Controlling the Critical Temperature in Mg1−x Al x B2

Here we report synthesis and characterization of high quality samples of the superconducting system Mg_1−x Al _x B₂, with a novel optimized preparation method, in a wide range of Al concentration. All the physical properties of the samples can be tuned continuously with increasing Al content. We have characterized the samples for their structural, morphological and magnetic properties with high resolution XRD, SEM-EDS and susceptibility measurements. We have prepared a large number of Al doped MgB₂ in the range 0<x<0.57. All the samples are bulk superconductors and the critical temperature show a smooth and regular behavior as a function of x. This work was supported by European project 517039 “Controlling Mesoscopic Phase Separation” (COMEPHS) (2005). An erratum to this article can be found at     

Neuroprotective Effects of Testosterone in the Hypothalamus of an Animal Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known to be associated to inflammation and alteration in the hypothalamus, a brain region implicated in the control of several physiological functions, including energy homeostasis and reproduction. Previous studies demonstrated the beneficial effects of testosterone treatment (TTh) in counteracting some MetS symptoms in both animal models and clinical studies. This study investigated the effect of TTh (30 mg/kg/week for 12 weeks) on the hypothalamus in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced animal model of MetS, utilizing quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses. The animal model recapitulates the human MetS features, including low testosterone/gonadotropin plasma levels. TTh significantly improved MetS-induced hypertension, visceral adipose tissue accumulation, and glucose homeostasis derangements. Within hypothalamus, TTh significantly counteracted HFD-induced inflammation, as detected in terms of expression of inflammatory markers and microglial activation. Moreover, TTh remarkably reverted the HFD-associated alterations in the expression of important regulators of energy status and reproduction, such as the melanocortin and the GnRH-controlling network. Our results suggest that TTh may exert neuroprotective effects on the HFD-related hypothalamic alterations, with positive outcomes on the circuits implicated in the control of energy metabolism and reproductive tasks, thus supporting a possible role of TTh in the clinical management of MetS.     

Reactive Compatibilizer Precursors for LDPE/PA6 Blends, 4

Summary: The effectiveness of some thermoplastic elastomers grafted with maleic anhydride (MA) or with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as compatibilizer precursors (CPs) for blends of low density polyethylene (LDPE) with polyamide‐6 (PA) has been studied. The CPs were produced by grafting different amounts of MA or GMA onto a styrene‐block‐(ethylene‐co‐1‐butene)‐block‐styrene copolymer (SEBS) (KRATON G 1652), either in the melt or in solution. A commercially available SEBS‐g‐MA copolymer with 1.7 wt.‐% MA (KRATON FG 1901X) was also used. The effect of the MA concentration and of other characteristics of the SEBS‐g‐MA CPs was also studied. The specific interactions between the CPs and the blends components were investigated through characterizations of the binary LDPE/CP and PA/CP blends, in the whole composition range. It was demonstrated that the SEBS‐g‐GMA copolymers display poor compatibilizing effectiveness due to cross‐linking resulting from reactions of the epoxy rings of these CPs with both the amine and the carboxyl end groups of PA. On the contrary, the compatibilizing efficiency of the MA‐grafted elastomers, as revealed by the thermal properties and the morphology of the compatibilized blends, was shown to be excellent. The results of this study confirm that the anhydride functional groups possess considerably higher efficiency, for the reactive compatibilization of LDPE/PA blends, than those of the ethylene‐acrylic acid and ethylene‐glycidyl methacrylate copolymers investigated in previous works.

SEM micrograph of the 75/25 LD08/PA blend (with 2 phr SEBSMA1).     

Generation,Adoption, and Tuning of Usability Evaluation Multimethods

The selection and customization of usability evaluation methods, given the peculiarities of their application domains, still remains a critical issue; this especially when dealing with complex products and/or nonexpert usability evaluators. Moreover, as time goes by, the quality of the evaluation results has a heavier impact on the product design process. Starting from classic usability evaluation methods, the research described in this article generates multimethods semiautomatically. It allows quantitative characterization of these multimethods before their application in the field and exploits the comparison between this prior assessment and a final estimate, made after adoption, to update the information used by the method selection process. The most critical issue related to usability, subjectivity, is considered and dealt with throughout the entire research. A case study, done at the end of the development phase, helps validate the proposed approach to usability evaluation.     

Activation Energy of the Photo Induced Q2 Oxygen Ordered Phase in the La2CuO4.08 Superconductor

The interstitial oxygen ordering in a La₂CuO_{4+ y} (y = 0.08) single crystal with a T _c = 38 K has been investigated. We have studied the growth dynamics of the three dimensional (3D) ordered phase, called Q2, at different temperatures under X-ray illumination. The critical temperature T ₀～334 K of the order-disorder transition for the Q2 phase has been determined. We have found that the illumination of the sample with a continuous polarized synchrotron radiation X-ray flux stimulates the oxygen ordering kinetics. The photoinduced ordering process shows a threshold characteristic of cooperative phenomena and its kinetics shows a temperature dependence that is controlled by the activation energy E _A = 100 meV.     

Anomalous Thermal Expansion in Superconducting Mg1− x Al x B2 System

The thermal lattice expansion in the superconducting Mg_{1? x} Al _x B₂ system (x = 0, 0.13, and 0.59) has been measured using high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction. An unusual large negative thermal expansion (NTE) appears for temperatures below T ^* = 60 K in the MgB₂. The NTE effect increases in Mg_0.87Al_0.13B₂ and disappears at high Al content in the Mg_0.59Al_0.41B₂ where the temperature dependence of volume follows a standard Einstein model in the whole temperature range. The anomalous behavior of the thermal expansion provides a direct evidence in the physics of diborides for the relevance of the proximity to the 2.5 Lifshitz electronic topological transition where the Fermi surface of the σband changes from a two-dimensional (2D) to a three-dimensional (3D) topology.     

Unified finite element approach for generalized coupled thermoelastic analysis of 3D beam-type structures,part 2: Numerical evaluations

This article aims to evaluate the high-fidelity one-dimensional finite elements that have been proposed in the companion article (Part 1). Simple structural configurations that are subjected to different loading and boundary conditions have been considered to demonstrate the generality of the proposed approach. Static, quasi-static, and dynamic analyses of the coupled and uncoupled thermoelasticity have been performed. The kinematics of the beam elements have been obtained using bidimensional Lagrangian expansions with different polynomial orders. In particular, bilinear, biquadratic, and bicubic expansions have been adopted to approximate both displacements and temperature change field. Convergence studies have been performed by considering finite beam elements with two, three, and four nodes. Analytical and numerical solutions have been reported to validate the current results. Besides time histories of displacements and temperature changes, the results have been presented using contour plots to highlight the three-dimensional capabilities of the refined beam elements.     

An approximate, analytical approach to the `HRR'-solution for sharp V-notches

The well-known so-called `HRR-solution' (Hutchinson, 1968 and Rice and Rosengren, 1968) considers the elasto-plastic stress field in a power-law strain hardening material near a sharp crack. It provides a closed form explicit expression for the stress singularity as a function of the power-law exponent `n' of the material, but the stress angular variation functions are not found in closed form. More recently, similar formulations have appeared in the literature for sharp V-notches under mode I and II loading conditions. In such cases not only is the angular variation of the stress fields obtained numerically, but so is the singularity exponent of the stress field. In the present paper, approximate but accurate closed form solutions are first reported for sharp V-notches with an included angle greater than /6 radians. Such solutions, limited here to Mode I loading conditions, allow a very satisfactory estimate of the angular stress components in the neighbourhood of the notch tip, in the entire range of notch angles and for the most significant values of n (i.e. from 1 to 15). When the notch opening angle tends towards zero, and the notch approaches the crack case, the solution becomes much more complex and a precise evaluation of the parameters involved requires a best-fitting procedure which, however, can be carried out in an automatic way. This solution is also reported in the paper and its degree of accuracy is discussed in detail.     

Magnetization transfer changes in the normal appearing white matter precede the appearance of enhancing lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis

Serial monthly magnetization transfer (MT) imaging was performed to evaluate whether a change of the normal appearing white matter (NAWM), which precedes the appearance of enhancing lesions, is seen in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Every 4 weeks for 3 months, 10 patients with relapsing-remitting MS were scanned with a T1-weighted sequence, 20 minutes after injection with 0.3 mmol/kg gadolinium-DTPA (Gd-DTPA). During each of the monthly sessions, MT and dual echo scans were also performed before Gd-DTPA injection. On coregistered images, the MT ratio (MTR) was measured in NAWM subsequently involved by enhancing lesions, in NAWM areas on the same slices but outside any present or future MR abnormality, and in enhancing lesions at the time of their appearance. Forty-eight new enhancing lesions with no corresponding abnormalities on previous scans were identified. Their average MTR was 33.1% (+/-8.4%). Three, 2, and 1 month before enhancement appearance, the mean MTR in NAWM, measured from areas corresponding to future enhancing lesions, was significantly lower than the mean MTR in NAWM outside enhancing areas; the MTR decreased steadily as the time when the enhanced lesion approached. These results suggest that changes in the NAWM of patients with MS occur before lesions become evident on conventional MRI scans.