Search

Leticia Delgado-Herrera,1 Benjamin Banderas,2 Oluwafunke Ojo,2 Ritesh Kothari,3 Bernhardt Zeiher1 1Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc., Northbrook, IL, 2Adelphi Values LLC, Boston, MA, 3ACCESS Medical LLC, Chicago, IL, USA Background: Subjects with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) experience abdominal cramping, bloating, pressure, and pain. Due to an absence of clinical biomarkers for IBS-D severity, evaluation of clinical therapy benefits depends on valid and reliable symptom assessments. A patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument has been developed, comprising of two questionnaires – the IBS-D Daily Symptom Diary and IBS-D Symptom Event Log – suitable for clinical trials and real-world settings. This program aimed to support instrument conversion from pen-and-paper to electronic format.Materials and methods: Digital technology (Android/iOS) and a traditional mode of administration study in the target population were used to migrate or convert the validated PRO IBS-D pen-and-paper measure to an electronic format. Equivalence interviews, conducted in three waves, each had three parts: 1) conceptual equivalence testing between formats, 2) electronic-version report-history cognitive debriefing, and 3) electronic version usability evaluation. After each interview wave, preliminary analyses were conducted and modifications made to the electronic version, before the next wave. Final revisions were based on a full analysis of equivalence interviews. The final analysis evaluated subjects’ ability to read, understand, and provide meaningful responses to the instruments across both formats. Responses were classified according to conceptual equivalence between formats and mobile-format usability assessed with a questionnaire and open-ended probes.Results: Equivalence interviews (n=25) demonstrated conceptual equivalence between formats. Mobile-application cognitive debriefing showed some subjects experienced difficulty with font/screen visibility and understanding or reading some report-history charts and summary screens. To address difficulties, minor revisions/modifications were made and landscape orientation and zoom-in/zoom-out features incorporated.Conclusion: This study indicates that the two administration modes are conceptually equivalent. Since both formats are conceptually equivalent, both are psychometrically reliable, as established in the pen-and-paper version. Subjects found both mobile applications (Android/iOS) offered many advantages over the paper version, such as real-time assessment of their experience. Keywords: irritable bowel syndrome diarrhea-predominant, IBS-D, symptoms, mobile ­application, patient-reported outcomes, conceptual equivalence

Sputter-deposited Pt-Au thin films have been reported to develop a hard, stable, nanocrystalline structure, yet little is known about how these characteristics vary with PtxAu1−x composition and process conditions. Toward this end, this document describes an extensive, combinatorial Pt-Au thin film library including characterized film compositions, structure, and properties. Complemented by kinematic Monte Carlo simulations of codeposition, a broad range of PtxAu1−x compositions (from x ∼ 0.02 to 0.93) was first established by sputtering with varied magnetron powers and gun tilt angles. The produced films were subsequently interrogated using automated nanoindentation, x-ray reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, surface profilometry, four-point probe sheet resistance techniques, and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy in order to determine how hardness, modulus, density, surface roughness, structure, and resistivity vary with film stoichiometry and process parameters. Combinatorial films displayed an assortment of properties with the hardness of some films exceeding values reported previously for this material system. High hardness, high modulus, and low resistivity were generally attained when using increased deposition energy and reduced angle-of-incidence processes. Overall, the research identified promising, new PtxAu1−x compositions for future study and pinpointed strategies for improved deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single molecular precursors are appropriate starting materials for synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs), which allow for the control of atomic ratio, monodispersity, composition and particle size of nanoscaled metallic sulfide nanoparticles. In the present study, we have reported the synthesis of nanostructured chalcogenides pharmacologically active active zinc sulfide nanoparticles (ZnS NPs) using Zn (II) ion inserted thiosemicarbazone ligand as a single molecular precursor. The precursors were thermally pyrolysized using high energy microwave radiations to obtain very fine ZnS nanoparticles. In this synthesis, we use DMSO as a nonpolar solvent for the synthesis of all compounds. The heating of Zinc complex in the non-aqueous environment of DMSO plays a very crucial role in decreasing reaction time, reducing the chances of side reactions and proper conversion of Zn complex into ZnS nanoparticles. In this reaction Zn complex of thiosemicarbazone ligand provides both Zn2+ and S2- ions for synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles. The microwave synthesis of ZnS NPs from Zn complex is a very simple, fast, highly effective, efficient and low cost method. All synthesized compounds were characterized by various structural, electronic, vibrational, optical, morphological and pharmacological characterizations. The prepared ZnS NPs were found to crystallize in cubic phase, which generally forms at low temperatures, with the dimensions dependent upon the molar ratio of molecular precursors used. Synthesized ZnS nanomaterials had surface sulfur vacancies that extend their absorption spectra towards the visible region and decreased the bond gap. This allowed ZnS nanoparticles to demonstrate various pharmacological activities like antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities under normal conditions. Powered X-ray diffraction studies confirms the formation of well -defined equispaced crystalline ZnS NPS. TEM and FE SEM microscopic studies confirmed the elongated tubules structure of ZnS NPs with an average particle size of 60 nm. Sharpe electronic absorption band at 390 nm indicates the synthesis of good quality ZnS NPs. The FT-IR spectral studies confirmed the presence of Zn-S stretching, N-H bending and C=N stretching, vibrations in molecular precursor as Zn(II) complex. The thermal analysis of molecular precursor was performed to investigate the thermal stability of zinc complex. The Zn complex was stable up-to 3800c. All synthesized compounds demonstrated excellent pharmacological activities like antibacterial, antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities as compared to standards used in analysis of compounds. The microwave synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles via single molecular precursor in proper stoichiometric ratios is an excellent and an efficient method for synthesizing highly effective bioactive agents which can be considered as good drug candidate for the treatment of various diseases in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Introduction: b In the Phase 3 POLARIX study (NCT03274492), polatuzumab vedotin with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola-R-CHP) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP), with a similar safety profile in pts aged 18-80 years with previously untreated DLBCL (Tilly et al., 2022). B Results: b Overall, 284 pts were analyzed for efficacy (Pola-R-CHP, I n i = 141; R-CHOP, I n i = 143) and 280 pts were analyzed for safety (Pola-R-CHP, I n i = 137; R-CHOP, I n i = 143). [Extracted from the article]