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 aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology (location, microbial load, microbiome, presence/absence of biofilm and pathogens, including ESKAPE—Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, ...Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter species, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles) of the bacterial contamination on intensive care units (ICUs) surfaces. Fifty‐seven high‐touched surfaces were collected from adult, paediatric and neonatal ICUs from two large public Brazilian hospitals from central and north regions. Samples (c. 4 cm2) were subjected to culture (qualitative), qPCR targeting 16s rRNA gene (microbial load—bacteria per cm2), 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing (microbiome analysis) and scanning electron (SEM) or confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) (biofilm presence). Multidrug resistant organisms (MROs) were detected using specific chromogenic agar. The average bacterial load was 1·32 × 104 bacteria per cm2, container for newborn feeding bottles, stretcher mattress, humidicrib mattress filling and computer keyboards presented the higher bioburden. However, only 45·6% (26/57) were culture‐positive, including 4/26 with MROs. ESKAPE organisms were detected in 51·8% of the samples subjected to next‐generation sequencing. Viability staining and CLSM demonstrated live bacteria on 76·7% of culture‐negative samples. Biofilm was present on all surfaces subjected to microscopy (n = 56), demonstrating that current cleaning practices are suboptimal and reinforcing that MROs are incorporated into hospital surfaces biofilm.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Contamination of healthcare facilities surfaces has been shown to play a major role in transmission of pathogens. The findings of this study show that dry surface biofilms are widespread and can incorporate pathogens and multidrug‐resistant organisms (MROs). Biofilms on highly touched surfaces pose a risk to patients, as dry surface biofilms persist for long period and micro‐organisms within biofilm have been shown to be transmitted. This study also provides a better understanding of microbial populations in hospital environments, reinforcing that pathogens and MROs are found incorporated into biofilm, which impacts the difficulty in cleaning/disinfection.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Contamination of healthcare facilities surfaces has been shown to play a major role in transmission of pathogens. The findings of this study show that dry surface biofilms are widespread and can incorporate pathogens and multidrug‐resistant organisms (MROs). Biofilms on highly touched surfaces pose a risk to patients, as dry surface biofilms persist for long period and micro‐organisms within biofilm have been shown to be transmitted. This study also provides a better understanding of microbial populations in hospital environments, reinforcing that pathogens and MROs are found incorporated into biofilm, which impacts the difficulty in cleaning/disinfection.
Abstract In 2023 December, the Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog announced the discovery of 33 new millisecond pulsars. Motivated by that, in this work, I study how different values of the symmetry ...energy slope ( L ) affect the properties of static and slowly rotating neutron stars. For fixed values of angular velocity, I study how the slope influences the increase of the maximum mass, the radii of the canonical 1.4 M ⊙ , its eccentricity, as well the same quantities for the 2.01 M ⊙ stars. I show that different slope values cause different variations not only in the absolute quantities but also in relative ones. Indeed, different slope values predict different values for the eccentricity, which does not depend on the absolute value of the neutron stars’ radii. Therefore, this quantity can be a powerful tool to constrain the symmetry energy slope.
Discovered in high-energy physics, the chiral anomaly has recently made way to materials science by virtue of Weyl semimetals (WSM). Thus far, the main efforts to probe the chiral anomaly in WSM have ...concentrated on electronic phenomena. Here, we show that the chiral anomaly can have a large impact in the A_{1} phonons of enantiomorphic WSM. In these materials, the chiral anomaly produces an unusual magnetic-field-induced resonance in the effective phonon charge, which in turn leads to anomalies in the phonon dispersion, optical reflectivity, and the Raman scattering.
Computational materials research is vital in improving our understanding of various class of materials and their properties, contributing valuable information that helps predict innovative structures ...and complement empirical investigations. In this context, DHQ-graphene recently emerged as a stable two-dimensional carbon allotrope composed of decagonal, hexagonal, and quadrilateral carbon rings. Here, we employ density functional theory calculations to investigate the mechanical, electronic, and optical features of its boron nitride counterpart (DHQ-BN). Our findings reveal an insulating band gap of 5.11 eV at the HSE06 level and good structural stability supported by phonon calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, DHQ-BN exhibits strong ultraviolet (UV) activity, suggesting its potential as a highly efficient UV light absorber. Its mechanical properties, including Young's modulus (230 GPa) and Poisson's ratio (0.7), provide insight into its mechanical resilience and structural stability.
Dark matter effects on hybrid star properties Lenzi, C. H.; Dutra, M.; Lourenço, O. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
03/2023, Letnik:
83, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In the present work, we investigate the effects of dark matter (DM) on hybrid star properties. We assume that dark matter is mixed with both hadronic and quark matter and interacts with them through ...the exchange of a Higgs boson. The hybrid star properties are obtained from equations of state calculated with a Maxwell prescription. For the hadronic matter, we use the NL3* parameter set, and for the quark matter, the MIT bag model with a vector interaction. We see that dark matter does not influence the phase transition points (pressure and chemical potential) but shifts the discontinuity on the energy density, which ultimately reduces the minimum mass star that contains a quark core. Moreover, it changes considerably the star family mass-radius diagrams and moves the merger polarizability curves inside the confidence lines. Another interesting feature is the influence of DM in the quark core of the hybrid stars constructed. Our results show an increase of the core radius for higher values of the dark particle Fermi momentum.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors improve outcomes compared with chemotherapy in lung cancer. Tumor PD-L1 receptor expression is being studied as a predictive biomarker. The objective of this study was to ...assess the cost-effectiveness and economic impact of second-line treatment with nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab with and without the use of PD-L1 testing for patient selection.
We developed a decision-analytic model to determine the cost-effectiveness of PD-L1 assessment and second-line immunotherapy versus docetaxel. The model used outcomes data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and drug acquisition costs from the United States. Thereafter, we used epidemiologic data to estimate the economic impact of the treatment.
We included four RCTs (2 with nivolumab, 1 with pembrolizumab, and 1 with atezolizumab). The incremental quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for nivolumab was 0.417 among squamous tumors and 0.287 among non-squamous tumors and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were $155 605 and $187 685, respectively. The QALY gain in the base case for atezolizumab was 0.354 and the ICER was $215 802. Compared with treating all patients, the selection of patients by PD-L1 expression improved incremental QALY by up to 183% and decreased the ICER by up to 65%. Pembrolizumab was studied only in patients whose tumors expressed PD-L1. The QALY gain was 0.346 and the ICER was $98 421. Patient selection also reduced the budget impact of immunotherapy.
The use of PD-L1 expression as a biomarker increases cost-effectiveness of immunotherapy but also diminishes the number of potential life-years saved.
Aims
To investigate the probiotic potential of yeasts isolated from naturally fermented Brazilian table olives.
Methods and Results
Eighteen yeast strains were tested in terms of: safety; survival of ...gastrointestinal and digestion conditions; antimicrobial activity; cellular hydrophobicity; autoaggregation ability and adhesion to epithelial cells; coaggregation and inhibition of pathogenic bacteria adhesion. Six yeasts showed favourable results for all probiotic attributes: Saccharomyces cerevisiae CCMA 1746, Pichia guilliermondii CCMA 1753, Candida orthopsilosis CCMA 1748, Candida tropicalis CCMA 1751, Meyerozyma caribbica CCMA 1758 and Debaryomyces hansenii CCMA 1761. These yeasts demonstrated resistance to 37°C, pH 2·0 and bile salts, and survived in vitro digestion (≥106 CFU per ml). Furthermore, the yeasts exhibited a hydrophobic cell surface (42·5–92·2%), autoaggregation capacity (41·0–91·0%) and adhesion to Caco‐2 (62·0–82·8%) and HT‐29 (57·6–87·3%) epithelial cell lines. Also, the strains showed antimicrobial activity against Salmonella Enteritidis as well as the ability to coaggregate and reduce the adhesion of this pathogen to intestinal cells.
Conclusions
Autochthonous yeasts from naturally fermented Brazilian table olives have probiotic properties, with potential for development of new probiotic food products.
Significance and Impact of Study
These data are important and contribute to the knowledge of new potential probiotic yeasts capable of surviving gastrointestinal tract conditions and inhibiting pathogenic bacteria.
Dispersion and deformation of cratonic fragments within orogens require weakening of the craton margins in a process of decratonization. The orogenic Borborema Province, in NE Brazil, is one of ...several Brasiliano/Pan-African late Neoproterozoic orogens that led to the amalgamation of Gondwana. A common feature of these orogens is that a period of extension and opening of narrow oceans preceded inversion and collision. For the case of the Borborema Province, the São Francisco Craton was pulled away from its other half, the Benino-Nigerian Shield, during an intermittent extension event between 1.0-0.92 and 0.9-0.82 Ga. This was followed by inversion of an embryonic and confined oceanic basin at ca. 0.60 Ga and transpressional orogeny from ca. 0.59 Ga onwards. Here we investigate the boundary region between the north São Francisco Craton and the Borborema Province and demonstrate how cratonic blocks became physically involved in the orogeny. We combine these results with a wide compilation of U-Pb and Nd-isotopic model ages to show that the Borborema Province consists of up to 65% of strongly sheared ancient rocks affiliated with the São Francisco/Benino-Nigerian Craton, separated by major transcurrent shear zones, with only ≈ 15% addition of juvenile material during the Neoproterozoic orogeny. This evolution is repeated across a number of Brasiliano/Pan-African orogens, with significant local variations, and indicate that extension weakened cratonic regions in a process of decratonization that prepared them for involvement in the orogenies, that led to the amalgamation of Gondwana.
Here, we present new antimicrobial nanoparticles based on silica nanoparticles (SNPs) coated with a quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). Depending on the ...initial concentration of DDAB, SNPs immobilize between 45 and 275 μg of DDAB per milligram of nanoparticle. For high concentrations of DDAB adsorbed to SNP, a bilayer is formed as confirmed by zeta potential measurements, thermogravimetry, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) analyses. Interestingly, these nanoparticles have lower minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against bacteria and fungi than soluble surfactant. The electrostatic interaction of the DDAB with the SNP is strong, since no measurable loss of antimicrobial activity was observed after suspension in aqueous solution for 60 days. We further show that the antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticle does not require the leaching of the surfactant from the surface of the NPs. The SNPs may be immobilized onto surfaces with different chemistry while maintaining their antimicrobial activity, in this case extended to a virucidal activity. The versatility, relative facility in preparation, low cost, and large antimicrobial activity of our platform makes it attractive as a coating for large surfaces.
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