Quantum size effects in Pb islands on Cu(111): Electronic-structure calculations

The appearance of "magic" heights of Pb islands grown on Cu(111) is studied by self-consistent electronic structure calculations. The Cu(111) substrate is modeled with a one-dimensional pseudopotential reproducing the essential features, i.e. the band gap and the work function, of the Cu band structure in the [111] direction. Pb islands are presented as stabilized jellium overlayers. The experimental eigenenergies of the quantum well states confined in the Pb overlayer are well reproduced. The total energy oscillates as a continuous function of the overlayer thickness reflecting the electronic shell structure. The energies for completed Pb monolayers show a modulated oscillatory pattern reminiscent of the super-shell structure of clusters and nanowires. The energy minima correlate remarkably well with the measured most probable heights of Pb islands. The proper modeling of the substrate is crucial to set the quantitative agreement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Submitte

Solution-Processable Carbon Nanoelectrodes for Single-Molecule Investigations

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under Award EP/M029506/1

Rapid and accurate detection of escherichia coli and klebsiella pneumoniae strains susceptible/resistant to cotrimoxazole through evaluation of cell elongation

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is a well-known antibiotic that inhibits folic acid synthesis, a topic of renewed interest. Since resistant strains are increasingly more common, an early and accurate discrimination of susceptibility may assure confident therapy. Two morphological assays were performed in Escherichia coli (n = 50; 27 non-susceptible) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 52; 18 non-susceptible). First, the strains were incubated with the CLSI breakpoint of cotrimoxazole for 150 min, which induced cell lengthening in the susceptible strains. Second, the bacteria were incubated with mitomycin C (MMC) (0.5 mg/L) for 120 min to induce a SOS-linked cell enlargement higher than that obtained by cotrimoxazole alone. When cotrimoxazole was added 30 min before MMC, the inhibition of folic acid synthesis in the susceptible strain resulted in the suppression of MMC-induced extra elongation. In the non-susceptible strains, folic acid synthesis continued despite the antibiotic, so that the MMC-induced extra cell lengthening could not be impeded. Whereas the first assay resulted in five false negatives and four false positives of resistance, the results of the second assay matched those of the conventional antibiogram. This simple morphological procedure is performed in 2 h and 45 min and may allow a rapid selection of useful and relatively inexpensive therapy, thereby preserving the newer broad-spectrum antibiotics

Distinctive Features of Saccadic Intrusions and Microsaccades in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

International audience; The eyes do not stay perfectly still during attempted fixation; fixational eye movements and saccadic intrusions (SIs) continuously change the position of gaze. The most common type of SI, square-wave jerks (SWJs), consists of saccade pairs that appear purely horizontal on clinical inspection: the first saccade moves the eye away from the fixation target, and after a short interval, the second saccade brings it back toward the target. SWJs are prevalent in certain neurological disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Here, we developed an objective method to identify SWJs. We found that SWJs are more frequent, larger, and more markedly horizontal in PSP patients than in healthy human subjects. Furthermore, the loss of a vertical component in fixational saccades and SWJs was the eye movement feature that best distinguished PSP patients from controls. We moreover determined that, in PSP patients and controls, the larger the saccade the more likely it was part of a SWJ. Furthermore, saccades produced by PSP patients had equivalent properties whether they were part of a SWJ or not, suggesting that normal fixational saccades (microsaccades) are rare in PSP. We propose that fixational saccades and SIs are generated by the same neural circuit and that, both in PSP patients and in controls, SWJs result from a coupling mechanism that generates a second corrective saccade shortly after a large fixation saccade. Because of brainstem and/or cerebellum impairment, fixational saccades in PSP are abnormally large and thus more likely to trigger a corrective saccade, giving rise to SWJs

Can Mangrove Silviculture Be Carbon Neutral?

Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in peninsular Malaysia has been managed for pole and charcoal production from Rhizophora stands with a 30-year rotation cycle since 1902. The aim of this study is to estimate the carbon budget of the MMFR by considering the carbon stock of the forest, evaluated from remote sensing data (Landsat TM and ETM+, JERS-1 SAR, ALOS PALSAR, ALOS-2 PALSAR-2, SRTM, TANDEM-X, and WorldView-2) for aboveground carbon and field data for belowground carbon. This was investigated in combination with the emissions from the silvicultural activities in the production chain, plus the distribution and consumer-related activities covering the supply chain, estimated with appropriate emission factors. The aboveground biomass carbon stock of the productive forest was of 1.4 TgC, while for the protective forest (not used for silviculture) it was at least equal to 1.2 TgC. The total soil carbon of ca. 32 TgC shows the potential of the MMFR as a carbon sink. However, the commercial exploitation of mangroves also generates greenhouse gasses with an estimate of nearly 152.80 Mg C ha−1 during charcoal production and up to 0.53 Mg C ha−1 during pole production, for a total emission of 1.8 TgC. Consequently, if the productive forest alone is considered, then the carbon budget is negative, and the ongoing silvicultural management seems to be an unsustainable practice that needs a reduction in the exploited area of at least 20% to achieve carbon neutrality. However, even with the current management, and considering the protective forest together with the productive zones, the MMFR carbon budget is slightly positive, thus showing the importance of mangrove conservation as part of the management for the preservation of the carbon stock.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Modeling Dengue Outbreaks

We introduce a dengue model (SEIR) where the human individuals are treated on an individual basis (IBM) while the mosquito population, produced by an independent model, is treated by compartments (SEI). We study the spread of epidemics by the sole action of the mosquito. Exponential, deterministic and experimental distributions for the (human) exposed period are considered in two weather scenarios, one corresponding to temperate climate and the other to tropical climate. Virus circulation, final epidemic size and duration of outbreaks are considered showing that the results present little sensitivity to the statistics followed by the exposed period provided the median of the distributions are in coincidence. Only the time between an introduced (imported) case and the appearance of the first symptomatic secondary case is sensitive to this distribution. We finally show that the IBM model introduced is precisely a realization of a compartmental model, and that at least in this case, the choice between compartmental models or IBM is only a matter of convenience.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, submited to Mathematical Bioscience

Cirugía abierta frente a cirugía artroscópica en el tratamiento de la inestabilidad anterior de hombro

Se analizan los resultados de una técnica convencional, técnica de Bankart, para el tratamiento de la luxación recidivante anterior de hombro frente a una intervención artroscópica descrita por Rose. Se seleccionan quince pacientes para cada grupo de estudio con un seguimiento postoperatorio medio en torno a los dos años. Los pacientes de cirugía artroscópica se han seleccionado en base a criterios de exclusión preoperatorios e intraoperatorios que requieren la exploración de la estabilidad bajo anestesia y el examen artroscó- pico inicial. En el grupo de cirugía abierta no existe ningún caso de recidiva de la lesión, sólo un paciente no recuperó su nivel de actividad prelesional pero el 73 % de los pacientes presentan restricciones leves de la rotación externa a 90 ° de abducción. En el caso de la cirugía artroscópica un paciente sufrió un nuevo episodio de luxación, dos pacientes no recuperaron su nivel previo de actividad y el 86% presentaban una movilidad completa. Los resultados animan a los autores a continuar desarrollando las técnicas de estabilización artroscópica.We review the results of a conventional technique, Bankart repair, for the treatment of recurrent anterior shoulder instabüity versus an arthroscopic technique developed by Rose. Fifteen patients have been selected for each study group with an average postoperative follow-up around two years. Gandidates for arthroscopic surgery have been selected based on preoperative and intraoperative exclusion criteria. Intraoperative criteria required evaluation of stability under anesthesia and diagnostic arthroscopy. In the open surgery group no redislocations happened. Only one patient did not recover bis previous activity level but 73% had slight restriction to external rotation at 90 ° abduction. In the arthroscopic surgery patients, one of them suffered a redislocation, two cases did not recover their previous activity level but 8 6% kept full shoulder motion. The results encourage the authors to continue the developing trend of arthroscopic stabilization techniques

P29 274. Indicaciones de la válvula aórtica ats 3f enable® sin sutura

La válvula ATS 3f Enable® (Medtronic) es una prótesis biológica de pericardio, diseñada como una válvula tubular para optimizar sus características hemodinámicas y disminuir el estrés.ObjetivosDescripción de las posibles indicaciones de la válvula aórtica 3f Enable® sin sutura seg?estra experiencia.Material y métodosDesde mayo de 2010 se han implantado 10 válvulas 3f Enable®, eligiendo pacientes con anillo aórtico pequeño (< 21mm) e índice de masa corporal (IMC) igual o superior a 30 o con estenosis protésica de 19mm. El tamaño de los implantes fue: 19mm: 5, 21mm: 4, y 23mm: 1. Perfil clínico de los pacientes: edad media: 72 años. Estenosis aórtica protésica: 2 pacientes. EuroSCORE medio: 6,3. El IMC medio de los pacientes con estenosis nativa: 32. En tres pacientes se realizaron injertos concomitantes.ResultadosTodos los implantes se realizaron con éxito. En dos pacientes fue necesaria la recolocación de la prótesis por insuficiencia antes de descontinuar la circulación extracorpórea. El tiempo medio de isquemia fue de 61 min, con un rango de 22–81 min. Los gradientes pico obtenidos fueron 21±6mmHg y los gradientes medios de 11±3mmHg. Un paciente requirió reintervención por insuficiencia grave debido a inframedición de la prótesis.ConclusionesLa prótesis 3f Enable® presenta un excelente comportamiento hemodinámico en pacientes con anillo aórtico pequeño y con un IMC igual o superior a 30 y consiguiente riesgo de mismatch. La estenosis protésica de 19mm también se podría considerar como indicación de implante de esta válvula