Infective Endocarditis as a complication of COVID-19 infection; A case report and review of literature.

COVID-19 has been known to induce systemic inflammation and hyper coagulate state leading to different complications. Cardiovascular complications are one of the most important among complications following COVID-19 infection. A 57 years old woman with past medical history of COVID-19 infection about two months ago came to our hospital with presentation of fever and dyspnea. During workup, tricuspid valve infection associated with pulmonary septic emboli was diagnosed without any obvious risk factor for infective endocarditis. It seems that COVID-19 infection may increase the rate of endocarditis in patients with or without risk factors of endocarditis.

Local Field Factors and Dielectric Properties of Liquid Benzene.

Local electric field factors are calculated for liquid benzene by combining molecular dynamic simulations with a subsequent force-field model based on a combined charge-transfer and point-dipole interaction model for the local field factor. The local field factor is obtained as a linear response of the local field to an external electric field, and the response is calculated at frequencies through the first absorption maximum. It is found that the largest static local field factor is around 2.4, while it is around 6.4 at the absorption frequency. The linear susceptibility, the dielectric constant, and the first absorption maximum of liquid benzene are also studied. The electronic contribution to the dielectric constant is around 2.3 at zero frequency, in good agreement with the experimental value around 2.2, while it increases to 6.3 at the absorption frequency. The π → π* excitation energy is around 6.0 eV, as compared to the gas-phase value of around 6.3 eV, while the experimental values are 6.5 and 6.9 eV for the liquid and gas phase, respectively, demonstrating that the gas-to-liquid shift is well-described.

Complex frequency-dependent polarizability through the π → π* excitation energy of azobenzene molecules by a combined charge-transfer and point-dipole interaction model.

The complex frequency-dependent polarizability and π → π* excitation energy of azobenzene compounds are investigated by a combined charge-transfer and point-dipole interaction (CT/PDI) model. To parametrize the model, we adopted time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of the frequency-dependent polarizability extended with excited-state lifetimes to include also its imaginary part. The results of the CT/PDI model are compared with the TDDFT calculations and experimental data demonstrating that the CT/PDI model is fully capable to reproduce the static polarizability as well as the π → π* excitation energy for these compounds. In particular, azobenzene molecules with different functional groups in the para-position have been included serving as a severe test of the model. The π → π* excitation is to a large extent localized to the azo bond, and substituting with electron-donating or electron-attracting groups on the phenyl rings results in charge-transfer effects and a shift in the excitation energy giving rise to azobenzene compounds with a range of different colors. In the CT/PDI model, the π → π* excitation in azobenzenes is manifested as drastically increasing atomic induced dipole moments in the azo group as well as in the adjacent carbon atoms, whereas the shifts in the excitation energies are due to charge-transfer effects.