Little is known about the spin-flip diffusion length l sf , one of the most important material parameters in the field of spintronics. We use a density-functional-theory based scattering approach to determine values of l sf that result from electron-phonon scattering as a function of temperature for all 5d transition metal elements. l sf does not decrease monotonically with the atomic number Z but is found to be inversely proportional to the density of states at the Fermi level. By using the same local current methodology to calculate the spin Hall angle Θ sH that characterizes the efficiency of the spin Hall effect, we show that the products ρðTÞl sf ðTÞ and Θ sH ðTÞl sf ðTÞ are constant.

No abstract

We extract local current distributions from interatomic currents calculated using a fully relativistic quantum mechanical scattering formalism by interpolation onto a three-dimensional grid. The method is illustrated with calculations for Pt|Ir and Pt|Au multilayers as well as for thin films of Pt and Au that include temperaturedependent lattice disorder. The current flow is studied in the "classical" and "Knudsen" limits determined by the sample thickness relative to the mean free path λ, introducing current streamlines to visualize the results. For periodic multilayers, our results in the classical limit reveal that transport inside a metal can be described using a single value of resistivity ρ combined with a linear variation of ρ at the interface while the Knudsen limit indicates a strong spatial dependence of ρ inside a metal and an anomalous dip of the current density at the interface which is accentuated in a region where shunting is incomplete.

A density-functional-theory-based relativistic scattering formalism is used to study charge transport through thin Pt films with room-temperature lattice disorder. A Fuchs-Sondheimer specularity coefficient p ∼ 0.5 is needed to describe the suppression of the charge current at the surface even in the absence of surface roughness. The charge current drives a spin Hall current perpendicular to the surface. Analyzing the latter with a model that is universally used to interpret the spin Hall effect in thin films and layered materials, we are unable to recover values of the spin-flip diffusion length l sf and spin Hall angle sH that we obtain for bulk Pt using the same approximations. We trace this to the boundary conditions used and develop a generalized model that takes surface effects into account. A reduced value of sH at the surface is then found to describe the first-principles transport results extremely well. The in-plane spin Hall effect is substantially enhanced at the surface.

Regional rural medical school campuses offer many opportunities for medical students to gain more hands-on experience, have more direct interaction with attending physicians, and cultivate a deeper understanding of challenges and opportunities specific to rural medicine. Some specialty services such as neurology are not available at these small regional campuses, and telemedicine technology can be a valuable tool to address this need. We report the implementation of teleneurology stroke consultation services as part of the third-year neurology clerkship at a regional medical school campus. We analyzed daily clinical notes and student satisfaction surveys. Students saw many common and important presentations of cerebrovascular events. Students worked as part of a multi-disciplinary care team while following these patients through their hospital course with effective instruction provided by remote stroke neurologists. All students strongly agreed that telemedicine was a positive component of the clerkship. We  conclude that teleneurology is an effective way to provide inpatient neurology clinical exposure, especially when remote attendings have a strong screen presence and are enthusiastic about teaching. We believe these findings could be useful to other campuses considering similar teaching methods, as innovations in telemedicine continue to address challenges  in  medical education and clinical care. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report and the Baptist Health Madisonville Institutional Review Board found this study to be exempt.

No abstract

The heuristic notion of an electron spinning like a top was proposed by Ralph de Laer Kronig in 1925 [2] in a meeting with Pauli in Tübingen and was immediately dismissed as "unphysical". A few months later, Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit would * The magnetic field is strongest at the boundary between two domains that is called a domain wall.