Cost-effectiveness of providing insurance benefits for posthospital psychiatric halfway house stays.

A model insurance benefit package for posthospitalization psychiatric halfway house care was developed and administered to 32 hospitalized mentally ill persons. The therapeutic and cost effectiveness of providing a 120-day benefit package was examined over a 14-mo posthospitalization period. This was compared with the effectiveness of hospitalization benefits alone for the same patients over the 42 mo prior to halfway house admission. In terms of therapeutic efficacy, there was no significant deterioration after hospitalization release in either the symptom or behavioral coping scales, except for an increase in somatization. Yearly hospital recidivism rates fell from 79% to 29%, and the average yearly length of hospital stay per patient fell from 83 days to 18 days. In terms of cost-effectiveness, halfway house benefits saved the insurers 59% of their hospitalization costs. The implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Photophysical properties of Eu supported on silica gel functionalized with propyl β-diketonates

New luminescent materials consisting of Eu³⁺ supported on silica gel functionalized with acetylacetone (EuAPG) and benzoyltrifiuoroacetone (EuBPG) showed a much more intense emission than Eu³⁺ supported either on silica gel (EuSG) or on silica gel functionalized with imidazole (EuIPG). The lifetimes of the Eu³⁺⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition in the samples were determined. All the silica contained about 0.2–0.3 wt.% of Eu³⁺.     

Strategic control in a naming task: Changing routes or changing deadlines?

S. Monsell, K. E. Patterson, A. Graham, C. H. Hughes, and R. Milroy (1992) reported that high-frequency irregular words are named faster when presented in a "pure" block than when mixed with nonwords. They attributed this effect to a de-emphasis of an assembly route in the pure block. The current authors replicated this effect in Experiment 1. In Experiments 2 and 3, similar effects resulted from mixing high- and low-frequency regular words with nonwords and from mixing high- and low-frequency irregular words together. Further, in all cases, the more slowly named stimuli were named faster in mixed blocks than in pure blocks. An alternative to the de-emphasis account, which is based on strategic control of initiation of articulation, was supported in Experiment 4 by confirming the alternative account's novel prediction of a regularity effect for high-frequency words in pure blocks. Implications for the single- versus dual-route debate and for interpretations of strategy effects in general are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Polyphasic characterization of indigenous lactobacilli and lactococci from PDO Canestrato Pugliese cheese

A polyphasic approach, involving both genotypic and phenotypic analyses was used to characterize 33 isolates of lactic acid bacteria from the raw milk Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Canestrato Pugliese cheese, in order to select candidate strains that can be used as autochthonous starter cultures in the dairy industry. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis and clustering by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) were used to evaluate the genotypic diversity, while phenotypic characterization was performed through miniaturized assays and traditional biochemical tests. Technological properties of major interest for cheese-making (acidification, tendency to lysis, proteolytic and peptidase activity) were also evaluated, and selected subset of data was statistically examined by the one-way ANOVA and the Tukey-Kramer HSD test, to highlight strain-specific and species-specific differences among the isolates. A high degree of diversity appeared in the phenotypic and technological traits in opposition to a relatively low genotypic diversity. Although none of the isolates showed the best performances in all the activities, an appropriate mixture of strains could be selected for providing an efficacious autochthonous starter culture.     

Construction of age-related reference limits for 24-h blood pressure pattern

Blood pressure (BP) is recursively variable during the day-night cycle because of a physiological circadian rhythm. The aim of this study is, therefore, to show how to construct the population reference limits (desms) for BP in its time varying 24-h pattern, starting from a small sample, in order to facilitate their use in a local context. The sample for standardization comprised 427 clinically healthy subjects (211 males and 216 females), ranging in age from 16 to 100 years, attending their routine activities. The procedure begins with the statistical biometry related to the sample, and proceeds with the computation of the BP desms related to (1) the time-qualified discrete values; (2) the parameters of circadian rhythm; (3) the daily pressure load. The pertaining rules are explained step by stop, allowing each one to prepare the proper local desms for BP 24-h pattern. These standards may be useful for validating the individual BP monitoring according to the upper limits of the circadian physiological variability in the diagnostic procedure for identifying hypertensive subjects.     

Thiazolium‐Based Catalysts for the Etherification of Benzylic Alcohols under Solvent‐Free Conditions

Thiazolium and imidazolium hybrid materials were prepared by radical reactions between a mercaptopropyl‐modified SBA‐15 mesoporous silica and bis‐vinylthiazolium or bis‐vinylimidazolium dibromide salts. These hybrid materials were characterized by several techniques and were employed in the etherification reaction of 1‐phenylethanol. Solvent‐free conditions at 160 °C under different gas phases (oxygen, air, nitrogen and argon) were used. The thiazolium‐based material displayed excellent performances. Further studies were carried out using unsupported thiazolium salts, with or without a methyl group at the C‐2 position of the thiazolium moiety. These studies allowed us to propose a reaction mechanism. The supported thiazolium‐based material was successfully used in the etherification reaction of two other benzylic alcohols and also in seven consecutive cycles. This work represents the first use of thiazolium‐based compounds as catalysts for the etherification reaction of alcohols.

     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Papain‐Family Cathepsin L‐Like Cysteine Protease Inhibitors Containing a 1,4‐Benzodiazepine Scaffold as Antiprotozoal Agents

Novel papain‐family cathepsin L‐like cysteine protease inhibitors endowed with antitrypanosomal and antimalarial activity were developed, through an optimization study of previously developed inhibitors. In the present work, we studied the structure–activity relationships of these derivatives, with the aim to develop new analogues with a simplified and more synthetically accessible structure and with improved antiparasitic activity. The structure of the model compounds was significantly simplified by modifying or even eliminating the side chain appended at the C3 atom of the benzodiazepine scaffold. In addition, a simple methylene spacer of appropriate length was inserted between the benzodiazepine ring and the 3‐bromoisoxazoline moiety. Several rhodesain and falcipain‐2 inhibitors displaying single‐digit micromolar or sub‐micromolar antiparasitic activity against one or both parasites were identified, with activities that were one order of magnitude more potent than the model compounds.     

The Fight against the Influenza A Virus H1N1: Synthesis,Molecular Modeling,and Biological Evaluation of Benzofurazan Derivatives as Viral RNA Polymerase Inhibitors

The influenza RNA polymerase complex, which consists of the three subunits PA, PB1, and PB2, is a promising target for the development of new antiviral drugs. A large library of benzofurazan compounds was synthesized and assayed against influenza virus A/WSN/33 (H1N1). Most of the new derivatives were found to act by inhibiting the viral RNA polymerase complex through disruption of the complex formed between subunits PA and PB1. Docking studies were also performed to elucidate the binding mode of benzofurazans within the PB1 binding site in PA and to identify amino acids involved in their mechanism of action. The predicted binding pose is fully consistent with the biological data and lays the foundation for the rational development of more effective PA–PB1 inhibitors.     

Effects of High Pressure Treatments on Polymeric Films for Flexible Food Packaging

Effects of high pressure (HP) treatments on functional and morphological properties of commercial packaging films have been investigated, to assess their suitability for use in these processes. Experimental analyses have been performed on packaging films, used to make pouches containing four different types of food simulants, after HP pasteurization and sterilization treatments at 200, 500 and 700 MPa. The investigated polymeric flexible packaging structures were single layer as well as bilayer films. Effects of treatments on structural/morphological properties (i.e. crystallinity and density) and on thermodynamic and barrier properties were addressed. Quite all the investigated films were found to be suitable for HP pasteurization, which only determined a negligible effect on the glass transition temperatures and on density of the amorphous regions of some polymeric materials, without a significant effect on functional properties of the packaging. Only bilayer structures including metalized polyethyleneterephthalate were not able to withstand processing conditions because of an extensive delamination accompanied by loss of metallization layer. Conversely, in the case of HP sterilization, combined effects of HP and relatively high temperature caused significant modifications in some of the packaging materials, even those not including a metalized film. In particular, localized delamination occurred in the case of bilayer structures made by laminating polyethyleneterephtalate with linear low density polyethylene or with polypropylene. Films obtained by laminating cast polyamide and bioriented polyamide with polypropylene displayed no evidence of delamination. In the case of films not displaying delamination, only limited changes in gas and vapour barrier properties were detected. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tuning light emission of PbS nanocrystals from infrared to visible range by cation exchange

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, with intense and sharp-line emission between red and near-infrared spectral regions, are of great interest for optoelectronic and bio-imaging applications. The growth of an inorganic passivation layer on nanocrystal surfaces is a common strategy to improve their chemical and optical stability and their photoluminescence quantum yield. In particular, cation exchange is a suitable approach for shell growth at the expense of the nanocrystal core size. Here, the cation exchange process is used to promote the formation of a CdS passivation layer on the surface of very small PbS nanocrystals (2.3 nm in diameter), blue shifting their optical spectra and yielding luminescent and stable nanostructures emitting in the range of 700–850 nm. Structural, morphological and compositional investigation confirms the nanocrystal size contraction after the cation-exchange process, while the PbS rock-salt crystalline phase is retained. Absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy demonstrate the growth of a passivation layer with a decrease of the PbS core size, as inferred by the blue-shift of the excitonic peaks. The surface passivation strongly increases the photoluminescence intensity and the excited state lifetime. In addition, the nanocrystals reveal increased stability against oxidation over time. Thanks to their absorption and emission spectral range and the slow recombination dynamics, such highly luminescent nano-objects can find interesting applications in sensitized photovoltaic cells and light-emitting devices.