Should we perform multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of the bladder before transurethral resection of bladder? Time to reconsider the rules

We would like to congratulate Ueno and colleagues [1] on their paper on diagnostic accuracy and interobserver agreement for the new Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) [2] for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in this issue of European Urology. Their report on 74 patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) before transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) raises great interest in the RADS (Reporting and Data Systems) era. They address the questions of reproducibility and diagnostic performance of mpMRI in the setting of bladder ca (BC), in which potential applications of this imaging technique have seen constant growth in the past decades without a definitive role having been identified

Observation of a Transient Magnetization Plateau in a Quantum Antiferromagnet on the Kagome Lattice

The magnetization process of an S=1/2 antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice, [Cu_3(titmb)_2(OCOCH_3)_6]H_2O {titmb= 1,3,5-tris(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6 trimethylbenzene} has been measured at very low temperatures in both pulsed and steady fields. We have found a new dynamical behavior in the magnetization process: a plateau at one third of the saturation magnetization appears in the pulsed field experiments for intermediate sweep rates of the magnetic field and disappears in the steady field experiments. A theoretical analysis using exact diagonalization yields J_1=-19K and J_2=6K, for the nearest neighbor and second nearest neighbor interactions, respectively. This set of exchange parameters explains the very low saturation field and the absence of the plateau in the thermodynamic equilibrium as well as the two-peak feature in the magnetic heat capacity. Supported by numerical results we argue that a dynamical order by disorder phenomenon could explain the transient appearance of the 1/3 plateau in pulsed field experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Chandra detection of extended X-ray emission from the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi

Radio, infrared, and optical observations of the 2006 eruption of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) showed that the explosion produced non-spherical ejecta. Some of this ejected material was in the form of bipolar jets to the east and west of the central source. Here we describe Xray observations taken with the Chandra X-ray Observatory one and a half years after the beginning of the outburst that reveal narrow, extended structure with a position angle of approximately 300 degrees (east of north). Although the orientation of the extended feature in the X-ray image is consistent with the readout direction of the CCD detector, extensive testing suggests that the feature is not an artifact. Assuming it is not an instrumental effect, the extended X-ray structure shows hot plasma stretching more than 1,900 AU from the central binary (taking a distance of 1.6 kpc). The X-ray emission is elongated in the northwest direction - in line with the extended infrared emission and some minor features in the published radio image. It is less consistent with the orientation of the radio jets and the main bipolar optical structure. Most of the photons in the extended X-ray structure have energies of less than 0.8 keV. If the extended X-ray feature was produced when the nova explosion occurred, then its 1".2 length as of 2007 August implies that it expanded at an average rate of more than 2 mas/d, which corresponds to a flow speed of greater than 6,000 km/s (d/1.6 kpc) in the plane of the sky. This expansion rate is similar to the earliest measured expansion rates for the radio jets.Comment: accepted in Ap

Nonuniform Neutron-Rich Matter and Coherent Neutrino Scattering

Nonuniform neutron-rich matter present in both core-collapse supernovae and neutron-star crusts is described in terms of a semiclassical model that reproduces nuclear-matter properties and includes long-range Coulomb interactions. The neutron-neutron correlation function and the corresponding static structure factor are calculated from molecular dynamics simulations involving 40,000 to 100,000 nucleons. The static structure factor describes coherent neutrino scattering which is expected to dominate the neutrino opacity. At low momentum transfers the static structure factor is found to be small because of ion screening. In contrast, at intermediate momentum transfers the static structure factor displays a large peak due to coherent scattering from all the neutrons in a cluster. This peak moves to higher momentum transfers and decreases in amplitude as the density increases. A large static structure factor at zero momentum transfer, indicative of large density fluctuations during a first-order phase transition, may increase the neutrino opacity. However, no evidence of such an increase has been found. Therefore, it is unlikely that the system undergoes a simple first-order phase transition. It is found that corrections to the commonly used single heavy nucleus approximation first appear at a density of the order of $10^{13}$ g/cm$^3$ and increase rapidly with increasing density. Thus, neutrino opacities are overestimated in the single heavy nucleus approximation relative to the complete molecular dynamics simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 23 included ps figure

Magnetization Process of Kagome-Lattice Heisenberg Antiferromagnet

The magnetization process of the isotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice is studied. Data obtained from the numerical-diagonalization method are reexamined from the viewpoint of the derivative of the magnetization with respect to the magnetic field. We find that the behavior of the derivative at approximately one-third of the height of the magnetization saturation is markedly different from that for the cases of typical magnetization plateaux. The magnetization process of the kagome-lattice antiferromagnet reveals a new phenomenon, which we call the "magnetization ramp".Comment: 4 pages, 5figures, accepted in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn

Tunable Nanometer Electrode Gaps by MeV Ion Irradiation

We report the use of MeV ion-irradiation-induced plastic deformation of amorphous materials to fabricate electrodes with nanometer-sized gaps. Plastic deformation of the amorphous metal $\text{Pd}_{80}\text{Si}_{20}$ is induced by $4.64 \text{MeV O}^{2+}$ ion irradiation, allowing the complete closing of a sub-micrometer gap. We measure the evolving gap size in situ by monitoring the field emission current-voltage (I-V) characteristics between electrodes. The I-V behavior is consistent with Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. We show that using feedback control on this signal permits gap size fabrication with atomic-scale precision. We expect this approach to nanogap fabrication will enable the practical realization of single molecule controlled devices and sensors.Engineering and Applied SciencesPhysic

Universal emergence of the one-third plateau in the magnetization process of frustrated quantum spin chains

We present a numerical study of the magnetization process of frustrated quantum spin-S chains with S=1, 3/2, 2 as well as the classical limit. Using the exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization techniques, we provide evidence that a plateau at one third of the saturation magnetization exists in the magnetization curve of frustrated spin-S chains with S>1/2. Similar to the case of S=1/2, this plateau state breaks the translational symmetry of the Hamiltonian and realizes an up-up-down pattern in the spin component parallel to the external field. Our study further shows that this plateau exists both in the cases of an isotropic exchange and in the easy-axis regime for spin-S=1, 3/2, and 2, but is absent in classical frustrated spin chains with isotropic interactions. We discuss the magnetic phase diagram of frustrated spin-1 and spin-3/2 chains as well as other emergent features of the magnetization process such as kink singularities, jumps, and even-odd effects. A quantitative comparison of the one-third plateau in the easy-axis regime between spin-1 and spin-3/2 chains on the one hand and the classical frustrated chain on the other hand indicates that the critical frustration and the phase boundaries of this state rapidly approach the classical result as the spin S increases.Comment: 15 pages RevTex4, 13 figure