Anisotropic tunneling in {InGaAsP}/{InP} multi-quantum barrier structure

We present magneto-photoluminescence experiments on a multi-quantum-barrier structure consisting of 31 period of wide (58 nm) quaternary wells of InGaAsP with the same lattice parameter as InP separated by thin (8 nm) InP barriers. The anomalous diamagnetic shift and the asymmetric broadening of the luminescence spectra evidence strong band filling in the tail of the density of states of the quaternary alloy, suggesting that tunneling transport through the InP barrier is anisotropic along the growth axis, due to different band lineups for the direct (InGaAsP-on-InP) and inverse (InP-on-InGaAsP) interfaces. This finding is supported by high resolution X-ray patterns, yielding evidence that the direct and inverse interfaces are smooth and display different chemical compositions

Efficacy of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors to treat extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales bacteremia secondary to urinary tract infection in kidney transplant recipients (INCREMENT-SOT Project)

REIPI/INCREMENT-SOT Group.[Background] Whether active therapy with β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors (BLBLI) is as affective as carbapenems for extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) bloodstream infection (BSI) secondary to urinary tract infection (UTI) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) remains unclear.[Methods] We retrospectively evaluated 306 KTR admitted to 30 centers from January 2014 to October 2016. Therapeutic failure (lack of cure or clinical improvement and/or death from any cause) at days 7 and 30 from ESBL-E BSI onset was the primary and secondary study outcomes, respectively.[Results] Therapeutic failure at days 7 and 30 occurred in 8.2% (25/306) and 13.4% (41/306) of patients. Hospital-acquired BSI (adjusted OR [aOR]: 4.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50-11.20) and Pitt score (aOR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.21-1.77) were independently associated with therapeutic failure at day 7. Age-adjusted Charlson Index (aOR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.05-1.48), Pitt score (aOR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.35-2.17), and lymphocyte count ≤500 cells/μL at presentation (aOR: 3.16; 95% CI: 1.42-7.06) predicted therapeutic failure at day 30. Carbapenem monotherapy (68.6%, primarily meropenem) was the most frequent active therapy, followed by BLBLI monotherapy (10.8%, mostly piperacillin-tazobactam). Propensity score (PS)-adjusted models revealed no significant impact of the choice of active therapy (carbapenem-containing vs any other regimen, BLBLI- vs carbapenem-based monotherapy) within the first 72 hours on any of the study outcomes.[Conclusions] Our data suggest that active therapy based on BLBLI may be as effective as carbapenem-containing regimens for ESBL-E BSI secondary to UTI in the specific population of KTR. Potential residual confounding and unpowered sample size cannot be excluded (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02852902).This work was supported by: (1) Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2013-2016 and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases [RD16/0016/0001, RD16/0016/0002, REIPI RD16/0016/0008; RD16/0016/00010], co-financed by European Development Regional Fund “A way to achieve Europe”, Operative Program Intelligent Growth 2014-2020; (2) European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious diseases Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH, grant to J.M.A.); (3) Sociedad Andaluza de Trasplante de Órgano Sólido (SATOT, grant to L.M.M.); (4) Research project PI16/01631 integrated into the Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2013-2016 and co-financed by the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER); (5) M.F.R. holds a research contract “Miguel Servet” (CP 18/00073) from ISCIII, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. The work was also supported by the following European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious diseases (ESCMID) study groups: Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH), Bloodstream Infections and Sepsis (ESGBIS) and Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (ESGARS).Peer reviewe

Multiple Description Coding versus Transport Layer FEC for Resilient Video Transmission

peer reviewedVideo content delivery is a challenging task due to its large bandwidth requirements and its sensitivity to transmission errors. In this context, simultaneously providing scalability and resilience against transmission errors is of paramount importance. Layered video coding coupled with multicast video transmission employing no feedback provides the required scalability features and reduces the network burden. However, it is not easy to provide reliability in such environments. This is crucial to mobile users as error rates on wireless links can be high. To compensate for transmission errors, redundancy must be added to the video content. This can be added at the application layer by the employed video coding system, or can be added transparently by the transport layer. In this paper, we compare the performance obtained with a scalable wavelet-based video codec that adds redundancy using multiple description coding with the equivalent system adding redundancy at the transport level, using forward error correction.PAI MOTIO

Il sonetto italiano. Dalle origini a oggi

Il sonetto \ue8 la forma metrica di maggior fortuna della lirica occidentale. Questo libro ne ripercorre le vicende in area italiana, dalle origini siciliane fino ai recuperi del Novecento. Ricostruendo la dialettica, mutevole nel tempo e via via pi\uf9 conflittuale, tra il modello e la sua realizzazione, tra ossequio alla tradizione e stile individuale, \ue8 possibile tracciare una storia della forma che sia anche, insieme, storia letteraria e storia culturale

Use of tigecycline in elderly patients for Clostridium difficile infection

THIS CASE REPORT, AS SHOWN BY OTHER OBSERVATIONS, SUGGEST TIGECYCLINE AS AN OPTION FOR SEVERE AND COMPLICATED DISEASE IN CRITICALLY ILL ELDERLY PATIENT WHEN THERE ARE FEW ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC OPTION

A new model of exercise training in mice: a preliminary study

Physical exercise produces a variety of effects, which might result either beneficial or negative, depending on several factors such as exercise intensity and duration. In particular, exercise training consisting of a repetition of exercises bouts over time, generally results in enhanced work capacity, mainly due to metabolic and systemic adaptations aiming to re-establish and maintain a condition of homeostasis which is disrupted during each acute exercise session. The present study, carried out in mice, shows preliminary data concerning the effect on general physical conditions and aerobic endurance capacity, namely body weight and lactate production, of two distinct training schedules both consisting of daily forced run on a treadmill for 8 weeks, but with a different intensity: a) brief sequences of intense exercise (at 90% of maximal velocity) interspersed with recovery periods (2 min running - 1 min recovery) (HIT); b) continuous exercise at moderate activity (corresponding to 60% of maximal intensity) (LOW). Distance to run was fixed to 1,000 meters for both trainings. Sedentary mice were used as control (CON). Training was preceded by a first preliminary phase consisting of a period of adaptation to running on the treadmill, followed by an incremental exercise test, in order to determine, for each mouse, the maximal running velocity. CON mice performed the first phase but were leaved in their cages during the training. At baseline conditions and during the training body weight (once a week) and plasma levels of lactate (at T1, T20, T40) were measured in exercising mice and compared with CON. For each mouse the total amount of food intake during the training was also measured. At the end of the training we found that the increase in the body weight observed in HIT mice was higher than the increase found in CON mice, suggesting that high-intensity training produces a positive effect on the body growth. In contrast, in LOW mice body weight increased significantly less than CON mice, despite LOW mice had an higher total food intake than CON. Moreover, plasma lactate was found significantly decreased in both exercising mice compared with CON, confirming the efficacy of the regular exercise in inducing muscular metabolic adaptation. This appeared more markedly in HIT mice, suggesting that a very intense exercise has a stronger impact on muscular metabolism. Studies are in progress in order to investigate whether and at which extent these changes are accompanied by morpho-functional modifications in many peripheral organs and in the nervous system, as well

Multidrug-resistant Combined Infections in a Liver Transplanted Patient: Case Report

We report a case of successfully treated multiple liver abscesses in a liver-transplanted patient, sustained by combined multidrug-resistant infections. Two months after a liver transplant, a computed tomography scan revealed the presence of multiple abscesses in the liver graft. Blood cultures and abscessual liver fluid were both positive for acquired colistin- and carbapenem- resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and an extended-spectrum of beta-lactamases-producing Enterobacter aerogenes. The treatment strategy consisted of different prolonged antimicrobial combinations and draining of the abscesses with complete recovery of the liver lesions