Search

Fe films with thicknesses between 17 and 95 nm were grown with a nano-sheet morphology, which enabled their high uniaxial magnetic, transport, and optical in-plane anisotropies. The top edge of the nano-sheets was directly visualized as nano-string-like structures of approximately 12.5–14 nm width and 100–300 nm length. The hysteresis loops showed a clear easy direction of magnetization in the longitudinal direction of the nano-sheets, whereas the hard direction loops were anhysteretic, with no remanence and zero coercive field. The anisotropy field exhibited values between 70 and 111 kA/m depending on the thickness of the films, with the maximum value corresponding to a 34 nm thick sample. The resistance of the films was also found to be highly anisotropic. The ratio ( R⊥– R||)/ R|| was ≈86%, with R|| and R⊥ being the resistances in the parallel and perpendicular directions of the nano-sheets, respectively. Likewise, the reflectivity of the samples behaved anisotropically; the ratio ( IReflmax– IReflmin)/ IReflmax of the intensity of reflected light by the films reached up to 61% for 34 nm thick samples, achieving the maximum value, IReflmax, when the plane of the incident light coincided with the direction of the nano-sheets and the minimum, IReflmin, when this plane was perpendicular to the direction of the nano-sheets. The origin of these anisotropic behaviors was established. These anisotropic films with high magnetization and high uniaxial anisotropies at the nanoscale can be useful for microelectronics applications, for devices such as magnetic sensors and transducers, or for ultrahigh frequency inductors.

Hard magnetic MnBi films were obtained by appropriate heat treatments of pulsed laser deposited (PLD) (Bi/Mn) films. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated a slight texture of MnBi crystallites and magnetometry measurements showed a slight preferential growth of the crystallites with their c-axis perpendicular to the film plane. Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) measurements displayed the presence of magnetic domains, whose size was in the micrometer range, and which were correlated to the MnBi grains observed in the sample. The addition of extra Mn layers did not modify significantly the previous structural and magnetic results. Nevertheless, the size of the magnetic domains increased to a few microns. However, on adding extra Bi layers, upon annealing, the MnBi grains grew with their c-axes perpendicular to the film plane. A perpendicular to the film magnetic anisotropy was deduced from the hysteresis loops, where an increase in the remanence of the magnetization was measured when the magnetic field was applied perpendicular to the film plane. In these samples, by measuring the magnetic domain configuration of the samples by MFM, we observed that the size of the magnetic domains exceeded the dimensions of the grains. This change in the magnetic structure of the films was assumed to be due to the coupling of the magnetization in the neighboring grains, and it was responsible for the decrease of the coercivity in the Bi rich samples. The authors acknowledge the partial finantial support from Universidad Publica de Navarra and from Gobierno de Espana. Open access funding by Universidad Publica de Navarra.

Charged magnetic domain walls have been visualized in soft magnetic nanostructured Fe thin films under both static and dynamic conditions. A transition in the core of these zigzagged magnetic walls from N&eacute, el-type to Bloch-type through the formation of crosstie walls has been observed. This transition in charged zigzagged walls was not previously shown experimentally in Fe thin films. For film thicknesses t &lt, 30 nm, N&eacute, el-type cores are present, while at t &asymp, 33 nm, walls with crosstie cores are observed. At t &gt, 60 nm, Bloch-type cores are observed. Along with the visualization of these critical parameters, the dependence on the film thickness of the characteristic angle and length of the segments of the zigzagged walls has been observed and analyzed. After measuring the bistable magneto-optical behavior, the values of the wall nucleation magnetic field and the surface roughness of the films, an energetic fit to these nucleation values is presented.

Thin films of Co-rich transition metal or metal Co–MT (MT = V, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hf) compounds were fabricated as a superposition of oblique nano-sheets (≈300 x 80 × 5 nm for each nano-sheet) from a mixture of Co and MT plasmas. Because the X-ray diffraction patterns of all of the films showed a similar nano-crystalline microstructure, the oblique nano-sheets were visualized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This nano-morphology generated strong in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, UMA, as we explained in this work, for all the as-deposited films. The evolution of this magnetic anisotropy was studied at temperatures up to 450 °C. Three different cases were observed after these heat treatments depending on the MT component of the film: (1) UMA was lost for temperatures ≈ 400 °C, (2) UMA retained the same value until the highest temperature was reached, or (3) UMA was enhanced by a factor greater than 2 for the highest temperature. This behavior can be explained by considering of the various processes of structural relaxation and crystallization produced by heat treatment and affected by the nano-sheet morphology.

Thin films of Co-Hf (≈ 86-14 % at.) were grown over Si micro-cantilevers using a glancing-angle deposition technique. A controlled easy direction of magnetisation (anisotropy field μoHk ≈ 0.1 T) in the longitudinal or in the transverse direction of the micro-cantilevers was generated. The mechanical properties of the films under the action of a magnetic field were opposite depending on the magnetisation’s easy direction: i) their deflection was either zero or the maximum value depending on the direction of the applied magnetic field with respect to the parallel or transverse easy direction of magnetisation; ii) the shift in the resonance frequency under a longitudinal or transverse magnetic field was also different depending on the longitudinal or transverse easy direction of magnetisation. The use of these coated devices with micromagnet-like films for sensors and transducers is discussed.

Hard magnetic MnBi films were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The films consisted of Mn/Bi bilayers and the thickness of each sample constant was 185 nm. The number of bilayers (5 to 80 bilayers) and consequently, the thickness of the Mn and Bi layers changed among the different samples, although the proportion of Mn and Bi remained constant in each bilayer. The structural and morphological changes in the Mn/Bi multilayered films were produced by thermal treatments and were monitored by measuring the change in their resistance as a function of the temperature. These measurements, along with the magnetic measurements, allowed us to determine the optimum heat treatments that induced the formation of the low temperature (LT) α-MnBi phase. A maximum value of both the magnetisation (460 emu/cm3) and the maximum BH product (46 kJ/m3) was observed in the sample with 40 bilayers, showing, in addition, a magnetic anisotropy, wherein the easy magnetisation direction was predominantly perpendicular to the plane of the sample. A detailed explanation of these changes and of the atomic diffusion processes present for such optimisation has been achieved.

Background Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy(PML) is caused by JC virus (JCV) and has severe consequences for the central nervous system. PML is an opportunistic infection, affecting HIV positive patients. There is no curative treatment, and the current approach is focused on immune reconstitution and antiviral therapy. 1 Purpose This is a case report of two patients with PML associated with HIV infection treated with aldesleukin/interleukin-2 (IL-2). Material and methods We report two cases, both men, aged 48 years (patient A) and 57 years (patient B), HIV diagnosed in 1992 and 1993, who developed LMP opportunistic JCV infection. Antiretrovirals were the only therapy previously employed. Patient A developed progressive neurological impairment, slow psychic reactions and right upper limb strength loss. Symptoms in patient B were progressive cognitive impairment, memory loss, lack of coordination, dysarthria, strength loss and right facial paralysis. Both patients showed hypodensity of white matter in the semi-oval centre on cranial CT. Results IL-2 was administered intravenously to both patients at 0.5 MU/m²/day for 4 weeks. Patient-A: IL-2 treatment (from 8 February 2010 to 7 March 2010) was well tolerated, although a self-limited fever and eosinophilia were reported without clinical correlations. The patient showed improvements in image tests (disappearance of signal hyperintensity and cytotoxic oedema on CT and MRI) and clinical outcomes (improvement of neurological symptoms), although progressive spasticity and dysarthria were maintained. JCV load was undetectable in February 2011. Patient A was treated for 1 year with mefloquine 250 mg/24 hours with good tolerance and stabilisation of PML, but without resolution. The patient died in December 2012 following intraparenchymal cerebral haemorrhage. Patient-B: therapy with IL-2 and mirtazapine (from 8 September 2016 to 5 October 2016) was well tolerated, but the infusion was discontinued once by a fever episode. Cranial CT showed no significant changes. The patient´s neurological impairment, hemiparesis and dysarthria persisted, but a slight improvement was observed. JCV load declined from >100 million to 12 million copies/mL, HIV from 645 to 147 copies/mL and CD4 T lymphocytes increased. Conclusion IL-2 could be an effective and well tolerated therapy in LMP, without severe adverse events. Patient A showed improvements in neurological and image tests, and undetectable viral load, whereas the response in patient B was only partial, with a decline in JCV and HIV, but maintaining neurological deterioration. References and/or acknowledgements 1. Pavlovic D, et al. Ther Adv Neurol Disord2015;8:255–73. No conflict of interest

Background The preparation of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is subject to a great deal of variability in clinical practice due to the complexity of TPN and the variety of professionals involved. Nutritional support is an important care activity in a pharmacy service. Purpose To evaluate the activity of a parenteral nutrition unit in a hospital pharmacy. Material and methods This was a retrospective study analysing TPN during 2015 in a pharmacy service of a tertiary hospital. Data were obtained from the pharmacy service’s nutritional database and the pharmacy service’s dashboard of activity and quality. Pharmaceutical care in adults patients is based on validating the indication to assess the patient’s nutritional status, calculating the nutritional requirements, developing a nutritional plan and deciding on the composition of the TNP. In paediatric patients, the clinical pharmacist´s functions with regard to TPN are to ensure the quality (stability and osmolarity) and safety of the solutions prepared. The formulations were prepared by the hospital pharmacy, in totally or from three compartment bags (commercial preparations), or prepared by an external service. Results During the study period, 1510 patients (698 adults, 812 children) were treated with TPN. 21 008 TPN were dispensed from the hospital pharmacy. In institutionalised patients, 16 576 TPN were dispensed (42% adults, 58% children); 4432 TPN were delivered to home patients (9% adults, 91% children). A total of 11 146 formulations were prepared in whole by the hospital pharmacy (37% adults, 63% children); 1197 TPN were commercial preparations (all in adults) and 8665 TPN were prepared by an external service (24% adults, 76% children). The prescribing units in adult TPN were: anaesthesia–intensive care medicine (40%); oncologic-haematologic patients (26%); surgery patients (26%); haemodialysis patients (2%); and other units (6%). In paediatric patients, the prescribing units were: neonatal–intensive care unit (71%); oncologic and haematologic patients (11%); surgery patients (11%); and other units (7%). Conclusion Most TPN (60%) were prepared by the hospital pharmacy and 40% of TPN were acquired through an external service. Most TPN were dispensed to paediatric patients (65%). They were mainly prepared for critically ill patients (46%). The department of pharmacy was involved in the management of TPN to support the clinical and therapeutic needs of the patient. No conflict of interest

We show how nanocrystalline Co films formed by separated oblique nano-sheets display anisotropy in their resistivity, magnetization process, surface nano-morphology and optical transmission. After performing a heat treatment at 270 °C, these anisotropies decrease. This loss has been monitored measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. The resistivity measured parallel to the direction of the nano-sheets has been constant up to 270 °C, but it decreases when measured perpendicular to the nano-sheets. This suggests the existence of a structural relaxation, which produces the change of the Co nano-sheets during annealing. The changes in the nano-morphology and the local chemical composition of the films at the nanoscale after heating above 270 °C have been analysed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Thus, an approach and coalescence of the nano-sheets have been directly visualized. The spectrum of activation energies of this structural relaxation has indicated that the coalescence of the nano-sheets has taken place between 1.2 and 1.7 eV. In addition, an increase in the size of the nano-crystals has occurred in the samples annealed at 400 °C. This study may be relevant for the application in devices working, for example, in the GHz range and to achieve the retention of the anisotropy of these films at higher temperatures., C.M., J.M.d.T. and M.R.I. acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad in the project MAT2017-82970-C2-R. J.V.

Ni2MnGa thin films, with thickness between 30 and 60 nm, were pulsed-laser deposited at room temperature on Si micro-cantilevers and glass substrates. Two different deposition processes were performed: normal deposition and off¬-normal. After annealing in an inert atmosphere, in-plane isotropic magnetic hysteresis loops were measured for the normal deposited films. In contrast, in-plane anisotropic hysteresis loops were obtained from the off-normal deposited ones. An in-plane easy direction for the magnetisation, perpendicular to the incidence plane of the plasma during deposition, was measured with an anisotropy field of ≈100 Oe and an easy coercive field of ≈24 Oe. The mechanical behaviour of the magnetically anisotropic coated micro-cantilevers and their response to a decreasing temperature permitted observing the martensitic transformation of the Ni2MnGa thin films.

Amorphous-nanocrystalline Co/Fe/Co soft magnetic multilayers were deposited by a pulsed laser. The thickness of the Co layers was constant at 18.7 nm for each layer and the Fe layer was varied between 0 and 110 nm. The spontaneous magnetization of the films was proportional to the Co and Fe layer thicknesses. Their isotropic saturation magnetostriction coefficients (λs) were determined. The λs changed from negative to positive values depending on the thickness of the Fe layer. The magnetostriction of the multilayers was greater than what would be expected from the proportional superposition of λs(Co) and λs(Fe) in the interval 0 ≤ x ≤ 50 at.% Fe. The maximum magnetostriction deviation was seen at an iron content of ≈26%. The larger experimental magnetostriction values are explained by an interface contribution, in which Fe and Co atoms diffuse into the adjacent layers. Assuming this interface contribution is due to the formation of two layers of Fe50Co50 in the trilayer structure, we were able to calculate the thickness and the magnetostriction coefficient of each interdiffusion layer, t(FeCo) = (1.4 ± 0.3) nm and λs(FeCo) = +(240 ± 10) × 10−6.

Soft magnetic Co films, with a grain size of 1–2nm and thickness between ≈1.3 and tens of nanometers were pulsed laser deposited on rotating metallic wire substrates, conferring them cylindrical geometry. These films showed a magnetostrictive property, making it possible to measure and study the magnetoelastic inverse Wiedemann effect, (IWE) of the longitudinal magnetic flux in the film as a function of the circular applied magnetic field, Φz−Hϕ. The IWE of these films was explained by the assumption of magnetic wall nucleation and magnetization rotation processes. This explanation allowed us to establish the relation of Φz with the spontaneous magnetization Ms and with the film's thickness. Then using the measured Φz and the known value of Ms: (1) we determine the thickness of the film by means of an inductive method; (2) we analyze the inaccuracy of the determined film thickness; (3) we achieve the limit of tfilm,min=1.3±0.3nm in thickness for measuring the films’ magnetic properties.

Cylindrical soft magnetic Co films, nanostructured with a grain size of 1–2 nm and between and 90 nm in thickness, were produced by the pulsed laser deposition technique. These films showed a magnetostrictive property. The magnetoelastic inverse Wiedemann effect, or IWE, of longitudinal magnetization as a function of the circular applied magnetic field, Mz–H, was measured. The IWE made it possible to explain the magnetization processes according to an initial reversible rotation of the magnetization followed by magnetic wall nucleation and propagation. A magnetization rotation model allowed us to compare the reversible part and the first irreversible magnetization processes corresponding to the IWE. In this way, the values of the helical magnetic anisotropy, Kh, due to the helical stresses, σh, generated by an applied torque to the films, were determined. A linear increase of the nucleating magnetic wall field, HN, with the applied torque, or with σh, was observed. In addition, the IWE made it possible to establish the non-dependence of the saturation magnetostriction constant, λs, on the sample thickness and to determine the value of this negative isotropic .

Non-crystalline Co films have been deposited on the cylindrical surface of copper wires by pulsed laser ablation deposition. These films are magnetoelastic. In particular, they exhibit the inverse Wiedemann effect (IWE): when they are twisted and an electrical current flows through the wires, a longitudinal component of the magnetization is observed. The value of the spontaneous magnetization, M s , of these films is achieved by the measurement of this effect. The dependence of the IWE on the torsion as well as on the circular magnetic field has been measured. The magnetostriction constant, λ s , has been found to be negative and λ s ≈−(9.5±0.8)×10 −6 .

The magnetic susceptibility of Fe–Al off-normal pulsed laser deposited thin films was measured at ultra high frequencies, UHF. Different Fe 1− x –Al x films from pure Fe to x = 0.2 Al were prepared. The films were ≈40 nm thick and non-crystalline peaks were detected by the X-ray diffractometry studies. The magnetization of the films remained between 2.0 and 1.8 T for composition less than or equal to 20% Al. A magnetic anisotropy, from H k ≈ 18 Oe for pure Fe to H k ≈ 130 Oe for 20% Al was measured. These samples exhibited a well-defined ferromagnetic resonance at frequencies between ≈2.0 GHz and 3.8 GHz depending on composition. The broad resonance peaks had a width, at half maximum, w h , in the interval from 2.5 GHz to 4.0 GHz depending on Al content. After fitting the magnetic hysteresis loops using a simple distribution of anisotropy values, we used the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation to fit the UHF magnetic susceptibility. From this last fit we obtained a high damping coefficient value (≈4 times higher than that corresponding to Co or CoFe films), explaining this broad ferromagnetic resonance of these Fe 1− x –Al x films.

We prepared pulsed laser deposited planar and cylindrical amorphous–nanocrystalline Co–Fe thin films using the corresponding target with composition Co 1− x Fe x , x = 0, 0.02, …, 1.0. Their room temperature spontaneous magnetization, M s (film), was always a fraction of the M s of the corresponding crystalline alloy, M s (film) = γ M s (crystal): γ ≈ 0.8 for pure Co, γ ≈ 0.88 for the Co 35 Fe 65 film and γ ≈ 0.94 for pure Fe. Their isotropic magnetostriction coefficient, λ s , was also determined. From pure Co to 30 at.% Fe λ s values were similar to those corresponding to the crystalline alloys: from pure Co to 4 at.% Fe was negative and of the order of 10 −6 ; λ s increased to 10 −5 up to 25 at.% Fe and achieved 10 −4 from 30 at.% Fe to 90 at.% Fe; λ s decreased to 10 −5 for pure Fe. A chemical short-range order between the Co atoms surrounded by the Fe ones, increasing the magnetic moment of Fe atoms, was used to explain the observed behavior.

Amorphous Co pulsed laser off-normal deposited films have shown uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. They have exhibited values of the anisotropy field between H u =12 and 770 Oe depending on the deposition angle and on the film thickness. We show for the first time the different like nano-string structures—8 to 20 nm width by 120 nm large—of these films. Also the magnetic domain pictures—sharpness zigzag charged walls for high magnetic anisotropic films and big zigzag Bloch walls for films with low anisotropy—are presented.

Amorphous Co films, ≈270 nm thick, were prepared by pulsed laser ablation-deposition. Substrates of glass, monocrystalline Si(1 1 1), copper and tungsten were used. The surface morphology of the films, studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy, STM, as well as the coercive field, H c , and room temperature spontaneous magnetization, M s , was determined. The M s values were approximately the same for all films independent of the substrate; on the contrary, significant variation of H c was found for the films grown on different substrates. The lowest coercive field, H c ≈1.2 Oe, corresponds to the samples grown on glass and H c ≈1.6 Oe to the films deposited over Si(1 1 1) substrates, whereas H c ≈2.2 and 5 Oe were measured for the samples deposited over tungsten and copper substrates, respectively. The STM studies allowed us to correlate the different magnetic softness of the films—from both magneto-optical transverse Kerr effect and vibrating sample magnetometry—with their surface morphology.

UPNa. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Magnetismo In this research, the elastic behaviour of two Co thin films simultaneously deposited in an off-normal angle method was studied. Towards this end, two Si micro-cantilevers were simultaneously coated using pulsed laser deposition at an oblique angle, creating a Co nano-string surface morphology with a predetermined orientation. The selected position of each micro-cantilever during the coating process created longitudinal or transverse nano-strings. The anisotropic elastic behaviour of these Co films was determined by measuring the changes that took place in the resonant frequency of each micro-cantilever after this process of creating differently oriented plasma coatings had been completed. This differential procedure allowed us to determine the difference between the Young's modulus of the different films based on the different direction of the nano-strings. This difference was determined to be, at least, the 20% of the Young's modulus of the bulk Co. This work was partially supported by the Spanish government under project MAT2007-66252.

Si micro-cantilevers were coated with Co nano-strings, which were simultaneously grown and sculpted during off-normal pulsed laser deposition. The surface morphology of micro-cantilevers with longitudinal or transverse nano-strings was analysed by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Magnetic anisotropy was detected with a magnetization direction parallel to the nano-strings. The two micro-cantilever types exhibited different mechanical behaviours when placed in a non-uniform magnetic field. By varying the relative position of the micro-cantilever with respect to the gradient direction of this field, a split in the resonant frequency shift of the micro-cantilevers was generated, depending on the direction of magnetic anisotropy. Discrimination was achieved between the micro-cantilevers with transverse nano-strings and the micro-cantilevers with longitudinal nano-strings. The lowest limit of magnetic moment for distinction between these covered micro-cantilevers was 10 − 8 emu. The possible benefits of these magneto-mechanical properties for the biological, chemical and physical applications of some nano-mechanical devices are pointed out.

CoP multilayers grown over Cu wires exhibit magnetoimpedance phenomenon. The change in the real part of the measured voltage is V R = [ V ( H = 0 Oe)- V ( H max )]/ V ( H max ) ≈ 3300%( I rms = 500 mA, 90 kHz); the maximum d V R /d H , is 1280%/Oe at H DC = 1.2 Oe. These quantities are enhanced if the wire is subjected to an angular deformation by means of a torque applied to the wire; V R ≈ 7000% and d V R /d H ≈ 2400%/Oe, are found at 9 and 1.2 Oe, respectively, for a 90° twisted sample, produced by the change in the magnetic anisotropy direction, from the longitudinal to the helical one.

Background Cytomegalovirus disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. Foscarnet, an intravenous drug active against cytomegalovirus, represents an increasingly widespread alternative when there is resistance or intolerance to conventional treatments (ganciclovir/valganciclovir, acyclovir). More data about its use, effectiveness and safety in the clinical practice are necessary. Purpose To analyse the effectiveness and safety of the use of foscarnet against cytomegalovirus in HSCT recipients, and its adaptation to clinical practice guidelines and expert recommendations in order to optimise future treatment strategies. Material and methods Observational, retrospective, single centre study including all adult HSCT recipients treated with foscarnet for pre-emptive therapy or treatment of cytomegalovirus in a tertiary hospital between January 2013 and June 2015. Demographic, effectiveness and safety data about the treatment were collected and analysed using Access and Excel. After a literature search, results were compared with clinical trials and retrospective studies published, as well as with clinical practice guidelines and expert recommendations. Results 43 episodes in 34 patients were included (50% women) with a median age of 52 years (range 47–57). In 9 cases (31%) of pre-emptive therapy, no patient experienced reactivation of cytomegalovirus. In 34 cases of treatment after reactivation, 85.7% (n = 29) started with a positive cytomegalovirus viral load. Of them, 72.4% reach negative viral load, 20.7% died and 6.9% were considered resistant. The remaining 14.3% (n = 5) maintained negative for viral load during treatment. All patients experienced at least one adverse effect but only 3% discontinued treatment. There were electrolytic disorders (100%), creatinine alterations (32.6%) and gastrointestinal disturbances (9%). Concomitant drugs causing electrolyte alterations or renal toxicity were not registered. Conclusion Foscarnet was shown to be effective with acceptable toxicity in cytomegalovirus treatment in HSCT recipients. The results are not entirely comparable with other published studies1,2 due to differences between populations and therapeutic regimens. The use of foscarnet (indications, dosage and treatment duration) in hospital mainly follows recommendations of experts and guidelines. More studies should be carried out in order to get the most beneficial treatment regimen with the minimum adverse effects. References and/or Acknowledgements Reusser P, et al. Randomised multicenter trial of foscarnet versus ganciclovir for preemptive therapy of cytomegalovirus infection after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Blood 2002;99:1159–64 Asakura M, et al. Use of foscarnet for cytomegalovirus infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from a related donor. Int J Hematol 2010;92:351–9 No conflict of interest.

In this work, we report the magnetic properties of a set of magnetic multilayers whose particular nanostructure allows control of their in-plane, uniaxial magnetic anisotropy value and consequently the magnetic susceptibility measured at ultra high frequencies. Particularly, two sets of samples with the compositions ((Co15 nm-54°) (Cox nm-0°) (Ta6 nm-54°)) n and ((Fe10 nm-54°) (Fex nm-0°) (Ta6 nm-54°)) n where n is the number of trilayers. In every sample, the obliquely and normally deposited ferromagnetic layers were strongly exchange-coupled. Consequently, the value of the uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy could be controlled by changing the thickness of the normally deposited layer (x). Subsequently, the magnetic susceptibility of the samples could be tailored. Thus, the ferromagnetic resonance frequency value may be controlled and increased to up to 6.3 GHz for the samples with larger magnetic anisotropy values.

Background The increasing prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) turn its treatment into a challenge for researchers. Fidaxomicin is a new treatment option which has been shown to be effective for treating both primary and recurrent CDI in clinical trials but there is limited clinical experience. Purpose To evaluate the use and outcome in patients with CDI treated with fidaxomicin in a tertiary hospital. Material and methods Between May 2013 and September 2014 patients undergoing treatment with fidaxomicin were assessed. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the patient electronic medical record. The outcome measure was Symptom-Free Interval (SFI), calculated in patients who were monitored for at least 1 month. Results Thirteen patients were analysed (n = 13), 53.8% male, median age 54 years (range 27–83) and all had baseline disease which increased the risk of recurrent CDI, so fidaxomicin treatment was indicated by current clinical guidelines. Seven had a history of recurrent CDI and eleven had received previous treatment with vancomycin and/or metronidazole. Treatments with fidaxomicin were 200 mg twice daily for 10 days. Recurrence was found in 30.8% patients after the first treatment with fidaxomicin, but 6 patients were lost to follow-up (died). SFI varied with number of courses received. After the first treatment, the median SFI was 75 days (range 15–395). After the second course (2 patients) SFI was 66 and 180 days and following the third treatment (2 patients) SFI was 133 and 64 days. Conclusion Use of fidaxomicin is more common in patients with recurrence or non-responders to standard treatment (84.6%); the recurrence rate was high (30.8%). This study was limited by the number lost to follow-up and high inter-individual variability in SFI. More clinical experience is needed to determinate which patients may benefit most. Alternative dose regimens should be considered to improve treatment outcomes. References and/or Acknowledgements No conflict of interest

Background Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is an important non-haematological toxicity in patients who have received chemotherapy for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In March 2013, European Medicines Agency refused marketing authorisation for the orphan drug defibrotide to prevent and treat SOS. In July 2013, after re-examination, defibrotide had a new positive opinion for marketing authorisation but only for treatment. Purpose To investigate the effectiveness, safety and cost of defibrotide for SOS. Materials and methods Retrospective observational study (Period: January 2009–September 2013). We analysed patients with SOS treated with defibrotide. Response criteria were defined as total serum bilirubin Results Eleven patients (five adults (mean age: 55.7(SD = 4.3) years) and four children (3.1(SD = 1.3)) received defibrotide at a dose of 6.25 mg/kg every 6 h (two patients received 10 mg/kg/6 h). Median duration of treatment was 9 days (range: 5–25). Overall complete response was achieved in seven patients (63.6%), all four children and only three adults. 45.5% of patients had completely recovered from hepatomegaly at the end of defibrotide administration. Six of the eight patients with ascites and one patient with encephalopathy recovered their normal status. All patients reduced their weight gain after defibrotide treatment. 100 day post-HSCT survival was 72.7%. Three patients presented haemorrhagic episodes during defibrotide treatment (two gastrointestinal episodes and one nasal bleeding). Median cost per patient was 19,180 € (range 5,480–41,100 €). Conclusions According to our limited results, defibrotide is an effective option for SOS treatment in children, although cost per patient is high. Cost-effectiveness studies comparing treatment for SOS with and without defibrotide are needed. No conflict of interest.

The magnetic domain configurations of soft magnetic, nanostructured, pulsed laser-deposited Co films were investigated. Their dependence on both the thickness t (20 nm ≤ t ≤ 200 nm) and the anisotropy was studied. Charged zigzag walls, with a characteristic saw-tooth vertex angle θ, were observed. θ changed with t from θ ≈ 17° to ≈25°, presenting an intermediate sharp maximum that has not been described before. The reduced length of the zigzag walls also exhibited a peak at t ≈ 70 nm. The relationship between the total reduced length and the density energy of the magnetic wall allowed us to establish a change from a Néel-type to a Bloch-type core of the zigzag walls at this thickness, t ≈ 70 nm. We also accounted for the magnetic energy arising from the surface roughness of the thinner films after imaging the film surface morphologies. Moreover, this distinctive behaviour of the zigzag walls of these low-anisotropy films was compared to that of high-anisotropy films.

Over a 60 μm film with perpendicular anisotropy, a composition modulated multilayer, of the same material, has been grown. Investigations using Bitter domain configuration observations and surface hystetic loop measurements using magneto-optic Kerr rotation show that the multilayer magnetization process is coupled with the underlayer anisotropy for multilayer thickness of the order of the bulk stripes domain width.

Amorphous soft magnetic CoP electrolytic multilayers have been obtained with a controlled surface magnetic anisotropy. The surface magnetization easy direction can be continuously altered from an initial perpendicular position to a final arrangement within the longitudinal plane. This continuous change of magnetization direction is controlled during the sample production stage and, therefore, there is no need to subject the films to subsequent treatments such as, for example, thermal, stress, or magnetic field annealing. The magnetic domain configurations, as observed by means of the Bitter technique, have revealed a continuous variation from an initial stripe domain structure to a final situation in which the magnetization lies within the plane of the films and magnetic domain walls are observed. The magneto-optic behavior of these multilayers has also revealed this continuous evolution from an initial perpendicular easy direction for the magnetization to a configuration in which the surface magnetizatio...

CoP amorphous samples, electrodeposited on copper wires and exhibiting a longitudinal magnetic anisotropy, show a spontaneous Matteucci effect once the substrate has been subjected to torque. This induces an easy axis to allow for magnetization to occur, breaking away from its original longitudinal direction. The magnetic domain structures, as observed by the Bitter technique, revealed that the anisotropy changes direction, rotating gradually from its initial longitudinal position to a 45° helix, as the torque was increased. The reversible part of the circular magnetization switching curves, set against the longitudinal magnetic field, was fitted by assuming a magnetization rotation model in which constant anisotropic magnitude values were hardly modified, while allowing changes in direction.

Planar and cylindrical Co thin films have been obtained by pulsed laser ablation. X-ray diffractograms have shown no crystalline structure for the as-deposited samples, while the 450 °C annealed samples exhibit Co fcc crystalline peaks. The Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy has revealed a small increase of the surface roughness for the annealed films. The Hall effect has been used to determine the value of the spontaneous magnetization, Ms, at room temperature; Ms, = 14 kgauss for the as-deposited sample and Ms, = 17.6 kgauss for the 450 °C annealed sample. From transverse magnetooptic Kerr effect, it has been found that the as-deposited samples exhibit magnetic bistability, with a coercive field, Hc, = 6 0e. The annealed samples also show a bistable behavior until the annealing temperature is 450 °C. Besides, it has been observed an increase of Hc up to = 50 Oe, when the annealing temperature increases. The vibrating sample magnetometry has confirmed these results, showing that the magnetization participating in the magnetooptic effect for these low fields is the total spontaneous magnetization of these samples. Moreover, the cylindrical films exhibit magnetoelastic behavior when they are subjected to angular deformation. It has been found that the saturation magnetostriction constant is negative.

CoP electrolytic monolayers and multilayers were grown over copper wires using a constant or pulsed electrical current density, exhibiting radial or planar anisotropy, respectively. Over the surface of a monolayer, multilayers of different thicknesses were deposited. The surface radial anisotropy evolves to a planar one as the overlayer thicknesses increase. The surface magnetization is coupled with the bulk anisotropy for overlayer thickness up to ≈ 2 μm.

Non-crystalline Co thin films have been prepared by pulsed laser ablation deposition. From the M-H hysteresis loops measurements, a soft magnetic behavior is observed. Néel type magnetic domain walls are observed in the as-deposited films. The spontaneous magnetization, Ms(T = 300 K), is ≍ 860 emu/cm3. After annealing at 500 oC, Ms(T = 300 K) is ≍ 1460 emu/cm3. The extrapolated to zero K resistance decreases almost two orders of magnitude from the as deposited samples to the crystallized heated at 500 °C ones. A trilayer Co/Cu/Co has shown a real part magnetic susceptibility of 120 at 100 MHz. In the 100 MHz to 1 GHz frequency range, a perpendicular bias magnetic field increased this value up to 270, remaining almost constant for all range.