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Background: Several patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) have been developed for research to assess the multiple dimensions of chronic pruritus (CP). The acceptability and perceived benefits of their use in clinical practice remain unknown. Objectives: To assess the acceptability and perceived benefits of validated PROMs from the perspective of patients and physicians in dermatological offices and clinics. Methods: Patients with CP due to atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, chronic prurigo or chronic urticaria were recruited at 10 dermatological offices and two dermatological clinics in Germany. Patients completed a set of validated PROMs on pruritus intensity (numerical rating scale, NRS), symptom control (itch‐controlled days, ItchCD), quality of life (Dermatology Life Quality Index, DLQI; 5‐pruritus life quality, 5PLQ) and general health status (EuroQol, EQ‐VAS). Acceptability (relevance, difficulty of completion, length) and benefits (usefulness, feasibility) of these tools were assessed on a NRS (0–10) by patients and physicians, respectively. Data were analysed descriptively. Linear regression was used to study potential associations between age, sex, occupation, office versus clinic, change of therapy and physician‐reported benefits. Results: N = 523 patients (46% male, average age: 53.5 years) participated. Acceptability of PROMs by patients was high, indicated by low difficulty (Md = 0, IQR = 0–1 for all PROMs) and high relevance (Md = 8, IQR = 4–10 for all PROMs). Also, most patients (89–95%) rated length of the questionnaires as 'exactly right'. Physicians rated the NRS as the most beneficial instrument (feasibility: Md = 8, IQR = 6–10; usefulness: Md = 9, IQR = 7–10). Hierarchical linear regression revealed that only recruitment site (dermatological office vs. clinic) was significantly associated with usefulness and feasibility (higher ratings for clinical context; βs = 0.149–0.258, ps <0.05; except feasibility for EQ5d, β = ns). Conclusions: PROMs are welcomed by patients, while physicians consider instruments measuring pruritus intensity and impairment of quality of life as beneficial for the clinical routine. Widespread implementation of PROMs in daily clinical work is needed to improve care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In amorphous La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films with a fractal structure, two states of magnetic frustration were found, which are the characteristic of cluster spin glass (CSG) and spin glass (SG) states and are associated with the presence of competing, FM and AFM, magnetic interactions, and the geometry of fractal formations. A high density of clusters in them provides effective magnetic interactions of magnetic moments without the participation of free charge carriers. It has been established that the formation of CSG begins with the transition of the central parts of the clusters to the FM state (at T < 98 K) and ends with the formation of the AFM order in the peripheral areas of the clusters, at T < 64 K. Increasing the field to H = 1.2 kOe, which stimulates AFM ordering of peripheral areas, strengthens the state of the cluster glass. A further decrease in temperature (T < 26) and an increase in the field (H > 2.5 kOe) causes the transition of peripheral areas from the AFM to the SG state. A phenomenological description of the frustration process is made. The dependences of the order parameter and barrier height on temperature and magnetic field have been studied. The consequences of the CSG ⇒ SG phase transition for the magnetism of the samples and the direct influence of the external field on their magnetic structure are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of Co and Ni ion doping on the crystal structure, phase transitions, and magnetic properties of the Fe7Se8 system has been investigated. The compounds studied are (Fe0.987Ni0.013)7Se8, (Fe0.955Ni0.045)7Se8, (Fe0.915Ni0.085)7Se8, (Fe0.89Ni0.11)7Se8, (Fe0.79Ni0.21)7Se8, (Fe0.975Co0.025)7Se8, (Fe0.951Co0.049)7Se8, and (Fe0.91Co0.09)7Se8 as well as the parent compound Fe7Se8. The crystals are grown using a modified Bridgman method and exist as a hexagonal NiAs-like structure with an ordered distribution of Fe vacancies that determine their magnetic properties. The substitution effect, inducing a systematic decrease in the unit-cell volume due to the ionic radii of doping ions being smaller than the radii of Fe2+ ions, is a source of chemical pressure, acting on the magnetic subsystem and determining the magnetic ordering temperature TC and the spin-reorientation temperature (TSRT). As the most important result of this paper, it was shown that hydrostatic and chemical pressures are strongly correlated in the investigated system. The character of magnetic phase transitions has been designated in the vicinity of TC and TSRT temperatures, and the magnetic entropy change ΔSm and refrigeration potential magnitudes have been determined for this temperature range. These magnetocaloric parameters were shown to depend strongly on chemical pressure. A phenomenological model developed based on the experimental measurements demonstrated that the magnetic properties of the system depend strongly on the crystal field acting on Fe2+ ions and the ratio of the numbers of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy, magnetoelastic properties as well as the Gilbert damping factor in Co2Fe0.4Mn0.6Si thin films were found to depend on a magnetic layer thickness, and they can be also tuned by the application of additional Ag buffer layer. The tetragonal distortion of a magnetic layer was found to increase with decreasing thickness, and after the application of an additional Ag buffer layer, the character of this distortion was changed from tensile to compressive in the plane of a film. A correlation between the tetragonal distortion and perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy was found. However, the magnitude of the observed tetragonal distortion for most samples seems to be too small to explain alone the experimentally found large magnitude of the perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy. For these samples, other mechanisms including both surface and volume effects must be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetocaloric effect has been studied in high quality single crystals of Fe7Se8 (3c type) grown by using Bridgman's method. Magnetization and magnetocaloric effect measurements have been carried out in a magnetic field up to 5 T over the temperature range from 2 to 490 K. The spin reorientation transition from the easy c-axis to the easy c-plane, proceeding in an abrupt fashion, as a first-order phase transition, has been observed near the temperature TR ≈ 125 K. The magnetization curves in the vicinity of this transition were shown to have an S-shape with a clear hysteresis. The first order metamagnetic field induced transitions have been identified above and below TR. The conventional magnetocaloric effect related to the metamagnetic transitions has been found above TR, while below TR the inverse magnetocaloric effect was clearly seen. The existence of both kinds of magnetocaloric effect is important from the point of view of large rotating field entropy change in Fe7Se8 single crystals. The refrigeration capacity associated with a second order phase transition from the ferrimagnetic to the paramagnetic state at the Néel temperature TN ≈ 450 K was found to be weaker than that appearing near TR. The giant anisotropy of the magnetocaloric effect was related to the magnetic anisotropy of Fe7Se8 crystals. The one-ion model of the magnetocaloric effect has been developed and its predictions have been compared with experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]