How good is the generalized Langevin equation to describe the dynamics of photo-induced electron transfer in fluid solution?

The dynamics of unimolecular photo-triggered reactions can be strongly affected by the surrounding medium. An accurate description of these reactions requires knowing the free energy surface (FES) and the friction felt by the reactants. Most of theories start from the Langevin equation to derive the dynamics, but there are few examples comparing it with experiments. Here we explore the applicability of a Generalized Langevin Equation (GLE) with an arbitrary potential and a non-markovian friction. To this end we have performed broadband fluorescence measurements with sub-picosecond time resolution of a covalently linked organic electron donor-acceptor system in solvents of changing viscosity and dielectric permittivity. In order to establish the FES of the reaction we resort to stationary electronic spectroscopy. On the other hand, the dynamics of a non-reacting substance, Coumarin 153, provide the calibrating tool for the friction over the FES, which is assumed to be solute independent. A simpler and computationally faster approach uses the Generalized Smoluchowski Equation (GSE), which can be derived from the GLE for pure harmonic potentials. Both approaches reproduce the measurements in most of the solvents reasonably well. At long times, some differences arise from the errors inherited from the analysis of the stationary solvatochromism and at short times from the excess excitation energy. However, whenever the dynamics become slow the GSE shows larger deviations than the GLE, the results of which always agree qualitatively with the measured dynamics, regardless of the solvent viscosity or dielectric properties. The here applied method can be used to predict the dynamics of any other reacting system, given the FES parameters and solvent dynamics are provided. Thus no fitting parameters enter the GLE simulations, within the applicability limits found for the model in this work.Comment: 30 pages, 22 figures, 5 tables, 97 reference

Endovascular treatment of middle cerebral artery aneurysms : single-centre results

Purpose: The middle cerebral artery (MCA) is the second most common location of intracerebral aneurysms. Traditionally, they are treated by microsurgical clipping, but with the development of new techniques and devices endovascular embolisation is gaining more importance. The aim of this study was to summarise six years of experience of our department in endovascular treatment of MCA aneurysms. Material and methods: Forty patients with 41 MCA aneurysms treated in a single centre were included in this study. Data on patients' comorbidities, aneurysm morphology, and treatment course were collected, with special emphasis on complications. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in terms of aneurysm morphology between males and females and between ruptured and unruptured aneurysms. None of the diseases analysed in the current study were linked with significantly increased risk of SAH. Unruptured aneurysms were significantly more frequently treated by stent-assisted coiling (30.4% vs. 5.6%, p = 0.0388) than were ruptured aneurysms, while ruptured aneurysms were treated more frequently by coiling alone (77.8% vs. 34.8%, p = 0.0062). After an initial course of treatment 63.4% (n = 26) of patients had class I in Raymond-Roy occlusion classification, 22% (n = 9) had class II, and 14.6% (n = 6) had class III. Complications of the procedure were observed in 17.5% (n = 7) of patients: 22.2% (n = 4) with ruptured and 13.6% (n = 3) with unruptured aneurysms. Conclusions: Endovascular treatment of MCA aneurysms is feasible, and our results are convergent with other studies. Ruptured MCA aneurysms may be treated endovascularly with similar effects as unruptured MCA aneurysms. The complication rate of such treatment is low

Assessment of heavy metal pollution in Vistula river (Poland) sediments by using magnetic methods

The present study evaluated the level of heavy metal (HM) pollution in Vistula river sediments in a highly urbanized Warsaw agglomeration (Poland). Magnetometry was used to assess the pollution level by measuring the fine fractions (0.071 mm and <0.071 mm) of sediments collected from the surface layer of the riverbank. The magnetic methods (e.g., mass magnetic susceptibility χ, temperature-dependence magnetic susceptibility, and hysteresis loop parameters) were supplemented by microscopy observations and chemical element analyses. The results showed the local impact of Warsaw’s activity on the level of HM pollution, indicated by the maximum concentrations of magnetic particles and HM in the city center. The sediment fraction <0.071 mm was dominated by magnetite and by a large amount of spherical-shaped anthropogenic magnetic particles. The pollution from the center of Warsaw was transported down-river over a relatively short distance of approximately 11 km. There was a gradual decrease in the concentrations of magnetic particles and HM in areas located to the north of the city center (down-river); furthermore, χ and concentrations of HM did not decrease to the values observed for the area to the south of Warsaw (up-river). The study showed two possible sources of sediment pollution: traffic-related and heat and power plant emissions. The influence of an additional source of pollution cannot be excluded as the amount of spherules in the sediments at the center was extremely high. The present study demonstrates that magnetometry has a practical application in detecting and mapping HM pollution in river systems

The transverse facial artery anatomy : implications for plastic surgery procedures

BACKGROUND:The transverse facial artery (TFA) perfuses the lateral face. Knowledge of topographical anatomy of the lateral face is crucial for safe procedural performance in aesthetic and plastic surgery, especially the face lift flap and face transplant. The aim of the present study was to assess detailed TFA morphometrical features. PATIENTS AND METHODS:One-hundred computed tomography head angiographies were analyzed. TFA numbers and origins were recorded bilaterally (200 cases). TFA diameters and lengths in addition to their positions in relation to neighboring vessels and the zygomatic arches were measured. RESULTS:TFA was present in 96% of cases (192/200, left = 97, right = 95). A single TFA was present in 95.3% and double TFAs were present in 4.7% of cases. In 91.7%, the TFA originated from the superficial temporal artery, and in 3.1%, it originated from the external carotid artery. One left TFA originated from the maxillary artery. The TFA was significantly longer on the right than on the left side (56.6±26.0 versus 47.3±22.2 mm; p = 0.03). The TFA mean diameter was 1.0±0.4 mm (range: 0.4-2.2 mm) with no difference between face sides. TFA length correlated with its diameter (r = 0.46, p <0.05). The TFA always originated below the zygomatic arch, and it should be found in the 8.8 mm wide area beginning 17.0mm below the lower border of the zygomatic arch. CONCLUSIONS:The TFA has a significant role in lateral face vascularization, and absence of this vessel is very uncommon

Efficacy of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in cancer patients during systemic therapy. A single-centre experience

Introduction: A novel coronavirus, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally since its emergence in December 2019. The mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been proven to be efficient and safe disease control means among adult patients without immunocompromising conditions. However, cancer patients were among the group of people that was initially excluded from the registration trials. Material and methods: 60 patients, enrolled to this study, had been voluntarily vaccinated either with BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine between March and June 2021 andhad been currently undergoing systemic treatment in Clinical Oncology Unit of University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Patients received 2 injections of vaccine 21 days apart and were tested with Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics, France) for presence of anti-S protein antibodies in patients serum. The serum samples were collected after 2 to 8 weeks after receiving second dose of vaccine. Results: The BNT162b2 vaccine was administered to 57 patients, while mRNA-1273 vaccine – to 3 patients. Seroconversion was achieved in 83.33% of patients. The median amount of anti S protein antibodies was 75,9 U/ml.There were no statistically significant differences in terms of age between group with seroconversion and group without seroconversion (U Mann-Whitney test p = 0.762). There was no statistically significant correlation between neither BMI (Spearman test, p = 0.079) norage (Spearman test, p = 0.762)and anti S protein antibody levels. Just as the diagnosis(primary tumor localization), clinical stage, type of modality (chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, immunotherapy) and the goal of treatment (radical, palliative) were not statistically significant in terms of anti S protein antibody levels. Conclusions: Due to high number of unresponsive or poorly responsive results, patients undergoing systemic therapy should be advised to maintain other measures of disease control such as distancing, usage of masks. Nevertheless, implementing mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccinesinimmunocompromised patientsduring systemic therapyis reasoned, valuable and safe

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic factor in patients during palliative treatment of pancreatic ductal adeoncarcinoma with FOLFIRINOX regimen

Introduction. Difficulties in advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) treatment require constant search of novel prognostic factors. The aim of this study is to determine the role of various morphological parameters in predicting prognosis of advanced PDAC during systemic therapy with FOLFIRINOX regimen. Material and methods. Data of 52 patients, treated with FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy due to metastatic PDAC were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Results. Median time of overall survival (OS) in group of patients with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥3 was 5.8 months, compared to 14.5 months in patients with NLR &lt; 3. Median progression free survival (PFS) in patients with NLR ≥ 3 was 4.1 months, compared to 8.5 months in patients with NLR &lt; 3. There were no statistically significant differences among patients concerning lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Conclusions. Higher NLR is a negative prognostic factor in metastatic PDAC

Efficacy of the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in cancer patients during systemic therapy. A single-centre experience

Introduction. A novel coronavirus, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally since its emergence in December 2019. The mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been proven to be an efficient and safe disease control means among adult patients without immunocompromising conditions. However, cancer patients were among the group of people that was initially excluded from the registration trials.  Material and methods. 60 patients, enrolled to this study, had been voluntarily vaccinated either with the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine between March and June 2021 and have been undergoing systemic treatment in the Clinical Oncology Unit of the University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Patients received 2 injections of vaccine 21 days apart and were tested with ElecsysR Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics, France) for the presence of anti-S-protein antibodies in the patients’ serum. The serum samples were collected 2 to 8 weeks after receiving the second dose of vaccine.  Results. The BNT162b2 vaccine was administered to 57 patients, while the mRNA-1273 vaccine – to 3 patients. Seroconversion was achieved in 83.33% of patients. The median amount of anti-S-protein antibodies was 75,9 U/ml.There were no statistically significant differences in terms of age between the group with seroconversion and the group without seroconversion (Mann-Whitney U-test p = 0.762). There was no statistically significant correlation between neither the BMI (Spearman test, p = 0.079) norage (Spearman test, p = 0.762) and anti-S-protein antibody levels. Just as the diagnosis (primary tumor localization), clinical stage, type of modality (chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, immunotherapy) and the goal of treatment (radical, palliative) were not statistically significant in terms of anti-S-protein antibody levels.  Conclusions. Due to the high number of unresponsive or poorly responsive results, patients undergoing systemic therapy should be advised to maintain other measures of disease control such as distancing, usage of masks. Nevertheless, implementing mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccinesinimmunocompromised patientsduring systemic therapyis reasoned, valuable and safe.

Towards a unified approach to detection of faults and cyber-attacks in industrial installations

© 2021 IEEE. 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 worksThis paper investigates enhancing the ability to detect cyber-attacks by using information and methods related to fault detection. An experimental stand, and an associated simulator have been constructed to enable tests of combined cyber attacks and faults in industrial processes, and, possibly, to distinguish between them. Some scenarios of cyber attacks have been presented, analysed theoretically and then tested on the simulator, demonstrating that detection of cyber attacks by this method is possible.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft