Non-hexagonal-ring defects and structures induced by strain in graphene and in functionalized graphene

We perform {\textit ab initio} calculations for the strain-induced formation of non-hexagonal-ring defects in graphene, graphane (planar CH), and graphenol (planar COH). We find that the simplest of such topological defects, the Stone-Wales defect, acts as a seed for strain-induced dissociation and multiplication of topological defects. Through the application of inhomogeneous deformations to graphene, graphane and graphenol with initially small concentrations of pentagonal and heptagonal rings, we obtain several novel stable structures that possess, at the same time, large concentrations of non-hexagonal rings (from fourfold to elevenfold) and small formation energies

Lenalidomide Maintenance and Measurable Residual Disease in a Real-World Multiple Myeloma Transplanted Population Receiving Different Treatment Strategies Guided by Access to Novel Drugs in Brazil

Despite recent advances in multiple myeloma (MM), the incorporation of novel agents and measurable residual disease (MRD) monitoring in low-income countries remains a challenge. Although lenalidomide maintenance (M-Len) after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been associated with improved outcomes and MRD has refined the prognosis of complete response (CR) cases, until now, there have been no data on the benefits of these approaches in Latin America. Here, we evaluate the benefits of M-Len and MRD using next-generation flow cytometry (NGF-MRD) at Day + 100 post-ASCT (n = 53). After ASCT, responses were evaluated based on the International Myeloma Working Group criteria and NGF-MRD. MRD was positive in 60% of patients with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 31 months vs. not reached (NR) for MRD-negative cases (p = 0.05). The patients who received M-Len continuously had a significantly better PFS and overall survival (OS) than those without M-Len (median PFS: NR vs. 29 months, p = 0.007), with progression in 11% vs. 54% of cases after a median follow-up of 34 months, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, MRD status and M-Len therapy emerged as independent predictors of PFS (median PFS of M-Len/MRD− vs. no M-Len/MRD+ of NR vs. 35 months, respectively; p = 0.01). In summary, M-Len was associated with improved survival outcomes in our real-world MM cohort in Brazil, with MRD emerging as a useful reproducible tool to identify patients at an earlier risk of relapse. The inequity in drug access remains a hurdle in countries with financial constraints, with a negative impact on MM survival.This work was supported by from Coordenação de Aperfeiçomento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brazil (CAPES) Finance code 001-8888.331795/2010-01; Programa de Oncobiologia 001/2017 and 004/2017; Centro Investigación Biomédica em Red—Cáncer (CIBERONC code CB//00400) of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation (Madrid, Spain), number CB16/12/00400; The International Myeloma Foundation-Black Swan Research Initiative (Los Angeles, CA) (Grant: LSHB-CT-2006-018708). A.B.S.S. was supported by a grant from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior CAPES/PROEX, number: 88887.688096/2022-00. R.M.P. was supported by a grant from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/DGPU), number: 000281/2016-06 and CAPES/PROEX 641/2018, Brazil, and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro of Brazil (FAPERJ), number: E01/200/537/2018. E.S.B. was supported by a grant from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior CAPES/PROEX, number: 88887.335769/2019-00 and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), number: E-26/200.192/2020, Brazil

Performance of cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assay in serum, cerebrospinal fluid, whole blood, and urine in HIV-infected patients with culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis admitted at a Brazilian referral center

Cryptococcal meningitis is the most common cause of opportunistic meningitis in HIV-infected patients in Brazil and causes unacceptable high mortality rates. In this study, HIV-infected patients with a first episode of culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were prospectively included in order to evaluate sensitivity of cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assay (LFA) in serum, CSF, whole blood (fingerstick), and fresh urine. In addition, HIV-infected patients with other neurological confirmed diseases were included in order to evaluate the specificity of CrAg LFA in serum. Twenty patients with cryptococcal meningitis were included and in 19 of them, CrAg LFA in CSF, serum, and whole blood were positive (95% sensitivity). In 18 patients, India ink test was positive in CSF (90% sensitivity), and in 16 cases, CrAg LFA was positive in urine (80% sensitivity). Thirty-six HIV-infected patients with other neurological diseases had negative results of CrAg LFA in serum (100% specificity). In conclusion, CrAg LFA in serum, CSF, and whole blood showed high sensitivity and specificity. Whole blood CrAg LFA seems to be a good and reliable strategy to improve AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis diagnosis in Brazil

Activity of arginine-phenylalanine and arginine-tryptophan-based surfactants against Staphylococcus aureus

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effect of two new cationic surfactants based on phenylalanine-arginine (LPAM) and tryptophan-arginine (LTAM). Materials & methods: Antibacterial activity, mechanism of action and interactions with Staphylococcus aureus enzymes were measured through microbiological, flow cytometry and molecular docking assays, respectively. Results & conclusion: These compounds showed antibacterial activity in the range of 4.06-16.24 μg/ml against planktonic cells and no activity against mature biofilms, since they caused a loss of membrane integrity and increased DNA damage, as revealed by flow cytometry analysis. In silico assays revealed the existence of molecular bonds such as hydrogen bonds, mainly with DNA. Therefore, these compounds have promising pharmacological activity against MRSA strains.The authors would like to thank Central Analítica-UFC/CT-INFRA/MCTI- SISANO/Pró-Equipamentos CAPES for the support.Peer reviewe

The 2nd competition on counter measures to 2D face spoofing attacks

Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. I. Chingovska, J. Yang, Z. Lei, D. Yi, S. Z. Li, O. Kahm, C. Glaser, N. Damer, A. Kuijper, A. Nouak, J. Komulainen, T. Pereira, S. Gupta, S. Khandelwal, S. Bansal, A. Rai, T. Krishna, D. Goyal, M.-A. Waris, H. Zhang, I. Ahmad, S. Kiranyaz, M. Gabbouj, R. Tronci, M. Pili, N. Sirena, F. Roli, J. Galbally, J. Fiérrez, A. Pinto, H. Pedrini, W. S. Schwartz, A. Rocha, A. Anjos, S. Marcel, "The 2nd competition on counter measures to 2D face spoofing attacks" in International Conference on Biometrics (ICB), Madrid (Spain), 2013, 1-6As a crucial security problem, anti-spoofing in biometrics, and particularly for the face modality, has achieved great progress in the recent years. Still, new threats arrive inform of better, more realistic and more sophisticated spoofing attacks. The objective of the 2nd Competition on Counter Measures to 2D Face Spoofing Attacks is to challenge researchers to create counter measures effectively detecting a variety of attacks. The submitted propositions are evaluated on the Replay-Attack database and the achieved results are presented in this paper.The authors would like to thank the Swiss Innovation Agency (CTI Project Replay) and the FP7 European TABULA RASA Project4 (257289) for their financial support