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Introduction: Amongst delusional disorders, delusional parasitosis or Ekbom's syndrome is relatively infrequent. These patients report an unwavering false belief of skin infestation due to sensoperceptive hallucinations, despite the absence of any medical evidence. There are two forms of delusional parasitosis: in the primary form the delusion of parasitic infection is the only symptom present, whereas in the secondary form it occurs alongside another psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia, drug abuse or an organic cause. Antipsychotics are the most usen treatment. Objectives: Presentation of a case and discussion of first approach to delusional parasitosis. Methods: Presentation of a case and a small review of the scientific literature available in PubMed. Results: Caucasian, 49-year-old woman reported a not-confirmed toe nail fungic infection one year prior, progressing with the subjective sensation of spreading to the rest of the body. Consequently, she employed diverse topical and oral remedies without medical supervision. One month prior she got medical assessment in a different medical centre, being evaluated by Dermatology and Psychiatry, getting the diagnosis of delusional parasitosis despite a lack of a battery of tests. She is given treatment, with no adherence. She escalated into more aggresive compulsions of cleasing, resulting in excoriations and scaldings, with increasing difficulties to lead her life. Conclusions: We illustrate the relevance of close multidisciplinary cooperation and the use of an adequate battery of tests to rule out an organic cause. An early diagnosis is key, as a therapeutic alliance prevents the patients from isolation and the development of depression symptoms, or else, of self-harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multiple methods have been developed to detect metal cations, only a few offer sensitivities below 1 pM, and many require complicated procedures and sophisticated equipment. Here, we describe a class of simple solid-state sensors for the ultrasensitive detection of heavy-metal cations (notably, an unprecedented attomolar limit for the detection of CH(3)Hg(+) in both standardized solutions and environmental samples) through changes in the tunnelling current across films of nanoparticles (NPs) protected with striped monolayers of organic ligands. The sensors are also highly selective because of the ligand-shell organization of the NPs. On binding of metal cations, the electronic structure of the molecular bridges between proximal NPs changes, the tunnelling current increases and highly conductive paths ultimately percolate the entire film. The nanoscale heterogeneity of the structure of the film broadens the range of the cation-binding constants, which leads to wide sensitivity ranges (remarkably, over 18 orders of magnitude in CH(3)Hg(+) concentration).

The interaction between tetrathiafulvalene and tetracation cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) fragments-the key elements of many rotaxane systems-was investigated theoretically by using ab-initio second-order perturbation methods. In addition to the inclusion complex observed in the solid state, a thermodynamically stable "exterior" complex was identified. Calculation of the UV/Vis spectra for the inclusion and the exterior complexes indicated that the charge-transfer band that is often used to predict the formation of the inclusion complexes in solution is, in reality, due to the exterior mode of complexation. These results suggest that UV/Vis spectroscopy is not a reliable method for assigning the complexation modes in TTF:BB(4+) rotaxanes and related systems., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Selective aggregation and precipitation of like-charged nanoparticles (NPs) covered with carboxylate ligands can be induced by different monovalent cations. The ordering of critical concentrations required for NP precipitation is Cs(+) ≫ K(+) > Li(+) > Na(+) > Rb(+) and does not correlate with the size of hydrated cations M(+), nor can it be predicted by the Hofmeister series. On the other hand, different anions have no effect on the precipitation trends. These observations are rationalized by a theoretical model combining the elements of the DLVO theory with molecular-level calculations. The key component of the model is the cation-specific binding of various metal cations to the carboxylate ligands.

We have prepared the first MRI prodrug-procontrast complex by conjugating doxorubicin to a Gd(III) chelate using an acid-labile linker. The relaxometric properties of the adduct and pH activation are reported.

The first dearomatizing anionic reaction of a phenyl ring promoted by an N-benzyl-N-methylphosphinamide group is described. The intermediate lithium species can be trapped with different electrophiles, affording tetrahydrobenzo[c]-1-aza-2lambda(5)-phospholes with excellent diastereoselectivity. The new process is a simple and very efficient entry to the stereoselective synthesis of functionalized gamma-(N-methylamino)phosphinic acids and esters.