Search results for "Isotropy"
showing 10 items of 1099 documents
A spatially resolved investigation of the local, micro-magnetic domain structure of single and polycrystalline Co2FeSi
2007
The Heusler compound Co2FeSi is a promising material for magneto-electronic devices. With a Curie temperature of 1100?K and a saturation magnetization of 6?Bohr magnetons and a high spin polarization at the Fermi edge it fulfils the essential requirements for magnetic sensors or spin valve structures. An essential feature for such devices is the micro-magnetic domain structure. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism?photo emission electron microscopy has been used for a direct observation of the domain structure of single- and polycrystalline samples. The polycrystalline material exhibits a micro-magnetic ripple structure, as it is well known for pure Co and other polycrystalline Heusler compoun…
Correlation of the highest-energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic objects.
2007
Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory during the past 3.7 years, we demonstrated a correlation between the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above ~ 6x10^{19} electron volts and the positions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) lying within ~ 75 megaparsecs. We rejected the hypothesis of an isotropic distribution of these cosmic rays with at least a 99% confidence level from a prescribed a priori test. The correlation we observed is compatible with the hypothesis that the highest energy particles originate from nearby extragalactic sources whose flux has not been substantially reduced by interaction with the cosmic background radiation. AGN or objects having a similar…
Revealing Anisotropy in a Paul Trap Through Berry Phase
2006
When an ion confined in an anisotropic bidimensional Paul trap is subjected to a laser beam oriented along an arbitrary direction, the interaction between its electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom is described by a time-dependent Hamiltonian model as a consequence of the lack of symmetry. Appropriately choosing the laser frequency, the Hamiltonian model turns out to be sinusoidally oscillating at the difference between the proper frequencies of the center of mass of the ion. Thus, if the anisotropy of the trap is sufficiently small, the evolution of the system can be considered as adiabatic. In the context of this physical situation we have calculated the Berry phase acquired in a c…
Reflection anisotropy spectroscopy of decanethiol adsorbed at Au(110)/liquid interfaces
2008
Reflection Anisotropy Spectroscopy (RAS) has been used to monitor the adsorption of decanethiol as a function of coverage on the Au(110)/ethanol interface. The coverage saturates after 60 minutes for a solution of 0.5 µM. It is found that the RAS observed after 30 minutes can be represented as a linear sum of the RAS observed after 15 minutes and after saturation coverage. This implies that the molecule does not change its orientation as function of coverage. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Cytosolic Ca2+Content and Membrane Fluidity of Platelets and Polymorphonuclear Leucocytes in Diabetes Mellitus
1995
Considering the role played by platelets and leucocytes in diabetic disease and keeping in mind the strong correlation between functional and metabolic aspects that characterizes this clinical condition, we evaluated, in two groups of diabetics, respectively the platelet and polymorphonuclear (PMN) cytosolic Ca2+ content (employing the fluorescent probe Fura 2-AM) and membrane fluidity (using the fluorescent probe TMA-DPH and considering the fluorescence polarization degree, inversely related to the membrane fluidity). From the obtained results, it is evident that the platelet cytosolic Ca2+ content does not distinguish normals from diabetics of type 1 and 2; the platelet membrane fluidity …
Association of 5′ end neuregulin-1 ( NRG1 ) gene variation with subcortical medial frontal microstructure in humans
2007
Animal data suggest that the gene neuregulin-1 (NRG1) is involved in neuronal myelination. A haplotype (deCODE) in the 5' end region of the gene was described to double the risk for schizophrenia in an Icelandic population (Stefansson, H., Sigurdsson, E., Steinthorsdottir, V., Bjornsdottir, S., Sigmundsson, T., Ghosh, S., Brynjolfsson, J., Gunnarsdottir, S., Ivarsson, O., Chou, T.T., Hjaltason, O., Birgisdottir, B., Jonsson, H., Gudnadottir, V.G., Gudmundsdottir, E., Bjornsson, A., Ingvarsson, B., Ingason, A., Sigfusson, S., Hardardottir, H., Harvey, R.P., Lai, D., Zhou, M., Brunner, D., Mutel, V., Gonzalo, A., Lemke, G., Sainz, J., Johannesson, G., Andresson, T., Gudbjartsson, D., Manolesc…
Physical Activity Predicts Population-Level Age-Related Differences in Frontal White Matter
2020
Physical activity has positive effects on brain health and cognitive function throughout the life span. Thus far, few studies have examined the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure and psychomotor speed within the same, population-based sample (critical if conclusions are to extend to the wider population). Here, using diffusion tensor imaging and a simple reaction time task within a relatively large population-derived sample (N = 399; 18–87 years) from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), we demonstrate that physical activity mediates the effect of age on white matter integrity, measured with fractional anisotropy. Higher self-reported daily ph…
Mentally represented motor actions in normal agingII. The influence of the gravito-inertial context on the duration of overt and covert arm movements
2007
Here, we address the question of whether normal aging influences action representation by comparing the ability of 14 young (age: 23.6 +/- 2.1 years) and 14 older (age: 70.1 +/- 4.5 years) adults to mentally simulate arm movements under a varying dynamic context. We conducted two experiments in which we experimentally manipulated the gravity and inertial components of arm dynamics: (i) unloaded and loaded vertical arm movements, rotation around the shoulder joint, (ii) unloaded and loaded horizontal arm movements, rotations around the shoulder and elbow joints, in two directions (inertial anisotropy phenomenon). The main findings indicated that imagery ability was equivalent between the two…
Physical Activity Predicts Population-Level Age-Related Differences in Frontal White Matter
2018
Physical activity has positive effects on brain health and cognitive function throughout the life span. Thus far, few studies have examined the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure and psychomotor speed within the same, population-based sample (critical if conclusions are to extend to the wider population). Here, using diffusion tensor imaging and a simple reaction time task within a relatively large population-derived sample (N = 399; 18–87 years) from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), we demonstrate that physical activity mediates the effect of age on white matter integrity, measured with fractional anisotropy. Higher self-reported daily ph…
Evidence for early, non-lesional cerebellar damage in patients with multiple sclerosis: DTI measures correlate with disability, atrophy, and disease …
2015
Background: Common symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) such as gait ataxia, poor coordination of the hands, and intention tremor are usually the result of dysfunctionality in the cerebellum. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has frequently failed to detect cerebellar damage in the form of inflammatory lesions in patients presenting with symptoms of cerebellar dysfunction. Objective: To detect microstructural cerebellar tissue alterations in early MS patients with a “normal appearing” cerebellum using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: A total of 68 patients with relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) and without cerebellar lesions and 26 age-matched healthy controls were admitted to high-resolu…