Anomalous spectral evolution with bulk sensitivity in BiPd

We investigate the electronic structure of a noncentrosymmetric superconductor, BiPd using photoemission spectroscopy with multiple photon energies ranging from ultraviolet to hard x-ray. Experimental data exhibit interesting difference in the surface and bulk electronic structures of this system. While the surface Bi core level peaks appear at lower binding energies, the surface valence band features are found at the higher binding energy side of the bulk valence band; valence band is primarily constituted by the Pd 4d states. These changes in the electronic structure cannot be explained by the change in ionicity of the constituent elements via charge transfer. Analysis of the experimental data indicates that the Bi-Pd hybridization physics plays the key role in deriving the anomalous spectral evolution and the electronic properties of this system.Comment: Proceedings of DAE SSPS 201

Pimecrolimus vs. tacrolimus for the topical treatment of unresponsive oral erosive lichen planus: a 8 week randomized double-blind controlled study.

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease, affecting nearly 1-2% of the population; Proposed therapies are usually symptomatic and numerous drugs have been used, but recently, it has been published that there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of any specific treatment as being superior. To the best of our knowledge, direct evaluation of the efficacy of topically applied pimecrolimus and tacrolimus in the treatment of atrophic-erosive OLP, refractory to topical steroids, is still lacking. Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of topical calcineurin inhibitors for unresponsive OLP. An 8 week randomized, double-blind controlled trial, followed by a 6 month follow-up period. Patients were treated with either pimecrolimus 1% cream or tacrolimus 0.1% ointment, both mixed with an equivalent amount of 4% hydroxyethyl cellulose gel. The medications were to be applied twice daily for 2 months. Each patient was examined at the beginning of therapy, and then every 2 weeks during the treatment and every 3 months of follow-up. Main outcome measures were: (i) to compare the effectiveness of topically applied pimecrolimus and tacrolimus; (ii) to evaluate which is more cost-effective; (iii) to determine which drug is faster in reducing signs and symptoms and (iv) which gives the longest remission. Results: Thirty patients were involved in the study. Both drugs were effective at inducing clinical improvement, with no statistical difference. Pimecrolimus creams revealed a significantly better stability of the therapeutic effectiveness (P = 0.031). Conclusion: Both medications would currently appear to be a treatment of choice for patients with unresponsive atrophic-erosive OLP. Pimecrolimus seemed to be more effective in providing long-term resolution of signs and symptoms. Future efforts are however needed to obtain more objective evidence of the benefit of these medications in the treatment of immunologically mediated oral mucosal lesion. © 2013 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology

Development and characterization of a diamond-insulated graphitic multi electrode array realized with ion beam lithography

The detection of quantal exocytic events from neurons and neuroendocrine cells is a challenging task in neuroscience. One of the most promising platforms for the development of a new generation of biosensors is diamond, due to its biocompatibility, transparency and chemical inertness. Moreover, the electrical properties of diamond can be turned from a perfect insulator into a conductive material (resistivity ~mΩ·cm) by exploiting the metastable nature of this allotropic form of carbon. A 16‑channels MEA (Multi Electrode Array) suitable for cell culture growing has been fabricated by means of ion implantation. A focused 1.2 MeV He+ beam was scanned on a IIa single-crystal diamond sample (4.5 × 4.5 × 0.5 mm3) to cause highly damaged sub-superficial structures that were defined with micrometric spatial resolution. After implantation, the sample was annealed. This process provides the conversion of the sub-superficial highly damaged regions to a graphitic phase embedded in a highly insulating diamond matrix. Thanks to a three-dimensional masking technique, the endpoints of the sub-superficial channels emerge in contact with the sample surface, therefore being available as sensing electrodes. Cyclic voltammetry and amperometry measurements of solutions with increasing concentrations of adrenaline were performed to characterize the biosensor sensitivity. The reported results demonstrate that this new type of biosensor is suitable for in vitro detection of catecholamine release

Primary effusion lymphoma associated with Human Herpes Virus-8 and Epstein Barr virus in an HIV-infected woman from Kampala, Uganda: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Primary effusion lymphoma is a recently recognized entity of AIDS related non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Despite Africa being greatly affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, an extensive MEDLINE/PubMed search failed to find any report of primary effusion lymphoma in sub-Saharan Africa. To our knowledge this is the first report of primary effusion lymphoma in sub-Saharan Africa. We report the clinical, cytomorphologic and immunohistochemical findings of a patient with primary effusion lymphoma.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 70-year-old newly diagnosed HIV-positive Ugandan African woman presented with a three-month history of cough, fever, weight loss and drenching night sweats. Three weeks prior to admission she developed right sided chest pain and difficulty in breathing. On examination she had bilateral pleural effusions.</p> <p>Haematoxylin and eosin stained cytologic sections of the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cell block made from the pleural fluid were processed in the Department of Pathology, Makerere University, College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda. Immunohistochemistry was done at the Institute of Haematology and Oncology "L and A Seragnoli", Bologna University School of Medicine, Bologna, Italy, using alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase method. <it>In situ </it>hybridization was used for detection of Epstein-Barr virus.</p> <p>The tumor cells were CD45+, CD30+, CD38+, HHV-8 LANA-1+; but were negative for CD3-, CD20-, CD19-, and CD79a- and EBV RNA+ on <it>in situ </it>hybridization. CD138 and Ki-67 were not evaluable. Our patient tested HIV positive and her CD4 cell count was 127/μL.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A definitive diagnosis of primary effusion lymphoma rests on finding a proliferation of large immunoblastic, plasmacytoid and anaplastic cells; HHV-8 in the tumor cells, an immunophenotype that is CD45+, pan B-cell marker negative and lymphocyte activated marker positive. It is essential for clinicians and pathologists to have a high index of suspicion of primary effusion lymphoma when handling HIV positive patients who have effusions without palpable tumor masses. Basic immunohistochemistry is essential for definitive diagnosis.</p

Transplastomic tobacco plants expressing a fatty acid desaturase gene exhibit altered fatty acid profiles and improved cold tolerance

The possibility of altering the unsaturation level of fatty acids in plant lipids by genetic transformation has implications for the stress tolerance of higher plants as well as for their nutritional value and industrial utilisation. While the integration and expression of transgenes in the plastome has several potential advantages over nuclear transformation, very few attempts have been made to manipulate fatty acid biosynthesis using plastid transformation. We produced transplastomic tobacco plants that express a Delta9 desaturase gene from either the wild potato species Solanum commersonii or the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans, using PEG-mediated DNA uptake by protoplasts. Incorporation of chloroplast antibioticinsensitive point mutations in the transforming DNA was used to select transformants. The presence of the transcript and the Delta9 desaturase protein in transplastomic plants was confirmed by northern and western blot analyses. In comparison with control plants, transplastomic plants showed altered fatty acid profiles and an increase in their unsaturation level both in leaves and seeds. The two transgenes produced comparable results. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of using plastid transformation to engineer lipid metabolic pathways in both vegetative and reproductive tissues and suggest an increase of cold tolerance in transplastomic plants showing altered leaf fatty acid profiles. This is the first example of transplastomic plants expressing an agronomically relevant gene produced with the ‘‘binding-type’’ vectors, which do not contain a heterologous marker gene. In fact, the transplastomic plants expressing the S. commersonii gene contain only plant-derived sequences, a clear attraction from a public acceptability perspective