Authentication of beef cuts by multielement and machine learning approaches.

Background: Brazil has consolidated a relevant position in the world market, being the largest exporter and second producer of beef. Genetics, feeding system, geographic origin and climate influence the multielement profile of beef. The feasibility of combining classification algorithms with major and trace elements was evaluated as a tool for authentication of beef cuts.

Elemental profile of dietary supplements and agricultural byproducts evaluated by neutron activation analysis.

Dietary supplements and agricultural byproducts were characterized by neutron activation analysis. The nutritional potential of supplements was evaluated according to alternative and commercial categories, using analysis of variance and cluster analysis, and recommended dietary intake for children. The results indicated statistically significant differences between both categories for the elements Cs, K, Na, and Rb.

A Comparative Assessment of Agronomic and Baking Qualities of Modern/Old Varieties and Landraces of Wheat Grown in Calabria (Italy).

The cultivation of wheat has been part of the evolution of human civilisation since ancient times. Wheat breeding has modified some of its characteristics to obtain improved varieties with high production potential that better meet the demands of the bread and pasta industry. Even today, there are still old varieties, landraces, adapted to particular environments.

Adjusting Overall Survival Estimates of Macitentan in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension After Treatment Switching: Results from the SERAPHIN Study.

Introduction: Evaluating overall survival in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can often be confounded by bias introduced by treatment switching. SERAPHIN was a large RCT that evaluated the effects of long-term treatment with the endothelin receptor antagonist macitentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. In an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis, a non-significant decrease in the risk of all-cause mortality up to study closure was reported with macitentan 10 mg versus placebo.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Durum Wheat Under Different Nitrogen and Water Regimes in the Mediterranean Basin.

Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) represents one of the main goals to reduce N input in maximizing crop yield for sustainable agriculture. A NUE key strategy is the exploitation of genetic variation in available germplasm together with the understanding of molecular mechanisms governing this complex trait. Thus, NUE, its components, nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE), and NUE-related traits heritability were evaluated in ancient (Cappelli, Capeiti, Russello, and Mazzancoio) and modern (Messapia, Tiziana, Svevo, and Normanno) wheat genotypes for tackling nitrogen (N) and/or water limitation in both growth chamber and field experiments.

Egg data validation in quantitative monitoring of in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy.

The monitoring of urban species is usually conducted by ovitraps, which can provide a good estimate of population density at low cost and relatively easy management. When the monitoring network is managed by many operators, as in the case of the Emilia-Romagna regional plan, it becomes necessary to develop a quality control methodology capable of highlighting the possible data incoherency and ensuring that the monitoring system provides reliable data.This paper presents the procedure applied in the egg counting phase as developed in Emilia-Romagna in order to check the data quality and validate the data before being included in the database.

Trace elements and machine learning for Brazilian beef traceability.

Brazilian livestock with a herd of more than 215 million animals is distributed over a vast area of 160 million hectares, leading the country to the first position in the world beef exports and second in beef production and consumption. Animals risen in the biomes Amazônia, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pampa and Pantanal were selected for this study. Beef samples were analyzed for their elemental content by neutron activation analysis and classified according to their origin by three machine learning algorithms (Multilayer Perceptron, Random Forest and Classification and Regression Tree).

Milk production systems in Southern Brazil.

The aim of this study was to verify the dynamics of milk production in Southern Brazil, analyzing the spatial distribution, evolution and structure of bovine milk production systems in the dairy-specialized microregions. To this end, annual data from 2000 to 2015 are drawn from the Municipal Livestock Survey, reported by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, and the Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura Familiar, reported by the Banco Central do Brasil. Location quotient analyses, principal component analyses and clustering analyses are applied.

Integrating Data From Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies to Assess Survival in Rare Diseases.

Background Conducting randomized controlled trials to investigate survival in a rare disease like pulmonary arterial hypertension has considerable ethical and logistical constraints. In many studies, such as the Study with an Endothelin Receptor Antagonist in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension to Improve Clinical Outcome (SERAPHIN) randomized controlled trial, evaluating survival is further complicated by bias introduced by allowing active therapy among placebo-treated patients who clinically deteriorate. Methods and Results SERAPHIN enrolled and followed patients in the same time frame as the US Registry to Evaluate Early And Long-term PAH Disease Management, providing an opportunity to compare observed survival for SERAPHIN patients with predicted survival had they received real-world treatment as in the Registry to Evaluate Early And Long-term PAH Disease Management.

Arsenic and cadmium contents in Brazilian rice from different origins can vary more than two orders of magnitude.

Brazil is a major producer of rice, but there is not enough information about As and Cd in rice grown under different conditions in this country. Here, As and Cd were determined by ICP-MS and species of As by HPLC-ICP-MS in Brazilian husked rice, covering diverse cultivars and regions, as well as upland and flooded production systems. Significant differences were observed for contents of both elements according to the origin of rice.

Aquatic Activities During Pregnancy Prevent Excessive Maternal Weight Gain and Preserve Birth Weight: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of a supervised and regular program of aquatic activities throughout gestation on maternal weight gain and birth weight.

Design: A randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Instituto de Obstetricia, Ginecología y Fertilidad Ghisoni (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Influence of Land or Water Exercise in Pregnancy on Outcomes: A Cross-sectional Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the cross-sectional results from three experimental studies conducted on land, in water, and in mixed form (land + water) during pregnancy on maternal and newborn outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to analyze the results of three randomized clinical trials in healthy pregnant women from Madrid (Spain) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). Five hundred and sixty-eight pregnant women were recruited.

Trace element measurement for assessment of dog food safety.

The quality of dog diets depends on adequate ingredients capable of providing optimal nutrition and free of contaminants, for promoting long-term health. Trace elements in 95 samples of dry food for dog puppies (n = 32) and adults (n = 63) of various brands were measured using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The mass fractions of most elements were within the permissible limits for dogs.

Screening ubiquitin specific protease activities using chemically synthesized ubiquitin and ubiquitinated peptides.

Ubiquitin, a 76 amino acid protein, is a key component that contributes to cellular protein homeostasis. The specificity of this modification is due to a series of enzymes: ligases, attaching the ubiquitin to a lysine, and deubiquitinases, which remove it. More than a hundred of such proteins are implicated in the regulation of protein turnover.

Artificial Hydrogenases Based on Cobaloximes and Heme Oxygenase.

The insertion of cobaloxime catalysts in the heme-binding pocket of heme oxygenase (HO) yields artificial hydrogenases active for H evolution in neutral aqueous solutions. These novel biohybrids have been purified and characterized by using UV/visible and EPR spectroscopy. These analyses revealed the presence of two distinct binding conformations, thereby providing the cobaloxime with hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments, respectively.

Total chemical synthesis, refolding, and crystallographic structure of fully active immunophilin calstabin 2 (FKBP12.6).

Synthetic biology (or chemical biology) is a growing field to which the chemical synthesis of proteins, particularly enzymes, makes a fundamental contribution. However, the chemical synthesis of catalytically active proteins (enzymes) remains poorly documented because it is difficult to obtain enough material for biochemical experiments. We chose calstabin, a 107-amino-acid proline isomerase, as a model.

A Systematic Comparative Study of Hydrogen-Evolving Molecular Catalysts in Aqueous Solutions.

We describe here a systematic, reliable, and fast screening method that allows the comparison of H2-forming catalysts that work under aqueous conditions with two readily prepared chemical reductants and two commonly used photosensitizers. This method uses a Clark-type microsensor for H2 detection and complements previous methods based on rotating disk electrode measurements. The efficiencies of a series of H2 -producing catalysts based on Co, Ni, Fe, and Pt were investigated in aqueous solutions under thermal conditions with europium(II) reductants and under photochemical conditions in the presence of two different photosensitizers {[Ru(bipy)3]Cl2(bipy=2,2-bipyridine) and eosin-Y} and sacrificial electron donors (ascorbate and triethanolamine, respectively).

Quality of Life and Psychological Adjustment of Women Living with 46,XY Differences of Sex Development.

Background: Progressive care improvement for differences of sex development (DSD), regarding diagnosis communication, psychological, medical and surgical management has been claimed.

Aim Of The Study: To assess clinical management, quality of life (QoL) and the general psychosocial adjustment of individuals with 46,XY DSD. Some differences related to age at diagnosis are investigated.

Elemental characterization of single-wall carbon nanotube certified reference material by neutron and prompt γ activation analysis.

Instrumental neutron activation analysis with both relative and k0 standardization was used in four experienced laboratories to determine element mass fractions in single-wall carbon nanotube certified reference material (CRM) SWCNT-1. Results obtained were evaluated using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) "Type B On Bias" approach and yielded consensus values in agreement with National Research Council Canada (NRCC) certified values for Fe, Co, Ni, and Mo and provided mass fraction values for 13 additional elements, namely, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Br, La, W, and Au. In addition, prompt γ neutron activation analysis was employed to determine mass fractions of H, B, Co, Ni, and Mo.

Cobaloxime-based artificial hydrogenases.

Cobaloximes are popular H2 evolution molecular catalysts but have so far mainly been studied in nonaqueous conditions. We show here that they are also valuable for the design of artificial hydrogenases for application in neutral aqueous solutions and report on the preparation of two well-defined biohybrid species via the binding of two cobaloxime moieties, {Co(dmgH)2} and {Co(dmgBF2)2} (dmgH2 = dimethylglyoxime), to apo Sperm-whale myoglobin (SwMb). All spectroscopic data confirm that the cobaloxime moieties are inserted within the binding pocket of the SwMb protein and are coordinated to a histidine residue in the axial position of the cobalt complex, resulting in thermodynamically stable complexes.

Exercise during pregnancy attenuates prenatal depression: a randomized controlled trial.

Recent studies have estimated the prevalence of depression during pregnancy to be between 10% and 30%, which is higher than that in the postpartum period. Pharmacological treatment during pregnancy is difficult because of the possible side effects of antidepressants on the mother and the fetus. The aim of this study was to examine whether a supervised exercise program (EP) reduces depressive symptoms in pregnant women.

A program of exercise throughout pregnancy. Is it safe to mother and newborn?

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of a program of moderate physical exercise throughout pregnancy on maternal and fetal parameters.

Design: The study design was a randomized controlled trial.

Setting: The study took place at the Hospital of Fuenlabrada in Madrid, Spain.

Chemical elements in organic and conventional sweet oranges.

This work focuses on the determination of chemical elements in sweet oranges of variety Valencia produced under organic and conventional systems using instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The distribution of chemical elements was variable among the fruit parts with usually higher concentrations of Br, Ca, Ce, K, La, Na, Rb, and Sc in the peel. However, K, Na, and Rb also presented high values in the juice samples, while Fe and Zn were higher in the seeds.

Automatic adaptive system dialysis for hemodialysis-associated hypotension and intolerance: a noncontrolled multicenter trial.

Background: Hemodialysis is complicated by a high incidence of intradialytic hypotension and disequilibrium symptoms caused by hypovolemia and a decrease in extracellular osmolarity. Automatic adaptive system dialysis (AASD) is a proprietary dialysis system that provides automated elaboration of dialysate and ultrafiltration profiles based on the prescribed decrease in body weight and sodium content.

Study Design: A noncontrolled (single arm), multicenter, prospective, clinical trial.