Hybrid Nanoarchitectonics with Cr, Fe-MOF/ Graphene Nanocomposite for Removal of Organic Sulfur Compounds from Diesel Fuel

Metal–organic frameworks (Cr-MOF and Fe-MOF) and their graphene hybride nano-composites were prepared via green solvo-themal method. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm and XPS. The composites were used for the adsorption of thiophenic sulfur compound (thiophene, dibenzothiophene, 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene) in a model fuel oil. It was found that, graphene in the MOF composite has positive effect on sulfur removal. The removal efficiency increase from 62% to % 95.6 using Fe-MOF and Fe-MOF/Gr (9:1), respectively. This enhancement effect is attributed to a greater number of coordinatively unsaturated sites (CUS) in the composites. The results indicated that the adsorption reach to 96.6% for DBT adsorption from model diesel oil and 62% for diesel fuel on using Cr-MOF/Gr composite.

Diagnosing Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Racially Diverse Older Adults: Comparison of Consensus, Actuarial, and Statistical Methods

BACKGROUND

Actuarial and statistical methods have been proposed as alternatives to conventional methods of diagnosing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), with the aim of enhancing diagnostic and prognostic validity, but have not been compared in racially diverse samples.

OBJECTIVE

We compared the agreement of consensus, actuarial, and statistical MCI diagnostic methods, and their relationship to race and prognostic indicators among diverse older adults.

METHODS

Participants (N = 354; M age = 71; 68% White, 29% Black) were diagnosed with MCI or normal cognition (NC) according to clinical consensus, actuarial neuropsychological criteria (Jak/Bondi), and latent class analysis (LCA). We examined associations with race/ethnicity, longitudinal cognitive and functional change, and incident dementia.

RESULTS

MCI rates by consensus, actuarial criteria, and LCA were 44%, 53%, and 41%, respectively. LCA identified three MCI subtypes (memory; memory/language; memory/executive) and two NC classes (low normal; high normal). Diagnostic agreement was substantial, but agreement of the actuarial method with consensus and LCA was weaker than the agreement between consensus and LCA. Among cases classified as MCI by actuarial criteria only, Black participants were over-represented, and outcomes were generally similar to those of NC participants. Consensus diagnoses best predicted longitudinal outcomes overall, whereas actuarial diagnoses best predicted longitudinal functional change among Black participants.

CONCLUSION

Consensus diagnoses optimize specificity in predicting dementia, but among Black older adults, actuarial diagnoses may be more sensitive to early signs of decline. Results highlight the need for cross-cultural validity in MCI diagnosis and should be explored in community- and population-based samples.

Metal organic framework-graphene nano-composites for high adsorption removal of DBT as hazard material in liquid fuel

Nowadays, one of the most important energy issues is how to deal with the sulfur removal from liquid fuels in a simple and inexpensive ways. Adsorptive desulphurization process can solve this issue when use highly effective adsorbent like metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and its nano-composites. In this context, this study uses the green solvo-themal method for the preparation of MOF (Cu-BTC) and MOF/Graphene hybrid nano-composite to be used as an effective DBT adsorbent from the model fuels. The prepared adsorbents were characterized by using different analytical techniques like: XRD, FTIR, BET, and TEM. Adsorption experimental results demonstrated that the composite material MOF/Gr (9:1 wt ratio) exhibited extra ordinary high dibenzothiophene adsorption with adsorption capacity (46.2 mg S/g) under the optimum experimental conditions. Kinetic and Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm were also studied.

Associative memory for conceptually unitized word pairs in mild cognitive impairment is related to the volume of the perirhinal cortex

Unitization, that is, the encoding of an association as one integrated entity, has been shown to improve associative memory in populations presenting with associative memory deficit due to hippocampal dysfunction, such as amnesic patients with focal hippocampal lesions and healthy older adults. One reason for this benefit is that encoding of unitized associations would rely on the perirhinal cortex (PrC) and thus minimize the need for hippocampal recruitment. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is accompanied by a deficit in associative memory. However, unitization has never been studied to explore the potential benefit in associative memory in MCI, maybe because MCI is characterized by PrC pathology. However, the PrC may potentially still function sufficiently to allow for the successful adoption of unitization. In this study, we aimed at assessing whether unitization could attenuate MCI patients' associative memory deficit, and whether the ability to remember unitized associations would be modulated by the integrity of the PrC in MCI patients. Unitization was manipulated at a conceptual level, by encouraging participants to encode unrelated word pairs as new compound words. Participants also underwent a structural MRI exam, and measures of PrC were extracted (Brodmann Areas [BA] 35 and 36). Results showed that, contrary to healthy controls, MCI patients did not benefit from unitization. Moreover, their memory performance for unitized associations was related to the measure of PrC integrity (BA35), while it was not the case in controls. This finding thus suggests that unitization does not help to attenuate the associative deficit in MCI patients, and brings support to the literature linking unitization to the PrC function.

Mechanisms of bradykinin-induced expression of connective tissue growth factor and nephrin in podocytes

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetes and is characterized by mesangial matrix deposition and podocytopathy, including podocyte loss. The risk factors and mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of DN are still not completely defined. In the present study, we aimed to understand the cellular mechanisms through which activation of B2 kinin receptors contribute to the initiation and progression of DN. Stimulation of cultured rat podocytes with bradykinin (BK) resulted in a significant increase in ROS generation, and this was associated with a significant increase in NADPH oxidase (NOX)1 and NOX4 protein and mRNA levels. BK stimulation also resulted in a signicant increase in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt, and this effect was inhibited in the presence of NOX1 and Nox4 small interfering (si)RNA. Furthermore, podocytes stimulated with BK resulted in a significant increase in protein and mRNA levels of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and, at the same time, a significant decrease in protein and mRNA levels of nephrin. siRNA targeted against NOX1 and NOX4 significantly inhibited the BK-induced increase in CTGF. Nephrin expression was increased in response to BK in the presence of NOX1 and NOX4 siRNA, thus implicating a role for NOXs in modulating the BK response in podocytes. Moreover, nephrin expression in response to BK was also significantly increased in the presence of siRNA targeted against CTGF. These findings provide novel aspects of BK signal transduction pathways in pathogenesis of DN and identify novel targets for interventional strategies.

Anorexia nervosa and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: a case report

Introduction

Wernicke's encephalopathy is an acute, potentially fatal, neuropsychiatric syndrome resulting from thiamine deficiency. The disorder is still greatly under-diagnosed, and failure to promptly identify and adequately treat the condition can lead to death or to the chronic form of the encephalopathy - Korsakoff's syndrome. Wernicke's encephalopathy has traditionally been associated with alcoholism but, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of clinical settings in which the disorder is observed.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 45-year-old Caucasian woman who arrived at the emergency room presenting signs of marked malnutrition and mental confusion, ataxic gait and ophthalmoplegia. Main laboratory test findings included low serum magnesium and megaloblastic anemia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed increased T2 signal in the supratentorial paraventricular region, the medial regions of the thalamus and the central and periaqueductal midbrain. The diagnosis of Wernicke's encephalopathy was made at once and immediate reposition of thiamine and magnesium was started. The patient had a long history of recurrent thoughts of being overweight, severe self-imposed diet restrictions and self-induced vomiting. She had also been drinking gin on a daily basis for the last eight years. One day after admittance the acute global confusional state resolved, but she presented severe memory deficits and confabulation. After six months of outpatient follow-up, memory deficits remained unaltered.

Conclusion

In this case, self-imposed long-lasting nutritional deprivation is thought to be the main cause of thiamine deficiency and subsequent encephalopathy, but adjunct factors, such as magnesium depletion and chronic alcohol misuse, might have played an important role, especially in the development of Korsakoff's syndrome. The co-morbidity between eating disorders and substance abuse disorders has emerged as a significant health issue for women, and the subgroup of patients with anorexia nervosa who also misuse alcohol is probably at a particular risk of developing Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. The present case report highlights this relevant issue.

Randomized phase II trials (RP2T): Selection design or poor man's phase III?

6595

Background: With the increasing number of new anticancer agents, RP2Ts have been used more often, aiming to select active agents to be tested further. RP2Ts are typically underpowered for statistical comparisons of endpoints between treatment arms. We sought to investigate how frequently formal statistical testing (as opposed to “picking the winner”) has been used in RP2Ts. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed for RP2Ts on systemic cancer therapy, using the medical subject headings “drug therapy” and “neoplasms,” and limiting the search to years 1995/1996 and 2005/2006, and to publication type “randomized controlled trials.” For each study, relevant data that were collected independently by two investigators included reporting of P values and confidence intervals (CIs) for primary (PE) and other endpoint(s) results. Results: 288 articles were retrieved and 107 were eligible: 22 were published in 1995/96 and 85 in 2005/06. Median number of arms and patients per RP2Ts were 2 and 94, respectively. PE was response rate in 71 (66.4%), a control arm was present in 55 (51.4%) and 48 (45%) were partially or entirely sponsored by for-profit organizations. For the PE, P values were reported in 50 (47%), and CIs in 69 (65%) RP2Ts. Either P values or CIs for the PE were reported in 85 (79.4%; 95% CI: 70.8% - 86.1%) cases. No temporal trend was identified in such practice (17 of 22 RP2Ts from 1995/1996 and 68 of 85 RP2Ts from 2005/2006). Likewise, source of funding and use of a control group were not associated with reporting P values/CIs for PE. Conclusions: Our study suggests that formal statistical comparisons are frequently performed between arms of RP2Ts. Further studies are needed in order to identify factors that are associated with such practice.

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Effects of collagen type on the behavior of adult canine annulus fibrosus cells in collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds

The healing of intervertebral disc defects may be improved by the implantation of cell-seeded collagen-based scaffolds. The present study evaluated in vitro the effects of the collagen type (type I vs type II) from which the scaffolds were fabricated on the behavior of adult canine annulus fibrosus cell-seeded collagen-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) scaffolds. Protein and GAG biosynthesis continued through the 8-week period of the experiment, demonstrating the viability of the cells in type I and type II collagen-GAG scaffolds. Statistical analysis revealed no significant effect of the type of collagen that makes up the scaffold on the biosynthetic activity. For both scaffold types, the amount of retained newly synthesized proteins increased from 1 to 2 weeks and from 6 to the 8 weeks. In contrast, the rate of GAG retention increased to a maximum at 4 weeks for both types of scaffolds, then decreased to about 50% of that level after 8 weeks. The number of cells generally increased the first week but then decreased in type I scaffolds while remaining constant in type II scaffolds. It could be assumed that most newly synthesized protein was lost to the medium, as the quantity of protein and collagen remained constant. Cell-mediated contraction of the scaffolds contributed to folds that formed in the constructs and to create an oriented architecture tissue. These findings commend the use of a type II collagen-GAG scaffold for further study on the basis of its maintenance of cell number and the slightly higher accumulated GAG content.

Measurement of the influence of a cement kiln stack on a surrounding residential community by injection of an identification particulate

An identification particulate, barium sulfate, was injected into the kiln stack of a large cement plant in order to determine the effect of the particulate effluent of this stack on the immediately surrounding residential community. Meteorological conditions at the time of the injection favored deposition of the stack plume fallout directly over the location of a 7.75-km2 area in which both dustfall and suspended particle samplers were located. Dustfall data are reported for a 24-hour period to permit collection of all possible BaSO4-relatable stack emission. Collected particulate was analyzed for calcium and barium by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Collected dustfall particulates showed no stack effluent effect; collected suspended particulates exhibited a content of stack-relatable material in the amount of 1% of the total observed weight.