Design and prototyping of a family of OLED luminaires for indoor environmental applications: results from the ODALINE project

Results of the project ‘ODALINE’ (OLED Devices Application in Luminaires for Interior and Exterior lighting) are presented. A team of academic and industrial partners worked together to design and manufacture a family of OLED luminaires. The project went through the following phases: i) analysis of the state-of-the-art of OLED technology; ii) identification of scenarios and application fields for OLED-based lighting systems and definition of requirements and performances expected for each scenario; iii) definition of the concept of new OLED lighting systems and development of their preliminary design; iv) executive design and manufacturing of some prototypes. After the identification of the most suitable OLED unit and of the application scenarios, the concept of the new luminaires was conceived: the luminaires rely on a suitable aggregation of a base module (consisting of an array of 6 OLED units, measuring 30 cm ∗ 20 cm) to provide systems with enhanced properties in terms of high efficiency, high quality light and flexibility as the luminaires can be combined to respond to different lighting tasks for indoor environmental applications. Final output of the research project was the manufacturing of three prototypes: a suspended luminaire (6 basic modules), a free-standing luminaire (4 basic modules) and a task lighting luminaire (1 module). The power supply system, consistently with the general concept, was developed for a single module rather than for the whole luminaire. Its architecture was conceived to allow the control of the luminaire (switching on/off, dimming) through the DALI digital protocol. Furthermore, some secondary optics were conceived and designed to concentrate the Lambertian light output and to increase the utilization factor of the flux

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Low bone density, slowed growth rate, gynecomastia and decreased inhibin-B/FSH ratio in a boy treated with imatinib during puberty.

Reduced bone mineral density and reduction of the inhibin-B/FSH ratio are potential consequences of imatinib use in adolescent boy

Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

Abstract Background Scarce data are available comparing infective endocarditis (IE) following surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study aimed to compare the clinical presentation, microbiological profile, management, and outcomes of IE after SAVR versus TAVR. Methods Data were collected from the “Infectious Endocarditis after TAVR International” (enrollment from 2005 to 2020) and the “International Collaboration on Endocarditis” (enrollment from 2000 to 2012) registries. Only patients with an IE affecting the aortic valve prosthesis were included. A 1:1 paired matching approach was used to compare patients with TAVR and SAVR. Results A total of 1688 patients were included. Of them, 602 (35.7%) had a surgical bioprosthesis (SB), 666 (39.5%) a mechanical prosthesis, 70 (4.2%) a homograft, and 350 (20.7%) a transcatheter heart valve. In the SAVR versus TAVR matched population, the rate of new moderate or severe aortic regurgitation was higher in the SB group (43.4% vs 13.5%; P &lt; .001), and fewer vegetations were diagnosed in the SB group (62.5% vs 82%; P &lt; .001). Patients with an SB had a higher rate of perivalvular extension (47.9% vs 27%; P &lt; .001) and Staphylococcus aureus was less common in this group (13.4% vs 22%; P = .033). Despite a higher rate of surgery in patients with SB (44.4% vs 27.3%; P &lt; .001), 1-year mortality was similar (SB: 46.5%; TAVR: 44.8%; log-rank P = .697). Conclusions Clinical presentation, type of causative microorganism, and treatment differed between patients with an IE located on SB compared with TAVR. Despite these differences, both groups exhibited high and similar mortality at 1-year follow-up