We describe the in situ preparation of a multipurpose hierarchical polyaniline–polystyrene (PANI–PS) composite based in the chemical polymerization of PANI on nonwoven (NW) electrospun PS mats. We ...performed a detailed study of the properties of these materials to select the best strategies to incorporate PANI chains into pristine NW PS mats without compromising the original porosity and mechanical flexibility of the matrices. The resulting composites presented nanostructured PANI chains highly dispersed in the interior of the NW PS mat and showed good electrical properties and surface-wetting characteristics that could be easily controlled. In particular, we show that these NW PANI–PS mats exhibit interesting properties in their interaction with heavy metal ions. For instance, their high adsorption capacities toward dispersed Hg(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Cr(VI), and Cu(II) ions make them promising materials for water remediation, by providing a simple manner of collecting and removing these metals from aqueous systems. In fact, the NW electrospun mats here presented do not suffer from the usual limitations found in materials commonly employed as adsorbents, such as a tendency to agglomerate or accumulate in the environment because of difficulties of properly recovering them after use. To better understand the nature of each pairwise metal–PANI interaction, we performed a thorough investigation of the optical and electrical changes induced by the metal adsorption in the NW PANI–PS mats. As a consequence of their interaction with the metal ions, the visual aspect of the mats change, a fact more evident in the case of Cr(VI) removal, when the matrices vary their color from green to purple. These changes are related to the variation of the oxidation state of the PANI chains: as the ion metals are progressively adsorbed into the mat, they promote the conversion in varying degrees of the PANI chains from salt emeraldine to the pernigraniline form, and the mats become more resistive. We implemented an electrical impedance investigation of the charge transport characteristics of NW PANI–PS mat, and the results indicate that they are sensitive to the type of metal ion adsorbed and that the amount of ions adsorbed in each case is mostly related to the standard electrode potential of the metal considered.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Endometriosis is a gynaecological hormone-dependent disorder that is defined by histological lesions generated by the growth of endometrial-like tissue out of the uterus cavity, ...most commonly engrafted within the peritoneal cavity, although these lesions can also be located in distant organs. Endometriosis affects ~10% of women of reproductive age, frequently producing severe and, sometimes, incapacitating symptoms, including chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia, among others. Furthermore, endometriosis causes infertility in ~30% of affected women. Despite intense research on the mechanisms involved in the initial development and later progression of endometriosis, many questions remain unanswered and its aetiology remains unknown. Recent studies have demonstrated the critical role played by the relationship between the microbiome and mucosal immunology in preventing sexually transmitted diseases (HIV), infertility and several gynaecologic diseases.
OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE
In this review, we sought to respond to the main research question related to the aetiology of endometriosis. We provide a model pointing out several risk factors that could explain the development of endometriosis. The hypothesis arises from bringing together current findings from large distinct areas, linking high prenatal exposure to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals with a short anogenital distance, female genital tract contamination with the faecal microbiota and the active role of genital subclinical microbial infections in the development and clinical progression of endometriosis.
SEARCH METHODS
We performed a search of the scientific literature published until 2019 in the PubMed database. The search strategy included the following keywords in various combinations: endometriosis, anogenital distance, chemical pollutants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the microbiome of the female reproductive tract, microbiota and genital tract, bacterial vaginosis, endometritis, oestrogens and microbiota and microbiota–immune system interactions.
OUTCOMES
On searching the corresponding bibliography, we found frequent associations between environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals and endometriosis risk. Likewise, recent evidence and hypotheses have suggested the active role of genital subclinical microbial infections in the development and clinical progression of endometriosis. Hence, we can envisage a direct relationship between higher prenatal exposure to oestrogens or estrogenic endocrine-disrupting compounds (phthalates, bisphenols, organochlorine pesticides and others) and a shorter anogenital distance, which could favour frequent postnatal episodes of faecal microbiota contamination of the vulva and vagina, producing cervicovaginal microbiota dysbiosis. This relationship would disrupt local antimicrobial defences, subverting the homeostasis state and inducing a subclinical inflammatory response that could evolve into a sustained immune dysregulation, closing the vicious cycle responsible for the development of endometriosis.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS
Determining the aetiology of endometriosis is a challenging issue. Posing a new hypothesis on this subject provides the initial tool necessary to design future experimental, clinical and epidemiological research that could allow for a better understanding of the origin of this disease. Furthermore, advances in the understanding of its aetiology would allow the identification of new therapeutics and preventive actions.
This aim of this study was to analyze serve and return statistics in elite padel players regarding courtside and gender. The sample contained 668 serves and 600 returns of serves from 14 matches (7 ...male and 7 female) of the 2019 Masters Finals World Padel Tour. Variables pertaining to serve (number, direction, court side and effectiveness), return of serve (direction, height, stroke type and effectiveness) and point outcome were registered through systematic observation. The main results showed that the serving pair had an advantage in rallies, under 8 shots in women and under 12 shots in men. Statistical differences according to gender and court side were found. Female players execute more backhand and cross-court returns and use more lobs than men. On the right court, serves are more frequently aimed at the “T” and more down the line returns are executed when compared to the left side. Such knowledge could be useful to develop appropriate game strategies and to design specific training exercises based on actual competition context.
Nintedanib is a clinically approved multikinase receptor inhibitor to treat non-small cell lung cancer with adenocarcinoma (ADC) histology in combination with docetaxel, based on the clinical ...benefits reported on ADC but not on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which are the two most common histologic lung cancer subtypes.
We examined the potential role of tumour-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) in the differential effects of nintedanib in ADC and SCC. Because TAFs are largely quiescent and activated in histologic sections, we focused on the antifibrotic effects of nintedanib on TAFs stimulated with the potent fibroblast activator TGF-β1, which is upregulated in lung cancer.
Nintedanib dose-dependently inhibited the TGF-β1-induced expression of a panel of pro-fibrotic activation markers in both ADC-TAFs and control fibroblasts derived from uninvolved lung parenchyma, whereas such inhibition was very modest in SCC-TAFs. Remarkably, nintedanib abrogated the stimulation of growth and invasion in a panel of carcinoma cell lines induced by secreted factors from activated TAFs in ADC but not SCC, thereby supporting that TGF-β signalling and aberrant TAF-carcinoma cross-talk is regulated by different mechanisms in ADC and SCC.
These results reveal that nintedanib is an effective inhibitor of fibrosis and its associated tumour-promoting effects in ADC, and that the poor antifibrotic response of SCC-TAFs to nintedanib may contribute to the differential clinical benefit observed in both subtypes. Our findings also support that preclinical models based on carcinoma-TAF interactions may help defining the mechanisms of the poor antifibrotic response of SCC-TAFs to nintedanib and testing new combined therapies to further expand the therapeutic effects of this drug in solid tumours.
The aims of the present study were to examine the fitness characteristics of professional padel players and to determine differences in physical performance regarding players' gender. Thirty ...professional padel players (men:
= 15, age = 27.4 ± 6.8 years, height = 177.9 ± 4.0 cm; women:
= 15, age = 30.0 ± 4.2 years, height = 166.6 ± 4.8 cm) completed a 4-day evaluation process, including: isometric handgrip strength, sit and reach, 10 × 5 shuttle test, countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), Abalakov test, one-repetition maximum test (bench press, leg extension, leg curl, lat pulldowns, overhead press, and shoulder press), anthropometry and VO
max tests. The men players had higher values in terms of weight, height, one maximum repetition, jump tests (CMJ and ABK) and VO
max test than the women (
< 0.005). By contrast, the women had higher values for fat mass (
= 0.005; ES: 2.49). The values from this multifaceted test battery can be a useful guide for coaches regarding players' development in future evaluations and monitoring.
The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution and effectiveness of the different types of smash in professional padel according to the area and direction of the strokes and the gender. ...Through systematic observation, 1.015 smashes from eight finals (four men's and four women's) of the professional matches were analyzed. The smashes were categorized into four types of smash: tray, flat, topspin and off the wall. The results showed both men's and women's that the tray is the most used smash by padel players, presenting a percentage of point continuity of almost 90%. The flat and topspin smashes are the strokes that achieve the highest percentage of winning points (near 60%), although this efficiency decreases significantly when the players move away from the net area (
< 0.05), especially in the flat smash. Men perform a higher percentage of winning smashes than women, mainly in the flat smash (
= 0.02). Furthermore, with regards to direction, flat and off the wall smashes are predominantly down the line strokes and women perform significantly more cross court topspin smashes than men (
= 0.005). The results shown could be used to design tasks and exercises by padel coaches at professional players.
Pteridines are aromatic compounds formed by fused pyrazine and pyrimidine rings. Many living organisms synthesize pteridines, where they act as pigments, enzymatic cofactors, or immune system ...activation molecules. This variety of biological functions has motivated the synthesis of a huge number of pteridine derivatives with the aim of studying their therapeutic potential. This review gathers the state‐of‐the‐art of pteridine derivatives, describing their biological activities and molecular targets. The antitumor activity of pteridine‐based compounds is one of the most studied and advanced therapeutic potentials, for which several molecular targets have been identified. Nevertheless, pteridines are also considered as very promising therapeutics for the treatment of chronic inflammation‐related diseases. On the other hand, many pteridine derivatives have been tested for antimicrobial activities but, although some of them resulted to be active in preliminary assays, a deeper research is needed in this area. Moreover, pteridines may be of use in the treatment of many other diseases, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, ischemia, or neurodegeneration, among others. Thus, the diversity of the biological activities shown by these compounds highlights the promising therapeutic use of pteridine derivatives. Indeed, methotrexate, pralatrexate, and triamterene are Food and Drug Administration approved pteridines, while many others are currently under study in clinical trials.
Benefits of regular exercise for health are beyond any doubt. However, adherence to regular physical activity is an ongoing challenge. Among the options for exercise engagement, racket sports, and ...particularly padel, stand as emerging practices for children and adults to have fun, improve physical fitness, and potentially develop motor and cognitive skills. In the last decade, the literature on padel is increasing exponentially. However, there is a need for further experimental research. To design safe and effective sport-base physical activity promotion interventions, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the physical requirements, technical complexity, injury risks, and strength and conditioning programs. To assist researchers to conduct effective padel-based interventions for health, this review summarizes the state-of-the-art evidence about padel, identifies key topics to be addressed in the future, and discusses the potential role of padel as a physical fitness and health promotion strategy. A narrative review is presented, summarizing the results of padel articles from three different databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Studies written in Spanish and English were the inclusion criteria. The studies had to be published from 2000 onwards and be original, as well as peer-reviewed.
Knowledge of the precise timing of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection may be of clinical and epidemiological relevance. The presence of low‐avidity IgGs has conventionally been considered an indicator of recent ...infection. Here, we carried out qualitative assessment of SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody avidity using an urea (6M) dissociation test performed on a lateral flow immunochromatographic IgG/IgM device. We included a total of 76 serum specimens collected from 57 COVID‐19 patients, of which 39 tested positive for both IgG and IgM and 37 only for IgG. Sera losing IgG reactivity after urea treatment (n = 28) were drawn significantly earlier (P = .04) after onset of symptoms than those which preserved it (n = 48). This assay may be helpful to estimate the time of acquisition of infection in patients with mild to severe COVID‐19.
Highlights
A LFIC test was adapted for assessing SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody avidity.
This urea dissociation LFIC assay may hep to determine the time of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.
The Role of Peritoneal Macrophages in Endometriosis Ramírez-Pavez, Tamara N.; Martínez-Esparza, María; Ruiz-Alcaraz, Antonio J. ...
International journal of molecular sciences,
10/2021, Letnik:
22, Številka:
19
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder, defined as the growth of endometrial stromal cells and glands at extrauterine sites. Endometriotic lesions are more frequently located ...into the abdominal cavity, although they can also be implanted in distant places. Among its etiological factors, the presence of immune dysregulation occupies a prominent place, pointing out the beneficial and harmful outcomes of macrophages in the pathogenesis of this disease. Macrophages are tissue-resident cells that connect innate and adaptive immunity, playing a key role in maintaining local homeostasis in healthy conditions and being critical in the development and sustainment of many inflammatory diseases. Macrophages accumulate in the peritoneal cavity of women with endometriosis, but their ability to clear migrated endometrial fragments seems to be inefficient. Hence, the characteristics of the peritoneal immune system in endometriosis must be further studied to facilitate the search for new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. In this review, we summarize recent relevant advances obtained in both mouse, as the main animal model used to study endometriosis, and human, focusing on peritoneal macrophages obtained from endometriotic patients and healthy donors, under the perspective of its future clinical translation to the role that these cells play on this pathology.
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