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Superconductivity found in BaPd2As2 single crystal (Vol. 47 No. 2)
In this work the single crystal of ThCr2Si2-type BaPd2As2 was successfully prepared by a self-flux growth method. The crystal structure was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction method, with the space group I4/mmm and lattice parameters a = 4.489(2) Å, c = 10.322(3) Å. From the characterizations of low temperature electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements, bulk superconductivity was clearly revealed in this compound, although it was not found in other structural types of BaPd2As2. The superconducting onset Tc (critical temperature) is 3.85 K and the zero resistivity happens at 3.80 K. Surprisingly, this Tc is much higher than those of all other isostructural Pd-based superconductors, such as CaPd2As2 (Tc = 1.27 K) and SrPd2As2 (Tc = 0.92 K). The reason that leads to a higher Tc in this compound deserves more detailed studies to understand the underlying mechanism.
Q. Guo, J. Yu1, B.-B. Ruan, D.-Y. Chen, X.-C. Wang, Q.-G. Mu, B.-J. Pan, G.-F. Chen and Z.-A. Ren, Superconductivity at 3.85 K in BaPd2As2 with the ThCr2Si2-type structure, EPL 113, 17002 (2016)
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Liquid foam: plastic, elastic and fluid (Vol. 47 No. 2)
New study elucidates the plastic flows behind the motion of liquid foams, whose ability to absorb all kinds of waves makes them well-suited as acoustic insulators, or as explosion wave absorbers.
What differentiates complex fluids from mere fluids? What makes them unique is that they are neither solid nor liquid. Among such complex fluids are foams. They are used as a model to understand the mechanisms underlying complex fluids flow. Now, the authors have gained new insights into predicting how complex fluids react under stretching conditions due to the interplay between elasticity, plasticity and flow. These findings were recently published by the authors. Ultimately, potential applications include the design of new, optimised acoustic insulators based on liquid forms, or the mitigation of blast waves caused by explosions.
B. Dollet and C. Bocher, Flow of foam through a convergent channel, Eur. Phys. J. E 38, 123 (2015)
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Exact formula now available for measuring scientific success (Vol. 47 No. 2)
https://eu.fotolia.com/id/84276789 © treenabeena
Physicists team has developed equations governing the growth of authors’ h-index using an agent-based model.
Scientometrics research is the science of evaluating scientific performance. Physics methods designed to predict growth based on a scale-free network have rarely been applied to this field. Now, the authors have developed an analytical method using a previously developed agent-based model to predict the h-index, probably the most popular citation-based scientific measurement, using bibliometric data. They are the very first to succeed in developing an exact formula to calculate the number of external citations and self-citations for each paper written by an author. These findings have just been published by the authors. It opens the door to applying this growth analysis to social network users or citations from different scientific fields.
B. Żogała-Siudem, G. Siudem, A. Cena and M. Gagolewski, Agent-based model for the h-index – exact solution, Eur. Phys. J. B 8, 21 (2016)
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Physical parameters matter in terms of cancer cells’ metastatic ability (Vol. 47 No. 2)
Scientists develop potential visual test for diagnosing invasive states of breast cancer cells
The micro-environment surrounding cancer cells is just as important as genes in regulating tumour progression. Scientists have therefore examined the biophysical and biochemical cues occurring in the vicinity of cancer cells. This represents a departure from the traditional measurement of secreted molecules, called biomarkers. The latest research in this field, recently published, found that the presence of a substance called Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) promotes the motility of elongated mesenchymal tumour cells, which migrate depending on their adhesive properties by climbing along collagen fibres, in contrast to rounded tumour cells, which migrate in an adhesion-independent manner. These findings stem from the work of the authors. The study found that micro-environmental cues linked to the presence of EGF contribute to modulating the mobility of tumour cells—which by their nature can easily change and vary in form. These findings suggests that the cell aspect ratio could constitute a potential visual cue for diagnosing invasive states of breast cancer cells, and ultimately other cancer cells.
D. T. Geum, B. J. Kim, A. E. Chang, M. S. Hall, and M. Wu, Epidermal growth factor promotes a mesenchymal over an amoeboid motility of MDA-MB-231 cells embedded within a 3D collagen matrix, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 131, 8 (2016)
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