Oxidation of graphene on metals

We use low-energy electron microscopy to investigate how graphene is removed from Ru(0001) and Ir(111) by reaction with oxygen. We find two mechanisms on Ru(0001). At short times, oxygen reacts with carbon monomers on the surrounding Ru surface, decreasing their concentration below the equilibrium value. This undersaturation causes a flux of carbon from graphene to the monomer gas. In this initial mechanism, graphene is etched at a rate that is given precisely by the same non-linear dependence on carbon monomer concentration that governs growth. Thus, during both growth and etching, carbon attaches and detaches to graphene as clusters of several carbon atoms. At later times, etching accelerates. We present evidence that this process involves intercalated oxygen, which destabilizes graphene. On Ir, this mechanism creates observable holes. It also occurs mostly quickly near wrinkles in the graphene islands, depends on the orientation of the graphene with respect to the Ir substrate, and, in contrast to the first mechanism, can increase the density of carbon monomers. We also observe that both layers of bilayer graphene islands on Ir etch together, not sequentially.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Manuscript revised to improve discussion, following referee comments. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Feb. 11, 201

Diabetes is a Risk Factor for Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Case-Control Study from Mwanza, Tanzania.

Diabetes and TB are associated, and diabetes is increasingly common in low-income countries where tuberculosis (TB) is highly endemic. However, the role of diabetes for TB has not been assessed in populations where HIV is prevalent. A case-control study was conducted in an urban population in Tanzania among culture-confirmed pulmonary TB patients and non-TB neighbourhood controls. Participants were tested for diabetes according to WHO guidelines and serum concentrations of acute phase reactants were measured. The association between diabetes and TB, and the role of HIV as an effect modifier, were examined using logistic regression. Since blood glucose levels increase during the acute phase response, we adjusted for elevated serum acute phase reactants. Among 803 cases and 350 controls the mean (SD) age was 34.8 (11.9) and 33.8 (12.0) years, and the prevalence of diabetes was 16.7% (95% CI: 14.2; 19.4) and 9.4% (6.6; 13.0), respectively. Diabetes was associated with TB (OR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.5; 3.4, p<0.001). However, the association depended on HIV status (interaction, p = 0.01) due to a stronger association among HIV uninfected (OR 4.2, 95% CI: 1.5; 11.6, p = 0.01) compared to HIV infected (OR 0.1, 95% CI: 0.01; 1.8, p = 0.13) after adjusting for age, sex, demographic factors and elevated serum acute phase reactants. Diabetes is a risk factor for TB in HIV uninfected, whereas the association in HIV infected patients needs further study. The increasing diabetes prevalence may be a threat to TB control

Steam reforming on transition-metal carbides from density-functional theory

A screening study of the steam reforming reaction (CH_4 + H_2O -> CO + 3H_2) on early transition-metal carbides (TMC's) is performed by means of density-functional theory calculations. The set of considered surfaces includes the alpha-Mo_2C(100) surfaces, the low-index (111) and (100) surfaces of TiC, VC, and delta-MoC, and the oxygenated alpha-Mo_2C(100) and TMC(111) surfaces. It is found that carbides provide a wide spectrum of reactivities towards the steam reforming reaction, from too reactive via suitable to too inert. The reactivity is discussed in terms of the electronic structure of the clean surfaces. Two surfaces, the delta-MoC(100) and the oxygen passivated alpha-Mo_2C(100) surfaces, are identified as promising steam reforming catalysts. These findings suggest that carbides provide a playground for reactivity tuning, comparable to the one for pure metals.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The instrument suite of the European Spallation Source

An overview is provided of the 15 neutron beam instruments making up the initial instrument suite of the European Spallation Source (ESS), and being made available to the neutron user community. The ESS neutron source consists of a high-power accelerator and target station, providing a unique long-pulse time structure of slow neutrons. The design considerations behind the time structure, moderator geometry and instrument layout are presented. The 15-instrument suite consists of two small-angle instruments, two reflectometers, an imaging beamline, two single-crystal diffractometers; one for macromolecular crystallography and one for magnetism, two powder diffractometers, and an engineering diffractometer, as well as an array of five inelastic instruments comprising two chopper spectrometers, an inverse-geometry single-crystal excitations spectrometer, an instrument for vibrational spectroscopy and a high-resolution backscattering spectrometer. The conceptual design, performance and scientific drivers of each of these instruments are described. All of the instruments are designed to provide breakthrough new scientific capability, not currently available at existing facilities, building on the inherent strengths of the ESS long-pulse neutron source of high flux, flexible resolution and large bandwidth. Each of them is predicted to provide world-leading performance at an accelerator power of 2 MW. This technical capability translates into a very broad range of scientific capabilities. The composition of the instrument suite has been chosen to maximise the breadth and depth of the scientific impact o

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in HIV Infection Using Prospective Cohort Data from the D:A:D Study

Ristola M. on työryhmien DAD Study Grp ; Royal Free Hosp Clin Cohort ; INSIGHT Study Grp ; SMART Study Grp ; ESPRIT Study Grp jäsen.Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice. Methods and Findings A total of 17,954 HIV-positive individuals from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) study with >= 3 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values after 1 January 2004 were included. Baseline was defined as the first eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 after 1 January 2004; individuals with exposure to tenofovir, atazanavir, atazanavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir, other boosted protease inhibitors before baseline were excluded. CKD was defined as confirmed (>3 mo apart) eGFR In the D:A:D study, 641 individuals developed CKD during 103,185 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; incidence 6.2/1,000 PYFU, 95% CI 5.7-6.7; median follow-up 6.1 y, range 0.3-9.1 y). Older age, intravenous drug use, hepatitis C coinfection, lower baseline eGFR, female gender, lower CD4 count nadir, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) predicted CKD. The adjusted incidence rate ratios of these nine categorical variables were scaled and summed to create the risk score. The median risk score at baseline was -2 (interquartile range -4 to 2). There was a 1: 393 chance of developing CKD in the next 5 y in the low risk group (risk score = 5, 505 events), respectively. Number needed to harm (NNTH) at 5 y when starting unboosted atazanavir or lopinavir/ritonavir among those with a low risk score was 1,702 (95% CI 1,166-3,367); NNTH was 202 (95% CI 159-278) and 21 (95% CI 19-23), respectively, for those with a medium and high risk score. NNTH was 739 (95% CI 506-1462), 88 (95% CI 69-121), and 9 (95% CI 8-10) for those with a low, medium, and high risk score, respectively, starting tenofovir, atazanavir/ritonavir, or another boosted protease inhibitor. The Royal Free Hospital Clinic Cohort included 2,548 individuals, of whom 94 individuals developed CKD (3.7%) during 18,376 PYFU (median follow-up 7.4 y, range 0.3-12.7 y). Of 2,013 individuals included from the SMART/ESPRIT control arms, 32 individuals developed CKD (1.6%) during 8,452 PYFU (median follow-up 4.1 y, range 0.6-8.1 y). External validation showed that the risk score predicted well in these cohorts. Limitations of this study included limited data on race and no information on proteinuria. Conclusions Both traditional and HIV-related risk factors were predictive of CKD. These factors were used to develop a risk score for CKD in HIV infection, externally validated, that has direct clinical relevance for patients and clinicians to weigh the benefits of certain antiretrovirals against the risk of CKD and to identify those at greatest risk of CKD.Peer reviewe