Impact of COVID-19 on Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination of Psoriatic Patients in Germany: Results from Vac-Pso.

Background: Suboptimal influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates have been reported before the COVID-19 pandemics in certain populations at risk for severe infection. The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to investigate changes in influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates and patient perceptions in patients with psoriasis (PsO) before and during the pandemic.

Methods: Data on vaccination, patient and disease characteristics, comorbidity, and patient perceptions were collected with questionnaires before and during the pandemic approximately one year later.

Patients' preferences for systemic treatment of atopic dermatitis: safety and efficacy count the most.

Background: The advent of biologics and janus kinase inhibitors has revolutionized treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD).

Objective: To investigate preferences of patients with AD for attributes of currently approved systemic treatments and assess influencing factors.

Methods: An online discrete choice experiment was conducted in patients with AD throughout Germany to analyze preferences for outcome (probability of (almost) clear skin at week 16, probability of significant itch improvement, time to onset of itch relief and type of side effects) and process attributes (application method and frequency of laboratory tests).

Dislocation arrangements in 4H-SiC and their influence on the local crystal lattice properties.

Two wafers of one 4H-silicon carbide (4H-SiC) bulk crystal, one cut from a longitudinal position close to the crystal's seed and the other close to the cap, were characterized with synchrotron white-beam X-ray topography (SWXRT) in back-reflection and transmission geometry to investigate the dislocation formation and propagation during growth. For the first time, full wafer mappings were recorded in 00012 back-reflection geometry with a CCD camera system, providing an overview of the dislocation arrangement in terms of dislocation type, density and homogeneous distribution. Furthermore, by having similar resolution to conventional SWXRT photographic film, the method enables identification of individual dislocations, even single threading screw dislocations, which appear as white spots with a diameter in the range of 10 to 30 µm.

Novel Photonic Applications of Silicon Carbide.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is emerging rapidly in novel photonic applications thanks to its unique photonic properties facilitated by the advances of nanotechnologies such as nanofabrication and nanofilm transfer. This review paper will start with the introduction of exceptional optical properties of silicon carbide. Then, a key structure, i.

Low Pneumococcal Vaccination among Patients with Psoriasis in Germany: Results from Vac-Pso.

While suboptimal pneumococcal vaccination rates have been reported in immunosuppressed patients with rheumatic diseases, data for patients with psoriasis (PsO) or atopic dermatitis (AD) are scarce. Pneumococcal vaccination in Germany is recommended in patients with certain comorbidities, immunosuppression, and/or aged 60 years or above. The aim of this multicenter cross-sectional study was to investigate the pneumococcal vaccination rate in patients with PsO compared to patients with AD and to evaluate patient perceptions.

Impact of Mechanical Stress and Nitrogen Doping on the Defect Distribution in the Initial Stage of the 4H-SiC PVT Growth Process.

Nitrogen incorporation changes the lattice spacing of SiC and can therefore lead to stress during physical vapor transport (PVT). The impact of the nitrogen-doping concentration during the initial phase of PVT growth of 4H-SiC was investigated using molten potassium hydroxide (KOH) etching, and the doping concentration and stress was detected by Raman spectroscopy. The change in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) caused by the variation of nitrogen doping was implemented into a numerical model to quantitatively determine the stress induced during and after the crystal growth.

New Approaches and Understandings in the Growth of Cubic Silicon Carbide.

In this review paper, several new approaches about the 3C-SiC growth are been presented. In fact, despite the long research activity on 3C-SiC, no devices with good electrical characteristics have been obtained due to the high defect density and high level of stress. To overcome these problems, two different approaches have been used in the last years.

Influenza Vaccination in Psoriatic Patients-Epidemiology and Patient Perceptions: A German Multicenter Study (Vac-Pso).

The risk of developing severe complications from an influenza virus infection is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis (PsO) and atopic dermatitis (AD). However, low influenza vaccination rates have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine vaccination rates in PsO compared to AD patients and explore patient perceptions of vaccination.

The search for new materials and the role of novel processing routes.

Throughout human history, most further developments or new achievements were accompanied by new materials or new processes that enabled the technologic progress. With concrete devices and applications in mind, synthesis and subsequent treatment of materials naturally went along with the progress. The aim of the underlying article is to spot the role of optimization, of discovery, of trial-and-error approaches, of fundamentals and curiosity driven design and development.

Analysis of Compositional Gradients in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) Solar Cell Absorbers Using Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis with Different Acceleration Energies.

The efficiency of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) (CIGSSe) solar cell absorbers can be increased by the optimization of the Ga/In and S/Se gradients throughout the absorber. Analyzing such gradients is therefore an important method in tracking the effectiveness of process variations. To measure compositional gradients in CIGSSe, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) with different acceleration energies performed at both the front surface and the backside of delaminated absorbers was used.

Atrioventricular Block after Tricuspid Valve Surgery.

Tricuspid valve (TV) surgery is associated with a high risk of postoperative pacemaker requirement. We set out to identify the incidence of atrioventricular block (AVB) after TV surgery and determine whether atrioventricular conduction recovers within time.We investigated pre/intra- and postoperative predictors of AVB in patients who underwent tricuspid valve surgery (not only isolated TV surgery) at our institution between 2004 and 2017.

Thrombocytopenia and end stage renal disease are key predictors of survival in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device infections.

Introduction: Cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections are associated with a high mortality. Our aim was to identify key predictors of survival in patients with CIED infections as to be able to detect high-risk patients and possibly affect modifiable factors.

Methods And Results: In this observational study, we collected data from 277 patients with CIED infections treated in our department between 2001 and 2017; predictors of survival were evaluated.

Comparison of Achievable Contrast Features in Computed Tomography Observing the Growth of a 4H-SiC Bulk Crystal.

Today the physical vapor transport process is regularly applied for the growth of bulk SiC crystals. Due to the required high temperature of up to 2400 °C, and low gas pressure of several Mbar inside the crucible, the systems are encapsulated by several layers for heating, cooling and isolation inhibiting the operator from observing the growth. Also, the crucible itself is fully encapsulated to avoid impurities from being inserted into the crystal or disturbing the temperature field distribution.

Optimization of the SiC Powder Source Material for Improved Process Conditions During PVT Growth of SiC Boules.

We have studied the influence of different SiC powder size distributions and the sublimation behavior during physical vapor transport growth of SiC in a 75 mm and 100 mm crystal processing configuration. The evolution of the source material as well as of the crystal growth interface was carried out using in situ 3D X-ray computed tomography (75 mm crystals) and in situ 2D X-ray visualization (100 mm crystals). Beside the SiC powder size distribution, the source materials differed in the maximum packaging density and thermal properties.

Influence of Morphological Changes in a Source Material on the Growth Interface of 4h-Sic Single Crystals.

In this study, the change of mass distribution in a source material is tracked using an in situ computer tomography (CT) setup during the bulk growth of 4H- silicon carbide (SiC) via physical vapor depostion (PVT). The changing properties of the source material due to recrystallization and densification are evaluated. Laser flash measurement showed that the thermal properties of different regions of the source material change significantly before and after the growth run.

Annealing-Induced Changes in the Nature of Point Defects in Sublimation-Grown Cubic Silicon Carbide.

In recent years, cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) has gained increasing interest as semiconductor material for energy saving and optoelectronic applications, such as intermediate-band solar cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting, and quantum key distribution, just to name a few. All these applications critically depend on further understanding of defect behavior at the atomic level and the possibility to actively control distinct defects. In this work, dopants as well as intrinsic defects were introduced into the 3C-SiC material in situ during sublimation growth.

Limitations during Vapor Phase Growth of Bulk (100) 3C-SiC Using 3C-SiC-on-SiC Seeding Stacks.

The growth of 3C-SiC shows technological challenges, such as high supersaturation, a silicon-rich gas phase and a high vertical temperature gradient. We have developed a transfer method creating high-quality 3C-SiC-on-SiC (100) seeding stacks, suitable for use in sublimation "sandwich" epitaxy (SE). This work presents simulation data on the change of supersaturation and the temperature gradient between source and seed for the bulk growth.

Analysis of the Basal Plane Dislocation Density and Thermomechanical Stress during 100 mm PVT Growth of 4H-SiC.

Basal plane dislocations (BPDs) in 4H silicon carbide (SiC) crystals grown using the physical vapor transport (PVT) method are diminishing the performance of SiC-based power electronic devices such as pn-junction diodes or MOSFETs. Therefore, understanding the generation and movement of BPDs is crucial to grow SiC suitable for device manufacturing. In this paper, the impact of the cooldown step in PVT-growth on the defect distribution is investigated utilizing two similar SiC seeds and identical growth parameters except for a cooldown duration of 40 h and 70 h, respectively.

Growth of Large-Area, Stress-Free, and Bulk-Like 3C-SiC (100) Using 3C-SiC-on-Si in Vapor Phase Growth.

We report on the reproducible growth of two inch 3C-SiC crystals using the transfer of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown (100) oriented epitaxial layers. Additional experiments, in which the diameter of the free-standing layers is increased, are presented, indicating the upscale potential of this process. The nucleation and growth of cubic silicon carbide is supported by XRD and Raman measurements.

Autologous endothelialized vein allografts in coronary artery bypass surgery - Long term results.

Background: Lack of autologous graft material restricts the ability to treat patients requiring coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). An off the shelf tissue engineered small diameter vascular graft is the holy grail of cardiovascular surgery.

Methods: Allograft saphenous veins were harvested from organ donors, cryopreserved, deendothelialized and then seeded with autologous endothelial cells prior to implantation during coronary artery bypass surgery.

Etiology of tricuspid valve disease is a predictor of bradyarrhythmia after tricuspid valve surgery.

Aims: The tricuspid valve is situated in close proximity to cardiac conduction tissue and damage to this tissue can affect postoperative rhythm. The aim of this study was to quantify the incidence of pacemaker requirement after tricuspid valve surgery and investigate predictors.

Methods: Data were collected via our operative data collection system and patient files.

Rescue TAVI for Aortic Regurgitation after Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation Following Preoperative Impella® Support.

A patient presented with a decompensated cardiomyopathy requiring invasive hemodynamic support with an Impella® heart pump. Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) became necessary during the further course and the patient was bridged to left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Postoperatively, the patient did not improve as expected due to new aortic regurgitation (AR) that was most likely caused by the previously placed Impella.

Sinus node dysfunction after heart transplantation-An analysis of risk factors and atrial pacing burden.

Introduction: We investigated the development of sinus node dysfunction (SND) requiring pacemaker implantation after heart transplant (HTx) especially regarding pacing burden in these patients.

Patients And Methods: Patients requiring a pacemaker for SND were compared to all other patients in an HTx cohort including transplant patients from 1981 to 2016.

Results: Sinus node dysfunction requiring pacemaker implantation developed in 118 patients (10%).

Pediatric heart transplantation-What are the risk factors for pacemaker implantation and how much pacing is required?

Background: In an attempt to improve pacemaker therapy after pediatric transplantation, we investigated risk factors, indication for pacing, and pacing burden after pediatric heart transplantation.

Methods And Results: In this retrospective study, 139 pediatric heart transplant recipients, of whom 122 did not and 17 did require pacemakers, were investigated. Eleven of the 17 patients requiring a permanent pacemaker (PPM) received their heart from a female donor (68.

Power Electronic Semiconductor Materials for Automotive and Energy Saving Applications - SiC, GaN, GaO, and Diamond.

Power electronics belongs to the future key technologies in order to increase system efficiency as well as performance in automotive and energy saving applications. Silicon is the major material for electronic switches since decades. Advanced fabrication processes and sophisticated electronic device designs have optimized the silicon electronic device performance almost to their theoretical limit.