Fibres from blends of epoxidized natural rubber and polylactic acid by the electrospinning process: compatibilization and surface texture

Fibres were electrospun from blends of an epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) with a minor amount of a crystalline grade of polylactic acid (PLA), using a graft copolymer compatibilizer (ENR-g-JM) produced by reaction processing of a mixture of PLA and monoamine terminated polypropylene glycol (Jeffamine M600). The incorporation of PLA into the elastomer spinning solution in the form of a blend was necessary to obtain the required solution properties and to establish the appropriate operational conditions for the successful electrospinning of fibres. The addition of a small quantity of compatibilizer to the ENR/PLA blend reduced the severity of surface roughness of the fibres. Moreover, the use of monoamine terminated polypropylene glycol alone, as a plasticizer, was also found to exert a control on the development of surface texture during electrospinning. The rate of solvent induced crystallization in the swollen fibres jet was identified as the factor determining the surface topography

Clinical profile and outcomes of primary percutaneous coronary intervention in young patients

AbstractBackgroundThe epidemiology of acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (STEMI) has been modified in recent years, focusing on young people. Our goal was compare the clinical profile, laboratory, angiographic, and 30-day clinical outcomes of patients ≤ 40 years with those > 40 years undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI).MethodsProspective cohort study of consecutive patients undergoing pPCI between 2009 and 2011.ResultsA total of 1,055 patients were included, 3.3% of them ≤ 40 years. Young patients were more often black, smokers and with a family history of coronary artery disease, and less often hypertensive and dyslipidemic. In patients ≤ 40 years, leukocyte count and ultrasensitive troponin levels at admission were higher, and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, lower. The left anterior descending artery as a culprit vessel and left ventricular ejection fraction did not differ between groups. Although the TIMI 3 flow pre-intervention was similar, young people showed higher prevalence of myocardial blush 3 pre-procedure. The door-to-balloon time was lower in younger patients (1.0 hour [0.8-1.4 hour] vs. 1.3 hour [0.9-1.7 hour]; p = 0.03). At 30 days, patients ≤ 40 years had a mortality of 0% vs. 8.8% for patients > 40 years (p = 0.07).ConclusionsPatients ≤ 40 years with STEMI and undergoing pPCI show differences in clinical, angiographic and procedural characteristics compared to those > 40 years. In this analysis, representative of the current medical practice, the 30-day mortality of these patients was very low

Infection Cycle of Artichoke Italian Latent Virus in Tobacco Plants : Meristem Invasion and Recovery from Disease Symptoms

Peer reviewe

Management of major bleeding in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants: From experience to standardized protocols

Evaluation of clinical-laboratory-therapeutic management and related clinical outcomes (thrombotic-hemorrhagic complications) of patients undergoing treatment with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) during major bleeding. This is a two-year observational retrospective study. 27 cases of major bleeding in patients undergoing a therapy with DOACs presented to the Emergency Department of Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova (Reggio Emilia Hospital). 16 cases (59%) underwent reversal of anticoagulation treatment: 19% using specific reversal therapy (idarucizumab) and 81% using non-specific agents [4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC)]. Routine laboratory data were available for all the cases, but only for some patients it was possible to obtain the plasma dosage of the oral anticoagulant. Laboratory data confirm rapid correction of activated partial thromboplastin time within one hour from the reversal of anticoagulation with idarucizumab. The absence of correlation between standard blood tests and plasma drug dosage in patients treated with factor Xa Inhibitors was confirmed too. The management of major bleeding during treatment with DOACs using reversal therapy (idarucizumab) and non-specific reversal agent (4F-PCC) showed minimal thrombotic (0.3%) and hemorrhagic (0.3%) complications at 90 days; no events occurred after 6 months

Epidemiology and economic impact of moderate and severe neurotrophic keratopathy in Italy

Neurotrophic keratopathy is a rare corneal disease caused by impaired corneal innervation. There is a paucity of published evidence on neurotrophic keratopathy with no published studies on the economics of neurotrophic keratopathy in the Italian or international literature. This cost analysis aimed at assessing the economic impact of moderate (persistent epithelial defect) and severe (corneal ulcer without perforation) neurotrophic keratopathy from the perspective of the National Health Service and patients in Italy. Treatment algorithm and health resource use information were collected from a panel of nine experts from Italian centres specialized in ocular/corneal conditions. National ambulatory and inpatient hospital tariffs were applied to units of service, and Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA) published prices to pharmaceuticals. Mean annual per patient cost was derived as an average cost weighted by the proportion of patients on each respective treatment and length of the treatment. The National Health Service + patient perspective additionally included patients' out-of-pocket expenses. The mean annual estimated National Health Service cost of treatment was €5167 (persistent epithelial defect) and €10,885 (corneal ulcer without perforation) per patient. Costs were largely driven by ambulatory visits and hospital interventions. The mean annual estimated National Health Service + patient cost was €5731 (persistent epithelial defect) and €11,478 (corneal ulcer without perforation) per patient, including cost of out-of-pocket expenses for pharmaceuticals and therapeutic contact lenses. Mean annual cost of neurotrophic keratopathy in Italy doubles with disease severity. Further research is warranted to provide more insight especially into societal costs

Validation of the 3-variable prognostic score (3-PS) in mCRPC patients treated with 223 Radium-dichloride: a national multicenter study

Objective: Radium-223 (223Ra) has been approved for treatment in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostatic cancer (mCRPC) and bone metastasis. This α-emitting radionuclide has a beneficial effect on pain and is also capable to increase overall survival (OS). Several studies evaluated the prognostic value of different biomarkers at baseline, such as serum values, imaging parameters or pain. To date, however, clinicians lack a validated and simple system to assess which patients will most likely benefit from 223Ra treatment. The 3-variable prognostic score (3-PS), proposed in a single-center study in 2017 classifies patients in five prognostic groups with a specific OS. This study aims to validate the 3-PS in a larger multicenter population. Methods: Four hundred and thirty mCRPC patients treated with 223Ra from six different centers were analyzed. The 3-PS score consists of the collection of baseline hemoglobin, prostatic specific antigen and Eastern cooperative oncology group performance status and was initially applied to the whole population (total group). The score was then validated on the 338 patient's subgroup (clean group) obtained by subtracting the 92 patients enrolled for the original study of the 3-PS score. This purified group served as further validation evidence. Results: Statistical analysis showed that the 3-PS score was valid on the total group as well as in the clean group as the AUC estimated (0.74) falls within the CI of the AUC calculated on the validation sample (95% CI 0.66-0.82). Conclusion: This study confirms the validity of the 3-PS score for mCRPC patients. This score is simple, noninvasive and affordable and can be easily used to select patients that will most probably complete 223Ra treatment. In addition, this tool provides an exact estimate of life expectancy in terms of OS

Predicting Structural and Functional Sites in Proteins by Searching for Maximum-Weight Cliques

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Nickel-based nanoporous electrodes for water treatment

In this work nickel (Ni) nanoporous electrodes have been prepared by selective electrochemical dissolution of copper (Cu) from Ni-Cu deposits. The anodic dissolution of Cu was carried out in aqueous solutions containing boric acid (0.5M) using both constant voltage and pulsed voltage waveforms. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Auger electron Spectroscopy (AES) showed that porous nickel foams with average size of 100-300 nm have been obtained under the operative conditions adopted. The electrodes have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) in alkaline solutions in order to investigate the electrocatalytic activity of porous nickel electrodes towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the removal of phenol, used as model of pollutant compounds. The results demonstrated that nickel porous electrodes show electrocatalytical activity towards OER and are able to decrease the concentration of phenol in alkaline solutions

Probing the thermal transitions of lactobionic acid and effects of sample history by DSC analysis

© 2019 American Pharmacists Association® We report the results of an ad hoc evaluation of the thermal transition and physical state of lactobionic acid, carried out by differential scanning calorimetry, which was motivated by the confusion about its physical state in relation to the “melting point.” This work establishes that lactobionic acid is a molecular glass characterized by a glass-liquid transition at around 125°C and 2 minor transitions, respectively, at around 70°C and 40°C. The temperature at which these latter transitions appear and the intensity of the enthalpic peaks, associated with physical aging, are sensitive to the thermal history of the sample and to the presence of small quantities of absorbed water