Variation of structure and magnetic properties with thickness of thin Co59Fe26Ni15 films

Variations of phase composition and magnetic properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Co-Fe-Ni films with film thickness in the range of 50-500 nm were analyzed. The samples were magnetically soft with coercivity in the range H-c = 2-20 Oe and uni axial magnetic anisotropy up to H-k = 20 Oe. It was found that H-c decreases and H-k increases with increasing film thickness. The BCC phase dominates at small film thickness up to about 80 nm and the FCC phase increases when the film growths to a larger thickness. The increase of FCC phase correlates with the improvement of the ultrasoft magnetic properties. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Androgen Receptor Function Links Human Sexual Dimorphism to DNA Methylation

Sex differences are well known to be determinants of development, health and disease. Epigenetic mechanisms are also known to differ between men and women through X-inactivation in females. We hypothesized that epigenetic sex differences may also result from sex hormone functions, in particular from long-lasting androgen programming. We aimed at investigating whether inactivation of the androgen receptor, the key regulator of normal male sex development, is associated with differences of the patterns of DNA methylation marks in genital tissues. To this end, we performed large scale array-based analysis of gene methylation profiles on genomic DNA from labioscrotal skin fibroblasts of 8 males and 26 individuals with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) due to inactivating androgen receptor gene mutations. By this approach we identified differential methylation of 167 CpG loci representing 162 unique human genes. These were significantly enriched for androgen target genes and low CpG content promoter genes. Additional 75 genes showed a significant increase of heterogeneity of methylation in AIS compared to a high homogeneity in normal male controls. Our data show that normal and aber

Measuring universal health coverage based on an index of effective coverage of health services in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (≥65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0–100 based on the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target—1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023—we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45·8 (95% uncertainty interval 44·2–47·5) in 1990 to 60·3 (58·7–61·9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2·6% [1·9–3·3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010–2019 relative to 1990–2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0·79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388·9 million (358·6–421·3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3·1 billion (3·0–3·2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968·1 million [903·5–1040·3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people—the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close—or how far—all populations are in benefiting from UHC

MIGRATION OF CU ADATOMS ON A CU(100) SURFACE, STUDIED WITH LOW-ENERGY ION-SCATTERING (LEIS)

We report the observation of adatoms appearing on the surface due to ion beam irradiation. These adatoms are interpreted to be self-interstitials, created in the damage cascades, which have diffused to the surface where they are trapped. From our LEIS experiments on a stepped Cu(100) surface we determined that on average 4.5(1.5) Cu adatoms per impinging ion reach the surface. The temperature at which Cu atoms on a Cu(100) surface become mobile was determined to be 140(5) K. This value was deduced from the temperature dependence of the Cu adatom yield

The atomic Fe/Ag exchange on Ag(100)

In this paper we present a low-energy ion scattering (LEIS) study of the site exchange of Fe adatoms with Ag atoms from the Ag(100) surface. The time-of-flight (TOF) spectra obtained at low temperatures have been interpreted with a newly developed LEIS simulation program MATCH. After low temperature deposition (similar to 50 K) of Fe atoms on the Ag(100) surface, the Fe atoms occupy adatom positions. These Fe adatoms exchange sites with Ag atoms from the first layer, starting at a temperature of 130(10) K.</p

THE STRUCTURE OF THE AG(110)-C(6X2)O SURFACE DETERMINED WITH LEIS

By means of low-energy ion scattering (LEIS), combined with time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, we studied the oxygen induced Ag(110)-c(6 x 2)O surface. The surface was bombarded with 6 keV Ar+ ions. The coordinates of the O and Ag atoms were determined by comparing azimuthal scans for recoiled O with Monte Carlo computer simulations. The structure of the Ag(110)-c(6 x 2)O surface appears to be similar to the c(6 x 2)O phase of Cu(110). A general picture evolves in which both the p(2 x 1) (O coverage = 1/2 monolayer) and c(6 x 2) (O coverage = 2/3 monolayer) reconstructed surfaces of Ag(110) and Cu(110) exhibit the same geometric structure upon adsorption of oxygen