Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) thermoresponsive microspheres: The low drug loading ensures the pulsatile release mechanism

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Sand/Polyethyleneimine Composites with Enhanced Sorption/Desorption Properties toward Pollutants

The direct deposition of polyethyleneimine (PEI), a weak polycation with a large content of amino groups, onto sand fractions with different sizes (F70, F100, F200, and F355), resulted in versatile core-shell sorbents for water cleaning. Herein, PEI and the weak polyanion poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were directly precipitated as an nonstoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex ([PEI]:[PAA] = 2:1) onto a sand surface followed by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde (GA) at three molar ratios ([CHO]:[amine] = 1:10; 1:5; 1:1 = r). Non-crosslinked polyelectrolyte chains were washed out in strongly basic (pH 14) and acidic (pH 0) media. The sand/PEI-GA composites were evaluated to determine the organic shell stability using swelling experiments and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The sorbed/desorbed amount of two model pollutants (copper ions and bromocresol green) in column experiments depended on the sand fraction size and cross-linking degree of the PEI shell. The maximum recorded values, after five loading/release cycles of pollutant species onto F70/PEI-GAr, F100/PEI-GAr, F200/PEI-GAr, and F355/PEI-GAr, were situated between the 0.7–5.5 mg Cu2+/mL column and 3.7–15 mg BCG/mL column. Sand/PEI-GAr composites could act as promising sorbents, low-cost and eco-friendly, which could be applied for water purification procedures

Pepsin and Lysozyme Immobilization onto Daisogel Particles Functionalized with Chitosan Cross-linked Multilayers

One type of cross-linked multilayer, based on chitosan (CHI) has been prepared usin

Combined mechanism glaucoma asociated with Grave's Ophtalmopathy: Case report

A 69-year-old female presented marked vision loss in both eyes, intense photophobia and ocular pain. The patient had long history of uncompensated glaucoma, Graves ophtalmopathy, treated for several years with topical medication without normalizing the intraocular pressure. The patient undergo orbital decompression for Grave’s ophtalmopathy which ameliorated the exophthalmia. Visual assessment showed 0,08 best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the right eye respectively 0 in the left eye, posterior chamber pseudophakic implant both eyes, posterior capsular opacification left eye. The intraocular pressure was 18-25 mmHg in the right eye, respectively 14-19 mm Hg under topical medication. The cup-disc ratio was 0.8 in the RE respectively 0.9-1 in the LE. The visual field assessment in the RE showed relative central scotoma, complete lower arcuate (Bjerrum) scotoma, generalized depresion of VF. We performed RE trabeculectomy with 5 fluorouracil and collagen implant (OLOGEN®), with good postoperative evolution. The Visual Acuity improves significantly to 0.1, the IOP after a month was 15 mm Hg. The onset, symptomatology and general clinical context of the patient determined the focus on the neuro-ophthalmological aspect of the case, even if that meant that the control of the glaucoma, at times obviously inefficient, would remain second, from the perspective of its importance

Sand/Polyethyleneimine Composites with Enhanced Sorption/Desorption Properties toward Pollutants

The direct deposition of polyethyleneimine (PEI), a weak polycation with a large content of amino groups, onto sand fractions with different sizes (F70, F100, F200, and F355), resulted in versatile core-shell sorbents for water cleaning. Herein, PEI and the weak polyanion poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were directly precipitated as an nonstoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex ([PEI]:[PAA] = 2:1) onto a sand surface followed by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde (GA) at three molar ratios ([CHO]:[amine] = 1:10; 1:5; 1:1 = r). Non-crosslinked polyelectrolyte chains were washed out in strongly basic (pH 14) and acidic (pH 0) media. The sand/PEI-GA composites were evaluated to determine the organic shell stability using swelling experiments and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The sorbed/desorbed amount of two model pollutants (copper ions and bromocresol green) in column experiments depended on the sand fraction size and cross-linking degree of the PEI shell. The maximum recorded values, after five loading/release cycles of pollutant species onto F70/PEI-GAr, F100/PEI-GAr, F200/PEI-GAr, and F355/PEI-GAr, were situated between the 0.7–5.5 mg Cu2+/mL column and 3.7–15 mg BCG/mL column. Sand/PEI-GAr composites could act as promising sorbents, low-cost and eco-friendly, which could be applied for water purification procedures

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: A Case Study in Mental Health Marketing

Following the phenomenological case study method, this paper highlights the mental health marketing scenario in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. While the developed world is finding modern methods to connect with and serve MH patients, Vietnam and most other developing economies are still struggling to shift views from mental illness to mental wellness. Despite this, particularly among a small group of forward thinking providers, there is a trend taking shape towards more proactive and digitally-savvy identification, acquisition, and retention of mental health patients. In addition to de-stigmatizing mental health issues, this has the effects of providing patients access, confidence, and meaningful engagement. Marketing orientiation also resulted in increased attention to preventive mental healthcare

The coin of morality

Looking for an idealization of the business environment, we notice that private businesses which have set ethic goals in business achieved a much higher profit growth rate than similar businesses that have not set business ethic codes. Of course, entrepreneurs decide their own interests and do not consider that the action of social responsibility has to be mechanical. In fact, if we consider a free-market capitalist system, the entrepreneur should have an ethical behavior in business or to choose a moral voluntary attitude. The present paper is looking to see if, in a material, rational and a no-matter-what profit oriented attitude world, a moral capitalism is possible to exist. By the more significant phenomena of globalization, entrepreneurs can be considered selfish people, performing immoral actions, with a predisposition of owning everything, without thinking at the old ideals. Nowadays, the entrepreneurs act only in the direction of getting the profit and very few of them have a moral motivation. The man in the modern capitalist world is looking only for his own interest in order to satisfy his desires and aspirations at a level as high as possible. A normal and natural thing, in fact. Therefore, no matter the role of the entrepreneur, there is the possibility to create cultural ways to solve ethical and social problems, and also methods that make moral capitalism principles to be functional, and, thus, a convergence between the free market and entrepreneurial ethics to be possible

The 2030 agenda and students with migratory background at italian higher education institutions. Challenges and opportunities

The paper is introducing the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 4 “Quality Education Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” while also providing an analysis of needs, challenges and opportunities characteristics for students with migratory background in accessing and completing Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) paths in the European Union (EU). Research (e.g., EC, OECD, among others) has shown that students with migratory background are considered as a disadvantaged and vulnerable group due to several economic, educational and psycho-social factors. In the same time, their resilience – conceived as the capacity to reach adequate levels of adjustment across multiple well-being dimensions – is significant, not only in terms of protective factors but also as a contribution to enrich host societies and promote intercultural communities globally. Focusing on the Italian context as a relatively new immigration country, where HEIs are currently registering a growing number of students with migratory background, the paper analyses a case study of one of the largest and oldest European universities. Conclusions are discussed to prioritize multi-actor actions that promote and enhance inclusiveness, equity, and diversity