Field-induced charge transport at the surface of pentacene single crystals: a method to study charge dynamics of 2D electron systems in organic crystals

A method has been developed to inject mobile charges at the surface of organic molecular crystals, and the DC transport of field-induced holes has been measured at the surface of pentacene single crystals. To minimize damage to the soft and fragile surface, the crystals are attached to a pre-fabricated substrate which incorporates a gate dielectric (SiO_2) and four probe pads. The surface mobility of the pentacene crystals ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 cm^2/Vs and is nearly temperature-independent above ~150 K, while it becomes thermally activated at lower temperatures when the induced charges become localized. Ruling out the influence of electric contacts and crystal grain boundaries, the results contribute to the microscopic understanding of trapping and detrapping mechanisms in organic molecular crystals.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Nosocomial nontyphoidal salmonellosis after antineoplastic chemotherapy: reactivation of asymptomatic colonization?

An increased frequency of nontyphoidal salmonellosis is well established in cancer patients, but it is unclear whether this represents increased susceptibility to exogenous infection or opportunistic, endogenous reactivation of asymptomatic carriage. In a retrospective study, a simple case definition was used to identify the probable presence of reactivation salmonellosis in five cancer patients between 1996 and 2002. Reactivation salmonellosis was defined as the development of nosocomial diarrhea >72h after admission and following the administration of antineoplastic chemotherapy in an HIV-seronegative cancer patient who was asymptomatic on admission, in the absence of epidemiological evidence of a nosocomial outbreak. Primary salmonellosis associated with unrecognized nosocomial transmission or community acquisition and an unusually prolonged incubation period could not entirely be ruled out. During the same time period, another opportunistic infection, Pneumocystis pneumonia, was diagnosed in six cancer patients. Presumably, asymptomatic intestinal Salmonella colonization was converted to invasive infection by chemotherapy-associated intestinal mucosal damage and altered innate immune mechanisms. According to published guidelines, stool specimens from patients hospitalized for longer than 72h should be rejected unless the patient is neutropenic or ≧65 years old with significant comorbidity. However, in this study neutropenia was present in only one patient, and four patients were <65 years old. Guidelines should thus be revised in order not to reject stool culture specimens from such patients. In cancer patients, nosocomial salmonellosis can occur as a chemotherapy-triggered opportunistic reactivation infection that may be similar in frequency to Pneumocystis pneumoni

Phase III study of ACVBP versus ACVBP plus rituximab for patients with localized low-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (LNH03-1B)

Background The superiority of a chemotherapy with doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine, bleomycin and prednisone (ACVBP) in comparison with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristin and prednisone plus radiotherapy for young patients with localized diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was previously demonstrated. We report the results of a trial which evaluates the role of rituximab combined with ACVBP (R-ACVBP) in these patients. Patients and methods Untreated patients younger than 66 years with stage I or II DLBCL and no adverse prognostic factors of the age-adjusted International Prognostic Index were randomly assigned to receive three cycles of ACVBP plus sequential consolidation with or without the addition of four infusions of rituximab. Results A total of 223 patients were randomly allocated to the study, 110 in the R-ACVBP group and 113 in the ACVBP group. After a median follow-up of 43 months, our 3-year estimate of event-free survival was 93% in the R-ACVBP group and 82% in the ACVBP group (P = 0.0487). Three-year estimate of progression-free survival was increased in the R-ACVBP group (95% versus 83%, P = 0.0205). Overall survival did not differ between the two groups with a 3-year estimates of 98% and 97%, respectively (P = 0.686). Conclusion In young patients with low-risk localized DLBCL, rituximab combined with three cycles of ACVBP plus consolidation is significantly superior to ACVBP plus consolidation alon

Partnerships and Public Service: Normative Issues for Journalists in Converged Newsrooms

As media companies test and implement newsroom “convergence,” growing numbers of journalists are producing content not only for their own employer but also for other media outlets with which that employer has a business relationship. This article, based on case studies in four converged news markets, explores journalists’ perceptions of normative pressures in this new media environment, particularly in relation to the overarching concept of public service. The findings suggest that although journalists do not see convergence itself as posing significant ethical problems, they do raise concerns related to specific components of public service, including a devotion to accuracy, an avoidance of sensationalism, and independence from economic pressures

The association between Type D personality and the metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study in a University-based outpatient lipid clinic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Type D personality has been associated in the past with increased cardiovascular mortality among patients with established coronary heart disease. Very few studies have investigated the association of type D personality with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. In this study, we assessed the association between type D personality and the metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>New consecutive patients referred to an outpatient lipid clinic for evaluation of possible metabolic syndrome were eligible for inclusion in the study. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) diagnostic criteria. Type D personality was assessed with the DS-14 scale. Multivariate regression techniques were used to investigate the association between personality and metabolic syndromes adjusting for a number of medical and psychiatric confounders. Three hundred and fifty-nine persons were screened of whom 206 met the diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome ("cases") and 153 did not ("control group"). The prevalence of type D personality was significantly higher in the cases as compared to the control group (44% versus 15% respectively, p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis the presence of Type D personality was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome independently of other clinical factors, anxiety and depressive symptoms (odds ratio 3.47; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.90 - 6.33).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Type D personality was independently associated with the metabolic syndrome in this cross-sectional study. The potential implications of this finding, especially from a clinical or preventive perspective, should be examined in future research.</p

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011