Magnetoelastic coupling in the cobalt adipate metal-organic framework from quasi-harmonic lattice dynamics

Magnetic interactions in hybrid materials are poorly understood compared to those in purely inorganic materials. The high flexibility of many metal-organic systems introduces a strong temperature dependence of the magnetic exchange interactions owing to changes in the crystal structure. Here, we study the cobalt adipate system, for which anisotropic thermal expansion was recently shown to be a result of magnetoelastic coupling. The combination of density functional theory with quasi-harmonic lattice dynamics is shown to be a powerful tool for describing temperature dependent thermodynamic potentials that determine magnetic interactions. It is demonstrated that the effect of phonons can be sufficient to switch the preference for ferromagnetic versus antiferromagnetic ordering

Structural Studies of Lanthanide Double Perovskites

This project focuses on the examination of the structures of lanthanide containing double perovskites of the type Ba2LnB'O6-d (Ln = lanthanide or Y3+ and B' = Nb5+, Ta5+, Sb5+ and/or Sn4+) using synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. The first part of this project examined the relative stability of R3 rhombohedral and I4/m tetragonal structures as the intermediate phase adopted by the series Ba2LnB'O6 (Ln = lanthanide (III) or Y3+ and B' = Nb5+, Ta5+ or Sb5+). It was found that I4/m tetragonal symmetry was favoured when B' was a transition metal with a small number of d electrons, such as Nb5+ or Ta5+. This is due to the presence of p-bonding in these compounds. In the Ba2LnNbO6 and Ba2LnTaO6 series R3 rhombohedral symmetry was, however, favoured over I4/m tetragonal symmetry when Ln = La3+ or Pr3+ due to the larger ionic radius of these cations. The incompatibility of the d0 and d10 B'-site cations in this family of compounds was indicated by significant regions of phase segregation in the two series Ba2Eu1-xPrxNb1-xSbxO6 and Ba2NdNb1-xSbxO6. In the second part of this project the compounds in the series Ba2LnSnxB'1-xO6-d (Ln = Pr, Nd or Tb and B' = Nb5+ or Sb5+) were examined to understand the relative stability of oxygen vacancies in these materials compared to the oxidation of the lanthanide cations and to determine if any oxygen vacancy ordering occurred. It was found, using a combination of structural characterisation, X ray Absorption Near Edge Structure and Ultra-Violet, Visible and Near Infrared spectroscopies, that with Ln = Pr or Tb increased Sn4+ doping results in a change in the oxidation state of the Ln3+ cations to Ln4+. This leads to those series containing little or no oxygen vacancies. A loss of B site cation ordering was found to accompany this oxidation state change and phase segregation was found to occur in the Ba2PrSnxSb1-xO6-d series most likely due to the Pr3+ and Pr4+ cations segregating into different phases. The Nd3+ cations in the series Ba2NdSnxSb1-xO6-d, however, can not oxidise to the tetravalent state so the number of oxygen vacancies rises with increasing x. It was found that oxygen vacancies concentrate onto the axial site of the compounds with x = 0.6 and 0.8 at ambient temperature. In Ba2Sn0.6Sb0.4O5.7 the oxygen vacancies were found to change to concentrating on the equatorial site at higher temperatures and it is suggested that this oxygen vacancy ordering plays a role in the adoption of I2/m monoclinic symmetry

A mathematical framework for combining decisions of multiple experts toward accurate and remote diagnosis of malaria using tele-microscopy.

We propose a methodology for digitally fusing diagnostic decisions made by multiple medical experts in order to improve accuracy of diagnosis. Toward this goal, we report an experimental study involving nine experts, where each one was given more than 8,000 digital microscopic images of individual human red blood cells and asked to identify malaria infected cells. The results of this experiment reveal that even highly trained medical experts are not always self-consistent in their diagnostic decisions and that there exists a fair level of disagreement among experts, even for binary decisions (i.e., infected vs. uninfected). To tackle this general medical diagnosis problem, we propose a probabilistic algorithm to fuse the decisions made by trained medical experts to robustly achieve higher levels of accuracy when compared to individual experts making such decisions. By modelling the decisions of experts as a three component mixture model and solving for the underlying parameters using the Expectation Maximisation algorithm, we demonstrate the efficacy of our approach which significantly improves the overall diagnostic accuracy of malaria infected cells. Additionally, we present a mathematical framework for performing 'slide-level' diagnosis by using individual 'cell-level' diagnosis data, shedding more light on the statistical rules that should govern the routine practice in examination of e.g., thin blood smear samples. This framework could be generalized for various other tele-pathology needs, and can be used by trained experts within an efficient tele-medicine platform

Lateral Leadership in Action

Lateral leaders influence, persuade, and elicit constructive contributions from others at all levels of an organization. In this article, the authors build off their 2021 Brick & Click Conference Proceedings article and weave in their own perspectives and experiences of lateral leadership in action through a discussion of (1) the importance and role of lateral leadership in today’s organizations; (2) how using a strategic mindset can steer problem solving; (3) ways to identify, cultivate, and support lateral leaders; (4) strategies to build trust and empower others as a peer; and (5) techniques for working thoughtfully with teams as a lateral leader

Análisis de la quiebra empresarial de pequeña y medianas empresas en Ecuador (2006-2010). una aplicación del modelo de duración de cox (1972)

El presente documento ofrece una evidencia empírica de las posibles determinantes de los fallos empresariales prematuros (PYMES) , en Ecuador correspondiente al periodo 2006-2010. Partiendo del supuesto que dichas causantes pueden venir dadas por variables propias de la firma o por variables sistémicas de la economía en la que se desarrollan. El análisis se basa en modelos de duración, como el estimador producto límite (Kaplan- Meier), el de riesgo proporcionales (Modelo de Cox) y el modelo paramétrico Weibull. Los resultados evidencian una relación inversa entre la supervivencia de las empresas y factores como el rendimiento sobre los activos iniciales, crecimiento del sector en cuestión y el saldo positivo neto de la rotación empresarial. Y una relación directa con las actividades económicas de “Hoteles y Restaurantes”, “Intermediación Financiera” y “Construcción”, resultando ser las actividades más riesgosas a ejercer. Finalmente, la hipótesis principal a contrastar (con respecto al tamaño inicial de la firma), no resultó concluyente, ya que se evidencia mayores riesgo de quiebra para las medianas empresas que para las microempresas

Strong Coupling Superconductivity in the Vicinity of the Structural Quantum Critical Point in (CaxSr1-x)3Rh4Sn13

The family of the superconducting quasiskutterudites (CaxSr1?x)3Rh4Sn13 features a structural quantum critical point at xc=0.9, around which a dome-shaped variation of the superconducting transition temperature Tc is found. Using specific heat, we probe the normal and the superconducting states of the entire series straddling the quantum critical point. Our analysis indicates a significant lowering of the effective Debye temperature on approaching xc, which we interpret as a result of phonon softening accompanying the structural instability. Furthermore, a remarkably large enhancement of 2?/kBTc and ?C/?Tc beyond the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer values is found in the vicinity of the structural quantum critical point. The phase diagram of (CaxSr1?x)3Rh4Sn13 thus provides a model system to study the interplay between structural quantum criticality and strong electron-phonon coupling superconductivity

Transition-Metal Dependent Cation Disorder in the Chiral Cubic AB(HCO2)3 Metal-Organic Frameworks (A = Li or Na, B = Mn or Co)

This study examines the crystal structures of the AB(HCO2)3 (A = Li or Na and B = Mn or Co) metal-organic frameworks, which we find to adopt a chiral cubic P213 structure. This shows that the Li containing formates are isostructural with their Na analogues, extending the phase stability of this chiral architecture. The Mn containing compounds have a magnetic sublattice similar to ?-Mn, long of interest due to its highly frustrated antiferromagnetic coupling. In contrast the Co formates appear to have partially disordered alkali and transition metal cations, which prevents the formation of a clean ?-Mn-like magnetic sublattice. We have also re-examined the magnetic properties of NaMn(HCO2)3 finding it to be a simple paramagnet down to 2 K with only weak antiferromagnetic coupling

Prolonged Leptospira Urinary Shedding in a 10-Year-Old Girl

We present a case of leptospirosis in a previously healthy girl following a trip to Costa Rica. While she was clinically asymptomatic, she had spirochetes cultured from her urine six weeks following her trip. Prolonged urinary shedding following infection with Leptospira is possible in humans and often has subtle manifestations in children