Susac syndrome: serial diffusion-weighted MR imaging

Susac syndrome (SS) is a clinical triad of hearing loss, retinal artery occlusion and encephalopathy. The typical MR imaging findings of multiple focal lesions in the corpus callosum and subcortical white matter can be easily misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis. On diffusion-weighted (DW) MR imaging, new lesions were hyperintense, with reduced apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). These lesions later became less prominent or hypointense on subsequent DW MR imaging. Serial DW imaging and ADC maps may be useful in differentiating SS from demyelinating diseases.     

Emergence of electromotive force in precession-less rigid motion of deformed domain wall

Recently it has been recognized that the electromotive force (emf) can be induced just bythe spin precession where the generation of the electromotive force has been considered asa real-space topological pumping effect. It has been shown that the amount of theelectromotive force is independent of the functionality of the localized moments. It wasalso demonstrated that the rigid domain wall (DW) motion cannot generate electromotiveforce in the system. Based on real-space topological pumping approach in the current studywe show that the electromotive force can be induced by rigid motion of a deformed DW. Wealso demonstrate that the generated electromotive force strongly depends on the DWbulging. Meanwhile results show that the DW bulging leads to generation of theelectromotive force both along the axis of the DW motion and normal to the direction ofmotion.     

Large enhancement of domain wall-induced anomalous magnetoresistance in ferrimagnetic Tb/Co wires: The effect of injecting spin Hall current

We demonstrated domain wall (DW)-induced anomalous magnetoresistance (MR) generated in asymmetric and symmetric ferrimagnetic Tb/Co multilayered, and Tb–Co alloyed wires. The extraordinary Hall effect (EHE)-induced circulating currents in the vicinity of DWs between longitudinal voltage probes are assigned to the anomalous MR. A large anomalous MR ~1.5% was obtained in the asymmetric Tb/Co multilayered wire. The large MR can be attributed to an addition of spin Hall current with a long coherence length from an adjacent Pt layer. These results open new possibilities for the use of ferrimagnetic multilayered wires beyond multi-function devices.     

Thermally activated depinning of a narrow domain wall from a single defect

We describe the field induced depinning process of a magnetic domain wall (DW) from a single bidimensional nanometric defect. The DW propagates in a wire lithographed on a film with strong perpendicular anisotropy. We observe a statistical distribution of the relaxation time consistent with a Néel-Brown picture of magnetization reversal. This indicates that the nanometric DW can be considered as an ideal monodomain particle switching over a single energy barrier. Such a stochastic character of DW depinning has to be taken into account for spintronic applications.     

航空育种牛膝中的微量元素和重金属含量分析

微量元素和重金属是评价中成药质量的重要指标。文章应用ICP-MS分析了航天育种牛膝中微量元素和重金属的含量。结果表明航天育成的牛膝中含有丰富的对人体有益的元素,特别是Ca,Fe,Zn,Mn,Cu,Se和Mo,含量分别达到9 182.252 μg·g-1·DW,310.5 μg·g-1·DW,24.718 μg·g-1·DW,18 416.97 ng·g-1·DW,5 518.97 ng·g-1·DW,1 747.692 ng·g-1·DW和211.87 ng·g-1·DW,这对人类健康意义重大。重金属（As,Pb,Hg,Cd和Cr）的含量分别是514.332 ng·g-1·DW,1 657.65 ng·g-1·DW,13.212 ng·g-1·DW,49.22 ng·g-1·DW和922.038 ng·g-1·DW,含量偏高但符合相关标准。除了品种以外,栽培中药材时选择优质的土壤和合适的栽培条件,是提高微量元素含量和有效控制重金属含量的重要措施。     

Pediatric abdominal masses: diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted MRI

Purpose

To retrospectively identify apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of pediatric abdominal mass lesions, to determine whether measured ADC of the lesions and signal intensity on diffusion-weighted (DW) images allow discrimination between benign and malignant mass lesions.

Materials and Methods

Approval for this retrospective study was obtained from the institutional review board. Children with abdominal mass lesions, who were examined by DW magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in this study. DW MR images were obtained in the axial plane by using a non breath-hold single-shot spin-echo sequence on a 1.5-T MR scanner. ADCs were calculated for each lesion. ADC values were compared with Mann–Whitney U test. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine cut-off values for ADC. The results of visual assessment on b800 images and ADC map images were compared with chi-square test.

Results

Thirty-one abdominal mass lesions (16 benign, 15 malignant) in 26 patients (15 girls, 11 boys, ranging from 2 days to 17 years with 6.9 years mean) underwent MRI. Benign lesions had significantly higher ADC values than malignant ones (P<.001). The mean ADCs of malignant lesions were 0.84±1.7×10⁻³ mm²/s, while the mean ADCs of the benign ones were 2.28±1.00×10⁻³ mm²/s. With respect to cutoff values of ADC: 1.11×10⁻³ mm²/s, sensitivity and negative predictive values were 100%, specificity was 78.6% and positive predictive value was 83.3%. For b800 and ADC map images, there were statistically significant differences on visual assessment. All malignant lesions had variable degrees of high signal intensity whereas eight of the 16 benign ones had low signal intensities on b800 images (P<.001). On ADC map images, all malignant lesions were hypointense and most of the benign ones (n=11, 68.7%) were hyperintense (P<.001).

Conclusion

DW imaging can be used for reliable discrimination of benign and malignant pediatric abdominal mass lesions based on considerable differences in the ADC values and signal intensity changes.     

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in differentiation of postobstructive consolidation from central lung carcinoma

Purpose

To prospectively evaluate diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for differentiation of postobstructive consolidation from centrally located lung carcinomas by using apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs).

Materials and Methods

An institutional review board approved this study; informed consent was obtained from patients. Forty-nine consecutive patients (3 women, 46 men; mean age, 63.6 years; age range, 42–85 years) with lung carcinoma underwent DW MR imaging. Forty patients had central and nine patients had peripheral lung carcinomas. ADC of each lung carcinoma was calculated from DW MR images obtained with two different b values (0, 1000 s/mm²).In the final study group including 27 patients with central lung carcinoma accompanying distal lung consolidation (mean age, 67.2 years; 3 women, 24 men), ADCs of lung carcinomas were statistically compared among cytologic/histologic types and accompanying postobstructive consolidations. Unpaired t test was used for measurable variables with normal distribution, and Kruskal–Wallis variance analysis and Mann–Whitney U tests were used for the measurable variables without normal distribution.

Results

There was no significant difference between mean ADC values of all types of carcinomas (P=.302) and also between mean ADC values of central (1.91 ± 0.7×10⁻³ mm²/s) and peripheral carcinomas (1.58 ± 0. 6×10⁻³ mm²/s) (P=.224). The mean ADC value for the masses of central lung carcinoma with postobstructive consolidations was 1.83 ± 0.75×10⁻³ mm²/s, and for consolidation was 2.50 ± 0.76×10⁻³ mm²/s. ADC of central carcinoma masses was significantly lower than that of postobstructive consolidations (P=.003).

Conclusions

ADC values of central lung carcinoma masses appear to be lower than accompanying postobstructive consolidations. ADC values could be considered useful as a differentiating parameter among central lung carcinomas and accompanying postobstructive consolidations.     

Dynamic oscillations of coupled domain walls

In domain wall (DW) excitation experiments, nonlinearity (NL) intrinsic to the DW dynamics is often hard to distinguish from perturbation due to the confining potential or DW distortion. Here we numerically investigate the dynamic oscillations of magnetostatically coupled DWs: a system well understood in the quasistatic limit. NL is observed, even for a harmonic potential, due to the intrinsic DW motion. This behavior is principally dependent on terms normally associated with the DW canonical momentum and is in contrast with a NL restoring potential. This NL is not observable in quasistatic measurements, relatively insensitive to the confining potential, and may be tuned by the nanowire parameters. The shown NLs are present in any DW restoring potential and must be accounted for when probing DW potential landscapes.     

新型锌离子荧光探针(5-(二甲基氨基)-N-(4-(2-(2-喹啉亚甲基)甲酰肼基)苯基)萘-1-磺酰胺)的研究

以丹磺酰胺为荧光基团设计合成了新型Zn²⁺荧光探针DW1(5-(二甲基氨基)-N-(4-(2-(2-喹啉亚甲基)甲酰肼基)苯基)萘-1-磺酰胺)。通过紫外光谱、荧光光谱及电喷雾质谱研究了DW1对Zn²⁺的选择性识别作用。结果表明,DW1与Zn²⁺结合后荧光显著增强,荧光发射光谱由545 nm蓝移至515 nm,量子产率达到0.32,且对Zn²⁺具有较高的选择性,受常见离子的干扰较小。光谱滴定和ESI-MS谱表明DW1与Zn²⁺以1∶1的化学计量数形成配合物,平衡常数K=1.75×10⁴(mol/L)^-1。     

Mapping the parameter space of a T2-dependent model of water diffusion MR in brain tissue

We present a new model for describing the diffusion-weighted (DW) proton nuclear magnetic resonance signal obtained from normal grey matter. Our model is analytical and, in some respects, is an extension of earlier model schemes. We model tissue as composed of three separate compartments with individual properties of diffusion and transverse relaxation. Our study assumes slow exchange between compartments. We attempt to take cell morphology into account, along with its effect on water diffusion in tissues. Using this model, we simulate diffusion-sensitive MR signals and compare model output to experimental data from human grey matter. In doing this comparison, we perform a global search for good fits in the parameter space of the model. The characteristic nonmonoexponential behavior of the signal as a function of experimental b value is reproduced quite well, along with established values for tissue-specific parameters such as volume fraction, tortuosity and apparent diffusion coefficient. We believe that the presented approach to modeling diffusion in grey matter adds new aspects to the treatment of a longstanding problem.     

Magnetic field driven domain-wall propagation in magnetic nanowires

The mechanism of magnetic field induced magnetic domain-wall (DW) propagation in a nanowire is revealed: A static DW cannot exist in a homogeneous magnetic nanowire when an external magnetic field is applied. Thus, a DW must vary with time under a static magnetic field. A moving DW must dissipate energy due to the Gilbert damping. As a result, the wire has to release its Zeeman energy through the DW propagation along the field direction. The DW propagation speed is proportional to the energy dissipation rate that is determined by the DW structure. The negative differential mobility in the intermediate field is due to the transition from high energy dissipation at low field to low energy dissipation at high field. For the field larger than the so-called Walker breakdown field, DW plane precesses around the wire, leading to the propagation speed oscillation.     

Micromagnetic structure of the domain wall with Bloch lines in an electric field

The micromagnetic structure of the domain wall (DW) with periodically distributed horizontal Bloch lines in a ferromagnetic film in an external electric field has been studied. The effect of the electric field on the internal DW micromagnetic structure is caused by inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling. Possible scenarios of the DW internal structure transformations implemented with varying the electric fields strength have been analyzed in detail. For each scenario, static characteristics of the system, such as the energy, DW profile, DW effective thickness, and electric polarization have been calculated.     

Domain wall motion in perpendicular anisotropy nanowires with edge roughness

We study field-driven domain wall (DW) motion in nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy using finite element micromagnetic simulations. Edge roughness is introduced by deforming the finite element mesh, and we vary the correlation length and magnitude of the roughness deformation separately. We observe the Walker breakdown both with and without roughness, with steady DW motion for applied fields below the critical Walker field H(c), and oscillatory motion for larger fields. The value of H(c) is not altered in the presence of roughness. The edge roughness introduces a depinning field. During the transient process of depinning, from the initial configuration to steady DW motion, the DW velocity is significantly reduced in comparison to that for a wire without roughness. The asymptotic DW velocity, on the other hand, is virtually unaffected by the roughness, even though the magnetization reacts to the edge distortions during the entire course of motion, both above and below the Walker breakdown. A moving DW can become pinned again at some later point ('dynamic pinning'). Dynamic pinning is a stochastic process and is observed both for small fields below H(c) and for fields of any strength above H(c). In the latter case, where the DW shows oscillatory motion and the magnetization in the DW rotates in the film plane, pinning can only occur at positions where the DW reverses direction and the instantaneous velocity is zero, i.e., at the beginning or in the middle of a positional oscillation cycle. In our simulations pinning was only observed at the beginnings of cycles, where the magnetization is pointing along the wire. The depinning field depends linearly on the magnitude of the edge roughness. The strongest pinning fields are observed for roughness correlation lengths that match the domain wall width.     

All-magnonic spin-transfer torque and domain wall propagation

The spin-wave transportation through a transverse magnetic domain wall (DW) in a magnetic nanowire is studied. It is found that the spin wave passes through a DW without reflection. A magnon, the quantum of the spin wave, carries opposite spins on the two sides of the DW. As a result, there is a spin angular momentum transfer from the propagating magnons to the DW. This magnonic spin-transfer torque can efficiently drive a DW to propagate in the opposite direction to that of the spin wave.     

Numerical simulation of the fine structure of domain walls in rare-earth orthoferrites

The structure of a solitary domain wall (DW) with a Bloch line in rare-earth orthoferrites is determined using numerical methods for the values of the material parameters lying beyond the range in which the can be found analytically solution. The law of rotation of the DW magnetization vector, the effective DW width, and the energy per unit length of the Bloch line are determined. It is shown that a more accurate treatment of the two-dimensional DW using numerical methods makes it possible to reveal essential distinctions in the fine structure of the DW in comparison to the approximate analytical solutions.     

Experimental detection of domain wall propagation above the Walker field

The domain wall (DW) velocity above the Walker field drops abruptly with increasing magnetic field, because of the so-called Walker breakdown, where the DW moves with a precessional mode. On applying the higher field, the DW velocity again starts to increase gradually. We report the DW propagation around this local minimum regime in detail, investigated through the time-resolved electrical detection technique, with a magnetic tunnel junction. Just above the Walker field, we succeeded in detecting the precessional motion of the DW in a real-time regime, while a different mode appeared around the local minimum of the DW velocity.     

Controlled and reproducible domain wall displacement by current pulses injected into ferromagnetic ring structures

In a combined numerical and experimental study, we demonstrate that current pulses of different polarity can reversibly and controllably displace a magnetic domain wall (DW) in submicrometer permalloy (NiFe) ring structures. The critical current densities for DW displacement are correlated with the specific spin structure of the DWs and are compared to results of micromagnetic simulations including a spin-torque term. Using a notch, an attractive local pinning potential is created for the DW resulting in a highly reproducible spin structure of the DW, critical for reliable current-induced switching.     

Thin-film magnetization dynamics on the surface of a topological insulator

We theoretically study the magnetization dynamics of a thin ferromagnetic film exchange coupled with a surface of a strong three-dimensional topological insulator. We focus on the role of electronic zero modes imprinted by domain walls (DWs) or other topological textures in the magnetic film. Thermodynamically reciprocal hydrodynamic equations of motion are derived for the DW responding to electronic spin torques, on the one hand, and fictitious electromotive forces in the electronic chiral mode fomented by the DW, on the other. An experimental realization illustrating this physics is proposed based on a ferromagnetic strip, which cuts the topological insulator surface into two gapless regions. In the presence of a ferromagnetic DW, a chiral mode transverse to the magnetic strip acts as a dissipative interconnect, which is itself a dynamic object that controls (and, inversely, responds to) the magnetization dynamics.     

Stability of the one-dimensional precession regime of a domain wall under a dc magnetic field in a uniaxial ferromagnet

The conditions for parametric excitation of flexural vibrations of a domain wall (DW) are determined in the case where the DW moves under the action of a uniform dc magnetic field whose strength exceeds the Walker critical value (in the spin precession regime). Vibrations are excited when uniform precession caused by the magnetic field during DW translational motion breaks down. Using numerical methods, it is shown that steady-state large-amplitude vibrations can occur and that these vibrations significantly affect the average DW velocity     

The value of specific MRI features in the evaluation of suspected placental invasion

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine imaging features that may help predict the presence of placenta accreta, placenta increta or placenta percreta on prenatal MRI scanning. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the prenatal MR scans of 10 patients with a diagnosis of placenta accreta, placenta increta or placenta percreta made by pathologic and clinical reports and of 10 patients without placental invasion was performed. Two expert MRI readers were blinded to the patients' true diagnosis and were asked to score a total of 17 MRI features of the placenta and adjacent structures. The interrater reliability was assessed using kappa statistics. The features with a moderate kappa statistic or better (kappa > .40) were then compared with the true diagnosis for each observer. RESULTS: Seven of the scored features had an interobserver reliability of kappa > .40: placenta previa (kappa = .83); abnormal uterine bulging (kappa = .48); intraplacental hemorrhage (kappa = .51); heterogeneity of signal intensity on T2-weighted (T2W) imaging (kappa = .61); the presence of dark intraplacental bands on T2W imaging (kappa = .53); increased placental thickness (kappa = .69); and visualization of the myometrium beneath the placenta on T2W imaging (kappa = .44). Using Fisher's two-sided exact test, there was a statistically significant difference between the proportion of patients with placental invasion and those without placental invasion for three of the features: abnormal uterine bulging (Rater 1, P = .005; Rater 2, P = .011); heterogeneity of T2W imaging signal intensity (Rater 1, P = .006; Rater 2, P = .010); and presence of dark intraplacental bands on T2W imaging (Rater 1, P = .003; Rater 2, P = .033). CONCLUSIONS: MRI can be a useful adjunct to ultrasound in diagnosing placenta accreta prenatally. Three features that are seen on MRI in patients with placental invasion appear to be useful for diagnosis: uterine bulging; heterogeneous signal intensity within the placenta; and the presence of dark intraplacental bands on T2W imaging.