The current study was conducted to assess whether a single administration of 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) interferes with cell proliferation and leads to the activation of apoptotic cellular events ...in the prenatal cerebellum. BrdU effects across a wide range of doses (25–300 μg/g b.w.) were analyzed using immunohistochemical and ultrastructural procedures. The pregnant rats were injected with BrdU at embryonic day 13, and their fetuses were sacrificed from 5 to 35 hr after exposure. The quantification of several parameters such as the density of mitotic figures, and BrdU and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)‐reactive cells showed that, in comparison with the saline injected rats, the administration of BrdU impairs the proliferative behavior of neuroepithelial cells. The above‐mentioned parameters were significantly reduced in rats injected with 100 μg/g b.w. of BrdU. The reduction was more evident using 200 μg/g b.w. The most severe effects were found with 300 μg/g b.w. of BrdU. The present findings also revealed that high doses of BrdU lead to the activation of apoptotic cellular events as evidenced by both terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick‐end labeling (TUNEL) assay and immunohistochemistry for active caspase‐3. In comparison with saline rats, many apoptotic cells were found in rats injected with 100 μg/g b.w. of BrdU. The number of dying cells increased with 200 μg/g b.w. The most important number of apoptotic cells were observed in animals injected with 300 μg/g b.w. of BrdU. Ultrastructural studies confirmed the presence of neuroblasts at different stages of apoptosis.
The present study reveals that low doses of BrdU (from 25 to 75 μg/g) have no deleterious effects on the development of the rat cerebellar neuroepithelium. Our results also denote that the BrdU injection at doses ranging from 100 to 300 μg/g alters neuroblasts proliferation and induces the activation of apoptotic cellular events in the prenatal cerebellum.
Consumers’ preference is essential to improve processed food products quality, but small companies sometimes lacks knowledge or tools to develop consumer studies. The aim of the present study was to ...investigate consumers’ insight to recommend the best drying methodology for pomegranate arils. With the aim of providing information that industry can correlate to the drivers of liking, descriptive sensory characteristics, and volatile compounds of the samples were determined and related with consumers’ responses. A total of 19 volatiles of dehydrated pomegranate arils were determined using solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Partial least square regression (PLS) results indicated that consumers overall liking was positively correlated with “pom ID”, “sweet”, and “fruity” attributes, and also volatile compounds of the esters family. Overall liking was negatively correlated with the “off‐flavor” and “burnt” attributes, related to the furan compounds family. Penalty analysis indicated that the sample corresponding with the current commercial product needed improvement on the “pom ID”, “fruity”, and “sweetness” parameters. All the samples processed using the proposed new drying techniques were more liked than the commercial sample, highlighting a sample dried using pre‐osmotic dehydration in Wonderful concentrate pomegranate juice.
Practical Application
Consumers’ preference is essential to improve processed food products quality, but small companies sometimes lack knowledge or tools to conduct consumer studies. The present study provides useful information to understand consumers’ preferences of a healthy product such as pomegranate dehydrated arils. Also, the link of physico‐chemical and sensory tools is clearly described, providing information about possible sensory quality indicators.
Serratus intercostal fascial plane block (SIFPB) has emerged as an alternative to paravertebral block in breast surgery. It involves the administration of high volumes and doses of local anesthetics ...(LA) that can potentially reach toxic levels. Ropivacaine is widely used in thoraco-fascial blocks; however, there is no information on the plasma concentrations attained after SIPFB and whether they are associated with cardiotoxicity. Plasma concentrations of ropivacaine and its electrophysiological effects were evaluated in eight pigs after bilateral SIFPB with ropivacaine in doses of 3 mg/kg. Plasma concentrations, electrophysiological and hemodynamic parameters were measured sequentially for the following 180 min until the end of the study. The area under the curve, the maximum plasma concentration (C
) and the time to reach C
(t
) were calculated. The median arterial ropivacaine concentration C
was, 2.34 1.40 to 3.74 µg/ml. The time to reach the highest concentration was 15 10 to 20 min. Twenty-five percent of the animals had arterial concentrations above the lower limit concentration of ropivacaine for LA systemic toxicity (3.4 µg/ml). No alterations were observed in the electrophysiological or electrocardiographic parameters except for a prolongation of the QTc interval, from 489 ± 30 to 544 ± 44 ms (Δ11.38 ± 6%), P = 0.01. Hemodynamic parameters remained in the physiological range throughout the study. SIFPB with ropivacaine in doses of 3 mg/kg has reached potentially toxic levels, however, it has not been associated with adverse electrophysiological or hemodynamic effects.
Research has investigated conditions which lead to minority members' wanting to maintain their culture of origin, and to them wanting to adopt the majority culture. Majority members' ideas for what ...minority members should do have also received attention. However, past research has developed a blindspot for some important questions: majority and minority members will also have preferences for whether they desire majority culture change, and members of both groups will have perceptions regarding the respective outgroup's preference. This paper will present a 2X2X2 framework yielding 8 different foci: 2 (focusing on the perspectives/wishes of the minority vs. majority) X 2 (acculturation preferences regarding oneself vs. the outgroup) X 2 (own preferences vs. perceptions of what the respective outgroup wants). This framework will be used to crystalize what is known and what is not yet explored, suggesting a research agenda for the future.
Cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) in Spain increased in summer 2020. Here we report on this increase and the local, regional and national public health measures taken in response. We ...analysed data from regional surveillance networks and the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network, both for human and animal West Nile virus (WNV) infection. During the 2020 season, a total of 77 human cases of WNV infection (median age 65 years; 60% males) were detected in the south-west of Spain; 72 (94%) of these cases developed WNND, presenting as meningoencephalitis, seven of which were fatal. In the previous two decades, only six human cases of WNND were detected in Spain. Reduced activities for vector control this season, together with other factors, might have contributed to the massive increase. Public health measures including vector control, campaigns to raise awareness among physicians and the general population, and interventions to ensure the safety of donations of blood products, organs, cells and tissues were effective to reduce transmission. Going forward, maintenance of vector control activities and an update of the vector-borne diseases response plan in Spain is needed.
More and more studies indicate that leisure plays a fundamental role in active ageing. Our study describes the current leisure patterns of older adults, comparing them with other age groups. ...Consequently, 445 adults, stratified by age (young, middle-aged and older adults), were selected and subsequently administered a set of tests. The results indicate that older people claim having more time for their leisure activities; however, the diversity of activities performed is lower, showing a negative gradient based on age. The leisure patterns of older people reflect a predominance of passive leisure, little cultural leisure time and moderate levels of social and physical leisure activities. Older people’s leisure seems to be influenced by ageist stereotypes and attribution biases. Our findings imply that these results could be used to design and implement programs aimed at promoting leisure styles that contribute to increase active ageing.
We distinguish two pathways people may follow when they join violent groups: compliance and internalization. Compliance occurs when individuals are coerced to join by powerful influence agents. ...Internalization occurs when individuals join due to a perceived convergence between the self and the group. We searched for evidence of each of these pathways in field investigations of former members of two renowned terrorist organizations: the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (Study 1) and Islamist radical groups (Study 2). Results indicated that ex-fighters joined LTTE for reasons associated with both compliance and internalization but that ex-fighters joined Islamist radical groups primarily for reasons associated with internalization. When compliance occurred, it often took the form of coercion within LTTE but involved charismatic persuasion agents within Islamist groups. This evidence of systematic differences in the reasons why fighters enter violent groups suggests that strategies for preventing radicalization and fostering de-radicalization should be tailored to particular groups.
Queer teenagers are avid readers of popular culture; as numerous audience studies prove, television plays a significant role in identity-formation for LGBTIQ+ youth, providing them with the ...information about sexuality, gender roles or non-normative relationships usually unavailable in their educational and home environments. In this article we analyze how some of the protagonists of Netflix's TV show 5ex Education (2019-present) utilize popular culture as a tool to explore their desires, forbidden fantasies, and gender expressions, becoming instrumental in the formation of their queer identities in a way that metatextually reflects the role LGBTIQ+ shows play for their audiences. Such is the case of Adam, a bisexual teenager that masturbates to the image of a fictional actor featured in a 1980s action film poster; Lily, whose sexual fantasies of role playing with alien creatures are strongly influenced by spatial sci-fi; and Ola, whose onyric universe is influenced by David Bowie's genderbending aesthetics. However, the most representative example of how popular culture influences the formation of queer identities is Eric, whose non-conforming gender expression follows the example set by the trans characters in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Between 1 July and 26 October 2019 in Andalusia, Spain, a large outbreak with 207 confirmed cases of listeriosis was identified. Confirmed cases had a median age of 44 years (range: 0-94) and 114 ...were women (55.1%). Most cases (n = 154) had mild gastroenteritis, 141 (68.1%) required hospitalisation and three died; five of 34 pregnant women had a miscarriage. The median incubation period was 1 day (range: 0-30), and was significantly shorter in cases presenting with gastroenteritis compared to those presenting without gastroenteritis (1 day vs. 3 days, respectively, p value < 0.001). Stuffed pork, a ready-to-eat product consumed unheated, from a single producer contaminated with
ST388 was identified as the source of infection. The outbreak strain was identified in 189 human samples and 87 non-human (82 food and 5 environmental) samples. Notification of new cases declined abruptly after control measures were implemented. These included contaminated food recall, protocols for clinical management of suspected cases and for post-exposure prophylaxis in pregnant women and communication campaigns with concise messages to the population through social media. Given that there were 3,059 probable cases, this was the largest
outbreak ever reported in Europe.
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•Almonds trees under water stress conditions produced hydroSOStainable almonds.•Almonds yield was not significantly affected by deficit irrigation.•Almond quality can be improved by ...moderate deficit irrigation strategies.•Certain fatty acids (e.g. cis-vaccenic) increased with moderate regulated deficit irrigation.
Water scarcity is considered one of the biggest global risks worldwide, not only because affects every continent but mostly because it can have dramatic impact in a long term. Deficit irrigation strategies can help in coping with this water scarcity and optimizing the water efficiency. Both regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) in moderate and severe levels and sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) were applied in almond nut crop within this study and quality parameters of obtained fruits were analyzed. Almost all morphological and physicochemical parameters were not affected by the water stress. However, statistically significant differences among treatments were observed for the fat content, the highest value being reached by moderate RDI treatment. Besides, differences were also found for total organic acids content, calcium, potassium, manganese and for six fatty acids (myristic, palmitic, margaric, cis-heptadecenoic, cis-vaccenic, and arachidic acids) content. According to experimental findings, it can be concluded that irrigation strategies do not affect almond fruit quality; being possible to increase the final quality of nuts, when moderate RDI is applied.
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