Perpendicular local magnetization under voltage control in Ni films on ferroelectric BaTiO₃ substrates.

High-resolution magnetoelectric imaging is used to demonstrate electrical control of the perpendicular local magnetization associated with 125 nm-wide magnetic stripe domains in 100-nm-thick Ni films. This magnetoelectric coupling is achieved in zero magnetic field using strain from ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrates to control perpendicular anisotropy imposed by the growth stress. These findings may be exploited for perpendicular recording in nanopatterned hybrid media.This work was funded by Isaac Newton Trust grants 10.26(u) and 11.35 (u), UK EPSRC grant EP/G031509/1, a Herchel Smith Fellowship (X.M.), the Spanish MEC Ramón y Cajal programme (X.M.), and the Royal Society (X.M.). The authors thank Luis Hueso and Raffaele Pellicelli for discussions.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201404799/abstract

Quantitative analysis of calf mortality in Great Britain

National bodies in Great Britain (GB) have expressed concern over young stock health and welfare and identified calf survival as a priority; however, no national data have been available to quantify mortality rates. The aim of this study was to quantify the temporal incidence rate, distributional features, and factors affecting variation in mortality rates in calves in GB since 2011. The purpose was to provide information to national stakeholder groups to inform resource allocation both for knowledge exchange and future research. Cattle birth and death registrations from the national British Cattle Movement Service were analyzed to determine rates of both slaughter and on-farm mortality. The number of births and deaths registered between 2011 and 2018 within GB were 21.2 and 21.6 million, respectively. Of the 3.3 million on-farm deaths, 1.8 million occurred before 24 mo of age (54%) and 818,845 (25%) happened within the first 3 mo of age. The on-farm mortality rate was 3.87% by 3 mo of age, remained relatively stable over time, and was higher for male calves (4.32%) than female calves (3.45%). Dairy calves experience higher on farm mortality rates than nondairy (beef) calves in the first 3 mo of life, with 6.00 and 2.86% mortality rates, respectively. The 0- to 3-mo death rate at slaughterhouse for male dairy calves has increased from 17.40% in 2011 to 26.16% in 2018, and has remained low ( [less than] 0.5%) for female dairy calves and beef calves of both sexes. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were able to explain a large degree of the variation in mortality rates (coefficient of determination = 96%). Mean monthly environmental temperature and month of birth appeared to play an important role in neonatal on-farm mortality rates, with increased temperatures significantly reducing mortality rates. Taking the optimal month of birth and environmental temperature as indicators of the best possible environmental conditions, maintaining these conditions throughout the year would be expected to result in a reduction in annual 0- to 3-mo mortality of 37,571 deaths per year, with an estimated economic saving of around £11.6 million (USD $15.3 million) per annum. National cattle registers have great potential for monitoring trends in calf mortality and can provide valuable insights to the cattle industry. Environmental conditions play a significant role in calf mortality rates and further research is needed to explore how to optimize conditions to reduce calf mortality rates in GB

Predicting high-grade cancer at ten-core prostate biopsy using four kallikrein markers measured in blood in the ProtecT study

BACKGROUND: Many men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in serum do not have aggressive prostate cancer and undergo unnecessary biopsy. Retrospective studies using cryopreserved serum suggest that four kallikrein markers can predict biopsy outcome. METHODS: Free, intact and total PSA, and kallikrein-related peptidase 2 were measured in cryopreserved blood from 6129 men with elevated PSA (≥3.0ng/mL) participating in the prospective, randomized trial Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment. Marker levels from 4765 men providing anticoagulated plasma were incorporated into statistical models to predict any-grade and high-grade (Gleason score ≥7) prostate cancer at 10-core biopsy. The models were corrected for optimism by 10-fold cross validation and independently validated using markers measured in serum from 1364 men. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The four kallikreins enhanced prostate cancer detection compared with PSA and age alone. Area under the curve (AUC) for the four kallikreins was 0.719 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.704 to 0.734) vs 0.634 (95% CI = 0.617 to 0.651, P < .001) for PSA and age alone for any-grade cancer, and 0.820 (95% CI = 0.802 to 0.838) vs 0.738 (95% CI = 0.716 to 0.761) for high-grade cancer. Using a 6% risk of high-grade cancer as an illustrative cutoff, for 1000 biopsied men with PSA levels of 3.0ng/mL or higher, the model would reduce the need for biopsy in 428 men, detect 119 high-grade cancers, and delay diagnosis of 14 of 133 high-grade cancers. Models exhibited excellent discrimination on independent validation among men with only serum samples available for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: A statistical model based on kallikrein markers was validated in a large prospective study and reduces unnecessary biopsies while delaying diagnosis of high-grade cancers in few men

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Folate Supplementation When Treating Malaria in Pregnancy with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine

OBJECTIVES: Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is an antimalarial drug that acts on the folate metabolism of the malaria parasite. We investigated whether folate (FA) supplementation in a high or a low dose affects the efficacy of SP for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in pregnant women. DESIGN: This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. SETTING: The trial was carried out at three hospitals in western Kenya. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 488 pregnant women presenting at their first antenatal visit with uncomplicated malaria parasitaemia (density of ≥ 500 parasites/μl), a haemoglobin level higher than 7 g/dl, a gestational age between 17 and 34 weeks, and no history of antimalarial or FA use, or sulfa allergy. A total of 415 women completed the study. INTERVENTIONS: All participants received SP and iron supplementation. They were randomized to the following arms: FA 5 mg, FA 0.4 mg, or FA placebo. After 14 days, all participants continued with FA 5 mg daily as per national guidelines. Participants were followed at days 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 or until treatment failure. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcomes were SP failure rate and change in haemoglobin at day 14. RESULTS: The proportion of treatment failure at day 14 was 13.9% (19/137) in the placebo group, 14.5% (20/138) in the FA 0.4 mg arm (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.07; 98.7% confidence interval [CI], 0.48 to 2.37; p = 0.8), and 27.1% (38/140) in the FA 5 mg arm (AHR, 2.19; 98.7% CI, 1.09 to 4.40; p = 0.005). The haemoglobin levels at day 14 were not different relative to placebo (mean difference for FA 5 mg, 0.17 g/dl; 98.7% CI, −0.19 to 0.52; and for FA 0.4 mg, 0.14 g/dl; 98.7% CI, −0.21 to 0.49). CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant use of 5 mg FA supplementation compromises the efficacy of SP for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in pregnant women. Countries that use SP for treatment or prevention of malaria in pregnancy need to evaluate their antenatal policy on timing or dose of FA supplementation

Getting inside acupuncture trials - Exploring intervention theory and rationale

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acupuncture can be described as a complex intervention. In reports of clinical trials the mechanism of acupuncture (that is, the process by which change is effected) is often left unstated or not known. This is problematic in assisting understanding of how acupuncture might work and in drawing together evidence on the potential benefits of acupuncture. Our aim was to aid the identification of the assumed mechanisms underlying the acupuncture interventions in clinical trials by developing an analytical framework to differentiate two contrasting approaches to acupuncture (traditional acupuncture and Western medical acupuncture).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Based on the principles of realist review, an analytical framework to differentiate these two contrasting approaches was developed. In order to see how useful the framework was in uncovering the theoretical rationale, it was applied to a set of trials of acupuncture for fatigue and vasomotor symptoms, identified from a wider literature review of acupuncture and early stage breast cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When examined for the degree to which a study demonstrated adherence to a theoretical model, two of the fourteen selected studies could be considered TA, five MA, with the remaining seven not fitting into any recognisable model. When examined by symptom, five of the nine vasomotor studies, all from one group of researchers, are arguably in the MA category, and two a TA model; in contrast, none of the five fatigue studies could be classed as either MA or TA and all studies had a weak rationale for the chosen treatment for fatigue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our application of the framework to the selected studies suggests that it is a useful tool to help uncover the therapeutic rationale of acupuncture interventions in clinical trials, for distinguishing between TA and MA approaches and for exploring issues of model validity. English language acupuncture trials frequently fail to report enough detail relating to the intervention. We advocate using this framework to aid reporting, along with further testing and refinement of the framework.</p

Pair suppression caused by mosaic-twist defects in superconducting Sr 2 RuO 4 thin-films prepared using pulsed laser deposition

Funder: IBS Institute for Basic Science in Korea Grant No. IBS-R009-D1Abstract: Sr2RuO4 (SRO214) is a prototypical unconventional superconductor. However, since the discovery of its superconductivity a quarter of a century ago, the symmetry of the bulk and surface superconducting states in single crystal SRO214 remains controversial. Solving this problem is massively impeded by the fact that superconducting SRO214 is extremely challenging to achieve in thin-films as structural defects and impurities sensitively annihilate superconductivity. Here we report a protocol for the reliable growth of superconducting SRO214 thin-films by pulsed laser deposition and identify universal materials properties that are destructive to the superconducting state. We demonstrate that careful control of the starting material is essential in order to achieve superconductivity and use a single crystal target of Sr3Ru2O7 (SRO327). By systematically varying the SRO214 film thickness, we identify mosaic twist as the key in-plane defect that suppresses superconductivity. The results are central to the development of unconventional superconductivity

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Falls and mobility in Parkinson's disease: protocol for a randomised controlled clinical trial

Background Although physical therapy and falls prevention education are argued to reduce falls and disability in people with idiopathic Parkinson\u27s disease, this has not yet been confirmed with a large scale randomised controlled clinical trial. The study will investigate the effects on falls, mobility and quality of life of (i) movement strategy training combined with falls prevention education, (ii) progressive resistance strength training combined with falls prevention education, (iii) a generic life-skills social program (control group). Methods/Design People with idiopathic Parkinson\u27s disease who live at home will be recruited and randomly allocated to one of three groups. Each person shall receive therapy in an out-patient setting in groups of 3-4. Each group shall be scheduled to meet once per week for 2 hours for 8 consecutive weeks. All participants will also have a structured 2 hour home practice program for each week during the 8 week intervention phase. Assessments will occur before therapy, after the 8 week therapy program, and at 3 and 12 months after the intervention. A falls calendar will be kept by each participant for 12 months after outpatient therapy. Consistent with the recommendations of the Prevention of Falls Network Europe group, three falls variables will be used as the primary outcome measures: the number of fallers, the number of multiple fallers and the falls rate. In addition to quantifying falls, we shall measure mobility, activity limitations and quality of life as secondary outcomes. Discussion This study has the potential to determine whether outpatient movement strategy training combined with falls prevention education or progressive resistance strength training combined with falls prevention education are effective for reducing falls and improving mobility and life quality in people with Parkinson\u27s disease who live at home

Resistance of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis to nitric oxide correlates with disease severity in Tegumentary Leishmaniasis

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide (NO(•)) plays a pivotal role as a leishmanicidal agent in mouse macrophages. NO(• )resistant Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been associated with a severe outcome of these diseases. METHODS: In this study we evaluated the in vitro toxicity of nitric oxide for the promastigote stages of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis parasites, and the infectivity of the amastigote stage for human macrophages. Parasites were isolated from patients with cutaneous, mucosal or disseminated leishmaniasis, and NO(• )resistance was correlated with clinical presentation. RESULTS: Seventeen isolates of L. (L.) amazonensis or L. (V.) braziliensis promastigotes were killed by up to 8 mM of more of NaNO(2 )(pH 5.0) and therefore were defined as nitric oxide-susceptible. In contrast, eleven isolates that survived exposure to 16 mM NaNO(2 )were defined as nitric oxide-resistant. Patients infected with nitric oxide-resistant Leishmania had significantly larger lesions than patients infected with nitric oxide-susceptible isolates. Furthermore, nitric oxide-resistant L. (L.) amazonensis and L. (V.) braziliensis multiplied significantly better in human macrophages than nitric oxide-susceptible isolates. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that nitric oxide-resistance of Leishmania isolates confers a survival benefit for the parasites inside the macrophage, and possibly exacerbates the clinical course of human leishmaniasis

Nanopillar spin filter tunnel junctions with manganite barriers.

The potential of a manganite ferromagnetic insulator in the field of spin-filtering has been demonstrated. For this, an ultrathin film of Sm0.75Sr0.25MnO3 is integrated as a barrier in an epitaxial oxide nanopillar tunnel junction and a high spin polarization of up to 75% at 5 K has been achieved. A large zero-bias anomaly observed in the dynamic conductance at low temperatures is explained in terms of the Kondo scattering model. In addition, a decrease in spin polarization at low bias and hysteretic magneto-resistance at low temperatures are reported. The results open up new possibilities for spin-electronics and suggest exploration of other manganites-based materials for the room temperature spin-filter applications.This work was partially supported by the ERC Advanced Integrators Grant “SUPERSPIN”. B.P. was funded by the Nehru Trust for Cambridge University and St John’s College. The TEM work at Texas A&M was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR 0846504). The authors wish to thank Prof. J. Kumar (IIT Kanpur, India) for help in improving the manuscript.This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Nano Letters, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl500798