Fourfold oscillations and anomalous magnetic irreversibility of magnetoresistance in the non-metallic regime of Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4

Using magnetoresistance measurements as a function of applied magnetic field and its direction of application, we present sharp angular-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations for the electron-doped cuprates in their low-temperature non-metallic regime. The presence of irreversibility in the magnetoresistance measurements and the related strong anisotropy of the field dependence for different in-plane magnetic field orientations indicate that magnetic domains play an important role for the determination of electronic properties. These domains are likely related to the stripe phase reported previously in hole-doped cuprates.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Constraints on a vacuum energy from both SNIa and CMB temperature observations

We investigate the cosmic thermal evolution with a vacuum energy which decays into photon at the low-redshift. We assume that the vacuum energy is a function of the scale factor that increases toward the early universe. We put on the constraints using recent observations of both type Ia supernovae (SNIa) by Union-2 compilation and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature at the range of the redshift 0.01 < z < 3. From SNIa, we find that the effects of a decaying vacuum energy on the cosmic expansion rate should be very small but could be possible for z < 1.5. On the other hand, we obtain the severe constraints for parameters from the CMB temperature observations. Although the temperature can be still lower than the case of the standard cosmological model, it should only affect the thermal evolution at the early epoch.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 tables, submitted to Advances in Astronom

Effects of structural factors on the pi-dimerization and/or disproportionation of the cation radical of extended TTF containing thiophene-based pi-conjugated spacers.

The electrochemical and chemical oxidation of extended TTF 4 and 5 are analysed by cyclic voltammetry, Visible/NIR and ESR spectroscopies, and the X-ray structures of the new salts 5·BF4(CH2Cl2) and 4·ClO4(THF)1/2 are presented. The effects of structural factors on the π-dimerization or the disproportionation reaction of the cation radical are shown. The oxidation of compound 4 presents the successive formation of stable cation radical and dication species both in dichloromethane (DCM) and in a CH3CN/THF mixture. In contrast, for compound 5, the stability of the oxidation states strongly depends on the nature of the solvent. In DCM, the oxidation of 5 proceeds by two close one-electron transfers while in CH3CN/THF the dication is directly formed via a two-electron process. The X-ray structures of the two salts reveal the formation of pi-dimers of cation radical. While the dimer (5(2))2+ is due mainly to π–π interactions between the conjugating spacer, the multiplication of the sulfur atoms in compound 4 contributes to stabilize the dimer by the combined effects of S–S and π–π interactions. Visible/NIR and ESR experiments confirm the higher tendency of 4+· to dimerize with the occurrence of dimer and monomer in solution, while for 5+· only the monomer is detected in DCM. On the other hand, by dissolution of 5·BF4(CH2Cl2) in CH3CN, only the neutral and the dicationic states of compounds 5 are observed owing to the disproportionation reaction

Derivation of a high-resolution CT-based, semi-automated radiographic score in tuberculosis and its relationship to bacillary load and antitubercular therapy

Efforts to curb the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic remain hindered by a lack of objective measures to quantify disease severity and track treatment success that are valid in both HIV-1-infected and -uninfected TB patients. Ralph et al. [1] developed a promising radiographic scoring system, with baseline scores being predictive of sputum smear conversion at 2 months, but it is reliant on skilled readers and has not been systematically validated in predominantly HIV-infected study populations with varying CD4 counts. Superior to conventional chest radiography, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is a highly sensitive tool to track endobronchial TB disease extent [2]

Protocol for a national audit on self-reported confidence levels, training requirements and current practice among trainee doctors in the UK: The Trainees Own Perception of Delivery of Care in Diabetes (TOPDOC) Study

Background: As the incidence and prevalence of diabetes increases across the world, resource pressures require doctors without specialist training to provide care for people with diabetes. In the UK, national standards have been set to ensure quality diabetes care from diagnosis to the management of complications. In a multi-centre pilot study, we have demonstrated a lack of confidence among UK trainee doctors in managing diabetes. Suboptimal confidence was identified in a number of areas, including the management of diabetes emergencies. A national survey would clarify whether the results of our pilot study are representative and reproducible. Methods/Design: Target cohort: All postgraduate trainee doctors in the UK. Domains Studied: The self reported online survey questionnaire has 5 domains: (1) confidence levels in the diagnosis and management of diabetes, (2) working with diabetes specialists, (3) perceived adequacy of training in diabetes (4) current practice in optimising glycaemic control and (5) perceived barriers to seeking euglycaemia. Assessment tools: Self-reported confidence is assessed using the 'Confidence Rating' (CR) scale for trainee doctors developed by the Royal College of Physicians. This scale has four points - ('not confident' (CR1), 'satisfactory but lacking confidence' (CR2), 'confident in some cases (CR3) and 'fully confident in most cases' (CR4). Frequency of aspects of day-to-day practice is assessed using a six-point scale. Respondents have a choice of 'always' (100%), 'almost always' (80-99%), 'often' (50-79%), 'not very often' (20-49%) and 'rarely' (5-19%) or never (less than 5%). Discussion: It is anticipated that the results of this national study will clarify confidence levels and current practice among trainee doctors in the provision of care for people with diabetes. The responses will inform efforts to enhance postgraduate training in diabetes, potentially improving the quality of care for people with diabetes.</p

Reliability of the CARE rule and the HEART score to rule out an acute coronary syndrome in non-traumatic chest pain patients

In patients consulting in the Emergency Department for chest pain, a HEART score ≤ 3 has been shown to rule out an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with a low risk of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) occurrence. A negative CARE rule (≤ 1) that stands for the first four elements of the HEART score may have similar rule-out reliability without troponin assay requirement. We aim to prospectively assess the performance of the CARE rule and of the HEART score to predict MACE in a chest pain population. Prospective two-center non-interventional study. Patients admitted to the ED for non-traumatic chest pain were included, and followed-up at 6 weeks. The main study endpoint was the 6-week rate of MACE (myocardial infarction, coronary angioplasty, coronary bypass, and sudden unexplained death). 641 patients were included, of whom 9.5% presented a MACE at 6 weeks. The CARE rule was negative for 31.2% of patients, and none presented a MACE during follow-up [0, 95% confidence interval: (0.0–1.9)]. The HEART score was ≤ 3 for 63.0% of patients, and none presented a MACE during follow-up [0% (0.0–0.9)]. With an incidence below 2% in the negative group, the CARE rule seemed able to safely rule out a MACE without any biological test for one-third of patients with chest pain and the HEART score for another third with a single troponin assay

Fidélité, équité et impact des mini entretiens multiples dans le processus de sélection des étudiants en santé en France

Context: The University of Angers (UA) created the PluriPASS cursus that replaced the PACES (première année commune aux études de santé/First year of common health studies) and introduced multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) in the selection process of students in France. This study is designed to evaluate MMI reliability, fairness and impact. Topics/materials/methods: Some 294 students attended the MMIs in June 2016. The MMIs were made up of four stations evaluating six competences. The following criteria (age, gender, novice/repeater, scholarship, parents’ socio-professional category, bachelor’s degree with honors, time of the evaluation and scenario) were examined using both univariate and multivariate analysis. The impact of the MMIs was evaluated following the limited-ranges method. Outcome: Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the 6 evaluated competences ranged from 0.612 to 0.935. Males ranked better overall with MMIs (+ 27.4 pts; CI95% = [9,2; 45,7]). Students who were got their bachelor’s degree with high honors (“Très Bien” distinction, higher than 16/20) also had a better overall score (+ 30.41 pts ; CI95% = [14.75; 46.12]). There were no differences with respect to the other socio-demographic variables, and none regarding the different scenarios considered. Following the MMI follow-ups, 53 different students were excluded from the ranking in a study path. Conclusion: As part of the PluriPASS testing, MMIs were found to be coherent as well as educationally and selectively interesting. However, they require particular consideration to ensure fairness, both during implementation and in future research studies

Cytotoxic polyfunctionality maturation of cytomegalovirus-pp65-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell responses in older adults positively correlates with response size

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the most common persistent viral infections in humans worldwide and is epidemiologically associated with many adverse health consequences during aging. Previous studies yielded conflicting results regarding whether large, CMV-specific T-cell expansions maintain their function during human aging. In the current study, we examined the in vitro CMV-pp65-reactive T-cell response by comprehensively studying five effector functions (i.e., interleukin-2, tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, perforin, and CD107a expression) in 76 seropositive individuals aged 70 years or older. Two data-driven, polyfunctionality panels (IL-2-associated and cytotoxicity-associated) derived from effector function co-expression patterns were used to analyze the results. We found that, CMV-pp65-reactive CD8 + and CD4 + T cells contained similar polyfunctional subsets, and the level of polyfunctionality was related to the size of antigen-specific response. In both CD8 + and CD4 + cells, polyfunctional cells with high cytotoxic potential accounted for a larger proportion of the total response as the total response size increased. Notably, a higher serum CMV-IgG level was positively associated with a larger T-cell response size and a higher level of cytotoxic polyfunctionality. These findings indicate that CMV-pp65-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T cell undergo simultaneous cytotoxic polyfunctionality maturation during aging