Itinerant ferromagnetism and intrinsic anomalous Hall effect in amorphous iron-germanium

The amorphous iron-germanium system (a-FexGe1-x) lacks long-range structural order and hence lacks a meaningful Brillouin zone. The magnetization of a-FexGe1-x is well explained by the Stoner model for Fe concentrations x above the onset of magnetic order around x=0.4, indicating that the local order of the amorphous structure preserves the spin-split density of states of the Fe-3d states sufficiently to polarize the electronic structure despite k being a bad quantum number. Measurements reveal an enhanced anomalous Hall resistivity ρxyAH relative to crystalline FeGe; this ρxyAH is compared to density-functional theory calculations of the anomalous Hall conductivity to resolve its underlying mechanisms. The intrinsic mechanism, typically understood as the Berry curvature integrated over occupied k states but shown here to be equivalent to the density of curvature integrated over occupied energies in aperiodic materials, dominates the anomalous Hall conductivity of a-FexGe1-x (0.38≤x≤0.61). The density of curvature is the sum of spin-orbit correlations of local orbital states and can hence be calculated with no reference to k space. This result and the accompanying Stoner-like model for the intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity establish a unified understanding of the underlying physics of the anomalous Hall effect in both crystalline and disordered systems

Service-based survey of dystonia in Munich

We performed a service-based epidemiological study of dystonia in Munich, Germany. Due to favourable referral and treatment patterns in the Munich area, we could provide confident data from dystonia patients seeking botulinum toxin treatment. A total of 230 patients were ascertained, of whom 188 had primary dystonia. Point prevalence ratios were estimated to be 10.1 (95% confidence interval 8.4-11.9) per 100,000 for focal and 0.3 (0.0-0.6) for generalised primary dystonia. The most common focal primary dystonias were cervical dystonia with 5.4 (4.2-6.7) and essential blepharospasm with 3.1 (2.1-4.1) per 100,000 followed by laryngeal dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia) with 1.0 (0.4-1.5) per 100,000. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Base

Role of the electric field in surface electron dynamics above the vacuum level

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) is used to study the dynamics of hot electrons trapped on a Cu(100) surface in field emission resonances (FER) above the vacuum level. Differential conductance maps show isotropic electron interference wave patterns around defects whenever their energy lies within a surface projected band gap. Their Fourier analysis reveals a broad wave vector distribution, interpreted as due to the lateral acceleration of hot electrons in the inhomogeneous tip-induced potential. A line-shape analysis of the characteristic constant-current conductance spectra permits to establish the relation between apparent width of peaks and intrinsic line-width of FERs, as well as the identification of the different broadening mechanisms.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The role of the spin in quasiparticle interference

Quasiparticle interference patterns measured by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can be used to study the local electronic structure of metal surfaces and high temperature superconductors. Here, we show that even in non-magnetic systems the spin of the quasiparticles can have a profound effect on the interference patterns. On Bi(110), where the surface state bands are not spin-degenerate, the patterns are not related to the dispersion of the electronic states in a simple way. In fact, the features which are expected for the spin-independent situation are absent and the observed interference patterns can only be interpreted by taking spin-conserving scattering events into account.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Cholestenoic acid, an endogenous cholesterol metabolite, is a potent γ-secretase modulator.

BackgroundAmyloid-β (Aβ) 42 has been implicated as the initiating molecule in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD); thus, therapeutic strategies that target Aβ42 are of great interest. γ-Secretase modulators (GSMs) are small molecules that selectively decrease Aβ42. We have previously reported that many acidic steroids are GSMs with potencies ranging in the low to mid micromolar concentration with 5β-cholanic acid being the most potent steroid identified GSM with half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 5.7 μM.ResultsWe find that the endogenous cholesterol metabolite, 3β-hydroxy-5-cholestenoic acid (CA), is a steroid GSM with enhanced potency (EC50 of 250 nM) relative to 5β-cholanic acid. CA i) is found in human plasma at ~100-300 nM concentrations ii) has the typical acidic GSM signature of decreasing Aβ42 and increasing Aβ38 levels iii) is active in in vitro γ-secretase assay iv) is made in the brain. To test if CA acts as an endogenous GSM, we used Cyp27a1 knockout (Cyp27a1-/-) and Cyp7b1 knockout (Cyp7b1-/-) mice to investigate if manipulation of cholesterol metabolism pathways relevant to CA formation would affect brain Aβ42 levels. Our data show that Cyp27a1-/- had increased brain Aβ42, whereas Cyp7b1-/- mice had decreased brain Aβ42 levels; however, peripheral dosing of up to 100 mg/kg CA did not affect brain Aβ levels. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies with multiple known and novel CA analogs studies failed to reveal CA analogs with increased potency.ConclusionThese data suggest that CA may act as an endogenous GSM within the brain. Although it is conceptually attractive to try and increase the levels of CA in the brain for prevention of AD, our data suggest that this will not be easily accomplished

Comparing two approaches for parsimonious vegetation modelling in semiarid regions using satellite data

[EN] Large portions of Earth's terrestrial surface are arid or semiarid. As in these regions, the hydrological cycle and the vegetation dynamics are tightly interconnected, a coupled modelling of these two systems is needed to fully reproduce the ecosystem behaviour. In this paper, the performance of two parsimonious dynamic vegetation models, suitable for the inclusion in operational ecohydrological models and based on well-established but different approaches, is compared in a semiarid Aleppo Pine region. The first model [water use efficiency (WUE) model] links growth to transpiration through WUE; the second model [light use efficiency (LUE) model] simulates biomass increase in relation to absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and LUE. Furthermore, an analysis of the information contained in MODIS products is presented to indicate the best vegetation indices to be used as observational verification for the models. Enhanced Vegetation Index is reported in literature to be highly correlated with leaf area index, so it is compared with modelled LAI(mod) (rWUE model = 0.45; rLUE model = 0.57). In contrast, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index appears highly linked to soil moisture, through the control exerted by this variable on chlorophyll production, and is therefore used to analyze LAI*(mod), models' output corrected by plant water stress (rWUE model = 0.62; rLUE model = 0.59). Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer Leaf Area Index and evapotranspiration are found to be unrealistic in the studied area. The performance of both models in this semiarid region is found to be reasonable. However, the LUE model presents the advantages of a better performance, the possibility to be used in a wider range of climates and to have been extensively tested in literature. (C) Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.The research leading to these results has received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects FLOOD-MED (ref. CGL2008-06474-C02-02), SCARCE-CONSOLIDER (ref. CSD2009-00065) and ECO-TETIS (ref. CGL2011-28776-C02-01), and from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 238366. The MODIS data were obtained through the online Data Pool at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Centre (LP DAAC), USGS/Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Centre, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/get_data). The meteorological data were provided by the Spanish National Weather Agency (AEMET). The authors thank Antonio Del Campo Garcia and Maria Gonzalez Sanchis at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for their support and valuable comments.Pasquato, M.; Medici, C.; Friend, A.; Francés, F. (2015). Comparing two approaches for parsimonious vegetation modelling in semiarid regions using satellite data. Ecohydrology. 8(6):1024-1036. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1559S102410368

A Mechanical Mass Sensor with Yoctogram Resolution

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have generated considerable interest as inertial mass sensors. NEMS resonators have been used to weigh cells, biomolecules, and gas molecules, creating many new possibilities for biological and chemical analysis [1-4]. Recently, NEMS-based mass sensors have been employed as a new tool in surface science in order to study e.g. the phase transitions or the diffusion of adsorbed atoms on nanoscale objects [5-7]. A key point in all these experiments is the ability to resolve small masses. Here we report on mass sensing experiments with a resolution of 1.7 yg (1 yg = 10^-24 g), which corresponds to the mass of one proton, or one hydrogen atom. The resonator is made of a ~150 nm long carbon nanotube resonator vibrating at nearly 2 GHz. The unprecedented level of sensitivity allows us to detect adsorption events of naphthalene molecules (C10H8) and to measure the binding energy of a Xe atom on the nanotube surface (131 meV). These ultrasensitive nanotube resonators offer new opportunities for mass spectrometry, magnetometry, and adsorption experiments.Comment: submitted version of the manuscrip

Radiological risk from thoron, a case study: The particularly radon-prone area of Bolsena, and the lesson learned

Abstract The contribution of 220 Rn is usually negligible compared to that of 222 Rn: its very short half-life makes escape from its source site within the rock very unlikely and it never has time enough to filtrate through the ground and through cracks in the floors or cellar walls to reach living quarters. This however becomes untrue if walls built with 232 Th-rich materials are present: then sizeable amounts of thoron may be detected in the closed areas bounded by those walls. This is the case for many dwellings in central Italy, and the town of Bolsena (northern Latium) is presented as a case study. A typical building of the area, entirely constructed with tuff blocks, is investigated and the annual dose rates calculated for varying distances from the wall. Thoron concentration was found to decrease with a relaxation length of 13 cm. Thoron was found to pose a significant risk. The rate of air exchange was found to produce little effect. Wall plastering acts as a filter: thoron diffuses through it but a HVL of less than 1 cm was found to prevail