Over the last decade, the number of studies reporting the use of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in combination with collision cells (or other activation methods) to promote ...fragmentation of synthetic and natural products for structural elucidation purposes has considerably increased. However, the lack of a systematic compilation of the gas-phase fragmentation reactions subjected to ESI-MS/MS conditions still represents a challenge and has led to many misunderstood results in the literature. This review article exploits the most common fragmentation reactions for ions generated by ESI in positive and negative modes using collision cells in an effort to stimulate the use of this technique by non-specialists, undergraduate students and researchers in related areas.
The goiter, a neglected heterogeneous molecular disease, remains a major indication for thyroidectomies in its endemic regions.
This study analyzed differential gene expression in surgical specimens ...diagnosed with multi nodular and compared the data to that of thyroid tissue without multinodular goiter from patients undergoing thyroidectomy in Manaus-AM, Brazil using RNA-seq technology.
The transcriptome information of the surgical specimen fragments with and without multinodular goiter was accessed by Illumina HiSeq 2000 New Generation Sequencing (NGS) using the RNA-seq NEBNext® Ultra™ RNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina®-#E7530L protocol and differential gene expression analysis.
Differences were found between the gene expression profiles of the diseased tissues and those of the healthy control tissues; at least 70 genes were differentially expressed. The HOTS gene was expressed only in multinodular goiter tissues (p < 0.05).
These results demonstrate that the gene expression profile of multinodular goiter is pro-tumoral and that HOTS can play a central role in multinodular goiter development.
A nationwide survey of dentists was carried out in Brazil, a new pandemic epicenter, to analyze how dental care coverage has been affected in public versus private networks, changes in routine and ...burdens, and how local prevalence of COVID-19 affects dental professionals. Dentists were recruited via email and Instagram®. Responses to a pre-tested questionnaire were collected May 15-24, 2020. COVID-19 case/death counts in the state where respondents work was used to test associations between contextual status and decreases in weekly appointments, fear of contracting COVID-19 at work, and current work status (α = 0.05). Over 10 days, 3,122 responses were received (response rate ~2.1%) from all Brazilian states. Work status was affected for 94%, with less developed regions being more impacted. The pandemic impact on clinical routine was high/very high for 84%, leading to varied changes to clinic infrastructure, personal protective equipment use, and patient screening, as well as increased costs. COVID-19 patients had been seen by 5.3% of respondents; 90% reported fearing contracting COVID-19 at work. Multilevel models showed that greater case and death rates (counted as 1000 cases and 100 deaths per million inhabitants) in one's state increased the odds of being fearful of contracting the disease (18% and 25%). For each additional 1000 cases/100 deaths, the odds of currently not working or treating only emergencies increased by 36% and 58%. The reduction in patients seen weekly was significantly greater in public (38.7±18.6) than in private clinics (22.5±17.8). This study provides early evidence of three major impacts of the pandemic on dentistry: increasing inequalities due to coverage differences between public and private networks; the adoption of new clinical routines, which are associated with an economic burden for dentists; and associations of regional COVID-19 incidence/mortality with fear of contracting the disease at work.
A major challenge exists in the preparation of scaffolds for bone regeneration, namely, achieving simultaneously bioactivity, biocompatibility, mechanical performance and simple manufacturing. Here, ...cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are introduced for the preparation of scaffolds taking advantage of their biocompatibility and ability to form strong 3D porous networks from aqueous suspensions. CNF are made bioactive for bone formation through a simple and scalable strategy that achieves highly interconnected 3D networks. The resultant materials optimally combine morphological and mechanical features and facilitate hydroxyapatite formation while releasing essential ions for in vivo bone repair. The porosity and roughness of the scaffolds favor several cell functions while the ions act in the expression of genes associated with cell differentiation. Ion release is found critical to enhance the production of the bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) from cells within the fractured area, thus accelerating the in vivo bone repair. Systemic biocompatibility indicates no negative effects on vital organs such as the liver and kidneys. The results pave the way towards a facile preparation of advanced, high performance CNF-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.
It is believed that environmental causes will grow in fervor with members of Gen Z. This study explores the main factors of green marketing affecting young Portuguese green purchasing decisions and ...the relationship between them. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 708 young Portuguese consumers of eco‐friendly products. The quantitative analysis was performed using the partial least square (PLS) method. We found that the marketing factors of green willingness to purchase, green awareness of price, green perceived benefits, and green perceived quality were positively associated with young peoples' environmental concerns, and they also proved to be positively related to their green purchasing decisions when mediated by the environmental concern variable. This study contributes to the literature on green marketing, having empirically evaluated, for the first time, the role of environmental concerns as mediators of consumers' perceptions of green products and their purchase intentions. Furthermore, it pioneeringly explores the determinants of Generation Z's environmental concerns and green purchasing decisions, making an essential contribution to the literature on consumer behavior and generational cohorts. The breadth of influence of each determinant is not balanced, and producers, marketers, and policymakers must consider these results in their strategy of attracting young consumers to purchase green products.
Online shopping has intensified in the last decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed circulation limitations and more restrictive behaviors on consumers due to fears of contracting the virus, ...boosting online grocery shopping. This study aims to assess the relationship between the online food purchasing experience during the pandemic and the intention to purchase food online after the pandemic. The sample of this quantitative study is composed of 358 Portuguese consumers who carried out grocery shopping online during the pandemic and was collected through an online questionnaire. First, a cross-sectional description of the variables was applied to this sample and then an analytical cross-sectional survey was carried out using the partial least squares method. Due to health concerns, food and beverage consumption behaviors changed positively during the pandemic compared to before. Healthier consumer behavior towards food and beverages during the pandemic, compared to before the pandemic, may influence a greater propensity for online grocery shopping. Sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, income) were also determinants of the propensity to shop online during the pandemic. Specifically, the results of this study demonstrate a positive influence of young male consumers, with higher levels of education and income, regarding the online supermarket shopping experience. The results also demonstrate that a good online shopping experience during the pandemic can positively influence online shopping intentions after the pandemic. This study makes it possible to identify determinants of the online food shopping experience, serving as guidance and preparation for strategic marketing for retail grocery companies that wish to position themselves online. It also helps marketers and policymakers understand the potential influence of sociodemographic characteristics such as age, income, and education on building a relationship with consumers. Finally, the relationship between personal characteristics and the online grocery shopping experience requires further substantiation and this study contributes to this gap in the literature.
Industry has created the need for a cost-effective and nondestructive quality-control analysis system. This requirement has increased interest in near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, leading to the ...development and marketing of handheld devices that enable new applications that can be implemented in situ. Portable NIR spectrometers are powerful instruments offering several advantages for nondestructive, online, or in situ analysis: small size, low cost, robustness, simplicity of analysis, sample user interface, portability, and ergonomic design. Several studies of on-site NIR applications are presented: characterization of internal and external parameters of fruits and vegetables; conservation state and fat content of meat and fish; distinguishing among and quality evaluation of beverages and dairy products; protein content of cereals; evaluation of grape ripeness in vineyards; and soil analysis. Chemometrics is an essential part of NIR spectroscopy manipulation because wavelength-dependent scattering effects, instrumental noise, ambient effects, and other sources of variability may complicate the spectra. As a consequence, it is difficult to assign specific absorption bands to specific functional groups. To achieve useful and meaningful results, multivariate statistical techniques (essentially involving regression techniques coupled with spectral preprocessing) are therefore required to extract the information hidden in the spectra. This work reviews the evolution of the use of portable near-infrared spectrometers in the agro-food industry.
A
bstract
We study the phase diagram of 5-dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on the lattice. We consider two extensions of the fundamental plaquette Wilson action in the search for the continuous ...phase transition suggested by the 4 +
ϵ
expansion. The extensions correspond to new terms in the action:
i
) a unit size plaquette in the adjoint representation or
ii
) a two-unit sided square plaquette in the fundamental representation. We use Monte Carlo to sample the first and second derivative of the entropy near the confinement phase transition, with lattices up to 12
5
. While we exclude the presence of a second order phase transition in the parameter space we sampled for model
i)
, our data is not conclusive in some regions of the parameter space of model
ii)
.
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Caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive drug worldwide and its intake in moderate amounts prevents neurodegenerative disorders. However, the molecular targets of caffeine to ...modulate activity in brain circuits are ill-defined. By electrophysiologically recording synaptic transmission and plasticity in Schaffer fibers-CA1 pyramid synapses of mouse hippocampal slices, we characterized the impact of caffeine using a concentration reached in the brain parenchyma upon moderate caffeine consumption. Caffeine (50 µM) facilitated synaptic transmission by 40%, while decreasing paired-pulse facilitation, and also decreased by 35% the amplitude of long-term potentiation (LTP). Clearance of extracellular adenosine with adenosine deaminase (2 U/mL) blunted all the effects of caffeine on synaptic transmission and plasticity. The A1R antagonist DPCPX (100 nM) only eliminated caffeine-induced facilitation of synaptic transmission while not affecting caffeine-induced depression of LTP; conversely, the genetic (using A2AR knockout mice) or the pharmacological blockade (with SCH58261, 50 nM) of A2AR eliminated the effect of caffeine on LTP while not affecting caffeine-induced facilitation of synaptic transmission. Finally, blockade of GABAA or of ryanodine receptors with bicuculline (10 μM) or dantrolene (10 μM), respectively, did not affect the ability of caffeine to alter synaptic transmission or plasticity. These results show that the effects of caffeine on synaptic transmission and plasticity in the hippocampus are selectively mediated by antagonizing adenosine receptors, where A1R are responsible for the impact of caffeine on synaptic transmission and A2AR regulate the impact of caffeine on LTP.
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