155 research outputs found
Stationary Properties of a Randomly Driven Ising Ferromagnet
We consider the behavior of an Ising ferromagnet obeying the Glauber dynamics
under the influence of a fast switching, random external field. Analytic
results for the stationary state are presented in mean-field approximation,
exhibiting a novel type of first order phase transition related to dynamic
freezing. Monte Carlo simulations performed on a quadratic lattice indicate
that many features of the mean field theory may survive the presence of
fluctuations.Comment: 5 pages in RevTex format, 7 eps/ps figures, send comments to
"mailto:[email protected]", submitted to PR
'Theory for the enhanced induced magnetization in coupled magnetic trilayers in the presence of spin fluctuations'
Motivated by recent experiments, the effect of the interlayer exchange
interaction on the magnetic properties of coupled Co/Cu/Ni
trilayers is studied theoretically. Here the Ni film has a lower Curie
temperature than the Co film in case of decoupled layers. We
show that by taking into account magnetic fluctuations the interlayer coupling
induces a strong magnetization for T\gtsim T_{C,\rm Ni} in the Ni film. For
an increasing the resonance-like peak of the longitudinal Ni
susceptibility is shifted to larger temperatures, whereas its maximum value
decreases strongly. A decreasing Ni film thickness enhances the induced Ni
magnetization for T\gtsim T_{C,\rm Ni}. The measurements cannot be explained
properly by a mean field estimate, which yields a ten times smaller effect.
Thus, the observed magnetic properties indicate the strong effect of 2D
magnetic fluctuations in these layered magnetic systems. The calculations are
performed with the help of a Heisenberg Hamiltonian and a Green's function
approach.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Spin dynamics in the diluted ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model
The interplay of disorder and competing interactions is investigated in the
carrier-induced ferromagnetic state of the Kondo lattice model within a
numerical finite-size study in which disorder is treated exactly. Competition
between impurity spin couplings, stability of the ferromagnetic state, and
magnetic transition temperature are quantitatively investigated in terms of
magnon properties for different models including dilution, disorder, and
weakly-coupled spins. A strong optimization is obtained for T_c at hole doping
p << x, highlighting the importance of compensation in diluted magnetic
semiconductors. The estimated T_c is in good agreement with experimental
results for Ga_{1-x}Mn_x As for corresponding impurity concentration, hole
bandwidth, and compensation. Finite-temperature spin dynamics is quantitatively
studied within a locally self-consistent magnon renormalization scheme, which
yields a substantial enhancement in T_c due to spin clustering, and highlights
the nearly-paramagnetic spin dynamics of weakly-coupled spins. The large
enhancement in density of low-energy magnetic excitations due to disorder and
competing interactions results in a strong thermal decay of magnetization,
which fits well with the Bloch form M_0(1-BT^{3/2}) at low temperature, with B
of same order of magnitude as obtained in recent squid magnetization
measurements on Ga_{1-x}Mn_x As samples.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure
Clinical and genetic analysis of 29 Brazilian patients with Huntington’s disease-like phenotype
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by chorea,
behavioral disturbances and dementia, caused by a pathological expansion of the CAG
trinucleotide in the HTT gene. Several patients have been recognized with the typical HD
phenotype without the expected mutation. The objective of this study was to assess the
occurrence of diseases such as Huntington’s disease-like 2 (HDL2), spinocerebellar ataxia
(SCA) 1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA7, dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) and choreaacanthocytosis
(ChAc) among 29 Brazilian patients with a HD-like phenotype. In the group
analyzed, we found 3 patients with HDL2 and 2 patients with ChAc. The diagnosis was not
reached in 79.3% of the patients. HDL2 was the main cause of the HD-like phenotype in
the group analyzed, and is attributable to the African ancestry of this population. However,
the etiology of the disease remains undetermined in the majority of the HD negative
patients with HD-like phenotype.
Key words: Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s disease-like, chorea-acanthocytosis,
Huntington’s disease-like 2
Primary skin fibroblasts as a model of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder. While most cases occur sporadic mutations in a growing number of genes including Parkin (PARK2) and PINK1 (PARK6) have been associated with the disease. Different animal models and cell models like patient skin fibroblasts and recombinant cell lines can be used as model systems for Parkinson's disease. Skin fibroblasts present a system with defined mutations and the cumulative cellular damage of the patients. PINK1 and Parkin genes show relevant expression levels in human fibroblasts and since both genes participate in stress response pathways, we believe fibroblasts advantageous in order to assess, e.g. the effect of stressors. Furthermore, since a bioenergetic deficit underlies early stage Parkinson's disease, while atrophy underlies later stages, the use of primary cells seems preferable over the use of tumor cell lines. The new option to use fibroblast-derived induced pluripotent stem cells redifferentiated into dopaminergic neurons is an additional benefit. However, the use of fibroblast has also some drawbacks. We have investigated PARK6 fibroblasts and they mirror closely the respiratory alterations, the expression profiles, the mitochondrial dynamics pathology and the vulnerability to proteasomal stress that has been documented in other model systems. Fibroblasts from patients with PARK2, PARK6, idiopathic Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 demonstrated a distinct and unique mRNA expression pattern of key genes in neurodegeneration. Thus, primary skin fibroblasts are a useful Parkinson's disease model, able to serve as a complement to animal mutants, transformed cell lines and patient tissues
Growth mode, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of pulsed-laser-deposited Au/Co/Au(111) trilayers
The growth mode, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of epitaxial
Au/Co/Au(111) ultrathin trilayers grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) under
ultra-high vacuum are presented. Sapphire wafers buffered with a
single-crystalline Mo(110) bilayer were used as substrates. Owing to
PLD-induced interfacial intermixing at the lower Co/Au(111) interface, a
layer-by-layer growth mode is promoted. Surprisingly, despite this intermixing,
ferromagnetic behavior is found at room temperature for coverings starting at 1
atomic layer (AL). The films display perpendicular magnetization with
anisotropy constants reduced by 50% compared to TD-grown or electrodeposited
films, and with a coercivity more than one order of magnitude lower (
5 mT). The magneto-optical (MO) response in the low Co thickness range is
dominated by Au/Co interface contributions. For thicknesses starting at 3 AL
Co, the MO response has a linear dependence with the Co thickness, indicative
of a continuous-film-like MO behavior
Variation in treatment of acute childhood wheeze in emergency departments of the United Kingdom and Ireland: An international survey of clinician practice
© 2015, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Objective: National clinical guidelines for childhood wheeze exist, yet despite being one of the most common reasons for childhood emergency department (ED) attendance, signi ficant variation in practice occurs in other settings. We, therefore, evaluated practice variations of ED clinicians in the UK and Ireland. Design: Two-stage survey undertaken in March 2013. Stage one examined department practice and stage two assessed ED consultant practice in acute childhood wheeze. Questions interrogated pharmacological and other management strategies, including inhaled and intravenous therapies. Setting and participants: Member departments of Paediatric Emergency Research in the United Kingdom and Ireland and ED consultants treating children with acute wheeze. Results: 30 EDs and 183 (81%) clinicians responded. 29 (97%) EDs had wheeze guidelines and 12 (40%) had care pathways. Variation existed between clinicians in dose, timing and frequency of inhaled bronchodilators across severities. When escalating to intravenous bronchodilators, 99 (54%) preferred salbutamol first line, 52 (28%) magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and 27 (15%) aminophylline. 87 (48%) administered intravenous bronchodilators sequentially and 30 (16%) concurrently, with others basing approach on case severity. 146 (80%) continued inhaled therapy after commencing intravenous bronchodilators. Of 170 who used intravenous salbutamol, 146 (86%) gave rapid boluses, 21 (12%) a longer loading dose and 164 (97%) an ongoing infusion, each with a range of doses and durations. Of 173 who used intravenous MgSO4, all used a bolus only. 41 (24%) used non-invasive ventilation. Conclusions: Signi ficant variation in ED consultant management of childhood wheeze exists despite the presence of national guidance. This reflects the lack of evidence in key areas of childhood wheeze and emphasises the need for further robust multicentre research studies
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