Biperiodic oscillatory coupling with the thickness of an embedded Ni layer in Co/Cu/Co/Ni/Co (100) and selection rules for the periods

A biperiodic oscillation of the strength of the antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling as a function of the thickness of an embedded Ni layer has been observed in an epitaxial Cu(100)/Co/Cu/Co/Ni/Co sample with the Cu interlayer and the Ni layer in the form of wedges. As the effect originates from Bloch-wave interference in the Ni layer, the observed periods must be, and indeed can be, related to extremal spanning vectors of the spin-resolved Ni Fermi surface. The experiment touches on the selection criteria for spanning vectors of Ni that determine the periods of the oscillations

ParIC : A Family of Parallel Incomplete Cholesky Preconditioners

A class of parallel incomplete factorization preconditionings for the solution of large linear systems is investigated. The approach may be regarded as a generalized domain decomposition method. Adjacent subdomains have to communicate during the setting up of the precon­ ditioner, and during the application of the preconditioner. Overlap is not necessary to achieve high performance. Fill­in levels are considered in a global way. If necessary, the technique may be implemented as a global re­ordering of the unknowns. Experimental results are reported for two­dimensional problems

Unraveling genetic predisposition to familial or early onset gastric cancer using germline whole-exome sequencing

Recognition of individuals with a genetic predisposition to gastric cancer (GC) enables preventive measures. However, the underlying cause of genetic susceptibility to gastric cancer remains largely unexplained. We performed germline whole-exome sequencing on leukocyte DNA of 54 patients from 53 families with genetically unexplained diffuse-type and intestinal-type GC to identify novel GC-predisposing candidate genes. As young age at diagnosis and familial clustering are hallmarks of genetic tumor susceptibility, we selected patients that were diagnosed below the age of 35, patients from families with two cases of GC at or below age 60 and patients from families with three GC cases at or below age 70. All included individuals were tested negative for germline CDH1 mutations before or during the study. Variants that were possibly deleterious according to in silico predictions were filtered using several independent approaches that were based on gene function and gene mutation burden in controls. Despite a rigorous search, no obvious candidate GC predisposition genes were identified. This negative result stresses the importance of future research studies in large, homogeneous cohorts

G86-803 Assessing Hail Damage to Corn

This publication examines how hail damages the corn plant, how the degree of damage can be determined and how the extent of yield loss is estimated. In the U.S., approximately half of all hailstorms occur between March and May. These early storms are responsible for only minor corn yield losses, however, because the corn either has not yet been planted or is too small to be damaged significantly. Even when fields are severely damaged early in the growing season, they can often be replanted. On the other hand, about a third of all hailstorms occur between June and September. These have resulted in yield losses to corn estimated at $52 million annually. Hail affects yields primarily by reducing stands and defoliating the plant. Defoliation causes most of the losses. Thus, knowing how to recognize hail damage and assess probable loss is a very valuable decision-making aid