A 7‐week study was performed to evaluate the partial and total replacement of formulated feed (FF) by live insects (Trichocorixa sp.), during intensive culture of Litopenaeus vannamei. Production ...response, physiological status and postharvest quality were evaluated. Five treatments consisting of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of FF replacement (T‐0, T‐25, T‐50, T‐75 and T‐100) were performed. Better production responses were observed in T‐50, followed by T‐0 and T‐75 respectively. Also, no negative effect of insect supplying was detected on the physiological status of shrimp (evaluated by haemolymph parameters). However, shrimp fed exclusively on insects (T‐100) had poor growth and physiological performances, and lower postharvest quality compared with the rest of treatments. Regarding organoleptic characteristics, no effect of treatments was detected on the colour, odour and taste of shrimp muscle. In conclusion, the insect Trichocorixa sp. can contribute to the nutritional requirements of shrimp and could be used as complementary natural food, improving productive responses, without affecting the physiological status or the post mortem quality of shrimp; however the total substitution of FF by insects is not recommendable.
Environmental pollution is a pressing and widespread issue in contemporary society that necessitates innovative solutions to meet the growing demand for clean water resources. One crucial development ...in the realm of nanomaterials involves the creation of multifunctional materials with specific adsorption properties and ease of recovery, which are integral to water purification efforts. Among these materials, magnetic nanocarriers have emerged as a versatile and efficient means of immobilizing target pollutants for water decontamination. Their effectiveness stems from their expansive surface area, relatively straightforward fabrication, and diverse applications, particularly in environmental remediation processes. This comprehensive review aims to delve into the various classes of magnetic carriers and their roles in removing contaminants from water sources. Each class is examined critically, providing insights into synthesis methodologies, accompanied by noteworthy examples from the literature, and an exploration of the significant contributions these materials offer to the field. Through this review, we seek to provide a thorough understanding of the use of magnetic nanocarriers in addressing the crucial issue of water pollution and highlight their potential to play a pivotal role in achieving cleaner and more sustainable water resources for our growing population.
•Polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) as separation matrix for M13 phage was studied.•PIL cation and anion, the crosslinker nature and its concentration were evaluated.•M13 phage was successfully separated ...directly from filtered E. coli.•Batch adsorption/elution and chromatographic operation mode were compared.•The PIL-based chromatography reached over 70% M13 recovery in a single step.
M13 bacteriophage is a key instrument in phage display applications, as well as a possible antibacterial therapeutic agent due to its highly restrictive bacterial pathogenesis, and other applications. The traditional phage purification process is usually achieved by gradient ultracentrifugation or a combination of precipitation, centrifugation and microfiltration. These approaches easily lead to long process times, high operational costs, phage aggregation and consequent product loss (approximately 60%). This work is thus focused on an alternative potential large-scale process to achieve high yield and purity while minimizing the operational costs.
Electrostatic-based separation processes are also common biomolecules purification techniques. Although anion exchange chromatography has been used before to purify several viral particles, this technique has been poorly reported for the purification of M13 phage. In a recent work, our group has demonstrated the use of a predominant anion exchange process, where a polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) was used as an alternative separation matrix for M13 bacteriophage. In this work, a variety of system parameters was studied, including chemical structure of the cation and the anion, the crosslinker nature and its concentration, either in batch adsorption/elution or chromatographic operation mode. The PIL-based chromatographic operation mode revealed to be a suitable separation process for M13 from directly filtered E. coli supernatant, reaching over 70% M13 recovery and 4.6 purification factor in a single step. To our knowledge, this is the first time that PILs have been reported as separation agents for bioproducts from complex mixtures.
The project ADAPTACLIMA, promoted by EPAL, the largest Portuguese Water Supply Utility, aims to provide the company with an adaptation strategy in the medium and long term to reduce the vulnerability ...of its activities to climate change. We used the four scenarios (A1, A2, B1, B2) adopted in the Special Report Emissions Scenarios (SRES) of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) to produce local scenarios of water use. Available population SRES for Portugal were downscaled to the study area using a linear approach. Local land use scenarios were produced using the following steps: (1) characterization of the present land use for each municipality of the study area using Corine Land Cover and adaptation of the CLC classes to those used in the SRES; (2) identification of recent tendencies in land use change for the study area; (3) identification of SRES tendencies for land use change in Europe; and (4) production of local scenarios of land use. Water use scenarios were derived considering both population and land use scenarios as well as scenarios of change in other parameters (technological developments, increases in efficiency, climate changes, or political and behavioural changes). The A2 scenario forecasts an increase in population (+16%) in the study area while the other scenarios show a reduction in the resident population (-6 to 8%). All scenarios, but especially A1, show a reduction in agricultural area and an increase in urban area. Regardless of the scenario, water use will progressively be reduced until 2100. These reductions are mainly due to increased water use efficiency and the reduction of irrigated land. The results accord with several projects modelling water use at regional and global level.
Despite continuous advances in diagnosis and therapy, oral cancers are mostly diagnosed at advanced stages with minor survival improvements in the last two decades. Both phenomena have been ...attributed to delays in the diagnosis. This study aims at quantifying the time elapsed until definitive diagnosis in these patients and the patient interval's contribution.
A hospital-based, ambispective, observational study was undertaken on incident cases with a pathological diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma recruited during 2015 at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery services of CHUAC (A Coruña) and POVISA (Vigo) hospitals.
74 consecutive oral cancer patients (59.5% males; median age: 65.0 years (IQ:57-74)) were studied. Most cases (52.7%; n=39) were at advanced stages (TNM III-IV) at diagnosis. The period since first sign/symptom until the patient seeks health care was the longest interval in the pathway to diagnosis and treatment (median: 31.5 days; IQR= 7.0 - 61.0) and represents >60% of the interval since symptom onset until referral to specialised care (pre-referral interval). The average interval assigned to the patient resulted to be relatively larger than the time elapsed since the patient is seen at primary care until a definitive diagnosis is reached (diagnostic interval). Median of the referral interval for primary care professionals: 6.5 days (IQR= 0.0 - 49.2) and accounts for 35% (19% - 51%) of the diagnostic interval.
The patient interval is the main component of the pathway to treatment since the detection of a bodily change until the definitive diagnosis. Therefore, strategies focused on risk groups to shorten this interval should be implemented in order to ease an early diagnosis of symptomatic oral cancer.
Color tuning using upconversion nanoparticles (NPs) in the visible, in an attempt to obtain white light, has been achieved in several ways and has aroused much scientific and technological interest ...lately, due to its potential applications in color displays technology, assay of biological compounds, remote sensing, optical data storage and optical printing. In this work, we present a simple and smart way to obtain color tuning in practically all the chromaticity diagram. LaF3 and CaF2 NPs were used with different dopants. They were chosen because of their high resistance to optical damage, low phonon energy (<400 cm−1), chemical durability and thermal stability compared to other matrices, mainly various vitreous ones. Our method proved to be efficient, as the competition processes of energy transfer between the dopant ions have been a challenge to obtain an efficient color tuning and, mainly, to obtain pure white light. Our approach is based on mixing upconversion NPs powders of LaF3:Yb3+/Tm3+, LaF3:Yb3+/Ho3+ and CaF2:Yb3+/Er3+ in specific amounts. In all measurements, the Yb3+ ion was used as a sensitizer and the Tm3+, Ho3+ or Er3+ ions as activators to generate colors in the blue (Tm3+), green (Ho3+) and red (Er3+) regions, thus requiring a single excitation wavelength. Varying the amount of powder of each sample in the mixture, it was possible to observe a continuous tuning of colors in the CIE-1931 chromaticity diagram in a direct, efficient and cost-effective manner, which enables a range of application, mainly in multi-color luminescence and anticounterfeiting.
A magnetically recoverable Pt(0) catalyst was prepared by
in situ H
2 reduction of Pt
2+ species bound to an amino modified silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles. Compared to ordinary silica (maximum ...uptake Pt 0.03
wt%), the amino-functionalized silica surfaces were loaded with 1.95
wt% of metal. The supported Pt(0) nanoparticles exhibit high catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of alkenes and ketones under solventless mild reaction conditions. Partially hydrogenated products could also be isolated. The magnetic property of the catalyst grants a fast and efficient product isolation compared to traditional methods used in heterogeneous systems that generally make use of time- and solvent-consuming procedures.
Monometallic Pd- and bimetallic PtPd-nanoparticles supported on a mesoporous magnetic magnetite@silica matrix resembling a core–shell structure (Fe
3
O
4
@mSiO
2
) have been fabricated. The material ...was characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), high-angle annular dark field-scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The catalysts were applied in the removal of anthracene from liquid phase via catalytic hydrogenation. It was found that anthracene as a model compound could be completely converted into the partially hydrogenated species by the monometallic and bimetallic solids. However, during the recycling study the bimetallic material (Fe
3
O
4
@mSiO
2
PtPd-) showed an enhanced activity towards anthracene removal compared with the monometallic materials. A single portion of the PtPd-based catalyst can be used up to 11 times in the hydrogenation of anthracene under mild conditions (6 atm of H
2
, 75 °C, 20 min). Thanks to the presence of a dense magnetic core, the catalysts were capable of responding to an applied external magnetic field and once the reaction was completed, catalyst/product separation was straightforward.
Abstract
Introduction
Patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) that remain symptomatic despite optimized medical therapy are often submitted to alcohol septal ablation (ASA). One ...of the most frequent complications is the complete hear block (CHB), requiring permanent pacemaker (PPM) in variable rates, up to 20% of the patients. The long-term impact of PPM implantation in these patients remains unclear.
Objectives
This study aims to evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes in patients who implant PPM after ASA.
Methods
In a tertiary center, patients who underwent ASA were consecutively enrolled prospectively. Patients with previous PPM or implantable cardio-defibrillator were from this analysis. The groups with and without PPM implantation after ASA were compared regarding baseline characteristics, procedure data and 3-year primary and secondary endpoints.
Results
Between 2009 and 2020, 109 patients underwent ASA. 97 patients were included in this analysis (68% female, mean age 65.2 years-old). 16 patients (16.5%) required PPM implantation for CHB. In those, no vascular access, pacemaker pocket or pulmonary parenchyma complications were noted. The baseline characteristics regarding comorbidities, symptoms, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic findings were identical in the two groups, with statistically significant differences in the mean age (70.6y/o in the PPM group versus 64.1y/o) and in the beta-blocker therapy rates previously to the intervention (56% in the PPM group versus 84%). Procedure-related data showed higher creatine kinase (CK) peaks in the PPM group (1692U/L versus 1243U/L, p0.05), without significant differences in the alcohol dose (2.1ml in both groups, p0.33). At 3 years after ASA procedure, the primary endpoint (composite of all-cause mortality and all-cause re-hospitalization) showed a statistical tendency to a lower event rate in the group who implanted PPM (p-value 0.097, Graphic 1). The secondary endpoint (composite of all-cause mortality and cardiac cause re-hospitalization) did not show any significant statistical difference between the two groups (p-value 0.216, Graphic 2).
Conclusions
The long-term endpoint analysis suggests that the outcomes in patients who implant PPM after ASA are non-inferior to those who do not, with a tendency to a lower rate of the endpoint composite of all-cause mortality and all cause re-hospitalizations.
Funding Acknowledgement
Type of funding sources: None.
The INNER NO OUTER (INO) and AINTEGUMENTA (ANT) genes are essential for ovule integument development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Ovules of ino mutants initiate two integument primordia, but the outer ...integument primordium forms on the opposite side of the ovule from the normal location and undergoes no further development. The inner integument appears to develop normally, resulting in erect, unitegmic ovules that resemble those of gymnosperms. ino plants are partially fertile and produce seeds with altered surface topography, demonstrating a lineage dependence in development of the testa. ant mutations affect initiation of both integuments. The strongest of five new ant alleles we have isolated produces ovules that lack integuments and fail to complete megasporogenesis. ant mutations also affect flower development, resulting in narrow petals and the absence of one or both lateral stamens. Characterization of double mutants between ant, ino and other mutations affecting ovule development has enabled the construction of a model for genetic control of ovule development. This model proposes parallel independent regulatory pathways for a number of aspects of this process, a dependence on the presence of an inner integument for development of the embryo sac, and the existence of additional genes regulating ovule development.
PDF
