3,904 research outputs found
Chern number spins of Mn acceptor magnets in GaAs
We determine the effective total spin of local moments formed from
acceptor states bound to Mn ions in GaAs by evaluating their magnetic Chern
numbers. We find that when individual Mn atoms are close to the sample surface,
the total spin changes from to , due to quenching of the
acceptor orbital moment. For Mn pairs in bulk, the total depends on the
pair orientation in the GaAs lattice and on the separation between the Mn
atoms. We point out that Berry curvature variation as a function of local
moment orientation can profoundly influence the quantum spin dynamics of these
magnetic entities.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Magnetic properties of substitutional Mn in (110) GaAs surface and subsurface layers
Motivated by recent STM experiments, we present a theoretical study of the
electronic and magnetic properties of the Mn-induced acceptor level obtained by
substituting a single Ga atom in the (110) surface layer of GaAs or in one of
the atoms layers below the surface. We employ a kinetic-exchange tight-binding
model in which the relaxation of the (110) surface is taken into account. The
acceptor wave function is strongly anisotropic in space and its detailed
features depend on the depth of the sublayer in which the Mn atom is located.
The local-density-of-states (LDOS) on the (110) surface associated with the
acceptor level is more sensitive to the direction of the Mn magnetic moment
when the Mn atom is located further below the surface. We show that the total
magnetic anisotropy energy of the system is due almost entirely to the
dependence of the acceptor level energy on Mn spin orientation, and that this
quantity is strongly dependent on the depth of the Mn atom.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure
Magnetic interactions of substitutional Mn pairs in GaAs
We employ a kinetic-exchange tight-binding model to calculate the magnetic
interaction and anisotropy energies of a pair of substitutional Mn atoms in
GaAs as a function of their separation distance and direction. We find that the
most energetically stable configuration is usually one in which the spins are
ferromagnetically aligned along the vector connecting the Mn atoms. The
ferromagnetic configuration is characterized by a splitting of the topmost
unoccupied acceptor levels, which is visible in scanning tunneling microscope
studies when the pair is close to the surface and is strongly dependent on pair
orientation. The largest acceptor splittings occur when the Mn pair is oriented
along the symmetry direction, and the smallest when they are oriented
along . We show explicitly that the acceptor splitting is not simply
related to the effective exchange interaction between the Mn local moments. The
exchange interaction constant is instead more directly related to the width of
the distribution of all impurity levels -- occupied and unoccupied. When the Mn
pair is at the (110) GaAs surface, both acceptor splitting and effective
exchange interaction are very small except for the smallest possible Mn
separation.Comment: 25 figure
Magnetic Anisotropy of Isolated Cobalt Nanoplatelets
Motivated in part by experiments performed by M.H. Pan et al. (nanoletters,
v.5, p 83, 2005), we have undertaken a theoretical study of the the magnetic
properties of two-monolayer thick Co nanoplatelets with an equilateral
triangular shape. The analysis is carried out using a microscopic Slater-Koster
tight-binding model with atomic exchange and spin-orbit interactions designed
to realistically capture the salient magnetic features of large nanoclusters
containing up to 350 atoms. Two different truncations of the FCC lattice are
studied, in which the nanoplatelet surface is aligned parallel to the FCC (111)
and (001)crystal planes respectively. We find that the higher coordination
number in the (111) truncated crystal is more likely to reproduce the
perpendicular easy direction found in experiment. Qualitatively, the most
important parameter governing the anisotropy of the model is found to be the
value of the intra-atomic exchange integral J. If we set the value of J near
the bulk value in order to reproduce the experimentally observed magnitude of
the magnetic moments, we find both quasi-easy-planes and perpendicular easy
directions. At larger values of J we find that the easy-axis of magnetization
is perpendicular to the surface, and the value of the magnetic anisotropy
energy per atom is larger. The possible role of hybridization with substrate
surface states in the experimental systems is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure
Head-to-head comparison of tau positron emission tomography tracers [F-18]flortaucipir and [F-18]RO948
Purpose:
[18F]flortaucipir binds to paired helical filament tau and accurately identifies tau in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, “off-target” binding interferes with the quantification of [18F]flortaucipir in several brain regions. Recently, other tau PET tracers have been developed. Here, we compare [18F]flortaucipir with the novel tau tracer [18F]RO948 head-to-head in vivo.
Methods:
We included 18 participants with AD, three with amyloid-β-positive amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and four healthy controls. All underwent [18F]flortaucipir (80–100 min) and [18F]RO948 (70–90) PET scans within approximately 1 month. Four study participants underwent 0–100-min dynamic scanning. Standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were created using an inferior cerebellar reference region.
Results:
Neocortical tracer retention was highly comparable using both SUVR and distribution volume ratio-1 values obtained from dynamic scans. However, [18F]RO948 retention was significantly higher in the entorhinal cortex and lower in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and choroid plexus compared with [18F]flortaucipir. Increased off-target binding was observed with age for both tracers. Several cases exhibited strong [18F]RO948 retention in the skull/meninges. This extra-cerebral signal, however, did not affect diagnostic accuracy and remained relatively unchanged when re-examining a subsample after 1 year. Kinetic modeling showed an increase in [18F]flortaucipir SUVR over the scanning interval, compared with a plateau for [18F]RO948.
Conclusion:
[18F]RO948 and [18F]flortaucipir bound comparably in neocortical regions, but [18F]RO948 showed higher retention in the medial temporal lobe and lower intracerebral “off-target” binding. Time-dependent bias of SUVR estimates may prove less of a factor with [18F]RO948, compared with previous tau ligands
Breeding objectives for Red Maasai and Dorper sheep in Kenya—A participatory approach
The Red Maasai sheep breed is under threat due to indiscriminate crossbreeding and strategies are needed to conserve and improve the breed. The aim of this study was to understand farmers’ preferences for important traits of flocks of Red Maasai, Dorper and crosses in two different areas, Amboseli and Isinya, in Kenya. Farmers identified three ewes that represented the best, average, and poorest within its breed group of each farm and gave reasons for their ranking. The most important traits were body size and growth rate and thereafter milk yield. The Red Maasai was preferred for its better reproduction and tolerance against diseases and drought. In the harshest area, Amboseli, all breed groups had about the same body weight, whereas in Isinya, where conditions are better and farmers are more market oriented, Dorper and crosses had superior weights
Tau PET correlates with different Alzheimer's disease-related features compared to CSF and plasma p-tau biomarkers
PET, CSF and plasma biomarkers of tau pathology may be differentially associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related demographic, cognitive, genetic and neuroimaging markers. We examined 771 participants with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment or dementia from BioFINDER-2 (n = 400) and ADNI (n = 371). All had tau-PET ([18F]RO948 in BioFINDER-2, [18F]flortaucipir in ADNI) and CSF p-tau181 biomarkers available. Plasma p-tau181 and plasma/CSF p-tau217 were available in BioFINDER-2 only. Concordance between PET, CSF and plasma tau biomarkers ranged between 66 and 95%. Across the whole group, ridge regression models showed that increased CSF and plasma p-tau181 and p-tau217 levels were independently of tau PET associated with higher age, and APOEɛ4-carriership and Aβ-positivity, while increased tau-PET signal in the temporal cortex was associated with worse cognitive performance and reduced cortical thickness. We conclude that biofluid and neuroimaging markers of tau pathology convey partly independent information, with CSF and plasma p-tau181 and p-tau217 levels being more tightly linked with early markers of AD (especially Aβ-pathology), while tau-PET shows the strongest associations with cognitive and neurodegenerative markers of disease progression
Sustainable breeding strategies for the Red Maasai sheep
How could we conserve Red Maasai sheep and increase productivity for better livelihood for livestock keepers
Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Analgesic Treatment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults : Changes from 1999 to 2019
Background Pain is undertreated in older populations. At the same time, increased use of opioids is of concern in the Western world. Aims We sought to analyze temporal trends in musculoskeletal pain and prescribed analgesic treatment among community-dwelling people aged 75-95 years using cross-sectional cohort data spanning 20 years. Methods The Helsinki Aging Study recruited random samples of people aged 75, 80, 85, 90, and 95 years in 1999, 2009, and 2019. In total, 5707 community-dwelling persons participated in the study. The participants reported their medical diagnoses, regular prescription medications, and the presence of back pain or joint pain within the last 2 weeks (never, sometimes, or daily). We compared analgesic use among participants reporting and not reporting musculoskeletal pain in 1999, 2009, and 2019. Results Of the participants, 57-61% reported intermittent or daily musculoskeletal pain. The percentage receiving a prescribed daily analgesic increased from 9% in 1999 to 16% in 2019. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreased from 1999 to 2019, while the use of paracetamol increased from 2 to 11%. Opioids were taken by 2% in 1999 and 3% in 2019. Of those reporting daily musculoskeletal pain, 20%, 35%, and 32% received regular pain medication in 1999, 2009, and 2019, respectively. Conclusions Pain remains undertreated in the community-dwelling older population, although the use of regular prescribed analgesics increased between 1999 and 2019. The use of NSAIDs has decreased, while the use of paracetamol has increased. Daily opioid use has remained modest.Peer reviewe
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