External control of the direction of magnetization in ferromagnetic InMnAs/GaSb heterostructures

In this paper, we demonstrate external control over the magnetization direction in ferromagnetic (FM) In_{1-x}Mn_{x}As/GaSb heterostructures. FM ordering with T_C as high as 50 K is confirmed by SQUID magnetization, anomalous Hall effect (AHE), and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. Even though tensile strain is known to favor an easy axis normal to the layer plane, at low temperatures we observe that the magnetization direction in several samples is intermediate between the normal and in-plane axes. As the temperature increases, however, the easy axis rotates to the direction normal to the plane. We further demonstrate that the easy magnetization axis can be controlled by incident light through a bolometric effect, which induces a pronounced increase in the amplitude of the AHE. A mean-field-theory model for the carrier-mediated ferromagnetism reproduces the tendency for dramatic reorientations of the magnetization axis, but not the specific sensitivity to small temperature variations.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to NGS-1

Exceptionally Slow Rise in Differential Reflectivity Spectra of Excitons in GaN: Effect of Excitation-induced Dephasing

Femtosecond pump-probe (PP) differential reflectivity spectroscopy (DRS) and four-wave mixing (FWM) experiments were performed simultaneously to study the initial temporal dynamics of the exciton line-shapes in GaN epilayers. Beats between the A-B excitons were found \textit{only for positive time delay} in both PP and FWM experiments. The rise time at negative time delay for the differential reflection spectra was much slower than the FWM signal or PP differential transmission spectroscopy (DTS) at the exciton resonance. A numerical solution of a six band semiconductor Bloch equation model including nonlinearities at the Hartree-Fock level shows that this slow rise in the DRS results from excitation induced dephasing (EID), that is, the strong density dependence of the dephasing time which changes with the laser excitation energy.Comment: 8 figure

Large-eddy simulation of low-frequency unsteadiness in a turbulent shock-induced separation bubble

The need for better understanding of the low-frequency unsteadiness observed in shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions has been driving research in this area for several decades. We present here a large-eddy simulation investigation of the interaction between an impinging oblique shock and a Mach 2.3 turbulent boundary layer. Contrary to past large-eddy simulation investigations on shock/turbulent boundary layer interactions, we have used an inflow technique which does not introduce any energetically significant low frequencies into the domain, hence avoiding possible interference with the shock/boundary layer interaction system. The large-eddy simulation has been run for much longer times than previous computational studies making a Fourier analysis of the low frequency possible. The broadband and energetic low-frequency component found in the interaction is in excellent agreement with the experimental findings. Furthermore, a linear stability analysis of the mean flow was performed and a stationary unstable global mode was found. The long-run large-eddy simulation data were analyzed and a phase change in the wall pressure fluctuations was related to the global-mode structure, leading to a possible driving mechanism for the observed low-frequency motions

Urinary Epidermal Growth Factor as a Marker of Disease Progression in Children With Nephrotic Syndrome

Introduction: Childhood-onset nephrotic syndrome has a variable clinical course. Improved predictive markers of long-term outcomes in children with nephrotic syndrome are needed. This study tests the association between baseline urinary epidermal growth factor (uEGF) excretion and longitudinal kidney function in children with nephrotic syndrome. Methods: The study evaluated 191 participants younger than 18 years enrolled in the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network, including 118 with their first clinically indicated kidney biopsy (68 minimal change disease; 50 focal segmental glomerulosclerosis) and 73 with incident nephrotic syndrome without a biopsy. uEGF was measured at baseline for all participants and normalized by the urine creatinine (Cr) concentration. Renal epidermal growth factor (EGF) mRNA was measured in the tubular compartment microdissected from kidney biopsy cores from a subset of patients. Linear mixed models were used to test if baseline uEGF/Cr and EGF mRNA expression were associated with change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over time. Results: Higher uEGF/Cr at baseline was associated with slower eGFR decline during follow-up (median follow-up = 30 months). Halving of uEGF/Cr was associated with a decrease in eGFR slope of 2.0 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year (P < 0.001) adjusted for age, race, diagnosis, baseline eGFR and proteinuria, and APOL1 genotype. In the biopsied subgroup, uEGF/Cr was correlated with EGF mRNA expression (r = 0.74; P < 0.001), but uEGF/Cr was retained over mRNA expression as the stronger predictor of eGFR slope after multivariable adjustment (decrease in eGFR slope of 1.7 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year per log2 decrease in uEGF/Cr; P < 0.001). Conclusion: uEGF/Cr may be a useful noninvasive biomarker that can assist in predicting the long-term course of kidney function in children with incident nephrotic syndrome

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Femtosecond four-wave mixing experiments on GaAs quantum wells using two independently tunable lasers

Femtosecond two beam and three beam (omega(1),omega(1);omega(2)) four-wave mixing (FWM) experiments on GaAs quantum wells have been performed using two partially synchronized, independently tunable lasers with external jitter compensation. Heavy and light hole beatings are observed with these two mutually incoherent lasers. FWM signals are observed when oz is completely below the exciton energies, with no spectral overlap with the absorption profile. These off-resonant signals are stronger than the interband continuum signals for equivalent detunings