Background: Multivariate curve resolution methods are usually confronted with non-unique pure component factors. This rotational ambiguity can be represented by ranges of feasible profiles, which are equally compatible with the imposed constraints. Sensor-wise N-BANDS is an effective algorithm for the calculation of the bounds of feasible profiles in the presence of noise, but suffers from high computational cost.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new strategy is proposed for second-order data fusion based on the simultaneous modeling of two data sets using the multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares (MCR-ALS) model, applying a new constraint during the ALS stage, called "Proportionality of Scores". This approach allows for the fusion of data from different sources, without requiring common dimensionality, and enables the application of specific constraints to each data set. This strategy was applied to the determination of five pharmaceutical contaminants (naproxen, danofloxacin, ofloxacin, sarafloxacin, and enoxacin) in environmental water samples, by fusing two sets of excitation-emission fluorescence matrices, measured before and after photochemical derivatization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegulatory frameworks for potable reuse often include stringent log reduction value (LRV) targets to ensure public health protection against exposure to viruses and protozoa. To achieve overall LRV targets and reduce associated capital and operational costs, it is important to maximize LRV credits awarded to each unit process in a potable reuse treatment train. This may include processes that are historically uncredited or undercredited, such as secondary biological wastewater treatment incorporating activated sludge and secondary clarification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCement is one of the most widely used materials in the global construction industry, serving as an adhesive and binder in projects that require strength and durability. Additionally, cement production indicates a country's development and economic activity, with global production reaching approximately 4 billion tons annually. It is a fine powder composed mainly of lime, silica, iron oxide, and alumina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We aimed to (1) evaluate the cardiac involvement, with a focus on myocarditis, in patients with Still disease included in the multicenter Autoinflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) Network Still disease registry; and (2) assess the predictive factors for myocarditis by deriving a clinical risk patient profile for this severe manifestation.
Methods: A multicenter observational study was established, in which consecutive patients with Still disease in the AIDA Network Still disease registry were characterized by cardiac involvement. Cardiac involvement was defined according to the presence of pericarditis, tamponade, myocarditis, and/or aseptic endocarditis.
Objectives: to estimate the contribution of locally-grown food consumption to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) human exposure.
Design: residents of a PFAS-contaminated community of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) were categorized into two exposure groups, which refer to the period after the determination of serum levels of PFOA and PFOS conducted at baseline: 1. people drinking water filtered with double granular activated carbon (GAC) and not consuming locally-grown foods at all (reference group); 2.
In this article, the compatibility between second- and third-order calibration and White Analytical Chemistry (WAC) is exposed and discussed. The WAC concept and the principles on which it is based are briefly presented. Multiway calibration methods, which consist of performing analyte(s) quantification by processing second- or higher-order instrumental data using chemometric models, are analyzed in light of their contribution to the whiteness of an analytical method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The correlation between body mass index (BMI) and utility in participants with obesity was assessed using health-related quality-of-life data collected in two weight loss intervention studies, SCALE and STEP 1.
Methods: Short Form Health Survey 36-Item (SF-36) scores from SCALE and STEP 1 were mapped to EuroQoL-5 dimensions-3 levels (EQ-5D-3L) using an established algorithm to derive utilities for the UK. SF-36 scores from STEP 1 were converted into Short Form 6 dimension (SF-6D) utilities for Portugal using the tool developed by the University of Sheffield.
Background: Access to allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remains challenging for older patients (aged >60 years) with acute myeloid leukaemia. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of venetoclax plus decitabine as first-line therapy and bridge to transplantation in this patient population.
Methods: This multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial was conducted in 20 Gruppo Italiano Trapianto Midollo Osseo (GITMO) centres in Italy.
A trending problem of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) adulteration is investigated using two analytical platforms, involving: (1) Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, resulting in a two-way data set, and (2) Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix (EEFM) spectroscopy, producing three-way data. The related instruments were employed to study genuine and adulterated samples. Each data set was first separately analyzed using the Data Driven-Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogies (DD-SIMCA) method, based on Principal Component Analysis (for the two-way NIR data) and PARallel FACtor analysis (for the three-way EEFM data).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the long-term results of a randomized trial (GITMO, AML-R2), comparing 1:1 the combination of busulfan and cyclophosphamide (BuCy2, n = 125) and the combination of busulfan and fludarabine (BuFlu, n = 127) as conditioning regimen in acute myeloid leukemia patients (median age 51 years, range 40-65) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With a median follow-up of 6 years, significantly better non-relapse mortality (NRM) was confirmed in BuFlu recipients, which is sustained up to 4 years after transplant (10% vs. 20%, p = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The significance and necessity of using powerful multivariate curve resolution (MCR) techniques in the study and investigation of chemical systems are clear and obvious. It has long been recognized the importance of using second-order data to extract both quantitative and qualitative information in analytical chemistry through multivariate calibration instead of univariate calibration. Although the calculation of analytical figures of merit (AFOMs) in multivariate calibrations seems to be complicated, in recent years these parameters have been reported for each developed analytical method based on multivariate calibrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Daridorexant is approved for the treatment of insomnia at two dose levels (25 and 50 mg). Dose-efficacy and -safety response relationships were evaluated using Phase 2 and 3 data.
Methods: Data (N = 2153) from one Phase 2 (daridorexant 5, 10, 25, 50 mg, placebo once daily for 1 month) and two Phase 3 studies (daridorexant 10 and 25 or 25 and 50 mg, placebo once daily for 3 months) were pooled.
Real-world data on treatment patterns and outcomes of patients with acute myeloid leukemia unfit for intensive chemotherapy are lacking before the advent of precision medicine in this setting. Herein, we present the Italian sub-analysis of the CURRENT study in AML patients unfit for first line intensive chemotherapy, evaluating patients' outcomes between 2015 and 2018. Among 74 evaluable patients, 62 received systemic treatments (most used therapy was hypomethylating agents), while 12 best supportive care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaintaining the integrity of the genome is fundamental to living organisms. To this end, nature developed several mechanisms to find and promptly repair DNA lesions. Among them, base excision repair (BER) enzymes evolved to efficiently carry out this task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of allogeneic blood products to restore hemostasis during pediatric cardiac surgery is associated with major risks. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in new patient blood management strategies, such as those based on the use of fibrinogen concentrate (FC). Accumulating evidence has shown FC supplementation to be safe and effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF