Optical properties of single ZnTe nanowires grown at low temperature

Optically active gold-catalyzed ZnTe nanowires have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy, on a ZnTe(111) buffer layer, at low temperature 350\degree under Te rich conditions, and at ultra-low density (from 1 to 5 nanowires per micrometer^{2}. The crystalline structure is zinc blende as identified by transmission electron microscopy. All nanowires are tapered and the majority of them are oriented. Low temperature micro-photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence experiments have been performed on single nanowires. We observe a narrow emission line with a blue-shift of 2 or 3 meV with respect to the exciton energy in bulk ZnTe. This shift is attributed to the strain induced by a 5 nm-thick oxide layer covering the nanowires, and this assumption is supported by a quantitative estimation of the strain in the nanowires

Severe pneumonia after intravesical BCG instillation in a patient with invasive bladder cancer: case report and literature review

We present here the case of a 66 year old man with a severe bilateral community acquired pneumonia secondary to dissemination after an intravesical instillation of bacilllus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Diagnosis was based on positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in bronchoalveolar lavage and on the finding on transbronchial biopsy of non necrotising granulomas histopathologically similar to the granulomas found in bladder biopsies. These findings were confirmed using a validated real time PCR assay demonstrating the presence of the BCG genome in transbronchial and bladder biopsies

Knowledge and attitudes towards clinical trials among women with ovarian cancer: results of the ACTO study

Background Despite several initiatives by research groups, regulatory authorities, and scientific associations to engage citizens/patients in clinical research, there are still obstacles to participation. Among the main discouraging aspects are incomplete understanding of the concepts related to a clinical trial, and the scant, sometimes confused, explanations given. This observational, cross-sectional multicenter study investigated knowledge, attitudes and trust in clinical research. We conducted a survey among women with ovarian cancer at their first follow-up visit or first therapy session, treated in centers belonging to the Mario Negri Gynecologic Oncology (MaNGO) and Multicenter Italian Trials in Ovarian Cancer (MITO) groups. A questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and experience was assembled ad hoc after a literature review and a validation process involving patients of the Alliance against Ovarian Cancer (ACTO). Results From 25 centers 348 questionnaire were collected; 73.5% of responders were 56 years or older, 54.8% had a high level of education, more than 80% had no experience of trial participation. Among participants 59% knew what clinical trials were and 71% what informed consent was. However, more than half did not know the meaning of the term randomization. More than half (56%) were in favor of participating in a clinical trial, but 35% were not certain. Almost all responders acknowledged the doctor's importance in decision-making. Patients' associations were recognized as having a powerful role in the design and planning of clinical trials. Conclusions This study helps depict the knowledge and attitudes of women with ovarian cancer in relation to clinical trials, suggesting measures aimed at improving trial "culture", literacy and compliance, and fresh ways of communication between doctors and patients

Ceftolozane/Tazobactam for Treatment of Severe ESBL-Producing Enterobacterales Infections: A Multicenter Nationwide Clinical Experience (CEFTABUSE II Study)

Background. Few data are reported in the literature about the outcome of patients with severe extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) infections treated with ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T), in empiric or definitive therapy.Methods. A multicenter retrospective study was performed in Italy (June 2016-June 2019). Successful clinical outcome was defined as complete resolution of clinical signs/symptoms related to ESBL-E infection and lack of microbiological evidence of infection. The primary end point was to identify predictors of clinical failure of C/T therapy.Results. C/T treatment was documented in 153 patients: pneumonia was the most common diagnosis (n = 46, 30%), followed by 34 cases of complicated urinary tract infections (22.2%). Septic shock was observed in 42 (27.5%) patients. C/T was used as empiric therapy in 46 (30%) patients and as monotherapy in 127 (83%) patients. Favorable clinical outcome was observed in 128 (83.7%) patients; 25 patients were considered to have failed C/T therapy. Overall, 30-day mortality was reported for 15 (9.8%) patients. At multivariate analysis, Charlson comorbidity index >4 (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9-3.5; P = .02), septic shock (OR, 6.2; 95% CI, 3.8-7.9; P < .001), and continuous renal replacement therapy (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.9-5.3; P = .001) were independently associated with clinical failure, whereas empiric therapy displaying in vitro activity (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.01-0.34; P < .001) and adequate source control of infection (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.14-0.55; P < .001) were associated with clinical success.Conclusions. Data show that C/T could be a valid option in empiric and/or targeted therapy in patients with severe infections caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacterales. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of clinical failure with standard-dose C/T therapy in septic patients receiving CRRT

Rationale and design of an independent randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of aripiprazole or haloperidol in combination with clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One third to two thirds of people with schizophrenia have persistent psychotic symptoms despite clozapine treatment. Under real-world circumstances, the need to provide effective therapeutic interventions to patients who do not have an optimal response to clozapine has been cited as the most common reason for simultaneously prescribing a second antipsychotic drug in combination treatment strategies. In a clinical area where the pressing need of providing therapeutic answers has progressively increased the occurrence of antipsychotic polypharmacy, despite the lack of robust evidence of its efficacy, we sought to implement a pre-planned protocol where two alternative therapeutic answers are systematically provided and evaluated within the context of a pragmatic, multicentre, independent randomised study.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The principal clinical question to be answered by the present project is the relative efficacy and tolerability of combination treatment with clozapine plus aripiprazole compared with combination treatment with clozapine plus haloperidol in patients with an incomplete response to treatment with clozapine over an appropriate period of time. This project is a prospective, multicentre, randomized, parallel-group, superiority trial that follow patients over a period of 12 months. Withdrawal from allocated treatment within 3 months is the primary outcome.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The implementation of the protocol presented here shows that it is possible to create a network of community psychiatric services that accept the idea of using their everyday clinical practice to produce randomised knowledge. The employed pragmatic attitude allowed to randomly allocate more than 100 individuals, which means that this study is the largest antipsychotic combination trial conducted so far in Western countries. We expect that the current project, by generating evidence on whether it is clinically useful to combine clozapine with aripiprazole rather than with haloperidol, provides physicians with a solid evidence base to be directly applied in the routine care of patients with schizophrenia.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clincaltrials.gov Identifier</b>: NCT00395915</p

Formation de polarons magnétiques dans des boîtes quantiques de (Cd,Mn)Te insérées dans des nanofils de ZnTe

In this PhD work we study the optical properties of anisotropic (Cd,Mn)Te magnetic quantum dots inserted in ZnTe nanowires. The quantum dots containing typically 10% of Mn spins are elongated along the nanowire axis which tend to stabilize a light hole ground state with a spin susceptibility perpendicular to the nanowire axis. The main goal was to study the formation of exciton Magnetic Polarons in such quantum dots and to determine their magnetic anisotropy.We investigate first the optical properties of ZnTe and ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te core shell nanowires. We model the elastic strain profile in core-shell nanowires and in elongated quantum dots. From the strain profiles, we estimate the value of the light hole heavy hole splitting expected in the dot and in the nanowire.In a second step we study single nanowires containing magnetic and non magnetic quantum dots by magneto-optical spectroscopy. The exchange interactions between confined carriers and Mn spins induce a large Zeeman shift of the exciton line (Giant Zeeman Effect). To extract quantitative parameters, we combine different experimental techniques (photo and cathodoluminescence, energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy) on the same nanowire. We use also different magnetic field orientations in order to determine the hole anisotropy in the dot. The experimental values are smaller than the theoretical ones suggesting a weak confinement of the holes in the dot due to a small (Cd,Mn)Te/ZnTe valence band offset.In a third step we study nanowires containing (Cd,Mn)Te quantum dots surrounded by a (Zn,Mg)Te alloy. Thanks to the better hole confinement induced by the (Zn,Mg)Te alloy, the formation of exciton magnetic polarons can be observed. We perform time resolved photoluminescence studies on single nanowires in order to determine the energy and the formation time of magnetic polarons from 5K to 50K. The quantum dot emission line shows an unusual Zeeman shift, characteristic of a light hole magnetic polaron. We develop a theoretical model describing the formation of exciton magnetic polaron in quantum dots. We use this model, based on the free energy and valid for any temperature and magnetic field, to fit the whole set of experimental data. It allows us to determine the characteristic parameters of the light hole magnetic polarons (energy, orientation and magnitude of the magnetic moment, exchange volume, hole anisotropy).Ce travail de thèse porte sur l’étude des propriétés optiques de boites quantiques anisotropes de (Cd,Mn)Te insérées dans des nanofils de ZnTe. Les boites quantiques étudiées contenant 10% de Mn sont allongées suivant l’axe du fil ce qui tend à favoriser un état fondamental à trou léger ayant une susceptibilité de spin perpendiculaire à l’axe du fil. L’objectif principal de la thèse est l’étude de la formation du Polaron Magnétique dans ces boites et la détermination de leur anisotropie magnétique.Nous avons étudié en premier les propriétés optiques de nanofils de ZnTe et de nanofils coeurs-coquilles ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te. Ces études nous ont amené à modéliser les contraintes élastiques dans le cœur, dans la coquille et dans des boites allongées insérées dans les nanofils. Ce modèle nous a permis d’estimer les splittings entre les niveaux de trou lourd et de trou léger dans la boite et dans le fil.Nous avons étudié ensuite des nanofils contenant des boites magnétiques et non magnétiques par spectroscopie magnéto-optique. Dans les boites magnétiques, les interactions d’exchange entre les porteurs localisés et les spins de Mn induisent un très fort décalage Zeeman de la raie excitonique (Effet Zeeman Géant). Pour extraire des paramètres quantitatifs, nous avons combiné différentes techniques expérimentales sur le même nanofil (photo et cathodoluminescence, analyse dispersive en énergie du rayonnement X). Nous avons utilisé différentes orientations du champ magnétique pour déterminer l’anisotropie du trou dans la boite. Les valeurs expérimentales sont plus petites que les valeurs théoriques ce qui suggère un mauvais confinement du trou dans la boite.Afin d’obtenir un meilleur confinement du trou, nous avons étudié des boites de (Cd,Mn)Te entourées d’une coquille de (Zn,Mg)Te. Grace au meilleur confinement du trou, nous avons réussi à observer la formation du Polaron Magnétique excitonique. Des mesures de photoluminescence résolues en temps sur des nanofils uniques nous ont permis d’extraire l’énergie et le temps de formation du Polaron Magnétique entre 5K et 50K. La raie d’émission des boites présente un effet Zeeman géant inhabituel caractéristique d’un Polaron Magnétique à trou léger. Nous avons développé un modèle théorique pour décrire la formation du Polaron Magnétique excitonique dans les boites quantiques. Ce model, basé sur l’énergie libre et valable pour des températures et des champs magnétiques arbitraires, a été utilisé pour rendre compte de l’ensemble des données expérimentales. Ce modèle a permis de déterminer les paramètres caractéristiques du polaron magnétique à trou léger (énergie, orientation and amplitude du moment magnétique, volume d’échange, anisotropie du trou)

Magnetic polaron in (Cd,Mn)Te quantum dot inserted in ZnTe nanowire

Ce travail de thèse porte sur l’étude des propriétés optiques de boites quantiques anisotropes de (Cd,Mn)Te insérées dans des nanofils de ZnTe. Les boites quantiques étudiées contenant 10% de Mn sont allongées suivant l’axe du fil ce qui tend à favoriser un état fondamental à trou léger ayant une susceptibilité de spin perpendiculaire à l’axe du fil. L’objectif principal de la thèse est l’étude de la formation du Polaron Magnétique dans ces boites et la détermination de leur anisotropie magnétique.Nous avons étudié en premier les propriétés optiques de nanofils de ZnTe et de nanofils coeurs-coquilles ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te. Ces études nous ont amené à modéliser les contraintes élastiques dans le cœur, dans la coquille et dans des boites allongées insérées dans les nanofils. Ce modèle nous a permis d’estimer les splittings entre les niveaux de trou lourd et de trou léger dans la boite et dans le fil.Nous avons étudié ensuite des nanofils contenant des boites magnétiques et non magnétiques par spectroscopie magnéto-optique. Dans les boites magnétiques, les interactions d’exchange entre les porteurs localisés et les spins de Mn induisent un très fort décalage Zeeman de la raie excitonique (Effet Zeeman Géant). Pour extraire des paramètres quantitatifs, nous avons combiné différentes techniques expérimentales sur le même nanofil (photo et cathodoluminescence, analyse dispersive en énergie du rayonnement X). Nous avons utilisé différentes orientations du champ magnétique pour déterminer l’anisotropie du trou dans la boite. Les valeurs expérimentales sont plus petites que les valeurs théoriques ce qui suggère un mauvais confinement du trou dans la boite.Afin d’obtenir un meilleur confinement du trou, nous avons étudié des boites de (Cd,Mn)Te entourées d’une coquille de (Zn,Mg)Te. Grace au meilleur confinement du trou, nous avons réussi à observer la formation du Polaron Magnétique excitonique. Des mesures de photoluminescence résolues en temps sur des nanofils uniques nous ont permis d’extraire l’énergie et le temps de formation du Polaron Magnétique entre 5K et 50K. La raie d’émission des boites présente un effet Zeeman géant inhabituel caractéristique d’un Polaron Magnétique à trou léger. Nous avons développé un modèle théorique pour décrire la formation du Polaron Magnétique excitonique dans les boites quantiques. Ce model, basé sur l’énergie libre et valable pour des températures et des champs magnétiques arbitraires, a été utilisé pour rendre compte de l’ensemble des données expérimentales. Ce modèle a permis de déterminer les paramètres caractéristiques du polaron magnétique à trou léger (énergie, orientation and amplitude du moment magnétique, volume d’échange, anisotropie du trou).In this PhD work we study the optical properties of anisotropic (Cd,Mn)Te magnetic quantum dots inserted in ZnTe nanowires. The quantum dots containing typically 10% of Mn spins are elongated along the nanowire axis which tend to stabilize a light hole ground state with a spin susceptibility perpendicular to the nanowire axis. The main goal was to study the formation of exciton Magnetic Polarons in such quantum dots and to determine their magnetic anisotropy.We investigate first the optical properties of ZnTe and ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te core shell nanowires. We model the elastic strain profile in core-shell nanowires and in elongated quantum dots. From the strain profiles, we estimate the value of the light hole heavy hole splitting expected in the dot and in the nanowire.In a second step we study single nanowires containing magnetic and non magnetic quantum dots by magneto-optical spectroscopy. The exchange interactions between confined carriers and Mn spins induce a large Zeeman shift of the exciton line (Giant Zeeman Effect). To extract quantitative parameters, we combine different experimental techniques (photo and cathodoluminescence, energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy) on the same nanowire. We use also different magnetic field orientations in order to determine the hole anisotropy in the dot. The experimental values are smaller than the theoretical ones suggesting a weak confinement of the holes in the dot due to a small (Cd,Mn)Te/ZnTe valence band offset.In a third step we study nanowires containing (Cd,Mn)Te quantum dots surrounded by a (Zn,Mg)Te alloy. Thanks to the better hole confinement induced by the (Zn,Mg)Te alloy, the formation of exciton magnetic polarons can be observed. We perform time resolved photoluminescence studies on single nanowires in order to determine the energy and the formation time of magnetic polarons from 5K to 50K. The quantum dot emission line shows an unusual Zeeman shift, characteristic of a light hole magnetic polaron. We develop a theoretical model describing the formation of exciton magnetic polaron in quantum dots. We use this model, based on the free energy and valid for any temperature and magnetic field, to fit the whole set of experimental data. It allows us to determine the characteristic parameters of the light hole magnetic polarons (energy, orientation and magnitude of the magnetic moment, exchange volume, hole anisotropy)