The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection had newly emerged with predominant respiratory complications. Other extrapulmonary features had been recently described. Here, we describe a COVID-19 patient presenting with multiorgan involvement mimicking systemic lupus erythematosus. He was successfully treated with glucocorticoids and tocilizumab.

In September 2016, the annual meeting of the International Union for Quaternary Research’s Loess and Pedostratigraphy Focus Group, traditionally referred to as a LoessFest, met in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The 2016 LoessFest focused on “thin” loess deposits and loess transportation surfaces. This LoessFest included 75 registered participants from 10 countries. Almost half of the participants were from outside the United States, and 18 of the participants were students. This review is the introduction to the special issue for Quaternary Research that originated from presentations and discussions at the 2016 LoessFest. This introduction highlights current understanding and ongoing work on loess in various regions of the world and provides brief summaries of some of the current approaches/strategies used to study loess deposits.

In Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer, cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is usually grown from seed. The genetics consist of a mix of amelonado, trinitario and selected hybrids. This mix of varieties generates high phenotypic variabilities, including variability in tree productivity, within cacao populations in both smallholder and industrial plantations. Tree-to-tree variability in yield has been reported in cacao breeding trials under different environmental conditions. However, it has never been considered a limiting factor for agronomical performance of seedling-based cacao plantations. Around 10 000 cacao trees from seven plots under different environmental conditions in a cacao plantation in Côte d'Ivoire were monitored for 2 years. Pod production of individual trees was recorded and annual average tree pod yields were assessed. High heterogeneity in cacao-tree yields was observed in all plots, with coefficients of variation ranging from 56 to 102%. The distribution of cacao-tree yields in each plot was positively skewed. Analysis of these distributions showed that unproductive trees represented a significant proportion of cacao tree populations (7%), and the 20% least productive trees accounted for 3% of production. The 20% most productive trees were responsible for 46% of the total pod production of a plot. This heterogeneity reflects a major imbalance in the agronomical performances of low- and high-yielding trees and also represents possible efficiency gaps in seedling-based cacao plantations, which could be overcome through innovative corrective strategies, opening new pathways for improvement of cacao-based cropping systems.

The discovery of a new species, Cyclolampas altus new species in the upper Callovian of Burgundy (France) leads to the systematic revision of the rare echinoid genus Cyclolampas Pomel, 1883. Two morphometric approaches are used jointly to describe and quantify variations in test shape: the analysis of linear measurements and the Elliptic Fourier shape analysis. Both analyses yield congruent results that highlight the amplitude of within-species variations and quantify the part due to allometry. Along with the description of C. altus, the systematic position of species formerly assigned to the genera Pygorhytis Pomel, 1883 and Cyclolampas is amended. Previously attributed to the genus Pygorhytis, Cyclolampas castanea (Desor, 1858) is reassigned to the genus Cyclolampas on the base of new observations. Conversely, the examination of the Bajocian species Pygorhytis kiliani (Lambert, 1909) and Pygorhytis gillieroni Desor in Desor and de Loriol, 1872, which were previously assigned to Cyclolampas now supports their taxonomic reassignment to the genus Pygorhytis. Finally, the two species Cyclolampas verneuili (Cotteau, 1870) and Cyclolampas cotteaui Mintz, 1966 (nomen nudum) are considered junior synonyms of the genus type species Cyclolampas voltzii (Agassiz, 1839). The questioned origin date of the genus, estimated either to the Bajocian or to the Oxfordian, is now clearly established to be upper Callovian. These new results fit well with the overall scheme of atelostomate echinoid evolution and migration to deep-sea environments during the Middle and Upper Jurassic.

We herein report the synthesis of highly-fluorescent CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) nanophosphors via a simple, non-phosphine and one pot synthetic method in the absence of an inert atmosphere. The as-prepared nanocrystallites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM (HRTEM). The obtained CdSe/ZnS QDs were of high quality with sharp absorption peaks, bright luminescence, narrow emission width and high PL quantum yield (up to 74 %) without any size sorting. The structural analysis showed that the as-synthesised QDs are small and spherical in shape with narrow size distributions while the presence of the lattice fringe in the HRTEM image confirmed the crystallinity of the material. The dispersion of the obtained core-shell QDs in PMMA matrix resulted in the fabrication of highly fluorescent PMMA- CdSe/ZnS core shell QDs polymer nanocomposite film.

Malaria is a disease that still affects a significant proportion of the global human population. Whilst advances have been made in lowering the numbers of cases and deaths, it is clear that a strategy based solely on disease control year on year, without reducing transmission and ultimately eradicating the parasite, is unsustainable. This article highlights the current mainstay treatments alongside a selection of emerging new clinical molecules from the portfolio of Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and our partners. In each case, the key highlights from each research phase are described to demonstrate how these new potential medicines were discovered. Given the increased focus of the community on eradicating the disease, the strategy for next generation combination medicines that will provide such potential is explained.

We present advanced light trapping concepts for thin film silicon solar cells. When an amorphous and a microcrystalline absorber layers are combined into a micromorph tandem cell, light trapping becomes a challenge because it should combine the spectral region from 600 to 750 nm for the amorphous top cell and from 800 to 1100 for the microcrystalline bottom cell. Because light trapping is typically achieved by growing on textured substrates, the effect of interface textures on the material and electric properties has to be taken into account, and importantly, how the surface textures evolve with the thickness of the overgrowing layers. We present different scenarios for the n-i-p configuration on flexible polymer substrates and p-i-n cells on glass substrate, and we present our latest stabilized efficiencies of 9.8% and 11.1%, respectively.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have jointly recommended that the UV Index (UVI) should be used to inform the public about possible health risks due to overexposure to solar radiation, especially skin damage. To test the current operational status of measuring and modelling techniques used in providing the public with UVI information, this article compares cloudless sky UVIs (measured using five instruments at four locations with different latitudes and climate) with the results of 13 models used in UVI forecasting schemes. For the models, only location, total ozone and solar zenith angle were provided as input parameters. In many cases the agreement is acceptable, i.e. less than 0.5 UVI. Larger differences may originate from instrumental errors and shortcomings in the models and their input parameters. A possible explanation for the differences between models is the treatment of the unknown input parameters, especially aerosols.

In spite of the success of surgical implants such as artificial hip joints, the materials used to make them are not always quite up to the job. Even stainless steel and titanium alloys can break under the enormous stress on load-bearing joints and corrode in the salty environment of the body. Deposits of inorganic salts can scratch weight-bearing surfaces, making artificial joints stiff and awkward. As a result, the lifetime of an implant is, at most, 10–15 years.

Metallurgists and engineers often treat the surfaces of metal parts to improve their properties. The use of advanced surface-treatment techniques such as glow-discharge ion implantation, plasma deposition, and plasma coating can significantly improve the strength, hardness, and corrosion resistance of metal implants. At the same time, these methods should also improve the biocompati-bility of the implanted devices.

Cobalt-based alloys are widely used for joint replacements. However, other compounds, such as titanium alloys, have excellent potential biocompatibility and interesting but imperfect mechanical properties. Stainless steel, namely 316L, has a good price-to-mechanical-properties ratio, but has the lowest corrosion resistance of the most commonly used metallic biomaterials.

Epitaxial thin layers of YBa 2Cu 3O7−x (Tc=90 K, Jc (OT, 77 K) = 2 106 A cm-2) were synthesised by thermal decomposition (750 − 830 °C) of tetramethylheptanedionates of yttrium, barium and copper in the presence of oxygen. Three different precursor delivery systems have been used: In the first, the precursor's surface is flushed with the carrier gas (Ar), in the second, argon is directly injected through the powder leading to a much higher transport rate, and in the third, a liquid (diketonates in a solvent) is nebulized via a piezoelectric transducer. The transport and deposition rates obtained in these three different reactors will be compared.