Angular-resolved electron spectroscopy from (110) surfaces of ternary Ce-based intermetallics: CePd2Si2 and CeNi2Ge2

Investigations of electronic properties were carried out for the ternary Ce-based intermetallic systems CeT2X2 (T = Ni, Pd; X = Ge, Si). To produce well-ordered and atomically clean surfaces, preparation is carried out in UHV. The polycrystalline substance was evaporated on a W(110) substrate with subsequent annealing. The single-crystalline layers obtained are characterised by MEED (thickness), AES (surface stoichiometry), LEED and SEM (surface structure). For electron-spectroscopic investigations, ARUPS (angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy) was used. In the photoemission spectra, dispersion effects could be detected by variation of the detection angle.

Increase in transmitted resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors among newly diagnosed HIV-1 infections in Europe

Background: One out of ten newly diagnosed patients in Europe was infected with a virus carrying a drug resistant mutation. We analysed the patterns over time for transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRM) using data from the European Spread program.Methods: Clinical, epidemiological and virological data from 4317 patients newly diagnosed with HIV-1 infection between 2002 and 2007 were analysed. Patients were enrolled using a pre-defined sampling strategy.Results: The overall prevalence of TDRM in this period was 8.9% (95% CI: 8.1-9.8). Interestingly, significant changes over time in TDRM caused by the different drug classes were found. Whereas nucleoside resistance mutations remained con…

Risk for non-AIDS-defining and AIDS-defining cancer of early versus delayed initiation of antiretroviral therapy

BACKGROUND: Immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless of CD4 cell count reduces risk for AIDS and non-AIDS-related events in asymptomatic, HIV-positive persons and is the standard of care. However, most HIV-positive persons initiate ART when their CD4 count decreases below 500 × 10 9 cells/L. Consequences of delayed ART on risk for non-AIDS-defining and AIDS-defining cancer, one of the most common reasons for death in HIV, are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the long-term risk difference for cancer with the immediate ART strategy.DESIGN: Multinational prospective cohort study.SETTING: The D:A:D (Data collection on Adverse events of anti-HIV Drugs) study, which included…

Transmission of HIV Drug Resistance and the Predicted Effect on Current First-line Regimens in Europe

Transmitted human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance in Europe is stable at around 8%. The impact of baseline mutation patterns on susceptibility to antiretroviral drugs should be addressed using clinical guidelines. The impact on baseline susceptibility is largest for nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Continuum of Care in 11 European Union Countries at the End of 2016 Overall and by Key Population: Have We Made Progress?

Abstract Background High uptake of antiretroviral treatment (ART) is essential to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and related mortality; however, gaps in care exist. We aimed to construct the continuum of HIV care (CoC) in 2016 in 11 European Union (EU) countries, overall and by key population and sex. To estimate progress toward the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 target, we compared 2016 to 2013 estimates for the same countries, representing 73% of the population in the region. Methods A CoC with the following 4 stages was constructed: number of people living with HIV (PLHIV); proportion of PLHIV diagnosed; proportion of those diagnosed …

Temperature-dependent angular resolved UV-photoemission spectroscopy from CeNi2Ge2

Abstract Pronounced temperature effects in angular resolved ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy from the (001) surface of the ternary heavy fermion compound CeNi 2 Ge 2 are presented. The measurements were performed on atomically clean and well-ordered thin films grown on a W(110) substrate. A strongly enhanced intensity at the Fermi edge ( ϵ F ) is observed at low-temperatures if the spectra are excited by means of HeI light ( hν =21.2 eV). In addition, the work function is dramatically increased with temperature, exhibiting an unusually high positive temperature coefficient of about 0.65 meV/K. The observed temperature dependency suggests a strong redistribution of the states near the …

Preparation of thin films of the ternary heavy fermion system CeNi 2 Ge 2

Ge2 layers on W(110). In order to produce well-ordered and atomically clean surfaces of the Ce-based intermetallic system the growth was performed under UHV conditions (p<2×10-11 mbar). Both the polycrystalline CeNi2Ge2 compound and the individual elements Ce, Ni, and Ge were used as evaporants. The characterisation of the layers was made with LEED, SEM, and XPS. We find a significant influence of the substrate temperature and the evaporation power on the growth characteristics. The compound material CeNi2Ge2 exhibits complicated behaviour when evaporated. Under carefully selected growth conditions we obtain well-ordered films with a stoichiometry of Ce:Ni:Ge=1:2:2 and a (001) oriented surf…

Clean and ordered surfaces of CeNi 2 Ge 2 layers on W(110)

Investigations of the geometric and electronic properties of ternary Ce-based heavy fermion systems CeT2X2 (T : Ni,Pd,Rh; X : Ge,Si) were carried out by means of electron spectroscopic methods. The main problem for these surface-sensitive techniques is the preparation of well-ordered and atomically clean surfaces. The ternary substance CeNi2Ge2 was grown on a W(110) substrate by MBE with subsequent annealing. A nearly layer-by-layer growth mode was detected using MEED. The annealed layers are ordered, but show small Ni2Ge crystalline islands. The composition was characterised by means of AES in dependence of the substrate as well as the annealing temperature. Electronic properties are inves…

Treatment-associated polymorphisms in protease are significantly associated with higher viral load and lower CD4 count in newly diagnosed drug-naive HIV-1 infected patients

Background: The effect of drug resistance transmission on disease progression in the newly infected patient is not well understood. Major drug resistance mutations severely impair viral fitness in a drug free environment, and therefore expected to revert quickly. Compensatory mutations, often already polymorphic in wild-type viruses, do not tend to revert after transmission. While compensatory mutations increase fitness during treatment, their presence may also modulate viral fitness and virulence in absence of therapy and major resistance mutations. We previously designed a modeling technique that quantifies genotypic footprints of in vivo treatment selective pressure, including both drug …

k-resolved electronic properties of ternary heavy fermion systems

Electron-spectroscopic investigations on ternary HFS: CeT2X2

Investigations of the electronic properties were carried out for ternary Ce-based heavy fermion systems. The well-ordered surfaces of HFS were prepared by MBE on W (110) with subsequent annealing. The layers are characterised by MEED, LEED, AES and XPS. For the electron-spectroscopic investigations, ARUPS and SPEELS were used. In the photoemission spectra, dispersion effects could be detected. By means of SPEELS, the dipole-forbidden Ce f-f transitions could be observed. The comparison of the energy loss spectra above and below the characteristic temperature T∗ reveals differences in the energy losses as well as in the asymmetries.