Individuals with cognitive impairment may have motor learning deficits due to the high engagement of cognitive mechanisms during motor skill acquisition. We conducted a scoping review to address the ...quality of current research on the relationship between cognitive impairments (i.e., deficits in attention, memory, planning and executive functions) and motor learning among older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment. After screening thousands of articles, we selected 15 studies describing cognitive assessment tools, experimental designs, and the severity of cognitive impairment. Although seven studies reported that cognitive impairment impaired motor learning, most studies included a high risk of bias. We identified multiple assessment tools across these studies that make comparisons among findings difficult. Future research in this area should focus on the influence of increased practice days during motor learning acquisition and incorporate both retention and transfer tests. Cognitive assessments should target the specific cognitive skills or deficits most closely related to the motor learning process.
Mangroves act as buffer areas for marine systems, providing a barrier to contamination from continental sources by retaining metal pollutants. This study evaluates metal and semimetal contamination ...in the water column and sediments of four mangroves located on the volcanic island of São Tomé. Several metals had a widespread distribution, with occasional high concentrations, linked to potential sources of contamination. However, the two smaller mangroves, located in the northern part of the island, tended to have high metal concentrations. Arsenic and chromium concentrations were notably concerning, particularly if we consider this is an isolated and non-industrialized island. This work highlights the need for further assessments and a better understanding of processes and implications of metal contamination in mangroves. This assumes a particular relevance in areas that have specific geochemical compositions (i.e., volcanic origin) and in developing countries, where people often rely directly and heavily on resources obtained from these ecosystems.
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•High concentrations of Cu and Ni in São Tomé mangroves have a lithogenic origin.•Contamination by As and Cr suggest a strong contribution from human activities.•Smallest systems had higher metal content in water, but no sediment contamination.•Higher water contamination represents the continuous input from waste and chemicals.•Non-industrialized landscapes may also show severe contamination by human activities.
During myogenic differentiation the short mitochondria of myoblasts change into the extensively elongated network observed in myotubes. The functional relevance and the molecular mechanisms driving ...the formation of this mitochondrial network are unknown. We now show that mitochondrial elongation is required for myogenesis to occur and that this event depends on the cellular generation of nitric oxide (NO). Inhibition of NO synthesis in myogenic precursor cells leads to inhibition of mitochondrial elongation and of myogenic differentiation. This is due to the enhanced activity, translocation and docking of the pro-fission GTPase dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1) to mitochondria, leading also to a latent mitochondrial dysfunction that increased sensitivity to apoptotic stimuli. These effects of NO inhibition were not observed in myogenic precursor cells containing a dominant-negative form of Drp1. Both NO-dependent repression of Drp1 action and maintenance of mitochondrial integrity and function were mediated through the soluble guanylate cyclase. These data uncover a novel level of regulation of differentiation linking mitochondrial morphology and function to myogenic differentiation.
The Muslim population is one of the religious groups facing the greatest obstacles to full socio-educational inclusion in the West. These are particularly noticeable among young people in areas such ...as access to employment. The purpose of this study was to find out their own perceptions of their socio-educational inclusion, discrimination, and religiosity. An eminently quantitative methodology was used, with an ad hoc questionnaire administered to a representative sample of a total of 1157 Muslims aged between 18 and 24. The results show that a higher level of religiosity is not related to a lower sense of belonging to Spanish society and should no longer be considered an obstacle to the socio-educational inclusion of young Muslims in Spanish society. On the other hand, their responses show that there is a relationship with greater perceived discrimination, especially in access to employment. In particular, women wearing hijab are substantially vulnerable. Young people, and especially Muslim women, make up a vulnerable population that requires specific school-to-work transition policies to improve their inclusion in the Spanish labour market. This research contributes to an important reflection based on the opinions of young Muslims themselves about supporting better socio-educational inclusion in Spain.
Tunable Gas Sensing Gels by Cooperative Assembly Hussain, Abid; Semeano, Ana T. S.; Palma, Susana I. C. J. ...
Advanced functional materials,
July 19, 2017, Letnik:
27, Številka:
27
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The cooperative assembly of biopolymers and small molecules can yield functional materials with precisely tunable properties. Here, the fabrication, characterization, and use of multicomponent hybrid ...gels as selective gas sensors are reported. The gels are composed of liquid crystal droplets self‐assembled in the presence of ionic liquids, which further coassemble with biopolymers to form stable matrices. Each individual component can be varied and acts cooperatively to tune gels' structure and function. The unique molecular environment in hybrid gels is explored for supramolecular recognition of volatile compounds. Gels with distinct compositions are used as optical and electrical gas sensors, yielding a combinatorial response conceptually mimicking olfactory biological systems, and tested to distinguish volatile organic compounds and to quantify ethanol in automotive fuel. The gel response is rapid, reversible, and reproducible. These robust, versatile, modular, pliant electro‐optical soft materials possess new possibilities in sensing triggered by chemical and physical stimuli.
Self‐assembled hybrid gels result from the unconventional combination of functional components, liquid crystals for reporting, ionic liquid as solvent, biopolymer as matrix, giving rise to molecular recognition properties not seen in the individual components. Thin films prepared from the gels are robust and exhibit dual optical/electrical stimuli‐responsive properties in the presence of gases.
Non-invasive and fast diagnostic tools based on volatolomics hold great promise in the control of infectious diseases. However, the tools to identify microbial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) ...discriminating between human pathogens are still missing. Artificial intelligence is increasingly recognised as an essential tool in health sciences. Machine learning algorithms based in support vector machines and features selection tools were here applied to find sets of microbial VOCs with pathogen-discrimination power. Studies reporting VOCs emitted by human microbial pathogens published between 1977 and 2016 were used as source data. A set of 18 VOCs is sufficient to predict the identity of 11 microbial pathogens with high accuracy (77%), and precision (62-100%). There is one set of VOCs associated with each of the 11 pathogens which can predict the presence of that pathogen in a sample with high accuracy and precision (86-90%). The implemented pathogen classification methodology supports future database updates to include new pathogen-VOC data, which will enrich the classifiers. The sets of VOCs identified potentiate the improvement of the selectivity of non-invasive infection diagnostics using artificial olfaction devices.
•The nanostructured Ti/TiN multilayer coatings were synthesized by reactive DC sputtering.•The increase of Ti/TiN interfaces favors the increase of the adhesion of coatings.•The increased hardness ...and adhesion to the substrate improved the tribological properties of the Ti/TiN coatings.
In this study, coatings of 4, 8 and 16 Ti/TiN bilayers were synthesized by sputtering at a total deposition time of 64 min to control the total thickness. Hardness and adhesion are enhanced with increasing number of Ti/TiN bilayers, where 16 Ti/TiN bilayers shown the maximum hardness of 8.40 GPa, without decreasing the adhesion to the substrate achieving a load of 22.03 N for a total delamination. This resulted in a better tribological performance with a wear rate of 3.83 × 10−4 mm3/N m. The change in properties was shown to be due to the increase in the number of Ti/TiN bilayers, which generated hardening mechanisms and crack blocking.
•HCl anodizing results in a layer with disordered TiO2 nanotubes.•Increasing the temperature compacts the nanotubes and transforms them into grains.•Annealing TiO2 above 500 °C favors the transition ...from anatase to rutile.•TiO2 layer annealed at 800 °C improves the hardness of titanium by 4 times.•Wear rate decreases 2 orders of magnitude below that of titanium.
Grade 2 titanium was anodized with HCl, producing a TiO2 layer containing nanotubes. After annealing at various temperatures between 400 and 800 °C, the nanotubes in the layer were transformed into oxide grains due to a sintering process. It was determined that the anatase phase is present in the layers with formation of nanotubes and/or nanoparticles, while the rutile phase is present especially in the oxide layer and grains. After annealing at 800 °C, the anodized layer improved the hardness of titanium by almost 4 times, however, for the layer annealed at 700 °C the wear rate was found to be 2 orders of magnitude lower than for titanium, and therefore it was considered to have the best performance.
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