University of Patras

About: University of Patras is a education organization based out in Pátrai, Greece. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 13372 authors who have published 31263 publications receiving 677159 citations. The organization is also known as: Panepistímio Patrón.

Photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis using (CdS-ZnS)/TiO2 combined photocatalysts

Abstract: Powdered composite CdS-ZnS photocatalysts of variable composition have been synthesized by a co-precipitation method and were used as photocatalysts to produce hydrogen and as photoelectrocatalysts to produce electricity. Results of catalyst characterization show that composite sulphide photocatalysts form solid solutions and that their band gap energy can be tuned between that of ZnS (3.5 eV) and that of CdS (2.3 eV) by varying Cd (or Zn) content. The composite materials can photocatalytically produce substantial quantities of molecular hydrogen in the presence of sulphide–sulfite ions as sacrificial electron donors. Photocatalytic performance is significantly improved when small amounts of Pt crystallites are deposited on the photocatalyst surface. The rate of hydrogen production over the Pt-free CdS-ZnS powders depends on Cd (or Zn) content and is generally much higher for the composite materials than for pure CdS or ZnS. Pure semiconductors were found to be very poor photocatalysts under the present experimental conditions. Furthermore, two specific photocatalyst compositions, i.e., 67% and 25% CdS, gave maximum hydrogen production rates. An analogous behavior was observed when the same powders were used to make photoanode electrodes since both the rate of hydrogen ion reduction and the current flow are proportional to the number of photogenerated electrons. Composite CdS-ZnS photocatalysts were also applied by successive ionic layer absorption and reaction on TiO 2 films deposited on FTO electrodes. The obtained materials were used as photoanodes in a two-compartment photoelectrocatalysis cell filled with a basic electrolyte and with ethanol as sacrificial electron donor (fuel). The (CdS-ZnS)/TiO 2 photoanodes demonstrated a qualitatively similar behavior as CdS-ZnS photocatalysts. Thus 75%CdS–25%ZnS over TiO 2 was a better electrocatalyst than 100%CdS over TiO 2 . When CdS-ZnS photocatalysts were combined with titania, they mainly functioned as visible-light-photosensitizers of this large band-gap semiconductor.

The role of Seprafilm bioresorbable membrane in the prevention and therapy of endometrial synechiae.

Abstract: This randomized controlled blind prospective study is undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Seprafilm--a novel bioresorbable membrane of chemically modified hyaluronic acid and carboxymethylcellulose--in prevention and reduction of postoperative endometrial and endocervical synechiae formation after general suction evacuation or curettage for incomplete, missed, and recurrent abortion. In total, 150 patients with incomplete or missed abortion participated in the clinical study. The study population was divided into two main groups. In the treatment (Seprafilm) group (n=50), application of Seprafilm membrane in the endometrial cavity and the cervical canal was used after the suction evacuation and/or the curettage. In the control group (n=100), nothing was inserted in the uterus. Both groups were divided into two subgroups: patients who had no previous suction or curettage, (with no previous DC in the controls, pregnancy occurred only in 54%. It was also demonstrated with hysterosalpingography (HSG) that patients with one or more previous interventions and no pregnancy 8 months later were adhesion free in 90% of the patients where Seprafilm was used, and only 50% in the untreated group. The membrane was tested on the endometrial area of the uterus and did not produce any adverse reaction. Ultrasound controls did not show any abnormal echoes. Intrauterine insertion of Seprafilm is safe, prevents the appearance of endocervical adhesions or endometrial synechiae after curettage, and reduces the area of the endometrial cavity occupied by them in a large percent of cases. It also seems that its use improves the possibility of a new pregnancy and fertility.

Effect of long-term treatment with rituximab on pulmonary function and skin fibrosis in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES To assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with rituximab (RTX) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS Eight patients with SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) received 4 cycles of RTX and had a follow-up of 2 years. Lung involvement was assessed by pulmonary function tests and chest HRCT. Skin involvement was assessed both clinically and histologically. RESULTS We found a linear improvement of lung function and skin thickening over the 2 years of RTX treatment. There was a significant increase of FVC at 2 years compared to baseline (mean ± SEM: 77.13±7.13 vs. 68.13±6.96, respectively, p<0.0001). Similarly, DLco increased significantly at 2 years compared to baseline (mean ± SEM: 63.13±7.65 vs. 52.25±7.32, respectively, p<0.001). Skin thickening, assessed with the MRSS, improved significantly at 2 years compared to baseline (mean ± SEM: 4.87±0.83 vs. 13.5±2.42, respectively, p<0.0001). A reduction in myofibroblast score was seen histologically following RTX treatment. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that long-term treatment with RTX may favourably affect lung function and skin fibrosis in patients with SSc. Larger scale, multicentre, randomised, controlled studies are needed to further explore the efficacy of RTX in SSc.

Multivariate Prediction of Subcutaneous Glucose Concentration in Type 1 Diabetes Patients Based on Support Vector Regression

Abstract: Data-driven techniques have recently drawn significant interest in the predictive modeling of subcutaneous (s.c.) glucose concentration in type 1 diabetes. In this study, the s.c. glucose prediction is treated as a multivariate regression problem, which is addressed using support vector regression (SVR). The proposed method is based on variables concerning: 1) the s.c. glucose profile; 2) the plasma insulin concentration; 3) the appearance of meal-derived glucose in the systemic circulation; and 4) the energy expenditure during physical activities. Six cases corresponding to different combinations of the aforementioned variables are used to investigate the influence of the input on the daily glucose prediction. The proposed method is evaluated using a dataset of 27 patients in free-living conditions. Tenfold cross validation is applied to each dataset individually to both optimize and test the SVR model. In the case, where all the input variables are considered, the average prediction errors are 5.21, 6.03, 7.14, and 7.62 mg/dl for 15-, 30-, 60-, and 120-min prediction horizons, respectively. The results clearly indicate that the availability of multivariable data and their effective combination can significantly increase the accuracy of both short-term and long-term predictions.