Monte Carlo study of the two-dimensional dipolar ising model

The two-dimensional Ising model with a dipolar and superexchange interaction will be examined. This model will be studied using Monte Carlo simulations. The results of this study will be discussed in two ways. First, the results will he analysed treating the system as a possible model for the rare earth ordering in the compounds REBa₂Cu₃O₇, where RE one of the Kramers rare earth ions. A comparison between the Néel temperature of a pure dipolar system and the experimental Néel temperature of these compounds will be done. As well, the results will be analysed in terms of what may be learned about dipolar systems in general. In particular, the Néel temperature and the static critical exponents will be discussed

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

The magnetic properties of a model two-dimensional dipolar thin film

In this thesis the magnetic properties of a model for a two-dimensional, dipolar thin film are determined using Monte Carlo simulations. Three different versions of the model have been considered and the results have been compared to previous theoretical results as well as to recent experiments on ultra-thin magnetic films. -- The first version of the model is a uniaxial model, with dipolar and exchange interactions. The ground states for this model are shown to be stripe phases for all J/g &gt; 0.85, where J is the strength of the exchange interaction and g is the strength of the dipolar interaction. At finite temperature there is a phase transition from these stripe phases at low temperature to an orientationally disordered phase at higher temperatures. This orientational disordered phase appears to map continuously to the paramagnetic phase. The effect of an applied field on the stripe phases is also considered. -- The second version of the model is a planar model. In this model the magnetic moments interact only via the dipole-dipole interaction. The results of Monte Carlo simulations are interpreted within the context of a linearised spin wave calculation. The comparison indicates that the model system orders at a finite temperature in the thermodynamic limit. The nature of the transition from the paramagnetic state to the low temperature ordered state is studied by considering the decay of the two-point correlation function, both above and below the critical temperature. -- The third version of the model is a dipolar Heisenberg model, in which the magnetic moments interact via the dipole-dipole interaction. The moments are also subject to a magnetic surface anisotropy. This model is shown to exhibit a novel reorientation transition. The phase diagram for this model is developed and compared to that obtained for a similar system with a dominant ferromagnetic exchange interaction