Vinylogous aldol reaction of heterocyclic silyloxy dienes. Application in synthesis

A versatile, readily accessible triad of 2-enoxy silane synthons derived from furan, pyrrole, and thiophene is presented. These heterocycles, in reacting with carbonyl and carbonyl- related acceptors, act as vinylogous nucleophile modules, giving rise to diverse, functionality- rich, γ-substituted α,β-unsaturated carbonyl constructs. These, in turn, are invaluable platforms onto which further functional elements and chirality may be introduced. A couple of appealing applications—the variable construction of a repertoire of carbasugars and a library of annonaceous acetogenin segments—have been chosen to illustrate the viability of this vinylogous aldol approach

Intraoperative use of tranexamic acid to reduce transfusion rate in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy: double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial

Objectives To determine the efficacy of intraoperative treatment with low dose tranexamic acid in reducing the rate of perioperative transfusions in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy

Daily time use among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and unaffected controls: Results from the DiAPAson multicentric project

OBJECTIVE: In the framework of daily time use, physical activity, and interpersonal relationships in patients with schizophrenia project, we aimed to investigate (a) within and between-group differences in daily time use of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and unaffected controls, stratifying them by age, sex, and employment status; (b) the associations between daily time use, the severity of psychiatric symptoms, and psychosocial functioning amongst those with SSD. METHOD: From October 2020 to October 2021, 306 outpatients and 312 individuals living in residential facilities (RFs) with SSD were recruited from 37 centers across Italy and compared on a measure of daily time use with 113 people unaffected by mental health problems. Statistical analyses included chi-squared tests, analysis of variance tests, t tests, Pearson’s correlations, and nonparametric corresponding tests. RESULTS: Individuals with SSD spent significantly more time in sedentary activities, leisure, and religious activities than unaffected controls, independent of age, sex, and employment status. Unaffected controls and outpatients spent more time engaged in productive activities than patients in RFs. Among the latter group, time spent in productive activities decreased significantly after 45 years of age, while time spent in self-care activities increased. Spending time engaged in sedentary activities was associated with greater severity of psychiatric symptoms and lower levels of functioning. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study provides a deep understanding of how individuals with SSD spend their time and how this is associated with the severity of their mental health problems. These findings highlight the need for proactive rehabilitation programs to promote productive occupation and social inclusion of people with SSD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved

Direct vinylogous Michael addition of prochiral 3-alkylideneoxindoles to nitroolefins

3-Alkylidene-2-oxindoles represent a simple, yet enabling subfamily of indole alkaloids, and their ability to react as electron-poor acceptors has largely been investigated. In contrast, their utility as pronucleophilic synthons remains elusive. In this context, the present describes the successful execution of the direct, organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of prochiral 3-alkylideneoxindoles to nitroolefins

Needs for care of residents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and association with daily activities and mood monitored with experience sampling method: the DIAPASON study

Aims: Care needs represent an essential paradigm in planning residential facility (RF) interventions. However, possible disagreements between users and staff are critical issues in service delivery. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) tracks experiences in the real world and real time. This study aimed to evaluate the care needs of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) in RFs and its association with daily activities and mood monitored using the ESM. Methods: As part of the DIAPASON project, 313 residents with SSD were recruited from 99 Italian RFs. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Care needs, the severity of symptomatology and negative symptoms were assessed. Fifty-six residents were also assessed for 7 consecutive days using the mobile ESM. Descriptive, agreement, predictor and moderator analyses were conducted. Results: The staff rated a higher number of total and met needs than service users (p < 0.001). Only a slight agreement between users and staff on unmet needs was found in self-care (k = 0.106) and information (k = 0.100) needs, while a moderate agreement was found in accommodation (k = 0.484), food (k = 0.406), childcare (k = 0.530), physical health (k = 0.470), telephone (k = 0.458) and transport (k = 0.425) needs. Older age (-0.15; p < 0.01), longer SSD diagnosis (-0.16; p < 0.01), higher collaboration (-0.16; p < 0.01) and lower symptomatology (-0.16; p < 0.01) decreased the number of unmet needs, while being a female (0.27; p < 0.05) and a shorter length of stay in an RF (0.54; p < 0.001) increased the number of unmet needs. A higher number of unmet needs was associated with a lower amount of time spent in leisure activities or reporting a positive mood: on the contrary, more unmet needs were associated with a greater amount of time spent in religious or non-productive activities. The associations between unmet needs rated by staff and users and momentary mood as assessed using the ESM were not moderated by the severity of symptomatology. Conclusions: Although care needs are fundamental in planning residential activities aimed at recovery-oriented rehabilitation, RF interventions did not fully meet users' needs, and some disagreements on unmet needs between users and staff were reported. Further efforts are necessary to overcome Italian RF limits in delivering rehabilitative interventions defined by real users' needs to facilitate users' productivity and progress towards personal recovery

DAily time use, Physical Activity, quality of care and interpersonal relationships in patients with Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (DiAPASon): an Italian multicentre study

Background: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are ranked among the leading causes of disabilities worldwide. Many people with SSD spend most of their daily time being inactive, and this is related to the severity of negative symptoms. Here, we present the 3-year DiAPAson project aimed at (1) evaluating the daily time use among patients with SSD living in Residential Facilities (RFs) compared to outpatients with SSD and to the general population (Study 1); (2) evaluating the quality of staff-patient relationships, its association with specific patient outcomes and the quality of care provided in RFs (Study 2); and (3) assessing daily activity patterns in residential patients, outpatients with SSD and healthy controls using real-time methodologies (Study 3). Methods: Study 1 will include 300 patients with SSD living in RFs and 300 outpatients; data obtained in these clinical populations will be compared with normative data obtained by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in the national survey on daily time use. Time use assessments will consist of daily diaries asking participants to retrospectively report time spent in different activities. In Study 2, a series of questionnaires will be administered to 300 residential patients (recruited for Study 1) to evaluate the quality of care and staff-patient relationships, level of well-being and burnout of RFs' staff, and quality of RFs using a European standardized questionnaire (QuIRC-SA). In Study 3, the daily time use will be evaluated in a subgroup of 50 residential patients, 50 outpatients and 50 healthy controls using the Experience Sampling Method approach (participants will complete a brief questionnaire -about time use, mood and perceived energy- on a smartphone 8 times a day for 1 week) to compare retrospective and real-time reports. Moreover, their level of physical activity, sleep patterns, and energy expenditure will be monitored through a multi-sensor device. Discussion: This project is highly innovative because it combines different types of assessments (i.e., retrospective and real-time reports; multi-sensor monitoring) to trace an accurate picture of daily time use and levels of physical activity that will help identify the best therapeutic options promoting daily activities and physical exercise in patients with SSD. Trial registration: ISRCTN registry ID ISRCTN21141466

Inkjet-printed graphene Hall mobility measurements and low-frequency noise characterization

We report room-temperature Hall mobility measurements, low-temperature magnetoresistance analysis, and low-frequency noise characterization of inkjet-printed graphene films on fused quartz and SiO2/Si substrates. We found that thermal annealing in vacuum at 450 ◦C is a necessary step in order to stabilize the Hall voltage across the devices, allowing their electrical characterization. The printed films present a minimum sheet resistance of 23.3 Ω/sq after annealing, and are n-type doped, with carrier concentrations in the low 1020 cm−3 range. The charge carrier mobility is found to increase with increasing film thickness, reaching a maximum value of 33 cm2 V−1 s−1 for a 480 nm-thick film printed on SiO2/Si. Low-frequency noise characterization shows a 1/f noise behavior and a Hooge parameter in the range of 0.1 – 1. These results represent the first in-depth electrical and noise characterization of transport in inkjet-printed graphene films, able to provide physical insights on the mechanisms at play

Abdominal Computed Tomography Imaging Findings in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Year-Long Experience and Associations Revealed by Explainable Artificial Intelligence.

The aim of this retrospective study is to assess any association between abdominal CT findings and the radiological stage of COVID-19 pneumonia, pulmonary embolism and patient outcomes. We included 158 adult hospitalized COVID-19 patients between 1 March 2020 and 1 March 2021 who underwent 206 abdominal CTs. Two radiologists reviewed all CT images. Pathological findings were classified as acute or not. A subset of patients with inflammatory pathology in ACE2 organs (bowel, biliary tract, pancreas, urinary system) was identified. The radiological stage of COVID pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, overall days of hospitalization, ICU admission and outcome were registered. Univariate statistical analysis coupled with explainable artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were used to discover associations between variables. The most frequent acute findings were bowel abnormalities

Sintesi di nuove strutture macrocicliche a ridotta libertà conformazionale

L'obiettivo della nostra ricerca consiste nella creazione di nuove strutture macrocicliche a ridotta libertà conformazionale che incorporino la sequenza consensus RGD per mezzo di una funzione γ-amminoacidica supportata da anelli ciclopentanici (Acpca), ossidrilati e non. Tali scaffold amminoacidici possono essere visti di fatto come mimetici dell’acido γ- amminobutanoico bloccato in una conformazione a W da un ponte α,γ-etilene o idrossietilene. La valutazione biologica in vitro dei ciclo-pseudopeptidi mediante test di binding verso i recettori αvβ3 e αvβ5 isolati, l’approfondito studio strutturale in soluzione via NMR e, infine, studi di docking eseguiti sulla struttura a raggi X del segmento extracellulare dell’integrina αvβ3 complessata con il composto di riferimento EMD121974 hanno completato il nostro studio

Disciplinary problems among high achiever students: the types and the causes

This qualitative study has been done to 24 teachers and 72 students from various secondary schools in Penang, Malaysia, in order to investigate the effect of between class ability grouping (BCAG) on high achiever secondary school students. Studies reported that BCAG triggered correspondence bias among teachers, which eventually affect them to show different perception and expectations towards high achiever classes (HAC) and low achiever classes (LAC) students. Symbolic interaction theories explained that individuals tend to be affected by others’ expectation, and therefore behave in a way they were expected to. Therefore, according to the previous studies on BCAG, it was assumed that HAC students would achieve better and would not be significantly involved in disciplinary problems. After semi-structured interview had been conducted in order to collect the data, and two-cycled analyses method, namely In-Vivo and Thematic Analyses had been operated in order to analyze the massive amount of qualitative data, the it was discovered that HAC students were involved with disciplinary problems, such as being disrespectful to teachers, paying less attention in the classroom, neglecting assignments and doing external work during classes. Other findings of this study showed that the disciplinary problems among HAC are related to their self-esteem types due to locus of control difference, as well as bigger issues apart from the competition among themselves. School management system, BCAG itself, reciprocal envy between HAC and LAC students, as well as their inclination towards tuition centers contributed to disciplinary problems among HAC students