Efficient Syntheses of Biobased Terephthalic Acid, p-Toluic Acid, and p-Methylacetophenone via One-Pot Catalytic Aerobic Oxidation of Monoterpene Derived Bio-p-cymene.

An efficient elevated-pressure catalytic oxidative process (2.5 mol % Co(NO3)2, 2.5 mol % MnBr2, air (30 bar), 125 °C, acetic acid, 6 h) has been developed to oxidize p-cymene into crystalline white terephthalic acid (TA) in ∼70% yield. Use of this mixed Co2+/Mn2+ catalytic system is key to obtaining high 70% yields of TA at relatively low reaction temperatures (125 °C) in short reaction times (6 h), which is likely to be due to the synergistic action of bromine and nitrate radicals in the oxidative process. Recycling studies have demonstrated that the mixed metal catalysts present in recovered mother liquors could be recycled three times in successive p-cymene oxidation reactions with no loss in catalytic activity or TA yield. Partial oxidation of p-cymene to give p-methylacetophenone (p-MA) in 55-60% yield can be achieved using a mixed CoBr2/Mn(OAc)2 catalytic system under 1 atm air for 24 h, while use of Co(NO3)2/MnBr2 under 1 atm O2 for 24 h gave p-toluic acid in 55-60% yield. Therefore, access to these simple catalytic aerobic conditions enables multiple biorenewable bulk terpene feedstocks (e.g., crude sulfate turpentine, turpentine, cineole, and limonene) to be converted into synthetically useful bio-p-MA, bio-p-toluic acid, and bio-TA (and hence bio-polyethylene terephthalate) as part of a terpene based biorefinery

Exploring factors contributing to medication errors with opioids in australian specialist palliative care inpatient services: A multi-incident analysis

© 2018 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Background: Opioid errors have the potential to cause significant patient harm. These high-risk medications are used in high volumes in palliative care services to manage pain and other symptoms. Palliative patients are at greater risk of harm from opioid errors, as they are generally older and taking numerous medications to manage multiple comorbidities. Understanding factors contributing to opioid errors in inpatient palliative care services is a largely underexplored, yet, essential aspect of patient safety. Objective: To explore and identify the characteristics and associated contributing factors of reported opioid errors in palliative care inpatient services using a multi-incident analysis framework. Design: A multi-incident analysis of opioid errors reported over three years in two Australian specialist palliative care inpatient services. Results: A total of 78 opioid errors were reported. The majority (76%) of these errors occurred during opioid administration, primarily due to omitted dose (34%) and wrong dose (17%) errors. Eighty-five percent of reported errors reached the patient resulting in opioid underdose for over half (59%) of these patients. Over one-third (37%) of errors caused patient harm, which required clinical intervention. Error contributing factors included the following: noncompliance with policy; individual factors such as distraction; poor clinical communication systems; and workload. Conclusions: This multi-incident analysis has provided initial insights into factors contributing to opioid errors in palliative care inpatient services. Further exploration is warranted to understand palliative care clinicians' perspectives of systems, individual, and patient factors that influence safe opioid delivery processes

A new formulation for symbolic regression to identify physico-chemical laws from experimental data

A modification to the mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation for symbolic regression was proposed with the aim of identification of physical models from noisy experimental data. In the proposed formulation, a binary tree in which equations are represented as directed, acyclic graphs, is fully constructed for a pre-defined number of layers. The introduced modification results in the reduction in the number of required binary variables and removal of redundancy due to possible symmetry of the tree formulation. The formulation was tested using numerical models and was found to be more efficient than the previous literature example with respect to the numbers of predictor variables and training data points. The globally optimal search was extended to identify physical models and to cope with noise in the experimental data predictor variable. The methodology was proven to be successful in identifying the correct physical models describing the relationship between shear stress and shear rate for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, and simple kinetic laws of chemical reactions. Future work will focus on addressing the limitations of the present formulation and solver to enable extension of target problems to larger, more complex physical models.EPSRC EP/R009902/

Puberty vs age: on the issue of a warning sign of a victim of non-violent intercourse with a minor

The purpose of the study was to identify the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor based on the analysis of approaches to the definition of such a sign in the criminal legislation of different countries, as well as the doctrinal provisions of medicine and jurisprudence.Метою дослідження було виявлення найбільш оптимальної ознаки потерпілого від ненасильницьких статевих зносин с неповнолітнім на основі аналізу підходів до визначення такої ознаки у кримінальному законодавстві різних країн, а також доктринальних положень медицини і юриспруденції.Целью исследования явилось выявление наиболее оптимального признака потерпевшего от ненасильственного полового сношения с несовершеннолетним на основании анализа подходов к определению такого признака в уголовном законодательстве разных стран, а также доктринальных положений медицины и юриспруденции

Puberty vs age: on the issue of a warning sign of a victim of non-violent intercourse with a minor

The purpose of the study was to identify the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor based on the analysis of approaches to the definition of such a sign in the criminal legislation of different countries, as well as the doctrinal provisions of medicine and jurisprudence.Метою дослідження було виявлення найбільш оптимальної ознаки потерпілого від ненасильницьких статевих зносин с неповнолітнім на основі аналізу підходів до визначення такої ознаки у кримінальному законодавстві різних країн, а також доктринальних положень медицини і юриспруденції.Целью исследования явилось выявление наиболее оптимального признака потерпевшего от ненасильственного полового сношения с несовершеннолетним на основании анализа подходов к определению такого признака в уголовном законодательстве разных стран, а также доктринальных положений медицины и юриспруденции

An observational study of older patient specialling in acute hospital settings

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Background: During hospitalisation, older people can quickly become disoriented and agitated. In these instances, ‘specialling’, involving close monitoring and observation of the person to prevent accidents, injuries and clinical deterioration is often required. Despite the widespread practice of older patient specialling, there is no evidence of the best model, or any clear guidelines around the essential requirements for this practice. Aim: This study aimed to examine specialling practices for hospitalised older patients in acute aged care wards. Method: Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained in an observational study of specialling practices for hospitalised older patients. Two validated observational tools were used to collect data on nursing care provided during specialling and patient responses to specialling over a three-month period. Findings: A total of 58 observations were undertaken of specialling practices for 12 hospital patients aged 65 years and over in four acute aged care wards. Delirium was the most common reason for older patient specialling. Most specialling was undertaking by Assistants in Nursing. Specialling interactions and responses were mainly positive. Positive specialling practices occurred when the staff special was familiar with the older patient and the ward in which specialling occurred. Specialling practices differed in relation to, the type of care required, the presence of the patients’ personal possessions in their immediate surroundings, the presence of medical devices, patient acuity and general ward busyness. Conclusion: These findings suggest that specialling practices differ according to patient need and that the staff member\u27s familiarity with the ward and their patients are important factors in positive older patient specialling. The specialling role needs much clearer definition, including the type of educational preparation and workload support that is appropriate to ensure safe and quality care

Analysis of the empathic concern subscale of the emotional response questionnaire in a study evaluating the impact of a 3D cultural simulation

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. Background Empathic concern has been found to decline in health professional students. Few effective educational programs and a lack of validated scales are reported. Previous analysis of the Empathic Concern scale of the Emotional Response Questionnaire has reported both one and two latent constructs. Aim To evaluate the impact of simulation on nursing students' empathic concern and test the psychometric properties of the Empathic Concern scale. Methods The study used a one group pre-test post-test design with a convenience sample of 460 nursing students. Empathic concern was measured pre-post simulation with the Empathic Concern scale. Factor Analysis was undertaken to investigate the structure of the scale. Results There was a statistically significant increase in Empathic Concern scores between pre-simulation 5.57 (SD = 1.04) and post-simulation 6.10 (SD = 0.95). Factor analysis of the Empathic Concern scale identified one latent dimension. Conclusion Immersive simulation may promote empathic concern. The Empathic Concern scale measured a single latent construct in this cohort

Spatially resolved fluorescence of caesium lead halide perovskite supercrystals reveals quasi-atomic behavior of nanocrystals

We correlate spatially resolved fluorescence (-lifetime) measurements with X-ray nanodiffraction to reveal surface defects in supercrystals of self-assembled cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals and study their effect on the fluorescence properties. Upon comparison with density functional modeling, we show that a loss in structural coherence, an increasing atomic misalignment between adjacent nanocrystals, and growing compressive strain near the surface of the supercrystal are responsible for the observed fluorescence blueshift and decreased fluorescence lifetimes. Such surface defect-related optical properties extend the frequently assumed analogy between atoms and nanocrystals as so-called quasi-atoms. Our results emphasize the importance of minimizing strain during the self-assembly of perovskite nanocrystals into supercrystals for lighting application such as superfluorescent emitters

Is it possible to enhance immune response after vaccination? The role of a probiotic with a proven positive effect on all components of the immune system

Preventive vaccination is currently the most affordable and economical way to reduce morbidity and mortality from many infections, improve quality and human life expectancy with an almost ideal balance of benefits and risks among all medical procedures. The article deals with the reasons for variability of the immune response caused by vaccines, between individuals and between populations, which is of fundamental importance for human health. The authors have presented data indicating a key role of the gut microbiota in the control of the immune response to vaccination. Particular attention is paid to the microbial diversity in different loci of the body. The role of microorganisms in the proper functioning of the body and the formation of a number of pathological conditions is described. Most modern vaccines are live-attenuated, killed / inactivated or subunit (recombinant) vaccines, and they are designed for the parenteral route of administration. Most of these vaccines elicit a weak immune response, especially in the mucous membranes, due to the route of administration and are associated with weak cell-mediated immunity. Therefore, mechanisms that can enhance virus-specific vaccine immunity in infants and children are required, such as the use of more potent or selective immunity-enhancing adjuvants. Some probiotic strains may be considered as promising vaccine adjuvants. This article evaluates the recent clinical studies of probiotics used to enhance vaccine-specific immunity in adults and infants. The present-day knowledge on the role of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG with the aim of activating immunity after vaccination are presented