Epitaxial Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al thin films and magnetic tunneling junctions

Epitaxial thin films of the theoretically predicted half metal Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on different substrates and buffer layers. The samples were characterized by x-ray and electron beam diffraction (RHEED) demonstrating the B2 order of the Heusler compound with only a small partition of disorder on the Co sites. Magnetic tunneling junctions with Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al electrode, AlOx barrier and Co counter electrode were prepared. From the Julliere model a spin polarisation of Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al of 54% at T=4K is deduced. The relation between the annealing temperature of the Heusler electrodes and the magnitude of the tunneling magnetoresistance effect was investigated and the results are discussed in the framework of morphology and surface order based of in situ STM and RHEED investigations.Comment: accepted by J. Phys. D: Appl. Phy

Suggestive hypothesis on a case report: Patient presenting with cyclical ovarian cysts coupled to increased cholestatic enzymes

We describe the case of a childbearing-age woman presenting with spontaneous recurrent functional ovarian cysts and, more interestingly, chronic and asymptomatic elevation of cholestatic parameters. The patient showed no history of chronic viral infections, immunological and metabolic disorders, alcohol abuse and environmental toxins exposition. Hepatic ultrasonography and cholangio-pancreatography-magnetic-resonance excluded any morphological and structural abnormalities, while liver biopsy evidenced only minimal and not specific features of inflammation. Cholestasis indices obtained prompt recovery after each cycle of synthetic hormone therapy, implanted to treat functional ovarian cysts. She has continuously experienced the off-therapy asynchronous recurrence of liver laboratory abnormalities and functional ovarian cysts. The favorable effect of the synthetic hormone therapy to obtaining a stable recovery of this unexplained long-lasting cholestatic syndrome could be likely explained by downregulation of an endogenous ovarian overproduction, although estrogen-regulated local intracellular transduction pathways cannot be excluded

Insights into the Structure of Dot@Rod and Dot@Octapod CdSe@CdS Heterostructures

CdSe@CdS dot@rods with diameter around 6 nm and length of either 20, 27, or 30 nm and dot@octapods with pod diameters of ?15 nm and lengths of ?50 nm were investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These heterostructures are prepared by seed-mediated routes, where the structure, composition, and morphology of the CdSe nanocrystals used as a seed play key roles in directing the growth of the second semiconducting domain. The local structural environment of all the elements in the CdSe@CdS heterostructures was investigated at the Cd, S, and Se K-edges by taking advantage of the selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and was compared to pure reference compounds. We found that the structural features of dot@rods are independent of the size of the rods. These structures can be described as made of a CdSe dot and a CdS rod, both in the wurtzite phase with a high crystallinity of both the core and the rod. This result supports the effectiveness of high temperature colloidal synthesis in promoting the formation of core@shell nanocrystals with very low defectivity. On the other hand, data on the CdSe@CdS with octapod morphology suggest the occurrence of a core composed of a CdSe cubic sphalerite phase with eight pods made of CdS wurtzite phase. Our findings are compared to current models proposed for the design of functional heterostructures with controlled nanoarchitecture

Towards an on-chip platform for the controlled application of forces via magnetic particles: A novel device for mechanobiology

In-vitro tests and analyses are of fundamental importance for investigating biological mechanisms in cells and bio-molecules. The controlled application of forces to activate specific bio-pathways and investigate their effects, mimicking the role of the cellular environment, is becoming a prominent approach in this field. In this work, we present a non-invasive magnetic on-chip platform which allows for the manipulation of magnetic particles, through micrometric magnetic conduits of Permalloy patterned on-chip. We show, from simulations and experiments, that this technology permits to exert a finely controlled force on magnetic beads along the chip surface. This force can be tuned from few to hundreds pN by applying a variable external magnetic field

Existence of global strong solutions to a beam-fluid interaction system

We study an unsteady non linear fluid-structure interaction problem which is a simplified model to describe blood flow through viscoleastic arteries. We consider a Newtonian incompressible two-dimensional flow described by the Navier-Stokes equations set in an unknown domain depending on the displacement of a structure, which itself satisfies a linear viscoelastic beam equation. The fluid and the structure are fully coupled via interface conditions prescribing the continuity of the velocities at the fluid-structure interface and the action-reaction principle. We prove that strong solutions to this problem are global-in-time. We obtain in particular that contact between the viscoleastic wall and the bottom of the fluid cavity does not occur in finite time. To our knowledge, this is the first occurrence of a no-contact result, but also of existence of strong solutions globally in time, in the frame of interactions between a viscous fluid and a deformable structure

Gout, allopurinol intake and clinical outcomes in the hospitalized multimorbid elderly

Background: Increased serum uric acid has been considered a cardiovascular risk factor but no study has assessed its relation with hospital mortality or length of stay. On the basis of data obtained from a prospective registry, the prevalence of gout/hyperuricemia and its association with these and other clinical parameters was evaluated in an Italian cohort of elderly patients acutely admitted to internal medicine or geriatric wards. Methods: While the prevalence of gout was calculated by counting patients with this diagnosis hyperuricemia was inferred in patients taking allopurinol at hospital admission or discharge, on the assumption that this drug was only prescribed owing to the \ufb01nding of high serum levels of uric acid. A series of clinical and demographic variables were evaluated for their association with gout/hyperuricemia. Results: Of 1380 patients, 139 (10%) had a diagnosis of gout or were prescribed allopurinol. They had more co-morbidities (7.0 vs 5.6; P b 0.0001) and consumed more drugs (6.8 vs 5.0; P b 0.0001). The CIRS (co-morbidity index) was worse in these patients (OR 1.28 95% CI 1.15\u20131.41). Multivariable regression analysis showed that only renal and heart failures were independently associated with gout/allopurinol intake. Moreover, this combined event was associated with an increased risk of adverse events during hospitalization (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.16\u20132.36), but not with the risk of re-hospitalization, length of hospital stay or death. Conclusions: Gout/allopurinol intake has a high prevalence in elderly patients acutely admitted to hospital and are associated with renal and cardiovascular diseases, an increased rate of adverse events and a high degree of drug consumption. In contrast, this \ufb01nding did not affect the length of hospitalization nor hospital mortality

The environmental security debate and its significance for climate change

Policymakers, military strategists and academics all increasingly hail climate change as a security issue. This article revisits the (comparatively) long-standing “environmental security debate” and asks what lessons that earlier debate holds for the push towards making climate change a security issue. Two important claims are made. First, the emerging climate security debate is in many ways a re-run of the earlier dispute. It features many of the same proponents and many of the same disagreements. These disagreements concern, amongst other things, the nature of the threat, the referent object of security and the appropriate policy responses. Second, given its many different interpretations, from an environmentalist perspective, securitisation of the climate is not necessarily a positive development

A Kato type Theorem for the inviscid limit of the Navier-Stokes equations with a moving rigid body

The issue of the inviscid limit for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations when a no-slip condition is prescribed on the boundary is a famous open problem. A result by Tosio Kato says that convergence to the Euler equations holds true in the energy space if and only if the energy dissipation rate of the viscous flow in a boundary layer of width proportional to the viscosity vanishes. Of course, if one considers the motion of a solid body in an incompressible fluid, with a no-slip condition at the interface, the issue of the inviscid limit is as least as difficult. However it is not clear if the additional difficulties linked to the body's dynamic make this issue more difficult or not. In this paper we consider the motion of a rigid body in an incompressible fluid occupying the complementary set in the space and we prove that a Kato type condition implies the convergence of the fluid velocity and of the body velocity as well, what seems to indicate that an answer in the case of a fixed boundary could also bring an answer to the case where there is a moving body in the fluid

For richer or poorer in sickness for wealth: what price consumerism?

Affluence and material goods of varying types are portents of a millennium age consumer culture that encourages the masses to voluntarily participate in the need to buy, buy and buy! This trend to spend creates a purchasing fervour that preoccupies many consumers with the ongoing yearning to shop until they drop. Clever marketing tactics such as enticing smells, catchy jingles, prize-draw entries, lucrative sales, discounts and the recruitment of celebrities to advertise a range of different wares are just some of the ploys adopted by vendors and retailers to maintain the sustainability of this cycle of consumer spending. This scenario promotes what could be perceived as a never-ending desire to procure yet more products and merchandise, which can create social dilemmas such as personal debt due to, for example, impulse buying, excessive spending and unnecessary borrowing. Retailers and manufacturers are driven by a quest to sell so constantly tout their goods to tempt consumers including those with a need for personal and social respect, to take the bait in order to encourage them to keep buying. This, coupled with the rapid advances in technology over recent decades, has made it easier for consumers to shop, order, obtain and pay for their goods from the comfort of an armchair or via handheld devices, and all at a tap of a button. In essence, technology has added to, or even exacerbated, the materialistic consumer trend as witnessed across many global societies today – from the east and the west to the north and the south. But what impact does consumerism have on the well-being of humankind and, in turn, the environment? This chapter adopts a comparative approach to answer this question by exploring the implications of consumerism as a means for broadening the topic’s framework and to contribute to debates regarding consumerism, well-being, social dilemma, sustainability and techno-economics

Once-monthly paliperidone palmitate in recently diagnosed and chronic non-acute patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: To explore the treatment response, tolerability and safety of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) in non-acute patients switched to oral antipsychotics stratified by time since diagnosis as recently diagnosed (3 years). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective, interventional, single-arm, multicentre, open-label, 6-month study performed in 233 recently diagnosed and 360 chronic patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion achieving treatment response (defined as >/=20% improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] total score from baseline to endpoint) and maintained efficacy (defined as non-inferiority in the change in PANSS total score at endpoint [Schuirmann's test]). RESULTS: 71.4% of recently diagnosed and 59.2% of chronic patients showed a >/=20% decrease in PANSS total score (p=0.0028 between groups). Changes in PANSS Marder factors, PANSS subscales, and the proportion of patients with a Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) total score of 71-100 were significantly greater in recently diagnosed compared with chronic patients. PP1M was well tolerated, presenting no new safety signals. CONCLUSION: These data show that recently diagnosed patients treated with PP1M had a significantly higher treatment response and improved functioning, as assessed by the PSP total score, than chronic patients