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Propranolol is the first-line agent for the treatment of infantile haemangioma (IH). Due to its non-selective beta blockade respiratory adverse events are commonplace. Atenolol is a selective beta-1 antagonist and is a second line for patients with a significant respiratory history or those intolerant of propranolol. Previous studies suggest that the two treatments are equally efficacious; however; the narrow side effect profile and once-daily administration of atenolol makes it an attractive alternative. The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of atenolol and propranolol in the treatment of IH. Over a two-year period, five patients with nine IH received the first-line treatment with atenolol. Nine individual lesions from six propranolol patients were matched to these lesions, according to patient demographics and IH characteristics. Treatment response was determined by two independent clinician using both the Visual Analogue Score (VAS) and Haemangioma Activity Score (HAS). A cost-analysis of those treated with atenolol was undertaken and compared to the equivalent costing for standard and maximum dose propranolol. Treatment efficacy of atenolol was comparable to propranolol with mean change in VAS and HAS scores of -7.0 (vs -7.2) and 6.1 (vs 5.7), respectively. The cost analysis revealed atenolol was over 20 times less expensive than standard dose propranolol. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that atenolol is significantly less expensive and at least as effective as propranolol. These findings highlight the need for a multicentre randomised controlled trial to further investigate the cost-effectiveness of these two agents in the treatment of IH., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest have been identified., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Cell culture is an important adjunct in the management of major burns in that it enables keratinocytes derived from the patient to be grown and used to attain cover when there is little autologous skin available. The purpose of this prospective randomised trial was to determine if the type of local anaesthetic used to harvest the skin biopsy in vivo affected the subsequent culture of keratinocytes. Lignocaine 1% was compared with a eutectic mixture of local anaesthetic (EMLA) and a control. The subjects recruited were patients undergoing abdominoplasty. Sixteen patients were recruited but two were excluded from final analysis due to infection of the culture medium in one and poor yield from biopsies in all groups in the other. The tissue to be removed from the abdomen was divided into three areas. EMLA was applied to a 5x5 cm randomised area 2 h prior to surgery. Lignocaine 1% was injected into a 5x5 cm randomised area of abdominal skin immediately after anaesthesia. The third 5x5 cm randomised area was used as a control. Three 4-mm punch biopsies were harvested from each site of local anaesthetic application as well as the control area. The Rheinwald & Green method was used to culture these cells [Rheinwald JG, Green H. Serial cultivation of strains of human epidermal keratinocytes: the formation of keratinizing colonies from single cells. Cell 1975;6:331-5.] Cell counts were performed after harvesting keratinocytes from the biopsy and after 10 days of culture. Statistical analysis was undertaken. In conclusion, in contrast to in vitro studies when lignocaine 1% or EMLA is applied in vivo, there is no inhibition of cell culture. In vivo EMLA was also found to significantly increase cell multiplication.

The magnetism of a series of tetranuclear complexes of the [Fe4IIL4]8+ [2x2]-grid-type was investigated, revealing the occurrence of spin transition behavior within this class of compounds. The phenomenon depends directly on the nature of the substituent R(1) in the 2-position on the central pyrimidine group of the ligand L. All Fe(II) ions in compounds with R(1) substituents favoring strong ligand fields (R(1)=H; OH) remain completely in the diamagnetic low-spin state. Only complexes bearing R(1) substituents attenuating the ligand field by steric (and to a lesser extent electronic) effects (R(1)=Me; Ph) exhibit spin transition behavior triggered by temperature. In general, gradual and incomplete transitions without hysteresis were observed for magnetically active complexes. The systems described provide approaches to the development of (supra)molecular spintronics.

The [M(4)(II)L(4)](8+) [2 x 2]-grid-type complexes 1-8 present a set of features of particular interest for potential applications. All complexes exhibit multiple reduction levels at low reduction potentials paired with rather high stability. The modulation of the reduction potentials is possible by introduction of appropriate substituents on the ligands. The Co(II)(4) complexes 1-5 present a remarkable regularity in the disposition of the reduction levels, indicating the ability of the Co(II) sites to transmit electronic interactions between reduced ligands. In general, all investigated molecular systems 1-8 show characteristics typical for multilevel supramolecular electronic devices.

The self-assembly of new multimetallic complexes of grid-type architecture is described. The binding of a set of tris-terdentate ligands, 1 a-1 d, based on terpyridine-like subunits, with different octahedrally coordinated metal ions leads to the formation of species whose structure depends strongly on the ligand, the metal ion, the counterion, the solvent, and the reaction conditions. Under suitable conditions, the [3 x 3] grid was obtained from the reaction of ligand 1 a with zinc tetrafluoroborate and from ligand 1 b with mercury triflate. The other ligands led to the formation of mainly one compound of composition [M(6)L(5)](12+), which has the structure of an incomplete [2 x 3] grid. The crystal structure of such a [2 x 3] grid, [Co(6)(1 d)(5)](12+), has been determined. In this complex, the three central pyrimidine-pyridine-pyrimidine non-coordinating sites adopt transoid NCbond;CN conformations. The much less stable cisoid conformations, the "pinching" of the coordination sites in the complex, the weaker donor strength of the central binding site, and the steric demand of the substituents are all factors contributing to the reluctance to produce the [3 x 3] structure. A subtle interplay between the nature of the metal, the steric demand of the ligand, the reaction conditions, and the type of counterion determine the product of self-assembly. The results obtained show that by tuning the parameters, complexes containing six or nine octahedrally coordinated metal ions in a well-defined grid-type arrangement are accessible. Both types of arrays, [2 x 3] and [3 x 3 ], are of interest as self-assembled inorganic architectures of well-defined structure and nuclearity that may be suitable prototypes for selective information storage media.

The self-assembly of the terdentate ligands 1a-h, based on terpyridine-like binding sites, with octahedrally coordinated metal ions, such as Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Hg(II) and Pb(II), leads to the formation of the supramolecular grid-type complexes 2a-c(M(II)), 3d-g(M(II)) and 4h(M(II)). The structures and compositions of these coordination complexes in solution were deduced from electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) measurements. The results agree with the data available from x-ray radiocrystallography in the solid state and/or NMR spectroscopy in solution. ESMS may be applied in cases where other methods are difficult to use or inconclusive. This study stresses the power of ESMS in supramolecular chemistry., (Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The synthesis and X-ray structures of three metal complexes with terpyridine-derived ligands that contain amino-pyrimidine and amino-pyrazine moieties are presented. They have been designed in view of directing their self-assembly into specific supramolecular arrays through molecular recognition interactions. The solid-state structures indeed reveal extensive hydrogen-bonded networks. The Co complex 4a with PF6- counterions builds a two-dimensional infinite interwoven grid through strong double hydrogen bonds (d(N-H-N) =2.918-3.018 A) between the amino groups and the N atoms of the rings, with all H-bonding sites saturated. Changing the anions to BF4- in 4b leads to a similar infinite but partially broken grid with a quarter of the H-bonding sites unsaturated (d(N-H-N)=2.984-3.206 A). In the case of the Zn complex 12 with triflate anions, half of the hydrogen bonds are formed. Only one of the two orthogonal ligands has hydrogen bonds (d(N-H-N) = 3.082, 3.096 A) to the neighbouring complexes and thus builds linear, supramolecular, polymeric chains. These structural differences are mainly attributed to crystal-packing effects caused by the different anions. The data presented here may also be regarded as a prototype for the generation of organised arrays through sequential self-assembly processes.