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

Super-Nernstian Shifts of Interfacial Proton-Coupled Electron Transfers : Origin and Effect of Noncovalent Interactions

The support of the University of Aberdeen is gratefully acknowledged. C.W. acknowledges a summer studentship from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. E.P.M.L. acknowledges SeCYT (Universidad Nacional de Cordoba), ́ CONICET- PIP 11220110100992, Program BID (PICT 2012-2324), and PME 2006-01581 for financial support.Peer reviewedPostprin

Reconstruction of the gastric passage by a side-to-side gastrogastrostomy after failed vertical-banded gastroplasty: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Vertical-banded gastroplasty, a technique that is commonly performed in the treatment of morbid obesity, represents a nonadjustable restrictive procedure which reduces the volume of the upper stomach by a vertical stapler line. In addition, a textile or silicone band restricts food passage through the stomach. CASE PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old woman presented with a severe gastric stenosis 11 years after vertical gastroplasty. We describe a side-to-side gastrogastrostomy as a safe surgical procedure to restore the physiological gastric passage after failed vertical-banded gastroplasty. CONCLUSION: Occasionally, restrictive procedures for morbid obesity cannot be converted into an alternative bariatric procedure to maintain weight control. This report demonstrates that a side-to-side gastrogastrostomy is a feasible and safe procedure

SPHERE IRDIS and IFS astrometric strategy and calibration

We present the current results of the astrometric characterization of the VLT planet finder SPHERE over 2 years of on-sky operations. We first describe the criteria for the selection of the astrometric fields used for calibrating the science data: binaries, multiple systems, and stellar clusters. The analysis includes measurements of the pixel scale and the position angle with respect to the North for both near-infrared subsystems, the camera IRDIS and the integral field spectrometer IFS, as well as the distortion for the IRDIS camera. The IRDIS distortion is shown to be dominated by an anamorphism of 0.60+/-0.02% between the horizontal and vertical directions of the detector, i.e. 6 mas at 1". The anamorphism is produced by the cylindrical mirrors in the common path structure hence common to all three SPHERE science subsystems (IRDIS, IFS, and ZIMPOL), except for the relative orientation of their field of view. The current estimates of the pixel scale and North angle for IRDIS are 12.255+/-0.009 milliarcseconds/pixel for H2 coronagraphic images and -1.75+/-0.08 deg. Analyses of the IFS data indicate a pixel scale of 7.46+/-0.02 milliarcseconds/pixel and a North angle of -102.18+/-0.13 deg. We finally discuss plans for providing astrometric calibration to the SPHERE users outside the instrument consortium.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

CHEOPS launch in 2019! – Payload Capabilities and In-Orbit Commissioning Preview

ESA Science Programme Committee (SPC) selected CHEOPS as the first small class science mission in 2012. CHEOPS is considered as a pilot case for the implementation of “small science missions” and its success is key for the continuation of fast-paced, small missions. The mission has been developed and brought into a flight readiness state within 5-6 years from selection, which is about half the time of other ESA missions. This paper focuses on the CHEOPS payload and its predicted capabilities. The 300mm effective aperture Ritchey-Chretien telescope provided by the CHEOPS consortium has been tested and characterized on ground in a 2 months calibration campaign after the qualification for flight. The results have led to performance estimations, which are discussed here. We show that the performance requirements in flight are expected to be met by the instrument. A preview is given towards the 2 months lasting In Orbit Commissioning (IOC) phase of the CHEOPS payload after LEOP and platform check-out. The activities in orbit range from dark current measurements, PSF characterization and parasitic stray light determination to AOCS and instrument performance verifications to science validation using reference transits

The CHEOPS mission

The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) was selected in 2012, as the first small mission in the ESA Science Programme and successfully launched in December 2019. CHEOPS is a partnership between ESA and Switzerland with important contributions by ten additional ESA Member States. CHEOPS is the first mission dedicated to search for transits of exoplanets using ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. As a follow-up mission, CHEOPS is mainly dedicated to improving, whenever possible, existing radii measurements or provide first accurate measurements for a subset of those planets for which the mass has already been estimated from ground-based spectroscopic surveys and to following phase curves. CHEOPS will provide prime targets for future spectroscopic atmospheric characterisation. Requirements on the photometric precision and stability have been derived for stars with magnitudes ranging from 6 to 12 in the V band. In particular, CHEOPS shall be able to detect Earth-size planets transiting G5 dwarf stars in the magnitude range between 6 and 9 by achieving a photometric precision of 20 ppm in 6 hours of integration. For K stars in the magnitude range between 9 and 12, CHEOPS shall be able to detect transiting Neptune-size planets achieving a photometric precision of 85 ppm in 3 hours of integration. This is achieved by using a single, frame-transfer, back-illuminated CCD detector at the focal plane assembly of a 33.5 cm diameter telescope. The 280 kg spacecraft has a pointing accuracy of about 1 arcsec rms and orbits on a sun-synchronous dusk-dawn orbit at 700 km altitude. The nominal mission lifetime is 3.5 years. During this period, 20% of the observing time is available to the community through a yearly call and a discretionary time programme managed by ESA.Comment: Submitted to Experimental Astronom

Two-hour algorithm for triage toward rule-out and rule-in of acute myocardial infarction by use of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I

Free to read\ud \ud Abstract\ud \ud BACKGROUND: The early triage of patients toward rule-out and rule-in of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is challenging. Therefore, we aimed to develop a 2-h algorithm that uses high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI).\ud \ud METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 1435 (derivation cohort) and 1194 (external validation cohort) patients presenting with suspected AMI to the emergency department. The final diagnosis was adjudicated by 2 independent cardiologists. hs-cTnI was measured at presentation and after 2 h in a blinded fashion. We derived and validated a diagnostic algorithm incorporating hs-cTnI values at presentation and absolute changes within the first 2 h.\ud \ud RESULTS: AMI was the final diagnosis in 17% of patients in the derivation and 13% in the validation cohort. The 2-h algorithm developed in the derivation cohort classified 56% of patients as rule-out, 17% as rule-in, and 27% as observation. Resulting diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) were 99.2% and 99.8% for rule-out; specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) were 95.2% and 75.8% for rule-in. Applying the 2-h algorithm in the external validation cohort, 60% of patients were classified as rule-out, 13% as rule-in, and 27% as observation. Diagnostic sensitivity and NPV were 98.7% and 99.7% for rule-out; specificity and PPV were 97.4% and 82.2% for rule-in. Thirty-day survival was 100% for rule-out patients in both cohorts.\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS: A simple algorithm incorporating hs-cTnI baseline values and absolute 2-h changes allowed a triage toward safe rule-out or accurate rule-in of AMI in the majority of patients