Anomalous anisotropic behaviour of spin-triplet proximity effect in Au/SrRuO3/Sr2RuO4 junctions.

Spin-polarized supercurrents can be generated with magnetic inhomogeneity at a ferromagnet/spin-singlet-superconductor interface. In such systems, complex magnetic inhomogeneity makes it difficult to functionalise the spin-polarized supercurrents. However, spin-polarized supercurrents in ferromagnet/spin-triplet-superconductor junctions can be controlled by the angle between magnetization and spin of Copper pairs (d-vector), that can effectively be utilized in developing of a field of research known as superconducting spintronics. Recently, we found induction of spin-triplet correlation into a ferromagnet SrRuO3 epitaxially deposited on a spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4, without any electronic spin-flip scattering. Here, we present systematic magnetic field dependence of the proximity effect in Au/SrRuO3/Sr2RuO4 junctions. It is found that induced triplet correlations exhibit strongly anisotropic field response. Such behaviour is attributed to the rotation of the d-vector of Sr2RuO4. This anisotropic behaviour is in contrast with the vortex dynamic. Our results will stimulate study of interaction between ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity.

New magnetic phase diagram of (Sr,Ca)2RuO4.

High-T(c) cuprates, iron pnictides, organic BEDT and TMTSF, alkali-doped C(60), and heavy-fermion systems have superconducting states adjacent to competing states exhibiting static antiferromagnetic or spin density wave order. This feature has promoted pictures for their superconducting pairing mediated by spin fluctuations. Sr(2)RuO(4) is another unconventional superconductor which almost certainly has a p-wave pairing. The absence of known signatures of static magnetism in the Sr-rich side of the (Ca, Sr) substitution space, however, has led to a prevailing view that the superconducting state in Sr(2)RuO(4) emerges from a surrounding Fermi-liquid metallic state. Using muon spin relaxation and magnetic susceptibility measurements, we demonstrate here that (Sr,Ca)(2)RuO(4) has a ground state with static magnetic order over nearly the entire range of (Ca, Sr) substitution, with spin-glass behaviour in Sr(1.5)Ca(0.5)RuO(4) and Ca(1.5)Sr(0.5)RuO(4). The resulting new magnetic phase diagram establishes the proximity of superconductivity in Sr(2)RuO(4) to competing static magnetic order.

[A case of Sairei-to-induced pneumonitis diagnosed by lymphocyte stimulation test of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid].

A 51-year-old woman was admitted with fever, cough and dyspnea. She had been taking Sairei-to, a traditional Chinese medicine, for 2 months. On admission, chest X-ray revealed a ground-glass appearance in the lung fields bilaterally and serum LDH was elevated. A differential cell count of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) showed that lymphocytes were increased, with a decreased ratio of CD4/CD8 cells. A lymphocyte stimulation test (LST) for Sairei-to using the lymphocytes in BALF was a positive, although a test of peripheral blood was negative. Sairei-to-induced pneumonitis was diagnosed based on the clinical course, laboratory findings, BALF cell analysis and LST of BALF. Only 4 cases of pneumonitis due to Sairei-to have been reported. This case suggests that LST of BALF is useful for diagnosing drug-induced pneumonitis.

A nonhuman primate model for human cerebral malaria: effects of artesunate (qinghaosu derivative) on rhesus monkeys experimentally infected with Plasmodium coatneyi.

We studied the effects of artesunate on rhesus monkeys infected with Plasmodium coatneyi. Sixteen rhesus monkeys were divided in four groups. Group I consisted of three monkeys that were splenectomized and were treated with three doses (loading dose: 3.3 mg/kg, maintenance doses: 1.7 mg/kg) of artesunate, group II consisted of three monkeys that were treated with three doses of artesunate (same as group I), group III consisted of two monkeys that were treated with one dose (3.3 mg/kg) of artesunate, and group IV consisted of five untreated monkeys. Parasitemias of these groups ranged from 13.3% to 19.5% before treatment. Twenty-four hours after administration, the parasitemia was reduced to 2.2% in group I and to < 0.1% in group II; parasitemia was lowered to 10.6% in group III only 3 hr after drug administration. The rate of sequestration in the cerebral microvessels, which was 29.4% in untreated animals, was < 0.1% in groups I and II (24 hr after treatment), and 2.0% in group III (3 hr after treatment). These data clearly indicate that artesunate not only reduced parasitemia, but also reduced the rate of parasitized red blood cell (PRBC) sequestration in cerebral microvessels. In an immunohistologic study, endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) was not detected in group I after treatment with artesunate, although the presence of CD36, thrombospondin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, IgG, and C3 in the cerebral microvessels was not altered. This is the first in vivo study to show that artesunate interferes with continued PRBC sequestration in the cerebral microvessels in cerebral malaria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Morphologic effects of artemisinin in Plasmodium falciparum.

Ultrastructural changes induced in Plasmodium falciparum by artemisinin were studied in vitro. Electron microscopic autoradiography was performed on infected erythrocytes that were exposed in vitro to 3H-dihydroartemisinin and 14C-artemisinin. These drugs consistently were located in food vacuoles and mitochondria. Two hours after administration, changes were observed in parasite mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear envelope. At four hours, in addition to the earlier changes, nuclear membranes and, to a lesser extent, some plasma membranes formed myelin figures. In addition, there was a disappearance of ribosomes, and a destruction of food vacuole membranes. These changes may lead to the total disorganization of the parasites. Approximately 30% of the parasites manifested these alterations.