heat capacity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. All binaries show metallic behavior except TaAs and RuAs. TaAs, NbAs, ScAs and ZrAs are diamagnetic, while CoAs, VAs, TiAs, NiAs and RuAs show approximately Pauli paramagnetic behavior. FeAs and CrAs undergo antiferromagnetic ordering below TN ≈ 71 K and TN ≈ 260 K, respectively. MnAs is a ferromagnet below TC ≈ 317 K and undergoes hexagonal-orthorhombic-hexagonal transitions at TS ≈ 317 K and 384 K, respectively. For TAs, Seebeck coefficients vary between + 40 and - 40 μV K-1 in the 2-300 K range, whereas thermal conductivity values stay below 18 W m-1 K-1. The Sommerfeld coefficients γ are less than 10 mJ K-2 mol-1. At room temperature with application of 8 T magnetic field, large positive magnetoresistance is found for TaAs (˜25%), MnAs (˜90%) and NbAs (˜75%).

Malleable Curie Temperatures of Natural Titanomagnetites: Occurrences, Modes, and Mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Mike; Bowles, Julie

2018-02-01

Intermediate-composition titanomagnetites have Curie temperatures (Tc) that depend not only on composition but also on thermal history, with increases of 100°C or more in Tc produced by moderate-temperature (300-400°C) annealing in the laboratory or in slow natural cooling and comparable decreases produced by more rapid cooling ("quenching") from higher temperatures. New samples spanning a range of titanomagnetite compositions exhibit reversible changes in Tc comparable to those previously documented for pyroclastic samples from Mt. St. Helens and Novarupta. Additional high- and low-temperature measurements help to shed light on the nanoscale mechanisms responsible for the observed changes in Tc. High-T hysteresis measurements exhibit a peak in high-field slope khf(T) at the Curie temperature, and the peak magnitude decreases as Tc increases with annealing. Sharp changes in low-T magnetic behavior are also strongly affected by prior annealing or quenching, suggesting that these treatments affect the intrasite cation distributions. We have examined the effects of oxidation state and nonstoichiometry on the magnitude of Tc changes produced by quenching/annealing in different atmospheres. Treatments in air generally cause large changes (ΔTc > 100°). In an inert atmosphere, the changes are similar in many samples but strongly diminished in others. When the samples are embedded in a reducing material, ΔTc becomes insignificant. These results strongly suggest that cation vacancies play an essential role in the cation rearrangements responsible for the observed changes in Tc. Some form of octahedral-site chemical clustering or short-range ordering appears to be the best way to explain the large observed changes in Tc.

Experimental Study of the Exciton Gas-Liquid Transition in Coupled Quantum Wells.

PubMed

Misra, Subhradeep; Stern, Michael; Joshua, Arjun; Umansky, Vladimir; Bar-Joseph, Israel

2018-01-26

We study the exciton gas-liquid transition in GaAs/AlGaAs coupled quantum wells. Below a critical temperature, T_{C}=4.8  K, and above a threshold laser power density the system undergoes a phase transition into a liquid state. We determine the density-temperature phase diagram over the temperature range 0.1-4.8 K. We find that the latent heat increases linearly with temperature at T≲1.1  K, similarly to a Bose-Einstein condensate transition, and becomes constant at 1.1≲T<4.8  K. Resonant Rayleigh scattering measurements reveal that the disorder in the sample is strongly suppressed and the diffusion coefficient sharply increases with decreasing temperature at T

High performance Aurivillius phase sodium-potassium bismuth titanate lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with lithium and cerium modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chun-Ming; Wang, Jin-Feng

2006-11-01

The piezoelectric properties of the lithium and cerium modified A-site vacancies sodium-potassium bismuth titanate (NKBT) lead-free piezoceramics are investigated. The piezoelectric activity of NKBT ceramics is significantly improved by the modification of lithium and cerium. The Curie temperature TC, piezoelectric coefficient d33, and mechanical quality factor Qm for the NKBT ceramics modified with 0.10mol% (LiCe) are found to be 660°C, 25pC/N, and 3135, respectively. The Curie temperature gradually decreases from 675to650°C with the increase of (LiCe) modification. The dielectric spectroscopy shows that all the samples possess stable piezoelectric properties, demonstrating that the (LiCe) modified NKBT-based ceramics are the promising candidates for high temperature applications.

Heat capacity and transport measurements in sputtered niobium-zirconium multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broussard, P. R.; Mael, D.

1989-08-01

We have studied the electrical resistivity and heat capacity for multilayers of niobium and zirconium prepared by magnetron sputtering for values of the bilayer period Λ varying from 4 to 950 Å. We find a transition in the thermal part of the resistivity that correlates with the coherent-to-incoherent transition seen in earlier work. The heat capacity data for the normal state show anomalous behavior for both the electronic coefficient γ and the Debye temperature. We also study the variation in Tc and the jump in the specific heat.

Magnetization and Hall effect under high pressure in NaV 6O 11

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naka, T.; Matsumoto, T.; Kanke, Y.; Murata, K.

1995-02-01

We have investigated the pressure dependences of magnetization and the Hall coefficient in the ferromagnetic vanadium oxide NaV 6O 11 up to 1.2 GPa. Structural transitions (hexagonal-hexagonal-orthorhombic) occur at TH = 245 K and TL = 35 K at ambient pressure. Meanwhile, the susceptibility obeys the Curie-Weiss law X = C/( T - θ) with antiferromagnetic correlation of θ < 0 at T > TH, with ferromagnetic correlation of θ < 0 at T < TH. The spontaneous magnetization appears below Tc = 64.2 K. With increasing pressure, Tc and magnetization M( T < Tc) decrease, while TH increases. The sign of the Hall coefficient changes continuously (negative-positive-negative) at around T ≈ 170 K and 75 K.

Impeding 99Tc(IV) mobility in novel waste forms

DOE PAGES

Lee, Mal-Soon; Um, Wooyong; Wang, Guohui; ...

2016-06-30

Technetium ( 99Tc) is a long-lived radioactive fission product whose mobility in the subsurface is largely governed by its oxidation state1. Immobilization of Tc in mineral substrates is crucial for radioactive waste management and environmental remediation. Tc(IV) incorporation in spinels2, 3 has been proposed as a novel method to increase Tc retention in glass waste forms. However, experiments with Tc-magnetite under high temperature and oxic conditions showed re-oxidation of Tc(IV) to volatile pertechnetate Tc(VII)O4-.4, 5 Here we address this problem with large-scale ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and propose that elevated temperatures, 1st row transition metal dopants can significantly enhancemore » Tc retention in the order Co > Zn > Ni. Experiments with doped spinels at T=700 ºC provided quantitative confirmation of increased Tc retention in the same order predicted by theory. This work highlights the power of modern state-of-the-art simulations to provide essential insights and generate bottom-up design criteria of complex oxide materials at elevated temperatures.« less

Microscopic model for the isotope effect in the high-Tc oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kresin, V. Z.; Wolf, S. A.

1994-02-01

An unconventional microscopic mechanism relating Tc and the isotope substitution for the doped superconductors such as the high-Tc oxides is proposed. Strong nonadiabaticity, when it is impossible, strictly speaking, to separate fully the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom, leads to a peculiar dependence of the carrier concentration n on the ionic mass M. This case corresponds, for example, to the isotopic substitution of the axial oxygen in YBa2Cu3O7-x. Because of the dependence of Tc on n, this leads to the dependence of Tc on M, that is to the isotope effect. The minimum value of the isotope coefficient corresponds to Tc=Tmaxc.

Low-temperature specific heat of uranium germanides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pikul, A.; Troć, R.; Czopnik, A.; Noël, H.

2014-06-01

We report measurements of the specific heat down to the lowest temperature of 2 K for the paramagnetic binaries U5Ge4 (Ti5Ga4-type) and UGe (ThIn-type) as well as for the ferromagnetic binaries U3Ge5-x (x=0.2) and UGe2-x (x=0.3) (with TC=94 and 47 K) having defect crystal structures of the AlB2- and ThSi2-type, respectively. The obtained data were compared to those of other uranium germanides which have been earlier studied: UGe2 (ZrGa2) and UGe3 (Cu3Au). Among all these germanides, only UGe exhibits enhanced electronic specific heat coefficient, γ(0), equal to 137 mJ/molUK2. This value can be compared to that derived for the most known spin fluctuator, UAl2 (143 mJ/molUK2). The other uranium germanides have less enhanced γ(0) values (27-65 mJ/molUK2). The lowest value of about 20 mJ/molUK2 was reported earlier for the typical temperature independent paramagnet UGe3. For the ferromagnetic new phase UGe2-x the inferred magnetic entropy, Sm, reaches at the Curie temperature, TC, a value of R ln 2 which corresponds to a doublet ground state of the uranium ion in this deficit digermanide.

Hemoglobin senses body temperature.

PubMed

Artmann, G M; Digel, Ilya; Zerlin, K F; Maggakis-Kelemen, Ch; Linder, Pt; Porst, D; Kayser, P; Stadler, A M; Dikta, G; Temiz Artmann, A

2009-06-01

When aspirating human red blood cells (RBCs) into 1.3 mum pipettes (DeltaP = -2.3 kPa), a transition from blocking the pipette below a critical temperature T(c) = 36.3 +/- 0.3 degrees C to passing it above the T(c) occurred (micropipette passage transition). With a 1.1 mum pipette no passage was seen which enabled RBC volume measurements also above T(c). With increasing temperature RBCs lost volume significantly faster below than above a T(c) = 36.4 +/- 0.7 (volume transition). Colloid osmotic pressure (COP) measurements of RBCs in autologous plasma (25 degrees C < or = T < or = 39.5 degrees C) showed a T (c) at 37.1 +/- 0.2 degrees C above which the COP rapidly decreased (COP transition). In NMR T(1)-relaxation time measurements, the T(1) of RBCs in autologous plasma changed from a linear (r = 0.99) increment below T(c) = 37 +/- 1 degrees C at a rate of 0.023 s/K into zero slope above T(c) (RBC T(1) transition). An amorphous hemoglobin-water gel formed in the spherical trail, the residual partial sphere of the aspirated RBC. At T(c), a sudden fluidization of the gel occurs. All changes mentioned above happen at a distinct T(c) close to body temperature. The T(c) is moved +0.8 degrees C to higher temperatures when a D(2)O buffer is used. We suggest a mechanism similar to a "glass transition" or a "colloidal phase transition". At T(c), the stabilizing Hb bound water molecules reach a threshold number enabling a partial Hb unfolding. Thus, Hb senses body temperature which must be inscribed in the primary structure of hemoglobin and possibly other proteins.

Large piezoelectric properties in KNN-based lead-free single crystals grown by a seed-free solid-state crystal growth method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Zhang, Faqiang; Yang, Qunbao; Liu, Zhifu; Li, Yongxiang; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Qiming

2016-05-01

We report lead-free single crystals with a nominal formula of (K0.45Na0.55)0.96Li0.04NbO3 grown using a simple low-cost seed-free solid-state crystal growth method (SFSSCG). The crystals thus prepared can reach maximum dimensions of 6 mm × 5 mm × 2 mm and exhibit a large piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 689 pC/N. Moreover, the effective piezoelectric coefficient d33 * , obtained under a unipolar electric field of 30 kV/cm, can reach 967 pm/V. The large piezoelectric response plus the high Curie temperature (TC) of 432 °C indicate that SFSSCG is an effective approach to synthesize high-performance lead-free piezoelectric single crystals.

Triple collocation-based estimation of spatially correlated observation error covariance in remote sensing soil moisture data assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Kai; Shu, Hong; Nie, Lei; Jiao, Zhenhang

2018-01-01

Spatially correlated errors are typically ignored in data assimilation, thus degenerating the observation error covariance R to a diagonal matrix. We argue that a nondiagonal R carries more observation information making assimilation results more accurate. A method, denoted TC_Cov, was proposed for soil moisture data assimilation to estimate spatially correlated observation error covariance based on triple collocation (TC). Assimilation experiments were carried out to test the performance of TC_Cov. AMSR-E soil moisture was assimilated with a diagonal R matrix computed using the TC and assimilated using a nondiagonal R matrix, as estimated by proposed TC_Cov. The ensemble Kalman filter was considered as the assimilation method. Our assimilation results were validated against climate change initiative data and ground-based soil moisture measurements using the Pearson correlation coefficient and unbiased root mean square difference metrics. These experiments confirmed that deterioration of diagonal R assimilation results occurred when model simulation is more accurate than observation data. Furthermore, nondiagonal R achieved higher correlation coefficient and lower ubRMSD values over diagonal R in experiments and demonstrated the effectiveness of TC_Cov to estimate richly structuralized R in data assimilation. In sum, compared with diagonal R, nondiagonal R may relieve the detrimental effects of assimilation when simulated model results outperform observation data.

Impeding 99Tc(IV) mobility in novel waste forms

PubMed Central

Lee, Mal-Soon; Um, Wooyong; Wang, Guohui; Kruger, Albert A.; Lukens, Wayne W.; Rousseau, Roger; Glezakou, Vassiliki-Alexandra

2016-01-01

Technetium (99Tc) is an abundant, long-lived radioactive fission product whose mobility in the subsurface is largely governed by its oxidation state. Tc immobilization is crucial for radioactive waste management and environmental remediation. Tc(IV) incorporation in spinels has been proposed as a novel method to increase Tc retention in glass waste forms during vitrification. However, experiments under high-temperature and oxic conditions show reoxidation of Tc(IV) to volatile pertechnetate, Tc(VII). Here we examine this problem with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and propose that, at elevated temperatures, doping with first row transition metal can significantly enhance Tc retention in magnetite in the order Co>Zn>Ni. Experiments with doped spinels at 700 °C provide quantitative confirmation of the theoretical predictions in the same order. This work highlights the power of modern, state-of-the-art simulations to provide essential insights and generate theory-inspired design criteria of complex materials at elevated temperatures. PMID:27357121

Photoperiod is the main cue that triggers supercooling ability in the land snail, Helix aspersa (Gastropoda: Helicidae).

PubMed

Ansart, A; Vernon, P; Daguzan, J

2001-06-01

Helix aspersa hibernates in Brittany (western France), where it may experience subzero temperatures. Studies on cold hardiness, although scarce in land snails, have shown a seasonal variation in supercooling ability, associated with high temperatures of crystallization (Tc). In the present work, two key environmental factors, temperature and photoperiod, were studied to elucidate, how they may affect the enhancement of supercooling ability in the snails from the end of summer to winter. Nine groups of adult snails were acclimated to different combinations of photoperiod (LD-16:8, LD-12:12, and LD-8:16 h) and temperature (15, 10, and 5 degrees C). Temperature of crystallization, hemolymph osmolality, and water content were measured. The results demonstrate a significant effect of the photoperiod on Tc, i.e., shorter photoperiods induce lower Tc (LD-16:8 h, mean Tc = -3.0 degrees C, SD = 2.0; LD-12:12 h, mean Tc = -4.3 degrees C, SD = 1.9; LD-8:16 h, mean Tc = -5.2 degrees C, SD = 1.9; n = 90), whereas the acclimation temperature had no effect. Measurements of hemolymph osmolality and water content showed that osmolality is negatively correlated with water content. Mechanisms such as dehydration are involved in the decrease of Tc. A declining photoperiod triggers a lower Tc, long before the onset of winter conditions. This response may have an adaptive component, allowing individuals to cope with the mild winters typically observed in oceanic regions. Copyright 2001 Elsevier Science.

The Ni and Co substitutions in iron chalcogenide single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezusyy, V. L.; Gawryluk, D. J.; Malinowski, A.; Berkowski, M.; Cieplak, Marta Z.

2015-03-01

We study the ab-plane resistivity and Hall effect in Fe1-yMyTe0.65Se0.35 single crystals with M =Co or Ni, and y up to 0.2. The crystals are grown by Bridgman's method. The low-temperature Hall coefficient RH changes sign to negative for crystals with y exceeding 0.135 (Co) and 0.06 (Ni), consistent with the electron doping induced by these impurities. However, the RH remains positive for all samples at high T, suggesting that remnant hole pockets survive the doping, but the holes become localized at low T in heavily doped crystals. Superconducting transition temperature (Tc) approaches zero for y = 0.14 (Co), and 0.03 (Ni), while the resistivity at the Tc onset is only weakly affected by Co doping, but it increases strongly for the Ni. These results suggest that in case of Co impurity the Tc suppression may be attributed to electron doping. On the other hand, the Ni substitution, in addition to electron doping, induces strong localization effects at small impurity contents. Using two-band conduction model we argue that the localization of electron carriers is responsible for strong superconductivity suppression by Ni impurity. Supported by EC through the FunDMS Advanced Grant of the ERC (FP7 Ideas), by the Polish NCS Grant 2011/01/B/ST3/00462, and by the French-Polish Program PICS 2012. Performed in the laboratories co-financed by NanoFun Project POIG.02.02.00-00-025/09.

[Effects of carbon components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on atherogenic index of plasma].

PubMed

Fan, Jiao; Qin, Xiaolei; Xue, Xiaodan; Han, Bin; Bai, Zhipeng; Tang, Naijun; Zhang, Liwen

2014-01-01

To evaluate associations between carbon constituents of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP). We collected subjects from two communities by a system sampling, and 112 people aged over 60 years old without cardiovascular disease were recruited. The levels of cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of objects, and personal exposure to PM2.5 were measured on December, 2011. Total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) of PM2.5 were detected and AIP was calculated according to its definition. The value of AIP among the 112 subjects was 0.05 ± 0.26. Personal exposure concentration of PM2.5 and its carbon components (TC,OC and EC) were (164.75 ± 110.67), (53.86 ± 29.65), (44.93 ± 26.37) and (9.49 ± 5.75) µg/m(3), respectively. The Pearson analysis showed the linear relationship between TC,OC,EC and AIP, all significant positive correlations. The correlation coefficients were TC (r = 0.307, P < 0.05),OC (r = 0.287, P < 0.05) and EC (r = 0.252, P < 0.05), respectively. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that when the AIP risk categories were selected as dependent variable and low risk group as reference group, the regression coefficient of TC,OC and EC was separately 1.03 (95%CI:1.01-1.05), 1.03 (95%CI:1.01-1.05), 1.12 (95%CI:1.02-1.22) in the high risk group; while there was no statistical significance of the regression coefficient and OR in the middle risk group. There was stable associations between the carbon constituents (TC,OC and EC) of fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and AIP. The findings suggested that carbon components of PM2.5 should be considered as risk factors of atherogenic.

Crystal Structure of the Caged Magnetic Compound DyFe2Zn20 at Low Temperature Magnetic Ordering State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishii, Nobuya; Tateno, Shota; Ohashi, Masashi; Isikawa, Yosikazu

We have carried out X-ray powder diffraction and thermal expansion measurements of the caged magnetic compound DyFe2Zn20. Even though a strong magnetic anisotropy exists in the magnetization and magnetic susceptibility due to strong exchange interaction between Fe and Dy, almost all X-ray powder diffraction peaks at 14 K correspond to Bragg reflections of the cubic structural models not only at room temperature paramagnetic state but also at low temperature magnetic ordering state. Although the temperature change of the lattice constant is isotropic, an anomalous behavior was observed in the thermal expansion coefficient around 15 K, while the anomaly around TC = 53 K is not clear. The results indicate that the volume change is not caused by the ferromagnetic interaction between Fe and Dy but by the exchange interaction between two Dy ions.

Lifshitz transitions and zero point lattice fluctuations in sulfur hydride showing near room temperature superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianconi, Antonio; Jarlborg, Thomas

2015-11-01

Emerets's experiments on pressurized sulfur hydride have shown that H3S metal has the highest known superconducting critical temperature Tc = 203 K. The Emerets data show pressure induced changes of the isotope coefficient between 0.25 and 0.5, in disagreement with Eliashberg theory which predicts a nearly constant isotope coefficient.We assign the pressure dependent isotope coefficient to Lifshitz transitions induced by pressure and zero point lattice fluctuations. It is known that pressure could induce changes of the topology of the Fermi surface, called Lifshitz transitions, but were neglected in previous papers on the H3S superconductivity issue. Here we propose thatH3S is a multi-gap superconductor with a first condensate in the BCS regime (located in the large Fermi surface with high Fermi energy) which coexists with second condensates in the BCS-BEC crossover regime (located on the Fermi surface spots with small Fermi energy) near the and Mpoints.We discuss the Bianconi-Perali-Valletta (BPV) superconductivity theory to understand superconductivity in H3S since the BPV theory includes the corrections of the chemical potential due to pairing and the configuration interaction between different condensates, neglected by the Eliashberg theory. These two terms in the BPV theory give the shape resonance in superconducting gaps, similar to Feshbach resonance in ultracold fermionic gases, which is known to amplify the critical temperature. Therefore this work provides some key tools useful in the search for new room temperature superconductors.

Undergraduate Research in Numerical Relativity: How to put a black hole on a graphics card

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigsby, Jason D.

2011-03-01

Starting at the structural transition temperature Td 2 = 54 K, the striped cuprate La 2-x Ba x Cu O4 (x =1/8 ) displays a remarkable cascade of transitions 1 at the characteristic temperatures Td 2 >T1* * >TBKT >Tc , before settling down to 3D superconductivity with long-range coherence at Tc = 5 K . The Nernst signal eN and thermopower S have been investigated in detail in these multiple states. As in pure LaSrCuO, the Nernst coefficient N =limB --> 0eN / B (initially negative) acquires a positive vortex contribution at 120 K that grows rapidly. However, here, N saturates in the interval Td 2 (54 K) to T1* * (34 K). As the vortex liquid becomes increasingly stabilized below T1* * , N resumes increasing at an even steeper rate. Surprisingly, below 34 K, eN acquires a B-symmetric component that is very large and oscillatory in B. We have excluded S and quasiparticles as the source of the anomalous term. We will discuss various origins including the possibility of vortex formation mechanisms that break time-reversal invariance. 1) J. M. Tranquada et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 174529 (2008).

Interpreting Multiple Logistic Regression Coefficients in Prospective Observational Studies

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-11-01

TG HDL -C Males T-C 50-80 MRW pɘ.05 pɘ.10 1HDL-C = high density lipoprotein cholesterol MRW...consider a more complete analy- sis, attempting to uncover the relationship between CHD and TG controlling for covariables such a high density ...for T-C can be re- duced, when among older individuals, elevated T-C may increase the capacity to carry cholesterol in the high density lipoprotein

Development of Tc(IV)-Incorporated Fe Minerals to Enhance 99Tc Retention in Glass Waste Form

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Um, Wooyong; Luksic, Steven A.; Wang, Guohui

Iron minerals have been considered to be good hosts for Tc immobilization because the Tc(IV) ion substitutes for Fe(III) in the crystal structure of the Fe oxide due to similarities in (1) cation size [Tc(IV) = 78.5 pm ; Fe(III) = 69 or 78.5 pm], (2) metal-oxygen interatomic distance (Tc—O = 0.199 nm, Fe—O = 0.203 nm), (3) number of coordinating oxygen atoms (both 6-fold coordinated), and (4) the redox potential (Eh=ca. +20 mV at pH = 7) for a redox couple between Tc(VII)/Tc(IV) and Fe(III)/Fe(II). Magnetite, maghemite, and trevorite are iron oxide minerals and all belong to spinel mineralmore » group. Laboratory testing shows that Tc can be removed from aqueous waste solutions by a process of Tc reduction from Tc(VII) to Tc(IV) followed by co-precipitation with iron oxide minerals during recrystallization of Fe(OH)2(s) used as an initial solid precursor. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy confirmed that Tc was in the +4 oxidation state in final Tc-Fe minerals. The Tc-incorporated Fe minerals were also tested for Tc retention in glass melts at different temperatures between 600 – 1,000 oC in a furnace. After being cooled in air, the solid glass specimens collected at different temperatures were analyzed for Tc oxidation state using XANES and Tc retention using liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Even though Tc(IV) started to reoxidize at 600 oC, Tc retention in the final glass specimen prepared with Tc-incorporated Fe mineral even at high temperatures was at least two times higher than glass prepared with KTcO4 salt. Higher Tc retention in glass is considered to result from limited and delayed Tc volatilization process due to Fe mineral encapsulation for Tc. Therefore, the results showing the presence of Tc(IV) in the Fe mineral structure indicate strong possibility to enhance Tc retention in borosilicate glass as well as to reduce the remediation costs at the Hanford Site.« less

Validity and reliability of the Traditional Chinese version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory in general population.

PubMed

Chuang, Li-Ling; Chuang, Yu-Fen; Hsu, Miao-Ju; Huang, Ying-Zu; Wong, Alice M K; Chang, Ya-Ju

2018-01-01

Fatigue is a common symptom in the general population and has a substantial effect on individuals' quality of life. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) has been widely used to quantify the impact of fatigue, but no Traditional Chinese translation has yet been validated. The goal of this study was to translate the MFI from English into Traditional Chinese ('the MFI-TC') and subsequently to examine its validity and reliability. The study recruited a convenience sample of 123 people from various age groups in Taiwan. The MFI was examined using a two-step process: (1) translation and back-translation of the instrument; and (2) examination of construct validity, convergent validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement error. The validity and reliability of the MFI-TC were assessed by factor analysis, Spearman rho correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), minimal detectable change (MDC), and Bland-Altman analysis. All participants completed the Short-Form-36 Health Survey Taiwan Form (SF-36-T) and the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) concurrently to test the convergent validity of the MFI-TC. Test-retest reliability was assessed by readministration of the MFI-TC after a 1-week interval. Factor analysis confirmed the four dimensions of fatigue: general/physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue. A four-factor model was extracted, combining general fatigue and physical fatigue as one factor. The results demonstrated moderate convergent validity when correlating fatigue (MFI-TC) with quality of life (SF-36-T) and sleep disturbances (PSQI) (Spearman's rho = 0.68 and 0.47, respectively). Cronbach's alpha for the MFI-TC total scale and subscales ranged from 0.73 (mental fatigue subscale) to 0.92 (MFI-TC total scale). ICCs ranged from 0.85 (reduced motivation) to 0.94 (MFI-TC total scale), and the MDC ranged from 2.33 points (mental fatigue) to 9.5 points (MFI-TC total scale). The Bland-Altman analyses showed no significant systematic bias between the repeated assessments. The results support the use of the Traditional Chinese version of the MFI as a comprehensive instrument for measuring specific aspects of fatigue. Clinicians and researchers should consider interpreting general fatigue and physical fatigue as one subscale when measuring fatigue in Traditional Chinese-speaking populations.

Enhanced electrical properties of SrBi4Ti4O15 ceramic with addition of ZrO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamatha, B.; Rani, G. Neeraja; Shankar, J.

2018-04-01

Polycrystalline SrBi4Ti3.95Zr0.05O15 (SBZT) ceramic was prepared by solid-state double sintering method. It was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM). With the increased addition of ZrO2, the electrical properties as dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric were studied. From XRD, single-phase formation with orthorhombic structure was identified by the increase of ZrO2. The remnant polarization (Pr) and dielectric constant was found to be increased with the increase of ZrO2. With the increase of ZrO2, Curie temperature (Tc) was found to be decreased. The planar electromechanical coupling coefficient (Kp = 0.57) and Piezoelectric coefficient (d33 = 18 pC/N) was found to be increased with the increase of ZrO2.

Longitudinal Trend in Lipid Profile of Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients is Not Influenced by the Use of Biocompatible Solutions

PubMed Central

Cho, Yeoungjee; Büchel, Janine; Steppan, Sonja; Passlick-Deetjen, Jutta; Hawley, Carmel M.; Dimeski, Goce; Clarke, Margaret; Johnson, David W.

2016-01-01

♦ Background: The longitudinal trends of lipid parameters and the impact of biocompatible peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions on these levels remain to be fully defined. The present study aimed to a) evaluate the influence of neutral pH, low glucose degradation product (GDP) PD solutions on serum lipid parameters, and b) explore the capacity of lipid parameters (total cholesterol [TC], triglyceride [TG], high density lipoprotein [HDL], TC/HDL, low density lipoprotein [LDL], very low density lipoprotein [VLDL]) to predict cardiovascular events (CVE) and mortality in PD patients. ♦ Methods: The study included 175 incident participants from the balANZ trial with at least 1 stored serum sample. A composite CVE score was used as a primary clinical outcome measure. Multilevel linear regression and Poisson regression models were fitted to describe the trend of lipid parameters over time and its ability to predict composite CVE, respectively. ♦ Results: Small but statistically significant increases in serum TG (coefficient 0.006, p < 0.001), TC/HDL (coefficient 0.004, p = 0.001), and VLDL cholesterol (coefficient 0.005, p = 0.001) levels and a decrease in the serum HDL cholesterol levels (coefficient −0.004, p = 0.009) were observed with longer time on PD, whilst the type of PD solution (biocompatible vs standard) received had no significant effect on these levels. Peritoneal dialysis glucose exposure was significantly associated with trends in TG, TC/HDL, HDL and VLDL levels. Baseline lipid parameter levels were not predictive of composite CVEs or all-cause mortality. ♦ Conclusion: Serum TG, TC/HDL, and VLDL levels increased and the serum HDL levels decreased with increasing PD duration. None of the lipid parameters were significantly modified by biocompatible PD solution use over the time period studied or predictive of composite CVE or mortality. PMID:26429421

Improved dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Mn doped barium zirconium titanate (BZT) ceramics for energy storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangwan, Kanta Maan; Ahlawat, Neetu; Kundu, R. S.; Rani, Suman; Rani, Sunita; Ahlawat, Navneet; Murugavel, Sevi

2018-06-01

Lead free Mn doped barium zirconium titanate ceramic of composition BaZr0.045 (MnxTi1-x)0.955O3 (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.02) were prepared by solid state reaction method. Tetragonal perovskite structure was confirmed by Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction pattern. Analysis of Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs revealed that addition of Mn up to a certain limit accelerates grain growth of BZT ceramic. Static dielectric constant was successfully extended up to high frequencies with an appreciable decrease in dielectric loss about 70% for Mn doped BZT ceramics. The experimental data fitted with Curie Weiss Law and Power Law confirmed first order transition and diffusive behavior of the investigated system. The shifting of Curie temperature (Tc) from 387 K to 402 K indicated tendency for sustained ferroelectricity in doped BZMT ceramics. High value of percentage temperature coefficient of capacitance TCC >10% near Tc was observed for all the compositions and increases with Mn content in pure BZT. At room temperature, BZT modified ceramic corresponding to x = 0.01 composition shows better values of remnant polarization (Pr = 5.718 μC/cm2), saturation polarization (Ps = 14.410 μC/cm2), low coercive field (Ec = 0.612 kV/cm), and highest value of Pr/Ps = 0.396.

Using an Ingestible Telemetric Temperature Pill to Assess Gastrointestinal Temperature During Exercise

PubMed Central

Bongers, Coen C.W.G.; Hopman, Maria T.E.; Eijsvogels, Thijs M.H.

2015-01-01

Exercise results in an increase in core body temperature (Tc), which may reduce exercise performance and eventually can lead to the development of heat-related disorders. Therefore, accurate measurement of Tc during exercise is of great importance, especially in athletes who have to perform in challenging ambient conditions. In the current literature a number of methods have been described to measure the Tc (esophageal, external tympanic membrane, mouth or rectum). However, these methods are suboptimal to measure Tc during exercise since they are invasive, have a slow response or are influenced by environmental conditions. Studies described the use of an ingestible telemetric temperature pill as a reliable and valid method to assess gastrointestinal temperature (Tgi), which is a representative measurement of Tc. Therefore, the goal of this study was to provide a detailed description of the measurement of Tgi using an ingestible telemetric temperature pill. This study addresses important methodological factors that must be taken into account for an accurate measurement. It is recommended to read the instructions carefully in order to ensure that the ingestible telemetric temperature pill is a reliable method to assess Tgi at rest and during exercise. PMID:26485169

Temperature dependence of the anisotropy field of L10 FePt near the Curie temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, H. J.; Parker, G. J.

2017-06-01

Near the Curie temperature, the anisotropy field of magnetically uniaxial L10 FePt is expected to follow the scaling law (1 - T/Tc)β, where T is the temperature and Tc is the Curie temperature. In the literature, β values between 0.36 and 0.65 have been reported. Based on recording measurements and micromagnetic analysis, we show that only the values of β near the low end of the reported range are compatible with the data. We also conclude that thermally activated magnetization reversal at temperatures near Tc cannot be ignored, even at time scales smaller than 1 ns. We demonstrate that thermally activated magnetization reversal at temperatures close to Tc is well described by conventional theory with a frequency factor f0 of the order of 1012 Hz. It is reasoned that the unusually high value for f0 is a consequence of the temperature-induced reduction of the degree of alignment of the micro-spins within the grains.

A simple and inexpensive thermal optic nanosensor formed by triblock copolymer and polydiacetylene mixture.

PubMed

Ferreira, Gabriel Max Dias; Ferreira, Guilherme Max Dias; Hespanhol, Maria do Carmo; Rezende, Jaqueline de Paula; Pires, Ana Clarissa Dos Santos; Ortega, Paulo Fernando Ribeiro; da Silva, Luis Henrique Mendes

2018-02-15

Polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles have been applied as optical sensors in different areas, although there are difficulties in controlling their responses. In this study, we prepared nanoblends of PDA with triblock copolymers (TC) as a better sensor system for detecting temperature change. The influences of diacetylene (DA) monomer, and the TC chemical structure and concentration on the colorimetric response (CR) were examined. The TC/PDA nanoblend was remarkably more sensitive to temperature change, than classical vesicles. A higher L64 concentration of 12.0% (w/w) reduced the chromatic transition temperature (T tr ) to as low as 24°C. When using different TCs, the T tr values can be ordered as L35

The vanishing limit of the square-well fluid: The adhesive hard-sphere model as a reference system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Largo, J.; Miller, M. A.; Sciortino, F.

2008-04-01

We report a simulation study of the gas-liquid critical point for the square-well potential, for values of well width δ as small as 0.005 times the particle diameter σ. For small δ, the reduced second virial coefficient at the critical point B2*c is found to depend linearly on δ. The observed weak linear dependence is not sufficient to produce any significant observable effect if the critical temperature Tc is estimated via a constant B2*c assumption, due to the highly nonlinear transformation between B2*c and Tc. This explains the previously observed validity of the law of corresponding states. The critical density ρc is also found to be constant when measured in units of the cube of the average distance between two bonded particles (1+0.5δ)σ. The possibility of describing the δ →0 dependence with precise functional forms provides improved accurate estimates of the critical parameters of the adhesive hard-sphere model.

The vanishing limit of the square-well fluid: the adhesive hard-sphere model as a reference system.

PubMed

Largo, J; Miller, M A; Sciortino, F

2008-04-07

We report a simulation study of the gas-liquid critical point for the square-well potential, for values of well width delta as small as 0.005 times the particle diameter sigma. For small delta, the reduced second virial coefficient at the critical point B2*c is found to depend linearly on delta. The observed weak linear dependence is not sufficient to produce any significant observable effect if the critical temperature Tc is estimated via a constant B2*c assumption, due to the highly nonlinear transformation between B2*c and Tc. This explains the previously observed validity of the law of corresponding states. The critical density rho c is also found to be constant when measured in units of the cube of the average distance between two bonded particles (1+0.5 delta)sigma. The possibility of describing the delta-->0 dependence with precise functional forms provides improved accurate estimates of the critical parameters of the adhesive hard-sphere model.

CoBi3-the first binary compound of cobalt with bismuth: high-pressure synthesis and superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tencé, S.; Janson, O.; Krellner, C.; Rosner, H.; Schwarz, U.; Grin, Y.; Steglich, F.

2014-10-01

The first compound in the cobalt bismuth system was synthesized by high-pressure high-temperature synthesis at 5 GPa and 450 °C. CoBi3 crystallizes in space group Pnma (no. 62) with lattice parameters of a = 8.8464(7) Å, b = 4.0697(4) Å and c = 11.5604(9) Å adopting a NiBi3-type crystal structure. CoBi3 undergoes a superconducting transition at Tc = 0.48(3) K as evidenced by electrical-resistivity and specific-heat measurements. Based on the anomaly of the specific heat at Tc and considering the estimated electron-phonon coupling, the new Bi-rich compound can be classified as a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-type superconductor with weak electron-phonon coupling. Density-functional theory calculations disclose a sizable influence of the spin-orbit coupling to the valence states and proximity to a magnetic instability, which accounts for a significantly enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient.

Study on Thermal Deformation Behavior of TC4 – ELI Titanium Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Zhang, F. S.; Huang, T.; Song, K. X.

2018-05-01

The TC4-ELI titanium alloy was subjected to hot compression deformation test by the Gleeble-1500D thermal simulation test machine. The thermal deformation behavior of the TC4-ELI titanium alloy was studied under the condition of 850°C-1050°C, 0.001s-1-10s-1 strain rate and 50% deformation. The constitutive equation of TC4-ELI titanium alloy was established based on the hyperbolic sine model of Arrhenius equation. The results show that the flow stress of TC4-ELI titanium alloy decreases with the increase of temperature at high temperature. The calculated heat activation energy of TC4-ELI titanium alloy is 300367.5807J / mol.

Acute Effects of Tai Chi Training on Cognitive and Cardiovascular Responses in Late Middle-Aged Adults: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Cheung, Tiffany C Y; Liu, Karen P Y; Wong, Janet Y H; Bae, Young-Hyeon; Hui, Stanley Sai-Chuen; Tsang, William W N; Cheng, Yoyo T Y; Fong, Shirley S M

2018-01-01

This study explored the immediate effects of Tai Chi (TC) training on attention and meditation, perceived stress level, heart rate, oxygen saturation level in blood, and palmar skin temperature in late middle-aged adults. Twenty TC practitioners and 20 nonpractitioners volunteered to join the study. After baseline measurements were taken, the TC group performed TC for 10 minutes while their cognitive states and cardiovascular responses were concurrently monitored. The control group rested for the same duration in a standing position. Both groups were then reassessed. The participants' attention and meditation levels were measured using electroencephalography; stress levels were measured using Perceived Stress Scale; heart rate and blood oxygenation were measured using an oximeter; and palmar skin temperature was measured using an infrared thermometer. Attention level tended to increase during TC and dropped immediately thereafter ( p < 0.001). Perceived stress level decreased from baseline to posttest in exclusively the TC group ( p = 0.005). Heart rate increased during TC ( p < 0.001) and decreased thereafter ( p = 0.001). No significant group, time, or group-by-time interaction effects were found in the meditation level, palmar skin temperature, and blood oxygenation outcomes. While a 10-minute TC training could temporarily improve attention and decrease perceived stress levels, it could not improve meditation, palmar skin temperature, or blood oxygenation among late middle-aged adults.

Acute Effects of Tai Chi Training on Cognitive and Cardiovascular Responses in Late Middle-Aged Adults: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Cheung, Tiffany C. Y.; Bae, Young-Hyeon; Hui, Stanley Sai-Chuen; Cheng, Yoyo T. Y.

2018-01-01

This study explored the immediate effects of Tai Chi (TC) training on attention and meditation, perceived stress level, heart rate, oxygen saturation level in blood, and palmar skin temperature in late middle-aged adults. Twenty TC practitioners and 20 nonpractitioners volunteered to join the study. After baseline measurements were taken, the TC group performed TC for 10 minutes while their cognitive states and cardiovascular responses were concurrently monitored. The control group rested for the same duration in a standing position. Both groups were then reassessed. The participants' attention and meditation levels were measured using electroencephalography; stress levels were measured using Perceived Stress Scale; heart rate and blood oxygenation were measured using an oximeter; and palmar skin temperature was measured using an infrared thermometer. Attention level tended to increase during TC and dropped immediately thereafter (p < 0.001). Perceived stress level decreased from baseline to posttest in exclusively the TC group (p = 0.005). Heart rate increased during TC (p < 0.001) and decreased thereafter (p = 0.001). No significant group, time, or group-by-time interaction effects were found in the meditation level, palmar skin temperature, and blood oxygenation outcomes. While a 10-minute TC training could temporarily improve attention and decrease perceived stress levels, it could not improve meditation, palmar skin temperature, or blood oxygenation among late middle-aged adults. PMID:29636784

The effect of changes in core body temperature on the QT interval in beagle dogs: a previously ignored phenomenon, with a method for correction.

PubMed

van der Linde, H J; Van Deuren, B; Teisman, A; Towart, R; Gallacher, D J

2008-08-01

Body core temperature (Tc) changes affect the QT interval, but correction for this has not been systematically investigated. It may be important to correct QT intervals for drug-induced changes in Tc. Anaesthetized beagle dogs were artificially cooled (34.2 degrees C) or warmed (42.1 degrees C). The relationship between corrected QT intervals (QTcV; QT interval corrected according to the Van de Water formula) and Tc was analysed. This relationship was also examined in conscious dogs where Tc was increased by exercise. When QTcV intervals were plotted against changes in Tc, linear correlations were observed in all individual dogs. The slopes did not significantly differ between cooling (-14.85+/-2.08) or heating (-13.12+/-3.46) protocols. We propose a correction formula to compensate for the influence of Tc changes and standardize the QTcV duration to 37.5 degrees C: QTcVcT (QTcV corrected for changes in core temperature)=QTcV-14 (37.5 - Tc). Furthermore, cooled dogs were re-warmed (from 34.2 to 40.0 degrees C) and marked QTcV shortening (-29%) was induced. After Tc correction, using the above formula, this decrease was abolished. In these re-warmed dogs, we observed significant increases in T-wave amplitude and in serum [K(+)] levels. No arrhythmias or increase in pro-arrhythmic biomarkers were observed. In exercising dogs, the above formula completely compensated QTcV for the temperature increase. This study shows the importance of correcting QTcV intervals for changes in Tc, to avoid misleading interpretations of apparent QTcV interval changes. We recommend that all ICH S7A, conscious animal safety studies should routinely measure core body temperature and correct QTcV appropriately, if body temperature and heart rate changes are observed.

The effect of changes in core body temperature on the QT interval in beagle dogs: a previously ignored phenomenon, with a method for correction

PubMed Central

van der Linde, H J; Van Deuren, B; Teisman, A; Towart, R; Gallacher, D J

2008-01-01

Background and purpose: Body core temperature (Tc) changes affect the QT interval, but correction for this has not been systematically investigated. It may be important to correct QT intervals for drug-induced changes in Tc. Experimental approach: Anaesthetized beagle dogs were artificially cooled (34.2 °C) or warmed (42.1 °C). The relationship between corrected QT intervals (QTcV; QT interval corrected according to the Van de Water formula) and Tc was analysed. This relationship was also examined in conscious dogs where Tc was increased by exercise. Key results: When QTcV intervals were plotted against changes in Tc, linear correlations were observed in all individual dogs. The slopes did not significantly differ between cooling (−14.85±2.08) or heating (−13.12±3.46) protocols. We propose a correction formula to compensate for the influence of Tc changes and standardize the QTcV duration to 37.5 °C: QTcVcT (QTcV corrected for changes in core temperature)=QTcV–14 (37.5 – Tc). Furthermore, cooled dogs were re-warmed (from 34.2 to 40.0 °C) and marked QTcV shortening (−29%) was induced. After Tc correction, using the above formula, this decrease was abolished. In these re-warmed dogs, we observed significant increases in T-wave amplitude and in serum [K+] levels. No arrhythmias or increase in pro-arrhythmic biomarkers were observed. In exercising dogs, the above formula completely compensated QTcV for the temperature increase. Conclusions and implications: This study shows the importance of correcting QTcV intervals for changes in Tc, to avoid misleading interpretations of apparent QTcV interval changes. We recommend that all ICH S7A, conscious animal safety studies should routinely measure core body temperature and correct QTcV appropriately, if body temperature and heart rate changes are observed. PMID:18574451

(99m) Tc-tricabonyl labeling of ofloxacin and its biological evaluation in Staphylococcus aureus as an infection imaging agent.

PubMed

Erfani, Mostafa; Doroudi, Alireza; Hadisi, Leila; Andishmand, Ali; Mirshojaei, Seyedeh Fatemeh; Shafiei, Mohammad

2013-10-01

Even in recent decades, one of the major causes of death and unhealthiness in the whole world is infection and inflammation. The use of radiopharmaceuticals is a powerful tool in managing the patients with infectious diseases. In this study, ofloxacin as a second-generation fluoroquinolone has been labeled with [(99m) Tc(CO)3 (H2 O)3 ](+) core to formulate a suitable infection imaging agent. Ofloxacin was radiolabeled with (99m) Tc using carbonyl core. Radioligand chemical analysis involved HPLC methods. Radioconjugate stability and lipophilicity were determined. Binding with Staphylococcus aureus and biodistribution in infected mice for labeled compound were studied. The radioligand was characterized by HPLC, and its radiochemical purity was more than 90%. In vitro stability studies have shown the complex was stable at least 6 h after labeling at room temperature. The n-octanol/water partition coefficient experiment exhibited logP = 1.52 ± 0.21 for (99m) Tc(CO)3 -ofloxacin. The complex showed specific binding to S. aureus. Biodistribution results showed that radioligand had high accumulation in the infected muscle in a mice (T/NT = 2.02 ± 0.12 at 4 h postinjection). On the basis of stability and infection site uptake ratio, suitability of this complex as a radiotracer for imaging of infections is recognized. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hot Deformation Behavior and Flow Stress Prediction of TC4-DT Alloy in Single-Phase Region and Dual-Phase Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianglin; Zeng, Weidong; Zhu, Yanchun; Yu, Hanqing; Zhao, Yongqing

2015-05-01

Isothermal compression tests of TC4-DT titanium alloy at the deformation temperature ranging from 1181 to 1341 K covering α + β phase field and β-phase field, the strain rate ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 s-1 and the height reduction of 70% were conducted on a Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator. The experimental true stress-true strain data were employed to develop the strain-compensated Arrhenius-type flow stress model and artificial neural network (ANN) model; the predictability of two models was quantified in terms of correlation coefficient ( R) and average absolute relative error (AARE). The R and AARE for the Arrhenius-type flow stress model were 0.9952 and 5.78%, which were poorer linear relation and more deviation than 0.9997 and 1.04% for the feed-forward back-propagation ANN model, respectively. The results indicated that the trained ANN model was more efficient and accurate in predicting the flow behavior for TC4-DT titanium alloy at elevated temperature deformation than the strain-compensated Arrhenius-type constitutive equations. The constitutive relationship compensating strain could track the experimental data across the whole hot working domain other than that at high strain rates (≥1 s-1). The microstructure analysis illustrated that the deformation mechanisms existed at low strain rates (≤0.1 s-1), where dynamic recrystallization occurred, were far different from that at high strain rates (≥1 s-1) that presented bands of flow localization and cracking along grain boundary.

Isotope effect in the organic superconductor β_H-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 where BEDT-TTF is bis (ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auban-Senzier, P.; Bourbonnais, C.; Jérome, D.; Lenoir, C.; Batail, P.; Canadell, E.; Buisson, J. P.; Lefrant, S.

1993-03-01

We have performed the simultaneous investigation of the isotope effect on the superconducting transition and on the Raman spectra in the organic superconductor β_H-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 (T_c = 8 K). For this purpose, we substitute ^{13}C for ^{12}C on the carbon sites of the central double bond of BEDT-TTF molecule. The isotope shifts measured by Raman experiments can be fairly well explained by standard molecular dynamics. However, the critical temperature is lowered by 0.2 K in the ^{13}C enriched material. We analyse the possible sources of this remarkable downward shift which leads to an isotope coefficient higher than the BCS value. The extended-Hückel calculations of the density of states for the two HOMO bands of β_H-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 do show that, within the framework of a weak coupling theory, its sizeable variation on the scale of ω_D cannot account for the observed isotope effect. On the other hand, we discuss how inelastic electronic scattering observed in resistivity measurements just above T_c can lead through a pair breaking mechanism to a sizeable increase of the isotope coefficient. Nous présentons une étude simultanée d'effet isotopique sur la transition supraconductrice et les spectres Raman dans le supraconducteur organique β_H-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 (T_c = 8 K). Pour cela, nous avons synthétisé le composé dans lequel les atomes de carbone de la double liaison centrale de la molécule BEDT-TTF sont substitués par l'isotope ^{13}C. Les déplacements isotopiques mesurés par spectroscopie Raman sont bien expliqués par la dynamique moléculaire standard. Cependant, la température critique est abaissée de 0.2 K dans le matériau enrichi en ^{13}C. Nous étudions les origines possibles de cet effet qui permet d'obtenir un coefficient isotopique supérieur à la valeur BCS. Des calculs de la densité d'états effectués par la méthode de Hückel étendue pour les deux bandes HOMO du composé montrent que, dans le cadre d'une théorie de couplage faible, son importante variation à l'échelle de ω_D ne peut expliquer l'effet observé. D'autre part, nous expliquons comment la diffusion électronique inélastique observée en résistivité juste au-dessus de T_c peut conduire via un mécanisme de brisure de paires, à une augmentation significative du coefficient isotopique.

Unified electronic phase diagram for hole-doped high- Tc cuprates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honma, T.; Hor, P. H.

2008-05-01

We have analyzed various characteristic temperatures and energies of hole-doped high- Tc cuprates as a function of a dimensionless hole-doping concentration (pu) . Entirely based on the experimental grounds, we construct a unified electronic phase diagram (UEPD), where three characteristic temperatures ( T∗ ’s) and their corresponding energies ( E∗ ’s) converge as pu increases in the underdoped regime. T∗ ’s and E∗ ’s merge together with the Tc curve and 3.5kBTc curve at pu˜1.1 in the overdoped regime, respectively. They finally go to zero at pu˜1.3 . The UEPD follows an asymmetric half-dome-shaped Tc curve, in which Tc appears at pu˜0.4 , reaches a maximum at pu˜1 , and rapidly goes to zero at pu˜1.3 . The asymmetric half-dome-shaped Tc curve is at odds with the well-known symmetric superconducting dome for La2-xSrxCuO4 (SrD-La214), in which two characteristic temperatures and energies converge as pu increases and merge together at pu˜1.6 , where Tc goes to zero. The UEPD clearly shows that pseudogap phase precedes and coexists with high temperature superconductivity in the underdoped and overdoped regimes, respectively. It is also clearly seen that the upper limit of high- Tc cuprate physics ends at a hole concentration that equals to 1.3 times the optimal doping concentration for almost all high- Tc cuprate materials and 1.6 times the optimal doping concentration for the SrD-La214. Our analysis strongly suggests that pseudogap is a precursor of high- Tc superconductivity, the observed quantum critical point inside the superconducting dome may be related to the end point of UEPD, and the normal state of the underdoped and overdoped high temperature superconductors cannot be regarded as a conventional Fermi liquid phase.

Titanomagnetite Curie temperatures: Effects of vacancies, chemical/cation ordering and thermal history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, M. J.; Bowles, J. A.; Lappe, S. C. L. L.; Solheid, P.

2016-12-01

Recent experimental work [Bowles et al, 2013, Nat. Commun.; Jackson and Bowles, 2014, G-cubed] has shown that the Curie temperatures (Tc) of intermediate-composition titanomagnetites (TM30-TM50) depend strongly on thermal history, with Tc increases of ≥100°C produced by moderate-temperature (300°-400° C) annealing in the lab or in slow natural cooling. Equally large decreases are produced by rapid cooling ("quenching") from higher temperatures. The phenomenon is robustly defined and repeatable, but the underlying mechanism remains enigmatic, presumably involving rearrangement of metal cations within the spinel lattice without any change in bulk composition. Previous studies [e.g., Moskowitz and Wanamaker, 1994, GRL; Lattard et al, 2006, JGR] have shown that cation deficiency controls Tc both directly, by changing the ferrous/ferric ratio, and indirectly, by affecting the cation ordering. Our new experiments examined the effects of oxidation state and nonstoichiometry on the magnitude of Tc changes produced by quenching/annealing. In our synthetic TMs these changes are generally relatively small (ΔTc<35°), but when the samples are oxidized by heating in air (150°-250°C for 23-110 h) prior to annealing (300°-400° C for 10-1000 h in vacuum), ΔTc reaches 100°C or more, similar to the changes observed in our natural TMs. Conversely, in our natural samples annealing and quenching can cause quite large changes (ΔTc>100°), but when the samples are embedded in a reducing material (containing graphite), ΔTc becomes insignificant. These results strongly suggest that cation vacancies play an essential role in the cation rearrangements responsible for the observed changes in Tc. XMCD and low-temperature Mossbauer and magnetization measurements show no evidence of corresponding changes in ferrous/ferric site occupancy, and some form of octahedral-site chemical clustering or short-range ordering appears to be the best way to explain the large observed changes in Tc.

Inhomogeneous quasistationary state of dense fluids of inelastic hard spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouxon, Itzhak

2014-05-01

We study closed dense collections of freely cooling hard spheres that collide inelastically with constant coefficient of normal restitution. We find inhomogeneous states (ISs) where the density profile is spatially nonuniform but constant in time. The states are exact solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations that describe the coupled distributions of density and temperature valid when inelastic losses of energy per collision are small. The derivation is performed without modeling the equations' coefficients that are unknown in the dense limit (such as the equation of state) using only their scaling form specific for hard spheres. Thus the IS is the exact state of this dense many-body system. It captures a fundamental property of inelastic collections of particles: the possibility of preserving nonuniform temperature via the interplay of inelastic cooling and heat conduction that generalizes previous results. We perform numerical simulations to demonstrate that arbitrary initial state evolves to the IS in the limit of long times where the container has the geometry of the channel. The evolution is like a gas-liquid transition. The liquid condenses in a vanishing part of the total volume but takes most of the mass of the system. However, the gaseous phase, which mass grows only logarithmically with the system size, is relevant because its fast particles carry most of the energy of the system. Remarkably, the system self-organizes to dissipate no energy: The inelastic decay of energy is a power law [1+t/tc]-2, where tc diverges in the thermodynamic limit. This is reinforced by observing that for supercritical systems the IS coincide in most of the space with the steady states of granular systems heated at one of the walls. We discuss the relation of our results to the recently proposed finite-time singularity in other container's geometries.

Dynamical generation of a repulsive vector contribution to the quark pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Restrepo, Tulio E.; Macias, Juan Camilo; Pinto, Marcus Benghi; Ferrari, Gabriel N.

2015-03-01

Lattice QCD results for the coefficient c2 appearing in the Taylor expansion of the pressure show that this quantity increases with the temperature towards the Stefan-Boltzmann limit. On the other hand, model approximations predict that when a vector repulsion, parametrized by GV, is present this coefficient reaches a maximum just after Tc and then deviates from the lattice predictions. Recently, this discrepancy has been used as a guide to constrain the (presently unknown) value of GV within the framework of effective models at large Nc (LN). In the present investigation we show that, due to finite Nc effects, c2 may also develop a maximum even when GV=0 since a vector repulsive term can be dynamically generated by exchange-type radiative corrections. Here we apply the optimized perturbation theory (OPT) method to the two-flavor Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model (at GV=0 ) and compare the results with those furnished by lattice simulations and by the LN approximation at GV=0 and also at GV≠0 . The OPT numerical results for c2 are impressively accurate for T ≲1.2 Tc but, as expected, they predict that this quantity develops a maximum at high T . After identifying the mathematical origin of this extremum we argue that such a discrepant behavior may naturally arise within this type of effective quark theories (at GV=0 ) whenever the first 1 /Nc corrections are taken into account. We then interpret this hypothesis as an indication that beyond the large-Nc limit the correct high-temperature (perturbative) behavior of c2 will be faithfully described by effective models only if they also mimic the asymptotic freedom phenomenon.

On the effects of irradiation and helium on the yield stress changes and hardening and non-hardening embrittlement of ˜8Cr tempered martensitic steels: Compilation and analysis of existing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Takuya; Odette, G. Robert; Kishimoto, Hirotatsu; Rensman, Jan-Willem; Miao, Pifeng

2006-09-01

Data on irradiation hardening and embrittlement of 8-10Cr normalized and tempered martensitic steel (TMS) alloys has been compiled from the literature, including results from neutron, spallation proton (SP) and He-ion (HI) irradiations. Limitations of this database are briefly described. Simple, phenomenological-empirical fitting models were used to assess the dose (displacement-per-atom, dpa), irradiation temperature ( Ti) and test temperature ( Tt) dependence of yield stress changes (Δ σy), as well as the corresponding dependence of sub-sized Charpy V-notch impact test transition temperature shifts (Δ Tc). The Δ σy are generally similar for SP and neutron irradiations, with very high and low helium to dpa ratios, respectively. Further, the Δ σy trends were found to be remarkably consistent with the Ti and dpa hardening-dependence of low alloy steels irradiated at much lower doses. The similar Ti and (low) dose dependence of Δ σy and Δ Tc, as well as an analysis of paired Δ Tc-Δ σy datasets, show that embrittlement is typically dominated by a hardening mechanism below about 400 °C. However, the corresponding hardening-Charpy shift coefficient, Cc = Δ Tc/Δ σy ≈ 0.38 ± 0.18 °C/MPa is lower than that for the fracture toughness reference temperature, T0, with Δ T0/Δ σy ≈ 0.58 ± 0.1 °C/MPa, indicating that sub-sized Charpy tests provide non-conservative estimates of embrittlement. The Cc increases at Ti > 400 °C, and Δ Tc > 0 are sometimes observed in association with Δ σy ⩽ 0, indicative of a non-hardening embrittlement (NHE) contribution. Analysis of limited data on embrittlement due to thermal aging supports this conclusion, and we hypothesize that the NHE regime may be shifted to lower temperatures by radiation enhanced diffusion. Possible effects of helium on embrittlement for Ti between 300 and 400 °C are also assessed based on observed trends in Cc. The available data is limited, scattered, and potentially confounded. However, collectively the database suggests that there is a minimal NHE due to helium up to several hundred appm. However, a contribution of helium to NHE appears to emerge at higher helium concentrations, estimated to be more than 400-600 appm. This is accompanied by a transition from transgranular cleavage (TGC) to intergranular fracture (IGF). IGF generally occurs only at high Δ σy. Synergistic combinations of large Δ σy and severe NHE, due to helium weakening of grain boundaries, could lead to very large transition temperature shifts in first wall and blanket structures at fusion spectrum dose levels above 50-75 dpa and in SP irradiations at much lower doses.

Nanoscale insight of high piezoelectricity in high-TC PMN-PH-PT ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Rongfeng; Zhang, Qihui; Fang, Bijun; Zhang, Shuai; Zhao, Xiangyong; Ding, Jianning

2018-03-01

The piezoelectric properties of the high-Curie temperature (high-TC) 0.15Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.38PbHfO3-0.47PbTiO3 (0.15PMN-0.38PH-0.47PT) ceramics prepared by three different methods were compared. The 0.15PMN-0.38PH-0.47PT ceramics synthesized by the partial oxalate route exhibit the optimum properties, in which d33* = 845.3 pm/V, d33 = 456.2 pC/N, Kp = 67.2%, and TC = 291 °C. The nanoscale origin of the high piezoelectric response of the 0.15PMN-0.38PH-0.47PT ceramics was investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) using the ceramics synthesized by the partial oxalate route. Large quantities of fine stripe submicron ferroelectric domains are observed, which form large island domains. In order to give further insights into the piezoelectric properties of the 0.15PMN-0.38PH-0.47PT ceramics from a microscopic point of view, the local poling experiments and local switching spectroscopy piezoresponse force microscopy (SS-PFM) were investigated, from which the local converse piezoelectric coefficient d33*(l) is calculated as 220 pm/V.

Influence of Storage Temperature on Radiochemical Purity of 99mTc-Radiopharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Uccelli, Licia; Boschi, Alessandra; Martini, Petra; Cittanti, Corrado; Bertelli, Stefania; Bortolotti, Doretta; Govoni, Elena; Lodi, Luca; Romani, Simona; Zaccaria, Samanta; Zappaterra, Elisa; Farina, Donatella; Rizzo, Carlotta; Giganti, Melchiore; Bartolomei, Mirco

2018-03-15

The influence of effective room temperature on the radiochemical purity of 99m Tc-radiopharmaceuticals was reported. This study was born from the observation that in the isolators used for the preparation of the 99m Tc-radiopharmaceuticals the temperatures can be higher than those reported in the commercial illustrative leaflets of the kits. This is due, in particular, to the small size of the work area, the presence of instruments for heating, the continuous activation of air filtration, in addition to the fact that the environment of the isolator used for the 99m Tc-radiopharmaceuticals preparation and storage is completely isolated and not conditioned. A total of 244 99m Tc-radiopharmaceutical preparations (seven different types) have been tested and the radiochemical purity was checked at the end of preparation and until the expiry time. Moreover, we found that the mean temperature into the isolator was significantly higher than 25 °C, the temperature, in general, required for the preparation and storage of 99m Tc-radiopharmaceuticals. Results confirmed the radiochemical stability of radiopharmaceutical products. However, as required in the field of quality assurance, the impact that different conditions than those required by the manufacturer on the radiopharmaceuticals quality have to be verified before human administration.

Cold SQUIDs and hot samples

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, T.S.C.

1997-05-01

Low transition temperature (low-{Tc}) and high-{Tc} Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) have been used to perform high-resolution magnetic measurements on samples whose temperatures are much higher than the operating temperatures of the devices. Part 1 of this work focuses on measurements of the rigidity of flux vortices in high-{Tc} superconductors using two low-{Tc} SQUIDs, one on either side of a thermally-insulated sample. The correlation between the signals of the SQUIDs is a direct measure of the extent of correlation between the movements of opposite ends of vortices. These measurements were conducted under the previously-unexplored experimental conditions of nominally-zero applied magneticmore » field, such that vortex-vortex interactions were unimportant, and with zero external current. At specific temperatures, the authors observed highly-correlated noise sources, suggesting that the vortices moved as rigid rods. At other temperatures, the noise was mostly uncorrelated, suggesting that the relevant vortices were pinned at more than one point along their length. Part 2 describes the design, construction, performance, and applications of a scanning high-{Tc} SQUID microscope optimized for imaging room-temperature objects with very high spatial resolution and magnetic source sensitivity.« less

Magnetic behavior of R2Fe14B hydrides (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, L. Y.; Pourarian, F.; Wallace, W. E.

1988-01-01

R 2Fe 14B systems, with R = Gd, Tb, By, HoandEr were hydrogenated to the composition R 2Fe 14BH x where x ranges from 3.7 to 5.4. The pressure-composition isotherms (PCIs) of the hydrides showed only a solid solution behavior. No plateau pressure region was observed between room temperature and 300° C and at pressures down to 10 -2 atm. The absorbed hydrogen leads to an increase of 2.6 to 3.4% in unit cell volume, without a change in crystal structure. Magnetic characteristics of the present compounds were investigated over the temperature range 4.2 to 1100 K and at applied field up to 20 kOe. Saturation magnetization, Ms, and magnetic ordering temperature, Tc, were enhanced upon hydrogenation. Tc, is found to be dependent on the hydriding composition. Hydrogen induces a spin-reorientation effect (SR) in Gd- and Dy-containing compounds, while it has a marked influence in raising the spin-reorientation temperature, TSR, in the Er 2Fe 14B compound. The hydride involving Tb appears to remain uniaxial to the lowest temperature studied. In all cases the anisotropy fields, HA/' were significally reduced by hydrogen absorption. These varied magnetic behaviors can be ascribed to the effects: (1) variations in the interatomic distances, (2) strengthening the 3d-3d and weakening the 4f-3d exchange interactions and (3) the interstitial site occupations of hydrogen in the lattice. The spin-reorientation phenomena observed for Gd 2Fe 14BH x suggest that there is competition among the 6 Fe sublattices in regard to the sign and temperature coefficient of anisotropy.

Validity and reliability of the Traditional Chinese version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory in general population

PubMed Central

Chuang, Li-Ling; Chuang, Yu-Fen; Hsu, Miao-Ju; Huang, Ying-Zu; Wong, Alice M. K.

2018-01-01

Background Fatigue is a common symptom in the general population and has a substantial effect on individuals’ quality of life. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) has been widely used to quantify the impact of fatigue, but no Traditional Chinese translation has yet been validated. The goal of this study was to translate the MFI from English into Traditional Chinese (‘the MFI-TC’) and subsequently to examine its validity and reliability. Methods The study recruited a convenience sample of 123 people from various age groups in Taiwan. The MFI was examined using a two-step process: (1) translation and back-translation of the instrument; and (2) examination of construct validity, convergent validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement error. The validity and reliability of the MFI-TC were assessed by factor analysis, Spearman rho correlation coefficient, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), minimal detectable change (MDC), and Bland-Altman analysis. All participants completed the Short-Form-36 Health Survey Taiwan Form (SF-36-T) and the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) concurrently to test the convergent validity of the MFI-TC. Test-retest reliability was assessed by readministration of the MFI-TC after a 1-week interval. Results Factor analysis confirmed the four dimensions of fatigue: general/physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue. A four-factor model was extracted, combining general fatigue and physical fatigue as one factor. The results demonstrated moderate convergent validity when correlating fatigue (MFI-TC) with quality of life (SF-36-T) and sleep disturbances (PSQI) (Spearman's rho = 0.68 and 0.47, respectively). Cronbach’s alpha for the MFI-TC total scale and subscales ranged from 0.73 (mental fatigue subscale) to 0.92 (MFI-TC total scale). ICCs ranged from 0.85 (reduced motivation) to 0.94 (MFI-TC total scale), and the MDC ranged from 2.33 points (mental fatigue) to 9.5 points (MFI-TC total scale). The Bland-Altman analyses showed no significant systematic bias between the repeated assessments. Conclusions The results support the use of the Traditional Chinese version of the MFI as a comprehensive instrument for measuring specific aspects of fatigue. Clinicians and researchers should consider interpreting general fatigue and physical fatigue as one subscale when measuring fatigue in Traditional Chinese-speaking populations. PMID:29746466

Influence of Aerosol Loading on Ocean Temperature Parameters Affecting the Evolution of Tropical Cyclone Formation Near Northern and Eastern Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmick, R.; Trepanier, J. C.

2017-12-01

Australia's northern and eastern coasts are highly affected by tropical cyclones (TC) occurring over the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO) and southwest Pacific Ocean (SWPO) each year from October to May. TC prediction along the Australian coast is difficult because of the unpredictable nature of the TC tracks. TCs over this region are dependent on many climatological conditions, especially sea surface temperatures (SST) and upper ocean heat content (UOHC). TCs over the SWPO and SEIO are also sensitive to the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which causes seasonal, annual and decadal SST variations and variation in TC formation and strength. The SWPO and SEIO have experienced increasing temperatures in recent decades, and the trend may be related to a variety of atmospheric/oceanic changes, including changes to SST variability induced by changes in atmospheric aerosols. The aim of this paper is to study the influence of aerosol loading, defined by aerosol optical depth (AOD), on infrared SST (IRSST) anomalies, UOHC, and the number of days with named TCs (events with maximum sustained winds at least 17 m s-1) occurring over the SWPO and SEIO from 1985 - 2015.Granger causality is used to study the predictive capacity of ocean temperature variables and AOD for named TC days. Monthly satellite and meteorological data are examined to find spatial and temporal patterns of TC days with the different independent variables. Preliminary results show a positive relationship between AOD and TC days. Other sources of variability besides AOD over a longer time period are included here to provide a robust scenario of SWPO and SEIO's response to aerosol loading ultimately influencing TC formation. This study furthers the understanding of how TC incidence varies as a function of ocean temperature variability due to AOD variability in the SWPO and SEIO regions. This information is useful for the advancement of seasonal TC forecasting and hazard assessment and risk management strategies by incorporating aerosol as a cause for TC variability.

Fluctuation conductance and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in two dimensional epitaxial NbTiN ultra-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

K, Makise; H, Terai; T, Yamashita; S, Miki; Z, Wang; Uzawa Y, Y.; S, Ezaki; T, Odou; B, Shinozaki

2012-12-01

We study on the electric transport properties of epitaxial NbTiN ultrathin films in a range from 2 to 8nm. The films with 4 nm thick shows superconductivity of which mean-field superconducting transition temperature is TC0 = 9.43 K The excess conductance due to superconducting fluctuations was measured at temperatures above TC0. The paraconductivity shows a two-dimensional like behaviour at close to TC0. Experimental results are in good agreement with the sum of Aslamazov - Larkin and Maki - Thompson term for superconducting fluctuation theory. Decreasing temperature below TC0, the current-voltage characteristic shows a crossover from linear to nonlinear behaviour. The exponent α of current-voltage relation, V ~ Iα showed universal jump at TCBKT = 9.33 K As results, we find that there is a consistency between the parametrization of the2D characteristics of fluctuation paraconductivity above TC0 and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type behaviour below TC0.

Crossover of Microscopic Dynamics in Metallic Supercooled Liquid Observed by NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yue; Li, Lilong

2004-03-01

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is used to characterize local atomic motions in the glassy and supercooled liquid states of the bulk metallic glass system Pd_43Ni_10Cu_27P_20. It is shown that NMR is very effective in detecting local motions such as vibrations in metallic systems. The temperature dependence of the Knight shift reveals that certain local atomic motion decreases rapidly below a crossover temperature T_c. Above Tc as well as below the glass transition temperature Tg the mean-squared amplitude of local motions is shown to depend linearly on the temperature. The observed rapid decrease below Tc cannot be explained by heterogeneity effects. It reveals that qualitative changes of microscopic properties in the supercooled liquid take place at temperatures significantly above T_g. The observed phenomenon can be explained in terms of a rapid disappearance of certain local motions below Tc as suggested by the mode-coupling theory.

Size, Shape and Impurity Effects on Superconducting critical temperature.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umeda, Masaki; Kato, Masaru; Sato, Osamu

Bulk superconductors have their own critical temperatures Tc. However, for a nano-structured superconductor, Tc depends on size and shape of the superconductor. Nishizaki showed that the high pressure torsion on bulks of Nb makes Tc higher, because the torsion makes many nano-sized fine grains in the bulks. However the high pressure torsion on bulks of V makes Tc lower, and Nishizaki discussed that the decrease of Tc is caused by impurities in the bulks of V. We studied size, shape, and impurity effects on Tc, by solving the Gor'kov equations, using the finite element method. We found that smaller and narrower superconductors show higher Tc. We found how size and shape affects Tc by studying spacial order parameter distributions and quasi-particle eigen-energies. Also we studied the impurity effects on Tc, and found that Tc decreases with increase of scattering rate by impurities. This work was supported in part of KAKENHI Grant Number JP26400367 and JP16K05460, and program for leading graduate schools of ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology-Japan.

Factors affecting temperature variation and habitat use in free-ranging diamondback terrapins.

PubMed

Akins, C D; Ruder, C D; Price, S J; Harden, L A; Gibbons, J W; Dorcas, M E

2014-08-01

Measuring the thermal conditions of aquatic reptiles with temperature dataloggers is a cost-effective way to study their behavior and habitat use. Temperature dataloggers are a particularly useful and informative approach to studying organisms such as the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) that inhabits a dynamic environment often inaccessible to researchers. We used carapace-mounted dataloggers to measure hourly carapace temperature (Tc) of free-ranging terrapins in South Carolina from October 2007 to 2008 to examine the effects of month, sex, creek site, and tide on Tc and to determine the effects of month, sex, and time of day on terrapin basking frequency. Simultaneous measurements of environmental temperatures (Te; shallow mud, deep mud, water) allowed us to make inferences about terrapin microhabitat use. Terrapin Tc differed significantly among months and creek and between sexes. Terrapin microhabitat use also varied monthly, with shallow mud temperature being the best predictor of Tc November-March and water temperature being the best predictor of Tc April-October. Terrapins basked most frequently in spring and fall and males basked more frequently than females. Our study contributes to a fuller understanding of terrapin thermal biology and provides support for using dataloggers to investigate behavior and habitat use of aquatic ectotherms inhabiting dynamic environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Core temperature is regulated, although at a lower temperature, in rats exposed to hypergravic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monson, C. B.; Horowitz, J. M.; Horwitz, B. A.

1988-01-01

1. In rats acclimated to 23 degrees C (RT rats) or 5 degrees C (CA rats), core temperature (Tc), tail temperature (Tt) and oxygen consumption (VO2) were measured during exposure to a hypergravic field. 2. Rats were exposed for 5.5 h to a 3 g field while ambient temperature (Ta) was varied. For the first 2 h, Ta was 25 degrees C; then Ta was raised to 34 degrees C for 1.5 h. During this period of warm exposure, Tc increased 4 degrees C in both RT and CA rats. Finally, Ta was returned to 25 degrees C for 2 h, and Tc decreased toward the levels measured prior to warm exposure. 3. In a second experiment at 3 g, RT and CA rats were exposed to cold (12 degrees C) after two hours at 25 degrees C. During the one hour cold exposure, Tc fell 1.5 degrees C in RT and 0.5 degree C in CA rats. After cold exposure, when ambient temperature was again 25 degrees C, Tc of RT and CA rats returned toward the levels measured prior to the thermal disturbance. 4. Rats appear to regulate their temperature, albeit at a lower level, in a 3 g field.

Pressure-induced superconductivity in parent CaFeAsF single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Bo; Ma, Yonghui; Mu, Gang; Xiao, Hong

2018-05-01

Flouroarsenide CaFeAsF is a parent compound of the 1111 type of iron-based superconductors. It is similar to the parent LaFeAsO, but it is oxygen-free. To date, studies of pressure-induced effects have only focused on pure and doped polycrystalline CaFeAsF samples. Here, we carried out high-pressure electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient measurements up to 48.2 GPa on single crystals of CaFeAsF. The structural transition temperature Tstr decreased monotonically upon increasing the pressure, and reached ˜60 K at 9.6 GPa. Superconductivity emerged suddenly at 8.6 GPa with the Tc ,onset˜25.7 K , which decreased monotonically with increasing pressure to 5.7 K under 48.2 GPa. Moreover, just after the appearance of superconductivity, the Hall coefficient at 40 K started to decrease with increasing pressure, while keeping its sign negative persisting up to 48.2 GPa.

An indirect approach to assess the pests on sorghum by remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, D.; Sao, R.

In today's world of advanced technology various techniques are being used to study ecological parameter and gathering data for agricultural benefits. The major aspects of remote sensing are timely estimates of agriculture crop yield, prediction of pest etc. The damage caused by the pest to crop is well known. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt has to be made to estimate the number of pests on sorghum by remote sensing technique. The studies were made on crop Sorghum (Meethi Sudan) that is a forage variety and the pest observed is a species of grasshopper. The beds of crop sorghum were specially prepared for pests as well as microwave scattering measurements. In first phase of study, dependence of number of pests on sorghum plant parameters (i.e., crop covered moist soil (SM), plant height (PH), leaf area index (LAI), percentage Biomass (BIO), Total chlorophyll (TC)) have been observed by the regression analyses and it was found that pests were more dependent on sorghum chlorophyll than other plant parameters, while climatic conditions were taken as constant. A linear relationship has been obtained between number of pests and TC with quite significant values of coefficient of determination (r^2=0.86). These crop parameters are easily assessable through microwave remote sensing so they can form the basis for prediction of pest remotely. In second phase of study, several observations were carried out for various growth stages of sorghum using bistatic scatterometer for both like polarizations (i.e., HH- and VV-) and different incidence angles at X-band (9.5 GHz). Linear, and multiple regression analysis were carried out to check dependence of scattering coefficient on these crop parameters and it was noticed that scattering coefficient was more dependent on sorghum TC than other plant parameters at X-band. A negative correlation has been obtained between TC and scattering coefficient with quite good values of r^2 (0.82). VV-pol gives better results than HH-pol and incidence angle should be more than 40 degree for both like pols for assessing the sorghum TC at X-band. The TC assessed by the microwave measurements was helpful to estimate the number of pests on sorghum. Combining both phase of study, number of pests was estimated and a quite good agreement (r^2=0.76) was found between observed and estimated pests.

Polymer Deposition from a Quasi-Vapor Phase as a New Route to Access a Wide Temperature Range for Crystallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Hyuncheol; Arnold, Craig; Priestley, Rodney

Polymer crystallization is strongly governed by kinetics where crystallization temperature (Tc) plays an important role in determining materials properties. Due to the high entropic barrier required for reorganization, the long-chain molecules typically form folded-chain crystals, whose thickness and thermal stability decrease as Tc is lowered. Interesting questions remain regarding crystallization in the deeply supercooled regime. This is partially due to the difficulty in accessing the low Tc range without nucleation. For a strong crystal-former like polyethylene (PE), cooling from a melt or solution always confronts the onset of nucleation at a high Tc followed by rapid crystal growth. Here, we introduce an alternative approach to grow polymer crystals via Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE). This methodology achieves the crystallization of polymers from a quasi-vapor phase at a controlled temperature, allowing for the study of the empirical relationship between Tc and crystal structure over a wide range of Tc. With PE as a model polymer, we investigated the morphological and thermal properties of crystals grown over a wide temperature range down to 120 °C below bulk crystallization point.

Effects of Leading Edge Defect on the Aerodynamic and Flow Characteristics of an S809 Airfoil

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Zheng, Xiaojing; Hu, Ruifeng; Wang, Ping

2016-01-01

Background Unexpected performance degradation occurs in wind turbine blades due to leading edge defect when suffering from continuous impacts with rain drops, hails, insects, or solid particles during its operation life. To assess this issue, this paper numerically investigates the steady and dynamic stall characteristics of an S809 airfoil with various leading edge defects. More leading edge defect sizes and much closer to practical parameters are investigated in the paper. Methodology Numerical computation is conducted using the SST k-ω turbulence model, and the method has been validated by comparison with existed published data. In order to ensure the calculation convergence, the residuals for the continuity equation are set to be less than 10−7 and 10−6 in steady state and dynamic stall cases. The simulations are conducted with the software ANSYS Fluent 13.0. Results It is found that the characteristics of aerodynamic coefficients and flow fields are sensitive to leading edge defect both in steady and dynamic conditions. For airfoils with the defect thickness of 6%tc, leading edge defect has a relative small influence on the aerodynamics of S809 airfoil. For other investigated defect thicknesses, leading edge defect has much greater influence on the flow field structures, pressure coefficients and aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil at relative small defect lengths. For example, the lift coefficients decrease and drag coefficients increase sharply after the appearance of leading edge defect. However, the aerodynamic characteristics could reach a constant value when the defect length is large enough. The flow field, pressure coefficient distribution and aerodynamic coefficients do not change a lot when the defect lengths reach to 0.5%c,1%c, 2%c and 3%c with defect thicknesses of 6%tc, 12%tc,18%tc and 25%tc, respectively. In addition, the results also show that the critical defect length/thickness ratio is 0.5, beyond which the aerodynamic characteristics nearly remain unchanged. In dynamic stall, leading edge defect imposes a greater influence on the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil than steady conditions. By increasing in defect length, it is found that the separated area becomes more intense and moves forward along the suction surface. Conclusions Leading edge defect has significant influence on the aerodynamic and flow characteristics of the airfoil, which will reach a stable status with enough large defect size. The leading edge separation bubble, circulation in the defect cavity and intense tailing edge vortex are the main features of flow around defective airfoils. PMID:27658310

Effects of Leading Edge Defect on the Aerodynamic and Flow Characteristics of an S809 Airfoil.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Zheng, Xiaojing; Hu, Ruifeng; Wang, Ping

Unexpected performance degradation occurs in wind turbine blades due to leading edge defect when suffering from continuous impacts with rain drops, hails, insects, or solid particles during its operation life. To assess this issue, this paper numerically investigates the steady and dynamic stall characteristics of an S809 airfoil with various leading edge defects. More leading edge defect sizes and much closer to practical parameters are investigated in the paper. Numerical computation is conducted using the SST k-ω turbulence model, and the method has been validated by comparison with existed published data. In order to ensure the calculation convergence, the residuals for the continuity equation are set to be less than 10-7 and 10-6 in steady state and dynamic stall cases. The simulations are conducted with the software ANSYS Fluent 13.0. It is found that the characteristics of aerodynamic coefficients and flow fields are sensitive to leading edge defect both in steady and dynamic conditions. For airfoils with the defect thickness of 6%tc, leading edge defect has a relative small influence on the aerodynamics of S809 airfoil. For other investigated defect thicknesses, leading edge defect has much greater influence on the flow field structures, pressure coefficients and aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil at relative small defect lengths. For example, the lift coefficients decrease and drag coefficients increase sharply after the appearance of leading edge defect. However, the aerodynamic characteristics could reach a constant value when the defect length is large enough. The flow field, pressure coefficient distribution and aerodynamic coefficients do not change a lot when the defect lengths reach to 0.5%c,1%c, 2%c and 3%c with defect thicknesses of 6%tc, 12%tc,18%tc and 25%tc, respectively. In addition, the results also show that the critical defect length/thickness ratio is 0.5, beyond which the aerodynamic characteristics nearly remain unchanged. In dynamic stall, leading edge defect imposes a greater influence on the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil than steady conditions. By increasing in defect length, it is found that the separated area becomes more intense and moves forward along the suction surface. Leading edge defect has significant influence on the aerodynamic and flow characteristics of the airfoil, which will reach a stable status with enough large defect size. The leading edge separation bubble, circulation in the defect cavity and intense tailing edge vortex are the main features of flow around defective airfoils.

Real-time core body temperature estimation from heart rate for first responders wearing different levels of personal protective equipment.

PubMed

Buller, Mark J; Tharion, William J; Duhamel, Cynthia M; Yokota, Miyo

2015-01-01

First responders often wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for protection from on-the-job hazards. While PPE ensembles offer individuals protection, they limit one's ability to thermoregulate, and can place the wearer in danger of heat exhaustion and higher cardiac stress. Automatically monitoring thermal-work strain is one means to manage these risks, but measuring core body temperature (Tc) has proved problematic. An algorithm that estimates Tc from sequential measures of heart rate (HR) was compared to the observed Tc from 27 US soldiers participating in three different chemical/biological training events (45-90 min duration) while wearing PPE. Hotter participants (higher Tc) averaged (HRs) of 140 bpm and reached Tc around 39 °C. Overall the algorithm had a small bias (0.02 °C) and root mean square error (0.21 °C). Limits of agreement (LoA ± 0.48 °C) were similar to comparisons of Tc measured by oesophageal and rectal probes. The algorithm shows promise for use in real-time monitoring of encapsulated first responders. An algorithm to estimate core temperature (Tc) from non-invasive measures of HR was validated. Three independent studies (n = 27) compared the estimated Tc to the observed Tc in humans participating in chemical/ biological hazard training. The algorithm’s bias and variance to observed data were similar to that found from comparisons of oesophageal and rectal measurements.

Technetium and Iodine Getters to Improve Cast Stone Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qafoku, Nikolla; Neeway, James J.; Lawter, Amanda R.

2014-07-01

To determine the effectiveness of the various getter materials prior to their solidification in Cast Stone, a series of batch sorption experiments was performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. To quantify the effectiveness of the removal of Tc(VII) and I(I) from solution by getters, the distribution coefficient, Kd (mL/g), was calculated. Testing involved placing getter material in contact with spiked waste solutions at a 1:100 solid-to-solution ratio for periods up to 45 days with periodic solution sampling. One Tc getter was also tested at a 1:10 solid-to-solution ratio. Two different solution media, 18.2 MΩ deionized water (DI H2O) and amore » 7.8 M Na LAW simulant, were used in the batch sorption tests. Each test was conducted at room temperature in an anoxic chamber containing N2 with a small amount of H2 (0.7%) to maintain anoxic conditions. Each getter-solution combination was run in duplicate. Three Tc- and I-doping concentrations were used separately in aliquots of both the 18.2 MΩ DI H2O and a 7.8 M Na LAW waste simulant. The 1× concentration was developed based on Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator (HTWOS) model runs to support the River Protection Project System Plan Revision 6. The other two concentrations were 5× and 10× of the HTWOS values. The Tc and I tests were run separately (i.e., the solutions did not contain both solutes). Sampling of the solid-solution mixtures occurred nominally after 0.2, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 days and ~35 to 45 days. Seven getter materials were tested for Tc and five materials were tested for I. The seven Tc getters were blast furnace slag 1 (BFS1) (northwest source), BFS2 (southeast source), Sn(II)-treated apatite, Sn(II) chloride, nano tin phosphate, KMS (a potassium-metal-sulfide), and tin hydroxapatite. The five iodine getters were layered bismuth hydroxide (LBH), argentite mineral, synthetic argentite, silver-treated carbon, and silver-treated zeolite. The Tc Kd values measured from experiments conducted using the 7.8 M Na LAW simulant (the simulant selected to represent LAW) for the first 15 days for four Tc getters (BFS1, BFS2, Sn(II)-treated apatite, and Sn(II) chloride) show no, to a very small, capacity to remove Tc from the LAW simulant. For the Tc-getter experiments in the 7.8 M LAW simulant, the majority of the effluent samples show very small drops in Tc concentrations for the 35-day compared to the 15-day samplings. However, the Tc concentration in the simulant blanks also dropped slightly during this period, so the effect of the getter contacting LAW simulant at 35 days compared to 15 days is minimal; except that the BFS1 1:10 test shows a slow but steady decrease in Tc concentration in the LAW simulant supernatant from the beginning to the 35 day contact at which point about 20% of the original Tc has been removed from solution. Lastly, the KMS getter gives the highest Kd value for Tc at 35 days where Kd values have increased to 104 mL/g. When considering the different I getters reacting with the 7.8 M LAW simulant, two getters are much more effective than the others: Ag zeolite and Syn Arg. The other getters have calculated iodide distribution coefficients that show very limited effectiveness in the caustic conditions created by the LAW simulant. These are preliminary results that will need more detailed analyses including both pre- and post-batch sorption getter solid-phase characterization using state-of-the-art instrumentation such as synchrotron X ray absorption spectroscopy, which can delineate the oxidation state of the Tc and likely iodine species as well as some of the getters key major components, sulfur and iron in the BFS, and tin and sulfur in the tin-bearing and sulfur-bearing getters. This report also describes future experimental studies to be performed to better elucidate the mechanisms controlling the Tc and I sequestration processes in the various getters and leach tests of getter-bearing Cast Stone monoliths.« less

Technetium and Iodine Getters to Improve Cast Stone Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qafoku, Nikolla; Neeway, James J.; Lawter, Amanda R.

2015-02-19

To determine the effectiveness of the various getter materials prior to their solidification in Cast Stone, a series of batch sorption experiments was performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. To quantify the effectiveness of the removal of Tc(VII) and I(I) from solution by getters, the distribution coefficient, K d (mL/g), was calculated. Testing involved placing getter material in contact with spiked waste solutions at a 1:100 solid-to-solution ratio for periods up to 45 days with periodic solution sampling. One Tc getter was also tested at a 1:10 solid-to-solution ratio. Two different solution media, 18.2 MΩ deionized water (DI H 2O)more » and a 7.8 M Na LAW simulant, were used in the batch sorption tests. Each test was conducted at room temperature in an anoxic chamber containing N2 with a small amount of H 2 (0.7%) to maintain anoxic conditions. Each getter-solution combination was run in duplicate. Three Tc- and I-doping concentrations were used separately in aliquots of both the 18.2 MΩ DI H2O and a 7.8 M Na LAW waste simulant. The 1× concentration was developed based on Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator (HTWOS) model runs to support the River Protection Project System Plan Revision 6. The other two concentrations were 5× and 10× of the HTWOS values. The Tc and I tests were run separately (i.e., the solutions did not contain both solutes). Sampling of the solid-solution mixtures occurred nominally after 0.2, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 days and ~35 to 45 days. Seven getter materials were tested for Tc and five materials were tested for I. The seven Tc getters were blast furnace slag 1 (BFS1) (northwest source), BFS2 (southeast source), Sn(II)-treated apatite, Sn(II) chloride, nano tin phosphate, KMS (a potassium-metal-sulfide), and tin hydroxapatite. The five iodine getters were layered bismuth hydroxide (LBH), argentite mineral, synthetic argentite, silver-treated carbon, and silver-treated zeolite. The Tc Kd values measured from experiments conducted using the 7.8 M Na LAW simulant (the simulant selected to represent LAW) for the first 15 days for four Tc getters (BFS1, BFS2, Sn(II)-treated apatite, and Sn(II) chloride) show no, to a very small, capacity to remove Tc from the LAW simulant. For the Tc-getter experiments in the 7.8 M LAW simulant, the majority of the effluent samples show very small drops in Tc concentrations for the 35-day compared to the 15-day samplings. However, the Tc concentration in the simulant blanks also dropped slightly during this period, so the effect of the getter contacting LAW simulant at 35 days compared to 15 days is minimal; except that the BFS1 1:10 test shows a slow but steady decrease in Tc concentration in the LAW simulant supernatant from the beginning to the 35 day contact at which point about 20% of the original Tc has been removed from solution. Lastly, the KMS getter gives the highest K d value for Tc at 35 days where K d values have increased to 104 mL/g. When considering the different I getters reacting with the 7.8 M LAW simulant, two getters are much more effective than the others: Ag zeolite and Syn Arg. The other getters have calculated iodide distribution coefficients that show very limited effectiveness in the caustic conditions created by the LAW simulant. These are preliminary results that will need more detailed analyses including both pre- and post-batch sorption getter solid-phase characterization using state-of-the-art instrumentation such as synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which can delineate the oxidation state of the Tc and likely iodine species as well as some of the getters key major components, sulfur and iron in the BFS, and tin and sulfur in the tin-bearing and sulfur-bearing getters. This report also describes future experimental studies to be performed to better elucidate the mechanisms controlling the Tc and I sequestration processes in the various getters and leach tests of getter-bearing Cast Stone monoliths.« less

Method for generating a crystalline .sup.99 MoO.sub.3 product and the isolation .sup.99m Tc compositions therefrom

DOEpatents

Bennett, Ralph G.; Christian, Jerry D.; Kirkham, Robert J.; Tranter, Troy J.

1998-01-01

An improved method for producing .sup.99m Tc compositions. .sup.100 Mo metal is irradiated with photons in a particle (electron) accelerator to produce .sup.99 Mo metal which is dissolved in a solvent. A solvated .sup.99 Mo product is then dried to generate a supply of .sup.99 MoO.sub.3 crystals. The crystals are thereafter heated at a temperature which will sublimate the crystals and form a gaseous mixture containing vaporized .sup.99m TcO.sub.3 and vaporized .sup.99m TcO.sub.2 but will not cause the production of vaporized .sup.99 MoO.sub.3. The mixture is then combined with an oxidizing gas to generate a gaseous stream containing vaporized .sup.99m Tc.sub.2 O.sub.7. Next, the gaseous stream is cooled to a temperature sufficient to convert the vaporized .sup.99m Tc.sub.2 O.sub.7 into a condensed .sup.99m Tc-containing product. The product has high purity levels resulting from the use of reduced temperature conditions and ultrafine crystalline .sup.99 MoO.sub.3 starting materials with segregated .sup.99m Tc compositions therein which avoid the production of vaporized .sup.99 MoO.sub.3 contaminants.

Entropy of vortex cores near the superconductor-insulator transition in an underdoped cuprate.

PubMed

Capan, C; Behnia, K; Hinderer, J; Jansen, A G M; Lang, W; Marcenat, C; Marin, C; Flouquet, J

2002-02-04

We present a study of Nernst effect in underdoped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 in magnetic fields as high as 28 T. At high fields, a sizable Nernst signal was found to persist in the presence of a field-induced nonmetallic resistivity. By simultaneously measuring resistivity and the Nernst coefficient, we extract the entropy of vortex cores in the vicinity of this field-induced superconductor-insulator transition. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the thermoelectric Hall angle provides strong constraints on the possible origins of the finite Nernst signal above T(c), as recently discovered by Xu et al. [Nature (London) 406, 486 (2000)].

Predicting critical temperatures of ionic and non-ionic fluids from thermophysical data obtained near the melting point.

PubMed

Weiss, Volker C

2015-10-14

In the correlation and prediction of thermophysical data of fluids based on a corresponding-states approach, the critical temperature Tc plays a central role. For some fluids, in particular ionic ones, however, the critical region is difficult or even impossible to access experimentally. For molten salts, Tc is on the order of 3000 K, which makes accurate measurements a challenging task. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) decompose thermally between 400 K and 600 K due to their organic constituents; this range of temperatures is hundreds of degrees below recent estimates of their Tc. In both cases, reliable methods to deduce Tc based on extrapolations of experimental data recorded at much lower temperatures near the triple or melting points are needed and useful because the critical point influences the fluid's behavior in the entire liquid region. Here, we propose to employ the scaling approach leading to universal fluid behavior [Román et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 124512 (2005)] to derive a very simple expression that allows one to estimate Tc from the density of the liquid, the surface tension, or the enthalpy of vaporization measured in a very narrow range of low temperatures. We demonstrate the validity of the approach for simple and polar neutral fluids, for which Tc is known, and then use the methodology to obtain estimates of Tc for ionic fluids. When comparing these estimates to those reported in the literature, good agreement is found for RTILs, whereas the ones for the molten salts NaCl and KCl are lower than previous estimates by 10%. The coexistence curve for ionic fluids is found to be more adequately described by an effective exponent of βeff = 0.5 than by βeff = 0.33.

Inferred cation reordering in natural titanomagnetites with implications for Curie temperature and other magnetic properties (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowles, J. A.; Jackson, M. J.; Berquo, T. S.; Solheid, P.; Lappe, S. L.; Gee, J. S.

2013-12-01

We will present the results of recent work demonstrating that some natural titanomagnetites of common composition undergo cation reordering on laboratory timescales and at temperatures just above or below the Curie temperature (TC). This cation reordering produces changes in Curie temperature that have important implications for paleomagnetic studies and our understanding of remanence acquisition when TC is a function of prior thermal history. The bulk composition of the titanomagnetites (Fe3-xTixO4) varies between approximately 0.2 < x < 0.4, with moderate degrees of Mg and Al substitution. This composition is extremely common in rocks of andesitic, dacitic, and rhyolitic composition, as well as in some basalts. Samples were annealed for 10-1 to 103 hr at 350-425°C, producing large and reversible changes in TC (up to 150°C) that are roughly linear with log(anneal time). By ruling out oxidation/reduction and compositional unmixing, we interpret the variations in TC as arising from the re-distribution of ferric and ferrous iron cations between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites. Mössbauer spectroscopy supports this interpretation. Unlike pure titanomagnetite, the kinetics of the reordering process in these Mg- and Al-substituted natural titanomagnetites are apparently slow enough that intermediate degrees of ordering can be preserved by rapid quenching. The magnitude of the variation in TC produced by annealing at moderate temperatures correlates most strongly with Mg and Ti content and weakly with Al content. While strong variations are observed in TC, no detectible variation is found in saturation magnetization, and blocking temperature variations only weakly correlate with TC variation.

Superconducting critical temperature under pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Pedreros, G. I.; Baquero, R.

2018-05-01

The present record on the critical temperature of a superconductor is held by sulfur hydride (approx. 200 K) under very high pressure (approx. 56 GPa.). As a consequence, the dependence of the superconducting critical temperature on pressure became a subject of great interest and a high number of papers on of different aspects of this subject have been published in the scientific literature since. In this paper, we calculate the superconducting critical temperature as a function of pressure, Tc(P), by a simple method. Our method is based on the functional derivative of the critical temperature with the Eliashberg function, δTc(P)/δα2F(ω). We obtain the needed coulomb electron-electron repulsion parameter, μ*(P) at each pressure in a consistent way by fitting it to the corresponding Tc using the linearized Migdal-Eliashberg equation. This method requires as input the knowledge of Tc at the starting pressure only. It applies to superconductors for which the Migdal-Eliashberg equations hold. We study Al and β - Sn two weak-coupling low-Tc superconductors and Nb, the strong coupling element with the highest critical temperature. For Al, our results for Tc(P) show an excellent agreement with the calculations of Profeta et al. which are known to agree well with experiment. For β - Sn and Nb, we found a good agreement with the experimental measurements reported in several works. This method has also been applied successfully to PdH elsewhere. Our method is simple, computationally light and gives very accurate results.

Effect of Phototherapy on the Reliability of Transcutaneous Bilirubin Devices in Term and Near-Term Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Nagar, Gaurav; Vandermeer, Ben; Campbell, Sandy; Kumar, Manoj

2016-01-01

Transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) devices are commonly used for screening of hyperbilirubinemia in term and near-term infants not exposed to phototherapy. However, the accuracy of TcB devices in infants exposed to phototherapy is unclear. To conduct a systematic review of studies comparing TcB devices with total serum bilirubin (TSB) in infants receiving phototherapy or in the postphototherapy phase. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Scopus databases (from inception to May 8, 2014) were searched. Additional citations were identified from the bibliography of selected articles and from the abstracts of conference proceedings. The studies were included if they compared TcB results with TSB in term and near-term infants during phototherapy or after discontinuation of phototherapy. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion, and discrepancies were resolved with consensus. Risk of bias was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Fourteen studies were identified. The pooled estimates of correlation coefficients (r) during phototherapy were: covered sites 0.71 (95% CI 0.64-0.77, 11 studies), uncovered sites 0.65 (95% CI 0.55-0.74), 8 studies), forehead 0.70 (95% CI 0.64-0.75, 12 studies) and sternum 0.64 (95% CI 0.43-0.77, 5 studies). Two studies also provided results as Bland-Altman difference plots (mean TcB-TSB differences -29.2 and 30 µmol/l, respectively). The correlation coefficient improved marginally in the postphototherapy phase (r = 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-0.78, 4 studies). We found a moderate correlation between TcB and TSB during phototherapy with a marginal improvement in the postphototherapy phase. Further research is needed before the use of TcB devices can be recommended for these settings. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Hydrogen absorption and its effect on magnetic properties of Nd2Fe14B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezdushnyi, R.; Damianova, R.; Tereshina, I. S.; Pankratov, N. Yu.; Nikitin, S. A.

2018-05-01

Magnetic properties of hydrides of the intermetallic compound Nd2Fe14BHx are investigated in the temperature range covering the Curie temperatures (TC) of the compounds (up to 670 K). The temperature dependencies of magnetization are measured under continuous control of hydrogen content in the investigated samples. The dependencies of Curie and spin-reorientation transition (TSR) temperatures on the hydrogen concentration are studied in detail. The dependence of hydrogen concentration on pressure at a constant temperature (near TC) and on the temperature at various pressures are obtained. We attempted to estimate the contributions of the unit cell volume increase upon hydrogenation and the electronic structure change in the variation of TC of the hydrogenated Nd2Fe14 B .

Low-temperature magnetothermal transport investigation of a Ni-based superconductor BaNi2As2: evidence for fully gapped superconductivity.

PubMed

Kurita, N; Ronning, F; Tokiwa, Y; Bauer, E D; Subedi, A; Singh, D J; Thompson, J D; Movshovich, R

2009-04-10

We have performed low-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements of the Ni-based superconductor BaNi2As2 (T{c}=0.7 K) in a magnetic field. In a zero field, thermal conductivity shows T-linear behavior in the normal state and exhibits a BCS-like exponential decrease below T{c}. The field dependence of the residual thermal conductivity extrapolated to zero temperature is indicative of a fully gapped superconductor. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of the specific heat data, which are well fit by the BCS temperature dependence from T{c} down to the lowest temperature of 0.1 K.

Effect of Transcutaneous Electrode Temperature on Accuracy and Precision of Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Measurements in the Preterm Infants.

PubMed

Jakubowicz, Jessica F; Bai, Shasha; Matlock, David N; Jones, Michelle L; Hu, Zhuopei; Proffitt, Betty; Courtney, Sherry E

2018-05-01

High electrode temperature during transcutaneous monitoring is associated with skin burns in extremely premature infants. We evaluated the accuracy and precision of CO 2 and O 2 measurements using lower transcutaneous electrode temperatures below 42°C. We enrolled 20 neonates. Two transcutaneous monitors were placed simultaneously on each neonate, with one electrode maintained at 42°C and the other randomized to temperatures of 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42°C. Arterial blood was collected twice at each temperature. At the time of arterial blood sampling, values for transcutaneously measured partial pressure of CO 2 (P tcCO 2 ) were not significantly different among test temperatures. There was no evidence of skin burning at any temperature. For P tcCO 2 , Bland-Altman analyses of all test temperatures versus 42°C showed good precision and low bias. Transcutaneously measured partial pressure of O 2 (P tcO 2 ) values trended arterial values but had large negative bias. Transcutaneous electrode temperatures as low as 38°C allow an assessment of P tcCO 2 as accurate as that with electrodes at 42°C. Copyright © 2018 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Equivalence of the O( n) vector ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sousa, J. Ricardo de

The effective-field renormalization group (EFRG) approach is used to find the Néel temperature ( TN) of the O( n) vector model with antiferromagnetic (AF) interaction. The EFRG method is illustrated by employing approximations in which clusters with one ( N‧=1) and two ( N=2) spins are used. The critical temperature TN is obtained as a function of component ( n) and coordination ( z) numbers. For all values of n and z we show that TN= Tc, where Tc is the Curie temperature for the ferromagnetic (F) case. As a comparison, the results of the quantum Heisenberg model ( n=3) with F and AF interactions are also presented, and we find that TN> Tc, which is different from the classical result Tc= TN.

The relationships between precipitation, convective cloud and tropical cyclone intensity change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Z.; Wu, Q.

2017-12-01

Using 16 years precipitation, brightness temperature (IR BT) data and tropical cyclone (TC) information, this study explores the relationship between precipitation, convective cloud and tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change in the Western North Pacific Ocean. It is found that TC intensity has positive relation with TC precipitation. TC precipitation increases with increased TC intensity. Based on the different phase of diurnal cycle, convective TC clouds were divided into very cold deep convective clouds (IR BTs<208K) and cold high clouds (208K

Thermoelectric properties of FeAs based superconductors, with thick perovskite- and Sm-O fluorite-type blocking layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, S. J.; Shimoyama, J.; Ogino, H.; Kishio, K.

2015-11-01

The transport properties (electrical resistivity, Hall and Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity) of iron based superconductors with thick perovskite-type oxide blocking layers and fluorine-doped SmFeAsO were studied to explore their possible potential for thermoelectric applications. The thermal conductivity of former compounds depicts the dominated role of phonon and its value decreases rapidly below the Tc, suggesting the addition of scattering of phonons. Both the Seebeck coefficient (S) and Hall coefficient (RH) of all samples were negative in the whole temperature region below 300 K, indicating that the major contribution to the normal state conductivity is by electrons. In addition, the profile of S(T) and RH(T) of all samples have similar behaviours as would be expected for a multi-band superconductors. Although the estimated thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of these compounds was much lower than that of practically applicable thermoelectric materials, however its improvement can be expected by optimizing microstructure of the polycrystalline materials, such as densification and grain orientation.

Pyroclastic Flow (Post-)Emplacement Thermal History Derived From Titanomagnetite Curie Temperatures: Mt. St. Helens and Soufrière Hills as Test Cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowles, J.; Jackson, M.; Lappe, S. C. L. L.; Solheid, P.; Stinton, A. J.

2014-12-01

Pumice blocks and ash matrix sampled from the 1980 pyroclastic flows at Mt. St. Helens and the 2010 flow at Soufrière Hills, Montserrat, display magnetic Curie temperatures (TC) that vary strongly with depth in the flow. We demonstrate that these TC variations result from variable degrees of cation ordering within Mg- and Al-bearing titanomagnetites, and that the degree of ordering is dependent on the emplacement temperature and post-emplacement thermal history of the sample. Curie temperatures are lowest at the tops of flows where rapid cooling has quenched in a relatively low degree of cation order. Samples that cooled more slowly at depth in the flow evolved towards a higher degree of cation order with a correspondingly higher TC. Isothermal annealing experiments in the laboratory have allowed us to document the time-temperature evolution of the cation ordering and Curie temperature, and we use this data in combination with conductive cooling calculations to forward model stratigraphic variations in TC as a function of emplacement temperature (e.g., Fig.1). Preliminary results show that modeled emplacement temperatures (Templ) are reasonably close to measured or estimated emplacement temperatures. Thermal demagnetization data from lithic clasts incorporated into some flows supports the modeled emplacement temperatures; a low-temperature overprint in the direction of the present-day field is removed at ~Templ. However, the documented variation of TC with thermal history means that care should be taken in interpreting this more traditional lithic-based paleomagnetic paleothermometry data. Modification of Curie and blocking temperatures both during natural cooling and during laboratory thermal treatments could affect lithic-based emplacement temperature estimates.

Waste Acceptance Testing of Secondary Waste Forms: Cast Stone, Ceramicrete and DuraLith

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mattigod, Shas V.; Westsik, Joseph H.; Chung, Chul-Woo

2011-08-12

To support the selection of a waste form for the liquid secondary wastes from WTP, Washington River Protection Solutions has initiated secondary-waste-form testing work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In anticipation of a down-selection process for a waste form for the Solidification Treatment Unit to be added to the ETF, PNNL is conducting tests on four candidate waste forms to evaluate their ability to meet potential waste acceptance criteria for immobilized secondary wastes that would be placed in the IDF. All three waste forms demonstrated compressive strengths above the minimum 3.45 MPa (500 psi) set as a target formore » cement-based waste forms. Further, none of the waste forms showed any significant degradation in compressive strength after undergoing thermal cycling (30 cycles in a 10 day period) between -40 C and 60 C or water immersion for 90 days. The three leach test methods are intended to measure the diffusion rates of contaminants from the waste forms. Results are reported in terms of diffusion coefficients and a leachability index (LI) calculated based on the diffusion coefficients. A smaller diffusion coefficient and a larger LI are desired. The NRC, in its Waste Form Technical Position (NRC 1991), provides recommendations and guidance regarding methods to demonstrate waste stability for land disposal of radioactive waste. Included is a recommendation to conduct leach tests using the ANS 16.1 method. The resulting leachability index (LI) should be greater than 6.0. For Hanford secondary wastes, the LI > 6.0 criterion applies to sodium leached from the waste form. For technetium and iodine, higher targets of LI > 9 for Tc and LI > 11 for iodine have been set based on early waste-disposal risk and performance assessment analyses. The results of these three leach tests conducted for a total time between 11days (ASTM C1308) to 90 days (ANS 16.1) showed: (1) Technetium diffusivity: ANSI/ANS 16.1, ASTM C1308, and EPA 1315 tests indicated that all the waste forms had leachability indices better than the target LI > 9 for technetium; (2) Rhenium diffusivity: Cast Stone 2M specimens, when tested using EPA 1315 protocol, had leachability indices better than the target LI > 9 for technetium based on rhenium as a surrogate for technetium. All other waste forms tested by ANSI/ANS 16.1, ASTM C1308, and EPA 1315 test methods had leachability indices that were below the target LI > 9 for Tc based on rhenium release. These studies indicated that use of Re(VII) as a surrogate for 99Tc(VII) in low temperature secondary waste forms containing reductants will provide overestimated diffusivity values for 99Tc. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use Re as a surrogate 99Tc in future low temperature waste form studies. (3) Iodine diffusivity: ANSI/ANS 16.1, ASTM C1308, and EPA 1315 tests indicated that the three waste forms had leachability indices that were below the target LI > 11 for iodine. Therefore, it may be necessary to use a more effective sequestering material than silver zeolite used in two of the waste forms (Ceramicrete and DuraLith); (4) Sodium diffusivity: All the waste form specimens tested by the three leach methods (ANSI/ANS 16.1, ASTM C1308, and EPA 1315) exceeded the target LI value of 6; (5) All three leach methods (ANS 16.1, ASTM C1308 and EPA 1315) provided similar 99Tc diffusivity values for both short-time transient diffusivity effects as well as long-term ({approx}90 days) steady diffusivity from each of the three tested waste forms (Cast Stone 2M, Ceramicrete and DuraLith). Therefore, any one of the three methods can be used to determine the contaminant diffusivities from a selected waste form.« less

Bottomonium above deconfinement in lattice nonrelativistic QCD.

PubMed

Aarts, G; Kim, S; Lombardo, M P; Oktay, M B; Ryan, S M; Sinclair, D K; Skullerud, J-I

2011-02-11

We study the temperature dependence of bottomonium for temperatures in the range 0.4T(c) < T < 2.1T(c), using nonrelativistic dynamics for the bottom quark and full relativistic lattice QCD simulations for Nf = 2 light flavors on a highly anisotropic lattice. We find that the Υ is insensitive to the temperature in this range, while the χb propagators show a crossover from the exponential decay characterizing the hadronic phase to a power-law behavior consistent with nearly free dynamics at T ≃ 2T(c).

Measurement of magnetic property of FePt granular media at near Curie temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, H. Z.; Chen, Y. J.; Leong, S. H.; An, C. W.; Ye, K. D.; Hu, J. F.

2017-02-01

The characterization of the magnetic switching behavior of heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) media at near Curie temperature (Tc) is important for high density recording. In this study, we measured the magnetic property of FePt granular media (with room temperature coercivity 25 kOe) at near Tc with a home built HAMR testing instrument. The local area of HAMR media is heated to near Tc by a flat-top optical heating beam. The magnetic property in the heated area was in-situ measured by a magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) testing beam. The switching field distribution (SFD) and coercive field (Hc) of the FePt granular media and their dependence on the optical heating power at near Tc were studied. We measured the DC demagnetization (DCD) signal with pulsed laser heating at different optical powers. We also measured the Tc distribution of the media by measuring the AC magnetic signal as a function of optical heating power. In a summary, we studied the SFD, Hc of the HAMR media at near Tc in a static manner. The present methodology will facilitate the HAMR media testing.

The Joint Strength and Fracture Mechanisms of TC4/TC4 and TA0/TA0 Brazed with Ti-25Cu-15Ni Braze Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Zhihuan; Zeng, Fanhao; Wu, Haobo; Liu, Jian; Li, Yi; Gu, Yi; Yuan, Tiechui; Zhang, Fuqin

2017-05-01

In this paper, Ti-25Cu-15Ni (mass ratio) braze alloys were prepared by vacuum arc melting. Additionally, the TA0 pure titanium and TC4 titanium alloy were brazed with the Ti-25Cu-15Ni braze alloy at 960, 980, 1000, 1020, and 1040 °C. The effects of the braze temperature on the tensile strength of the TA0 and TC4 joints and their fracture mechanisms were studied. The maximum tensile strength of the TA0 joints of 219.9 ± 0.1 MPa was achieved at a brazing temperature of 980 °C, and the maximum tensile strength of the TC4 joints of 832.9 ± 0.1 MPa was achieved at the same brazing temperature. These results indicate that their ideal joint strength is comparable. According to the fractography results of the TA0 joints, a mixed fracture morphology is indicated. The TA0 fracture surface is dominated by cleavage fracture with a small contribution from ductile fracture. The TC4 joint fracture arises from cleavage.

Zero-field quantum critical point in Ce0.91Yb0.09CoIn5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Y. P.; Adhikari, R. B.; Haney, D. J.; White, B. D.; Maple, M. B.; Dzero, M.; Almasan, C. C.

2018-05-01

We present results of specific heat, electrical resistance, and magnetoresistivity measurements on single crystals of the heavy-fermion superconducting alloy Ce0.91Yb0.09CoIn5 . Non-Fermi-liquid to Fermi-liquid crossovers are clearly observed in the temperature dependence of the Sommerfeld coefficient γ and resistivity data. Furthermore, we show that the Yb-doped sample with x =0.09 exhibits universality due to an underlying quantum phase transition without an applied magnetic field by utilizing the scaling analysis of γ . Fitting of the heat capacity and resistivity data based on existing theoretical models indicates that the zero-field quantum critical point is of antiferromagnetic origin. Finally, we found that at zero magnetic field the system undergoes a third-order phase transition at the temperature Tc 3≈7 K.

Boundary conditions, dimensionality, topology and size dependence of the superconducting transition temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fink, Herman J.; Haley, Stephen B.; Giuraniuc, Claudiu V.; Kozhevnikov, Vladimir F.; Indekeu, Joseph O.

2005-11-01

For various sample geometries (slabs, cylinders, spheres, hypercubes), de Gennes' boundary condition parameter b is used to study its effect upon the transition temperature Tc of a superconductor. For b > 0 the order parameter at the surface is decreased, and as a consequence Tc is reduced, while for b < 0 the order parameter at the surface is increased, thereby enhancing Tc of a specimen in zero magnetic field. Exact solutions, derived by Fink and Haley (Int. J. mod. Phys. B, 17, 2171 (2003)), of the order parameter of a slab of finite thickness as a function of temperature are presented, both for reduced and enhanced transition (nucleation) temperatures. At the nucleation temperature the order parameter approaches zero. This concise review closes with a link established between de Gennes' microscopic boundary condition and the Ginzburg-Landau phenomenological approach, and a discussion of some relevant experiments. For example, applying the boundary condition with b < 0 to tin whiskers elucidates the increase of Tc with strain.

Influence of different periods of exposure to hot environment on rumen function and diet digestibility in sheep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernabucci, U.; Lacetera, N.; Danieli, P. P.; Bani, P.; Nardone, A.; Ronchi, B.

2009-09-01

Effects of different periods of exposure to hot environments on rumen function, diet digestibility and digesta passage rate were studied in four adult not-pregnant Sardinian ewes housed in a climatic chamber. The ewes were kept in individual metabolic cages. The trial lasted 83 days; 17 days were spent under thermal comfort conditions (TC) [temperature-humidity index (THI) = 65.0 ± 2.0], followed by 49 days under elevated THI (ETHI: THI = 82.0 ± 2.5) and 17 days under thermal comfort (TC; THI = 65.0 ± 1.0). Five digestibility and passage rate trials were carried out during the 83 days. Trials 1 and 5 were carried out under TC; trials 2, 3 and 4 were carried out under ETHI. Values of rectal temperatures (39.7 ± 0.3°C) and respiratory rate (118.4 ± 31.8 breaths/min) indicated that sheep under ETHI were heat-stressed. Heat stress caused an increase ( P < 0.01) in water intake, and reductions ( P < 0.05) in dry matter intake, rumen pH, rumen cellulolytic and amylolytic bacteria count, rumen osmolarity, organic matter, dry matter, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and non-structural carbohydrates digestibility coefficients, and a reduction of digesta passage rates. Under ETHI, diet digestibility and passage rate of digesta were reduced in a time-dependent fashion. Variation of diet digestibility under ETHI was not related to passage rate of digesta and feed intake. Reduction of cellulolytic and amylolytic bacteria and the adaptive response to hot environment seem to be related to alteration of digestibility observed in ewes chronically exposed to hot environment.

Bone marrow uptake of 99mTc-MIBI in patients with multiple myeloma.

PubMed

Fonti, R; Del Vecchio, S; Zannetti, A; De Renzo, A; Di Gennaro, F; Catalano, L; Califano, C; Pace, L; Rotoli, B; Salvatore, M

2001-02-01

In a previous study, we showed the ability of technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) scan to identify active disease in patients with multiple myeloma (Eur J Nucl Med 1998; 25: 714-720). In particular, a semiquantitative score of the extension and intensity of bone marrow uptake was derived and correlated with both the clinical status of the disease and plasma cell bone marrow infiltration. In order to estimate quantitatively 99mTc-MIBI bone marrow uptake and to verify the intracellular localization of the tracer, bone marrow samples obtained from 24 multiple myeloma patients, three patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and two healthy donors were studied for in vitro uptake. After centrifugation over Ficoll-Hypaque gradient, cell suspensions were incubated with 99mTc-MIBI and the uptake was expressed as the percentage of radioactivity specifically retained within the cells. The cellular localization of the tracer was assessed by micro-autoradiography. Twenty-two out of 27 patients underwent 99mTc-MIBI scan within a week of bone marrow sampling. Whole-body images were obtained 10 min after intravenous injection of 555 MBq of the tracer; the extension and intensity of 99mTc-MIBI uptake were graded using the semiquantitative score. A statistically significant correlation was found between in vitro uptake of 99mTc-MIBI and both plasma cell infiltration (Pearson's coefficient of correlation r=0.69, P<0.0001) and in vivo score (Spearman rank correlation coefficient r=0.60, P<0.01). No specific tracer uptake was found in bone marrow samples obtained from the two healthy donors. Micro-autoradiography showed localization of 99mTc-MIBI inside the plasma cells infiltrating the bone marrow. Therefore, our findings show that the degree of tracer uptake both in vitro and in vivo is related to the percentage of infiltrating plasma cells which accumulate the tracer in their inner compartments.

XMCD and Magnetic Evidence for Cation Reordering in Synthetic Mg- and Al-substituted Titanomagnetites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lappe, S. C. L. L.; Bowles, J.; Jackson, M.; Keavney, D.

2014-12-01

The titanomagnetite (TM) solid solution (Fe3-xTixO4, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) is one of the most important natural magnetic minerals used in paleomagnetic studies. Natural TMs with Mg- and Al-substitution have recently been shown to have Curie temperatures (TC) that vary strongly with thermal history, and these variations have been indirectly linked to cation reordering in the crystal lattice (Bowles et al. 2013). Here we present the first direct evidence for cation reordering linked to these TC variations. We have synthesized TMs with varying degrees of Mg2+ and Al3+ substitution to better understand the mechanism at work in the natural samples. TC was determined by measuring magnetic susceptibility as function of temperature under Argon atmosphere. Isothermal annealing experiments between 10-1 to 103 h at temperatures between 300-500°C were conducted. Subsequent TC measurements showed that TC on warming increases for longer anneal times and higher anneal temperatures, whereas TC on cooling decreases. These resulting TC changes can be linked to cation ordering within the crystal structure. Splits of the same samples were studied via X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), which is sensitive to both Fe valence state and site occupancy. Preliminary results suggest differences in Fe2+/Fe3+ site occupancy for samples of different compositions for different annealing treatments. Using the data collected for these synthetic samples we hope to gain further insight into the complex relationship between thermal history and cation distribution leading to changes in TC. So far, our understanding of the acquisition of thermal remanent magnetization (TRM) in TMs is predicated on the assumption that TC is a constant only depending on the mineral composition. However, the distribution of the magnetic Fe2+ and Fe3+ cations within the crystal lattice has a strong influence on the value of TC and cation (dis-)/ordering processes can result in large changes in TC. In natural samples, reordering results in changes in TCof up to >150°C on timescales and at temperatures relevant to both geological and laboratory processes. Thus, the cation reordering has major implications for the acquisition, retention, and demagnetization of partial TRM and thermoviscous remanence and may have an impact on many paleomagnetic studies using natural TMs.

Method for generating a crystalline {sup 99}MoO{sub 3} product and the isolation {sup 99m}Tc compositions therefrom

DOEpatents

Bennett, R.G.; Christian, J.D.; Kirkham, R.J.; Tranter, T.J.

1998-09-01

An improved method is described for producing {sup 99m}Tc compositions. {sup 100}Mo metal is irradiated with photons in a particle (electron) accelerator to produce {sup 99}Mo metal which is dissolved in a solvent. A solvated {sup 99}Mo product is then dried to generate a supply of {sup 99}MoO{sub 3} crystals. The crystals are thereafter heated at a temperature which will sublimate the crystals and form a gaseous mixture containing vaporized {sup 99m}TcO{sub 3} and vaporized {sup 99m}TcO{sub 2} but will not cause the production of vaporized {sup 99}MoO{sub 3}. The mixture is then combined with an oxidizing gas to generate a gaseous stream containing vaporized {sup 99m}Tc{sub 2}O{sub 7}. Next, the gaseous stream is cooled to a temperature sufficient to convert the vaporized {sup 99m}Tc{sub 2}O{sub 7} into a condensed {sup 99m}Tc-containing product. The product has high purity levels resulting from the use of reduced temperature conditions and ultrafine crystalline {sup 99}MoO{sub 3} starting materials with segregated {sup 99m}Tc compositions therein which avoid the production of vaporized {sup 99}MoO{sub 3} contaminants. 1 fig.

Effects of titanomagnetite reordering processes on thermal demagnetization and paleointensity experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowles, Julie A.; Jackson, Mike J.

2016-12-01

Titanomagnetite (Fe3-xTixO4, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) is a common, naturally occurring magnetic mineral critical to many paleomagnetic studies. Underlying most interpretations is the assumption that, lacking chemical alteration, Curie temperature (Tc) remains constant. However, recent work has demonstrated that Tc of many natural titanomagnetites varies strongly as a function of thermal history, independent of chemical alteration. This is inferred to arise from reordering of cations and/or vacancies in the crystal structure, and changes occur at temperatures and times relevant to standard paleomagnetic thermal treatments. Because changes take place at T < Tc, they have the potential to dramatically affect thermal remanence acquisition or demagnetization, impacting interpretation of paleomagnetic results. Here we have modeled the effects of reordering on standard thermal demagnetization and paleointensity experiments. Results suggest that Tc changes during laboratory heating make it impossible to accurately measure the unblocking temperature spectrum without modifying it. Samples with a starting Tc0 less than the closure temperature (Tclose) for the reordering process will develop a high-temperature "tail" that did not exist prior to heating. Samples with a starting Tc0 > Tclose will have their original Tb spectrum truncated at T ≈ Tclose. Predicted behavior during Thellier-type paleointensity experiments results in only modest deviations in NRM-lost or pTRM*-gained from the nonreordering case. Much larger deviations are predicted for pTRM checks. Compared to paleointensity results from titanomagnetite-bearing pyroclastic deposits, modeled nonideal behavior occurs in the same temperature intervals, but is much more systematic. Reordering is likely one contributing factor to failure of paleointensity experiments.

The drag characteristics of several airships determined by deceleration tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, F L; Kirschbaum, H W

1932-01-01

This report presents the results of deceleration tests conducted for the purpose of determining the drag characteristics of six airships. The tests were made with airships of various shapes and sizes belonging to the Army, the Navy, and the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. Drag coefficients for the following airships are shown: Army TC-6, TC-10, and TE-2; Navy Los Angeles and ZMC-2; Goodyear Puritan. The coefficients vary from about 0.045 for the small blunt airships to 0.023 for the relatively large slender Los Angeles. This variation may be due to a combination of effects, but the most important of these is probably the effect of length-diameter ratio.

Evolutions structurales et effets de pression dans des céramiques supraconductrices à haute T_c

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavarri, J. R.; Carel, C.; Monnereau, O.; Vacquier, G.; Vettier, C.; Hewat, A. W.

1991-11-01

Using structural evolution data and a method permitting the calculation of elastic constants and Grüneisen parameters, the thermal expansion of two high T_c superconductors is interpreted. It is shown that the superconductors YBaCuO (123) and BiSrCaCuO (2212) present strongly different elastic and anharmonic properties. En appliquant une méthode déjà mise au point sur d'autres composés (Gavarri, 1981), l'évolution structurale de deux supraconducteurs à haute T_c est interprétée par le biais de leurs compressibilités anisotropes et de leurs coefficients de Grüneisen, obtenus par diffraction de neutrons et de rayons X. On montre ici que les supraconducteurs YBaCuO (123) et BiSrCaCuO (2212) diffèrent considérablement par leurs compressibilités anisotropes et par leurs coefficients de Grüneisen.

Microstructure and wear resistance of Ti-Cu-N composite coating prepared via laser cladding/laser nitriding technology on Ti-6Al-4V alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yuling; Cao, Shiyin; Zhang, Shuai; Xu, Chuan; Qin, Gaowu

2017-07-01

Ti-Cu-N coatings with three different Cu contents on Ti-6Al-4V alloy (TC4) were obtained via laser cladding together with laser nitriding (LC/LN) technology. Phase constituents, microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the coatings were investigated. The evolution of the coefficients of friction for the three coatings was measured under dry sliding conditions as a function of the revolutions until the coating failure. The results show that the coatings are mainly composed of TiN, CuTi3 and some TiO6 phases dispersed in the matrix. A good metallurgical bonding between the coating and substrate has been successfully obtained. The prepared Ti-Cu-N composite coatings almost doubly enhance the microhardness of the TC4 alloy and reduce the friction down to 1/4-1/2 of the TC4 alloy, and thus significantly improve the wear resistance. The coefficient of friction depends on the Cu content in the coating.

Temperature-dependent dielectric and energy-storage properties of Pb(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 antiferroelectric bulk ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xuefeng; Liu, Zhen; Xu, Chenhong; Cao, Fei; Wang, Genshui; Dong, Xianlin

2016-05-01

The dielectric and energy-storage properties of Pb0.99Nb0.02[(Zr0.60Sn0.40)0.95Ti0.05]0.98O3 (PNZST) bulk ceramics near the antiferroelectric (AFE)-ferroelectric (FE) phase boundary are investigated as a function of temperature. Three characteristic temperatures T0, TC, T2 are obtained from the dielectric temperature spectrum. At different temperature regions (below T0, between T0 and TC, and above TC), three types of hysteresis loops are observed as square double loop, slim loop and linear loop, respectively. The switching fields and recoverable energy density all first increase and then decrease with increasing temperature, and reach their peak values at ˜T0. These results provide a convenient method to optimize the working temperature of antiferroelectric electronic devices through testing the temperature dependent dielectric properties of antiferroelectric ceramics.

Enhanced critical current density in the pressure-induced magnetic state of the high-temperature superconductor FeSe

PubMed Central

Jung, Soon-Gil; Kang, Ji-Hoon; Park, Eunsung; Lee, Sangyun; Lin, Jiunn-Yuan; Chareev, Dmitriy A.; Vasiliev, Alexander N.; Park, Tuson

2015-01-01

We investigate the relation of the critical current density (Jc) and the remarkably increased superconducting transition temperature (Tc) for the FeSe single crystals under pressures up to 2.43 GPa, where the Tc is increased by ~8 K/GPa. The critical current density corresponding to the free flux flow is monotonically enhanced by pressure which is due to the increase in Tc, whereas the depinning critical current density at which the vortex starts to move is more influenced by the pressure-induced magnetic state compared to the increase of Tc. Unlike other high-Tc superconductors, FeSe is not magnetic, but superconducting at ambient pressure. Above a critical pressure where magnetic state is induced and coexists with superconductivity, the depinning Jc abruptly increases even though the increase of the zero-resistivity Tc is negligible, directly indicating that the flux pinning property compared to the Tc enhancement is a more crucial factor for an achievement of a large Jc. In addition, the sharp increase in Jc in the coexisting superconducting phase of FeSe demonstrates that vortices can be effectively trapped by the competing antiferromagnetic order, even though its antagonistic nature against superconductivity is well documented. These results provide new guidance toward technological applications of high-temperature superconductors. PMID:26548444

Superconducting H5S2 phase in sulfur-hydrogen system under high-pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishikawa, Takahiro; Nakanishi, Akitaka; Shimizu, Katsuya; Katayama-Yoshida, Hiroshi; Oda, Tatsuki; Suzuki, Naoshi

2016-03-01

Recently, hydrogen sulfide was experimentally found to show the high superconducting critical temperature (Tc) under high-pressure. The superconducting Tc shows 30-70 K in pressure range of 100-170 GPa (low-Tc phase) and increases to 203 K, which sets a record for the highest Tc in all materials, for the samples annealed by heating it to room temperature at pressures above 150 GPa (high-Tc phase). Here we present a solid H5S2 phase predicted as the low-Tc phase by the application of the genetic algorithm technique for crystal structure searching and first-principles calculations to sulfur-hydrogen system under high-pressure. The H5S2 phase is thermodynamically stabilized at 110 GPa, in which asymmetric hydrogen bonds are formed between H2S and H3S molecules. Calculated Tc values show 50-70 K in pressure range of 100-150 GPa within the harmonic approximation, which can reproduce the experimentally observed low-Tc phase. These findings give a new aspect of the excellent superconductivity in compressed sulfur-hydrogen system.

Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system.

PubMed

Drozdov, A P; Eremets, M I; Troyan, I A; Ksenofontov, V; Shylin, S I

2015-09-03

A superconductor is a material that can conduct electricity without resistance below a superconducting transition temperature, Tc. The highest Tc that has been achieved to date is in the copper oxide system: 133 kelvin at ambient pressure and 164 kelvin at high pressures. As the nature of superconductivity in these materials is still not fully understood (they are not conventional superconductors), the prospects for achieving still higher transition temperatures by this route are not clear. In contrast, the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of conventional superconductivity gives a guide for achieving high Tc with no theoretical upper bound--all that is needed is a favourable combination of high-frequency phonons, strong electron-phonon coupling, and a high density of states. These conditions can in principle be fulfilled for metallic hydrogen and covalent compounds dominated by hydrogen, as hydrogen atoms provide the necessary high-frequency phonon modes as well as the strong electron-phonon coupling. Numerous calculations support this idea and have predicted transition temperatures in the range 50-235 kelvin for many hydrides, but only a moderate Tc of 17 kelvin has been observed experimentally. Here we investigate sulfur hydride, where a Tc of 80 kelvin has been predicted. We find that this system transforms to a metal at a pressure of approximately 90 gigapascals. On cooling, we see signatures of superconductivity: a sharp drop of the resistivity to zero and a decrease of the transition temperature with magnetic field, with magnetic susceptibility measurements confirming a Tc of 203 kelvin. Moreover, a pronounced isotope shift of Tc in sulfur deuteride is suggestive of an electron-phonon mechanism of superconductivity that is consistent with the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer scenario. We argue that the phase responsible for high-Tc superconductivity in this system is likely to be H3S, formed from H2S by decomposition under pressure. These findings raise hope for the prospects for achieving room-temperature superconductivity in other hydrogen-based materials.

Uncertainty analysis of thermocouple measurements used in normal and abnormal thermal environment experiments at Sandia's Radiant Heat Facility and Lurance Canyon Burn Site.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nakos, James Thomas

2004-04-01

It would not be possible to confidently qualify weapon systems performance or validate computer codes without knowing the uncertainty of the experimental data used. This report provides uncertainty estimates associated with thermocouple data for temperature measurements from two of Sandia's large-scale thermal facilities. These two facilities (the Radiant Heat Facility (RHF) and the Lurance Canyon Burn Site (LCBS)) routinely gather data from normal and abnormal thermal environment experiments. They are managed by Fire Science & Technology Department 09132. Uncertainty analyses were performed for several thermocouple (TC) data acquisition systems (DASs) used at the RHF and LCBS. These analyses apply tomore » Type K, chromel-alumel thermocouples of various types: fiberglass sheathed TC wire, mineral-insulated, metal-sheathed (MIMS) TC assemblies, and are easily extended to other TC materials (e.g., copper-constantan). Several DASs were analyzed: (1) A Hewlett-Packard (HP) 3852A system, and (2) several National Instrument (NI) systems. The uncertainty analyses were performed on the entire system from the TC to the DAS output file. Uncertainty sources include TC mounting errors, ANSI standard calibration uncertainty for Type K TC wire, potential errors due to temperature gradients inside connectors, extension wire uncertainty, DAS hardware uncertainties including noise, common mode rejection ratio, digital voltmeter accuracy, mV to temperature conversion, analog to digital conversion, and other possible sources. Typical results for 'normal' environments (e.g., maximum of 300-400 K) showed the total uncertainty to be about {+-}1% of the reading in absolute temperature. In high temperature or high heat flux ('abnormal') thermal environments, total uncertainties range up to {+-}2-3% of the reading (maximum of 1300 K). The higher uncertainties in abnormal thermal environments are caused by increased errors due to the effects of imperfect TC attachment to the test item. 'Best practices' are provided in Section 9 to help the user to obtain the best measurements possible.« less

Shock-induced superheating and melting curves of geophysically important minerals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Sheng-Nian; Ahrens, Thomas J.

2004-06-01

Shock-state temperature and sound-speed measurements on crystalline materials, demonstrate superheating-melting behavior distinct from equilibrium melting. Shocked solid can be superheated to the maximum temperature, Tc'. At slightly higher pressure, Pc, shock melting occurs, and induces a lower shock temperature, Tc. The Hugoniot state, ( Pc, Tc), is inferred to lie along the equilibrium melting curve. The amount of superheating achieved on Hugoniot is, ΘH+= Tc'/ Tc-1. Shock-induced superheating for a number of silicates, alkali halides and metals agrees closely with the predictions of a systematic framework describing superheating at various heating rates [Appl. Phys. Lett. 82 (12) (2003) 1836]. High-pressure melting curves are constructed by integration from ( Pc, Tc) based on the Lindemann law. We calculate the volume and entropy changes upon melting at ( Pc, Tc) assuming the R ln 2 rule ( R is the gas constant) for the disordering entropy of melting [J. Chem. Phys. 19 (1951) 93; Sov. Phys. Usp. 117 (1975) 625; Poirier, J.P., 1991. Introduction to the Physics of the Earth's Interior. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 102 pp.]. ( Pc, Tc) and the Lindemann melting curves are in excellent accord with diamond-anvil cell (DAC) results for NaCl, KBr and stishovite. But significant discrepancies exist for transition metals. If we extrapolate the DAC melting data [Phys. Rev. B 63 (2001) 132104] for transition metals (Fe, V, Mo, W and Ta) to 200-400 GPa where shock melting occurs, shock temperature measurement and calculation would indicate ΘH+˜0.7-2.0. These large values of superheating are not consistent with the superheating systematics. The discrepancies could be reconciled by possible solid-solid phase transitions at high pressures. In particular, this work suggests that Fe undergoes a possible solid-solid phase transition at ˜200 GPa and melts at ˜270 GPa upon shock wave loading, and the melting temperature is ˜6300 K at 330 GPa.

Novel Analytic Methods Needed for Real-Time Continuous Core Body Temperature Data

PubMed Central

Hertzberg, Vicki; Mac, Valerie; Elon, Lisa; Mutic, Nathan; Mutic, Abby; Peterman, Katherine; Tovar-Aguilar, J. Antonio; Economos, Jeannie; Flocks, Joan; McCauley, Linda

2017-01-01

Affordable measurement of core body temperature, Tc, in a continuous, real-time fashion is now possible. With this advance comes a new data analysis paradigm for occupational epidemiology. We characterize issues arising after obtaining Tc data over 188 workdays for 83 participating farmworkers, a population vulnerable to effects of rising temperatures due to climate change. We describe a novel approach to these data using smoothing and functional data analysis. This approach highlights different data aspects compared to describing Tc at a single time point or summaries of the time course into an indicator function (e.g., did Tc ever exceed 38°C, the threshold limit value for occupational heat exposure). Participants working in ferneries had significantly higher Tc at some point during the workday compared to those working in nurseries, despite a shorter workday for fernery participants. Our results typify the challenges and opportunities in analyzing big data streams from real-time physiologic monitoring. PMID:27756853

Temperature Dependence of Quasiparticle Spectral Weight and Coherence in High Tc Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yang; Zhang, Jessie; Hoffman, Jennifer; Hoffman Lab Team

2014-03-01

Superconductivity arises from the Cooper pairing of quasiparticles on the Fermi surface. Understanding the formation of Cooper pairs is an essential step towards unveiling the mechanism of high Tc superconductivity. We compare scanning tunneling microscope investigations of the temperature dependence of quasiparticle spectral weight and quasiparticle interference in several families of high Tc materials. We calculate the coherent spectral weight related to superconductivity, despite the coexistence of competing orders. The relation between pairing temperature and coherent spectral weight is discussed. We acknowledge support by the New York Community Trust-George Merck Fund.

Hydration and Thermoregulation During a Half-Ironman Performed in Tropical Climate

PubMed Central

Baillot, Michelle; Hue, Olivier

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the core temperature (TC) and markers of hydration status in athletes performing a half Ironman triathlon race in hot and humid conditions (27.2 ± 0.5°C, relative humidity was 80 ± 2%). Before and immediately after the 2012 Guadeloupe half Ironman triathlon, body mass and urine osmolarity (mean ± SD) were measured in 19 well-trained male triathletes. TC was measured before and after the race, and at each transition during the event, using an ingestible pill telemetry system. Ambient temperature and heart rate (HR) were measured throughout the race. Mean ± SD performance time was 331 ± 36 minutes and HR was 147 ± 16 beats·min-1. Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) averaged 25.4 ± 1.0°C and ocean temperature was 29.5°C. The average TC at the beginning of the race (TC1) was 37.1 ± 0.7°C; it was 37.8 ± 0.9°C after swimming (TC2), 37.8 ± 1.0°C after cycling (TC3), and (TC4) 38.4 ± 0.7°C after running. Body mass significantly declined during the race by 3.7 ± 1.9 kg (4.8 ± 2.4%; p < 0.05), whereas urine osmolarity significantly increased from 491.6 ± 300.6 to 557.9 ± 207.9 mosm·L-1 (p < 0.05). Changes in body mass were not related to finishing TC or urine osmolarity. Ad libitum fluid intake appears applicable to athletes acclimatized to tropical climate, when performing a half Ironman triathlon in a warm and humid environment. Key points Ad libitum fluid intake appears applicable to athletes acclimatized to tropical climate when performing a half Ironman triathlon in a warm and humid environment. The final core temperature average was 38.8 ± 0.7ºC after the event in these triathletes and the athletes showed no evidence of heat illness while competing in a warm and humid environment. Core temperature was dependent on both activity and anthropometry. PMID:25983573

Magnetic properties of RFe2Zn20 and RCo2Zn20 (R=Y,Nd,Sm,Gd-Lu)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Shuang; Ni, Ni; Bud'Ko, S. L.; Canfield, P. C.

2009-09-01

Magnetization, resistivity, and specific heat measurements were performed on solution-grown single crystals of RFe2Zn20 and RCo2Zn20 (R=Y,Nd,Sm,Gd-Lu) . Whereas LuCo2Zn20 and YCo2Zn20 manifest unremarkable metallic behavior, LuFe2Zn20 and YFe2Zn20 display behaviors such as characteristic of nearly ferromagnetic Fermi liquids. When the well-defined 4f local moments (Gd3+-Tm3+) are embedded into this strongly polarizable host, they manifest enhanced ferromagnetic ordering and the values of TC for RFe2Zn20 (R=Gd-Tm) scale with the de Gennes factor. In addition, data on the RFe2Zn20 compounds indicate a small crystal electric field (CEF) effect compared with the interaction energy scale. On the other hand, the local moment bearing members of RCo2Zn20 (R=Nd,Sm,Gd-Tm) manifest weak magnetic interactions and the magnetic properties for R=Dy-Tm members are strongly influenced by the CEF effect on the R ions. The magnetic anisotropy and specific heat data for the Co series were used to determine the CEF coefficient of R ion with its cubic point symmetry. These CEF coefficients, determined for the Co series, are consistent with the magnetic anisotropy and specific heat data for the Fe series, which indicates similar CEF effects for the Fe and Co series. Such analysis, combined with specific heat and resistivity data, indicates that for R=Tb-Ho , the CEF splitting scale is smaller than their TC values, whereas for ErFe2Zn20 and TmFe2Zn20 the 4f electrons lose part of their full Hund’s rule ground state degeneracy above TC . YbFe2Zn20 and YbCo2Zn20 manifest typical but distinct heavy fermion behaviors associated with different Kondo temperatures.

Issues in Continuous 24-h Core Body Temperature Monitoring in Humans Using an Ingestible Capsule Telemetric Sensor.

PubMed

Monnard, Cathriona R; Fares, Elie-Jacques; Calonne, Julie; Miles-Chan, Jennifer L; Montani, Jean-Pierre; Durrer, Dominique; Schutz, Yves; Dulloo, Abdul G

2017-01-01

There is increasing interest in the use of pill-sized ingestible capsule telemetric sensors for assessing core body temperature (Tc) as a potential indicator of variability in metabolic efficiency and thrifty metabolic traits. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of measuring Tc using the CorTemp ® system. Tc was measured over an average of 20 h in 27 human subjects, with measurements of energy expenditure made in the overnight fasted state at rest, during standardized low-intensity physical activity and after a 600 kcal mixed meal. Validation of accuracy of the capsule sensors was made ex vivo against mercury and electronic thermometers across the physiological range (35-40°C) in morning and afternoon of 2 or 3 consecutive days. Comparisons between capsule sensors and thermometers were made using Bland-Altman analysis. Systematic bias, error, and temperature drift over time were assessed. The circadian Tc profile classically reported in free-living humans was confirmed. Significant increases in Tc (+0.2°C) were found in response to low-power cycling at 40-50 W (~3-4 METs), but no changes in Tc were detectable during low-level isometric leg press exercise (<2 METs) or during the peak postprandial thermogenesis induced by the 600 kcal meal. Issues of particular interest include fast "turbo" gut transit with expulsion time of <15 h after capsule ingestion in one out of every five subjects and sudden erratic readings in teletransmission of Tc. Furthermore, ex vivo validation revealed a substantial mean bias (exceeding ±0.5°C) between the Tc capsule readings and mercury or electronic thermometers in half of the capsules. When examined over 2 or 3 days, the initial bias (small or large) drifted in excess of ±0.5°C in one out of every four capsules. Since Tc is regulated within a very narrow range in the healthy homeotherm's body (within 1°C), physiological investigations of Tc require great accuracy and precision (better than 0.1°C). Although ingestible capsule methodology appears of great interest for non-invasively monitoring the transit gut temperature, new technology requires a reduction in the inherent error of measurement and elimination of temperature drift and warrants more interlaboratory investigation on the above factors.

Inverse correlation between quasiparticle mass and Tc in a cuprate high-Tc superconductor

PubMed Central

Putzke, Carsten; Malone, Liam; Badoux, Sven; Vignolle, Baptiste; Vignolles, David; Tabis, Wojciech; Walmsley, Philip; Bird, Matthew; Hussey, Nigel E.; Proust, Cyril; Carrington, Antony

2016-01-01

Close to a zero-temperature transition between ordered and disordered electronic phases, quantum fluctuations can lead to a strong enhancement of electron mass and to the emergence of competing phases such as superconductivity. A correlation between the existence of such a quantum phase transition and superconductivity is quite well established in some heavy fermion and iron-based superconductors, and there have been suggestions that high-temperature superconductivity in copper-oxide materials (cuprates) may also be driven by the same mechanism. Close to optimal doping, where the superconducting transition temperature Tc is maximal in cuprates, two different phases are known to compete with superconductivity: a poorly understood pseudogap phase and a charge-ordered phase. Recent experiments have shown a strong increase in quasiparticle mass m* in the cuprate YBa2Cu3O7-δ as optimal doping is approached, suggesting that quantum fluctuations of the charge-ordered phase may be responsible for the high-Tc superconductivity. We have tested the robustness of this correlation between m* and Tc by performing quantum oscillation studies on the stoichiometric compound YBa2Cu4O8 under hydrostatic pressure. In contrast to the results for YBa2Cu3O7-δ, we find that in YBa2Cu4O8, the mass decreases as Tc increases under pressure. This inverse correlation between m* and Tc suggests that quantum fluctuations of the charge order enhance m* but do not enhance Tc. PMID:27034989

Effects of (LiCe) co-substitution on the structural and electrical properties of CaBi2Nb2O9 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Xiao-Xia; Qu, Shao-Bo; Du, Hong-Liang; Li, Ye; Xu, Zhuo

2012-03-01

The piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the (LiCe) co-substituted calcium bismuth niobate (CaBi2Nb2O9, CBNO) are investigated. The piezoelectric properties of CBNO ceramics are significantly enhanced and the dielectric loss tan δ decreased. This makes poling using (LiCe) co-substitution easier. The ceramics (where □ represents A-site Ca2+ vacancies, possess a pure layered structure phase and no other phases can be found. The Ca0.88(LiCe)0.04□0.04Bi2Nb2O9 ceramics possess optimal piezoelectric properties, with piezoelectric coefficient (d33) and Curie temperature (TC) found to be 13.3 pC/N and 960 °C, respectively. The dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the (LiCe) co-substituted CBNO ceramics exhibit very stable temperature behaviours. This demonstrates that the CBNO ceramics are a promising candidate for ultrahigh temperature applications.

Seasonal features of quasi-biennial variations of NO2 stratospheric content derived from ground-based measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ageyeva, V. Yu.; Gruzdev, A. N.

2017-01-01

Seasonal and latitudinal distributions of amplitudes of quasi-biennial variations in total NO2 content (NO2 TC), total ozone content (TOC), and stratospheric temperature are obtained. NO2 TC data from ground-based spectrometric measurements within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), TOC data from satellite measurements, and stratospheric temperature data from ERA-Interim reanalysis are used for the analysis. The differences in the NO2 TC diurnal cycles are identified between the westerly and easterly phases of the quasi-biennial oscillations (QBO) of equatorial stratospheric wind. The QBO effects in the NO2 TC, TOC, and stratospheric temperature in the Northern (NH) and Southern (SH) hemispheres are most significant in the winter-spring periods, with essential differences between the NH and SH. The NO2 TC in the Antarctic is less for the westerly phase of the QBO than that for the easterly phase, and the NO2 TC quasi-biennial variations in the SH mid-latitudes are opposite of the variations in the Antarctic. In the NH, the winter values of the NO2 TC are generally less during the westerly QBO phase than during the easterly phase, whereas in spring, on the contrary, the values for the westerly QBO phase exceed those for the easterly phase. Along with NO2, the features of the quasi-biennial variations of TOC and stratospheric temperature are discussed. Possible mechanisms of the quasi-biennial variations of the analyzed parameters are considered for the different latitudinal zones.

Effect of (Li,Ce) doping in Aurivillius phase material Na0.25K0.25Bi2.5Nb2O9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gai, Zhi-Gang; Wang, Jin-Feng; Wang, Chun-Ming

2007-01-01

The effect of (Li,Ce) substitution for A site on the properties of Na0.25K0.25Bi2.5Nb2O9-based ceramics was investigated. The piezoelectric activity of Na0.25K0.25Bi2.5Nb2O9-based ceramics is significantly improved by the modification of lithium and cerium. The Curie temperature (TC) gradually increases from 668to684°C with increasing the (Li,Ce) modification. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the [(Na0.5K0.5)Bi]0.44(LiCe)0.03[]0.03Bi2Nb2O9 ceramic was found to be 28pC/N, the highest value among the Na0.25K0.25Bi2.5Nb2O9-based ceramics and also almost 50% higher than the reported d33 values of other bismuth layer-structured ferroelectric systems (˜5-19pC/N). The planar coupling factors kp and kt were found to be 8.0% and 23.0%, together with the high TC (˜670°C) and stable piezoelectric properties, demonstrating that the (Li,Ce) modified Na0.25K0.25Bi2.5Nb2O9-based material a promising candidate for high temperature applications.

Configurational Entropy Approach to the Kinetics of Glasses

PubMed Central

Di Marzio, Edmund A.; Yang, Arthur J. M.

1997-01-01

A kinetic theory of glasses is developed using equilibrium theory as a foundation. After establishing basic criteria for glass formation and the capability of the equilibrium entropy theory to describe the equilibrium aspects of glass formation, a minimal model for the glass kinetics is proposed. Our kinetic model is based on a trapping description of particle motion in which escapes from deep wells provide the rate-determining steps for motion. The formula derived for the zero frequency viscosity η (0,T) is log η (0,T) = B − AF(T)kT where F is the free energy and T the temperature. Contrast this to the Vogel-Fulcher law log η (0,T) = B + A/(T − Tc). A notable feature of our description is that even though the location of the equilibrium second-order transition in temperature-pressure space is given by the break in the entropy or volume curves the viscosity and its derivative are continuous through the transition. The new expression for η (0,T) has no singularity at a critical temperature Tc as in the Vogel-Fulcher law and the behavior reduces to the Arrhenius form in the glass region. Our formula for η (0,T) is discussed in the context of the concepts of strong and fragile glasses, and the experimentally observed connection of specific heat to relaxation response in a homologous series of polydimethylsiloxane is explained. The frequency and temperature dependencies of the complex viscosity η (ω< T), the diffusion coefficient D(ω< T), and the dielectric response ε (ω< T) are also obtained for our kinetic model and found to be consistent with stretched exponential behavior. PMID:27805133

Relaxation and anomalous T- and H-dependence of the μ coefficient in (K,Ba)BiO3 superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, T.; Harneit, W.; Joumard, I.; Marcus, J.; Escribe-Filippini, C.; Feinberg, D.

1998-04-01

Ac shielding and classical dc relaxation experiments have been used to study the flux creep phenomena in the cubic (K,Ba)BiO3 superconductor (Tc ~ 30 K). The relaxation rate is found to be constant (S ~ 1.5%) at low temperature and magnetic field and increases sharply as the vortex-glass transition line is approached. This behavior can be attributed to an anomalous decrease of the μ exponent (U(J) = U0(J0/J)μ) close to Tg(H). In this regime, the temperature dependence of the apparent critical current J is then directly related to μ(T) as J(T) = J0/[kT/U0·ln (1/ωτ)]μ(T). A similar analysis can be made on the J(B) data recently published by Abulafia et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., 77 (1996) 1597) on YBaCuO single crystals.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weaver, Jamie; Soderquist, Chuck; Gassman, Paul

The local chemistry of technetium-99 ( 99Tc) in oxide glasses is important for understanding the incorporation and long-term release of Tc from nuclear waste glasses, both those for legacy defense wastes and fuel reprocessing wastes. Tc preferably forms Tc(VII), Tc(IV), or Tc(0) in glass, depending on the level of reduction of the melt. Tc(VII) in oxide glasses is normally assumed to be isolated pertechnetate TcO 4 -anions surrounded by alkali, but can occasionally precipitate as alkali pertechnetate salts such as KTcO 4and NaTcO 4when Tc concentration is high. In these cases, Tc(VII) is 4-coordinated by oxygen. A reinvestigation of themore » chemistry of alkali-technetium-oxides formed under oxidizing conditions and at temperatures used to prepare nuclear waste glasses showed that higher coordinated alkali Tc(VII) oxide species had been reported, including those with the TcO 5 -and TcO 6 -anions. The chemistry of alkali Tc(VII) and other alkali-Tc-oxides is reviewed, along with relevant synthesis conditions. Additionally, we report attempts to make 5- and 6-coordinate pertechnetate compounds of K, Na, and Li, i.e. TcO 5 -and TcO 6 -. It was found that higher coordinated species are very sensitive to water, and easily decompose into their respective pertechnetates. It was difficult to obtain pure compounds, but mixtures of the pertechnetate and other phase(s) were frequently found, as evidenced by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), neutron diffraction (ND), and Raman spectroscopy. Low temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements showed the possibility of Tc(IV) and Tc(VI) in Na 3TcO 5and Na 5TcO 6compounds. It was hypothesized that the smaller counter cation would result in more stable pertechnetates. To confirm the synthesis method, LiReO 4and Li 5ReO 6were prepared, and their Raman spectra match those in the literature. Subsequently, the Tc versions LiTcO 4and Li 5TcO 6were synthesized and characterized by ND, Raman spectroscopy, XANES, and EXAFS. The Li 5TcO 6was a marginally stable compound that appears to have the same structure as that known for Li 5ReO 6. Implications of the experimental work on stability of alkali technetate compounds and possible role in the volatilization of Tc are discussed.« less

Technetium Tetrachloride Revisited: A Precursor to Lower-Valent Binary Technetium Chlorides

DOE PAGES

Johnstone, Erik V.; Poineau, Frederic; Forster, Paul M.; ...

2012-07-09

Technetium (Tc) is the lightest element that doesn't occur in nature. At UNLV, our radiochemistry program gives us access to Tc and the ability to make various Tc compounds. Here we describe the preparation and characterization of TcCl 4. The Tc atom is found to have a magnetic moment and magnetically orders at low temperature. As discerning trends in the transition metals, of which Tc is one, is important for understanding all transition metal compounds, this research is relevant to understanding these materials.

Superconducting H5S2 phase in sulfur-hydrogen system under high-pressure

PubMed Central

Ishikawa, Takahiro; Nakanishi, Akitaka; Shimizu, Katsuya; Katayama-Yoshida, Hiroshi; Oda, Tatsuki; Suzuki, Naoshi

2016-01-01

Recently, hydrogen sulfide was experimentally found to show the high superconducting critical temperature (Tc) under high-pressure. The superconducting Tc shows 30–70 K in pressure range of 100–170 GPa (low-Tc phase) and increases to 203 K, which sets a record for the highest Tc in all materials, for the samples annealed by heating it to room temperature at pressures above 150 GPa (high-Tc phase). Here we present a solid H5S2 phase predicted as the low-Tc phase by the application of the genetic algorithm technique for crystal structure searching and first-principles calculations to sulfur-hydrogen system under high-pressure. The H5S2 phase is thermodynamically stabilized at 110 GPa, in which asymmetric hydrogen bonds are formed between H2S and H3S molecules. Calculated Tc values show 50–70 K in pressure range of 100–150 GPa within the harmonic approximation, which can reproduce the experimentally observed low-Tc phase. These findings give a new aspect of the excellent superconductivity in compressed sulfur-hydrogen system. PMID:26983593

Design of Co/Pd multilayer system with antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiele, Jan-Ulrich

2009-03-01

Among the known magnetic material systems there are only very few examples of materials that undergo a temperature dependent antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition, and of these only the chemically ordered alloy FeRh exhibits this transition near room temperature [1, 2]. Here we present a perpendicular anisotropy multilayer structure that mimics FeRh. The basic idea is to use two stacks of Co/Pd multilayers with large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and high Curie temperature, TC, separated by a layer providing antiferromagnetic coupling, and a CoNi/Pd multilayer with perpendicular anisotropy with a lower TC, interlayer, in the range of the desired AF-FM transition temperature, TAF-FM. At room temperature this system behaves as two antiferromagnetically coupled layers with a low perpendicular remanent magnetic moment. As the temperature is raised to approach TC, interlayer the magnetization of the interlayer is gradually reduced to zero, and consequently its coupling strength is reduced. Eventually, the effective coupling between the two high-KU, high-TC layers becomes dominated by their dipolar fields, resulting in a parallel alignment of their moments and a net remanent magnetic moment equal to the sum of the moments of the two high-TC layers [2]. [4pt] [1] J. S. Kouvel and C. C. Hartelius, J. Appl. Phys. 33 (1962) p1343 [0pt] [2] J.-U. Thiele, E. E. Fullerton, S. Maat, Appl. Phys. Lett. 82 (2003) p2859 [0pt] [3] J.-U. Thiele. T. Hauet. O. Hellwig, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92 (2008) 242502.

Superconductivity-localization interplay and fluctuation magnetoresistance in epitaxial BaPb1 -xBixO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, D. T.; Campbell, N.; Uecker, R.; Brützam, M.; Schlom, D. G.; Levchenko, A.; Rzchowski, M. S.; Eom, C.-B.

2018-04-01

BaPb1 -xBixO3 is a superconductor, with transition temperature Tc=11 K, whose parent compound BaBiO3 possesses a charge ordering phase and perovskite crystal structure reminiscent of the cuprates. The lack of magnetism simplifies the BaPb1 -xBixO3 phase diagram, making this system an ideal platform for contrasting high-Tc systems with isotropic superconductors. Here we use high-quality epitaxial thin films and magnetotransport to demonstrate superconducting fluctuations that extend well beyond Tc. For the thickest films (thickness above ˜100 nm ) this region extends to ˜27 K , well above the bulk Tc and remarkably close to the higher Tc of Ba1 -xKxBiO3 (Tc=31 K). We drive the system through a superconductor-insulator transition by decreasing thickness and find the observed Tc correlates strongly with disorder. This material manifests strong fluctuations across a wide range of thicknesses, temperatures, and disorder presenting new opportunities for understanding the precursor of superconductivity near the 2D-3D dimensionality crossover.

Enhanced electrical properties, color-tunable up-conversion luminescence, and temperature sensing behaviour in Er-doped Bi3Ti1.5W0.5O9 multifunctional ferroelectric ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ying; Li, Jun; Chai, Xiaona; Wang, Xusheng; Li, Yongxiang; Yao, Xi

2017-03-01

Er-doped Bi3Ti1.5W0.5O9 (BTW-x) ferroelectric ceramics were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction synthesis method, and their structure, electrical properties, up-conversion (UC) luminescence, and temperature sensing behaviour were investigated. A high piezoelectric coefficient d33 (9.6 pC/N), a large remnant polarization Pr (12.75 μC/cm2), a high Curie temperature Tc (730.2 °C), and the optimal luminescent intensity are obtained for the samples at x = 0.05. By changing the Er doped concentration, the BTW-x ceramics are capable of generating various UC spectra and the color could be tunable from green to yellow. According to the fluorescence intensity ratio of green emissions at 532.6 nm and 549.2 nm in the temperature range from 83 K to 423 K, optical temperature sensing properties are investigated and the maximum sensing sensitivity is found to be 0.00314 K-1 at 423 K. The results conclude that BTW-x would be a candidate in high temperature sensor, fluorescence thermometry, and opto-electronic integration applications.

Thermodynamic variables of first-order entropy corrected Lovelock-AdS black holes: P{-}V criticality analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haldar, Amritendu; Biswas, Ritabrata

2018-06-01

We investigate the effect of thermal fluctuations on the thermodynamics of a Lovelock-AdS black hole. Taking the first order logarithmic correction term in entropy we analyze the thermodynamic potentials like Helmholtz free energy, enthalpy and Gibbs free energy. We find that all the thermodynamic potentials are decreasing functions of correction coefficient α . We also examined this correction coefficient must be positive by analysing P{-}V diagram. Further we study the P{-}V criticality and stability and find that presence of logarithmic correction in it is necessary to have critical points and stable phases. When P{-}V criticality appears, we calculate the critical volume V_c, critical pressure P_c and critical temperature T_c using different equations and show that there is no critical point for this black hole without thermal fluctuations. We also study the geometrothermodynamics of this kind of black holes. The Ricci scalar of the Ruppeiner metric is graphically analysed.

Effect of orthorhombic distortion on dielectric and piezoelectric properties of CaBi4Ti4O15 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanwar, Amit; Sreenivas, K.; Gupta, Vinay

2009-04-01

High temperature bismuth layered piezoelectric and ferroelectric ceramics of CaBi4Ti4O15 (CBT) have been prepared using the solid state route. The formation of single phase material with orthorhombic structure was verified from x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The orthorhombic distortion present in the CBT ceramic sintered at 1200 °C was found to be maximum. A sharp phase transition from ferroelectric to paraelectric was observed in the temperature dependent dielectric studies of all CBT ceramics. The Curie's temperature (Tc=790 °C) was found to be independent of measured frequency. The behavior of ac conductivity as a function of frequency (100 Hz-1 MHz) at low temperatures (<500 °C) follows the power law and is attributed to hopping conduction. The presence of large orthorhombic distortion in the CBT ceramic sintered at 1200 °C results in high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and high piezoelectric coefficient (d33). The observed results indicate the important role of orthorhombic distortion in determining the improved property of multicomponent ferroelectric material.

[Role of oxotremorine in arginine vasopressin-induced hypothermia and its effects on behavioral thermoregulatory response in rats].

PubMed

Shen, Zi-Ling; Yang, Yong-Lu; Sun, Bing; Tang, Yu; Wang, Nian

2012-03-01

To investigate the role of oxotremorine in arginine vasopressin (AVP)-induced hypothermia and its effects on the behavioral thermoregulatory response. Core temperature (Tc), brown adipose tissue (BAT) temperature and motor activities were monitored in undisturbed female SD rats using radiotelemetry. The behavioral thermoregulatory response was monitored in rats using radiotelemetric temperature gradient apparatus. Effect of AVP (10 microg/kg) and oxotremorine (0.25 mg/kg) on Tc, motor activities, BAT temperature (T(BAT)), grooming activities and the behavioral thermoregulatory response were observed in rats. Administration of AVP and oxotremorine caused a significant drop in Tc, T(BAT), and an increases in grooming activities, respectively. The hypothermic responses were accompanied with a preference for cooler ambient temperature. Oxotremorine augmented the reduction of Tc, T(BAT), and the elevation of grooming activities resulting from AVP, and lasting a longer time. Administration of oxotremorine followed immediately by AVP injection in rats was also shown to induce a preference for cooler ambient temperature, but there was no significant difference compared with AVP. AVP-induced hypothermia was related with the set point temperature reduction, inhibiton of BAT thermogenesis and an increases in grooming activities. Oxotremorine could participate in peripheral AVP-induced hypothermia by affecting BAT thermogenesis and behavioral thermoregulation.

Tuning the Curie temperature of FeCo compounds by tetragonal distortion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakobsson, A.; Şaşıoǧlu, E.; Mavropoulos, Ph.; Ležaić, M.; Sanyal, B.; Bihlmayer, G.; Blügel, S.

2013-09-01

Combining density-functional theory calculations with a classical Monte Carlo method, we show that for B2-type FeCo compounds, tetragonal distortion gives rise to a strong reduction of the Curie temperature TC. The TC monotonically decreases from 1575 K (for c /a=1) to 940 K (for c /a=√2 ). We find that the nearest neighbor Fe-Co exchange interaction is sufficient to explain the c/a behavior of the TC. Combination of high magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy with a moderate TC value suggests tetragonal FeCo grown on the Rh substrate with c /a=1.24 to be a promising material for heat-assisted magnetic recording applications.

High performance VO2 thin films fabricated by room-temperature reactive magnetron sputtering and rapid thermal annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Yongjun; Xiao, Xiudi; Lu, Yuan; Cao, Ziyi; Cheng, Haoliang; Shi, Jifu; Xu, Gang

2017-10-01

The VOx thin films are successfully prepared on glass substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering at room-temperature, and subsequently annealed by rapid thermal annealing system in N2 from 0.5Pa to 10000Pa. The effects of annealing pressure on the optical performance and phase transition temperature (Tc) of VOx thin films are systematically investigated. The results show that the VOx thin films exhibit good performance with Tlum of 28.17%, ΔTsol of 12.69%, and Tc of 42. The annealing pressure had an obvious influence on the grain size, which can be attributed to light scattering effects by gas molecule. Compared with oxygen vacancy defects, the grain size plays a decisive role in the regulation of Tc. The restricting the growth of grain can be reduced the Tc, and a little deterioration effect on optical performance can be observed. In addition, the method in this paper not only depressed the Tc, but also simplified the process and improved efficiency, which will provide guidance for the preparation and application of VOx thin films.

[Circadian rhythms and temperature homeostasis in monkeys during a flight on the Kosmos 1514 biosatellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimovitskui, V. Ia; Alpatov, A. M.; Salzman, F. M.; Fuller, C. A.; Moore-Ede, M. S.

1987-01-01

In the course of a 5-day space flight of two rhesus-monkeys the following parameters were recorded at an interval of 16 min: core body temperature (Tc), skin temperature (Ts), and motor activity (MA). The telemetric Tc sensor was implanted subcutaneously in the right axilla, Ts thermistor was attached to the right ankle, and the MA piezotape was fixed to the inner side of the vest. Circadian rhythms of Tc varied with a period of 24 hours in one monkey and 25 hours in the other. The daily Tc decreased on the average by 0.5 degrees C, Ts fell immediately after launch and remained close to the lower limit throughout the flight. The Ts amplitude decreased 5-fold. Phases of the circadian rhythms of Ts changed and circadian rhythms of MA remained unchanged and equal to 24 hours.

High-Precision Monte Carlo Simulation of the Ising Models on the Penrose Lattice and the Dual Penrose Lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komura, Yukihiro; Okabe, Yutaka

2016-04-01

We study the Ising models on the Penrose lattice and the dual Penrose lattice by means of the high-precision Monte Carlo simulation. Simulating systems up to the total system size N = 20633239, we estimate the critical temperatures on those lattices with high accuracy. For high-speed calculation, we use the generalized method of the single-GPU-based computation for the Swendsen-Wang multi-cluster algorithm of Monte Carlo simulation. As a result, we estimate the critical temperature on the Penrose lattice as Tc/J = 2.39781 ± 0.00005 and that of the dual Penrose lattice as Tc*/J = 2.14987 ± 0.00005. Moreover, we definitely confirm the duality relation between the critical temperatures on the dual pair of quasilattices with a high degree of accuracy, sinh (2J/Tc)sinh (2J/Tc*) = 1.00000 ± 0.00004.

Potential high-Tc superconducting lanthanum and yttrium hydrides at high pressure

PubMed Central

Liu, Hanyu; Naumov, Ivan I.; Hoffmann, Roald; Ashcroft, N. W.; Hemley, Russell J.

2017-01-01

A systematic structure search in the La–H and Y–H systems under pressure reveals some hydrogen-rich structures with intriguing electronic properties. For example, LaH10 is found to adopt a sodalite-like face-centered cubic (fcc) structure, stable above 200 GPa, and LaH8 a C2/m space group structure. Phonon calculations indicate both are dynamically stable; electron phonon calculations coupled to Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) arguments indicate they might be high-Tc superconductors. In particular, the superconducting transition temperature Tc calculated for LaH10 is 274–286 K at 210 GPa. Similar calculations for the Y–H system predict stability of the sodalite-like fcc YH10 and a Tc above room temperature, reaching 305–326 K at 250 GPa. The study suggests that dense hydrides consisting of these and related hydrogen polyhedral networks may represent new classes of potential very high-temperature superconductors. PMID:28630301

Fe substitution and pressure effects on superconductor Re6Hf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jinhu; Guo, Yang; Wang, Hangdong; Chen, Bin

2018-04-01

Polycrystalline samples of (Re1-xFex) 6Hf were synthesized by arc-melting method and the phase purity of the samples was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction method. In this paper, we report the Fe substitution and pressure effect on non-centrosymmetric superconductor Re6Hf. The superconducting transition temperature, TC, is confirmed by the measurements of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity for x ≤ 0.22 samples with the temperature down to 2 K. We find that the TC is suppressed with the increase of Fe content. The upper critical field Hc2 is larger than the value predicted by the WHH theory and shows a linear temperature dependence down to 2 K. When upon the application of external pressure up to 2.5 GPa, the TC decreases monotonically at a rate dlnTC/dP of 0.01 GPa-1.

Super Stable Ferroelectrics with High Curie Point.

PubMed

Gao, Zhipeng; Lu, Chengjia; Wang, Yuhang; Yang, Sinuo; Yu, Yuying; He, Hongliang

2016-04-07

Ferroelectric materials are of great importance in the sensing technology due to the piezoelectric properties. Thermal depoling behavior of ferroelectrics determines the upper temperature limit of their application. So far, there is no piezoelectric material working above 800 °C available. Here, we show Nd2Ti2O7 with a perovskite-like layered structure has good resistance to thermal depoling up to 1400 °C. Its stable behavior is because the material has only 180° ferroelectric domains, complex structure change at Curie point (Tc) and their sintering temperature is below their Tc, which avoided the internal stresses produced by the unit cell volume change at Tc. The phase transition at Tc shows a first order behavior which involving the tilting and rotation of the octahedron. The Curie - Weiss temperature is calculated, which might explain why the thermal depoling starts at about 1400 °C.

[Circadian rhythms and temperature homeostasis in monkeys during a flight on the Kosmos 1514 biosatellite].

PubMed

Klimovitskuĭ, V Ia; Alpatov, A M; Salzman, F M; Fuller, C A; Moore-Ede, M S

1987-01-01

In the course of a 5-day space flight of two rhesus-monkeys the following parameters were recorded at an interval of 16 min: core body temperature (Tc), skin temperature (Ts), and motor activity (MA). The telemetric Tc sensor was implanted subcutaneously in the right axilla, Ts thermistor was attached to the right ankle, and the MA piezotape was fixed to the inner side of the vest. Circadian rhythms of Tc varied with a period of 24 hours in one monkey and 25 hours in the other. The daily Tc decreased on the average by 0.5 degrees C, Ts fell immediately after launch and remained close to the lower limit throughout the flight. The Ts amplitude decreased 5-fold. Phases of the circadian rhythms of Ts changed and circadian rhythms of MA remained unchanged and equal to 24 hours.

Super Stable Ferroelectrics with High Curie Point

PubMed Central

Gao, Zhipeng; Lu, Chengjia; Wang, Yuhang; Yang, Sinuo; Yu, Yuying; He, Hongliang

2016-01-01

Ferroelectric materials are of great importance in the sensing technology due to the piezoelectric properties. Thermal depoling behavior of ferroelectrics determines the upper temperature limit of their application. So far, there is no piezoelectric material working above 800 °C available. Here, we show Nd2Ti2O7 with a perovskite-like layered structure has good resistance to thermal depoling up to 1400 °C. Its stable behavior is because the material has only 180° ferroelectric domains, complex structure change at Curie point (Tc) and their sintering temperature is below their Tc, which avoided the internal stresses produced by the unit cell volume change at Tc. The phase transition at Tc shows a first order behavior which involving the tilting and rotation of the octahedron. The Curie – Weiss temperature is calculated, which might explain why the thermal depoling starts at about 1400 °C. PMID:27053338

Irreversible Brownian Heat Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taye, Mesfin Asfaw

2017-10-01

We model a Brownian heat engine as a Brownian particle that hops in a periodic ratchet potential where the ratchet potential is coupled with a linearly decreasing background temperature. We show that the efficiency of such Brownian heat engine approaches the efficiency of endoreversible engine η =1-√{{Tc/Th}} [23]. On the other hand, the maximum power efficiency of the engine approaches η ^{MAX}=1-({Tc/Th})^{1\\over 4}. It is shown that the optimized efficiency always lies between the efficiency at quasistatic limit and the efficiency at maximum power while the efficiency at maximum power is always less than the optimized efficiency since the fast motion of the particle comes at the expense of the energy cost. If the heat exchange at the boundary of the heat baths is included, we show that such a Brownian heat engine has a higher performance when acting as a refrigerator than when operating as a device subjected to a piecewise constant temperature. The role of time on the performance of the motor is also explored via numerical simulations. Our numerical results depict that the time t and the external load dictate the direction of the particle velocity. Moreover, the performance of the heat engine improves with time. At large t (steady state), the velocity, the efficiency and the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator attain their maximum value. Furthermore, we study the effect of temperature by considering a viscous friction that decreases exponentially as the background temperature increases. Our result depicts that the Brownian particle exhibits a fast unidirectional motion when the viscous friction is temperature dependent than that of constant viscous friction. Moreover, the efficiency of this motor is considerably enhanced when the viscous friction is temperature dependent. On the hand, the motor exhibits a higher performance of the refrigerator when the viscous friction is taken to be constant.

Nitrous oxide causes a regulated hypothermia: rats select a cooler ambient temperature while becoming hypothermic.

PubMed

Ramsay, Douglas S; Seaman, Jana; Kaiyala, Karl J

2011-04-18

An initial administration of 60% nitrous oxide (N(2)O) evokes hypothermia in rats and if the administration continues for more than 1-2h, acute tolerance typically develops such that the initial reduction in core temperature (Tc) reverses and Tc recovers toward control values. Calorimeter studies at normal ambient temperature indicate that hypothermia results from a transient reduction in heat production (HP) combined with an elevation in heat loss. Acute tolerance develops primarily due to progressive increases in HP. Our aim was to determine whether rats provided a choice of ambient temperatures would behaviorally facilitate or oppose N(2)O-induced hypothermia. A gas-tight thermally-graded alleyway (range, 6.7-37.0°C) enabled male Long-Evans rats (n=12) to select a preferred ambient temperature during a 5-hour steady-state administration of 60% N(2)O and a separate paired control gas exposure (order counterbalanced). Tc was measured telemetrically from a sensor surgically implanted into the peritoneal cavity >7days before testing. Internal LED lighting maintained the accustomed day:night cycle (light cycle 0700-1900h) during sessions lasting 45.5h. Rats entered the temperature gradient at 1100h, and the 5-h N(2)O or control gas period did not start until 23h later to provide a long habituation/training period. Food and water were provided ad libitum at the center of the alleyway. The maximum decrease of mean Tc during N(2)O administration occurred at 0.9h and was -2.05±0.25°C; this differed significantly (p<0.0001) from the corresponding Tc change at 0.9h during control gas administration (0.01±0.14°C). The maximum decrease of the mean selected ambient temperature during N(2)O administration occurred at 0.7h and was -13.58±1.61°C; this differed significantly (p<0.0001) from the corresponding mean change in the selected ambient temperature at 0.7h during control gas administration (0.30±1.49°C). N(2)O appears to induce a regulated hypothermia because the selection of a cool ambient temperature facilitates the reduction in Tc. The recovery of Tc during N(2)O administration (i.e., acute tolerance development) could have been facilitated by selection of ambient temperatures that were warmer than those chosen during control administrations, but interestingly, this did not occur. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nitrous Oxide Causes a Regulated Hypothermia: Rats Select a Cooler Ambient Temperature While Becoming Hypothermic

PubMed Central

Ramsay, Douglas S.; Seaman, Jana; Kaiyala, Karl J.

2011-01-01

An initial administration of 60% nitrous oxide (N2O) evokes hypothermia in rats and if the administration continues for more than 1 – 2 hours, acute tolerance typically develops such that the initial reduction in core temperature (Tc) reverses and Tc recovers toward control values. Calorimeter studies at normal ambient temperature indicate that hypothermia results from a transient reduction in heat production (HP) combined with an elevation in heat loss. Acute tolerance develops primarily due to progressive increases in HP. Our aim was to determine whether rats provided a choice of ambient temperatures would behaviorally facilitate or oppose N2O -induced hypothermia. A gas-tight thermally-graded alleyway (range, 6.7 – 37.0°C) enabled male Long-Evans rats (n=12) to select a preferred ambient temperature during a 5-hour steady-state administration of 60% N2O and a separate paired control gas exposure (order counterbalanced). Tc was measured telemetrically from a sensor surgically implanted into the peritoneal cavity > 7 days before testing. Internal LED lighting maintained the accustomed day:night cycle (light cycle 0700 – 1900 h) during sessions lasting 45.5 hours. Rats entered the temperature gradient at 1100 h, and the 5-h N2O or control gas period did not start until 23 hours later to provide a long habituation / training period. Food and water were provided ad libitum at the center of the alleyway. The maximum decrease of mean Tc during N2O administration occurred at 0.9 h and was −2.05 ± 0.25°C; this differed significantly (p<0.0001) from the corresponding Tc change at 0.9 h during control gas administration (0.01 ± 0.14°C). The maximum decrease of mean selected ambient temperature during N2O administration occurred at 0.7 h and was −13.58 ± 1.61°C; this differed significantly (p < 0.0001) from the corresponding mean change in selected ambient temperature at 0.7 h during control gas administration (0.30 ± 1.49°C). N2O appears to induce a regulated hypothermia because the selection of a cool ambient temperature facilitates the reduction in Tc. The recovery of Tc during N2O administration (i.e., acute tolerance development) could have been facilitated by selection of ambient temperatures that were warmer than those chosen during control administrations, but interestingly, this did not occur. PMID:21184766

Accurate prediction of collapse temperature using optical coherence tomography-based freeze-drying microscopy.

PubMed

Greco, Kristyn; Mujat, Mircea; Galbally-Kinney, Kristin L; Hammer, Daniel X; Ferguson, R Daniel; Iftimia, Nicusor; Mulhall, Phillip; Sharma, Puneet; Kessler, William J; Pikal, Michael J

2013-06-01

The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of developing and applying a laboratory tool that can provide three-dimensional product structural information during freeze-drying and which can accurately characterize the collapse temperature (Tc ) of pharmaceutical formulations designed for freeze-drying. A single-vial freeze dryer coupled with optical coherence tomography freeze-drying microscopy (OCT-FDM) was developed to investigate the structure and Tc of formulations in pharmaceutically relevant products containers (i.e., freeze-drying in vials). OCT-FDM was used to measure the Tc and eutectic melt of three formulations in freeze-drying vials. The Tc as measured by OCT-FDM was found to be predictive of freeze-drying with a batch of vials in a conventional laboratory freeze dryer. The freeze-drying cycles developed using OCT-FDM data, as compared with traditional light transmission freeze-drying microscopy (LT-FDM), resulted in a significant reduction in primary drying time, which could result in a substantial reduction of manufacturing costs while maintaining product quality. OCT-FDM provides quantitative data to justify freeze-drying at temperatures higher than the Tc measured by LT-FDM and provides a reliable upper limit to setting a product temperature in primary drying. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Phase transition hysteresis and anomalous Curie-Weiss behavior of ferroelectric tetragonal tungsten bronzes Ba2RETi2Nb3O15:RE=Nd,Sm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prades, Marta; Beltrán, Héctor; Masó, Nahum; Cordoncillo, Eloisa; West, Anthony R.

2008-11-01

The ferroelectric tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) phases, Ba2RETi2Nb3O15:RE=Nd,Sm, were prepared by low temperature solvothermal synthesis. The permittivity versus temperature data of sintered ceramics show two unusual features: first, a hysteresis of 50-100 °C between values of the Curie temperature Tc on heat-cool cycles and second: a huge depression in the Curie-Weiss temperature T0. Both effects are attributed to the complex nature of their TTB-related crystal structures with different superstructures above and below Tc and the difficulty in nucleating ferroelectric domains on cooling through Tc. Several factors may contribute to the latter difficulty: first, the structures contain two sets of crystallographic sites for the "active" Ti, Nb ions; second, the distribution of Ti and Nb over these two sets of sites is not random but partially ordered; and third, below Tc a weak commensurate superstructure perpendicular to the polar c&barbelow; axis is present, but above Tc a weak incommensurate superstructure in a similar orientation is present. Hence the formation of the ferroelectric structure on cooling requires both nucleation of polar domains involving two sets of cation sites and structural change from an incommensurate to a commensurate supercell.

DNA-binding studies of a tetraalkyl-substituted porphyrin and the mutually adaptive distortion principle.

PubMed

Ghimire, Srijana; Fanwick, Phillip E; McMillin, David R

2014-10-20

This investigation explores DNA-binding interactions of various forms of an alkyl-substituted cationic porphyrin, H2TC3 (5,10,15,20-tetra[3-(3'-methylimidazolium-1'-yl)]porphyrin). The motivating idea is that incorporating alkyl rather than aryl substituents in the meso positions will enhance the prospects for intercalative as well as external binding to DNA hosts. The ligands may also be applicable for photodynamic and/or anticancer therapy. Methods employed include absorbance, circular dichroism, and emission spectroscopies, as well as viscometry and X-ray crystallography. By comparison with the classical H2T4 system, H2TC3 exhibits a higher molar extinction coefficient but is more prone to self-association. Findings of note include that the copper(II)-containing form Cu(TC3) is adept at internalizing into single-stranded as well as B-form DNA, regardless of the base composition. Surprisingly, however, external binding of H2TC3 occurs within domains that are rich in adenine-thymine base pairs. The difference in the deformability of H2TC3 versus Cu(TC3) probably accounts for the reactivity difference. Finally, Zn(TC3) binds externally, as the metal center remains five-coordinate.

The distribution of 99mTc-EHDP in the tissues of the dog and its application in the assessment of fracture healing.

PubMed

Hughes, S

1977-07-01

Technetium-labelled ethane hydroxydiphosphonate (99mTc-EHDP) is a commonly used bone-scanning agent. After injection it leaves the circulation to enter bone and to be cleared by the kidney. The transcapillary exchange of 99mTc-EHDP in bone was examined and found to be low. The capillary movement was compared with that of sucrose, a freely diffusible substance, and it was found that the permeability ratio of 99mTc-EHDP to 14C-sucrose was similar to the diffusion coefficient ratio, suggesting that 99mTc-EHDP passes through the capillaries by the process of passive diffusion. The renal clearance of 99mTc-EHDP was 24 ml/min and was unaffected by the action of parathyroid hormone. After a fracture the bone blood flow increases, although the transcapillary extraction of 99mTc-EHDP does not change. This is because there is an increase, from recruitment and dilatation of capillaries, in the surface area available for exchange. Therefore the increased isotopic activity seen on a bone scan after a fracture is primarily related to an increase in bone blood supply from capillary enhancement within the cortex.

Depth resolved lattice-charge coupling in epitaxial BiFeO3 thin film

PubMed Central

Lee, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Sung Su; Kwak, Jeong Hun; Kim, Young-Min; Jeong, Hu Young; Borisevich, Albina Y.; Lee, Su Yong; Noh, Do Young; Kwon, Owoong; Kim, Yunseok; Jo, Ji Young

2016-01-01

For epitaxial films, a critical thickness (tc) can create a phenomenological interface between a strained bottom layer and a relaxed top layer. Here, we present an experimental report of how the tc in BiFeO3 thin films acts as a boundary to determine the crystalline phase, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity in 60 nm thick BiFeO3/SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrate. We found larger Fe cation displacement of the relaxed layer than that of strained layer. In the time-resolved X-ray microdiffraction analyses, the piezoelectric response of the BiFeO3 film was resolved into a strained layer with an extremely low piezoelectric coefficient of 2.4 pm/V and a relaxed layer with a piezoelectric coefficient of 32 pm/V. The difference in the Fe displacements between the strained and relaxed layers is in good agreement with the differences in the piezoelectric coefficient due to the electromechanical coupling. PMID:27929103

High temperature thermocouple and heat flux gauge using a unique thin film-hardware hot juncture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebert, C. H.; Holanda, R.; Hippensteele, S. A.; Andracchio, C. A.

1984-01-01

A special thin film-hardware material thermocouple (TC) and heat flux gauge concept for a reasonably high temperature and high flux flat plate heat transfer experiment was fabricated and tested to gauge temperatures of 911 K. This concept was developed for minimal disturbance of boundary layer temperature and flow over the plates and minimal disturbance of heat flux through the plates. Comparison of special heat flux gauge Stanton number output at steady-state conditions with benchmark literature data was good and agreement was within a calculated uncertainty of the measurement system. Also, good agreement of special TC and standard TC outputs was obtained and the results are encouraging. Oxidation of thin film thermoelements was a primary failure mode after about 5 of operation.

NMR/MRI with hyperpolarized gas and high Tc SQUID

DOEpatents

Schlenga, Klaus; de Souza, Ricardo E.; Wong-Foy, Annjoe; Clarke, John; Pines, Alexander

2000-01-01

A method and apparatus for the detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals and production of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from samples combines the use of hyperpolarized inert gases to enhance the NMR signals from target nuclei in a sample and a high critical temperature (Tc) superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to detect the NMR signals. The system operates in static magnetic fields of 3 mT or less (down to 0.1 mT), and at temperatures from liquid nitrogen (77K) to room temperature. Sample size is limited only by the size of the magnetic field coils and not by the detector. The detector is a high Tc SQUID magnetometer designed so that the SQUID detector can be very close to the sample, which can be at room temperature.

High-temperature thermocouple and heat flux gauge using a unique thin film-hardware hot junction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebert, C. H.; Holanda, R.; Hippensteele, S. A.; Andracchio, C. A.

1985-01-01

A special thin film-hardware material thermocouple (TC) and heat flux gauge concept for a reasonably high temperature and high flux flat plate heat transfer experiment was fabricated and tested to gauge temperatures of 911 K. This concept was developed for minimal disturbance of boundary layer temperature and flow over the plates and minimal disturbance of heat flux through the plates. Comparison of special heat flux gauge Stanton number output at steady-state conditions with benchmark literature data was good and agreement was within a calculated uncertainty of the measurement system. Also, good agreement of special TC and standard TC outputs was obtained and the results are encouraging. Oxidation of thin film thermoelements was a primary failure mode after about 5 of operation.

Hall effect in high- Tc Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7-δ superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vezzoli, G. C.; Burke, T.; Moon, B. M.; Lalevic, B.; Safari, A.; Sundar, H. G. K.; Bonometti, R.; Alexander, C.; Rau, C.; Waters, K.

1989-04-01

We have performed point-by-point and continuous Hall effect experiments as a function of temperature in polycrystalline Y 1Ba 2Cu 3O 7-δ. We have shown that the positive Hall constant shows an abrupt increase upon decreasing temperature at a value just above Tc. This temperature corresponds to where the resistance versus temperature data deviates from linearity. At very high fields of 6.8 and 15 T we observe a subsequent decrease in RH. We interpret these data as supportive of a contribution toward the superconductivity mechanism arising from internal excitions or change transfer excitations such that the bound exciton concentration increases near Tc at the expense of positive carries which are reflected in both bound and free holes.

Effects of the two-gap nature on the microwave conductivity of polycrystalline Mg B2 films with a critical temperature of 39 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Young; Lee, J. H.; Han, Jung Hoon; Moon, S. H.; Lee, H. N.; Booth, James C.; Claassen, J. H.

2005-03-01

The surface resistance (RS) and the real part (σ1) of the microwave complex conductivity of a ˜380-nm -thick polycrystalline MgB2 film with the critical temperature (TC) of 39.3K were investigated at frequency ˜8.5GHz as a function of temperature. Two distinct coherence peaks were observed in the σ1 vs temperature curve at Ttilde 0.5TC and ˜0.9TC , respectively, providing a direct evidence for the two-gap nature of MgB2 . The film is shown to have a π -band gap energy of ˜1.7meV . For the MgB2 film ion milled down to the thickness of ˜320nm , two coherence peaks were still observable with the first conductivity peak at ˜0.6TC . The inferred π -band gap energy of ˜2.0meV is higher than before ion milling. Reduced normal-state conductivity at TC and RS at temperatures below 15K were found for the ion-milled film. Calculations based on the weak-coupling BCS theory and the strong coupling theory suggest that both σ and π bands contribute to σ1 of the polycrystalline MgB2 films significantly. Our results are in contrast with the observation of single coherence peak, ascribed to the dominant role of the π band, in the microwave conductivity of c -axis-oriented MgB2 films reported by Jin [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 127006 (2003)]. Variations in the interband coupling constants with the level of disorder can account for the different TC and σ1 behavior of the as-grown and ion-milled films.

Fully gapped spin-singlet superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric PbTaSe2: 207Pb nuclear magnetic resonance study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maeda, S.; Matano, K.; Zheng, Guo-qing

2018-05-01

We report the 207Pb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on polycrystalline sample of PbTaSe2 with noncentrosymmetric crystal structure and topological electronic band. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1 /T1 shows a suppressed coherence peak below the superconducting transition temperature Tc=4.05 K and decreases as an exponential function of temperature. The penetration depth derived from the NMR spectrum is almost temperature independent below T =0.7 Tc. The Knight shift K decreases below Tc. These results suggest spin-singlet superconductivity with a fully opened gap 2 Δ =3.5 kBTc in PbTaSe2.

Improving the Strength of the ZrC-SiC and TC4 Brazed Joint Through Fabricating Graded Double-Layered Composite Structure on TC4 Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, J. M.; Zhang, L. X.; Chang, Q.; Sun, Z.; Feng, J. C.; Ma, N.

2018-06-01

In order to improve the ZrC-SiC ceramic and TC4 brazed joint property, graded double-layered SiC particles (SiCp)-reinforced TC4-based composite structure (named as GLS for convenience) was designed to relieve the residual stress in the joint. The GLS was successfully fabricated on TC4 substrate by double-layered laser deposition technology before the brazing process. The investigation of the GLS shows that the volume fraction of SiCp in the two composite layers was graded (20 and 39 vol pct, respectively). Ti5Si3 and TiC phases formed in the GLS due to the reaction of SiCp and TC4. The laser power-II (the laser power for the second deposition layer) affected the microstructure of the GLS significantly. Increasing the laser power-II would promote the reaction between the SiCp and TC4. But the high laser power-II made the layer I remelt completely and the two layers became homogeneous rather than graded structure. In the ZrC-SiC and TC4 brazed joint, the CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) was graded from the TC4 to the ZrC-SiC due to the GLS, and the strength of the joint with the GLS (91 MPa) was higher than that without the GLS (43 MPa).

Influence of disorder on the superconducting critical temperature in indium-opal nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharchuk, I.; Januzaj, A.; Mikhailin, N. Yu.; Traito, K. B.; Chernyaev, A. V.; Romanov, S. G.; Safonchik, M.; Shamshur, D. V.; Lähderanta, E.

2018-06-01

Transport properties of bulk indium-opal and indium-porous glass superconducting nanocomposites possessing moderate and strong disorder are investigated. A strongly nonmonotonous dependence of the global critical temperature Tc versus normal state conductivity of samples is found. The maximum, which is observed at moderate disorder, has Tc higher than that of clean bulk indium. The increasing part can be explained by the Eliashberg equations with disorder and an additional mechanism of interaction between superconducting and dielectric granules. The descending part of the maximum at higher disorder can be explained by the increasing of long-range Coulomb repulsion due to diffusion of charges. Negative slope in magnetic field dependence of resistivity and a peak in the temperature dependence of resistivity, observed in the sample near the proximity to the disorder-induced superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). A large difference between the onset temperature of superconducting fluctuations, Tcon , and global critical temperature Tc is found and considered in the framework of the weak multifractal theory. Slow time-logarithmic relaxation of the resistivity between Tc and Tcon is observed, which assumes existence of the precursor state near the SIT. This unusual state is discussed in the scope of the many-body localization theory.

Magnetodielectric behaviour in La0.53Ca0.47MnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Suchita; Kumar, Jitender; Awasthi, A. M.

2014-10-01

We explore magneto-dielectricity in La0.53Ca0.47MnO3 across its paramagnetic (PMI) to ferromagnetic (FMM) isostructural transition at TC ˜ 253 K, by magnetic (M), caloric (W), dielectric (ɛ‧), magnetoresistive (MR), and magnetocapacitance (MC) investigations. A skew-broadened first-order transition character is confirmed via heating/cooling hystereses in M(T) and W(T), with a superheating temperature T** next to TC and supercooling temperature T* exhibiting kinetics. Above TC, linearly related MC and MR reflect purely a magnetoresistance effect. Near TC, the high-frequency MC (5 Tesla (T)), far exceeds the magneto-losses, and is uncorrelated with dc MR (5 T) in the FM-ordered state. The intrinsic magneto-dielectricity manifest below TC and above ˜kHz is traced to an intra-granular Maxwell-Wagner-type effect at the interface region of PMI-FMM phase coexistence.

Characteristics of Tc and ρ(T) of polycrystalline (In2O3)-(ZnO) films with low carrier density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

B, Shinozaki; S, Takada; N, Kokubo; K, Makise; T, Asano; K, Yamada; K, Yano; H, Nakamura

2012-12-01

For the polycrystalline (In2O3)-(ZnO) prepared by annealing in air, we investigated the relation among superconductivity, ρ(T) characteristics and preparation conditions. To clarify the distribution of elements, we studied the microstructure by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). It was found that 1) The films annealed at restricted regions of annealing temperature Ta and time ta show the superconductivity. Transition temperature TC and carrier density n are Tc<3.3K and n asymp1025/m3~1026/m3, respectively. 2) The data on EELS spectra mapping of indium plasmon indicate that droplets of the pure indium phase distribute discretely on grain boundaries and near the interface between the film and the glass substrate. 3) Although data in the Tc - Ta relation are scattered, the TC shows relatively good correlation with n, taking a convex form.

Chemical effects of alkali atoms on critical temperature in superconducting alkali-doped fullerides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetfleisch, F.; Gunnarsson, O.; Srama, R.; Han, J. E.; Stepper, M.; Roeser, H.-P.; Bohr, A.; Lopez, J. S.; Mashmool, M.; Roth, S.

2018-03-01

Alkali metal doped fullerides (A3C60) are superconductors with critical temperatures, Tc, extending up to 38 K. Tc is known to depend strongly on the lattice parameter a, which can be adjusted by physical or chemical pressure. In the latter case an alkali atom is replaced by a different sized one, which changes a. We have collected an extensive data base of experimental data for Tc from very early up to recent measurements. We disentangle alkali atom chemical effects on Tc, beyond the well-known consequences of changing a. It is found that Tc, for a fixed a, is typically increased as smaller alkali atoms are replaced by larger ones, except for very large a. Possible reasons for these results are discussed. Although smaller in size than the lattice parameter contribution, the chemical effect is not negligible and should be considered in future physical model developments.

Unusual superconducting behavior in HfV2Ga4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, F. B.; Correa, L. E.; de Lima, B. S.; Cigarroa, O. V.; da Luz, M. S.; Grant, T.; Fisk, Z.; Machado, A. J. S.

2018-04-01

Bulk superconductivity in HfV2Ga4 with critical temperature close to 4.1 K was determined via magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements. Both the upper and lower critical field dependence with reduced temperature (T /Tc) exhibit non-conventional behavior. The electronic component of specific heat shows a double-jump, the first close to Tc and the other close to 0.75Tc. We speculate about the nature of the douple jump observed in specific heat considering two plausable scenarios: bulk inhomogeneities and the existence of a second gap.

Fabrication Of High-Tc Superconducting Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, Kul B.; Warner, Joseph D.

1992-01-01

Microwave ring resonator fabricated to demonstrate process for fabrication of passive integrated circuits containing high-transition-temperature superconductors. Superconductors increase efficiencies of communication systems, particularly microwave communication systems, by reducing ohmic losses and dispersion of signals. Used to reduce sizes and masses and increase aiming accuracies and tracking speeds of millimeter-wavelength, electronically steerable antennas. High-Tc superconductors preferable for such applications because they operate at higher temperatures than low-Tc superconductors do, therefore, refrigeration systems needed to maintain superconductivity designed smaller and lighter and to consume less power.

Griffiths-like phase in high TC perovskite La2FeReO6 prepared in a controlled reducing atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaipamagalath, Aswathi; Palakkal, Jasnamol P.; Varma, Manoj R.

2018-05-01

The perovskite La2FeReO6 is prepared by solid-state reaction method. Calcination was done in a controlled reducing atmosphere. The structure of the compound is found to be orthorhombic with Pbnm space group. From the DC magnetic studies, the transition temperature (TC) of La2FeReO6 is found to be at 729 K. A Griffiths-like phase is present in the material with ferromagnetic short-range correlations above TC up to the Griffiths temperature TG = 863 K.

Magnetic measurements of superconducting LiFeAs single crystals under high pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyoshi, Kiyotaka; Otsuka, Keisuke; Ogawa, Saki; Takeuchi, Jun

2018-05-01

Measurements of DC magnetization for single crystal specimens of LiFeAs have been performed under pressure using liquid argon and NaCl as pressure transmitting media (PTM) to generate hydrostatic and nearly uniaxial pressure along c-axis, respectively. It has been found that Tc linearly decreases under pressure with pressure coefficient dTc / dP ∼ - 1.6 - 1.7 K/GPa, and then shows a pressure independent behavior with Tc ∼ 8 K above 5 GPa. These behaviors are observed independently of whether we select liquid argon or NaCl as PTM. This suggests that c-axis lattice constant is not an important factor to determine Tc in LiFeAs, in contrast to KxFe2-ySe2 and (NH3)yAxFe2Se2 (A=alkali metal).

Synthesis and Characterization of 5- and 6- Coordinated Alkali Pertechnetates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weaver, Jamie; Soderquist, Chuck; Gassman, Paul

ABSTRACT The local chemistry of technetium-99 ( 99Tc) in oxide glasses is important for understanding the incorporation and long-term release of Tc from nuclear waste glasses, both those for legacy defense wastes and fuel reprocessing wastes. Tc preferably forms Tc(VII), Tc(IV), or Tc(0) in glass, depending on the level of reduction of the melt. Tc(VII) in oxide glasses is normally assumed to be isolated pertechnetate TcO 4 -anions surrounded by alkali, but can occasionally precipitate as alkali pertechnetate salts such as KTcO 4and NaTcO 4when Tc concentration is high. In these cases, Tc(VII) is 4-coordinated by oxygen. A reinvestigation ofmore » the chemistry of alkali-technetium-oxides formed under oxidizing conditions and at temperatures used to prepare nuclear waste glasses showed that higher coordinated alkali Tc(VII) oxide species had been reported, including those with the TcO 5 -and TcO 6 -anions. The chemistry of alkali Tc(VII) and other alkali-Tc-oxides is reviewed, along with relevant synthesis conditions. Additionally, we report attempts to make 5- and 6-coordinate pertechnetate compounds of K, Na, and Li, i.e. TcO 5 -and TcO 6 -. It was found that higher coordinated species are very sensitive to water, and easily decompose into their respective pertechnetates. It was difficult to obtain pure compounds, but mixtures of the pertechnetate and other phase(s) were frequently found, as evidenced by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), neutron diffraction (ND), and Raman spectroscopy. Low temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements showed the possibility of Tc(IV) and Tc(VI) in Na 3TcO 5and Na 5TcO 6compounds. It was hypothesized that the smaller counter cation would result in more stable pertechnetates. To confirm the synthesis method, LiReO 4and Li 5ReO 6were prepared, and their Raman spectra match those in the literature. Subsequently, the Tc versions LiTcO 4and Li 5TcO 6were synthesized and characterized by ND, Raman spectroscopy, XANES, and EXAFS. The Li 5TcO 6was a marginally stable compound that appears to have the same structure as that known for Li 5ReO 6. Implications of the experimental work on stability of alkali technetate compounds and possible role in the volatilization of Tc are discussed.« less

Theoretical modeling of critical temperature increase in metamaterial superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyaninov, Igor I.; Smolyaninova, Vera N.

2016-05-01

Recent experiments have demonstrated that the metamaterial approach is capable of a drastic increase of the critical temperature Tc of epsilon near zero (ENZ) metamaterial superconductors. For example, tripling of the critical temperature has been observed in Al -A l2O3 ENZ core-shell metamaterials. Here, we perform theoretical modeling of Tc increase in metamaterial superconductors based on the Maxwell-Garnett approximation of their dielectric response function. Good agreement is demonstrated between theoretical modeling and experimental results in both aluminum- and tin-based metamaterials. Taking advantage of the demonstrated success of this model, the critical temperature of hypothetic niobium-, Mg B2- , and H2S -based metamaterial superconductors is evaluated. The Mg B2 -based metamaterial superconductors are projected to reach the liquid nitrogen temperature range. In the case of a H2S -based metamaterial Tc appears to reach ˜250 K.

A new approach for manufacturing and processing targets to produce 99mTc with cyclotrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matei, L.; McRae, G.; Galea, R.; Niculae, D.; Craciun, L.; Leonte, R.; Surette, G.; Langille, S.; Louis, C. St.; Gelbart, W.; Abeysekera, B.; Johnson, R. R.

2017-06-01

The most important radioisotope for nuclear medicine is 99mTc. After the supply crisis of 99Mo starting in 2008, the availability of 99mTc became a worldwide concern. Alternative methods for producing the medical imaging isotope 99mTc are actively being developed around the world. The reaction 100Mo(p, 2n)99mTc provides a direct route that can be incorporated into routine production in nuclear medicine centers that possess medical cyclotrons for production of other isotopes, such as those used for Positron Emission Tomography. This paper describes a new approach for manufacturing targets for the (p, 2n) nuclear reaction on 100Mo and the foundation for the subsequent commercial separation and purification of the 99mTc produced. Two designs of targets are presented. The targets used to produce 99mTc are subject to a number of operational constraints.They must withstand the temperatures generated by the irradiation, accommodate temperature gradients from cooling system of the target, must be resilient and must be easily post-processed to separate the 99mTc. After irradiation, the separation of Tc from Mo was carried out using an innovative two-step approach. The process described in this paper can be automated with modules that easily fit in standard production hot cells found in nuclear medicine facilities.

Tropical cyclone warm core analyses with FY-3 microwave temperature sounder data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhe; Bai, Jie; Zhang, Wenjun; Yan, Jun; Zhou, Zhuhua

2014-05-01

Space-borne microwave instruments are well suited to analyze Tropical Cyclone (TC) warm core structure, because certain wavelengths of microwave energy are able to penetrate the cirrus above TC. With the vector discrete-ordinate microwave radiative transfer model, the basic atmospheric parameters of Hurricane BOB are used to simulate the upwelling brightness temperatures on each channel of the Microwave Temperature Sounder (MWTS) onboard FY-3A/3B observation. Based on the simulation, the characteristic of 1109 super typhoon "Muifa" warm core structure is analyzed with the MWTS channel 3. Through the radiative and hydrostatic equation, TC warm core brightness temperature anomalies are related to surface pressure anomalies. In order to correct the radiation attenuation caused by MWTS scan geometric features, and improve the capability in capturing the relatively complete warm core radiation, a proposed algorithm is devised to correct the bias from receiving warm core microwave radiation, shows similar time-variant tendency with "Muifa" minimal sea level pressure as described by TC best track data. As the next generation of FY-3 satellite will be launched in 2012, this method will be further verified

Synthesis and Characterization of Tc(I) Carbonyl Nitrosyl Species Relevant to the Hanford Tank Waste: FY 2016 Status Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hall, Gabriel B.; Chatterjee, Sayandev; Levitskaia, Tatiana G.

Among long-lived radioactive constituents in the Hanford tank waste, Tc presents a unique challenge in that it exists predominantly in the liquid phase, generally in the anionic form of pertechnetate, TcO 4 -, which is highly volatile at low-activity waste (LAW) vitrification melter temperatures and mobile in the Hanford site’s subsurface environment. The complex behavior of Tc under storage, treatment, and immobilization conditions significantly affects its management options, which to-date remain uncertain. In strongly alkaline environments, Tc exists as pertechnetate, TcO 4 - (oxidation state +7), and in the reduced forms (oxidation state < +7) collectively known as non-pertechnetate species.more » Pertechnetate is a well-characterized, anionic Tc species that can be removed from LAW by anion exchange or solvent extraction methods. There is no definitive information on the origin of the non-pertechnetate Tc species, nor is there a comprehensive description of their composition and behavior. It has been recently proposed that the non-pertechnetate species can comprise Tc(I) metal center and carbonyl or mixed carbonyl nitrosyl ligands stabilizing low-valent Tc. Recent work by our group has significantly expanded this previous work, generating a series of Tc(I) carbonyl compounds and demonstrating that they can be generated from reduction of TcO 4 - in the simulated Hanford tank waste in presence of CO at elevated temperature (Levitskaia et al. 2014). These results are consistent with the previous proposal that [Tc(CO) 3] + species can be present in the Hanford tank waste and suggest that the low Tc(I) oxidation state is stabilized by the π-accepting ability of the CO ligands. The continuation work has been initiated to develop model Tc carbonyl nitrosyl compounds and investigate their potential presence in the Hanford tank wastes. This report summarizes our to-date results.« less

Two-Temperature Vapor Lock and High-Temperature Driveability Performance of 1982 Passenger Vehicles.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

Wigd Starting -.*- - Air TcA TcB Air TcA TcB AirT ------- sec RSt# 1 498. 106 144 114 106 169 114 1060 SNP 2 453 99 134 112 99 172 111 990 SNN 0 3 ...sec RSt# 1 500 81 115 101 83 159 88 820 SNP 1 2 39 82 124 104 93 163 90 825 SN 2 3 2 68 102 76 68 112 66 680 SC 1 0 .L i 0 0 0 -- -- KEY-OFF...83 121 99 85 142 99 840 SNP 2 91 85 131 103 86 161 101 855 SN 3 405 66 101 73 68 123 72 680 SC 0 0 0 , ......------ IDLE SOAK ACCELERATIONS

Human thermoregulation and measurement of body temperature in exercise and clinical settings.

PubMed

Lim, Chin Leong; Byrne, Chris; Lee, Jason Kw

2008-04-01

This review discusses human thermoregulation during exercise and the measurement of body temperature in clinical and exercise settings. The thermoregulatory mechanisms play important roles in maintaining physiological homeostasis during rest and physical exercise. Physical exertion poses a challenge to thermoregulation by causing a substantial increase in metabolic heat production. However, within a non-thermolytic range, the thermoregulatory mechanisms are capable of adapting to sustain physiological functions under these conditions. The central nervous system may also rely on hyperthermia to protect the body from "overheating." Hyperthermia may serve as a self-limiting signal that triggers central inhibition of exercise performance when a temperature threshold is achieved. Exposure to sub-lethal heat stress may also confer tolerance against higher doses of heat stress by inducing the production of heat shock proteins, which protect cells against the thermolytic effects of heat. Advances in body temperature measurement also contribute to research in thermoregulation. Current evidence supports the use of oral temperature measurement in the clinical setting, although it may not be as convenient as tympanic temperature measurement using the infrared temperature scanner. Rectal and oesophagus temperatures are widely accepted surrogate measurements of core temperature (Tc), but they cause discomfort and are less likely to be accepted by users. Gastrointestinal temperature measurement using the ingestible temperature sensor provides an acceptable level of accuracy as a surrogate measure of Tc without causing discomfort to the user. This form of Tc measurement also allows Tc to be measured continuously in the field and has gained wider acceptance in the last decade.

Critical exponent analysis of lightly germanium-doped La0.7Ca0.3Mn1-xGexO3 (x = 0.05 and x = 0.07)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanto, Dwi; Kurniawan, Budhy; Soegijono, Bambang; Ghosh, Nilotpal; Hwang, Jong-Soon; Yu, Seong-Cho

2018-04-01

We have used a critical behavior study of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) manganite perovskites whose Mn sites have been doped with Ge to explore magnetic interactions. Light Ge doping of 5 or 7 percent tended to produce LCMOs with second order magnetic transitions. The critical parameters of 5- and 7-percent Ge-doped LCMO were determined to be TC = 185 K, β = 0.331 ± 0.019, and γ = 1.15 ± 0.017; and TC = 153 K, β = 0.496 ± 0.011, and γ = 1.03 ± 0.046, respectively, via the modified Arrott plot method. Isothermal magnetization data collected near the Curie temperature (TC) was split into a universal function with two branches M(H,ɛ) = |ɛ|βf±(H/|ɛ|β+γ), where ɛ=(T-TC)/TC is the reduced temperature. f+ is used when T>TC, while f̲ is used when T

Development of an Integrated Thermocouple for the Accurate Sample Temperature Measurement During High Temperature Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (HT-ESEM) Experiments.

PubMed

Podor, Renaud; Pailhon, Damien; Ravaux, Johann; Brau, Henri-Pierre

2015-04-01

We have developed two integrated thermocouple (TC) crucible systems that allow precise measurement of sample temperature when using a furnace associated with an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Sample temperatures measured with these systems are precise (±5°C) and reliable. The TC crucible systems allow working with solids and liquids (silicate melts or ionic liquids), independent of the gas composition and pressure. These sample holder designs will allow end users to perform experiments at high temperature in the ESEM chamber with high precision control of the sample temperature.

Tc-99m Ethylenedicysteine and Tc-99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Scintigraphy-Comparison of the Two for Detection of Scarring and Differential Cortical Function.

PubMed

Dharmalingam, Anitha; Pawar, Shwetal U; Parelkar, Sandesh V; Shetye, Suruchi S; Ghorpade, Mangala K; Tilve, Gundu H

2017-01-01

The differential cortical function obtained by Tc-99m EC is comparable to that of Tc-99m DMSA. However, identification of scars on Tc-99m EC images needs to be studied. The aim of the study is to evaluate role of Tc-99m EC for detection of scarring and differential cortical function by comparing with Tc-99m DMSA. Prospective observational study of recurrent UTI; minimum 6 weeks after acute episode; when urine examination is negative for pus cells. Forty-seven children with normal positioned kidneys underwent Tc-99m EC and DMSA scintigraphy. The DRF and cortical phase images of both studies in the same image matrix size were evaluated by two independent observers for scarring; Tc-99m DMSA was considered as the gold standard. MS Excel 2007 and GraphPad Instat V3.1 and ROC analysis. There was no significant difference in the detection of scarring using two studies with Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) 0.932. The sensitivity and specificity of Tc-99m EC for detection of scarring was 98.75% and 99.15%, respectively. There was good agreement between the differential cortical function calculated using two studies. The summed Tc-99m EC images with an acceptable high image contrast allow detection of cortical scarring in patients with normal kidney positions. It is an excellent single-modality comprehensive investigational agent for renal parenchymal defects, function, and excretion evaluation with the added advantages of lower cost, convenience, and low radiation exposure to the child.

Sensitivities of Modeled Tropical Cyclones to Surface Friction and the Coriolis Parameter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, Winston C.; Chen, Baode; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

In this investigation the sensitivities of a 2-D tropical cyclone (TC) model to surface frictional coefficient and the Coriolis parameter are studied and their implication is discussed. The model used is an axisymmetric version of the latest version of the Goddard cloud ensemble model. The model has stretched vertical grids with 33 levels varying from 30 m near the bottom to 1140 m near the top. The vertical domain is about 21 km. The horizontal domain covers a radius of 962 km (770 grids) with a grid size of 1.25 km. The time step is 10 seconds. An open lateral boundary condition is used. The sea surface temperature is specified at 29C. Unless specified otherwise, the Coriolis parameter is set at its value at 15 deg N. The Newtonian cooling is used with a time scale of 12 hours. The reference vertical temperature profile used in the Newtonian cooling is that of Jordan. The Newtonian cooling models not only the effect of radiative processes but also the effect of processes with scale larger than that of TC. Our experiments showed that if the Newtonian cooling is replaced by a radiation package, the simulated TC is much weaker. The initial condition has a temperature uniform in the radial direction and its vertical profile is that of Jordan. The initial winds are a weak Rankin vortex in the tangential winds superimposed on a resting atmosphere. The initial sea level pressure is set at 1015 hPa everywhere. Since there is no surface pressure perturbation, the initial condition is not in gradient balance. This initial condition is enough to lead to cyclogenesis, but the initial stage (say, the first 24 hrs) is not considered to resemble anything observed. The control experiment reaches quasi-equilibration after about 10 days with an eye wall extending from 15 to 25 km radius, reasonable comparing with the observations. The maximum surface wind of more than 70 m/s is located at about 18 km radius. The minimum sea level pressure on day 10 is about 886 hPa. Thus the overall simulation is considered successful and the model is considered adequate for our investigation.

Enhancements to High Temperature In-Pile Thermocouple Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J.C. Crepeau; J.L. Rempe; J.E. Daw

2008-03-31

A joint University of Idaho (UI) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) University Nuclear Research Initiative (UNERI) was to initiated to extend initial INL efforts to develop doped molybdenum/niobium alloy High Temperature Irradiation Resistant Thermocouples (HTIR-TCs). The overall objective of this UNERI was to develop recommendations for an optimized thermocouple design for high temperature, long duration, in-pile testing by expanding upon results from initial INL efforts. Tasks to quantify the impact of candidate enhancements, such as alternate alloys, alternate geometries, and alternate thermocouple fabrication techniques, on thermocouple performance were completed at INL's High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL), a state of themore » art facility equipped with specialized equipment and trained staff in the area of high temperature instrumentation development and evaluation. Key results of these evaluations, which are documented in this report, are as follows. The doped molybdenum and Nb-1%Zr, which were proposed in the initial INL HTIR-TC design, were found to retain ductility better than the developmental molybdenum-low niobium alloys and the niobium-low molybdenum alloys evaluated. Hence, the performance and lower cost of the commercially available KW-Mo makes a thermocouple containing KW-Mo and Nb-1%Zr the best option at this time. HTIR-TCs containing larger diameter wires offer the potential to increase HTIR-TC stability and reliability at higher temperatures. HTIR-TC heat treatment temperatures and times should be limited to not more than 100 C above the proposed operating temperatures and to durations of at least 4 to 5 hours. Preliminary investigations suggest that the performance of swaged and loose assembly HTIR-TC designs is similar. However, the swaged designs are less expensive and easier to construct. In addition to optimizing HTIR-TC performance, This UNERI project provided unique opportunities to several University of Idaho students, allowing them to become familiar with the techniques and equipment used for specialized high temperature instrumentation fabrication and evaluation and to author/coauthor several key conference papers and journal articles.« less

Enhancements to High Temperature In-Pile Thermocouple Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. C. Crepeau; J. L. Rempe; J. E. Daw

2008-03-01

A joint University of Idaho (UI) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) University Nuclear Research Initiative (UNERI) was to initiated to extend initial INL efforts to develop doped lybdenum/niobium alloy High Temperature Irradiation Resistant Thermocouples (HTIR-TCs). The overall objective of this UNERI was to develop recommendations for an optimized thermocouple design for high temperature, long duration, in-pile testing by expanding upon results from initial INL efforts. Tasks to quantify the impact of candidate enhancements, such as alternate alloys, alternate geometries, and alternate thermocouple fabrication techniques, on thermocouple performance were completed at INL's High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL), a state of themore » art facility equipped with specialized equipment and trained staff in the area of high temperature instrumentation development and evaluation. Key results of these evaluations, which are documented in this report, are as follows. The doped molybdenum and Nb-1%Zr, which were proposed in the initial INL HTIR-TC design, were found to retain ductility better than the developmental molybdenum-low niobium alloys and the niobium-low molybdenum alloys evaluated. Hence, the performance and lower cost of the commercially available KW-Mo makes a thermocouple containing KW-Mo and Nb-1%Zr the best option at this time. HTIR-TCs containing larger diameter wires offer the potential to increase HTIR-TC stability and reliability at higher temperatures. HTIR-TC heat treatment temperatures and times should be limited to not more than 100 °C above the proposed operating temperatures and to durations of at least 4 to 5 hours. Preliminary investigations suggest that the performance of swaged and loose assembly HTIR-TC designs is similar. However, the swaged designs are less expensive and easier to construct. In addition to optimizing HTIR-TC performance, This UNERI project provided unique opportunities to several University of Idaho students, allowing them to become familiar with the techniques and equipment used for specialized high temperature instrumentation fabrication and evaluation and to author/coauthor several key conference papers and journal articles.« less

Uniaxial Magnetization Performance of Textured Fe Nanowire Arrays Electrodeposited by a Pulsed Potential Deposition Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neetzel, C.; Ohgai, T.; Yanai, T.; Nakano, M.; Fukunaga, H.

2017-11-01

Textured ferromagnetic Fe nanowire arrays were electrodeposited using a rectangular-pulsed potential deposition technique into anodized aluminum oxide nanochannels. During the electrodeposition of Fe nanowire arrays at a cathodic potential of - 1.2 V, the growth rate of the nanowires was ca. 200 nm s-1. The aspect ratio of Fe nanowires with a diameter of 30 ± 5 nm reached ca. 2000. The long axis of Fe nanowires corresponded with the <200> direction when a large overpotential during the on-time pulse was applied, whereas it orientated to the <110> direction under the potentiostatic condition with a small overpotential. By shifting the on-time cathode potential up to - 1.8 V, the texture coefficient for the (200) plane, TC200, reached up to 1.94. Perpendicular magnetization performance was observed in Fe nanowire arrays. With increasing TC200, the squareness of Fe nanowire arrays increased up to 0.95 with the coercivity maintained at 1.4 kOe at room temperature. This research result has opened a novel possibility of Fe nanowire arrays that can be applied for a new permanent magnetic material without rare-earth metals.

Preventing Heat Injuries by Predicting Individualized Human Core Temperature

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-14

hardware/software warning system of an impending rise in TC and generate alerts to potentially prevent heat injuries. PREVENTING HEAT INJURIES BY...TC estimates, provides ahead-of-time alerts about an impending rise in TC and 2) an individualized model that uses non-invasive measurements of AC...PREDICTION AND ALERT ALGORITHMS Here, we detail the development of an algorithm that uses a time series of recent-past TC measurements to provide

Temperature-dependent elasticity of Pb [(Mg0.33Nb0.67 ) 1 -xT ix ] O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tennakoon, Sumudu; Gladden, Joseph; Mookherjee, Mainak; Besara, Tiglet; Siegrist, Theo

2017-10-01

Relaxor ferroelectric materials, such as Pb [(Mg0.33Nb0.67 ) 1 -xT ix ] O3 (PMN-PT) with generic stoichiometry, undergo a ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transition as a function of temperature. The exact transition characterized by Curie temperature (Tc) varies as a function of chemistry (x ), i.e., the concentration of Ti. In this study, we investigated the structural phase transition by exploring the temperature dependence of the single-crystal elastic properties of Pb [(Mg0.33Nb0.67 ) 0.7T i0.3 ] O3 , i.e., x ≈0.3 . We used resonant ultrasound spectroscopy to determine the elasticity at elevated temperatures, from which Tc=398 ±5 K for PMN-PT (x ≈0.3 ) was determined. We report the full elastic constant tensor (Ci j={ C11,C12,C44 }), acoustic attenuation (Q-1), longitudinal (VP) and shear (VS) sound velocities, and elastic anisotropy of PMN-PT as a function of temperature for 400 Tc the material first stiffens and reaches maxima in the vicinity of the Burns temperature (Tb˜673 K ), followed by a more typical gradual softening of the elastic constants. Similar temperature-dependent anomalies are also observed with anisotropy and Q-1, with minima in the vicinity of Tb. We used the temperature dependence of Ci j, Q-1, VP,VS , and anisotropy to infer the evolution of polar nanoregions as the material evolved from T >Tc .

Anisotropic Pressure Effects on Superconductivity in Fe1+yTe1-xSx

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Kazunori; Yamazaki, Teruo; Yamanaka, Takayoshi; Ueta, Daichi; Yoshizawa, Hideki; Yaguchi, Hiroshi

2018-05-01

We have investigated the uniaxial and hydrostatic pressure effects on superconductivity in Fe1.07Te0.88S0.12 through magnetic susceptibility measurements down to 1.8 K. The superconducting transition temperature Tc is enhanced by out-of-plane pressure (uniaxial pressure along the c-axis); the onset temperature of the superconductivity reaches 11.8 K at 0.4 GPa. In contrast, Tc is reduced by in-plane pressure (uniaxial pressure along the ab-plane) and hydrostatic pressure. Taking into account these results, it is inferred that the superconductivity of Fe1+yTe1-xSx is enhanced when the lattice constant c considerably decreases. This implies that the relationship between Tc and the anion height for Fe1+yTe1-xSx is similar to that for most iron-based superconductors. We consider the reduction of Tc by hydrostatic pressure to be due to the suppression of spin fluctuations because the system moves away from antiferromagnetic ordering, and the enhancement of Tc by out-of-plane pressure to be due to the anion height effect on Tc.

Extracerebral deep-body cold sensitivity in the Pekin duck.

PubMed

Inomoto, T; Simon, E

1981-09-01

Pekin ducks, in which cerebral cold sensitivity is negligible, were submitted to general body cooling at warm, thermoneutral, and cold ambient temperature (Ta) with an intestinal thermode. In some animals, hypothermia was enhanced by additional hypothalamic cooling that suppressed cold defense. In other animals, the spinal cord was cooled, either selectively or during intestinal cooling. From core temperature (Tc) and metabolic heat production (M) an overall cold sensitivity of about -5 to -6 W . kg-1 . degrees C-1 was determined at thermoneutrality. Maximum M amounted to four to five times the resting M of 3.8 W . kg-1 and was attained when Tc fell by 2.5 degrees C or more. In the cold, threshold Tc for the activation of M was elevated; overall cold sensitivity remained constant. In the warmth, threshold Tc was lowered; overall cold sensitivity was reduced, if mean skin temperature (Tsk) remained at aout 39 degrees C or higher. Spinal cold sensitivity amounted to about -0.25 W . kg-1 . degrees C-1 at normal Tc and thermoneutral and warm Ta; it increased to aout -0.50 W . kg-1 . degrees C-1 in the cold and during hypothermia. Peripheral cold sensitivity was estimated from Tsk and M as -0.4 to -0.8 W . kg-1 . degrees C-1. It is concluded that overall cold sensitivity in ducks mainly depends on deep-body temperature sensors outside of the central nervous system.

Above 400-K robust perpendicular ferromagnetic phase in a topological insulator

PubMed Central

Tang, Chi; Chang, Cui-Zu; Zhao, Gejian; Liu, Yawen; Jiang, Zilong; Liu, Chao-Xing; McCartney, Martha R.; Smith, David J.; Chen, Tingyong; Moodera, Jagadeesh S.; Shi, Jing

2017-01-01

The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) that emerges under broken time-reversal symmetry in topological insulators (TIs) exhibits many fascinating physical properties for potential applications in nanoelectronics and spintronics. However, in transition metal–doped TIs, the only experimentally demonstrated QAHE system to date, the QAHE is lost at practically relevant temperatures. This constraint is imposed by the relatively low Curie temperature (Tc) and inherent spin disorder associated with the random magnetic dopants. We demonstrate drastically enhanced Tc by exchange coupling TIs to Tm3Fe5O12, a high-Tc magnetic insulator with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Signatures showing that the TI surface states acquire robust ferromagnetism are revealed by distinct squared anomalous Hall hysteresis loops at 400 K. Point-contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy confirms that the TI surface is spin-polarized. The greatly enhanced Tc, absence of spin disorder, and perpendicular anisotropy are all essential to the occurrence of the QAHE at high temperatures. PMID:28691097

Body Temperature-Related Structural Transitions of Monotremal and Human Hemoglobin

PubMed Central

Digel, I.; Maggakis-Kelemen, Ch.; Zerlin, K. F.; Linder, Pt.; Kasischke, N.; Kayser, P.; Porst, D.; Temiz Artmann, A.; Artmann, G. M.

2006-01-01

In this study, temperature-related structural changes were investigated in human, duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus, body temperature Tb = 31–33°C), and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus, body temperature Tb = 32–33°C) hemoglobin using circular dichroism spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The average hydrodynamic radius (Rh) and fractional (normalized) change in the ellipticity (Fobs) at 222 ± 2 nm of hemoglobin were measured. The temperature was varied stepwise from 25°C to 45°C. The existence of a structural transition of human hemoglobin at the critical temperature Tc between 36–37°C was previously shown by micropipette aspiration experiments, viscosimetry, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Based on light-scattering measurements, this study proves the onset of molecular aggregation at Tc. In two different monotremal hemoglobins (echidna and platypus), the critical transition temperatures were found between 32–33°C, which are close to the species' body temperature Tb. The data suggest that the correlation of the structural transition's critical temperature Tc and the species' body temperature Tb is not mere coincidence but, instead, is a more widespread structural phenomenon possibly including many other proteins. PMID:16844747

Body temperature-related structural transitions of monotremal and human hemoglobin.

PubMed

Digel, I; Maggakis-Kelemen, Ch; Zerlin, K F; Linder, Pt; Kasischke, N; Kayser, P; Porst, D; Temiz Artmann, A; Artmann, G M

2006-10-15

In this study, temperature-related structural changes were investigated in human, duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus, body temperature T(b) = 31-33 degrees C), and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus, body temperature T(b) = 32-33 degrees C) hemoglobin using circular dichroism spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The average hydrodynamic radius (R(h)) and fractional (normalized) change in the ellipticity (F(obs)) at 222 +/- 2 nm of hemoglobin were measured. The temperature was varied stepwise from 25 degrees C to 45 degrees C. The existence of a structural transition of human hemoglobin at the critical temperature T(c) between 36-37 degrees C was previously shown by micropipette aspiration experiments, viscosimetry, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Based on light-scattering measurements, this study proves the onset of molecular aggregation at T(c). In two different monotremal hemoglobins (echidna and platypus), the critical transition temperatures were found between 32-33 degrees C, which are close to the species' body temperature T(b). The data suggest that the correlation of the structural transition's critical temperature T(c) and the species' body temperature T(b) is not mere coincidence but, instead, is a more widespread structural phenomenon possibly including many other proteins.

Thermoregulatory influence of a cooling vest on hyperthermic athletes.

PubMed

Lopez, Rebecca M; Cleary, Michelle A; Jones, Leon C; Zuri, Ron E

2008-01-01

Athletic trainers must have sound evidence for the best practices in treating and preventing heat-related emergencies and potentially catastrophic events. To examine the effectiveness of a superficial cooling vest on core body temperature (T(c)) and skin temperature (T(sk)) in hypohydrated hyperthermic male participants. A randomized control design with 2 experimental groups. Participants exercised by completing the heat-stress trial in a hot, humid environment (ambient temperature = 33.1 +/- 3.1 degrees C, relative humidity = 55.1 +/- 8.9%, wind speed = 2.1 +/- 1.1 km/hr) until a T(c) of 38.7 +/- 0.3 degrees C and a body mass loss of 3.27 +/- 0.1% were achieved. Ten healthy males (age = 25.6 +/- 1.6 years, mass = 80.3 +/- 13.7 kg). Recovery in a thermoneutral environment wearing a cooling vest or without wearing a cooling vest until T(c) returned to baseline. Rectal T(c), arm T(sk), time to return to baseline T(c), and cooling rate. During the heat-stress trial, T(c) significantly increased (3.6%) and, at 30 minutes of recovery, T(c) had decreased significantly (2.6%) for both groups. Although not significant, the time for return to baseline T(c) was 22.6% faster for the vest group (43.8 +/- 15.1 minutes) than for the no-vest group (56.6 +/- 18.0 minutes), and the cooling rate for the vest group (0.0298 +/- 0.0072 degrees C/min) was not significantly different from the cooling rate for the no-vest group (0.0280 +/- 0.0074 degrees C/min). The T(sk) during recovery was significantly higher (2.1%) in the vest group than in the no-vest group and was significantly lower (7.1%) at 30 minutes than at 0 minutes for both groups. We do not recommend using the cooling vest to rapidly reduce elevated T(c). Ice-water immersion should remain the standard of care for rapidly cooling severely hyperthermic individuals.

Chemical trend of superconducting transition temperature in hole-doped delafossite of CuAlO2, AgAlO2 and AuAlO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakanishi, Akitaka; Katayama-Yoshida, Hiroshi

2012-12-01

We have performed the first-principles calculations about the superconducting transition temperature Tc of hole-doped delafossite CuAlO2, AgAlO2 and AuAlO2. Calculated Tc are about 50 K (CuAlO2), 40 K (AgAlO2) and 3 K(AuAlO2) at maximum in the optimum hole-doping concentration. The low Tc of AuAlO2 is attributed to the weak electron-phonon interaction caused by the low covalency and heavy atomic mass.

Measurements of Tc (Q,P): Depression of the Superfluid Transition Temperature by a Heat Current Along the Lambda Line

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yuan-Ming; Larson, Melora; Israelsson, Ulf

1999-01-01

We report experimental measurements of Tc (Q,P) for heat currents (Q) between I1and 100 micro W/sq cm and pressure (P) between SVP and 15 bar. The measurements were performed in a normal gravity environment, using the low-gravity simulator facility at JPL without the magnet being energized. The sample pressure was controlled to 0.1 micro bar using a hot volume, and a Straty-Adams capacitive pressure gauge. The total volume of helium in the sample cell and the hot volume was held constant using a pneumatic low temperature valve. A melting curve thermometer (MCT) measured the transition temperature (Tc) with a resolution of about 10 nK through a sidewall probe of the thermal conductivity sample cell. We employed the same measurement technique and procedure described by DAS. Preliminary results indicate that Tc (Q,P) depends very little on the pressure in the pressure range between SVP and 15 bar with a variation in the amplitude of Tc(Q,P) of less than about 5% observable in this pressure range. According to the Renormalization-group theory calculation by Haussmann and Dohm, the amplitude of Tc (Q,P) has a leading pressure-dependence term proportional to xi(sub 0) (sup (1/nu)), where xi(sub 0) is the correlation-length amplitude and nu is the correlation-length exponent. Thus, a small pressure dependence of the amplitude of Tc (Q,P) is expected since xi(sub 0) is very weakly dependent on pressure between SVP and 15 bar, consistent with our measurements.

Advanced analysis of thermal data observed in subsurface wells unmasks the ancient climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eppelbaum, Lev; Kutasov, Izzy

2014-05-01

Conventional methods of studying the ancient climate history are associated with statistical processing of accomplished meteorological data. These investigations have focused attention on meteorological records of air temperature, which can provide information on the only last 100-200 years. Number of the records is absolutely insufficient and their areal coverage is limited, some oldest meteorological stations may have been affected by local warming connected with urban and industrial growth. At the same time significant climate changes are accompanied by the corresponding variations in the Earth's surface (soil) temperature. This effect is based on the known physical law that temperature waves at the surface propagate downward into the subsurface with an amplitude attenuation and time delay increasing with depth. Earth's temperature profiles, measured by precise temperature logging T(z) in boreholes to depth of about 80-300 meters, have a 'memory' on what has happened on the surface during approximately several last centuries. Knowledge of the past climate in archaeology is necessary not only for tracing some ancient events and more deep understanding some historical facts, but also for estimation of past harvests, analysis of some physical conditions of different constructions built in the past, and in many other fields (Eppelbaum, 2010; Eppelbaum et al., 2010). The first attempts to recover the past ground surface temperature history (GSTH) from measured T(z) profiles date back to the mid-1960s, however only after Lachenbruch et al. (1988) pointed out that the magnitude and timing of the ground surface warming in Alaska is consistent with models of the recent warming, the method became popular (Cermak et al., 1996). Let us assume that tx years ago from now the ground surface temperature started to increase (warming) or reduce (cooling). Prior to this moment the subsurface temperature is: Ta(z,t = 0) = T0a + Γ z, (1) where T0a is the mean ground surface temperature at the moment of time t = 0 years; z is the vertical depth and Γ is the geothermal gradient. It is also assumed that the host medium is homogeneous with constant thermal properties. Now the current (t = tx) subsurface temperature is (in case of warming): Tc(z,t = tx) = T0c +f (z), (2) where T0c is the current (at the time (date) of temperature logging) mean ground surface temperature; and f(z) is a function of depth that could be obtained from the field data. In some cases the value of T0c can be obtained by extrapolation of the function Tc to z = 0. However, in most cases, the value T0c can be estimated by trial and error method: Assuming an interval of values for T0c, calculating for each T0c value of the temperature profiles Tcfor various models of change in the ground surface temperature (GST) with time and, finally, finding a best match between calculated and field measured Tc profiles. In our study we found that a quadratic regression can be utilized to estimate the value of T0c = a0 (Kutasov et al., 2000): Tc(z,t = tx) = a0 + a1z +a2z2, (3) where a0, a1, and a2 are the coefficients. We will consider four different models (Eppelbaum et al., 2006). Apparently each of these models is more suitable (applicable) under concrete physical-geological conditions. In the first model we assumed that txC years ago the GSTvalue suddenly changed from T0 to T0c. The current temperature anomaly (the reduced temperature) is TR (z) = T0c + f(z) - T0 - Γ z (4) and the solution is ( ) TRC = TR = ΔT0Φ *(x) -;z- ,t = txC, 2 at (5) ΔT0 = T0c - T0, (6)

Molecular-dynamics simulations of thin films with a free surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Simone; Meyer, Hendrik; Baschnagel, Joerg

2007-03-01

We present results [1,2] from molecular-dynamics simulations for a model of non-entangled short polymer chains in a free standing and a supported film geometry. We investigate the influence of confinement on static and dynamic properties of the melt. We find that the relaxation at the surfaces is faster in comparison to the bulk. We perform a layer-resolved analysis of the dynamics and show that it is possible to associate a gradient in critical temperatures Tc(y) with the gradient in the relaxation dynamics. This finding is in qualitative agreement with experimental results on supported polystyrene (PS) films [Ellison et al, Nat. Mater. 2, 695 (2003)]. Furthermore we show that the y-dependence of Tc(y) can be expressed in terms of the depression of Tc(h), the global Tc for a film of thickness h, if we assume that Tc(h) is the arithmetic mean of Tc(y) and parameterize the depression of Tc(h) by Tc(h)=Tc/(1+h0/h), a formula suggested by Herminghaus et al [Eur. Phys. J E 5, 531 (2001)] for the reduction of the glass transition temperature in supported PS films. We demonstrate the validity of this formula by comparing our simulation results to results from other simulations and experiments. [1] S. Peter, H. Meyer and J. Baschnagel, J. Polym. Sci. B, 44, 2951 (2006) [2] S. Peter, H. Meyer, J. Baschnagel and R, Seemann, J. Phys: Condens. Matter (2007)

Microscale temperature and SAR measurements in cell monolayer models exposed to millimeter waves.

PubMed

Zhadobov, Maxim; Alekseev, Stanislav I; Sauleau, Ronan; Le Page, Yann; Le Dréan, Yves; Fesenko, Evgeny E

2017-01-01

Due to shallow penetration of millimeter waves (MMW) and convection in liquid medium surrounding cells, the problem of accurate assessment of local MMW heating in in vitro experiments remains unsolved. Conventional dosimetric MMW techniques, such as infrared imaging or fiber optic (FO) sensors, face several inherent limits. Here we propose a methodology for accurate local temperature measurement and subsequent specific absorption rate (SAR) retrieval using microscale thermocouples (TC). SAR was retrieved by fitting the measured initial temperature rise to the numerical solution of an equivalent thermal model. It was found that the accuracy of temperature measurement depends on thermosensor size, that is, the smaller TC, the more accurate the temperature measurement. SAR determined using TC with lead diameters of 25 and 75 μm demonstrated 98.5% and 80.4% match with computed SAR, respectively. However, both TC provided the same temperature rises in long run (> 10 min). FO probe failed to measure adequately local heating both for short and long exposures due to the relatively large size of the probe sensor (400 μm) and time constant (0.6 s). Calculated SAR in the cell monolayer was almost two times lower than that in the surrounding liquid. It was shown that the impact of the cell monolayer on heating due to its small thickness (5 to 10 μm) can be considered as negligible. Moreover, we demonstrated the possibility of accurate measurement of MMW-induced thermal pulses (up to 10 °C) using 25 μm TC. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:11-21, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparative analysis of hepatopulmonary shunt obtained from pretherapy 99mTc MAA scintigraphy and post-therapy 90Y Bremsstrahlung imaging in 90Y microsphere therapy.

PubMed

Jha, Ashish Kumar A; Zade, Anand A; Rangarajan, Venkatesh; Purandare, Nilendu; Shah, Sneha A; Agrawal, Archi; Kulkarni, Suyash S; Shetty, Nitin

2012-05-01

(99m)Tc macroaggregate albumin (MAA) scintigraphy is routinely used to estimate the hepatopulmonary shunt (HPS) of (90)Y microspheres because of their comparable average particle sizes (20-30 µm). However, the MAA particle size can vary from 10 to 90 µm. Therefore, HPS computed from (99m)Tc MAA scintigraphy may not accurately represent the HPS of (90)Y microspheres. In view of this, the present study was undertaken to investigate the accuracy of (99m)Tc MAA scintigraphy in estimating the HPS of (90)Y microspheres. Nineteen sessions of transarterial radioembolization using (90)Y therasphere were carried out in 17 patients for hepatic malignancies (both primary and secondary). For each session of therapy, a pretherapeutic (99m)Tc MAA scintigraphy and post-therapeutic (90)Y Bremsstrahlung scintigraphy were performed. The HPSs obtained from these images were compared. The mean HPS fractions calculated from the pretherapeutic (99m)Tc MAA study and the post-therapeutic (90)Y Bremsstrahlung images were 4.77 ± 2.81 and 4.52 ± 2.5%, respectively. The coefficient of correlation (r) was 0.96. (99m)Tc MAA scintigraphy accurately predicts the HPS of (90)Y microspheres.

High Temperature Irradiation-Resistant Thermocouple Performance Improvements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joshua Daw; Joy Rempe; Darrell Knudson

2009-04-01

Traditional methods for measuring temperature in-pile degrade at temperatures above 1100 ºC. To address this instrumentation need, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) developed and evaluated the performance of a high temperature irradiation-resistant thermocouple (HTIR-TC) that contains alloys of molybdenum and niobium. Data from high temperature (up to 1500 ºC) long duration (up to 4000 hours) tests and on-going irradiations at INL’s Advanced Test Reactor demonstrate the superiority of these sensors to commercially-available thermocouples. However, several options have been identified that could further enhance their reliability, reduce their production costs, and allow their use in a wider range of operating conditions.more » This paper presents results from on-going Idaho National Laboratory (INL)/University of Idaho (UI) efforts to investigate options to improve HTIR-TC ductility, reliability, and resolution by investigating specially-formulated alloys of molybdenum and niobium and alternate diameter thermoelements (wires). In addition, on-going efforts to evaluate alternate fabrication approaches, such as drawn and loose assembly techniques will be discussed. Efforts to reduce HTIR-TC fabrication costs, such as the use of less expensive extension cable will also be presented. Finally, customized HTIR-TC designs developed for specific customer needs will be summarized to emphasize the varied conditions under which these sensors may be used.« less

Thermo-mechanical properties of boron nitride nanoribbons: A molecular dynamics simulation study.

PubMed

Mahdizadeh, Sayyed Jalil; Goharshadi, Elaheh K; Akhlamadi, Golnoosh

2016-07-01

Thermo-mechanical properties of boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) were computed using molecular dynamics simulation with optimized Tersoff empirical potential. Thermal conductivity (TC) and heat transport properties of BNNRs were calculated as functions of both temperature and nanoribbon's length. The results show that TC of BNNRs decreases with raising temperature by T(-1.5) up to 1000K. The phonon-phonon scattering relaxation time, mean free path of phonons, and contribution of high frequency optical phonons in TC of BNNRs were calculated at various temperatures. TC decreases as nanoribbon size increases and it converges to ∼500Wm(-1)K(-1) for nanoribbons with length longer than 30nm. The mechanical properties, including Gruneisen parameter, stress-strain response curves, Young's modulus, intrinsic strength, critical strain, and poisson's ratio were calculated in the temperature range of 137-1000K. The simulation results show that Gruneisen parameter and poisson's ratio of BNNRs are -0.092 and 0.245, respectively. The Young's modulus of BNNRs decreases with raising temperature and its value is 630GPa at 300K. According to the results, BNNRs duo to their extraordinary thermo-mechanical properties, are the promising candidate for the future nano-device manufacturing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic properties of Mn3-xFexSn compounds with tuneable Curie temperature by Fe content for thermomagnetic motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felez, Marissol R.; Coelho, Adelino A.; Gama, Sergio

2017-12-01

Mn3-xFexSn system (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 3.00 with Δx = 0.25) alloys present the Curie temperature (TC) or transition temperature (TT) tuneable by the Fe content. A piece-wise linear profile for TC,T as a function of x is observed in a two wide temperature ranges, between 155 K up to 759 K and 259 K up to 155 K. Their equations are TC,T = (59 ± 15) + (240 ± 7)·x and TC,T = (257 ± 1) - (206 ± 4)·x, respectively. The alloys are low cost and easy manufacturing, rare earth free, with second order magnetic transition (SOMT), and have good magnetic properties. These features suggest an immediate application of the material in cascade thermomagnetic motors that operate with a large temperature range between hot and cold sources. Furthermore, SOMT Mn-Fe-Sn system materials are also reported with advantages that could make alloys of the Mn3-xFexSn system, (0.88 ≤ x ≤ 1.20), promising candidate for magnetic refrigeration. The typical ferromagnetic behaviour is achieved only by samples with x ≥ 1. The samples with x between 0.00 and 0.75 do not show the saturation magnetization even using fields up to 13 T.

XMCD and XAS examination of cation ordering in synthetic Mg- and Al-substituted titanomagnetites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lappe, S. C. L. L.; Bowles, J.; Jackson, M.; Arenholz, E.

2015-12-01

Many paleomagnetic studies use natural magnetic minerals of the titanomagnetite (TM) solid solution series (Fe3-xTixO4, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1). So far our understanding of the acquisition of thermal remanent magnetisation (TRM) in those minerals was based on the assumption that their Curie temperature (TC) only depends on composition. However, it has been shown that TC of some natural TMs with Al- and Mg-substitution also strongly depends on thermal history and TC changes up to >150°C on timescales and at temperatures relevant to laboratory and geological processes were observed (Bowles et al. 2013). These variations in TC are thought to result from cation reordering within the crystal lattice. Those processes may have major effects on the acquisition, retention and demagnetisation of partial TRM and thermoviscous remanence and may have significant consequences for many paleomagnetic studies. However, so far no direct evidence for this cation reordering has been established. To gain further insight into the mechanisms at work, we have synthesised TMs of varying Ti-content (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 60) and with different degrees of Al- and Mg- substitution. Measuring the magnetic susceptibility as function of temperature TC was determined. Subsequently the samples were subjected to isothermal annealing at temperatures between 325-400°C for 10 to 103 hours. We observe an increase of TC on warming with anneal time up to 80°, whereas TC on cooling decreases slightly. The magnitude of the change in TC on warming varies with anneal temperature, and the temperature of maximum change depends on composition. Splits of the samples were studied using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) of the Fe L2,3-edge, which is sensitive to valence state and site occupancy of the Fe cations. The results suggest different Fe2+/Fe3+ site occupancy for different sample compositions but there seem to be no consistent differences between the XMCD spectra of annealed and un-annealed samples of one composition. X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of the Ti, Mg and Al show no significant differences for samples of different anneal stages, suggesting no reordering of the Ti4+, Al3+ and Mg2+. The lack of observed (re)ordering between A and B lattice sites suggests the process may be vacancy mediated or there might be short-range cation (re)ordering within the lattice sites.

Development of a Genetically-Engineered Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus Vaccine

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-11-13

necrosis. We have evaluated the efficacy of a recombinant vaccinia/VEE virus vaccine (TC-5A) to protect horses against challenge with equine virulent...of horse vaccinees with equine virulent VEE virus 71-180 and vaccinia viruses ........ 27 7. ELISA cross-reactivity of sera from immunized equines ...antibodies in equines after immuniza- tion with TC-83, TC-5A and wild-type vaccinia viruses . .40 5. Body temperature of horses immunized with TC-5A (A

Adsorption on hydrophobic porous glass near the liquid/liquid coexistence curve of a binary liquid mixture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grüll, H.; Woermann, D.

1997-01-01

A differential refractometric method is used to study the temperature and composition dependence of the adsorptive properties of porous glass in 2-butoxyethanol (abbreviated C4E1)/water mixtures. The surface of the adsorbent carries hydrophobic -SiO-C8H17 as well as hydrophilic -SiOH groups. The experiments are carried out close to the liquid/liquid coexistence curve in the vicinity of the lower critical point of the system. Depending on the temperature and composition of the mixtures either C4E1 or water is preferentially adsorbed. There exists a line along which the net adsorption vanishes. For compositions x>xc (x, mole fraction of C4E1; xc, critical composition) the amount of substance of adsorbed water ñ ws(Tp) per unit gram of adsorbent at temperature Tp increases with increasing values of the temperature difference (Tp-Tc) in the range 0 K<(Tp-Tc)<4 K. Tp is the temperature of phase separation of the bulk mixture in the presence of the adsorbent. Beginning at temperatures (Tp-Tc)>4 K the adsorbed amount of substance ñ ws(Tp) decreases. At (Tp-Tc)>8 K it reaches a value which is smaller by a factor of about 10 compared with its maximum value. This phenomenon is reminiscent of a wetting transition.

Adsorption of tetracycline on soil and sediment: effects of pH and the presence of Cu(II).

PubMed

Zhang, Zheyun; Sun, Ke; Gao, Bo; Zhang, Guixiang; Liu, Xitao; Zhao, Ye

2011-06-15

Tetracycline (TC) is frequently detected in the environment, however, knowledge on the environmental fate and transport of TC is still limited. Batch adsorption experiments of TC by soil and sediment samples were conducted. The distribution of charge and electrostatic potential of individual atoms of various TC species in the aqueous solution were determined using MOPAC version 0.034 W program in ChemBio3D Ultra software. Most of the adsorption isotherms on the soil, river and marine sediments were well fitted with the Freundlich and Polanyi-Manes (PMM) models. The single point organic carbon (OC)-normalized adsorption distribution coefficients (K(OC)) and PMM saturated adsorption capacity (Q(OC)(0)) values of TC were associated with the mesopore volume and clay content to a greater extent, indicating the mesopore volume of the soil and sediments and their clay content possibly influenced the fate and transport of TC in the natural environment. The adsorption of TC on soil and sediments strongly depended on the pH and presence of Cu(II). The presence of Cu(II) facilitated TC adsorption on soil and sediments at low pH (pH<5), possibly due to the metallic complexation and surface-bridging mechanism by Cu(II) adsorption on soil and sediments. The cation exchange interaction, metallic complexation and Coulombic interaction of mechanisms for adsorption of TC to soils and sediments were further supported by quantum chemical calculation of various TC species in different pH. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Some validation results of orbital and ground based CO and CH4 total content measurements in background and industrial regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakitin, Vadim; Shtabkin, Yury; Elansky, Nikolai; Skorokhod, Andrey; Safronov, Alexandr; Dzhola, Anatoly

2015-04-01

The results of ground-based spectroscopic measurements of CO and CH4 total content (TC) in Moscow, Zvenigorod (53 km toward West from the Moscow center), ZOTTO station (Central Siberia) and Beijing (China) during 2010-2014 years for conditions of typical and anomalous emission rates are presented and compared with satellite TC data (the latest versions of MOPITT, AIRS, IASI products). The empiric coefficients and relationships between data of ground-based and satellite CO and CH4 total contents (TC) are discussed. The comparison demonstrated a good agreement (R2 ~ 0.6-0.9) of satellite and ground-based CO TC data in low pollution conditions and systematic underestimation of satellite CO TC (150-300 %) in condition of intense surface emissions (events of wild fires in Siberia in 2011-2012 and strong atmospheric pollutions in Beijing). The best correlation (R2 ~ 0.4) for polluted conditions of Beijing was obtained in summer time-period for averaged AIRS v.6 CO TC data for 1o*1o grid, but K=Ugrb/Ustl = 2.5, where Ugrb and Ustlare ground based and satellite diurnal TC values relatively. Under excluding of the days with low ABL heights (HABL ≥1000m selection) the correlation between satellite and ground based CO TC diurnal data increases (R2 ~ 0.7, K=1.5). Orbital AIRS CH4 total columns good enough correlate with ground-based data (R2 ~0.4-0.7). IASI CH4TC diurnal data have no correlation with AIRS and ground-based TC.

Observation of superconductivity in BaNb2S5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. G.; Neumeier, J. J.

2018-06-01

Bulk superconductivity is reported in BaNb2S5 at the transition temperature Tc = 0.85(1) K. The electrical resistivity ρ versus T is metallic with ρ(2 K) = 42.4 μΩ cm. The magnetic susceptibility is paramagnetic, with temperature-independent contributions due to diamagnetism, Pauli paramagnetism, and Van Vleck paramagnetism; a Curie-Weiss contribution appears to be impurity related. Hall effect measurements show that the majority charge carriers are electrons with charge-carrier concentration n(3 K) = 2.40(2) × 1021 cm-3. Specific heat measurements reveal an electronic specific heat coefficient γ = 11.2(1) mJ/mol K2, a Debye temperature ΘD = 126.4(8) K, and an energy gap associated with the superconducting state of Eg = 0.184(4) meV. Measurements of ρ(T) in magnetic field provide the upper critical magnetic field of about 3055(74) Oe as T → 0 K, which was used to estimate the coherence length ξ = 6.21(15) nm. The results allow classification of BaNb2S5 as a Type II, BCS superconductor in the dirty limit.

Angular fluctuations of a multi-component order describe the pseudogap regime of the cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sachdev, Subir

2014-03-01

The hole-doped cuprate high temperature superconductors enter the pseudogap regime as their superconducting critical temperature, Tc, falls with decreasing hole density. Experiments have probed this regime for over two decades, but we argue that decisive new information has emerged from recent X-ray scattering experiments. The experiments observe incommensurate charge density wave fluctuations whose strength rises gradually over a wide temperature range above Tc, but then decreases as the temperature is lowered below Tc. We propose a theory in which the superconducting and charge-density wave orders exhibit angular fluctuations in a 6-dimensional space. The theory provides a natural quantitative fit to the X-ray data, and is consistent with other observed characteristics of the pseudogap. Results will also be presented on the microscopic origins of these order parameters. Work in collaboration with Lauren Hayward, Roger Melko, David Hawthorn, and Jay Sau.

Doping-evolution of the superconducting gap in single crystals of (Ca 1-x La x ) 10 (Pt 3 As 8 )(Fe 2 As 2 ) 5 superconductor from London penetration depth measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, K.; Tanatar, M. A.; Ni, N.

2014-09-19

The doping-evolution of the superconducting gap structure in iron-based superconductor (Ca 1-xLax)10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5(x = 0.04, 0.06, 0.09, 0.11, and 0.18) was probed by high-resolution measurements of the London penetration depth, λ(T). The samples spanned compositions from underdoped to slightly overdoped with superconducting critical temperatures, Tc, from 12.7 K (x = 0.04) through (optimal) 23.3 K (x = 0.11) to 21.9 K (x = 0.18). The low-temperature variation (up to 0.3 Tc ) of λ(T) was analysed using a power-law function, Δλ = ATn. For compositions close to the optimal doping, (x = 0.09, 0.11, and 0.18), characterized by Tc > 20K,more » Δλ(T) shows a tendency to saturation, indicative of a full gap on the Fermi surface. Fitting over the lowest temperature range (T < 0.1 Tc) gives n = 2.6. This value is well outside the range 1 ≤ n ≤ 2 expected for the line-nodal superconductor. The exponent n decreased to n ~ 2 in the two most underdoped compositions x = 0.04 (Tc = 12.7 K) and 0.06 (Tc = 18.2 K), implying the development of a notable gap anisotropy revealed by the enhanced influence of pair-breaking scattering. This decrease is accompanied by a significant increase of the total variation of the penetration depth Δλ in a fixed temperature interval (e.g., Tmin - 0.3Tc). Both the decrease of the exponent and the increase of the absolute value of Δλ in the underdoped regime are similar to the observations in other charge-doped iron-based superconductors, such as doped BaFe2As2 and NaFeAs, suggesting a universal behavior in iron-based superconductors.« less

Thermal modifications of charmonia and bottomonia from spatial correlation functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Heng-Tong; Kaczmarek, Olaf; Kruse, Anna-lena; Mukherjee, Swagato; Ohno, Hiroshi; Sandmeyer, Hauke; Shu, Hai-Tao

2018-03-01

We present our study on the thermal modifications of charmonia and bottomonia from spatial correlation functions at zero and nonzero momenta in quenched QCD. To accommodate the heavy quarks on the lattice we performed simulations on very fine lattices at a fixed beta value corresponding to a lattice spacing a-1 = 22:8 GeV on 1923×32, 1923 × 48, 1923 × 56, 1923 × 64 and 1923 × 96 lattices using clover-improved Wilson fermions. These lattices correspond to temperatures of 2.25Tc, 1.50Tc, 1.25Tc, 1.10Tc and 0.75Tc. To increase the signal to noise ratio in the axial-vector and scalar channels we used multi-sources for the measurement of spatial correlation functions. By investigating on the differences between spatial and temporal correlators as well as the temperature dependence of screening masses we will discuss the thermal effects in different channels of quarkonium states. Besides this the dispersion relation of the screening mass at different momenta is also discussed.

Deformation behavior of TC6 alloy in isothermal forging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaoli; Li, Miaoquan; Zhu, Dasong; Xiong, Aiming

2005-10-01

Isothermal compression of the TC6 alloy was carried out in a Thermecmaster-Z (Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation, P.R. China) simulator at deformation temperatures of 800˜1040 °C, strain rates of 0.001˜50.0 s-1, and maximum height reduction of 50%. The deformation behavior of the TC6 alloy in isothermal forging was characterized based on stress-strain behavior and kinetic analysis. The activation energy of deformation obtained in the isothermal forging of the TC6 alloy was 267.49 kJ/mol in the β phase region and 472.76 kJ/mol in the α+β phase region. The processing map was constructed based on the dynamic materials model, and the optimal deformation parameters were obtained. Constitutive equations describing the flow stress as a function of strain rate, strain, and deformation temperature were proposed for the isothermal forging of the TC6 alloy, and a good agreement between the predicted and experimental stress-strain curves was achieved.

Positron annihilation study of the high- Tc (Bi,Pb) 2Sr 2Ca 2Cu 3O x superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, H. J.; Byrne, J. G.

1997-03-01

Positron lifetime spectroscopy (PLS) and positron Doppler-broadening spectroscopy (PDBS) were applied to the high- Tc lead-doped Bi 2Sr 2Ca 2Cu 3O x (BPSCCO 2223) superconductor as a function of temperature. Neither positron lifetimes nor Doppler parameters ( S, W, and{S}/{W}) showed significant change through Tc. This may result from having the highest positron density in the open BiO 2 double layers and no significant positron density in the superconducting CuO 2 layers where positrons, if mainly present, are known to be sensitive to the transition in other high- Tc superconductors. Doppler parameters showed that the probability of positron annihilations with core electrons in the lattice slightly increased and that the probability of positron annihilations with conduction electrons slightly decreased as temperature decreased from ambient temperature to 20 K. The lifetime associated with positron annihilations in the perfect lattice of the sample ( τ1) was 209 ps and, due to the annihilations at internal surfaces or voids in the sample ( τ2) was about 540 ps, independent of temperature. Finally, the mean lifetime for BSCCO 2223 was about 307 ps.

Psychogenic fever: how psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population

PubMed Central

Oka, Takakazu

2015-01-01

Psychogenic fever is a stress-related, psychosomatic disease especially seen in young women. Some patients develop extremely high core body temperature (Tc) (up to 41°C) when they are exposed to emotional events, whereas others show persistent low-grade high Tc (37–38°C) during situations of chronic stress. The mechanism for psychogenic fever is not yet fully understood. However, clinical case reports demonstrate that psychogenic fever is not attenuated by antipyretic drugs, but by psychotropic drugs that display anxiolytic and sedative properties, or by resolving patients' difficulties via natural means or psychotherapy. Animal studies have demonstrated that psychological stress increases Tc via mechanisms distinct from infectious fever (which requires proinflammatory mediators) and that the sympathetic nervous system, particularly β3-adrenoceptor-mediated non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, plays an important role in the development of psychological stress-induced hyperthermia. Acute psychological stress induces a transient, monophasic increase in Tc. In contrast, repeated stress induces anticipatory hyperthermia, reduces diurnal changes in Tc, or slightly increases Tc throughout the day. Chronically stressed animals also display an enhanced hyperthermic response to a novel stress, while past fearful experiences induce conditioned hyperthermia to the fear context. The high Tc that psychogenic fever patients develop may be a complex of these diverse kinds of hyperthermic responses. PMID:27227051

Psychogenic fever: how psychological stress affects body temperature in the clinical population.

PubMed

Oka, Takakazu

2015-01-01

Psychogenic fever is a stress-related, psychosomatic disease especially seen in young women. Some patients develop extremely high core body temperature (Tc) (up to 41°C) when they are exposed to emotional events, whereas others show persistent low-grade high Tc (37-38°C) during situations of chronic stress. The mechanism for psychogenic fever is not yet fully understood. However, clinical case reports demonstrate that psychogenic fever is not attenuated by antipyretic drugs, but by psychotropic drugs that display anxiolytic and sedative properties, or by resolving patients' difficulties via natural means or psychotherapy. Animal studies have demonstrated that psychological stress increases Tc via mechanisms distinct from infectious fever (which requires proinflammatory mediators) and that the sympathetic nervous system, particularly β3-adrenoceptor-mediated non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, plays an important role in the development of psychological stress-induced hyperthermia. Acute psychological stress induces a transient, monophasic increase in Tc. In contrast, repeated stress induces anticipatory hyperthermia, reduces diurnal changes in Tc, or slightly increases Tc throughout the day. Chronically stressed animals also display an enhanced hyperthermic response to a novel stress, while past fearful experiences induce conditioned hyperthermia to the fear context. The high Tc that psychogenic fever patients develop may be a complex of these diverse kinds of hyperthermic responses.

Warming up with an ice vest: core body temperature before and after cross-country racing.

PubMed

Hunter, Iain; Hopkins, J Ty; Casa, Douglas J

2006-01-01

Athletes running in a hot, humid environment may have an increased risk of heat illness. In the 2004 Olympic Games, American and Australian athletes were provided with ice vests designed to cool their bodies before performance. The vest appeared to be effective in keeping body temperatures down and improving the performance of the marathoners. However, body temperatures have not been reported when the vest was used before an actual competition. To determine if wearing the Nike Ice-Vest decreased core temperature (Tc) before and during athletic performance in warm (26 degrees C to 27 degrees C), humid (relative humidity = 50% to 75%) conditions. A 2 x 3 mixed-model design was used to compare groups (ice vest, no ice vest) across changes in temperature from baseline (10 minutes and 1 minute before the race and immediately after the race). 2005 Big Wave Invitational 4-km race in Hawaii and 2005 Great American 5-km race in North Carolina. Eighteen women from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I cross-country team who participated in either the Big Wave Invitational or the Great American Race. Four hours before the start of the race, the athletes ingested radiotelemetry temperature sensors. One hour before the start of the race, Tc was recorded, and half of the athletes donned a Nike Ice-Vest, which was removed immediately before the race. Additional Tc readings were taken at 10 minutes and 1 minute before the start of the race and immediately after the race. Ten minutes before the start of the race, Tc was elevated by 0.84 degrees C +/- 0.37 degrees C in the no-vest group, compared with 0.29 degrees C +/- 0.56 degrees C in the ice-vest group ( P < .01). This difference in Tc persisted at 1 minute before the start. Immediately after the finish, the increase in Tc averaged 2.75 degrees C +/- 0.62 degrees C in the no-vest group and 2.12 degrees C +/- 0.62 degrees C in the ice-vest group ( P < .01). Wearing an ice vest before cross-country performance in warm, humid conditions allowed athletes to start and finish the competition with a lower Tc than did those who did not wear a vest.

Medium effects and parity doubling of hyperons across the deconfinement phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aarts, Gert; Allton, Chris; Boni, Davide De; Hands, Simon; Jäger, Benjamin; Praki, Chrisanthi; Skullerud, Jon-Ivar

2018-03-01

We analyse the behaviour of hyperons with strangeness S = -1,-2,-3 in the hadronic and quark gluon plasma phases, with particular interest in parity doubling and its emergence as the temperature grows. This study uses our FASTSUM anisotropic Nf = 2+1 ensembles, with four temperatures below and four above the deconfinement transition temperature, Tc. The positive-parity groundstate masses are found to be largely temperature independent below Tc, whereas the negative-parity ones decrease considerably as the temperature increases. Close to the transition, the masses are almost degenerate, in line with the expectation from chiral symmetry restoration. This may be of interest for heavy-ion phenomenology. In particular we show an application of this effect to the Hadron Resonance Gas model. A clear signal of parity doubling is found above Tc in all hyperon channels, with the strength of the effect depending on the number of s-quarks in the baryons. Presented at 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 18-24 June 2017, Granada, Spain

Theoretical modeling of critical temperature increase in metamaterial superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyaninov, Igor; Smolyaninova, Vera

Recent experiments have demonstrated that the metamaterial approach is capable of drastic increase of the critical temperature Tc of epsilon near zero (ENZ) metamaterial superconductors. For example, tripling of the critical temperature has been observed in Al-Al2O3 ENZ core-shell metamaterials. Here, we perform theoretical modelling of Tc increase in metamaterial superconductors based on the Maxwell-Garnett approximation of their dielectric response function. Good agreement is demonstrated between theoretical modelling and experimental results in both aluminum and tin-based metamaterials. Taking advantage of the demonstrated success of this model, the critical temperature of hypothetic niobium, MgB2 and H2S-based metamaterial superconductors is evaluated. The MgB2-based metamaterial superconductors are projected to reach the liquid nitrogen temperature range. In the case of an H2S-based metamaterial Tc appears to reach 250 K. This work was supported in part by NSF Grant DMR-1104676 and the School of Emerging Technologies at Towson University.

Local charge-density change and superconductivity: A positron study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean, Y. C.; Sundar, C. S.; Bharathi, A.; Kyle, J.; Nakanishi, H.; Tseng, P. K.; Hor, P. H.; Meng, R. L.; Huang, Z. J.; Chu, C. W.; Wang, Z. Z.; Turchi, P. E. A.; Howell, R. H.; Wachs, A. L.; Fluss, M. J.

1990-03-01

The temperature dependence between 10 and 300 K of the positron lifetime was measured in the high-temperature superconductors YBA2(Cu1-xMx)3O6+δ, where M=Zn and Ga with x=0.0 to 0.07 and δ>0.8. In the undoped and Ga-doped samples, the positron lifetime in the Bloch state, τb, was observed to decrease below Tc. In the Zn-doped samples, a dramatic x-dependent temperature variation of τb was observed: from a decrease of Tb below Tc for x=0.01 to an increase of τb for x>0.02. These new experimental results are interpreted in terms of a change in the local charge density of high-Tc oxides associated with the superconducting transition.

Magnetic properties of Y3+ doped Bi4-xTi2FeO12 aurivillius phase ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirupathi, Patri; Reddy, H. Satish Kumar; Babu, P. D.

2018-05-01

In the present paper reports a comprehensive investigation of structural, microstructural and magnetic phase transition in Y3+ doped BITF Aurivillius phase compounds. The study of surface morphology by scanning electron microscope reveals the growth of plate-like grains and further the grain size increase with increasing Y3+ composition. Low temperature magnetic studies reveals enhanced magnetic property with doping of Y3+ in BITF. It was explained by considering exchange interaction between the neighboring Fe+3 ions via electron trapped electrons at oxygen vacancies. Temperature dependent dc-magnetic studies exhibit a magnetic transitions TC = 750 K for x=0.0 TC ˜ 674 K for x=1.0 & TC ˜ 645 K for x=1.50 ceramics respectively in high temperature magnetization studies

Temperature Compensation Fiber Bragg Grating Pressure Sensor Based on Plane Diaphragm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Minfu; Fang, Xinqiu; Ning, Yaosheng

2018-06-01

Pressure sensors are the essential equipments in the field of pressure measurement. In this work, we propose a temperature compensation fiber Bragg grating (FBG) pressure sensor based on the plane diaphragm. The plane diaphragm and pressure sensitivity FBG (PS FBG) are used as the pressure sensitive components, and the temperature compensation FBG (TC FBG) is used to improve the temperature cross-sensitivity. Mechanical deformation model and deformation characteristics simulation analysis of the diaphragm are presented. The measurement principle and theoretical analysis of the mathematical relationship between the FBG central wavelength shift and pressure of the sensor are introduced. The sensitivity and measure range can be adjusted by utilizing the different materials and sizes of the diaphragm to accommodate different measure environments. The performance experiments are carried out, and the results indicate that the pressure sensitivity of the sensor is 35.7 pm/MPa in a range from 0 MPa to 50 MPa and has good linearity with a linear fitting correlation coefficient of 99.95%. In addition, the sensor has the advantages of low frequency chirp and high stability, which can be used to measure pressure in mining engineering, civil engineering, or other complex environment.

Assessing New and Old Methods in Paleomagnetic Paleothermometry: A Test Case at Mt. St. Helens, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowles, J. A.; Gerzich, D.; Jackson, M. J.

2017-12-01

Paleomagnetic data can be used to estimate deposit temperatures (Tdep) of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). The typical method is to thermally demagnetize oriented lithic clasts incorporated into the PDC. If Tdep is less than the maximum Curie temperature (Tc), the clast is partially remagnetized in the PDC, and the unblocking temperature (Tub) at which this remagnetization is removed is an estimate of Tdep. In principle, juvenile clasts can also be used, and Tub-max is taken as the minimum Tdep. This all assumes blocking (Tb) and unblocking temperatures are equivalent and that the blocking spectrum remains constant through time. Recent evidence shows that Tc in many titanomagnetites is a strong function of thermal history due to a crystal-chemical reordering process. We therefore undertake a study designed to test some of these assumptions and to assess the extent to which the method may be biased by a Tb spectrum that shifts to higher T during cooling. We also explore a new magnetic technique that relies only on stratigraphic variations in Tc. Samples are from the May 18, 1980 PDCs at Mt. St. Helens, USA. Direct temperature measurements of the deposits were 297 - 367°C. At sites with oriented lithics, standard methods provide a Tdep range that overlaps with measured temperatures, but is systematically higher by a few 10s of °C. By contrast, pumice clasts all give Tdep_min estimates that greatly exceed lithic estimates and measured temperatures. We attribute this overestimate to two causes: 1) Tc and Tub systematically increase with depth as a result of the reordering process. This results in Tdep_min estimates that vary by 50°C and increase with depth. 2) MSH pumice is multi-domain, where Tub > Tb, resulting in a large overestimate in Tdep. At 5 sites, stratigraphic variations in Tc were conservatively interpreted in terms of Tdep as <300°C or >300°C. More sophisticated modeling of the time-temperature-depth evolution of Tc allows us to place tighter constraints on some deposits, and our preliminary interpretation suggests that PDC pulses became successively hotter throughout the day. This new method allows us to evaluate subtle temporal/spatial variabilities that may not be evident from direct measurements made at the surface. It also allows Tdep estimates to be made on PDCs where no lithic clasts are present.

Switching from Controlled Ring-Opening Polymerization (cROP) to Controlled Ring-Closing Depolymerization (cRCDP) by Adjusting the Reaction Parameters That Determine the Ceiling Temperature

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Full control over the ceiling temperature (Tc) enables a selective transition between the monomeric and polymeric state. This is exemplified by the conversion of the monomer 2-allyloxymethyl-2-ethyl-trimethylene carbonate (AOMEC) to poly(AOMEC) and back to AOMEC within 10 h by controlling the reaction from conditions that favor ring-opening polymerization (Tc > T0) (where T0 is the reaction temperature) to conditions that favor ring-closing depolymerization (Tc < T0). The ring-closing depolymerization (RCDP) mirrors the polymerization behavior with a clear relation between the monomer concentration and the molecular weight of the polymer, indicating that RCDP occurs at the chain end. The Tc of the polymerization system is highly dependent on the nature of the solvent, for example, in toluene, the Tc of AOMEC is 234 °C and in acetonitrile Tc = 142 °C at the same initial monomer concentration of 2 M. The control over the monomer to polymer equilibrium sets new standards for the selective degradation of polymers, the controlled release of active components, monomer synthesis and material recycling. In particular, the knowledge of the monomer to polymer equilibrium of polymers in solution under selected environmental conditions is of paramount importance for in vivo applications, where the polymer chain is subjected to both high dilution and a high polarity medium in the presence of catalysts, that is, very different conditions from which the polymer was formed. PMID:27783494

The magnetic Curie temperature and exchange coupling between cations in tetragonal spinel oxide Mn2.5M0.5O4 (M = Co, Ni, Mn, Cr, and Mg) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, K.; Cheng, C. W.; Chern, G.

2012-04-01

Mn3O4 is a Jahn-Taller tetragonal ferrite that has a relatively low Curie temperature (Tc) of ˜43 K due to weak coupling between the canting spins. In this study, we fabricated a series of 100-nm-thick Mn2.5M0.5O4 (M = Co, Ni, Mn, Cr, and Mg) films via oxygen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and measured the structural and magnetic properties of these films. These films show single phase quality, and the c-axis lattice parameter of pure Mn3O4 is 0.944 nm, with a c/a ratio ˜1.16, consistent with the bulk values. The replacement of Mn by M (M = Co, Ni, Cr, and Mg) changes the lattice parameters, and the c/a ratio varies between 1.16 and 1.06 depending upon the cation distribution of the films. The magnetic Curie temperatures of these films also vary in the range of 25-66 K in that Ni and Co enhance the Tc whereas Mg reduces the Tc (Cr shows no effect on the Tc). These changes to the Tc are related to both the element electronic state and the cation distributions in these compounds. As a non-collinear spin configuration can induce electrical polarization, the present study provides a systematic way to enhance the magnetic transition temperature in tetragonal spinel ferrites.

The effect of bismuth on the structure, magnetic and electric properties of Co2MnO4 spinel multiferroic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chouaya, H.; Smari, M.; Walha, I.; Dhahri, E.; Graça, M. P. F.; Valente, M. A.

2018-04-01

Mixed Co2Mn1-xBixO4 (x = 0, x = 0.05 and x = 0.1) samples were prepared by the sol-gel method using the citric acid route and characterized by various techniques. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopic analyses confirmed the formation of inverse spinel cubic structure with Fd 3 ‾ m space group. The introduction of Bismuth (Bi) into Co2MnO4 did not modify the ferrimagnetic character of the parent compound Co2MnO4, whereas the field-cooled magnetizations MFC and the Curie temperature Tc decreased when increasing the Bi content. The electrical properties showed an activation energy (Ea) increase caused by the decrease of the double-exchange interaction following the substitution of Mn3+ by Bi3+. Eventually, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) shows significant values for all samples can be investigated also as good candidates for bolometer applications.

Incoherent-to-coherent crossover of optical spectra in La0.825Sr0.175MnO3: Temperature-dependent reflectivity spectra measured on cleaved surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takenaka, K.; Sawaki, Y.; Sugai, S.

1999-11-01

Optical reflectivity spectra were measured on cleaved surfaces of La0.825Sr0.175MnO3 single crystals (TC=283 K) over a temperature range 10-295 K. The optical conductivity σ(ω) shows incoherent-to-coherent crossover with decreasing temperature. The minimum metallic conductivity σmin of this compound was determined by the dc resistivity ρ(T) measurements of Al-substituted crystals (La0.825Sr0.175)(Mn1-zAlz)O3 and was found to be 2000-3000 Ω-1 cm-1. This indicates that the dc conductivity of La0.825Sr0.175MnO3 is smaller than σmin over a wide temperature range below TC even though ρ(T) is metallic (dρ/dT>0). The present results suggest that there are two types of the ferromagnetic-metallic phase below TC-a ``high-temperature incoherent'' metallic (HIM) and a ``low-temperature coherent'' metallic phase. ``Colossal magnetoresistance'' is a characteristic of the HIM phase.

Electronic Phase Separation in Iron Selenide (Li,Fe)OHFeSe Superconductor System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yiyuan; Li, Jun; Huan, Yulong; Yuan, Jie; Li, Zi-an; Chai, Ke; Ma, Mingwei; Ni, Shunli; Tian, Jinpeng; Liu, Shaobo; Zhou, Huaxue; Zhou, Fang; Li, Jianqi; Zhang, Guangming; Jin, Kui; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhao, Zhongxian

2018-05-01

The phenomenon of phase separation into antiferromagnetic (AFM) and superconducting (SC) or normal-state regions has great implication for the origin of high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity. However, the occurrence of an intrinsic antiferromagnetism above the Tc of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe superconductor is questioned. Here we report a systematic study on a series of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe single crystal samples with Tc up to ~41 K. We observe an evident drop in the static magnetization at Tafm ~125 K, in some of the SC (Tc < ~38 K, cell parameter c < ~9.27 {\\AA}) and non-SC samples. We verify that this AFM signal is intrinsic to (Li, Fe)OHFeSe. Thus, our observations indicate mesoscopic-to-macroscopic coexistence of an AFM state with the normal (below Tafm) or SC (below Tc) state in (Li, Fe)OHFeSe. We explain such coexistence by electronic phase separation, similar to that in high-Tc cuprates and iron arsenides. However, such an AFM signal can be absent in some other samples of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe, particularly it is never observed in the SC samples of Tc > ~38 K, owing to a spatial scale of the phase separation too small for the macroscopic magnetic probe. For this case, we propose a microscopic electronic phase separation. It is suggested that the microscopic static phase separation reaches vanishing point in high-Tc (Li, Fe)OHFeSe, by the occurrence of two-dimensional AFM spin fluctuations below nearly the same temperature as Tafm reported previously for a (Li, Fe)OHFeSe (Tc ~42 K) single crystal. A complete phase diagram is thus established. Our study provides key information of the underlying physics for high-Tc superconductivity.

Coefficient of performance for a low-dissipation Carnot-like refrigerator with nonadiabatic dissipation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yong; Wu, Feifei; Ma, Yongli; He, Jizhou; Wang, Jianhui; Hernández, A. Calvo; Roco, J. M. M.

2013-12-01

We study the coefficient of performance (COP) and its bounds for a Carnot-like refrigerator working between two heat reservoirs at constant temperatures Th and Tc, under two optimization criteria χ and Ω. In view of the fact that an “adiabatic” process usually takes finite time and is nonisentropic, the nonadiabatic dissipation and the finite time required for the adiabatic processes are taken into account by assuming low dissipation. For given optimization criteria, we find that the lower and upper bounds of the COP are the same as the corresponding ones obtained from the previous idealized models where any adiabatic process is undergone instantaneously with constant entropy. To describe some particular models with very fast adiabatic transitions, we also consider the influence of the nonadiabatic dissipation on the bounds of the COP, under the assumption that the irreversible entropy production in the adiabatic process is constant and independent of time. Our theoretical predictions match the observed COPs of real refrigerators more closely than the ones derived in the previous models, providing a strong argument in favor of our approach.

Development of high Tc (greater than 100 K) Bi, Tl and Y-based materials as superconducting circuit elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haertling, Gene; Grabert, Gregory; Gilmour, Phillip

1994-01-01

Experimental work on this project over the last four years has resulted in establishing processing and characterization techniques for producing both the Bi-based and Tl-based superconductors in their high temperature (2223) forms. In the bulk, dry pressed form, maximum critical temperatures (Tc) of 108.2 K and 117.8 K, respectively, were measured. Results have further shown that the Bi and Tl-based superconducting materials in bulk form are noticeably different from the Y-based 123 material in that superconductivity is considerably harder to achieve, maintain, and reproduce. This is due primarily to the difficulty in obtaining the higher Tc phase in pure form since it commonly co-exists with other undesirable, lower Tc phases. In particular, it has been found that long processing times for calcining and firing (20 - 200 hrs.) and close control of temperatures which are very near the melting point are required in order to obtain higher proportions of the desirable, high Tc (2223) phase. Thus far, the BSCCO bulk materials has been prepared in uniaxially pressed, hot pressed, and tapecast form. The uniaxially pressed material has been synthesized by the mixed oxide, coprecipitation, and melt quenching processes. The tapecast and hot pressed materials have been prepared via the mixed oxide process. In addition, thick films of BSCCO (2223 phase) have been prepared by screen printing on to yttria and magnesia stabilized zirconia with only moderate success; i.e., superconductivity was achieved in these thick films, but the highest Tc obtained in these films was 89.0 K. The Tc's of the bulk hot pressed, tapecast, and screen printed thick film materials were found to be 108.2, 102.4, and 89.0 K, respectively.

Targeting hypoxia in tumors using 2-nitroimidazoles with peptidic chelators for technetium-99m: effect of lipophilicity.

PubMed

Zhang, X; Su, Z F; Ballinger, J R; Rauth, A M; Pollak, A; Thornback, J R

2000-01-01

Tumor hypoxia is an important prognostic factor for response to therapy. Radiolabeled 2-nitroimidazoles have been used for imaging hypoxia, and the octanol/water partition coefficient (P) of these compounds appears to play a crucial role in their suitability for imaging. A series of 11 2-nitroimidazoles coupled to peptidic chelators for (99m)Tc with divergent P was developed and evaluated in an in vitro system. Two classes of N(3)S chelators were used: dialkyl-Gly-Ser-Cys-linker-2-nitroimidazole (Class I) and dialkyl-Gly-Lys(2-nitroimidazole)-Cys (Class II). The chelators were prepared by automated solid-phase peptide synthesis. Xanthine oxidase was able to reduce the 2-nitroimidiazole moiety on the ligands, but the rate of reduction varied 5-fold among the different chelators. The chelators were labeled by transchelation from [(99m)Tc]gluconate at temperatures between 22 and 100 degrees C. The reaction mixtures were analyzed by HPLC and their P values determined. The accumulation of each complex in suspension cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells incubated under aerobic or extremely hypoxic conditions was determined. Radiochemical yields ranged from 5 to 80% for the 11 compounds. HPLC showed that some of the compounds formed two complexes with (99m)Tc, possibly syn and anti conformations with respect to the Tc=O bond. In general, the Class I chelators labeled more readily than the class II chelators. The P values of the (99m)Tc complexes varied from 0.0002 to 5 and were generally in accordance with predictions based on structure. There were also differences in P as a function of pH; the free acids had a lower P at pH 7.4 than at pH 2.0 due to ionization, whereas the amides did not show this effect. Accumulation levels in aerobic cells were related to P but varied over a narrow range. Four of the 11 compounds showed selective accumulation in hypoxic cells. The peptidic class of 2-nitroimidazoles, with flexible design and convenient solid-phase synthesis, deserves further study as agents for imaging hypoxia in tumors.

Freezing transition of the random bond RNA model: Statistical properties of the pairing weights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monthus, Cécile; Garel, Thomas

2007-03-01

To characterize the pairing specificity of RNA secondary structures as a function of temperature, we analyze the statistics of the pairing weights as follows: for each base (i) of the sequence of length N , we consider the (N-1) pairing weights wi(j) with the other bases (j≠i) of the sequence. We numerically compute the probability distributions P1(w) of the maximal weight wimax=maxj[wi(j)] , the probability distribution Π(Y2) of the parameter Y2(i)=∑jwi2(j) , as well as the average values of the moments Yk(i)=∑jwik(j) . We find that there are two important temperatures TcTgap , the distribution P1(w) vanishes at some value w0(T)<1 , and accordingly the moments Yk(i)¯ decay exponentially as [w0(T)]k in k . For T

Interchain coupled chain dynamics of poly(ethylene oxide) in blends with poly(methyl methacrylate): coupling model analysis.

PubMed

Ngai, K L; Wang, Li-Min

2011-11-21

Quasielastic neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulation data from poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends found that for short times the self-dynamics of PEO chain follows the Rouse model, but at longer times past t(c) = 1-2 ns it becomes slower and departs from the Rouse model in dependences on time, momentum transfer, and temperature. To explain the anomalies, others had proposed the random Rouse model (RRM) in which each monomer has different mobility taken from a broad log-normal distribution. Despite the success of the RRM, Diddens et al. [Eur. Phys. Lett. 95, 56003 (2011)] extracted the distribution of friction coefficients from the MD simulations of a PEO/PMMA blend and found that the distribution is much narrower than expected from the RRM. We propose a simpler alternative explanation of the data by utilizing alone the observed crossover of PEO chain dynamics at t(c). The present problem is just a special case of a general property of relaxation in interacting systems, which is the crossover from independent relaxation to coupled many-body relaxation at some t(c) determined by the interaction potential and intermolecular coupling/constraints. The generality is brought out vividly by pointing out that the crossover also had been observed by neutron scattering from entangled chains relaxation in monodisperse homopolymers, and from the segmental α-relaxation of PEO in blends with PMMA. The properties of all the relaxation processes in connection with the crossover are similar, despite the length scales of the relaxation in these systems are widely different.

Interchain coupled chain dynamics of poly(ethylene oxide) in blends with poly(methyl methacrylate): Coupling model analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngai, K. L.; Wang, Li-Min

2011-11-01

Quasielastic neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulation data from poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends found that for short times the self-dynamics of PEO chain follows the Rouse model, but at longer times past tc = 1-2 ns it becomes slower and departs from the Rouse model in dependences on time, momentum transfer, and temperature. To explain the anomalies, others had proposed the random Rouse model (RRM) in which each monomer has different mobility taken from a broad log-normal distribution. Despite the success of the RRM, Diddens et al. [Eur. Phys. Lett. 95, 56003 (2011)] extracted the distribution of friction coefficients from the MD simulations of a PEO/PMMA blend and found that the distribution is much narrower than expected from the RRM. We propose a simpler alternative explanation of the data by utilizing alone the observed crossover of PEO chain dynamics at tc. The present problem is just a special case of a general property of relaxation in interacting systems, which is the crossover from independent relaxation to coupled many-body relaxation at some tc determined by the interaction potential and intermolecular coupling/constraints. The generality is brought out vividly by pointing out that the crossover also had been observed by neutron scattering from entangled chains relaxation in monodisperse homopolymers, and from the segmental α-relaxation of PEO in blends with PMMA. The properties of all the relaxation processes in connection with the crossover are similar, despite the length scales of the relaxation in these systems are widely different.

Coupled Atmosphere-Wave-Ocean Modeling of Tropical Cyclones: Progress, Challenges, and Ways Forward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shuyi

2015-04-01

It has long been recognized that air-sea interaction plays an important role in tropical cyclones (TC) intensity change. However, most current numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are deficient in predicting TC intensity. The extreme high winds, intense rainfall, large ocean waves, and copious sea spray in TCs push the surface-exchange parameters for temperature, water vapor, and momentum into untested regimes. Parameterizations of air-sea fluxes in NWP models are often crude and create "manmade" energy source/sink that does not exist, especially in the absence of a fully interactive ocean in the model. The erroneous surface heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes can cause compounding errors in the model (e.g., precipitation, water vapor, boundary layer properties). The energy source (heat and moisture fluxes from the ocean) and sink (surface friction and wind-induced upper ocean cooling) are critical to TC intensity. However, observations of air-sea fluxes in TCs are very limited, especially in extreme high wind conditions underneath of the eyewall region. The Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST) program was designed to better understand the air-sea interaction, especially in high wind conditions, which included laboratory and coupled model experiments and field campaign in 2003-04 hurricane seasons. Significant progress has been made in better understanding of air-sea exchange coefficients up to 30 m/s, i.e., a leveling off in drag coefficient and relatively invariant exchange coefficient of enthalpy with wind speed. More recently, the Impact of Typhoon on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) field campaign in 2010 has provided an unprecedented data set to study the air-sea fluxes in TCs and their impact on TC structure and intensity. More than 800 GPS dropsondes and 900 AXBTs/AXCTs as well as drifters, floats, and moorings were deployed in TCs, including Typhoons Fanapi and Malakas, and Supertyphoon Megi with a record peak wind speed of more than 80 m/s. It is found that the air-sea fluxes are quite asymmetric around a storm with complex features representing various air-sea interaction processes in TCs. A unique observation in Typhoon Fanapi is the development of a stable boundary layer in the near-storm cold wake region, which has a direct impact on TC inner core structure and intensity. Despite of the progress, challenges remain. Air-sea momentum exchange in wind speed greater than 30-40 m/s is largely unresolved. Directional wind-wave stress and wave-current stress are difficult to determine from observations. Effects of sea spray on the air-sea fluxes are still not well understood. This talk will provide an overview on progress made in recent years, challenges we are facing, and ways forward. An integrated coupled observational and atmosphere-wave-ocean modeling system is urgently needed, in which coupled model development and targeted observations from field campaign and lab measurements together form the core of the research and prediction system. Another important aspect is that fully coupled models provide explicit, integrated impact forecasts of wind, rain, waves, ocean currents and surges in TCs and winter storms, which are missing in most current NWP models. It requires a new strategy for model development, evaluation, and verification. Ensemble forecasts using high-resolution coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean models can provide probabilistic forecasts and quantitative uncertainty estimates, which also allow us to explore new methodologies to verify probabilistic impact forecasts and evaluate model physics using a stochastic approach. Examples of such approach in TCs including Superstorm Sandy will be presented.

Dome-shaped magnetic order competing with high-temperature superconductivity at high pressures in FeSe.

PubMed

Sun, J P; Matsuura, K; Ye, G Z; Mizukami, Y; Shimozawa, M; Matsubayashi, K; Yamashita, M; Watashige, T; Kasahara, S; Matsuda, Y; Yan, J-Q; Sales, B C; Uwatoko, Y; Cheng, J-G; Shibauchi, T

2016-07-19

The coexistence and competition between superconductivity and electronic orders, such as spin or charge density waves, have been a central issue in high transition-temperature (Tc) superconductors. Unlike other iron-based superconductors, FeSe exhibits nematic ordering without magnetism whose relationship with its superconductivity remains unclear. Moreover, a pressure-induced fourfold increase of Tc has been reported, which poses a profound mystery. Here we report high-pressure magnetotransport measurements in FeSe up to ∼15 GPa, which uncover the dome shape of magnetic phase superseding the nematic order. Above ∼6 GPa the sudden enhancement of superconductivity (Tc≤38.3 K) accompanies a suppression of magnetic order, demonstrating their competing nature with very similar energy scales. Above the magnetic dome, we find anomalous transport properties suggesting a possible pseudogap formation, whereas linear-in-temperature resistivity is observed in the normal states of the high-Tc phase above 6 GPa. The obtained phase diagram highlights unique features of FeSe among iron-based superconductors, but bears some resemblance to that of high-Tc cuprates.

Work extremum principle: structure and function of quantum heat engines.

PubMed

Allahverdyan, Armen E; Johal, Ramandeep S; Mahler, Guenter

2008-04-01

We consider a class of quantum heat engines consisting of two subsystems interacting with a work-source and coupled to two separate baths at different temperatures Th>Tc. The purpose of the engine is to extract work due to the temperature difference. Its dynamics is not restricted to the near equilibrium regime. The engine structure is determined by maximizing the extracted work under various constraints. When this maximization is carried out at finite power, the engine dynamics is described by well-defined temperatures and satisfies the local version of the second law. In addition, its efficiency is bounded from below by the Curzon-Ahlborn value 1-radical Tc/Th and from above by the Carnot value 1-(Tc/Th). The latter is reached-at finite power--for a macroscopic engine, while the former is achieved in the equilibrium limit Th-->Tc . The efficiency that maximizes the power is strictly larger than the Curzon-Ahloborn value. When the work is maximized at a zero power, even a small (few-level) engine extracts work right at the Carnot efficiency.

Cloud point phenomena for POE-type nonionic surfactants in a model room temperature ionic liquid.

PubMed

Inoue, Tohru; Misono, Takeshi

2008-10-15

The cloud point phenomenon has been investigated for the solutions of polyoxyethylene (POE)-type nonionic surfactants (C(12)E(5), C(12)E(6), C(12)E(7), C(10)E(6), and C(14)E(6)) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)), a typical room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL). The cloud point, T(c), increases with the elongation of the POE chain, while decreases with the increase in the hydrocarbon chain length. This demonstrates that the solvophilicity/solvophobicity of the surfactants in RTIL comes from POE chain/hydrocarbon chain. When compared with an aqueous system, the chain length dependence of T(c) is larger for the RTIL system regarding both POE and hydrocarbon chains; in particular, hydrocarbon chain length affects T(c) much more strongly in the RTIL system than in equivalent aqueous systems. In a similar fashion to the much-studied aqueous systems, the micellar growth is also observed in this RTIL solvent as the temperature approaches T(c). The cloud point curves have been analyzed using a Flory-Huggins-type model based on phase separation in polymer solutions.

Surface tension and phase coexistence properties of the lattice fluid from a virtual site removal Monte Carlo strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Provata, Astero; Prassas, Vassilis D.; Theodorou, Doros N.

1997-10-01

A thin liquid film of lattice fluid in equilibrium with its vapor is studied in 2 and 3 dimensions with canonical Monte Carlo simulation (MC) and Self-Consistent Field Theory (SCF) in the temperature range 0.45Tc to Tc, where Tc the liquid-gas critical temperature. Extending the approach of Oates et al. [Philos. Mag. B 61, 337 (1990)] to anisotropic systems, we develop a method for the MC computation of the transverse and normal pressure profiles, hence of the surface tension, based on virtual removals of individual sites or blocks of sites from the system. Results from implementation of this new method, obtained at very modest computational cost, are in reasonable agreement with exact values and other MC estimates of the surface tension of the 2-d and 3-d model systems, respectively. SCF estimates of the interfacial density profiles, the surface tension, the vapor pressure curve and the binodal curve compare well with MC results away from Tc, but show the expected deviations at high temperatures.

Singularity in the positive Hall coeffcient near pre-onset temperatures in high-Tc superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vezzoli, G. C.; Chen, M. F.; Craver, F.; Moon, B. M.; Safari, A.; Burke, T.; Stanley, W.

1990-10-01

Hall measurements using continuous extremely slow cooling and reheating rates as well as employing eqiulibrium point-by-point conventional techniques reveals a clear anomally in RH at pre-onset temperatures near Tc in polycrystalline samples Y1Ba2Cu3O7 and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10. The anomaly has the appearance of a singularity of Dirac-delta function which parallels earlier work on La1-xSrxCuO4. Recent single crystal work on the Bi-containing high-Tc superconductor is in accord with a clearcut anomaly. The singularity is tentatively interpreted to be associated (upon cooling) with initially the removal of positive holes from the hopping conduction system of the normal state such as from the increased concentration of bound virtual excitons due to increased exciton and hole lifetimes at low temperature. Subsequently the formation of Cooper pairs by mediation from these centers (bound-holes) and/or bound excitons) may cause an ionization of these bound virtual excitons thereby re-introducing holes and electrons into the conduction system at Tc.

Growth of EuO Single Crystals at Reduced Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besara, Tiglet; Ramirez, Daniel; Whalen, Jeffrey; Siegrist, Theo

Single crystals of Eu1-xBaxO have been grown in a barium-magnesium flux at moderate temperatures up to 1000°C, producing single crystals with barium doping levels ranging from x = 0 . 03 to x = 0 . 25 . Magnetic measurements show that the ferromagnetic Curie temperature TC correlates with the Ba doping levels, and a modified Heisenberg model is employed to describe the TC dependence on the stoichiometry. The decrease in TC is dominated by the Ba substitution on the Eu lattice with a small contribution arising from the lattice strain. Extrapolation of results indicates that a sample at x = 0 . 72 should have a TC = 0 K, potentially producing a quantum phase transition in this material. DOE SC-0008832, NSF DMR-1157490. This work was supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Science, under contract DOE SC-0008832. This work has been performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by the National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement DMR-1157490, the State of Florida, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Unravelling the Natural and Anthropogenic Drivers of North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Track Position since the Little Ice Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldini, L. M.; Baldini, J. U. L.; McElwaine, J.; Frappier, A. B.; Asmerom, Y.; Liu, K. B.; Prufer, K. M.; Ridley, H.; Polyak, V. J.; Kennett, D. J.; Macpherson, C.; Aquino, V. V.; Awe, J.; Breitenbach, S. F. M.

2017-12-01

In the last decade, stalagmites have been recognised as valuable archives of past hurricane activity. The characteristically low δ18O rainfall of tropical cyclones (TCs, including both hurricanes and tropical storms) is particularly well-preserved in fast-growing tropical speleothems. Here we present a new multi-proxy approach used to extract the western Caribbean TC signal from background wet season rainfall that, at our site in southern Belize, is driven by seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The result is an annual 450-year record of western Caribbean TC activity that, when compared to documentary and statistical model-based reconstructions of North Atlantic TC activity, reveals a northward migration of dominant TC track since the height of Little Ice Age cooling. Importantly, the record reveals a reversal in the TC track position-North Atlantic sea surface temperature relationship between the pre-Industrial and Industrial Eras. During the pre-Industrial interval, TC track position migrated with the ITCZ toward the warmer hemisphere. Conversely, anthropogenic greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions during the Industrial Era have decoupled TC track position from the ITCZ through expansion of the Hadley Cell. This research suggests that under future greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions scenarios, the dominant TC track is likely to remain to the north. Combined with greenhouse gas-induced rising sea surface temperatures, the risk to the NE US population and financial centres is likely to increase in the future.

Effects of electron irradiation on resistivity and London penetration depth of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (x <= 0.34) iron-pnictide superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, K; Konczykowski, M; Murphy, Jason

2014-09-01

Irradiation with 2.5 MeV electrons at doses up to 5.2×1019 electrons/cm2 was used to introduce pointlike defects in single crystals of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 with x=0.19 (Tc=14K),0.26 (Tc=32K), 0.32 (Tc=37K), and 0.34 (Tc=39K) to study the superconducting gap structure by probing the effect of nonmagnetic scattering on electrical resistivity ρ(T) and London penetration depth λ(T). For all compositions, the irradiation suppressed the superconducting transition temperature Tc and increased resistivity. The low-temperature behavior of λ(T) is best described by the power-law function, Δλ(T)=A(T/Tc)n. While substantial suppression of Tc supports s± pairing, in samples close to the optimal doping, x=0.26, 0.32, and 0.34, themore » exponent n remained high (n≥3), indicating almost exponential attenuation and thus a robust full superconducting gap. For the x=0.19 composition, which exhibits coexistence of superconductivity and long-range magnetism, the suppression of Tc was much more rapid, and the exponent n decreased toward the s± dirty limit of n=2. In this sample, the irradiation also suppressed the temperature of structural/magnetic transition Tsm from 103 to 98 K, consistent with the itinerant nature of the long-range magnetic order. Our results suggest that underdoped compositions, especially in the coexisting regime, are most susceptible to nonmagnetic scattering and imply that in multiband Ba1-xKxFe2As2 superconductors, the ratio of the interband to intraband pairing strength, as well as the related gap anisotropy, increases upon the departure from the optimal doping.« less

Determination of Tetracycline in Pharmaceutical Preparation by Molecular and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography via Complex Formation with Au(III) and Hg(II) Ions in Solutions

PubMed Central

Abdulghani, Ahlam Jameel; Jasim, Hadi Hassan; Hassan, Abbas Shebeeb

2013-01-01

UV-visible and atomic spectrophotometry and HPLC techniques were applied for the determination of tetracycline (TC) in pharmaceutical preparations via complexation of the drug with Au(III) and Hg(II) ions in solutions. The mole ratio of TC to metal ions was 1 : 1. Maximum peak absorption at λ 425 and 320 nm for the two ions, respectively, was optimized at heating temperature 75°C for 15 minutes at pH = 4 followed by the extraction with ethyl acetate. The percentage of extraction and stability constants for the two complexes was 95.247, 95.335% and 2.518 × 104, 1.162 × 105 M−1, respectively. HPLC method was applied without extraction process. The analytical data obtained from direct calibration curves of UV-visible absorption, FAAS, and HPLC for Au(III) complexes were recovery (100.78, 104.85, and 101.777%, resp.); detection limits (0.7403, 0.0997, and 2.647 μg/ml, resp.); linearity (5–70, 5–30, and 10–150 μg/ml, resp.), and correlation coefficient (0.9991, 0.9967, and 0.9986, resp.). The analytical data obtained from direct calibration curves for Hg(II) complexes by UV-visible spectrophotometry and HPLC were recovery (100.95 and 102.000%, resp.); detection limits (0.5867 and 2.532 μg/ml, resp.); linearity (5–70 and 10–150 μg/ml, resp.); and correlation coefficients (0.9989 and 0.9997, resp.). PMID:23853607

The Associations of Serum Lipids with Vitamin D Status.

PubMed

Wang, Ying; Si, Shaoyan; Liu, Junli; Wang, Zongye; Jia, Haiying; Feng, Kai; Sun, Lili; Song, Shu Jun

2016-01-01

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with some disorders including cardiovascular diseases. Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, data about the relationships between vitamin D and lipids are inconsistent. The relationship of vitamin D and Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), as an excellent predictor of level of small and dense LDL, has not been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin D status on serum lipids in Chinese adults. The study was carried out using 1475 participants from the Center for Physical Examination, 306 Hospital of PLA in Beijing, China. Fasting blood samples were collected and serum concentrations of 25(OH)D, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. AIP was calculated based on the formula: log [TG/HDL-C]. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between serum 25(OH)D and lipids. The association between the occurrences of dyslipidemias and vitamin D levels was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Confounding factors, age and BMI, were used for the adjustment. The median of serum 25(OH)D concentration was 47 (27-92.25) nmol/L in all subjects. The overall percentage of 25(OH)D ≦ 50 nmol/L was 58.5% (males 54.4%, females 63.7%). The serum 25(OH)D levels were inversely associated with TG (β coefficient = -0.24, p < 0.001) and LDL-C (β coefficient = -0.34, p < 0.001) and positively associated with TC (β coefficient = 0.35, p < 0.002) in men. The associations between serum 25(OH)D and LDL-C (β coefficient = -0.25, p = 0.01) and TC (β coefficient = 0.39, p = 0.001) also existed in women. The serum 25(OH)D concentrations were negatively associated with AIP in men (r = -0.111, p < 0.01) but not in women. In addition, vitamin D deficient men had higher AIP values than vitamin D sufficient men. Furthermore, the occurrences of dyslipidemias (reduced HDL-C, elevated TG and elevated AIP) correlated with lower 25(OH)D levels in men, whereas the higher TC and LDL-C associated with higher 25(OH)D levels in women. It seems that the serum 25(OH)D levels are closely associated with the serum lipids and AIP. Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with the increased risk of dyslipidemias, especially in men. The association between vitamin D status and serum lipids may differ by genders.

Numerical study of the directed polymer in a 1 + 3 dimensional random medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monthus, C.; Garel, T.

2006-09-01

The directed polymer in a 1+3 dimensional random medium is known to present a disorder-induced phase transition. For a polymer of length L, the high temperature phase is characterized by a diffusive behavior for the end-point displacement R2 ˜L and by free-energy fluctuations of order ΔF(L) ˜O(1). The low-temperature phase is characterized by an anomalous wandering exponent R2/L ˜Lω and by free-energy fluctuations of order ΔF(L) ˜Lω where ω˜0.18. In this paper, we first study the scaling behavior of various properties to localize the critical temperature Tc. Our results concerning R2/L and ΔF(L) point towards 0.76 < Tc ≤T2=0.79, so our conclusion is that Tc is equal or very close to the upper bound T2 derived by Derrida and coworkers (T2 corresponds to the temperature above which the ratio bar{Z_L^2}/(bar{Z_L})^2 remains finite as L ↦ ∞). We then present histograms for the free-energy, energy and entropy over disorder samples. For T ≫Tc, the free-energy distribution is found to be Gaussian. For T ≪Tc, the free-energy distribution coincides with the ground state energy distribution, in agreement with the zero-temperature fixed point picture. Moreover the entropy fluctuations are of order ΔS ˜L1/2 and follow a Gaussian distribution, in agreement with the droplet predictions, where the free-energy term ΔF ˜Lω is a near cancellation of energy and entropy contributions of order L1/2.

The determinants of thermal comfort in cool water.

PubMed

Guéritée, J; House, J R; Redortier, B; Tipton, M J

2015-10-01

Water-based activities may result in the loss of thermal comfort (TC). We hypothesized that in cooling water, the hands and feet would be responsible. Supine immersions were conducted in up to five clothing conditions (exposing various regions), as well as investigations to determine if a "reference" skin temperature (Tsk) distribution in thermoneutral air would help interpret our findings. After 10 min in 34.5 °C water, the temperature was decreased to 19.5 °C over 20 min; eight resting or exercising volunteers reported when they no longer felt comfortable and which region was responsible. TC, rectal temperature, and Tsk were measured. Rather than the extremities, the lower back and chest caused the loss of overall TC. At this point, mean (SD) chest Tsk was 3.3 (1.7) °C lower than the reference temperature (P = 0.005), and 3.8 (1.5) °C lower for the back (P = 0.002). Finger Tsk was 3.1 (2.7) °C higher than the reference temperature (P = 0.037). In cool and cooling water, hands and feet, already adapted to colder air temperatures, will not cause discomfort. Contrarily, more discomfort may arise from the chest and lower back, as these regions cool by more than normal. Thus, Tsk distribution in thermoneutral air may help understand variations in TC responses across the body. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

High-temperature solution growth and characterization of (1-x)PbTiO3-xBi(Zn2/3Nb1/3)O3 piezo-/ferroelectric single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paterson, Alisa R.; Zhao, Jinyan; Liu, Zenghui; Wu, Xiaoqing; Ren, Wei; Ye, Zuo-Guang

2018-03-01

Complex perovskite PbTiO3-Bi(Me‧Me″)O3 solid solutions represent new materials systems that possess a higher Curie temperature (TC) than the relaxor-PbTiO3 solid solutions, and are useful for potential applications. To this end, novel ferroelectric single crystals of the (1-x)PbTiO3-xBi(Zn2/3Nb1/3)O3 (PT-BZN) solid solution were successfully grown by the high-temperature solution growth (HTSG) method. Powder X-ray diffraction shows that the symmetry of the grown crystals is tetragonal. The dielectric permittivity and optical domain structures were characterized by dielectric measurements and polarized light microscopy, respectively, as a function of temperature, revealing a first-order ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition at a TC of 436 ± 2 °C. Based on the TC, the average composition of the crystal platelet was estimated to be 0.58PT-0.42BZN. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements of the phase and amplitude as a function of voltage reveal the complex polar domain structure and demonstrate the ferroelectric switching behaviour of these materials. These results suggest that the PT-BZN single crystals indeed form a new family of high TC piezo-/ferroelectric materials which are potentially useful for the fabrication of electromechanical transducers for high-temperature applications.

Polarization switching in undoped and La-doped TlInS2 ferroelectric-semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seyidov, MirHasan Yu.; Mikailzade, Faik A.; Suleymanov, Rauf A.; Aliyeva, Vafa B.; Mammadov, Tofig G.; Sharifov, Galib M.

2017-12-01

Dielectric hysteresis loops of pure and lanthanum doped TlInS2 ferroelectric-semiconductors were studied at the frequency 50 Hz for different temperatures below the Curie temperature (Tc). It has been revealed that, without any poling procedure, pure TlInS2 exhibits normal single hysteresis loops at T < Tc. After electric field-cooled treatment of TlInS2 the shape of hysteresis loops was strongly affected by corresponding charged deep level defects which were previously activated during the poling process. As a result, an additional defect polarization state from space charges accumulated on the intrinsic deep level defects has been revealed in pure TlInS2 at the temperatures below Tc. Besides, unusual multiple hysteresis loops were observed in La doped TlInS2 at T < Tc after application of different external perturbations (electric field, exposition and memory effect) to the sample. Measurements of the hysteresis loops in TlInS2:La revealed the slim single, double and even triple polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops. This intriguing phenomenon is attributed to the domain pinning by photo- and electrically active La-impurity centers. The temperature variation of double-hysteresis loop was also investigated. Due to the heat elimination of the random local defect polar moments, the double-hysteresis loops were transformed into a normal single hysteresis loops on increasing the temperature.

Intracrystalline "geothermometry" assessed on clino and orthopyroxene bearing synthetic rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murri, M.; Cámara, F.; Adam, J.; Domeneghetti, M. C.; Alvaro, M.

2018-04-01

Recent discussion on the application of intracrystalline "geothermometers" based on the Fe-Mg order-disorder reaction in pyroxene in natural rocks, indicates that the available calibration equations for clino and orthopyroxenes (cpx and opx), which express the equilibrium intracrystalline Fe-Mg distribution coefficient kD(Fe-Mg) as a function of temperature, require independent validation. In this paper, we tested the available experimental calibrations for clino and orthopyroxenes by determining the site occupancies of these minerals in synthetic samples grown from a hydrous nepheline basanite in a piston-cylinder apparatus at 1050 °C at 2.0 GPa to 1170 °C at 3.0 GPa, and quenched very rapidly by shutting off the power. The site occupancies were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) and used to calculate the closure temperature, TC, of cation ordering using available calibrations of kD(Fe-Mg) vs. T. The calculated TC values of both clino and orthopyroxenes were found to be close to the temperatures at which they were quenched, in line with expected kinetic behavior, when calibrations for cpx (Murri et al., 2016) and opx (Stimpfl et al., 2005) based on SC-XRD structure refinements were used. In particular, the smallest discrepancy between calculated and actual temperature is of the order of a few degrees (12 °C for cpx and 4 °C for opx), and the largest is of the order of tens of degrees (22 °C for cpx and 55 °C for opx). On the other hand, much lower TCs were obtained when calibrations based on Mössbauer determination of site occupancies were used. These results confirm that the two methods (i.e. SC-XRD and Mössbauer) give inherently different site occupancy data and that the same methodology should thus be used for both calibration and natural samples in the determination of cooling rate of host rocks.

Techniques for Connecting Superconducting Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mester, John; Gwo, Dz-Hung

2006-01-01

Several improved techniques for connecting superconducting thin films on substrates have been developed. The techniques afford some versatility for tailoring the electronic and mechanical characteristics of junctions between superconductors in experimental electronic devices. The techniques are particularly useful for making superconducting or alternatively normally conductive junctions (e.g., Josephson junctions) between patterned superconducting thin films in order to exploit electron quantum-tunneling effects. The techniques are applicable to both low-Tc and high-Tc superconductors (where Tc represents the superconducting- transition temperature of a given material), offering different advantages for each. Most low-Tc superconductors are metallic, and heretofore, connections among them have been made by spot welding. Most high-Tc superconductors are nonmetallic and cannot be spot welded. These techniques offer alternatives to spot welding of most low-Tc superconductors and additional solutions to problems of connecting most high-Tc superconductors.

Tunable magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in heavy rare-earth based metallic glasses through the substitution of similar elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Huiyan; Li, Ran; Zhang, Leilei; Zhang, Tao

2014-04-01

The influence of interchangeable substitution of similar heavy rare-earth-elements (HRE), i.e., Gd-Ho, Gd-Er, and Ho-Er, on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of HRE55Al27.5Co17.5 metallic glasses was evaluated. The magnetic transition temperature (TC) can be tuned in a wide temperature range from 8 K to 93 K by adjusting the substitutional concentration in the resulting metallic glasses. A roughly linear correlation between peak value of magnetic entropy change (|ΔSMpk|) and TC-2/3 was obtained in the three systems. This kind of substitutional adjustment provides a useful method for designing desirable candidates in metallic glasses with high magnetic entropy change, large magnetic cooling efficiency, and tunable TC for magnetic refrigerant in nitrogen and hydrogen liquefaction temperature ranges.

Pseudogap Behavior of the Nuclear Spin-Lattice Relaxation Rate in FeSe Probed by 77Se-NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Anlu; Arai, Takeshi; Kitagawa, Shunsaku; Yamanaka, Takayoshi; Ishida, Kenji; Böhmer, Anna E.; Meingast, Christoph; Wolf, Thomas; Hirata, Michihiro; Sasaki, Takahiko

2018-01-01

We conducted 77Se-nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the iron-based superconductor FeSe in magnetic fields of 0.6 to 19 T to investigate the superconducting and normal-state properties. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by the temperature (T1T)-1 increases below the structural transition temperature Ts but starts to be suppressed below T*, well above the superconducting transition temperature Tc(H), resulting in a broad maximum of (T1T)-1 at Tp(H). This is similar to the pseudogap behavior in optimally doped cuprate superconductors. Because T* and Tp(H) decrease in the same manner as Tc(H) with increasing H, the pseudogap behavior in FeSe is ascribed to superconducting fluctuations, which presumably originate from the theoretically predicted preformed pair above Tc(H).

The effects of environmental conditions on the enrichment of antibiotics on microplastics in simulated natural water column.

PubMed

Shen, Xian-Cheng; Li, De-Chang; Sima, Xiao-Feng; Cheng, Hui-Yuan; Jiang, Hong

2018-06-20

Concerns regarding the release of microplastics (MPs) into the environment led us to explore the relationship between the different environmental factors and physicochemical properties of MPs, as well as the change of interaction between MPs and organic pollutants. In this study, the effects of environmental factors (ageing conditions), such as pH, temperature, ionic strength, ageing time, and humic acid (HA) concentration, on the characteristics of MPs and their adsorption toward tetracycline (TC) were systematically investigated. The results showed that ageing factors such as pH, ionic strength, and temperature were found to have little impact on the adsorptive capacity of MPs for TC. However, MPs aged in HA solution exhibited a significant decreased adsorptive capacity for TC. HA, which has numerous functional groups, can cover the surface of MPs and change their hydrophobicity, thereby reducing the adsorption affinity to TC. The electrostatic repulsion between adsorbed HA and TC molecules may also decrease the adsorption of TC. In addition, the competing effect of HA for adsorption sites on the surface of MPs further reduces the adsorption of TC. The data presented in this work provide useful information for understanding the transfer of antibiotics by aged MPs, which is of fundamental importance to assess the environmental impact of MPs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of longitudinal spin fluctuations on the phase transition features in chiral magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belemuk, A. M.; Stishov, S. M.

2018-04-01

Using the classical Monte Carlo calculations, we investigate the effects of longitudinal spin fluctuations on the helimagnetic transition in a Heisenberg magnet with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We use variable spin amplitudes in the framework of the spin-lattice Hamiltonian. It is this kind of fluctuations that naturally occur in an itinerant system. We show that the basic features of the helical phase transition are not changed much by the longitudinal spin fluctuations though the transition temperature Tc and the fluctuation hump seen in specific heat at T >Tc is significantly affected. We report thermodynamic and structural effects of these fluctuations. By increasing the system size in the Monte Carlo modeling, we are able to reproduce the ring shape scattering intensity above the helimagnetic transition temperature Tc, which transforms into the spiral spots seen below Tc in the neutron scattering experiments.

Growth structure and superconductivity of Bi1.7Bi0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ ceramics synthesized from glass-crystal precursors processed in solar type ovens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acrivos, J. V.; Gulamova, D. D.; Chigvinadze, J. G.; Loy, D.

2010-03-01

The growth structure as well as the superconductivity of Bi/Pb2223 alloys is reported. Periodic lattice distortions (PLD) along the ab plane diagonal, direction of superconducting transport at the transition temperature, Tc=107K are found to dominate the growth. Trransport induced by the PLD may be responsible for the sharp Tc transitions, and the bursts of frequency and Abrikosov oscillations observed above the transition temperature up to 150K. Chemical synthesis in a heliostat oven was followed by fast quenching of the melt and annealing at 840-850K, XRD near the Cu K-edge, and Tc measured by axial-torsional vibrations in transverse magnetic fields. Tc and phaase purity obtained by green solid state chemistry, in a solar spectrum, will be discussed.

Large enhancement of superconducting transition temperature in single-element superconducting rhenium by shear strain

PubMed Central

Mito, Masaki; Matsui, Hideaki; Tsuruta, Kazuki; Yamaguchi, Tomiko; Nakamura, Kazuma; Deguchi, Hiroyuki; Shirakawa, Naoki; Adachi, Hiroki; Yamasaki, Tohru; Iwaoka, Hideaki; Ikoma, Yoshifumi; Horita, Zenji

2016-01-01

Finding a physical approach for increasing the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is a challenge in the field of material science. Shear strain effects on the superconductivity of rhenium were investigated using magnetic measurements, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations. A large shear strain reduces the grain size and simultaneously expands the unit cells, resulting in an increase in Tc. Here we show that this shear strain approach is a new method for enhancing Tc and differs from that using hydrostatic strain. The enhancement of Tc is explained by an increase in net electron–electron coupling rather than a change in the density of states near the Fermi level. The shear strain effect in rhenium could be a successful example of manipulating Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer-type Cooper pairing, in which the unit cell volumes are indeed a key parameter. PMID:27811983

Colour-crafted phosphor-free white light emitters via in-situ nanostructure engineering

PubMed Central

Min, Daehong; Park, Donghwy; Lee, Kyuseung; Nam, Okhyun

2017-01-01

Colour-temperature (Tc) is a crucial specification of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) used in a variety of smart-lighting applications. Commonly, Tc is controlled by distributing various phosphors on top of the blue or ultra violet LED chip in conventional phosphor-conversion WLEDs (PC-WLEDs). Unfortunately, the high cost of phosphors, additional packaging processes required, and phosphor degradation by internal thermal damage must be resolved to obtain higher-quality PC-WLEDs. Here, we suggest a practical in-situ nanostructure engineering strategy for fabricating Tc-controlled phosphor-free white light-emitting diodes (PF-WLEDs) using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition. The dimension controls of in-situ nanofacets on gallium nitride nanostructures, and the growth temperature of quantum wells on these materials, were key factors for Tc control. Warm, true, and cold white emissions were successfully demonstrated in this study without any external processing. PMID:28272455

Fabrication of superconducting nanowires from ultrathin MgB2 films via focused ion beam milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chen; Wang, Da; Liu, Zheng-Hao; Zhang, Yan; Ma, Ping; Feng, Qing-Rong; Wang, Yue; Gan, Zi-Zhao

2015-02-01

High quality superconducting nanowires were fabricated from ultrathin MgB2 films by a focused ion beam milling technique. The precursor MgB2 films in 10 nm thick were grown on MgO substrates by using a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method. The nanowires, in widths of about 300-600 nm and lengths of 1 or 10 μm, showed high superconducting critical temperatures (Tc's) above 34 K and narrow superconducting transition widths (ΔTc's) of 1-3 K. The superconducting critical current density Jc of the nanowires was above 5 × 107 A/cm2 at 20 K. The high Tc, narrow ΔTc, and high Jc of the nanowires offered the possibility of making MgB2-based nano-devices such as hot-electron bolometers and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with high operating temperatures at 15-20 K.

Effect of gamma irradiation on the TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9-δ superconducting properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadhim, Bahjat B.; Khaleel, Imad H.; Hussein, Bushra H.; Jasim, Kareem Ail; Shaban, Auday H.; AL-Maiyaly, Bushra K. H.; Mahdi, Shatha H.

2018-05-01

The aim of the present work is studing the influence of gamma irradiation on the superconducting properties of TlBr2Ca2Cu3O9-δ compound, at room temperature by using 137Cs source with dose 10,20 and 30 MRad. Specimen has been prepared by solid state reaction process. Superconductor properties and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studied before and after irradiation. It is showed that our compound has tetragonal structure correspond to the 1223 phase with decreasing of the ratio c/a due to gamma irradiation. In addition, the transition temperature (Tc(on)&Tc(off)) were decreasing from 110 to 85 K, and 129 to 117 K respectivelya,when the dose increasing from 0 to 20 MRad and increase Tc(on) to 119 K &Tc(off) 132 for dose 30 MRad.

Correlation between superfluid density and T(C) of underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x near the superconductor-insulator transition.

PubMed

Zuev, Yuri; Kim, Mun Seog; Lemberger, Thomas R

2005-09-23

We report measurements of the ab-plane superfluid density n(s) (magnetic penetration depth lambda) of heavily underdoped films of YBa2Cu3O6+x, with T(C)'s from 6 to 50 K. We find the characteristic length for vortex unbinding transition equal to the film thickness, suggesting strongly coupled CuO2 layers. At the lowest dopings, T(C) is as much as 5 times larger than the upper limit set by the 2D Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition temperature calculated for individual CuO2 bilayers. Our main finding is that T(C) is not proportional to n(s)(0); instead, we find T(C) proportional to ns(1/2.3+/-0.4). This conflicts with a popular point of view that quasi-2D thermal phase fluctuations determine the transition temperature.

Thermal effects on domain orientation of tetragonal piezoelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Wonyoung

Thermal effects on electrical poling or mechanical grinding induced texture in tetragonal lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lead titanate (PT) have been investigated using ex situ and in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) with an area detector. According to previous results using ex situ XRD, domain configurations of poled samples after heat-treatment at or higher than the Curie temperature (TC) are similar to that of unpoled samples showing random domain distributions. The texture parameter called multiples of a random distribution (MRD) gradually decreases with increasing depoling temperature. On the other hand, using in situ XRD measurements, it was found that the MRD maximum for soft PZT initially increases with temperature up to approximately 100°C and then falls to unity at temperatures approaching the TC, whereas the MRD of hard PZT and PT initially undergoes a smaller increase or no change. Mechanical strain energy has an apparent effect on domain wall mobility. In contrast with previous results on electrical poling, mechanically-ground PT and soft PZT materials retained strong ferroelastic textures during thermal cycling, even after excursions to temperatures slightly above the TC . For the ground PT, it was found that repeated cycling above T C results in changes in both peak intensity and peak position, whereas the ground soft PZT undergoes the decrease in intensity of the (002) reflection after the first cycle of heating. Residual stresses in the surface region from grinding resulted in domain wall motion and the retention of textures in annealed samples. The research in this thesis demonstrates that the magnitude of loading applied to the sample surface, the speed used for grinding, or the grit size, can greatly affect the grinding induced damage zone and the depoling behavior of piezoelectric ceramics. Among the possible effects of grinding conditions on surface textures, one of particular interest is the effect of mechanical stresses produced during grinding on the texture intensity in the ground surface region. Inhibited depoling of ground PT materials under different loading conditions investigated by in situ texture measurements between room temperature and approximately 100°C above the Curie temperature demonstrates the effects of residual stresses. For all the ground PT and soft PZT samples, there was little or no evidence of time dependence for domain reorientation at the whole annealing temperature range. In addition, both ground PT and soft PZT materials under lower loading conditions showed a gradual depoling behavior with increasing heat treatment temperature, whereas ground materials under higher loading conditions retained relatively strong ferroelastic texture up to temperatures around their respective TC, and then underwent a drastic change in MRD at temperatures above TC. Compared to the ground soft PZT materials, all the ground PT samples still maintained high MRD values after heat treatment above TC.

The arrival of high temperature superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Paul C. W.

2011-03-01

The attainment of high temperature superconductivity has been considered a major advancement of modern science. It was the seminal discovery of the first cuprate high temperature superconductor, the Ba-doped La 2 Cu O4 , with a Tc of 35 K in 1986 by Alex Müller and George Bednorz of IBM Zurich Lab, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1987, that ushered in the era of cuprate high temperature superconductivity. It was the first liquid nitrogen high temperature superconductor, YBa 2 Cu 3 O7 with a Tc of 93 K discovered in 1987 by Paul C. W. Chu, Maw-Kuen Wu and colleagues in the respective groups at the University of Houston and the University of Alabama at Huntsville that heralded the new era of high temperature superconductivity, drastically changing the psyche of superconductivity research and bringing superconductivity applications a giant step closer to reality. In the ensuing years, many high temperature superconductors have been found, leading to the current record Tc of 134 K which was observed by A. Schilling et al. of ETH in 1993 in HgBa 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O9 - δ at ambient and later raised to 164 K under 30 GPa by L. Gao et al. In the present talk, I shall briefly recall a few events leading to and during the arrival of high temperature superconductivity. The prospects for future superconductors with higher Tc will also be discussed. Supported in part by U.S. AFOSR, U.S. DoE through ORNL, U.S. AFRL CONTACT through Rice University, the T. L. L. Temple Foundation, the John J. and Rebecca Moores Endowment, and the State of Texas through TCSUH.

Investigation of magnetic order in SmTr2Zn20 (Tr = Fe, Co, Ru) and SmTr2Cd20 (Tr = Ni, Pd)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazici, Duygu; White, B. D.; Ho, P.-C.; Kanchanavatee, N.; Huang, K.; Dilley, N. R.; Maple, M. B.

2015-03-01

Single crystals of the cage compounds Sm Tr 2Zn20 (Tr = Fe, Co, Ru) and Sm Tr 2Cd20 (Tr = Ni, Pd) have been investigated by means of electrical resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat measurements. The compounds SmFe2Zn20, SmRu2Zn20,andSmNi2Cd20 exhibit ferromagnetic order with Curie temperatures of TC = 47.4 K, 7.6 K, and 7.5 K, respectively, whereas SmPd2Cd20 is an antiferromagnet with a Néel temperature of TN = 3.4 K. No evidence for magnetic order is observed in SmCo2Zn20 down to 110 mK. The Sommerfeld coefficients γ are found to be 57 mJ/mol-K2 for SmFe2Zn20, 79.5 mJ/mol-K2 for SmCo2Zn20, 258 mJ/mol-K2 for SmRu2Zn20, 165 mJ/mol-K2 for SmNi2Cd20, and 208 mJ/mol-K2 for SmPd2Cd20. Enhanced values of Sommerfeld coefficients γ and a quadratic temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity at low temperature for SmRu2Zn20andSmPd2Cd20 suggest an enhancement of the quasiparticle masses due to hybridization between localized 4 f and conduction electron states. Research at UCSD was supported by the U.S. DOE under Grant No. DE-FG02-04-ER46105 and the U.S. NSF under Award Grant No. DMR 1206553. Research at California State University, Fresno was supported by the U.S. NSF under Grant No. DMR 1104544.

Microwave heating of a high-Tc YBa2Cu3O6.9 superconductor through a Josephson-junction system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stankowski, J.; Czyak, B.; Martinek, J.

1990-12-01

An overheating of a Josephson-junction system (JJS) in ceramic YBa2Cu3O6.9 samples was induced by microwave irradiation in a microwave cavity. The amplitude of the Josephson microwave absorption (JMA) was used as a monitor of the local JJS temperature. The difference between the JJS temperature and a sample temperature depends linearly on the power of the microwave field. A thermal hysteresis of Tc for heating and cooling is proportional to the microwave power applied in the JMA experiment.

Doping dependence of critical temperature for superconductivity induced by hole-phonon interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durajski, A. P.; Szczȩśniak, R.

2017-10-01

To understand the nature of the high-temperature superconductors (cuprates) we have taken into consideration the interaction terms, which possess the structure of the hole-phonon (HP) and hole-hole-phonon (HHP) type. It was shown that for the high value of the HHP potential in comparison to HP, the superconducting critical temperature (TC) reaches the maximum value for the low concentration of holes, which fairly corresponds with the observed maximum of TC for hole-doped cuprates. The analysis was performed within the framework of the Eliashberg approach.

Temperature-dependent transformation of the magnetic excitation spectrum on approaching superconductivity in Fe(1+y-x)(Ni/Cu)(x)Te(0.5)Se(0.5).

PubMed

Xu, Zhijun; Wen, Jinsheng; Zhao, Yang; Matsuda, Masaaki; Ku, Wei; Liu, Xuerong; Gu, Genda; Lee, D-H; Birgeneau, R J; Tranquada, J M; Xu, Guangyong

2012-11-30

Spin excitations are one of the top candidates for mediating electron pairing in unconventional superconductors. Their coupling to superconductivity is evident in a large number of systems, by the observation of an abrupt redistribution of magnetic spectral weight at the superconducting transition temperature, T(c), for energies comparable to the superconducting gap. Here we report inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Fe-based superconductors, Fe(1+y-x)(Ni/Cu)(x)Te(0.5)Se(0.5) that emphasize an additional signature. The overall shape of the low energy magnetic dispersion changes from two incommensurate vertical columns at T≫T(c) to a distinctly different U-shaped dispersion at low temperature. Importantly, this spectral reconstruction is apparent for temperatures up to ~3T(c). If the magnetic excitations are involved in the pairing mechanism, their surprising modification on the approach to T(c) demonstrates that strong interactions are involved.

Temperature transition of human hemoglobin at body temperature: effects of calcium.

PubMed Central

Kelemen, C; Chien, S; Artmann, G M

2001-01-01

We studied the effects of calcium ion concentration on the temperature dependence of rheological behavior of human red blood cells (RBCs) and concentrated hemoglobin solutions. Our previous study (G. M. Artmann, C. Kelemen, D. Porst, G. Büldt, and S. Chien, 1998, Biophys. J., 75:3179-3183) showed a critical temperature (Tc) of 36.4 +/- 0.3 degrees C at which the RBCs underwent a transition from non-passage to passage through 1.3 microm micropipettes in response to an aspiration pressure of -2.3 kPa. An increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration by using the ionophore A23187 reduced the passability of intact RBCs through small micropipettes above T(c); the micropipette diameter needed for >90% passage increased to 1.7 microm. Viscometry of concentrated hemoglobin solutions (45 and 50 g/dl) showed a sudden viscosity transition at 36 +/- 1 degrees C (Tc(eta)) at all calcium concentrations investigated. Below Tc(eta), the viscosity value of the concentrated hemoglobin solution at 1.8 mM Ca(2+) was higher than that at other concentrations (0.2 microM, 9 mM, and 18 mM). Above Tc(eta), the viscosity was almost Ca2+ independent. At 1.8 mM Ca2+ and 36 +/- 1 degrees C, the activation energy calculated from the viscometry data showed a strong dependence on the hemoglobin concentration. We propose that the transition of rheological behavior is attributable to a high-to-low viscosity transition mediated by a partial release of the hemoglobin-bound water. PMID:11371439

Noncontact measurement of substrate temperature by optical low-coherence interferometry in high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hattori, Katsuhiro; Ohta, Takayuki; Oda, Akinori; Kousaka, Hiroyuki

2018-01-01

Substrate temperature is one of the important parameters that affect the quality of deposited films. The monitoring of the substrate temperature is an important technique of controlling the deposition process precisely. In this study, the Si substrate temperature in high-power pulse magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) was measured by a noncontact method based on optical low-coherence interferometry (LCI). The measurement was simultaneously performed using an LCI system and a thermocouple (TC) as a contact measurement method. The difference in measured value between the LCI system and the TC was about 7.4 °C. The reproducibilities of measurement for the LCI system and TC were ±0.7 and ±2.0 °C, respectively. The heat influx from the plasma to the substrate was estimated using the temporal variation of substrate temperature and increased from 19.7 to 160.0 mW/cm2 with increasing target applied voltage. The major factor for the enhancement of the heat influx would be charged species such as ions and electrons owing to the high ionization degree of sputtered metal particles in HPPMS.

Magnetoresistances and magnetic entropy changes associated with negative lattice expansions in NaZn13-type compounds LaFeCoSi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Feng-Xia; Qian, Xiao-Ling; Wang, Guang-Jun; Sun, Ji-Rong; Shen, Bao-Gen; Cheng, Zhao-Hua; Gao, Ju

2005-11-01

Magnetoresistances and magnetic entropy changes in NaZn13-type compounds La(Fe1-xCox)11.9Si1.1 (x=0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) with Curie temperatures of 243 K, 274 K and 301 K, respectively, are studied. The ferromagnetic ordering is accompanied by a negative lattice expansion. Large magnetic entropy changes in a wide temperature range from ~230 K to ~320 K are achieved. Raising Co content increases the Curie temperature but weakens the magnetovolume effect, thereby causing a decrease in magnetic entropy change. These materials exhibit a metallic character below TC, whereas the electrical resistance decreases abruptly and then recovers the metal-like behaviour above TC. Application of a magnetic field retains the transitions via increasing the ferromagnetic ordering temperature. An isothermal increase in magnetic field leads to an increase in electrical resistance at temperatures near but above TC, which is a consequence of the field-induced metamagnetic transition from a paramagnetic state to a ferromagnetic state.

Brief light stimulation during the mouse nocturnal activity phase simultaneously induces a decline in core temperature and locomotor activity followed by EEG-determined sleep

PubMed Central

Studholme, Keith M.; Gompf, Heinrich S.

2013-01-01

Light exerts a variety of effects on mammals. Unexpectedly, one of these effects is the cessation of nocturnal locomotion and the induction of behavioral sleep (photosomnolence). Here, we extend the initial observations in several ways, including the fundamental demonstration that core body temperature (Tc) drops substantially (about 1.5°C) in response to the light stimulation at CT15 or CT18 in a manner suggesting that the change is a direct response to light rather than simply a result of the locomotor suppression. The results show that 1) the decline of locomotion and Tc begin soon after nocturnal light stimulation; 2) the variability in the magnitude and onset of light-induced locomotor suppression is very large, whereas the variability in Tc is very small; 3) Tc recovers from the light-induced decline in advance of the recovery of locomotion; 4) under entrained and freerunning conditions, the daily late afternoon Tc increase occurs in advance of the corresponding increase in wheel running; and 5) toward the end of the subjective night, the nocturnally elevated Tc persists longer than does locomotor activity. Finally, EEG measurements confirm light-induced sleep and, when Tc or locomotion was measured, show their temporal association with sleep onset. Both EEG- and immobility-based sleep detection methods confirm rapid induction of light-induced sleep. The similarities between light-induced loss of locomotion and drop in Tc suggest a common cause for parallel responses. The photosomnolence response may be contingent upon both the absence of locomotion and a simultaneous low Tc. PMID:23364525

Freezing transition of the directed polymer in a 1+d random medium: Location of the critical temperature and unusual critical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monthus, Cécile; Garel, Thomas

2006-07-01

In dimension d⩾3 , the directed polymer in a random medium undergoes a phase transition between a free phase at high temperature and a low-temperature disorder-dominated phase. For the latter phase, Fisher and Huse have proposed a droplet theory based on the scaling of the free-energy fluctuations ΔF(l)˜lθ at scale l . On the other hand, in related growth models belonging to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class, Forrest and Tang have found that the height-height correlation function is logarithmic at the transition. For the directed polymer model at criticality, this translates into logarithmic free-energy fluctuations ΔFTc(l)˜(lnl)σ with σ=1/2 . In this paper, we propose a droplet scaling analysis exactly at criticality based on this logarithmic scaling. Our main conclusion is that the typical correlation length ξ(T) of the low-temperature phase diverges as lnξ(T)˜[-ln(Tc-T)]1/σ˜[-ln(Tc-T)]2 , instead of the usual power law ξ(T)˜(Tc-T)-ν . Furthermore, the logarithmic dependence of ΔFTc(l) leads to the conclusion that the critical temperature Tc actually coincides with the explicit upper bound T2 derived by Derrida and co-workers, where T2 corresponds to the temperature below which the ratio ZL2¯/(ZL¯)2 diverges exponentially in L . Finally, since the Fisher-Huse droplet theory was initially introduced for the spin-glass phase, we briefly mention the similarities with and differences from the directed polymer model. If one speculates that the free energy of droplet excitations for spin glasses is also logarithmic at Tc , one obtains a logarithmic decay for the mean square correlation function at criticality, C2(r)¯˜1/(lnr)σ , instead of the usual power law 1/rd-2+η .

Firefighter feedback during active cooling: a useful tool for heat stress management?

PubMed

Savage, Robbie J; Lord, Cara; Larsen, Brianna L; Knight, Teagan L; Langridge, Peter D; Aisbett, Brad

2014-12-01

Monitoring an individual's thermic state in the workplace requires reliable feedback of their core temperature. However, core temperature measurement technology is expensive, invasive and often impractical in operational environments, warranting investigation of surrogate measures which could be used to predict core temperature. This study examines an alternative measure of an individual's thermic state, thermal sensation, which presents a more manageable and practical solution for Australian firefighters operating on the fireground. Across three environmental conditions (cold, warm, hot & humid), 49 Australian volunteer firefighters performed a 20-min fire suppression activity, immediately followed by 20 min of active cooling using hand and forearm immersion techniques. Core temperature (Tc) and thermal sensation (TS) were measured across the rehabilitation period at five minute intervals. Despite the decline in Tc and TS throughout the rehabilitation period, there was little similarity in the magnitude or rate of decline between each measure in any of the ambient conditions. Moderate to strong correlations existed between Tc and TS in the cool (0.41, p<0.05) and hot & humid (0.57, p<0.05) conditions, however this was resultant in strong correlation during the earlier stages of rehabilitation (first five minutes), which were not evident in the latter stages. Linear regression revealed TS to be a poor predictor of Tc in all conditions (SEE=0.45-0.54°C) with a strong trend for TS to over-predict Tc (77-80% of the time). There is minimal evidence to suggest that ratings of thermal sensation, which represent a psychophysical assessment of an individual's thermal comfort, are an accurate reflection of the response of an individual's core temperature. Ratings of thermal sensation can be highly variable amongst individuals, likely moderated by local skin temperature. In account of these findings, fire managers require a more reliable source of information to guide decisions of heat stress management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Growth And Patterning Of High-Tc Superconducting Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warner, J. D.; Bhasin, K. B.; Varaljay, N. C.; Bohman, D. Y.; Chorey, C. M.

1992-01-01

Superconducting films of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta), having high superconducting-transition temperatures (Tc's), deposited on LaAlO3 substrates and etched into patterns representative of passive microwave devices, with no deterioration of superconducting properties.

Warming Up With an Ice Vest: Core Body Temperature Before and After Cross-Country Racing

PubMed Central

Hunter, Iain; Hopkins, J. Ty; Casa, Douglas J

2006-01-01

Context: Athletes running in a hot, humid environment may have an increased risk of heat illness. In the 2004 Olympic Games, American and Australian athletes were provided with ice vests designed to cool their bodies before performance. The vest appeared to be effective in keeping body temperatures down and improving the performance of the marathoners. However, body temperatures have not been reported when the vest was used before an actual competition. Objective: To determine if wearing the Nike Ice-Vest decreased core temperature (Tc) before and during athletic performance in warm (26°C to 27°C), humid (relative humidity = 50% to 75%) conditions. Design: A 2 × 3 mixed-model design was used to compare groups (ice vest, no ice vest) across changes in temperature from baseline (10 minutes and 1 minute before the race and immediately after the race). Setting: 2005 Big Wave Invitational 4-km race in Hawaii and 2005 Great American 5-km race in North Carolina. Patients or Other Participants: Eighteen women from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I cross-country team who participated in either the Big Wave Invitational or the Great American Race. Intervention(s): Four hours before the start of the race, the athletes ingested radiotelemetry temperature sensors. One hour before the start of the race, Tc was recorded, and half of the athletes donned a Nike Ice-Vest, which was removed immediately before the race. Main Outcome Measure(s): Additional Tc readings were taken at 10 minutes and 1 minute before the start of the race and immediately after the race. Results: Ten minutes before the start of the race, Tc was elevated by 0.84°C ± 0.37°C in the no-vest group, compared with 0.29°C ± 0.56°C in the ice-vest group ( P < .01). This difference in Tc persisted at 1 minute before the start. Immediately after the finish, the increase in Tc averaged 2.75°C ± 0.62°C in the no-vest group and 2.12°C ± 0.62°C in the ice-vest group ( P < .01). Conclusions: Wearing an ice vest before cross-country performance in warm, humid conditions allowed athletes to start and finish the competition with a lower Tc than did those who did not wear a vest. PMID:17273460

Structural phase transition in deuterated benzil C14D10O2 : Neutron inelastic scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goossens, D. J.; Welberry, T. R.; Hagen, M. E.; Fernandez-Baca, J. A.

2006-04-01

Neutron inelastic scattering has been used to examine the structural phase transition in deuterated benzil C14D10O2 . The transition in benzil, in which the unit cell goes from a trigonal P3121 unit cell above TC to a cell doubled P21 unit cell below TC , leads to the emergence of a Bragg peak at the M -point of the high temperature Brillouin zone. It has previously been suggested that the softening of a transverse optic phonon at the Γ -point leads to the triggering of an instability at the M -point causing the transition to occur. This suggestion has been investigated by measuring the phonon spectrum at the M -point for a range of temperatures above TC and the phonon dispersion relation along the Γ-M direction just above TC . It is found that the transverse acoustic phonon at the M -point is of lower energy than the Γ -point optic mode and has a softening with temperature as T approaches TC from above that is much faster than that of the Γ -point optic mode. This behavior is inconsistent with the view that the Γ -point mode is responsible for triggering the phase transition. Rather the structural phase transition in benzil appears to be driven by a conventional soft TA mode at the M -point.

Contribution of a membrane estrogen receptor to the estrogenic regulation of body temperature and energy homeostasis.

PubMed

Roepke, Troy A; Bosch, Martha A; Rick, Elizabeth A; Lee, Benjamin; Wagner, Edward J; Seidlova-Wuttke, Dana; Wuttke, Wolfgang; Scanlan, Thomas S; Rønnekleiv, Oline K; Kelly, Martin J

2010-10-01

The hypothalamus is a key region of the central nervous system involved in the control of homeostasis, including energy and core body temperature (Tc). 17β-Estradiol (E2) regulates Tc, in part, via actions in the basal hypothalamus and preoptic area. E2 primarily controls hypothalamic functions via the nuclear steroid receptors, estrogen receptor α/β. However, we have previously described an E2-responsive, Gq-coupled membrane receptor that reduces the postsynaptic inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic tone and attenuates postovariectomy body weight gain in female guinea pigs through the administration of a selective Gq-mER ligand, STX. To determine the role of Gq-mER in regulating Tc, energy and bone homeostasis, ovariectomized female guinea pigs, implanted ip with temperature probes, were treated with STX or E2 for 7-8 wk. Tc was recorded for 4 wk, whereas food intake and body weight were monitored daily. Bone density and fat accumulation were determined postmortem. Both E2 and STX significantly reduced Tc in the females compared with controls. STX, similar to E2, reduced food intake and fat accumulation and increased tibial bone density. Therefore, a Gq-mER-coupled signaling pathway appears to be involved in maintaining homeostatic functions and may constitute a novel therapeutic target for treatment of hypoestrogenic symptoms.

Quantum and superconducting fluctuations effects in disordered Nb 1- xTa x thin films above Tc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannouri, M.; Papastaikoudis, C.

1999-05-01

Disordered Nb 1- xTa x thin films are prepared with e-gun coevaporation. The influence of the β-phase of tantalum in the critical temperature Tc is observed as a function of the substrate temperature. The measurements of transverse magnetoresistance at various isothermals are interpreted in terms of weak-localization and superconducting fluctuations. From the fitting procedure, the phase breaking rate τφ-1 and the Larkin parameter βL are estimated as a function of temperature. Conclusions about the dominant inelastic scattering mechanisms at various temperature regions as well as for the dominant mechanism of superconducting fluctuations near the transition temperature are extracted.

Combustion synthesis of ceramic and metal-matrix composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, John J.; Feng, Heng J.; Hunter, Kevin J.; Wirth, David G.

1993-01-01

Combustion synthesis or self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) is effected by heating a reactant mixture, to above the ignition temperature (Tig) whereupon an exothermic reaction is initiated which produces a maximum or combustion temperature, Tc. These SHS reactions are being used to produce ceramics, intermetallics, and composite materials. One of the major limitations of this process is that relatively high levels of porosity, e.g., 50 percent, remain in the product. Conducting these SHS reactions under adiabatic conditions, the maximum temperature is the adiabatic temperature, Tad, and delta H (Tad) = 0, Tad = Tc. If the reactants or products go through a phase change, the latent heat of transformation needs to be taken into account.

Temperature-controlled optical stimulation of the rat prostate cavernous nerves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tozburun, Serhat; Hutchens, Thomas C.; McClain, Michael A.; Lagoda, Gwen A.; Burnett, Arthur L.; Fried, Nathaniel M.

2013-06-01

Optical nerve stimulation (ONS) may be useful as a diagnostic tool for intraoperative identification and preservation of the prostate cavernous nerves (CN), responsible for erectile function, during prostate cancer surgery. Successful ONS requires elevating the nerve temperature to within a narrow range (˜42 to 47°C) for nerve activation without thermal damage to the nerve. This preliminary study explores a prototype temperature-controlled optical nerve stimulation (TC-ONS) system for maintaining a constant (±1°C) nerve temperature during short-term ONS of the rat prostate CNs. A 150-mW, 1455-nm diode laser was operated in continuous-wave mode, with and without temperature control, during stimulation of the rat CNs for 15 to 30 s through a fiber optic probe with a 1-mm-diameter spot. A microcontroller opened and closed an in-line mechanical shutter in response to an infrared sensor, with a predetermined temperature set point. With TC-ONS, higher laser power settings were used to rapidly and safely elevate the CNs to a temperature necessary for a fast intracavernous pressure response, while also preventing excessive temperatures that would otherwise cause thermal damage to the nerve. With further development, TC-ONS may provide a rapid, stable, and safe method for intraoperative identification and preservation of the prostate CNs.

The temperature dependences of electromechanical properties of PLZT ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czerwiec, M.; Zachariasz, R.; Ilczuk, J.

2008-02-01

The mechanical and electrical properties in lanthanum modified lead zirconate-titanate ceramics of 5/50/50 and 10/50/50 were studied by mechanical loss Q - 1, Young's modulus E, electric permittivity ɛ and tangent of dielectric loss of angle tgδ measurements. The internal friction Q - 1 and Young modulus E measured from 290 K to 600 K shows that Curie temperature TC is located at 574 K and 435 K (1st cycle of heating) respectively for ceramic samples 5/50/50 and 10/50/50. The movement of TC in second cycle of heating to lower temperature (561 K for 5/50/50 and 420 K for 10/50/50) has been observed. Together with Q - 1 and E measurements, temperature dependences of ɛ=f(T) and tgδ=f(T) were determinated in temperature range from 300 K to 730 K. The values of TC obtained during ɛ and tgδ measurements were respectively: 560 K for 5/50/50 and 419 K for 10/50/50. These temperatures are almost as high as the temperatures obtained by internal friction Q - 1 measurements in second cycle of heating. In ceramic sample 10/50/50 the additional maximum on internal friction Q - 1 curve at the temperature 316 K was observed.

Impact of Ocean Warming on Tropical Cyclone Size and Its Destructiveness.

PubMed

Sun, Yuan; Zhong, Zhong; Li, Tim; Yi, Lan; Hu, Yijia; Wan, Hongchao; Chen, Haishan; Liao, Qianfeng; Ma, Chen; Li, Qihua

2017-08-15

The response of tropical cyclone (TC) destructive potential to global warming is an open issue. A number of previous studies have ignored the effect of TC size change in the context of global warming, which resulted in a significant underestimation of the TC destructive potential. The lack of reliable and consistent historical data on TC size limits the confident estimation of the linkage between the observed trend in TC size and that in sea surface temperature (SST) under the background of global climate warming. A regional atmospheric model is used in the present study to investigate the response of TC size and TC destructive potential to increases in SST. The results show that a large-scale ocean warming can lead to not only TC intensification but also TC expansion. The TC size increase in response to the ocean warming is possibly attributed to the increase in atmospheric convective instability in the TC outer region below the middle troposphere, which facilitates the local development of grid-scale ascending motion, low-level convergence and the acceleration of tangential winds. The numerical results indicate that TCs will become stronger, larger, and unexpectedly more destructive under global warming.

The discovery of robust magnetism in a technetium oxide: The structure of CaTcO3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Avdeev, Maxim; Thorogood, Gordon J.; Carter, Melody L.

The technetium perovskite CaTcO{sub 3} has been synthesized. Combining synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction, we found that CaTcO{sub 3} is an antiferromagnetic with a surprisingly high Neel temperature of 800 K. The transition to the magnetic state does not involve a structural change, but there is obvious magnetostriction. Electronic structure calculations confirm the experimental results.

Performance Evaluation and Quantitative Accuracy of Multipinhole NanoSPECT/CT Scanner for Theranostic Lu-177 Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Arun; Kim, Kyeong Yun; Hwang, Donghwi; Lee, Min Sun; Lee, Dong Soo; Lee, Jae Sung

2018-06-01

SPECT plays important role in peptide receptor targeted radionuclide therapy using theranostic radionuclides such as Lu-177 for the treatment of various cancers. However, SPECT studies must be quantitatively accurate because the reliable assessment of tumor uptake and tumor-to-normal tissue ratios can only be performed using quantitatively accurate images. Hence, it is important to evaluate performance parameters and quantitative accuracy of preclinical SPECT systems for therapeutic radioisotopes before conducting pre- and post-therapy SPECT imaging or dosimetry studies. In this study, we evaluated system performance and quantitative accuracy of NanoSPECT/CT scanner for Lu-177 imaging using point source and uniform phantom studies. We measured recovery coefficient, uniformity, spatial resolution, system sensitivity and calibration factor for mouse whole body standard aperture. We also performed the experiments using Tc-99m to compare the results with that of Lu-177. We found that the recovery coefficient of more than 70% for Lu-177 at the optimum noise level when nine iterations were used. The spatial resolutions of Lu-177 with and without adding uniform background was comparable to that of Tc-99m in axial, radial and tangential directions. System sensitivity measured for Lu-177 was almost three times less than that of Tc-99m.

Influence of temperature acclimation and gut content on the supercooling ability of the land snail Cornu aspersum.

PubMed

Ansart, Armelle; Aulne, Pierre-Aymeric; Madec, Luc; Vernon, Philippe

2008-05-01

The invasive land snail Cornu aspersum possesses a low ability to supercool (c. -5 degrees C in winter) and survives only minimal ice formation in its body fluids, what may limit its expansion to colder environments. In the present study, we investigated the influence of acclimation and starvation on its supercooling ability. During eight weeks, individuals were maintained at 20 degrees C, fed or starved, or placed at 5 degrees C, directly or with progressive acclimation to cold and shorter photoperiod. Temperature of crystallisation of whole individual (Tc(I)) and hemolymph (Tc(H)), mass data and gut content were recorded every two weeks. Hemolymphatic glucose and glycerol were measured at the end of experiment and occurrence of intestinal ice-nucleating agents (INA) was researched. Acclimation had no effect on Tc(I) but stimulated purging of the gut. Starvation induced a slight decrease of Tc(I) whereas a high quantity of alimentary particles in the digestive tract limited the supercooling ability. Glucose and glycerol were not synthesized in cold conditions. Mean Tc(H) was low (c. -17 degrees C), some INA being present in hemolymph of fed animals. Intestinal content of starved individuals exhibited a mean Tc of c. -6 degrees C, decreasing to c. -12 degrees after heating, suggesting the presence of organic INA.

Microstructural characterization and tribological behavior of surface plasma Zr-Er alloying on TC11 alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Dongbo; Zhang, Pingze; Liu, Yingchao; Chen, Xiaohu; Ding, Feng; Li, Fengkun

2018-02-01

The Zr coating and Zr-Er coating are grown on TC11 substrate by double-glow plasma surface metallurgy technique, followed by the wear tests at ambient temperature and 500 °C. The data of nanohardness and elastic modulus of the samples are collected by the nano-indentation test. The adhesion strength of coatings is investigated by means of the scratch test. The study of wear resistance is performed using a ball-on-disc wear test system by running against the Si3N4 ball and measured by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Experimental results indicate that the nanohardness of the Zr coating and Zr-Er coating are 5.94 GPa and 7.98 GPa, respectively, which are 1.79 times and 2.41 times greater than that of TC11 substrate. Zr coating and Zr-Er coating realize the metallurgical bonding with TC11 substrate with continuous and compact structure. Compared with the Zr coating and TC11, the Zr-Er coating presents the lowest specific wear rates, which are 1.689 × 10-6 mm3 Nm-1 and 1.851 × 10-6 mm3 Nm-1 at ambient temperature and 500 °C respectively, indicating the excellent and improved wear resistance of TC11.

Sorption of radioactive contaminants by sediment from the Kara Sea

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fuhrmann, M.; Zhou, H.; Neiheisel, J.

1995-02-01

The purpose of this study is to quantify some of the parameters needed to perform near-field modeling of sites in the Kara Sea that were impacted by the disposal of radioactive waste. The parameters of interest are: the distribution coefficients (K{sub d}) for several important radionuclides, the mineralogy of the sediment, and the relationship of K{sub d} to liquid to solid ratio. Sediment from the Kara Sea (location: 73{degrees} 00` N, 58{degrees} 00` E) was sampled from a depth of 287 meters on August 23/24, 1992, during a joint Russian/Norwegian scientific cruise. Analysis of the material included mineralogy, grain sizemore » and total organic carbon. Uptake kinetics were determined for {sup 85}Sr, {sup 99}Tc, {sup 125}I, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 210}Pb, {sup 232}U, and {sup 241}Am and distribution coefficients (K{sub d}) were determined for these radionuclides using batch type experiments. Sorption isotherms were developed for {sup 85}Sr, {sup 99}Tc, and {sup 137}Cs to examine the effect that varying the concentration of a tracer has on the quantity of that tracer taken up by the solid. The effect of liquid to solid ratio on the uptake of contaminants was determined for {sup 99}Tc and {sup 137}Cs. In another set of experiments, the sediment was separated into four size fractions and uptake was determined for each fraction for {sup 85}Sr, {sup 99}Tc, and {sup 137}Cs. In addition, the sediment was analyzed to determine if it contains observable concentrations of anthropogenic radionuclides.« less

Nature of the chiral restoration transition in QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Gerald E.; Grandchamp, Loı̈c.; Lee, Chang-Hwan; Rho, Mannque

2004-03-01

As the chirally restored phase ends with T coming down to Tc, a phase resembling a mixed phase is realized, during which the hadrons (which are massless at Tc in the chiral limit) get their masses back out of their kinetic energy. The gluon condensation energy is fed into the system to keep the temperature (nearly) constant. Lattice results for the gluon condensation are matched by a Nambu-Jona-Lasinio calculation. The latter shows that below Tc the chiral symmetry is barely broken, so that with an ˜6% drop in the scalar coupling G it is restored at Tc. Nearly half of the glue, which we call epoxy, is not melted at Tc.

Wave Change of Intraoperative Transcranial Motor-Evoked Potentials During Corrective Fusion for Syndromic and Neuromuscular Scoliosis.

PubMed

Ando, Kei; Kobayashi, Kazuyoshi; Ito, Kenyu; Tsushima, Mikito; Morozumi, Masayoshi; Tanaka, Satoshi; Machino, Masaaki; Ota, Kyotaro; Nishida, Yoshihiro; Ishiguro, Naoki; Imagama, Shiro

2018-03-29

There is little information on intraoperative neuromonitoring during correction fusion surgery for syndromic scoliosis. To investigate intraoperative TcMEPs and conditions (body temperature and blood pressure) for syndromic scoliosis. The subjects were 23 patients who underwent 25 surgeries for corrective fusion using TcMEP. Patients were divided into groups based on a decrease (DA+) or no decrease (DA-) of the amplitude of the TcMEP waveform of ≥70%. The groups were compared for age, sex, disease, type of surgery, fusion area, operation time, estimated blood loss, body temperature, blood pressure, Cobb angle, angular curve (Cobb angle/number of vertebra), bending flexibility, correction rate, and recovery. The mean Cobb angles before and after surgery were 85.2° and 29.1°, giving a correction rate of 68.2%. There were 16 surgeries (64.0%) with intraoperative TcMEP wave changes. The DA+ and DA- groups had similar intraoperative conditions, but the short angular curve differed significantly between these groups. Amplitude deterioration occurred in 4 cases during first rod placement, in 8 during rotation, and in 3 during second rod placement after rotation. Seven patients had complete loss of TcMEP. However, most TcMEP changes recovered after pediclectomy or decreased correction. The preoperative angular curve differed significantly between patients with and without TcMEP changes (P < .05). Intraoperative TcMEP wave changes occurred in 64.0% of surgeries for corrective fusion, and all but one of these changes occurred during the correction procedure. The angular curve was a risk factor for intraoperative motor deficit.

Possibility of high temperature superconducting phases in PdH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripodi, Paolo; Di Gioacchino, Daniele; Borelli, Rodolfo; Vinko, Jenny Darja

2003-05-01

Possible new superconducting phases with a high critical transition temperature (Tc) have been found in stable palladium-hydrogen (PdHx) samples for stoichiometric ratio x=H/Pd⩾1, in addition to the well-known low critical transition temperature (0⩽Tc⩽9) when x is in the range (0.75⩽x⩽1.00). Possible new measured superconducting phases with critical temperature in the range 51⩽Tc⩽295 K occur. This Tc varies considerably with every milli part of x when x exceeds unit. A superconducting critical current density Jc⩾6.1×104 A cm-2 has been measured at 77 K with HDC=0 T.

Magnetic, Electrical and Dielectric Properties of LaMnO3+η Perovskite Manganite.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

v, Punith Kumar; Dayal, Vijaylakshmi

The high pure polycrystalline LaMnO3+η perovskite manganite has been synthesized using conventional solid state reaction method. The studied sample crystallizes into orthorhombic O', phase indexed with Pbnm space group. The magnetization measurement exhibits that the studied sample shows paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition at TC = 191.6K followed with a frustration due to antiferromagnetic (AFM) kind of spin ordering at low temperature, Tf = 85.8K. The electrical resistivity measurements carried out at 0 tesla and 8 tesla magnetic field exhibits insulating kind of behavior throughout the measured temperature range. The resistivity at 0 tesla exhibits low temperature FM insulator to high temperature PM insulator type phase transition at TC = 191.6K similarly as observed from magnetization measurement. The application of the magnetic field (8 tesla) shifts TC to higher temperature side and the charge transport follows Shklovskii Efros variable range hopping (SE VRH) mechanism. The temperature and frequency dependent dielectric permittivity studied for the sample exhibits relaxation process explained based on Debye +Maxwell-Wagner relaxation mechanism. Department of Atomic Energy-Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, Government of INDIA.

Disorder-induced inhomogeneities of the superconducting state close to the superconductor-insulator transition.

PubMed

Sacépé, B; Chapelier, C; Baturina, T I; Vinokur, V M; Baklanov, M R; Sanquer, M

2008-10-10

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy at very low temperatures on homogeneously disordered superconducting titanium nitride thin films reveals strong spatial inhomogeneities of the superconducting gap Delta in the density of states. Upon increasing disorder, we observe suppression of the superconducting critical temperature Tc towards zero, enhancement of spatial fluctuations in Delta, and growth of the Delta/Tc ratio. These findings suggest that local superconductivity survives across the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition.

Metrological Software Test for Simulating the Method of Determining the Thermocouple Error in Situ During Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jingliang; Su, Jun; Kochan, Orest; Levkiv, Mariana

2018-04-01

The simplified metrological software test (MST) for modeling the method of determining the thermocouple (TC) error in situ during operation is considered in the paper. The interaction between the proposed MST and a temperature measuring system is also reflected in order to study the error of determining the TC error in situ during operation. The modelling studies of the random error influence of the temperature measuring system, as well as interference magnitude (both the common and normal mode noises) on the error of determining the TC error in situ during operation using the proposed MST, have been carried out. The noise and interference of the order of 5-6 μV cause the error of about 0.2-0.3°C. It is shown that high noise immunity is essential for accurate temperature measurements using TCs.

The aging correlation (RH + t): Relative humidity (%) + temperature (deg C)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cuddihy, E. F.

1986-01-01

An aging correlation between corrosion lifetime, and relative humidity RH (%) and temperature t (C) has been reported in the literature. This aging correlation is a semi-log plot of corrosion lifetime on the log scale versus the interesting summation term RH(%) + t(C) on the linear scale. This empirical correlation was derived from observation of experimental data trends and has been referred to as an experimental law. Using electrical resistivity data of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) measured as a function of relative humidity and temperature, it was found that the electrical resistivity could be expressed as a function of the term RH(%) t(C). Thus, if corrosion is related to leakage current through an organic insulator, which, in turn, is a function of RH and t, then some partial theoretical validity for the correlation is indicated. This article describes the derivation of the term RH(%) t(C) from PVB electrical resistivity data.

Elastohydrodynamic Traction Properties of Seed Oils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The elastohydrodynamic traction coefficient (tc) properties of nine seed oils of varying chemical structures, PAO and hexadecane, were investigated using a ball-on disk traction apparatus. The seed oils were: castor oil, a triglyceride with hydroxyl functional group; jojoba, a monoglyceride; and s...

The effect of temperature mixing on the observable (T, β)-relation of interstellar dust clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juvela, M.; Ysard, N.

2012-03-01

Context. Detailed studies of the shape of dust emission spectra are possible thanks to the current instruments capable of simultaneous observations in several sub-millimetre bands (e.g., Herschel and Planck). The relationship between the observed spectra and the intrinsic dust grain properties is known to be affected by the noise and the line-of-sight temperature variations. However, some controversy remains even on the basic effects resulting from the mixing of temperatures along the line-of-sight or within the instrument beam. Aims: Regarding the effect of temperature variations, previous studies have suggested either a positive or a negative correlation between the colour temperature TC and the observed spectral index βObs. Our aim is to show that both cases are possible and to determine the principal factors leading to either behaviour. Methods: We start by studying the behaviour of the sum of two or three modified black bodies at different temperatures. Then, with radiative transfer models of spherical clouds, we examine the probability distributions of the dust mass as a function of the physical dust temperature. With these results as a guideline, we examine the (TC, βobs) relations for different sets of clouds. Results: Even in the simple case of models consisting of two blackbodies at temperatures T0 and T0 + ΔT0, the correlation between TC and βobs can be either positive or negative. If one compares models where the temperature difference ΔT0 between the two blackbodies is varied, the correlation is negative. If the models differ in their mean temperature T0 rather than in ΔT0, the correlation remains positive. Radiative transfer models show that externally heated clouds have different mean temperatures but the widths of their temperature distributions are rather similar. Thus, in observations of samples of such clouds the correlation between TC and βObs is expected to be positive. The same result applies to clouds illuminated by external radiation fields of different intensity. For internally heated clouds a negative correlation is the more likely alternative. Conclusions: Previous studies of the (TC,β) relation have been correct in that, depending on the cloud sample, both positive and negative correlations are possible. For externally heated clouds the effect is opposite to the negative correlation seen in the observations. If the signal-to-noise ratio is high, the observed negative correlation could be explained by the temperature dependence of the dust optical properties but that intrinsic dependence could be even steeper than the observed one.

Correlation among the effective mass (m*), λab and Tc of superconducting cuprates in a Casimir energy scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlando, M. T. D.; Rouver, A. N.; Rocha, J. R.; Cavichini, A. S.

2018-06-01

The relevance of the Casimir effect, discovered in 1948, has recently been pointed out in studies on materials such as graphene and high-temperature superconducting cuprates. In particular, the relationship between Casimir energy and the energy of a superconducting condensate with anisotropy characterized by high bidimensionality has already been discussed in certain theoretical scenarios. Using this proposal, this work describes the relationship between the effective mass of the charge carriers (m* = αme) and the macroscopic parameters characteristic of several families of high-Tc superconducting cuprates (Cu-HTSC) that have copper and oxygen superconducting planes (Cu-O). We have verified that an expression exists that correlates the effective mass, the London penetration length in the plane λab, the critical temperature Tc and the distance d between the equivalent superconducting planes of Cu-HTSC. This study revealed that the intersection between the asymptotic behavior of α as a function of Tc and the line describing the optimal value of α ≃ 2 (m* ≃ 2me) indicates that a nonadiabatic region exists, which implies a carrier-lattice interaction and where the critical temperature can have its highest value in Cu-HTSC.

Metamaterial superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyaninov, Igor I.; Smolyaninova, Vera N.

2018-05-01

Searching for natural materials exhibiting larger electron-electron interactions constitutes a traditional approach to high-temperature superconductivity research. Very recently, we pointed out that the newly developed field of electromagnetic metamaterials deals with the somewhat related task of dielectric response engineering on a sub-100-nm scale. Considerable enhancement of the electron-electron interaction may be expected in such metamaterial scenarios as in epsilon near-zero (ENZ) and hyperbolic metamaterials. In both cases, dielectric function may become small and negative in substantial portions of the relevant four-momentum space, leading to enhancement of the electron pairing interaction. This approach has been verified in experiments with aluminum-based metamaterials. Metamaterial superconductor with Tc=3.9 K have been fabricated, which is three times that of pure aluminum (Tc=1.2 K), which opens up new possibilities to improve the Tc of other simple superconductors considerably. Taking advantage of the demonstrated success of this approach, the critical temperature of hypothetical niobium, MgB2- and H2S-based metamaterial superconductors is evaluated. The MgB2-based metamaterial superconductors are projected to reach the liquid nitrogen temperature range. In the case of an H2S-based metamaterial, the projected Tc appears to reach 250 K.

Quasi-particles ultrafastly releasing kink bosons to form Fermi arcs in a cuprate superconductor.

PubMed

Ishida, Y; Saitoh, T; Mochiku, T; Nakane, T; Hirata, K; Shin, S

2016-01-05

In a conventional framework, superconductivity is lost at a critical temperature (Tc) because, at higher temperatures, gluing bosons can no longer bind two electrons into a Cooper pair. In high-Tc cuprates, it is still unknown how superconductivity vanishes at Tc. We provide evidence that the so-called ≲ 70-meV kink bosons that dress the quasi-particle excitations are playing a key role in the loss of superconductivity in a cuprate. We irradiated a 170-fs laser pulse on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+δ) and monitored the responses of the superconducting gap and dressed quasi-particles by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observe an ultrafast loss of superconducting gap near the d-wave node, or light-induced Fermi arcs, which is accompanied by spectral broadenings and weight redistributions occurring within the kink binding energy. We discuss that the underlying mechanism of the spectral broadening that induce the Fermi arc is the undressing of quasi-particles from the kink bosons. The loss mechanism is beyond the conventional framework, and can accept the unconventional phenomena such as the signatures of Cooper pairs remaining at temperatures above Tc.

Quasi-particles ultrafastly releasing kink bosons to form Fermi arcs in a cuprate superconductor

PubMed Central

Ishida, Y.; Saitoh, T.; Mochiku, T.; Nakane, T.; Hirata, K.; Shin, S.

2016-01-01

In a conventional framework, superconductivity is lost at a critical temperature (Tc) because, at higher temperatures, gluing bosons can no longer bind two electrons into a Cooper pair. In high-Tc cuprates, it is still unknown how superconductivity vanishes at Tc. We provide evidence that the so-called ≲70-meV kink bosons that dress the quasi-particle excitations are playing a key role in the loss of superconductivity in a cuprate. We irradiated a 170-fs laser pulse on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and monitored the responses of the superconducting gap and dressed quasi-particles by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observe an ultrafast loss of superconducting gap near the d-wave node, or light-induced Fermi arcs, which is accompanied by spectral broadenings and weight redistributions occurring within the kink binding energy. We discuss that the underlying mechanism of the spectral broadening that induce the Fermi arc is the undressing of quasi-particles from the kink bosons. The loss mechanism is beyond the conventional framework, and can accept the unconventional phenomena such as the signatures of Cooper pairs remaining at temperatures above Tc. PMID:26728626

Ab initio calculation of finite-temperature charmonium potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, P. W. M.; Allton, C. R.; Skullerud, J.-I.

2014-04-01

The interquark potential in charmonium states is calculated in both the zero and nonzero temperature phases from a first-principles lattice QCD calculation. Simulations with two dynamical quark flavors are used with temperatures T in the range 0.4Tc≲T≲1.7Tc, where Tc is the deconfining temperature. The correlators of point-split operators are analyzed to gain spatial information about the charmonium states. A method introduced by the HAL QCD Collaboration and based on the Schrödinger equation is applied to obtain the interquark potential. We find a clear temperature dependence with the central potential agreeing with the Cornell potential in the confined phase and becoming flatter (more screened) as the temperature increases past the deconfining temperature. This is the first time the interquark potential has been calculated for realistic quarks at finite temperature.

Examination of Technetium Transport Through Soils Under Contrasting Redox Conditions: Batch and Column Work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dozier, R.; Montgomery, D.; Wylie, E. M.; Dogan, M.; Moysey, S. M.; Powell, B. A.; Martinez, N. E.

2015-12-01

Experiments were performed under various reducing conditions to evaluate the transport behavior of technetium-99 (99Tc) in the presence of sandy clay loam soil from the Savannah River Site (SRS) and goethite, magnetite, and iron sulfide, which were selected for their increasing reducing potential. The experiments were conducted to investigate how redox reaction equilibria and rates affect the overall mobility of 99Tc as it transitions between the mobile Tc(VII) and immobile Tc(IV). Under oxygen-rich conditions, batch sorption isotherms measured for TcO4- across the concentration range 0.5 to 50 μg/L were linear with distribution coefficients (Kd) of 0.78 mL/g or lower, with decreasing sorption for goethite, magnetite, and iron sulfide, respectively. Addition of Na2S resulted in a marked increase in apparent 99Tc sorption to the solid phase, with Kd of 43 mL/g, 35 mL/g, and 29 mL/g, following the same mineral trend as previously. The increased Kd values are possibly due to reduction of Tc(VII) to Tc(IV), resulting in the formation of TcO2(s). SRS soil batch sorption isotherms measured for TcO4- across the same concentration range were also linear, with Kd of 0.7 mL/g for unadjusted pH, 5.1 mL/g for pH of around 6, and 6.7 mL/g for pH of around 4. Kinetic batch sorption tests showed less than 10% 99Tc sorption in an oxidizing environment and greater than 95% sorption in a reducing environment, with both reactions occurring on the order of minutes. In contrast, desorption experiments initiated by transferring the samples from a reducing environment (0.1% H2(g)/99.9% N2(g)) to atmospheric conditions resulted in a slow desorption step on the order of days. Column experiments conducted with the SRS sands indicate a retardation factor of 1.17 for 99Tc under oxygen rich conditions. Additional column experiments are being conducted to evaluate 99Tc transport dependencies on transitions between oxygen rich and poor conditions.

The microwave surface impedance of MgB2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnell, A. J.; Zhukov, A. A.; Nurgaliev, T.; Lamura, G.; Bugoslavsky, Y.; Lockman, Z.; MacManus-Driscoll, J. L.; Zhai, H. Y.; Christen, H. M.; Paranthaman, M. P.; Lowndes, D. H.; Jo, M. H.; Blamire, M. G.; Hao, Ling; Gallop, J. C.; Cohen, L. F.

2003-01-01

In this paper we present the results of measurements of the microwave surface impedance of a powder sample and two films of MgB2. The powder sample has a Tc = 39 K and the films have Tc = 29 K and 38 K. These samples show different temperature dependences of the field penetration depth. Over a period of six months, the film with Tc = 38 K degraded to a Tc of 35 K. We compare the results on all samples with data obtained elsewhere and discuss the implications as far as is possible at this stage.

SCDFT Study of High Tc Nitride Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arita, R.

Based on the density functional theory for superconductors (SCDFT), we study the pairing mechanism of the layered nitride superconductors, β-LixMNCl (M=Zr, Hf). Recently, it has been shown that SCDFT reproduces experimental superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) of conventional superconductors very accurately. Here we use SCDFT as a "litmus paper" to determine whether the system is a conventional or unconventional superconductor. We show that Tc estimated by SCDFT is less than half of the experimental Tc and its doping dependence is opposite to that observed in the experiments. The present result suggests that β- LixMNCl is not a Migdal-Eliashberg type superconductor.

Possible formation of high temperature superconductor at an early stage of heavy-ion collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hao; Yu, Lang; Chernodub, Maxim; Huang, Mei

2016-12-01

We investigate the effect of the inverse magnetic catalysis (IMC) on charged ρ meson condensation at finite temperature in the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, where mesons are calculated to the leading order of 1 /Nc expansion. The IMC for chiral condensate has been considered using three different approaches: incorporating the chiral condensate from lattice data, using the running coupling constant, and introducing the chiral chemical potential, respectively. It is observed that with no IMC effect included, the critical magnetic field e Bc for charged ρ condensation increases monotonically with the temperature. However, including IMC substantially affects the polarized charged ρ condensation around the critical temperature Tc of the chiral phase transition: first, the critical magnetic field e Bc for the charged ρ condensation decreases with the temperature, reaches its minimum value around Tc, and then increases with the temperature. It is quite surprising that the charged ρ can condense above the critical temperature of chiral phase transition with a even smaller critical magnetic field comparing its vacuum value. The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model calculation shows that in the temperature region of 1 - 1.5 Tc , the critical magnetic field for charged ρ condensation is rather small and in the region of e Bc˜0.15 - 0.3 GeV2 , which suggests that high temperature superconductor might be created through noncentral heavy ion collisions at LHC energies.

Surface damage mitigation of TC4 alloy via micro arc oxidation for oil and gas exploitation application: Characterizations of microstructure and evaluations on surface performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Ruizhen; Lin, Naiming; Zhou, Peng; Zou, Jiaojuan; Han, Pengju; Wang, Zhihua; Tang, Bin

2018-04-01

Because of its excellent corrosion resistance, high specific strength and high tensile strength, TC4 titanium alloys used as petroleum tubes have received wide interest from material engineers after many technical investigations and estimations. However, because of its low surface hardness values, high coefficient of friction and poor wear resistance, the TC4 alloy is seldom adopted in tribological-related engineering components. In this work, micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coatings were fabricated on TC4 alloys in NaAlO2 and (NaPO3)6 electrolytes with and without ultrasonic assistance. The microstructural characterizations of the produced MAO coatings were investigated. Comparative estimations of electrochemical corrosion in CO2-saturated simulated oilfield brine and tribological behaviours on MAO coatings and TC4 alloys were conducted. The results showed that the introduction of ultrasound increased the thickness of the MAO coatings. The thickness increased by 34% and 15% in the NaAlO2 and (NaPO3)6 electrolytes, respectively. There was no significant discrepancy in phase constitutions when the MAO processes were conducted with and without ultrasonic assistance. Both MAO coatings obtained with and without ultrasonic assistance were found to improve the corrosion and wear resistance of the TC4 alloy. MAO treatments made it possible to ensure the working surface of a TC4 alloy with an enhanced surface performance for oil and gas exploitation applications.

QCD equation of state to O (μB6) from lattice QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazavov, A.; Ding, H.-T.; Hegde, P.; Kaczmarek, O.; Karsch, F.; Laermann, E.; Maezawa, Y.; Mukherjee, Swagato; Ohno, H.; Petreczky, P.; Sandmeyer, H.; Steinbrecher, P.; Schmidt, C.; Sharma, S.; Soeldner, W.; Wagner, M.

2017-03-01

We calculated the QCD equation of state using Taylor expansions that include contributions from up to sixth order in the baryon, strangeness and electric charge chemical potentials. Calculations have been performed with the Highly Improved Staggered Quark action in the temperature range T ∈[135 MeV ,330 MeV ] using up to four different sets of lattice cutoffs corresponding to lattices of size Nσ3×Nτ with aspect ratio Nσ/Nτ=4 and Nτ=6 - 16 . The strange quark mass is tuned to its physical value, and we use two strange to light quark mass ratios ms/ml=20 and 27, which in the continuum limit correspond to a pion mass of about 160 and 140 MeV, respectively. Sixth-order results for Taylor expansion coefficients are used to estimate truncation errors of the fourth-order expansion. We show that truncation errors are small for baryon chemical potentials less then twice the temperature (μB≤2 T ). The fourth-order equation of state thus is suitable for the modeling of dense matter created in heavy ion collisions with center-of-mass energies down to √{sN N}˜12 GeV . We provide a parametrization of basic thermodynamic quantities that can be readily used in hydrodynamic simulation codes. The results on up to sixth-order expansion coefficients of bulk thermodynamics are used for the calculation of lines of constant pressure, energy and entropy densities in the T -μB plane and are compared with the crossover line for the QCD chiral transition as well as with experimental results on freeze-out parameters in heavy ion collisions. These coefficients also provide estimates for the location of a possible critical point. We argue that results on sixth-order expansion coefficients disfavor the existence of a critical point in the QCD phase diagram for μB/T ≤2 and T /Tc(μB=0 )>0.9 .

Dependence of Tc on the q -ω structure of the spin-fluctuation spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahm, Thomas; Scalapino, D. J.

2018-05-01

A phenomenological spin-fluctuation analysis [Dahm et al., Nat. Phys. 5, 217 (2009), 10.1038/nphys1180], based upon inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data for YBCO6.6(Tc=61 K) , is used to calculate the functional derivative of the d -wave eigenvalue λd of the linearized gap equation with respect to the imaginary part of the spin susceptibility χ''(q ,ω ) at 70 K. For temperatures near Tc, the variation of Tc with respect to χ''(q ,ω ) is proportional to this functional derivative. We find that above an energy ˜4 Tc the functional derivative becomes positive so that adding spin-fluctuation spectral weight at higher frequencies leads to an increase in Tc. The strongest pairing occurs for large momentum transfers, and small momentum spin-fluctuations suppress the pairing.

Characteristics of YBa2Cu3O7 high-Tc superconductor with KCl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Ki Hyun; Chang, Sung Sik

1990-03-01

The lattice parameters, microstructural change, transition temperature, and electrical properties of the YBa2-xKxCu3O7 high-Tc superconductor in the range from x=0 to x=0.25 have been investigated. The high-Tc orthorhombic phase increases with increasing KCl up to x=0.20, above which it decreases. The lattice parameters decrease with increasing KCl up to x=0.10, and then become nearly uniform. The grain size increases with increasing KCl up to x=0.20 due to its role as sintering agent. The specimens with x=0.2 have transition temperatures of 96 K and high magnetic susceptibility due to the contraction of lattice parameters a and b and the increase of orthorhombic distortion.

High Tc superconductors as thermal radiation shields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeller, A. F.

1990-06-01

The feasibility of using high-Tc superconductor films as IR-radiation shields for liquid-helium-temperature dewars is investigated. Calculations show that a Ba-Ca-Sr-Cu-O superconductor with Tc of 110 K, combined with a liquid-nitrogen temperature shield with an emissivity of 0.03 should produce an upper limit to the radiative heat transfer of 15 mW/sq m. The reduction of reflectivity depends on the field level and the extent of field penetration into the superconductor film, whose surface also would provide magnetic shielding for low magnetic fields. Such shields, providing both magnetic and thermal radiation shielding would be useful for spaceborne applications where exposure to the degrading effects of moist air would not be a problem.

Effect of Low Doped Calcium on the Magnetic Properties of La0.7Ba0.297Ca0.003MnO3 for Magnetocaloric Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, B.; Winarsih, S.; Komala, T.

2018-04-01

Effect of low doped calcium concentration to the magnetic properties of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 material has been reported in this paper. This compound was chosen because it has high potential to be applied in electronic devices. The most intensive research in the last decade is about magnetocaloric effect (MCE). Magnetic refrigeration will replace Freon R12 that is used in conventional refrigeration with magnetic material which has MCE properties. It is due to conventional refrigeration produce chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) gases which causes ozone depletion. The magnetic measurement was performed by using Vibrating Sample Magnetometer in the range of temperature between 300-400 K under external magnetic field until 20 kOe. By using derivative of magnetization as a function of temperature of the material’s result, Curie temperature (Tc ) of the material is 332.7 K. By using equation (5) for calculating magnetic field dependence of magnetization at various temperature result, magnetic entropy change value (ΔSM ) of the material can be obtained. The ΔSM of the material is -2.928 Jkg-1K-1. The material has highest magnetic entropy change value around its Tc . It is due to there is strong lattice spin coupling around its Tc and would be weak at below and above its Tc .

Pressure Dependence Transport Studies of the Possible Charge Kondo Effect in Tl-doped PbTe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurosaki, Yosuke; Shinagawa, Jun; Matsushita, Yana; Geballe, Ted; Fisher, Ian; Brown, Stuart

2006-03-01

Pb1-xTlxTe is noteworthy for a high superconducting transition temperature relative to carrier concentration, as well as normal state properties consistent with a charge-Kondo effect. Recent experiments also demonstrate that the onset of an observable superconducting Tc with Tl concentration at x˜0.3% coincides with features characteristic of charge Kondo [1], including dρ/dT<0 at low temperatures and an unusual linear variation of the resistivity ρ(T)=ρ0+AT at higher temperatures. Together, these observations are consistent with an association between the two phenomena [2]. We report the effect of applied pressures up to P˜1.5GPa on ρ(T), Tc, and the Hall number pH≡RH-1 for x= 0.3%, 0.8%, and 1.3%. Tc is reduced sharply with pressure, dTc/dP=400-500mK/GPa as the low temperature Kondo- like upturn in ρ(T) is weakened. Also, dA/dP<0 and dpH/dP>0. These observations are discussed in the context of the proposed charge-Kondo model for Pb1-xTlxTe. [1] Y. Matsushita, H. Bluhm, T.H. Geballe and I.R. Fisher, Phys.Rev.Lett. 94, 157002(2005).[2] M. Dzero and J. Schmalian, Phys.Rev.Lett. 94, 157003 (2005). This work is supported by NSF frant DMR-0520552.

Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of Silicon Carbide-Silicon Carbide Composites at Elevated Temperatures Using a Unique Combustion Facility

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-10

Calibration Tool(s) Surface Temperature ~1250oC Furnace, R-type TC & IR Gas Temperature < 1800oC R-type TC Gas Velocity ~ Mach 0.5 XS -4 High Speed...Camera Equivalence Ratio ~ 0.9 HVOFTM Flow Controller Gas Composition H 2 O, O 2 ,CO 2 , CO, NOx Testo XL 350 Gas Analyzer Mechanical Loading Fatigue...unavailability, however, gas velocity was measured using the X-StreamTM XS -4 High Speed Camera. The range of our interest was the velocity in the upstream of a

Low temperature magnetic susceptibility behavior of the Neuschwanstein EL6 meteorite and mineral daubreelite (FeCr2S4)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohout, T.; Kletetschka, G.; Lehtinen, M.; Pesonen, L. J.; Wasilewski, P. J.

2006-12-01

Neuschwanstein meteorite (enstatite chondrite EL-6) fall occurred on April 6, 2002 close to Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, Germany. Total three meteorite bodies were found on the fall site. Two fragments coming from a 1750g body found on July 14, 2002 were obtained to the Division of Geophysics, University of Helsinki. The low temperature magnetic properties were investigated using KLY-3 and KLY-4 kappabridges equipped with low temperature control unit. During the low-temperature susceptibility measurements an unknown kink feature was observed at ~150 K on all measured samples. The closest known magnetic transition is the curie temperature Tc ~170 K of synthetic FeCr2S4 mentioned in Müller et al., 2006. FeCr2S4 is naturally present in enstatite chondrites and iron meteorites in the form of mineral daubreelite and was reported to be present in the Neuschwanstein meteorite in Zipfel and Dreibus, 2003. The extensive study of magnetic susceptibility of Neuschwanstein meteorite and daubreelite extract form Coahuila iron meteorite (hexahedrite, II A) was conducted in order to investigate the low temperature magnetic susceptibility of those materials and its field and frequency dependence. The results indicate Tc of natural daubreelite extract from Coahuila meteorite to be ~160 K what is slightly lower than the Tc of synthetic FeCr2S4 reported in Müller et al., 2006. The magnetic susceptibility of natural daubreelite from Coahuila meteorite and of ~150 K feature in Neuschwanstein meteorite show no field dependence of magnetic susceptibility. Due to the similarity in the low temperature magnetic susceptibility behaviour of Neuschwanstein meteorite and daubreelite extract from Coahuila meteorite we link the Neuschwanstein ~150 K feature to the Tc of daubreelite present in this meteorite. The 10 K difference of the Tc of daubreelite in Neuschwanstein and Coahuila meteorites can be attributed to the presence of impurities or structural deformations in the daubreelite crystals. Daubreelite with its Tc ~160 K may be significant magnetic mineral in cold space environment. However, warming to the terrestrial temperatures results in magnetic unblocking and lost of the magnetic information. The low temperature susceptibility measurements can be used to identify the presence of daubreelite in meteorites. References: C. Muller, V. Zestrea, V. Tsurkan, S. Horn, R. Tidecks and A. Wixforth (2006): SPIN-LATTICE COUPLING IN THE FERRIMAGNETIC SEMICONDUCTOR FeCr2S4 PROBED BY SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVES. J. Appl. Phys. 99(2), 023906, 2006. J. Zipfel and G. Dreibus (2003): BULK CHEMISTRY OF NEUSCHWANSTEIN (EL6). 66th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting (2003) Abstract no. A103.

Elastohydrodynamic (EHD) traction properties of seed oils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The elastohydrodynamic traction coefficient (tc) properties of nine seed oils of varying chemical structures, PAO and hexadecane, were investigated using a ball-on disk traction apparatus. The seed oils were: castor oil, a triglyceride with hydroxyl functional group; jojoba, a monoglyceride; and sev...

On the Current Trend of Tropical Cyclone Activity and the Lengthening of the Tropical Cyclone Season in the North Atlantic Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Robert M.

2013-01-01

In this TP, the trend in North Atlantic basin TC activity, especially as related to the determination of the length of season (LOS) and its possible association with warming surface-air and sea-surface temperature, is revisited. In particular, examined are: (1) the trend in TC activity for the yearly intervals 1945-1965, 1966-1994, and 1995-2012 for TCs having duration NSD greater or equal to 0.25 day, less than 2 days, greater than or equal to 2 days, greater than or equal to 4 days, and greater than or equal to 8 days; (2) the latitudinal and longitudinal genesis locations of the short-lived TC (defined herein as those TCs having duration NSD less than 2 days) for the three yearly intervals; (3) the first storm day (FSD), last storm day (LSD), and LOS based on TCs having duration NSD greater than or equal to 0.25 day and NSD greater than or equal to 2 days; (4) the relationship between FSD, LSD, and LOS for TCs having duration NSD greater than or equal to 0.25 day and NSD greater than or equal to 2 days; (5) the surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the interval 1945-2012; (6) the relationship of FSD, LSD, and LOS against surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and the NAO; (7) the relationship of TC activity against surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and the NAO; and (8) the relationship of TC activity against FSD and LOS. This TP represents an update to an earlier study by Wilson concerning the length of the yearly hurricane season.

Lattice instability and enhancement of superconductivity in YB6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sluchanko, N.; Glushkov, V.; Demishev, S.; Azarevich, A.; Anisimov, M.; Bogach, A.; Voronov, V.; Gavrilkin, S.; Mitsen, K.; Kuznetsov, A.; Sannikov, I.; Shitsevalova, N.; Filipov, V.; Kondrin, M.; Gabáni, S.; Flachbart, K.

2017-10-01

The superconducting and normal state characteristics of yttrium hexaboride (YB6) have been investigated for the single crystals with a transition temperatures Tc ranging between 4.2 K and 7.6 K. The extracted set of microscopic parameters [the coherence length ξ (0 )˜320 -340 Å , the penetration depth λ (0 )˜1100 -3250 Å and the mean free path of charge carriers l =11 -58 Å , the Ginzburg-Landau-Maki parameters κ1 ,2(0 ) ˜3.3 -9.5, and the superconducting gap Δ (0 )˜6.2 -14.8 K] confirms the type II superconductivity in "dirty limit" (ξ ≫l ) with a medium to strong electron-phonon interaction (the electron-phonon interaction constant λe -ph=0.32 -0.96 ) and s -type pairing of charge carriers in this compound [2 Δ (0 ) /kBTc≈3 -4]. The comparative analysis of charge transport (resistivity, Hall and Seebeck coefficients) and thermodynamic (heat capacity, magnetization) properties in the normal state in YB6 allowed to assume a transition into the cage-glass state at T*˜50 K with a static disorder in the arrangement of the Y3 + ions. We argue that the significant Tc variations in YB6 single crystals are determined by two main factors: (i) the superconductivity enhancement is related with the increase of the number of vacancies, both at yttrium and boron sites, leading to nonstoichiometric composition, which is accompanied by the enhancement of electron-phonon interaction in the hexaboride lattice; (ii) stronger Tc depression is observed in near stoichiometric and more dense crystals and it is induced by the development of bcc lattice instability producing strong distortion, disordering, and formation of defect complexes in the matrix of YB6.

Role of initial correlation in coarsening of a ferromagnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Saikat; Das, Subir K.

2015-06-01

We study the dynamics of ordering in ferromagnets via Monte Carlo simulations of the Ising model, employing the Glauber spin-flip mechanism, in space dimensions d = 2 and 3, on square and simple cubic lattices. Results for the persistence probability and the domain growth are discussed for quenches to various temperatures (Tf) below the critical one (Tc), from different initial temperatures Ti ≥ Tc. In long time limit, for Ti>Tc, the persistence probability exhibits power-law decay with exponents θ ≃ 0.22 and ≃ 0.18 in d = 2 and 3, respectively. For finite Ti, the early time behavior is a different power-law whose life-time diverges and exponent decreases as Ti → Tc. The two steps are connected via power-law as a function of domain length and the crossover to the second step occurs when this characteristic length exceeds the equilibrium correlation length at T = Ti. Ti = Tc is expected to provide a new universality class for which we obtain θ ≡ θc ≃ 0.035 in d = 2 and ≃0.105 in d = 3. The time dependence of the average domain size ℓ, however, is observed to be rather insensitive to the choice of Ti.

Precipitation, Convective Clouds, and Their Connections With Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Intensity Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Zhenxin; Wu, Qiaoyan

2018-01-01

In this paper, satellite-based precipitation, clouds with infrared (IR) brightness temperature (BT), and tropical cyclone (TC) data from 2000 to 2015 are used to explore the relationship between precipitation, convective cloud, and TC intensity change in the Western North Pacific Ocean. An IR BT of 208 K was chosen as a threshold for deep convection based on different diurnal cycles of IR BT. More precipitation and colder clouds with 208 K < IR BT < 240 K are found as storms intensify, while TC 24 h future intensity change is closely connected with very deep convective clouds with IR BT < 208 K. Intensifying TCs follow the occurrence of colder clouds with IR BT < 208 K with greater areal extents. As an indicator of very deep convective clouds, IR BT < 208 K is suggested to be a good predictor of TC intensity change. Based upon the 16 year analysis in the western North Pacific, TCs under the conditions that the mean temperature of very deep convective clouds is less than 201 K, and the coverage of this type of clouds is more than 27.4% within a radius of 300 km of the TC center, will more likely undergo rapid intensification after 24 h.

Designing heterostructures with higher-temperature superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Hur, Karyn; Chung, Chung-Hou; Paul, I.

2011-07-01

We propose to increase the superconducting transition temperature Tc of strongly correlated materials by designing heterostructures which exhibit a high pairing energy as a result of magnetic fluctuations. More precisely, applying an effective theory of the doped Mott insulator, we envisage a bilayer Hubbard system where both layers exhibit intrinsic intralayer (intraband) d-wave superconducting correlations. Introducing a finite asymmetry between the hole densities of the two layers such that one layer becomes slightly more underdoped and the other more overdoped, we show a visible enhancement of Tc compared to the optimally doped isolated layer. Using the bonding and antibonding band basis, we show that the mechanism behind this enhancement of Tc is the interband pairing correlation mediated by the hole asymmetry which strives to decrease the paramagnetic nodal contribution to the superfluid stiffness. For two identical layers, Tc remains comparable to that of the isolated layer until moderate values of the interlayer single-particle tunneling term. These heterostructures shed new light on fundamental questions related to superconductivity.

Pressure effects on the electronic properties of the undoped superconductor ThFeAsN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbero, N.; Holenstein, S.; Shang, T.; Shermadini, Z.; Lochner, F.; Eremin, I.; Wang, C.; Cao, G.-H.; Khasanov, R.; Ott, H.-R.; Mesot, J.; Shiroka, T.

2018-04-01

The recently synthesized ThFeAsN iron pnictide superconductor exhibits a Tc of 30 K, the highest of the 1111-type series in the absence of chemical doping. To understand how pressure affects its electronic properties, we carried out microscopic investigations up to 3 GPa via magnetization, nuclear magnetic resonance, and muon-spin rotation experiments. The temperature dependence of the 75As Knight shift, the spin-lattice relaxation rates, and the magnetic penetration depth suggest a multiband s±-wave gap symmetry in the dirty limit, whereas the gap-to-Tc ratio Δ /kBTc hints at a strong-coupling scenario. Pressure modulates the geometrical parameters, thus reducing Tc as well as Tm, the temperature where magnetic-relaxation rates are maximized, both at the same rate of approximately -1.1 K /GPa . This decrease in Tc with pressure is consistent with band-structure calculations, which relate it to the deformation of the Fe 3 dz2 orbitals.

Effects of neutron irradiation on carbon doped MgB2 wire segments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilke, R. H. T.; Bud'ko, S. L.; Canfield, P. C.; Finnemore, D. K.; Suplinskas, Raymond J.; Farmer, J.; Hannahs, S. T.

2006-06-01

We have studied the evolution of superconducting and normal state properties of neutron irradiated Mg(B0.962C0.038)2 wire segments as a function of post-exposure annealing time and temperature. The initial fluence fully suppressed superconductivity and resulted in an anisotropic expansion of the unit cell. Superconductivity was restored by post-exposure annealing. The upper critical field, Hc2(T = 0), approximately scales with Tc, starting with an undamaged Tc near 37 K and Hc2(T = 0) near 32 T. Up to an annealing temperature of 400 °C the recovery of Tc tends to coincide with a decrease in the normal state resistivity and a systematic recovery of the lattice parameters. Above 400 °C a decrease in ordering along the c-direction coincides with an increase in resistivity, but no apparent change in the evolution of Tc and Hc2. To a first order approximation, it appears that carbon doping and neutron damage affect the superconducting properties of MgB2 independently.

Linkages of Remote Sea Surface Temperatures and Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Activity Mediated by the African Monsoon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taraphdar, Sourav; Leung, Lai-Yung R.; Hagos, Samson M.

2015-01-28

Warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in North Atlantic and Mediterranean (NAMED) can influence tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the tropical East Atlantic by modulating summer convection over western Africa. Analysis of 30 years of observations show that the NAMED SST is linked to a strengthening of the Saharan heat low and enhancement of moisture and moist static energy in the lower atmosphere over West Africa, which favors a northward displacement of the monsoonal front. These processes also lead to a northward shift of the African easterly jet that introduces an anomalous positive vorticity from western Africa to the main developmentmore » region (50W–20E; 10N–20N) of Atlantic TC. By modulating multiple processes associated with the African monsoon, this study demonstrates that warm NAMED SST explains 8% of interannual variability of Atlantic TC frequency. Thus NAME SST may provide useful predictability for Atlantic TC activity on seasonal-to-interannual time scale.« less

Modelling the reworking effects of bioturbation on the incorporation of radionuclides into the sediment column: implications for the fate of particle-reactive radionuclides in Irish Sea sediments.

PubMed

Cournane, S; León Vintró, L; Mitchell, P I

2010-11-01

A microcosm laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the impact of biological reworking by the ragworm Nereis diversicolor on the redistribution of particle-bound radionuclides deposited at the sediment-water interface. Over the course of the 40-day experiment, as much as 35% of a (137)Cs-labelled particulate tracer deposited on the sediment surface was redistributed to depths of up to 11 cm by the polychaete. Three different reworking models were employed to model the profiles and quantify the biodiffusion and biotransport coefficients: a gallery-diffuser model, a continuous sub-surface egestion model and a biodiffusion model. Although the biodiffusion coefficients obtained for each model were quite similar, the continuous sub-surface egestion model provided the best fit to the data. The average biodiffusion coefficient, at 1.8 +/- 0.9 cm(2) y(-1), is in good agreement with the values quoted by other workers on the bioturbation effects of this polychaete species. The corresponding value for the biotransport coefficient was found to be 0.9 +/- 0.4 cm y(-1). The effects of non-local mixing were incorporated in a model to describe the temporal evolution of measured (99)Tc and (60)Co radionuclide sediment profiles in the eastern Irish Sea, influenced by radioactive waste discharged from the Sellafield reprocessing plant. Reworking conditions in the sediment column were simulated by considering an upper mixed layer, an exponentially decreasing diffusion coefficient, and appropriate biotransport coefficients to account for non-local mixing. The diffusion coefficients calculated from the (99)Tc and (60)Co cores were in the range 2-14 cm(2) y(-1), which are consistent with the values found by other workers in the same marine area, while the biotransport coefficients were similar to those obtained for a variety of macrobenthic organisms in controlled laboratories and field studies.

Ultrasonic Attenuation of Surface Acoustic Waves in Thin Films of High Transition Temperature Superconducting Niobium-Tin and Niobium-Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredricksen, Hans Peter

The ultrasonic attenuation of 600-700 MHz surface acoustic waves by two high T(,c), cubic crystal structure, superconducting thin films has been investigated. The films studied were two, 0.5 (mu) thin, Nb(,3)Sn samples, electron-beam codeposited on LiNbO(,3) and Quartz, and eleven NbN samples from 3 x 10('3) (ANGSTROM) to <(, )200 (ANGSTROM) thin, sputter deposited on LiNbO(,3). The Nb(,3)Sn (Al5 structure) film on Quartz was difficult to measure due to defects in the Quartz caused by the high deposition temperature ((DBLTURN)700(DEGREES)C) used to make the high T(,c) form of the compound. The Nb(,3)Sn film on LiNbO(,3), however, provided information about the transition temperature and energy gap at T = 0 K when the attenuation was measured as a function of temperature in zero magnetic field. A theory is developed to predict the electron-phonon produced normal state attenuation of surface acoustic waves by a thin, loss producing film on a nonattenuating substrate. Using a viscous drag model for the attenuation, the predictions of the theory are compared to the measured normal state attenuation to find the electron mean-free-path for the Nb(,3)Sn film on LiNbO(,3). The attenuation measured for this film as a function of applied magnetic field for four temperatures below T(,c) showed the sample to be an impurity rich type II superconductor with H(,c(,2)) (T = 0 K) = 85 KG, having GLAG theory constants: (kappa)(,2)(t=1) = 28.5 and (kappa)(t=1) = 29.2. The attenuation curves of the nine thickest NbN samples were non-BCS-like and very similar. Measured as a function of temperature only, because we could not reach the high critical fields of the samples, the attenuation showed an initial drop at T(,c) of about 1-2 dB which then leveled off until the temperature was below 0.5 T(,c), where the rate of decrease was much slower than the initial drop. A qualitative description of this behavior is derived from the Kosterlitz-Thouless vortex-antivortex theory. Although the thinnest NbN film did not show an attenuation change at T(,c), the next thinnest did. In this case, the measured decrease of nearly 40 dB is explained by the change in boundary condition when the substrate surface changes from "open" to "shortened" when the film becomes superconducting.

Central nervous versus total body thermosensitivity of the duck

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, E.; Martin, R.; Simon-Oppermann, Ch.

1981-09-01

Ducks were chronically implanted with thermodes in the POAH region, the lower brainstem or the vertebral canal. At thermoneutral conditions, lowering the temperature of the spinal cord (Tvc) or the lower brainstem (Tmb) stimulated metabolic heat production (M) with a subsequent rise of core temperature (Tc). Lowering the temperature of the POAH region (Thy) induced a fall of Tc due to paradoxical activation of heat defence and, thus, induced slight to moderate general hypothermia depending on the cooling intensity. When Thy was normalized, the hypothermia temporarily stimulated metabolic heat production until Tc was normalized. Cold sensitivity of the entire body, as revealed by the metabolic response to the hypothermia induced by preceding POAH cooling, and cold sensitivity of the spinal cord and the lower brainstem, as revealed by the metabolic response to local cooling, were quantified by calculating the quotient δM/δT from the maximum metabolic response and the experimentally induced drop of Tc, Tmb and Tvc. With lower brainstem cooling δM/δTmbdid not exceed -0.4 W/(kg · ‡C). With spinal cord cooling, δM/δTvc did not exceed -0.6 W/(kg · ‡C). The mean value of δM/δTc after hypothermia induced by POAH cooling was -4.02 W/(kg · ‡C). The results indicate that the cold sensitivity residing in the CNS of ducks represents only a small fraction of the entire cold sensitivity of the body.

Superficial cooling does not decrease core body temperature before, during, or after exercise in an American football uniform.

PubMed

Lopez, Rebecca M; Eberman, Lindsey E; Cleary, Michelle A

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of superficial cooling on thermoregulatory responses while exercising in a hot humid environment while wearing an American football uniform. Nine male and female subjects wore a superficial cooling garment while in a cooling (CS) experimental condition or a no cooling (NCS) control condition during an exercise task consisting of warm-up (WU), exercise (EX), and recovery (R). The exercise task simulated an American football conditioning session with subjects wearing a full American football uniform and performing anaerobic and aerobic exercises in a hot humid environment. Subjects were allowed to drink water ad libitum during rest breaks. During the WU, EX, and R periods, core body temperature (T(c)) was measured to assess the effect of the cooling garment. Neither baseline resting before warm-up T(c) nor after warm-up T(c) was significantly different between trials. No significant differences in exercise T(c) between conditions were found. Time to return to baseline T(c) revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control conditions. The authors found that the volume of fluid consumed was 34% less in the experimental condition (711.1 ± 188.0 ml) compared with the control condition (1,077.8 ± 204.8 ml). The findings indicate that the cooling garment was not effective in blunting the rise in T(c) during warm-up, attenuating a rise in T(c) during intermittent exercise, or in increasing a return to baseline T(c) during a resting recovery period in a hot humid environment while wearing an American football uniform.

Diamagnetic Torque Signal and Temperature-Dependent Paramagnetism in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuchiya, Satoshi; Mochiku, Takashi; Ooi, Shuichi; Hirata, Kazuto; Sugii, Kaori; Terashima, Taichi; Uji, Shinya

2017-11-01

Magnetic torque and resistance measurements for the superconducting cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ with Tc = 87 K have been performed to determine the phase diagram in a parallel magnetic field fields up to 14 T. The anisotropy of the magnetization, derived from the torque, is found to decrease with decreasing temperature below 125 K, which can be ascribed to the temperature dependent paramagnetic spin susceptibility. The angular dependence of the torque clearly shows small diamagnetism due to fluctuating or inhomogeneous superconductivity at temperatures between Tc and ˜100 K. The results suggest that the pseudogap is not of superconducting origin.

Microstructure characterization of Al matrix composite reinforced with Ti-6Al-4V meshes after compression by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope.

PubMed

Guo, Q; Sun, D L; Han, X L; Cheng, S R; Chen, G Q; Jiang, L T; Wu, G H

2012-02-01

Compressive properties of Al matrix composite reinforced with Ti-6Al-4V meshes (TC4(m)/5A06 Al composite) under the strain rates of 10(-3)S(-1) and 1S(-1) at different temperature were measured and microstructure of composites after compression was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Compressive strength decreased with the test temperature increased and the strain-rate sensitivity (R) of composite increased with the increasing temperature. SEM observations showed that grains of Al matrix were elongated severely along 45° direction (angle between axis direction and fracture surface) and TC4 fibres were sheared into several parts in composite compressed under the strain rate of 10(-3)S(-1) at 25°C and 250°C. Besides, amounts of cracks were produced at the interfacial layer between TC4 fibre and Al matrix and in (Fe, Mn)Al(6) phases. With the compressive temperature increasing to 400°C, there was no damage at the interfacial layer between TC4 fibre and Al matrix and in (Fe, Mn)Al(6) phases, while equiaxed recrystal grains with sizes about 10 μm at the original grain boundaries of Al matrix were observed. However, interface separation of TC4 fibres and Al matrix occurred in composite compressed under the strain rate of 1S(-1) at 250°C and 400°C. With the compressive temperature increasing from 25°C to 100°C under the strain rate of 10(-3) S(-1), TEM microstructure in Al matrix exhibited high density dislocations and slipping bands (25°C), polygonized dislocations and dynamic recovery (100°C), equiaxed recrystals with sizes below 500 μm (250°C) and growth of equiaxed recrystals (400°C), respectively. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Superconductivity versus quantum criticality: Effects of thermal fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huajia; Wang, Yuxuan; Torroba, Gonzalo

2018-02-01

We study the interplay between superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid behavior of a Fermi surface coupled to a massless SU(N ) matrix boson near the quantum critical point. The presence of thermal infrared singularities in both the fermionic self-energy and the gap equation invalidates the Eliashberg approximation, and makes the quantum-critical pairing problem qualitatively different from that at zero temperature. Taking the large N limit, we solve the gap equation beyond the Eliashberg approximation, and obtain the superconducting temperature Tc as a function of N . Our results show an anomalous scaling between the zero-temperature gap and Tc. For N greater than a critical value, we find that Tc vanishes with a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless scaling behavior, and the system retains non-Fermi liquid behavior down to zero temperature. This confirms and extends previous renormalization-group analyses done at T =0 , and provides a controlled example of a naked quantum critical point. We discuss the crucial role of thermal fluctuations in relating our results with earlier work where superconductivity always develops due to the special role of the first Matsubara frequency.

Large magnetocaloric effect of NdGa compound due to successive magnetic transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, X. Q.; Xu, J. W.; Shao, S. H.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J. Y.; Wang, S. G.; Xu, Z. Y.; Wang, L. C.; Chen, J.; Shen, B. G.

2018-05-01

The magnetic behavior and MCE property of NdGa compound were studied in detail. According to the temperature dependence of magnetization (M-T) curve at 0.01 T, two sharp changes were observed at 20 K (TSR) and 42 K (TC), respectively, corresponding to spin reorientation and FM-PM transition. Isothermal magnetization curves up to 5 T at different temperatures were measured and magnetic entropy change (ΔSM) was calculated based on M-H data. Temperature dependences of -ΔSM for a field change of 0-2 T and 0-5 T show that there are two peaks on the curves corresponding to TSR and TC, respectively. The value of the two peaks is 6.4 J/kg K and 15.5 J/kg K for the field change of 0-5 T. Since the two peaks are close, the value of -ΔSM in the temperature range between TSR and TC keeps a large value. The excellent MCE performance of NdGa compound benefits from the existence of two successive magnetic transitions.

Identification of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units (DTUs) through the implementation of a high-resolution melting (HRM) genotyping assay.

PubMed

Higuera, Sonia L; Guhl, Felipe; Ramírez, Juan David

2013-04-20

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a geographically widespread anthropozoonosis that is considered a major public health problem in Latin America. Because this parasite presents high genetic variability, a nomenclature has been adopted to classify the parasite into six discrete typing units (DTUs): TcI, TcII, TcIII, TcIV, TcV, and TcVI, which present different eco-epidemiological, clinical, and geographic associations. Currently, the available genotyping methods present a series of drawbacks that implies the need for developing new methods for characterizing T. cruzi DTU's. The aim of this work was to genotype reference populations from T. cruzi by means of a High-Resolution Melting (HRM) genotyping assay. Amplification of the mini-exon gene allowed the genotyping of three distinct groups: TcI, TcII- TcIV- TcV, and TcIII-TcVI, while amplification of the 24sα gene generated non-overlapping melting temperature ranges for each DTU that were used to identify the groups in the six existing DTUs of Trypanosoma cruzi. The proposed genotyping assay allowed discrimination of the six genetic groups by obtaining specific melting curves for each DTU. The application of this technique is proposed because of its specificity, sensitivity, high performance, and low cost compared with other previously described characterization methods.

Pork Quality Traits According to Postmortem pH and Temperature in Berkshire

PubMed Central

Kim, Tae Wan; Kim, Chul Wook; Yang, Mi Ra; No, Gun Ryoung; Kim, Il-Suk

2016-01-01

This study was performed to investigate the role of pH and temperature postmortem, and to demonstrate the importance of these factors in determining meat quality. Postmortem pH45min (pH at 45 min postmortem or initial pH) via analysis of Pearson’s correlation showed high positive correlation with pH change pHc24 (pH change from pH45min to pH24h postmortem). However, postmortem pH after 24 h (pH24h or ultimate pH) had a high negative correlation with pH change, pHc24, CIE L*, and protein content. Initial temperature postmortem (T1h ) was positively associated with a change in temperature from 45 min to 24 h postmortem (Tc24) and cooking loss, but negatively correlated with water holding capacity. Temperature at 24 h postmortem (T24h) was negatively associated with Tc24. Collectively, these results indicate that higher initial pH was associated with higher pHc24, T1h, and Tc24. However, higher initial pH was associated with a reduction in carcass weight, backfat thickness, CIE a* and b*, water holding capacity, collagen and fat content, drip loss, and cooking loss as well as decreased shear force. In contrast, CIE a* and b*, drip loss, cooking loss, and shear force in higher ultimate pH was showed by a similar pattern to higher initial pH, whereas pHc24, carcass weight, backfat thickness, water holding capacity, fat content, moisture content, protein content, T1h, T24h, and Tc24 were exhibited by completely differential patterns (p<0.05). Therefore, we suggest that initial pH, ultimate pH, and temperatures postmortem are important factors in determining the meat quality of pork. PMID:27499661

USE OF THE MACROACTIVITY APPROACH TO ASSESS CHILDREN'S DERMAL EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES IN RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

In the macroactivity approach, dermal exposure is estimated using empirically-derived transfer coefficients (TC) to aggregate the mass transfer associated with a series of contacts with a contaminated medium. The macroactivity approach affords the possibility of developing scr...

Synthesis, 99m Tc-labeling, and preliminary biological evaluation of DTPA-melphalan conjugates.

PubMed

Wang, Jianjun; Yang, Wenjiang; Xue, Jinquan; Zhang, Yanhua; Liu, Yu

2017-12-01

Melphalan (MFL) is a typical nitrogen mustard for the treatment of many types of cancer. For the purpose to develop novel 99m Tc-labeled tumor imaging agents with SPECT, MFL was directly labeled by 99m Tc using diethylene triamine pentacetate acid (DTPA) as bifunctional chelating agent. The novel ligands were successfully synthesized by conjugation of DTPA to MFL to get monosubstituted DTPA-MFL and bis-substituted DTPA-2MFL. Radiolabeling was performed in high yield to get 99m Tc-DTPA-MFL and 99m Tc-DTPA-2MFL, respectively, which were hydrophilic and stable at room temperature. The high initial tumor uptake with retention, good tumor/muscle ratios, and satisfactory scintigraphic images suggested the potential of 99m Tc-DTPA-MFL and 99m Tc-DTPA-2MFL for tumor imaging. However, the slow normal tissue clearance would be a great obstacle. Further modification on the linker and/or 99m Tc-chelate to improve the tumor targeting efficacy and in vivo kinetic profiles is currently in progress. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Temperature dependence of positron annihilation parameters in Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sundar, C. S.; Bharathi, A.; Ching, W. Y.; Jean, Y. C.; Hor, P. H.; Meng, R. L.; Huang, Z. J.; Chu, C. W.

1990-08-01

The results of positron lifetime and Doppler broadened line-shape parameter measurements as a function of temperature, across Tc, in the Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconductors are presented. The bulk lifetime in the normal state is found to decrease with the increase in the number of CuO2 layers. Different temperature dependencies of the annihilation parameters are observed in the various Tl systems containing different numbers of CuO2 layers. In the Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 system, an increase in lifetime is observed below Tc, whereas in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8, a decrease in lifetime is seen below Tc. In the Tl2Ba2CuO6 system, the lifetime is observed to be temperature independent. The different temperature variations of positron annihilation parameters are discussed in the light of the positron density distribution, obtained with use of the results of the self-consistent orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals band-structure calculations. It is argued that the different temperature dependencies of the annihilation parameters is related to the positron density distribution within the unit cell and arise due to local charge transfer in the vicinity of the CuO2 layer in the superconducting state.

An Experimental Study of Diffusivity of Technetium-99 in Hanford Vadose Zone Sediments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mattigod, Shas V.; Bovaird, Chase C.; Wellman, Dawn M.

2012-11-01

One of the methods being considered at the Hanford site in Washington for safely disposing of low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) is to encase the waste in concrete and entomb the packages in the Hanford vadose zone sediments. The current plan for waste isolation consists of stacking low-level waste packages on a trench floor, surrounding the stacks with reinforced steel, and encasing these packages with concrete. Any failure of the concrete encasement may result in water intrusion and consequent mobilization of radionuclides from the waste packages. The mobilized radionuclides may escape from the encased concrete by mass flow and/or diffusion andmore » move into the surrounding subsurface sediments. It is therefore necessary to conduct an assessment of the performance of the concrete encasement structure and the surrounding soil’s ability to retard radionuclide migration. The retardation factors for radionuclides contained in the waste packages can be determined from measurements of diffusion coefficients for these contaminants through concrete and fill material. Because of their anionic nature in aqueous solutions, the radionuclides, 99Tc and 129I were identified as long-term dose contributors in LLW. The leachability and/or diffusion of these radionuclide species must be measured in order to assess the long-term performance of waste grouts when contacted with vadose-zone porewater or groundwater. To measure the diffusivity, a set of experiments were conducted using 99Tc-spiked concrete (with 0 and 4% metallic iron additions) in contact with unsaturated soil half-cells that reflected the typical moisture contents of Hanford vadose zone sediments. The 99Tc diffusion profiles in the soil half cells were measured after a time lapse of ~1.9 yr. Using the concentration profiles, the 99Tc diffusivity coefficients were calculated based on Fick’s Second Law.« less

Novel Index (Hepatic Receptor: IHR) to Evaluate Hepatic Functional Reserve Using (99m)Tc-GSA Scintigraphy.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Daisuke; Onishi, Hideo; Matsutomo, Norikazu

2016-02-01

This study aimed to evaluate the novel index of hepatic receptor (IHR) on the regression analysis derived from time activity curve of the liver for hepatic functional reserve. Sixty patients had undergone (99m)Tc-galactosyl serum albumin ((99m)Tc-GSA) scintigraphy in the retrospective clinical study. Time activity curves for liver were obtained by region of interest (ROI) on the whole liver. A novel hepatic functional predictor was calculated with multiple regression analysis of time activity curves. In the multiple regression function, the objective variables were the indocyanine green (ICG) retention rate at 15 min, and the explanatory variables were the liver counts in 3-min intervals until end from beginning. Then, this result was defined by IHR, and we analyzed the correlation between IHR and ICG, uptake ratio of the heart at 15 minutes to that at 3 minutes (HH15), uptake ratio of the liver to the liver plus heart at 15 minutes (LHL15), and index of convexity (IOC). Regression function of IHR was derived as follows: IHR=0.025×L(6)-0.052×L(12)+0.027×L(27). The multiple regression analysis indicated that liver counts at 6 min, 12 min, and 27 min were significantly related to objective variables. The correlation coefficient between IHR and ICG was 0.774, and the correlation coefficient between ICG and conventional indices (HH15, LHL15, and IOC) were 0.837, 0.773, and 0.793, respectively. IHR had good correlation with HH15, LHL15, and IOC. The finding results suggested that IHR would provide clinical benefit for hepatic functional assessment in the (99m)Tc-GSA scintigraphy.

Long-Term Trends of Carbon Monoxide Total Columnar Amount in Urban Areas and Background Regions: Ground- and Satellite-based Spectroscopic Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Pucai; Elansky, N. F.; Timofeev, Yu. M.; Wang, Gengchen; Golitsyn, G. S.; Makarova, M. V.; Rakitin, V. S.; Shtabkin, Yu.; Skorokhod, A. I.; Grechko, E. I.; Fokeeva, E. V.; Safronov, A. N.; Ran, Liang; Wang, Ting

2018-07-01

A comparative study was carried out to explore carbon monoxide total columnar amount (CO TC) in background and polluted atmosphere, including the stations of ZSS (Zvenigorod), ZOTTO (Central Siberia), Peterhof, Beijing, and Moscow, during 1998-2014, on the basis of ground- and satellite-based spectroscopic measurements. Interannual variations of CO TC in different regions of Eurasia were obtained from ground-based spectroscopic observations, combined with satellite data from the sensors MOPITT (2001-14), AIRS (2003-14), and IASI MetOp-A (2010-13). A decreasing trend in CO TC (1998-2014) was found at the urban site of Beijing, where CO TC decreased by 1.14%±0.87% yr-1. Meanwhile, at the Moscow site, CO TC decreased remarkably by 3.73%±0.39% yr-1. In the background regions (ZSS, ZOTTO, Peterhof), the reduction was 0.9%-1.7% yr-1 during the same period. Based on the AIRSv6 satellite data for the period 2003-14, a slight decrease (0.4%-0.6% yr-1) of CO TC was detected over the midlatitudes of Eurasia, while a reduction of 0.9%-1.2% yr-1 was found in Southeast Asia. The degree of correlation between the CO TC derived from satellite products (MOPITTv6 Joint, AIRSv6 and IASI MetOp-A) and ground-based measurements was calculated, revealing significant correlation in unpolluted regions. While in polluted areas, IASI MetOp-A and AIRSv6 data underestimated CO TC by a factor of 1.5-2.8. On average, the correlation coefficient between ground- and satellite-based data increased significantly for cases with PBL heights greater than 500 m.

Permeability of ferret trachea in vitro to {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA and [{sup 14}C]antipyrine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanafi, Z.; Webber, S.E.; Widdicombe, J.G.

1994-09-01

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) and vasoactive drugs were tested on permeability of ferret trachea in vitro by measuring fluxes of {sup 99m}{Tc}-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid ({sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA; hydrophilic) and [{sup 14}C]antipyrine ([{sup 14}C]AP; lipophilic) across the tracheal wall. Tracheae were bathed on both sides with Krebs-Henseleit buffer, with luminal buffer containing either {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA or [{sup 14}C]AP. Luminal and abluminal radioactivities, potential difference, and tracheal smooth muscle tone were measured. Baseline {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA and [{sup 14}C]AP permeability coefficients were - 4.7 {+-} 0.6 (SE) x 10{sup {minus}7} and -2.2 {+-} 0.1 x 10{sup {minus}5} cm/s, respectively. PAF (10 {mu}M) increased permeability tomore » {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA to -35.3 {+-} 7.6 x 10{sup {minus}7} cm/s (P < 0.05), but permeability to [{sup 14}C]AP did not change, suggesting that paracellular but not transcellular transport was affected. Abluminal and luminal applications of methacholine (MCh, 20 {mu}M), phenylephrine (PE, 100 {mu}M), and albuterol (Alb, 100 {mu}M) caused no change in permeability to {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA before or after exposure to luminal PAF, but abluminal histamine (Hist, 10 {mu}M) significantly increased permeability. Abluminal Hist decreased permeability to [{sup 14}C]AP before and after exposure to PAF. MCh, PE, and Hist increased smooth muscle tone; Alb and PAF had no effect. Thus, only PAF and Hist altered permeability to {sup 99m}{Tc}-DTPA, and MCh, PE, and Hist changed smooth muscle tone. Tracheal permeability changes were greater for the hydrophilic than for the lipophilic agent. 37 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.« less

Anisotropic upper critical magnetic fields in Rb 2 Cr 3 As 3 superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tang, Zhang-Tu; Liu, Yi; Bao, Jin-Ke

Rb2Cr3As3 is a structurally one-dimensional superconductor containing Cr3As3 chains with a superconducting transition temperature of T-c = 4.8 K. Here we report the electrical resistance measurements for Rb2Cr3As3 single crystals, under magnetic fields up to 29.5 T and at temperatures down to 0.36 K, from which the upper critical fields, H-c2(T), can be obtained in a broad temperature range. For field parallel to the Cr3As3 chains, H-c2(parallel to)(T) is paramagnetically limited with an initial slope of mu(0)dH(c2)(parallel to)/dT|T-c = - 16 T K-1 and a zero-temperature upper critical field of mu H-0(c2)parallel to(0) = 17.5 T. For field perpendicular tomore » the Cr3As3 chains, however, H-c2(perpendicular to)(T) is only limited by orbital pair-breaking effect with mu(0)dH(c2)(perpendicular to)/dT|(Tc) = - 3 T K-1. As a consequence, the anisotropy gamma H = H-c2(parallel to)/H-c2(perpendicular to) decreases sharply near T-c and reverses below 2 K. Remarkably, the low- temperature H-c2(perpendicular to)(T) down to 0.075 T-c remains to increase linearly up to over three times the Pauli paramagnetic limit, which strongly suggests dominant spin-triplet superconductivity in Rb2Cr3As3.« less

Collection, storage, inspection and quality control of platelet concentrates obtained by apheresis: The situation in Spain.

PubMed

Castrillo, Azucena; Jimenez-Marco, Teresa; Arroyo, José L; Jurado, María L; Larrea, Luis; Maymo, Rosa M; Monge, Jorge; Muñoz, Carmen; Pajares, Ángel; Yáñez, Marta

2017-06-01

Diverse variables are involved in apheresis platelet collection, processing and storage. This survey shows how these are realized in Spain. An analysis of collected data was performed in a questionnaire completed by ten Transfusion Centers (TC) which perform between 50 and 520 apheresis procedures per month. This information comprises the procedures used to collect, inspect and store apheresis platelet concentrates (PC), and quality control data. Macroscopic inspection of PC is performed in all TC, especially during the first few hours post-collection and before distribution. The type of processor, duration of post-collection resting periods and temperature from the time of collection until distribution are similar in all TC. In 80% of TC, PC with small and scarce aggregates are distributed to transfusion services. The presence of clumps is influenced by type of processor, female donor, cold ambient temperature and collection of hyperconcentrated platelets, and is often recurrent in the same donor, although some TC have not found any influential variables. Overall, no objective inspection methods are followed, although there are exceptions. The degree of compliance with quality control parameters, such as the number of units studied, mean platelet yield, residual leukocyte counts and pH at expiry date, is acceptable in all TC. Compliance in terms of number of microbiological culture samples is variable. The usual practice in Spanish TC with respect to the collection, post-collection handling and storage of apheresis PC can be considered uniform, although some specific aspects of analyses should follow more objective methods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-pertechnetate Technetium Sensor Research and Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bryan, Samuel A.; Rapko, Brian M.; Branch, Shirmir D.

Several significant uncertainties remain regarding the understanding and modeling of the fate and speciation of technicium-99 ( 99Tc) in Hanford waste tanks, glass, and low-temperature waste forms. A significant (2% to 25%) fraction of the 99Tc in the water-soluble portion of the tank waste may be present as one or more non pertechnetate species that have not been identified and to date, cannot be effectively separated from the wastes. This task will provide a sensor specifically tuned to detect the Tc(I)-carbonyl species believed to constitute the main fraction of the non-pertechnetate form of technetium. By direct measurement of the non-pertechnetatemore » species, such a sensor will help reduce the uncertainties in the modeling of the fate and speciation of 99Tc in Hanford tanks and waste forms. This report summarizes work performed in FY2016 that was sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and demonstrates the protocol for using fluorescent Tc(I)-tricarbonyl complex as a means to detect the non-pertechnetate species within tank waste solutions. The protocol was optimized with respect to ligand concentration, solvent choice, reaction temperature and time. This work culminated in the quantitation of Tc(I)-tricarbonyl within a waste simulant, using a standard addition method for measurement. This report also summarizes the synthesis and high-yield preparation of the low-valence technetium species, [Tc(CO) 3(H 2O) 3] +, which will be used as the technetium standard material for the demonstration of the non-pertechnetate species in actual wastes.« less

Interbasin Differences in the Relationship between SST and Tropical Cyclone Intensification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Foltz, Gregory R.; Balaguru, Karthik; Hagos, Samson

Sea surface temperature (SST) is one of the most important parameters for tropical cyclone (TC) intensification. Here it is shown that the impact of SST on TC intensification varies considerably from basin to basin, with SST explaining less than 3% of the variance in TC intensification rates in the Atlantic, 10% in the western North Pacific, and 17% in the eastern Pacific. Two main factors are shown to be responsible for these inter-basin differences. First, variability of SST along TCs’ tracks is considerably lower in the Atlantic. This is due to smaller horizontal SST gradients in the Atlantic compared tomore » the eastern Pacific and stronger damping of pre-storm SST’s contribution to TC intensification by the storm-induced cold SST wake in the Atlantic. The damping occurs because SST tends to vary in phase with TC- induced SST cooling: in the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern basin where SSTs are highest, TCs’ translation speeds are lowest and therefore their cold wakes are strongest. In addition to this SST effect, a second factor is that SST tends to vary out of phase with vertical wind shear and outflow temperature in the western Pacific, with high SST associated with weak wind shear and a cold upper troposphere. This strengthens the relationship between SST and TC intensification more in the western Pacific than in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic. Combined, these factors explain why pre-storm SST is such a poor predictor of TC intensification in the Atlantic compared to the eastern and western North Pacific.« less

Comparative Reliability Studies and Analysis of Au, Pd-Coated Cu and Pd-Doped Cu Wire in Microelectronics Packaging

PubMed Central

Chong Leong, Gan; Uda, Hashim

2013-01-01

This paper compares and discusses the wearout reliability and analysis of Gold (Au), Palladium (Pd) coated Cu and Pd-doped Cu wires used in fineline Ball Grid Array (BGA) package. Intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness measurement has been carried out to estimate the coefficient of diffusion (Do) under various aging conditions of different bonding wires. Wire pull and ball bond shear strengths have been analyzed and we found smaller variation in Pd-doped Cu wire compared to Au and Pd-doped Cu wire. Au bonds were identified to have faster IMC formation, compared to slower IMC growth of Cu. The obtained weibull slope, β of three bonding wires are greater than 1.0 and belong to wearout reliability data point. Pd-doped Cu wire exhibits larger time-to-failure and cycles-to-failure in both wearout reliability tests in Highly Accelerated Temperature and Humidity (HAST) and Temperature Cycling (TC) tests. This proves Pd-doped Cu wire has a greater potential and higher reliability margin compared to Au and Pd-coated Cu wires. PMID:24244344

High Curie temperature and enhanced magnetoelectric properties of the laminated Li0.058(Na0.535K0.48)0.942NbO3/Co0.6 Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4 composites

PubMed Central

Yang, Haibo; Zhang, Jintao; Lin, Ying; Wang, Tong

2017-01-01

Laminated magnetoelectric composites of Li0.058(Na0.535K0.48)0.942NbO3 (LKNN)/Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4 (CZFM) prepared by the conventional solid-state sintering method were investigated for their dielectric, magnetic, and magnetoelectric properties. The microstructure of the laminated composites indicates that the LKNN phase and CZFM phase can coexist in the composites. Compared with the particulate magnetoelectric composites, the laminated composites have better piezoelectric and magnetoelectric properties due to their higher resistances and lower leakage currents. The magnetoelectric behaviors lie on the relative mass ratio of LKNN phase and CZFM phase. The laminated composites possess a high Curie temperature (TC) of 463 °C, and the largest ME coefficient of 285 mV/cm Oe, which is the highest value for the lead-free bulk ceramic magnetoelectric composites so far. PMID:28338006

Angle-dependent tribological properties of AlCrN coatings with microtextures induced by nanosecond laser under dry friction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Youqiang; Deng, Jianxin; Gao, Peng; Gao, Juntao; Wu, Ze

2018-04-01

Microtextures with different groove inclinations are fabricated on the AlCrN-coated surface by a nanosecond laser, and the tribological properties of the textured AlCrN samples sliding against AISI 1045 steel balls are investigated by reciprocating sliding friction tests under dry conditions. Results show that the microtextures can effectively improve the tribological properties of the AlCrN surface compared with the smooth surface. Meanwhile, the angle between the groove inclination and sliding direction has an important influence on the friction and wear properties. The textured sample with the small groove inclination may be beneficial to reducing the friction and adhesions, and the TC-0° sample exhibits the lowest friction coefficient and adhesions of the worn surface. The wear volume of the ball sliding against the TC-0° sample is smaller compared with the UTC sample and the sliding against the TC-45° and TC-90° samples is larger compared with the UTC sample. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the microtextures are discussed.

Phase-incoherent superconducting pairs in the normal state of Ba(Fe(1-x)Co(x))₂As₂.

PubMed

Sheet, Goutam; Mehta, Manan; Dikin, D A; Lee, S; Bark, C W; Jiang, J; Weiss, J D; Hellstrom, E E; Rzchowski, M S; Eom, C B; Chandrasekhar, V

2010-10-15

The normal state properties of the recently discovered ferropnictide superconductors might hold the key to understanding their exotic superconductivity. Using point-contact spectroscopy we show that Andreev reflection between an epitaxial thin film of Ba(Fe(0.92)Co(0.08))₂As₂ and a silver tip can be seen in the normal state of the film up to temperature T∼1.3T(c), where T(c) is the critical temperature of the superconductor. Andreev reflection far above T(c) can be understood only when superconducting pairs arising from strong fluctuation of the phase of the complex superconducting order parameter exist in the normal state. Our results provide spectroscopic evidence of phase-incoherent superconducting pairs in the normal state of the ferropnictide superconductors.

Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited: enhanced critical temperature in the clean limit.

PubMed

Löptien, P; Zhou, L; Khajetoorians, A A; Wiebe, J; Wiesendanger, R

2014-10-22

The thickness dependence of the superconducting energy gap ΔLa of double hexagonally close packed (dhcp) lanthanum islands grown on W(110) is studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, from the bulk to the thin-film limit. Superconductivity is suppressed by the boundary conditions for the superconducting wavefunction on the surface and W/La interface, leading to a linear decrease of the critical temperature Tc as a function of the inverse film thickness. For the thick, bulk-like films, ΔLa and Tc are 40% larger compared to the literature values of dhcp La as measured by other techniques. This finding is reconciled by examining the effects of surface contamination as probed by modifications of the surface state, suggesting that the large Tc originates in the superior purity of the samples investigated here.

Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited: enhanced critical temperature in the clean limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löptien, P.; Zhou, L.; Khajetoorians, A. A.; Wiebe, J.; Wiesendanger, R.

2014-10-01

The thickness dependence of the superconducting energy gap ΔLa of double hexagonally close packed (dhcp) lanthanum islands grown on W(110) is studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, from the bulk to the thin-film limit. Superconductivity is suppressed by the boundary conditions for the superconducting wavefunction on the surface and W/La interface, leading to a linear decrease of the critical temperature Tc as a function of the inverse film thickness. For the thick, bulk-like films, ΔLa and Tc are 40% larger compared to the literature values of dhcp La as measured by other techniques. This finding is reconciled by examining the effects of surface contamination as probed by modifications of the surface state, suggesting that the large Tc originates in the superior purity of the samples investigated here.

Fluctuation conductivity in the superconducting compound Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aliev, V. M.; Ragimov, J. A.; Selim-zade, R. I.; Damirova, S. Z.; Tairov, B. A.

2017-12-01

A study of how the partial substitution of Bi with Pb impacts the mechanism of excess conductivity in a Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system. It is found that such a substitution leads to an increase in the critical temperature of the Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy(B2) sample, in comparison to Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox (B1) [Tc (B2) = 100.09 K and Tc (B1) = 90.5 K, respectively]. At the same time, the resistivity ρ of the sample B2 in the normal phase decreases by almost 1.5 times in comparison to B1. The mechanism responsible for the generation of excess conductivity in cuprate HTSCs Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox and Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy is examined using the local pair model with consideration of the Aslamazov-Larkin theory, near Tc. The temperature T0 of the transition from the 2D fluctuation region to the 3D (i.e., the temperature of the 2D-3D crossover), is also determined. The coherence length ξc(0) along the c axis of fluctuation Cooper pairs is calculated. It is shown that the partial substitution of Bi with Pb in the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system leads to a decrease in ξc(0) by a factor of 1.3 (4.205 and 3.254 Å, respectively), and that there is a narrowing of both the region of pseudogap existence and the region of superconducting fluctuations near Tc. The temperature dependence of the pseudogap Δ*(T) and the value Δ*(Tc) are determined, and the temperatures Tm, which correspond to the maximum of the pseudogap as a function of temperature in these materials, are estimated. The pseudogap maxima in samples B1 and B2 are found to be 61.06 and 38.18 meV, respectively.

From dry to saturated thermal conductivity: mixing-model correction charts and new conversion equations for sedimentary rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Sven; Schütz, Felina; Förster, Andrea; Förster, Hans-Jürgen

2013-04-01

The thermal conductivity (TC) of a rock is, in collaboration with the temperature gradient, the basic parameter to determine the heat flow from the Earth interior. Moreover, it forms the input into models targeted on temperature prognoses for geothermal reservoirs at those depths not yet reached by boreholes. Thus, rock TC is paramount in geothermal exploration and site selection. Most commonly, TC of a rock is determined in the laboratory on samples that are either dry or water-saturated. Because sample saturation is time-consuming, it is desirable, especially if large numbers of samples need to be assessed, to develop an approach that quickly and reliably converts dry-measured bulk TC into the respective saturated value without applying the saturation procedure. Different petrophysical models can be deployed to calculate the matrix TC of a rock from the bulk TC and vice versa, if the effective porosity is known (e.g., from well logging data) and the TC of the saturation fluid (e.g., gas, oil, water) is considered. We have studied for a large suite of different sedimentary rocks the performance of two-component (rock matrix, porosity) models that are widely used in geothermics (arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, Hashin and Shtrikman mean, and effective medium theory mean). The data set consisted of 1147 TC data from three different sedimentary basins (North German Basin, Molasse Basin, Mesozoic platform sediments of the northern Sinai Microplate in Israel). Four lithotypes (sandstone, mudstone, limestone, dolomite) were studied exhibiting bulk TC in the range between 1.0 and 6.5 W/(mK). The quality of fit between measured (laboratory) and calculated bulk TC values was studied separately for the influence of lithotype, saturation fluid (water and isooctane), and rock anisotropy (parallel and perpendicular to bedding). The geometric mean model displays the best correspondence between calculated and measured bulk TC, however, the relation is not satisfying. To improve the fit of the models, correction equations are calculated based on the statistical data. In addition, the application of correction equations allows a significant improvement of the accuracy of bulk TC data calculated. However, the "corrected" geometric mean constitutes the only model universally applicable to different types of sedimentary rocks and, thus, is recommended for the calculation of bulk TC. Finally, the statistical analysis also resulted in lithotype-specific conversion equations, which permit a calculation of the water-saturated bulk TC from dry-measured TC and porosity (e.g., well-log-derived porosity). This approach has the advantage that the saturated bulk TC could be calculated readily without application of any mixing model. The expected errors with this approach are in the range between 5 and 10 % (Fuchs et al., 2013).

A robust holographic autofocusing criterion based on edge sparsity: comparison of Gini index and Tamura coefficient for holographic autofocusing based on the edge sparsity of the complex optical wavefront

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamamitsu, Miu; Zhang, Yibo; Wang, Hongda; Wu, Yichen; Ozcan, Aydogan

2018-02-01

The Sparsity of the Gradient (SoG) is a robust autofocusing criterion for holography, where the gradient modulus of the complex refocused hologram is calculated, on which a sparsity metric is applied. Here, we compare two different choices of sparsity metrics used in SoG, specifically, the Gini index (GI) and the Tamura coefficient (TC), for holographic autofocusing on dense/connected or sparse samples. We provide a theoretical analysis predicting that for uniformly distributed image data, TC and GI exhibit similar behavior, while for naturally sparse images containing few high-valued signal entries and many low-valued noisy background pixels, TC is more sensitive to distribution changes in the signal and more resistive to background noise. These predictions are also confirmed by experimental results using SoG-based holographic autofocusing on dense and connected samples (such as stained breast tissue sections) as well as highly sparse samples (such as isolated Giardia lamblia cysts). Through these experiments, we found that ToG and GoG offer almost identical autofocusing performance on dense and connected samples, whereas for naturally sparse samples, GoG should be calculated on a relatively small region of interest (ROI) closely surrounding the object, while ToG offers more flexibility in choosing a larger ROI containing more background pixels.

A PERIPHERAL CHOLINERGIC PATHWAY MODULATES STRESS-INDUCED HYPERTHERMIA IN THE RAT EXPOSED TO AN OPEN FIELD.

EPA Science Inventory

Exposure to an open-field is psychologically stressful and leads to an elevation in core temperature (Tc). This increase in Tc associated with open-field is usually referred to as stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) and can be blocked centrally with cyclooxygenase inhibitors suc...

Rugged Low-Resistance Contacts To High-Tc Superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caton, Randall; Selim, Raouf; Byvik, Charles E.; Buoncristiani, A. Martin

1992-01-01

Newly developed technique involving use of gold makes possible to fabricate low-resistance contacts with rugged connections to high-Tc superconductors. Gold diffused into specimen of superconducting material by melting gold beads onto surface of specimen, making strong mechanical contacts. Shear strength of gold bead contacts greater than epoxy or silver paste. Practical use in high-current-carrying applications of new high-Tc materials, including superconducting magnets, long-wavelength sensors, electrical ground planes at low temperatures, and efficient transmission of power.

Strain and order-parameter coupling in Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys from resonant ultrasound spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar Mejía, C.; Born, N.-O.; Schiemer, J. A.; Felser, C.; Carpenter, M. A.; Nicklas, M.

2018-03-01

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility experiments have been used to characterize strain coupling phenomena associated with structural and magnetic properties of the shape-memory Heusler alloy series Ni50 +xMn25 -xGa25 (x =0 , 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5). All samples exhibit a martensitic transformation at temperature TM and ferromagnetic ordering at temperature TC, while the pure end member (x =0 ) also has a premartensitic transition at TP M, giving four different scenarios: TC>TP M>TM,TC>TM without premartensitic transition, TC≈TM , and TC

Tuning the Curie temperature of L 1 0 ordered FePt thin films through site-specific substitution of Rh

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Dongbin; Sun, Cheng-Jun; Chen, Jing-Sheng

2014-10-14

In structurally ordered magnetic thin films, the Curie temperature (TC) of ferromagnetic films depends on the exchange integral of the short range ordered neighboring atoms. The exchange integral may be adjusted by controlling elemental substitutional concentration at the lattice site of interest. We show how to control the TC in high anisotropy L10 Fe50Pt50 magnetic thin films by substituting Rh into the Pt site. Rh substitution in L10 FePt modified the local atomic environment and corresponding electronic properties while retaining the ordered L10 phase. The analysis of extended x-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectra shows that Rh uniformly substitutes formore » Pt in L10 FePt. With 15 at. % of Rh substitution, temperature-dependent magnetic measurements show that the saturation magnetization (Ms) decreases from 1152 emu/cc to 670 emu/cc, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy (Ku) drops from 5×107 erg/cc to 2×107 erg/cc, and TC decreased from 750 to 500 K. A model of antiferromagnetic (AFM) defects caused by controlled Rh substitution of the Pt site, reducing the TC, is proposed to interpret this phenomenon and the validity is further examined by ab initio density functional calculations.« less

H-modulated microwave absorption and resistive transition in the high- Tc superconductor YBa 2Cu 3O 7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buluggiu, E.; Vera, A.; Amoretti, G.

1990-11-01

The derivative microwave absorption near Tc in presence of a sufficiently high field ( H⩾1 kOe) is related to the temperature variation of resistivity. This idea, originally proposed by Kim et al. (1988), is extended to take into account the effects of the anomalous resistive tail by using the thermoactivated flux-creep model proposed by Tinkham (1988). This gives a simple explanation for some relevant features observed in the temperature behaviour of the ESR absorption, as the asymmetry of the peak at Tc, with the long tail extending toward low temperatures, and the field dependence of height and linewidth, for which the model provides H-1 and H2/3 behaviour, respectively, ESR data on YBa 2Cu 3O 7 powder are in satisfactory agreement with this picture, when the role of the intrinsic 2D-character of this compound is properly taken into account. This allows us to deduce consistent values for the parameters a‖ and a⊥ of the anisotropic resistivity.

Superconductivity at 43K in SmFeAsO1-xFx

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X. H.; Wu, T.; Wu, G.; Liu, R. H.; Chen, H.; Fang, D. F.

2008-06-01

Since the discovery of high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity in layered copper oxides, extensive effort has been devoted to exploring the origins of this phenomenon. A Tc higher than 40K (about the theoretical maximum predicted from Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory), however, has been obtained only in the copper oxide superconductors. The highest reported value for non-copper-oxide bulk superconductivity is Tc = 39K in MgB2 (ref. 2). The layered rare-earth metal oxypnictides LnOFeAs (where Ln is La-Nd, Sm and Gd) are now attracting attention following the discovery of superconductivity at 26K in the iron-based LaO1-xFxFeAs (ref. 3). Here we report the discovery of bulk superconductivity in the related compound SmFeAsO1-xFx, which has a ZrCuSiAs-type structure. Resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal a transition temperature as high as 43K. This provides a new material base for studying the origin of high-temperature superconductivity.

Heat-induced gelation of casein micelles in aqueous suspensions at different pH.

PubMed

Thomar, Peggy; Nicolai, Taco

2016-10-01

Heat-induced gelation of casein micelles in aqueous solution was investigated between pH 5.2 and pH 6.7 over a wide range of protein concentrations (C=25-160gL(-1)). For C≥40gL(-1) the casein micelles rapidly formed a self-supporting gel above a critical temperature (Tc). At C=160gL(-1), Tc decreased from 90°C at pH 6.5 to 30°C at pH 5.4 and increased with decreasing protein concentration. Oscillatory shear measurements during heating showed that the elastic modulus (Gel) of the gels increased strongly with increasing protein concentration, but was insensitive to the pH and the heating temperature except close to Tc where Gel decreased sharply with decreasing temperature. The microstructure of the gels was observed by confocal scanning laser microscopy. Heat-induced gelation of casein micelles was compared with that of sodium caseinate solutions free of calcium phosphate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of superconductivity under pressure and the magnetic phase diagram of tantalum disulfide single crystals

PubMed Central

Abdel-Hafiez, M.; Zhao, X.-M.; Kordyuk, A. A.; Fang, Y.-W.; Pan, B.; He, Z.; Duan, C.-G.; Zhao, J.; Chen, X.-J.

2016-01-01

In low-dimensional electron systems, charge density waves (CDW) and superconductivity are two of the most fundamental collective quantum phenomena. For all known quasi-two-dimensional superconductors, the origin and exact boundary of the electronic orderings and superconductivity are still attractive problems. Through transport and thermodynamic measurements, we report on the field-temperature phase diagram in 2H-TaS2 single crystals. We show that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) increases by one order of magnitude from temperatures at 0.98 K up to 9.15 K at 8.7 GPa when the Tc becomes very sharp. Additionally, the effects of 8.7 GPa illustrate a suppression of the CDW ground state, with critically small Fermi surfaces. Below the Tc the lattice of magnetic flux lines melts from a solid-like state to a broad vortex liquid phase region. Our measurements indicate an unconventional s-wave-like picture with two energy gaps evidencing its multi-band nature. PMID:27534898

Critical Temperature of Randomly Diluted Two-Dimensional Heisenberg Ferromagnet, K2CuxZn(1-x)F4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okuda, Yuichi; Tohi, Yasuto; Yamada, Isao; Haseda, Taiichiro

1980-09-01

The susceptibility of randomly diluted two-dimensional Heisenberg-like ferromagnet K2CuxZn(1-x)F4 was measured down to 50 mK, using the 3He-4He dilution refrigerator and a SQUID magnetometer. The ferromagnetic critical temperature Tc(x) was obtained for x{=}0.98, 0.94, 0.85, 0.82, 0.68, 0.60, 0.54, 0.50 and 0.42. The value of [1/Tc(1)][(d/dx)Tc(x)]x=1 was approximately 3.0. The critical temperature versus x curve exhibits a noticeable tail near the critical concentration, which may stem from the second nearest-neighbor interaction. The critical concentration xc, below which concentration there is no long range order down to T{=}0 K, was estimated to be 0.45˜0.50. The susceptibility of sample with x{=}0.42 behaves as if it obeys the Curie law down to 50 mK.

Unavoidable electric current caused by inhomogeneities and its influence on measured material parameters of thermoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, K.; Song, H. P.; Gao, C. F.

2018-03-01

It is well known that the key factor determining the performance of thermoelectric materials is the figure of merit, which depends on the thermal conductivity (TC), electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient (SC). The electric current must be zero when measuring the TC and SC to avoid the occurrence of measurement errors. In this study, the complex-variable method is used to analyze the thermoelectric field near an elliptic inhomogeneity in an open circuit, and the field distributions are obtained in closed form. Our analysis shows that an electric current inevitably exists in both the matrix and the inhomogeneity even though the circuit is open. This unexpected electric current seriously affects the accuracy with which the TC and SC are measured. These measurement errors, both overall and local, are analyzed in detail. In addition, an error correction method is proposed based on the analytical results.

Layer dependence of the superconducting transition temperature of HgBa2Can-1 CunO2 n+2+ δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, B. A.; Suard, E. Y.; Tsuei, C. C.; Mitzi, D. B.; McGuire, T. R.; Chen, B.-H.; Walker, D.

1994-09-01

High-pressure methods have been used to synthesize multiphase compositions in the Hg12{ n-1} n homologous series. The phase assemblages were examined by optical, electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction techniques, and their stoichiometries verified by electron microprobe. Transport and magnetic susceptibility measurements were combined with the results of the phase analysis to establish superconducting transition temperatures for both as-prepared and O 2- or Ar-annealed materials. It was found that the transition temperature peaks at Tc = 134 K for n = 3 and then decreases abruptly for n>4, reaching Tc<90 K for n⪖7.

Inter-decadal change of the lagged inter-annual relationship between local sea surface temperature and tropical cyclone activity over the western North Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Haikun; Wu, Liguang; Raga, G. B.

2018-02-01

This study documents the inter-decadal change of the lagged inter-annual relationship between the TC frequency (TCF) and the local sea surface temperature (SST) in the western North Pacific (WNP) during 1979-2014. An abrupt shift of the lagged relationship between them is observed to occur in 1998. Before the shift (1979-1997), a moderately positive correlation (0.35) between previous-year local SST and TCF is found, while a significantly negative correlation (- 0.71) is found since the shift (1998-2014). The inter-decadal change of the lagged relationship between TCF and local SST over the WNP is also accompanied by an inter-decadal change in the lagged inter-annual relationship between large-scale factors affecting TCs and local SST over the WNP. During 1998-2014, the previous-year local SST shows a significant negative correlation with the mid-level moisture and a significant positive correlation with the vertical wind shear over the main development region of WNP TC genesis. Almost opposite relationships are seen during 1979-1997, with a smaller magnitude of the correlation coefficients. These changes are consistent with the changes of the lagged inter-annual relationship between upper- and lower-level winds and local SST over the WNP. Analyses further suggests that the inter-decadal shift of the lagged inter-annual relationship between WNP TCF and local SST may be closely linked to the inter-decadal change of inter-annual SST transition over the tropical central-eastern Pacific associated with the climate regime shift in the late 1990s. Details on the underlying physical process need further investigation using observations and simulations.

Cluster Detection Tests in Spatial Epidemiology: A Global Indicator for Performance Assessment

PubMed Central

Guttmann, Aline; Li, Xinran; Feschet, Fabien; Gaudart, Jean; Demongeot, Jacques; Boire, Jean-Yves; Ouchchane, Lemlih

2015-01-01

In cluster detection of disease, the use of local cluster detection tests (CDTs) is current. These methods aim both at locating likely clusters and testing for their statistical significance. New or improved CDTs are regularly proposed to epidemiologists and must be subjected to performance assessment. Because location accuracy has to be considered, performance assessment goes beyond the raw estimation of type I or II errors. As no consensus exists for performance evaluations, heterogeneous methods are used, and therefore studies are rarely comparable. A global indicator of performance, which assesses both spatial accuracy and usual power, would facilitate the exploration of CDTs behaviour and help between-studies comparisons. The Tanimoto coefficient (TC) is a well-known measure of similarity that can assess location accuracy but only for one detected cluster. In a simulation study, performance is measured for many tests. From the TC, we here propose two statistics, the averaged TC and the cumulated TC, as indicators able to provide a global overview of CDTs performance for both usual power and location accuracy. We evidence the properties of these two indicators and the superiority of the cumulated TC to assess performance. We tested these indicators to conduct a systematic spatial assessment displayed through performance maps. PMID:26086911

Unconventional superconductivity in the strong-coupling limit for the heavy fermion system CeCoIn5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fasano, Y.; Szabó, P.; Kačmarčík, J.; Pribulová, Z.; Pedrazzini, P.; Samuely, P.; Correa, V. F.

2018-05-01

We present scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the local quasiparticles' excitation spectra of the heavy fermion CeCoIn5 between 440 mK and 3 K in samples with a bulk Tc = 2.25 K . The spectral shape of our low-temperature tunneling data, quite textbook nodal- Δ conductance, allow us to confidently fit the spectra with a d-wave density of states considering also a shortening of quasiparticles' lifetime term Γ. The Δ (0) value obtained from the fits yields a BCS ratio 2 Δ /kTc = 7.73 suggesting that CeCoIn5 is an unconventional superconductor in the strong coupling limit. The fits also reveal that the height of coherence peaks in CeCoIn5 is reduced with respect to a pure BCS spectra and therefore the coupling of quasiparticles with spin excitations should play a relevant role. The tunneling conductance shows a depletion at energies smaller than Δ for temperatures larger than the bulk Tc, giving further support to the existence of a pseudogap phase that in our samples span up to T* ∼ 1.2Tc . The phenomenological scaling of the pseudogap temperature observed in various families of cuprates, 2 Δ /kT* ∼ 4.3 , is not fulfilled in our measurements. This suggests that in CeCoIn5 the strong magnetic fluctuations might conspire to close the local superconducting gap at a smaller pesudogap temperature-scale than in cuprates.

The 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1 is associated with serum levels of TIMP-1 and survival in patients with severe sepsis

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Introduction Previous studies have found higher circulating levels of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 in nonsurviving septic patients than in surviving septic patients, and an association between the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1 and the risk of developing certain diseases. However, the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of TIMP-1, circulating TIMP-1 levels and survival in patients with severe sepsis has not been examined, and this was the objective of the study. Methods This multicentre, prospective, observational study was carried out in six Spanish ICUs. We determined the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1 (rs4898), serum levels of TIMP-1, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, MMP-10, TNFα, IL-10 and plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Survival at 30 days from ICU admission was the endpoint assessed. The association between continuous variables was carried out using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient or Spearman's rho coefficient. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the association between the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism and survival 30 days from ICU admission. Results Of 275 patients with severe sepsis, 80 had genotype CC, 55 had genotype CT and 140 had genotype TT of the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1. Patients with the T allele showed higher serum levels of TIMP-1 than patients without the T allele (P = 0.004). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the T allele was associated with higher mortality at 30 days (odds ratio = 2.08; 95% confidence interval = 1.06 to 4.09; P = 0.03). Survival analysis showed that patients with the T allele presented lower 30-day survival than patients without the T allele (χ2 = 5.77; P = 0.016). We found an association between TIMP-1 levels and levels of MMP-9 (ρ = -0.19; P = 0.002), MMP-10 (ρ = 0.55; P <0.001), TNFα (ρ = 0.56; P <0.001), IL-10 (ρ = 0.48; P <0.001) and PAI-1 (ρ = 0.49; P <0.001). Conclusion The novel findings of our study are that septic patients with the T allele in the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1 showed higher serum TIMP-1 levels and lower survival rate. The determination of the 372 T/C genetic polymorphism of TIMP-1 thus has prognostic implications and could help in the selection of patients who may benefit from modulation of the MMP/TIMP balance. PMID:23706069

Optical Studies of Pure Fluids about Their Critical Points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Kian Tiong

Three optical experiments were performed on pure fluids near their critical points. In the first two setups, CH_3F and H_2C:CF _2 were each tested in a temperature -controlled, prism-shaped cell and a thin parallel-windows cell. In the prism cell, a laser beam was additionally deflected by the fluid present. From the deflection data, the refractive index was related to the density to find the Lorentz-Lorenz function. Critical temperature (T _{c}), density, refractive index and electronic polarizability were found. In the second experiment, a critically-filled, thin parallel-windows cell was placed in one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interoferometer. Fluid density was monitored by changes in the fringe pattern with changing cell temperature. The aim was to improve on the precision of T_{c}: T_{c}{rm (CH}_3 F) = (44cdot9087 +/- 0cdot0002)C; T _{c}{rm(H}_2C:CF _2) = (29cdot7419 +/- 0cdot0001)C; and, to study the coexistence curve and diameter as close to T_{c} as possible. The critical behaviour was compared to the theoretical renormalization group calculations. The derived coefficients were tested against a proposed three-body interaction to explain the field-mixing term in the diameter near the critical point. It was found that H_2C:CF_2 behaved as predicted by such an interaction; CH _3F (and CHF_3) did not. The third experiment was a feasibility study to find out if (critical) isotherms could be measured optically in a setup which combined the prism and parallel-windows cells. The aim was to map isotherms in as wide a range of pressure and density as possible and to probe the critical region directly. Pressure was monitored by a precise digital pressure gauge. CH_3F and CHF _3 were tested in this system. It was found that at low densities, the calculated second and third virial coefficients agreed with reference values. However, the data around the critical point were not accurate enough for use to calculate the critical exponent, delta . The calculated value was consistently smaller than the expected value. It was believed that the present setup had thermal isolation problems. Suggestions were made as to the improvements of this isotherm cell setup. Lastly, a joint project with the Department of Ophthalmology, UBC to assemble a vitreous fluorophotometer is discussed in Appendix F. The upgrading of the instrument took up the initial two years of this PhD programme.

Transport coefficients of Quark-Gluon plasma with full QCD potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

J. P., Prasanth; Bannur, Vishnu M.

2018-05-01

The shear viscosity η, bulk viscosity ζ and their ratio with the entropy density, η / s, ζ / s have been studied in a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) within the cluster expansion method. The cluster expansion method allows us to include the interaction between the partons in the deconfined phase and to calculate the equation of state of quark-gluon plasma. It has been argued that the interactions present in the equation of state, the modified Cornell potential significantly contributes to the viscosity. The results obtained within our approaches agree with lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) equation of state. We obtained η / s ≈ 0 . 128 within the temperature range T /Tc ∈ [ 0 . 9 , 1 . 5 ] which is very close to the theoretical lower bound η / s ≥ 1 /(4 π) in Yang-Mills theory. We also demonstrate that the effects of ζ / s at freezeout are possibly large.

Evolution of structure and superconductivity in Ba(Ni 1 -xCox)2As2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckberg, Chris; Wang, Limin; Hodovanets, Halyna; Kim, Hyunsoo; Campbell, Daniel J.; Zavalij, Peter; Piccoli, Philip; Paglione, Johnpierre

2018-06-01

The effects of Co substitution on Ba (Ni1-xCox) 2As2 (0 ≤x ≤0.251 ) single crystals grown out of Pb flux are investigated via transport, magnetic, and thermodynamic measurements. BaNi2As2 exhibits a first-order tetragonal to triclinic structural phase transition at Ts=137 K upon cooling, and enters a superconducting phase below Tc=0.7 K. The structural phase transition is sensitive to cobalt content and is suppressed completely by x ≥0.133 . The superconducting critical temperature, Tc, increases continuously with x , reaching a maximum of Tc=2.3 K at x =0.083 and then decreases monotonically until superconductivity is no longer observable well into the tetragonal phase. In contrast to similar BaNi2As2 substitutional studies, which show an abrupt change in Tc at the triclinic-tetragonal boundary that extends far into the tetragonal phase, Ba (Ni1-xCox) 2As2 exhibits a domelike phase diagram centered around the zero-temperature tetragonal-triclinic boundary. Together with an anomalously large heat capacity jump Δ Ce/γ T ˜2.2 near optimal doping, the smooth evolution of Tc in the Ba (Ni1-xCox) 2As2 system suggests a mechanism for pairing enhancement other than phonon softening.

Thermal infrared imaging of the variability of canopy-air temperature difference distribution for heavy metal stress levels discrimination in rice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Biyao; Liu, Xiangnan; Liu, Meiling; Wang, Dongmin

2017-04-01

This paper addresses the assessment and interpretation of the canopy-air temperature difference (Tc-Ta) distribution as an indicator for discriminating between heavy metal stress levels. Tc-Ta distribution is simulated by coupling the energy balance equation with modified leaf angle distribution. Statistical indices including average value (AVG), standard deviation (SD), median, and span of Tc-Ta in the field of view of a digital thermal imager are calculated to describe Tc-Ta distribution quantitatively and, consequently, became the stress indicators. In the application, two grains of rice growing sites under "mild" and "severe" stress level were selected as study areas. A total of 96 thermal images obtained from the field measurements in the three growth stages were used for a separate application of a theoretical variation of Tc-Ta distribution. The results demonstrated that the statistical indices calculated from both simulated and measured data exhibited an upward trend as the stress level becomes serious because heavy metal stress would only raise a portion of the leaves in the canopy. Meteorological factors could barely affect the sensitivity of the statistical indices with the exception of the wind speed. Among the statistical indices, AVG and SD were demonstrated to be better indicators for stress levels discrimination.

The Teleconnection Between Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature and Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patricola, C. M.; Saravanan, R.; Chang, P.

2016-12-01

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major source of seasonal tropical cyclone (TC) predictability, in both local and remote ocean basins. Unusually warm eastern tropical Pacific sea-surface temperature (SST) during El Niño tends not only to enhance local TC activity in the eastern North Pacific (ENP) but also to suppress Atlantic TCs via well-known teleconnections. Here, we demonstrate that Atlantic SST variability likewise exerts a significant influence on remote TC activity in the eastern Pacific basin using observations and 27 km resolution tropical channel model simulations. Observed and simulated accumulated cyclone energy in the ENP is substantially reduced during the positive phase of the Atlantic Meridional Mode (AMM), which is characterized by warm and cool SST anomalies in the northern and southern tropical Atlantic respectively, and vice versa during the cool AMM phase. We find that the observed anti-correlation in seasonal TC activity between the Atlantic and ENP basins is driven by interannual climate variability in both the tropical Pacific (ENSO) and Atlantic (AMM). The physical mechanisms that drive the teleconnection between Atlantic SST and ENP TC activity will also be presented. This work provides information that can be used to improve seasonal forecasts and future projections of ENP tropical cyclone activity.

Tuning of magnetic frustration in S = 1 / 2 Kagomé lattices {[Cu3(CO3)2(bpe)3](CLO4)2}n and {[Cu3(CO3)2(bpy)3](CLO4)2}n through rigid and flexible ligands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajeesh, M. O.; Yogi, A.; Padmanabhan, M.; Nath, R.

2015-04-01

Single crystalline and polycrystalline samples of S = 1 / 2 Kagomé lattices { [Cu3(CO3)2(bpe)3 ](CLO4)2 } n and { [Cu3(CO3)2(bpy)3 ](CLO4)2 } n, respectively were synthesized. Their structural and magnetic properties were characterized by means of x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements. Both compounds crystalize in a hexagonal structure (space group P-6) consisting of CuO4 Kagomé layers in the ab-plane but linked along c direction through either rigid bpy or flexible bpe ligands to form 3D frame works. Magnetic measurements reveal that both the compounds undergo ferromagnetic ordering (TC) at low temperatures and the TC and the extent of frustration could be tuned by changing the nature of the pillar ligands. {[Cu3(CO3)2(bpe)3](CLO4)2}n which is made up of flexible bpe ligands has a TC of 5.7 K and a Curie-Weiss temperature (θCW) of -39.7 K giving rise to a frustration parameter of |θCW | /TC ≃ 6.96. But the replacement of bpe by a more rigid and electronically delocalized bpy ligand leads to an enhanced TC ≃ 9.3 K and a reduced frustration parameter of |θCW | /TC ≃ 3.54.

Suppression of superconductivity in epitaxial MgB2 ultrathin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chen; Wang, Yue; Wang, Da; Zhang, Yan; Liu, Zheng-Hao; Feng, Qing-Rong; Gan, Zi-Zhao

2013-07-01

MgB2 ultrathin films have potential to make sensitive superconducting devices such as superconducting single-photon detectors working at relatively high temperatures. We have grown epitaxial MgB2 films in thicknesses ranging from about 40 nm to 6 nm by using the hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition method and performed electrical transport measurements to study the thickness dependence of the superconducting critical temperature Tc. With reducing film thickness d, although a weak depression of the Tc has been observed, which could be attributed to an increase of disorder (interband impurity scattering) in the film, the Tc retains close to the bulk value of MgB2 (39 K), being about 35 K in the film of 6 nm thick. We show that this result, beneficial to the application of MgB2 ultrathin films and in accordance with recent theoretical calculations, is in contrast to previous findings in MgB2 films prepared by other methods such as co-evaporation and molecular-beam epitaxy, where a severe Tc suppression has been observed with Tc about one third of the bulk value in films of ˜5 nm thick. We discuss this apparent discrepancy in experiments and suggest that, towards the ultrathin limit, the different degrees of Tc suppression displayed in currently obtained MgB2 films by various techniques may arise from the different levels of disorder present in the film or different extents of proximity effect at the film surface or film-substrate interface.

A remote sensing assessment of pest infestation on sorghum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, D.; Sao, R.; Singh, K. P.

The damage caused by the pest to crop is well known. The major aspects of remote sensing are timely estimates of agriculture crop yield, prediction of pest. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the utility and potential application of microwave remote sensing for detection of pest infestation within sorghum field. The studies were made on crop sorghum (Meethi Sudan) that is a forage variety and the pest observed was a species of grasshopper. The beds of crop sorghum were specially prepared for pests as well as microwave scattering measurements. In first phase of study, dependence of occurrence of pests on sorghum plant parameters (i.e., crop covered moist soil (SM), plant height (PH), leaf area index (LAI), percentage biomass (BIO), total chlorophyll (TC)) have been observed and analyzed and it was noticed that pests were more dependent on sorghum chlorophyll than other plant parameters, while climatic conditions were taken as constant. An empirical relationship has been developed between occurrence of pests and TC with quite significant values of coefficient of determination ( r2 = 0.82). These crop parameters are easily assessable through microwave remote sensing and therefore they can form the basis for prediction of pest remotely. In the second phase of this study, several observations were carried out for various growth stages of sorghum using scatterometer for both like polarizations (i.e., HH- and VV-) and different incidence angles at X-band (9.5 GHz). Linear regression analysis was carried out to obtain the best suitable incidence angle and polarization to assess the sorghum TC. VV-pol gives better results than HH-pol and incidence angle should be more than 40° for both like polarizations for assessing the sorghum TC at X-band. A negative correlation has been obtained between TC and scattering coefficient with the r2 values (0.69 and 0.75 for HH- and VV-pol, respectively). The TC assessed by the microwave measurements was helpful to estimate the occurrence of pests on sorghum. Based on both phase of study an algorithm is proposed to estimate the number of pest on sorghum by remote sensing method. There is a quite good agreement between observed occurrence of pest and assessed occurrence of pest.

Study of temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and electrical properties in [001]-oriented 0.35Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.35Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3-Mn single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xing; Fang, Bijun; Deng, Ji; Yan, Hong; Deng, Hao; Yue, Qingwen; Ding, Jianning; Zhao, Xiangyong; Luo, Haosu

2016-01-01

In this work, the temperature-dependent Raman spectra and electrical properties of the [001]-oriented 0.5 mol. % Mn-doped 0.35Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.35Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3-Mn (PIMNT-Mn) single crystals were investigated. All the unpoled and poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals experience a ferroelectric tetragonal phase to paraelectric cubic phase transition (FET-PC) around 183 °C (TC), which exhibits a second-order transition behavior. Whereas, the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals exhibit another two dielectric anomalies around 130 °C (TRM) and 148 °C (TMT), in which the ferroelectric rhombohedral phase to ferroelectric monoclinic phase (FER-FEM) and the ferroelectric monoclinic phase to ferroelectric tetragonal phase (FEM-FET) transitions take place, respectively. Both the two ferroelectric phase transitions exhibit a first-order transition behavior. The discontinuous change of the phase degree (θ) and frequencies (fr and fa) around TRM suggest the occurrence of the FER-FEM phase transition in the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals. The narrowing of the 510 cm-1 and 582 cm-1 Raman modes around the TRM, TMT, and TC temperatures shown in the temperature-dependent Raman spectra suggests their increased ordering of the local structure. The intensity ratio of I272 cm-1/I801 cm-1 increases obviously around the phase transition temperatures (TRM, TMT, and TC), indicating the reduction of the long-range order. The anomalous broadening of the 272 cm-1 Raman mode around the TRM, TMT, and TC temperatures indicates the occurrence of the successive ferroelectric phase transitions (FER-FEM, FEM-FET, and FET-PC) with increasing temperature in the poled PIMNT-Mn single crystals.

A NEW METHOD TO QUANTIFY CORE TEMPERATURE INSTABILITY IN RODENTS.

EPA Science Inventory

Methods to quantify instability of autonomic systems such as temperature regulation should be important in toxicant and drug safety studies. Stability of core temperature (Tc) in laboratory rodents is susceptible to a variety of stimuli. Calculating the temperature differential o...

Photothermal measurements of high Tc superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fanton, J. T.; Mitzi, D. B.; Kapitulnik, A.; Khuri-Yakub, B. T.; Kino, G. S.; Gazit, D.; Feigelson, R. S.

1989-08-01

We demonstrate a photothermal method for making point measurements of the thermal conductivities of high Tc superconductors. Images made at room temperature on polycrystalline materials show the thermal inhomogeneities. Measurements on single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox compounds reveal a very large anisotropy of about 7:1 in the thermal conductivity.

Non-resonant microwave absorption in high-T c thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durny, R.; Dulcic, A.; Crepeau, R. H.; Freed, J. H.; Kus, P.

1990-11-01

Magnetic-field-dependent non-resonant microwave absorption in thin film samples of various high- Tc superconductors is reported. Complex types of signals were observed as the temperature was lowered from Tc to ≈ 10 K. Possible correlation between the thin film quality and the occurrence of the signals is suggested.

High-temperature-superconducting magnetic susceptibility bolometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brasunas, J.; Lakew, B.; Lee, C.

1992-01-01

An infrared detector called the magnetic susceptibility bolometer is introduced which is based on the tmperature dependence of the diamagnetic screening of a high-Tc superconductor film near Tc. Results are reported for the response of a prototype model to modulated blackbody radiation. Possible improvements are discussed as is the potential sensitivity of an improved device.

Effects of thermal stress on the growth of an intertidal population of Ellisolandia elongata (Rhodophyta) from N-W Mediterranean Sea.

PubMed

Nannini, Matteo; De Marchi, Lucia; Lombardi, Chiara; Ragazzola, Federica

2015-12-01

Coralline algae are calcareous algae able to build biogenic structures, thus playing a key-role as marine biodiversity promoters and calcium carbonate producers. The aim was to estimate the growth of Ellisolandia elongata under thermal stress. E. elongata were cultured for 2, 4 and 6 months under "natural" temperature (Tc) and increased temperature (Ti = Tc + 3 °C). In order to determine a possible culturing effect, growth in the field was also measured. For the first time, Alizarin Red S dye was used in high energy shallow water environments. Thallus linear extension was higher in the cultured specimens (Tc and Ti) compared to the field specimens. The carbonate mass in the field was higher than in Ti and Tc after 2, 4 months but decreased after 6 months. Partly unknown in situ environmental factors could have affected growth and calcification rates in the field while thermal adaptation could explain growth rates in the culturing experiment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cuprate High Temperature Superconductors and the Vision for Room Temperature Superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newns, Dennis M.; Martyna, Glenn J.; Tsuei, Chang C.

Superconducting transition temperatures of 164 K in cuprate high temperature superconductors (HTS) and recently 200 K in H3S under high pressure encourage us to believe that room temperature superconductivity (RTS) might be possible. In considering paths to RTS, we contrast conventional (BCS) SC, such as probably manifested by H3S, with the unconventional superconductivity (SC) in the cuprate HTS family. Turning to SC models, we show that in the presence of one or more van Hove singularities (vHs) near the Fermi level, SC mediated by classical phonons (kBTc>ℏ×phonon frequency) can occur. The phonon frequency in the standard Tc formula is replaced by an electronic cutoff, enabling a much higher Tc independent of phonon frequency. The resulting Tc and isotope shift plot versus doping strongly resembles that seen experimentally in HTS. A more detailed theory of HTS, which involves mediation by classical phonons, satisfactorily reproduces the chief anomalous features characteristic of these materials. We propose that, while a path to RTS through an H3S-like scenario via strongly-coupled ultra-high frequency phonons is attractive, features perhaps unavailable at ordinary pressures, a route involving SC mediated by classical phonons which can be low frequency may be found.

Finite temperature quantum critical transport near the Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terletska, Hanna; Dobrosavljevic, Vladimir

2010-03-01

We use Dynamical Mean-Field Theory to study incoherent transport above the critical end-point temperature Tc of the single band Hubbard model at half-filling. By employing an eigenvalue analysis for the free energy functional, we are able to precisely identify the crossover temperature T*(U) separating the Fermi liquid and the Mott insulating regimes. Our calculations demonstrate that a broad parameter range exist around the crossover line, where the family of resistivity curves displays simple scaling behavior. This is interpreted as a manifestation of quantum criticality controlled by the T=0 Mott transition, which is ``interrupted'' by the emergence of the coexistence dome at T < Tc . We argue that in situations where the critical temperature Tc is significantly reduced, so that the coexistence region is reduced or even absent (as in two-band, particle-hole asymmetric models, where this is found even in the clean d->∞ limit [1, 2]), similar critical scaling properties should persist down to much lower temperatures, resembling quantum critical transport similar to that found in a number of experiments [2]. [1] A. Amaricci, G. Sordi, and M. J. Rosenberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 146403 (2008) [2] A. Camjayi, K. Haule, V. Dobrosavljevic, and G. Kotliar, Nature Physics, 4, 932 (2008)

Degeneracy and neuromodulation among thermosensory neurons contribute to robust thermosensory behaviors in C. elegans

PubMed Central

Beverly, Matthew; Anbil, Sriram; Sengupta, Piali

2011-01-01

Animals must ensure that they can execute behaviors important for physiological homeostasis under constantly changing environmental conditions. The neural mechanisms that regulate this behavioral robustness are not well understood. The nematode C. elegans thermoregulates primarily via modulation of navigation behavior. Upon encountering temperatures higher than its cultivation temperature (Tc), C. elegans exhibits negative thermotaxis towards colder temperatures using a biased random walk strategy. We find that C. elegans exhibits robust negative thermotaxis bias under conditions of varying Tc and temperature ranges. By cell ablation and cell-specific rescue experiments, we show that the ASI chemosensory neurons are newly identified components of the thermosensory circuit, and that different combinations of ASI and the previously identified AFD and AWC thermosensory neurons are necessary and sufficient under different conditions to execute a negative thermotaxis strategy. ASI responds to temperature stimuli within a defined operating range defined by Tc, and signaling from AFD regulates the bounds of this operating range, suggesting that neuromodulation among thermosensory neurons maintains coherence of behavioral output. Our observations demonstrate that a negative thermotaxis navigational strategy can be generated via different combinations of thermosensory neurons acting degenerately, and emphasize the importance of defining context when analyzing neuronal contributions to a behavior. PMID:21832201

Topology (and axion's properties) from lattice QCD with a dynamical charm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burger, Florian; Ilgenfritz, Ernst-Michael; Lombardo, Maria Paola; Müller-Preussker, Michael; Trunin, Anton

2017-11-01

We present results on QCD with four dynamical flavors in the temperature range 0.9 ≲ T /Tc ≲ 2. We have performed lattice simulations with Wilson fermions at maximal twist and measured the topological charge with gluonic and fermionic methods. The topological charge distribution is studied by means of its cumulants, which encode relevant properties of the QCD axion, a plausible Dark Matter candidate. The topological susceptibility measured with the fermionic method exhibits a power-law decay for T /Tc ≳ 2, with an exponent close to the one predicted by the Dilute Instanton Gas Approximation (DIGA). Close to Tc the temperature dependent effective exponent approaches the DIGA result from above, in agreement with recent analytic calculations. These results constrain the axion window, once an assumption on the fraction of axions contributing to Dark Matter is made.

Uniaxial strain orientation dependence of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and critical superconducting pressure (Pc) in β-(BDA-TTP)2I3.

PubMed

Kikuchi, Koichi; Isono, Takayuki; Kojima, Masayuki; Yoshimoto, Haruo; Kodama, Takeshi; Fujita, Wataru; Yokogawa, Keiichi; Yoshino, Harukazu; Murata, Keizo; Kaihatsu, Takayuki; Akutsu, Hiroki; Yamada, Jun-ichi

2011-12-14

Dependence of the superconducting transition temperature (T(c)) and critial superconducting pressure (P(c)) of the pressure-induced superconductor β-(BDA-TTP)(2)I(3) [BDA-TTP = 2,5-bis(1,3-dithian-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene] on the orientation of uniaxial strain has been investigated. On the basis of the overlap between the upper and lower bands in the energy dispersion curve, the pressure orientation is thought to change the half-filled band to the quarter-filled one. The observed variations in T(c) and P(c) are explained by considering the degree of application of the pressure and the degree of contribution of the effective electronic correlation at uniaxial strains with different orientations parallel to the conducting donor layer. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Role of the Pair Correlation Function in the Dynamical Transition Predicted by Mode Coupling Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandi, Manoj Kumar; Banerjee, Atreyee; Dasgupta, Chandan; Bhattacharyya, Sarika Maitra

2017-12-01

In a recent study, we have found that for a large number of systems the configurational entropy at the pair level Sc 2, which is primarily determined by the pair correlation function, vanishes at the dynamical transition temperature Tc. Thus, it appears that the information of the transition temperature is embedded in the structure of the liquid. In order to investigate this, we describe the dynamics of the system at the mean field level and, using the concepts of the dynamical density functional theory, show that the dynamical transition temperature depends only on the pair correlation function. Thus, this theory is similar in spirit to the microscopic mode coupling theory (MCT). However, unlike microscopic MCT, which predicts a very high transition temperature, the present theory predicts a transition temperature that is similar to Tc. This implies that the information of the dynamical transition temperature is embedded in the pair correlation function.

Kinetics of the reactions of alkyl radicals with HBr and DBr

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nicovich, J. M.; Van Dijk, C. A.; Kreutter, K. D.; Wine, P. H.

1991-01-01

The kinetics of the reactions CH3 + HBr, CD3 + HBr, CH3 + DBr, C2H5 + HBr, C2H5 + DBr, t-C4H9 + HBr, and t-C4H9 + DBr is studied as a function of temperature (257-430 K) and pressure (10-300 Torr of N2). Time-resolved resonance fluorescence detection of Br atom appearance following laser flash photolysis of RI was used in the experiments. Results show that the rates of all reactions increased as the temperature decreased.

Synthesis and Characterization of BiCaSrCuO and BiSnCaSrCuO superconducting Ceramics

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-20

0-1-2-2 2 2-1-1-2-2 3 1-0-1-1-2 4 2-0-1-2-2 SUPERCONDUCTING CERAMICS Magnetic Measurements Quantitative magnetic measurements were made using a...Transition TemPerature and Superconducting Volume Fractions The magnetic data for the four samples studied show J. H. MILLER, JR., ET. AL. relatively broad... SUPERCONDUCTING CERAMICS TABLE II Transition temperatures and percent bulk diamagnetism Sample Tc(ZFC) Tc (FC) T,(onset) T.(zero) %(ZFC) %(f C) 1 77.6

Effect of processing parameters on the characteristics of high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3Oy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bansal, Narottam P.

1988-01-01

SEM, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction,and measurements of electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility, are presently used to characterize the influence of sintering temperature, sintering and annealing atmospheres, and quench-rate on the properties of the YBa2Cu3Oy superconducting oxide. It is established that annealing in oxygen, together with slow cooling rates, are required for preparation of high-Tc superconductors with sharp transitions; rapid quenching from high temperature does not yield good superconductors, due to low oxygen content.

Superconductivity-related insulating behavior.

PubMed

Sambandamurthy, G; Engel, L W; Johansson, A; Shahar, D

2004-03-12

We present the results of an experimental study of superconducting, disordered, thin films of amorphous indium oxide. These films can be driven from the superconducting phase to a reentrant insulating state by the application of a perpendicular magnetic field (B). We find that the high-B insulator exhibits activated transport with a characteristic temperature, TI. TI has a maximum value (TpI) that is close to the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) at B=0, suggesting a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases. Tp(I) and Tc display opposite dependences on the disorder strength.

Transformation of tetracycline during chloramination: kinetics, products and pathways.

PubMed

Wan, Yi; Jia, Ai; Zhu, Zhou; Hu, Jianying

2013-01-01

To assess the potential adverse effects stemming from tetracycline (TC) in drinking water or disinfected wastewater, the kinetics of the chloramination of TC was investigated at room temperature, the transformation products and pathways of their generation were elucidated, and their growth inhibiting properties towards sludge bacteria were assessed. The chloramination of TC exhibited pseudo-first-order kinetics with the rate constants (k(obs)) ranging from 0.0082 to 0.041 min(-1) at pH of 6-8. Chloramination of TC generated at least 13 discernible products, and the structures of 12 products, including five chlorinated compounds, were identified using LC-ESI-MS. Two main pathways for the generation of these products were proposed: (1) chlorine substitution reactions followed by dehydration; and (2) oxidization by chloramine. The chlorinated products were proposed to be further degraded to small molecules via the scission of benzene rings of TC, and two oxidization products (2,11a-dihydroxy-keto-TC and 6,11-epoxy-2,11a-dihydroxy-TC) were the final products obtained under the experimental conditions. The chlorinated solution, even without detection of TC, exhibited greater than 80% of TC inhibitory effects towards sludge bacteria, suggesting potential effects on microorganisms in aquatic environment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanosized CuO and ZnO catalyst supported on titanium chip for conversion of carbon dioxide to methyl alcohol.

PubMed

Seo, Hyeong-Seok; Park, Chul-Min; Kim, Ki-Joong; Jeong, Woon-Jo; Chung, Min-Chul; Jung, Sang-Chul; Kim, Sang-Chai; Ahn, Ho-Geun

2013-08-01

In order to reutilize spent metallic titanium chips (TC) as catalyst support or photocatalytic materials, the surface of the TC was modified by thermal treatment under air atmosphere. TC-supported nanosized CuO and ZnO catalysts were prepared by impregnation (IMP) and co-precipitation (CP) method, respectively. The catalytic activity for CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH was investigated using a flow-typed reactor under various reaction pressures. The crystals of CuO and ZnO was well formed on TC. CO2 conversion, CH3OH selectivity, and CH3OH yield were obtained as a function of time on stream over CuO-ZnO/TC catalysts. Conversion of CO2 to CH3OH over CuO-ZnO/TC catalyst by CP method and CuO/ZnO/TC catalyst by IMP method were ca. 16% and ca. 12%, respectively. Conversion of CO2 over CuO-ZnO/TC catalyst by CP method was increased with increasing reaction temperature in the range of 15-30 atm. Maximum selectivity and yield to CH3OH over CuO-ZnO/TC at 250 degrees C were ca. 90% at 20 atm and ca. 18.2% at 30 atm, respectively.

Enhancement of Curie temperature in electrochemically prepared crystalline thin films of Prussian blue analogs KjFekII[CrIII(CN)6]l.mH2O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatt, Pramod; Yusuf, S. M.; Mukadam, M. D.; Yakhmi, J. V.

2010-07-01

Structural and magnetic properties of electrochemically prepared crystalline films of Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) KjFekII[CrIII(CN)6]lṡmH2O, with varying deposition time and electrode voltage, which result into change in film thickness and stoichiometry, respectively, have been investigated by using x-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and dc magnetization measurement techniques. An atomic force microscopy (AFM) and XRD study reveal uniform and crystalline nature of all films. As the film thickness increases from 1 μm to 5 μm, the Curie temperature (TC), coercive field, and maximum magnetization increase from 11 K to 21 K, 20 Oe to 160 Oe, and 5.7 μB to 6.5 μB, respectively. For the films prepared with variation in electrode voltage, it has been found that the alkali metal ions are introduced into the films just by using suitable electrode voltage, contrary to usual method where alkali metal ions are intentionally introduced into the lattice by using additional compounds of alkali metals as starting materials. In addition, an enhancement in TC with an increasing electrode voltage has been observed. The film deposited with a lower electrode voltage of -0.6 V shows a TC of ˜21 K, close to the previously reported value of TC. Whereas, for films prepared with an electrode voltage of -0.9 V, an increase in TC(˜65 K) is observed. The rise in TC is attributed to the decrease in FeII/CrIII ratio with an increasing electrode voltage. The ability of tuning TC just by changing the electrode voltage could be useful in designing thin films of new molecule based magnets.

Uniaxial compression on the superconductivity of β-BDA-TTP salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Hiroshi; Ishihara, Tetsuo; Tanaka, Hisaaki; Kuroda, Shin-ichi; Yamada, Jun-ichi

2008-10-01

The β-type BDA-TTP superconductors attract attention due to the high transition temperature Tc at ambient pressure for organic superconductors. In order to get insight into the superconductivity in terms of the dimerized anisotropic triangular lattice model, Tc of β-(BDA-TTP)2X [X = SbF6, X = AsF6] is studied under uniaxial compression by resistivity measurements. Under compression parallel to the donor stack, Tc increases gradually up to 3 (X = SbF6), 5 (X = AsF6) kbar, and decreases under further piston pressure. Under compression perpendicular to the donor stack, Tc decreases gradually up to 2.5 (X = SbF6), 4 (X = AsF6) kbar and then decreases rapidly under further pressure. Only for X = AsF6, a Tc minimum at 3 kbar is found for both direction. These trends in Tc are understood as an interplay between the enhancement of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation and frustration on the triangular lattice. By the interplane compression, Tc increased by 0.5 K up to 2 kbar for both salts, demonstrating the importance of the interlayer interaction.

Effective harmonic approach to helix proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Sung Nam Peter

Recent laser-induced experiments have shown that on the time scale of long range tertiary contact formation, the kinetics of the helix-coil interconversion are very rapid (1). The notion that secondary structures form first before long range tertiary contacts are made, suggests that the helix-coil interconversion is one key in understanding the protein folding problem. We developed a method of generating an alpha-helix conformation of any residue using AMBER 4.0, the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and a series of pattern matching translation and rotation operations. We have chosen to study Alanine for its highly non polar nature, and Glutamine for its highly polar characteristic. Using the information obtained from the above method, analysis of vibrational lattice dynamics are carried out on polymers Poly-alpha-L alanine (PLA) and Poly-alpha-L glutamic acid (PLGA). The lattice dynamics method called Modified Self- consistent Harmonic Approach theory (MSHA) was used in carrying out the analysis of the PLA and PLGA helix-coil transition. MSHA was originally developed for the DNA molecule by Prohofsky et al. In this model, the molecule is considered as a one dimensional, repeating unit cell of an infinite helix. The lattice was modeled with harmonic force constants. Anharmonicity of hydrogen bond force constants at different temperatures are introduced along with the effects of water on the polar PLGA and the non polar PLA. Using MSHA, we calculated the opening bond probabilities of PLGA at different temperatures. The experimentally observed helix to coil relaxation time τ* of PLGA was inversely compared to our results with a correlation coefficient of 0.8424 (5, 13, 58). These experiments were done at temperatures ranging from 295 K to 310 K. Our calculation also yielded critical melting temperatures of Tc=317 K for PLGA and Tc=347 K for PLA. The calculated acoustic compressional velocities were 4.78 km/s and 4.84 km/s for PLA and PLGA respectively. Our calculation clearly indicates that the MSHA methodology, along with the use of AMBER 4.0, yields a good physical model of helix to coil transition of proteins.

Phase transition temperatures and magnetic entropy change in Ni-Mn-In-B based Heusler alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Arjun; Gautam, Bhoj; Dubenko, Igor; Ali, Naushad

2008-03-01

One of the aspects of great attention of Heusler alloys is the large value of magnetic entropy change (δSM) and their possible application as a working material in magnetocaloric effect based magnetic refrigerators. It was reported earlier that Ni50Mn34.8In15.2 has first order martensitic transition temperature TM 212K, Curie temperature of austenitic phase TC 328K and δSM value associated with TM and TC are respectively 13 and -7 J/kg K [1]. In the present study, we are reporting the effect of partial substitution of In by B in Ni50Mn34.8In15.2 by AC susceptibility, thermal expansion, and magnetization measurements. We observed that substitution of boron sharply increase TM, and significantly enhance the δSM peak value higher than 30 J/kg K at TM 296K; however the δSM value remains almost same at TC. Therefore, the Ni-Mn-In-B based Heusler alloys will be potential material for the study of room temperature magnetic refrigerator materials. Reference: [1] A. K. Pathak, M. Khan, I. Dubenko, S. Stadler, and N. Ali, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 262504 (2007).

Thermal behavior of Charmonium in the vector channel from QCD sum rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominguez, C. A.; Loewe, M.; Rojas, J. C.; Zhang, Y.

2010-11-01

The thermal evolution of the hadronic parameters of charmonium in the vector channel, i.e. the J/Ψ resonance mass, coupling (leptonic decay constant), total width, and continuum threshold are analyzed in the framework of thermal Hilbert moment QCD sum rules. The continuum threshold s0 has the same behavior as in all other hadronic channels, i.e. it decreases with increasing temperature until the PQCD threshold s0 = 4mQ2 is reached at T≃1.22Tc (mQ is the charm quark mass). The other hadronic parameters behave in a very different way from those of light-light and heavy-light quark systems. The J/Ψ mass is essentially constant in a wide range of temperatures, while the total width grows with temperature up to T≃1.04Tc beyond which it decreases sharply with increasing T. The resonance coupling is also initially constant beginning to increase monotonically around T≃Tc. This behavior of the total width and of the leptonic decay constant is a strong indication that the J/Ψ resonance might survive beyond the critical temperature for deconfinement, in agreement with some recent lattice QCD results.

Early age thermal conditioning immediately reduces body temperature of broiler chicks in a tropical environment.

PubMed

De Basilio, V; Requena, F; León, A; Vilariño, M; Picard, M

2003-08-01

Early age thermal conditioning (TC) durably improves resistance of broilers to heat stress and reduces body temperature (Tb). Three experiments on broiler chicks were conducted to evaluate the effects of TC at 5 d of age on Tb variation measured by thermometer between 4 and 7 d of age, under a tropical environment. Because manipulation of chickens to measure Tb with a thermometer may increase Tb, a preliminary experiment on 13 3-to-4-wk-old male broilers compared Tb measured by telemetry to Tb measured in the terminal colon during three successive periods at 22, 33, and 22 degrees C. During heat exposure, Tb rapidly increased by 0.9 degrees C and plateaued over 24 h. During the last period, seven of the broilers rapidly reduced Tb to a plateau lower than the initial Tb, although six broilers exhibited more variable Tb. Measurement by thermometer underestimated on average core Tb by 0.28 degrees C at 22 degrees C and by 0.57 degrees C at 33 degrees C, whereas Tb recorded by telemetry was not affected by manipulation of the chickens. TC reduced Tb 24 h later in the three experiments. Compared to unexposed control chicks (N), 12 h of TC at 40 degrees C did not significantly reduce Tb at 7 d of age, although 24 h did. TC at 38 and 40 degrees C over 24 h significantly reduced Tb variation from 4 to 7 d of age compared to N chicks, whereas 36 degrees C did not. Withdrawing feed from the chicks for 2 h prior to measurement did not significantly reduce Tb at 4 and 7 d of age, but Tb reduction due to TC was greater in fed chicks (0.28 degrees C) than in chicks without feed (0.05 degrees C). Early age thermal conditioning at 38 to 40 degrees C at 5 d of age for 24 h reduced body temperature of 7-d-old male broilers.

The role of β-effect and a uniform current on tropical cyclone intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Yihong; Wu, Rongsheng; Yu, Hui; Liang, Xudong; Chan, Johnny C. L.

2004-02-01

A limited-area primitive equation model is used to study the role of the β-effect and a uniform current on tropical cyclone (TC) intensity. It is found that TC intensity is reduced in a non-quiescent environment compared with the case of no uniform current. On an f-plane, the rate of intensification of a tropical cyclone is larger than that of the uniform flow. A TC on a β-plane intensifies slower than one on an f-plane. The main physical characteristic that distinguishes the experiments is the asymmetric thermodynamic (including convective) and dynamic structures present when either a uniform flow or β-effect is introduced. But a fairly symmetric TC structure is simulated on an f-plane. The magnitude of the warm core and the associated subsidence are found to be responsible for such simulated intensity changes. On an f-plane, the convection tends to be symmetric, which results in strong upper-level convergence near the center and hence strong forced subsidence and a very warm core. On the other hand, horizontal advection of temperature cancels part of the adiabatic heating and results in less warming of the core, and hence the TC is not as intense. This advective process is due to the tilt of the vortex as a result of the β-effect. A similar situation occurs in the presence of a uniform flow. Thus, the asymmetric horizontal advection of temperature plays an important role in the temperature distribution. Dynamically, the asymmetric angular momentum (AM) flux is very small on an f-plane throughout the troposphere. However, the total AM exports at the upper levels for a TC either on a β-plane or with a uniform flow environment are larger because of an increase of the asymmetric as well as symmetric AM export on the plane at radii >450 km, and hence there is a lesser intensification.

Observation of two distinct pairs fluctuation lifetimes and supercurrents in the pseudogap regime of cuprate junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koren, Gad; Lee, Patrick A.

2016-11-01

Pairs fluctuation supercurrents and inverse lifetimes in the pseudogap regime are reported. These were measured on epitaxial c-axis junctions of the cuprates, with a PrBa2Cu3O7-δ barrier sandwiched in between two YBa2Cu3O7-δ or doped YBa2Cu3Oy electrodes, with or without magnetic fields parallel to the a-b planes. All junctions had a Tc(high) ≈85 -90 K and a Tc(low) ≈50 -55 K electrodes, allowing us to study pairs fluctuation supercurrents and inverse lifetimes in between these two temperatures. In junctions with a pseudogap electrode under zero field, an excess current due to pair fluctuations was observed which persisted at temperatures above Tc(low) , in the pseudogap regime, and up to about Tc(high) . No such excess current was observed in junctions without an electrode with a pseudogap. The measured conductance spectra at temperatures above Tc(low) were fitted using a modified fluctuations model by Scalapino [Phys. Rev. Lett. 24, 1052 (1970), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.24.1052] of a junction with a serial resistance. We found that in the pseudogap regime, the conductance vs voltage consists of a narrow peak sitting on top of a very broad peak. This yielded two distinct pairs fluctuation lifetimes in the pseudogap electrode which differ by an order of magnitude up to about Tc(high) . Under in-plane fields, these two lifetime values remain separated in two distinct groups, which varied with increasing field moderately. We also found that detection of Amperian pairing [Phys. Rev. X 4, 031017 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevX.4.031017] in our cuprate junctions is not feasible, due to Josephson vortices penetration into the superconducting electrodes which drove the necessary field above the depairing field.

Response of jammed packings to thermal fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qikai; Bertrand, Thibault; Shattuck, Mark D.; O'Hern, Corey S.

2017-12-01

We focus on the response of mechanically stable (MS) packings of frictionless, bidisperse disks to thermal fluctuations, with the aim of quantifying how nonlinearities affect system properties at finite temperature. In contrast, numerous prior studies characterized the structural and mechanical properties of MS packings of frictionless spherical particles at zero temperature. Packings of disks with purely repulsive contact interactions possess two main types of nonlinearities, one from the form of the interaction potential (e.g., either linear or Hertzian spring interactions) and one from the breaking (or forming) of interparticle contacts. To identify the temperature regime at which the contact-breaking nonlinearities begin to contribute, we first calculated the minimum temperatures Tc b required to break a single contact in the MS packing for both single- and multiple-eigenmode perturbations of the T =0 MS packing. We find that the temperature required to break a single contact for equal velocity-amplitude perturbations involving all eigenmodes approaches the minimum value obtained for a perturbation in the direction connecting disk pairs with the smallest overlap. We then studied deviations in the constant volume specific heat C¯V and deviations of the average disk positions Δ r from their T =0 values in the temperature regime TC ¯V100 for linear spring interactions is independent of system size. This result emphasizes that contact-breaking nonlinearities are dominant over form nonlinearities in the low-temperature range Tc b

Incorporating technetium in minerals and other solids: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luksic, Steven A.; Riley, Brian J.; Schweiger, Michael; Hrma, Pavel

2015-11-01

Technetium (Tc) can be incorporated into a number of different solids including spinel, sodalite, rutile, tin dioxide, pyrochlore, perovskite, goethite, layered double hydroxides, cements, and alloys. Synthetic routes are possible for each of these phases, ranging from high-temperature ceramic sintering to ball-milling of constituent oxides. However, in practice, Tc has only been incorporated into solid materials by a limited number of the possible syntheses. A review of the diverse ways in which Tc-immobilizing materials can be made shows the wide range of options available. Special consideration is given to hypothetical application to the Hanford Tank Waste and Vitrification Plant, such as adding a Tc-bearing mineral to waste glass melter feed. A full survey of solid Tc waste forms, the common synthesis routes to those waste forms, and their potential for application to vitrification processes are presented. The use of tin dioxide or ferrite spinel precursors to reduce Tc(VII) out of solution and into a durable form are shown to be of especially high potential.

Sodalite as a vehicle to increase Re retention in waste glass simulant during vitrification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luksic, Steven A.; Riley, Brian J.; Parker, Kent E.; Hrma, Pavel

2016-10-01

Technetium (Tc) retention during Hanford waste vitrification can be increased if the volatility can be controlled. Incorporating Tc into a thermally stable mineral phase, such as sodalite, is one way to achieve increased retention. Here, rhenium (Re)-bearing sodalite was tested as a vehicle to transport perrhenate (ReO4-), a nonradioactive surrogate for pertechnetate (TcO4-), into high-level (HLW) and low-activity waste (LAW) glass simulants. After melting HLW and LAW simulant feeds, the retention of Re in the glass was measured and compared with the Re retention in glass prepared from a feed containing Re2O7. Phase analysis of sodalite in both these glasses across a profile of temperatures describes the durability of Re-sodalite during the feed-to-glass transition. The use of Re sodalite improved the Re retention by 21% for HLW glass and 85% for LAW glass, demonstrating the potential improvement in Tc-retention if TcO4- were to be encapsulated in a Tc-sodalite prior to vitrification.

Effect of ionic radii on the Curie temperature in Ba1-x-ySrxCayTiO3 compounds.

PubMed

Berenov, A; Le Goupil, F; Alford, N

2016-06-21

A series of Ba1-x-ySrxCayTiO3 compounds were prepared with varying average ionic radii and cation disorder on A-site. All samples showed typical ferroelectric behavior. A simple empirical equation correlated Curie temperature, TC, with the values of ionic radii of A-site cations. This correlation was related to the distortion of TiO6 octahedra observed during neutron diffraction studies. The equation was used for the selection of compounds with predetermined values of TC. The effects of A-site ionic radii on the temperatures of phase transitions in Ba1-x-ySrxCayTiO3 were discussed.

Universal optimal hole-doping concentration in single-layer high-temperature cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honma, T.; Hor, P. H.

2006-09-01

We argue that in cuprate physics there are two types, hole content per CuO2 plane (Ppl) and the corresponding hole content per unit volume (P3D), of hole-doping concentrations for addressing physical properties that are two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) in nature, respectively. We find that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) varies systematically with P3D as a superconducting 'dome' with a universal optimal hole-doping concentration of P3Dopt = 1.6 × 1021 cm-3 for single-layer high-temperature superconductors. We suggest that P3Dopt determines the upper bound of the electronic energy of underdoped single-layer high-Tc cuprates.

Spin-spin relaxation of protons in ferrofluids characterized with a high-Tc superconducting quantum interference device-detected magnetometer in microtesla fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Shu-Hsien; Liu, Chieh-Wen; Yang, Hong-Chang; Chen, Hsin-Hsien; Chen, Ming-Jye; Chen, Kuen-Lin; Horng, Herng-Er; Wang, Li-Min; Yang, Shieh-Yueh

2012-06-01

In this work, the spin-spin relaxation of protons in ferrofluids is characterized using a high-Tc SQUID-based detector in microtesla fields. We found that spin-spin relaxation rate is enhanced in the presence of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The enhanced relaxation rates are attributed to the microscopic field gradients from magnetic nanoparticles that dephase protons' spins nearby. The relaxation rates decrease when temperatures increase. Additionally, the alternating current magnetic susceptibility was inversely proportional to temperature. Those characteristics explained the enhanced Brownian motion of nanoparticles at high temperatures. Characterizing the relaxation will be helpful for assaying bio-molecules and magnetic resonance imaging in microtesla fields.

First-principles Study of Intersite Magnetic Couplings and Curie Temperature in RFe12-xCrx (R = Y, Nd, Sm)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukazawa, Taro; Akai, Hisazumi; Harashima, Yosuke; Miyake, Takashi

2018-04-01

We present a first-principles study of RFe12-xCrx (R = Y, Nd, Sm) crystals with ThMn12 structure. We discuss, within the mean field approximation, intersite magnetic couplings calculated using Liechtenstein's formula and convert them into Curie temperatures, TC, which are found to become larger when a small amount of Cr (x ≤ 0.5) is introduced into the system. This enhancement is larger than that for Co in the dilute limit, x → 0. In contrast, above x > 0.5, the Curie temperature decreases as Cr concentration increases. This behavior is analyzed using an expansion of TC in terms of concentration.

Disorder induced magnetism and electrical conduction in La doped Ca2FeMoO6 double perovskite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poddar, Asok; Bhowmik, R. N.; Muthuselvam, I. Panneer

2010-11-01

We report the magnetism and electrical transport properties of La doped Ca2FeMoO6 double perovskite. Reduction in magnetic moment, nonmonotonic variation in magnetic ordering temperature (TC), increasing magnetic hardness, low temperature resistivity upturn, and loss of metallic conductivity are some of the major changes that we observed due to La doping induced disorder in double perovskite structure. The increase in magnetic disorder in La doped samples and its effect on TC is more consistent with the mean field theory. The modification in electronic band structure due to La doping is understood by establishing a correlation between the temperature dependence of electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power.

Characteristics of tropical cyclones and overshooting from GPS radio occultation data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biondi, Riccardo; Rieckh, Therese; Steiner, Andrea; Kirchengast, Gottfried

2014-05-01

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are extreme weather events causing every year huge damages and several deaths. In some countries they are the natural catastrophes accounting for the major economic damages. The thermal structure of TCs gives important information on the cloud top height allowing for a better understanding of the troposphere-stratosphere transport, which is still poorly understood. The measurement of atmospheric parameters (such as temperature, pressure and humidity) with high vertical resolution and accuracy in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is difficult especially during severe weather events (e.g TCs). Satellite remote sensing has improved the TC forecast and monitoring accuracy. In the last decade the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Radio Occultation (RO) technique contributed to improve our knowledge especially at high troposphere altitudes and in remote regions of the globe thanks to the high vertical resolution, avoiding temperature smoothing issues (given by microwave and infrared instruments) in the UTLS and improving the poor temporal resolution and global coverage given by lidars and radars. We selected more than twenty-thousand GPS RO profiles co-located with TC best tracks for the period 2001 to 2012 and computed temperature anomaly profiles relative to a RO background climatology in order to detect TC cloud tops. We characterized the thermal structure for different ocean basins and for different TC intensities, distinguishing between tropical and extra-tropical cases. The analysis shows that all investigated storms have a common feature: they warm the troposphere and cool the UTLS near the cloud top. This behavior is amplified in the extra-tropical areas. Results reveal that the storms' cloud tops in the southern hemisphere basins reach higher altitudes and lower temperatures than in the northern hemisphere basins. We furthermore compared the cloud top height of each profile with the mean tropopause altitude (from the RO archive) in order to detect overshooting. We present a map of TC overshooting events indicating tropical areas which contribute most to UTLS transport and the large-scale atmospheric circulation.

Mapping of the Bak, Tang, and Wiesenfeld sandpile model on a two-dimensional Ising-correlated percolation lattice to the two-dimensional self-avoiding random walk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheraghalizadeh, J.; Najafi, M. N.; Dashti-Naserabadi, H.; Mohammadzadeh, H.

2017-11-01

The self-organized criticality on the random fractal networks has many motivations, like the movement pattern of fluid in the porous media. In addition to the randomness, introducing correlation between the neighboring portions of the porous media has some nontrivial effects. In this paper, we consider the Ising-like interactions between the active sites as the simplest method to bring correlations in the porous media, and we investigate the statistics of the BTW model in it. These correlations are controlled by the artificial "temperature" T and the sign of the Ising coupling. Based on our numerical results, we propose that at the Ising critical temperature Tc the model is compatible with the universality class of two-dimensional (2D) self-avoiding walk (SAW). Especially the fractal dimension of the loops, which are defined as the external frontier of the avalanches, is very close to DfSAW=4/3 . Also, the corresponding open curves has conformal invariance with the root-mean-square distance Rrms˜t3 /4 (t being the parametrization of the curve) in accordance with the 2D SAW. In the finite-size study, we observe that at T =Tc the model has some aspects compatible with the 2D BTW model (e.g., the 1 /log(L ) -dependence of the exponents of the distribution functions) and some in accordance with the Ising model (e.g., the 1 /L -dependence of the fractal dimensions). The finite-size scaling theory is tested and shown to be fulfilled for all statistical observables in T =Tc . In the off-critical temperatures in the close vicinity of Tc the exponents show some additional power-law behaviors in terms of T -Tc with some exponents that are reported in the text. The spanning cluster probability at the critical temperature also scales with L1/2, which is different from the regular 2D BTW model.

Quantitative analysis of relationships between irradiation parameters and the reproducibility of cyclotron-produced (99m)Tc yields.

PubMed

Tanguay, J; Hou, X; Buckley, K; Schaffer, P; Bénard, F; Ruth, T J; Celler, A

2015-05-21

Cyclotron production of (99m)Tc through the (100)Mo(p,2n) (99m)Tc reaction channel is actively being investigated as an alternative to reactor-based (99)Mo generation by nuclear fission of (235)U. An exciting aspect of this approach is that it can be implemented using currently-existing cyclotron infrastructure to supplement, or potentially replace, conventional (99m)Tc production methods that are based on aging and increasingly unreliable nuclear reactors. Successful implementation will require consistent production of large quantities of high-radionuclidic-purity (99m)Tc. However, variations in proton beam currents and the thickness and isotopic composition of enriched (100)Mo targets, in addition to other irradiation parameters, may degrade reproducibility of both radionuclidic purity and absolute (99m)Tc yields. The purpose of this article is to present a method for quantifying relationships between random variations in production parameters, including (100)Mo target thicknesses and proton beam currents, and reproducibility of absolute (99m)Tc yields (defined as the end of bombardment (EOB) (99m)Tc activity). Using the concepts of linear error propagation and the theory of stochastic point processes, we derive a mathematical expression that quantifies the influence of variations in various irradiation parameters on yield reproducibility, quantified in terms of the coefficient of variation of the EOB (99m)Tc activity. The utility of the developed formalism is demonstrated with an example. We show that achieving less than 20% variability in (99m)Tc yields will require highly-reproducible target thicknesses and proton currents. These results are related to the service rate which is defined as the percentage of (99m)Tc production runs that meet the minimum daily requirement of one (or many) nuclear medicine departments. For example, we show that achieving service rates of 84.0%, 97.5% and 99.9% with 20% variations in target thicknesses requires producing on average 1.2, 1.5 and 1.9 times the minimum daily activity requirement. The irradiation parameters that would be required to achieve these service rates are described. We believe the developed formalism will aid in the development of quality-control criteria required to ensure consistent supply of large quantities of high-radionuclidic-purity cyclotron-produced (99m)Tc.

Quantitative analysis of relationships between irradiation parameters and the reproducibility of cyclotron-produced 99mTc yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanguay, J.; Hou, X.; Buckley, K.; Schaffer, P.; Bénard, F.; Ruth, T. J.; Celler, A.

2015-05-01

Cyclotron production of 99mTc through the 100Mo(p,2n) 99mTc reaction channel is actively being investigated as an alternative to reactor-based 99Mo generation by nuclear fission of 235U. An exciting aspect of this approach is that it can be implemented using currently-existing cyclotron infrastructure to supplement, or potentially replace, conventional 99mTc production methods that are based on aging and increasingly unreliable nuclear reactors. Successful implementation will require consistent production of large quantities of high-radionuclidic-purity 99mTc. However, variations in proton beam currents and the thickness and isotopic composition of enriched 100Mo targets, in addition to other irradiation parameters, may degrade reproducibility of both radionuclidic purity and absolute 99mTc yields. The purpose of this article is to present a method for quantifying relationships between random variations in production parameters, including 100Mo target thicknesses and proton beam currents, and reproducibility of absolute 99mTc yields (defined as the end of bombardment (EOB) 99mTc activity). Using the concepts of linear error propagation and the theory of stochastic point processes, we derive a mathematical expression that quantifies the influence of variations in various irradiation parameters on yield reproducibility, quantified in terms of the coefficient of variation of the EOB 99mTc activity. The utility of the developed formalism is demonstrated with an example. We show that achieving less than 20% variability in 99mTc yields will require highly-reproducible target thicknesses and proton currents. These results are related to the service rate which is defined as the percentage of 99mTc production runs that meet the minimum daily requirement of one (or many) nuclear medicine departments. For example, we show that achieving service rates of 84.0%, 97.5% and 99.9% with 20% variations in target thicknesses requires producing on average 1.2, 1.5 and 1.9 times the minimum daily activity requirement. The irradiation parameters that would be required to achieve these service rates are described. We believe the developed formalism will aid in the development of quality-control criteria required to ensure consistent supply of large quantities of high-radionuclidic-purity cyclotron-produced 99mTc.

The effect of time of day on cold water ingestion by high-level swimmers in a tropical climate.

PubMed

Hue, Olivier; Monjo, Roland; Lazzaro, Marc; Baillot, Michelle; Hellard, Philippe; Marlin, Laurent; Jean-Etienne, A

2013-07-01

The authors tested the effect of cold water ingestion during high-intensity training in the morning vs the evening on both core temperature (TC) and thermal perceptions of internationally ranked long-distance swimmers during a training period in a tropical climate. Nine internationally ranked long-distance swimmers (5 men and 4 women) performed 4 randomized training sessions (2 in the evening and 2 in the morning) with 2 randomized beverages with different temperatures for 3 consecutive days. After a standardized warm-up of 1000 m, the subjects performed a standardized training session that consisted of 10 x 100 m (start every 1'20″) at a fixed velocity. The swimmers were then followed for the next 3000 m of the training schedule. Heart rate (HR) was continuously monitored during the 10 x 100 m, whereas TC, thermal comfort, and thermal sensation (TS) were measured before and after each 1000-m session. Before and after each 1000 m, the swimmers were asked to drink 190 mL of neutral (26.5 ± 2.5°C) or cold (1.3 ± 0.3°C) water packaged in standardized bottles. Results demonstrated that cold water ingestion induced a significant effect on TC, with a pronounced decrease in the evening, resulting in significantly lower mean TC and lower mean delta TC in evening cold (EC) than in evening neutral (EN), concomitant with significantly lower TS in EC than in EN and a significant effect on exercise HR. Moreover, although TC increased significantly with time in MN, MC, and EN, TC was stabilized during exercise in EC. To conclude, we demonstrate that a cold beverage had a significant effect on TC, TS, and HR during training in high-level swimmers in a tropical climate, especially during evening training.

Towards a solution of the puzzle posed by superconducting SrTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, G. P.

2015-09-01

Suitably doped SrTiO3 was found in 1964 to undergo a superconducting transition below 1 K with a dome-like Tc versus n (electron concentration) plot. The apex of the dome — a point of inflection — corresponds to the point (n≈9 ×1019cm-3, Tc≈0.30 K). On either side of it, Tc goes down to ≈0.1 K for the extreme values between which n was varied. A single value of Tc is thus observed for two different values of n. The puzzle for the theory has been to explain this result. Treating the problem in all its generality, we present here three equations: the μ1-incorporated BCS equation for Tc, the μ0-incorporated equation for the T = 0 gap Δ0, where μ1 and μ0 are the chemical potentials at T = Tc and T = 0 respectively, and an equation that relates the interaction parameters λ1 and λ0 at these temperatures. Because there are five unknowns in the problem, we tackle these equations via an approximation scheme that includes setting μ1 = μ0 and λ1 = λ0. The latter of these is factually a basic tenet of the BCS theory. Salient features of our findings are: (i) the solutions for Tc and Δ0 on the RHS (LHS) of the dome correspond to μ> kBθD(μ < kBθD); kB = Boltzmann constant, θD = Debye temperature, (ii) for solutions on the LHS the limits of the integrals in the equations need to be curtailed to obtain real solutions and (iii) the point μ = kBθD is a point of inflection in the Tc versus μ plot. Since the puzzle has remained unsolved for a long time, we also offer here a purely mathematical model for λ(μ) — sans physical justification — which leads to a Tc versus μ plot qualitatively in agreement with experiment.

Increased breast density correlates with the proliferation-seeking radiotracer (99m)Tc(V)-DMSA uptake in florid epithelial hyperplasia and in mixed ductal carcinoma in situ with invasive ductal carcinoma but not in pure invasive ductal carcinoma or in mild epithelial hyperplasia.

PubMed

Papantoniou, Vassilios; Valsamaki, Pipitsa; Sotiropoulou, Evangelia; Tsaroucha, Angeliki; Tsiouris, Spyridon; Sotiropoulou, Maria; Marinopoulos, Spyridon; Kounadi, Evangelia; Karianos, Theodore; Fothiadaki, Athina; Archontaki, Aikaterini; Syrgiannis, Konstantinos; Ptohis, Nikolaos; Makris, Nikolaos; Limouris, Georgios; Antsaklis, Aris

2011-10-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of mammographic breast density (BD) and cell proliferation/focal adhesion kinase activation-seeking radiotracer technetium 99m pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc(V)-DMSA) uptake in women with different breast histologies, that is, mild epithelial hyperplasia (MEH), florid epithelial hyperplasia (FEH), mixed ductal carcinoma in situ with invasive ductal carcinoma (DCIS + IDC), and pure IDC. Fifty-five women with histologically confirmed mammary pathologies were submitted preoperatively to mammography and 99mTc(V)-DMSA scintimammography. The percentage and intensity of 99mTc(V)-DMSA uptake and the percentage of BD were calculated by computer-assisted methods and compared (t-test) between the breast pathologies. In breasts with increased BD, FEH and DCIS + IDC were found. On the contrary, pure IDC and MEH were identified in breasts with significantly lower BD values. In breasts with increased 99mTc(V)-DMSA area and intensity of uptake, FEH was the main lesion found compared to all other histologies. Linear regression analysis between BD and 99mTc(V)-DMSA uptake area and intensity revealed significant coefficients of correlation (r  =  .689, p < .001 and r  =  .582, p < .001, respectively). Increased BD correlates with the presence of FEH and mixed DCIS + IDC but not with pure IDC or MEH. Its close relationship to 99mTc(V)-DMSA, which also showed an affinity to FEH, indicates that stromal microenvironment may constitute a specific substrate leading to progression to different subtypes of cancerous lesions originating from different pathways.

Superconductivity mediated by quantum critical antiferromagnetic fluctuations: The rise and fall of hot spots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoyu; Schattner, Yoni; Berg, Erez; Fernandes, Rafael M.

2017-05-01

In several unconventional superconductors, the highest superconducting transition temperature Tc is found in a region of the phase diagram where the antiferromagnetic transition temperature extrapolates to zero, signaling a putative quantum critical point. The elucidation of the interplay between these two phenomena—high-Tc superconductivity and magnetic quantum criticality—remains an important piece of the complex puzzle of unconventional superconductivity. In this paper, we combine sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations and field-theoretical analytical calculations to unveil the microscopic mechanism responsible for the superconducting instability of a general low-energy model, called the spin-fermion model. In this approach, low-energy electronic states interact with each other via the exchange of quantum critical magnetic fluctuations. We find that even in the regime of moderately strong interactions, both the superconducting transition temperature and the pairing susceptibility are governed not by the properties of the entire Fermi surface, but instead by the properties of small portions of the Fermi surface called hot spots. Moreover, Tc increases with increasing interaction strength, until it starts to saturate at the crossover from hot-spots-dominated to Fermi-surface-dominated pairing. Our work provides not only invaluable insights into the system parameters that most strongly affect Tc, but also important benchmarks to assess the origin of superconductivity in both microscopic models and actual materials.

A scaling law for the critical current of Nb3Sn stands based on strong-coupling theory of superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Sangjun; Kim, Keeman

2006-02-01

We study the transition temperature Tc, the thermodynamic critical field Bc, and the upper critical field Bc2 of Nb3Sn with Eliashberg theory of strongly coupled superconductors using the Einstein spectrum α2(ω)F(ω)=λ<ω2>1/2δ(ω-<ω2>1/2). The strain dependences of λ(ɛ) and <ω2>1/2(V) are introduced from the empirical strain dependence of Tc(V) for three model cases. It is found that the empirical relation Tc(V)/Tc(0)=[Bc2(4.2 K,V)/Bc2(4.2 K,0)]1/w (w~3) is mainly due to the low-energy-phonon mode softening. We derive analytic expressions for the strain and temperature dependences of Bc(T,V) and Bc2(T,V) and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ(T,V) from the numerical calculation results. The Summers refinement on the temperature dependence of κ(T) shows deviation from our calculation results. We propose a unified scaling law of flux pinning in Nb3Sn strands in the form of the Kramer model with the analytic expressions of Bc2(T,V) and κ(T,V) derived in this work. It is shown that the proposed scaling law gives a reasonable fit to the reported data with only eight fitting parameters.

A study on dynamic heat assisted magnetization reversal mechanisms under insufficient reversal field conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Y. J.; Yang, H. Z.; Leong, S. H.

2014-10-20

We report an experimental study on the dynamic thermomagnetic (TM) reversal mechanisms at around Curie temperature (Tc) for isolated 60 nm pitch single-domain [Co/Pd] islands heated by a 1.5 μm spot size laser pulse under an applied magnetic reversal field (Hr). Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) observations with high resolution MFM tips clearly showed randomly trapped non-switched islands within the laser irradiated spot after dynamic TM reversal process with insufficient Hr strength. This observation provides direct experimental evidence by MFM of a large magnetization switching variation due to increased thermal fluctuation/agitation over magnetization energy at the elevated temperature of around Tc. The averagemore » percentage of non-switched islands/magnetization was further found to be inversely proportional to the applied reversal field Hr for incomplete magnetization reversal when Hr is less than 13% of the island coercivity (Hc), showing an increased switching field distribution (SFD) at elevated temperature of around Tc (where main contributions to SFD broadening are from Tc distribution and stronger thermal fluctuations). Our experimental study and results provide better understanding and insight on practical heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) process and recording performance, including HAMR writing magnetization dynamics induced SFD as well as associated DC saturation noise that limits areal density, as were previously observed and investigated by theoretical simulations.« less

Life prediction for high temperature low cycle fatigue of two kinds of titanium alloys based on exponential function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mu, G. Y.; Mi, X. Z.; Wang, F.

2018-01-01

The high temperature low cycle fatigue tests of TC4 titanium alloy and TC11 titanium alloy are carried out under strain controlled. The relationships between cyclic stress-life and strain-life are analyzed. The high temperature low cycle fatigue life prediction model of two kinds of titanium alloys is established by using Manson-Coffin method. The relationship between failure inverse number and plastic strain range presents nonlinear in the double logarithmic coordinates. Manson-Coffin method assumes that they have linear relation. Therefore, there is bound to be a certain prediction error by using the Manson-Coffin method. In order to solve this problem, a new method based on exponential function is proposed. The results show that the fatigue life of the two kinds of titanium alloys can be predicted accurately and effectively by using these two methods. Prediction accuracy is within ±1.83 times scatter zone. The life prediction capability of new methods based on exponential function proves more effective and accurate than Manson-Coffin method for two kinds of titanium alloys. The new method based on exponential function can give better fatigue life prediction results with the smaller standard deviation and scatter zone than Manson-Coffin method. The life prediction results of two methods for TC4 titanium alloy prove better than TC11 titanium alloy.

Microwave Hybrid Integrated Circuit Applicatins of High Transition Temperature Superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shih-Lin

This research work involves microwave characterization of high Tc superconducting (HTS) thin film using microstrip ring resonators, studying the nonlinear properties of HTS thin film transmission lines using two-tone intermodulation technique, coupling mechanisms and coupling factors of microstrip ring resonators side coupled to a microstrip line, two-port S-parameters measurements of GaAs MESFET at low temperature, and the design and implementation of hybrid ring resonator stabilized microwave oscillator using both metal films and superconducting films. A microstrip ring resonators operating at 10 GHz have been fabricated from YBCO HTS thin films deposited on one side of LaAl_2O_3 substrates. Below 60^circ Kelvin the measured unloaded Q of the HTS thin film microstrip ring resonators are more than 1.5 times that of gold film resonators. The two distinct but very close resonance peaks of a ring resonator side coupled to a microstrip line are experimentally identified as due to odd-mode and even-mode coupling. These two mechanisms have different characteristic equivalent circuit models and lead to different coupling coefficients and loaded resonance frequencies. The coupling factors for the two coupling modes are calculated using piecewise coupled line approximations. The two-port S-parameters measurement techniques and GaAs MESFET low temperature DC and microwave characteristics have been investigated. A system errors model including the errors caused by the line constriction at low temperature has been proposed and a temperature errors correction procedure has been developed for the two-port microwave S-parameters measurements at low temperature. The measured GaAs MESFET DC characteristics shows a 20% increase in transconductance at 77^circ K. There is also a 2 db increase in /S21/ at 77^circ K. The microwave oscillator stabilized with both metal and HTS thin film ring resonators have been studied. The tuning ability of the oscillator by a varactor diode has also been investigated. The phase noise performance of one side of the high Tc film oscillator does not show appreciable improvement over the gold film oscillator. With a varactor diode, the oscillator tuning range can be 300 MHz more. Two-tone intermodulation distortion (IMD) at 6.3 GHz in an HTS YBCO superconducting thin film microstrip transmission line on LaAl_2O _3 substrates are experimentally studied. At fixed input power, the 3rd order IMD power as function of temperature shows a minimum at a temperature around 60^circ Kelvin. With DC current applied, the second order IMD is observed and shows a strong functional dependance to the applied DC current and input power.

Assessment of the physical properties and stability of mixtures of tetracycline hydrochloride ointment and acyclovir cream.

PubMed

Inoue, Yutaka; Furuya, Kayoko; Maeda, Rikimaru; Murata, Isamu; Kanamoto, Ikuo

2013-04-15

In dermatology, ointments are often mixed as part of drug therapy, but mixing often leads to incompatibility. Three combinations of tetracycline ointment (TC-o) and acyclovir cream (ACV-cr) were prepared at a TC-o:ACV-cr ratio of 1:1 using a brand-name ACV-cr and two generic ACV-cr (samples TC-o+ACV-A, TC-o+ACV-B, and TC-o+ACV-C). Microscopic examination revealed separation in TC-o+ACV-C. Viscosity and elasticity measurement indicated that the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of each of the TC-o+ACV-cr mixtures behaved similarly to those of an ACV-cr and the loss tangent (tanδ) behaved similarly to that of a TC ointment. In addition, differences in the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of the TC-o+ACV-cr mixtures were noted. To assess stability, each TC-o+ACV-cr mixture was stored away from direct sunlight at 25 °C and an RH of 84% and at 4 °C (in a refrigerator). HPLC revealed that the ACV content in each TC-o+ACV-cr mixture remained at 95-105% for up to 14 days under both sets of storage conditions. A decline in TC content in each TC-o+ACV-cr mixture was not noted with storage at 4 °C but was noted over time with storage at 25 °C and an RH of 84%. In addition, significant differences in the percent decline in TC content in each TC-o+ACV-cr mixture occurred with storage at 25 °C and an RH of 84%. Thus, differences in physical properties and stability may occur when combining brand-name and generic drugs, and temperature and humidity may be the cause of the TC-o's incompatibility. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cold tolerance of Littorinidae from southern Africa: intertidal snails are not constrained to freeze tolerance.

PubMed

Sinclair, Brent J; Marshall, David J; Singh, Sarika; Chown, Steven L

2004-11-01

All intertidal gastropods for which cold tolerance strategies have been assessed have been shown to be freeze tolerant. Thus, freeze tolerance is considered an adaptation to the intertidal environment. We investigated the cold tolerance strategies of three species of subtropical and temperate snails (Gastropoda: Littorinidae) to determine whether this group is phylogenetically constrained to freeze tolerance. We exposed 'dry' acclimated and 'wet' rehydrated snails to low temperatures to determine temperature of crystallisation (Tc), lower lethal temperature and LT(50) and to examine the relationship between ice formation and mortality. Tc was lowest in dry Afrolittorina knysnaensis (-13.6+/-0.4 degrees C), followed by dry Echinolittorina natalensis (-10.9+/-0.2 degrees C) and wet A. knysnaensis (-10.2+/-0.2 degrees C) . The Tc of both A. knysnaensis and E. natalensis increased with rehydration, whereas Tc of dry and wet Afrolittorina africana did not differ (-9.6+/-0.2 and -9.0+/-0.2 degrees C respectively). Wet snails of all species exhibited no or low survival of inoculative freezing, whereas dry individuals of A. knysnaensis could survive subzero temperatures above -8 degrees C when freezing was inoculated with ice . In the absence of external ice, Afrolittorina knysnaensis employs a freeze-avoidance strategy of cold tolerance, the first time this has been reported for an intertidal snail, indicating that there is no family-level phylogenetic constraint to freeze tolerance. Echinolittorina natalensis and A. africana both showed pre-freeze mortality and survival of some internal ice formation, but were not cold hardy in any strict sense.

Superconductivity and fast proton transport in nanoconfined water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, K. H.

2018-04-01

A real-space molecular-orbital density-wave description of Cooper pairing in conjunction with the dynamic Jahn-Teller mechanism for high-Tc superconductivity predicts that electron-doped water confined to the nanoscale environment of a carbon nanotube or biological macromolecule should superconduct below and exhibit fast proton transport above the transition temperature, Tc ≅ 230 K (-43 °C).

Stress-induced core temperature changes in pigeons (Columba livia).

PubMed

Bittencourt, Myla de Aguiar; Melleu, Fernando Falkenburger; Marino-Neto, José

2015-02-01

Changes in body temperature are significant physiological consequences of stressful stimuli in mammals and birds. Pigeons (Columba livia) prosper in (potentially) stressful urban environments and are common subjects in neurobehavioral studies; however, the thermal responses to stress stimuli by pigeons are poorly known. Here, we describe acute changes in the telemetrically recorded celomatic (core) temperature (Tc) in pigeons given a variety of potentially stressful stimuli, including transfer to a novel cage (ExC) leading to visual isolation from conspecifics, the presence of the experimenter (ExpR), gentle handling (H), sham intracelomatic injections (SI), and the induction of the tonic immobility (TI) response. Transfer to the ExC cage provoked short-lived hyperthermia (10-20 min) followed by a long-lasting and substantial decrease in Tc, which returned to baseline levels 2 h after the start of the test. After a 2-hour stay in the ExC, the other potentially stressful stimuli evoked only weak, marginally significant hyperthermic (ExpR, IT) or hypothermic (SI) responses. Stimuli delivered 26 h after transfer to the ExC induced definite and intense increases in Tc (ExpR, H) or hypothermic responses (SI). These Tc changes appear to be unrelated to modifications in general activity (as measured via telemetrically recorded actimetric data). Repeated testing failed to affect the hypothermic responses to the transference to the ExC, even after nine trials and at 1- or 8-day intervals, suggesting that the social (visual) isolation from conspecifics may be a strong and poorly controllable stimulus in this species. The present data indicated that stress-induced changes in Tc may be a consistent and reliable physiological parameter of stress but that they may also show stressor type-, direction- and species-specific attributes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The GPM Common Calibrated Brightness Temperature Product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stout, John; Berg, Wesley; Huffman, George; Kummerow, Chris; Stocker, Erich

2005-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) project will provide a core satellite carrying the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and will use microwave observations from a constellation of other satellites. Each partner with a satellite in the constellation will have a calibration that meets their own requirements and will decide on the format to archive their brightness temperature (Tb) record in GPM. However, GPM multi-sensor precipitation algorithms need to input intercalibrated Tb's in order to avoid differences among sensors introducing artifacts into the longer term climate record of precipitation. The GPM Common Calibrated Brightness Temperature Product is intended to address this problem by providing intercalibrated Tb data, called "Tc" data, where the "c" stands for common. The precipitation algorithms require a Tc file format that is both generic and flexible enough to accommodate the different passive microwave instruments. The format will provide detailed information on the processing history in order to allow future researchers to have a record of what was done. The format will be simple, including the main items of scan time, latitude, longitude, and Tc. It will also provide spacecraft orientation, spacecraft location, orbit, and instrument scan type (cross-track or conical). Another simplification is to store data in real numbers, avoiding the ambiguity of scaled data. Finally, units and descriptions will be provided in the product. The format is built on the concept of a swath, which is a series of scans that have common geolocation and common scan geometry. Scan geometry includes pixels per scan, sensor orientation, scan type, and incidence angles. The Tc algorithm and data format are being tested using the pre-GPM Precipitation Processing System (PPS) software to generate formats and 1/0 routines. In the test, data from SSM/I, TMI, AMSR-E, and WindSat are being processed and written as Tc products.

Effect of a Cooling Vest on Core Temperature in Athletes With and Without Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Trbovich, Michelle

2014-01-01

Background: It is well accepted that persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) have impaired ability to regulate core temperature due to impaired vasomotor and sudomotor activity below their level of injury. Impaired heat dissipation puts SCI athletes at great risk of exercise-induced hyperthermia (EIH) (>37.8°C). There is minimal evidence for efficacy of any specific cooling method in SCI athletes in a thermoneutral sport-specific setting. Objective: To evaluate the extent of EIH in persons with and without SCI and subsequently examine the effect of a cooling vest to attenuate rise in core body temperature (Tc). Methods: SCI (n = 17) and able-bodied (AB; n = 19) athletes participated in a 60-minute intermittent sprinting exercise in a thermoneutral (21.1°C-23.9°C) environment. Participants were separated according to their level of injury: tetraplegia defined as above T1 (TP; n = 6), high paraplegia defined as T5 through T1 (HP; n = 5), low paraplegia defined as T6 and below (LP; n = 6), and AB (n = 19). Tc was recorded at 15-minute intervals using an ingestible thermometer pill. This protocol was completed with a cooling vest (V) and without a cooling vest (NV). Results: All SCI and most AB athletes experienced EIH. After 60 minutes, Tc of TP athletes was significantly increased compared to HP (P = .03) and AB athletes (P = .007). There was no significant effect of the vest on Tc over time for any group. Conclusions: TP athletes have the highest risk of exercise-induced hyperthermia. The cooling vest does not significantly attenuate rise in Tc in SCI or AB athletes. PMID:24574824

Effect of a cooling vest on core temperature in athletes with and without spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Trbovich, Michelle; Ortega, Catherine; Schroeder, James; Fredrickson, Mark

2014-01-01

It is well accepted that persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) have impaired ability to regulate core temperature due to impaired vasomotor and sudomotor activity below their level of injury. Impaired heat dissipation puts SCI athletes at great risk of exercise-induced hyperthermia (EIH) (>37.8°C). There is minimal evidence for efficacy of any specific cooling method in SCI athletes in a thermoneutral sport-specific setting. To evaluate the extent of EIH in persons with and without SCI and subsequently examine the effect of a cooling vest to attenuate rise in core body temperature (Tc). SCI (n = 17) and able-bodied (AB; n = 19) athletes participated in a 60-minute intermittent sprinting exercise in a thermoneutral (21.1°C-23.9°C) environment. Participants were separated according to their level of injury: tetraplegia defined as above T1 (TP; n = 6), high paraplegia defined as T5 through T1 (HP; n = 5), low paraplegia defined as T6 and below (LP; n = 6), and AB (n = 19). Tc was recorded at 15-minute intervals using an ingestible thermometer pill. This protocol was completed with a cooling vest (V) and without a cooling vest (NV). All SCI and most AB athletes experienced EIH. After 60 minutes, Tc of TP athletes was significantly increased compared to HP (P = .03) and AB athletes (P = .007). There was no significant effect of the vest on Tc over time for any group. TP athletes have the highest risk of exercise-induced hyperthermia. The cooling vest does not significantly attenuate rise in Tc in SCI or AB athletes.

Change in ocean subsurface environment to suppress tropical cyclone intensification under global warming.

PubMed

Huang, Ping; Lin, I-I; Chou, Chia; Huang, Rong-Hui

2015-05-18

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are hazardous natural disasters. Because TC intensification is significantly controlled by atmosphere and ocean environments, changes in these environments may cause changes in TC intensity. Changes in surface and subsurface ocean conditions can both influence a TC's intensification. Regarding global warming, minimal exploration of the subsurface ocean has been undertaken. Here we investigate future subsurface ocean environment changes projected by 22 state-of-the-art climate models and suggest a suppressive effect of subsurface oceans on the intensification of future TCs. Under global warming, the subsurface vertical temperature profile can be sharpened in important TC regions, which may contribute to a stronger ocean coupling (cooling) effect during the intensification of future TCs. Regarding a TC, future subsurface ocean environments may be more suppressive than the existing subsurface ocean environments. This suppressive effect is not spatially uniform and may be weak in certain local areas.

Change in ocean subsurface environment to suppress tropical cyclone intensification under global warming

PubMed Central

Huang, Ping; Lin, I. -I; Chou, Chia; Huang, Rong-Hui

2015-01-01

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are hazardous natural disasters. Because TC intensification is significantly controlled by atmosphere and ocean environments, changes in these environments may cause changes in TC intensity. Changes in surface and subsurface ocean conditions can both influence a TC's intensification. Regarding global warming, minimal exploration of the subsurface ocean has been undertaken. Here we investigate future subsurface ocean environment changes projected by 22 state-of-the-art climate models and suggest a suppressive effect of subsurface oceans on the intensification of future TCs. Under global warming, the subsurface vertical temperature profile can be sharpened in important TC regions, which may contribute to a stronger ocean coupling (cooling) effect during the intensification of future TCs. Regarding a TC, future subsurface ocean environments may be more suppressive than the existing subsurface ocean environments. This suppressive effect is not spatially uniform and may be weak in certain local areas. PMID:25982028

Susceptibility measurements on the superconducting properties of Nb-Ge alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rathz, T. J.

1981-01-01

A susceptibility apparatus to measure superconducting properties of samples made in the MSFC Drop Tube was used to measure the transition temperature (Tc) and susceptibilities of Nb and Nb Ge Alloys prepared in bulk spherical (2-4 mm diameter) form using a 32 m drop tube in which containerless low gravity solidification could take place. Results indicate that a drop tube processing environment was beneficial for increasing the Tc of the superconducting phase of the material over that of arc melted material. The increase in Tc is found to be related to the amount of solidification of the total sample that took place before reaching the bottom of the drop tube. In phase and quadrature phase measurements of the specimen's susceptibility indicated that some improvement in homogeneity takes place in drop tube processing. These phase measurements also indicated little or no shielding of a lower Tc phase by a higher Tc filamentary structure.

Correlation between non-Fermi-liquid behavior and superconductivity in (Ca, La)(Fe,Co)As2 iron arsenides: A high-pressure study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, W.; Ke, F.; Xu, Xiaofeng; Sankar, R.; Xing, X.; Xu, C. Q.; Jiang, X. F.; Qian, B.; Zhou, N.; Zhang, Y.; Xu, M.; Li, B.; Chen, B.; Shi, Z. X.

2017-11-01

Non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) phenomena associated with correlation effects have been widely observed in the phase diagrams of unconventional superconducting families. Exploration of the correlation between the normal state NFL, regardless of its microscopic origins, and the superconductivity has been argued as a key to unveiling the mystery of the high-Tc pairing mechanism. Here we systematically investigate the pressure-dependent in-plane resistivity (ρ ) and Hall coefficient (RH) of a high-quality 112-type Fe-based superconductor Ca1 -xLaxFe1 -yCoyAs2 (x =0.2 ,y =0.02 ). With increasing pressure, the normal-state resistivity of the studied sample exhibits a pronounced crossover from non-Fermi-liquid to Fermi-liquid behaviors. Accompanied with this crossover, Tc is gradually suppressed. In parallel, the extremum in the Hall coefficient RH(T ) curve, possibly due to anisotropic scattering induced by spin fluctuations, is also gradually suppressed. The symbiosis of NFL and superconductivity implies that these two phenomena are intimately related. Further study on the pressure-dependent upper critical field reveals that the two-band effects are also gradually weakened with increasing pressure and reduced to the one-band Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg limit in the low-Tc regime. Overall, our paper supports the picture that NFL, multigap, and extreme RH(T ) are all of the same magnetic origin, i.e., the spin fluctuations in the 112 iron arsenide superconductors.

Effect of different thickness of material filter on Tc-99m spectra and performance parameters of gamma camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nazifah, A.; Norhanna, S.; Shah, S. I.; Zakaria, A.

2014-11-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of material filter technique on Tc-99m spectra and performance parameters of Philip ADAC forte dual head gamma camera. Thickness of material filter was selected on the basis of percentage attenuation of various gamma ray energies by different thicknesses of zinc material. A cylindrical source tank of NEMA single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) Triple Line Source Phantom filled with water and Tc-99m radionuclide injected was used for spectra, uniformity and sensitivity measurements. Vinyl plastic tube was used as a line source for spatial resolution. Images for uniformity were reconstructed by filtered back projection method. Butterworth filter of order 5 and cut off frequency 0.35 cycles/cm was selected. Chang's attenuation correction method was applied by selecting 0.13/cm linear attenuation coefficient. Count rate was decreased with material filter from the compton region of Tc-99m energy spectrum, also from the photopeak region. Spatial resolution was improved. However, uniformity of tomographic image was equivocal, and system volume sensitivity was reduced by material filter. Material filter improved system's spatial resolution. Therefore, the technique may be used for phantom studies to improve the image quality.

High temperature superconductor materials and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doane, George B., III.; Banks, Curtis; Golben, John

1990-01-01

Research on processing methods leading to a significant enhancement in the critical current densities (Jc) and the critical temperature (Tc) of high temperature superconducting in thin bulk and thin film forms. The fabrication of important devices for NASA unique applications (sensors) is investigated.

Development of high Tc (greater than 100 K) Bi, Tl and Y-based materials as superconducting circuit elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haertling, Gene; Grabert, Gregory; Gilmour, Phillip

1993-01-01

Results on this project over the past three years have shown that the Bi and Tl-based superconducting materials in bulk form are noticeably different from the Y-based 123 material in that superconductivity is considerably harder to achieve, maintain and reproduce. This is due primarily to the difficulty in obtaining the higher Tc phase in pure form since it commonly co-exists with other undesirable, lower Tc phases. In particular, it has been found that long processing times for calcining and firing (20 - 200 hrs.) and close control of temperatures which are very near the melting point are required in order to obtain higher proportions of the desirable, high Tc (2223) phase.

Development a fluvial detachment rate model to predict the erodibility of cohesive soils under the influence of seepage

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Seepage influences the erodibility of streambanks, streambeds, dams, and embankments. Usually the erosion rate of cohesive soils due to fluvial forces is computed using an excess shear stress model, dependent on two major soil parameters: the critical shear stress (tc) and the erodibility coefficie...

Reversible strain effect on the magnetization of LaCoO3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herklotz, A.; Rata, A. D.; Schultz, L.; Dörr, K.

2009-03-01

The magnetization (M) of a LaCoO3 film grown epitaxially on a piezoelectric substrate has been investigated in dependence on the biaxial in-plane strain. M decreases with the reversible release of tensile strain, with a maximum change of at least 6% per 0.1% of biaxial strain near the Curie temperature (TC) . The biaxial strain response of TC is estimated to be below 5 K/% in the tensile strain state. This is in agreement with results from statically strained films on various substrates. As possible origins of the strain-induced magnetization are considered (i) the strain-dependent Curie temperature, (ii) a strain-dependent magnetically inhomogeneous (phase-separated) state, and (iii) a strain-dependent magnetic moment (spin state) of Co ions. The TC shift is found insufficient to explain the measured strain-induced magnetization change but contributions from mechanism (ii) or (iii) must be involved.

Properties of the new high Tc materials - An analysis based on fermiology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kresin, V. Z.; Deutscher, G.; Wolf, S. A.

1989-03-01

A small value of the Fermi energy, E(f), in the new Tc oxides and its consequences are the subject of this study. It is shown that the small value of Ef allows separation of the electronic contribution to the heat capacity in the high-temperature region between E(f)kB and theta(D) to determine the value of the electron-phonon coupling constant lambda. The linear temperature dependence of the normal resistance is mainly due to a large anisotropy of the system. A small value of E(f) allows the lattice contribution to the thermal conductivity to play a dominant role. A strong electron-phonon coupling is manifested in the increase of the thermal conductivity in the region T lower than Tc, and the appearance of such coupling is also connected with a small value of E(f).

AC current rectification in Nb films with or without symmetrical Nb/Ni periodic pinning arrays in perpendicular magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pryadun, Vladimir

2005-03-01

Rectification of AC current has been observed in plain superconducting Nb films and in Nb/Ni films with symmetric periodic pinning centers. The rectified DC voltage appears for various sample geometries (cross or strip) both along and transverse to the alternating current direction, is nearly anti-symmetric with perpendicular magnetic field and strongly dependent on temperature below Tc. Analyses of the data at different temperatures, drive frequencies from 100kHz to 150MHz and at the different sample sides [1] shows that not far below Tc the rectification phenomena can be understood in terms of generation of electric fields due to local excess of critical current. Further below Tc anisotropic pinning effects could also contribute to the rectification. [1] F.G.Aliev, et al., Cond. Mat.405656. Supported by Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid -CAM/07N/0050/2002

Electronic structure of the iron-based superconductor (La,Eu)FeAsO1-xFx investigated by laser photoemission spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malaeb, Walid; Awad, Ramadan; Hibino, Taku; Kamihara, Yoichi; Kondo, Takeshi; Shin, Shik

2018-05-01

We have implemented laser photoemission spectroscopy (PES) to investigate the electronic structure of the iron-based superconductor (La,Eu)FeAsO1-xFx (LaEu1111) which is an interesting compound in the "1111" family showing a high value of the superconducting (SC) transition temperature (Tc) due to Eu doping. At least two energy scales were observed from the PES data in the SC compound: One at ∼14 meV closing around Tc and thus corresponding to the SC gap. Another energy scale appears at ∼35 meV and survives at temperatures above Tc which represents the pseudogap (PG). The non-SC sample (La,Eu)FeAsO shows a PG at ∼ 41 meV. These observations in this new superconductor are consistent with the general trend followed by other compounds in the "1111" family.

Superconductivity in multiple phases of compressed GeS b2T e4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenberg, E.; Hen, B.; Layek, Samar; Pozin, I.; Friedman, R.; Shelukhin, V.; Rosenberg, Y.; Karpovski, M.; Pasternak, M. P.; Sterer, E.; Dagan, Y.; Rozenberg, G. Kh.; Palevski, A.

2017-02-01

Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in multiple phases of the compressed GeS b2T e4 (GST) phase change memory alloy, which has attracted considerable attention for the last decade due to its unusual physical properties with many potential applications. Superconductivity is observed through electrical transport measurements, both for the amorphous (a -GST) and for the crystalline (c -GST) phases. The superconducting critical temperature Tc continuously increases with applied pressure, reaching a maximum Tc=6 K at P =20 GPa for a -GST, whereas the critical temperature of the cubic phase reaches a maximum Tc=8 K at 30 GPa. This material system, exhibiting a superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition, has an advantage over disordered metals since it has a continuous control of the crystal structure and the electronic properties using pressure as an external stimulus.

Resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs

PubMed Central

Galda, Alexey; Mel'nikov, A. S.; Vinokur, V. M.

2015-01-01

Superconducting fluctuations have proved to be an irreplaceable source of information about microscopic and macroscopic material parameters that could be inferred from the experiment. According to common wisdom, the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations in the vicinity of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, is to round off all of the sharp corners and discontinuities, which otherwise would have been expected to occur at Tc. Here we report the current spikes due to radiation-induced resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs between two superconductors which grow even sharper and more pronounced upon approach to Tc. This striking effect offers an unprecedented tool for direct measurements of fluctuation Cooper pair lifetime, which is key to our understanding of the fluctuation regime, most notably to nature of the pseudogap state in high-temperature superconductors. Our finding marks a radical departure from the conventional view of superconducting fluctuations as a blurring and rounding phenomenon. PMID:25661237

Resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs.

PubMed

Galda, Alexey; Mel'nikov, A S; Vinokur, V M

2015-02-09

Superconducting fluctuations have proved to be an irreplaceable source of information about microscopic and macroscopic material parameters that could be inferred from the experiment. According to common wisdom, the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations in the vicinity of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, is to round off all of the sharp corners and discontinuities, which otherwise would have been expected to occur at Tc. Here we report the current spikes due to radiation-induced resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs between two superconductors which grow even sharper and more pronounced upon approach to Tc. This striking effect offers an unprecedented tool for direct measurements of fluctuation Cooper pair lifetime, which is key to our understanding of the fluctuation regime, most notably to nature of the pseudogap state in high-temperature superconductors. Our finding marks a radical departure from the conventional view of superconducting fluctuations as a blurring and rounding phenomenon.