Progressive ataxia with oculo-palatal tremor and optic atrophy

The final publication is available at Springer via doi: 10.​1007/​s00415-013-7136-

Patients' Perception of Quality of Pre-Operative Informed Consent in Athens, Greece: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: We sought to perform a study to record and evaluate patients' views of the way surgeons communicate informed consent (IC) in Greece. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A prospective pilot study was carried out in Athens from 9/2007 to 4/2008. The study sample was extracted from patients, operated by eight different surgeons, who volunteered to fill in a post-surgery self-report questionnaire on IC. A composite delivered information index and a patient-physician relationship index were constructed for the purposes of the analysis. In total, 77 patients (42 males) volunteered to respond to the questionnaire. The delivered information index scores ranged from 3 to 10, the mean score was 8, and the standard deviation (SD) was 1.9. All patients were aware of their underlying diagnosis and reason for surgery. However, a considerable proportion of the respondents (14.3%) achieved a score below or equal to 5. The patient-physician relationship scores ranged from 0 to 20, the mean score was 16 and the standard deviation (SD) was 4.3. The better the patient-physician relationship, the more information was finally delivered to the patient from the physician (Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient was 0.4 and p<0.001). Delivered information index was significantly higher among participants who comprehended the right to informed consent, compared to participants who did not (p<0.001), and among participants who were given information regarding other possible therapeutic options (p = 0.001). 43% of the respondents answered that less than 10 minutes were spent on the consent process, 58.4% of patients stated that they had not been informed about other possible therapeutic choices and 28.6% did not really comprehend their legal rights to IC. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the inherent limitations and the small sample size that do not permit to draw any firm conclusions, results indicate that a successful IC process may be associated with specific elements such as the patient-physician relationship, the time spent by the physician to inform the patient, a participant's comprehension of the right to IC and the provision of information regarding other possible therapeutic options

Cross-Cutting Technologies for Developing Innovative BIPV Systems in the Framework of the PVadapt Project

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. In the framework of the PVadapt H2020 project, a sustainable and fully adaptable building-integrated photovoltaic–thermal (BIPVT) system of substantially lower cost than conventional in-market solutions will be developed. A flexible automated process will be employed to produce PV modules as well as elements with integrated heat pipe-based heat recovery. These active energy components will be combined with passive components with structural, thermal, and other functions to produce prefabricated modules. A smart envelope System, featuring grid connectivity, load prediction/shifting, and insolation/temperature predictive algorithms, will be integrated in the BIPVT to maximize energy efficiency and cost saving. The unit cost of production, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and the payback period of the multifunctional BIPVT module will be below 200 €/m2, 2 ct/kWh, and 10 years, respectively.European Commission for project PVadapt under Grant Agreement number 818342

Razvoj i vrednovanje plutajućih tableta norfloksacina s produljenim zadržavanjem u želucu

Floating matrix tablets of norfloxacin were developed to prolong gastric residence time, leading to an increase in drug bioavailability. Tablets were prepared by the wet granulation technique, using polymers such as hydroxy propyl methylcellulose (HPMCK4M, HPMCK100M) and xanthan gum. Tablets were evaluated for their physical characteristics viz., hardness, thickness, friability, and mass variation, drug content and floating properties. Further, tablets were studied for in vitro drug release characteristics for 9 hours. The tablets exhibited controlled and prolonged drug release profiles while floating over the dissolution medium. Non-Fickian diffusion was confirmed as the drug release mechanism from these tablets, indicating that water diffusion and the polymer rearrangement played an essential role in drug release. The best formulation (F4) was selected based on in vitro characteristics and was used in vivo radiographic studies by incorporating BaSO4. These studies revealed that the tablets remained in the stomach for 180 ± 30 min in fasting human volunteers and indicated that gastric retention time was increased by the floating principle, which was considered desirable for absorption window drugs.Razvijene su plutajuće tablete norfloksacina koje se produljeno zadržavaju u želucu i time povećavaju bioraspoloživost. Tablete su pripravljene metodom vlažne granulacije, koristeći hidroksipropil metilcelulozu (HPMCK4M, HPMCK100M) i ksantan gumu. Tabletama su određena fizikalna svojstva (čvrstoća, debljina, lomljivost i varijacija mase) te sadržaj ljekovite tvari i plutajuća svojstva. Nadalje, praćeno je oslobađanje ljekovite tvari in vitro tijekom 9 h. Uočeno je da je oslobađanje kontrolirano i produljeno te da tablete plutaju u ispitivanom mediju. Mehanizam oslobađanja nije slijedio Fickov zakon, što ukazuje da difuzija vode i promjene u strukturi polimera imaju bitnu ulogu u oslobađanju ljekovite tvari. Najbolja formulacija (F4) in vitro uporabljena je s dodatkom barijevog sulfata za radiografska ispitivanja in vivo. Ispitivanja na volonterima koji su apstinirali od hrane pokazala su da primjena plutajućih tableta produljuje vrijeme zadržavanja u želucu na 180 ± 30 min

Relaxational study of poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-butyl acrylate) membrane by dielectric and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy

[EN] A poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-butyl acrylate) (60VP-40BA) membrane is synthesized as a tractable and hydrophilic material, obtaining a water-swelling percentage around 60%. An investigation of molecular mobility by means of differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis and broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) is fulfilled in the dry membrane. Dielectric and viscoelastic relaxation measurements are carried out on the 60VP-40BA sample at several frequencies between -150 and 150 degrees C. The dielectric spectrum shows several relaxation processes labelled gamma, beta and alpha in increasing order of temperature, whereas in the mechanical spectrum only the beta and alpha relaxation processes are completely defined. In the dielectric measurements, conductive contributions overlap the alpha-relaxation. The apparent activation energies have similar values for the beta-relaxation in both, the mechanical and the dielectric measurements. The beta process is a Johari-Golstein secondary relaxation and it is related to the local motions of the pyrrolidone group accompanied by the motion of the segments of the polymer backbone. The gamma process is connected with the butyl unit's motions, both located in the side chains of the polymer.BRF, MC, PO and MJS are grateful to CICYT for grant MAT2012-33483. FG and JMG thank the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad-FEDER (MAT2011-22544) and the Consejeria de Educacion-Junta de Castilla y Leon (BU001A10-2).Redondo Foj, MB.; Carsí Rosique, M.; Ortiz Serna, MP.; Sanchis Sánchez, MJ.; García, FC.; García. José Miguel (2013). Relaxational study of poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-butyl acrylate) membrane by dielectric and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS. 46(29):295304-1-295304-12. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/29/295304S295304-1295304-12462

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated

Voluntary self-poisoning as a cause of admission to a tertiary hospital internal medicine clinic in Piraeus, Greece within a year

BACKGROUND: Out of 1705 patients hospitalised for various reasons in the 3(rd) Internal Medicine Department of the Regional General Hospital of Nikaea, in Piraeus, 146(8,5%) persons were admitted for drug intoxication between November 1999 and November 2000. METHODS: On average, these persons [male 50(34,2%) – female 96(65,8%)] were admitted to the hospital within 3.7 hours after taking the drug. RESULTS: The drugs that were more frequently taken, alone or in combination with other drugs, were sedatives (67.1%), aspirins and analgesics (mainly paracetamol) (43.5%). 38.3% of patients had a mental illness history, 31.5% were in need of psychiatric help and 45.2% had made a previous suicide attempt. No death occurred during the above period and the outcome of the patients' health was normal. After mental state examination, the mental illnesses diagnosed were depression (20.96%), psychosis (15.32%), dysthymic disorder (16,2%), anxiety disorder (22.58%) and personality disorder (8.87%). CONCLUSIONS: Self-poisoning remains a crucial problem. The use of paracetamol and sedatives are particularly important in the population studied. Interpersonal psychiatric therapy may be a valuable treatment after people tried to poison themselves