Ring opening polymerization of lactides and lactones by multimetallic alkyl zinc complexes derived from the acids Ph₂C(X)CO₂2H (X = OH, NH₂ )

The reaction of the dialkylzinc reagents R₂Zn with the acids 2,2-Ph₂C(X)(CO₂H), where X = NH₂, OH, i.e. 2,2′-diphenylglycine (dpgH) or benzilic acid (benzH2), in toluene at reflux temperature afforded the tetra-nuclear ring complexes [RZn(dpg)]₄, where R = Me (1), Et (2), 2-CF₃C₆H₄ (3), and 2,4,6-F₃C₆H₂ (4); complex 2 has been previously reported. The crystal structures of 1·(2MeCN), 3 and 4·(4(C₇H₈)·1.59(H₂O)) are reported, along with that of the intermediate compound (2-CF₃C₆H₄)3B·MeCN and the known compound [ZnCl₂(NCMe)₂]. Complexes 1–4, together with the known complex [(ZnEt)₃(ZnL)₃(benz)₃] (5; L = MeCN), have been screened, in the absence of benzyl alcohol, for their potential to act as catalysts for the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL), δ-valerolactone (δ-VL) and rac-lactide (rac-LA); the co-polymerization of ε-CL with rac-LA was also studied. Complexes 3 and 4 bearing fluorinated aryls at zinc were found to afford the highest activities

EFFECT OF HERBICIDES ON GROWTH, GRAIN YIELD AND QUALITY OF BARLEY

This experiment was aimed to study the effect of   herbicide (lintur @180 g.ha-1 + Axial @1.5 L.ha-1, Navigator @ 1.25 L.ha-1 and the control treatment) in the companion weeds. Besides, grain yield and its components of three cultivars of barley (IPA 99, Buhooth 256, Aldebaran). The experiment was carried out according to RCBD, within split plot arrangement using three replicates. The cultivars represented the Main-plots, while herbicides and control treatments represented the sub-plots. The second included a laboratory experiment with four replicates of 50 seeds per replicate to study some grain quality characteristics resulting from the first field experiment. The results were showed the superiority of the Buhooth 256 cultivar in number of spikes, weight of 1000 grains, and the grain yield with an average of 495.10 spike.m-2, 22.23 g, and 1.46 ton.ha-1, respectively. Buhooth 256 also recorded the best results in increasing the percentage of weed control, reducing weed dry weight, and increasing the inhibition ratio. The same cultivar exceeded in most characteristics of grain quality. The treatment of herbicides (lintur + Axial) exceeded by achieving the highest average number of spikes of (471.60 spike.m-2), and the highest number of grains per spike with (51.77 grain.spike-1). Coupled with the weight of 1000 grains (21.47 g), and the highest grain yield (1.53 ton.ha-1)

Measuring the optical concurrence of vector beams with an atomic-state interferometer

We investigate the transmission of vector beams, correlated in their polarization and spatial degrees of freedom, through cold atoms in the presence of a transverse magnetic coupling field. The resulting phase-dependent dynamics allow us to imprint the spatially varying polarization of a vector beam onto atomic spin polarizations, thereby establishing a direct link between optical space-polarization correlations and atomic-state interference. We find that the resulting absorption profiles show interference fringes whose modulation strength is given by the squared concurrence of the vector beam, letting us identify optical concurrence from a single absorption image. We expect impact across a diverse range of applications, including spintronics, quantum memories, metrology, and clocks

Extracorporeal cellular therapy (ELAD) in severe alcoholic hepatitis: A multinational, prospective, controlled, randomized trial.

Severe alcoholic hepatitis (sAH) is associated with a poor prognosis. There is no proven effective treatment for sAH, which is why early transplantation has been increasingly discussed. Hepatoblastoma-derived C3A cells express anti-inflammatory proteins and growth factors and were tested in an extracorporeal cellular therapy (ELAD) study to establish their effect on survival for subjects with sAH. Adults with sAH, bilirubin ≥8 mg/dL, Maddrey\u27s discriminant function ≥ 32, and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score ≤ 35 were randomized to receive standard of care (SOC) only or 3-5 days of continuous ELAD treatment plus SOC. After a minimum follow-up of 91 days, overall survival (OS) was assessed by using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. A total of 203 subjects were enrolled (96 ELAD and 107 SOC) at 40 sites worldwide. Comparison of baseline characteristics showed no significant differences between groups and within subgroups. There was no significant difference in serious adverse events between the 2 groups. In an analysis of the intent-to-treat population, there was no difference in OS (51.0% versus 49.5%). The study failed its primary and secondary end point in a population with sAH and with a MELD ranging from 18 to 35 and no upper age limit. In the prespecified analysis of subjects with MELD \u3c 28 (n = 120), ELAD was associated with a trend toward higher OS at 91 days (68.6% versus 53.6%; P = .08). Regression analysis identified high creatinine and international normalized ratio, but not bilirubin, as the MELD components predicting negative outcomes with ELAD. A new trial investigating a potential benefit of ELAD in younger subjects with sufficient renal function and less severe coagulopathy has been initiated. Liver Transplantation 24 380-393 2018 AASLD

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified