Therapeutic drug monitoring of seven psychotropic drugs and four metabolites in human plasma by HPLC-MS.

A simple and sensitive LC-MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of aripiprazole (ARI), atomoxetine (ATO), duloxetine (DUL), clozapine (CLO), olanzapine (OLA), sertindole (STN), venlafaxine (VEN) and their active metabolites dehydroaripiprazole (DARI), norclozapine (NCLO), dehydrosertindole (DSTN) and O-desmethylvenlafaxine (OVEN) in human plasma. The above mentioned compounds and the internal standard (remoxipride) were extracted from 0.5 mL plasma by solid-phase extraction (mix mode support). The analytical separation was carried out on a reverse phase liquid chromatography at basic pH (pH 8.1) in gradient mode. All analytes were monitored by MS detection in the single ion monitoring mode and the method was validated covering the corresponding therapeutic range: 2-200 ng/mL for DUL, OLA, and STN, 4-200 ng/mL for DSTN, 5-1000 ng/mL for ARI, DARI and finally 2-1000 ng/mL for ATO, CLO, NCLO, VEN, OVEN. For all investigated compounds, good performance in terms of recoveries, selectivity, stability, repeatability, intermediate precision, trueness and accuracy, was obtained. Real patient plasma samples were then successfully analysed.

Feasibility of non-invasive pressure support ventilation in infants with respiratory failure after extubation: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and effects of non-invasive pressure support ventilation (NIV) on the breathing pattern in infants developing respiratory failure after extubation. DESIGN: Prospective pilot clinical study; each patient served as their own control. SETTING: A nine-bed paediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS: Six patients (median age 5 months, range 0.5-7 months; median weight 4.2 kg, range 3.8-5.1 kg) who developed respiratory failure after extubation. INTERVENTIONS: After a period of spontaneous breathing (SB), children who developed respiratory failure were treated with NIV. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Measurements included clinical dyspnoea score (DS), blood gases and oesophageal pressure recordings, which were analysed for respiratory rate (RR), oesophageal inspiratory pressure swing (dPes) and oesophageal pressure-time product (PTPes). All data were collected during both periods (SB and NIV). When comparing NIV with SB, DS was reduced by 44% (P < 0.001), RR by 32% (P < 0.001), dPes by 45% (P < 0.01) and PTPes by 57% (P < 0.001). A non-significant trend for decrease in PaCO(2) was observed. CONCLUSION: In these infants, non-invasive pressure support ventilation with turbine flow generator induced a reduction of breathing frequency, dPes and PTPes, indicating reduced load of the inspiratory muscles. NIV can be used with some benefits in infants with respiratory failure after extubation.

Decision Support Model for Assessing Archaeological Survey Needs for Bridge Replacement Projects in Iowa, 2006

The Bridges Decision Support Model is a geographic information system (GIS) that assembles existing data on archaeological sites, surveys, and their geologic contexts to assess the risk of bridge replacement projects encountering 13,000- to 150-year-old Native American sites. This project identifies critical variables for assessing prehistoric sites potential, examines the quality of available data about the variables, and applies the data to creating a decision support framework for use by the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and others. An analysis of previous archaeological surveys indicates that subsurface testing to discover buried sites became increasingly common after 1980, but did not become routine until after the adoption of guidelines recommending such testing, in 1993. Even then, the average depth of testing has been relatively shallow. Alluvial deposits of sufficient age, deposited in depositional environments conducive to human habitation, are considerably thicker than archaeologists have routinely tested.

Audit report on the Rathbun Area Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Rathbun Area Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Hamilton County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2011

Audit report on the Hamilton County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2011

Audit report on the Shelby County Area Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Shelby County Area Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2012

Synthesis of triheptanoin and formulation as a solid diet for rodents

Triheptanoin-enriched diets have been successfully used in the experimental treatment of various metabolic disorders. Maximal therapeutic effect is achieved in the context of a ketogenic diet where triheptanoin oil provides 3040% of the daily caloric intake. However, pre-clinical studies using triheptanoin-rich diets are hindered by the difficulty of administering to laboratory animals as a solid foodstuff. In the present study, we successfully synthesized triheptanoin to the highest standards of purity from glycerol and heptanoic acid, using sulfonated charcoal as a catalyst. Triheptanoin oil was then formulated as a solid, stable and palatable preparation using a ketogenic base and a combination of four commercially available formulation agents: hydrophilic fumed silica, hydrophobic fumed silica, microcrystalline cellulose, and talc. Diet compliance and safety was tested on C57Bl/6 mice over a 15-week period, comparing overall status and body weight change. Practical applications: This work provides a complete description of (i) an efficient and cost-effective synthesis of triheptanoin and (ii) its formulation as a solid, stable, and palatable ketogenic diet (triheptanoin-rich; 39% of the caloric intake) for rodents. Triheptanoin-rich diets will be helpful on pre-clinical experiments testing the therapeutic efficacy of triheptanoin in different rodent models of human diseases. In addition, using the same solidification procedure, other oils could be incorporated into rodent ketogenic diet to study their dosage and long-term effects on mammal health and development. This approach could be extremely valuable as ketogenic diet is widely used clinically for epilepsy treatment.

Factors influencing privatization of urban solid waste collection: some evidence from Spain

In this paper we analyse some of the organisational aspects of the urban solid waste collection and, in particular, the privatization modality of contracting out. We start by discussing some of the theoretical aspects of contracting out. We then specify and estimate an explanatory model on a sample of municipalities that we surveyed. Our purpose is twofold: on the one hand, we identify the economic factors at work when deciding to contract out the service and, on the other hand, we analyse the role of ideological factors in choosing between the public production of the service or contracting it out. The results show a significant effect of the demand for waste collection on contracting out. There also appears to be a neighbouring effect as the municipalities close to other cities that contract out are also more prone to do so. Finally, the decisions to contract seem to have been motivated by pragmatic rather than ideological reasons.

Infectious Disease Burden after Solid Organ Transplantation (SOT) in the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS).

Infectious diseases (ID) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality after SOT. Since May 2008, the STCS has registered 95% of all SOT recipients in Switzerland. The extensive data set includes pre- and post-transplant variables that are prospectively collected at transplantation, 6 months post-transplant, and yearly thereafter. All ID events are recorded using internationally validated defi nitions. We obtained data from 1101 patients (79 heart, 685 kidney, 29 kidney-pancreas, 212 liver, and 96 lung transplants). So far the median observation times were 0.8 (IQR 0.3-1.4; heart); 1.1 (0.6-1.8, kidney); 1.1 (0.6-1.9, kidney-pancreas); 1.0 (0.5-1.7, liver); and 0.9 years (0.5-1.5, lung). The highest rates of proven or probable ID events were seen in lung (76%), followed by liver (64%), heart (62%), kidney-pancreas (62%), kidney (58%). During the observation period, ID was the cause of death in 19 patients (1.7%). Rates of infections per person-years according to pathogen and type of transplantation are shown in Figure 1. The data indicate that virus infections are only second after bacteria whereas fungi occur at relatively low rates. This prospective and standardized long-term collection of all ID events will allow a comprehensive assessment of the burden of ID across all SOT types in Switzerland. Regular analysis will identify new trends, serve as a quality control and help design anti-infectious interventions aiming at increasing safety and improving overall transplantation outcome.

Local character of magnetic coupling in ionic solids

Magnetic interactions in ionic solids are studied using parameter-free methods designed to provide accurate energy differences associated with quantum states defining the Heisenberg constant J. For a series of ionic solids including KNiF3, K2NiF4, KCuF3, K2CuF4, and high- Tc parent compound La2CuO4, the J experimental value is quantitatively reproduced. This result has fundamental implications because J values have been calculated from a finite cluster model whereas experiments refer to infinite solids. The present study permits us to firmly establish that in these wide-gap insulators, J is determined from strongly local electronic interactions involving two magnetic centers only thus providing an ab initio support to commonly used model Hamiltonians.

Solid-phase synthesis and DNA binding studies of dichloroplatinum(II) conjugates of dicarba analogues of octreotide as a new anticancer drugs

The first dichloroplatinum(II) conjugates of dicarba analogues of octreotide , which is expected to act as a"tumour-targeting device", have been efficiently synthesized following a stepwise solid-phase approach; these compounds emulate the mechanism of cisplatin since they form a 1,2-intrastrand cross-link with two consecutive guanines of an oligonucleotide.

Audit report on the Butler County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on the Butler County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2012