Poly[[piperazine-1,4-dium [diaqua­tetra­kis­(μ-sulfanediyldiacetato)­dicerate(III)]] trihydrate]

The title compound, (C4H12N2)[Ce2(C4H4O4S)4(H2O)2]·3H2O, features a polymeric anion with a centrosymmetric Ce2O2 core and a Ce⋯Ce distance of 4.3625 (4) Å. The anions form ribbons {[Ce2(C4H4O4S)4(H2O)2]2−}n extending along [100]. The doubly protonated piperazinium cations reside on centers of inversion and link the polymeric ribbons via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding. Each CeIII cation is ten-coordinated by an O2S donor set from two tridentate sulfanediyldiacetate (tda) ligands, one water mol­ecule and three other tda O donors from adjacent {Ce(tda)2(H2O)} units in a distorted bicapped cubic environment. Additional O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding involving the coordinated and solvent water mol­ecules is also present. H atoms of the crystal water molecules could not be located and were not included in the refinement

Persistent ventilation inhomogeneity after an acute exacerbation in preschool children with recurrent wheezing

© 2020 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Background: Preschool children with recurrent wheezing suffer high morbidity. It is unclear whether objective measures of asthma control, such as pulmonary function tests (PFTs), provide additional information to the clinical assessment. Methods: We recruited children between 3 and 6years old, with a history of recurrent wheezing in the preceding year and treated for acute wheezing exacerbation in the emergency department (ED) into an observational cohort study. Children attended two outpatient visits: the first study visit within five days of discharge from the ED and the second study visit 12weeks after the ED visit. We performed standardized symptom score (test for respiratory and asthma control in kids (TRACK)), multiple breath washout (MBW), spirometry, and clinical assessment at both visits. Results: Seventy-four children, mean (standard deviation (SD)) age of 4.32years (0.84), attended both visits. Paired FEV0.75 and lung clearance index (LCI) measurements at both time points were obtained in 37 and 34 subjects, respectively. Feasibility for all tests improved at visit 2 and was not age-dependent. At the second study visit, a third had controlled asthma based on the TRACK score, and the mean lung clearance index (LCI) improved from 9.86 to 8.31 (P=.003); however, 46% had an LCI in the abnormal range. FEV0.75 z-score improved from −1.66 to −1.17 (P=.05) but remained in the abnormal range in 24%. LCI was abnormal in more than half of the children with “well-controlled” asthma based on the TRACK score. There was no correlation between PFT measures and TRACK scores at either visit. Conclusions: Lung clearance index demonstrates a persistent deficit post-exacerbation in a large proportion of preschoolers with recurrent wheezing, highlighting that symptom scores alone may not suffice for monitoring these children

Poly[[piperazine-1,4-dium [diaqua-tetra-kis-(μ-sulfanediyldiacetato)-dicerate(III)]] trihydrate].

The title compound, (C(4)H(12)N(2))[Ce(2)(C(4)H(4)O(4)S)(4)(H(2)O)(2)]·3H(2)O, features a polymeric anion with a centrosymmetric Ce(2)O(2) core and a Ce⋯Ce distance of 4.3625 (4) Å. The anions form ribbons {[Ce(2)(C(4)H(4)O(4)S)(4)(H(2)O)(2)](2-)}(n) extending along [100]. The doubly protonated piperazinium cations reside on centers of inversion and link the polymeric ribbons via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding. Each Ce(III) cation is ten-coordinated by an O(2)S donor set from two tridentate sulfanediyldiacetate (tda) ligands, one water mol-ecule and three other tda O donors from adjacent {Ce(tda)(2)(H(2)O)} units in a distorted bicapped cubic environment. Additional O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding involving the coordinated and solvent water mol-ecules is also present. H atoms of the crystal water molecules could not be located and were not included in the refinement

Surgical activity of first-year Canadian neurosurgical residents.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical activity is probably the most important component of surgical training. During the first year of surgical residency, there is an early opportunity for the development of surgical skills, before disparities between the skill sets of residents increase in future years. It is likely that surgical skill is related to operative volumes. There are no published guidelines that quantify the number of surgical cases required to achieve surgical competency. The aim of this study was to describe the current trends in surgical activity in a recent cohort of first-year Canadian neurosurgical trainees. METHODS: This study utilized retrospective database review and survey methodology to describe the current state of surgical training for first-year neurosurgical trainees. A committee of five residents designed this survey in an effort to capture factors that may influence the operative activity of trainees. RESULTS: Nine out of a cohort of 20 first-year Canadian neurosurgical trainees that began training in July of 2008 participated in the study. The median number of cases completed by a resident during the initial three month neurosurgical rotation was 66, within which the trainee was identified as the primary surgeon in 12 cases. Intracranial hemorrhage and cerebrospinal fluid diversion procedures were the most common operations to have the trainee as primary surgeon. CONCLUSION: Based on this pilot study, it appears that the operative activity of Canadian first-year residents is at least equivalent to the residents of other studied training systems with respect to volume and diversity of surgical activity

NMR hyperpolarization techniques of gases

Nuclear spin polarization can be significantly increased through the process of hyperpolarization, leading to an increase in the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments by 4–8 orders of magnitude. Hyperpolarized gases, unlike liquids and solids, can often be readily separated and purified from the compounds used to mediate the hyperpolarization processes. These pure hyperpolarized gases enabled many novel MRI applications including the visualization of void spaces, imaging of lung function, and remote detection. Additionally, hyperpolarized gases can be dissolved in liquids and can be used as sensitive molecular probes and reporters. This Minireview covers the fundamentals of the preparation of hyperpolarized gases and focuses on selected applications of interest to biomedicine and materials science

NMR hyperpolarization techniques of gases

Abstract Nuclear spin polarization can be significantly increased through the process of hyperpolarization, leading to an increase in the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments by 4–8 orders of magnitude. Hyperpolarized gases, unlike liquids and solids, can often be readily separated and purified from the compounds used to mediate the hyperpolarization processes. These pure hyperpolarized gases enabled many novel MRI applications including the visualization of void spaces, imaging of lung function, and remote detection. Additionally, hyperpolarized gases can be dissolved in liquids and can be used as sensitive molecular probes and reporters. This Minireview covers the fundamentals of the preparation of hyperpolarized gases and focuses on selected applications of interest to biomedicine and materials science