202 research outputs found
Colossal magnetostriction and negative thermal expansion in the frustrated antiferromagnet ZnCr2Se4
A detailed investigation of ZnCr2Se4 is presented which is dominated by
strong ferromagnetic exchange but orders antiferromagnetically at T_N = 21 K.
Specific heat C and thermal expansion Delta L/L exhibit sharp first-order
anomalies at the antiferromagnetic transition. T_N is strongly reduced and
shifted to lower temperatures by external magnetic fields and finally is fully
suppressed suggesting a field induced quantum critical behavior close to 60
kOe. Delta L/L(T) is unusually large and exhibits negative thermal expansion
below 75 K down to T_N indicating strong frustration of the lattice.
Magnetostriction Delta L/L(H) reveals colossal values (0.5x10^{-3}) comparable
to giant magnetostriction materials. Electron-spin resonance, however, shows
negligible spin-orbital coupling excluding orbitally induced Jahn-Teller
distortions. The obtained results point to a spin-driven origin of the
structural instability at T_N explained in terms of competing ferromagnetic and
antiferromagnetic exchange interactions yielding strong bond frustration.Comment: 5 pages 4 figure
Novel Magnetic and Thermodynamic Properties of Thiospinel Compound CuCrZrS
We have carried out dc magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and specific
heat measurements on thiospinel CuCrZrS. Below 58 K, dc
magnetic susceptibility and magnetization data show ferromagnetic behavior with
a small spontaneous magnetization 0.27 f. u..
In dc magnetic susceptibility, large and weak irreversibilities are observed
below 6 K and in the range
respectively.
We found that there is no anomaly as a peak or step in the specific heat at
.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Thermodynamics of Nonstoichiometric Nickel Tellurides. I. Heat Capacity and Thermodynamic Functions of the δ Phase from 5 to 350°K
Heat capacities of the nickel tellurides were measured at compositions NiTe1.1 and NiTe2.0 (near limits of homogeneity of the δ phase) and at one intermediate composition, NiTe1.5, from 5 to 350°K. Heat capacity values and entropy and enthalpy increments are tabulated. No evidence of order‐disorder transitions, or thermal anomalies, or of contributions to the thermal properties from the anisotropy or phonon scattering by the holes in the structure on approaching the composition NiTe2 was observed. Although simple additivity of the heat capacities of the constituent elements failed to represent that of the solution compositions adequately, a Kopp‐Neumann treatment in terms of the limiting compositions of the δ phase gives good agreement with the experimental heat capacity and entropy of NiTe1.5 and hence is useful in interpolating to other intermediate compositions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70090/2/JCPSA6-28-3-497-1.pd
Anisotropic Colossal Magnetoresistance Effects in Fe_{1-x}Cu_xCr_2S_4
A detailed study of the electronic transport and magnetic properties of
FeCuCrS () on single crystals is presented. The
resistivity is investigated for K in magnetic fields up to
14 Tesla and under hydrostatic pressure up to 16 kbar. In addition
magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements were performed.
FMR and magnetization data reveal a pronounced magnetic anisotropy, which
develops below the Curie temperature, , and increases strongly
towards lower temperatures. Increasing the Cu concentration reduces this
effect. At temperatures below 35 K the magnetoresistance, , exhibits a strong dependence on the direction of the
magnetic field, probably due to an enhanced anisotropy. Applying the field
along the hard axis leads to a change of sign and a strong increase of the
absolute value of the magnetoresistance. On the other hand the
magnetoresistance remains positive down to lower temperatures, exhibiting a
smeared out maximum with the magnetic field applied along the easy axis. The
results are discussed in the ionic picture using a triple-exchange model for
electron hopping as well as a half-metal utilizing a band picture.Comment: some typos correcte
Effect of childbirth on the course of Crohn's disease; results from a retrospective cohort study in the Netherlands
Contains fulltext :
95846.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with Crohn's disease needs proper counselling about the effect of pregnancy and childbirth on their disease. However, Literature about the effect of childbirth on Crohn's disease is limited. This study examined the effect of childbirth on the course of Crohn's disease and especially perianal Crohn's disease. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study which was performed in a tertiary level referral hospital in the Netherlands. From the IBD database, female patients aged 18-80 years in 2004 were selected. Data analysis took place in the years 2005 and 2006. Eventually, 114 women with at least one pregnancy after the diagnosis of Crohn's disease were eligible for the study. Differences between groups were analyzed using Wilcoxon Mann Whitney tests and Chi-square analysis with 2 x 2 or 2 x 3 contingency tables. Two-tailed values were used and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 21/114 women (18%) had active luminal disease prior to pregnancy, with significantly more pregnancy related complications compared to women with inactive luminal disease (Odds ratio 2.8; 95% CI 1.0 - 7.4). Caesarean section rate was relatively high (37/114, 32%), especially in patients with perianal disease prior to pregnancy compared to women without perianal disease (Odds ratio 4.6; 95% CI 1.8 - 11.4). Disease progression after childbirth was more frequent in patients with active luminal disease prior to pregnancy compared to inactive luminal disease (Odds ratio 9.7; 95% CI 2.1 - 44.3). Progression of perianal disease seems less frequent after vaginal delivery compared with caesarean section, in both women with prior perianal disease (18% vs. 31%, NS) and without prior perianal disease (5% vs 14%, NS). There were no more fistula-related complications after childbirth in women with an episiotomy or second degree tear. CONCLUSION: A relatively high rate of caesarean sections was observed in women with Crohn's disease, especially in women with perianal disease prior to pregnancy. A protective effect of caesarean section on progression of perianal disease was not observed. However, this must be interpreted carefully due to confounder effect by indication for caesarean section
First-principles study of the inversion thermodynamics and electronic structure of FeM2X4 (thio)spinels (M = Cr, Mn, Co, Ni; X = O, S)
FeM2X4 spinels, where M is a transition metal and X is oxygen or sulfur, are candidate materials for spin filters, one of the key devices in spintronics. We present here a computational study of the inversion thermodynamics and the electronic structure of these (thio)spinels for M = Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, using calculations based on the density functional theory with on-site Hubbard corrections (DFT+U). The analysis of the configurational free energies shows that different behaviour is expected for the equilibrium cation distributions in these structures: FeCr2X4 and FeMn2S4 are fully normal, FeNi2X4 and FeCo2S4 are intermediate, and FeCo2O4 and FeMn2O4 are fully inverted. We have analyzed the role played by the size of the ions and by the crystal field stabilization effects in determining the equilibrium inversion degree. We also discuss how the electronic and magnetic structure of these spinels is modified by the degree of inversion, assuming that this could be varied from the equilibrium value. We have obtained electronic densities of states for the completely normal and completely inverse cation distribution of each compound. FeCr2X4, FeMn2X4, FeCo2O4 and FeNi2O4 are half-metals in the ferrimagnetic state when Fe is in tetrahedral positions. When M is filling the tetrahedral positions, the Cr-containing compounds and FeMn2O4 are half-metallic systems, while the Co and Ni spinels are insulators. The Co and Ni sulfide counterparts are metallic for any inversion degree together with the inverse FeMn2S4. Our calculations suggest that the spin filtering properties of the FeM2X4 (thio)spinels could be modified via the control of the cation distribution through variations in the synthesis conditions
Structure and magnetism in the bond-frustrated spinel
The crystal and magnetic structures of stoichiometric have been investigated using synchrotron x-ray and neutron powder diffraction, muon spin relaxation (), and inelastic neutron scattering. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction shows a spin-lattice distortion from the cubic spinel to a tetragonal lattice below , where powder neutron diffraction confirms the formation of a helical magnetic structure with magnetic moment of at 1.5 K, close to that expected for high-spin . measurements show prominent local spin correlations that are established at temperatures considerably higher (100 μs^{-1}\)) muon relaxation rates are suggestive of rapid site hopping of the muons in static field. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements show a gapless mode at an incommensurate propagation vector of k = [000.4648(2)] in the low-temperature
magnetic ordered phase that extends to 0.8 meV. The dispersion is modeled by a two-parameter Hamiltonian, containing ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor interactions with a
Magnetic compensation, field-dependent magnetization reversal, and complex magnetic ordering in Co
Cost-effectiveness of fibronectin testing in a triage in women with threatened preterm labor: alleviation of pregnancy outcome by suspending tocolysis in early labor (APOSTEL-I trial)
BACKGROUND: At present, women with threatened preterm labor before 32 weeks of gestation are, after transfer to a perinatal center, treated with tocolytics and corticosteroids. Many of these women are treated unnecessarily. Fibronectin is an accurate predictor for the occurrence of preterm birth among women with threatened preterm labor. We will assess whether triage of these women with fibronectin testing, cervical length or their combination is cost-effective. METHODS/DESIGN: We will investigate a prospective cohort of women referred to a perinatal centre for spontaneous threatened preterm labor between 24 and 34 weeks with intact membranes. All women will be tested for fibronectin and cervical length. Women with a cervical length <10 mm and women with a cervical length between 10-30 mm in combination with a positive fibronectin test will be treated with tocolytics according to local protocol. Women with a cervical length between 10-30 mm in combination with a negative fibronectin test will be randomised between treatment with nifedipine (intervention) and placebo (control) for 48 hours. Women with a cervical length > 30 mm will be managed according to local protocol. Corticosteroids may be given to all women at the discretion of the attending physician. Primary outcome measure will be delivery within 7 days. Secondary outcome measures will be neonatal morbidity and mortality, complications of tocolytics, costs and health related quality of life. The analysis will be according to the intention to treat principle. We anticipate the probability on preterm birth within 7 days in the group of women with a negative fibronectine test to be 5%. Two groups of 110 women will be needed to assure that in case of non-inferiority the difference in the proportion of preterm deliveries < 7 days will be within a prespecified boundary of 7.5% (one sided test, beta 0.2, alpha 0.05). Data obtained from women with a positive and negative fibronectin tests in both the cohort study and the trial will be integrated in a cost-effectiveness analysis that will assess economic consequences of the use of fibronectin. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence for the use of fibronectin testing as safe and cost-effective method in a triage for threatened preterm labor. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Nederlands Trial Register (NTR) number 1857, http://www.trialregister.nl
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