ABS/AgZrP Nanocomposite Additive Manufacturing Filament for Antibacterial Applications

The emergence of COVID-19 raised awareness in hygiene practices and reminded us of the harm that microbes bring to our health. Incorporating antibacterial agents in polymeric materials would allow us to combat lingering bacteria on surfaces that we often use. The utilization of composite filaments with antibacterial activity would allow us to employ better precautions in reducing contact with harmful bacteria. Antibacterial acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating silver zirconium phosphate (AgZrP) nanoparticles via twin screw extruder. The ABS/AgZrP nanocomposite filament with 5 wt % and 20 wt% of AgZrP were synthesized and characterized with Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). DSC and XRD data denote an increase in the presence of crystalline regions as the AgZrP content is increased. TGA data indicate that the addition of AgZrP has no effect on the thermal stability of the material. FTIR data indicate a decrease in transmission at higher AgZrP loading. The decreasing trend in tensile properties of the 3D-printed neat and AgZrP-filled ABS may have been due to particle agglomeration acting as stress concentrators. Antibacterial activity assessment via disk diffusion test showed a zone of inhibition within the sample indicating that there is no bacterial growth both for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. © 2023 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.

89zirconium-labelled girentuximab (89zr-tlx250) pet in urothelial cancer patients (zipup) - a phase i trial of a novel staging modality for urothelial carcinoma

Introduction & Objectives: Urothelial cancer is a lethal disease with a rising incidence. The current imaging modalities for staging, either CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis or FDG PET/CT, have issues. CT is known to have relatively low sensitivity for detecting low volume metastatic disease, while FDG PET is predominantly renally excreted and has intense activity in the urinary tract, which limits its utility to detect bladder or upper tract lesions, or nodal metastases in close proximity to the urinary tract. Utilizing 89Zr-TLX250, which is predominantly hepatically cleared, may improve imaging in these scenarios. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility, safety, and utility of Zirconium-89-Girentuximab (89Zr-TLX250) PET/CT in the accurate staging of bladder and urothelial cancer as compared to FDG PET. Material(s) and Method(s): ZipUp is single-arm, phase I trial examining the feasibility, safety, and utility of 89Zr-TLX250 PET/CT in patients either undergoing pre-operative staging of urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer for curative intent, or with known metastatic urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer. Following Ethical approval (HREC ID: RGS3940), all participants undergo 89Zr-TLX250 PET/CT and will need to have undergone recent FDG PET/CT for means of comparison (Figure 1. Trial Schema). This trial aims to recruit 10 participants undergoing pre-operative staging prior to planned cystectomy and 10 participants with known metastatic disease. The primary endpoint is feasibility defined by the ability to recruit to the target sample size within the study duration. Secondary endpoints are safety, tolerability and sensitivity/specificity in detecting lymph node metastases (pre-cystectomy group) compared with FDG PET/CT. Result(s): Since May 2021, 15 patients consented to participate, but 2 patients subsequently withdrew. 7 patients did not proceed to dose administration and imaging due to COVID-19 pandemic related supply issues of IMP which would have delayed initiation of treatment. 6 patients have been enrolled with imaging performed. . 5 pre-cystectomy staging group . 1 metastatic group Conclusion(s): If 89Zr-TLX250 PET/CT is proven to be feasible, safe, and effective in staging urothelial cancer, it could improve the appropriate selection of treatment for patients with metastatic or primary urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer. [Figure presented]Copyright © 2023 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potassium reduction with sodium zirconium cyclosilicate in patients with heart failure.

AIMS: Several patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) do not receive renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors at the recommended dose or at all, frequently due to actual or feared hyperkalaemia. Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) is an orally administered non-absorbed intestinal potassium binder proven to lower serum potassium concentrations. METHODS AND RESULTS: PRIORITIZE-HF was an international, multicentre, parallel-group, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the benefits and risks of using SZC to intensify RAAS inhibitor therapy. Patients with symptomatic HFrEF were eligible and randomly assigned to receive SZC 5 g or placebo once daily for 12 weeks. Doses of study medication and RAAS inhibitors were titrated during the treatment period. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients at 12 weeks in the following categories: (i) any RAAS inhibitor at less than target dose, and no MRA; (ii) any RAAS inhibitor at target dose and no MRA; (ii) MRA at less than target dose; and (iv) MRA at target dose. Due to challenges in participant management related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was prematurely terminated with 182 randomized patients. There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of patients by RAAS inhibitor treatment categories at 3 months (P = 0.43). The proportion of patients at target MRA dose was numerically higher in the SZC group (56.4%) compared with the placebo group (47.0%). Overall, SZC was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: PRIORITIZE-HF was terminated prematurely due to COVID-19 and did not demonstrate a statistically significant increase in the intensity of RAAS inhibitor therapies with the potassium-reducing agent SZC compared with placebo.

Radiopacity of sodium zirconium cryosilicate on plain radiography

Introduction: Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate is a novel potassium binder developed by AstraZeneca and is sold under the brand name Lokelma (TM). It has been approved for use in England in 2020 for the treatment of non-lifethreatening hyperkalaemia, and stable hyperkalaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease.1 It is available as powder sachets (5 grams and 10 grams) and is designed to be mixed with water and administered enterally. The starting dose is recommended as 10 grams three times per day, and resolution of hyperkalaemia is usually seen within two days, after which a lower maintenence dose may be administered. The radiopaque properties of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate have previously been noted on computed tomography before in 2021,2 but, to our knowledge, this has not yet been described on plain radiography. Case presentation: We present the case of a critically unwell lady in her 50s with COVID-19 pneumonitis. As a feature of her critical illness syndrome, she developed acute renal failure, and required renal replacement therapy. Persistent problems with hyperkalaemia were noted, and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate was administered enterally via a nasogastric tube as directed in the product literature. For unrelated reasons, she also required a chest radiograph within the following hour. On reviewing the radiograph, a radiopaque material was noted in the stomach, and was seen to very clearly outline the major anatomical features of the organ, including the greater and lesser curve, and gastric rugae. After discussion with our local radiology colleagues and finding the material is opaque on computed tomography, we concluded this material must be the recently administered sodium zirconium cyclosilicate. Investigation: Image of radiograph showing radiopaque material in the stomach of a critically unwell patient. Discussion: To our knowledge, the radiopaque properties of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate have not been described before in the medical literature as relating to plain radiography. When interpreting plain radiographs, it is important to understand and exclude sources of artefact. As sodium zirconium cyclosilicate becomes widespread in critical care areas, we believe the above-described scenario will be commonly encountered. Moreover, we believe that sodium zirconium cyclosilicate may have additional utility as a well tolerated enteral contrast agent with the added benefit of lowering serum potassium concentration.

Cold swaging of zirconium (ZR4) rods: Force analysis using CATIA-V5 and practical force measurement method

Zirconium alloys are used in various components of a nuclear fuel due to its irradiation strength and very less neutron absorption, these are used for production of clad tubes, end caps, end plates, spacer pads and bearing pads which are used in nuclear fuel cladding which are further used in the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) and Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). The rods before going for production of end caps should undergo swaging in order to reduce the diameter from 24mm to 16 mm. Swaging process includes the reduction of cross section of zirconium rods with annealing process at regular intervals to relieve stresses, so the operation is performed in a number of passes. It is preferred for production of rods over the other cold working process such as wire drawing and pilgering due to its unique advantages over crack formation and line defects. The rod which is being swaged undergoes centrifugal force due to the roller action and hammers in radial direction so force analysis is done in CATIA V5 R19. Apart from centrifugal action the rod undergoes various other forces which constitute to the production of rod by swaging, so in order to calculate the total load suitable practical measurements are suggested and one method is specified due to the constraint nature of the machine. Patient lines are frequent in medical care, and one indicator of access to healthcare is waiting time. We explain queuing theory - an empirical method that provides service providers with a lot of experience in the design and management of existing services. This paper focuses on the pattern of arrival and the facilities available in the hospital in Vijayanagara District. The most important purpose of this research was to provide policymakers with knowledge to contribute to the well-being of the population by reducing waiting time for service, in this study, the waiting time of patients in the ambient department was first analyzed with the M / M/ 1 queuing method. The entire world is spreading of coronavirus-COVID-19 has increased exponentially across the globe, and still, no vaccine is available for the treatment of patients. The crowd has grown tremendously in the hospitals where the facilities are minimal. The queue theory is applied for the Single-server system and its self-similarity existence in a queue used to identify the queue time, waiting time, and Hurst parameter by different patient arrivals methods Health care center in our local area located in Hospet, Vijayanagara district, Karnataka. © 2022 Author(s).

Optimization of full zirconium crowns manufacturing using hybrid digital approach under the sanitary restrictions during Covid-19 pandemic and limited clinical access to intraoral scanner

PurposeTo assess clinical optimization of hybrid digital approach for full zirconium crowns manufacturing developed under sanitary restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic considering specific economical interaction of “low budget clinic–high budget dental laboratory”.MethodsDeveloped primary approach included following steps: 1) taking analog impression by dental clinician;2) digitalization of impression by mobile dental technician team outside the dental clinic;3) transfer of obtained *.stl file to the dental lab;4) inversion of *.stl file for dental model production with further CAD-CAM manufacturing of zirconium crowns;and 5) delivery of manufactured crowns to the clinic in a non-contact manner. The clinical effectiveness of such an approach was assessed by criteria of clinical time expenditures associated with appropriate crowns fitting and fixation, clinical marginal fit, and risk reduction considering COVID-19 transmission.ResultsAnalysis of 116 cases demonstrated that in 81.89% of cases, time expenditures associated with appropriate crowns fitting and fixation were not statistically different (p > 0.05) from those needed for crowns manufactured by usual digital protocols. Clinical marginal fit in 70.68% cases was classified as “excellent”, in 21.55% cases – as “good”, and in 7.76% cases – as “appropriate”. Risk reduction of COVID-19 transmission considering a possible way of disease spread varied in the range of 34.61-56.78%.ConclusionsA proposed approach for full zirconium crowns manufacturing developed specifically under sanitary restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic optimizes the quality of dental care considering limited clinical access to an intraoral scanner while demonstrating sufficient clinical effectiveness in the means of marginal crowns fit and clinical time expenditures.

Heterogeneous Catalysis and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Environmental Protection (VOC Oxidation, Air and Water Purification)

The developments of eco-friendly catalysts and unconventional photocatalysts, not based on TiO2, which can also represent possible solutions to the crisis of the raw material exportation [5] was also explored in two other papers of this Special Issue [6,7];the good catalytic, photocatalytic, and phothermo-catalytic properties of MnOx-ZrO2 are presented, making these composites a promising future choice, as an example of an economical, not-critical, and high-performing catalyst applied for the removal of some dangerous VOCs such as toluene. [...]the Fenton and photo-Fenton-like processes were proposed to remove other water pollutants such as pesticides [13] and rhodamine B dye [14], using alternative catalysts such as reduced CeO2 [13] and the chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) [14]. [...]as the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I would like to extend my appreciation to all the authors for their high-level articles, and I thank all the reviewers for their comments on the manuscripts.

Acute hyperkalemia: Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate compared to sodium polystyrene sulfonate

INTRODUCTION: Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) has been the mainstay of therapy for the treatment of hyperkalemia, but it has been associated with case reports of gastrointestinal injuries. In May 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) for the treatment of hyperkalemia, which demonstrated efficacy in achieving restoration of normokalemia after 24 to 72 hours. In January 2020, SZC replaced SPS as the preferred potassium binder at our institution based on published literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the resolution of hyperkalemia with SZC containing regimens compared to SPS containing regimens within 24 hours. METHODS: This retrospective chart review was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Patients who were 18 years of age and older and received at least one dose of SZC (from January 2020 to November 2020) or SPS (from January 2019 to September 2019) for the treatment of hyperkalemia were reviewed to be included in the study. Patients who were critically ill, COVID-19 positive, on chronic hemodialysis, on chronic potassium binders, or treated based on a hemolyzed potassium level were excluded from the study. The primary endpoint was the restoration of normokalemia within 24 hours. Secondary endpoints included evaluation of additional doses proximal to a repeat potassium level, magnitude of potassium reduction within 24 hours after potassium binder administration, discontinuation of agents known to cause hyperkalemia, and management of hyperkalemia per or off hospital protocol. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-five patients from each arm were included in the primary and secondary endpoint analysis. The primary endpoint occurred in 44% of patients from the SZC arm compared to 40% from the SPS arm (P=0.608). Additional doses prior to and after a repeat potassium level were higher in the SZC arm compared to the SPS arm (32% vs. 4%, P=0.0001;53.6% vs. 32.8%, P=0.0014). There were no statistically significant differences in the remaining secondary endpoints. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective evaluation, SZC and SPS containing regimens were found to be equivalent. Further evaluation is needed to determine which potassium binder is the most operationally efficient and cost effective for acute hyperkalemia.

Ultrasensitive and highly selective "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for the detection and measurement of melatonin in juice samples.

Melatonin (MLT), a hormone related to the regulation of brain functions, is directly related to sleep quality and is considered to be a possible adjuvant therapy for patients needing hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia, and accurate measurement of MLT is crucial. Herein, a new, highly sensitive, and easy operation fluorescent probe was provided based on Zr metal-organic framework encapsulation into the molecularly imprinted polymer (MOF@MIP). By combining unique properties of MIP and fluorescent MOF, selectivity and operation of the applied method were significantly improved. Different characterization methods, such as XRD, FT-IR, and FE-SEM, were used to confirm the synthesis reliability. MOF@MIP was successfully used for the precise identification and ultrasensitive detection for trace amounts of MLT. The detection mechanism for the analytical system is based on the ''turn-on'' fluorescence (FL) signal in 404 nm. The findings proved that it is possible to detect trace amounts of MLT in real samples including grape, cherry, and sour cherry juice. The linear range and the limit of detection (LOD) for trace amounts of MLT were obtained as 1-100 ng/mL and 0.18 ng/mL, respectively.

VOCs Photothermo-Catalytic Removal on MnOx-ZrO2 Catalysts

Solar photothermo-catalysis is a fascinating multi-catalytic approach for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) removal. In this work, we have explored the performance and the chemico-physical features of non-critical, noble, metal-free MnOx-ZrO2 mixed oxides. The structural, morphological, and optical characterizations of these materials pointed to as a low amount of ZrO2 favoured a good interaction and the ionic exchange between the Mn and the Zr ions. This favoured the redox properties of MnOx increasing the mobility of its oxygens that can participate in the VOCs oxidation through a Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. The further application of solar irradiation sped up the oxidation reactions promoting the VOCs total oxidation to CO2. The MnOx-5 wt.%ZrO2 sample showed, in the photothermo-catalytic tests, a toluene T90 (temperature of 90% of conversion) of 180 °C and an ethanol T90 conversion to CO2 of 156 °C, 36 °C, and 205 °C lower compared to the thermocatalytic tests, respectively. Finally, the same sample exhibited 84% toluene conversion and the best selectivity to CO2 in the ethanol removal after 5 h of solar irradiation at room temperature, a photoactivity similar to the most employed TiO2-based materials. The as-synthetized mixed oxide is promising for an improved sustainability in both catalyst design and environmental applications.

Analysis of risk factors for early clinical recurrence of inflammatory bowel disease after fecal microbiota transplantation

Objective: To explore the risk factors for early clinical recurrence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 192 patients with IBD who received FMT treatment in the Colorectal Disease Specialty/Intestinal Microecology Treatment Center of the Tenth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University from February 2017 to June 2020. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk factors for early recurrence of inflammation. Feces from all participants were collected to extract the total bacterial genomic DNA. The V6-8 regions of the bacterial 16S rDNA gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the PCR products were detected by the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method, and the intestinal flora was analyzed by DNA fingerprinting. Stool samples from all patients were tested for 9 bacteria, white blood cells (WBC) and platelet (PLT) counts, as well as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Results: Of the 192 patients, 15 cases had inflammation recurrence during FMT and within one week after treatment, including 11 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC) and 4 cases of Crohn’s disease (CD), with a total recurrence rate of 7.8%. High Mayo inflammatory activity score, Mayo endoscopic sub-item score (MES) =3 points, CRP>10 mg/L, anemia, albumin <30 g/L, absolute value of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) <500/mm3, and intolerance to enteral full nutrition were independent risk factors for recurrence during and after FMT in UC patients (P<0.05). Albumin <30 g/L and simultaneous use of immunosuppressive agents were associated with disease recurrence during and after FMT in CD patients. WBC, PLT, and CRP were all negatively correlated with Enterococcus (EC), and ESR was positively correlated with Saccharomyces boulardii (SB) (P<0.01). Conclusion: The low recurrence rate of IBD after FMT indicates the safety of FMT, but this procedure should be cautiously used in patients with severe intestinal barrier dysfunction and/or severe intestinal dysfunction.