Direct Writing of Quasi-Sinusoidal and Blazed Surface Relief Optical Transmission Gratings in BiGeO, Er: LiNbO and Er: Fe: LiNbO Crystals by Nitrogen Ion Microbeams of 5 MeV and 10.5 MeV Energy.

High diffraction efficiency optical transmission gratings with quasi-sinusoidal and saw-tooth surface relief profiles were fabricated in BiGeO, Er: LiNbO and Er: Fe: LiNbO crystals by ion beam implantation. The gratings were directly written by nitrogen ion microbeams at energies of 5 MeV and 10.5 MeV.

Evaluating Nondestructive Quantification of Composition Gradients in Metal-Organic Frameworks by MeV Ion Microbeam Analysis.

We evaluate a method to quantify composition depth gradients in intact metal-organic framework (MOF) single crystals and thereby derive diffusion coefficients of postsynthetically incorporated active sites by nondestructive ion-beam microanalysis. Zr-based UiO-67-bpy (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid) MOFs were synthesized on Si substrates and then metalated postsynthetically with NiCl for 2-48 h, resulting in different Ni depth distributions. Simultaneous micro-Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (μ-RBS) and micro-particle induced X-ray emission (μ-PIXE) analysis were used for the spatially resolved chemical analysis of the MOF single crystals.

Optimizing post-synthetic metal incorporation in mixed-linker MOFs: insights from metalation studies on bipyridine-containing UiO-67 single crystals.

The postsynthetic metalation (PSM) of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with intrinsic metal binding sites is an intriguing strategy to introduce catalytic function into MOFs. The spatial distribution of the catalytic sites within the MOF crystal will affect the efficiency of the material, but the factors that govern depth distribution of the introduced metal sites are often not well understood. Herein, we employ Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) to investigate the metal distribution in a series of post-synthetically metalated mixed linker bpdc/BPY UiO-67 (UiO = Universitet i Oslo, bpdc = biphenyl-dicarboxylate, BPY = 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylate) single crystals as a function of linker ratio and metalation time.

Fabrication of Quasi-Sinusoidal Surface Relief Optical Transmission Gratings in Pyrex and IOG Glasses by Implantation with Oxygen and Nitrogen Ion Microbeams of the 5-6 MeV Energy Range.

A method for the fabrication of high diffraction efficiency optical transmission gratings with quasi-sinusoidal profile in glasses by microbeams of medium-mass ions of 5-6 MeV energy was devised and demonstrated. Gratings with a 30 μm grating constant have been manufactured and characterized by interference microscopy and microprofilometry. The obtained surface profiles of the gratings were found to be quasi-sinusoidal with up to 265 nm amplitude.

Reflective, polarizing, and magnetically soft amorphous neutron optics with B-enriched BC.

The utilization of polarized neutrons is of great importance in scientific disciplines spanning materials science, physics, biology, and chemistry. However, state-of-the-art multilayer polarizing neutron optics have limitations, particularly low specular reflectivity and polarization at higher scattering vectors/angles, and the requirement of high external magnetic fields to saturate the polarizer magnetization. Here, we show that, by incorporating BC into Fe/Si multilayers, amorphization and smooth interfaces can be achieved, yielding higher neutron reflectivity, less diffuse scattering, and higher polarization.

Prenatal and postnatal genetic testing toward personalized care: The non-invasive perinatal testing.

This article investigates how non-invasive prenatal testing and the incorporation of genomic sequencing into newborn screening postnatally are transforming perinatal care. They improve the accuracy of prenatal and neonatal screening, allowing for early interventions and personalized therapies. Non-invasive prenatal testing before birth and saliva-sample-based newborn genomic sequencing after birth can be collectively referred to as non-invasive perinatal testing.

Delayed Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection in Patients with a Preoperative Diagnosis of Ductal Cancer In Situ by Preoperative Injection with Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide (SPIO) Nanoparticles: The SentiNot Study.

Background: Difficulty in preoperatively assessing the risk for occult invasion or surgery that precludes future accurate axillary mapping in patients with ductal cancer in situ (DCIS) account for overutilization of SLND.

Methods: Prospective, multicenter, cohort study, including women with any DCIS planned for mastectomy or DCIS grade 2 and > 20 mm, any DCIS grade 3, any mass-forming DCIS and any planned surgery. Patients received an interstitial SPIO injection during breast surgery, but no upfront SLND was performed.

Supporting Tourism by Assessing the Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccination for Travel Reasons.

The persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus imposed vaccination passports for traveling in most countries. We investigated psychological factors that predict the intention to vaccinate for travel. In a cross-sectional study, we examined how demographic variables, vaccination status, perceived risk of infection and severity of disease contracted at travel destination, safety and effectiveness of vaccines against contracting COVID-19 during travel, and conspiracy beliefs are related to intention to vaccinate for travel.

Elemental Depth Profiling of Intact Metal-Organic Framework Single Crystals by Scanning Nuclear Microprobe.

The growing field of MOF-catalyst composites often relies on postsynthetic modifications for the installation of active sites. In the resulting MOFs, the spatial distribution of the inserted catalysts has far-reaching ramifications for the performance of the system and thus needs to be precisely determined. Herein, we report the application of a scanning nuclear microprobe for accurate and nondestructive depth profiling of individual UiO-66 and UiO-67 (UiO = Universitetet i Oslo) single crystals.

Shaping Sustainable Urban Environments by Addressing the Hydro-Meteorological Factors in Landslide Occurrence: Ciuperca Hill (Oradea, Romania).

Romania is one of the countries severely affected by numerous natural hazards, where landslides constitute a very common geomorphic hazard with strong economic and social impacts. The analyzed area, known as the "Ciuperca Hill", is located in Oradea (NW part of Romania) and it has experienced a number of landsliding events in previous years, which have endangered anthropogenic systems. Our investigation, focused on the main causal factors, determined that landslide events have rather complex components, reflected in the joint climatological characteristics, properties of the geological substrate, and human activity that further contributed to the intensive change of landscape and acceleration of slope instability.

Predictive biomarkers of platinum and taxane resistance using the transcriptomic data of 1816 ovarian cancer patients.

Objective: The first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer is based on a combination of platinum and taxane. To date, no reliable predictive biomarker has been recognized that is capable of identifying patients with pre-existing resistance to these agents. Here, we have established an integrated database and identified the most significant biomarker candidates for chemotherapy resistance in serous ovarian cancer.

Evidence for the Oocyte Mosaicism Selection model on the origin of Patau syndrome (trisomy 13).

Introduction: In 2008, Hultén et al hypothesized that maternal ovarian trisomy 21 mosaicism might be the primary causative factor for fetal Down syndrome. We hypothesize that this theory can be extended to trisomy 13.

Material And Methods: We collected fetal ovarian tissue from seven female fetuses between 16 and 23 gestational weeks, following the termination of the pregnancy for non-genetic reasons.

Performance and application of heavy ion nuclear microbeam facility at the Nuclear Physics Institute in Řež, Czech Republic.

The Tandetron Laboratory of the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is equipped with five beam lines associated with a 3 MV tandem electrostatic accelerator model 4130 MC from High Voltage Engineering Europa B.V. This accelerator is coupled with two duoplasmatron sources and a single sputter ion source and provides ions from hydrogen to gold.

[Longer oral contraception history as a possible preventive factor against fetal trisomy 21 in advanced maternal age pregnancies].

Down syndrome is the most common autosomal chromosomal abnormality. According to the classical interpretation, it is the result of meiotic nondisjunction. Its occurrence is more common in advanced maternal age.

Effect of extended oral contraception use on the prevalence of fetal trisomy 21 in women aged at least 35 years.

Objective: To study factors influencing the number of ovulations in reproductive life as risk factors for common trisomies.

Methods: The present observational study examined data from genetic counseling sessions performed at the 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, between September 1, 2013, and September 1, 2015, and retrieved data on patients of advanced maternal age (≥35 years) who had fetal trisomy 21, 18, or 13 confirmed. Consecutive patients of advanced maternal age with genetic amniocentesis-confirmed healthy fetal karyotypes were also included as a control group.

[Rare case of a pregnancy in a woman with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Case report].

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is a rare hematological disease. It is associated with increased maternal and fetal complications to such an extent that pregnancy has been considered relatively contraindicated in woman with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. Recently, eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody, has been shown to decrease complications during pregnancies.

Tilted pillar array fabrication by the combination of proton beam writing and soft lithography for microfluidic cell capture: Part 1 Design and feasibility.

Design, fabrication, integration, and feasibility test results of a novel microfluidic cell capture device is presented, exploiting the advantages of proton beam writing to make lithographic irradiations under multiple target tilting angles and UV lithography to easily reproduce large area structures. A cell capture device is demonstrated with a unique doubly tilted micropillar array design for cell manipulation in microfluidic applications. Tilting the pillars increased their functional surface, therefore, enhanced fluidic interaction when special bioaffinity coating was used, and improved fluid dynamic behavior regarding cell culture injection.

[Next generation sequencing and its applications in non-invasive prenatal testing of aneuploidies].

The development of the new generation sequencing techniques brought a new era in the field of DNA sequencing, that also revolutionized the prenatal screening for aneuploidy. In order to provide a more complete view, the authors describe some first generation methods as well as the theoretical and technical background of the next generation methods. In the second part of this review, the authors focuse on non-invasive prenatal testing, which is a fetal cell-free DNA based method requiring advanced sequencing procedures.

[Cell-free nucleic acid-based non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal aneuploidies].

Prenatal detection of fetal aneuploidies is one of the main goals of the prenatal diagnostic approach. As a benefit of the development of advanced ultrasound equipment and advances in molecular biology in the last decade, there is a significant progress in screening methods for fetal aneuploidies, although invasive methods remain the gold standard for aneuploidy detection. Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis has substantial medical impact as it targets the development of safer and more effective methods to avoid the risk of fetal loss associated with currently used invasive methods.

Lower risk for Down syndrome associated with longer oral contraceptive use: a case-control study of women of advanced maternal age presenting for prenatal diagnosis.

Background: Maternal trisomy 21 ovarian mosaicism might provide the major causative factor for fetal Down syndrome. The small proportion of trisomy 21 oocytes thought to be retarded in their maturation in comparison to normal disomic ones, and the maternal age effect can be based on an accumulation of trisomy 21 oocytes in the ovarian reserve. By lowering the number of unnecessary ovulations, a greater portion of disomic oocytes might be saved.

Early prenatal detection of a fast-growing fetal epignathus.

Epignathus is a rare congenital orofacial teratoma. We present a case of a fast-growing tumor, where early prenatal diagnosis was made and where fetopathological examination revealed the reason of the remarkable ultrasonographic signs and underlined the expected poor prognosis. Ultrasonographic examination at 18 weeks' gestation showed that there was a growing tumor protruding from the fetus's mouth.

Comparison of prevalence of toxoplasma and cytomegalovirus infection in cases with fetal ultrasound markers in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of toxoplasma and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in cases of ultrasound anomalies detected in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: Serological examinations for toxoplasma and CMV infection were carried out in 655 cases with sonographic findings suggestive of fetal infection, 612 cases with single ultrasound markers and 43 cases with two or more markers.

Results: In cases of single ultrasound markers, serological examination diagnosed recent toxoplasma infection in 107/612 cases (17.

Circulating levels of the anti-angiogenic thrombospondin 2 are elevated in pre-eclampsia.

An imbalance of maternal circulating pro- and anti-angiogenic factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Thrombospondin 2 (TSP-2) is a protein expressed mainly by activated endothelial cells, which acts as a potent anti-angiogenic agent. Our aim was to determine whether serum TSP-2 levels are altered in pre-eclampsia.