Current-induced dynamical tilting of chiral domain walls in curved microwires

We report on the investigation of current-induced domain wall motion of Néel domain walls in perpendicularly magnetized microwires with curved geometries in the flow regime. The investigation was performed by time-resolved scanning transmission x-ray microscopy. In particular, we studied the dynamical tilting of the Néel domain walls, observing that an asymmetric behavior in the domain wall tilt appears upon an inversion of the polarity of the current pulse driving the motion, an effect not predicted by state-of-the-art theories and micromagnetic modeling

Time-resolved visualization of the magnetization canting induced by field-like spin-orbit torques

We report on the use of time-resolved scanning transmission x-ray microscopy imaging for the visualization of the dynamical canting of the magnetization induced by field-like spin–orbit torques in a perpendicularly magnetized microwire. In particular, we show how the contributions to the dynamical canting of the magnetization arising from the field-like spin–orbit torque can be separated from the heating-induced effects on the magnetization of the microwire. This method will allow for the imaging of the dynamical effects of spin–orbit torques in device-like structures and buried layers. Part of this work was performed at the Surface Interface Microscopy (SIM - X11MA) beamline of the Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland. The research leading to these results received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (No. FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 290605 (PSI-FELLOW/COFUND), the Swiss National Science Foundation under Grant Agreement No. 172517, and the EMPIR Programme (Grant No. 17FUN08TOPS) co-financed by the participating states, and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. ML acknowledges funding received from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Marie-Sklodowska Curie Grant Agreement No. 701647

“A question of trust” and “a leap of faith”-study participants' perspectives on consent, privacy, and trust in smart home research:Qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Ubiquitous, smart technology has the potential to assist humans in numerous ways, including with health and social care. COVID-19 has notably hastened the move to remotely delivering many health services. A variety of stakeholders are involved in the process of developing technology. Where stakeholders are research participants, this poses practical and ethical challenges, particularly if the research is conducted in people’s homes. Researchers must observe prima facie ethical obligations linked to participants’ interests in having their autonomy and privacy respected. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the ethical considerations around consent, privacy, anonymization, and data sharing with participants involved in SPHERE (Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment), a project for developing smart technology for monitoring health behaviors at home. Participants’ unique insights from being part of this unusual experiment offer valuable perspectives on how to properly approach informed consent for similar smart home research in the future. METHODS: Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 7 households (16 individual participants) recruited from SPHERE. Purposive sampling was used to invite participants from a range of household types and ages. Interviews were conducted in participants’ homes or on-site at the University of Bristol. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. RESULTS: Four themes were identified—motivation for participating; transparency, understanding, and consent; privacy, anonymity, and data use; and trust in research. Motivations to participate in SPHERE stemmed from an altruistic desire to support research directed toward the public good. Participants were satisfied with the consent process despite reporting some difficulties—recalling and understanding the information received, the timing and amount of information provision, and sometimes finding the information to be abstract. Participants were satisfied that privacy was assured and judged that the goals of the research compensated for threats to privacy. Participants trusted SPHERE. The factors that were relevant to developing and maintaining this trust were the trustworthiness of the research team, the provision of necessary information, participants’ control over their participation, and positive prior experiences of research involvement. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers valuable insights into the perspectives of participants in smart home research on important ethical considerations around consent and privacy. The findings may have practical implications for future research regarding the types of information researchers should convey, the extent to which anonymity can be assured, and the long-term duty of care owed to the participants who place trust in researchers not only on the basis of this information but also because of their institutional affiliation. This study highlights important ethical implications. Although autonomy matters, trust appears to matter the most. Therefore, researchers should be alert to the need to foster and maintain trust, particularly as failing to do so might have deleterious effects on future research

Principles for pandemics:COVID-19 and professional ethical guidance in England and Wales

Abstract Background During the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, various professional ethical guidance was issued to (and for) health and social care professionals in England and Wales. Guidance can help to inform and support such professionals and their patients, clients and service users, but a plethora of guidance risked information overload, confusion, and inconsistency. Methods During the early months of the pandemic, we undertook a rapid review, asking: what are the principles adopted by professional ethical guidance in England and Wales for dealing with COVID-19? We undertook thematic content analysis of the 29 documents that met our inclusion criteria. Results The 29 documents captured 13 overlapping principles: respect, fairness, minimising harm, reciprocity, proportionality, flexibility, working together, inclusiveness, communication, transparency, reasonableness, responsibility, and accountability. Conclusions We intend this attempt to collate and outline the prominent principles to be helpful, particularly, for healthcare practice during the COVID-19 pandemic and, hopefully, for future pandemic planning. We also offer some reflections on the guidance and the principles therein. After describing the principles, we reflect on some of the similarities and differences in the guidance, and the challenges associated not only with the specific guidance reviewed, but also with the nature and import of “professional ethical guidance”

Biotic and stable-isotope characterization of the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event through a carbonate–clastic sequence from Somerset, UK

This study focuses on a condensed sequence of alternating carbonate–clastic sediments of the Barrington Member, Beacon Limestone Formation (latest Pliensbachian to early Toarcian) from Somerset (SW England). Abundant ammonites confirm (apart from the absence of the Clevelandicum and Tenuicostatum ammonite subchronozones) the presence of Hawskerense Subchronozone to Fallaciosum–Bingmanni subchronozones. Well-preserved, sometimes diverse assemblages of ostracods, foraminifera, nannofossils and lowdiversity dinoflagellate assemblages support the chronostratigraphic framework. Stable-isotope analyses demonstrate the presence of a carbon isotope excursion, relating to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, within the early Toarcian. Faunal, geochemical and sedimentological evidence suggest that deposition largely took place in a relatively deep-water (subwave base), mid-outer shelf environment under a well-mixed water column. However, reduced benthic diversity, the presence of weakly laminated sediments and changes in microplankton assemblage composition within the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event indicates dysoxic, but probably never anoxic, bottom-water conditions during this event. The onset of the carbon isotope excursion coincides with extinction in the nannofossils and benthos, including the disappearance of the ostracod suborder Metacopina. Faunal evidence indicates connectivity with the Mediterranean region, not previously recorded for the UK during the early Toarcian