Reduction of Pd2+ pre-adsorbed on cyanide-modified Pt(111) electrodes : adlayer metallization vs. metal-on-metal deposition

Acknowledgement The support of the University of Aberdeen is gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPostprin

Reduction of Ag+ irreversibly adsorbed on cyanide-modified Pt(111)

Peer reviewedPostprin

Metallization of cyanide-modified Pt(111) electrodes with copper

The support of the University of Aberdeen is gratefully acknowledged. CW acknowledges a summer studentship from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.Peer reviewedPostprin

Electrochemical Metallization of Molecular Adlayers

Acknowledgements Continuous support from the University of Aberdeen is gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPostprin

Mapping the electronic structure of polypyrrole with image-based electrochemical scanning tunneling spectroscopy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The support of this research by FAPESP (grants: 2013/07296-2, 2014/50249-8, 2015/12851-0, 2017/11986-5), Shell, CsF-PVE (99999.007708/2015-07), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 and CNPq is gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mapping the Electronic Structure of Polypyrrole with Image-Based Electrochemical Scanning Tunnelling Spectroscopy

Conducting polymers are versatile semiconductors whose applications cover a wide range of devices. Their versatility is due, in addition to other factors, to properties that can be easily modulated according to the intended application. It is therefore important to study and map the electronic structure of these materials to allow for a better correlation between structure and properties. Electrochemical scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (EC-STS) can be a powerful tool to characterize the electronic structure of the semiconductor electrolyte interface. In this work we have used image-based EC-STS (IB-EC-STS) to describe quantitatively the band structure of an electrochemically deposited polypyrrole (PPy) film. IB-EC-STS located the band edge of the polymer’s valence band (VB) at 0.95 V vs. RHE (-5.33 eV in the absolute potential scale) and the intragap polaron states formed when the polymer is oxidised (doped) at 0.46 V vs. RHE (-4.84 eV in the absolute potential scale). The IB-EC-STS data were cross checked with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott-Schottky analysis of the interfacial capacitance. The DOS spectrum obtained from EIS data is consistent with the STS-deduced location of the VB and the polarons

Excellent clinical outcomes and retention in care for adults with HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma treated with systemic chemotherapy and integrated antiretroviral therapy in rural Malawi

Introduction: HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma (HIV-KS) is the most common cancer in Malawi. In 2008, the non-governmental organization, Partners In Health, and the Ministry of Health established the Neno Kaposi Sarcoma Clinic (NKSC) to treat HIV-KS in rural Neno district. We aimed to evaluate 12-month clinical outcomes and retention in care for HIV-KS patients in the NKSC, and to describe our implementation model, which featured protocol-guided chemotherapy, integrated antiretroviral therapy (ART) and psychosocial support delivered by community health workers. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using routine clinical data from 114 adult HIV-KS patients who received ART and ≥1 chemotherapy cycle in the NKSC between March 2008 and February 2012. Results: At enrolment 97% of patients (n/N=103/106) had advanced HIV-KS (stage T1). Most patients were male (n/N=85/114, 75%) with median age 36 years (interquartile range, IQR: 29–42). Patients started ART a median of 77 days prior to chemotherapy (IQR: 36–252), with 97% (n/N=105/108) receiving nevirapine/lamivudine/stavudine. Following standardized protocols, we treated 20 patients (18%) with first-line paclitaxel and 94 patients (82%) with bleomycin plus vincristine (BV). Of the 94 BV patients, 24 (26%) failed to respond to BV requiring change to second-line paclitaxel. A Division of AIDS grade 3/4 adverse event occurred in 29% of patients (n/N=30/102). Neutropenia was the most common grade 3/4 event (n/N=17/102, 17%). Twelve months after chemotherapy initiation, 83% of patients (95% CI: 74–89%) were alive, including 88 (77%) retained in care. Overall survival (OS) at 12 months did not differ by initial chemotherapy regimen (p=0.6). Among patients with T1 disease, low body mass index (BMI) (adjusted hazard ratio, aHR=4.10, 95% CI: 1.06–15.89) and 1 g/dL decrease in baseline haemoglobin (aHR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.03–2.25) were associated with increased death or loss to follow-up at 12 months. Conclusions: The NKSC model resulted in infrequent adverse events, low loss to follow-up and excellent OS. Our results suggest it is safe, effective and feasible to provide standard-of-care chemotherapy regimens from the developed world, integrated with ART, to treat HIV-KS in rural Malawi. Baseline BMI and haemoglobin may represent important patient characteristics associated with HIV-KS survival in rural sub-Saharan Africa