A unique measles B3 cluster in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands linked to air travel and transit at a large international airport, February to April 2014

Rita de Sousa (Bolseira EUPHEM) - Investigadora do Departamento de Doenças Infeciosas do Instituto Ricardo JorgeThis report describes a joint measles outbreak investigation between public health officials in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands following detection of a measles cluster with a unique measles virus strain. From 1 February to 30 April 2014, 33 measles cases with a unique measles virus strain of genotype B3 were detected in the UK and the Netherlands, of which nine secondary cases were epidemiologically linked to an infectious measles case travelling from the Philippines. Through a combination of epidemiological investigation and sequence analysis, we found that measles transmission occurred in flight, airport and household settings. The secondary measles cases included airport workers, passengers in transit at the same airport or travelling on the same flight as the infectious case and also household contacts. This investigation highlighted the particular importance of measles genotyping in identifying transmission networks and the need to improve vaccination, public health follow-up and management of travellers and airport staff exposed to measles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of PVA doping on flux pinning in Bulk MgB2

The synthesis and characterization of PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) doped bulk MgB2 superconductor is reported here. PVA is used as a Carbon source. PVA doping effects made two distinguishable contributions: first enhancement of Jc field performance and second an increase in Hc2 value, both because of carbon incorporation into MgB2 crystal lattice. The susceptibility measurement reveals that Tc decreased from 37 to 36 K. Lattice parameter a decreased from 3.085 A to 3.081 A due to the partial substitution of Carbon at Boron site. PVA doped sample exhibited the Jc values greater than 10^5 A/cm2 at 5 & 10 K at low fields; which is almost 3 times higher than the pure one, while at high fields the Jc is increased by an order of magnitude in comparison to pure MgB2. From R(T)H measurements we found higher Tc values under magnetic field for doped sample; indicating an increase in Hc2. Also the magnetization measurements exhibited a significant enhancement in Hirr value. The improved performance of PVA doped MgB2 can be attributed to the substitution of carbon at boron site in parent MgB2 and the resulting impact on the carrier density and impurity scattering. The improved flux pinning behavior could easily be seen from reduced flux pinning force plots.Comment: 14 Pages of Text + Figs. To appear in Physica

Oral dosing for antenatal corticosteroids in the Rhesus macaque.

Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) are standard of care for women at risk of preterm delivery, although choice of drug, dose or route have not been systematically evaluated. Further, ACS are infrequently used in low resource environments where most of the mortality from prematurity occurs. We report proof of principle experiments to test betamethasone-phosphate (Beta-P) or dexamethasone-phosphate (Dex-P) given orally in comparison to the clinical treatment with the intramuscular combination drug beta-phosphate plus beta-acetate in a Rhesus Macaque model. First, we performed pharmacokinetic studies in non-pregnant monkeys to compare blood levels of the steroids using oral dosing with Beta-P, Dex-P and an effective maternal intramuscular dose of the beta-acetate component of the clinical treatment. We then evaluated maternal and fetal blood steroid levels with limited fetal sampling under ultrasound guidance in pregnant macaques. We found that oral Beta is more slowly cleared from plasma than oral Dex. The blood levels of both drugs were lower in maternal plasma of pregnant than in non-pregnant macaques. Using the pharmacokinetic data, we treated groups of 6-8 pregnant monkeys with oral Beta-P, oral Dex-P, or the maternal intramuscular clinical treatment and saline controls and measured pressure-volume curves to assess corticosteroid effects on lung maturation at 5d. Oral Beta-P improved the pressure-volume curves similarly to the clinical treatment. Oral Dex-P gave more variable and nonsignificant responses. We then compared gene expression in the fetal lung, liver and hippocampus between oral Beta-P and the clinical treatment by RNA-sequencing. The transcriptomes were largely similar with small gene expression differences in the lung and liver, and no differences in the hippocampus between the groups. As proof of principle, ACS therapy can be effective using inexpensive and widely available oral drugs. Clinical dosing strategies must carefully consider the pharmacokinetics of oral Beta-P or Dex-P to minimize fetal exposure while achieving the desired treatment responses

Preoperative factors predicting Postoperative Morbidity in patients with Periampullary Carcinoma undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Periampullary carcinoma is a carcinoma that forms near the ampulla of vater, an enlargement of the ducts from the liver and pancreas where they join and enter the small intestine. It consists of: 1. ampullary (Ampulla of vater), 2. Biliary (Intrapancreatic distal bile duct), 3. Pancreatic (Head –Uncinate process), 4. Duodenal (mainly from the second portion). AIM OF THE STUDY: 1. To evaluate the incidence of Periampullary carcinoma in Stanley Medical College from Feb 2016 to Sep 2016. 2. To know the clinical manifestation. 3. To know the investigations to aid the diagnosis and assess the respectability of these tumors. 4 To know about the preoperative factors which determine the postoperative morbidity in patients undergoing whipples procedure. 5. To study the treatment instituted and the management of complications. 6. To review the literature on the subject. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is to be carried out in Govt. Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai. This is a facility based prospective descriptive study involving all patients diagnosed as periampullary carcinoma clinically, radiologically, and pathologically. The relevant data shall be collected by using. • Detailed history. • Hematological investigations: complete hemogram, liver function test, serum proteins and albumin. • Coagulation profile – PT, aPTT, INR. • Blood culture & sensitivity Stool for occult blood. • Imaging studies : X-ray chest, X ray abdomen erect. • USG abdomen & pelvis – to find liver, gallbladder, common bile duct, pancreas and duodenum lesions, • CT (Plain and contrast) abdomen & pelvis /MRCP– to find exact location, size, extent of tumour. • Patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy – pathologically proven carcinomatous. • lesions. • Postoperative factors like ventillatory support, abdominal distention, coagulation profile, peritonitis, fever, sepsis, no of days of ICU stay, ionotropic support, biochemical derangements are taken into study. Preoperative factors included in study: Age, Tumour localization, CA 19-9 levels, Preoperative bilirubin levels, Preoperative albumin levels, ERCP and stenting, cholangitis. Postoperative factors included in study: Ventillatory support, Sepsis, No of days of ICU stay, Ionotropic support, Biochemical derangements, Relaporotomy. Inclusion Criteria: All patients with periampullary carcinoma undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (whipple procedure) in Govt. Stanley Hospital. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Uncertain diagnosis and death. SUMMARY: Among the study group of 25 patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy commonest neoplasm is ampullary growth. • Male female ratio 2.8: 1. • Age – commonest in our study is 6th decade. • In our study age group ranges from 3rd to 7th decade. • Ampullary growth is common in males, where as in females head of pancreas growth is common. • Among study group females had higher incidence of ampullary growth when they enter 6th decade. • Most common presenting symptom is abdominal pain, followed by jaundice. • Hyperbilirubinemia is seen in 74% of patients. • Cholangitis is seen in 48% of patients Hypoalbuminemia seen in 76% of patients. • Hypoalbuminemia is common in ampullary neoplasms, followed by head of pancreas Neoplasm. • 60% of patients with obstructive jaundice underwent ERCP and 35% of patients underwent. • ERCP guided stenting. • 12% (3 out of 25) patients had h/o previous surgery. • Patients having preoperative cholangitis had - post operative septicaemia, - requires ionotropic supports, - prolonged ventillatory support. • Among the patients who had preoperative cholangitis ERCP stented patients had uneventful. • postoperative course. • CA19- 9 levels elevated in 88% 0f cases. • 4% (1 patient) received preoperative chemotherapy. • 12% of patient underwent relaporotomy, commonest indication being pancreatic anastomotic leak (PJ > PG) followed by haemorrhage. • 4% of patient underwent angioembolisation for haemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Periampullary neoplasms are common in males. • Majority of patient underwent pancreaticoduodenecomy, commonest neoplasm is ampullary growth. • Maximum age of incidence is between 60 to 70 years. • Male female ratio 2.8: 1. • Commonest presentation is abdominal pain and jaundice. • CA 19 – 9 levels elevated in 88% of cases. • Hyperbilirubinemia and hypoalbuminemia causes severe postoperative morbidity. • Patients with obstructive jaundice requires ERCP and stenting reduces postoperative. • Morbidity. • Patients with obsructive jaundice requires prolonged ventillatory support, ionotropic support. • Patients with preoperative cholangitis had postoperative sepsis commonly. • Commonest indication for relaporotomy is pancreatic leak. • (PJ > PG). • Preoperative preparation of patient is influences the outcome of surgery

Synthesis and Stoichiometry of MgB2

The system MgxB2 has been investigated to investigate possible nonstoichiometry in MgB2. When synthesized at 850oC, MgB2 is a line compound with a possible Mg vacancy content of about 1%. Small changes in lattice constants as a function of starting composition result from grain interaction stresses, whose character is different in the Mg-rich, near-stoichiometric, and Mg-deficient regimes. A small linear decrease of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in the Mg-rich regime results from accidental impurity doping.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physica C. 24 pages, 7 figure

Temperature and Field Dependence of the Energy Gap of MgB2/Pb planar junction

We have constructed MgB2/Pb planar junctions for both temperature and field dependence studies. Our results show that the small gap is a true bulk property of MgB2 superconductor, not due to surface effects. The temperature dependence of the energy gap manifests a nearly BCS-like behavior. Analysis of the effect of magnetic field on junctions suggests that the energy gap of MgB2 depends non-linearly on the magnetic field. Moreover, MgB2 has an upper critical field of 15 T, in agreement with some reported Hc2 from transport measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Effect of nano-carbon particle doping on the flux pinning properties of MgB2 superconductor

Polycrystalline MgB2-xCx samples with x=0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 nano-particle carbon powder were prepared using an in-situ reaction method under well controlled conditions to limit the extent of C substitution. The phases, lattice parameters, microstructures, superconductivity and flux pinning were characterized by XRD, TEM, and magnetic measurements. It was found that both the a-axis lattice parameter and the Tc decreased monotonically with increasing doping level. For the sample doped with the highest nominal composition of x=0.4 the Tc dropped only 2.7K. The nano-C-doped samples showed an improved field dependence of the Jc compared with the undoped sample over a wide temperature range. The enhancement by C-doping is similar to that of Si-doping but not as strong as for nano-SiC doped MgB2. X-ray diffraction results indicate that C reacted with Mg to form nano-size Mg2C3 and MgB2C2 particles. Nano-particle inclusions and substitution, both observed by transmission electron microscopy, are proposed to be responsible for the enhancement of flux pinning in high fields.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure

Electron transport, penetration depth and upper critical magnetic field of ZrB12 and MgB2

We report on the synthesis and measurements of the temperature dependence of resistivity, R(T), the penetration depth, l(T), and upper critical magnetic field, Hc2(T), for polycrystalline samples of dodecaboride ZrB12 and diboride MgB2. We conclude that ZrB12 as well as MgB2 behave like simple metals in the normal state with usual Bloch-Gruneisen temperature dependence of resistivity and with rather low resistive Debye temperature, TR=280 K, for ZrB12 (as compared to MgB2 with TR=900 K). The R(T) and l(T) dependencies of ZrB12 reveal a superconducting transition at Tc=6.0 K. Although a clear exponential l(T)dependence in MgB2 thin films and ceramic pellets was observed at low temperatures, this dependence was almost linear for ZrB12 below Tc/2. These features indicate s-wave pairing state in MgB2, whereas a d-wave pairing state is possible in ZrB12. A fit to the data gives a reduced energy gap 2D(0)/kTc=1.6 for MgB2 films and pellets, in good agreement with published data for 3D \pi - sheets of the Fermi surface. Contrary to conventional theories we found a linear temperature dependence of Hc2(T) for ZrB12 (Hc2(0)=0.15 T).Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, submitted to JET

11^{11}B NMR study of pure and lightly carbon doped MgB2_2 superconductors

We report a $^{11}$B NMR line shape and spin-lattice relaxation rate ($1/(T_1T)$) study of pure and lightly carbon doped MgB$_{2-x}$C$_{x}$ for $x=0$, 0.02, and 0.04, in the vortex state and in magnetic field of 23.5 kOe. We show that while pure MgB$_2$ exhibits the magnetic field distribution from superposition of the normal and the Abrikosov state, slight replacement of boron with carbon unveils the magnetic field distribution of the pure Abrikosov state. This indicates a considerable increase of $H_{c2}^c$ with carbon doping with respect to pure MgB$_2$. The spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/(T_1T)$ demonstrates clearly the presence of a coherence peak right below $T_c$ in pure MgB$_2$, followed by a typical BCS decrease on cooling. However, at temperatures lower than $\approx 10$K strong deviation from the BCS behavior is observed, probably from residual contribution of the vortex dynamics. In the carbon doped systems both the coherence peak and the BCS temperature dependence of $1/(T_1T)$ weaken, an effect attributed to the gradual shrinking of the $\sigma$ hole cylinders of the Fermi surface with electron doping.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.