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Background: With continuously aging societies, an increase in the number of people with cognitive decline is to be expected. Aside from the development of causative treatments, the successful implementation of prevention strategies is of utmost importance to reduce the high societal burden caused by neurodegenerative diseases leading to dementia among which the most common cause is Alzheimer's disease., Objective: The aim of the Luxembourgish "programme dementia prevention (pdp)" is to prevent or at least delay dementia in an at-risk population through personalized multi-domain lifestyle interventions. The current work aims to provide a detailed overview of the methodology and presents initial results regarding the cohort characteristics and the implementation process., Methods: In the frame of the pdp, an extensive neuropsychological evaluation and risk factor assessment are conducted for each participant. Based on the results, individualized multi-domain lifestyle interventions are suggested., Results: A total number of 450 participants (Mean age = 69.5 years; SD = 10.8) have been screened at different recruitment sites throughout the country, among whom 425 participants (94.4%) met the selection criteria., Conclusions: We provide evidence supporting the feasibility of implementing a nationwide dementia prevention program and achieving successful recruitment of the target population by establishing a network of different healthcare providers.

We used our recently proposed acidity-basicity interplay (ABI) model (Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 4402) and the Jorgensen secondary interactions hypothesis (JSIH) to rationalise the experimentally observed trends in the formation constants of doubly and triply H-bonded systems with -NHO[double bond, length as m-dash]C- and -NHN- interactions. Unlike the JSIH, the ABI interpretation can explain the trends in the complexation of amide/imide homo- and heterodimers as well as ADA-DAD clusters. We found that the strongest H-bonds play a very important role, a condition which offers an alternative to the well established JSIH to modulate the stability of these relevant systems.

Background: Primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is uncommon, aggressive and has a different biology than multiple myeloma (MM)., Aim: To report the features of patients with pPCL., Material and Methods: Review of databases of the Hematology Department and the Hematology laboratory., Results: Of 178 patients with monoclonal gammopathies, five (2.8%) patients aged 33 to 64 years (three females) had a pPCL. The mean hemoglobin was 7.3 g/dL, the mean white blood cell count was 52,500/mm3, with 58% plasma cells, and the mean platelet count was 83,600/mm3. The mean bone marrow infiltration was 89%, LDH was 2,003 IU/L, serum calcium was 13 mg/dL, and creatinine 1.5 mg/dL. Two patients had bone lesions. Three were IgG, one IgA lambda and one lambda light chain. CD20 was positive in one, CD56 was negative in all and CD117 was negative in 3 cases. By conventional cytogenetic analysis, two had a complex karyotype. By Fluorescence in situ Hybridization, one was positive for TP53 and another for t (11; 14). One patient did not receive any treatment, three patients received VTD PACE and one CTD. None underwent transplant. Three patients are alive. The mean survival was 14 months., Conclusions: These patients with pPCL were younger and had a more aggressive clinical outcome than in multiple myeloma.

We report a one-pot synthesis of chiral β 2,2,3 -amino acids by the Mannich addition of bistrimethylsilyl ketene acetals to N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines followed by the removal of the chiral auxiliary. The synthesis and isolation of pure β-amino acid hydrochlorides were conducted under mild conditions, without strong bases and this method is operationally simple. The stereoselective reaction was promoted by two different activation methods that lead to different stereoisomers: (1) Lewis Acid (LA) catalysis with boron trifluoride diethyl etherate and (2) Lewis Base (LB) catalysis with tetrabutylammonium difluorotriphenylsilicate. The reaction presented good diastereoselectivity with LB activation and moderate to good dr with LA catalysis. The exceptions in both protocols were imines with electron donating groups in the aromatic ring.

Acute bacterial sinusitis is a common disorder affecting children and adults. We performed a study to assess the bacteriology of acute sinusitis in a community hospital in Mexico City. Patients with an acute exacerbation of persistent sinusitis or acute sinusitis were enrolled. Aspiration of sinus secretions was performed and aspirates were sent for culture. All patients received antibiotic treatment for the infection based on microbiologic sensitivity reports. Follow-up consultation included endoscopy and a computed tomography scan of paranasal sinuses to assess response to treatment. A total of 110 patients were enrolled for evaluation. Forty nine percent of patients were women; median age was 31 years. A total of 136 cultures were recovered for analysis. Twenty seven percent of cultures were negative. Isolated organisms were Haemophilus influenzae (26%), Moraxella catarrhalis (15%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (14%), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (7%), enterobacteriaceae (6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2%) and miscellaneous (3%). Twenty eight percent of H. influenzae strains were resistant to ampicillin. Penicillin-sensitive S. pneumoniae (PSSP) and penicillin-intermediate-resistant S. pneumoniae (PISP) accounted for 21% and 79% of the S. pneumoniae strains, respectively. H. influenzae was the most common isolated organism. About 55% of those isolates were found in patients <18 years old and only 25% were resistant to ampicillin. Sinus endoscopy continues to be a useful diagnostic tool in addition to imaging studies in sinus infection and should be pursued by the clinician whenever feasible.