Structure and giant magnetoresistance behaviour of Co-Cu/Cu multilayers electrodeposited under various deposition conditions.

Electrodeposited Co-Cu/Cu multilayers were prepared under a variety of deposition conditions on either a polycrystalline Ti foil or on a silicon wafer covered by a Ta buffer and a Cu seed layer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a strong (111) texture for all multilayers with clear satellite peaks for the multilayers on Si/Ta/Cu substrates, in some cases for up to three reflections. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy investigations indicated a much more uniform multilayer structure on the Si/Ta/Cu substrates. The bilayer periods from XRD satellite reflections were in reasonable agreement with nominal values. An analysis of the overall chemical composition of the multilayers gave estimates of the sublayer thickness changes due to the Co-dissolution process during the Cu deposition pulse. The XRD lattice spacing data indicated a behaviour close to a simple "multilayer" Vegard's law which was, however, further refined by taking into account elastic strains as well. In agreement with the structural studies, magnetoresistance data also indicated the formation of more perfect multilayers on the smooth Si/Ta/Cu substrates. An analysis of the magnetoresistance behaviour revealed the presence of superparamagnetic (SPM) regions in the magnetic layers. The contribution of these SPM regions to the total observed giant magnetoresistance was found to be dominating under certain deposition conditions, e.g., for magnetic layer thicknesses less than 1 nm (about 5 monolayers).

Did Mozart have a chronic extradural haematoma?

When Mozart died at the age of 36, was he suffering from the belated complications of a calcified extradural haematoma? This theory took shape during the identification process of the skull owned by the Mozarteum, when the print of calcified extradural haematoma was discovered on the left inner temporoparietal calvarial surface of the skull. This print looks like a rosette, with three distinct concentric areas. The first outer area is striated, the second middle one is granular and scattered with bony deposits, the third central one is marked with vascular grooves.

Identification of the cranium of W.A. Mozart.

In 1801 at the cemetery in Vienna, Austria, the skull of W.A. Mozart was exhumed (La Chronique Médicale, 13 (1906) 423), and now it has been examined for identification. The osteometrical and osteological findings correspond with the available data of W.A. Mozart. Superimposition gives evidence that craniofacial distinctiveness of the cranium is consistent with the portrait. Additional individual particularities caused by the premature synostosis of the metopic suture (PSMS) and a bone lesion are described.

Craniofacial dysmorphism in Mozart's skull.

Mozart's craniofacial dysmorphism shown in his portraits and in the skull held by the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria) helps to document the role of pathology in human identification. The specific syndrome is formed by a premature synostosis of the metopic suture (PSMS) in association with an abnormally shaped skull.

[Alterations of humoral and cellular immunity after splenectomy (author's transl)]. / Veränderungen des humoralen und zellulären immunsystems nach Splenektomie.

In twenty-seven splenectomized patients, who had undergone splenectomy for trauma (n=13) and thirty-one immunologically healthy persons, matched for age and sex, the following immunological parameters were examined: Serum immunoglobulins M, A, G, D and E, complement factors C3, C4 and the serum haemolytic complement activity (Ch 50), as well as the ratio and in vitro reagibility of B-and T-lymphocytes measured by transformation responses to the non-specific mitogens Phytohämagglutinin, Concanavalin A and Pokeweed-Mitogen. The phagocytic capacity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils was tested by the Nitroblue tetrazolium test. Total peripheral lymphocytes, B- und T-lymphocytes from splenectomized patients were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p less than 0.01). The PHA response in splenectomized patients was significantly depressed (p less than 0.01) as compared to nonsplenectomized controls. Also IgM serum concentration was found to be significantly lower in these patients (p less than 0.01). No differences were observed between patients, who had been splenectomized 7 months to 5 years or 6 to 14 years ago. The comparison of persons splenectomized for traumatological or haematological disorders showed statistically no significant differences. The importance of the spleen for the primary immune response is discussed.