Sul sentiero di Esculapio: arte del curare tra innovazione ed invarianza

On the trail of Asclepius: the art of treating between innovation and stead- fastness. Artists and therapists, from antiquity till today, have crossed their courses and boundaries. Aestetic and clinical dimension cross with deep levels of uman expe- rience. Art Therapy can offer an innovator perspective, but Asclepius’s mith puts in evidence the phantasmatic plot that forms a steadfastness element. Artists and thera- pists should beweare of mere technical details, but also boundless emotions. Therapists, beyond technical innovation, should be concious of phantasmatic plot in the helping relation, for avoiding malpractice and burn out risks

Differential reactivity of the inner and outer positions of Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)18 dimeric staples under place exchange conditions

The kinetic anal. of the place exchange reaction on the neutral Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)\u200b18 cluster by using 4-\u200bfluorobenzylthiol and a series of substituted arylthiols allowed us to establish, for the first time, that the selectivity for the inner and outer positions of the dimeric staples of the cluster can be modulated by using incoming thiols with different structures

Prospects for hydropower in Ethiopia: An energy-water nexus analysis

In this article we investigate the prospects for large-scale hydropower deployment in Ethiopia. With two distinct modelling approaches we find high projections for future hydropower generation: between 71 and 87 TWh/yr by 2050 in a stringent climate change control scenario in which Ethiopia contributes substantially to global efforts to reach the 2 degrees C target of the Paris Agreement. This elevated level is obtained despite domestic water use and irrigated agriculture water demand expansions, and irrespective of hydrological effects from climate change in terms of a drop in average precipitation nationwide. This amount of hydro-electricity production matches the expected national hydropower potential. Yet, we encourage authorities to take due account of the large impact that climate change may have on rainfall during particular months or years at individual water reservoirs, which we think should be researched in greater detail. Our combined energy cost-minimisation and hydrological balance analysis shows that our models can be jointly used for the assessment of hydropower as climate change mitigation option, and can assist in the design of policies that integrate the energy and water sectors. Our case study did not yield direct reasons for the Ethiopian government to swiftly stop pursuing its current ambitious national hydropower development plan, but we encourage it to adequately internalise an extensive range of factors - including environmental, geopolitical and social e that may induce it to take a different course

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Stabilities of Al(III) Complexes with N2O3 Pentadentate Ligands

: Al(III) complexes have been recently investigated for their potential use in imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) by formation of ternary complexes with the radioisotope fluorine-18 (18F). Although the derivatives of 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA) are the most applied chelators for [Al18F]2+ labelling and (pre)clinical PET imaging, non-macrocyclic, semi-rigid pentadentate chelators having two N- and three O-donor atoms such as RESCA1 and AMPDA-HB have been proposed with the aim to allow room temperature labelling of temperature-sensitive biomolecules. The paucity of stability data on Al(III) complexes used for PET imaging instigated a complete thermodynamic and kinetic solution study on Al(III) complexes with aminomethylpiperidine (AMP) derivatives AMPTA and AMPDA-HB and the comparison with a RESCA1-like chelator CD3A-Bn (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N-benzyl-N,N',N'-triacetic acid). The stability constant of [Al(AMPDA-HB)] is about four orders of magnitude higher than that of [Al(AMPTA)] and [Al(CD3A-Bn)], highlighting the greater affinity of phenolates with respect to acetate O-donors. On the other hand, the kinetic inertness of the complexes, determined by following the Cu2+-mediated transmetallation reactions in the 7.5-10.5 pH range, resulted in a spontaneous and hydroxide-assisted dissociation slightly faster for [Al(AMPTA)] than for the other two complexes (t1/2 = 4.5 h for [Al(AMPTA)], 12.4 h for [Al(AMPDA-HB)], and 24.1 h for [Al(CD3A-Bn)] at pH 7.4 and 25 °C). Finally, the [AlF]2+ ternary complexes were prepared and their stability in reconstituted human serum was determined by 19F NMR experiments

Iron Based Nano-hydrotalcites Promoted with Cu as Catalysts for Fischer-tropsch Synthesis in Biomass to Liquid Process

Two different groups of MgCuFe catalysts derived from hydrotalcite-like precursors were prepared through ultrasound-assisted (US) co-precipitation and solvent-free ball milling methods (BM). The catalysts were activated at 623°K, 1.5 MPa for 4 h in syngas, and their performances in the production of fuels through Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis were evaluated in a fixed bed reactor at temperatures ranging from 473° to 573°K and 2 MPa and H2/CO molar ratio of 2. The physicochemical properties of the fresh and spent catalysts were investigated and characterized using different methods, including XRPD, ICP-OES, SEM, and TEM. Catalysts displayed similar catalytic activity for both BM and US with minor differences when operating at temperatures from 473° to 523°K. The results hint at the possibility of using synthetic hydrotalcites as Fe-based catalysts for the Fischer–Tropsch synthesi

The critical role of ligand topology: strikingly different properties of Gd(III) complexes with regioisomeric AAZTA derivatives

[Abstract]: The substitution of an acetate pendant arm on the endocyclic or exocyclic nitrogen atoms of AAZTA with a hydroxybenzyl group results in two regioisomeric Gd(III) complexes with different hydration numbers, thermodynamic stabilities differing by 5.5 log K units and remarkably different kinetic inertness. The ligand functionalized with the phenol group on the exocyclic N atom (AAZ3A-exoHB) forms a Gd(III) complex with remarkably high stability (log KGdL = 25.06) thanks to the tight coordination of the phenol group, which presents a rather low protonation constant (log KGdHL = 3.22). Conversely, the complex formed with the ligand bearing a phenol unit attached to an endocyclic N atom (AAZ3A-endoHB) is considerably less stable (log KGdL = 19.57) and more prone to protonation (log KGdHL = 6.22). Transmetallation kinetics studies in the presence of Cu(II) evidence that the Gd(III) complexes dissociate via the proton- and metal-assisted dissociation pathways, with the AAZ3A-exoHB derivative being considerably more inert. A detailed 1H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) study coupled with 17O NMR measurements demonstrates that the complex with AAZ3A-exoHB contains a single water molecule in the inner coordination sphere, while the AAZ3A-endoHB analogue has two water molecules coordinated to the metal ion endowed with significantly different water exchange rates. Finally, a binding study of the two complexes with human serum albumin showed a stronger interaction and higher relaxivity (rb1 = 36.5 mM−1 s−1 at 30 MHz and 298 K) for Gd(AAZ3A-endoHB) than for Gd(AAZ3A-exoHB). Overall, this study highlights the importance that ligand topology has in the properties of Gd(III) complexes relevant in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

An observational study in psychiatric acute patients admitted to General Hospital Psychiatric Wards in Italy

OBJECTIVES: this Italian observational study was aimed at collecting data of psychiatric patients with acute episodes entering General Hospital Psychiatric Wards (GHPWs). Information was focused on diagnosis (DSM-IV), reasons of hospitalisation, prescribed treatment, outcome of aggressive episodes, evolution of the acute episode. METHODS: assessments were performed at admission and discharge. Used psychometric scales were the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) and the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE-30). RESULTS: 864 adult patients were enrolled in 15 GHPWs: 728 (320 M; mean age 43.6 yrs) completed both admission and discharge visits. A severe psychotic episode with (19.1%) or without (47.7%) aggressive behaviour was the main reason of admission. Schizophrenia (42.8% at admission and 40.1% at discharge) and depression (12.9% at admission and 14.7% at discharge) were the predominant diagnoses. The mean hospital stay was 12 days. The mean (± SD) total score of MOAS at admission, day 7 and discharge was, respectively, 2.53 ± 5.1, 0.38 ± 2.2, and 0.21 ± 1.5. Forty-four (6.0%) patients had episodes of aggressiveness at admission and 8 (1.7%) at day 7. A progressive improvement in each domain/item vs. admission was observed for MOAS and BPRS, while NOSIE-30 did not change from day 4 onwards. The number of patients with al least one psychotic drug taken at admission, in the first 7 days of hospitalisation, and prescribed at discharge, was, respectively: 472 (64.8%), 686 (94.2%) and 676 (92.9%). The respective most frequently psychotic drugs were: BDZs (60.6%, 85.7%, 69.5%), typical anti-psychotics (48.3%, 57.0%, 49.6%), atypical anti-psychotics (35.6%, 41.8%, 39.8%) and antidepressants (40.9%, 48.8%, 43.2%). Rates of patients with one, two or > 2 psychotic drugs taken at admission and day 7, and prescribed at discharge, were, respectively: 24.8%, 8.2% and 13.5% in mono-therapy; 22.0%, 20.6% and 26.6% with two drugs, and 53.2%, 57.8% and 59.0% with > two drugs. Benzodiazepines were the most common drugs both at admission (60.0%) and during hospitalisation (85.7%), and 69.5% were prescribed at discharge. CONCLUSION: patients with psychiatric diseases in acute phase experienced a satisfactory outcome following intensified therapeutic interventions during hospitalisation