Single intravitreal bevacizumab injection effects on contrast sensitivity in macular edema from branch retinal vein occlusion

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection on visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography-measured central macular thickness in eyes with macular edema from branch retinal vein occlusion. Methods: Seventeen eyes of 17 patients with macular edema from unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion were treated with a single bevacizumab injection. Patients were submitted to a complete evaluation including best corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography measurements before treatment and one and three months after injection. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography measurements were compared to baseline values. Results: Mean visual acuity measurement improved from 0.77 logMAR at baseline to 0.613 logMAR one month after injection (P=0.0001) but worsened to 0.75 logMAR after three months. Contrast sensitivity test demonstrated significant improvement at spatial frequencies of 3, 6, 12 and 18 cycles/degree one month after injection and at the spatial frequency of 12 cycles/degree three months after treatment. Mean +/- standard deviation baseline central macular thickness (552 +/- 150 mu m) reduced significantly one month (322 +/- 127 mu m, P=0.0001) and three months (439 perpendicular to 179 mu m, P=0.01) after treatment. Conclusions: Bevacizumab injection improves visual acuity and contrast sensitivity and reduces central macular thickness one month after treatment. Visual acuity returns to baseline levels at the 3-month follow-up, but some beneficial effect of the treatment is still present at that time, as evidenced by optical coherence tomography-measured central macular thickness and contrast sensitivity measurements

Brief Assessment of Schizotypal Traits: A Multinational Study

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) was developed with the aim of examining variations in healthy trait schizotypy, as well as latent vulnerability to psychotic-spectrum disorders. No previous study has studied the cross-cultural validity of the SPQ-B in a large cross-national sample. The main goal of the present study was to analyze the reliability and the internal structure of SPQ-B scores in a multinational sample of 28,426 participants recruited from 14 countries. The mean age was 22.63 years (SD = 7.08; range 16-68 years), 37.7% (n = 10,711) were men. The omega coefficients were high, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92 for the total sample. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that SPQ-B items were grouped either in a theoretical structure of three first-order factors (Cognitive-Perceptual, Interpersonal, and Disorganized) or in a bifactor model (three first-order factors plus a general factor of schizotypal personality). In addition, the results supported configural but not strong measurement invariance of SPQ-B scores across samples. These findings provide new information about the factor structure of schizotypal personality, and support the validity and utility of the SPQ-B, a brief and easy tool for assessing self-reported schizotypal traits, in cross-national research. Theoretical and clinical implications for diagnostic systems, psychosis models, and cross-national mental health strategies are derived from these results

Sintesi e Caratterizzazione di Octatiofeni Funzionalizzati con Gruppi Ionici o Ionizzabili

Sono riportate la sintesi, tramite accoppiamento ossidativo, e la caratterizzazione di octatiofeni recanti in beta catene alchilsulfaniliche funzionalizzate con gruppi COOH e NH2

Synthesis and Characterization of ionic or ionisable octithiophenenes

Oligothiophenes (OTs) are materials with a precisely defined chain and conjugation length and they are usually more soluble than polymers and stable in various redox states. OTs are important molecules for applications in electronic devices, such as Field Effect Transistors (FETs), Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaic cells, and sensors.2 Derivatisation of PTs with ionic or ionisable groups in the side chains provides internal charge compensation (or self-doping) generated during redox processes,3 as well as imparts water solubility. Thanks to these hydrophilic properties, ionic OTs could be able to interact with different ionic and biological molecules. This characteristic makes them interesting for applications as chemo- and bio-sensors. These applications require water-compatible materials, in the form of conjugated (and sometimes luminescent) polyelectrolytes, able to detect biomolecules through their impact on the conditions, for photoinduced charge or excitation transfer.

Synthesis of asymmetric beta-alkylsulfanyl bithiophenes as precursors for symmetric octithiophenes

The synthesis of 4-alkylsulfanyl bithiophenes, based on Stille coupling reaction, is reported

New Aminoalkylsulfanyl Polythiophenes: Organic and Water Soluble Polymers

The synthesis and characterization of organic and water soluble aminoalkylsulfanyl polythiophenes are reported

New Processable Aminoalkylsulfanyl Polythiophenes

The synthesis and polymerization of novel alkylsulfanyl substituted thiophenes bearing amino end-groups is reported. The new materials were characterized by NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis, XRPD and GPC

One-pot synthesis of symmetric octithiophenes from asymmetric beta-alkylsulfanyl bithiophenes

Starting from 4-(octylsulfanyl)-2,2'-bithiophene, 4-bromo-4'-(octylsulfanyl)-2,2'-bithiophene, 4-iodo-4'-(octylsulfanyl)-2,2'-bithiophene, 4-bromo-4'-[(S)-2-methylbutylsulfanyl]-2,2'-bithiophene, and 4-iodo-4'-[(S)-2-methylbutylsulfanyl]-2,2'-bithiophene, a new series of symmetrically beta-substituted octithiophenes were synthesized by one-pot oxidative coupling with FeCl3. The octithiophenes obtained are soluble in common organic solvents and show different solvatochromic properties depending on the substitution type. In particular, the bromine atom exerts a positive influence on the supramolecular organization: the brominated octithiophenes display high filmability, solvatochromism, and CD induced by aggregation (when the chiral 2-methylbutylsulfanyl group is present), properties usually observed for polythiophenes. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out an a model bithiophene (4-substituted with a methylsulfanyl group) in order to understand the possible mechanism of the growth, the regiochemistry, and the reason for the polymerization leads to an octithiophene

Approccio biomometico alla sintesi di composti diterpenici a scheletro clerodanico

E' presentata la sintesi di un derivato diterpenico a scheletro clerodanico