1,180 research outputs found
Magnetic field control of the spin Seebeck effect
The origin of the suppression of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect by
applied magnetic fields is studied. We perform numerical simulations of the
stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion for an atomistic spin
model and calculate the magnon accumulation in linear temperature gradients for
different strengths of applied magnetic fields and different length scales of
the temperature gradient. We observe a decrease of the magnon accumulation with
increasing magnetic field and we reveal that the origin of this effect is a
field dependent change of the frequency distribution of the propagating
magnons. With increasing field the magnonic spin currents are reduced due to a
suppression of parts of the frequency spectrum. By comparison with measurements
of the magnetic field dependent longitudinal spin Seebeck effect in YIG thin
films with various thicknesses, we find that our model describes the
experimental data very well, demonstrating the importance of this effect for
experimental systems
TRPV6 modulates proliferation of human pancreatic neuroendocrine BON-1 tumour cells
Highly Ca2+ permeable receptor potential channel vanilloid type 6 (TRPV6)
modulates a variety of biological functions including calcium-dependent cell
growth and apoptosis. So far, the role of TRPV6 in controlling growth of
pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour (NET) cells is unknown. In the present study,
we characterize the expression of TRPV6 in pancreatic BON-1 and QGP-1 NET
cells. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of TRPV6 on intracellular calcium,
the activity of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and proliferation
of BON-1 cells. TRPV6 expression was assessed by real-time PCR and Western
blot. TRPV6 mRNA expression and protein production were down-regulated by
siRNA. Changes in intracellular calcium levels were detected by fluorescence
calcium imaging (fura-2/AM). NFAT activity was studied by NFAT reporter assay;
cell proliferation by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), MTT and propidium iodine
staining. TRPV6 mRNA and protein are present in BON-1 and QGP-1 NET-cells.
Down-regulation of TRPV6 attenuates BON-1 cell proliferation. TRPV6 down-
regulation is associated with decreased Ca2+ response pattern and reduced NFAT
activity. In conclusion, TRPV6 is expressed in pancreatic NETs and modulates
cell proliferation via Ca2+-dependent mechanism, which is accompanied by NFAT
activation
A Compact and Lightweight Fibered Photometer for the PicSat Mission
PicSat is a nanosatellite developed to observe the transit of the giant planet β Pictoris, expected in late 2017. Its science objectives are: the observation of the transit of the giant planet’s Hill sphere, the detection of exocomets in the system, and the fine monitoring of the circumstellar disk inhomogeneities. To answer these objectives without exceeding the possibilities of a 3-unit Cubesat in terms of mass and power budget, a small but ambitious 2 kg opto-mechanical payload was designed. The instrument, specifically made for high precision photometry, uses a 3.7 cm effective aperture telescope which injects the light in a single-mode optical fiber linked to an avalanche photodioode. To ensure the stability of the light injection in the fiber, a fine pointing system based on a two-axis piezoelectric actuation system, is used. This system will achieve a sub-arcsecond precision, and ensure that an overall photometric precision of at least 200 ppm/hr can be reached
Spin transport across antiferromagnets induced by the spin Seebeck effect
For prospective spintronics devices based on the propagation of pure spin
currents, antiferromagnets are an interesting class of materials that
potentially entail a number of advantages as compared to ferromagnets. Here, we
present a detailed theoretical study of magnonic spin current transport in
ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic multilayers by using atomistic spin dynamics
simulations. The relevant length scales of magnonic spin transport in
antiferromagnets are determined. We demonstrate the transfer of angular
momentum from a ferromagnet into an antiferromagnet due to the excitation of
only one magnon branch in the antiferromagnet. As an experimental system, we
ascertain the transport across an antiferromagnet in
YIGIrMnPt heterostructures. We determine the spin transport
signals for spin currents generated in the YIG by the spin Seebeck effect and
compare to measurements of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in the
heterostructure stack. By means of temperature-dependent and
thickness-dependent measurements, we deduce conclusions on the spin transport
mechanism across IrMn and furthermore correlate it to its
paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Magnetic properties of hematite revealed by an ab initio parameterized spin model
Hematite is a canted antiferromagnetic insulator, promising for applications
in spintronics. Here, we present ab initio calculations of the tensorial
exchange interactions of hematite and use them to understand its magnetic
properties by parameterizing a semiclassical Heisenberg spin model. Using
atomistic spin dynamics simulations, we calculate the equilibrium properties
and phase transitions of hematite, most notably the Morin transition. The
computed isotropic and Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya interactions result in a N\'eel
temperature and weak ferromagnetic canting angle that are in good agreement
with experimental measurements. Our simulations show how dipole-dipole
interactions act in a delicate balance with first and higher-order on-site
anisotropies to determine the material's magnetic phase. Comparison with
spin-Hall magnetoresistance measurements on a hematite single-crystal reveals
deviations of the critical behavior at low temperatures. Based on a mean-field
model, we argue that these differences result from the quantum nature of the
fluctuations that drive the phase transitions.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
An experimentally-validated numerical model of diffusion and speciation of water in rhyolitic silicate melt
The diffusion of water through silicate melts is a key process in volcanic systems. Diffusion controls the growth of the bubbles that drive volcanic eruptions and determines the evolution of the spatial distribution of dissolved water during and after magma mingling, crystal growth, fracturing and fragmentation, and welding of pyroclasts. Accurate models for water diffusion are therefore essential for forward modelling of eruptive behaviour, and for inverse modelling to reconstruct eruptive and post-eruptive history from the spatial distribution of water in eruptive products. Existing models do not include the kinetics of the homogeneous species reaction that interconverts molecular () and hydroxyl () water; reaction kinetics are important because final species distribution depends on cooling history. Here we develop a flexible 1D numerical model for diffusion and speciation of water in silicate melts. We validate the model against FTIR transects of the spatial distribution of molecular, hydroxyl, and total water across diffusion-couple experiments of haplogranite composition, run at 800–1200°C and 5 kbar. We adopt a stepwise approach to analysing and modelling the data. First, we use the analytical Sauer-Freise method to determine the effective diffusivity of total water as a function of dissolved water concentration and temperature for each experiment and find that the dependence of on is linear for wt.% and exponential for wt.%. Second, we develop a 1D numerical forward model, using the method of lines, to determine a piece-wise function for that is globally-minimized against the entire experimental dataset. Third, we extend this numerical model to account for speciation of water and determine globally-minimized functions for diffusivity of molecular water and the equilibrium constant for the speciation reaction. Our approach includes three key novelties: 1) functions for diffusivities of and , and the speciation reaction, are minimized simultaneously against a large experimental dataset, covering a wide range of water concentration ( wt.%) and temperature (), such that the resulting functions are both mutually-consistent and broadly applicable; 2) the minimization allows rigorous and robust analysis of uncertainties such that the accuracy of the functions is quantified; 3) the model can be straightforwardly used to determine functions for diffusivity and speciation for other melt compositions pending suitable diffusion-couple experiments. The modelling approach is suitable for both forward and inverse modelling of diffusion processes in silicate melts; the model is available as a Matlab script from the electronic supplementary material
Quantitative myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT for the assessment of myocardial tracer uptake in patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease: Initial experiences and results
BACKGROUND To evaluate quantitative myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT datasets for routine clinical reporting and the assessment of myocardial tracer uptake in patients with severe TVCAD. METHODS MPS scans were reconstructed as quantitative SPECT datasets using CTs from internal (SPECT/CT, Q_INT) and external (PET/CT, Q_EXT) sources for attenuation correction. TPD was calculated and compared to the TPD from non-quantitative SPECT datasets of the same patients. SUVmax, SUVpeak, and SUVmean were compared between Q_INT and Q_EXT SPECT datasets. Global SUVmax and SUVpeak were compared between patients with and without TVCAD. RESULTS Quantitative reconstruction was feasible. TPD showed an excellent correlation between quantitative and non-quantitative SPECT datasets. SUVmax, SUVpeak, and SUVmean showed an excellent correlation between Q_INT and Q_EXT SPECT datasets, though mean SUVmean differed significantly between the two groups. Global SUVmax and SUVpeak were significantly reduced in patients with TVCAD. CONCLUSIONS Absolute quantification of myocardial tracer uptake is feasible. The method seems to be robust and principally suitable for routine clinical reporting. Quantitative SPECT might become a valuable tool for the assessment of severe coronary artery disease in a setting of balanced ischemia, where potentially life-threatening conditions might otherwise go undetected
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