In this work we report the preparation of fucan-coated magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles by the co-precipitation method. These nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, ...transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements. The nanoparticles showed quasi-spherical morphology with mean sizes around 10nm. XRD and FT-IR confirmed the functionalization of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with the fucan polysaccharide. Room temperature magnetization measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that the nanoparticles exhibited superparamagnetic behavior at 300K and the magnetic properties of the Fe3O4 are partly screened by the coating preventing aggregation.
•Syntheses of fucan-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles were made by co-precipitation method.•The efficiency of polysaccharide coated was analyzed by XRD and FT-IR.•The magnetic nanoparticles mean size was 10–20nm.•The fucan-coated magnetite nanoparticles showed superparamagnetic behavior.
The disease coronavirus COVID-19 has been the cause of millions of deaths worldwide. Among the proteins of SARS-CoV-2, non-structural protein 12 (NSP12) plays a key role during COVID infection and is ...part of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex. The monitoring of NSP12 polymorphisms is extremely important for the design of new antiviral drugs and monitoring of viral evolution. This study analyzed the NSP12 mutations detected in circulating SARS-CoV-2 during the years 2020 to 2022 in the population of the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. The most frequent mutations found were P323L and G671S. Reports in the literature indicate that these mutations are related to transmissibility efficiency, which may have contributed to the extremely high numbers of cases in this location. In addition, two mutations described here (E796D and R914K) are close and have RMSD that is similar to the mutations M794V and N911K, which have been described in the literature as influential on the performance of the NSP12 enzyme. These data demonstrate the need to monitor the emergence of new mutations in NSP12 in order to better understand their consequences for the treatments currently used and in the design of new drugs.
The emergence of luminescence nanothermometry in bio and nanomedicine has enabled achievements outside the reach of conventional techniques. For instance, it has provided real‐time monitoring of in ...vivo thermal therapies of tumors, a mandatory requirement for these techniques to work safely and efficiently. However, the reliability of intratumoral thermal readings is currently in question due to the presence of artefacts caused by the inhomogeneous optical properties of biological tissues. This work demonstrates how it is possible to avoid, under specific conditions, these artefacts and reach precise and reliable in vivo intratumoral thermal feedback during in vivo photothermal treatments. The method proposed is based on the use of luminescent nanoparticles capable of multiparametric thermal sensing. The results demonstrate how the convergence of the different thermal readouts becomes a solid indicator of their reliability. It is shown how this new approach makes possible precise (thermal uncertainties below 1 °C) intratumoral thermal feed‐back, while simple, efficient, and minimally invasive in vivo thermal treatments of surface tumors is carried out. Results included in this work provide an ingenious route toward the consolidation of luminescence nanothermometry as a convincing technique for high sensitivity preclinical thermal sensing, while also constituting a step toward improved photothermal therapies.
A new approach allowing reliable in vivo intratumoral thermal reading is described. It is based on the use of Ag2S luminescent nanothermometers capable of multiparametric thermal sensing. Rationale selection of their operation spectral range is also required to avoid tissue induced distortions. The simultaneous ability of Ag2S nanoparticles for heating enables efficient photothermal treatment of tumors with accurate and reliable thermal feedback.
Despite the prevalence of substance use during pregnancy, studies focusing exclusively on Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) admissions remain limited. This study investigates the impact of ...maternal use of tobacco, alcohol, and/or crack, on neonatal outcomes among infants admitted to three Brazilian NICUs. Additionally, the investigation explores the impact of substance use on DNA damage in newborns. Over a one-year period, data from 254 newborns were collected through medical records, accompanied by blood samples. Findings revealed that 16.1% of newborns had mothers reporting substance use during pregnancy. Significant associations were found between maternal substance use and adverse neonatal outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and sexually transmitted infections. Maternal variables linked to substance use encompassed non-white skin color, low education, non-masonry housing, lower income, diseases in other children, and fewer prenatal consultations. Notably, neonatal DNA damage showed no significant association with substance use. Our results underscore the substantial impact of maternal substance use on NICU-admitted infants, emphasizing the necessity for targeted interventions that address both neonatal health and maternal well-being, thereby underscoring the crucial role of comprehensive care in NICU settings.
•Undernutrition in elderly.•Risk factors of undernutrition.•Undernutrition and the Emergency Department.•Polymedication and undernutrition.
In developed countries, undernutrition affects mostly older ...adults, worsens with hospitalization, and affects immune response, with higher rates of infection and delayed wound healing–which leads to an increase in hospital stay and health costs. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and related risk factors in a sample of older adults who presented at the emergency room (ER) of a university hospital in Spain.
This was a cross-sectional study of 288 patients ≥70 y of age who were seen at the emergency department at the University Hospital of Valladolid. Variables of nutritional evaluation, including a Mini Nutritional Assessment Test, sociodemographic factors, comorbidities, chronic treatments, frequency of visits to the ER, and destination after hospital discharge were collected.
The percentage of undernutrition was 14.9% and the risk for undernutrition was 54.5%. Most patients were able to independently conduct basic activities of daily living (BADLs), lived at home, resided in an urban environment, and had autonomous mobility. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.14 ± 4.52 kg/m2. Patients who were dependent on others for BADLs; institutionalized or bedridden; and with hematologic disease, chronic depressive syndrome, polymedication, low hemoglobin or low hematocrit, and hypochromia were associated with a higher prevalence of undernutrition. In the multivariate analysis, for each unit of increase in BMI, patients had 12% lower risk for developing undernutrition, and for each unit of increase in the frequency of ER visits, patients had a 41% higher risk for developing undernutrition.
Older adults who presented to the ER had a high percentage of undernutrition, which is related to sociodemographic factors, comorbidities, polymedication, and biochemical factors. We also found a direct association between the frequency of ER visits and undernutrition, in addition to an inverse relationship with BMI. Detecting undernutrition in an ER may improve health and reduce related complications in older adults.
Since the second version of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) treatment recommendations were published in 2015, therapeutic options for psoriatic ...arthritis (PsA) have advanced considerably. This work reviews the literature since the previous recommendations (data published 2013-2020, including conference presentations between 2017 and 2020) and reports high-quality, evidence-based, domain-focused recommendations for medication selection in PsA developed by GRAPPA clinicians and patient research partners. The overarching principles for the management of adults with PsA were updated by consensus. Principles considering biosimilars and tapering of therapy were added, and the research agenda was revised. Literature searches covered treatments for the key domains of PsA: peripheral arthritis, axial disease, enthesitis, dactylitis, and skin and nail psoriasis; additional searches were performed for PsA-related conditions (uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease) and comorbidities. Individual subcommittees used a GRADE-informed approach, taking into account the quality of evidence for therapies, to generate recommendations for each of these domains, which were incorporated into an overall schema. Choice of therapy for an individual should ideally address all disease domains active in that patient, supporting shared decision-making. As safety issues often affect potential therapeutic choices, additional consideration was given to relevant comorbidities. These GRAPPA treatment recommendations provide up-to-date, evidence-based guidance on PsA management for clinicians and people with PsA.
The development of technologies capable of early tumor detection is unquestionably demanded by physicians, as early diagnosis is key to achieve more efficient and less invasive treatments with ...improved outcomes. At the preclinical level, nanotechnology has already provided innovative solutions for tumor imaging and therapy, but it has failed to provide real early tumor diagnosis. In this work, an infrared nanothermometry‐based approach toward early melanoma detection, based on the changes produced in the thermal relaxation dynamics of tissues as the tumor develops, is introduced. In vivo experiments demonstrate that detection of incipient tumors from their very onset is possible through monitoring changes in their thermal relaxation dynamics using Ag2S infrared luminescent nanothermometers. For a total tumor development time of 14 days, luminescence nanothermometry allows tumor detection 6 days before its presence is evident by visual inspection. Simultaneous study of the tumoral vasculature reveals that the premature variation in the thermal relaxation dynamics is a consequence of the interplay between tumor angiogenesis and necrosis during the different tumor development stages.
Early tumor detection becomes possible by transient thermometry using infrared emitting Ag2S nanocrystals as noncontact intratumoral nanothermometers. The drastic changes of vascularization taking place at the early stages of tumor development lie at the heart of this diagnosis approach.
The fit between designed product characteristics and the supply chain process has been researched in the operations and supply chain management literature as an important strategic part of ...operations, but how to secure this fit is still a pending issue. The aim of this study is twofold: (a) to examine the relationship between product characteristics and the supply chain process; and (b) based on the research results, to explore how their alignment should be constructed. This is done by a survey-based experimental analysis using a normative model of supply chain management, which is motivated by consideration of Little’s law in a supply chain context. The study provides confirmatory results of past research as well as new results regarding the relationship between product characteristics and the supply chain process. The research introduces the concept of absolute supply chain orientation strategy (ASCOS), which focuses on perpetual improvements to lead-time, just-in-time control, quality and demand variability to ensure the fit between product characteristics and the supply chain process, as a culture or mind-set that should be encouraged in the firm. The research proposes that ASCOS leads to high competitiveness over time. The results also indicate that the inter-functional product development capability contributes to the development as well as to the implementation of the absolute supply chain strategy.
A combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM), high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR‐SEM), focused‐ion‐beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB‐SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ...confocal fluorescence microscopy (CFM), and UV/Vis and synchrotron‐based IR microspectroscopy was used to investigate the dealumination processes of zeolite ZSM‐5 at the individual crystal level. It was shown that steaming has a significant impact on the porosity, acidity, and reactivity of the zeolite materials. The catalytic performance, tested by the styrene oligomerization and methanol‐to‐olefin reactions, led to the conclusion that mild steaming conditions resulted in greatly enhanced acidity and reactivity of dealuminated zeolite ZSM‐5. Interestingly, only residual surface mesoporosity was generated in the mildly steamed ZSM‐5 zeolite, leading to rapid crystal coloration and coking upon catalytic testing and indicating an enhanced deactivation of the zeolites. In contrast, harsh steaming conditions generated 5–50 nm mesopores, extensively improving the accessibility of the zeolites. However, severe dealumination decreased the strength of the Brønsted acid sites, causing a depletion of the overall acidity, which resulted in a major drop in catalytic activity.
Which zeolite micropores dislike steaming conditions? A combination of microspectroscopic techniques was used to unravel the dealumination process at the level of a single zeolite crystal. By steaming under mild and severe conditions, the significant influence of the steaming temperature on the accessibility, acidity, and catalytic activity of the studied materials was revealed.
Hemodynamic forces are related to pathological variations of the cardiovascular system, and numerical simulations for fluid-structure interaction have been systematically used to analyze the behavior ...of blood flow and the arterial wall in aortic aneurysms. This paper proposes a comparative analysis of 1-way and 2-way coupled fluid-structure interaction for aortic arch aneurysm. The coupling models of fluid-structure interaction were conducted using 3D geometry of the thoracic aorta from computed tomography. Hyperelastic anisotropic properties were estimated for the Holzapfel arterial wall model. The rheological behavior of the blood was modeled by the Carreau-Yasuda model. The results showed that the 1-way approach tends to underestimate von Mises stress, displacement, and strain over the entire cardiac cycle, compared to the 2-way approach. In contrast, the behavior of the variables of flow field, velocity, wall shear stress, and Reynolds number when coupled by the 1-way model was overestimated at the systolic moment and tends to be equal at the diastolic moment. The quantitative differences found, especially during the systole, suggest the use of 2-way coupling in numerical simulations of aortic arch aneurysms due to the hyperelastic nature of the arterial wall, which leads to a strong iteration between the fluid and the arterial wall.
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