Magnetic field induced ferroelectric to relaxor crossover in Tb1-xCaxMnO3

The influence of magnetic field on the electrical properties of Tb1−xCaxMnO3 has been investigated by means of dielectric, polarization and neutron diffraction measurements. A field of 6 T applied along the b-axis induces a crossover from ferroelectric to relaxor behavior for the x = 0.02 compound at temperatures close to the ferroelectric transition. The mechanism of this field induced crossover involves a decrease in the coherence length of the Mn-spin-spiral structure due to increasing electron hopping rates associated with double exchange. Moreover, a large negative magnetocapacitance is observed at the freezing temperature for x = 0.05, which originates from suppression of the relaxor state and thus represents a new mechanism of magnetocapacitance.

Extended Gaussian wave packet dynamics

We examine an extension to the theory of Gaussian wave packet dynamics in a one-dimensional potential by means of a sequence of time dependent displacement and squeezing transformations. Exact expressions for the quantum dynamics are found, and relationships are explored between the squeezed system, Gaussian wave packet dynamics, the time dependent harmonic oscillator, and wave packet dynamics in a Gauss-Hermite basis. Expressions are given for the matrix elements of the potential in some simple cases. Several examples are given, including the propagation of a non-Gaussian initial state in a Morse potential

Highly Compact GCPW-Fed Multi-Branch Structure Multi-Band Antenna for Wireless Applications

In this work, we present a highly compact multi-branch structure multi-band antenna with a grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW)-fed structure printed on 26 ×13 ×1.6 mm3 sized FR-4 substrate having dielectric constant r of 4.3 and loss tangent of 0.02. In the proposed antenna, ve branches are extended from the main radiator to provide multi-band behavior. Two branches are introduced at the upper end of the main radiator, e ectively covering the lower bands, while the other three branches are introduced near the center of the main radiator to extend operation to higher bands. e designed antenna covers ve di erent bands: 2.4 GHz, 4.5 GHz, 5.5 GHz, 6.5 GHz, and 7.8 GHz, with respective gain values of 1.34, 1.60, 1.83, 1.80, and 3.50 dBi and respective radiation e ciency values of 90, 88, 84, 75, and 89%. e antenna shows a good impedance bandwidth, ranging from 170MHz to 3070 MHz. e proposed antenna is simulated in CST Microwave Studio, while its performance is experimentally validated by the fabrication and testing process. e antenna has potential applications for IoT, sub-6 GHz 5G and WLAN (both enablers for IoT), C-band, and X-band services.Dr. Mohammad Alibakhshikenari acknowledges support from the CONEX-Plus programme funded by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801538

Starting from scratch: patient-reported outcome questionnaires & their role in an integrative medicine primary care minimum-dataset

Aim This research explored the use of patient questionnaires for evaluating integrative medicine (IM) clinics in the primary care setting. Background Integrative medicine (IM) combines traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine with conventional biomedicine. With more clinics in Australia offering IM, it is important to evaluate outcomes. Methods Mixed methods were used. This included a case study of an IM clinic in Sydney, Australia; interviews with 20 patients and 13 staff at the clinic; and a systematic literature review of patient questionnaires. Results Challenges for meausring IM outcomes limitations with routine clinical data collection, selecting appropriate questionnaires able to measure the wide range of IM outcomes whilst minimizing responder burden, patient recruitment and practitioner support. Electronic questionnaires have many advantages. Alternative formats such as paper are still needed. Not all interviewees were interested in cohort results or research and instead wanted to access their individual patient results. Discussion The results from the studies were synthesised and a set of recommendations are offered. Conclusions Patient questionnaires could be used to establish a minimum dataset for use in research, health service development, and informing and improving individual patient care. A bottom-up approach that adresses stakeholders’ needs for a dataset is essential

Thermodynamic properties and structural stability of thorium dioxide

Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have systematically investigated the thermodynamic properties and structural stabilities of thorium dioxide (ThO$_2$). Based on the calculated phonon dispersion curves, we calculate the thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, and heat capacities at different temperatures for ThO$_2$ under the quasi-harmonic approximation. All the results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments proving the validity of our methods. Our theoretical studies can help people more clearly understand the thermodynamic behaviors of ThO$_2$ at different temperatures. In addition, we have also studied possible defect formations and diffusion behaviors of helium in ThO$_2$, to discuss its structural stability. It is found that in intrinsic ThO$_2$ without any Fermi energy shifts, the interstitial Th$_i^{4+}$ defect other than oxygen or thorium vacancies, interstitial oxygen, and any kinds of Frenkel pairs, is most probable to form with an energy release of 1.74 eV. However, after upshifting the Fermi energy, the formation of the other defects also becomes possible. For helium diffusion, we find that only through the thorium vacancy can it happen with the small energy barrier of 0.52 eV. Otherwise, helium atoms can hardly incorporate or diffuse in ThO$_2$. Our results indicate that people should prevent upshifts of the Fermi energy of ThO$_2$ to avoid the formation of thorium vacancies and so as to prevent helium caused damages.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

Nonmyeloablative Peripheral Blood Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation for Refractory Severe Aplastic Anemia

New transplant approaches are urgently needed for patients with refractory severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who lack a matched sibling or unrelated donor (UD) or who have failed UD or cord blood transplant. Patients with refractory SAA are at risk of later clonal evolution to myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukemia. We report our pilot findings with haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haploHSCT) using uniform reduced-intensity conditioning with postgraft high-dose cyclophosphamide in 8 patients with refractory SAA or patients who rejected a prior UD or cord blood transplant. Six of 8 patients engrafted. Graft failure was associated with donor-directed HLA antibodies, despite intensive pre-HSCT desensitization with plasma exchange and rituximab. There was only 1 case of grade II skin graft-versus-host disease. We show that haploHSCT can successfully rescue refractory SAA patients who lack donor-directed HLA antibodies but not in the presence of donor-directed HLA antibodies. This novel protocol for haploHSCT for SAA has been adopted by the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Severe Aplastic Anaemia Working Party for a future noninterventional, observational study to further evaluate its efficacy