Blockade and Counterflow Supercurrent in exciton-condensate Josephson junctions

We demonstrate that perfect conversion between charged supercurrents in superconductors and neutral supercurrents in electron-hole pair condensates is possible via a new Andreev-like scattering mechanism. As a result, when two superconducting circuits are coupled through a bilayer exciton condensate, the superflow in both layers is drastically modified. Depending on the phase biases the supercurrents can be completely blocked or exhibit perfect drag.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Theoretical Study on Transport Properties of Normal Metal - Zigzag Graphene Nanoribbon - Normal Metal Junctions

We investigate transport properties of the junctions in which the graphene nanoribbon with the zigzag shaped edges consisting of the $N$ legs is sandwiched by the two normal metals by means of recursive Green's function method. The conductance and the transmission probabilities are found to have the remarkable properties depending on the parity of $N$. The singular behaviors close to E=0 with $E$ being the Fermi energy are demonstrated. The channel filtering is shown to occur in the case with $N=$ even.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Comparative study on milt quality features od different finfish species

The aim of this research was to study the main sperm characteristics of three different finfish species. Twenty-one gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), 20 brown trout (Salmo trutta, morpha fario) and 15 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) male broodstocks, farmed under optimal conditions for each species and fed standard diets for broodstocks, were manually stripped. Brown trout yielded small amounts of sperm (4.5 vs 18.13 ml) that were very concentrated (≅ 8.5 x 109 vs 1.24 x 109 Szoa/ml) with respect to the other species. The duration of spermatozoan motility for gilthead sea bream sperm was significantly longer (almost 50 min), in comparison to the one-minute motility of Salmonids. Single fatty acids of brown trout sperm were higher than in the other two species for almost all detected fatty acids. In particular, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was at least three times more concentrated in brown trout than in rainbow trout or gilthead sea bream sperm (1238.3 μg/g vs 305.6 and 333.3 μg/g, respectively; P < 0.01). Saturated, polyunsaturated and total unsaturated fatty acid classes were significantly higher in brown trout sperm than in the other two species - almost double with respect to gilthead sea bream sperm and more than double in comparison to RT sperm (P < 0.01)

Simulating the exchange of Majorana zero modes with a photonic system

The realization of Majorana zero modes is in the centre of intense theoretical and experimental investigations. Unfortunately, their exchange that can reveal their exotic statistics needs manipulations that are still beyond our experimental capabilities. Here we take an alternative approach. Through the Jordan-Wigner transformation, the Kitaev's chain supporting two Majorana zero modes is mapped to the spin-1/2 chain. We experimentally simulated the spin system and its evolution with a photonic quantum simulator. This allows us to probe the geometric phase, which corresponds to the exchange of two Majorana zero modes positioned at the ends of a three-site chain. Finally, we demonstrate the immunity of quantum information encoded in the Majorana zero modes against local errors through the simulator. Our photonic simulator opens the way for the efficient realization and manipulation of Majorana zero modes in complex architectures

Aneuploidy and chromosomal instability in cancer: a jackpot to chaos

Genomic instability (GIN) is a hallmark of cancer cells that facilitates the acquisition of mutations conferring aggressive or drug-resistant phenotypes during cancer evolution. Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a form of GIN that involves frequent cytogenetic changes leading to changes in chromosome copy number (aneuploidy). While both CIN and aneuploidy are common characteristics of cancer cells, their roles in tumor initiation and progression are unclear. On the one hand, CIN and aneuploidy are known to provide genetic variation to allow cells to adapt in changing environments such as nutrient fluctuations and hypoxia. Patients with constitutive aneuploidies are more susceptible to certain types of cancers, suggesting that changes in chromosome copy number could positively contribute to cancer evolution. On the other hand, chromosomal imbalances have been observed to have detrimental effects on cellular fitness and might trigger cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Furthermore, mouse models for CIN have led to conflicting results. Taken together these findings suggest that the relationship between CIN, aneuploidy and cancer is more complex than what was previously anticipated. Here we review what is known about this complex ménage à trois, discuss recent evidence suggesting that aneuploidy, CIN and GIN together promote a vicious cycle of genome chaos. Lastly, we propose a working hypothesis to reconcile the conflicting observations regarding the role of aneuploidy and CIN in tumorigenesis

Dissonance reduction and causal explanation in forced compliance situation

International audienc

Dissonance reduction and causal explanation in forced compliance situation

International audienc

Statut d'agent, rationalisation et explication causale dans la soumission forcée

International audienc

Effects of vitamin E and phosphatidylcholine on qualitative and quantitative parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) milt

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of vitamin E and phosphatidylcholine on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) milt. One hundred and twelve rainbow trout (RB) broodstock (2n, 1030\ub1 20g body weight, male:female ratio = 50:50) were fed four isoproteic and isolipidic diets for 110 days. Diets were differing for the type of vitamin premix and phosphatidylcholine supplied: Control (vitamin premix without Vit. E, no phosphatidylcholine); Vit.E (a premix with Vit. E, no phosphatidylcholine); PhC, (vitamin premix without Vit. E, phosphatidylcholine 2.5%); Vit.E +PhC, (vitamin premix with Vit. E and phosphatidylcholine 2.5%). Sperm total volume, in sexually mature males (3+; 966\ub1114g body weight), ranged between 18.57ml (Control) and 34.31ml (Vit. E). Sperm density varied between 1.76x109 Szoa/ml (Control) and 1.16x109 Szoa/ml (Vit. E+PhC), while relative density (related to male body weight) tended to increase with Vit. E (>50x109 Szoa/ml) and to reduce with Vit. E + PhC (85% in all treatments, while motility duration was around 2.37min for Vit. E and Control reached only 0.97min. After overnight storage (+4\ub0C, for 18 hours) motility decreased, 75-80% in gamete motility and 3.39- 56.7% in time motility. PhC dietary supplements significantly increased arachidonic acid contents of sperm with respect to Control (>120 vs 73\u3bcg/ g), while Vit. E caused a huge increase in C20:3 n-3 (10.25 vs 2.27ppm). DHA/EPA ratio was significantly lower in Control (>2; p<0.05), while n-3/n-6 ratio was significantly the highest for Vit. E (9.46 vs <7.3)