The influence of surface topography on bacterial adhesion has been investigated using a range of spatially organized microtopographic surface patterns generated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and ...three unrelated bacterial strains. The results presented indicate that bacterial cells actively choose their position to settle, differentiating upper and lower areas in all the surface patterns evaluated. Such selective adhesion depends on the cells’ size and shape relative to the dimensions of the surface topographical features and surface hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity. Moreover, it was found that all the topographies investigated provoke a significant reduction in bacterial adhesion (30–45%) relative to the smooth control samples regardless of surface hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity. This remarkable finding constitutes a general phenomenon, occurring in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative cells with spherical or rod shape, dictated by only surface topography. Collectively, the results presented in this study demonstrate that spatially organized microtopographic surface patterns represent a promising approach to controlling/inhibiting bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.
The impact of nanotechnology in the field of agricultural sciences creates the need to study in greater detail the effect of products offering nanoparticles for application in plant species of ...agricultural interest. The objective of this study was to determine the response of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana B.) in vitro to different concentrations of AgNPs (silver nanoparticles), as well as to characterize and identify their absorption, translocation and accumulation mechanisms. Nodal segments of stevia grown in MS medium supplemented with AgNPs (0,12.5, 25, 50,100 and 200 mg L
) were used. After 30 days of in vitro shoot proliferation, the number of shoots per explant, shoot length, chlorophyll content, dry matter content and the metallic silver (Ag) content of the plants were quantified. In addition, characterization, transport and accumulation of silver nanoparticles were performed by microscopic analysis. AgNPs were shown to be present in epidermal stem cells, within vascular bundles and in intermembrane spaces. In leaves, they were observed in ribs and stomata. The current and future use of AgNPs in agricultural sciences opens up the possibility of studying their effects on different plant species.
The authors propose an extension of Berenger's perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) to achieve a perfect matching of waves propagating in anisotropic media. Although the ...procedure to obtain the matching conditions is valid for any kind of anisotropic material, it has been validated with a lossless two-dimensional uniaxial medium, in which the optical axis is not contained in its plane section. The finite difference time domain method, with an alternative scheme for anisotropic media, is used to simulate the problem and to obtain the numerical reflection coefficient.
Introduction
Development of inhibitors is the most serious complication in patients with haemophilia (PWH). The prevalence of inhibitors in patients with severe haemophilia A (HA) is approximately ...25%‐30%. Inhibitor prevalence differs among populations. Some studies report a prevalence of almost twice in Hispanic as compared to Caucasian patients. Most data available, on the prevalence of inhibitors and their predisposing factors, originate from centres in developed countries.
Aim
Establish the prevalence of inhibitors of FVIII and FIX in Mexico.
Methods
This was an observational, cross‐sectional and descriptive study. The records of all patients diagnosed with haemophilia A (HA) or B (HB), with and without inhibitors, were included. Clinical and demographical characteristics of patients with inhibitors were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 22. The Ethics Committees of the various participating institutions approved this study.
Results
A total of 1455 patients from the 20 participating centres were recruited, from which 1208 (83.02%) had HA and 247 (16.97%) were diagnosed with HB. The presence of inhibitors in severe HA was reported in 93/777(11.96%), and 10/162 (6.17%) in severe HB. Of them, 91.7% exhibited high titres in HA and 100% in HB.
Conclusion
In Mexico, the general prevalence of inhibitors varies considerably among centres. This study established a basis of comparison for future development and advances in the treatment and follow‐up of patients. These findings also augment our understanding of risk factors related to inhibitor development.
Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a marker of oxidative stress and antioxidant status. Oxidative stress has been observed to be increased in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Some studies have shown that ...MDA is upregulated in SLE compared to controls. However, the literature lacks reports regarding the relationship of MDA to disease manifestations. This is relevant since SLE is a multisystemic disease which may affect virtually any organ in the body. In this study, we set out to analyze how MDA serum levels are associated with disease expression in a large series of SLE patients who were fully characterized in clinical and laboratory terms. A total of 284 patients with SLE were recruited. Serum levels of MDA, and the activity (SLEDAI), severity (Katz) and damage index (SLICC-DI) scores, full lipid profile, and carotid subclinical atherosclerosis were assessed. In addition, a full characterization of the complement system was performed in SLE patients’ samples. Multivariable linear regression analysis was executed to study the relationship between clinical and laboratory disease characteristics and MDA. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between disease duration and MDA. In contrast, the presence of anti-nucleosome antibodies was positively associated with MDA. Regarding the SLICC-DI areas, both the musculoskeletal domain and the cutaneous domain were significantly related to higher serum MDA values. Furthermore, after adjustment for confounding factors, lower levels of the classical complement pathway, which denotes activation, were associated with higher serum levels of MDA. In conclusion, cumulative musculoskeletal and skin damage in SLE patients is associated with superior serum levels of MDA. In addition, activation of the complement system is also related to higher circulating MDA levels.
Why is math anxiety usually related to less efficient math processing? According to attentional control theory, anxiety leads to reduced attentional control, which often entails a greater investment ...of resources (e.g., more time or effort) to carry out a cognitive task. The executive functions mainly affected by anxiety are inhibition and shifting. Previous studies suggest that math anxiety may impair the inhibitory function. In the present study, the relationship between math anxiety and shifting efficiency when switching between two‐digit additions and subtractions was examined. Twenty highly math‐anxious and 20 low math‐anxious individuals participated in an event‐related potential (ERP) transition‐cueing experiment. Math anxiety was expected to delay the shifting process, leading to a larger switch cost in response time and no centroparietal cue‐locked switch‐specific positivity registered in the electroencephalogram during the cue‐target interval. Highly math‐anxious individuals showed a larger switch cost than their low math‐anxious peers. Asymmetrical switch effects between operations in response time were found in both groups, which might be due to larger sequential difficulty effects after subtractions than after additions. The cue‐locked switch‐specific positivity was present only in the low math‐anxious group. The present results suggest that highly math‐anxious individuals take longer to shift task sets. Additionally, the highly math‐anxious group showed a more positive frontal P2 after the cue that announced a switch to subtraction, probably indicating stronger attentional capture by this cue, because the most threatening condition is anticipated. Taken together, these data suggest that math anxiety also impairs attentional control when switching between arithmetic tasks.
In an event‐related potential (ERP) task‐switching experiment, highly math‐anxious individuals showed higher switch cost and absence of the cue‐locked late switch positivity. This provides the first evidence that math anxiety is associated with reduced shifting efficiency when switching between additions and subtractions, as predicted by attentional control theory. The impairment of this executive function may help to explain the difficulties that highly math‐anxious individuals experience when performing math.
Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the ...social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem's capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem's capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs.
The evaluation of renal function changes over time is crucial in day-to-day renal transplant care, and the slope of renal function is a major outcome in clinical trials. Little is known about the ...reliability of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in reflecting real glomerular filtration rate (GFR) changes.
We analyzed the variability of eGFR slope by 63 equations in estimating measured GFR (mGFR) changes in 110 renal transplant patients. The agreement between eGFR and mGFR slopes was evaluated by the concordance correlation coefficient and the limits of agreement. Patients were grouped based on mGFR slope in rapid GFR loss: faster than -3 mL/min/y; stable renal function: -3 to +3 mL/min/y; and improvement in GFR: higher than +3 mL/min/y.
Concordance correlation coefficient averaged 0.36 and limits of agreement ±10 mL/min/y, indicating very poor agreement between eGFR and mGFR slopes. The eGFR slope classified patients into the same group of mGFR slope only in 25% of the cases. In about two-thirds of patients, the eGFR slope was either markedly faster or slower than the mGFR slope. In half of these cases, the discrepancy between mGFR and eGFR slopes was ≥50%.
Formulas are neither accurate nor precise in reflecting real GFR decline in renal transplant patients, making them unreliable for clinical practice and trials.
PDF
