Original antifouling strategy: Polypropylene films modified with chitosan-coated silver nanoparticles

A new coating strategy of polypropylene (PP) films with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is proposed to obtain surfaces with antifouling properties. As a first step, the photograft polymerization is used to produce polyacrylic acid-grafted PP (PAA-grafted PP) films. A green AgNP synthesis is used by thermal reduction of AgNO3 with amino groups of chitosan (CS), which controls ion diffusion and stabilizes nanoparticles. AgNP/CS complexes are adsorbed on PAA-grafted PP by electrostatic interactions, yielding AgNP/CS-coated PP films. These films show an excellent antimicrobial activity, even for AgNP contents as low as 0.08 wt %, reducing more than 4 log units in the viable Staphylococcus aureus concentration or inducing Escherichia coli death. This trend is consistent with an adequate amount of small AgNP adsorbed in an organized manner within a thin surface layer. Therefore, the antimicrobial activity of this film seems to be more than promising, used as an active surface for a wide range of applications.Fil: Mosconi, Giuliana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Stragliotto, María Fernanda. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Slenk, Walte. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Valenti, Laura Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Fisicoquímica; ArgentinaFil: Giacomelli, Carla Eugenia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Strumia, Miriam Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Cesar Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentin

Pressure-Induced Conductivity in a Neutral Nonplanar Spin-Localized Radical

Souto, Manuel et al.There is a growing interest in the development of single-component molecular conductors based on neutral organic radicals that are mainly formed by delocalized planar radicals, such as phenalenyl or thiazolyl radicals. However, there are no examples of systems based on nonplanar and spin-localized C-centered radicals exhibiting electrical conductivity due to their large Coulomb energy (U) repulsion and narrow electronic bandwidth (W) that give rise to a Mott insulator behavior. Here we present a new type of nonplanar neutral radical conductor attained by linking a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) donor unit to a neutral polychlorotriphenylmethyl radical (PTM) with the important feature that the TTF unit enhances the overlap between the radical molecules as a consequence of short intermolecular S···S interactions. This system becomes semiconducting upon the application of high pressure thanks to increased electronic bandwidth and charge reorganization opening the way to develop a new family of neutral radical conductors.This work was supported by the EU ITN iSwitch 642196 DGI grant (BeWell; CTQ2013-40480-R), the Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials, and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), and the Generalitat de Catalunya (grant 2014- SGR-17). This work has also been supported by MINECO through the projects CSD2007-00045, CTQ2012- 38599-C02- 02 and CTQ2013-48252-P. ICMAB acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV- 2015-0496). M.S. is grateful to Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte for a FPU grant and he is enrolled in the Material Science Ph.D. program of UAB. D.B. is grateful to the EC ITN Nano2fun grant no607721. M.P.A. is grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte for an FPU grant. M.P.A. and V.G.B. thank the project CTQ2015-67755-C2-1-R. H.O. Jeschke, M. Tomic and R. Valenti thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for funding through grant SFB/TRR49 and Steve Winter for useful discussions. We thank Carlos Goḿ ez-Garcıá (Univ. Valencia) for SQUID measurements as well as Xavier Fontrodona (Univ. Girona) for X-ray diffraction measurements and Mercedes Taravillo (UCM) for the support provided during the high pressure Raman measurements.Peer reviewe

Association of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha promoter polymorphism with change in triacylglycerol response to sequential meals

Background: Reported associations between Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFA) and the postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) response have been inconsistent, which could be due to variations in the TNFA gene, meal fat composition or participant’s body weight. Hence, we investigated the association of TNFA polymorphism (−308G → A) with body mass index (BMI) and postprandial lipaemia and also determined the impact of BMI on the association of the polymorphism with postprandial lipaemia. Methods: The study participants (n = 230) underwent a sequential meal postprandial study. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast (t = 0, 49 g fat) and lunch (t =330 min, 29 g fat) to measure fasting and postprandial lipids, glucose and insulin. The Metabolic Challenge Study (MECHE) comprising 67 Irish participants who underwent a 54 g fat oral lipid tolerance test was used as a replication cohort. The impact of genotype on postprandial responses was determined using general linear model with adjustment for potential confounders. Results: The -308G → A polymorphism showed a significant association with BMI (P = 0.03) and fasting glucose (P = 0.006), where the polymorphism explained 13 % of the variation in the fasting glucose. A 30 % higher incremental area under the curve (IAUC) was observed for the postprandial TAG response in the GG homozygotes than A-allele carriers (P = 0.004) and the genotype explained 19 % of the variation in the IAUC. There was a non-significant trend in the impact of BMI on the association of the genotype with TAG IAUC (P = 0.09). These results were not statistically significant in the MECHE cohort, which could be due to the differences in the sample size, meal composition, baseline lipid profile, allelic diversity and postprandial characterisation of participants across the two cohorts. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that TNFA -308G → A polymorphism may be an important candidate for BMI, fasting glucose and postprandial TAG response. Further studies are required to investigate the mechanistic effects of the polymorphism on glucose and TAG metabolism, and determine whether BMI is an important variable which should be considered in the design of future studies. Trial registration: NCT01172951

Intersocietal consensus on the treatment of obesity in adolescents in Argentina

En un contexto socioeconómico mundial de profundas desigualdades, mientras que poblaciones enteras están siendo arrasadas por la desnutrición, es notorio el aumento de la obesidad en niños, adolescentes y adultos. La prevalencia de obesidad ha aumentado a un ritmo alarmante y está afectando progresivamente a muchos países de bajos y medianos ingresos, sobre todo en el medio urbano. Preocupa, especialmente de bido a las severas complicaciones clínicas que ocasiona1,2. De manera coincidente con las tendencias internacionales, en la Argentina la 2º Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición y Salud ( ENNYS) del año 2019 revela cifras del 20,7% y 20,4% de sobrepeso y obesidad en niños de 5 a 17 años, y en la tercera Encuesta Mundial de Salud Escolar del 2018 ( EMSE) , las cifras de la población de 13 a 17 años fueron de 30,7 % de sobrepeso y 7,4 % de obesidad3,4. La obesidad es una enfermedad crónica. Recientemente, la Asociación Europea para el Estudio de la Obesidad (EASO), la resume como una enfermedad por exceso de tejido adiposo. Las severas consecuencias en la salud que provoca dependen de la cantidad, la distribución y la localización del tejido adiposo. La enfermedad se produce, tanto a partir de la alteración en la función endócrina e inmulogógica del organismo, como causando alteraciones anatómicas en el organismo a partir del espacio físico que ocupa...Fil: Kovalskys, Irina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Mayer, Marcos Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Confluencia. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de la Pampa. Grupo Vinculado Fundacion Centro de Salud E Investigaciones Medicas | Universidad Nacional de la Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de la Pampa. Grupo Vinculado Fundacion Centro de Salud E Investigaciones Medicas.; ArgentinaFil: Armeno, Marisa. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Matto, Liliana. Asociación Psiquiátrica de América Latina; Argentina. Asociación de Psiquiatras Argentinos; ArgentinaFil: Roussos, Adriana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Schuldberg, Jacqueline. Asociación Argentina de Dietistas- Nutricionistas Dietistas; ArgentinaFil: Tozzi, Karina. Sociedad Argentina de Endocrinología Ginecológica y Reproductiva; ArgentinaFil: Valenti, Claudia. Gobierno de la Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Subsecretaria de Atencion Primaria Ambulatoria y Comunitaria.; ArgentinaFil: Anger, Vanesa E.. Universidad Maimónides; ArgentinaFil: Araujo, María Beatriz. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Bakalarz, Beatriz. Asociación Psiquiatras Argentinos; ArgentinaFil: Bazan, Nelio Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Ganduglia Cazaban, Mercedes. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños Pedro Elizalde (ex Casa Cuna); Argentina. Asociación Argentina de Nutricionistas y Nutricionistas Dietistas; ArgentinaFil: Ozuna, Blanca Acela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Rampi, Gabriela. Universidad Austral. Hospital Universitario Austral; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, Laura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Sarubbi, Susana. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Tonietti, Miriam. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Zonis, Luciana. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Salinas, Victoria. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Aguirre Ackermann, Marianela. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Sguassero, Yanina. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; ArgentinaFil: Katz, Mónica. Sociedad Argentina de Nutrición; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; Argentin

Measurement of the Tau Lepton Polarisation at LEP2

A first measurement of the average polarisation P_tau of tau leptons produced in e+e- annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value P_tau = -0.164 +/- 0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV.A first measurement of the average polarisation Pτ of tau leptons produced in e + e − annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value Pτ=−0.164±0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV.A first measurement of the average polarisation P_tau of tau leptons produced in e+e- annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value P_tau = -0.164 +/- 0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population