[en] Objective: To study the elevation of 'spiculation' sign in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodule (≤3 cm). Methods: CT images in 67 cases of solitary pulmonary nodule confirmed by operatively and pathologically were reviewed retrospectively. The pathologic basis of CT findings and differential diagnosis were discussed. Results: CT features of the spiculation occurred more frequently in peripheral lung cancer (86.3%, 44/51) than in other solitary pulmonary nodule (25%, 4/16) (χ²=22.51, P<0.005). The short spiculation occurred more frequently (95.5%) than the long spiculation (4.5%) in peripheral lung cancer (χ²=30.55, P<0.005). Conclusion: Spiculation has important clinic value in the diagnosis and differentiation of solitary pulmonary nodule, thin collimation scan is more accurate to show spiculation. (authors)

[en] The magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Ni₄₈Co₂Mn₃₅In₁₅ were studied using magnetization and heat capacity measurements. The magnetic entropy change (ΔS_M) was evaluated from both magnetizing and demagnetizing fields. An inverse ΔS_M for the magnetizing and demagnetizing processes were found to be 20.5 and 18.5 J kg^-1 K^-1, respectively, for ΔH = 5 T at the martensitic transition (T = T_M). The normal ΔS_M was found to be -5.4 J kg^-1 K^-1 for both fields at the paramagnetic/ferromagnetic transition (T = T_C). The effective refrigeration capacity at T_M and T_C for magnetizing field was found to be 268 and 243 J/kg (285 and 243 J/kg for the demagnetizing field), respectively. We have also estimated the density of states, the Debye temperature, and the inverse adiabatic temperature change to be 4.93 states/eV f.u., 314 K, and -3.7 K, respectively, from the measured heat capacity data.

[en] For some 3d transition-metal monopnictides, their physical properties are strongly affected by interstitial 3d transition-metal atoms, such as Fe_1+δSb, in which the electrical transport, magnetic properties and carrier concentrations have strong dependence on the composition of interstitial Fe (Shiomi et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108(5), 056601 2012), Therefore, it is important to study the influence of interstitial Co on the physical properties of Co_1+δSb. Here, the magnetic and transport properties have been studied on Co_1.05Sb single crystals. The magnetic and electrical transport measurements reveal that stoichiometric CoSb is a nonmagnetic metal. The interstitial Co in this compound exhibits a paramagnetic behaviour and weak antiferromagetic correlations. However, it has no effect on transport properties. A very low magnetoresistance (≤ 0.2%) was observed under the magnetic field up to 14 T, which suggests that Co_1+δSb could be a potential material of electronic devices for the application at a high magnetic field.

[en] Glycerin and propylene glycol are the main components of the atomizing agent in heat-not-burn tobacco products (HnB), which affect the smoke release of HnB significantly. In this study, the roles of the glycerin and propylene glycol as the atomizing agent on smoke release of HnB were studied by using a fixed-bed reactor system. The effects of glycerin to propylene glycol ratio in the atomizing agent, and the content of atomizing agent in the HnB were investigated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was used to analyze the condensable components in the released smoke, and gas chromatography (GC) was used to analyze the gaseous products. The results showed that glycerol could promote the thermal cracking of tobacco and smoke release during pyrolysis. The amount of smoke was the largest when the glycerol ratio was 60%, meanwhile the nicotine content in the smoke was also the highest. When using the glycerin and propylene glycol mixture as the atomizing agent, the amount of smoke and concentration of nicotine and CO in the smoke were increased when the content of atomizing agent decreased in the HnB. The results indicated that the interactions between glycerin and propylene glycol, and the interactions between the atomizing agent and the tobacco were both existed during smoking, which could change the characteristics of the atomizing agent and the smoke release property of HnB. (paper)

[en] The physical properties of itinerant ferromagnet -Co₅Ge₃ with both strong disorder and spin fluctuations was studied. The dc and ac susceptibility show that both spin fluctuations and disorder dominate the physical properties. In the spin glass phase, with a coexisting ferromagnetic state (30 K), both non-Fermi liquid behavior and large exponent of scaling relation of are observed and attributed to the spin fluctuations and disorder induced by cobalt defects. Upon the increase of external field, Fermi liquid behavior restores due to the suppression of spin fluctuations and disorder. In addition, a large anomalous Hall coefficient R _s is observed. Our results suggest that -Co₅Ge₃ is a typical itinerant ferromagnet to explore the interplay of disorder and spin fluctuations. (paper)

[en] Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we study electronic structures of a Kagome metal YCr₆Ge₆. Band dispersions along k_z direction are significant, suggesting a remarkable interlayer coupling between neighboring Kagome planes. Comparing ARPES data with first-principles calculations, we find a moderate electron correlation in this material, since band calculations must be compressed in the energy scale to reach an excellent agreement between experimental data and theoretical calculations. Moreover, as indicated by band calculations, there is a flat band in the vicinity of the Fermi level at the Γ–M–K plane in the momentum space, which could be responsible for the unusual transport behavior in YCr₆Ge₆. (paper)

[en] We report the flux growth and characterization of Ln₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y (Ln=La, Ce), a disordered variant of the Ce₂NiGa₁₀ structure type. Single crystals of La₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y (x∼0.3; y∼0.6) and Ce₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y (x∼0.3; y∼0.9) were grown by the self-flux method and characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Transport measurements of Ce₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y (x∼0.3; y∼0.9) reveal metallic behavior with a transition at 3 K. Magnetic measurements indicate antiferromagnetic ordering at 3 K of localized Ce³⁺ moments for Ce₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y. Magnetoresistance is positive with a maximum value of 16% at 9 T. La₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y exhibits metallic behavior with magnetic susceptibility showing temperature independent paramagnetism. We will compare Ce₂Ag_1-xGa_10-y (x∼0.3; y∼0.9) to Ce₂NiGa₁₀ to examine the effects of transition metal substitution and to the related Ce(Ag,Ga)₄ phase to examine the effects of crystal structure on the physical properties. - Graphical abstract: The figure illustrates the structure of Ce₂Ag_0.7(1)Ga_9.1(1), which can be described as a distorted variant of the Ce₂NiGa₁₀ structure. The distorted gallium segments are best described as variants of CeGa₆ (PuGa₆-structure type), and the distorted Ce(Ag,Ga)₄-type segments are built of layers of face-sharing tetragonal antiprisms. Here M=Ag+Ga and the shaded atoms are partially occupied.

[en] Magnetic k$\pi$-skyrmions are rotationally symmetric vortex-like solitons, whose magnetization rotates by an angle of k$\pi$ from its center to outermost boundary. Here, we report k$\pi$-skyrmions (k = 2, 3, and 4) and their field-driven magnetic evolutions in centrosymmetric uniaxial ferromagnetic Fe₃Sn₂ nanodisks. We show that zero-field non-axisymmetric k$\pi$-skyrmions turn to be axisymmetric after applying an out-of-plane field. The collapses of $\left(k+1\right)\pi$-skyrmions to k$\pi$-skyrmions induced by external field are also experimentally identified. Furthermore, numerical simulations well reproduce experimental magnetization mapping of k$\pi$-skyrmions and further demonstrate their three-dimensional magnetic structures.