Modification of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and domain wall velocity in Pt/Co/Pt by voltage-induced strain

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy Keff, magnetization reversal, and field-driven domain wall velocity in the creep regime are modified in Pt/Co(0.85–1.0 nm)/Pt thin films by strain applied via piezoelectric transducers. Keff, measured by the extraordinary Hall effect, is reduced by 10 kJ/m3 by tensile strain out-of-plane ez5931024, independently of the film thickness, indicating a dominant volume contribution to the magnetostriction. The same strain reduces the coercive field by 2–4 Oe, and increases the domain wall velocity measured by wide-field Kerr microscopy by 30-100%, with larger changes observed for thicker Co layers. We consider how strain-induced changes in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can modify the coercive field and domain wall velocity

A comparison of system monitoring methods, passive network monitoring and kernel instrumentation

This paper presents the comparison of two methods of system monitoring, passive network monitoring and kernel instrumentation. The comparison is made on the basis of passive network monitoring being used as a replacement for kernel instrumentation in some situations. Despite the fact that the passive network monitoring technique is shown to perform poorly as a direct replacement for kernel instrumentation, this paper indicates the areas where passive network monitoring could be used to the greatest advantage and presents methods by which the discrepancies between results of the two techniques could be minimised

Testing the interaction of dark energy to dark matter through the analysis of virial relaxation of clusters Abell Clusters A586 and A1689 using realistic density profiles

Interaction between dark energy and dark matter is probed through deviation from the virial equilibrium for two relaxed clusters: A586 and A1689. The evaluation of the virial equilibrium is performed using realistic density profiles. The virial ratios found for the more realistic density profiles are consistent with the absence of interaction.Comment: 16pp 1 fig; accepted by GeR

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (agora)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with app1133132sem informaçãosem informaçã

3D MHD Flux Emergence Experiments: Idealized models and coronal interactions

This paper reviews some of the many 3D numerical experiments of the emergence of magnetic fields from the solar interior and the subsequent interaction with the pre-existing coronal magnetic field. The models described here are idealized, in the sense that the internal energy equation only involves the adiabatic, Ohmic and viscous shock heating terms. However, provided the main aim is to investigate the dynamical evolution, this is adequate. Many interesting observational phenomena are explained by these models in a self-consistent manner.Comment: Review article, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Interleukin-7 deficiency in rheumatoid arthritis: consequences for therapy-induced lymphopenia

We previously demonstrated prolonged, profound CD4+ T-lymphopenia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients following lymphocyte-depleting therapy. Poor reconstitution could result either from reduced de novo T-cell production through the thymus or from poor peripheral expansion of residual T-cells. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is known to stimulate the thymus to produce new T-cells and to allow circulating mature T-cells to expand, thereby playing a critical role in T-cell homeostasis. In the present study we demonstrated reduced levels of circulating IL-7 in a cross-section of RA patients. IL-7 production by bone marrow stromal cell cultures was also compromised in RA. To investigate whether such an IL-7 deficiency could account for the prolonged lymphopenia observed in RA following therapeutic lymphodepletion, we compared RA patients and patients with solid cancers treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous progenitor cell rescue. Chemotherapy rendered all patients similarly lymphopenic, but this was sustained in RA patients at 12 months, as compared with the reconstitution that occurred in cancer patients by 3–4 months. Both cohorts produced naïve T-cells containing T-cell receptor excision circles. The main distinguishing feature between the groups was a failure to expand peripheral T-cells in RA, particularly memory cells during the first 3 months after treatment. Most importantly, there was no increase in serum IL-7 levels in RA, as compared with a fourfold rise in non-RA control individuals at the time of lymphopenia. Our data therefore suggest that RA patients are relatively IL-7 deficient and that this deficiency is likely to be an important contributing factor to poor early T-cell reconstitution in RA following therapeutic lymphodepletion. Furthermore, in RA patients with stable, well controlled disease, IL-7 levels were positively correlated with the T-cell receptor excision circle content of CD4+ T-cells, demonstrating a direct effect of IL-7 on thymic activity in this cohort

Properties of the Interstellar Medium and the Propagation of Cosmic Rays in the Galaxy

The problem of the origin of cosmic rays in the shocks produced by supernova explosions at energies below the so called 'knee' (at ~3*10$^6$ GeV) in the energy spectrum is addressed, with special attention to the propagation of the particles through the inhomogenious interstellar medium and the need to explain recent anisotropy results, [1]. It is shown that the fractal character of the matter density and magnetic field distribution leads to the likelihood of a substantial increase of spatial fluctuations in the cosmic ray energy spectra. While the spatial distribution of cosmic rays in the vicinity of their sources (eg. inside the Galactic disk) does not depend much on the character of propagation and is largely determined by the distribution of their sources, the distribution at large distances from the Galactic disk depends strongly on the character of the propagation. In particular, the fractal character of the ISM leads to what is known as 'anomalous diffusion' and such diffusion helps us to understand the formation of Cosmic Ray Halo. Anomalous diffusion allows an explanation of the recent important result from the Chacaltaya extensive air shower experiment [1], viz. a Galactic Plane Enhancement of cosmic ray intensity in the Outer Galaxy, which is otherwise absent for the case of the so-called 'normal' diffusion. All these effects are for just one reason: anomalous diffusion emphasizes the role of local phenomena in the formation of cosmic ray characteristics in our Galaxy and elsewhere.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Astropartoicle Physic

Spectral Reflectance as a Covariate for Estimating Pasture Productivity and Composition

Pasturelands are inherently variable. It is this variability that makes sampling as well as characterizing an entire pasture difficult. Measurement of plant canopy reflectance with a ground-based radiometer offers an indirect, rapid, and noninvasive characterization of pasture productivity and composition. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the relationships between easily collected canopy reflectance data and pasture biomass and species composition and (ii) to determine if the use of pasture reflectance data as a covariate improved mapping accuracy of biomass, percentage of grass cover, and percentage of legume cover across three sampling schemes in a central Iowa pasture. Reflectance values for wavebands most highly correlated with biomass, percentage of grass cover, and percentage of legume cover were used as covariates. Cokriging was compared with kriging as a method for estimating these parameters for unsampled sites. The use of canopy reflectance as a covariate improved prediction of grass and legume percentage of cover in all three sampling schemes studied. The prediction of above-ground biomass was not as consistent given that improvement with cokriging was observed with only one of the sampling schemes because of the low amount of spatial continuity of biomass values. An overall improvement in root mean square error (RMSE) for predicting values for unsampled sites was observed when cokriging was implemented. Use of rapid and indirect methods for quantifying pasture variability could provide useful and convenient information for more accurate characterization of time consuming parameters, such as pasture composition

Diffuse inverse Compton and synchrotron emission from dark matter annihilations in galactic satellites

Annihilating dark matter particles produce roughly as much power in electrons and positrons as in gamma ray photons. The charged particles lose essentially all of their energy to inverse Compton and synchrotron processes in the galactic environment. We discuss the diffuse signature of dark matter annihilations in satellites of the Milky Way (which may be optically dark with few or no stars), providing a tail of emission trailing the satellite in its orbit. Inverse Compton processes provide X-rays and gamma rays, and synchrotron emission at radio wavelengths might be seen. We discuss the possibility of detecting these signals with current and future observations, in particular EGRET and GLAST for the gamma rays.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure