A novel material for sensing cations in water via fluorescence spectroscopy is presented. The material consists of a glass substrate functionalized with a series of fluorescent self-assembled monolayers. Parallel modification with pairs of fluorophore-binding molecules of monolayers formed on glass yield a library of sensitive glass substrates. Measurements of the changes in fluorescence intensity of the layers upon addition of aqueous solutions of Cu 2+ , Co 2+ , Ca 2+ and Pb 2+ confirmed the ability of the monolayer library to produce a ''fingerprint'' response for separate analytes with a high reproducibility. This new protocol for fabrication of sensitive probes in glass is suitable for array fabrication in small size substrates. Additionally, the covalent attachment of the fluorophore moieties to the monolayer allows monitoring of the integrity of the monolayer in time in contact with solutions. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of sensing of cations in water by a self-assembled monolayer on glass.

Fluorescent self assembled monolayers (SAMs) on glass were previously developed in our group as new sensing materials for metal ions. These fluorescent SAMs are comprised by fluorophores and small molecules sequentially deposited on a monolayer on glass. The preorganization provided by the surface avoids the need for complex receptor design, allowing for a combinatorial approach to sensing systems based on small molecules. Now we show the fabrication of an effective microarray for the screening of metal ions and the properties of the sensing SAMs. A collection of fluorescent sensing SAMs was generated by combinatorial methods and immobilized on the glass surfaces of a custom-made 140 well microtiter-plate. The resulting libraries are easily measured and show varied responses to a series cations such as Cu2+, Co2+, Pb2+, Ca2+ and Zn2+. These surfaces are not designed to complex selectively a unique analyte but rather they are intended to produce fingerprint type responses to a range of analytes by less specific interactions. The unselective responses of the library to the presence of different cations generate a characteristic pattern for each analyte, a “finger print” response.

Background: Patients express a variety of needs, some of which are labeled social and spiritual. Without an in-depth exploration of patients’ expressions of these needs, it is difficult to differentiate between them and allocate appropriate healthcare interventions. Aim: To gain insight into the social and spiritual needs of patients with a life-limiting illness and the distinction between these needs, as found in the research literature. Design: A mixed-methods systematic review and meta-aggregation were conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach to qualitative synthesis and the PALETTE framework and were reported according to the PRISMA statement. This review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019133571). Data sources: The search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycInfo. Eligible studies reported social and spiritual needs from the patients’ perspective and were published between January 1st 2008 and October 2020. The quality of evidence was assessed using JBI Critical Appraisal Tools. Results: Thirty-four studies (19 qualitative, 1 mixed-methods, and 14 quantitative) were included. The five synthesized findings encompassing social and spiritual needs were: being autonomous, being connected, finding and having meaning, having a positive outlook, and dealing with dying and death. Conclusion: What literature labels as social and spiritual needs shows great similarities and overlap. Instead of distinguishing social from spiritual needs based on patients’ linguistic expressions, needs should always be explored in-depth. We propose a socio-spiritual approach that honors and preserves the multidimensionality of patients’ needs and enables interdisciplinary teamwork to allocate patient-tailored care.

Two-stage clinical trial designs may be efficient in pharmacogenetics research when there is some but inconclusive evidence of effect modification by a genomic marker. Two-stage designs allow to stop early for efficacy or futility and can offer the additional opportunity to enrich the study population to a specific patient subgroup after an interim analysis. This study compared sample size requirements for fixed parallel group, group sequential, and adaptive selection designs with equal overall power and control of the family-wise type I error rate. The designs were evaluated across scenarios that defined the effect sizes in the marker positive and marker negative subgroups and the prevalence of marker positive patients in the overall study population. Effect sizes were chosen to reflect realistic planning scenarios, where at least some effect is present in the marker negative subgroup. In addition, scenarios were considered in which the assumed 'true' subgroup effects (i.e., the postulated effects) differed from those hypothesized at the planning stage. As expected, both two-stage designs generally required fewer patients than a fixed parallel group design, and the advantage increased as the difference between subgroups increased. The adaptive selection design added little further reduction in sample size, as compared with the group sequential design, when the postulated effect sizes were equal to those hypothesized at the planning stage. However, when the postulated effects deviated strongly in favor of enrichment, the comparative advantage of the adaptive selection design increased, which precisely reflects the adaptive nature of the design.