UV and Visible Light-Driven Production of Hydroxyl Radicals by Reduced Forms of N, F, and P Codoped Titanium Dioxide

The photocatalytic activities of reduced titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials have been investigated by measuring their ability to produce hydroxyl radicals under UV and visible light irradiation. Degussa P25 TiO2 was doped with nitrogen (N), fluorine (F), and/or phosphorus (P) and then subjected to surface modification employing a thermo-physicochemical process in the presence of reducing agent sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The reduced TiO2 materials were characterized by a number of X-ray, spectroscopic and imaging methods. Surface doping of TiO2 was employed to modulate the band gap energies into the visible wavelength region for better overlap with the solar spectrum. Hydroxyl radical generation, central to TiO2 photocatalytic water purification applications, was quantitated using coumarin as a trap under UV and visible light irradiation of the reduced TiO2 materials. At 350 nm irradiation, the yield of hydroxyl radicals generated by the reduced forms of TiO2 was nearly 90% of hydroxyl radicals generated by the Degussa P25 TiO2. Hydroxyl radical generation by these reduced forms of TiO2 was also observed under visible light irradiation (419 and 450 nm). These results demonstrated that simple surface modification of doped TiO2 can lead to visible light activity, which is important for more economical solar-driven applications of TiO2 photocatalysis

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Possibly Associated with Emerging Zoonotic Vaccinia Virus in a Farming Community, Colombia

In 2014, vaccinia virus (VACV) infections were identified among farmworkers in Caquetá Department, Colombia; additional cases were identified in Cundinamarca Department in 2015. VACV, an orthopoxvirus (OPXV) used in the smallpox vaccine, has caused sporadic bovine and human outbreaks in countries such as Brazil and India. In response to the emergence of this disease in Colombia, we surveyed and collected blood from 134 farmworkers and household members from 56 farms in Cundinamarca Department. We tested serum samples for OPXV antibodies and correlated risk factors with seropositivity by using multivariate analyses. Fifty-two percent of farmworkers had OPXV antibodies; this percentage decreased to 31% when we excluded persons who would have been eligible for smallpox vaccination. The major risk factors for seropositivity were municipality, age, smallpox vaccination scar, duration of time working on a farm, and animals having vaccinia-like lesions. This investigation provides evidence for possible emergence of VACV as a zoonosis in South America.https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0000318507https://scholar.google.com.co/citations?user=cU2KyT4AAAAJ&hl=enhttps://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/gruplac/jsp/visualiza/visualizagr.jsp?nro=00000000008981https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-054

Sex- and age-related differences in the management and outcomes of chronic heart failure: an analysis of patients from the ESC HFA EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Aims: This study aimed to assess age- and sex-related differences in management and 1-year risk for all-cause mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: Of 16 354 patients included in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry, 9428 chronic HF patients were analysed [median age: 66 years; 28.5% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 37%]. Rates of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were high (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: 85.7%, 88.7% and 58.8%, respectively). Crude GDMT utilization rates were lower in women than in men (all differences: P\ua0 64 0.001), and GDMT use became lower with ageing in both sexes, at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT prescription; however, age >75 years was a significant predictor of GDMT underutilization. Rates of all-cause mortality were lower in women than in men (7.1% vs. 8.7%; P\ua0=\ua00.015), as were rates of all-cause hospitalization (21.9% vs. 27.3%; P\ua075 years. Conclusions: There was a decline in GDMT use with advanced age in both sexes. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT or adverse outcomes. However, age >75 years independently predicted lower GDMT use and higher all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF 6445%

Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Mechanothermal synthesis of Ag/TiO2 for photocatalytic methyl orange degradation and hydrogen production

Photocatalysis offers a promising route to address the challenges of future energy production and anthropogenic environmental pollution. Here we demonstrated the synthesis of a high activity Ag/TiO2 photocatalyst through a two-step, sol-gel and mechanothermal decomposition method employing a silver acetate precursor. Bulk and surface characterization revealed the formation of dispersed metallic silver nanoparticles (~9 nm diameter) decorating anatase crystallites (~14 nm) which stabilized a significant concentration of Ti3+ surface species. Synergy between silver and titania enhanced the photophysical properties, narrowing the band gap and suppressing charge-carrier recombination. Ag/TiO2 exhibited good visible light activity and excellent stability over 3 cycles for the aqueous phase photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange dye (38 �mol/h/gcat), and excellent hydrogen production from water splitting (910 �mol/h/gcat)

Mesoporous NiO/Ni₂O₃ nanoflowers for favorable visible light photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol

The present study highlights the treatment of industrial effluent, which is one of the most life-threatening factors. Herein, for the first time, two types of NiO (green and black) photocatalysts were prepared by facile chemical precipitation and thermal decomposition methods separately. The synthesized NiO materials were demonstrated with various instrumental techniques for finding their characteristics. The X-ray diffraction studies (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of Ni2O3 in black NiO material. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images engrained the nanospherical shaped green NiO and nanoflower shaped black NiO/Ni2O3 materials. Further, the band gap of black NiO nanoflower was 2.9 eV compared to green NiO having 3.8 eV obtained from UV–vis spectroscopy. Meanwhile, both NiO catalysts were employed for visible light degradation, which yields a 60.3% efficiency of black NiO comparable to a 4.3% efficiency of green NiO within 180 min of exposure. The higher degrading efficiency of black NiO was due to the presence of Ni2O3 and the development of pores, which was evident from the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) method. Type IV hysteresis was observed in black NiO nanoflowers with high surface area and pore size measurements. This black NiO/Ni2O3 synthesized from the thermal decomposition method has promoted better photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol upon exposure to visible light and is applicable for other industrial pollutants.</p

Influence of mesoporous defect induced mixed valent NiO (Ni2+/Ni3+) TiO2 nanocomposite for non enzymatic glucose biosensors

An extraordinary sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor has been demonstrated based on the electrochemically highly stable NiO-TiO2 mixed oxide comprising the defect induced mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles with Ni2+ and Ni3+ ions scattered on the surface. The defects on TiO2 nanoparticles have been successfully introduced using NiO to investigate the interfacial properties between NiO and TiO2. This defect induced interfacial behavior was characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses. The obtained mixed oxide NiO-TiO2 nanocomposite dispersion was drop casted on glassy carbon electrode to form a NiO-TiO2/GCE modified electrode for non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The defects along with high surface area of mixed oxide enabled excellent electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation with sensitivity of 24.85 mu A mM(-1) cm(-2) and detection limit of 0.7 mu M (S/N = 3). The Ni ions scattered on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles, enabling effective charge transfer process, circumventing the agglomeration during prolonged detection, and resulting the unprecedented long-term stability and sensitivity. Thus, this defect induced mesoporous metal oxide nanocomposite is an outstanding candidate for application as redox active material in electrochemical biosensors.CONICYT CONICYT/FONDAP/15110019 Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University RG-1436-03

Photosynthesis of H-2 and its storage on the Bandgap Engineered Mesoporous (Ni2+/Ni3+)O @ TiO2 heterostructure

A noble-metal free and surface defect-induced mesoporous mixed valent NiO decorated TiO2 heterostructure with tuned bandgap has been successfully prepared. Its outstanding visible-light driven hydrogen evolution and its excellent H-2 storage ability have been examined and confirmed. The formation of oxygen vacancies by surface defect creates the Ni3+ and Ti3+ on the interface of the heterostructure induce the efficient H-2 evolution, benchmarked by 1200% enhancement in catalytic performance. The underlying chemistries include the near-unity occupancy of e(g) orbital (t(2g)(6) e(g)(1)) of Ni3+ which speeds up the electron transfer and significantly promote the excellent electron-hole separation efficiency, establishes the outstanding overall charge-transfer efficiency and long-term photocatalytic activity in the visible light spectrum. Multiple Ti3+ adsorption centers in the structure attract multiple intact H-2 molecules per each center via a sigma - pi bonding motif - namely the Kubas interaction - which leads to 480% higher H-2 adsorption capability against the performance of the pristine mesoporous TiO2. Not only the significant results, the study also provide an air-stable synthetic method on the basis of low-cost and abundant materials, which are strongly favoured for scaling up production.Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 11170414 ANID/FONDAP/1511001

Hydrogen adsorption properties of Ag decorated TiO2 nanomaterials

In this work, we present the synthesis of Ag doped TiO2 materials. The products are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and hydrogen adsorption. The Ag/TiO2 materials exhibit 3.65 times higher in hydrogen adsorption capability compared with the non-doped TiO2 materials thank to the existence of Ti3+ species, which are Kubas-type hydrogen adsorption centers, and the Ag nanoparticles which provide spillover effects. We believe that this is the first time that both Kubas-type adsorption and spillover are exploited in the design of novel hydrogen storage materials.CONICYT CONICYT/FONDAP/1511001