Referencing geostrophic velocities at a northern Adriatic section

We have addressed the merits of two familiar methods to calculate absolute geostrophic currents when applied to a shallow-water section of a marginal sea. The comparison was performed on the basis of monthly collected hydrographic data and relative geostrophic currents (calculated with respect to the 30 m level) at a transect in the northern Adriatic in 1992 and 2000. The computed geostrophic currents were also compared to current-meter data collected continuously in 1992, in the surface and bottom layer of a station on the same section, and filtered with cut-off period of 10 days. When relative currents were converted to absolute the Fomin method (requiring minimal kinetic energy in the water column)pro vided correction closer to filtered Eulerian currents in 21 out of 24 (12 surface plus 12 bottom)comparison pairs. Modification of the sections’s position confirmed that the criterion of mass conservation over the entire section generates absolute correction more susceptible to the position and the extent of the section used in its calculation. Both approximations of absolute geostrophic current worked better when applied to data collected in the warmer part of the year

Annealing of gold nanostructures sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene

Gold nanolayers sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface and their changes induced by post-deposition annealing at 100°C to 300°C are studied. Changes in surface morphology and roughness are examined by atomic force microscopy, electrical sheet resistance by two point technique, zeta potential by electrokinetic analysis and chemical composition by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in dependence on the gold layer thickness. Transition from discontinuous to continuous gold coverage takes place at the layer thicknesses 10 to 15 nm and this threshold remains practically unchanged after the annealing at the temperatures below 200°C. The annealing at 300°C, however, leads to significant rearrangement of the gold layer and the transition threshold increases to 70 nm. Significant carbon contamination and the presence of oxidized structures on gold-coated samples are observed in XPS spectra. Gold coating leads to a decrease in the sample surface roughness. Annealing at 300°C of pristine PTFE and gold-coated PTFE results in significant increase of the sample surface roughness

Ripple polystyrene nano-pattern induced by KrF laser

The study of excimer laser treatment of polystyrene surface was performed. The influence of laser fluence and number of laser pulses on surface chemistry and morphology was determined. The surface morphology and roughness were studied with atomic force microscopy. Surface wettability and aging studies were characterized by the water contact angle measurements. Surface oxygen concentration and chemistry were evaluated from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and zeta potential measurements. The optimal polystyrene treatment parameters for the most regular pattern were determined. The foils with optimal ripple pattern were subsequently sputtered with gold nano-layers of 100 nm thickness. It was found that the surface roughness of PS strongly depends on number of pulses. The aging study revealed that the higher contact angle achieve the samples treated with higher laser fluence. The deposition of gold nano-layer increases the surface roughness of nano-patterned surface. It was proved that the oxygen concentration is significantly influenced by the KrF laser exposure

COVID-19 in children and adolescents in Europe: a multinational, multicentre cohort study

Background To date, few data on paediatric COVID-19 have been published, and most reports originate from China. This study aimed to capture key data on children and adolescents with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection across Europe to inform physicians and health-care service planning during the ongoing pandemic. Methods This multicentre cohort study involved 82 participating health-care institutions across 25 European countries, using a well established research network—the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet)—that mainly comprises paediatric infectious diseases specialists and paediatric pulmonologists. We included all individuals aged 18 years or younger with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, detected at any anatomical site by RT-PCR, between April 1 and April 24, 2020, during the initial peak of the European COVID-19 pandemic. We explored factors associated with need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and initiation of drug treatment for COVID-19 using univariable analysis, and applied multivariable logistic regression with backwards stepwise analysis to further explore those factors significantly associated with ICU admission. Findings 582 individuals with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were included, with a median age of 5·0 years (IQR 0·5–12·0) and a sex ratio of 1·15 males per female. 145 (25%) had pre-existing medical conditions. 363 (62%) individuals were admitted to hospital. 48 (8%) individuals required ICU admission, 25 (4%) mechanical ventilation (median duration 7 days, IQR 2–11, range 1–34), 19 (3%) inotropic support, and one (<1%) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Significant risk factors for requiring ICU admission in multivariable analyses were being younger than 1 month (odds ratio 5·06, 95% CI 1·72–14·87; p=0·0035), male sex (2·12, 1·06–4·21; p=0·033), pre-existing medical conditions (3·27, 1·67–6·42; p=0·0015), and presence of lower respiratory tract infection signs or symptoms at presentation (10·46, 5·16–21·23; p<0·0001). The most frequently used drug with antiviral activity was hydroxychloroquine (40 [7%] patients), followed by remdesivir (17 [3%] patients), lopinavir–ritonavir (six [1%] patients), and oseltamivir (three [1%] patients). Immunomodulatory medication used included corticosteroids (22 [4%] patients), intravenous immunoglobulin (seven [1%] patients), tocilizumab (four [1%] patients), anakinra (three [1%] patients), and siltuximab (one [<1%] patient). Four children died (case-fatality rate 0·69%, 95% CI 0·20–1·82); at study end, the remaining 578 were alive and only 25 (4%) were still symptomatic or requiring respiratory support. Interpretation COVID-19 is generally a mild disease in children, including infants. However, a small proportion develop severe disease requiring ICU admission and prolonged ventilation, although fatal outcome is overall rare. The data also reflect the current uncertainties regarding specific treatment options, highlighting that additional data on antiviral and immunomodulatory drugs are urgently needed