Magnetic Nanoparticles in Human Cervical Skin.

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, magnetite/maghemite, have been identified in human tissues, including the brain, meninges, heart, liver, and spleen. As these nanoparticles may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, a pilot study explored the occurrence of these particles in the cervical (neck) skin of 10 patients with Parkinson's disease and 10 healthy controls. Magnetometry and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles in the skin samples of every study participant. Regarding magnetite/maghemite concentrations of the single-domain particles, no significant between-group difference was emerged. In low-temperature magnetic measurement, a magnetic anomaly at ~50 K was evident mainly in the dermal samples of the Parkinson group. This anomaly was larger than the effect related to the magnetic ordering of molecular oxygen. The temperature range of the anomaly, and the size-range of magnetite/maghemite, both refute the idea of magnetic ordering of any iron phase other than magnetite. We propose that the explanation for the finding is interaction between clusters of superparamagnetic and single-domain-sized nanoparticles. The source and significance of these particles remains speculative.

Advancing Precambrian palaeomagnetism with the PALEOMAGIA and PINT(QPI) databases.

State-of-the-art measurements of the direction and intensity of Earth's ancient magnetic field have made important contributions to our understanding of the geology and palaeogeography of Precambrian Earth. The PALEOMAGIA and PINT(QPI) databases provide thorough public collections of important palaeomagnetic data of this kind. They comprise more than 4,100 observations in total and have been essential in supporting our international collaborative efforts to understand Earth's magnetic history on a timescale far longer than that of the present Phanerozoic Eon. Here, we provide an overview of the technical structure and applications of both databases, paying particular attention to recent improvements and discoveries.

Identification of magnetic particulates in road dust accumulated on roadside snow using magnetic, geochemical and micro-morphological analyses.

The aim of this study is to test the applicability of snow surveying in the collection and detailed characterization of vehicle-derived magnetic particles. Road dust extracted from snow, collected near a busy urban highway and a low traffic road in a rural environment (southern Finland), was studied using magnetic, geochemical and micro-morphological analyses. Significant differences in horizontal distribution of mass specific magnetic susceptibility (χ) were noticed for both roads. Multi-domain (MD) magnetite was identified as the primary magnetic mineral. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses of road dust from both roads revealed: (1) angular-shaped particles (diameter∼-300 µm) mostly composed of Fe, Cr and Ni, derived from circulation of motor vehicles and (2) iron-rich spherules (d∼2-70 µm). Tungsten-rich particles (d<2 µm), derived from tyre stud abrasion were also identified. Additionally, a decreasing trend in χ and selected trace elements was observed with increasing distance from the road edge.