Site‐Controlled InGaAs Quantum Dots with Tunable Emission Energy

Semiconductor quantum‐dot (QD) systems offering perfect site control and tunable emission energy are essential for numerous nanophotonic device applications involving spatial and spectral matching of dots with optical cavities. Herein, the properties of ordered InGaAs/GaAs QDs grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition on substrates patterned with pyramidal recesses are reported. The seeded growth of a single QD inside each pyramid results in near‐perfect (<10 nm) control of the QD position. Moreover, efficient and uniform photoluminescence (inhomogeneous broadening <10 meV) is observed from ordered arrays of such dots. The QD emission energy can be finely tuned by varying 1) the pyramid size and 2) its position within specific patterns. This tunability is brought about by the patterning of both the chemical properties and the surface curvature features of the substrate, which allows local control of the adatom fluxes that determine the QD thickness and composition.     

Test-day genetic analysis of condition score and heart girth in Holstein Friesian cows.

This study aimed to estimate heritability for condition score and heart girth using a test-day model, to investigate the genetic relationships between condition score, heart girth, and milk yield traits and to analyze the genetic relationships of condition score and heart girth measured at different stages of lactation. Cows from 25 dairy herds were scored for body condition and measured for heart girth at 3-mo intervals for 2 yr. Approximately 5000 test-day observations on condition score, heart girth, and milk fat and protein yield from 1344 Italian Friesian cows were analyzed using two approaches: 1) repeated observations for a trait were considered repeated measurements of the same trait; 2) observations for a trait collected in different stages of lactation (dry period, 1 to 75, 76 to 130, 131 to 210, and 211 to 300 DIM) were treated as different traits. (Co)variance components and related parameters were estimated using REML multiple-trait procedures and animal models with unequal design for different traits. Heritability estimates for fat and protein test-day yield and for test-day condition score and heart girth were 0.22, 0.18, 0.29, and 0.33, respectively. Condition score was negatively correlated with yield traits and positively correlated with heart girth, whereas genetic relationships between heart girth and milk yield traits were negligible. Heritability estimates were 0.27 for condition score recorded in the first half of lactation (1 to 75 and 76 to 130 DIM), 0.36 for condition score in the second half of lactation (131 to 210 and 211 to 300 DIM) and 0.32 for condition score recorded on dry cows. Genetic correlations between condition scores measured in different lactation stages were generally high (0.85 or more), with the exception of the relationships between the first and the last stage of lactation (0.74) and between the first half of lactation and the dry period (0.7). Heritability estimates for heart girth in different lactation stages ranged from 0.31 to 0.40, and genetic correlations between high girth measured in different lactation stages were higher than 0.80.     

Reduced E-cadherin expression correlates with unfavorable prognosis in adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary glands of the oral cavity

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology, diagnosis, risk factors, patient impact, and treatment strategies for recurrent Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD). DESIGN: Data were collected as part of a blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial testing a new combination treatment for recurrent CDAD. Retrospective data regarding prior CDAD episodes were collected from interviews and medical-chart review. Prospective data on the current CDAD episode, risk factors, and recurrence rates were collected during a 2-month follow-up. SETTINGS: National referral study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with recurrent CDAD. INTERVENTIONS: Treatment with a 10-day course of low-dose (500 mg/d) or high-dose (2 g/d) vancomycin or metronidazole (1 g/d). RESULTS: Recurrent CDAD was found to have a lengthy course involving multiple episodes of diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, and fever. CDAD may recur over several years despite frequent treatment with antibiotics. Recurrence rates were similar regardless of the choice or dose of antibiotic. Recurrent CDAD is not a trivial disease: patients may have multiple episodes (as many as 14), may require hospitalization, and the mean lifetime cost of direct medical care was $10,970 per patient. Fortunately, the disease does not become progressively more severe as the number of episodes increase. Two risk factors predictive for recurrent CDAD were found: increasing age and a decreased quality-of-life score at enrollment. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent CDAD is a persistent disease that may result in prolonged hospital stays, additional medical costs, and rare serious complications.     

Antioxidant activity of virgin olive oil phenolic compounds in a micellar system†

The antioxidant activity of two virgin olive oils, obtained from the same olive (Olea europaea sativa) batch but processed with different hammer crushing conditions, was evaluated by measuring their protective action towards linoleic acid peroxidation in a micellar system. The antioxidant efficiency (AE) of the oil phenolic fraction was higher when the olives were processed with a higher hammer crusher rotation rate. HPLC analysis demonstrated that one of the main derivatives of oleuropein, indicated as 3,4-DHPEA-EDA (the dialdehydic form of elenolic acid linked with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol), is present only in the oil with higher AE. 3,4-DHPEA-EDA showed the greatest antioxidant ability among virgin olive oil phenols. Its greater efficiency in the micellar system in comparison with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol (3,4-DHPEA) is related to its greater lipophilicity. It is suggested that the behaviour in the water–micellar environment is representative of that in a real system such as tomato-based sauce with added virgin olive oil. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Familial study of patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Rendu-Osler-Weber's disease or Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HTT) is an autosomal dominant hereditary clinical entity characterized by the presence of telangiectasias on skin, mucous membranes and internal organs. The incidence of hepatic, pulmonary or cerebral complications justifies an early diagnostic. A familiar study of patients previously diagnosed of HTT in our hospital was made, establishing a protocol for the identification of asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic cases. Fourteen patients were studied: 6 with a previous diagnostic, and 8 familiar contacts. Penetrance was of 85%. Epistaxis (80%) and telangiectasias on skin were the most frequent clinical findings. The visceral lesions found were gastrointestinal (28%), hepatic (15%), urological (15%) and pulmonary (7%). All patients were included in an hepatitis B virus vaccination program. It was also made a morphological study with Werhoeff's staining of the elastic layer, that allowed to distinguish both arterial and venous alterations.     

The management of neuroendocrine tumours: A nutritional viewpoint

Nutritional status in patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), especially of gastroenteropancreatic origin, can be deeply affected by excessive production of gastrointestinal hormones, peptides, and amines, which can lead to malabsorption, diarrhoea, steatorrhea, and altered gastrointestinal motility. Besides, the surgical and/or medical management of NETs can lead to alteration of gastrointestinal secretory, motor, and absorptive functions, with both dietary and nutritional consequences. Indeed, disease-related malnutrition is a frequently encountered yet both underrecognized and understudied clinical phenomenon in patients with NETs, with substantial prognostic and socioeconomic consequences. Most of these conditions can be alleviated by a tailored nutritional approach, also with the aim of improving the efficacy of cancer treatments. In this setting, skilled nutritionists can play a fundamental role in the multidisciplinary health care team in NETs management and their presence should be recommended. The aim of this review is to provide dietary advices for each specific condition in patients with NETs, underlining the importance of a nutritional approach to treat malnutrition in this setting. Further, we will provide preliminary evidence coming from our data on the assessment of nutritional status in a single cohort of patients with NETs.     

Unsuspected carcinoma of the gall bladder: case report of trocar-site metastasis following laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Cancer of the gall bladder is a rare malignant neoplasm with an unfavourable prognosis. Laparoscopic surgery has brought about the emergence of possible neoplastic diffusion along trocar tracts in cases where unrecognized carcinoma of the gall bladder is present. The authors present a case of neoplastic abdominal diffusion discovered 4 months after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in which histologic examination of the surgical specimen revealed the presence of unrecognized carcinoma of the gall bladder.     

Immunodiagnosis in 647 suspected clinical cases of toxoplasmosis

Though Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe pathology in human, in most of the cases it produces only asymptomatic infection. So, it is important to dispose some methods capables to discriminate between acute and chronic infections. An indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT), dye test (DT) and complement fixation test (CFT) were performed in 647 sera from patients suspected of having toxoplasmosis infection. IHAT and DT titer > or = 4 and CFT > or = 5 were considered positive. Titers were classified as follows: low (4-16), median (64-512) and high (> or = 1000) for IHAT and DT. The pathologies for demanding these serological tests were: adenopathies (58), nephropathies (72), neuropathies (30), obstetrical problems (65), opthalmopathies (147), AIDS (237) and miscellaneous (37). Global positivity of 49.5% and 4.5% for IHAT/DT and CFT respectively were found. The positivity for the different groups were: adenopathies (48.3% and 13.8%), nephropathies (43.1% and 1.4%), neuropathies (26.7% and 3.3%), obstetrical problems (40.0% and 0.0%), ophthalmopathies (59.9% and 8.2%), AIDS (52.1% and 2.5%) and miscellaneous (40.5% and 2.7%) for IHAT/DT and CFT respectively. Low and median titers for IHAT/DT were found in 81.3% of cases. A high agreement in frequency of concordant and discordant titers of IHAT/DT and CFT, indicating a recent or acute infection was observed. This fact was more relevant in adenopathies, ophthalmopathies (uveitis) and AIDS groups.     

An efficient Re-indexing algorithm for color-mapped images

The efficiency of lossless compression algorithms for fixed-palette images (indexed images) may change if a different indexing scheme is adopted. Many lossless compression algorithms adopt a differential-predictive approach. Hence, if the spatial distribution of the indexes over the image is smooth, greater compression ratios may be obtained. Because of this, finding an indexing scheme that realizes such a smooth distribution is a relevant issue. Obtaining an optimal re-indexing scheme is suspected to be a hard problem and only approximate solutions have been provided in literature. In this paper, we restate the re-indexing problem as a graph optimization problem: an optimal re-indexing corresponds to the heaviest Hamiltonian path in a weighted graph. It follows that any algorithm which finds a good approximate solution to this graph-theoretical problem also provides a good re-indexing. We propose a simple and easy-to-implement approximation algorithm to find such a path. The proposed technique compares favorably with most of the algorithms proposed in literature, both in terms of computational complexity and of compression ratio.