310 research outputs found
Charge carrier density collapse in La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO_3 and La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3 epitaxial thin films
We measured the temperature dependence of the linear high field Hall
resistivity of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO_3 (T_C=232K) and La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3
(T_C=345K) thin films in the temperature range from 4K up to 360K in magnetic
fields up to 20T. At low temperatures we find a charge carrier density of 1.3
and 1.4 holes per unit cell for the Ca- and Sr-doped compound, respectively. In
this temperature range electron-magnon scattering contributes to the
longitudinal resistivity. At the ferromagnetic transition temperature T_C a
dramatic drop in the number of current carriers down to 0.6 holes per unit
cell, accompanied by an increase in unit cell volume, is observed. Corrections
of the Hall data due to a non saturated magnetic state will lead a more
pronounced charge carrier density collapse.Comment: 5 pages, 5 EPS figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Stretch reflex augmentation by subthreshold TMS is evidence for corticospinal signal integration
Reflex adaptation to environment and task at hand plays a key role in motor control. In search for cortical reflex modulation mechanisms, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been found to augment muscle stretch reflexes as recorded by electromyography (EMG). However, instead of reflecting true integration of efferent sensory with cortical activity, this augmentation can alternatively be explained by spinal summation of the stretch response with TMS induced motor evoked potentials (MEP). The goal of this study was to confirm true peripheral-cortical signal integration by combining muscle reflex responses with timed subthreshold TMS. Mechanically induced ramp-and-hold stretches (duration: 40 ms, velocity: 1.5 rad/s) of the m. flexor carpi radialis were combined with TMS pulses at 96% of active motor threshold applied between 10 ms before and 120 ms after stretch onset with a resolution of 5 to 10 ms. Significant MEP like augmentation of the EMG response was found when TMS was timed to arrive between 60 and 90 ms after stretch onset with a consistent and short delay between estimated TMS arrival time and peak EMG activity of 5 to 10 ms. Timing and nature of muscle stretch reflex activity augmentation by subthreshold TMS reflect supraspinal integration of peripheral sensory afferent with cortical efferent signals as a mechanism of supraspinal reflex adaptation
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Linewidths and Lineshapes for the Molecular Magnets Fe8 and Mn12
We study theoretically Electron Paramagentic Resonance (EPR) linewidths for
single crystals of the molecular magnets Fe and Mn as functions of
energy eigenstates , frequency, and temperature when a magnetic field
along the easy axis is swept at fixed excitation frequency. This work was
motivated by recent EPR experiments. To calculate the linewidths, we use
density-matrix equations, including dipolar interactions and distributions of
the uniaxial anisotropy parameter and the Land\'{e} factor. Our
calculated linewidths agree well with the experimental data. We also examine
the lineshapes of the EPR spectra due to local rotations of the magnetic
anisotropy axes caused by defects in samples. Our preliminary results predict
that this effect leads to asymmetry in the EPR spectra.Comment: 2001 MMM conferenc
Temperature-induced pair correlations in clusters and nuclei
The pair correlations in mesoscopic systems such as -size superconducting
clusters and nuclei are studied at finite temperature for the canonical
ensemble of fermions in model spaces with a fixed particle number: i) a
degenerate spherical shell (strong coupling limit), ii) an equidistantly spaced
deformed shell (weak coupling limit). It is shown that after the destruction of
the pair correlations at T=0 by a strong magnetic field or rapid rotation,
heating can bring them back. This phenomenon is a consequence of the fixed
number of fermions in the canonical ensemble
Visual hypersensitivity in patients treated with anti-calcitonin gene–related peptide (receptor) monoclonal antibodies
Objective: To evaluate the effect of treatment with anti-calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP; receptor) antibodies on visual hypersensitivity in patients with migraine. Background: Increased visual sensitivity can be present both during and outside migraine attacks. CGRP has been demonstrated to play a key role in light-aversive behavior. Methods: In this prospective follow-up study, patients treated for migraine with erenumab (n = 105) or fremanezumab (n = 100) in the Leiden Headache Center were invited to complete a questionnaire on visual sensitivity (the Leiden Visual Sensitivity Scale [L-VISS]), pertaining to both their ictal and interictal state, before starting treatment (T0) and 3 months after treatment initiation (T1). Using a daily e-diary, treatment effectiveness was assessed in weeks 9–12 compared to a 4-week pre-treatment baseline period. L-VISS scores were compared between T0 and T1. Subsequently, the association between the reduction in L-VISS scores and the reduction in monthly migraine days (MMD) was investigated. Results: At 3 months, the visual hypersensitivity decreased, with a decrease in mean ± standard deviation (SD) ictal L-VISS (from 20.1 ± 7.7 to 19.2 ± 8.1, p = 0.042) and a decrease in mean ± SD interictal L-VISS (from 11.8 ± 6.6 to 11.1 ± 7.0, p = 0.050). We found a positive association between the reduction in MMD and the decrease in interictal L-VISS (β = 0.2, p = 0.010) and the reduction in ictal L-VISS (β = 0.3, p = 0.001). Conclusion: A decrease in visual hypersensitivity in patients with migraine after treatment with anti-CGRP (receptor) antibodies is positively associated with clinical response on migraine.</p
Effects of Spin-Orbit Interactions on Tunneling via Discrete Energy Levels in Metal Nanoparticles
The presence of spin-orbit scattering within an aluminum nanoparticle affects
measurements of the discrete energy levels within the particle by (1) reducing
the effective g-factor below the free-electron value of 2, (2) causing avoided
crossings as a function of magnetic field between predominantly-spin-up and
predominantly-spin-down levels, and (3) introducing magnetic-field-dependent
changes in the amount of current transported by the tunneling resonances. All
three effects can be understood in a unified fashion by considering a simple
Hamiltonian. Spin-orbit scattering from 4% gold impurities in superconducting
aluminum nanoparticles produces no dramatic effect on the superconducting gap
at zero magnetic field, but we argue that it does modify the nature of the
superconducting transition in a magnetic field.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Novel Phases in the Field Induced Spin Density Wave State in (TMTSF)_2PF_6
Magnetoresistance measurements on the quasi one-dimensional organic conductor
(TMTSF)_2PF_6 performed in magnetic fields B up to 16T, temperatures T down to
0.12K and under pressures P up to 14kbar have revealed new phases on its P-B-T
phase diagram. We found a new boundary which subdivides the field induced spin
density wave (FISDW) phase diagram into two regions. We showed that a
low-temperature region of the FISDW diagram is characterized by a hysteresis
behavior typical for the first order transitions, as observed in a number of
studies. In contrast to the common believe, in high temperature region of the
FISDW phase diagram, the hysteresis and, hence, the first order transitions
were found to disappear. Nevertheless, sharp changes in the resistivity slope
are observed both in the low and high temperature domains indicating that the
cascade of transitions between different subphases exists over all range of the
FISDW state. We also found that the temperature dependence of the resistance
(at a constant B) changes sign at about the same boundary. We compare these
results with recent theoretical models.Comment: LaTex, 4 pages, 4 figure
High frequency resonant experiments in Fe molecular clusters
Precise resonant experiments on Fe magnetic clusters have been
conducted down to 1.2 K at various tranverse magnetic fields, using a
cylindrical resonator cavity with 40 different frequencies between 37 GHz and
110 GHz. All the observed resonances for both single crystal and oriented
powder, have been fitted by the eigenstates of the hamiltonian . We have identified the
resonances corresponding to the coherent quantum oscillations for different
orientations of spin S = 10.Comment: to appear in Phys.Rev. B (August 2000
Magnetization of Mn_12 Ac in a slowly varying magnetic field: an ab initio study
Beginning with a Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian for the manganese ions in the
Mn_12 Ac molecule, we find a number of low-energy states of the system. We use
these states to solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and find the
magnetization of the molecule in the presence of a slowly varying magnetic
field. We study the effects of the field sweep rate, fourth order anisotropic
spin interactions and a transverse field on the weights of the different states
as well as the magnetization steps which are known to occur in the hysteresis
plots in this system. We find that the fourth order term and a slow field sweep
rate are crucial for obtaining prominent steps in magnetization in the
hysteresis plots.Comment: LaTeX, 11 pages, 12 eps figure
Voluntarily reported prescribing, monitoring and medication transfer errors in intensive care units in The Netherlands
Background Medication errors occur frequently in intensive care units (ICU). Voluntarily reported medication errors form an easily available source of information. Objective This study aimed to characterize prescribing, monitoring and medication transfer errors that were voluntarily reported in the ICU, in order to reveal medication safety issues. Setting This retrospective data analysis study included reports of medication errors from eleven Dutch ICU's from January 2016 to December 2017. Method We used data extractions from the incident reporting systems of the participating ICU's. The reports were transferred into one database and categorized into type of error, cause, medication (groups), and patient harm. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the proportion of medication errors and the distribution of subcategories. Based on the analysis, ICU medication safety issues were revealed. Main outcome measure The main outcome measure was the proportion of prescribing, monitoring and medication transfer error reports. Results Prescribing errors were reported most frequently (n = 233, 33%), followed by medication transfer errors (n = 85, 12%) and monitoring errors (n = 27, 4%). Other findings were: medication transfer errors frequently caused serious harm, especially the omission of home medication involving the central nervous system and proton pump inhibitors; omissions and dosing errors occurred most frequently; protocol problems caused a quarter of the medication errors; and medications needing blood level monitoring (e.g. tacrolimus, vancomycin, heparin and insulin) were frequently involved. Conclusion This analysis of voluntarily reported prescribing, monitoring and medication transfer errors warrants several improvement measures in these processes, which may help to increase medication safety in the ICU
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