Depression and irritability, but also psychosis and attempted or successful suicides, are reported during interferon (IFN) therapy. IFN schedule and history of psychiatric illness are not enough to predict who will develop symptoms. Aims. To assess the prevalence of depression during IFN-therapy; to test whether a computerized version of the Minnesota-Multiphasic-Personality-Inventory (MMPI) is a reliable test for the early identification of patients at risk of depression before IFN-therapy is started; and whether and how the depression can be cured. Patients. 185 patients treated with interferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. Methods. Before therapy, all patients underwent an MMPI and a clinical examination, specifically for the identification of depressive symptoms. Results. Thirty-one patients developed a psychiatric disorder, 11 of them requiring treatment with antidepressant drugs. Among the 18 patients with MMPI positive tests, 16 developed a psychiatric disorder, 8 a severe disorder (sensitivity of 0.58; 0.73 for severe disorders).Among the 154 who did not develop psychiatric side effects, 152 had a negative MMPI (specificity: 0.99). Severe psychiatric disorders were successfully treated with antidepressant drugs. Conclusions. Psychiatric side effects are easy to see during IFN-therapy. Psychiatric evaluation should be considered on all patients before treatment. However, as specific examination cannot always be performed because of the lack of psychiatrists in liver units, it is necessary to identify tests, easy to carry out, reproducible, self-administered and inexpensive in order to screen all patients. If depression develops, it should be treated aggressively, and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are the anti-depressant of choice.

In 1989 an ancient burial consisting of a skeleton and a few objects was discovered at the Monte dei Cappuccini Monastery, in Torino (Italy). Anthropological analysis of the skeleton revealed that it belonged to a young man, and the archaeometric characterization of the objects suggested that most of them are compatible with the Medieval period. As a proper archeological survey was not conducted at the time of the finding, due to the religious nature of the site, a high-precision radiocarbon (14C) dating has been performed. The samples were processed with three different methods: besides the ultrafiltration (UF) treatment, we applied the “collagen” (COL) and the Longin-base (LB) methods. While UF and COL treatments provided compatible results, LB method returned ages older with respect the UF one, with significant disagreements in some cases and this evidence is supported by several measurements on the same individual. Thanks to the reduction of the uncertainty with the high number of measured samples and the availability of historical evidence, the possible age of the burial has been limited to the time interval 1464–1515 cal AD.

There is significant interest to develop cheap CMOS compatible sensors that operate in the mid-infrared (MIR). To meet these requirements, Ge-on-Si is proving to be an exciting platform. There is the potential to realize waveguide integrated quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) based on Ge quantum wells (QWs). Intersubband absorption from p-Ge QWs has been demonstrated in the important atmospheric transmission window of 8-13 μm. An alternative strategy for sensing in the MIR is demonstrated through highly n-type doped Ge plasmonic antennas. These antennas demonstrate vibrational sensing of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) spin coated layers at 12.5 μm wavelength. These demonstrate enhanced sensing capabilities due to the localized hot spots of the antenna resonant modes.

We theoretically and experimentally investigate a novel modulation concept on silicon (Si) based on the combination of quantum confinement and plasmon enhancement effects. We experimentally study the suitability of Ge/SiGe quantum wells (QWs) on Si as the active material for a plasmon-enhanced optical modulator. We demonstrate that in QW structures absorption and modulation of light with transverse magnetic (TM) polarization are greatly enhanced due to favorable selection rules. Later, we theoretically study the plasmon propagation at the metal-Ge/SiGe QW interface. We design a novel Ge/SiGe QW structure that allows maximized overlap between the plasmonic mode and the underlying Ge/SiGe QWs.

For over a decade, the structure of the inner “hole” in the transition disk around TW Hydrae has been a subject of debate. To probe the innermost regions of the protoplanetary disk, observations at the highest possible spatial resolution are required. We present new interferometric data of TW Hya from near-infrared to millimeter wavelengths. We confront existing models of the disk structure with the complete data set and develop a new, detailed radiative-transfer model. This model is characterized by: 1) a spatial separation of the largest grains from the small disk grains; and 2) a smooth inner rim structure, rather than a sharp disk edge.

We present new high-resolution observations and modeling of SSTtau J042021+ 281349, a 400 AU-radius edge-on protoplanetary disk. We have gathered visible and near-infrared scattered light images of the system with the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck adaptive optics system, as well as a 1.3 mm continuum map with CARMA. Compared to the well-known HH 30 disk, this new system is remarkable because of its spectacular bipolar jet and the high degree of lateral symmetry of the disk. Indeed, we argue that this system is a “cleaner” prototype for edge-on disks. In addition, the apparent achromaticity of dust properties (most notably the almost grey opacity law) from the visible to the near-infrared in this disk suggests that it is in an advanced stage of dust evolution.

The close environment of Herbig stars starts to be revealed step by step and it appears to be quite complex. Many physical phenomena interplay: the dust sublimation causing a puffed-up inner rim, a dusty halo, a dusty wind or an inner gaseous component. To investigate more deeply these regions, getting images at the first Astronomical Unit scale is necessary. This has become possible with near infrared instruments on the VLTI. We have developed a new imaging method adapted to young stellar objects where we process separately the stellar component from the rest of the image to reveal the environment by using the spectral differences between these two components. We present the result of this method on the first imaging survey of Herbig stars carried out by PIONIER on the VLTI.

We report on the maskless integration of micron-sized GaAs crystals on patterned Si substrates by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. In order to adapt the mismatch between the lattice parameter and thermal expansion coefficient of GaAs and Si, 2 μm tall Ge crystals were first grown as virtual substrate by low energy plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. We investigate the morphological evolution of the GaAs structures grown on top of the Ge crystals at the transition towards full pyramids with energetically stable {111} facets. A substantial release of strain is shown in GaAs crystals with a height of 2 μm and lateral sizes up to 15×15 μm2 by both X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence.