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Ni-W alloy films were electrodeposited from a gluconate aqueous bath at pH = 5.0, at varying current densities and temperatures. While there is little to no difference in composition, i.e., all films possess ~12 at.% W, their activity at hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic medium is greatly influenced by differences in surface morphology. The kinetics of HER in 0.5 M H2SO4 indicates that the best performing film was obtained at a current density of -4.8 mA/cm2 and 50 ºC. The Tafel slopes (b) and the overpotentials at a geometric current density of -10 mA/cm2 (η10) obtained for 200 cycles of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) from a set of films deposited using different parameters were fed into a machine learning algorithm to predict optimum deposition conditions to minimize b, η10, and the degradation of samples over time. The optimum deposition conditions predicted by the machine learning model led to the electrodeposition of Ni-W films with superior performance, exhibiting b of 33-45 mV/dec and and η10 of 0.09-0.10 V vs. RHE after 200 LSVs., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objective: The relationship between ventilator-associated events (VAE) and microaspiration in intubated patients has not be studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between abundant microaspiration of oropharyngeal secretions or gastric contents and the incidence of VAE., Patients and Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of the BESTCUFF study, which was a multicenter, cluster randomized, cross-over, controlled, open-label trial in adult patients ventilated for over 48 h. All tracheal aspirates were sampled for 48 h following enrollment, with quantitative measurement of pepsin and alpha-amylase. VAE were identified using National Healthcare Safety Network criteria, based on PEEP or FiO 2 variations compared to stable parameters in previous days. The primary objective was to assess the relationship between abundant global microaspiration and the incidence of VAE, adjusted for pre-specified confounding factors (sex, SAPS II score and Glasgow coma scale)., Results: 261 patients were included, of which 31 (11.9%) developed VAE, with an overall median age of 65 (interquartile range 52-74), a majority of male patients (164, 62.8%), a median SAPS II score of 50 [40-61], a median SOFA score of 8 [5-11], and acute respiratory failure as main reason for ICU admission (117, 44.8%).The incidence of VAE was not significantly associated with abundant global microaspiration (adjusted cause-specific hazard ratio (cHR): 1.55 [0.46-5.17), abundant gastric microaspiration (adjusted cHR: 1.24 [0.61-2.53), or with abundant oropharyngeal microaspiration (adjusted HR: 1.07 [0.47-2.42])., Conclusions: Our results suggest no significant association between abundant global, gastric or oropharyngeal microaspiration and the incidence of VAE., Implications for Clinical Practice: This study underscores that measuring microaspiration in intubated critically ill patients might not be useful to predict the diagnosis of VAE or to evaluate interventions aiming at preventing these complications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: SN has received lecture fees from MSD, Pfizer, Biomérieux, Medtronic, and Fisher and Paykel; he is a member of the advisory boards of Mundipharma. Other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Optical materials play a key role in enabling modern optoelectronic technologies in a wide variety of domains such as the medical or the energy sector. Among them, nonlinear optical crystals are of primary importance to achieve a broader range of electromagnetic waves in the devices. However, numerous and contradicting requirements significantly limit the discovery of new potential candidates, which, in turn, hinders the technological development. In the present work, the static nonlinear susceptibility and dielectric tensor are computed via density-functional perturbation theory for a set of 579 inorganic semiconductors. The computational methodology is discussed and the provided database is described with respect to both its data distribution and its format. Several comparisons with both experimental and ab initio results from literature allow to confirm the reliability of our data. The aim of this work is to provide a relevant dataset to foster the identification of promising nonlinear optical crystals in order to motivate their subsequent experimental investigation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

There is tremendous interest in employing collective excitations of the lattice, spin, charge, and orbitals to tune strongly correlated electronic phenomena. We report such an effect in a ruthenate, Ca 3 Ru 2 O 7 , where two phonons with strong electron-phonon coupling modulate the electronic pseudogap as well as mediate charge and spin density wave fluctuations. Combining temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy with density functional theory reveals two phonons, B 2 P and B 2 M , that are strongly coupled to electrons and whose scattering intensities respectively dominate in the pseudogap versus the metallic phases. The B 2 P squeezes the octahedra along the out of plane c-axis, while the B 2 M elongates it, thus modulating the Ru 4d orbital splitting and the bandwidth of the in-plane electron hopping; Thus, B 2 P opens the pseudogap, while B 2 M closes it. Moreover, the B 2 phonons mediate incoherent charge and spin density wave fluctuations, as evidenced by changes in the background electronic Raman scattering that exhibit unique symmetry signatures. The polar order breaks inversion symmetry, enabling infrared activity of these phonons, paving the way for coherent light-driven control of electronic transport., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) in adults are mainly revealed by recurrent and/or severe bacterial infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate a systematic research strategy of PIDs in adults with unexplained bacterial infections, with a special focus on specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency (SPAD)., Methods: In this prospective multicenter study, inclusion criteria were recurrent benign upper and lower respiratory tract infections (RTIs) for at least two years (group 1), at least one upper or lower RTI requiring hospitalization (group 2), and/or at least one invasive infection documented with encapsulated bacteria (group 3). Main exclusion criteria were all local and general conditions that could explain infections. If no PID diagnosis was made, response to polysaccharide antigens was assessed using a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine., Results: From March 2015 to March 2020, 118 patients were included (37 males, median age of 41 years): 73, 17, and 28 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Forty-seven PIDs were diagnosed, giving an estimated frequency of 39.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] [30.4, 48.8]). SPAD was the most frequent diagnosis by far (n = 37/47, 78.7%), and was made in 23, 5, and 9 patients from groups 1 to 3, respectively. All SPAD patients received conjugate vaccines and, according to their infectious history, were on surveillance or treated with preventive antibiotics (n = 6) and/or with immunoglobulins replacement therapy (n = 10), the latter being dramatically efficient in all cases., Conclusions: Considering its high prevalence among adults with unexplained recurrent and/or severe bacterial infections, SPAD should be screened in those patients., Clinical Trials Registration: NCT02972281., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. S. S. reports travel grants from Shire, Sanofi-Genzyme, SOBI and Novartis; consulting fees from Novartis, Biocryst, and Takeda; outside the submitted work. O. L. R. reports interventions, expertise, or non-financial support unrelated to the submitted work from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Correvio, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Mayoli, MSD, Mylan, Novartis, Pfizer, Vertex, Vitalaire, and Zambon. G. L. reports interventions, expertise, or travel grants from LFB, Octapharma, Sanofi-Genzyme, GSK, AstraZeneca, Biotest, Takeda, CSL Behring, grants unrelated to this work and paid to Lille University Hospital from LFB, Octapharma, CSL Behring, Vitalaire, and The Binding Site; payment or honoraria from Octabpharma, Shire/Takeda, and Biotest; support for attending meetings and/or travel from CSL Behring and Bitoest. A. L. reports payment or honoraria of less than $<500 for education events from GSK; and support for meetings and travel, $<1000, from GSK. L. T. reports consulting fees paid to author from GRIFOLS. D. L. reports grants or contracts from CSL Behring and Servier, unrelated to this work; consulting fees paid to author from Takeda, CSL Behring, and Octapharma; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Biocryst and Takeda; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Biocryst; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board from Takeda and Biocryst; and receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts or other services from Mallinckrodt. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Although COPD patients are at higher risk for aspiration when breathing spontaneously, no information is available on the risk for microaspiration in invasively ventilated COPD patients. The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between COPD and abundant microaspiration in intubated critically ill patients., Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, provided by 3 randomized controlled trials on microaspiration in critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 48 h. Abundant microaspiration was defined as the presence of pepsin and or alpha-amylase at significant levels in tracheal aspirates. In all study patients, pepsin and alpha-amylase were quantitatively measured in all tracheal aspirates collected during a 48-h period. COPD was defined using spirometry criteria., Results: Among the 515 included patients, 70 (14%) had proven COPD. Pepsin and alpha-amylase were quantitatively measured in 3873 and 3764 tracheal aspirates, respectively. No significant difference was found in abundant microaspiration rate between COPD and non-COPD patients (62 of 70 patients (89%) vs 366 of 445 (82%) patients, p = 0.25). Similarly, no significant difference was found in abundant microaspiration of gastric contents (53% vs 45%, p = 0.28), oropharyngeal secretions (71% vs 71%, p = 0.99), or VAP (19% vs 22%, p = 0.65) rates between the two groups. No significant difference was found between COPD and non-COPD patients in duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay, or ICU mortality., Conclusions: Our results suggest that COPD is not associated with increased risk for abundant microaspiration in intubated critically ill patients.

We include the treatment of quadrupolar fields beyond the Fröhlich interaction in the first-principles electron-phonon vertex in semiconductors. Such quadrupolar fields induce long-range interactions that have to be taken into account for accurate physical results. We apply our formalism to Si (nonpolar), GaAs, and GaP (polar) and demonstrate that electron mobilities show large errors if dynamical quadrupoles are not properly treated.

abinit is probably the first electronic-structure package to have been released under an open-source license about 20 years ago. It implements density functional theory, density-functional perturbation theory (DFPT), many-body perturbation theory (GW approximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation), and more specific or advanced formalisms, such as dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) and the "temperature-dependent effective potential" approach for anharmonic effects. Relying on planewaves for the representation of wavefunctions, density, and other space-dependent quantities, with pseudopotentials or projector-augmented waves (PAWs), it is well suited for the study of periodic materials, although nanostructures and molecules can be treated with the supercell technique. The present article starts with a brief description of the project, a summary of the theories upon which abinit relies, and a list of the associated capabilities. It then focuses on selected capabilities that might not be present in the majority of electronic structure packages either among planewave codes or, in general, treatment of strongly correlated materials using DMFT; materials under finite electric fields; properties at nuclei (electric field gradient, Mössbauer shifts, and orbital magnetization); positron annihilation; Raman intensities and electro-optic effect; and DFPT calculations of response to strain perturbation (elastic constants and piezoelectricity), spatial dispersion (flexoelectricity), electronic mobility, temperature dependence of the gap, and spin-magnetic-field perturbation. The abinit DFPT implementation is very general, including systems with van der Waals interaction or with noncollinear magnetism. Community projects are also described: generation of pseudopotential and PAW datasets, high-throughput calculations (databases of phonon band structure, second-harmonic generation, and GW computations of bandgaps), and the library libpaw. abinit has strong links with many other software projects that are briefly mentioned.

Purpose: Studies on the impact of tapered-cuff tracheal tubes on rates of microaspiration and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in intubated patients have reported conflicting results. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of this shape of tracheal cuff on abundant microaspiration of gastric contents in critically ill patients., Methods: All patients intubated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and requiring mechanical ventilation for at least 48 h were eligible for this multicenter cluster-randomized controlled cross-over open-label study. The primary outcome was abundant microaspiration of gastric contents, defined by the presence of pepsin at significant level in >30% of tracheal aspirates. Quantitative measurement of pepsin and salivary amylase was performed in all tracheal aspirates during the 48 h following enrollment., Results: A total of 326 patients were enrolled in the ten participating ICUs (162 in the PVC tapered-cuff group and 164 in the standard-cuff group). Patient characteristics were similar in the two study groups. The proportion of patients with abundant microaspiration of gastric contents was 53.5% in the tapered-cuff and 51.0% in the standard-cuff group (odds ratio 1.14, 95% CI 0.72-1.82). While abundant microaspiration of oropharyngeal secretions was not significantly different (77.4 vs 68.6%, p = 0.095), the proportion of patients with tracheobronchial colonization was significantly lower (29.6 vs 43.3%, p = 0.01) in the tapered-cuff than in the standard-cuff group. No significant difference between the two groups was found for other secondary outcomes, including ventilator-associated events and VAP., Conclusions: This trial showed no significant impact of tapered-cuff tracheal tubes on abundant microaspiration of gastric contents., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01948635.

Purpose: To compare intraoperative factors and post-operative outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and manual cataract surgery performed by resident surgeons., Methods: All cases of FLACS performed by resident surgeons during the 2013-2014 academic year were compared to a control group of manual cataract surgery cases with regards to pre-operative patient data, operative complications, cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), postoperative corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), refractive prediction error (RPE), and corneal edema., Results: There were no significant preoperative differences in the FLACS (n = 57) and manual (n = 68) groups. Operative complication rates were similar in cases with sufficient data and follow-up with a higher rate of posterior capsule tear in the manual group. CDE (percent-seconds) was lower in the FLACS group (FLACS: 14.5 ± 7.5; manual: 21.6 ± 11.5; p < 0.01). CDVA (LogMAR) was comparable at 1 month postoperatively (FLACS: 0.004 ± 0.08; manual: 0.024 ± 0.11; p = 0.24) and 1 year postoperatively (FLACS: 0.013 ± 0.06; manual: 0.032 ± 0.09; p = 0.37). No difference in RPE was found at 1 month postoperatively (FLACS: 0.38 ± 0.24 D; manual: 0.41 ± 0.49 D; p = 0.66) and 1 year postoperatively (FLACS: 0.49 ± 0.63 D; manual: 0.34 ± 0.26 D; p = 0.31)., Conclusions: Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery is safe and effective compared to manual cataract surgery when performed by resident surgeons. Both 1-month and 1-year outcomes show no difference in refractive predictive error in FLACS compared to manual cataract surgery in surgeons in training.

Purpose: To compare complication rates, visual acuity, and refractive outcomes of secondary intraocular lens (IOLs) implantation., Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA., Design: Retrospective case series., Methods: All secondary IOLs placed by the anterior segment service were reviewed. Preoperative data, operative reports, and data from each subsequent postoperative visit were evaluated. Patients were divided into 5 groups based on the final IOL position: (1) sulcus with optic capture, (2) sulcus without optic capture, (3) anterior chamber (AC), (4) iris-fixated, and (5) transscleral-sutured. Complication rates, visual acuity, and refractive outcomes were compared for each group., Results: The sulcus with and without optic capture groups had the lowest complication rates and best visual acuity outcomes. There was no difference in final corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) between the transscleral-sutured IOL, iris-fixated IOL, and AC IOL groups, although the AC IOL group had the lowest rates of early postoperative complications and a significant improvement in vision. The transscleral-sutured IOL group had the highest complication rates, and 25% of patients in the iris-fixated IOL group lost 2 or more lines of CDVA., Conclusions: When a secondary IOL cannot be placed within the capsular bag, sulcus with optic capture is the best alternative, followed by sulcus without optic capture. There was no difference in visual acuity outcomes between transscleral-sutured IOLs, iris-fixated IOLs, and AC IOLs. Anterior chamber IOLs resulted in fewer early complications., (Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To evaluate risk factors and outcomes of unplanned, primary anterior chamber intraocular lenses (AC IOLs) placed by surgeons in training., Setting: Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas, USA., Design: Retrospective case series., Methods: Cataract surgeries performed primarily by a resident surgeon that resulted in an unplanned AC IOL were included. Cases that had concomitant retinal surgery were excluded. Preoperative data gathered included corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and ocular comorbid conditions. Operative times and complications requiring an AC IOL were assessed. Postoperative CDVA, IOP, corneal edema, persistent intraocular inflammation, macular edema, and need for additional surgery were analyzed for the first postoperative year., Results: Twenty-two eyes were included. The mean preoperative CDVA was 1.24 logMAR ± 0.92 SD and the mean preoperative IOP was 17.55 ± 3.88 mm Hg. The mean operative time was 103 ± 30 minutes. The most common operative complications necessitating an AC IOL were 7 (32%) capsule tears with vitreous prolapse requiring anterior vitrectomy and 7 (32%) capsule tears, zonular dehiscence, and vitreous prolapse requiring anterior vitrectomy. By the first postoperative year, the mean visual acuity was 0.40 ± 0.58 logMAR and the IOP was 15.05 ± 6.01 mm Hg. The most common complications 1 year postoperatively included persistent macular edema (23%) and need for additional surgery (18%)., Conclusion: This group of patients who received unplanned primary AC IOLs by surgeons in training had improved visual acuity and well-controlled IOP 1 year postoperatively., Financial Disclosure: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common infection in intubated critically ill patients. Microaspiration of the contaminated gastric and oropharyngeal secretions is the main mechanism involved in the pathophysiology of VAP. Tracheal cuff plays an important role in stopping the progression of contaminated secretions into the lower respiratory tract. Previous in vitro studies suggested that conical cuff shape might be helpful in improving tracheal sealing. However, clinical studies found conflicting results. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of conical tracheal cuff shape on the microaspiration of gastric contents in critically ill patients., Methods/design: This prospective cluster randomized controlled crossover open-label trial is currently being conducted in ten French intensive care units (ICUs). Patients are allocated to intubation with a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) standard (barrel)-shaped or a PVC conical-shaped tracheal tube. The primary objective is to determine the impact of the conical shaped tracheal cuff on abundant microaspiration of gastric contents. Secondary outcomes include the incidence of microaspiration of oropharyngeal secretions, tracheobronchial colonization, VAP and ventilator-associated events. Abundant microaspiration is defined as the presence of pepsin at significant level (>200 ng/ml) in at least 30 % of the tracheal aspirates. Pepsin and amylase are quantitatively measured in all tracheal aspirates during the 48 h following inclusion. Quantitative tracheal aspirate culture is performed at inclusion and twice weekly. We plan to recruit 312 patients in the participating ICUs., Discussion: BEST Cuff is the first randomized controlled study evaluating the impact of PVC tracheal-cuff shape on gastric microaspirations in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. Enrollment began in June 2014 and is expected to end in October 2015., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01948635 (registered 31 August 2013).

Introduction: Ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation. We hypothesized that, in patients with VAT, antibiotic treatment would be associated with reduced duration of mechanical ventilation., Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled, unblinded, multicenter study. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive or not receive intravenous antibiotics for 8 days. Patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prior to VAT and those with severe immunosuppression were not eligible. The trial was stopped early because a planned interim analysis found a significant difference in intensive care unit (ICU) mortality., Results: Fifty-eight patients were randomly assigned. Patient characteristics were similar in the antibiotic (n = 22) and no antibiotic (n = 36) groups. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified in 32% of VAT episodes. Although no difference was found in mechanical ventilation duration and length of ICU stay, mechanical ventilation-free days were significantly higher (median [interquartile range], 12 [8 to 24] versus 2 [0 to 6] days, P < 0.001) in the antibiotic group than in the no antibiotic group. In addition, subsequent VAP (13% versus 47%, P = 0.011, odds ratio [OR] 0.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04 to 0.70) and ICU mortality (18% versus 47%, P = 0.047, OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.88) rates were significantly lower in the antibiotic group than in the no antibiotic group. Similar results were found after exclusion of patients with do-not-resuscitate orders and those randomly assigned to the no antibiotic group but who received antibiotics for infections other than VAT or subsequent VAP., Conclusion: In patients with VAT, antimicrobial treatment is associated with a greater number of days free of mechanical ventilation and lower rates of VAP and ICU mortality. However, antibiotic treatment has no significant impact on total duration of mechanical ventilation., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00122057.

We report the case of a 69-year-old woman investigated for suspected pleuropneumopathy. Thoracoscopy led to the diagnosis of sarcoidosis with pleural involvement. This case illustrates an uncommon localization of sarcoidosis and its clinical course after corticosteroid treatment.

Extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease) are frequent although pulmonary signs are uncommon. We report the case of a patient with sarcoidosis and inflammatory bowel disease and discuss the common features of these two diseases.

Sarcoidosis is a diffuse granulomatosis predominately with mediastino-pulmonary localizations. A wide range of extrathoracic localizations can also occur and when they are the initial manifestation, may lead to misdiagnosis. We observed a rare case of peritoneal sarcoidosis revealed by a surgical emergency.