The use of saliva as a biological sample has many advantages, being especially relevant in pigs where the blood collection is highly stressful and painful, both for the animal and the staff in charge ...of the sampling. Currently one of the main uses of saliva is for diagnosis and detection of infectious diseases, but the saliva can also be used to measure biomarkers that can provide information of stress, inflammation, immune response and redox homeostasis. This review will be focused on the analytes that can be used for such evaluations. Emphasis will be given in providing data of practical use about their physiological basis, how they can be measured, and their interpretation. In addition, some general rules regarding sampling and saliva storage are provided and the concept of sialochemistry will be addressed. There is still a need for more data and knowledge for most of these biomarkers to optimize their use, application, and interpretation. However, this review provides updated data to illustrate that besides the detection of pathogens in saliva, additional interesting applicative information regarding pigs´ welfare and health can be obtained from this fluid. Information that can potentially be applied to other animal species as well as to humans.
Abstract
This work presents the application of an experimental nematic liquid crystal (LC) mixture (1929) in a large aperture lens. The LC material is composed of terphenyl and biphenyl derivatives ...compounds with an isothiocyanate terminal group and fluorinated lateral substituents. The substitution with a strongly polar isothiocyanate group and an aromatic rigid core provides
$$\pi$$
π
-electron coupling, providing high birefringence (
$$\Delta n = 0.3375$$
Δ
n
=
0.3375
at 636 nm and 23 °C) and low viscosity (
$$\eta$$
η
= 17.03 mPa s). In addition, it also shows high values of birefringence at near infrared (0.318 at 1550 nm). The synthesis process is simple when comparing materials with high melting temperatures. The excellent properties of this LC mixture are demonstrated in a large aperture LC-tunable lens based on a transmission electrode structure. Thanks to the particular characteristics of this mixture, the optical power is high. The high birefringence makes this LC of specific interest for lenses and optical phase modulators and devices, both in the visible and infrared regions.
Abstract
We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 0.98 mm observations of the continuum emission and several molecular lines toward the high-mass protostellar system GGD 27-MM1, ...driving the HH 80-81 radio jet. The detailed analysis of the continuum and the CH
3
CN molecular emission allows us to separate the contributions from the dust content of the disk (extending up to 190 au), the molecular content of the disk (extending from 140–360 au), and the content of the envelope, revealing the presence of several possible accretion streamers (also seen in other molecular tracers, such as CH
3
OH). We analyze the physical properties of the system, producing temperature and column density maps, and radial profiles for the disk and the envelope. We qualitatively reproduce the trajectories and line-of-sight velocities of the possible streamers using a theoretical model approach. An ad hoc model of a flared disk comprising a hot dust disk embedded in cold gas fits the H
2
S emission, which revealed the molecular disk as a crescent shape with a prominent central absorption. Another fit to the central absorption spectrum suggests that the absorption is probably caused by different external cold layers from the envelope or the accretion streamers. Finally, the analysis of the rotation pattern of the different molecular transitions in the molecular disk suggests that there is an inner zone devoid of molecular content.
The response of many biomedical systems can be modelled using a linear combination of damped exponential functions. The approximation parameters, based on equally spaced samples, can be obtained ...using Prony's method and its variants (e.g. the matrix pencil method). This paper provides a tutorial on the main polynomial Prony and matrix pencil methods and their implementation in MATLAB and analyses how they perform with synthetic and multifocal visual-evoked potential (mfVEP) signals. This paper briefly describes the theoretical basis of four polynomial Prony approximation methods: classic, least squares (LS), total least squares (TLS) and matrix pencil method (MPM). In each of these cases, implementation uses general MATLAB functions. The features of the various options are tested by approximating a set of synthetic mathematical functions and evaluating filtering performance in the Prony domain when applied to mfVEP signals to improve diagnosis of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The code implemented does not achieve 100%-correct signal approximation and, of the methods tested, LS and MPM perform best. When filtering mfVEP records in the Prony domain, the value of the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve is 0.7055 compared with 0.6538 obtained with the usual filtering method used for this type of signal (discrete Fourier transform low-pass filter with a cut-off frequency of 35 Hz).
This paper reviews Prony's method in relation to signal filtering and approximation, provides the MATLAB code needed to implement the classic, LS, TLS and MPM methods, and tests their performance in biomedical signal filtering and function approximation. It emphasizes the importance of improving the computational methods used to implement the various methods described above.
We present a meta-analysis of star formation rate (SFR) indicators in the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, producing 12 different SFR metrics and determining the SFR-M... relation for each. We ...compare and contrast published methods to extract the SFR from each indicator, using a well-defined local sample of morphologically selected spiral galaxies, which excludes sources which potentially have large recent changes to their SFR. The different methods are found to yield SFR-M... relations with inconsistent slopes and normalizations, suggesting differences between calibration methods. The recovered SFR-M... relations also have a large range in scatter which, as SFRs of the targets may be considered constant over the different time-scales, suggests differences in the accuracy by which methods correct for attenuation in individual targets. We then recalibrate all SFR indicators to provide new, robust and consistent luminosity-to-SFR calibrations, finding that the most consistent slopes and normalizations of the SFR-M... relations are obtained when recalibrated using the radiation transfer method of Popescu et al. These new calibrations can be used to directly compare SFRs across different observations, epochs and galaxy populations. We then apply our calibrations to the GAMA II equatorial data set and explore the evolution of star formation in the local Universe. We determine the evolution of the normalization to the SFR-M... relation from 0 < z < 0.35 -- finding consistent trends with previous estimates at 0.3 < z < 1.2. We then provide the definitive z < 0.35 cosmic star formation history, SFR-M... relation and its evolution over the last 3 billion years. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
The role of subthreshold depression (subD) in Parkinson's Disease (PD) is not clear. The present study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) in PD patients with subD vs patients with no ...depressive disorder (nonD). Factors related to subD were identified.
PD patients and controls recruited from the COPPADIS cohort were included. SubD was defined as Judd criteria. The 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8) were used to assess QoL.
The frequency of depressive symptoms was higher in PD patients (n = 694) than in controls (n = 207) (p < 0.0001): major depression, 16.1% vs 7.8%; minor depression, 16.7% vs 7.3%; subD, 17.4% vs 5.8%. Both health-related QoL (PDQ-39; 18.1 ± 12.8 vs 11.6 ± 10; p < 0.0001) and global QoL (EUROHIS-QOL8; 3.7 ± 0.5 vs 4 ± 0.5; p < 0.0001) were significantly worse in subD (n = 120) than nonD (n = 348) PD patients. Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) total score was higher in subD patients (45.9 ± 32 vs 29.1 ± 25.8;p < 0.0001). Non-motor symptoms burden (NMSS;OR = 1.019;95%CI 1.011–1.028; p < 0.0001), neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI; OR = 1.091; 95%CI 1.045–1.139; p < 0.0001), impulse control behaviors (QUIP-RS; OR = 1.035; 95%CI 1.007–1063; p = 0.013), quality of sleep (PDSS; OR = 0.991; 95%CI 0.983–0.999; p = 0.042), and fatigue (VAFS-physical; OR = 1.185; 95%CI 1.086–1.293; p < 0.0001; VAFS-mental; OR = 1.164; 95%CI 1.058–1.280; p = 0.0001) were related to subD after adjustment to age, disease duration, daily equivalent levodopa dose, motor status (UPDRS-III), and living alone.
SubD is a frequent problem in patients with PD and is more prevalent in these patients than in controls. QoL is worse and non-motor symptoms burden is greater in subD PD patients.
•Subthreshold depression (SubD) is a frequent problem in patients with PD and is near to triple prevalent than in controls.•Health-related and global perceived quality of life (QoL) are worse in subD than in non-depressed (nonD) PD patients.•A greater non-motor symptoms burden is associated with subthreshold depression in PD.•Specifically, fatigue, sleep problems, and neuropsychiatric symptoms seems to be related to subD in PD.•All this suggests that detection of subD in PD could be an important factor in clinical practice.
The abuse of chemical fertilizers in recent decades has led the promotion of less harmful alternatives, such as compost or aqueous extracts obtained from it. Therefore, it is essential to develop ...liquid biofertilizers, which in addition of being stable and useful for fertigation and foliar application in intensive agriculture had a remarkable phytostimulant extracts. For this purpose, a collection of aqueous extracts was obtained by applying four different Compost Extraction Protocols (CEP1, CEP2, CEP3, CEP4) in terms of incubation time, temperature and agitation of compost samples from agri-food waste, olive mill waste, sewage sludge and vegetable waste. Subsequently, a physicochemical characterization of the obtained set was performed in which pH, electrical conductivity and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) were measured. In addition, a biological characterization was also carried out by calculating the Germination Index (GI) and determining the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5). Furthermore, functional diversity was studied using the Biolog EcoPlates technique. The results obtained confirmed the great heterogeneity of the selected raw materials. However, it was observed that the less aggressive treatments in terms of temperature and incubation time, such as CEP1 (48 h, room temperature (RT)) or CEP4 (14 days, RT), provided aqueous compost extracts with better phytostimulant characteristics than the starting composts. It was even possible to find a compost extraction protocol that maximize the beneficial effects of compost. This was the case of CEP1, which improved the GI and reduced the phytotoxicity in most of the raw materials analyzed. Therefore, the use of this type of liquid organic amendment could mitigate the phytotoxic effect of several composts being a good alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers.
Display omitted
•Compost extracts improve the biofertilizing characteristics of the compost.•Temperature and incubation periods mainly determine the quality of the extracts.•The phytotoxic effect of composts is reduced by the use of compost extracts.•Moderate temperatures guarantee the preservation of microbial functionality.
ABSTRACT
Small low-mass stars are favourable targets for the detection of rocky habitable planets. In particular, planetary systems in the solar neighbourhood are interesting and suitable for precise ...characterization. The RedDots campaigns seek to discover rocky planets orbiting nearby low-mass stars. The 2018 campaign targeted GJ 1061, which is the 20th nearest star to the Sun. For three consecutive months we obtained nightly, high-precision radial velocity measurements with the HARPS spectrograph. We analysed these data together with archival HARPS data. We report the detection of three planet candidates with periods of 3.204 ± 0.001, 6.689 ± 0.005, and 13.03 ± 0.03 d, which are close to 1:2:4 period commensurability. After several considerations related to the properties of the noise and sampling, we conclude that a fourth signal is most likely explained by stellar rotation, although it may be due to a planet. The proposed three-planet system (and the potential four-planet solution) is long-term dynamically stable. Planet–planet gravitational interactions are below our current detection threshold. The minimum masses of the three planets range from 1.4 ± 0.2 to 1.8 ± 0.3 M⊕. Planet d, with msin i = 1.64 ± 0.24 M⊕, receives a similar amount of energy as Earth receives from the Sun. Consequently it lies within the liquid-water habitable zone of the star and has a similar equilibrium temperature to Earth. GJ 1061 has very similar properties to Proxima Centauri but activity indices point to lower levels of stellar activity.
Summary
We reviewed systematically sugammadex vs neostigmine for reversing neuromuscular blockade. We included 17 randomised controlled trials with 1553 participants. Sugammadex reduced all signs of ...residual postoperative paralysis, relative risk (95% CI) 0.46 (0.29–0.71), p = 0.0004 and minor respiratory events, relative risk (95% CI) 0.51 (0.32–0.80), p = 0.0034. There was no difference in critical respiratory events, relative risk (95% CI) 0.13 (0.02–1.06), p = 0.06. Sugammadex reduced drug‐related side‐effects, relative risk (95% CI) 0.72 (0.54–0.95), p = 0.02. There was no difference in the rate of postoperative nausea or the rate of postoperative vomiting, relative risk (95% CI) 0.94 (0.79–1.13), p = 0.53, and 0.87 (0.65–1.17), p = 0.36 respectively.
Deubiquitinases (DUBs) have fundamental roles in the ubiquitin system through their ability to specifically deconjugate ubiquitin from targeted proteins. The human genome encodes at least 98 DUBs, ...which can be grouped into 6 families, reflecting the need for specificity in their function. The activity of these enzymes affects the turnover rate, activation, recycling and localization of multiple proteins, which in turn is essential for cell homeostasis, protein stability and a wide range of signaling pathways. Consistent with this, altered DUB function has been related to several diseases, including cancer. Thus, multiple DUBs have been classified as oncogenes or tumor suppressors because of their regulatory functions on the activity of other proteins involved in tumor development. Therefore, recent studies have focused on pharmacological intervention on DUB activity as a rationale to search for novel anticancer drugs. This strategy may benefit from our current knowledge of the physiological regulatory mechanisms of these enzymes and the fact that growth of several tumors depends on the normal activity of certain DUBs. Further understanding of these processes may provide answers to multiple remaining questions on DUB functions and lead to the development of DUB-targeting strategies to expand the repertoire of molecular therapies against cancer.
PDF
