Exploring the bonding in alkaline earth halides AeX (Ae = Be-Ba, X = F-I) from Fermi hole localization and QTAIM perspectives.

A theoretical description of various [AeX] (Ae = Be-Ba, X = F-I) systems, some of which have been reported in the literature to bear an unusual quadruple bond between the metal and the halogen, is provided based on both (i) the localization of the Fermi hole and (ii) the topological analysis of the one-electron density. Insights into the bond order of various [AeX] systems are inferred on the basis of the number of electrons localized in the bond basin, the topology of the Fermi hole information computed along the bond axis, and the delocalization index. The results suggest that the [AeX] molecules present a bond with attributes closer to a classical dative bond than to a multiple one, being characterized by large stabilization due to the electrostatic interaction between the polarized metal and the halogen anion.

Prolongation of the tibialis anterior CMAP duration in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Objective: To assess the duration of the distal compound muscle action potential (dCMAP) recording from the tibialis anterior (TA) as a supportive electrodiagnostic feature in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).

Methods: We performed peroneal motor conduction studies with recording from the TA in 35 CIDP patients, 30 normal controls, and 21 disease controls. The normal cut-off for the TA dCMAP duration was determined to be 14 ms.

Diagnostic accuracy of HMGB-1, sTREM-1, and CD64 as markers of sepsis in patients recently admitted to the emergency department.

Objectives: The objectives were to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy for sepsis in an emergency department (ED) population of the cluster of differentiation-64 (CD64) glycoprotein expression on the surface of neutrophils (nCD64), serum levels of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (s-TREM-1), and high-mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB-1).

Methods: Patients with any of the following as admission diagnosis were enrolled: 1) suspected infection, 2) fever, 3) delirium, or 4) acute hypotension of unexplained origin within 24 hours of ED presentation. Levels of nCD64, HMGB-1, and s-TREM-1 were measured within the first 24 hours of the first ED evaluation.

Fetal-maternal HLA-A and -B discordance is associated with placental RNase expression and anti-HIV-1 activity.

The incidence of maternal-to-fetal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission is 25-30% in absence of antiretroviral therapy, and is inversely associated with Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class-I discordance. Based on our earlier report that mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) induce a ribonuclease (RNase) that inhibits HIV-1 replication, we proposed that maternal-fetal alloantigen stimulation activates factors that protect the fetus against vertically-transmitted infections. We investigate here whether the degree of mother-infant HLA discordance associates with the ability to produce anti-HIV-1 alloantigen-stimulated factor (ASF), and affects placental RNases.