Electrokinetic Properties of Mesoporous Vitreous Membranes Doped by Silver-Silver Halides

Silver/silver halide materials are considered as efficient and highly stable plasmonic photocatalysts for the organic pollutant degradation and hydrogen evolution from water splitting under solar irradiation, and they possess promising antibacterial activity. Ordered mesoporous silica materials including porous glasses are considered as the most promising template for silver-containing structures. In the present work, Ag/AgHal-doped (Hal = Cl, Br) vitreous membranes on a base of the mesoporous glasses were prepared via step-by-step single-stage impregnation procedure. The chemical and phase composition of the modified membranes were identified by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the X-ray diffraction and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The structure and morphology of inner membrane space were studied by the scanning electron microscopy. Electrokinetic properties of the silver-containing vitreous membranes were determined by the differential method and the streaming potential method. The inner membrane space is modified unevenly with appearance of the clearly defined regions with different silver content. The formation of the Ag/AgCl clusters along with the individual nanoparticles over thickness of the 1-mm membrane with mean pore radius of 23 nm was detected. The modification of the pore space by Ag-containing structures and the type of halogen ion almost do not affect the electrochemical behavior of the mesoporous vitreous membranes.

A New Approach to Overcome Insulin Resistance in Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance: The Results of a Multicenter, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial of Efficacy and Safety of Subetta

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a common carbohydrate metabolism disorder world-wide. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 12-week Subetta therapy in correcting 2-h plasma glucose in patients with IGT, a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed. Derived by technological treatment of antibodies to insulin receptor β-subunit and endothelial NO synthase, Subetta increases the sensitivity of insulin receptors by activating the insulin signaling pathway. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were examined at screening, after 4 and 12 weeks. In Per Protocol population, 2-h plasma glucose in the Subetta group decreased by 2.05 ± 2.11 mmol/L (versus 0.56 ± 2.55 mmol/L in the Placebo group) after 12 weeks. The difference between the two groups was 1.49 ± 2.33 mmol/L (p < 0.0001). After 12 weeks, 65.2% of patients had 2-h plasma glucose <7.8 mmol/L. FPG remained almost unchanged. HbA1c tended to decrease. The number of adverse events did not differ in both groups. Subetta treatment is beneficial for patients with IGT; it also prevents progression of carbohydrate metabolism disorders.

Probing the Local Coordination of Hexavalent Uranium and the Splitting of 5f Orbitals Induced by Chemical Bonding

We report here a detailed experimental and theoretical investigation of hexavalent uranium in various local configurations with a high-energy-resolution fluorescence-detected X-ray absorption near-edge structure at the U M₄ edge. We show the pronounced sensitivity of the technique to the arrangement of atoms around the absorber and provide a detailed theoretical interpretation revealing the nature of spectral features. Calculations based on density functional theory and on crystal field multiplet theory indicate that for all local configurations analyzed, the main peak corresponds to nonbonding 5f orbitals, and the highest energy peak corresponds to antibonding 5f orbitals. Our findings agree with the accepted interpretation of uranyl spectral features and embed the latter in a broader field of view, which interprets the spectra of a large variety of U⁶⁺-containing samples on a common theoretical ground.

Efficacy and safety of Subetta add-on therapy in type 1 diabetes mellitus: The results of a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND

To examine efficacy of Subetta as an add-on to insulin therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed. Derived by technological treatment of antibodies to insulin receptor β-subunit and endothelial NO synthase Subetta was previously proved to activate insulin signaling pathway.

METHODS

A total of 144 randomized patients with poor glycemic control in basal-bolus insulin regime were included in intention-to-treat analysis in Subetta add-on therapy or placebo (n = 72 in both groups). Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), basal and prandial insulin doses, number of hypoglycemia episodes confirmed by self-monitoring of blood glucose were recorded for 36 weeks.

RESULTS

The baseline characteristics of subjects did not differ between the two groups. HbA1c mean (±standard deviation) change was -0.59 ± 0.99% (95% CI -0.84 to -0.37) after 36 weeks in Subetta (vs. -0.20 ± 1.14%; 95% CI -0.44 to 0.11 in placebo; p = 0.028). The rate of overall hypoglycemia events was 7.9 per patient year (95% CI 7.1-8.6) in Subetta group and 7.6 (95% CI 6.9-8.4) in Placebo group (p = 0.63). The basal and total insulin doses did not change at the end of 36 weeks in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Subetta add-on therapy boosting insulin activity and improving glycemic control in patients with T1DM is proved to be beneficial.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01868594.

Children's identification of familiar songs from pitch and timing cues

The goal of the present study was to ascertain whether children with normal hearing and prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants could use pitch or timing cues alone or in combination to identify familiar songs. Children 4–7 years of age were required to identify the theme songs of familiar TV shows in a simple task with excerpts that preserved (1) the relative pitch and timing cues of the melody but not the original instrumentation, (2) the timing cues only (rhythm, meter, and tempo), and (3) the relative pitch cues only (pitch contour and intervals). Children with normal hearing performed at high levels and comparably across the three conditions. The performance of child implant users was well above chance levels when both pitch and timing cues were available, marginally above chance with timing cues only, and at chance with pitch cues only. This is the first demonstration that children can identify familiar songs from monotonic versions—timing cues but no pitch cues—and from isochronous versions—pitch cues but no timing cues. The study also indicates that, in the context of a very simple task, young implant users readily identify songs from melodic versions that preserve pitch and timing cues.

Child implant users' imitation of happy- and sad-sounding speech

Cochlear implants have enabled many congenitally or prelingually deaf children to acquire their native language and communicate successfully on the basis of electrical rather than acoustic input. Nevertheless, degraded spectral input provided by the device reduces the ability to perceive emotion in speech. We compared the vocal imitations of 5- to 7-year-old deaf children who were highly successful bilateral implant users with those of a control sample of children who had normal hearing. First, the children imitated several happy and sad sentences produced by a child model. When adults in Experiment 1 rated the similarity of imitated to model utterances, ratings were significantly higher for the hearing children. Both hearing and deaf children produced poorer imitations of happy than sad utterances because of difficulty matching the greater pitch modulation of the happy versions. When adults in Experiment 2 rated electronically filtered versions of the utterances, which obscured the verbal content, ratings of happy and sad utterances were significantly differentiated for deaf as well as hearing children. The ratings of deaf children, however, were significantly less differentiated. Although deaf children's utterances exhibited culturally typical pitch modulation, their pitch modulation was reduced relative to that of hearing children. One practical implication is that therapeutic interventions for deaf children could expand their focus on suprasegmental aspects of speech perception and production, especially intonation patterns.

Infants' memory for musical performances

We evaluated 6- and 7-month-olds' preference and memory for expressive recordings of sung lullabies. In Experiment 1, both age groups preferred lower-pitched to higher-pitched renditions of unfamiliar lullabies. In Experiment 2, infants were tested after 2 weeks of daily exposure to a lullaby at one pitch level. Seven-month-olds listened significantly longer to the lullaby at a novel pitch level than at the original pitch level. Six-month-olds showed no preference but their low-pitch preference was eliminated. We conclude that infants' memory for musical performances is enhanced by the ecological validity of the materials. Moreover, infants' pitch preferences are influenced by their previous exposure and by the nature of the music.