Phase diagrams of the antiferromagnetic XY model on a triangular lattice with higher-order interactions.

We study the effects of higher-order antinematic interactions on the critical behavior of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) XY model on a triangular lattice using Monte Carlo simulations. The parameter q of the generalized antinematic (ANq) interaction is found to have a pronounced effect on the phase diagram topology by inducing new quasi-long-range ordered phases due to competition with the conventional AFM interaction as well as geometrical frustration. For values of q divisible by 3, the ground-state competition between the two interactions results in a frustrated canted AFM phase appearing at low temperatures wedged between the AFM and ANq phases. For q nondivisible by 3, with the increase of q one can observe the evolution of the phase diagram topology featuring two (q=2), three (q=4,5), and four (q≥7) ordered phases. In addition to the two phases previously found for q=2, the first new phase with solely AFM ordering arises for q=4 in the limit of strong AFM coupling and higher temperatures by separating from the phase with the coexisting AFM and ANq orderings. For q=7, another phase with AFM ordering but multimodal spin distribution in each sublattice appears at intermediate temperatures. All these algebraic phases also display standard and generalized chiral long-range orderings, which decouple at higher temperatures in the regime of dominant ANq (AFM) interaction for q≥4 (q≥7) preserving only the generalized (standard) chiral ordering.

New ordered phase in geometrically frustrated generalized XY model.

Critical properties of a geometrically frustrated generalized XY model with antiferromagnetic (AFM) and third-order antinematic (AN3) couplings on a triangular lattice are studied by Monte Carlo simulation. It is found that such a generalization leads to a phase diagram consisting of three different quasi-long-range ordered (QLRO) phases. Compared to the model with the second-order antinematic (AN2) coupling, besides the AFM and AN3 phases which appear in the limits of relatively strong AFM and AN3 interactions, respectively, it includes an additional complex canted antiferromagnetic (CAFM) phase. It emerges at lower temperatures, wedged between the AFM and AN3 phases as a result of the competition between the AFM and the AN3 couplings, which is absent in the model with the AN2 coupling. The AFM-CAFM and AN3-CAFM phase transitions are concluded to belong to the weak Ising and weak three-state Potts universality classes, respectively. Additionally, all three QLRO phases also feature true LRO of the standard and generalized chiralities, which both vanish simultaneously at second-order phase transitions with non-Ising critical exponents and the critical temperatures slightly higher than the magnetic and nematic order-disorder transition temperatures.

Trigeminal Medullary Dorsal Horn Neurons Activated by Nasal Stimulation Coexpress AMPA, NMDA, and NK1 Receptors.

Afferent information initiating the cardiorespiratory responses during nasal stimulation projects from the nasal passages to neurons within the trigeminal medullary dorsal horn (MDH) via the anterior ethmoidal nerve (AEN). Central AEN terminals are thought to release glutamate to activate the MDH neurons. This study was designed to determine which neurotransmitter receptors (AMPA, kainate, or NMDA glutamate receptor subtypes or the Substance P receptor NK1) are expressed by these activated MDH neurons. Fos was used as a neuronal marker of activated neurons, and immunohistochemistry combined with epifluorescent microscopy was used to determine which neurotransmitter receptor subunits were coexpressed by activated MDH neurons. Results indicate that, during nasal stimulation with ammonia vapors in urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats, activated neurons within the superficial MDH coexpress the AMPA glutamate receptor subunits GluA1 (95.8%) and GluA2/3 (88.2%), the NMDA glutamate receptor subunits GluN1 (89.1%) and GluN2A (41.4%), and NK1 receptors (64.0%). It is therefore likely that during nasal stimulation the central terminals of the AEN release glutamate and substance P that then produces activation of these MDH neurons. The involvement of AMPA and NMDA receptors may mediate fast and slow neurotransmission, respectively, while NK1 receptor involvement may indicate activation of a nociceptive pathway.

Radiation-associated gliosarcoma.

The authors report a case of radiation-associated intracerebral gliosarcoma with fibrosarcomatous predominance, arising at the site of a low-grade glioma treated 10 years previously. The features of this case conform to the accepted criteria for radiation-induced tumour, in that the tumour developed within the radiation field, differed dramatically in histologic features from the original tumour and did not develop until 10 years after treatment. Although such tumours are most uncommon, this case suggests that radiation-induced gliosarcoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of recurrent mass at the site of a treated intracranial neoplasm.