Patients' and relatives' assessment of clozapine treatment

Published version: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=PS

Full-scale trials of external nitrification on plastic media nitrifying trickling filter

The full-scale single-stage tertiary nitrifying trickling filter (NTF) at the Citrusdal Wastewater Treatment Plant provides for external nitrification of unclarified effluent from the facultative aerobic lagoon in order to meet standard effluent ammonia concentration requirements. The apparent ammonia nitrification rate (ApANR, gN/m2 media surface·d) of the NTF was sensitive to particulate organic loading rates which were predominantly in the form of algae, and the soluble COD removal rates increased under cold climates. Installation of forced-air ventilation fans improved the nitrification efficiency from 15% to 43%. An increase in hydraulic loading rate (HLR) by effluent recirculation significantly improved the ApANR, eradicated filter flies and decreased the prevalence of worms. Maximum ApANR of ~1.0 gN/m2·d was achieved yielding an ammonia- removal efficiency of approximately 71%. Profile samples collected along the NTF media depth indicated poor media wetting at low HLR resulting in low ApANR (<0.5 gN/m2·d). Also during the cold and rainy winter period, poor biofilm activity and prevalence of motile algae were observed, and under low hydraulic loading rates and warmer temperatures, a dominance of filter flies and fly larvae were observed. In contrast, in controlled laboratory studies, ApANRs up to 1.72 gN/m2·d (22.1 mgN/l removal) were attained, which, in conformity with full-scale, was also found to be sensitive to hydraulic loading conditions

A three-protein biomarker panel assessed in diagnostic tissue predicts death from prostate cancer for men with localized disease

Only a minority of prostate cancers lead to death. Because no tissue biomarkers of aggressiveness other than Gleason score are available at diagnosis, many nonlethal cancers are treated aggressively. We evaluated whether a panel of biomarkers, associated with a range of disease outcomes in previous studies, could predict death from prostate cancer for men with localized disease. Using a case-only design, subjects were identified from three Australian epidemiological studies. Men who had died of their disease, cases (N = 83), were matched to referents (N = 232), those who had not died of prostate cancer, using incidence density sampling. Diagnostic tissue was retrieved to assess expression of AZGP1, MUC1, NKX3.1, p53, and PTEN by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry (IHC). Poisson regression was used to estimate mortality rate ratios (MRRs) adjusted for age, Gleason score, and stage and to estimate survival probabilities. Expression of MUC1 and p53 was associated with increased mortality (MRR 2.51, 95% CI 1.14-5.54, P = 0.02 and 3.08, 95% CI 1.41-6.95, P = 0.005, respectively), whereas AZGP1 expression was associated with decreased mortality (MRR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.96, P = 0.04). Analyzing all markers under a combined model indicated that the three markers were independent predictors of prostate cancer death and survival. For men with localized disease at diagnosis, assessment of AZGP1, MUC1, and p53 expression in diagnostic tissue by IHC could potentially improve estimates of risk of dying from prostate cancer based only on Gleason score and clinical stage

Evaluation of the cardiac amyloidosis clinical pathway implementation: A real-world experience

AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of the cardiac amyloidosis (CA) clinical pathway on awareness among referring cardiologists, diagnostic delay, and severity of CA at diagnosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with CA were retrospectively included in this study and divided into two periods: pre-implementation of the CA clinical pathway (2007–18; T1) and post-implementation (2019–20; T2). Patients’ and disease characteristics were extracted from electronic health records and compared. In total, 113 patients (mean age 67.8 ± 8.5 years, 26% female) were diagnosed with CA [T1 (2007–18): 56; T2 (2019–20): 57]. The number of CA diagnoses per year has increased over time. Reasons for referral changed over time, with increased awareness of right ventricular hypertrophy (9% in T1 vs. 36% in T2) and unexplained heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (22% in T1 vs. 38% in T2). Comparing T1 with T2, the diagnostic delay also improved (14 vs. 8 months, P < 0.01), New York Heart Association Class III (45% vs. 23%, P = 0.03), and advanced CA stage (MAYO/Gillmore Stage III/IV; 61% vs. 33%, P ≤ 0.01) at time of diagnosis decreased. CONCLUSION: After implementation of the CA clinical pathway, the awareness among referring cardiologists improved, diagnostic delay was decreased, and patients had less severe CA at diagnosis. Further studies are warranted to assess the prognostic impact of CA clinical pathway implementation

Studies of micromorphology and current efficiency of zinc electrodeposited from flowing chloride electrolytes

Results of a study of the micromorphology and current efficiency of zinc electrodeposited from flowing, acidic chloride solutions are reported. The effects of six variables were examined: flow rate, current density, zinc and hydrogen ion concentration, concentrations of nickel, iron and cadmium impurity ions, and the nature of the substrate. The development of micromorphology was studied in-situ by means of videomicrography and ex-situ by means of scanning electron microscopy. This investigation focused on the formation of grooved deposits, which are found under a wide range of deposition conditions. The major conclusions of this study are: the most important variable determining whether grooved deposits form is the interfacial concentration; large protrusions orient themselves parallel to the flow direction with the orientation starting upstream and progressing downstream; large protrusions become ridges due to growth of the highest current density portions of the electrode under mass transport control. The current efficiency was measured using EDTA titration and weight measurements. The fraction of the current taken by zinc deposition increased with zinc concentration, ranging up to 100%, and decreased with pH. The efficiency of zinc deposition was affected by the flow rate and the substrate employed. Impurities lowered the current efficiency

VERTOS II: Percutaneous vertebroplasty versus conservative therapy in patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures; rationale, objectives and design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The standard care in patients with a painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (VCF) is conservative therapy. Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV), a minimally invasive technique, is gaining popularity as a new treatment option. Many prospective and retrospective studies have reported on the effectiveness and safety of PV, but no large randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been published. OBJECTIVE: To estimate cost-effectiveness of PV compared to conservative therapy in terms of: pain reduction, quality of life, complications, secondary fractures and mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The VERTOS II study is designed as a prospective, multicenter RCT. Patients with a painful VCF with bone edema on MR imaging, local back pain for 6 weeks or less, osteopenia and aged 50 years or older, after obtaining informed consent are included and randomized for PV or conservative therapy. In total 200 patients will be enrolled. Follow-up is at regular intervals during a 1-year period with standard questionnaires, addressing: clinical symptoms, pain medication, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Secondary fractures, necessary additional therapies and complications are recorded. CONCLUSION: The VERTOS II study is the first methodologically sound RCT designed to assess the cost-effectiveness of PV compared to conservative therapy in patients with an acute osteoporotic VCF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00232466

Potential for non-destructive astrochemistry using the ExoMars PanCam

We investigate the utility of adding a 365 nm ultraviolet (UV) light source to the ExoMars panoramic camera (PanCam) scheduled for launch in 2013. The modification makes it feasible to monitor rover drill cuttings for aromatic organic molecules and provide constraints on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as a function of depth to the 2-meter limit of the ExoMars drill. This non-destructive triage allows prioritized deployment of organic detection experiments requiring sample destruction and/or expenditure of non-replaceable resources. Utilizing the Beagle 2 PanCam backup filter wheel fitted with original blue (440 nm), green ( 530 nm), and red ( 670 nm) filters we captured fluorescent images following 365 nm excitation of 3-, 4- and 5-ring PAH species doped on Mars analog peridotite grains. We demonstrate a detection limit for pyrene of 1.5 mu g in granular peridotite doped at pyrene levels of 50 +/- 5 ppm for camera-to-target distance of 1 meter

Diffusion and growth of metal clusters in nanocomposites: a Kinetic Monte Carlo study

Nobel metals that are deposited on a polymer surface exhibit surface diffusion and diffusion into the bulk. At the same time the metal atoms tend to form clusters because their cohesive energy is about two orders of magnitude higher than the cohesive energy of polymers. To selfconsistently simulate these coupled processes, we present in this paper a Kinetic Monte Carlo approach. Using a simple model with diffusion coefficients taken as input parameters allows us to perform a systematic study of the behavior of a large ensemble of metal atoms on a polymer surface eventually leading to polymer nanocomposites. Special emphasis is placed on the cluster growth, cluster size distribution and the penetration of clusters into the substrate. We also study the influence of surface defects and analyze how the properties of the resulting material can be controlled by variation of the deposition rate