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► MOFs are promising adsorbents for high global warming potential gases CF4 and SF6. ► Microporous MOFs are efficient for trapping at low pressure. ► Mesoporous MOFs show high uptake ...in high pressure region. ► The binding energy of CF4 to the adsorbent is lower than that for SF6.
High pressure excess adsorption isotherms of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and tetrafluoromethane (CF4) on metal–organic frameworks Cu3(btc)2 (HKUST-1, btc – benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate), Fe3FO(H2O)2(btc)3 (MIL-100), Cr3F(H2O)2O(1,4-bdc)3 (MIL-101, 1,4-bdc – 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate), Co2(1,4-bdc)2(dabco) (dabco-1,4-diazabicyclo2.2.2octane), Ni2(2,6-ndc)2(dabco) (DUT-8, 2,6-ndc – 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate), Ni2O5(btb)2 (DUT-9, btb – benzene-1,3,5-tribenzoate), Zn4O(btb), and (Zn4O(dmcpz)3) (dmcpz – 3,5-dimethyl-4-carboxypyrazolato) at 298K were investigated using volumetric methods. Up to 1bar pressure (at 298K), microporous MOF with open metal sites HKUST-1 shows the best performance in SF6 adsorption and microporous Zn4O(dmcpz)3 in CF4 adsorption. At high pressure, mesoporous MIL-101 and DUT-9 have the highest storage capacities for both gases among the MOFs investigated.
Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are a class of porous covalent materials which are frequently synthesized as unprocessable crystalline powders. The first COF was reported in 2005 with much effort ...centered on the establishment of new synthetic routes for its preparation. To date, most available synthetic methods for COF synthesis are based on bulk mixing under solvothermal conditions. Therefore, there is increasing interest in developing systematic protocols for COF synthesis that provide for fine control over reaction conditions and improve COF processability on surfaces, which is essential for their use in practical applications. Herein, we present a novel microfluidic-based method for COF synthesis where the reaction between two constituent building blocks, 1,3,5-benzenetricarbaldehyde (BTCA) and 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB), takes place under controlled diffusion conditions and at room temperature. Using such an approach yields sponge-like, crystalline fibers of a COF material, hereafter called MF-COF. The mechanical properties of MF-COF and the dynamic nature of the approach allow the continuous production of MF-COF fibers and their direct printing onto surfaces. The general method opens new potential applications requiring advanced printing of 2D or 3D COF structures on flexible or rigid surfaces.
A cyclical corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide regimen is recommended for patients with primary membranous nephropathy at high risk of progression. We hypothesized that sequential therapy with tacrolimus ...and rituximab is superior to cyclical alternating treatment with corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide in inducing persistent remission in these patients. This was tested in a randomized, open-label controlled trial of 86 patients with primary membranous nephropathy and persistent nephrotic syndrome after six-months observation and assigned 43 each to receive six-month cyclical treatment with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide or sequential treatment with tacrolimus (full-dose for six months and tapering for another three months) and rituximab (one gram at month six). The primary outcome was complete or partial remission of nephrotic syndrome at 24 months. This composite outcome occurred in 36 patients (83.7%) in the corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide group and in 25 patients (58.1%) in the tacrolimus-rituximab group (relative risk 1.44; 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.92). Complete remission at 24 months occurred in 26 patients (60%) in the corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide group and in 11 patients (26%) in the tacrolimus-rituximab group (2.36; 1.34 to 4.16). Anti-PLA2R titers showed a significant decrease in both groups but the proportion of anti-PLA2R-positive patients who achieved immunological response (depletion of anti-PLA2R antibodies) was significantly higher at three and six months in the corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide group (77% and 92%, respectively), as compared to the tacrolimus-rituximab group (45% and 70%, respectively). Relapses occurred in one patient in the corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide group, and three patients in the tacrolimus-rituximab group. Serious adverse events were similar in both groups. Thus, treatment with corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide induced remission in a significantly greater number of patients with primary membranous nephropathy than tacrolimus-rituximab.
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Recent developments in High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technologies and bioinformatics, including improved read lengths and genome assemblers allow the reconstruction of complex genomes with ...unprecedented quality and contiguity. Sugarcane has one of the most complicated genomes among grassess with a haploid length of 1Gbp and a ploidies between 8 and 12. In this work, we present a genome assembly of the Colombian sugarcane hybrid CC 01-1940. Three types of sequencing technologies were combined for this assembly: PacBio long reads, Illumina paired short reads, and Hi-C reads. We achieved a median contig length of 34.94 Mbp and a total genome assembly of 903.2 Mbp. We annotated a total of 63,724 protein coding genes and performed a reconstruction and comparative analysis of the sucrose metabolism pathway. Nucleotide evolution measurements between orthologs with close species suggest that divergence between
Saccharum officinarum
and
Saccharum spontaneum
occurred <2 million years ago. Synteny analysis between CC 01-1940 and the
S. spontaneum
genome confirms the presence of translocation events between the species and a random contribution throughout the entire genome in current sugarcane hybrids. Analysis of RNA-Seq data from leaf and root tissue of contrasting sugarcane genotypes subjected to water stress treatments revealed 17,490 differentially expressed genes, from which 3,633 correspond to genes expressed exclusively in tolerant genotypes. We expect the resources presented here to serve as a source of information to improve the selection processes of new varieties of the breeding programs of sugarcane.
In this paper, the two-simultaneous-leak isolation problem in water distribution networks is addressed. This methodology relies on optimal sensor placement together with a leak location strategy ...using two well-known classifiers: k-NN and discriminant analysis. First, zone segmentation of the water distribution network is proposed, aiming to reduce the computational cost that involves all possible combinations of two-leak scenarios. Each zone is composed of at least two consecutive nodes, which means that the number of zones is at most half the number of nodes. With this segmentation, the leak identification task is to locate the zones where the pair of leaks are occurring. To quantify the uncertainty degree, a relaxation node criterion is used. The simulation results evidenced that the outcomes are accurate in most cases by using one-relaxation-node and two-relaxation-node criteria.
The ratio between circulating levels of leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB‐R), the free leptin index (FLI), is used as a marker of leptin resistance. Therefore, the aim of our study was to ...investigate the FLI in mild pre‐eclamptic pregnancies in a nested case–control study within a prospective observational study. Circulating levels of leptin and sOB‐R levels rise significantly during pregnancy in healthy (p < 0.05) (n = 46) and pre‐eclamptic pregnancies (p < 0.05) (n = 20). Serum levels of leptin were significantly higher in pre‐eclamptic compared to healthy pregnancies at second and third trimesters of pregnancy (p < 0.05). Additionally, serum levels of sOB‐R were significantly lower in pre‐eclamptic pregnancies during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy compared to healthy pregnancies (p < 0.05). Moreover, we found that FLI did not vary significantly during pregnancy in healthy women (p > 0.05), while it increases in pre‐eclamptic pregnancies (p < 0.05). Indeed, FLI was significantly higher at second and third trimesters of pregnancy in pre‐eclamptic compared to healthy pregnancies (p < 0.05). In addition, FLI was significantly higher in the luteal phase compared with the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed the ability of leptin (AUC = 0.72) and FLI (AUC = 0.67) as a reliable predictor for mild pre‐eclampsia during the second trimester of pregnancy. In conclusion, our findings show that FLI were significantly increased in mild pre‐eclamptic pregnancies and allowed us to hypothesize that this rise might alter leptin bioavailability and bioactivity which might lead to the sympathetic hyperactivity and the hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.
Although numerous existing studies have analyzed the prognostic factors of patients who have had surgical intervention for lung metastases of colorectal carcinoma (CRC), many of the results obtained ...until now have been contradictory. As a consequence, there is no established consensus about which group of prognostic factors could have a greater value when considered together.
This was a multicenter prospective cohort study that included all patients who underwent a first pulmonary metastasectomy of CRC, with radical intent, during a 2-year period (March 2008 to February 2010). The follow-up continued until March 2013, and an analysis of disease-specific survival (DSS), determined from the first pulmonary metastasectomy, was implemented. The selection of the best submodel was taken based on their coefficient of determination (R(2)) and how parsimonious they were depending on the number of variables included.
The series, consisting of 522 patients, presented the following survival rates: median, 54.9 months; 3-year DSS, 69.4% (95% confidence interval CI, 65% to 73.8%); and 5-year DSS, 46.1% (95% CI, 38.5% to 53.7%). The resulting survival model consisted of disease-free interval of 12 months or less (hazard ratio HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.21 to 2.54; p = 0.003), carcinoembryonic antigen level exceeding 5 ng/mL (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.17; p = 0.028), bilateral lung disease (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.75; p = 0.005), and thoracic lymph node involvement (HR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.44 to 5.12; p = 0.002).
According to these results from the Spanish Group of Lung Metastases of Colo-Rectal Cancer, the combination of these four variables-disease-free interval, carcinoembryonic antigen level, laterality, and thoracic lymph node involvement-constitutes the first-choice survival causal model based on the clinical and pathologic factors most frequently referenced in literature.
Essential oils sourced from herbs commonly used in the Mediterranean diet have demonstrated advantageous attributes as nutraceuticals and prebiotics within a model of severe cardiometabolic disorder. ...The primary objective of this study was to assess the influences exerted by essential oils derived from thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and oregano (Origanum vulgare) via a comprehensive multi-omics approach within a gnotobiotic murine model featuring colonic microbiota acquired from patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Our findings demonstrated prebiotic and potential antioxidant effects elicited by these essential oils. We observed a substantial increase in the relative abundance of the Lactobacillus genus in the gut microbiota, accompanied by higher levels of short-chain fatty acids and a reduction in trimethylamine N-oxide levels and protein oxidation in the plasma. Moreover, functional enrichment analysis of the cardiac tissue proteome unveiled an over-representation of pathways related to mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and cardiac contraction. These findings provide compelling evidence of the prebiotic and antioxidant actions of thyme- and oregano-derived essential oils, which extend to cardiac function. These results encourage further investigation into the promising utility of essential oils derived from herbs commonly used in the Mediterranean diet as potential nutraceutical interventions for mitigating chronic diseases linked to CAD and T2DM.
Adoptive T cellular immunotherapies have emerged as relevant approaches for treating cancer patients who have relapsed or become refractory (R/R) to traditional cancer treatments. Chimeric antigen ...receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has improved survival in various hematological malignancies. However, significant limitations still impede the widespread adoption of these therapies in most cancers. To advance in this field, six research groups have created the "NEXT Generation CART MAD Consortium" (NEXT CART) in Madrid's Community, which aims to develop novel cell-based immunotherapies for R/R and poor prognosis cancers. At NEXT CART, various basic and translational research groups and hospitals in Madrid concur to share and synergize their basic expertise in immunotherapy, gene therapy, and immunological synapse, and clinical expertise in pediatric and adult oncology. NEXT CART goal is to develop new cell engineering approaches and treatments for R/R adult and pediatric neoplasms to evaluate in multicenter clinical trials. Here, we discuss the current limitations of T cell-based therapies and introduce our perspective on future developments. Advancement opportunities include developing allogeneic products, optimizing CAR signaling domains, combining cellular immunotherapies, multi-targeting strategies, and improving tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)/T cell receptor (TCR) therapy. Furthermore, basic studies aim to identify novel tumor targets, tumor molecules in the tumor microenvironment that impact CAR efficacy, and strategies to enhance the efficiency of the immunological synapse between immune and tumor cells. Our perspective of current cellular immunotherapy underscores the potential of these treatments while acknowledging the existing hurdles that demand innovative solutions to develop their potential for cancer treatment fully.
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