Jahn - Teller Distortion in the Phosphorescent Excited State of Three-Coordinate Au(I) Phosphine Complexes

This article discusses three-coordinate Au(I) phosphine complexes

Thermodynamic Investigation and Mixed Ligand Complex Formation of 1,4-Bis-(3-aminopropyl)-piperazine and Biorelevant Ligands

Thermodynamic parameters for protonation of 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)-piperazine (BAPP) and its metal complexation with some divalent metal ions were determined in aqueous solution at constant ionic strength (0.1 M NaNO3) using a potentiometric technique. The order of –ΔG0 and –ΔH0 was found to obey , in accordance with the Irving-Williams order. The formation equilibria of zinc (II) complexes and the ternary complexes Zn(BAPP)L, where L = amino acid, amides, or DNA constituents), have been investigated. Ternary complexes are formed by a simultaneous mechanism. The concentration distribution of the complexes in solution was evaluated as a function of pH. Stoichiometry and stability constants for the complexes formed are reported and discussed. The stability of ternary complexes was quantitatively compared with their corresponding binary complexes in terms of the parameter Δlog K

Protonation Equilibria of Biologically Active Ligands in Mixed Aqueous Organic Solvents

The review is mainly concerned with the protonation equilibria of biologically active ligands like amino acids, peptides, DNA constituents, and amino acid esters in nonaqueous media. Equilibrium concentrations of proton-ligand formation as a function of pH were investigated. Also, thermodynamics associated with protonation equilibria were also discussed

A Comparative Study of Single and Multi-Stage Forecasting Algorithms for the Prediction of Electricity Consumption Using a UK-National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Dataset

Accurately looking into the future was a significantly major challenge prior to the era of big data, but with rapid advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the data availability around us, this has become relatively easier. Nevertheless, in order to ensure high-accuracy forecasting, it is crucial to consider suitable algorithms and the impact of the extracted features. This paper presents a framework to evaluate a total of nine forecasting algorithms categorised into single and multistage models, constructed from the Prophet, Support Vector Regression (SVR), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) approaches, applied to an electricity demand dataset from an NHS hospital. The aim is to see such techniques widely used in accurately predicting energy consumption, limiting the negative impacts of future waste on energy, and making a contribution towards the 2050 net zero carbon target. The proposed method accounts for patterns in demand and temperature to accurately forecast consumption. The Coefficient of Determination (R 2 ), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the algorithms’ performance. The results show the superiority of the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model and the multistage Facebook Prophet model, with R 2 values of 87.20% and 68.06%, respectivel

Clinical efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19: Findings from an observational comparative study in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine-based regimens versus standard treatment in patients with the coronavirus disease admitted in 2019 to a hospital in Saudi Arabia. A comparative observational study, using routine hospital data, was carried out in a large tertiary care hospital in Al Baha, Saudi Arabia, providing care to patients with COVID-19 between April 2019 and August 2019. Patients were categorized into two groups: the Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) group, treated with HCQ in a dose of 400 mg twice daily on the first day, followed by 200 mg twice daily; the non HCQ group, treated with other antiviral or antibacterial treatments according to protocols recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH) at the time. The primary outcomes were the length of hospital stay, need for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), time in ICU, and need for mechanical ventilation. Overall survival was also assessed. 568 patients who received HCQ (treatment group) were compared with 207 patients who did not receive HCQ (control group). HCQ did not improve mortality in the treated group (7.7% vs. 7.2%). There were no significant differences in terms of duration of hospitalization, need for and time in ICU, and need for mechanical ventilation among the groups. Our study provides further evidence that HCQ treatment does not reduce mortality rates, length of hospital stay, admission and time in ICU, and need for mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

Synthesis and Characterization of Privileged Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligands and Chiral Brønsted Acids Derived from d-Mannitol

The synthesis of several novel chiral phosphoramidite ligands (L1–L8) with C2 symmetric, pseudo C2 symmetric secondary amines and chiral Brønsted acids 1a,b has been achieved. These chiral auxiliaries were obtained from commercially available d-mannitol, and secondary amines in moderate to excellent yields. Excellent diastereoselectivites of ten chiral auxiliaries were obtained. The chiral phosphoramidite ligands and chiral Brønsted acids were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112