Aims The aim was to assess the impact of a campaign for general practitioners (GPs) to reduce clinically‐important drug–drug interactions (DDIs) in poly‐treated elderly patients. Methods We compiled a list of 53 DDIs and analyzed reimbursed prescriptions dispensed to poly‐treated (≥four drugs) elderly (>65 years) patients in the Emilia Romagna region during January 2011–June 2011 (first pre‐intervention period), January 2012–June 2012 (second pre‐intervention period) and January 2013–June 2013 (post‐intervention period). Educational initiatives to GPs were completed in July 2012–December 2012. Pre‐test/post‐test analysis (2013 vs. 2012) was performed, also using predicted 2013 data (P < 0.01 for statistical significance). Results Despite the slight increase in poly‐therapy rate (16% in 2013, +1.5% from 2011), we found a stable or slightly declining number of potential DDIs for each elderly poly‐treated patient (~1.5). In 2013, 11 DDIs exceeded 5% of prevalence rate: antidiabetics‐β‐adrenoceptor blockers ranked first (20.3%), followed by ACE Inhibitors (ACEIs)/sartans‐non steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (16.4%), diuretics‐NSAIDs (13.6%), selective serotonin re‐uptake inhibitors (SSRIs)‐NSAIDs/acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) (12.7%) and corticosteroids‐NSAIDs/ASA (9.7%). A remarkable reduction emerged for NSAID‐related DDIs (diuretics‐NSAIDs peaked −14.5%; P < 0.01), whereas prevalence of antidiabetics‐β‐adrenoceptor blockers increased (+7.9%; P < 0.01). When using predicted values, the statistical significance disappeared for antidiabetics‐β‐adrenoceptor blockers (+1.3%; P = 0.04), whereas it persisted for almost all NSAIDs‐related DDIs: ACEIs/sartans‐NSAIDs (−3.0%), diuretics‐NSAIDs (−6.0%), SSRIs‐NSAIDs/ASA (−5.9%). Conclusions This campaign contained the burden of DDIs in poly‐treated elderly patients by 1) reducing most prevalent DDIs, especially NSAIDs‐related DDIs and 2) balancing the observed rise in poly‐therapy rate with stable rate in overall prescriptions of potentially interacting drugs per patient.

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The ITER machine will require approximately 275 tons of Nb−Ti strands that will be used in poloidal field (PF) coils, correction coils (CC) and feeder busbars. The performance of all these conductors for the ITER machine is qualified by a short full-size sample (4 m) current sharing temperature (T cs ) test in the SULTAN facility at CRPP in Villigen, Switzerland, at the design operating current and peak field. Three ITER domestic agencies participated in PF conductor fabrication (China, the European Union, Russia) while the conductors for feeder busbars and correction coils are entirely produced by the Chinese domestic agency. Each conductor type was qualified by the ITER International Organization after reaching T cs values in excess of ITER specifications. This qualification enabled the launch of procurement and industrial production of the Nb−Ti cable-in-conduit conductors in each domestic agency. In this paper, we summarize the performance of the qualified Nb−Ti samples of the ITER Project, comparing strand performance with conductor performance. The details of the test results will be discussed in terms of dc performance, ac losses and minimum quench energies of each conductor type.

N1-Acetylspermidine is not detectable in rat heart, but its content greatly increases after a single injection of isoprenaline (10 mg/kg), reaching a concentration of about 10 nmol/g of tissue 4 h after the treatment. Part of the accumulated N1-acetylspermidine was split to putrescine. Isoprenaline also caused an increase of N1-acetylspermidine in the spleen, where its concentration increased 3.5-fold 6 h after the catecholamine. The accumulation of N1-acetylspermidine was dependent on the dose of isoprenaline in both the heart and the spleen, and was strongly inhibited by beta-antagonists and inhibitors of protein synthesis.

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