Bial, Eisai, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, UCB, the Netherlands Epilepsy Foundation, and Stockholm County Council.

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ObjectiveSingle cases and small series of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been reported during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak worldwide. We evaluated incidence and clinical features of GBS in a cohort of patients from two regions of northern Italy with the highest number of patients with COVID-19.MethodsGBS cases diagnosed in 12 referral hospitals from Lombardy and Veneto in March and April 2020 were retrospectively collected. As a control population, GBS diagnosed in March and April 2019 in the same hospitals were considered.ResultsIncidence of GBS in March and April 2020 was 0.202/100 000/month (estimated rate 2.43/100 000/year) vs 0.077/100 000/month (estimated rate 0.93/100 000/year) in the same months of 2019 with a 2.6-fold increase. Estimated incidence of GBS in COVID-19-positive patients was 47.9/100 000 and in the COVID-19-positive hospitalised patients was 236/100 000. COVID-19-positive patients with GBS, when compared with COVID-19-negative subjects, showed lower MRC sum score (26.3±18.3 vs 41.4±14.8, p=0.006), higher frequency of demyelinating subtype (76.6% vs 35.3%, p=0.011), more frequent low blood pressure (50% vs 11.8%, p=0.017) and higher rate of admission to intensive care unit (66.6% vs 17.6%, p=0.002).ConclusionsThis study shows an increased incidence of GBS during the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Italy, supporting a pathogenic link. COVID-19-associated GBS is predominantly demyelinating and seems to be more severe than non-COVID-19 GBS, although it is likely that in some patients the systemic impairment due to COVID-19 might have contributed to the severity of the whole clinical picture.

The study data confirm that clearance of the posterior triangle of the neck increases shoulder morbidity. However, subclinical nerve impairment can be observed even after selective neck dissection (levels II-IV) if the submuscular recess is routinely dissected.

The sublimation of hexagonal SiC has been studied under equilibrium conditions. The predominant gaseous species above SiC are Si, SiC2, and Si2C. By combining the heat of formation of gaseous Si from solid SiC and the known standard heat of formation of SiC, a value of 113 kcal/g atom is obtained for the heat of sublimation of Si at 298°K. From the measured partial pressures, using estimated free energy functions, dissociation energies for Si2, Si3, SiC, SiC2, Si2C, Si2C2, Si2C3, and Si3C are calculated and compared with previously known dissociation energies for group IV B molecules.

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The systems germanium-graphite and germanium-silicon-carbon have been studied. Several gaseous molecules containing Ge, Si, and/or C were observed and their dissociation energies determined from measured partial pressures. A general picture of the dissociation energies of di-, tri-, and tetraatomic intergroup IVB molecules is deduced from these measurements. Incidental to this study the vapor pressure of pure Si was determined; the result confirms the heat of sublimation obtained previously.