Role of charge carriers for ferromagnetism in cobalt-doped rutile TiO2

Electric and magnetic properties of a high temperature ferromagnetic oxide semiconductor, cobalt-doped rutile TiO2, are summarized. The cobalt-doped rutile TiO2 epitaxial thin films with different electron densities and cobalt contents were grown on r-sapphire substrates with laser molecular beam epitaxy. Results of magnetization, magnetic circular dichroism, and anomalous Hall effect measurements were examined for samples with systematically varied electron densities and cobalt contents. The samples with high electron densities and cobalt contents show the high temperature ferromagnetism, suggesting that charge carriers induce the ferromagnetism.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure

The Teaching of Legislation in Canadian Law Faculties

Wade MacLauchlan: On behalf of Pierre Issalys, who serves as co- President of the Administrative Law Section of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, and myself, I would like to welcome you to our annual section meeting. The subject which has been adopted for today\u27s meeting is: The Teaching of Legislation in Canadian Law Faculties . We have the good fortune to have as panelists three of the most experienced and vital teachers of Administrative Law in the country. Professors Terry Ison of Osgoode Hall Law School, Hudson Janisch of the University of Toronto and Pierre-Andr6 Cot6 of l\u27Universit6 de Montr6al combine sixty years of teaching in various law faculties across Canada. Moreover, each has made his mark in specific areas related to legislation, Professor Ison in compensation schemes, particularly in workers\u27 compensation, Professor Janisch in the area of regulated industries and Professor Cot6 in statutory interpretation

Bulk and Surface Magnetization of Co atoms in Rutile Ti_[1-x]Co_xO_[2-delta] Thin Films Revealed by X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism

We have studied magnetism in Ti_[1-x]Co_xO_[2-\delta] thin films with various x and \delta by soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements at the Co L_[2,3] absorption edges. The estimated ferromagnetic moment by XMCD was 0.15-0.24 \mu\beta/Co in the surface, while in the bulk it was 0.82-2.25 \mu\beta/Co, which is in the same range as the saturation magnetization of 1.0-1.5 \mu\beta/Co. Theseresults suggest that the intrinsic origin of the erromagnetism. The smaller moment of Co atom at surface is an indication of a magnetically dead layer of a few nm thick at the surface of the thin films.Comment: This Paper is accepted in J. of Phys: Conds. Matte

Evaluation of the impact of the voucher and accreditation approach on improving reproductive behaviors and RH status: Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cost of delivering reproductive health services to low-income populations will always require total or partial subsidization by the government and/or development partners. Broadly termed "Demand-Side Financing" or "Output-Based Aid", includes a range of interventions that channel government or donor subsidies to the service user rather than the service provider. Initial findings from the few assessments of reproductive health voucher-and-accreditation programs suggest that, if implemented well, these programs have great potential for achieving the policy objectives of increasing access and use, reducing inequities and enhancing program efficiency and service quality. At this point in time, however, there is a paucity of evidence describing how the various voucher programs function in different settings, for various reproductive health services.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Population Council-Nairobi, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, intends to address the lack of evidence around the pros and cons of 'voucher and accreditation' approaches to improving the reproductive health of low income women in five developing countries. In Bangladesh, the activities will be conducted in 11 accredited health facilities where Demand Side Financing program is being implemented and compared with populations drawn from areas served by similar non-accredited facilities. Facility inventories, client exit interviews and service provider interviews will be used to collect comparable data across each facility for assessing readiness and quality of care. In-depth interviews with key stakeholders will be conducted to gain a deeper understanding about the program. A population-based survey will also be carried out in two types of locations: areas where vouchers are distributed and similar locations where vouchers are not distributed.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This is a quasi-experimental study which will investigate the impact of the voucher approach on improving maternal health behaviors and status and reducing inequities at the population level. We expect a significant increase in the utilization of maternal health care services by the accredited health facilities in the experimental areas compared to the control areas as a direct result of the interventions. If the voucher scheme in Bangladesh is found effective, it may help other countries to adopt this approach for improving utilization of maternity care services for reducing maternal mortality.</p

Exploring the effectiveness of the output-based aid voucher program to increase uptake of gender-based violence recovery services in Kenya: a qualitative evaluation

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Few studies in Africa have explored in detail the ability of output-based aid (OBA) voucher programs to increase access to gender-based violence recovery (GBVR) services. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in 2010 and involved: (i) in-depth interviews (IDIs) with health managers, service providers, voucher management agency (VMA) managers and (ii) focus group discussions (FGDs) with voucher users, voucher non-users, voucher distributors and opinion leaders drawn from five program sites in Kenya. Results: The findings showed promising prospects for the uptake of OBA GBVR services among target population. However, a number of factors affect the uptake of the services. These include lack of general awareness of the GBVR services vouchers, lack of understanding of the benefit package, immediate financial needs of survivors, as well as stigma and cultural beliefs that undermine reporting of cases or seeking essential medical services. Moreover, accreditation of only hospitals to offer GBVR services undermines access to the services in rural areas. Poor responsiveness from law enforcement agencies and fear of reprisal from perpetrators also undermine treatment options and access to medical services. Low provider knowledge on GBVR services and lack of supplies also affect effective provision and management of GBVR services. Conclusions: The above findings suggest that there is a need to build the capacity of health care providers and police officers, strengthen the community strategy component of the OBA program to promote the GBVR services voucher, and conduct widespread community education programs aimed at prevention, ensuring survivors know how and where to access services and addressing stigma and cultural barriers.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundatio

Experimental studies on vacancy induced ferromagnetism in undoped TiO2

Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed in undoped TiO2 films deposited on Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The ferromagnetic properties of the samples depend on the oxygen partial pressure during the PLD synthesis. The appearance of higher binding energy component (HBEC) in the oxygen 1s core peak from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggests the presence of oxygen vacancies in these samples. The amount of oxygen during the synthesis determines the vacancy concentration in the samples which is directly related to the magnetic behavior of the samples. The magnetic moment decreases with oxygen vacancy concentration in the samples. Valence band measurements were performed to study the electronic structure of both stoichometric and reduced TiO2. The analyses show the presence of Ti 3d band near the Fermi level in reduced TiO2 samples. These bands are otherwise empty in stoichiometric TiO2 and reside in the conduction band which makes them unobservable by XPS. The existence of this Ti 3d band near the Fermi level can possibly lead to Stoner splitting of the band.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figur

Circulating adrenomedullin estimates survival and reversibility of organ failure in sepsis: the prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock-1 (AdrenOSS-1) study

Background: Adrenomedullin (ADM) regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability during sepsis. Levels of circulating biologically active ADM (bio-ADM) show an inverse relationship with blood pressure and a direct relationship with vasopressor requirement. In the present prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock 1 (, AdrenOSS-1) study, we assessed relationships between circulating bio-ADM during the initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay and short-term outcome in order to eventually design a biomarker-guided randomized controlled trial. Methods: AdrenOSS-1 was a prospective observational multinational study. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included organ failure as defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, organ support with focus on vasopressor/inotropic use, and need for renal replacement therapy. AdrenOSS-1 included 583 patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis or septic shock. Results: Circulating bio-ADM levels were measured upon admission and at day 2. Median bio-ADM concentration upon admission was 80.5 pg/ml [IQR 41.5-148.1 pg/ml]. Initial SOFA score was 7 [IQR 5-10], and 28-day mortality was 22%. We found marked associations between bio-ADM upon admission and 28-day mortality (unadjusted standardized HR 2.3 [CI 1.9-2.9]; adjusted HR 1.6 [CI 1.1-2.5]) and between bio-ADM levels and SOFA score (p &lt; 0.0001). Need of vasopressor/inotrope, renal replacement therapy, and positive fluid balance were more prevalent in patients with a bio-ADM &gt; 70 pg/ml upon admission than in those with bio-ADM ≤ 70 pg/ml. In patients with bio-ADM &gt; 70 pg/ml upon admission, decrease in bio-ADM below 70 pg/ml at day 2 was associated with recovery of organ function at day 7 and better 28-day outcome (9.5% mortality). By contrast, persistently elevated bio-ADM at day 2 was associated with prolonged organ dysfunction and high 28-day mortality (38.1% mortality, HR 4.9, 95% CI 2.5-9.8). Conclusions: AdrenOSS-1 shows that early levels and rapid changes in bio-ADM estimate short-term outcome in sepsis and septic shock. These data are the backbone of the design of the biomarker-guided AdrenOSS-2 trial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02393781. Registered on March 19, 2015

Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future - Key Findings from the WIREL Project

The role of religion is currently a topic of considerable public interest in Vienna as well as across Europe. Over the course of the last half-century, Vienna has witnessed rapidly changing religious composition accompanied by consistently increasing religious diversity. The various aspects of research conducted by WIREL facilitate the global assessment of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of religious diversity in Vienna. A short report – Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future –summarises the research findings with the aim of making the trends, drivers, and socio-demographic consequences of the changing religious landscape of Vienna more accessible and understandable