Traditional fact checking by expert journalists cannot keep up with the enormous volume of information that is now generated online. Computational fact checking may significantly enhance our ability ...to evaluate the veracity of dubious information. Here we show that the complexities of human fact checking can be approximated quite well by finding the shortest path between concept nodes under properly defined semantic proximity metrics on knowledge graphs. Framed as a network problem this approach is feasible with efficient computational techniques. We evaluate this approach by examining tens of thousands of claims related to history, entertainment, geography, and biographical information using a public knowledge graph extracted from Wikipedia. Statements independently known to be true consistently receive higher support via our method than do false ones. These findings represent a significant step toward scalable computational fact-checking methods that may one day mitigate the spread of harmful misinformation.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments influence long-term white and red wine volatile composition.•Pressurised wines had a higher content of furans, aldehydes, ketones, and acetals.•HHP ...treatments promote the Maillard reaction, and alcohol and fatty acid oxidation.•HHP enhances characteristics associated with aged and/or thermally treated wines.
The impact of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments on volatile composition of sulphur dioxide-free wines during bottle storage was studied. For this purpose, white and red wines were produced without sulphur dioxide (SO2) and, at the end of the alcoholic fermentation, the wines were pressurised at 500MPa and 425MPa for 5min. Wine with 40ppm of SO2 and a wine without a preservation treatment were used as controls. More than 160 volatile compounds, distributed over 12 chemical groups, were identified in the wines by an advanced gas chromatography technique. The pressurised wines contained a higher content of furans, aldehydes, ketones, and acetals, compared with unpressurised wines after 9months of storage. The changes in the volatile composition indicate that HHP treatments accelerated the Maillard reaction, and alcohol and fatty acid oxidation, leading to wines with a volatile composition similar to those of faster aged and/or thermally treated wines.
Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex, chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease. While the etiology of PD is likely multifactorial, the protein α-synuclein is a central component to ...the pathogenesis of the disease. However, the mechanism by which α-synuclein causes toxicity and contributes to neuronal death remains unclear. Mitochondrial dysfunction is also widely considered to play a major role in the underlying mechanisms contributing to neurodegeneration in PD. This review discusses evidence for the neuropathological role for α-synuclein in the dysfunction of dopamine neurons in PD. We also discuss insights into the structure, localization, and cellular roles for α-synuclein that may influence its aggregation properties, ultimately impacting its pathogenicity, role in lysosomal dysfunction and activation of the neuroimmune response. We further highlight recent evidence linking α-synuclein and mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration. Identifying the underlying mechanisms responsible for this bi-directional relationship between α-synuclein and mitochondrial dysfunction may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of PD.
Recycling end-of-life tires (ELTs) reduces waste and provides a low-cost source of energy and materials such as crumb rubber, used as infill in artificial turf football pitches. However, some ...concerns were raised and remain about its safety. The potentially toxic human exposure to chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals and others (volatile organic compounds (VOCs), plasticizers, antioxidants and additives) existing in ELTs (and in the resulting crumb rubber) is being studied, with no definitive conclusions. The literature existing so far suggests the possibility of their release from synthetic turf infill into the environment as water leachates and to the air surrounding the pitches, but there is the need of further research, also to assess the contribution of other materials present in synthetic turf. The database available comprised crumb rubber infill studies from pitches in 6 countries (USA, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Spain) and revealed a myriad of hazardous chemicals, with benzoapyrene (n.d.–4.31 ± 3.95 mg/kg) and zinc (n.d.–14150 ± 1344 mg/kg) often exceeding the established limits. A dependence on indoor/outdoor conditions and the age of the source material was evaluated, often showing significative differences. From this standpoint, this review is intended to add knowledge about the presence of contaminants in this recycled material, aiming to ensure the safety of end-users and the environment.
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•Crumb rubber (CR) from recycling end-of-life tires is used as synthetic turf infill.•Potentially hazardous chemicals were reviewed in CR, water leachates and nearby air.•8-carcinogenic PAH levels from 1.91 to 24.67 ± 18.31 mg/kg surpass the legislated limit.•Zn was the prevalent metal, up to 15,494 mg/kg in CR and 34,170 μg/L in water leachates.•Other contaminants linked to tire making like VOCs, plasticizers or PCBs were found.
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been widely explored for cell-based therapy of immune-mediated, inflammatory, and degenerative diseases, due to their immunosuppressive, ...immunomodulatory, and regenerative potentials. Preclinical studies and clinical trials have demonstrated promising therapeutic results although these have been somewhat limited. Aspects such as low in vivo MSC survival in inhospitable disease microenvironments, requirements for ex vivo cell overexpansion prior to infusions, intrinsic differences between MSC and different sources and donors, variability of culturing protocols, and potency assays to evaluate MSC products have been described as limitations in the field. In recent years, priming approaches to empower MSC have been investigated, thereby generating cellular products with improved potential for different clinical applications. Herein, we review the current priming approaches that aim to increase MSC therapeutic efficacy. Priming with cytokines and growth factors, hypoxia, pharmacological drugs, biomaterials, and different culture conditions, as well as other diverse molecules, are revised from current and future perspectives.
•Microwave assisted extraction (MWE) allows the recovery of arabinoxylans (AX) from BSG.•A sequential MWE of AX and AXOS almost free from starch and proteins is proposed.•MWE also allows the recovery ...of feruloylated arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOS).•62% of BSG AX+AXOS with different structural features were recovered by sequential MWE.•Compounds with 7–24 xylose residues and 5–21% of phenolic acids esterification were obtained.
Microwave superheated water extractions (MWE) were performed to evaluate the feasibility of this technology for quantitative recovery of the arabinoxylans (AX) or arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOS) from brewers’ spent grain (BSG). The AX+AXOS yield increased with the increase of the temperature in the range from 140 to 210°C during 2min. The higher temperatures promoted depolymerisation, debranching, and deesterification of the polysaccharides, with formation of brown products. The conditions that promote a compromise between the yield and the structure obtained, minimizing the thermal degradation of the fractions extracted by MWE are the following: (1) 140°C, to remove the residual starch mixed with β-glucans; (2) Suspension of the residue left in water and treated at 180°C; (3) suspension of the residue in 0.1M KOH and treated at 180°C. Using this sequential procedure, it was possible to extract 62% of BSG AX+AXOS, presenting degrees of polymerization ranging between 7 and 24 xylose residues, and a degree of phenolic acids esterification between 5 and 21%. The structural variability obtained by MWE allows defining specific types of compounds for different applications and uses depending on the extraction conditions used.
A novel approach is described using chitosan-genipin films as a sustainable method for wine preservation. Films prepared from fungi and from shrimp by-products showed similar mechanical and chemical ...properties. In addition, shrimp derived films showed no IgE positive reaction against shellfish allergenic compounds. The chitosan-genipin films were used to produce white wines without the addition of sulphur dioxide as a preservative. These wines showed lower susceptibility to browning, with organoleptic characteristics comparable to those prepared using sulphur dioxide. It is shown that the formation of iron-tartrate-chitosan complexes promotes the decrease of iron and other metal availability, minimizing oxidation reactions, as well as inhibiting microbial growth. The overall volatile character of the wines was maintained. However, the presence of chitosan-genipin films promotes the occurrence of Maillard and Strecker reactions, producing volatile compounds with positive wine aroma scents. The use of chitosan-genipin films in winemaking is an innovative, green and environmentally friendly technology that could be easily implemented at an industrial scale with no additional costs.
Abstract Routine blood culture is used for the detection of bloodstream infections by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and by common pathogenic yeasts. A retrospective study was conducted in a public ...hospital in Maceió-AL, by collecting data of all medical records with positive blood cultures. Out of the 2,107 blood cultures performed, 17% were positive with Staphylococcus coagulase negative (51.14%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (11.21%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.32%). Gram-positive bacteria predominated among positive blood cultures, highlighting the group of Staphylococcus coagulase-negative. While Gram-negative bacteria had a higher number of species among positive blood cultures.
Resumo A cultura sanguínea de rotina é usada para a detecção de infecções na corrente sanguínea por bactérias aeróbias e anaeróbias e por leveduras patogênicas comuns. Estudo retrospectivo realizado em hospital público de Maceió-AL, por meio da coleta de dados de todos os prontuários com culturas sanguíneas positivas. Das 2.107 culturas sanguíneas realizadas, 17% foram positivas com Staphylococcus coagulase negativo (51,14%), seguido por Staphylococcus aureus (11,21%) e Klebsiella pneumoniae (6,32%). As bactérias Gram-positiva predominaram entre as culturas de sangue positivas, destacando-se o grupo das Staphylococcus coagulase-negativo. Enquanto as bactérias Gram-negativas apresentaram um número maior de espécies entre as culturas de sangue positivas.
Chitosan-genipin films have been proposed for preservation of white wine, maintaining their varietal key odorants and organoleptic characteristics of sulfur dioxide treated wines. Nevertheless, these ...wines showed aroma notes that slightly distinguish them. It is possible that during the contact of films with wine for at least 2 months, after fermentation and prior to bottling, interactions or chemical reactions are promoted. In this work, wine model solutions with volatile compounds in contact with chitosan-genipin films were performed to evaluate their evolution along time. To complement these analyses, the volatile compounds of white and red wines kept in contact with chitosan-genipin films during 2 and 8 months were also studied. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that the contact of chitosan-genipin films with both white and red wines tend to retain long carbon chain volatile compounds, such as ethyl hexanoate and octan-3-one. It also promoted the formation of Maillard reaction products, such as furfural by dehydration of pentoses and Strecker aldehydes, such as 3-methylbutanal and phenylacetaldehyde, by degradation of amino acids. This study reveals that the use of chitosan-genipin films for wine preservation is also able to promote the formation of compounds that can modulate the wines aroma, maintaining the varietal notes.
Green extraction techniques (GreETs) emerged in the last decade as greener and sustainable alternatives to classical sample preparation procedures aiming to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of ...analytical methods, simultaneously reducing the deleterious side effects of classical extraction techniques (CETs) for both the operator and the environment. The implementation of improved processes that overcome the main constraints of classical methods in terms of efficiency and ability to minimize or eliminate the use and generation of harmful substances will promote more efficient use of energy and resources in close association with the principles supporting the concept of green chemistry. The current review aims to update the state of the art of some cutting-edge GreETs developed and implemented in recent years focusing on the improvement of the main analytical features, practical aspects, and relevant applications in the biological, food, and environmental fields. Approaches to improve and accelerate the extraction efficiency and to lower solvent consumption, including sorbent-based techniques, such as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and fabric-phase sorbent extraction (FPSE), and solvent-based techniques (μQuEChERS; micro quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), in addition to supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized solvent extraction (PSE), are highlighted.
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