Impact of Vanadium Complexes Treatment on the Oxidative Stress Factors in Wistar Rats Plasma

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of vanadium complexes on triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (Chol), uric acid (UA), urea (U), and antioxidant parameters: nonenzymatic (FRAP—ferric reducing ability of plasma, and reduced glutathione—GSH) and enzymatic (glutathione peroxidase—GPx, catalase—CAT, and GPx/CAT ratio) activity in the plasma of healthy male Wistar rats. Three vanadium complexes: [VO(bpy)2]SO4·2H2O, [VO(4,4′Me2bpy)2]SO4·2H2O, and Na[VO(O2)2(bpy)]·8H2O are administered by gavage during 5 weeks in two different diets such as control (C) and high fatty (F) diets. Changes of biochemical and antioxidants parameters are measured in plasma. All three vanadium complexes statistically decrease the body mass growth in comparison to the control and fatty diet. In plasma GSH was statistically increased in all vanadium complexes-treated rats from control and fatty group in comparison to only control group. Calculated GPX/CAT ratio was the highest in the control group in comparison to others

Efficacy and safety of high-dose long-acting repeatable octreotide as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in patients with acromegaly not adequately controlled by conventional regimens: results of an open-label, multicentre study

Introduction: Long-acting repeatable (LAR) octreotide i.m. is a potent, synthetic somatostatin analogue (SSA) that requires less frequent dosing and offers quality of life (QoL) benefits in acromegaly patients compared to its shorter-acting predecessor. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in acromegalic patients with pituitary adenomas following previous failure of conventional SSA treatment. Material and methods: After three months of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® monotherapy (40 mg), patients who achieved biochemical control (n = 7) continued to receive the same treatment for an additional four months, whereas uncontrolled patients were randomised to receive high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® in combination with pegvisomant (n = 31) or cabergoline (n = 32). Outcomes included biochemical response at eight months, QoL, and safety. Results: After three months, 3 of 68 (4.4%) evaluable patients achieved a biochemical control (BC) as assessed by levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1. At eight months, 4 of 67 (6.0%) patients achieved BC, including one receiving monotherapy and three receiving Sandostatin® LAR® plus cabergoline. Partial response rate, improvements in acromegaly signs and symptoms, and changes in QoL were similar for all three groups. All treatments were well tolerated with a slight excess of adverse events in the combination arms. There were no deaths or serious adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline is a feasible salvage option in patients with pituitary adenomas not adequately controlled on conventional SSA regimens

Comparison of the barrier height measurements by the Powell method with the ΦMS measurement results, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2005, nr 1

n this work, we have compared the barrier height measurements carried out using the Powell method with the photoelectric effective contact potential difference (&phiMS) measurement results. The photoelectric measurements were performed on the samples that were previously applied in the investigation of the influence of stress on the duration of annealing in nitrogen. This paper shows that the results of barrier height measurement using the Powell method differ significantly from the &phi(MS) measurement results

Effects of stress annealing on the electrical and the optical properties of MOS devices, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2005, nr 1

In this paper we show the results of a study of the effects of high-temperature stress annealing in nitrogen on the refraction index of SiO2 layers and electrical properties in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. We have experimentally characterized the dependence of the reduced effective contact potential difference (ECPD), the effective oxide charge density (Neff), and the mid-gap interface trap density (Dit) on the annealing conditions. Subsequently, we have correlated such properties with the dependence of the refraction index and oxide stress on the annealing conditions and silicon dioxide thickness. Also, the dependence of mechanical stress in the Si-SiO2 system on the oxidation and annealing conditions has been experimentally determined. We consider the contributions of the thermal-relaxation and nitrogen incorporation processes in determining changes in the SiO2 layer refractive index and the electrical properties with annealing time. This description is consistent with other annealing studies carried out in argon, where only the thermal relaxation process is present

Variability of the local ΦMS values over the gate area of MOS devices, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2005, nr 1

The local value distributions of the effective contact potential difference (ECPD or the øMS factor) over thegate area of Al-SiO2-Si structures were investigated for thefirst time. A modification of the photoelectric øMS measurement method was developed, which allows determination of local values of this parameter in different parts of metaloxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures. It was found that the øMS distribution was such, that its values were highest far away from the gate edge regions (e.g., in the middle of a square gate), lower in the vicinity of gate edges and still lower in the vicinity of gate corners. These results were confirmed by several independent photoelectric and electrical measurement methods. A model is proposed of this distribution in which the experimentally determined øMS(x; y) distributions, found previously, are attributed to mechanical stress distributions in MOS structures. Model equations are derived and used to calculate øMS(x; y) distributions for various structures. Results of these calculations remain in agreement with experimentally obtained distributions. Comparison of various characteristics calculated using the model with the results of photoelectric and electrical measurements of a wide range of Al-SiO2-Si structures support the validity of the model

efficacy and safety of high dose long acting repeatable octreotide as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in patients with acromegaly not adequately controlled by conventional regimens results of an open label multicenter study

Introduction: Long-acting repeatable (LAR) octreotide i.m. is a potent, synthetic somatostatin analogue (SSA) that requires less frequent dosing and offers quality of life (QoL) benefits in acromegaly patients compared to its shorter-acting predecessor. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in acromegalic patients with pituitary adenomas following previous failure of conventional SSA treatment. Material and methods: After three months of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® monotherapy (40 mg), patients who achieved biochemical control (n = 7) continued to receive the same treatment for an additional four months, whereas uncontrolled patients were randomised to receive high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® in combination with pegvisomant (n = 31) or cabergoline (n = 32). Outcomes included biochemical response at eight months, QoL, and safety. Results: After three months, 3 of 68 (4.4%) evaluable patients achieved a biochemical control (BC) as assessed by levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1. At eight months, 4 of 67 (6.0%) patients achieved BC, including one receiving monotherapy and three receiving Sandostatin® LAR® plus cabergoline. Partial response rate, improvements in acromegaly signs and symptoms, and changes in QoL were similar for all three groups. All treatments were well tolerated with a slight excess of adverse events in the combination arms. There were no deaths or serious adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline is a feasible salvage option in patients with pituitary adenomas not adequately controlled on conventional SSA regimens

Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other regions/countries

Liquid levothyroxine improves thyroid control in patients with different hypothyroidism aetiology and variable adherence — case series and review

It is estimated that hypothyroidism treatment may be either suboptimal or excessive in about 32–45% patients treated with L-thyroxine (LT4). There are multiple possible causes of poor control of hypothyroidism, including narrow LT4 therapeutic index, food and drug interactions, comorbidities, and patient non-adherence. Some of these obstacles could possibly be overcome with the novel liquid LT4 formulation. Liquid LT4 reaches maximum blood concentration about 30 minutes faster than the tablet form. Faster pharmacokinetics might lead to more efficient LT4 absorption, as suggested by a recent real-world study in patients with primary and central hypothyroidism. Liquid LT4 treatment led to increased free thyroxine (FT4) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) with decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentration and substantially improved quality of life for the patients. Herein we present a series of 31 patients with hypothyroidism of different aetiologies treated with the novel liquid LT4 formulation in standard clinical care in light of the latest scientific publications on liquid LT4 formula. We observed normalization of thyroid function tests shortly after introduction of liquid LT4, irrespective of concurrent diseases or concomitant medications that could diminish LT4 absorption. In more detail, the treatment with liquid LT4 managed to normalize thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations in patients without any known causes of LT4 absorption disturbances, as well as in those with malabsorption: with gastric bypass, partial small and large intestine resection, scleroderma, gluten intolerance, celiac disease, atrophic gastritis, and polytherapy. In conclusion, considering many factors disturbingLT4 absorption, hypothyroidism therapy with liquid LT4 seems to be a particularly effective option.