Display omitted
•Zn/Fe mixed-MOF as precursor material for the preparation of magnetic porous carbon.•High adsorption capacity of methylene blue and methyl orange dye pollutants.•Excellent efficiency ...for the simultaneous removal of endocrine disrupting phenols.
The preparation of magnetic porous carbon from a mixed-metal-organic framework by a two steps simple method is reported. By taking advantage that the calcination process at high temperature under inert atmosphere of zinc and iron MOFs results in the formation of carbons with excellent porosity and magnetic properties, respectively, MOF-74(Zn/Fe) prepared at room temperature was used as precursor for the synthesis of high porous magnetic carbons. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO, SEM, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, Zeta potential analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. To check the potential as sorbent of the MOF-74(Zn/Fe)-derived magnetic porous carbon, adsorption isotherms of methylene blue and methyl orange were recorded and compared with those obtained using a non-magnetic MOF-74(Zn)-derived porous carbon. The maximum adsorption capacity for methylene blue and methyl orange was 370 and 239 mg g−1, which are higher than those reported for other magnetic adsorbents. The study of the extraction performance of the dyes at different pH, along with Zeta potential analysis, revealed that electrostatic and π-π interactions might be involved in the dyes removal. C-MOF-74(Zn/Fe) material showed good reusability with no apparent loss in dye extraction capacity after five cycles and the ability to treat large volume of dye polluted water. In addition, the developed C-MOF-74(Zn/Fe) showed excellent performance for the simultaneous removal of different endocrine disrupting phenols (bisphenol A, 4-tert-butylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol) from water, demonstrating that mixed-metal-organic frameworks are promising precursors for the preparation of a wide number of new porous materials.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious public health problem worldwide. Its situation is worsened by the presence of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of ...the disease. In recent years, even more serious forms of drug resistance have been reported. A better knowledge of the mechanisms of drug resistance of M. tuberculosis and the relevant molecular mechanisms involved will improve the available techniques for rapid drug resistance detection and will help to explore new targets for drug activity and development. This review article discusses the mechanisms of action of anti-tuberculosis drugs and the molecular basis of drug resistance in M. tuberculosis.
Human violence recognition is an area of great interest in the scientific community due to its broad spectrum of applications, especially in video surveillance systems, because detecting violence in ...real time can prevent criminal acts and save lives. The majority of existing proposals and studies focus on result precision, neglecting efficiency and practical implementations. Thus, in this work, we propose a model that is effective and efficient in recognizing human violence in real time. The proposed model consists of three modules: the Spatial Motion Extractor (SME) module, which extracts regions of interest from a frame; the Short Temporal Extractor (STE) module, which extracts temporal characteristics of rapid movements; and the Global Temporal Extractor (GTE) module, which is responsible for identifying long-lasting temporal features and fine-tuning the model. The proposal was evaluated for its efficiency, effectiveness, and ability to operate in real time. The results obtained on the Hockey, Movies, and RWF-2000 datasets demonstrated that this approach is highly efficient compared to various alternatives. In addition, the VioPeru dataset was created, which contains violent and non-violent videos captured by real video surveillance cameras in Peru, to validate the real-time applicability of the model. When tested on this dataset, the effectiveness of our model was superior to the best existing models.
Tuberculosis (TB), an ongoing public health threat, is worsened by the emergence of drug resistance. With an estimated 630000 cases per year of multidrug resistant (MDR)-TB, and 9% of those being ...extensively drug resistant (XDR)-TB, there is an urgent need for new and more effective anti-TB drugs. New TB treatment regimens should be able to shorten the duration of therapy that currently takes at least six months. The non-compliance with this long treatment duration is one of the reasons for the development of drug resistance. In spite of the difficulties and alleged lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industry for the discovery and development of new antibiotics, several new or repurposed drugs are being evaluated in clinical trials. This review article summarizes the information available and presents an update on the drugs currently in clinical trials for TB and briefly introduces some new compounds in pre-clinical development.
All metazoans depend on the consumption of O
by the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) to produce energy. In addition, the OXPHOS uses O
to produce reactive oxygen species that ...can drive cell adaptations
, a phenomenon that occurs in hypoxia
and whose precise mechanism remains unknown. Ca
is the best known ion that acts as a second messenger
, yet the role ascribed to Na
is to serve as a mere mediator of membrane potential
. Here we show that Na
acts as a second messenger that regulates OXPHOS function and the production of reactive oxygen species by modulating the fluidity of the inner mitochondrial membrane. A conformational shift in mitochondrial complex I during acute hypoxia
drives acidification of the matrix and the release of free Ca
from calcium phosphate (CaP) precipitates. The concomitant activation of the mitochondrial Na
/Ca
exchanger promotes the import of Na
into the matrix. Na
interacts with phospholipids, reducing inner mitochondrial membrane fluidity and the mobility of free ubiquinone between complex II and complex III, but not inside supercomplexes. As a consequence, superoxide is produced at complex III. The inhibition of Na
import through the Na
/Ca
exchanger is sufficient to block this pathway, preventing adaptation to hypoxia. These results reveal that Na
controls OXPHOS function and redox signalling through an unexpected interaction with phospholipids, with profound consequences for cellular metabolism.
It is suspected that the information the population has about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) determines both its preventive measures and its effects on mental health. The internet and social ...media are the sources that have largely replaced the official and traditional channels of information. The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of the sources used by the population in Peru to obtain information on COVID-19 and its association with developing psychological distress (PD) and preventive measures against contagion.1699 questionnaires were analysed. A previously validated instrument adapted to Peru was used. Participants were questioned about the information received regarding COVID-19, its sources, time of exposition, assessment, or beliefs about it. Mental health was measured with the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were performed, developing a classification and regression tree for PD based on beliefs and information about the pandemic.The most used source of information on COVID-19 in Peru was social media and this is associated with developing PD, both in the general population and among health professionals. The quality of the information about treatments for COVID-19 is associated with PD in the general population, whereas prognosis generates more distress among healthcare professionals. The biggest concern is transmitting the virus to family members, close persons, or patients, with more confidence in health professionals than in the health system.The health authorities should use the social media to transmit quality information about COVID-19 and, at the same time, to gather in real time the opinions on the implemented preventive measures. For all, this it is necessary to have higher credibility in the population to increase the confidence in the health system, looking at basic aspects for compliance with prevention measures and improvement of mental health.
This pandemic has been classified as a “psychological pandemic” that produces anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleep disorders. As the mental health effects of the Coronavirus ...Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, continue to unfold, there are still large knowledge gaps about the variables that predispose individuals to, or protect individuals against the disease. However, there are few publications on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of citizens in Latin American countries. In this study, the effects that COVID-19 had on citizens of Peru have been described. For this, 1699 questionnaires, collected between 2 April and 2 September 2020, were analyzed. Descriptive, bivariate analysis was performed with odds ratio (OR) calculations and a data mining methodology. Sociodemographic variables (from the General Health Questionnaire), health conditions and perception, symptoms, and variables related to contact and preventive measures regarding COVID-19 were analyzed. As compared to other countries, less affectation of mental health and increased use of preventive measures were observed. It has been suggested that the country’s precarious health system and poverty rates prior to the pandemic may justify higher mortality figures in Peru than in other Latin American countries, despite prompt action for its containment and compliance with the protective measures. Psychological distress had a greater incidence in women, young people, people without a partner, and people without university studies. The most significant conditioning variables were self-perceived health status, headache or muscle pain over the past 14 days, level of studies, and age. The extensive use of preventive measures against COVID-19 is in line with the strict legislative measures taken, and this is, in turn, in line with other countries when looking at the lower effect on mental health, but contrary when focusing on the high lethality identified. The need to include the economy or availability and quality of healthcare in future studies arises, as well as the suitability to analyze the cause for differences between countries.
The spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)—an important commercial species—has a high potential for aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico. To optimize its feeding during larval rearing, this study aims ...to evaluate the primary gastric (pepsin), intestinal (leucine aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase), and pancreatic (alkaline protease, trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase, and lipase) enzyme activities from hatching to day 30. A multivariate analysis identified three digestive enzyme development stages during the spotted seatrout larval transformation. The first stage occurred between 1 (mean ± standard error (SE) = 1.73 ± 0.14 millimeter (mm) standard length (SL)) and 3 (2.14 ± 0.07 mm SL) days after hatching (DAH); a period of digestive stability showed the highest activity in amylase and bile salt-dependent lipase. The second stage (from 4 (2.53 ± 0.09 mm SL) to 20 (10.92 ± 0.51 mm SL) DAH) was a period of digestive transition, during which leucine aminopeptidase, chymotrypsin, and alkaline proteases were identified as the predominant enzymes from 4 to 5 DAH. In the third stage—a period of digestive stability—pepsin was the major enzyme that occurred between 25 (16.51 ± 0.81 mm SL) and 30 (25.91 ± 0.82 mm SL) DAH. These results indicate that the spotted seatrout larvae have a digestive system adapted to lipids and carbohydrates at the onset of feeding, with an immediate transition to protein digestion when exogenous feeding begins. Additionally, the digestive system of the spotted seatrout may be considered mature at 25 DAH. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of digestive tract development in the spotted seatrout larvae.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The need for new therapies to treat multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis is great. The new compound TMC207, a diarylquinoline that inhibits mycobacterial ATP synthase, shows promising activity ...against MDR tuberculosis. In this study involving 47 patients, the administration of TMC207, as compared with placebo, resulted in a shorter time to sputum-culture conversion and a significant increase in the proportion of patients achieving culture conversion to negative.
The new compound TMC207, a diarylquinoline that inhibits mycobacterial ATP synthase, shows promising activity against MDR tuberculosis. In this study, the administration of TMC207 resulted in a shorter time to sputum-culture conversion and a significant increase in the proportion of patients achieving culture conversion to negative.
Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death from infectious disease, second only to human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
1
In 2006, there were 9.2 million new cases of tuberculosis and 1.7 million deaths, with the burden of the disease occurring predominantly in the developing world.
2
It is estimated that one third of the world's population is infected with latent
Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
providing an enormous reservoir for future disease.
3
Treatment of tuberculosis is protracted and burdensome.
4
Tuberculosis control is further complicated by the synergy between tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and by the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of
M. tuberculosis
. . . .
PDF
