Sensory neuronopathies (SNNs) encompass paraneoplastic, infectious, dysimmune, toxic, inherited, and idiopathic disorders. Recently described diagnostic criteria allow SNN to be differentiated from ...other forms of sensory neuropathy, but there is no validated strategy based on routine clinical investigations for the etiological diagnosis of SNN. In a multicenter study, the clinical, biological, and electrophysiological characteristics of 148 patients with SNN were analyzed. Multiple correspondence analysis and logistic regression were used to identify patterns differentiating between forms of SNNs with different etiologies. Models were constructed using a study population of 88 patients and checked using a test population of 60 cases. Four patterns were identified. Pattern A, with an acute or subacute onset in the four limbs or arms, early pain, and frequently affecting males over 60 years of age, identified mainly paraneoplastic, toxic, and infectious SNN. Pattern B identified patients with progressive SNN and was divided into patterns C and D, the former corresponding to patients with inherited or slowly progressive idiopathic SNN with severe ataxia and electrophysiological abnormalities and the latter to patients with idiopathic, dysimmune, and sometimes paraneoplastic SNN with a more rapid course than in pattern C. The diagnostic strategy based on these patterns correctly identified 84/88 and 58/60 patients in the study and test populations, respectively.
Phytotoxicity is a major problem associated with the preservation of seed with synthetic insecticides. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of some selected plant derived ...insecticides on treated seed. Seed of SAMPEA 11, SAMPEA 14 and SAMPEA 12 were each divided into five (5) lots of 50 grams/lot identified, as L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5. L1 and L2 were treated with 50 and 12.5 µg/mL of myristicin and alpha-humulene based-insecticides respectively. L3 was treated with 6.25 µg/mL of azadirachtin based insecticide. L4 was not treated, while L5 was treated with diluted chlorpyrifos. In SAMPEA 12 and 11, the catalase activity and seed protein content were significantly (P<0.05) reduced compared to what obtained for L4. While in SAMPEA 14, catalase activity was not significantly (P>0.05) different from that reported for L4. Similar trend was observed on the protein content of the said cultivars treated with the aforementioned botanical insecticides. This study established similarity and variation in varietal responses to the effect the aforementioned insecticides to which the studied seed of cowpea cultivars were exposed to.
This study explores the synthesis of lead oxide (PbO) using sol-gel methods and its consequential effects on the structure and morphology of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) (52/48). X-ray diffraction ...(XRD) analysis confirms the orthorhombic massicot phase of PbO and reveals smaller crystallite sizes compared to commercially available PbO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicates that PbOsyn consists of highly pure nanoparticles (0.69 µm), in contrast to PbOcom (0.98 µm).FTIR analysis further supports our findings by confirming the presence of lead oxide (Pb-O) vibrations. Subsequently, PsynZT and PcomZT, derived from PbOsyn and PbOcom, are prepared via a solid-state method, revealing disparities in phase formation. At 800°C, PsynZT demonstrates complete PZT phase formation, while PcomZT exhibits intermediate phases (PL). XRD analysis confirms the stability of the PZT phases at the sintering temperature of 1180°C, with SEM analysis verifying nanometric grain morphology. PsynZT exhibits higher mass density, lower porosity, and improved compactness compared to PcomZT. This research underscores the advantages of the sol-gel method for PbO synthesis and emphasizes the critical role of precursor selection in enhancing material properties.
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