Thermal relaxation of magnetic clusters in amorphous Hf_{57}Fe_{43} alloy

The magnetization processes in binary magnetic/nonmagnetic amorphous alloy Hf_{57}Fe_{43} are investigated by the detailed measurements of magnetic hysteresis loops, temperature dependence of magnetization, relaxation of magnetization and magnetic ac susceptibility, including a nonlinear term. Blocking of magnetic moments at lower temperatures is accompanied with the slow relaxation of magnetization and magnetic hysteresis loops. All of the observed properties are explained with the superparamagnetic behaviour of the single domain magnetic clusters inside the nonmagnetic host, their blocking by the anisotropy barriers and thermal fluctuation over the barriers accompanied by relaxation of magnetization. From magnetic viscosity analysis based on thermal relaxation over the anisotropy barriers it is found out that magnetic clusters occupy the characteristic volume from 25 up to 200 nm3 . The validity of the superparamagnetic model of Hf_{57}Fe_{43} is based on the concentration of iron in the Hf_{100-x}Fe_{43} system that is just below the threshold for the long range magnetic ordering. This work throws more light on magnetic behaviour of other amorphous alloys, too

8Li+alpha decay of 12B and its possible astrophysical implications

The 12B excitation energy spectrum has been obtained from coincidence measurements of the 9Be+7Li -> 2alpha+8Li reaction at E{0}=52 MeV. The decay of the states at excitations between 10 and 16 Mev into alpha$+8Li has been observed for the first time. Observed alpha-decay indicates possible cluster structure of the 12B excited states. The influence of these states on the cross section of the astrophysically important 8Li(alpha,n)11B and 9Be+t reactions is discussed and the results are compared with existing results.Comment: accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

Coulomb-nuclear interference in the breakup of 11^{11}Be

Within a theory of breakup reactions formulated in the framework of the post form distorted wave Born approximation, we calculate contributions of the pure Coulomb and the pure nuclear breakup as well as those of their interference terms to a variety of cross sections in breakup reactions of the one-neutron halo nucleus $^{11}$Be on a number of target nuclei. In contrast to the assumption often made, the Coulomb-nuclear interference terms are found to be non-negligible in case of exclusive cross sections of the fragments emitted in this reaction on medium mass and heavy target nuclei. The consideration of the nuclear breakup leads to a better description of such data.Comment: 9 pages, latex, 2 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. C (Rapid Communication

Fusion and direct reactions for the system 6He + 64Zn at and below the Coulomb barrier

Fusion and transfer + breakup channels have been studied in the collision induced by the two-neutron-halo 6He on a 64Zn target at energies from below to above the Coulomb barrier. For comparison, the reaction induced by the stable isotope 4He on the same target has been studied. The fusion cross section has been measured by using an activation technique, detecting off-line the delayed x-ray activity following the electron capture decay of the evaporation residues. New measurements of the 4He + 64Zn fusion cross section at sub-barrier energies have been performed in order to cover the same energy range of the 6He + 64Zn fusion cross section and to compare the excitation functions for the two systems down to the lowest energy data point measured for 6He. From the new comparison a sub-barrier fusion enhancement has been observed in the 6He case with respect to the 4He one whereas no effect on the 6He fusion cross section has been seen at energies above the barrier. It has been concluded that such enhancement seems to be due to the diffuse halo structure properties of the 6He nucleus. Moreover, the reactions induced by 6He have shown a strong yield of α particles coming from direct processes

Mouse nuclear myosin I knock-out shows interchangeability and redundancy of myosin isoforms in the cell nucleus.

Nuclear myosin I (NM1) is a nuclear isoform of the well-known "cytoplasmic" Myosin 1c protein (Myo1c). Located on the 11(th) chromosome in mice, NM1 results from an alternative start of transcription of the Myo1c gene adding an extra 16 amino acids at the N-terminus. Previous studies revealed its roles in RNA Polymerase I and RNA Polymerase II transcription, chromatin remodeling, and chromosomal movements. Its nuclear localization signal is localized in the middle of the molecule and therefore directs both Myosin 1c isoforms to the nucleus. In order to trace specific functions of the NM1 isoform, we generated mice lacking the NM1 start codon without affecting the cytoplasmic Myo1c protein. Mutant mice were analyzed in a comprehensive phenotypic screen in cooperation with the German Mouse Clinic. Strikingly, no obvious phenotype related to previously described functions has been observed. However, we found minor changes in bone mineral density and the number and size of red blood cells in knock-out mice, which are most probably not related to previously described functions of NM1 in the nucleus. In Myo1c/NM1 depleted U2OS cells, the level of Pol I transcription was restored by overexpression of shRNA-resistant mouse Myo1c. Moreover, we found Myo1c interacting with Pol II. The ratio between Myo1c and NM1 proteins were similar in the nucleus and deletion of NM1 did not cause any compensatory overexpression of Myo1c protein. We observed that Myo1c can replace NM1 in its nuclear functions. Amount of both proteins is nearly equal and NM1 knock-out does not cause any compensatory overexpression of Myo1c. We therefore suggest that both isoforms can substitute each other in nuclear processes

Healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care:a systematic review with meta-analysis

Background: Patient centred care is commonly recommended in clinical practice guidelines to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Identifying measurement tools used to assess healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centered care and determining their attitudes is the first step to ensuring patient centred care is provided in the future. The primary aim of this review was to describe the measurement tools used to assess healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care. The secondary aim was to quantify healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care. Methods: An electronic database search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL from inception until March 1, 2021, with combined terms relating to ‘patient centred care’, ‘attitudes’, and ‘healthcare students’. Studies that quantitatively assessed healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care were included. Measurement tools used in the included studies were qualitatively described. Meta-analysis was conducted to quantify healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care and assess the respective influence of gender, profession, and study geographical location on healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care. Results: The electronic search identified 3948 total studies. One hundred twenty-nine full texts were screened, and 49 studies were included. There were 16 measurement tools used to assess healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centered care. Most studies (53%, n = 26) used the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) to assess patient centered care. Meta-analyses of 20 studies with 26 total groups resulted in a pooled mean PPOS score of 4.16 on a 0–6 scale (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 3.95, 4.37), indicating low attitudes towards patient centered care. Additional analyses found that women have significantly higher attitudes towards patients centred care than men (pooled effect 0.14 [95% CI: 0.05, 0.23], n = 8 studies) and mean PPOS scores appear similar among sub-groups of only medical students (pooled mean 4.13, 95% CI: 3.85, 4.42, n = 13 studies) and only American healthcare students (pooled mean 4.49, 95% CI: 4.35, 4.64, n = 5 studies). Conclusions: Several different measurement tools have been used to assess healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care, but the most commonly used is the PPOS. Our results indicate that healthcare students have low attitudes towards patient centred care. Future studies should evaluate if attitudes towards patient centred care can be improved during healthcare education.</p

Experimental study of the collision 11Be + 64Zn around the Coulomb barrier

In this paper details of the experimental procedure and data analysis of the collision of 11Be+64Zn around the Coulomb barrier are described and discussed in the framework of different theoretical approaches. In a previous work [ A. Di Pietro et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 022701 (2010)], the elastic scattering angular distribution of the collisions 9, 10Be+64Zn as well as the angular distribution for the quasielastic scattering and transfer/breakup cross sections for the 11Be+64Zn reaction were briefly reported. The suppression of the quasielastic angular distribution in the Coulomb-nuclear interference angular region observed in the collision of the 11Be halo nucleus with respect to the other two beryllium isotopes was interpreted as being caused by a long-range absorption owing to the long decay length of the 11Be wave function. In this paper, new continuum-discretized coupled-channel calculations of the 11Be+64Zn reaction are reported in the attempt to interpret the effect of coupling with the breakup channels on the measured cross sections. The calculations show that the observed suppression of the Coulomb-nuclear interference peak is caused by a combined effect of Coulomb and nuclear couplings to the breakup channels

Acute promyelocytic leukemia after whole brain irradiation of primary brain lymphomainan HIV-infected patient

The occurrence of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in HIV-infected patients has been reported in only five cases. Due to a very small number of reported HIV/APL patients who have been treated with different therapies with the variable outcome, the prognosis of APL in the setting of the HIV-infection is unclear. Here, we report a case of an HIV-patient who developed APL and upon treatment entered a complete remission. A 25-years old male patient was diagnosed with HIV-infection in 1996, but remained untreated. In 2004, the patient was diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma. We treated the patient with antiretroviral therapy and whole-brain irradiation, resulting in complete remission of the lymphoma. In 2006, prompted by a sudden neutropenia, we carried out a set of diagnostic procedures, revealing APL. Induction therapy consisted of standard treatment with all-trans-retinoic-acid (ATRA) and idarubicin. Subsequent cytological and molecular analysis of bone marrow demonstrated complete hematological and molecular remission. Due to the poor general condition, consolidation treatment with ATRA was given in March and April 2007. The last follow-up 14 months later, showed sustained molecular APL remission. In conclusion, we demonstrated that a complete molecular APL remission in an HIV-patient was achieved by using reduced-intensity treatment