Our calculations reveal that in the presence of charged defects the TM atoms residing at the surface of the cluster may have an unusual oxidation state, that plays an important role to render the cluster ferromagnetic. SBE-β-CD mouse Defect induced magnetism in ZnO clusters without any TM dopants is also analyzed. These results on ZnO clusters may have significant contributions

in the nanoengineering of defects to achieve desired ferromagnetic properties for spintronic applications. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3525649]“
“Background and aims: Common mechanisms for the development of micro-and macroangiopathic diabetic complications have been suggested. We aimed to cross-sectionally investigate strength and characteristics of the association between carotid atherosclerosis and microangiopathy in type 2 diabetic

patients.

Methods and results: Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT), carotid plaque (CP) type and degree of stenosis were evaluated by ultrasound, along with the determination of anthropometric parameters, HbA1c, lipid profile, assessment of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, in 662 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients were divided according to high/low cIMT, presence/absence of CP and of retinopathy and nephropathy. Patients with CP were older, more prevalently males, past smokers, had longer diabetes duration, significantly lower HDL cholesterol and more prevalent ischemic heart disease (all p < 0.05) as compared to those with cIMT < 1 mm. Microangiopathies were more prevalent in patients with CP than in those without. At multivariate logistic regression, factors selleck chemicals independently associated with

the presence of CP were age, past smoke, HDL cholesterol, retinopathy and retinopathy plus nephropathy. A significant independent correlation of CP stenosis with stage of retinopathy and nephropathy was found. Finally, echolucent CPs were associated with a lower prevalence of proliferative retinopathy than CP containing calcium deposits.

Conclusion: selleck compound In T2DM, retinopathy, alone or in combination with nephropathy, is independently associated to CP, and severity of microangiopathy correlates with severity of carotid atherosclerosis. These observations, together with the different prevalence of proliferative retinopathy according to CP types, point to possible common pathogenic mechanisms in micro- and macrovascular complications. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Infections caused by Streptococcus suis are considered a global and an economical problem in the swine industry. Moreover, S. suis is an agent of zoonosis that afflicts people in close contact with infected pigs or pork-derived products. Although sporadic cases of S. suis infections in humans (mainly meningitis) have been reported during the last 40 years, a large outbreak due to this pathogen emerged in the summer of 2005 in China.