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This article, published in the journal "Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology," discusses the use of transvaginal sonographic (TVS) sliding bladder sign as a diagnostic tool for predicting vesicouterine adhesions. The study conducted at Amsterdam UMC included patients scheduled for gynecologic laparoscopic surgery for a benign disorder. The results showed that the absence of sliding bladder on TVS had a high positive predictive value for any adhesions and a high sensitivity for severe adhesions. The presence of sliding bladder had a high negative predictive value for severe adhesions and a high specificity for any adhesions. The study concludes that the sliding bladder sign using TVS is a reliable tool for predicting vesicouterine adhesions and recommends its routine use in preoperative planning. [Extracted from the article]

Scanning tunnelling microscope experiments undertaken at 4.3 K in fields B up to 1.9 T make it possible to produce images containing both topographic and spectroscopic information. Columnar defects and vortices can be seen simultaneously, with the defects being visible as black spots. It was found that, where strongly pinning line defects are present, the vortex lattice stays pinned until the number of vortices is around twice that of the defects. At this point, plastic creep starts. If there is weak intrinsic point disorder, the vortices creep coherently along one of the main axes of the vortex lattice.

A study was conducted to analyze the occurrence of magnetic domains in MnZn-ferrite grains by magnetic force microscopy. The ferrites were prepared using wet chemical techniques in the powder preparation and sinter temperatures between 750 and 1250 degrees C. Magnetic contrast was interpreted as the occurrence of two magnetic domains. Experimental results indicated that the magnetic environment of a grain supports a critical function in the magnetic configuration.

The surprisingly low current density required for inducing the insulator to metal transition has made Ca2RuO4 an attractive candidate material for developing Mott-based electronics devices. The mechanism driving the resistive switching, however, remains a controversial topic in the field of strongly correlated electron systems. Here we probe an uncovered region of phase space by studying high-purity Ca2RuO4 single crystals, using the sample size as principal tuning parameter. Upon reducing the crystal size, we find a four orders of magnitude increase in the current density required for driving Ca2RuO4 out of the insulating state into a non-equilibrium phase which is the precursor to the fully metallic phase. By integrating a microscopic platinum thermometer and performing thermal simulations, we gain insight into the local temperature during simultaneous application of current and establish that the size dependence is not a result of Joule heating. The findings suggest an inhomogeneous current distribution in the nominally homogeneous crystal. Our study calls for a reexamination of the interplay between sample size, charge current, and temperature in driving Ca2RuO4 towards the Mott insulator to metal transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu63 nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) has been observed in the ternary compound CeCu2Si2 which, when stoichiometric, is a heavy-fermion superconductor. In a superconducting specimen (Tc0.6 K) the observed temperature dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1T1(T) is consistent with a conventional quasiparticle excitation spectrum below Tc, with a pair-breaking parameter approximately half the value for suppression of superconductivity. Features in 1T1(T) between Tc and 1.2 K appear to signal a phase transition, possibly structural in nature. NQR data from a nonsuperconducting sample are consistent with extensive disorder in the Cu site occupation. © 1984 The American Physical Society.

We have grown epitaxial Sm-Co thin films by sputter deposition from a single alloy target with a nominal SmCo5 composition on Cr(100)-buffered MgO(100) single-crystal substrates. By varying the Ar gas pressure, we can change the composition of the film from a SmCo5-like to a Sm2Co7- like phase. The composition, crystal structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of these films have been determined using Rutherford Backscattering, X-ray diffraction, and magnetization measurements. We find that we can grow films with, at room temperature, coercive fields as high as 3.3 T, but with a remanent magnetization which is lower than can be expected from the texturing. This appears to be due to the Sm content of the films, which is higher than expected from the content of the target, even at the lowest possible sputtering pressures. Moreover, we find relatively large variations of film properties using targets of nominally the same composition. At low temperatures, the coercive fields increase, as expected for these hard magnets, but in the magnetization, we observe a strong background signal from the paramagnetic impurities in the MgO substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threshold photoelectron–photoion coincidence (TPEPICO), photoion–fluorescence coincidence (PIFCO), and threshold photoelectron–fluorescence coincidence (TPEFCO) spectroscopies have been used to measure, state selectively, the decay pathways of all the valence states of four gas-phase tetrahedral ion CF+4, SiF+4, SiCl+4, and GeCl+4 in the range 11–26 eV. Vacuum UV radiation from a synchrotron source dispersed by a 5 m normal-incidence McPherson monochromator ionizes the parent molecule, and electrons and ions are detected by threshold electron analysis and time-of-flight mass spectrometry, respectively. Undispersed fluorescence from the interaction region can also be detected, allowing the three different types of coincidence experiment to be performed. The optimum resolution of the monochromator is matched to that of the threshold analyzer, and this work improves on preliminary results using a 1 m Seya monochromator [Chem. Phys. 174, 441 and 453 (1993)] where the resolution of the spectra was limited by that of the optical source. TPEPICO spectra are recorded continuously as a function of photon energy, allowing both threshold photoelectron spectra and yields of all the fragment ions to be obtained. Kinetic energy releases can also be measured at fixed photon energies with good time resolution. PIFCO and TPEFCO spectra are recorded at fixed photon energies. The former experiment can yield the fate of the lower electronic state of the parent ion to which fluorescence occurs.The latter experiment yields the lifetime of the fluorescing state; with sufficient resolution of the photoionizing radiation, the lifetime is specific to one vibrational level of the emitting electronic state. For CF+4 and SiF+4 work has concentrated on the third and fourth excited states, C 2T2 and D 2A1, of which only the C state of SiF+4 does not decay radiatively. Vibrationally state-selected fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes have been measured for... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the relation between defect structure and charge order melting in thin films of epitaxial Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (PCMO), grown under strain on SrTiO3. We compared the behavior of an 80 nm film grown in one deposition step at 840 °C with the behavior of a film grown in two steps. In the two-step case, a thin PCMO layer of 10 nm was deposited at 120 °C, followed by 70 nm deposited at 840 °C. The increase of the growth temperature leads to complete crystallization of the first layer and the lattice constants of the two-step grown film indicate that tensile strain is still present. On the other hand, a magnetic field of only 5 T is required to melt the charge-order state in the two-step grown film, which is a much lower than the value for the normally grown film. This appears to be connected to a larger amount of threading dislocations present in the first (recrystallized) layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Electronic prescribing systems may improve medication safety, but only when used appropriately. The effects of task analysis‐based training on clinical, learning and behavioural outcomes were evaluated in the outpatient setting, compared with the usual educational approach. Methods: This was a multicentre, cluster randomized trial [EDUCATional intervention for IT‐mediated MEDication management (MEDUCATE trial)], with physicians as the unit of analysis. It took place in the outpatient clinics of two academic hospitals. Participants comprised specialists and residents (specialty trainees, in the UK) and their patients. Training took the form of a small‐group session and an e‐learning. The primary outcome was the proportion of medication discrepancies per physician, measured as discrepancies between medications registered by physicians in the electronic prescribing system and those reported by patients. Clinical consequences were estimated by the proportion of patients per physician with at least one missed drug–drug interaction with the potential for causing adverse drug events. A questionnaire assessed physicians' knowledge and skills. Results: Among 124 participating physicians, primary outcome data for 115 (93%) were available. A total of 1094 patients were included. A mean of 48% of registered medications per physician were discrepant with the medications that their patients reported in both groups (P = 0.14). Due to registration omissions, a mean of 4% of patients per physician had one or more missed drug–drug interactions with the potential to cause a clinically relevant adverse drug event in the intervention group, and 7% in controls (P = 0.11). The percentages of correct answers on the knowledge and skills test were higher in the intervention group (57%) compared with controls (51%; P = 0.01). Conclusion: The training equipped outpatient physicians with the knowledge and skills for appropriate use of electronic prescribing systems, but had no effect on medication discrepancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we report the measurements of the magnetothermoelectric power (MTEP) in metallic ferromagnetic thin films of Ni 80 Fe 20 (Permalloy; Py), Co and CrO 2 at temperatures in the range of 100 K to 400 K. In 25 nm thick Py films and 50 nm thick Co films both the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and MTEP show a relative change in resistance and thermoelectric power (TEP) of the order of 0.2% when the magnetic field is reversed, and in both cases there is no significant change in AMR or MTEP after the saturation field has been reached. Surprisingly, both Py and Co films have opposite MTEP behaviour although both have the same sign for AMR and TEP. The data on half metallic ferromagnet CrO 2 films show a different picture. Films of thickness of 100 nm were grown on TiO 2 and on sapphire. The MTEP behavior at low fields shows peaks similar to the AMR in these films, with variations up to 1 % . With increasing field both the MR and the MTEP variations keep growing, with MTEP showing relative changes of 1.5% with the thermal gradient along the b -axis and even 20% with the gradient along the c -axis, with an intermediate value of 3% for the film on sapphire. It appears that the low-field effects are due to the magnetic domain state, and the high-field effects are intrinsic to the electronic structure of CrO 2 and intergarian tunnelling magnetoresistance that contributes to MTEP as tunnelling-MTEP. Our results will stimulate the research work in the field of spin dependent thermal transport in ferromagnetic materials to further develop spin-Caloritronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of a methacrylic preimpregnated resin glass fibre mesh and electro-spun nylon nano fibres on the flexural strength of a heat-cured poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) denture base resin. Methods: A non-reinforced PMMA control group (Vertex™) and two reinforced groups, incorporating glass fibre mesh (Quartz Splint™) and electro-spun nylon nano fibres (Xantu. Layr™) were made according to ISO 20795-1:2013. Flexural strength was measured using a 3-point bend test in a universal testing machine. Statistical analysis was initially done using one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Tukey HSD test (P>0.05) to determine the variance between groups. Results: The PMMA glass fibre mesh reinforced group had a statistically higher mean flexural strength (99.4MPa) compared to the non-reinforced PMMA control (88.5MPa). There was no significant difference between the PMMA nylon nano fibre reinforced group (92.4MPa) and the nonreinforced PMMA control. Conclusions: PMMA denture base resin flexural strength is improved by incorporating the glass fibre mesh, while electro-spun nylon nano fibres produced no significant increase in the flexural strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]