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We report crystallographic, specific heat, transport, and magnetic properties of the recently discovered noncentrosymmetric 5d -electron superconductors CaIrSi3 (Tc = 3.6 K) and CaPtSi3 (Tc = 2.3 K). The specific heat suggests that these superconductors are fully gapped. The upper critical fields are less than 1 T, consistent with limitation by conventional orbital depairing. High, non-Pauli-limited µ0Hc2 values, often taken as a key signature of novel noncentrosymmetric physics, are not observed in these materials because the high carrier masses required to suppress orbital depairing and reveal the violated Pauli limit are not present.

Tadalafil is a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor with a long half-life, high selectivity, and rapid onset of action. Because the safety of using PDE5 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for fetal growth restriction (FGR) has been a problem worldwide, this paper primarily focuses on the safety assessments performed in the Tadalafil Treatment for Fetuses with Early-Onset Growth Restriction (TADAFER) II population. Neonatal and maternal adverse events were analyzed, in addition to fetal, neonatal, and infant death cases, six months after stopping the trial. Eighty-nine pregnant women with FGR were studied between September 2016 and March 2018 (45 and 44 in the tadalafil and conventional treatment groups, respectively). Seven (16%) deaths (four fetal, one neonatal, and two infant) in the control group, whereas only one neonatal death occurred in the tadalafil group. Although headache, facial flushing, and nasal hemorrhage occurred more frequently in the tadalafil group, these symptoms were Grade 1 and transient. In conclusion, this trial showed that tadalafil decreased the fetal and infant deaths associated with FGR. This is thought to be primarily due to pregnancy prolongation. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the efficacy of tadalafil in treating early-onset FGR.

Tadalafil dilates the placental maternal blood sinuses, which leads to increase PlGF production, and contributes to facilitate fetal growth and improve maternal SBP. Moreover, tadalafil ameliorates glomerular damage by reducing oxidative stress. These results suggest that tadalafil is a candidate for treatment of PE with FGR.