Transport theory in metallic films: Crossover from the classical to the quantum regime

Using the quantum-statistical approach, we have developed a unified transport theory of metallic films. A general description for the conductivity in metallic films has been rigorously formulated in the presence of both impurity scattering and surface roughness. An explicit connection between the quasiclassical and present quantum approaches is also presented. We show that the quasiclassical theory by Fuchs [Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc. 34, 100 (1938)] and Sondheimer [Adv. PHys. 1, 1 (1952)] can be reformed to be applicable to ultrathin metallic films by introducing a treatment of the surface via angle-dependent specularity parameters and including the quantum size effect. Moreover, to the lowest-order approximation in the theory, the previous quantum-approach results and discussions have naturally been recovered. © 1995 The American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

Quasiclassical approach to magnetotransport in magnetic inhomogeneous systems

The conventional quasiclassical approach to magnetotransport in magnetic multilayers and magnetic granular solids is found to be suitable only for collinear magnetization configurations. A quantum treatment of electron spin is proposed to improve the quasiclassical theory to be applicable to arbitrary magnetization alignments, in which the electron distribution functions, as well as the electric fields and currents, need to be regarded as spinor matrices which are off-diagonal in spin space of conduction electrons. An extended Boltzmann equation has been used to derive the two-point spinor conductivity in magnetic inhomogeneous systems. The result obtained is found to be identical to that obtained from the real-space Kubo formula, indicating a close link between the reformed quasiclassical approach and the quantum theory. Angular dependence of the current-in-plane magnetoresistance in magnetic superlattices is discussed.published_or_final_versio

Semiclassical transport theory of inhomogeneous systems

Based on the probability-conserved Boltzmann equation, we develop a formal and general transport theory for the conductivity in inhomogeneous systems. In particular, we show that the local current density inside the sample can be expressed as a boundary value integral, so that the local electric field need not be calculated explicitly. The theory is first applied to multilayer systems and shown to recover the previous theory. More importantly, by including spin-dependent interface scattering and bulk scattering, we employ our theory successfully to account for the giant magnetoresistance in magnetic granular systems.published_or_final_versio

Macroscopic theory of giant magnetoresistance in magnetic granular metals

A macroscopic theory of giant magnetoresistance in granular magnetic materials is developed to improve on that of Rubinstein [Phys. Rev. B 50, 3830 (1994)]. By using a self-consistent method and introducing a useful parametrization, we show the magnetotransport in granular systems to be between those for currents in the plane of layers and currents perpendicular to the plane of the layers in multilayers. The theoretical result in the local limit is found to be in agreement with the observed singular dependence of the giant magnetoresistance on annealing temperature.published_or_final_versio

Giant magnetoresistance in magnetic granular systems

Based on a semiclassical model, the transport properties in systems of cylindrical or spherical magnetic granules are investigated analytically. It is shown that the conductivities as well as the magnetoresistance of these systems depend strongly on the size of the granules. In particular, there is always an optimum granular size for the magnetoresistance. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Quantitatively probing two-electron entanglement with a spintronic quantum eraser

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Kondo-induced hybrid topological insulator in two-dimensional electron system with a quadratic band crossing point

We investigate the Kondo effect in the two-dimensional electron system with a non-trivial quadratic energy band crossing point. We show that the Kondo effect can induce a new hybrid topological insulator phase which is a coexistence state of the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the TRSbroken quantum spin Hall effect. This hybrid topological insulator exhibits not only a quantized charge Hall current but also a net spin current, which are localized at the edge boundaries. This peculiar topological state arises due to the interplay of two marginally relevant operators, i.e., the Kondo-coupling between the electrons and the local magnetic moment and the electron-electron interaction in the two-dimensional system

Correlates of Untreated Hypercholesterolemia in Older Adults: A Community-Based Household Survey in China.

Hypercholesterolemia is common in older adults and less treated, but little is known about correlates of untreated hypercholesterolemia. Using a standard interview method we examined a random sample of 7,572 participants aged 60 years in a community-based household survey across 7 provinces of China during 2007–2012, and documented 328 cases of hypercholesterolemia from self-reported doctor diagnosis. Compared to participants with normal cholesterol, older adults with hypercholesterolemia had higher socioeconomic position and larger body mass index. In patients with hypercholesterolemia, 209 were not treated using lipid-lowering medications (63.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 58.5%– 68.9%). Untreated hypercholesterolemia was significantly associated with female sex (adjusted odds ratio 2.13, 95%CI 1.17–3.89), current smoking (3.48, 1.44–8.44), heavy alcohol drinking (3.13,1.11–8.84), chronic bronchitis (2.37,1.14–4.90) and high level of meat consumptions (2.85,1.22–6.65). Although having coronary heart disease exposed participants for treatment, half of participants with coronary heart disease did not receive lipid-lowering medications. Among hypercholesterolemia participants with stroke, hypertension or diabetes, more than half of them did not receive lipid-lowering medications. The high proportion of untreated hypercholesterolemia in older, high-risk Chinese adults needs to be mitigated through multi-faceted primary and secondary prevention strategies to increase population opportunities of treating hypercholesterolemia. PLOS ONEThe BUPA Foundation (Grants Nos. 45NOV06, and TBF-M09-05), and Alzheimer's Research, UK (Grant Nos. ART/PPG2007B/2

Gene expression profiles in human gastric cancer: expression of maspin correlates with lymph node metastasis

To seek for a candidate gene that would regulate tumour progression and metastasis in gastric cancer, we investigated gene expression profiles by using DNA microarray. Tumour tissue and adjacent normal tissue were obtained from 21 patients with gastric cancer and then examined for their gene expression profiles by the Gene Chip® Human U95Av2 array, which includes 12 000 human genes and EST sequences. A total of 25 genes were upregulated and two genes were downregulated by at least four-fold in the tumour tissue. In a further analysis according to lymph node metastasis, the expressed levels of maspin, as well as carcinoembryonic antigen and nonspecific crossreacting antigen were significantly higher in tumours with lymph node metastasis than in those without it. Maspin expression in 85 gastric cancer patients was further investigated by using immunohistochemistry. Maspin expression was not observed in normal gastric epithelia without intestinal metaplasia. In contrast, maspin was expressed in 74 of 85 tumour tissues. There was a significant correlation between the incidence of maspin-positive tumour staining and lymph node metastasis. These results suggest that maspin has a potential role for tumour metastasis in gastric cancer