Coerced Hospital Admission and Symptom Change-A Prospective Observational Multi-Centre Study

PMCID: PMC3227658 Freely available online via CCplosone.org

Euro plus Med-Checklist Notulae, 11

This is the eleventh of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Anacardiaceae, Asparagaceae (incl. Hyacinthaceae), Bignoniaceae, Cactaceae, Compositae, Cruciferae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, Gramineae, Labiatae, Leguminosae, Orobanchaceae, Polygonaceae, Rosaceae, Solanaceae and Staphyleaceae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional considerations for taxa in Bidens, Campsis, Centaurea, Cyperus, Drymocallis, Engem, Hoffmannseggia, Hypopitys, Lavandula, Lithraea, Melilotus, Nicotiana, Olimarabidopsis, Opuntia, Orobanche, Phelipanche, Phragmites, Rumex, Salvia, Schinus, Staphylea, and a new combination in Drimia.Peer reviewe

Covalent attachment of a bioactive hyperbranched polymeric layer to titanium surface for the biomimetic growth of calcium phosphates

This work is investigating the chemical grafting on Ti surface of a polymer/calcium phosphate coating of improved adhesion for enhanced bioactivity. For this purpose, a whole new methodology was developed based on covalently attaching a hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine) layer on Ti surface able to promote calcium phosphate formation in a next deposition stage. This was achieved through an intermediate surface silanization step. The research included optimization both of the reaction conditions for covalently grafting the intermediate organosilicon and the subsequent hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine) layers, as well as of the conditions for the mechanical and chemical pretreatment of Ti surface before coating. The reaction steps were monitored employing FTIR and XPS analyses, whereas the surface morphology and structure of the successive coating layers were studied by SEM combined with EDS. The analysis confirmed the successful grafting of the hybrid layer which demonstrated very good ability for hydroxyapatite growth in simulated body fluid

Simulating Future Land Use and Cover of a Mediterranean Mountainous Area: The Effect of Socioeconomic Demands and Climatic Changes

Land use and cover (LUC) of southern European mountains is dramatically changing, mainly due to observed socioeconomic demands and climatic changes. It is therefore important to understand LUC changes to accurately predict future landscapes and their threats. Simulation models of LUC change are ideal for this task because they allow the in silico experimentation under different socioeconomic and climatic scenarios. In the present study, we employed the trans-CLUE-S model, to predict for 2055 the LUC of a typical southern European sub-mountainous area, which has experienced widespread abandonment until recently. Four demand scenarios were tested, and under each demand scenario, we compared three climatic scenarios, ranging from less to more warm and dry conditions. We found that farmland declined from 3.2% of the landscape in 2015 to 0.4% in 2055 under the business-as-usual demand scenario, whereas forest further increased from 62.6% to 79%. For any demand scenario, differences in LUC between maps predicted under different climatic scenarios constituted less than 10% of the landscape. In the less than 10% that differed, mainly farmland and forest shifted to higher elevation under a warmer and drier climate, whereas grassland and scrubland to lower. Such insights by modelling analyses like the present study’s can improve the planning and implementation of management and restoration policies which will attempt to conserve ecosystem services and mitigate the negative effects of socioeconomic and climatic changes in the mountainous regions of southern Europe

Concomitant development of neurologic and cardiac immune-related adverse effects in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for melanoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have altered the prognosis of patients with melanoma over the past few years, with immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) being the only factor limiting their use. Neurologic and cardiac irAEs are rare, but usually severe. We reviewed the files of patients with melanoma treated with ICIs in one center to retrieve data from patients with neurologic irAEs. Patients with a combination of neurologic and cardiac manifestations were further analyzed. We also reviewed the literature for similar syndromes. Five out of 482 (1.01%) patients developed a neurologic syndrome and we present three patients with a constellation of neurologic and cardiac irAEs. A 66-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man presented with a constellation of findings after being treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab, respectively, for melanoma in the adjuvant setting and were eventually diagnosed with myasthenia gravis with cardiac involvement. An 80-year-old woman developed diffuse asymmetric muscle weakness, bilateral ptosis and asymptomatic high serum troponin levels after adjuvant treatment with nivolumab and ipilimumab for a stage IIIB melanoma. After excluding ischemic heart disease, she was diagnosed with axonal polyradiculoneuropathy and myocarditis. Neurologic or cardiac irAEs in patients treated with ICIs are uncommon (<1%), but usually severe, with high rates of morbidity and fatality. The co-development of neurologic and cardiac irAEs is even more rare and can arise soon after exposure to ICIs and escalate rapidly. Since more and more patients are now treated with ICIs in the adjuvant setting, prompt identification and management are essential to avoid serious complications or death. Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved