Observation of long range magnetic ordering in pyrohafnate Nd2Hf2O7: A neutron diffraction study

We have investigated the physical properties of a pyrochlore hafnate Nd2Hf2O7 using ac magnetic susceptibility \chi_ac(T), dc magnetic susceptibility \chi(T), isothermal magnetization M(H) and heat capacity C_p(T) measurements, and determined the magnetic ground state by neutron powder diffraction study. An upturn is observed below 6 K in C_p(T)/T, however both C_p(T) and \chi(T) do not show any clear anomaly down to 2 K. The \chi_ac(T) shows a well pronounced anomaly indicating an antiferromagnetic transition at T_N = 0.55 K. The long range antiferromagnetic ordering is confirmed by neutron diffraction. The refinement of neutron diffraction pattern reveals an all-in/all-out antiferromagnetic structure, where for successive tetrahedra, the four Nd3+ magnetic moments point alternatively all-into or all-out-of the tetrahedron, with an ordering wavevector k = (0, 0, 0) and an ordered state magnetic moment of m = 0.62(1) \mu_B/Nd at 0.1 K. The ordered moment is strongly reduced reflecting strong quantum fluctuations in ordered state.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures and 2 tables; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Feasibility of the physiological cost index as an outcome measure for the assessment of energy expenditure during walking

Objective: To determine if the Physiological Cost Index (PCI) can be recommended as an outcome measure in clinical trials. Design: Three assessments were performed, 2 with shoes, 1 without. The difference between walking with shoes and walking barefoot was used to study the ability of the PCI to detect a change in the criterion standard. Setting: A research department affiliated with a rehabilitation hospital in the Netherlands. Participants: Twelve children with cerebral palsy. Interventions: During the first and third assessments, the children walked with shoes. During the intermediate assessment, the children walked without shoes. Main Outcome Measures: Breath-by-breath oxygen uptake, heart rate (HR), and walking speed were measured at a self-selected comfortable speed. Oxygen cost (EO2) and the PCI were subsequently calculated offline. Feasibility judgments were made regarding the ability of the PCI to detect changes in a criterion standard and the statistical power of the outcome measure. Results: Pearson correlation coefficients were .66 and .62 for HRwalking-HRbaseline and HRwalking, respectively. The smallest detectable difference of the PCI and EO2 were 69% and 32%, respectively. A difference of at least 69% or 32% should be found before one can conclude a difference with a certainty of 95%. Conclusions: The reproducibility of the PCI and the ability to show small differences in EO2 were moderate. Subtracting HRbaseline when calculating the PCI is probably not useful because it only increased within-subject variability. With respect to statistical power of a new clinical trial, we recommend using EO2 instead of the PCI

Crystal field states of Kondo lattice heavy fermions CeRuSn3 and CeRhSn3

Inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been carried out to determine the crystal field states of the Kondo lattice heavy fermions CeRuSn3 and CeRhSn3. Both the compounds crystallize in LaRuSn3-type cubic structure (space group Pm-3n) in which the Ce atoms occupy two distinct crystallographic sites with cubic (m-3) and tetragonal (-4m.2) point symmetries. The INS data of CeRuSn3 reveal the presence of a broad excitation centered around 6-8 meV which is accounted by a model based on crystal electric field (CEF) excitations. On the other hand, the INS data of isostructural CeRhSn3 reveal three CEF excitations around 7.0, 12.2 and 37.2 meV. The neutron intensity sum rule indicates that the Ce ions at both cubic and tetragonal Ce sites are in Ce3+ state in both CeRuSn3 and CeRhSn3. The CEF level schemes for both the compounds are deduced. We estimate the Kondo temperature T_K = 3.1(2) K for CeRuSn3 from neutron quasielastic linewidth in excellent agreement with that determined from the scaling of magnetoresistance which gives T_K = 3.2(1) K. For CeRhSn3 the neutron quasielastic linewidth gives T_K = 4.6 K. For both CeRuSn3 and CeRhSn3, the ground state of Ce3+ turns out to be a quartet for the cubic site and a doublet for the tetragonal site.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Cervical growth in a young woman: a case report

Genital tuberculosis, a silent killer of menstrual function and fertility potential is common in developing countries like India. Cervical TB is extremely rare and it accounts for 0.1-0.65% of all the cases of tuberculosis and 5-24% of all the genital tuberculosis cases. The clinical presentation of genitourinary tuberculosis is variable in nature and it can also be asymptomatic. Here, we are reporting a rare case of cervical tuberculosis clinically masquerading as cervical malignancy presenting with secondary amenorrhoea