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In artificial multiferroics hybrids consisting of ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) and ferroelectric BaTiO3 epitaxial layers, net Ti moments are found from polarized resonant soft x-ray reflectivity and absorption. The Ti dichroic reflectivity follows the Mn signal during the magnetization reversal, indicating exchange coupling between the Ti and Mn ions. However, the Ti dichroic reflectivity shows stronger temperature dependence than the Mn dichroic signal. Besides a reduced ferromagnetic exchange coupling in the interfacial LSMO layer, this may also be attributed to a weak Ti-Mn exchange coupling that is insufficient to overcome the thermal energy at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have analyzed the interface structure and composition of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3/YBa2Cu3O7/La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 trilayers by combined polarized neutron reflectometry, aberration-corrected microscopy, and atomic column resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy and x-ray absorption with polarization analysis. We find the same stacking sequence at both top and bottom cuprate interfaces. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments show that both cuprate interfaces are magnetic with a magnetic moment induced in Cu atoms as expected from symmetric Mn-O-Cu superexchange paths. These results supply a solid footing for the applicability of recent theories explaining the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in this system in terms of the induced Cu spin polarization at both interfaces [ J. Salafranca and S. Okamoto Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 256804 (2010)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatic lesions were studied for the first time in 13 cases of boutonneuse fever (Mediterranean exanthematous fever). The glutamic-oxalacetic transaminases were raised in eight patients, the glutamic-pyruvic transaminases showed an increase in 10 patients, alkaline phosphatases in seven of the 10 patients investigated, and conjugate bilirubin showed moderate increases in three patients. Five patients were studied histologically; this study showed lesions of a granulomatous type, similar to those described in Q fever, in three patients, fatty degeneration with marked alcoholism in another patient, and a normal liver in the last patient. Two of the three patients with granulomatous lesions showed a moderate increase in alkaline phosphatases. After this report boutonneuse fever must be included among the infectious conditions that can produce granulomas within the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The magnetism of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO3 (STO) and BaTiO3 (BTO) substrates is studied using polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) techniques. In LCMO/BTO, PNR reveals a strongly suppressed magnetization of 300 kA/m, equivalent to a magnetic moment of 2 μB/Mn, throughout the LCMO layer, amounting to half the expected value. The largest suppression occurs near the interface with BTO, with magnetization values of 50 kA/m, equivalent to 0.3 μB/Mn. FMR is observable at 8.9 GHz only around the [110] crystallographic direction in thin LCMO/BTO. The resonance barely shifts as the applied field is rotated away from [110]. The FMR results are analyzed in terms of magnetoelastic anisotropy and compared to LCMO/STO grown under the same conditions. A two-layer magnetization model is proposed, based on strong out-of-plane anisotropy near the BTO interface and shown to qualitatively explain the main characteristics of the FMR results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the observation between 40 and 120 K of anomalous magnetic hysteresis loops in thin epitaxial films of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 grown on ferroelectric BaTiO3. These hysteresis loops display extremely unusual features: after switching at coercivity, the magnetization overshoots the eventual high-field value. We study the strains in the film and substrate with x-ray diffraction and propose a model of two magnetic moment populations with different magnetoelastic anisotropies. The relative weights of both populations can be estimated by comparison with twin samples of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films on nonferroelectric SrTiO3. We propose that the observed magnetization overshoots the result from differences in the magnetostriction balance as the applied magnetic field increases. The picture of a nonuniform strain field in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 on BaTiO3, caused by the corrugation of the ferroelectric domains in the rhombohedric phase of BaTiO3, is compatible with the magnetic granular behavior observed in the temperature and field dependences of the magnetization as well as in the low temperature magnetoresistance exhibited by the epitaxial film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on magnetotransport properties on La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/MgO/Fe tunnel junctions grown epitaxially on top of (001)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates by sputtering. It is shown that the magnetoresistive response depends critically on the MgO/Fe interfacial properties. The appearance of an FeOX layer by the interface destroys the Δ1 symmetry filtering effect of the MgO/Fe system and only a small negative tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) (~-3%) is measured. However, in annealed samples a switchover from positive TMR (~+25% at 70 K) to negative TMR (~-1%) is observed around 120 K. This change is associated with the transition from semiconducting at high T to insulating at low T taking place at the Verwey transition (TV~120K) in Fe3O4, thus suggesting the formation of a very thin slab of magnetite at the MgO/Fe interface during annealing treatments. These results highlight the relevance of interfacial properties on the tunneling conduction process and how it can be substantially modified through appropriate interface engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 panzootic is having substantial impacts on wild birds and marine mammals. Following major and widespread outbreaks in South America, an incursion to Antarctica occurred late in the austral summer of 2023/2024 and was confined to the region of the Antarctic Peninsula. To infer potential underlying processes, we compiled H5N1 surveillance data from Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands prior to the first confirmed cases., (© 2024 The Author(s). Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Monitoring pathogen circulation in wildlife sentinel populations can help to understand and predict the spread of disease at the wildlife-livestock-human interface. Immobile young provide a useful target population for disease surveillance, since they can be easily captured for sampling and their levels of antibodies against infectious agents can provide an index of localized circulation. However, early-life immune responses include both maternally-derived antibodies and antibodies resulting from exposure to pathogens, and disentangling these two processes requires understanding their individual dynamics. We conducted an egg-swapping experiment in an urban-nesting sentinel seabird, the yellow-legged gull, and measured antibody levels against three pathogens of interest (avian influenza virus AIV, Toxoplasma gondii TOX, and infectious bronchitis virus IBV) across various life stages, throughout chick growth, and between nestlings raised by biological or non-biological parents. We found that levels of background circulation differed among pathogens, with AIV antibodies widely present across all life stages, TOX antibodies rarer, and IBV antibodies absent. Antibody titers declined steadily from adult through egg, nestling, and chick stages. For the two circulating pathogens, maternal antibodies declined exponentially after hatching at similar rates, but the rate of linear increase due to environmental exposure was significantly higher in the more prevalent pathogen (AIV). Differences in nestling antibody levels due to parental effects also persisted longer for AIV (25 days, vs. 14 days for TOX). Our results suggest that yellow-legged gulls can be a useful sentinel population of locally transmitted infectious agents, provided that chicks are sampled at ages when environmental exposure outweighs maternal effects., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Infectious diseases threaten endangered species, particularly in small isolated populations. Seabird populations on the remote Amsterdam Island in the Indian Ocean have been in decline for the past three decades, with avian cholera caused by Pasteurella multocida proposed as the primary driver. However, Erysipelothrix species have also been sporadically detected from albatrosses on Amsterdam Island and may be contributing to some of the observed mortality. In this study, we genomically characterized 16 Erysipelothrix species isolates obtained from three Indian yellow-nosed albatross ( Thalassarche carteri ) chick carcasses in 2019. Histological analyses suggest that they died of bacterial septicaemia. Two isolates were sequenced using both Illumina short-read and MinION long-read approaches, which - following hybrid assembly - resulted in closed circular genomes. Mapping of Illumina reads from the remaining isolates to one of these new reference genomes revealed that all 16 isolates were closely related, with a maximum of 13 nucleotide differences distinguishing any pair of isolates. The nucleotide diversity of isolates obtained from the same or different carcasses was similar, suggesting all three chicks were likely infected from a common source. These genomes were compared with a global collection of genomes from Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and other species from the same genus. The isolates from albatrosses were phylogenetically distinct, sharing a most recent common ancestor with E. rhusiopathiae . Based on phylogenomic analysis and standard thresholds for average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization, these isolates represent a novel Erysipelothrix species, for which we propose the name Erysipelothrix amsterdamensis sp. nov. The type strain is A18Y020d T (=CIP 112216 T =DSM 115297 T ). The implications of this bacterium for albatross conservation will require further study.

Generation, manipulation, and sensing of magnetic domain walls are cornerstones in the design of efficient spintronic devices. Half-metals are amenable for this purpose as large low field magnetoresistance signals can be expected from spin accumulation at spin textures. Among half metals, La 1- x Sr x MnO 3 (LSMO) manganites are considered as promising candidates for their robust half-metallic ground state, Curie temperature above room temperature (T c = 360 K, for x = 1/3), and chemical stability. Yet domain wall magnetoresistance is poorly understood, with large discrepancies in the reported values and conflicting interpretation of experimental data due to the entanglement of various source of magnetoresistance, namely, spin accumulation, anisotropic magnetoresistance, and colossal magnetoresistance. In this work, the domain wall magnetoresistance is measured in LSMO cross-shape nanowires with single-domain walls nucleated across the current path. Magnetoresistance values above 10% are found to be originating at the spin accumulation caused by the mistracking effect of the spin texture of the domain wall by the conduction electrons. Fundamentally, this result shows the importance on non-adiabatic processes at spin textures despite the strong Hund coupling to the localized t 2g electrons of the manganite. These large magnetoresistance values are high enough for encoding and reading magnetic bits in future oxide spintronic sensors., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)