Unconventional field induced phases in a quantum magnet formed by free radical tetramers

We report experimental and theoretical studies on the magnetic and thermodynamic properties of NIT-2Py, a free radical-based organic magnet. From magnetization and specific heat measurements we establish the temperature versus magnetic field phase diagram which includes two Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) and an infrequent half magnetization plateau. Calculations based on density functional theory demonstrates that magnetically this system can be mapped to a quasi-two-dimensional structure of weakly coupled tetramers. Density matrix renormalization group calculations show the unusual characteristics of the BECs where the spins forming the low-field condensate are different than those participating in the high-field one.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Articles Aprepitant for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in children: a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial

Summary Background Oral aprepitant, a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, is recommended in combination with other antiemetic agents for the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy in adults, but its effi cacy and safety in paediatric patients are unknown. We did this phase 3 trial to examine the safety and effi cacy of such treatment in children

Numerical simulations of granular dynamics II: Particle dynamics in a shaken granular material

Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are involved in many events occurring during planetary and small-body evolution thus contributing to their geological properties. We demonstrate that the new adaptation of the parallel N-body hard-sphere code pkdgrav has the capability to model accurately the key features of the collective motion of bidisperse granular materials in a dense regime as a result of shaking. As a stringent test of the numerical code we investigate the complex collective ordering and motion of granular material by direct comparison with laboratory experiments. We demonstrate that, as experimentally observed, the scale of the collective motion increases with increasing small-particle additive concentration. We then extend our investigations to assess how self-gravity and external gravity affect collective motion. In our reduced-gravity simulations both the gravitational conditions and the frequency of the vibrations roughly match the conditions on asteroids subjected to seismic shaking, though real regolith is likely to be much more heterogeneous and less ordered than in our idealised simulations. We also show that collective motion can occur in a granular material under a wide range of inter-particle gravity conditions and in the absence of an external gravitational field. These investigations demonstrate the great interest of being able to simulate conditions that are to relevant planetary science yet unreachable by Earth-based laboratory experiments

Les politiques des sciences. Séminaire alternatif

Michel Agier, Mathieu Arnoux, Alban Bensa, Alain Blum, Simona Cerutti, Francis Chateauraynaud, Robert Descimon, Nicolas Dodier, Jean-Claude Galey, Nancy L. Green, Christian Jouhaud, Christian Topalov, directeurs d’étudesIsabelle Backouche, Juliette Cadiot, Fanny Cosandey, Sophie Desrosiers, André Gunthert, Liora Israël, Cyril Lemieux, Mary Picone, Sylvain Piron, maîtres de conférencesIrène Bellier, directrice de recherche au CNRSMichel Barthélémy, Elie Haddad, Cédric Lomba, Birgit Müller, Sop..

Heart re-transplantation in Eurotransplant

Internationally 3% of the donor hearts are distributed to re-transplant patients. In Eurotransplant, only patients with a primary graft dysfunction (PGD) within 1 week after heart transplantation (HTX) are indicated for high urgency listing. The aim of this study is to provide evidence for the discussion on whether these patients should still be allocated with priority. All consecutive HTX performed in the period 1981-2015 were included. Multivariate Cox' model was built including: donor and recipient age and gender, ischaemia time, recipient diagnose, urgency status and era. The study population included 18 490 HTX, of these 463 (2.6%) were repeat transplants. The major indications for re-HTX were cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) (50%), PGD (26%) and acute rejection (21%). In a multivariate model, compared with first HTX hazards ratio and 95% confidence interval for repeat HTX were 2.27 (1.83-2.82) for PGD, 2.24 (1.76-2.85) for acute rejection and 1.22 (1.00-1.48) for CAV (P < 0.0001). Outcome after cardiac re-HTX strongly depends on the indication for re-HTX with acceptable outcomes for CAV. In contrast, just 47.5% of all hearts transplanted in patients who were re-transplanted for PGD still functioned at 1-month post-transplant. Alternative options like VA-ECMO should be first offered before opting for acute re-transplantation

Onchocerciasis: The Pre-control Association between Prevalence of Palpable Nodules and Skin Microfilariae

*Background*: The prospect of eliminating onchocerciasis from Africa by mass treatment with ivermectin has been rejuvenated following recent successes in foci in Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Elimination prospects depend strongly on local transmission conditions and therefore on pre-control infection levels. Pre-control infection levels in Africa have been mapped largely by means of nodule palpation of adult males, a relatively crude method for detecting infection. We investigated how informative pre-control nodule prevalence data are for estimating the pre-control prevalence of

Deciphering the Structure, Growth and Assembly of Amyloid-Like Fibrils Using High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy

Formation of fibrillar structures of proteins that deposit into aggregates has been suggested to play a key role in various neurodegenerative diseases. However mechanisms and dynamics of fibrillization remains to be elucidated. We have previously established that lithostathine, a protein overexpressed in the pre-clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease and present in the pathognomonic lesions associated with this disease, form fibrillar aggregates after its N-terminal truncation. In this paper we visualized, using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), growth and assembly of lithostathine protofibrils under physiological conditions with a time resolution of one image/s. Real-time imaging highlighted a very high velocity of elongation. Formation of fibrils via protofibril lateral association and stacking was also monitored revealing a zipper-like mechanism of association. We also demonstrate that, like other amyloid ß peptides, two lithostathine protofibrils can associate to form helical fibrils. Another striking finding is the propensity of the end of a growing protofibril or fibril to associate with the edge of a second fibril, forming false branching point. Taken together this study provides new clues about fibrillization mechanism of amyloid proteins

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe