A commercially available dense carbon monolith (CM) and four carbon monoliths obtained from it have been studied as electrochemical capacitor electrodes in a two-electrode cell. CM has: (i) very high ...density (1.17gcm−3), (ii) high electrical conductivity (9.3Scm−1), (iii) well-compacted and interconnected carbon spheres, (iv) homogeneous microporous structure and (v) apparent BET surface area of 957m2g−1. It presents interesting electrochemical behaviors (e.g., excellent gravimetric capacitance and outstanding volumetric capacitance). The textural characteristics of CM (porosity and surface chemistry) have been modified by means of different treatments. The electrochemical performances of the starting and treated monoliths have been analyzed as a function of their porous textures and surface chemistry, both on gravimetric and volumetric basis. The monoliths present high specific and volumetric capacitances (292Fg−1 and 342Fcm−3), high energy densities (38Whkg−1 and 44WhL−1), and high power densities (176Wkg−1 and 183WL−1). The specific and volumetric capacitances, especially the volumetric capacitance, are the highest ever reported for carbon monoliths. The high values are achieved due to a suitable combination of density, electrical conductivity, porosity and oxygen surface content.
Graphical abstract Lipid raft constituents as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Neuronal and glial lipid rafts may be damaged by different physical, chemical and genetic factors during the ...development of neuropathological processes. Disruption of lipid rafts releases specific subsets of proteins and lipids integrated in these microdomains toward the brain parenchyma. These lipid raft-associated molecules include resident proteins such as caveolin-1 and signalosome interacting proteins including growth factor receptors such as IGF-1R and BDNF, ion channels such as VDAC and NMDA receptor, glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) such as prionic protein (PrP) and tyrosine kinases of the Src family, among other proteins. Also lipids may be released toward the surrounding parenchyma from lipid rafts. Because of their high concentration in lipid rafts, cholesterol and sphingolipids (including sulfatides and cerebrosides), but also ceramides, which are formed upon catabolism of certain sphingolipids, are particularly accumulated upon disruption of these microdomains. Although less represented in lipid rafts, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are important molecules in the progression of oxidative damage given their high susceptibility for oxidation, thus releasing active endoperoxides isoprostanes and neuroprostanes into the brain parenchyma. These raft-derived molecules, proteins and lipids, are poured out for elimination into the cerebrospinal fluid across the ependymal cell layer, or may be released out of the brain through the blood–brain barrier across the endothelial lining to the blood. Accurate measurements of these raft components and by-products in, either CSF or blood, using multivariate approaches such discriminant function analyses may provide a diagnostic tool for the more accurate identification of the type of neurodegenerative disease and its progression.
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•Macrophage/lymphocyte response to graphene oxide nanosheets (GOs) was evaluated.•GOs localized on F-actin filaments of RAW macrophages increase TNF-α release.•GOs reduced primary ...immune cell proliferation in the presence of specific stimuli.•GOs did not induce proinflammatory cytokine secretion on primary immune cells.•These weak inflammation properties can be positive for hyperthermia cancer therapy.
Graphene oxide (GO) has attracted the scientific community attention due to its novel properties and wide range of potential applications including hyperthermia cancer therapy. However, little is known about the GO effects on the immune function which involves both innate and adaptive defence mechanisms through the activation of different cell populations and secretion of several cytokines. The effect of different GO nanosheets designed for hyperthermia cancer therapy on macrophage and lymphocyte function should be determined before using GO for this application.
The effects of GO nanosheets with 1 (1-GOs) and 6 arms (6-GOs) of polyethylene glycol on RAW-264.7 macrophages and primary splenocytes (as approximation to the in vivo situation) were evaluated through the proinflammatory cytokine secretion and the modulation of cell proliferation in the presence of specific stimuli for either T-lymphocytes (concanavalin A, anti-CD3 antibody) or B-lymphocytes/macrophages (lipopolysaccharide).
6-GOs significantly increased the secretion of TNF-α by RAW-264.7 macrophages without alteration of IL-6 and IL-1β levels. The treatment of primary splenocytes with 1-GOs and 6-GOs in the presence of concanavalin A, anti-CD3 antibody and lipopolysaccharide, produced significant dose-dependent decreases of cell proliferation and IL-6 levels, revealing weak inflammatory properties of GOs which are favourable for hyperthermia cancer therapy.
Abstract Aim The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) was developed for assessing disability. This study provides data on the validity and utility of the Spanish ...version of the WHODAS II in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia. Methods The sample included 352 patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. They completed a comprehensive assessment battery including measures of psychopathology, functionality and quality-of-life. A sub-sample of 36 patients was retested after six months to assess its temporal stability. Results Participation in society (6.3%) and Life activities (4.0%) were the domains with the highest percentage of missing data. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the total scale was 0.94, and the test–retest stability reached an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.92. It became apparent that the six primary factor models represent a better fit with reality than other competing models. Relationships between the WHODAS and measures of symptomatology, social and work-related functionality, and quality-of-life were in the expected direction and the scale was ultimately found to be able to differentiate among patients with different degrees of disease severity and different work status. Conclusions Assessment of disability using appropriate tools is a crucial aspect in the context of mental health and, in this regard, the Spanish version of the WHODAS II shows ample evidence of validity in patients with schizophrenia. The most important contribution of this study is that it is the first analyzing the Spanish version of the WHODAS II (36-item version) in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia.
Desert dust intrusions cause the transport of airborne particulate matter from natural sources, with important consequences for climate regulation, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and dynamics, ...human health, and socio-economic activities. Some effects of desert intrusions are reinforced or aggravated by the bioaerosol content of the air during these episodes. The influence of desert intrusions on airborne bioaerosol content has been very little studied from a scientific point of view. In this study, a systematic review of scientific literature during 1970–2021 was carried out following the standard protocol Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). After this literature review, only 6% of the articles on airborne transport from desert areas published in the last 50 years are in some way associated with airborne pollen, and of these, only a small proportion focus on the study of pollen-related parameters. The Iberian Peninsula is affected by Saharan intrusions due to its proximity to the African continent and is seeing an increasing trend the number of intrusion events. There is a close relationship among the conditions favouring the occurrence of intrusion episodes, the transport of particulate matter, and the transport of bioaerosols such as pollen grains, spores, or bacteria. The lack of linearity in this relationship and the different seasonal patterns in the occurrence of intrusion events and the pollen season of most plants hinders the study of the correspondence between both phenomena. It is therefore important to analyse the proportion of pollen that comes from regional sources and the proportion that travels over long distances, and the atmospheric conditions that cause greater pollen emission during dust episodes. Current advances in aerobiological techniques make it possible to identify bioaerosols such as pollen and spores that serve as indicators of long-distance transport from remote areas belonging to other bioclimatic and biogeographical units. A greater incidence of desert intrusion episodes may pose a challenge for both traditional systems and for the calibration and correct validation of automatic aerobiological monitoring methods.
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•A comprehensive literature review was carried out based on 50 years of publications.•Long-distance dust from desert areas has received greater interest since the late 90s.•Very little research has been carried out on bioaerosols co-transported by dust events.•Last researches evidenced an influence of intrusions on the airborne biological content.•Desert dust intrusions have remarkable effects on climate, health, biodiversity and economy.
Since 1997, several tools based on the experiences of users and survivors of psychiatry have been developed with the goal of promoting self-determination in recovery, empowerment and well-being.
The ...aims of this study were to identify these tools and their distinctive features, and to know how they were created, implemented and evaluated.
This work was conducted in accordance with a published Scoping Review protocol, following the Arksey and O'Malley approach and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. Five search strategies were used, including contact with user and survivor networks, academic database searching (Cochrane, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, SCOPUS, PubMed and Web of Science), grey literature searching, Google Scholar searching and reference harvesting. We focused on tools, elaborated by users and survivors, and studies reporting the main applications of them. The searches were performed between 21 July and 22 September 2022. Two approaches were used to display the data: descriptive analysis and thematic analysis.
Six tools and 35 studies were identified, most of them originating in the USA and UK. Thematic analysis identified six goals of the tools: improving wellness, navigating crisis, promoting recovery, promoting empowerment, facilitating mutual support and coping with oppression. Of the 35 studies identified, 34 corresponded to applications of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). All of them, but one, evaluated group workshops implementations. The most common objective was to evaluate symptom improvement. Only eight studies included users and survivors as part of the research team.
Only the WRAP has been widely disseminated and investigated. Despite the tools were designed to be implemented by peers, it seems they have been usually implemented without them as trainers. Even when these tools are not aimed to promote clinical recovery, in practice the most disseminated recovery tool is being used in this way.
Functional organic dyes play a key role in many fields, namely in biotechnology and medical diagnosis. Herein, we report two novel 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl substituted rosamines (3 and 4, ...respectively) that were successfully synthesized through a microwave-assisted protocol. The best reaction yields were obtained for rosamine 4, which also showed the most interesting photophysical properties, specially toward biogenic amines (BAs). Several amines including n- and t-butylamine, cadaverine, and putrescine cause spectral changes of 4, in UV–Vis and fluorescence spectra, which are indicative of their potential application as an effective tool to detect amines in acetonitrile solutions. In the gas phase, the probe response is more expressive for spermine and putrescine. Additionally, we found that methanolic solutions of rosamine 4 and n-butylamine undergo a pink to yellow color change over time, which has been attributed to the formation of a new compound. The latter was isolated and identified as 5 (9−aminopyronin), whose solutions exhibit a remarkable increase in fluorescence intensity together with a shift toward more energetic wavelengths. Other 9-aminopyronins 6a, 6b, 7a, and 7b were obtained from methanolic solutions of 4 with putrescine and cadaverine, demonstrating the potential of this new xanthene entity to react with primary amines.
IntroductionSince the emergence in 1997 of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, a number of other tools developed by users and/or ex-users of mental health services have been published and implemented. ...All these tools aim to promote self-determination in mental health recovery processes. A scoping review will be carried out in order to (1) identify existing tools, (2) describe their distinctive characteristics and (3) examine how they have been implemented and evaluated.Methods and analysisThe scoping review will be guided by the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley and expanded by Levac et al. It will involve, primarily, a literature search of the following electronic databases: Cochrane database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science. In addition, the search process will consider grey literature databases. Users, ex-users and survivors organisations and networks will be contacted in order to identify any relevant material. The reference lists of the articles identified through the literature search will be inspected. Finally, hand searches of journals will be conducted in order to increase the confidence in the search. Two main approaches will be used to present the charted data: a descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis. The study will be performed between April and December 2020. The results will be reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews.Ethics and disseminationThis study does not require ethical approval because the data used are from publicly available materials. The study results will be disseminated through an article submitted for publication to a scientific journal and presented at relevant conferences. The results will also be shared in future workshops and seminars as part of continuing education programmes for mental health professionals.
Cylindrical carbon monoliths of 7
mm in diameter and certain heights (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
mm) are studied as model electrodes for supercapacitors. The monoliths show a narrow microporous structure with ...average micropore size of 0.73
nm and specific surface area of 1086
m
2
g
−1. The monoliths show straight walls and channels, both arranged along the cylinder axis. The former account for a remarkable electrical conductivity (6.5
S
cm
−1 at room temperature). The latter allow a rapid ionic transport between the electrolyte bulk and the carbon walls and account for a high specific capacitance at high current density. The cell capacitance and resistance increase linearly with the monolith height according to
C
=
(1.78
±
0.06)
h and
ESR
=
(0.08
±
0.01)
h
+
(1.67
±
0.04), respectively. The contribution of the electrolyte resistance, monolith resistance and monolith/collector resistance to ESR is discussed. The cell response time or constant time increases with the monolith height but according to a power dependence,
τ
=
(4.5
±
0.2)
h
(1.61
±
0.03)
. The carbon of the monoliths show in KOH electrolyte a specific capacitance of 150
F
g
−1 and a capacitance per surface area of 14
μF
cm
−2.
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