Lymphocytes play an important role in the immune response after stroke. However, our knowledge of the circulating lymphocytes in ischemic stroke is limited. Herein, we collected the blood samples of clinical ischemic stroke patients to detect the change of lymphocytes from admission to 3 months after ischemic stroke by flow cytometry. A total of 87 healthy controls and 210 patients were enrolled, and the percentages of circulating T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, double negative T cells (DNTs), CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), CD8+ Tregs, B cells and regulatory B cells (Bregs) were measured. Among patients, B cells, Bregs and CD8+ Tregs increased significantly, while CD4+ Tregs dropped and soon reversed after ischemic stroke. CD4+ Tregs, CD8+ Tregs, and DNTs also showed high correlations with the infarct volume and neurological scores of patients. Moreover, these lymphocytes enhanced the predictive ability of long-term prognosis of neurological scores when added to basic clinical information. The percentage of CD4+ Tregs within lymphocytes showed high correlations with both acute and long-term neurological outcomes, which exhibited a great independent predictive ability. These findings suggest that CD4+ Tregs can be a biomarker to predict stroke outcomes and improve existing therapeutic strategies of immunoregulatory lymphocytes.

The magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spins were investigated using x-ray magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) in epitaxial NiO/CoO/MgO(001) films as a function of film thickness, temperature, and interface modulation. We found that the NiO AFM spins undergo a spin reorientation transition (SRT) from the in-plane orientation to the out-of-plane orientation at a critical NiO thickness. The NiO AFM SRT can be attributed to the competition between the out-of-plane anisotropy of the NiO AFM spins and the AFM interfacial exchange coupling with the CoO in-plane spins. The NiO SRT thickness increases with the CoO thickness and also with the interfacial coupling strength. The temperature-dependent XMLD measurement indicates that the exchange coupling at the NiO/CoO interface can greatly enhance the Néel temperature of the CoO layer

Magnetic proximity effect between two magnetic layers is an important focus of research for discovering new physical properties of magnetic systems. Antiferromagnets (AFMs) are fundamental systems with magnetic ordering and promising candidate materials in the emerging field of antiferromagnetic spintronics. However, the magnetic proximity effect between antiferromagnetic bilayers is rarely studied because detecting the spin orientation of AFMs is challenging. Using X-ray linear dichroism and magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements, we investigated antiferromagnetic proximity effects in epitaxial CoO/NiO/MgO(001) systems. We found the antiferromagnetic spin of the NiO underwent a spin reorientation transition from in-plane to out-of-plane with increasing NiO thickness, with the existence of vertical exchange spring spin alignment in thick NiO. More interestingly, the Néel temperature of the CoO layer was greatly enhanced by the adjacent NiO layer, with the extent of the enhancement closely dependent on the spin orientation of NiO layer. This phenomenon was attributed to different exchange coupling strengths at the AFM/AFM interface depending on the relative spin directions. Our results indicate a new route for modifying the spin configuration and ordering temperature of AFMs through the magnetic proximity effect near room temperature, which should further benefit the design of AFM spintronic devices.

Step-induced antiferromagnetic (AFM) uniaxial anisotropy and its effects on the exchange coupling have been systematically investigated in the epitaxial Fe/CoO bilayers on MgO(001) vicinal surface. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism measurements proved that the atomic steps induced a strong in-plane AFM uniaxial anisotropy in the CoO film. We found that the thermal activation induced in-plane 90-degree switching of CoO AFM in-plane spins. The competition among the step-induced AFM anisotropy, the interface exchange coupling and thermal activation generate novel multiple in-plane spin reorientation transition of the Fe magnetization, which can further provide new insights on the exchange coupling in FM/AFM systems.2

The front end of any modern ion accelerator includes a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ). While many pulsed ion linacs successfully operate RFQs, several ion accelerators worldwide have significant difficulties operating continuous wave (CW) RFQs to design specifications. In this paper we describe the development and results of the beam commissioning of a CW RFQ designed and built for the National User Facility: Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS). Several innovative ideas were implemented in this CW RFQ. By selecting a multisegment split-coaxial structure, we reached moderate transverse dimensions for a 60.625-MHz resonator and provided a highly stabilized electromagnetic field distribution. The accelerating section of the RFQ occupies approximately 50% of the total length and is based on a trapezoidal vane tip modulation that increased the resonator shunt impedance by 60% in this section as compared to conventional sinusoidal modulation. To form an axially symmetric beam exiting the RFQ, a very short output radial matcher with a length of 0:75 was developed. The RFQ is designed as a 100% oxygen-free electronic (OFE) copper structure and fabricated with a two-step furnace brazing process. The radio frequency (rf) measurements show excellent rf properties for the resonator, with a measured intrinsic Q equal to 94% of the simulated value for OFE copper. An O 5þ ion beam extracted from an electron cyclotron resonance ion source was used for the RFQ commissioning. In off-line beam testing, we found excellent coincidence of the measured beam parameters with the results of beam dynamics simulations performed using the beam dynamics code TRACK, which was developed at Argonne. These results demonstrate the great success of the RFQ design and fabrication technology developed here, which can be applied to future CW RFQs.

The common assumptions for closure of the first three moment equations with non-parabolic band structure have led to many inconsistencies associated with the electron temperature, effective mass and heat flux. The assumptions are involved in the heat flux based on the Fourier law and in the electron temperature determined from the average kinetic and drift energies. The inconsistencies resulting from these assumptions are studied and illustrated for electrons in silicon with a non-parabolic energy band. A simple alternative by means of which to avoid the inconsistent assumptions and to truncate the hierarchy of the hydrodynamic equations with non-parabolic band structure is proposed. Instead of using the Fourier-law heat flux to close the hydrodynamic equations, the energy flux is separated into fluxes carried by average and random velocities. The proposed model and a Fourier-law-based hydrodynamic model, together with the Monte Carlo method, are applied to a silicon sub-micrometre - n - diode with a non-parabolic band at various applied voltages. Effects on electron transport in the sub-micrometre device resulting from the assumptions of the Fourier-law heat flux and the electron temperature determined from the average kinetic and drift energies are investigated.

The past decade has resulted in an increase in the knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying brain injury induced by intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Recent advances have provided a link between epigenetic modification and the regulation of gene expression. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) converted from 5-methylcytosine by the ten-eleven translocation (TET) family of proteins has emerged as a new epigenetic modification. While the dynamics of 5hmC during cerebral ischemia have recently been reported, whether 5hmC is involved in ICH remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the effects of ICH on DNA hydroxymethylation. We showed that the global level of 5hmC rapidly decreased as early as 24 hours after ICH and persisted until 72 hours. Furthermore, the level of 5hmC in the CpG-rich regions of Akt2, Pdpk1 and Vegf genes was significantly decreased with a minimum level observed at 48 hours or 72 hours. Decreased 5hmC was observed in parallel with an increase in 5-methylcytosine over this time course, and mRNA levels of Akt2, Pdpk1 and Vegf were downregulated upon ICH injury. Finally, Tet1, Tet2 and Tet3 mRNA levels were dramatically decreased in the ICH brain. Our study for the first time established the correlation between DNA hydroxymethylation and ICH injury. Further investigations should examine whether 5hmC modification could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of ICH injury.

Process variations have become a serious concern for nanometer technologies. The interconnect and device variations include interand intra-die variations of geometries, as well as process and electrical parameters. In this paper, pattern (i.e. density, width and space) dependent interconnect thickness and width variations are studied based on a well-designed test chip in a 90 nm technology. The parasitic resistance and capacitance variations due to the process variations are investigated, and process-variation-aware extraction techniques are proposed. In the test chip, electrical and physical measurements show strong metal thickness and width variations mainly due to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) in nanometer technologies. The loop inductance dependence of return patterns is also validated in the test chip. The proposed new characterization methods extract interconnect RC variations as a function of metal density, width and space. Simulation results show excellent agreement between on-wafer measurements and extractions of various RC structures, including a set of metal loaded/unloaded ring oscillators in a complex wiring environment.