The effects of UV radiation on a viologen derivative, octadecylviologen (OV), in Langmuir monolayers at the air–aqueous solution interface and in Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films have been investigated. ...Langmuir monolayers suffer a sharp contraction after UV irradiation, clearly visible by the drop in surface pressure or the loss of surface area observed in the surface pressure–area isotherms. The UV–vis reflection measurements reveal a deep change in the OV monolayer caused by a photochemical reaction, which suggests the pyridones formation as photoreaction products. LB films (Z type), before and after being irradiated with UV light, have been studied by using UV–vis absorption and infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results confirm that after the photodegradation of the viologen films, the presence of oxygen results in the appearance of pyridones as reaction products. This article demonstrates that, in the absence of catalysts, the photooxidation of viologen surface films occurs only under a particular molecular organization imposed by the air–water interface.
A series of lipophilic nucleosides comprising natural and non-natural bases that are π-conjugated to a short oligophenylene-ethynylene fragment has been synthesized. These bases comprise guanosine, ...isoguanosine, and 2-aminoadenosine as purine heterocycles, and cytidine, isocytosine and uridine as complementary pyrimidine bases. The hydrogen-bonding dimerization and association processes between complementary bases were also studied by (1)H NMR and absorption spectroscopy in order to obtain the relevant association constants.
Evaluate the effects of i) dehulling of lupine seed on chemical composition and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and ii) soybean meal substitution by dehulled lupine seed in broiler diets with ...enzymes on productive performance, size of digestive organs and welfare-related variables.
Experiment 1, chemical composition and AME were determined in whole and dehulled lupine seed. Experiment 2, two hundred eighty-eight one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were used. The experimental diets were maize-soybean meal (MS), MS with enzymes (MSE) and maize-dehulled lupine seed with enzymes (MLE). Diets were assigned to the experimental units under a completely randomized design (eight replicates per diet). The body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, feed conversion, digestive organ weights, gait score, latency to lie down and valgus/varus angulation were evaluated.
The dehulling process increased protein (25.0% to 31.1%), AME (5.9 to 8.8 MJ/kg) and amino acid contents. The BW gain of broilers fed the MLE diet was similar (p>0.05) to that of those fed the MS diet, but lower than that of those fed the MSE diet. Feed intake of broilers fed the MLE diet was higher (p<0.05) than that of those fed the MS diet and similar (p>0.05) to those fed the MSE diet. Feed conversion of broilers fed the MLE diet was 8.0% and 8.7% higher (p<0.05) than that of those fed the MS and MSE diets, respectively. Broilers fed the MLE diet had the highest (p<0.05) relative proventriculus and gizzard weights, but had poor welfare-related variables.
It is possible to substitute soybean meal by dehulled lupine seed with enzymes in broiler diets, obtaining similar BW gains in broilers fed the MLE and MS diets; however, a higher feed intake is required. Additionally, the MLE diet reduced welfare-related variables.
INTRODUCTIONIschaemic stroke has been reported in patients with COVID-19, particularly in more severe cases. However, it is unclear to what extent this is linked to systemic inflammation and ...hypercoagulability secondary to the infection.METHODSWe describe the cases of 4 patients with ischaemic stroke and COVID-19 who were attended at our hospital. Patients are classified according to the likelihood of a causal relationship between the hypercoagulable state and ischaemic stroke. We also conducted a review of studies addressing the possible mechanisms involved in the aetiopathogenesis of ischaemic stroke in these patients.RESULTSThe association between COVID-19 and stroke was probably causal in 2 patients, who presented cortical infarcts and had no relevant arterial or cardioembolic disease, but did show signs of hypercoagulability and systemic inflammation in laboratory analyses. The other 2 patients were of advanced age and presented cardioembolic ischaemic stroke; the association in these patients was probably incidental.CONCLUSIONSSystemic inflammation and the potential direct action of the virus may cause endothelial dysfunction, resulting in a hypercoagulable state that could be considered a potential cause of ischaemic stroke. However, stroke involves multiple pathophysiological mechanisms; studies with larger samples are therefore needed to confirm our hypothesis. The management protocol for patients with stroke and COVID-19 should include a complete aetiological study, with the appropriate safety precautions always being observed.
The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ), based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions, has been used in many fields of knowledge and has been translated into many languages. The ...main objective of this study was to adapt and validate it for the experimental sciences. A sample of 491 participants aged between 11 and 17 years (
= 13.73,
= 1.19) from secondary schools in different localities in the provinces of Huelva and Lanzarote, Spain was used. The results obtained from the various statistical analyses showed that the questionnaire was valid and reliable. The main contribution of the work presented is to broaden the field of application of a test on emotions, AEQ-S, to experimental sciences. The AEQ-ES will allow us to learn the emotional profiles of students, thus providing information to teachers, and will be very useful for future research aimed at the study of emotions in experimental sciences.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose To evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of surface-derived imaging biomarkers obtained from contrast material-enhanced volumetric T1-weighted pretreatment magnetic resonance (MR) ...imaging sequences in patients with glioblastoma multiforme. Materials and Methods A discovery cohort from five local institutions (165 patients; mean age, 62 years ± 12 standard deviation; 43% women and 57% men) and an independent validation cohort (51 patients; mean age, 60 years ± 12; 39% women and 61% men) from The Cancer Imaging Archive with volumetric T1-weighted pretreatment contrast-enhanced MR imaging sequences were included in the study. Clinical variables such as age, treatment, and survival were collected. After tumor segmentation and image processing, tumor surface regularity, measuring how much the tumor surface deviates from a sphere of the same volume, was obtained. Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazards, correlations, and concordance indexes were used to compare variables and patient subgroups. Results Surface regularity was a powerful predictor of survival in the discovery (P = .005, hazard ratio HR = 1.61) and validation groups (P = .05, HR = 1.84). Multivariate analysis selected age and surface regularity as significant variables in a combined prognostic model (P < .001, HR = 3.05). The model achieved concordance indexes of 0.76 and 0.74 for the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. Tumor surface regularity was a predictor of survival for patients who underwent complete resection (P = .01, HR = 1.90). Tumors with irregular surfaces did not benefit from total over subtotal resections (P = .57, HR = 1.17), but those with regular surfaces did (P = .004, HR = 2.07). Conclusion The surface regularity obtained from high-resolution contrast-enhanced pretreatment volumetric T1-weighted MR images is a predictor of survival in patients with glioblastoma. It may help in classifying patients for surgery.
Obesity is the main challenge for public health systems. Functional foods have emerged as an alternative to the ineffectiveness of pharmacological therapies. However, it is necessary to investigate ...to find sources of raw material for its preparation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the functional effects of residual avocado seed in diet-induced obese mice. Animals were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with avocado seed (1.25%) for 6 weeks. Body weight, food intake, satiety, physical activity, and energy expenditure-involved gene expression were measured. Supplementation with avocado seed led to reduced body weight, delayed satiety, increased physical activity, and induced Dio2 and Adrb1 expression in hypothalamus and white adipose tissue, respectively. No changes in markers of hepatic injury were observed. In conclusion, avocado seed exerts functional effects on obese mice, by promoting energy expenditure, without toxicity effects, making it possible to use this by-product in the development of functional foods.
OBJECTIVESSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Society of Neurology has run a registry of patients with neurological involvement for the purpose of informing clinical ...neurologists. Encephalopathy and encephalitis were among the most frequently reported complications. In this study, we analyse the characteristics of these complications. PATIENTS AND METHODSWe conducted a retrospective, descriptive, observational, multicentre study of patients with symptoms compatible with encephalitis or encephalopathy, entered in the Spanish Society of Neurology's COVID-19 Registry from 17 March to 6 June 2020. RESULTSA total of 232 patients with neurological symptoms were registered, including 51 cases of encephalopathy or encephalitis (21.9%). None of these patients were healthcare professionals. The most frequent syndromes were mild or moderate confusion (33%) and severe encephalopathy or coma (9.8%). The mean time between onset of infection and onset of neurological symptoms was 8.02 days. Lumbar puncture was performed in 60.8% of patients, with positive PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 in only one case. Brain MRI studies were performed in 47% of patients, with alterations detected in 7.8% of these. EEG studies were performed in 41.3% of cases, detecting alterations in 61.9%. CONCLUSIONSEncephalopathy and encephalitis are among the complications most frequently reported in the registry. More than one-third of patients presented mild or moderate confusional syndrome. The mean time from onset of infection to onset of neurological symptoms was 8 days (up to 24hours earlier in women than in men). EEG was the most sensitive test in these patients, with very few cases presenting alterations in neuroimaging studies. All patients treated with boluses of corticosteroids or immunoglobulins progressed favourably.
An advanced, cost-effective, and portable DNA biosensor capable of detecting multiple bacteria simultaneously has been developed. The biosensor comprises a fast and inexpensive potentiostat that ...controls the applied potential to a screen-printed electrochemical array platform functionalized with MoS2 flakes and bacterial DNA probes. The current response obtained by à la carte thionine functionalized carbon nanodots (Ty-CDs) is monitored as an electrochemical indicator of the hybridization event. The design of the potentiostat prioritizes achieving an optimal signal-to-noise ratio and incorporates a user-friendly interface compatible with various devices, including computers, mobile phones, and tablets. The device is compact, lightweight, and manufactured at a low cost. The key components of the potentiostat include a data acquisition board capable of analyzing multiple samples simultaneously and a controller board. The results of this study confirm the ability of the multiplex portable biosensor to successfully detect specific bacterial DNA sequences, demonstrating its reliability and superior performance compared with a traditional, more complex, and laboratory-oriented potentiostat.
Fractionation of the bioactive CHCl3–MeOH (1:1) extracts obtained from two collections of the sponge consortium Plakortis symbiotica–Xestospongia deweerdtae from Puerto Rico provided two new ...plakinidone analogues, designated as plakinidone B (2) and plakinidone C (3), as well as the known plakinidone (1), plakortolide F (4), and smenothiazole A (5). The structures of 1–5 were characterized on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic, IR, UV, and HRMS analysis. The absolute configurations of plakinidones 2 and 3 were established through chemical correlation methods, VCD/ECD experiments, and spectroscopic data comparisons. When assayed in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, none of the plakinidones 1–3 displayed significant activity, whereas smenothiazole A (5) was the most active compound, exhibiting an MIC value of 4.1 μg/mL. Synthesis and subsequent biological screening of 8, a dechlorinated version of smenothiazole A, revealed that the chlorine atom in 5 is indispensable for anti-TB activity.
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