Carbon integral honeycomb monoliths as support of copper catalysts in the Kharasch–Sosnovsky oxidation of cyclohexene

Carbon integral honeycomb monoliths prepared from a natural coal were employed as support of copper catalysts for organic synthetic purposes. In particular good to excellent yields (60–100% as function of the carboxylic acid employed) were obtained in the preparation of allylic esters by the Kharasch–Sosnovsky oxidation of cyclohexene. Different characterization techniques such as chemical analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy, nitrogen physisorption, X-ray Diffraction with Rietveld analysis, X-ray Photoelectron and Raman Spectroscopies, Temperature-Programmed Reduction and Scanning Electron Microscopy allowed finding that key parameters such as textural properties, degree of copper precursor decomposition and active phase homogeneity and dispersion can be modulated as function of a simple synthetic variable: the method used to dry the monoliths after impregnation with the metal precursor, either conventional or using microwaves. The results obtained allow understanding the key role of the nature and chemical surrounding (O2 anions or OH groups) of Cu2+ ions in the catalytic activity in the reaction investigated as well as the operating deactivation mechanisms. The use of the structured catalysts here proposed also opens up an interesting alternative to homogeneous catalysis in the field of organic synthesis

Rules, Standards, and the Internal Point of View

Large scale structure and cosmolog

Distribution and outcomes of a phenotype-based approach to guide COPD management: Results from the CHAIN cohort

Rationale: The Spanish guideline for COPD (GesEPOC) recommends COPD treatment according to four clinical phenotypes: non-exacerbator phenotype with either chronic bronchitis or emphysema (NE), asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), frequent exacerbator phenotype with emphysema (FEE) or frequent exacerbator phenotype with chronic bronchitis (FECB). However, little is known on the distribution and outcomes of the four suggested phenotypes. Objective: We aimed to determine the distribution of these COPD phenotypes, and their relation with one-year clinical outcomes. Methods: We followed a cohort of well-characterized patients with COPD up to one-year. Baseline characteristics, health status (CAT), BODE index, rate of exacerbations and mortality up to one year of follow-up were compared between the four phenotypes. Results: Overall, 831 stable COPD patients were evaluated. They were distributed as NE, 550 (66.2%); ACOS, 125 (15.0%); FEE, 38 (4.6%); and FECB, 99 (11.9%); additionally 19 (2.3%) COPD patients with frequent exacerbations did not fulfill the criteria for neither FEE nor FECB. At baseline, there were significant differences in symptoms, FEV1 and BODE index (all p<0.05). The FECB phenotype had the highest CAT score (17.1±8.2, p<0.05 compared to the other phenotypes). Frequent exacerbator groups (FEE and FECB) were receiving more pharmacological treatment at baseline, and also experienced more exacerbations the year after (all p<0.05) with no differences in one-year mortality. Most of NE (93%) and half of exacerbators were stable after one year. Conclusions: There is an uneven distribution of COPD phenotypes in stable COPD patients, with significant differences in demographics, patient-centered outcomes and health care resources use

A multi-stakeholder multicriteria decision analysis for the reimbursement of orphan drugs (FinMHU-MCDA study)

Background: Patient access to orphan medicinal products (OMPs) is limited and varies between countries, reimbursement decisions on OMPs are complex, and there is a need for more transparent processes to know which criteria should be considered to inform these decisions. This study aimed to determine the most relevant criteria for the reimbursement of OMPs in Spain, from a multi-stakeholder perspective, and using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). Methods: An MCDA was developed in 3 phases and included 28 stakeholders closely related to the field of rare diseases (6 physicians, 5 hospital pharmacists, 7 health economists, 4 patient representatives and 6 members from national and regional health authorities). Initially [phase A], a bibliographic review was conducted to identify the potential reimbursement criteria. Then, a reduced advisory board (8 members) proposed, selected, and defined the final list of criteria that could be relevant for reimbursement. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) [phase B] was developed to determine the relevance and relative importance weight of such criteria according to the stakeholders’ preferences by choosing between pairs of hypothetical financing scenarios. A multinomial logit model was fitted to analyze the DCE responses. Finally [phase C], the advisory board review the results using a deliberative process. Results: Thirteen criteria were selected, related to 4 dimensions: patient population, disease, treatment, and economic evaluation. Nine criteria were deemed relevant for decision-making and associated with a higher relative importance: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) (23.53%), treatment efficacy (14.64%), availability of treatment alternatives (13.51%), disease severity (12.62%), avoided costs (11.21%), age of target population (7.75%), safety (seriousness of adverse events) (4.72%), quality of evidence (3.82%) and size of target population (3.12%). The remaining criteria had a < 3% relative importance: economic burden of disease (2.50%), cost of treatment (1.73%), cost-effectiveness (0.83%) and safety (frequency of adverse events) (0.03%). Conclusion: The reimbursement of OMPs in Spain should be determined by its effect on patient’s HRQL, the extent of its therapeutic benefit from efficacy and the availability of other therapeutic options. Furthermore, the severity of the rare disease should also influence the decision along with the potential of the treatment to avoid associated costs

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism combination pattern of the Klotho gene with non-cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality, with cardiovascular death being extensively investigated. However, non-cardiovascular mortality represents the biggest percentage, showing an evident increase in recent years. Klotho is a gene highly expressed in the kidney, with a clear influence on lifespan. Low levels of Klotho have been linked to CKD progression and adverse outcomes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Klotho gene have been associated with several diseases, but studies investigating the association of Klotho SNPs with noncardiovascular death in CKD populations are lacking. The main aim of this study was to assess whether 11 Klotho SNPs were associated with non-cardiovascular death in a subpopulation of the National Observatory of Atherosclerosis in Nephrology (NEFRONA) study (n ¼ 2185 CKD patients). After 48 months of follow-up, 62 cardiovascular deaths and 108 non-cardiovascular deaths were recorded. We identified a high non-cardiovascular death risk combination of SNPs corresponding to individuals carrying the most frequent allele (G) at rs562020, the rare allele (C) at rs2283368 and homozygotes for the rare allele (G) at rs2320762 (rs562020 GG/AG þ rs2283368 CC/CT þ rs2320762 GG). Among the patients with the three SNPs genotyped (n ¼ 1016), 75 (7.4%) showed this combination. Furthermore, 95 (9.3%) patients showed a low-risk combination carrying all the opposite genotypes (rs562020 AA þ rs2283368 TT þ rs2320762 GT/TT). All the other combinations [n ¼ 846 (83.3%)] were considered as normal risk. Using competing risk regression analysis, we confirmed that the proposed combinations are independently associated with a higher fhazard ratio [HR] 3.28 [confidence interval (CI) 1.51-7.12]g and lower [HR 6 × 10- (95% CI 3.3 × 10--1.1 × 10-)] risk of suffering a non-cardiovascular death in the CKD population of the NEFRONA cohort compared with patients with the normal-risk combination. Determination of three SNPs of the Klotho gene could help in the prediction of non-cardiovascular death in CKD

Association of candidate gene polymorphisms with chronic kidney disease : Results of a case-control analysis in the NEFRONA cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2,445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD

Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud Recomendaciones basadas en consenso de expertos e informadas en la evidencia

The “Asociación Colombiana de Infectología” (ACIN) and the “Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud” (IETS) created a task force to develop recommendations for Covid 19 health care diagnosis, management and treatment informed, and based, on evidence. Theses reccomendations are addressed to the health personnel on the Colombian context of health services. © 2020 Asociacion Colombiana de Infectologia. All rights reserved

J-PLUS: The javalambre photometric local universe survey

ABSTRACT: TheJavalambrePhotometric Local UniverseSurvey (J-PLUS )isanongoing 12-band photometricopticalsurvey, observingthousands of squaredegrees of theNorthernHemispherefromthededicated JAST/T80 telescope at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ). The T80Cam is a camera with a field of view of 2 deg2 mountedon a telescopewith a diameter of 83 cm, and isequippedwith a uniquesystem of filtersspanningtheentireopticalrange (3500–10 000 Å). Thisfiltersystemis a combination of broad-, medium-, and narrow-band filters, optimallydesigned to extracttherest-framespectralfeatures (the 3700–4000 Å Balmer break region, Hδ, Ca H+K, the G band, and the Mg b and Ca triplets) that are key to characterizingstellartypes and delivering a low-resolutionphotospectrumforeach pixel of theobservedsky. With a typicaldepth of AB ∼21.25 mag per band, thisfilter set thusallowsforanunbiased and accuratecharacterization of thestellarpopulation in our Galaxy, itprovidesanunprecedented 2D photospectralinformationforall resolved galaxies in the local Universe, as well as accuratephoto-z estimates (at the δ z/(1 + z)∼0.005–0.03 precisionlevel) formoderatelybright (up to r ∼ 20 mag) extragalacticsources. Whilesomenarrow-band filters are designedforthestudy of particular emissionfeatures ([O II]/λ3727, Hα/λ6563) up to z < 0.017, theyalsoprovidewell-definedwindowsfortheanalysis of otheremissionlines at higherredshifts. As a result, J-PLUS has thepotential to contribute to a widerange of fields in Astrophysics, both in thenearbyUniverse (MilkyWaystructure, globular clusters, 2D IFU-likestudies, stellarpopulations of nearby and moderate-redshiftgalaxies, clusters of galaxies) and at highredshifts (emission-line galaxies at z ≈ 0.77, 2.2, and 4.4, quasi-stellarobjects, etc.). Withthispaper, wereleasethefirst∼1000 deg2 of J-PLUS data, containingabout 4.3 millionstars and 3.0 milliongalaxies at r <  21mag. With a goal of 8500 deg2 forthe total J-PLUS footprint, thesenumbers are expected to rise to about 35 millionstars and 24 milliongalaxiesbytheend of thesurvey.Funding for the J-PLUS Project has been provided by the Governments of Spain and Aragón through the Fondo de Inversiones de Teruel, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO; under grants AYA2017-86274-P, AYA2016-77846-P, AYA2016-77237-C3-1-P, AYA2015-66211-C2-1-P, AYA2015-66211-C2-2, AYA2012-30789, AGAUR grant SGR-661/2017, and ICTS-2009-14), and European FEDER funding (FCDD10-4E-867, FCDD13-4E-2685

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group