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PURPOSE : To evaluate the extent of respiratory impairment in newly diagnosed glaucoma patients on topical Timolol therapy and to determine the influence of beta2-receptor polymorphism on the adverse effect of topical Timolol. METHOD : 36 newly diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma and normotensive glaucoma patients without any history of obstructive airway disease were recruited. Spirometry, pulse, blood pressure and other adverse events were recorded before, 1 month and 6 months after starting topical Timolol-XE 0.5% as monotherapy. 5ml of blood was taken from each patient for DNA extraction and multiplex PCR to determine the Beta2-receptor (β2AR) polymorphism at allele 16, 19, 20, 27 and 164. Patients demonstrating a greater than 15% reduction in FEV1, FVC or FEV1/FVC and peak flow (PF) were deemed to have reversible airways obstruction. RESULTS : The allele frequencies were Arg16 (68%), Gly16 (32%), Gln27 (89%), Glu27 (11%), Thr164 (100%), 20C (46%), 20T (54%), Arg19 (11%), Cys19 (89%). There was statistically significant association between the spirometric changes and the beta2-adrenoreceptor polymorphisms although the Glu27 allele afforded a mild respiratory protective effect in the elderly. CONCLUSION : Genetic variation in the β2-adrenoceptor and its associated proteins is common and therefore potentially relevant to the clinician. Glu 27 allele may be protective against respiratory impairement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest We the authors V. Selva Ganapathy, Dr. S.R Chandra, Dr. Srikala Bharath, Dr. Ravi GS declare that we carried the study titled Subclinical Motor involvement in patients with Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: A Case Control study in mutual consultation. We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Some effects of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) esters cannot be explained by action on currently recognized targets acetylcholinesterase or neuropathy target esterase (NTE). In previous studies, in membrane chicken brain fractions, four components (EPα, EPβ, EPγ and EPδ) of phenyl valerate esterase activity (PVase) had been kinetically discriminated combining data of several inhibitors (paraoxon, mipafox, PMSF). EPγ is belonging to NTE. The relationship of PVase components and acetylcholine-hydrolyzing activity (cholinesterase activity) is studied herein. Only EPα PVase activity showed inhibition in the presence of acetylthiocholine, similarly to a non-competitive model. EPα is highly sensitive to mipafox and paraoxon, but is resistant to PMSF, and is spontaneously reactivated when inhibited with paraoxon. In this papers we shows that cholinesterase activities showed inhibition kinetic by PV, which does not fit with a competitive inhibition model when tested for the same experimental conditions used to discriminate the PVase components. Four enzymatic components (CP1, CP2, CP3 and CP4) were discriminated in cholinesterase activity in the membrane fraction according to their sensitivity to irreversible inhibitors mipafox, paraoxon, PMSF and iso-OMPA. Components CP1 and CP2 could be related to EPα as they showed interactions between substrates and similar inhibitory kinetic properties to the tested inhibitors., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The thermal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of unactivated azomethine ylides derived from allylamine and aromatic or heteroaromatic aldehydes with maleimides and 1,1- and 1,2-bis(phenylsulfonyl)ethylene affords endo-2,5- trans cycloadducts in moderate to good yields. DFT calculations provide evidence that the diastereoselectivity observed depends on the isomerization between S- and W-ylides according to Curtin-Hammett's principle. DFT calculations also explain the different diastereomeric ratio observed for 2-pyridyl and 2-thienyl derivatives in which the isomerization is not possible due to the competitiveness between isomerization barrier and the rate-limiting step (ylide formation barrier). This methodology is applied to the diastereoselective synthesis of a tricyclic thrombin inhibitor.

1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions (1,3-DC) between imino esters (as precursors of N-metallated azomethine ylides) and π-deficient alkenes are promoted by cooperative asymmetric Lewis acid/Brønsted base catalysis. The components of these catalytic pairs are silver salts derived from enantiopure commercially available BINOL-based phosphoric acids and Cinchona alkaloids. Chiral phosphoric silver(I) salts promote HOMO raising of in situ formed 1,3-dipoles, whereas protonated cinchona alkaloids generate a LUMO lowering for the dipolarophiles resulting in a global acceleration of the 1,3-DC. The best results were obtained with BINOL-derived silver phosphate and hydrocinchonine. Matching between both cooperative metallo- and organocatalyst results in an enhanced enantiomeric excess, superior to that reached by both separate components. NOESY experiments and DFT calculations are compatible with a non-covalent interaction (hydrogen bond) between both catalysts, which results in close contacts and mutually coupled chiral environments., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Diastereoselective multicomponent reactions of enantioenriched 4-nitroprolinates, obtained by enantiocatalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (1,3-DC) of imino esters and nitroalkenes, with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and electrophilic alkenes proceed with total periselectivity depending on the structure of the aldehyde employed. This process evolves through a [3 + 2] 1,3-DC when cinnamaldehyde is used in the presence of an azomethine ylide, giving the corresponding highly substituted pyrrolizidines with endo selectivity. However, in the case of the α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, which contains a hydrogen atom at the γ position, an amine-aldehyde-dienophile (AAD) [4 + 2] cycloaddition takes place by formation of an intermediate 1-amino-1,3-diene, affording highly functionalized cyclohexenes with high endo diastereoselectivity. This AAD process only occurred when a nitro group is bonded to the 4-position of the initial enantiomerically enriched pyrrolidine ring. DFT calculations have been carried out with the aim of explaining this different behavior between pyrrolidines with or without a nitro group, demonstrating the strong nitro-group-dependent periselectivity. The results of these computational studies also support the experimentally obtained absolute configuration of the final adducts.

Some effects of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) esters cannot be explained through actions on currently recognized targets acetylcholinesterase or neuropathy target esterase (NTE). In soluble chicken brain fraction, three components (Eα, Eβ and Eγ) of pheny lvalerate esterase activity (PVase) were kinetically discriminated and their relationship with acetylcholine-hydrolyzing activity (cholinesterase activity) were studied in previous works. In this work, four enzymatic components (CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS4) of cholinesterase activity have been discriminated in soluble fraction, according to their sensitivity to irreversible inhibitors mipafox, paraoxon, PMSF and iso-OMPA and to reversible inhibitors ethopropazine and BW284C51. Cholinesterase component CS1 can be related to the Eα component of PVase activity and identified as butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). No association and similarities can be stablished among the other PVase component (Eβ and Eγ) with the other cholinesterase components (CS2, CS3, CS4). The kinetic analysis has allowed us to stablish a method for discriminating the enzymatic component based on a simple test with two inhibitors. It can be used as biomarker in toxicological studies and for monitoring these cholinesterase components during isolation and molecular identification processes, which will allow OP toxicity to be understood by a multi-target approach., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aims of the study were to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and treatments for patients who developed zygomycosis enrolled in Italy during the European Confederation of Medical Mycology of medical mycology survey. This prospective multicenter study was performed between 2004 and 2007 at 49 italian Departments. 60 cases of zygomycosis were enrolled: the median age was 59.5 years (range 1-87), with a prevalence of males (70%). The majority of cases were immunocompromised patients (42 cases, 70%), mainly hematological malignancies (37). Among non-immunocompromised (18 cases, 30%), the main category was represented by patients with penetrating trauma (7/18, 39%). The most common sites of infection were sinus (35%) with/without CNS involvement, lung alone (25%), skin (20%), but in 11 cases (18%) dissemination was observed. According to EORTC criteria, the diagnosis of zygomycosis was proven in 46 patients (77%) and in most of them it was made in vivo (40/46 patients, 87%); in the remaining 14 cases (23%) the diagnosis was probable. 51 patients received antifungal therapy and in 30 of them surgical debridement was also performed. The most commonly used antifungal drug was liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB), administered in 44 patients: 36 of these patients (82%) responded to therapy. Altogether an attributable mortality rate of 32% (19/60) was registered, which was reduced to 18% in patients treated with L-AmB (8/44). Zygomycosis is a rare and aggressive filamentous fungal infection, still associated with a high mortality rate. This study indicates an inversion of this trend, with a better prognosis and significantly lower mortality than that reported in the literature. It is possible that new extensive, aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as the use of L-AmB and surgery, have improved the prognosis of these patients.

It is a fact that several disciplines take part in the treatment of specific pathologies. The approach to alimentary disorders, for example, gathers psychiatrists, clinicians, dieticians and psychotherapists. However, despite that many disciplines may work together that does not mean that a true interdisciplinary task is being performed, specially if we consider it as something different from an effort to achieve a complementary relationship. From a psychoanalytic standpoint we question the meaning of interdisciplinary work.

In order to investigate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in neapolitan area, we studied blood specimens of 180 IVDAs, 115 CAH patients and 72 healthy subjects using hepatitis B core (anti-HBs) and hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV). High frequency of anti-HBs (80.9%) and strong association with an unexpected seroprevalence of anti-HCV (67%) was found in CAH patients. Our study does not explain these results, but suggest either a possible inference between both viruses or that serum from CAH subjects contains a component that gives false positivity.