Comparative study of Cu–Zn coatings electrodeposited from sulphate and chloride baths

In this work, the effect of the nature of the salt anion (chloride and sulphate) in the Cu–Zn citrate bath was investigated, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Experimental electrodeposition parameters (switching potential and imposed potential) were varied in order to examine their influence on the deposits. The coating microstructures were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS), the coating phases were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and the surface composition was assessed by XPS. Higher current efficiency was obtained in chloride baths compared to sulphate baths and best deposits were obtained at −1.4Vvs.(Ag/AgCl/KCl) compared to −1.2 and −1.5Vvs.(Ag/AgCl/KCl). Corrosion test results in 0.5 M NaCl solution show that Cu–Zn deposit produced from chloride bath exhibited the highest corrosion resistance.</p

Assisted Self-Assembly to Target Heterometallic Mn-Nd and Mn-Sm SMMs: Synthesis and Magnetic Characterisation of [Mn7_{7}Ln3_{3}(O)4_{4}(OH)4_{4}(mdea)3_{3}(piv)9_{9}(NO3_{3})3_{3}] (Ln=Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd)**

Assisted self-assembly by using a preformed [Mn$_{6}$O$_{2}$(piv)$_{10}$(4-Me-py)$_{2}$(pivH)$_{2}$] (1) (pivH=pivalic acid) cluster leads to 3 different outcomes of the reaction with Ln(NO$_{3}$)$_{3}$ ⋅ xH$_{2}$O (Ln=Pr−Ho and Y): Mn$_{7}$Ln$_{3}$ and in some cases the inverse butterfly Mn$_{2}$Ln$_{2}$ for Ln=Pr−Eu, Mn$_{5}$Ln$_{4}$ for Ln=Tb-Ho and in the special case of Gd all three possibilities can form. Whilst the magnetic properties for the Mn$_{5}$Ln$_{4}$ systems show the expected known SMM properties, for Mn$_{7}$Ln$_{3}$ two new examples of Nd- and Sm-containing SMMs have been discovered. in an assisted self-assembly approach starting from the [Mn$_{6}$O$_{2}$(piv)$_{10}$(4-Me-py)$_{2}$(pivH)$_{2}$] cluster a family of Mn−Ln compounds (Ln=Pr−Yb) was synthesised. The reaction of [Mn$_{6}$O$_{2}$(piv)$_{10}$(4-Me-py)$_{2}$(pivH)$_{2}$] (1) with N-methyldiethanolamine (mdeaH$_{2}$) and Ln(NO$_{3}$)$_{3}$ ⋅ 6H$_{2}$O in MeCN generally yields two main structure types: for Ln=Tb−Yb a previously reported Mn$_{5}$Ln$_{4}$ motif is obtained, whereas for Ln=Pr−Eu a series of Mn$_{7}$Ln$_{3}$ clusters is obtained. Within this series the Gd$^{III}$ analogue represents a special case because it shows both structural types as well as a third Mn$_{2}$Ln$_{2}$ inverse butterfly motif. Variation in reaction conditions allows access to different structure types across the whole series. This prompts further studies into the reaction mechanism of this cluster assisted self-assembly approach. For the Mn$_{7}$Ln$_{3}$ analogues reported here variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that antiferromagnetic interactions between the spin carriers are dominant. Compounds incorporating Ln=Nd$^{III}$(2), Sm$^{III}$(3) and Gd$^{III}$ (5) display SMM behaviour. The slow relaxation of the magnetisation for these compounds was confirmed by ac measurements above 1.8 K

From Green Chemistry to Healthy Environments: Silver Nanoparticles as a Dual Antioxidant and Antibacterial Agents for Advancing Biomedicine and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

\ua9 2024 by the authors. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant extracts is an eco-friendly method with potential for biomedical and environmental applications. This study aims to synthesize silver nanoparticles (SO-AgNPs) using Salvia officinalis L. extract and evaluate their antioxidant and antibacterial properties, positioning them as candidates for applications in sustainable biomedicine and wastewater treatment. S. officinalis L. extract was used to synthesize AgNPs under optimized conditions, with a 10% extract/AgNO₃ ratio and a reaction time of 180 min. The SO-AgNPs were characterized using ATR-FTIR, XRD, SEM, DLS, and Zeta potential analysis. The antioxidant activity of the extract and SO-AgNPs was evaluated using ABTS+• and DPPH• radical scavenging assays. Antibacterial activity was tested against 11 bacterial strains and bacteria isolated from industrial effluent, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) determined for both the extract and SO-AgNPs. The SO-AgNPs demonstrated potent antioxidant activity, with IC₅₀ values of 0.233 mg/mL and 0.305 mg/mL in the ABTS+• assay, and 0.173 mg/mL and 0.185 mg/mL in the DPPH• assay for the extract and SO-AgNPs, respectively. Antibacterial testing showed MIC values of 0.25 mg/mL for SO-AgNPs and between 3.12 and 6.25 mg/mL for S. officinalis L. extract against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, MRSA, B. cereus, and S. epidermidis. For bacteria isolated from industrial effluent, the MIC values were 0.125 mg/mL for SO-AgNPs and 0.5 mg/mL for the extract. This study highlights the dual antioxidant and antibacterial capabilities of S. officinalis L. extract and SO-AgNPs, demonstrating their potential for use in both biomedical and environmental applications, including wastewater treatment

Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical outcomes after management of posterior cruciate ligament tibial avulsion fractures

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus regarding the management of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fractures and the expected outcomes after treatment. PURPOSE: To systematically review clinical outcomes and complications after management of tibial-sided avulsion fractures of the PCL. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A literature search of Scopus, PubMed, Medline, and the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials was performed in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Included were studies with evidence levels 1 to 4 that reported clinical outcomes after treatment of PCL tibial-sided avulsion fractures in humans. The quality of the included studies was performed using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) criteria. A meta-analysis was performed for patient-reported outcome measures using random-effects modeling with 95% CIs. RESULTS: A total of 58 studies published between 1999 and 2022 were identified. The mean MINORS score was 9.90 ± 4.12, indicating overall low-quality evidence with high risk of bias. The studies comprised 1440 patients (mean age, 32.59 ± 5.69 years; 75.2% males) with a mean follow-up of 26.9 ± 19.6 months (range, 5.3-126 months). Most patients were treated with open surgery (63.6%), followed by arthroscopic surgery (29.7%) and nonoperative treatment (6.7%). All patients reported significant posttreatment improvement in both subjective and objective outcomes ( CONCLUSION: Although nonoperative and surgical management of PCL tibial avulsion fractures resulted in high rates of fracture union and improvement in functional outcome scores and a low incidence of complications, nonoperative treatment yielded a high side-to-side posterior displacement (\u3e4 mm) with a lower rate of fracture union compared to surgical treatment

Adverse events and complications after primary ACL reconstruction with quadriceps tendon autograft: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery with quadriceps tendon (QT) grafts, both with and without a patellar bone plug, have gained popularity in recent years in the primary and revision settings. Postoperative complications occur with the use of QT autografts. PURPOSE: To systematically review the incidence of postoperative complications after primary ACLR QT autograft and compare complication rates in patients undergoing all-soft tissue QT grafts versus QT grafts with a patellar bone plug (QTPB). STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A literature search using the 2020 PRISMA guidelines was performed by querying PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases from database inception through August 2022. Included were evidence level 1 to 4 human clinical studies in English that reported complications after primary ACLR with QT autograft. The incidence of complications within the included studies was extracted. Differences in the incidence of postoperative complications between ACLR with QT with and without a patellar bone plug were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 20 studies from 2004 to 2022, comprised of 2381 patients (2389 knees; 68.3% male) with a mean age of 27 years (range, 12-58 years), were identified. The mean follow-up was 28.5 months (range, 6-47 months). The total incidence of complications was 10.3%, with persistent postoperative knee pain being the most common (10.8%). Patients who underwent ACLR with all-soft tissue QT grafts had a 2.7-times increased incidence of anterior knee pain (23.3% vs 8.6%) and reoperations (5.9% vs 3.2%) when compared with QTPB grafts ( CONCLUSION: Complications after primary ACLR using QT autograft were recorded in 10.5% of knees, with anterior knee pain being the most common. No difference was reported in the overall incidence of complications with the use of the QT versus QTPB grafts; however, anterior knee pain was 2.7 times greater with use of a soft tissue quadriceps graft

Radiofrequency-based chondroplasty creates a precise area of targeted chondrocyte death with minimal necrosis outside the target zone: A systematic review

PURPOSE: To systematically examine the effects of radiofrequency (RF) ablation or coblation (controlled ablation) on chondrocyte viability following knee chondroplasty in preclinical literature to determine the effectiveness and safety of RF-based techniques. METHODS: A literature search was performed in September 2022 using PubMed and Scopus using the following search terms combined with Boolean operators: chondroplasty, radiofrequency, thermal, knee, chondral defect, articular cartilage, and cartilage. The inclusion criteria consisted of preclinical studies examining the effect of RF ablation or coblation on chondrocytes during knee chondroplasty. Exclusion criteria consisted of studies reporting chondroplasty in joints other than the knee, clinical studies, in vitro studies using animal models, case reports, non-full-text articles, letters to editors, surveys, review articles, and abstracts. The following data were extracted from the included articles: author, year of publication, chondral defect location within the knee and chondral characteristics, RF probe characteristics, cartilage macroscopic description, microscopic chondrocyte description, and extracellular matrix characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 17 articles, consisting of 811 cartilage specimens, were identified. The mean specimen age was 63.4 ± 6.0 (range, 37-89) years. Five studies used monopolar RF devices, 7 studies used bipolar RF devices, whereas 4 studies used both monopolar and bipolar RF devices. Time until cell death during ablation at any power was reported in 5 studies (n = 351 specimens), with a mean time to cell death of 54.4 seconds (mean range, 23.1-64) for bipolar RF and 56.3 seconds (mean range, 12.5-64) for monopolar RF devices. Chondrocyte cell death increased with increased wattage, while treatment time was positively correlated with deeper cell death. CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review, histologic analysis demonstrated that RF-based chondroplasty creates a precise area of targeted chondrocyte death, with minimal evidence of necrosis outside the target zone. Caution must be exercised when performing RF-based chondroplasty due to the risk of cell death with increased application time and wattage. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although RF ablation has demonstrated favorable results in preliminary trials, including smoother cartilage and less damage to the surrounding healthy tissue, the risks versus benefits of the procedure are largely unknown. Caution must be exercised when performing RF-based chondroplasty in the clinical setting due to the risk of cell death with increased application time and wattage

Outcomes after isolated medial meniscus posterior root repairs using an anatomic transtibial pullout technique in patients older than 60 years: A matched cohort study

BACKGROUND: Management of isolated medial meniscus posterior root (MMPR) tears is challenging, especially in older patients, where indications for repair must be weighed against potential repair failure and osteoarthritic progression. PURPOSE: To compare patient-reported outcomes and incidence of failure after anatomic transtibial pullout repair for isolated MMPR tears in patients \u3e60 versus ≤60 years of age. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Included in the study were patients aged ≥18 years who underwent isolated anatomic transtibial pullout repair using either the single- or double-tunnel technique for MMPR tears at a single institution between January 2016 and September 2020. Patients with a minimum 2-year follow-up were divided based on age at surgery (\u3e60 vs ≤60 years). Patients completed the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement (KOOS JR), and Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) Physical score preoperatively and at final follow-up. Differences between age groups in outcome scores as well as repair failures (defined as the need for repeat arthroscopy) were analyzed using the 2-sided Student RESULTS: A total of 20 patients aged \u3e60 years (mean age, 65.7 ± 4.1 years; range, 60.2-74.9 years) were identified and compared against 40 patients aged ≤60 years (mean age, 49.3 ± 9.0 years; range, 23.4-59.8 years). Significant improvement on all outcomes scores was observed in both groups at final follow-up when compared with preoperative values, with no significant between-group difference on any of the scores at final follow-up. Revision repair was required in 1 patient (2.5%) in the ≤60-year group but not in patients in the \u3e60-year group. CONCLUSION: Anatomic transtibial pullout repair for isolated MMPR tears resulted in improved IKDC, KOOS JR, and VR-12 Physical scores at minimum 2-year follow-up, with no significant differences between our cohorts of patients \u3e60 versus ≤60 years of age

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

Background: We previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15–20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in ~ 80% of cases. Methods: We report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded. Results: No gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5–528.7, P = 1.1 × 10−4) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR = 3.70[95%CI 1.3–8.2], P = 2.1 × 10−4). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR = 19.65[95%CI 2.1–2635.4], P = 3.4 × 10−3), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR = 4.40[9%CI 2.3–8.4], P = 7.7 × 10−8). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD] = 43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P = 1.68 × 10−5). Conclusions: Rare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60&nbsp;years old

Chemical Library Screening and Structure-Function Relationship Studies Identify Bisacodyl as a Potent and Selective Cytotoxic Agent Towards Quiescent Human Glioblastoma Tumor Stem-Like Cells

Cancer stem-like cells reside in hypoxic and slightly acidic tumor niches. Such microenvironments favor more aggressive undifferentiated phenotypes and a slow growing "quiescent state" which preserves them from chemotherapeutic agents that essentially target proliferating cells. Our objective was to identify compounds active on glioblastoma stem-like cells, including under conditions that mimick those found in vivo within this most severe and incurable form of brain malignancy. We screened the Prestwick Library to identify cytotoxic compounds towards glioblastoma stem-like cells, either in a proliferating state or in more slow-growing "quiescent" phenotype resulting from non-renewal of the culture medium in vitro. Compound effects were assessed by ATP-level determination using a cell-based assay. Twenty active molecules belonging to different pharmacological classes have thus been identified. Among those, the stimulant laxative drug bisacodyl was the sole to inhibit in a potent and specific manner the survival of quiescent glioblastoma stem-like cells. Subsequent structure-function relationship studies led to identification of 4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl-2-pyridyl-methane (DDPM), the deacetylated form of bisacodyl, as the pharmacophore. To our knowledge, bisacodyl is currently the only known compound targeting glioblastoma cancer stem-like cells in their quiescent, more resistant state. Due to its known non-toxicity in humans, bisacodyl appears as a new potential anti-tumor agent that may, in association with classical chemotherapeutic compounds, participate in tumor eradication