Sol-Gel ceramic glazes with photocatalytic activity.

A frit is a glassy ceramic composition that has been fused, quenched, and granulated. A single frit or a mixture of frits and ceramic materials forms a ceramic glaze. The purpose of this pre-fusion is to render any soluble and/or toxic components insoluble by rendering it inert in a glassy composition with silica and other added oxides. The ceramic glaze dispersed in water (ceramic slip) is deposited on a ceramic body and fired for waterproofing and aesthetic purposes. Multicomponent frits (zinc-potassium borosilicate system) with similar behavior to conventional ceramic frits for single-firing ceramic glazes ("monoporosa" glazes fired at 1080 °C) were prepared by Sol-Gel methods (monophasic and polyphasic gels) avoiding the pre-fusion and characterized as photocatalytic agents (showing high degradation activity on Orange II). The effect of doping with bandgap modifiers (V2O5, Sb2O5 and SnO2) and also with devitrification agents (ZrO2 to crystallize zircon, Al2O3 to anorthite, Mo2O3 to powellite and ZnO to gahnite ZnAl2O4) were analyzed. Multicomponent frits (zinc-potassium borosilicate system) with similar behavior to conventional ceramic frits for single-firing glazes (1080 °C) prepared by Sol-Gel methods (monophasic and polyphasic gels), without pre-fusion, shows photocatalytic activity.

The effects of histamine on the isolated mouse uterus.

1. A study is made of the contractile and relaxant effects, and mechanism of action, of histamine on isolated uterus from mice treated with diethylstilboestrol, employing acetylcholine and adrenaline as contractile and relaxant standard agents. 2. Concentration-response curves for histamine agonists were obtained in the absence and presence of selective histaminergic blocking drugs (clemizole, ranitidine and thioperamide) and indomethacin. A number of experiments were carried out in uterus from reserpinised mice. Concentration-response curves for acetylcholine and adrenaline were also obtained in the absence and presence of their selective antagonist (atropine and propranolol). 3. In isolated oestrogenised mouse uterus, histamine and acetylcholine produced a concentration-related contractile response. When the uterus was precontracted with KCl, histamine at lower doses produced a slight contraction, though in the presence of clemizole it induced concentration-related relaxation, reminiscent of that produced by adrenaline. Atropine and propranolol antagonised the contractile and relaxant effects of acetylcholine and adrenaline, respectively. 4. In isolated uterus from reserpinised mice, histamine and 2-pyridylethylamine, but not 4-methylhistamine, produced a concentration-related contractile response. Ranitidine potentiated the contractile effect of histamine, though clemizole--in the presence of ranitidine--competitively antagonised the contractile effect of histamine (pA2 = 10.50 +/- 0.81). The concentration-relaxant curve of histamine in the presence of clemizole was not modified by ranitidine or indomethacin, but shifted to the right with thioperamide. The same displacement was also observed in the presence of clemizole plus ranitidine. 5. In mouse isolated uterus, histamine mainly produced contraction mediated by histamine H1-receptors, though the existence of histamine H2- or H3-receptors mediating relaxation could not be excluded.

Weight gain associated with cinnarizine.

OBJECTIVE: To report four cases of cinnarizine-induced weight gain. DATA SOURCES: Case reports from a local obesity center and review articles. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were abstracted from spontaneous comments made by patients to one of the authors, who was a doctor at the clinic, and reviewed by the remaining authors. DATA SYNTHESIS: We reviewed the cases of four women, aged 50-57 years without endocrine or metabolic pathologies, that showed weight gain associated with the intake of cinnarizine for one to two years. No other drugs usually were administered during the period in which the women gained weight, although in two cases cinnarizine was associated with dihydroergocristine in the same medicine (Clinadil). The mean weight increase was 6.25 kg (range 4-10). The increases do not appear to be related to whether the patients' initial weight was ideal or excessive. The weight gain was always associated with increased appetite and food intake. One patient discontinued cinnarizine treatment and her weight returned to its previous level. CONCLUSIONS: Cinnarizine is a piperazine derivative used in the treatment of vertigo and in the prophylaxis of migraine. In contrast to related drugs, data about cinnarizine are scarce because randomized trials of cinnarizine have been inconclusive. Our observations indicate that cinnarizine may cause weight gain, as observed with other drugs in the same class.