Layered Na0.71CoO2: a powerful candidate for viable and high performance Na-batteries

The present study reports on the synthesis and the electrochemical behavior of Na0.71CoO2, a promising candidate as cathode for Na-based batteries. The material was obtained in two different morphologies by a double-step route, which is cheap and easy to scale up: the hydrothermal synthesis to produce Co3O4 with tailored and nanometric morphology, followed by the solid-state reaction with NaOH, or alternatively with Na2CO3, to promote Na intercalation. Both products are highly crystalline and have the P2-Na0.71CoO2 crystal phase, but differ in the respective morphologies. The material obtained from Na2CO3 have a narrow particle length (edge to edge) distribution and 2D platelet morphology, while those from NaOH exhibit large microcrystals, irregular in shape, with broad particle length distribution and undefined exposed surfaces. Electrochemical analysis shows the good performances of these materials as a positive electrode for Na-ion half cells. In particular, Na0.71CoO2 thin microplatelets exhibit the best behavior with stable discharge specific capacities of 120 and 80 mAh g-1 at 5 and 40 mA g-1, respectively, in the range 2.0–3.9 V vs. Na+/Na. These outstanding properties make this material a promising candidate to construct viable and high-performance Na-based batteries

Preliminary report in treatment of proximal humeral fracture with closed reduction and DOS external fixation System: a multicentric study

Introduction: Proximal humerus fractures are the seventh most frequent fracture in adults, and the third in patients over 65 years old, 5.7% of whole diagnosed fractures. Most of these fractures can be treated conservatively and achieve good results. However, more and more frequently we are confronted with dislo-cated and multifragmentary fractures, and with elderly and high functional demanding patients. In patients with osteoporosis and poor general conditions external fixation can be performed as rapid and mininvasive procedure with good outcome and low complication rates. The authors investigated the use of external fixa-tion in the treatment of proximal humerus fractures. The objective is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method as a valid alternative to other surgical techniques. Materials and Methods: A multicentre study was conducted at 7 hospitals in Italy from 2014 through 2018. We recruited all proximal humeral fractures (as classified with the Neer system) that are surgically treated with the same external fixator DOS, for a total of 110 patients, evaluated later with Oxford Shoulder Scale (OSS) and disability of the arm, shoulder and hand score (DASH) at 1, 2 and 6 months. Results:The patients have passed from a score of 75,37 in the first month to a score of 29,47in the sixth month at the DASH and from 47,02 to 27,71 at the OSS. The data further confirm the increased incidence of these fractures in women and in a mean age of about 65. Conclusions:Al-though it does not represent the golden standard in the treatment of fractures of the proximal humerus, in our experience the minimal osteosynthesis with external fixator turned out to be a very valid help especially for the simplicity and speed of the method, as well as for the exciting functional results. sometimes superior to other methods. The preliminary results from the different centers have confirmed this hypothesis. We hope this will be a good starting point for further in-depth studies

Dried blood spot UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of oseltamivir and oseltamivircarboxylate—a validated assay for the clinic

The neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) is currently the first-line therapy for patients with influenza virus infection. Common analysis of the prodrug and its active metabolite oseltamivircarboxylate is determined via extraction from plasma. Compared with these assays, dried blood spot (DBS) analysis provides several advantages, including a minimum sample volume required for the measurement of drugs in whole blood. Samples can easily be obtained via a simple, non-invasive finger or heel prick. Mainly, these characteristics make DBS an ideal tool for pediatrics and to measure multiple time points such as those needed in therapeutic drug monitoring or pharmacokinetic studies. Additionally, DBS sample preparation, stability, and storage are usually most convenient. In the present work, we developed and fully validated a DBS assay for the simultaneous determination of oseltamivir and oseltamivircarboxylate concentrations in human whole blood. We demonstrate the simplicity of DBS sample preparation, and a fast, accurate and reproducible analysis using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. A thorough validation on the basis of the most recent FDA guidelines for bioanalytical method validation showed that the method is selective, precise, and accurate (≤15% RSD), and sensitive over the relevant clinical range of 5–1,500 ng/mL for oseltamivir and 20–1,500 ng/mL for the oseltamivircarboxylate metabolite. As a proof of concept, oseltamivir and oseltamivircarboxylate levels were determined in DBS obtained from healthy volunteers who received a single oral dose of Tamiflu®

Combinations of QT-prolonging drugs: towards disentangling pharmacokinetic and pharmaco-dynamic effects in their potentially additive nature.

Background: Whether arrhythmia risks will increase if drugs with electrocardiographic (ECG) QT-prolonging properties are combined is generally supposed but not well studied. Based on available evidence, the Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (AZCERT) classification defines the risk of QT prolongation for exposure to single drugs. We aimed to investigate how combining AZCERT drug categories impacts QT duration and how relative drug exposure affects the extent of pharmacodynamic drug–drug interactions. Methods: In a cohort of 2558 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients, we modeled whether AZCERT class and number of coprescribed QT-prolonging drugs correlates with observed rate-corrected QT duration (QTc) while also considering age, sex, inpatient status, and other QTc-prolonging risk factors. We concurrently considered administered drug doses and pharmacokinetic interactions modulating drug clearance to calculate individual weights of relative exposure with AZCERT drugs. Because QTc duration is concentration-dependent, we estimated individual drug exposure with these drugs and included this information as weights in weighted regression analyses. Results: Drugs attributing a ‘known’ risk for clinical consequences were associated with the largest QTc prolongations. However, the presence of at least two versus one QTc-prolonging drug yielded nonsignificant prolongations [exposure-weighted parameter estimates with 95% confidence intervals for ‘known’ risk drugs + 0.93 ms (–8.88;10.75)]. Estimates for the ‘conditional’ risk class increased upon refinement with relative drug exposure and coadministration of a ‘known’ risk drug as a further risk factor. Conclusions: These observations indicate that indiscriminate combinations of QTc-prolonging drugs do not necessarily result in additive QTc prolongation and suggest that QT prolongation caused by drug combinations strongly depends on the nature of the combination partners and individual drug exposure. Concurrently, it stresses the value of the AZCERT classification also for the risk prediction of combination therapies with QT-prolonging drugs

Sol-gel derived mesoporous Pt and Cr-doped WO(3) thin films: the role played by mesoporosity and metal doping in enhancing the gas sensing properties

Mesoporous Cr or Pt-doped WO(3) thin films to be employed as ammonia gas sensors were prepared by a fast one-step sol-gel procedure, based on the use of triblock copolymer as templating agent. The obtained films were constituted by aggregates of interconnected WO(3) nanocrystals (20-50 nm) separated by mesopores with dimensions ranging between 2 and 15 nm. The doping metals, Pt and Cr, resulted differently hosted in the WO(3) mesoporous matrix. Chromium is homogeneously dispersed in the oxide matrix, mainly as Cr(III) and Cr(V) centers, as revealed by EPR spectroscopy; instead platinum segregated as Pt (0) nanoparticles (4 nm) mainly included inside the WO(3) nanocrystals. The semiconductor layers containing Pt nanoclusters revealed, upon exposure to NH(3), remarkable electrical responses, much higher than Cr-doped and undoped layers, particularly at low ammonia concentration (6.2 ppm). This behavior was attributed to the presence of Pt nanoparticles segregated inside the semiconductor matrix, which act as catalysts of the N-H bond cleavage, decreasing the activation barrier in the ammonia dissociation. The role of the mesoporous structure in influencing the chemisorption and the gas diffusion in the WO(3) matrix appeared less decisive than the electronic differences between the two examined doping metals. The overall results suggest that a careful combination between mesoporous architecture and metal doping can really promote the electrical response of WO(3) toward ammonia

L’utilizzo del denosumab nel tumore a cellule giganti e relativi effetti sul trattamento chirurgico

Background. Dopo l’introduzione del denosumab nel trattamento del Tumore a Cellule Giganti (TCG) diversi autori ne hanno descritto l’utilizzo, mentre meno sono i lavori che correlano l’utilizzo del farmaco associato all’intervento chirurgico valutandone in particolare tempistica chirurgica, tipo di intervento e tasso complessivo di morbilità. Riportiamo l’esperienza dell’Ortopedia Oncologica dell’AOUC Firenze agli effetti sul trattamento chirurgico nei pazienti trattati con denosumab pre- e postoperatorio. Obiettivi. Scopo di questo studio è la valutazione della casisitica di pazienti dell’Ortopedia Oncologica dell’AOU Careggi con TCG trattati con denosumab e il relativo effetto sul trattamento chirurgico. Materiali e metodi. Dal 2010 al 2014 abbiamo trattato 91 pazienti con TCG, 25 di questi sono stati trattati con denosumab 120 mg. Lo schema di trattamento ha previsto denosumab 120 mg nel preoperatorio 1 fl sc ogni 4 settimane per una media di 3,9 mesi (con un minimo di 3 e un massimo di 6) e a seguire denosumab postoperatorio ogni 4 settimane per 6 mesi. 6 pazienti hanno effettuato un trattamento neoadiuvante, 6 adiuvante, 12 neoadiuvante e adiuvante, 1 paziente trattato alla recidiva. La tempistica dell’intervento chirurgico è stata decisa basandosi sulla clinica e valutando la diagnostica per immagini per la valutazione della risposta alla terapia (in accordo con i criteri RECIST). Risultati. Tutti i pazienti erano valutabili, 12 donne e 13 uomini con età media di 35 anni (range 19-72); per la maggior parte la localizzazione del TCG era agli arti inferiori (n = 7 femori distali, n = 1 femori prossimali, n = 3 tibie distali, n = 3 tibie prossimali, n = 2 peroni prossimali, n = 1 rotula, n = 1 calcagno), 5 nell’arto superiore (n = 1 omero distale, n = 2 radio distale, n = 1 radio prossimale, n = 1 dito mano), 1 nel sacro e 1 nell’ala iliaca. 24 pazienti sono stati trattati per lesione primitiva ed un paziente alla recidiva. Tutti i pazienti sono stati trattati chirurgicamente, 19 con curettage (76%), 5 con la resezione (20%), 1 con escissione tessuti molli (4%). conclusioni. Il denosumab si è mostrato efficace nella pratica clinica riducendo le dimensioni delle lesioni, rendendo possibile una procedura chirurgica meno invasiva e una buona preservazione della funzionalità articolare. Nonostante i risultati incoraggianti c’è da tener presente che il farmaco cambia la tecnica chirurgica con la necessità di una chirurgia “paziente specifica” e che le indicazioni di utilizzo del farmaco sono ancora confuse rendendo necessari studi in cieco e a lungo termine per confermare i tempi del trattamento e le possibili complicazioni nel lungo periodo riguardo l’utilizzo del farmaco

Efficacy of the Reactive Oxygen Species Generated by Immobilized TiO2 in the Photocatalytic Degradation of Diclofenac

We report on the photodegradation of diclofenac (DCF) by hydrothermal anatase nanocrystals either free or immobilized in porous silica matrix (TS) in connection to the type and amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in order to have deeper insight into their role in the photocatalysis and to provide an effective tool to implement the DCF mineralization. TiO2 and TS exhibit a remarkable efficiency in the DCF abatement, supporting that the utilization of anatase nanoparticles with the highly reactive {001}, {010}, and {101} exposed surfaces can be an effective way for enhancing the photooxidation even of the persistent pollutants. Furthermore, the hydrothermal TiO2, when immobilized in silica matrix, preserves its functional properties, combining high photoactivity with an easy technical use and recovery of the catalyst. The catalysts performances have been related to the presence of OH•, O21, and O2-• species by electron paramagnetic resonance spin-trap technique. The results demonstrated that the ROS concentration increases with the increase of photoactivity and indicated a significant involvement of O21 in the DCF degradation. The efficacy of TiO2 when immobilized on a silica matrix was associated with the high ROS life time and with the presence of singlet oxygen, which contributes to the complete photomineralization of DCF