Legal Malpractice in Virginia: Tort or Contract?

A client who attempts to recover from an attorney does so because the client feels that the attorney has acted negligently. The concepts of standard of care, negligence, and damages are usually associated with actions in tort. However, while an examination of applicable Virginia law reveals that concepts usually associated with tort apply to legal malpractice, the presence of elements of negligence does not always equal tort

Nmp4 restricts bone marrow osteoprogenitors and parathyroid hormone induced bone formation in healthy and estrogen depleted female mice

We have shown that nuclear matrix protein 4 (Nmp4) attenuates the response to intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) in healthy and ovariectomized (OVX) female mice using a global knockout of the Nmp4 gene. Additionally, these mice have increased bone marrow osteoprogenitors and CD8+ T-cells which support osteoblast differentiation. The animals were not protected from bone loss following OVX, but retained the hypersensitivity seen in the intact mice. Mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (osteoprogenitors) demonstrated increased growth rate in culture and showed more robust differentiation into mineralizing bone cells. Chromosome precipitation followed by next generation sequencing and bioinformatics analysis characterized Nmp4 as a negative regulator of synthetic processes and suggested the IGF1/Akt and BMP2/Smad biochemical pathways which are likely targets for Nmp4 regulation. We have experimentally verified these pathways in immortalized bone marrow mesenchymal cells from wild type and Nmp4-KO mice. Disabling Nmp4 in estrogen replete or depleted mice confers an enhanced bone formation from intermittent parathyroid hormone

Time resolved studies of edge modes in magnetic nanoelements (invited)

Copyright © 2006 American Institute of PhysicsMicromagnetic simulations have been performed to investigate the frequencies and relative amplitudes of resonant magnetic modes within nanomagnetic elements of varying size that have been previously studied by time resolved Kerr magnetometry. The magnetic response of a nanoscale element generally consists of the edge and center localized modes. For 2.5 nm thick elements, a crossover from center to edge mode excitation occurs as the element size is reduced to less than 220 nm. Additional modes appear in the spin wave spectrum as the thickness of the element is increased. The frequency of the edge mode is particularly sensitive to the strength of the exchange interaction, dipolar interactions with nearest neighbor elements, and rounding of the corners of the element. Simulations with in-plane pulsed fields show that the edge mode becomes dominant in elements of somewhat larger size, emphasizing the importance of the edge mode in technological applications. (C) 2006 American Institute of Physics

Imaging collective magnonic modes in 2D arrays of magnetic nanoelements

Copyright © 2010 The American Physical SocietyWe have used time resolved scanning Kerr microscopy to image collective spin wave modes within a 2D array of magnetic nanoelements. Long wavelength spin waves are confined within the array as if it was a continuous element of the same size but with effective material properties determined by the structure of the array and its constituent nanoelements. The array is an example of a magnonic metamaterial, the demonstration of which provides new opportunities within the emerging field of magnonics

Large amplitude magnetization dynamics and the suppression of edge modes in a single nanomagnet

Copyright © 2011 American Institute of PhysicsLarge amplitude magnetization dynamics of a single square nanomagnet have been studied by time-resolved Kerr microscopy. Experimental spectra revealed that only a single mode was excited for all bias field values. Micromagnetic simulations demonstrate that at larger pulsed field amplitudes the center mode dominates the dynamic response while the edge mode is almost completely suppressed. Controlled suppression of edge modes in a single nanomagnet has potential applications in the operation of nanoscale spin transfer torque oscillators and bistable switching devices for which the amplitude of the magnetization trajectory is often large and a more uniform dynamic response is desirable

Sensory motor systems of artificial and natural hands

The surgeon Ambroise Paré designed an anthropomorphic hand for wounded soldiers in the 16th century. Since that time, there have been advances in technology through the use of computer-aided design, modern materials, electronic controllers and sensors to realise artificial hands which have good functionality and reliability. Data from touch, object slip, finger position and temperature sensors, mounted in the fingers and on the palm, can be used in feedback loops to automatically hold objects. A study of the natural neuromuscular systems reveals a complexity which can only in part be realised today with technology. Highlights of the parallels and differences between natural and artificial hands are discussed with reference to the Southampton Hand. The anatomical structure of parts of the natural systems can be made artificially such as the antagonist muscles using tendons. Theses solutions look promising as they are based on the natural form but in practice lack the desired physical specification. However, concepts of the lower spinal loops can be mimicked in principle. Some future devices will require greater skills from the surgeon to create the interface between the natural system and an artificial device. Such developments may offer a more natural control with ease of use for the limb deficient person

Time- and vector-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements of large angle precessional reorientation in a 2×2 μ m2 ferromagnet

Copyright © 2009 American Institute of PhysicsThe precessional dynamics of a 2×2 μm2 CoFe/NiFe (4.6 nm) element stimulated by an in-plane pulsed magnetic field have been investigated using time- and vector-resolved Kerr microscopy measurements and micromagnetic simulations. The time-resolved signals were normalized to in-plane hysteresis loops obtained from the patterned material, and suggest that the magnetization reorients through an angle of 100°±10°. The simulations reveal that only the magnetization of the center region undergoes large angle reorientation, while the canted magnetization at the edges of the element remains pinned. An enhanced Gilbert damping parameter of 0.1 was required to reproduce the experimentally observed Kerr signals