Long-term efficacy of OROS® hydromorphone combined with pregabalin for chronic non-cancer neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Treatment for chronic non-cancer neuropathic pain can be complicated by side effects and drug interactions. Combining opioid analgesics and calcium channel modulators may overcome these and improve efficacy. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of OROS® hydromorphone combined with pregabalin in patients with chronic non-cancer neuropathic pain. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted on clinical records from patients aged ≥18 years with chronic non-cancer neuropathic [>4 on the Douleur Neuropathique en 4 questions (DN4) scale] pain of ≥6 months duration, with severe intensity [>4 on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS); range 0-10], who attended all visits and had ≥12 months of follow-up at the Tor Vergata University Polyclinic Hospital, from November 2008 to February 2011. Patients received an oral combination of OROS® hydromorphone and pregabalin. Pain was evaluated at each visit (months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12) using the NRS and DN4 scale; Patients' Global Impression of Change (PGIC) was administered at months 1, 6, and 12. Dosage and side effects were recorded at each visit. RESULTS: Of 1,292 patients (32 % men, mean ± SD age 67.6 ± 11.9 years), 1,126 attended all visits. Seventeen percent (n = 224) had purely neuropathic pain. Initial mean dosage was 6.06 ± 2.00 mg/day for OROS® hydromorphone, 113.02 ± 21.94 mg/day for pregabalin. Dosages increased up to month 6, and returned to near initial dosages at month 12 (range 4-120 mg/day for OROS® hydromorphone; 75-600 mg/day for pregabalin). NRS pain scores (mean ± standard deviation) were 7.25 ± 1.34 at baseline and 1.85 ± 1.36 at 12 months (p < 0.0001); DN4 scores were 6.19 ± 1.65 at baseline, reduced to 1.84 ± 1.25 at 12 months (p < 0.0001), reductions of 74.4 and 70.2 %, respectively. More than 90 % of patients had a ≥50 % score reduction on both scales after 12 months. The PGIC scale showed that >75 % of patients felt improvement at 1 month, increasing to 91 % and 93 % at 6 and 12 months. The incidence of side effects was similar between elderly (aged >65 years) and younger subjects; there were no cases of addiction. CONCLUSIONS: The OROS® hydromorphone and pregabalin combination was efficacious for chronic non-cancer neuropathic pain and well tolerated, providing significant pain reduction without the risk of addiction and with a good tolerability profile, regardless of age

Interface stability between bare, Mn-Co spinel coated AISI 441 stainless steel and a diopside-based glass-ceramic sealant

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: A. G. Sabato, A. Crysanthou, M. Salvo, G. Tempura, and F. Smeacetto, ‘Interface stability between bare, Mn-Co spinel coated AISA 441 stainless steel and a diopside-based glass-ceramic sealant’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 43 (13): 1824-1834, January 2018, made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License CC BY NC-ND 4.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. Under embargo until 16 December 2018. The final, definitive version of this paper is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.11.150.This study is focused on a diopside-based glass-ceramic sealant for solid oxide fuel cells and its compatibility with AISI 441 stainless steel interconnect. The morphological and chemical stability with both bare and Mn–Co spinel coated AISI 441 steel, after 3500 h exposure at 800 °C in air, is reviewed and discussed. Post-mortem samples are morphologically and chemically analysed by SEM-EDS. Reaction products at the glass-ceramic/bare AISI 441 interface, resulting from the reaction of Mg from the sealant and Cr and Mn from the steel, are detected, without affecting negatively the integrity of the joints. In the case of Mn–Co spinel coated AISI 441, interactions between the glass-ceramic and the outer part of the Mn–Co spinel coating, along with crystallization of oxides rich in Si and Mg, are detected, but still no corrosion phenomena are present. The glass-ceramic is found to be compatible with both bare and coated AISI 441.Peer reviewe

Optical issues for the diagnostic stations for the ELI-NP compton gamma source

A high brightness electron Linac is being built in the Compton Gamma Source at the ELI Nuclear Physics facility in Romania. To achieve the design luminosity, a train of 32 bunches, 16 ns spaced, with a nominal charge of 250 pC will collide with the laser beam in the interaction point. Electron beam spot size is measured with optical transition radiation (OTR) profile monitors. In order to measure the beam properties, the optical radiation detecting system must have the necessary accuracy and resolution. This paper deals with the studies of different optic configurations to achieve the magnification, resolution and accuracy in order to measure very small beam (below 30 μm) or to study the angular distribution of the OTR and therefore the energy of the beam. Several configurations of the optical detection line will be studied both with simulation tools (e.g. Zemax) and experimentally. The paper will deal also with the sensibility of optic system (in terms of depth of field, magnification and resolution) to systematic error

Glass-ceramic sealant for solid oxide fuel cells application: Characterization and performance in dual atmosphere

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: A. G. Sabato, G. Tempura, D. Montinaro, A. Chysanthou, M. Salvo, E. Bernardo, M. Secco, F. Meacetto, ‘Glass-ceramic sealant for solid oxide fuel cells application: characterization and performance in dual atmosphere’, Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 328:262-270, October 2016, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.08.010. Published by Elsevier. This manuscript version is distributed distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License CC BY NC-ND 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.Glass-ceramic composition was designed and tested for use as a sealant in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) planar stack design. The crystallization behaviour was investigated by calculating the Avrami parameter (n) and the activation energy for crystallization (Ec) was obtained. The calculated values for n and Ec were 3 and 413.5 kJ/mol respectively. The results of thermal analyses indicate that this composition shows no overlap between the sintering and crystallization stages and thus an almost pore-free sealant can be deposited and sintered at 850 °C in air for 30 min. A gas tightness test has been carried out at 800 °C for 1100 h in dual atmosphere (Ar-H2 and air) without recording any leakage. Morphological and crystalline phase analyses were conducted prior and following tests in dual atmospheres in order to assess the compatibility of the proposed sealant with the metallic interconnect.Peer reviewe

Novel glass-ceramic composition as sealant for SOFCs

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Federico Smeacetto, Auristela De Miranda, Andreas Chrysanthou, Enrico Bernardo, Michele Secco, Massimiliano Bindi, Milena Salvo, Antonio G. Sabato, and Monica Ferraris, ‘Novel Glass‐Ceramic Composition as Sealant for SOFCs’, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 97 (12): 3835-3842, December 2014, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.13219. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This work deals with the design, the characterization, and testing of a novel glass-ceramic to be used as sealant for planar solid oxide fuel cells and its compatibility with Mn1.5Co1.5O4-coated Crofer22APU. Thermal, sintering, and crystallization behavior and thermo mechanical properties of the sealant are reviewed and discussed, indicating therefore that these compositions can be deposited at 850C and provide an excellent compatibility with both the Mn1.5Co1.5O4-coated Crofer22APU and the anode-supported electrolyte. In particular, Mn1.5Co1.5O4-coated Crofer22APU/sealant/anode-supported-electrolyte joined samples have been submitted to thermal tests (in air atmosphere) from RT to 800C (SOFC operating temperature) up to 500 h. No interactions, cracks formation, or failure were observed at the Mn1.5Co1.5O4-coated Crofer22APU/sealant interface and between the glass-ceramic and the anode-supported-electrolyte after 500 h of thermal tests in air atmosphere.Peer reviewe

Digital Education, Geography and Multidisciplinarity: Themes, Methods and Critical Issues

In the last few years education has been strongly marked by the digital paradigm: captivating resources, new teaching tools, methodologies and unprecedented interactions between teachers and students have become part of the scientific debate on new teaching/learning processes. This has had positive effects on teachers leading them to new stimuli and new ways of boosting creativity in their didactic approach. The pandemic period has acted as a catalyst of this digital progress in the education field and has also provided the foundation for a scientific reflection on this matter as can be seen in many international congresses and research programs. The visual nature of Geography, both in terms of study and research of the landscape and with reference to cartographic production and analysis, seems to be more involved in this change. Moreover, the propensity of Geography to multidisciplinarity – subject which can be seen as a synthesis of various disciplines including social sciences – implies an in-depth reflection on several levels. This is why when analyzing digital education in reference to Geography it is necessary to take into account themes, methods and critical issues that are at the heart of an ongoing teaching/learning process. In this Special Issue we intend to explore links between the teaching/learning of Geography (at any school/university level) and the digital world, even in a multidisciplinary perspective, including both the critical issues and the advantages in terms of sustainability and greater awareness of geographical phenomena also in relation with cultural dynamics (e.g. migrations, urban transformations, development, geopolitics, tourism)

Special Issue: Sustainability and risk perception: multidisciplinary approaches

Leonardo Mercatanti and Gaetano Sabato were guest editors of a special issue of the peer-​reviewed journal AIMS Geoscience "Sustainability and risk perception: multidisciplinary approaches". Within the scientific discourse of Geography and Social Sciences, the concepts of “sustainability” and “risk perception” often represent two complementary issues of the same dynamic. One mutually implies the other in different and complex ways and yet they are often dealt as two separate matters. Approaching the latter together as part of the same dialectical process, however allows us to gain a better insight on their interaction. For example, if we consider that risk perception implies forms of power and social relationships then the perception of volcanic risk could suggest sustainable security policies. Or, again, how risk perception could be connected to sustainable habits i.e. in the case of waste management, the real danger of unsustainability can positively affect more responsible behaviours and even encourage recycling. And once more, how some consumers’ behaviours are caused by specific risk perceptions i.e. the fear of pauperizing private and public resources leads to group purchases trends. This Special Issue of AIMS Geosciences aims to focus on some issues related to the topic of Sustainability and Risk perception. We think that a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach is really useful to try answering questions such as: how do these two poles interact? How do they influence (and/or affect) each other reciprocally? What kind of correlation exists between them? For this purpose, we encourage scholars of different disciplines and/or various fields of study to contribute with theoretical reflections, experiences and case studies

Sustainability and risk perception: multidisciplinary approaches

Editorial to the special issue "Sustainability and risk perception: multidisciplinary approaches