371 research outputs found
Tailoring block copolymer nanoporous thin films with acetic acid as a small guest molecule
Block copolymers offer the fabrication of mesoporous thin films with distinct nanoscale structural features. In this contribution, we present the use of acetic acid (CH3COOH) as a lowâmolecularâweight guest molecule to tune the supramolecular assembly of poly[styreneâblockâ(4âvinylpyridine)] (PSâbâP4VP), offering a versatile and straightforward method to obtain tailored nanostructured films with controlled topography and pore size. Spinâcoating toluene solutions of PSâbâP4VP, with a variable amount of CH3COOH, leads to micellar thin films, where the micelles contain the carboxylic acid as a guest molecule. The size can be conveniently modified in these films (from 48 to 75ânm) by varying the amount of organic acid in the starting solutions. Subsequent surface reconstruction of micellar films using ethanol leads to ringâshaped copolymer nanoporous films with modulated diameter. Controlling the micelle reconstruction process, cylindrical porous films are also obtained. Interestingly, changing the type of aliphatic carboxylic acid leads to a modification of the observed film morphology from micelles to outâofâplane P4VP cylinders (or lamellae) in a PS matrix
Magnetic order and disorder in nanomagnets probed by superconducting vortices
We have studied two nanomagnet systems with strong (Co/Pd multilayers) and
weak (NdCo alloy films) stray magnetic fields by probing the out-of-plane
magnetic states with superconducting vortices. The hybrid samples are made of
array of nanomagnets embedded in superconducting Nb thin films. The vortex
motion detects relevant magnetic state features, since superconducting vortices
are able to discriminate between different magnetic stray field strengths and
directions. The usual matching effect between the superconducting vortex
lattice and the periodic pinning array can be quenched by means of disorder
magnetic potentials with strong stray fields at random. Ordered stray fields
retrieve the matching effect and yield asymmetry and shift in the vortex
dissipation signal. Furthermore vortices can discriminate the sizes of the
nanomagnet magnetic domains, detecting magnetic domain sizes as small as 70 nm.
In addition, we observe that the vortex cores play the crucial role instead of
the supercurrents around the vortex.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
Top-squark searches at the Tevatron in models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking
We study the production and decays of top squarks (stops) at the Tevatron
collider in models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking. We consider the case
where the lightest Standard Model (SM) superpartner is a light neutralino that
predominantly decays into a photon and a light gravitino. Considering the
lighter stop to be the next-to-lightest Standard Model superpartner, we analyze
stop signatures associated with jets, photons and missing energy, which lead to
signals naturally larger than the associated SM backgrounds. We consider both
2-body and 3-body decays of the top squarks and show that the reach of the
Tevatron can be significantly larger than that expected within either the
standard supergravity models or models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking in
which the stop is the lightest SM superpartner. For a modest projection of the
final Tevatron luminosity, L = 4 fb-1, stop masses of order 300 GeV are
accessible at the Tevatron collider in both 2-body and 3-body decay modes. We
also consider the production and decay of ten degenerate squarks that are the
supersymmetric partners of the five light quarks. In this case we find that
common squark masses up to 360 GeV are easily accessible at the Tevatron
collider, and that the reach increases further if the gluino is light.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures; references adde
Suppression of HBV by Tenofovir in HBV/HIV coinfected patients : a systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Hepatitis B coinfection is common in HIV-positive individuals and as antiretroviral therapy has made death due to AIDS less common, hepatitis has become increasingly important. Several drugs are available to treat hepatitis B. The most potent and the one with the lowest risk of resistance appears to be tenofovir (TDF). However there are several questions that remain unanswered regarding the use of TDF, including the proportion of patients that achieves suppression of HBV viral load and over what time, whether suppression is durable and whether prior treatment with other HBV-active drugs such as lamivudine, compromises the efficacy of TDF due to possible selection of resistant HBV strains.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines and using multilevel mixed effects logistic regression, stratified by prior and/or concomitant use of lamivudine and/or emtricitabine.
Results: Data was available from 23 studies including 550 HBV/HIV coinfected patients treated with TDF. Follow up was for up to seven years but to ensure sufficient power the data analyses were limited to three years. The overall proportion achieving suppression of HBV replication was 57.4%, 79.0% and 85.6% at one, two and three years, respectively. No effect of prior or concomitant 3TC/FTC was shown. Virological rebound on TDF treatment was rare.
Interpretation: TDF suppresses HBV to undetectable levels in the majority of HBV/HIV coinfected patients with the proportion fully suppressed continuing to increase during continuous treatment. Prior treatment with 3TC/FTC does not compromise efficacy of TDF treatment. The use of combination treatment with 3TC/FTC offers no significant benefit over TDF alone
CD4/CD8 Ratio and the Risk of Kaposi Sarcoma or Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Context of Efficiently Treated Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: A Collaborative Analysis of 20 European Cohort Studies
BACKGROUND: A persistently low CD4/CD8 ratio has been reported to inversely correlate with the risk of non-AIDS defining cancer in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) efficiently treated by combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). We evaluated the impact of the CD4/CD8 ratio on the risk of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), still among the most frequent cancers in treated PLWH. METHODS: PLWH from the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (COHERE) were included if they achieved virological control (viral loadâ
â€â
500 copies/mL) within 9 months following cART and without previous KS/LNH diagnosis. Cox models were used to identify factors associated with KS or NHL risk, in all participants and those with CD4â
â„â
500/mm3 at virological control. We analyzed the CD4/CD8 ratio, CD4 count and CD8 count as time-dependent variables, using spline transformations. RESULTS: We included 56 708 PLWH, enrolled between 2000 and 2014. At virological control, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) CD4 count, CD8 count, and CD4/CD8 ratio were 414 (296-552)/mm3, 936 (670-1304)/mm3, and 0.43 (0.28-0.65), respectively. Overall, 221 KS and 187 NHL were diagnosed 9 (2-37) and 18 (7-42) months after virological control. Low CD4/CD8 ratios were associated with KS risk (hazard ratio [HR]â
=â
2.02 [95% confidence interval {CIâ
} =â
1.23-3.31]) when comparing CD4/CD8â
=â
0.3 to CD4/CD8â
=â
1) but not with NHL risk. High CD8 counts were associated with higher NHL risk (HRâ
=â
3.14 [95% CIâ
=â
1.58-6.22]) when comparing CD8â
=â
3000/mm3 to CD8â
=â
1000/mm3). Similar results with increased associations were found in PLWH with CD4â
â„â
500/mm3 at virological control (HRâ
=â
3.27 [95% CIâ
=â
1.60-6.56] for KS; HRâ
=â
5.28 [95% CIâ
=â
2.17-12.83] for NHL). CONCLUSIONS: Low CD4/CD8 ratios and high CD8 counts despite effective cART were associated with increased KS/NHL risks respectively, especially when CD4â
â„â
500/mm3
First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data
Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of
continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a
fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters
obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto-
noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch
between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have
been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a
fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of
11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGOâs first observing run. Although we have found several initial
outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal.
Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of
the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for
the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the
spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried
out so far
A genome-wide association study in Hispanics/Latinos identifies novel signals for lung function: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
Rationale:: Lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are heritable traits. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous pulmonary function and COPD loci, primarily in cohorts of European ancestry.
Objectives: Perform a GWAS of COPD-phenotypes in Hispanic/Latino populations to identify loci not previously detected in European populations.
Methods: :GWAS of lung function and COPD in Hispanic/Latino participants from a population-based cohort. We performed replication studies of novel loci in independent studies.
Measurements and Main Results: Among 11,822 Hispanic/Latino participants, we identified eight novel signals; three replicated in independent populations of European Ancestry. A novel locus for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in ZSWIM7 (rs4791658; p=4.99Ă10-9) replicated. A rare variant (MAF=0.002) in HAL (rs145174011) was associated with FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) (p=9.59Ă10-9) in a region previously identified for COPD-related phenotypes; it remained significant in conditional analyses but did not replicate. Admixture mapping identified a novel region, with a variant in AGMO (rs41331850), associated with Amerindian ancestry and FEV1, which replicated. A novel locus for FEV1 identified among ever smokers (rs291231; p=1.92Ă10-8) approached statistical significance for replication in admixed populations of African ancestry and a novel SNP for COPD in PDZD2 (rs7709630; p=1.56Ă10-8) regionally replicated. Additionally, loci previously identified for lung function in European samples were associated in Hispanic/Latino participants in HCHS/SOL at the genome-wide significance level.
Conclusions: We identified novel signals for lung function and COPD in a Hispanic/Latino cohort. Including admixed populations when performing genetic studies may identify variants contributing togenetic etiologies of COPD
Magnetic properties of amorphous Co0.74Si0.26âSi multilayers with different numbers of periods
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