Phase IIb randomized trial of adjunct immunotherapy in patients with first-diagnosed tuberculosis,relapsed and multi-drug-resistant (MDR) TB

Placebo-controlled, randomized, phase 2b trial was conducted in 34 adults comprising 18 first-diagnosed (52.9%), 6 relapsed (17.6%), and 10 MDR-TB (29.4%) cases to investigate the safety and efficacy of an oral immune adjunct (V5). The immunotherapy (N = 24) and placebo (N = 10) arms received once-daily tablet of V5 or placebo for one month in addition to conventional anti-TB therapy (ATT) administered under directly observed therapy (DOT).     

Diffractive lenses for high-power terahertz radiation beams

Techniques for manufacturing silicon binary (two-level) diffractive lenses and polypropylene kinoform diffractive lenses for the terahertz spectrum range are described. The elements are 1 and 0.8 mm thick, respectively. The silicon lens is manufactured in two versions: with no coating and with a parylene C (polyparaxylylene) antireflection coating. Characteristics of the diffractive optical elements are studied in the beam of a pulse-periodic free electron laser at a radiation wavelength of 141 μm and a repetition rate of 5.6MHz. The radiation resistance of the parylene coating, tested on the Novosibirsk free electron laser, was not impaired when the coating was exposed to an average power density of 4 kW cm^?2, the peak power in a 100-picosecond pulse being almost 8 MW cm^?2.     

Ion chromatographic determination of alkaline earth metals and some heavy metals

The method is described for ion chromatographic determination of Ba, Ca, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Sr, Pb and Zn. Ethylenediammonium chloride or tartrate solutions are used as eluents with a suppressor column. The detection limits for the listed elements are (in μg l^?1): Ba 1.4, Ca 0.045, Cd 0.6, Cu 0.3, Mn 0.8, Ni 0.5, Pb 6.3, Sr 0.3, Zn 1.2. Relative standard deviations are 0.015–0.050 ar the 20 mg l^?1 level (n = 5, p = 0.95). Interferences are considered.     

Relaxation Times and Population Inversion of Excited States of Arsenic Donors in Germanium

The relaxation times of excited states of arsenic dopant in germanium at cryogenic temperatures T < 15 K have been experimentally studied by the optical pump-probe method using radiation of a free-electron laser. Two variants of the excitation of impurity centers have been used in the experiment: (i) from the 1s(A₁) ground state of the dopant and (ii) from the 1s(T₂) first excited state having a finite thermal population. In the former variant, it has been shown that the decay times of the 2p₀ and 3p_± states are about 0.8 and 0.6 ns, respectively. In the latter variant, a single measurement can simultaneously provide the relaxation times of two 2p_± and 1s(T₂) states about 0.6 and no more than 0.16 ns, respectively. The data obtained have indicated the possibility of forming population inversion and the gain of terahertz radiation at the 2p_± → 1s(T₂) and 2p₀ → 1s(T₂) transitions at the optical excitation of the mentioned impurity centers.

     

Low-temperature intracenter relaxation times of shallow donors in germanium

The relaxation times of localized states of antimony donors in unstrained and strained germanium uniaxially compressed along the [111] crystallographic direction are measured at cryogenic temperatures. The measurements are carried out in a single-wavelength pump–probe setup using radiation from the Novosibirsk free electron laser (NovoFEL). The relaxation times in unstrained crystals depend on the temperature and excitation photon energy. Measurements in strained crystals are carried out under stress bar S > 300, in which case the ground-state wavefunction is formed by states belonging to a single valley in the germanium conduction band. It is shown that the application of uniaxial strain leads to an increase in the relaxation time, which is explained by a decrease in the number of relaxation channels.