Enhanced weak superconductivity in trigonal-PtBi.

Electrical resistivity experiments show superconductivity atTc=1.1K in a high-quality single crystal of trigonal-PtBi, with an enhanced critical magnetic fieldμ0Hc2(0)≳1.5Tesla and a low critical current-densityJc(0)≈40 A cmat = 0.

Non-Gaussian tail in the force distribution: a hallmark of correlated disorder in the host media of elastic objects.

Inferring the nature of disorder in the media where elastic objects are nucleated is of crucial importance for many applications but remains a challenging basic-science problem. Here we propose a method to discern whether weak-point or strong-correlated disorder dominates based on characterizing the distribution of the interaction forces between objects mapped in large fields-of-view. We illustrate our proposal with the case-study system of vortex structures nucleated in type-II superconductors with different pinning landscapes.

Metallic state in cubic FeGe beyond its quantum phase transition.

We report on results of electrical resistivity and structural investigations on the cubic modification of FeGe under high pressure. The long-wavelength helical order (T(C) = 280 K) is suppressed at a critical pressure p(c) approximately 19 GPa. An anomaly at T(X)(p) and strong deviations from a Fermi-liquid behavior in a wide pressure range above p(c) suggest that the suppression of T(C) disagrees with the standard notion of a quantum critical phase transition.

[Locoregional treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison between percutaneous alcohol administration and intraarterial chemoembolization].

Between 1991 and 1998, 45 cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (1 or 2 lesions smaller than 5 cm) were treated either with percutaneous ethanol injection (26 patients) or with trans arterial chemoembolization (19 patients) in our Department. Percutaneous ethanol injection was performed on 37 nodules: mean diameter of 3.1 +/- 0.