0000000000175445
AUTHOR
G Gregori
Addition of either pioglitazone or a sulfonylurea in type 2 diabetic patients inadequately controlled with metformin alone: impact on cardiovascular events. A randomized controlled trial.
Abstract Background and aims Metformin is the first-line therapy in type 2 diabetes. In patients inadequately controlled with metformin, the addition of a sulfonylurea or pioglitazone are equally plausible options to improve glycemic control. However, these drugs have profound differences in their mechanism of action, side effects, and impact on cardiovascular risk factors. A formal comparison of these two therapies in terms of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is lacking. The TOSCA.IT study was designed to explore the effects of adding pioglitazone or a sulfonylurea on cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients inadequately controlled with metformin. Methods Multicentre, random…
Ionic conductivity of nanocrystalline heavily acceptor doped ceria: The role of the local atomic order
Acceptor doped ceria (CeO2) is a material that over the years has attracted much interest for applications in solid oxide fuel cells and oxygen membranes. This study aims at systematically investigating how the local atomic order and the dopant distribution affect the ionic transport of nanocrystalline CeO2 ceramics doped with samarium, erbium and ytterbium, with concentrations ranging between 10 and 30 at.%. For this purpose, a.c. electrochemical impedance spectroscopy together with Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as XRD and EXAFS analysis have been carried out. In order to have detailed information on the bulk properties of these compositions also microcrystalline samples have…
Effects on the incidence of cardiovascular events of the addition of pioglitazone versus sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin (TOSCA.IT): a randomised, multicentre trial
Background The best treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes in whom treatment with metformin alone fails to achieve adequate glycaemic control is debated. We aimed to compare the long-term effects of pioglitazone versus sulfonylureas, given in addition to metformin, on cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods TOSCA.IT was a multicentre, randomised, pragmatic clinical trial, in which patients aged 50â75 years with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin monotherapy (2â3 g per day) were recruited from 57 diabetes clinics in Italy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), by permuted blocks randomisation (block size 10), stratified by site and…
The Role of the Local Atomic Order and Boundary Effects on the Electrical Transport of Ceria
Heavily acceptor doped ceria is a material of great relevance for applications in solid oxide fuel cells and oxygen membranes. Depending on the operation temperature, dopant concentration and microstructure (e.g. nanocrystalline vs. microcrystalline), the ionic transport properties of ceria can be mostly hindered by (i) grain boundaries or (ii) local atomic disorder in the bulk. Here, we present a selection of examples (ranging from thin films to ceramics) of how and to which extent these effects can affect the electrical transport properties. Emphasis will be given to the case of heavily doped nanocrystalline and microcrystalline ceria doped with samarium, erbium and ytterbium (dopant conc…