Rapid determination of phenolic composition in chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids are the main responsible of the antioxidant activity of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.). Traditional methods for the analysis of the phenolic content in vegetables often suffer from limitations such as being expensive, time-consuming, and complex.

LMI-Based MPC Design Applied to the Single-Phase PWM Inverter with LC Filter under Uncertain Parameters.

This work proposes a design methodology for predictive control applied to the single-phase PWM inverter with an LC filter. In the design, we considered that the PWM inverter has parametric uncertainties in the filter inductance and output load resistance. The control system purpose is to track a sinusoidal signal at the inverter output.

Exploring the Aβ fibrillogenesis timeline by atomic force microscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive debilitating neurological disorder representing the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Although the exact pathogenic mechanisms of AD remain unresolved, the presence of extracellular amyloid-β peptide 1-42 (Aβ) plaques in the parenchymal and cortical brain is considered one of the hallmarks of the disease. In this work, we investigated the Aβ fibrillogenesis timeline up to 48 h of incubation, providing morphological and chemo-structural characterization of the main assemblies formed during the aggregation process of Aβ, by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), respectively.

Coexistence of Eosinophilic Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis and Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis: A Fascinating Relationship.

Elevated eosinophil counts are associated with various diseases, including eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). EGPA is a rare small-vessel vasculitis characterized by asthma, eosinophilia, fleeting pulmonary infiltrates, and systemic manifestations. ABPA, initiated by immune reactions against in the airways, presents with poorly controlled asthma, wheezing, hemoptysis, productive cough, and systemic symptoms, which result in characteristic central bronchiectasis.

Molecular beacon decorated silver nanowires for quantitative miRNA detection by a SERS approach.

Advantages of biosensors based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) rely on improved sensitivity and specificity, and suited reproducibility in detecting a target molecule that is localized in close proximity to a SERS-active surface. Herein, a comprehensive study on the realization of a SERS biosensor designed for detecting miRNA-183, a miRNA biomarker that is specific for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is presented. The used strategy exploits a signal-off mechanism by means of a labelled molecular beacon (MB) as the oligonucleotide biorecognition element immobilized on a 2D SERS substrate, based on spot-on silver nanowires (AgNWs) and a multi-well low volume cell.

Drivers of habitat availability for terrestrial mammals: Unravelling the role of livestock, land conversion and intrinsic traits in the past 50 years.

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity of fine-scale habitat conversion maps, however, accurate assessment of the recent effects of habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation on the range of mammals has been near impossible.

Impact of seed amplification assay and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy combined approach on the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The current diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is based on a series of analyses which involve clinical, instrumental and laboratory findings. However, signs, symptoms and biomarker alterations observed in AD might overlap with other dementias, resulting in misdiagnosis.

Methods: Here we describe a new diagnostic approach for AD which takes advantage of the boosted sensitivity in biomolecular detection, as allowed by seed amplification assay (SAA), combined with the unique specificity in biomolecular recognition, as provided by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Opportunities and challenges for Common Agricultural Policy reform to support the European Green Deal.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's main instrument for agricultural planning, with a new reform approved for 2023-2027. The CAP intends to align with the European Green Deal (EGD), a set of policy initiatives underpinning sustainable development and climate neutrality in the European Union (EU), but several flaws cast doubts about the compatibility of the objectives of these 2 policies. We reviewed recent literature on the potential of CAP environmental objectives for integration with the EGD: protection of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable management of natural resources.

Raman Spectroscopy Techniques for the Investigation and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, resulting in memory loss, cognitive decline, bodily function impairment, and finally death. The growing number of people suffering from AD increasingly urges the development of effective early diagnosis and monitoring techniques. Here, we review the most recent developments in the field of Raman-based techniques, which have shown a significant potential in identifying AD by detecting specific biomarkers in biological fluids, as well as in providing fundamental insights into key molecules involved in the disease progression or in the analysis of histological specimens of patients with AD.

Air Stable Nickel-Decorated Black Phosphorus and Its Room-Temperature Chemiresistive Gas Sensor Capabilities.

In the rapidly emerging field of layered two-dimensional functional materials, black phosphorus, the P-counterpart of graphene, is a potential candidate for various applications, e.g., nanoscale optoelectronics, rechargeable ion batteries, electrocatalysts, thermoelectrics, solar cells, and sensors.

Ion-exchanged glass microrods as hybrid SERS/fluorescence substrates for molecular beacon-based DNA detection.

Ion-exchange in molten nitrate salts containing metal ions (i.e. silver, copper, etc.

Cost Effective Silver Nanowire-Decorated Graphene Paper for Drop-On SERS Biodetection.

The use of SERS for real-world bioanalytical applications represents a concrete opportunity, which, however, is being largely delayed by the inadequacy of existing substrates used to collect SERS spectra. In particular, the main bottleneck is their poor usability, as in the case of unsupported noble metal colloidal nanoparticles or because of the need for complex or highly specialized fabrication procedures, especially in view of a large-scale commercial diffusion. In this work, we introduce a graphene paper-supported plasmonic substrate for biodetection as obtained by a simple and rapid aerosol deposition patterning of silver nanowires.

Probing the Structure of Toxic Amyloid-β Oligomers with Electron Spin Resonance and Molecular Modeling.

Structural models of the toxic species involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease are of utmost importance to understand the molecular mechanism and to describe early biomarkers of the disease. Among toxic species, soluble oligomers of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are particularly important, because they are responsible for spreading cell damages over brain regions, thus rapidly impairing brain functions. In this work we obtain structural information on a carefully prepared Aβ(1-42) sample, representing a toxic state for cell cultures, by combining electron spin resonance spectroscopy and computational models.

Label-free SERS detection of proteins based on machine learning classification of chemo-structural determinants.

Establishing standardized methods for a consistent analysis of spectral data remains a largely underexplored aspect in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), particularly applied to biological and biomedical research. Here we propose an effective machine learning classification of protein species with closely resembled spectral profiles by a mixed data processing based on principal component analysis (PCA) applied to multipeak fitting on SERS spectra. This strategy simultaneously assures a successful discrimination of proteins and a thorough characterization of the chemostructural differences among them, ultimately opening up new routes for SERS evolution toward sensing applications and diagnostics of interest in life sciences.

Hollow core photonic crystal fiber-assisted Raman spectroscopy as a tool for the detection of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

Significance: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible and progressive disorder that damages brain cells and impairs the cognitive abilities of the affected. Developing a sensitive and cost-effective method to detect Alzheimer's biomarkers appears vital in both a diagnostic and therapeutic perspective.

Aim: Our goal is to develop a sensitive and reliable tool for detection of amyloid β (1-42) peptide (Aβ42), a major AD biomarker, using fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (FERS).

Nanoscopic insights into the surface conformation of neurotoxic amyloid β oligomers.

Raman spectroscopy assisted by localized plasmon resonances generating effective hot spots at the gaps between intertwined silver nanowires is herein adopted to unravel characteristic molecular motifs on the surface of Aβ misfolded oligomers that are critical in driving intermolecular interactions in neurodegeneration.

Global correlates of range contractions and expansions in terrestrial mammals.

Understanding changes in species distributions is essential to disentangle the mechanisms that drive their responses to anthropogenic habitat modification. Here we analyse the past (1970s) and current (2017) distribution of 204 species of terrestrial non-volant mammals to identify drivers of recent contraction and expansion in their range. We find 106 species lost part of their past range, and 40 of them declined by >50%.

Fractal Silver Dendrites as 3D SERS Platform for Highly Sensitive Detection of Biomolecules in Hydration Conditions.

In this paper, we report on the realization of a highly sensitive and low cost 3D surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platform. The structural features of the Ag dendrite network that characterize the SERS material were exploited, attesting a remarked self-similarity and scale invariance over a broad range of length scales that are typical of fractal systems. Additional structural and optical investigations confirmed the purity of the metal network, which was characterized by low oxygen contamination and by broad optical resonances introduced by the fractal behavior.

Geographic distribution ranges of terrestrial mammal species in the 1970s.

Here we provide geographic distribution ranges for 205 species of terrestrial non-volant mammals in the 1970s. We selected terrestrial non-volant mammals because they are among the most studied groups, have greater availability of historical distribution data for the 1970s decade, and also show the largest range contractions compared to other taxonomic groups. Species belong to 52 families and 16 orders.

Rationale underlying the measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in systemic sclerosis patients.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterised by tissue fibrosis leading to vascular injury. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. A deficiency in basal NO production by the constitutive endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase may promote vasoconstriction and vascular wall thickening.

Seeding variability of different alpha synuclein strains in synucleinopathies.

Objectives: Currently, the exact reasons why different α-synucleinopathies exhibit variable pathologies and phenotypes are still unknown. A potential explanation may be the existence of distinctive α-synuclein conformers or strains. Here, we intend to analyze the seeding activity of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD) brain-derived α-synuclein seeds by real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and to investigate the structure and morphology of the α-synuclein aggregates generated by RT-QuIC.

Low cost tips for tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy fabricated by two-step electrochemical etching of 125 µm diameter gold wires.

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) has become a well-applied technique for nanospectroscopy, allowing for single molecule sensitivity with sub-nanometer spatial resolution. The demand for efficient, reproducible and cost-effective probes for TERS is increasing. Here we report on a new electrochemical etching protocol to fabricate TERS tips starting from 125 µm diameter gold wires in a reproducible way.

Psoriasis and Respiratory Comorbidities: The Added Value of Fraction of Exhaled Nitric Oxide as a New Method to Detect, Evaluate, and Monitor Psoriatic Systemic Involvement and Therapeutic Efficacy.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory systemic disease characterized by a wide range of comorbidities. Respiratory comorbidities are currently poorly characterized and with discordant results. The systemic state of inflammation caused by psoriasis acts de novo on respiratory tissues and amplifies preexisting inflammation from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Performance of the Flash Glucose Monitoring System during exercise in youth with Type 1 diabetes.

Aim: Metabolic changes during exercise may affect the accuracy of glucose sensors impacting on Type 1 diabetes (T1D) management. The present study aimed at assessing the performance of the Flash Glucose Monitoring system (isCGM) during exercise and in free-living condition in youth with T1D.

Methods: Seventeen youth (53% male), aged 13.

Usefulness of six-minute walk test in systemic sclerosis.

The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a standardised, feasible and reliable measure of sub-maximal exercise capacity that has never been fully validated in systemic sclerosis (SSc). A variety of data suggest that many non-pulmonary aspects of SSc contribute to the test results, thus blunting the ability of the 6MWT to measure changes in lung function. Sources of variability are a training effect, technician experience, subject encouragement, medication, other activities on day of testing, deconditioning and the effects of musculoskeletal conditions and pain.