Structural and magnetic properties of an InGaAs/Fe3_3Si superlattice in cylindrical geometry

The structure and the magnetic properties of an InGaAs/Fe3Si superlattice in a cylindrical geometry are investigated by electron microscopy techniques, x-ray diffraction and magnetometry. To form a radial superlattice, a pseudomorphic InGaAs/Fe3As bilayer has been released from its substrate self-forming into a rolled-up microtube. Oxide-free interfaces as well as areas of crystalline bonding are observed and an overall lattice mismatch between succeeding layers is determined. The cylindrical symmetry of the final radial superlattice shows a significant effect on the magnetization behavior of the rolled-up layers

Coupling FEM, Bloch Waves and TMM in Meta Poroelastic Laminates

The propagation of airborne plane waves in the pres- ence of a meta poroelastic laminate, that is a poroelas- tic matrix coated with thin elastic layers at its facings 5 and periodically-embedded with inclusions, is studied. Using the Finite Element Method (FEM) only would result in a drastic increase of the degrees of freedom due to the fine mesh required to account for the very thin coatings. Here, the approach relies on: the Bloch 10 wave expansion of the fields in air; the modal Trans- fer Matrix Method to account for the coatings; and the coupling with the FEM model of the poroelas- tic matrix and the resonant inclusions. The model is developed for reflection and transmission problems 15 and it can account for coatings with multiple layers. The procedure induces the addition of the Bloch co- efficients in the FEM’s linear system at a negligible additional computational cost. It is applied to the meta poroelastic laminates with poroelastic inclusions 20 and rubber shell inclusions. The results are compared with those from the Multiple Scattering Theory and an excellent agreement between the methods is found. The approach offers a numerically-efficient way to ac- count for coatings applied to meta poroelastic layers, 25 and finds applications in industrial prototypes where coatings are widely used

High failure rates of protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral treatment in rural Tanzania - a prospective cohort study

Poor adherence to antiretroviral drugs and viral resistance are the main drivers of treatment failure in HIV-infected patients. In sub-Saharan Africa, avoidance of treatment failure on second-line protease inhibitor therapy is critical as treatment options are limited.; In the prospective observational study of the Kilombero & Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort in rural Tanzania, we assessed virologic failure (viral load ≥1,000 copies/mL) and drug resistance mutations in bio-banked plasma samples 6-12 months after initiation of a protease inhibitor-based treatment regimen. Additionally, viral load was measured before start of protease inhibitor, a second time between 1-5 years after start, and at suspected treatment failure in patients with available bio-banked samples. We performed resistance testing if viral load was ≥1000 copies/ml. Risk factors for virologic failure were analyzed using logistic regression.; In total, 252 patients were included; of those 56% were female and 21% children. Virologic failure occurred 6-12 months after the start of a protease inhibitor in 26/199 (13.1%) of adults and 7/53 of children (13.2%). The prevalence of virologic failure did not change over time. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors drug resistance mutation testing performed at 6-12 months showed a positive signal in only 9/16 adults. No cases of resistance mutations for protease inhibitors were seen at this time. In samples taken between 1-5 years protease inhibitor resistance was demonstrated in 2/7 adults. In adult samples before protease inhibitor start, resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors was detected in 30/41, and to non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors in 35/41 patients. In 15/16 pediatric samples, resistance to both drug classes but not for protease inhibitors was present.; Our study confirms high early failure rates in adults and children treated with protease inhibitors, even in the absence of protease inhibitors resistance mutations, suggesting an urgent need for adherence support in this setting

Creating ecologically sound buildings by integrating ecology, architecture and computational design

1. Research is revealing an increasing number of positive effects of nature for humans. At the same time, biodiversity in cities, where most humans live, is often low or in decline. Tangible solutions are needed to increase urban biodiversity. 2. Architecture is a key discipline that has considerable influence on the built-up area of cities, thereby influencing urban biodiversity. In general, architects do not design for biodiversity. Conversely, urban conservation planning generally focuses on the limited space free of buildings and does not embrace architecture as an important discipline for the creation of urban green infrastructure. 3. In this paper, we argue that the promotion of biodiversity needs to become a key driving force of architectural design. This requires a new multi-species design paradigm that considers both human and non-human needs. Such a design approach needs to maintain the standards of the architectural profession, including the aim to increase the well-being of humans in buildings. Yet, it also needs to add other stakeholders, organisms such as animals, plants and even microbiota. New buildings designed for humans and other inhabitants can then increase biodiversity in cities and also increase the benefits that humans can derive from close proximity to nature. 4. We review the challenges that this new design approach poses for both architecture and ecology and show that multi-species-design goes beyond existing approaches in architecture and ecology. The new design approach needs to make ecological knowledge available to the architectural design process, enabling practitioners to find architectural solutions that can facilitate synergies from a multi-species perspective. 5. We propose that a first step in creating such a multi-species habitat is the design of buildings with an ecolope, a multi criteria-designed building envelope that takes into account the needs of diverse organisms. Because there is no framework to design such an ecolope, we illustrate how multi-species design needs to draw on knowledge from ecology, as well as architecture, and design computation. 6. We discuss how architectures designed via a multi-species approach can be an important step in establishing beneficial human-nature relationships in cities, and contribute to human well-being and biodiversity conservation.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Cohort profile: the Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort (KIULARCO): a prospective HIV cohort in rural Tanzania

The Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort (KIULARCO) is a single-site, open and ongoing prospective cohort of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWHIV) established in 2005 at the Chronic Diseases Clinic of Ifakara (CDCI), within the Saint Francis Referral Hospital (SFRH) in Ifakara, Tanzania. The objectives of KIULARCO are to (i) provide patient and cohort-level information on the outcomes of HIV treatment; (ii) provide cohort-level information on opportunistic infections and comorbidities; (iii) evaluate aspects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment that have national or international policy relevance; (iv) provide a platform for studies on improving HIV care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa; and (v) contribute to generating local capacity to deal with the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in this region. Moreover, KIULARCO may serve as a model for other healthcare settings in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2005, all patients diagnosed with HIV at the Saint Francis Referral Hospital are invited to participate in the cohort, including non-pregnant adults, pregnant women, adolescents, children and infants. The information collected includes demographics, baseline and follow-up clinical data, laboratory data, medication history, drug toxicities, diagnoses and outcomes. Real-time data are captured during the patient encounter through an electronic medical record system that allowed transition to a paperless clinic in 2013. In addition, KIULARCO is associated with a biobank of cryopreserved plasma samples and cell pellets collected from all participants before and at different time-points during antiretroviral treatment. Up to the end of 2016, 12 185 PLWHIV have been seen at the CDCI; 9218 (76%) of whom have been enrolled into KIULARCO and 6965 (76%) of these have received ART from the clinic. Patients on ART attend at least every 3 months, with laboratory monitoring every 6 months. KIULARCO data have been used to generate relevant information regarding ART outcomes, opportunistic infections, non-AIDS comorbidities, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, paediatric HIV, and mortality and retention in care. Requests for collaborations on analyses can be submitted to the KIULARCO scientific committee. KIULARCO provides a framework for improving the quality of care of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, to generate relevant information to evaluate ART programmes and to build local capacity to deal with HIV/AIDS. The comprehensiveness of the data collected, together with the biobank spanning over ten years has created a unique research platform in rural sub-Saharan Africa

Coevolution of dispersal in a parasitoid-host system

Interspecific interactions and the evolution of dispersal are both of interest when considering the potential impact of habitat fragmentation on community ecology, but the interaction between these processes is not well studied. We address this by considering the coevolution of dispersal strategies in a host-parasitoid system. An individual-based host-parasitoid metapopulation model was constructed for a patchy environment, allowing for evolution in dispersal rates of both species. Highly rarefied environments with few suitable patches selected against dispersal in both species, as did relatively static environments. Provided that parasitoids persist, all parameter values studied led to stable equilibria in dispersal rates for both species. There was a tendency towards higher dispersal rates in parasitoids due to the asymmetric relationships of the two species to the patches: vacant patches are most valuable for hosts, but unsuitable for parasitoids, which require an established host population to reproduce. High host dispersal rate was favoured by high host population growth rate, and in the parasitoid by high growth rates in both species

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

Measurement of the inelastic pp cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV

The cross-section for inelastic proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV is measured with the LHCb detector. The fiducial cross-section for inelastic interactions producing at least one prompt long-lived charged particle with momentum p > 2 GeV/c in the pseudorapidity range 2 < η < 5 is determined to be ϭ acc = 62:2 ± 0:2 ± 2:5mb. The first uncertainty is the intrinsic systematic uncertainty of the measurement, the second is due to the uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The statistical uncertainty is negligible. Extrapolation to full phase space yields the total inelastic proton-proton cross-section ϭ inel = 75:4 ± 3:0 ± 4:5mb, where the first uncertainty is experimental and the second due to the extrapolation. An updated value of the inelastic cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV is also reported

Soybean oil increases SERCA2a expression and left ventricular contractility in rats without change in arterial blood pressure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our aim was to evaluate the effects of soybean oil treatment for 15 days on arterial and ventricular pressure, myocardial mechanics and proteins involved in calcium handling.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were divided in two groups receiving 100 μL of soybean oil (SB) or saline (CT) i.m. for 15 days. Ventricular performance was analyzed in male 12-weeks old Wistar rats by measuring left ventricle diastolic and systolic pressure in isolated perfused hearts according to the Langendorff technique. Protein expression was measured by Western blot analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Systolic and diastolic arterial pressures did not differ between CT and SB rats. However, heart rate was reduced in the SB group. In the perfused hearts, left ventricular isovolumetric systolic pressure was higher in the SB hearts. The inotropic response to extracellular Ca²⁺and isoproterenol was higher in the soybean-treated animals than in the control group. Myosin ATPase and Na⁺-K⁺ATPase activities, the expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA2a) and sodium calcium exchanger (NCX) were increased in the SB group. Although the phosfolamban (PLB) expression did not change, its phosphorylation at Ser¹⁶was reduced while the SERCA2a/PLB ratio was increased.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, soybean treatment for 15 days in rats increases the left ventricular performance without affecting arterial blood pressure. These changes might be associated with an increase in the myosin ATPase activity and SERCA2a expression.</p

Impact of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Release on Calcium Dynamics and Action Potential Morphology in Human Atrial Myocytes: A Computational Study

Electrophysiological studies of the human heart face the fundamental challenge that experimental data can be acquired only from patients with underlying heart disease. Regarding human atria, there exist sizable gaps in the understanding of the functional role of cellular Ca2+ dynamics, which differ crucially from that of ventricular cells, in the modulation of excitation-contraction coupling. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to develop a mathematical model of the human atrial myocyte that, in addition to the sarcolemmal (SL) ion currents, accounts for the heterogeneity of intracellular Ca2+ dynamics emerging from a structurally detailed sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Based on the simulation results, our model convincingly reproduces the principal characteristics of Ca2+ dynamics: 1) the biphasic increment during the upstroke of the Ca2+ transient resulting from the delay between the peripheral and central SR Ca2+ release, and 2) the relative contribution of SL Ca2+ current and SR Ca2+ release to the Ca2+ transient. In line with experimental findings, the model also replicates the strong impact of intracellular Ca2+ dynamics on the shape of the action potential. The simulation results suggest that the peripheral SR Ca2+ release sites define the interface between Ca2+ and AP, whereas the central release sites are important for the fire-diffuse-fire propagation of Ca2+ diffusion. Furthermore, our analysis predicts that the modulation of the action potential duration due to increasing heart rate is largely mediated by changes in the intracellular Na+ concentration. Finally, the results indicate that the SR Ca2+ release is a strong modulator of AP duration and, consequently, myocyte refractoriness/excitability. We conclude that the developed model is robust and reproduces many fundamental aspects of the tight coupling between SL ion currents and intracellular Ca2+ signaling. Thus, the model provides a useful framework for future studies of excitation-contraction coupling in human atrial myocytes