Undulated silicene and germanene freestanding layers: why not?

Silicene and germanene freestanding layers are usually described as a honeycomb lattice formed by two hexagonal sub-lattices presenting a height difference, namely the layer buckling. In this work, first-principles calculations show that silicene and germanene can be rippled at 0 K with various wavelengths, without any compressive strain of the layer. For germanene, the height difference between two Ge atoms from the same sub-lattice can be as high as 4.7 [Formula: see text] for an undulation length of 81 [Formula: see text]. The deformations are related to slight (lower than 1.7°) bond angle modifications, and the energy cost is remarkably low, lying between 0.1 and 0.8 meV per atom. These undulations modify the electronic structure, opening a gap of 15 meV.

Anti-adalimumab antibodies in psoriasis: lack of clinical utility and laboratory evidence.

OBJECTIVE: Adalimumab has proven effective in psoriasis; however, secondary failure may result from the drug's immunogenicity. Prevalence data on the immunogenicity of biologicals, and of adalimumab in particular, are highly variable. We investigated the prevalence of anti-adalimumab antibodies and the association with clinical indexes and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) serum levels in psoriatic patients. DESIGN: Case-control, longitudinal. SETTING: Single centre. PARTICIPANTS: Patient groups: I (n=20) receiving biological therapies after switching from adalimumab; II (n=30) ongoing adalimumab therapy; III (n=30) novel adalimumab therapy; IV (n=15) biological therapies other than adalimumab.Healthy subjects: (group V; n=15) never treated with immunosuppressants or biologicals. INTERVENTIONS: All groups were tested at enrolment. Group II was also tested at 12 months, and group III at 1, 3, and 6 months. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Standard clinical evaluations (Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI)), blood samples and two-site ELISA-based measurement of serum adalimumab trough levels, anti-adalimumab antibodies and TNFα. RESULTS: The false-positive rate was 23% for adalimumab detection and 22% for anti-adalimumab antibodies in patients naïve to adalimumab. Spurious positivity for anti-adalimumab antibodies (one-time-point positivity in group III during follow-up) accounted for 33% of the total. The prevalence of anti-drug antibodies was highest (87%) in group I patients. No correlations were found between the presence of anti-adalimumab antibodies or adalimumab levels and changes in PASI scores. CONCLUSIONS: High variability of results, high prevalence of false-positives and lack of association between anti-adalimumab antibodies and TNFα level/PASI score limit this assay's usefulness. Accurate clinical evaluation is key to early identification of treatment failures.

Differential expression of interleukin-2 by anti-CD3-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with psoriatic arthritis and patients with cutaneous psoriasis.

The differences in systemic T-cell responses between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and patients with cutaneous psoriasis (Ps) are still largely unknown. To determine differential features that could be used to distinguish PsA from Ps, we compared the cytokine secretion profile of circulating T cells in patients with PsA, patients with cutaneous Ps and control subjects. We determined Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokine secretion of anti-CD3-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using a cytokine bead array. Normality of data distribution was assessed by the Shapiro-Wilk test, and statistical significance was calculated by the Mann-Whitney test. Phenotypic characterization of circulating T cells was performed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. We found that the major systemic differences distinguishing PsA from cutaneous Ps were the increased secretion of interleukin (IL)-2 by α-CD3-stimulated PBMCs and a higher percentage of circulating CD3+ T cells expressing the proliferation marker CD71 in PsA. These results indicate IL-2 as a possible biomarker of PsA, and suggest a role of circulating T cells with high proliferative capacity in the pathogenesis of PsA.

[Head and neck injuries: 184 cases in Mali]. / Traumatologie cervico-faciale: 184 cas au Mali.

This prospective descriptive study was carried out from August 2007 to January 2008 in the emergency surgery department of Gabriel Touré Hospital in Bamako, Mali. A series of 184 patients treated for head and neck injuries was compiled. Patients presenting strictly neurosurgical lesions were excluded. Most of the patients included in this series were young single city-dwelling males (mean, age, 27 years; M/F sex ratio, 4.3. Most injuries were sustained in road traffic accidents (93%). The most common injuries were epistaxis and multiple fractures of facial bones, cervical spine and petrosal bone. These injuries ere often associated with avulsive wounds involving the external ear and nose. The main complication risks fell into four categories, i.e., circulatory loss, upper airway obstruction, functional and/or morphological impairment, and coma-related death (Glasgow score < 8). Shortage of medication and/or disposable treatment kits was a major handicap for optimal management of head and neck injuries.

High-resolution ISAR imaging of maneuvering targets by means of the range instantaneous Doppler technique: modeling and performance analysis.

Very high resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging of maneuvering targets is a complicated task. In fact, the conventional range Doppler (RD) ISAR technique does not work properly when target motions generate terms higher than the first order in the phase of the received signal relative to each scatterer. This effect typically happens when at least one of these situations occur: (1) very high resolution images are required; (2) the target maneuvers; and (3) the target undergoes significant angular motions (roll, pitch, and yaw). A novel ISAR technique, named range instantaneous Doppler (RID), has been proposed for the reconstruction of very high resolution images of maneuvering targets. In this paper, we analytically show that the RID technique works properly when high-resolution ISAR images are required of maneuvering and/or rolling, pitching, and yawing targets; we also quantify the performance improvement of the RID technique with respect to the RD technique. The problem is tackled from an analytical point of view. First, we define a new model of the ISAR received signal that is valid for maneuvering targets, then we derive and compare the analytical expression of the point spread function (PSF) for the two techniques. Furthermore, we perform a statistical analysis to evaluate the improvement of the RID technique versus the RD technique in terms of spatial resolution. Finally, we prove the effectiveness of the RID technique by simulating the imaging process for two different targets: (1) a ship that undergoes roll, pitch and yaw motions and (2) a fast maneuvering airplane.

Postoperative pain treated by intravenous L-tryptophan: a double-blind study versus placebo in cholecystectomized patients.

The effectiveness of intravenous administration (i.v.) of L-tryptophan, which is the precursor of cerebral serotonin, was verified in the treatment of postoperative pain. The study was carried out on 45 female patients, aged between 34 and 61 years, undergoing cholecystectomy who were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (age: 50.33 +/- 8.64 years) received 100 ml of 5% mannitol solution i.v.; group 2 (age: 49.80 +/- 11.11 years) 100 ml of a mannitol solution containing 7.5 mg/kg L-tryptophan; and group 3 (age: 53.46 +/- 9.60 years) 100 ml of a mannitol solution containing 15 mg/kg L-tryptophan. Vital capacity (preoperative VC) was measured before surgery. Anesthesia used was isoflurane. Narcotics or neuroleptics were not used. Pain was assessed before treatment (T-0 min), at the end of administration (T-30) and at T-60, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 min by the following variables: respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), Scott-Huskisson test (VAS), pain vital capacity (PVC), analgesic vital capacity (AVC), and respiratory restoration factor (RRF) calculated from Bromage's formula (RRF = (AVC - PVC/preoperative VC - PVC) X 100). As regards variables RR, HR, MAP and VAS, differences between the values from T-30 to T-360 and the value at T-0 were calculated. Means and S.E.M. were calculated on the obtained values and on RRF values for each group. The significance of the differences between groups was calculated using Student's t test and Bonferroni's test. Results show a significant decrease of pain in groups 2 and 3 treated with L-tryptophan, in comparison with group 1 (controls). No significant difference was observed between the treated groups, although more lasting pain relief was observed in group 3 in comparison with group 2. Intravenous L-tryptophan showed its effectiveness in the treatment of postoperative pain even when used alone. Its use may be considered for patients with renal failure, in order to strengthen pharmacological analgesia or to prevent postoperative pain by its intraoperative administration.