Efficacy of a vein visualisation device for facilitating peripheral venous line placement in adult patients with sickle cell disease: A randomised clinical trial.

Background: Intravenous (IV) access is often required for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crises in patients with sickle cell disease, but can be particularly challenging due to recurrent venous damage. The AccuVein® device, uses near-infrared light technology to visualise veins for easier venepuncture.

Methods: A randomised, controlled trial of the efficacy of the AccuVeinAV400® device in the replacement of peripheral venous lines during a vaso-occlusive crisis was conducted at two centres in France.

Positivity of antiphosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies identifies a subgroup of more severe antiphospholipid syndrome patients.

Objectives: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease combining the occurrence of thrombotic and/or obstetric events with the persistent presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (i.e. lupus anticoagulant (LA), anti-cardiolipin (aCL) and anti-beta-2-glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI) antibodies).

Assessment of fatigue in adult patients with sickle cell disease: Use of the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-fatigue) questionnaire.

Few studies have used validated scales to assess the intensity and determinants of fatigue, a major symptom of sickle cell disease (SCD). We aimed to assess the level of basal fatigue in adult patients with SCD, using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) questionnaire. We prospectively included 102 stable adult outpatients with SCD over 2 months, who answered the FACIT-Fatigue (ranging from 0 (worst imaginable fatigue) to 52 (no fatigue)) and reported on the intensity of fatigue and its impact on quality of life.

Van der Waals Epitaxy of Weyl-Semimetal T-WTe.

Epitaxial growth of WTe offers significant advantages, including the production of high-quality films, possible long-range in-plane ordering, and precise control over layer thicknesses. However, the mean island size of WTe grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in the literature is only a few tens of nanometers, which is not suitable for the implementation of devices at large lateral scales. Here we report the growth of T -WTe ultrathin films by MBE on monolayer (ML) graphene, reaching a mean flake size of ≃110 nm, which is, on overage, more than three times larger than previous results.

Involvement of the JAK-STAT pathway in the molecular landscape of tyrosine kinase fusion-negative hypereosinophilic syndromes: A nationwide CEREO study.

We investigated using a custom NGS panel of 149 genes the mutational landscape of 64 consecutive adult patients with tyrosine kinase fusion-negative hypereosinophilia (HE)/hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) harboring features suggestive of myeloid neoplasm. At least one mutation was reported in 50/64 (78%) patients (compared to 8/44 (18%) patients with idiopathic HE/HES/HE used as controls; p < .001).

Relationship between paramacular thinning, cerebral vasculopathy, and hematological risk factors in sickle cell disease.

Purpose: To identify risk factors for sickle cell maculopathy due to hematological parameters (especially anemia and hemolysis) or cerebral vasculopathy.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a Referral Center. The follow-up included optical coherent tomographyoptical coherent tomography angiography, neuro-radiological imaging, and a hematological assessment hemoglobin, hemoglobin S level, reticulocytes, mean corpuscular volume, bilirubin, and lactate dehydrogenase).

Giant Atomic Swirl in Graphene Bilayers with Biaxial Heterostrain.

The study of moiré engineering started with the advent of van der Waals heterostructures, in which stacking 2D layers with different lattice constants leads to a moiré pattern controlling their electronic properties. The field entered a new era when it was found that adjusting the twist between two graphene layers led to strongly-correlated-electron physics and topological effects associated with atomic relaxation. A twist is now routinely used to adjust the properties of 2D materials.

Transbronchial cryobiopsy proven amyloid diffuse cystic lung disease complicating a transthyretin mutated (ATTRm) amyloidosis: a case report.

We present a case report of transbronchial cryobiopsy proven diffuse amyloid cystic lung disease complicating a homozygous Val122Ile (V122I) transthyretin mutated amyloidosis (ATTRm). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in the literature reporting such pulmonary lesions in ATTRm amyloidosis, and notably diagnosed through cryobiopsy. A 51-year-old man from Mali with a past medical history of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome presented erectile dysfunction, asthenia and worsening dyspnoea over the past year.

Descriptor engineering in machine learning regression of electronic structure properties for 2D materials.

We build new material descriptors to predict the band gap and the work function of 2D materials by tree-based machine-learning models. The descriptor's construction is based on vectorizing property matrices and on empirical property function, leading to mixing features that require low-resource computations. Combined with database-based features, the mixing features significantly improve the training and prediction of the models.

Structural identification of graphene films and nanoislands on 6H-SiC(0001) by direct height measurement.

By combining non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) and Kelvin probe microscopy (KPFM) in ultra high vacuum environment (UHV), we directly measure the height and work function of graphene monolayer on the Si-face of 6H-SiC(0001) with a precision that allows us to differentiate three different types of graphene structures : zero layer graphene (ZLG), Quasi free-standing monolayer graphene (QFMLG) and bilayer graphene (BLG). The height and work function of ZLG are 2.62 ± 0.

Crystalline Quality and Surface Morphology Improvement of Face-to-Face Annealed MBE-Grown AlN on h-BN.

In this study, AlN epilayers were grown by ammonia-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on 3 nm h-BN grown on c-sapphire substrates. Their structural properties were investigated by comparing as-grown and postgrowth annealed layers. The role of annealing on the crystalline quality and surface morphology was studied as a function of AlN thickness and the annealing duration and temperature.

Van der Waals Heteroepitaxy of Air-Stable Quasi-Free-Standing Silicene Layers on CVD Epitaxial Graphene/6H-SiC.

Graphene, consisting of an inert, thermally stable material with an atomically flat, dangling-bond-free surface, is by essence an ideal template layer for van der Waals heteroepitaxy of two-dimensional materials such as silicene. However, depending on the synthesis method and growth parameters, graphene (Gr) substrates could exhibit, on a single sample, various surface structures, thicknesses, defects, and step heights. These structures noticeably affect the growth mode of epitaxial layers, .

Central serous chorioretinopathy and antiphospholipid syndrome: Three cases report.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired autoimmune disease characterized by recurrent venous or arterial thrombotic events and pregnancy morbidity, with persistently presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). We report three cases of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) associated with APS.

Extreme hypomagnesemia: characteristics of 119 consecutive inpatients.

Extreme hypomagnesemia (hypoMg) can be encountered in many situations, but little data currently exist. Our aim is to describe the epidemiological, clinical, etiological characteristics, and the biological abnormalities of consecutive inpatients with extreme hypomagnesemia. In our observational monocentric study, between 1st July 2000 and April 2015, all inpatients with extreme hypomagnesemia, defined by at least one plasma magnesium concentration (P) below 0.

Association of residual plasma viremia and intima-media thickness in antiretroviral-treated patients with controlled human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Background: While residual plasma viremia is commonly observed in HIV-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral treatment (ART), little is known about its subclinical consequences.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 47 male, never-smoking, non-diabetic patients with ≥4 years of ART and controlled HIV-replication (HIV-viral load, VL <20 copies/mL for ≥1 year). Residual HIV-VL was measured using an ultrasensitive assay (quantification limit: 1 copy/ml).