Nanofluids confined in chemical hydrogels for the selective removal of graffiti from street art

The main challenge in the conservation of street art is the selective removal of graffiti (i.e. tags, writings and overpaintings) from the original artwork. Nowadays, the effective methods available for this intervention involve risking damage to the original. The novel combination of nanofluids with highly retentive pHEMA/PVP chemical hydrogels is proposed as a controllable cleaning method for selective removal of graffiti from street art. Nanofluid-loaded hydrogels were tested on laboratory models simulating street art paintings covered in graffiti. The outcome of cleaning tests was investigated by means of visual, photographic and microscopic observation, and micro-reflectance FTIR spectroscopy. It was shown that the proposed methodology is effective in removing acrylic-, nitrocellulose- and alkyd-based graffiti without damaging the underlying paint. This can be achieved by means of a gradual swelling action performed by the nanofluid, which is limited to the surface layers by the retentive power of the hydrogel.Nanofluid

Economic consequences of investing in anti-HCV antiviral treatment from the Italian NHS perspective : a real-world-based analysis of PITER data

OBJECTIVE: We estimated the cost consequence of Italian National Health System (NHS) investment in direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy according to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment access policies in Italy. METHODS: A multistate, 20-year time horizon Markov model of HCV liver disease progression was developed. Fibrosis stage, age and genotype distributions were derived from the Italian Platform for the Study of Viral Hepatitis Therapies (PITER) cohort. The treatment efficacy, disease progression probabilities and direct costs in each health state were obtained from the literature. The break-even point in time (BPT) was defined as the period of time required for the cumulative costs saved to recover the Italian NHS investment in DAA treatment. Three different PITER enrolment periods, which covered the full DAA access evolution in Italy, were considered. RESULTS: The disease stages of 2657 patients who consecutively underwent DAA therapy from January 2015 to December 2017 at 30 PITER clinical centres were standardized for 1000 patients. The investment in DAAs was considered to equal €25 million, €15 million, and €9 million in 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. For patients treated in 2015, the BPT was not achieved, because of the disease severity of the treated patients and high DAA prices. For 2016 and 2017, the estimated BPTs were 6.6 and 6.2 years, respectively. The total cost savings after 20 years were €50.13 and €55.50 million for 1000 patients treated in 2016 and 2017, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study may be a useful tool for public decision makers to understand how HCV clinical and epidemiological profiles influence the economic burden of HCV

L'Italia come modello per l'Europa e per il mondo nelle politiche sanitarie per il trattamento dell'epatite cronica da HCV

The World Health Organization foresees the elimination of HCV infection by 2030. In light of this and the curre nt, nearly worldwide, restriction in direct-acting agents (DAA) accessibility due to their high price, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two alternative DAA treatment policies: Policy 1 (universal): treat all patients, regardless of the fibrosis stage; Policy 2 (prioritized): treat only priori tized patients and delay treatment of the remaining patients until reaching stage F3. T he model was based on patient’s data from the PITER cohort. We demonstrated that extending HC V treatment of patients in any fibrosis stage improves health outcomes and is cost-effective

Patients with ≥ 20 × 10(9)/L Platelets at Baseline May Have a Prompt Response to Romiplostim During the Early Phase of Treatment: an Italian Single-Institution Experience.

Patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia treated with romiplostim may benefit from a higher starting dose when a rapid increase in count is needed, but it could be avoided in those with a prompt response to the standard dosage. We hypothesized that a platelet count ≥ 20 x 109/l at baseline could distinguish subjects with such response from those with a delayed one during the early phase of treatment. Our work is a retrospective and single-institution analysis comparing the median platelet count, the median weekly dosage of romiplostim and the median number of weekly platelet counts < 50 x 109/l between patients with a baseline ≥ 20 x 109/l platelets (n=10, 2 splenectomized) and those with a lower one (n=8, 3 splenectomized) during the first month of treatment with romiplostim. The results show a higher median platelet count (79,5 vs 40,5 x 109/l, p=0,002) and a lower median dose of romiplostim (1 vs 2 mcg/kg/week, p=0,01) in subjects with a baseline ≥ 20 x 109/l  platelets, who also had a trend of less weekly counts < 50  x 109/l  platelets (1 vs 2, p=0,054). These data suggest that patients with ≥ 20 x 109/l platelets at baseline may achieve a prompt response with the standard dose of romiplostim, but further and larger data are needed in order to assess whether it can be considered in clinical practice