Pathophysiology of chronic limb ischemia

Chronic ischemia of the lower extremities is an everyday problem in vascular surgery clinics. In Germany, approximately 3% of all hospitalizations are due to peripheral artery disease (PAD), with critical limb ischemia (CLI) in particular showing a rapid increase. The consequences of chronic undersupply range from reduced walking distance to loss of limbs. At the beginning there are stress factors, such as hyperlipidemia (LDL), free radicals, arterial hypertension, infections or subclinical inflammation that interfere with endothelial homeostasis and cause endothelial dysfunction with increased permeability. Cells of the immune system are attracted and migrate into the vascular wall, where they lead to the degradation of matrix components and destabilization of the plaque. By changing the phenotype of smooth muscle cells and macrophages towards osteoclast-like cells, bone-like hardening of the vessel wall takes place. Above a vessel wall thickness of approximately 100 µm, hypoxia-induced factor (HIF-1α) is intensified by the lack of oxygen, which leads to an increase in growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This promotes angiogenesis, but it is not sufficient to compensate for a stenosed artery. Arteriogenesis refers to the growth of existing collateral vessels. The driving forces are the pressure gradient before and after the stenosis and the shear forces acting on the vessel walls. In the case of progressive stenosis, the compensatory capacities can be overtaxed and a manifest hypoxia in the tissue with regression of the obtained vascular structures and tissue atrophy occurs.

International consensus (ICON) on management of otitis media with effusion in children

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common childhood disease defined as the presence of liquid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of acute ear infection. Children can be impacted mainly with hearing impairment and/or co-occurring recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) thus requiring treatment. Although many meta-analyses and national guidelines have been issued, management remains difficult to standardize, and use of surgical and medical treatments continue to vary. We convened an international consensus conference as part of the 2017 International Federation of Oto-rhino-laryngological Societies Congress, to identify best practices in OME management. Overall, regional differences were minor and consensual management was obtained on several important issues. At initial assessment, although a thorough medical examination is necessary to seek reflux, allergy or nasal obstruction symptoms; an age-appropriate auditory test is the only assessment required in children without abnormal history. Non-surgical treatments poorly address the underlying problem of an age-dependent dysfunctional Eustachian tube; auto-inflation seems to be the only beneficial, low-risk and low-cost non-surgical therapy. There was a clear international recommendation against using steroids, antibiotics, decongestants or antihistamines to treat OME, because of side-effects, cost issues and no convincing evidence of long-term effectiveness. Decisions to insert tympanostomy ventilation tubes should be based on an auditory test but also take into account the child's context and overall hearing difficulties. Tubes significantly improve hearing and reduce the number of recurrent AOM with effusion while in place. Adjuvant adenoidectomy should be considered in children over four years of age, and in those with significant nasal obstruction or infection.

International consensus (ICON) on functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty

During the 2017 IFOS international congress in Paris, a roundtable discussion on the topic of functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty was organised. Five experts, from the five continents and renown in the field of rhinoplasty, were brought together to discuss the issue from an international perspective and to put forward a consensus or on the contrary practical differences. Five questions were put to the experts beforehand to guarantee independent answers, which were then discussed during the roundtable. The questions were the following: - What are the age limits for achieving a rhinoplasty? - Do you use objective measurements before, during and after surgery? (facial landmarks, airflow, peroperative measurements) - How do you manage the preoperative general information and computer imaging of the patient? - What are the indications in your practice to perform a CT-scan or endoscopic examination before doing a rhinoplasty? - What kind of graft or prosthesis do you use for an augmentation rhinoplasty? This paper offers a synthesis of the roundtable based on the experts' answers to the different questions.

Evidence for Isospin Violation and Measurement of CP Asymmetries in B→K^{*}(892)γ

We report the first evidence for isospin violation in B→K^{*}γ and the first measurement of the difference of CP asymmetries between B^{+}→K^{*+}γ and B^{0}→K^{*0}γ. This analysis is based on the data sample containing 772×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs that was collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric e^{+}e^{-} collider. We find evidence for the isospin violation with a significance of 3.1σ, Δ_{0+}=[+6.2±1.5(stat)±0.6(syst)±1.2(f_{+-}/f_{00})]%, where the third uncertainty is due to the uncertainty on the fraction of B^{+}B^{-} to B^{0}B[over ¯]^{0} production in ϒ(4S) decays. The measured value is consistent with predictions of the standard model. The result for the difference of CP asymmetries is ΔA_{CP}=[+2.4±2.8(stat)±0.5(syst)]%, consistent with zero. The measured branching fractions and CP asymmetries for charged and neutral B meson decays are the most precise to date. We also calculate the ratio of branching fractions of B^{0}→K^{*0}γ to B_{s}^{0}→ϕγ.

Search for CP Violation and Measurement of the Branching Fraction in the Decay D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0}

We report a study of the decay D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0} using 921  fb^{-1} of data collected at or near the ϒ(4S) and ϒ(5S) resonances with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. The measured time-integrated CP asymmetry is A_{CP}(D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0})=(-0.02±1.53±0.02±0.17)%, and the branching fraction is B(D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0})=(1.321±0.023±0.036±0.044)×10^{-4}, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the normalization mode (D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}π^{0}). These results are significantly more precise than previous measurements available for this mode. The A_{CP} measurement is consistent with the standard model expectation.

Higgs physics at the CLIC electron-positron linear collider

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is an option for a future [Formula: see text] collider operating at centre-of-mass energies up to [Formula: see text], providing sensitivity to a wide range of new physics phenomena and precision physics measurements at the energy frontier. This paper is the first comprehensive presentation of the Higgs physics reach of CLIC operating at three energy stages: [Formula: see text], 1.4 and [Formula: see text]. The initial stage of operation allows the study of Higgs boson production in Higgsstrahlung ([Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text]-fusion ([Formula: see text]), resulting in precise measurements of the production cross sections, the Higgs total decay width [Formula: see text], and model-independent determinations of the Higgs couplings. Operation at [Formula: see text] provides high-statistics samples of Higgs bosons produced through [Formula: see text]-fusion, enabling tight constraints on the Higgs boson couplings. Studies of the rarer processes [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] allow measurements of the top Yukawa coupling and the Higgs boson self-coupling. This paper presents detailed studies of the precision achievable with Higgs measurements at CLIC and describes the interpretation of these measurements in a global fit.

Measurement of the τ Lepton Polarization and R(D^{*}) in the Decay B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ}

We report the first measurement of the τ lepton polarization P_{τ}(D^{*}) in the decay B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ} as well as a new measurement of the ratio of the branching fractions R(D^{*})=B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ}), where ℓ^{-} denotes an electron or a muon, and the τ is reconstructed in the modes τ^{-}→π^{-}ν_{τ} and τ^{-}→ρ^{-}ν_{τ}. We use the full data sample of 772×10^{6}  BB[over ¯] pairs recorded with the Belle detector at the KEKB electron-positron collider. Our results, P_{τ}(D^{*})=-0.38±0.51(stat)_{-0.16}^{+0.21}(syst) and R(D^{*})=0.270±0.035(stat)_{-0.025}^{+0.028}(syst), are consistent with the theoretical predictions of the standard model.

Lepton-Flavor-Dependent Angular Analysis of B→K^{*}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-}

We present a measurement of angular observables and a test of lepton flavor universality in the B→K^{*}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} decay, where ℓ is either e or μ. The analysis is performed on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711  fb^{-1} containing 772×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs, collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider KEKB. The result is consistent with standard model (SM) expectations, where the largest discrepancy from a SM prediction is observed in the muon modes with a local significance of 2.6σ.

Effect of fibrous separators on the performance of lithium–sulfur batteries

In this paper we systematically investigated effect of separator morphology on the performance of Li–S batteries.

An optically detected magnetic resonance spectrometer with tunable laser excitation and wavelength resolved infrared detection

We present the development and performance of an optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectrometer. The spectrometer represents advances over similar instruments in three areas: (i) the exciting light is a tunable laser source which covers much of the visible light range, (ii) the optical signal is analyzed with a spectrograph, (iii) the emitted light is detected in the near-infrared domain. The need to perform ODMR experiments on single-walled carbon nanotubes motivated the present development and we demonstrate the utility of the spectrometer on this material. The performance of the spectrometer is critically compared to similar instruments. The present development opens the way to perform ODMR studies on various new materials such as molecules and luminescent quantum dots where the emission is in the near-infrared range and requires a well-defined excitation wavelength and analysis of the scattered light.

Transient myocarditis associated with acute Zika virus infection

Zika virus outbreak is spreading in America. This emerging infection is associated with neurological complication. We report the first travel-acquired Zika acute infection complicated with myocarditis imported in Mainland France. We recommand an electrocardiogram and an troponin if any cardiac symptoms are present in a patient with acute Zika infection.