Possible evidence for electromagnons in multiferroic manganites

Magnetodielectric materials are characterized by a strong coupling of magnetic and dielectric properties and in rare cases simultaneously exhibit both, magnetic and polar order. Among other multiferroics, TbMnO3 and GdMnO3 reveal a strong magneto-dielectric (ME) coupling and as a consequence fundamentally new spin excitations exist: Electro-active magnons, or electromagnons, i. e. spin waves which can be excited by ac electric fields. Here we show that these excitations appear in the phase with an incommensurate (IC) magnetic structure of the manganese spins. In external magnetic fields this IC structure can be suppressed and the electromagnons are wiped out, thereby inducing considerable changes in the index of refraction from dc up to THz frequencies. Hence, besides adding a new creature to the zoo of fundamental excitations, the refraction index can be tuned by moderate magnetic fields, which allows the design of a new generation of optical switches and optoelectronic devices.Comment: 4 Pages, 2 figure

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

37 pages, 15 figures, revised version, accepted by JINSTALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10^5 charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.Peer reviewe

Search for B-s(0) - GT mu(+)mu(-) and B-0 - GT mu(+)mu(-) Decays in pp Collisions at root s=7 TeV

A search for the rare decays B-s(0) -- GT mu(+)mu(-) and B-0 -- GT mu(+)mu(-) is performed in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV, with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.14 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In both cases, the number of events observed after all selection requirements is consistent with expectations from background and standard-model signal predictions. The resulting upper limits on the branching fractions are B(B-s(0) -- GT mu(+)mu(-)) LT 1.9 x 10(-8) and B(B-0 -- GT mu(+)mu(-)) LT 4.6 x 10(-9), at 95% confidence level

Mechanisms of stabilisation of high density polyethylene against oxidation using highly dispersed Fe-FeO mixtures

The resistance of high density polyethylene to thermal oxidation has been improved by addition of highly dispersed particles of Fe-FeO. Specimens were exposed to thermal aging in air at 80 degrees C, and their mechanical behaviour under tensile stress was then investigated. It was shown that Fe-FeO acted as a stabiliser for high density polyethylene, improving its thermal stability and mechanical properties. The factors responsible for these improvements were an increase in the amount of interphase between the crystalline and amorphous phases, decreased crystallite size, and increased network entanglement density. PRC/1380 (C) 2000 IoM Communications Ltd

The impact of ABCB1 (rs1045642 and rs4148738) and CES1 (rs2244613) gene polymorphisms on dabigatran equilibrium peak concentration in patients after total knee arthroplasty

Dmitriy Alekseevich Sychev,1 Alexander Nikolaevich Levanov,2 Tatiana Vladimirovna Shelekhova,2 Pavel Olegovich Bochkov,3 Natalia Pavlovna Denisenko,4 Kristina Anatolyevna Ryzhikova,4 Karin Badavievich Mirzaev,3 Elena Anatolyevna Grishina,4 Mikhail Alekseevich Gavrilov,5 Galina Vladislavovna Ramenskaya,6 Aleksei Vladimirovich Kozlov,6 Tanya Bogoslovsky7 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapy, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russia; 2Department of Occupational Pathology, Haematology and Clinical Pharmacology, Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia; 3Department of Personalized Medicine, Research Center, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russia; 4Department of Molecular Medicine, Research Center, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russia; 5Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Research Institute of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Neurosurgery, Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia; 6Department of A.P. Arzamastsev Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Sechenov First Moscow Medical State University, Moscow, Russia; 7Department of Neurology, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland Background: Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are commonly used for prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in orthopedic patients. Despite known safety and high potency of NOACs, potential interactions of NOACs with genetic polymorphisms are poorly understood. Dabigatran etexilate is one of the most commonly prescribed direct thrombin inhibitors for the prevention of VTE. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of ABCB1 (rs1045642 and rs4148738) and CES1 (rs2244613) polymorphisms on dabigatran pharmacokinetics in patients after total knee arthroplasty. Patients and methods: A total of 60 patients, aged 37–81 years, who underwent surgery for knee replacement have been included in the study. VTE prophylaxis was conducted via administration of dabigatran etexilate 220 mg once daily. Genotyping for carrier state of polymorphic variants such as rs1045642 and rs4148738 of the ABCB1 gene and rs2244613 of the CES1 gene was carried out using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We also measured the peak and trough concentrations of plasma dabigatran by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: Our study revealed that TT genotype of rs1045642 polymorphism of the ABCB1 gene was associated with higher dabigatran equilibrium peak concentrations and the higher risk of bleeding than the presence of CC genotype (p<0.008). There was no statistically significant genotype-dependent difference in the trough concentrations between rs1045642 and rs4148738 of the ABCB1 gene and rs2244613 of the CES1 gene. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the polymorphisms of ABCB1 rs1045642 may have a prominent contribution to the safety of dabigatran in patients after knee surgery. Moreover, TT genotype may be associated with the higher risk of hemorrhagic complications in this population. There were no influence of polymorphism of ABCB1 rs4148738 and CES1 rs2244613 on dabigatran peak and through concentrations. Larger studies are needed to confirm our observations. Keywords: new oral anticoagulants, dabigatran, venous thromboembolism, ABCB1, CES1, pharmacogenetic