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Background: The perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis with 1st or 2nd-generation cephalosporins is evidence-based in orthopedic surgery. There are, however, situations with a high risk of prophylaxis-resistant surgical site infections (SSI). Methods: We perform a superiority randomized-controlled trial with a 10% margin and a power of 90% in favor of the broad-spectrum prophylaxis. We will randomize orthopedic interventions with a high risk for SSI (open fractures, surgery under therapeutic antibiotics, tumor surgery, spine surgery with ASA-Score ≥ 3 points) in a prospective-alternating scheme (1:1, standard prophylaxis with mostly cefuroxime versus a broad-spectrum prophylaxis of a combined single-shot of vancomycin 1 g & gentamicin 5 mg/kg parenterally). The primary outcomes are "remission" at 6 weeks; or at 1 year for surgeries with implant. Secondary outcomes are the risk for prophylaxis-resistant SSI pathogens, revision surgery for any reason, change of antibiotic therapy, adverse events and the incidence of non-SSI infections within 6 weeks (e.g. urine infections). With event-free surgeries to 95% in the broad-spectrum versus 85% in the standard arm, we need 2 x 207 orthopedic surgeries among all groups. Discussion: In selected patients with a high risk for prophylaxis-resistant SSI, a broad-spectrum combination might prevent SSIs better than the standard prophylaxis. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT05502380. Registered on 12 August 2022. Protocol version: 2 (3 June 2022)

Herein we investigate the reaction intermediates formed during CO oxidation on copper-substituted ceria nanoparticles (Cu0.1Ce0.9O2-x) by means of in situ spectroscopic techniques and identify an activity descriptor that rationalizes a trend with other metal substitutes (M0.1Ce0.9O2-x, M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) performed under catalytic conditions demonstrates that O2-transfer occurs at dispersed copper centers, which are redox active during catalysis. In situ XAS reveals a dramatic reduction at the copper centers that is fully reversible under catalytic conditions, which rationalizes the high catalytic activity of Cu0.1Ce0.9O2-x. Ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) show that CO can be oxidized to CO32- in the absence of O2. We find that CO32- desorbs as CO2 only under oxygen-rich conditions when the oxygen vacancy is filled by the dissociative adsorption of O2. These data, along with kinetic analyses, lend support to a mechanism in which the breaking of copper-oxygen bonds is rate-determining under oxygen-rich conditions, while refilling the resulting oxygen vacancy is ratedetermining under oxygen-lean conditions. On the basis of these observations and density functional calculations, we introduce the computed oxygen vacancy formation energy (Evac) as an activity descriptor for substituted ceria materials and demonstrate that Evac successfully rationalizes the trend in the activities of M0.1Ce0.9O2-x catalysts that spans three orders of magnitude. The applicability of Evac as a useful design descriptor is demonstrated by the catalytic performance of the ternary oxide Cu0.1La0.1Ce0.8O2-x, which has an apparent activation energy rivaling those of state-of-the-art Au/TiO2 materials. Thus, we suggest that cost-effective catalysts for CO oxidation can be rationally designed by judicious choice of substituting metal through the co

Late transition metal phosphides have been reported to have high activity for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), yet their active site and stability are not well-understood. Here we report systematic activity and stability study of CoP for HER by combining electrochemical measurements for CoP nanoparticles (NPs) with ex situ and in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption (XAS) spectroscopy at phosphorus and cobalt K edges, as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Colloidally synthesized CoP NPs showed high HER activity in both acid and base electrolytes, comparable to previous work, where no significant pH dependence was observed. Transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy study of CoP NPs before and after exposure to potentials in the range from 0 to 1.4 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) revealed that the P/Co ratio reduced with increasing potential in the potentiostatic measurements prior to HER measurements. The reduced P/Co ratio was accompanied with the emergence of (oxy)phosphate(s) as revealed by XAS, and reduced specific HER activity, suggesting the important role of P in catalyzing HER. This hypothesis was further supported by DFT calculations of HER on the most stable (011) surface of CoP and voltage dependent intensities of both phosphide and phosphate components from P-K edge X-ray spectroscopy. This work highlights the need of stabilizing metal phosphides and optimizing their surface P sites in order to realize the practical use of metal phosphides to catalyze HER in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical devices.

Understanding the mechanism of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential to develop better electrocatalysts for solar fuel generation. Measuring the pH dependence of the OER activity can provide insights on the reaction path that are otherwise difficult to access experimentally, in particular on the coupling of protons and electrons during the reaction. We argue that the use of a pH-dependent reference electrode, such as the reversible hydrogen electrode, is more suitable for these studies as it assures that the overpotential is fixed while varying the pH. We provide criteria for pH dependence when this reference is used and validate the existing results with our measurements on RuO2 powders. A statistical analysis of the existing results allows us to sketch trends in the reaction order on pH with respect to the number of d electrons, oxidation states, and crystal families, providing the groundwork for future OER mechanistic studies on oxides.

We present a simple and generalizable synthetic route toward phase-pure, monodisperse transition-metal-substituted ceria nanoparticles (M0.1Ce0.9O2-x, M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu). The solution-based pyrolysis of a series of heterobimetallic Schiff base complexes ensures a rigorous control of the size, morphology and composition of 3 nm M0.1Ce0.9O2-x crystallites for CO oxidation catalysis and other applications. X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the dispersion of aliovalent (M3+ and M2+) transition metal ions into the ceria matrix without the formation of any bulk transition metal oxide phases, while steady-state CO oxidation catalysis reveals an order of magnitude increase in catalytic activity with copper substitution. Density functional calculations of model slabs of these compounds confirm the stabilization of M3+ and M2+ in the lattice of CeO2. These results highlight the role of the host CeO2 lattice in stabilizing high oxidation states of aliovalent transition metal dopants that ordinarily would be intractable, such as Cu3+, as well as demonstrating a rational approach to catalyst design. The current work demonstrates, for the first time, a generalizable approach for the preparation of transition-metal-substituted CeO2 for a broad range of transition metals with unparalleled synthetic control and illustrates that Cu3+ is implicated in the mechanism for CO oxidation on CuO-CeO2 catalysts.

The venom proteome of Daboia russelli siamensis, a snake of medical importance in several Asian countries, was analysed by 2-D electrophoresis, subsequent MS/MS and enzymatic assays. The proteome comprises toxins from six protein families: serine proteinases, metalloproteinases, phospholipases A2, L-amino acid oxidases, vascular endothelial growth factors and C-type lectin-like proteins. The venom toxin composition correlates with the clinical manifestation of the Russell's viper bite and explains pathological effects of the venom such as coagulopathy, oedema, hypotensive, necrotic and tissue damaging effects. The vast majority of toxins are potentially involved in coagulopathy and neurotoxic effects. The predominant venom components are proteinases capable of activating blood coagulation factors and promoting a rapid clotting of the blood, and neurotoxic phospholipase A2s. The analysis of the venom protein composition provides a catalogue of secreted toxins. The proteome of D. r. siamensis exhibits a lower level of toxin diversity than the proteomes of other viperid snakes. In comparison to the venoms of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes and Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, the venom from D. r. siamensis showed quantitative differences in the proteolytic, phospholipase A2, L-amino acid oxidase and alkaline phosphatase activities.

The venom proteomics of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes and Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, snakes of public health significance and the most poisonous reptiles in Europe, were analyzed by FPLC, 2-D electrophoresis, sequence analysis, and MS/MS. FPLC analysis showed the presence of L-amino acid oxidase, monomeric and heterodimeric phospholipases A2, C-type lectin protein, and proteinases in the venom of V. a. ammodytes. Representatives of the same protein families were found in the venom of the other subspecies, V. a. meridionalis. N-terminally identical PLA2 neurotoxins were identified in both venoms. Difference in the PLA2 compositions of the venoms was also observed: a monomeric protein with phospholipase A2 activity, identical in the first 20 amino acid residues to the catalitically inactive acidic component of the heterodimeric PLA2 present in both venoms, was found only in that of V. a. meridionalis. Probably, this protein represents an intermediate form of the two components of the heterodimer. 2-D electrophoresis and MS/MS analysis showed that the two venoms shared a number of protein families: monomeric and heterodimeric Group II PLA2s, serine proteinases, Group I, II, and III metalloproteinases, L-amino acid oxidases (LAAOs), cysteine-rich secretory proteins, disintegrins, and growth factors. Totally, 38 venom components of the V. a. ammodytes, belonging to 9 protein families, and 67 components of the V. a. meridionalis venom belonging to 8 protein families were identified. The venom proteome of V. a. ammodytes shows larger diversity of proteins (139) in comparison to that of V. a. meridionalis (104 proteins). Most of the proteins are homologues of known representatives of the respective protein families. The protein compositions explain clinical effects of the V. ammodytes snakebites, such as difficulties in the breathing, paralysis, apoptosis, cloting disorders, hemorrhage, and tissue necrosis. The lists of secreted proteins by the two vipers can be used for f