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Molecular polaritons are hybrid light-matter states that emerge when a molecular transition strongly interacts with photons in a resonator. At optical frequencies, this interaction unlocks a way to explore and control new chemical phenomena at the nanoscale. Achieving such a control at ultrafast timescales, however, is an outstanding challenge, as it requires a deep understanding of the dynamics of the collectively coupled molecular excitation and the nanoconfined electromagnetic fields. Here, we investigate the dynamics of collective polariton states, realized by coupling molecular photoswitches to optically anisotropic plasmonic nanoantennas. Pump-probe experiments reveal an ultrafast collapse of polaritons to a single-molecule transition triggered by femtosecond-pulse excitation at room-temperature. Through a synergistic combination of experiments and quantum mechanical modelling, we show that the response of the system is governed by intramolecular dynamics, occurring one order of magnitude faster with respect to the unperturbed excited molecule relaxation to the ground state.

In the past 20 years, we have reached a broad understanding of many light-driven phenomena in nanoscale systems. The temporal dynamics of the excited states are instead quite challenging to explore, and, at the same time, crucial to study for understanding the origin of fundamental physical and chemical processes. In this review, we examine the current state and prospects of ultrafast phenomena driven by plasmons both from a fundamental and applied point of view. This research area is referred to as ultrafast plasmonics and represents an outstanding playground to tailor and control fast optical and electronic processes at the nanoscale, such as ultrafast optical switching, single photon emission, and strong coupling interactions to tailor photochemical reactions. Here, we provide an overview of the field and describe the methodologies to monitor and control nanoscale phenomena with plasmons at ultrafast timescales in terms of both modeling and experimental characterization. Various directions are showcased, among others recent advances in ultrafast plasmon-driven chemistry and multi-functional plasmonics, in which charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom are exploited to provide active control of the optical and electronic properties of nanoscale materials. As the focus shifts to the development of practical devices, such as all-optical transistors, we also emphasize new materials and applications in ultrafast plasmonics and highlight recent development in the relativistic realm. The latter is a promising research field with potential applications in fusion research or particle and light sources providing properties such as attosecond duration. Originally included in thesis in manuscript form.

The current drugs available for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) often cause several adverse events, and the risk-benefit ratio is low due to the risk of severe complications. Current treatment recommendations are based on data from areas endemic for leishmaniasis and are not always perfectly applicable, especially in cases of imported CL. Thus, it is crucial to assess the level of severity in each case to provide the most appropriate treatment modality. The World Health Organization recommends simple wound care (with unspecified strategies) or local therapy as first-line treatment. Systemic treatments should be reserved for selected patients. Additionally, there is little evidence in the literature regarding local treatments, such as paromomycin ointments, imiquimod, local infiltration with antimonials, and physical treatments such as cryotherapy or thermotherapy.The authors report the use of the tissue debridement, infection/inflammation management, moisture balance, and edge assessment (TIME) model of wound bed preparation in a case of localized ulcerated CL.A 32-year-old female developed ulcerated nodules at the sites of insect bites that occurred during a trip to Columbia and was diagnosed with localized CL. Wound management included daily wound bed cleansing, surgical debridement, and antimicrobial and secondary polyurethane foam dressings. The lesions completely healed in 30 days.In the present case, the TIME approach simplified the local management of ulcerated CL, thereby improving both the healing process and cosmetic outcome. Further studies with a placebo-controlled group will be necessary to confirm the data.

Additional file 1.

Feature selection, in the context of machine learning, is the process of separating the highly predictive feature from those that might be irrelevant or redundant. Information theory has been recognized as a useful concept for this task, as the prediction power stems from the correlation, i.e., the mutual information, between features and labels. Many algorithms for feature selection in the literature have adopted the Shannon-entropy-based mutual information. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using R��nyi min-entropy instead. In particular, we propose an algorithm based on a notion of conditional R��nyi min-entropy that has been recently adopted in the field of security and privacy, and which is strictly related to the Bayes error. We prove that in general the two approaches are incomparable, in the sense that we show that we can construct datasets on which the R��nyi-based algorithm performs better than the corresponding Shannon-based one, and datasets on which the situation is reversed. In practice, however, when considering datasets of real data, it seems that the R��nyi-based algorithm tends to outperform the other one. We have effectuate several experiments on the BASEHOCK, SEMEION, and GISETTE datasets, and in all of them we have indeed observed that the R��nyi-based algorithm gives better results., 16 pages

Figure showing the peak RAM consumption (kB) and the running time (s) of the programs tested. Panel A) running time as function of total number of reads for the 540 samples when programs are run using 1 core with a 1 thread for bowtie2 for STRAIN and SRST2. On the right, boxplots of the running time for each program; Panel B) running time on 7 samples selected to have the maximum number of reads among the samples of the same species when STRAIN is run setting 7 cores and 7 threads for bowtie2 and SRST2 set with 48 threads for bowtie2. On the right, boxplots of the running times per program in the seven selected biggest samples; Panel C) peak RAM consumption as function of the total number of reads of the 540 samples and boxtplots for each program. (DOCX 21 kb)

File describing the running setup of the programs and the specifications of the computational resource used to run the programs. (PDF 3690 kb)

Tissue-engineered skin substitutes have proven to be effective in acute and chronic wound management and cell transplantation may be performed by punch minigrafting, split-thickness skin grafting, hair follicle transplantation, suction blisters, epidermal curettage techniques, cultured and non-cultured autologous keratinocytes. The previous surgical and cultured techniques can be time-consuming and in some cases esthetically unsatisfying or painful for the patients. Recently new non-cultured autologous epidermal and dermal products have been developed with similar results to the cultured dermoepidermal techniques, but are simpler, less expensive, and less time-consuming.

BACKGROUND Two phase 3 trials (UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3) showed that at 12 weeks of treatment, ixekizumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-17A, was superior to placebo and etanercept in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. We report the 60-week data from the UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3 trials, as well as 12-week and 60-week data from a third phase 3 trial, UNCOVER-1. METHODS We randomly assigned 1296 patients in the UNCOVER-1 trial, 1224 patients in the UNCOVER-2 trial, and 1346 patients in the UNCOVER-3 trial to receive subcutaneous injections of placebo (placebo group), 80 mg of ixekizumab every 2 weeks after a starting dose of 160 mg (2-wk dosing group), or 80 mg of ixekizumab every 4 weeks after a starting dose of 160 mg (4-wk dosing group). Additional cohorts in the UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3 trials were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg of etanercept twice weekly. At week 12 in the UNCOVER-3 trial, the patients entered a long-term extension period during which they received 80 mg of ixekizumab every 4 weeks through week 60; at week 12 in the UNCOVER-1 and UNCOVER-2 trials, the patients who had a response to ixekizumab (defined as a static Physicians Global Assessment [sPGA] score of 0 [clear] or 1 [minimal psoriasis]) were randomly reassigned to receive placebo, 80 mg of ixekizumab every 4 weeks, or 80 mg of ixekizumab every 12 weeks through week 60. Coprimary end points were the percentage of patients who had a score on the sPGA of 0 or 1 and a 75% or greater reduction from baseline in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) at week 12. RESULTS In the UNCOVER-1 trial, at week 12, the patients had better responses to ixekizumab than to placebo; in the 2-wk dosing group, 81.8% had an sPGA score of 0 or 1 and 89.1% had a PASI 75 response; in the 4-wk dosing group, the respective rates were 76.4% and 82.6%; and in the placebo group, the rates were 3.2% and 3.9% (P

Figure showing the peak RAM consumption (kB) and the running time (s) of the programs tested. Panel A) running time as function of total number of reads for the 540 samples when programs are run using 1 core with a 1 thread for bowtie2 for STRAIN and SRST2. On the right, boxplots of the running time for each program; Panel B) running time on 7 samples selected to have the maximum number of reads among the samples of the same species when STRAIN is run setting 7 cores and 7 threads for bowtie2 and SRST2 set with 48 threads for bowtie2. On the right, boxplots of the running times per program in the seven selected biggest samples; Panel C) peak RAM consumption as function of the total number of reads of the 540 samples and boxtplots for each program. (DOCX 21 kb)

Acitretin is one of the systemic agents used for the treatment of psoriasis. Because different acitretin dosages resulted therapeutically successful, there is no general agreement on the optimal dose regimen. To report acitretin efficacy and safety in a real-life setting, wherein patient-tailored dose regimen is usually prescribed, a retrospective analysis evaluating charts of all plaque-type psoriasis patients treated with acitretin from the clinic database was performed. PASI score improvement, as well as PASI 50, 75, 90, and 100 responses were assessed throughout the observational period. Overall, 52% PASI score reduction and a satisfactory safety profile were detected. PASI 50, 75, 90, and 100 response was achieved by 53%, 48%, 28%, and 14%, respectively. Treatment consisted on a mean daily acitretin dose of 25.01 mg. The initial dose was increased (51.2% of cases) or decreased (48.8%) prescribing a mean daily dose of 29.8 mg and 20.02 mg, respectively. This study proposed a dose regimen customized on clinical response and patient's needs, to optimized acitretin benefit.

Vitiligo is a multifactorial acquired dermatosis characterised by achromic or hypochromic macules and by the absence of functioning melanocytes. Treatment depends on the extent of the affected areas and on disease activity. Surgical techniques have proven to be effective in stable cases but can be time‐consuming and, in some cases, aesthetically unsatisfying or painful for the patients. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical safety and effectiveness of a new automatic epidermal skin harvesting device in patients with stable localised vitiligo over a minimum 12‐month period. This new system (CELLUTOME™ Epidermal Harvesting System, KCI, an ACELITY Company, San Antonio, TX) is a commercially available epidermal skin harvesting system that can be used without local anaesthesia or other pre‐treatments and has been shown to have low rates of donor site morbidity. Epidermal skin grafts can used in patients with acute and hard to heal chronic wounds, burns and stable vitiligo. The use of advanced therapies may improve the quality of life, have cost benefits and accelerate re‐pigmentation of patients with vitiligo. In our preliminary study, this system was seen to be a safe and efficacious means of harvesting epidermal micrografts containing melanocytes for use in patients with stable vitiligo unresponsive to standard therapies.

Leg ulcerations are a common problem, with an estimated prevalence of 1% to 2% in the adult population. Venous leg ulcers are primarily treated in outpatient settings and often are managed by dermatologists. Recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of leg ulcers combined with available evidence-based data will provide an update on this topic. A systematized approach and the judicious use of expensive advanced therapeutics are critical. Specialized arterial and venous studies are most commonly noninvasive. The ankle brachial pressure index can be performed with a handheld Doppler unit at the bedside by most clinicians. The vascular laboratory results and duplex Doppler findings are used to identify segmental defects and potential operative candidates. Studies of the venous system can also predict a subset of patients who may benefit from surgery. Successful leg ulcer management requires an interdisciplinary team to make the correct diagnosis, assess the vascular supply, and identify other modifiable factors to optimize healing. The aim of this continuing medical education article is to provide an update on the management of venous leg ulcers. Part I is focused on the approach to venous ulcer diagnostic testing.

Background Drug survival, defined as the length of time from initiation to discontinuation of a given therapy, allows comparisons between drugs, helps to predict patient's likelihood of remaining on a specific treatment, and achieving the best decision for each patient in daily clinical practice. Objective The aim of this study was to provide data on drug survival of secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab, guselkumab, tildrakizumab, and risankizumab in a large international cohort, and to identify clinical predictors that might have an impact on the drug survival of these drugs. Methods This was a retrospective, multicentric, multi-country study that provides data of adult patients with moderate to severe psoriasis who started treatment with an interleukin (IL)-17 or IL-23 inhibitor between 1 February 2015 and 31 October 2021. Data were collected from 19 distinct hospital and non-hospital-based dermatology centers from Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Kaplan-Meier estimator and proportional hazard Cox regression models were used for drug survival analysis. Results A total of 4866 treatment courses (4178 patients)-overall time of exposure of 9500 patient-years-were included in this study, with 3164 corresponding to an IL-17 inhibitor (secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab) and 1702 corresponding to an IL-23 inhibitor (guselkumab, risankizumab, tildrakizumab). IL-23 inhibitors had the highest drug survival rates during the entire study period. After 24 months of treatment, the cumulative probabilities of drug survival were 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89-0.95) for risankizumab, 0.90 (95% CI 0.88-0.92) for guselkumab, 0.80 (95% CI 0.76-0.84) for brodalumab, 0.79 (95% CI 0.76-0.82) for ixekizumab, and 0.75 (95% CI 0.73-0.77) for secukinumab. At 36 months, only guselkumab [0.88 (95% CI 0.85-0.91)], ixekizumab [0.73 (95% CI 0.70-0.76)], and secukinumab [0.67 (95% CI 0.65-0.70)] had more than 40 patients at risk of drug discontinuation. Only two drugs had more than 40 patients at risk of drug discontinuation at 48 months, with ixekizumab demonstrating to have a higher cumulative probability of drug survival [0.71 (95% CI 0.68-0.75)] when compared with secukinumab [0.63 (95% CI 0.60-0.66)]. Secondary failure was the main cause for drug discontinuation. According to the final multivariable model, patients receiving risankizumab, guselkumab, and ixekizumab were significantly less likely to discontinue treatment than those receiving secukinumab. Previous exposure to biologic agents, absent family history of psoriasis, higher baseline body mass index (BMI), and higher baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were identified as predictors of drug discontinuation. Conclusion The cumulative probability of drug survival of both IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors was higher than 75% at 24 months, with risankizumab and guselkumab demonstrating to have overall cumulative probabilities >= 90%. Biological agent chosen, prior exposure to biologic agents, higher baseline BMI and PASI values, and absence of family history of psoriasis were identified as predictors for drug discontinuation. Risankizumab, guselkumab, and ixekizumab were less likely to be discontinued than secukinumab.

Most pressure ulcers do not need surgical intervention. Candidates for surgery are a selected group of patients where debridement and conservative measures are not enough to ensure healing of a sufficient quality or speed, and where the patients will benefit from surgical intervention. In general, these patients will have grade 3 and 4 pressure ulcers. The cornerstones of successful surgical treatment of pressure ulcers are a competent staff, correct selection of patients, correct and meticulous surgical method, and sufficient postoperative support. No unambiguous criteria for selection of patients or methods exist, and an individual assessment is a necessity. However, guidelines are a useful tool, particularly at the initial assessment.