Chlorpyrifos (CP) is a globally used pesticide with acute toxicity. This work studied the photocatalytic degradation of CP using TiO, ZnO nanoparticles, and nanocomposites of TiO and ZnO supported on SPIONs (SPION@SiO@TiO and SPION@SiO@ZnO). The nanocomposites were synthesized by multi-step incipient wetness impregnation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using a diverse range of plant species has been extensively reported. Despite the success achieved by biogenic synthesis, there are problems with the control and prediction of the properties of ZnO NPs, due to phytochemical diversity between plant species. In this sense, the main objective of our work was to investigate the effect of the antioxidant activity (AA) of plant extracts on the physicochemical characteristics of ZnO NPs (production yield, chemical composition, polydispersity index (PDI), surface charge (ζ-potential) and average particle size).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
May 2023
The rise in the global population demands an increasing food supply and methods to boost agricultural production. Pesticides are necessary for agricultural production models, avoiding losses of close to 40%. Nevertheless, the extensive use of pesticides can cause their accumulation in the environment, causing problems for human health, biota, and ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo-dimensional electronic states at surfaces are often observed in simple wide-band metals such as Cu or Ag (refs. ). Confinement by closed geometries at the nanometre scale, such as surface terraces, leads to quantized energy levels formed from the surface band, in stark contrast to the continuous energy dependence of bulk electron bands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycorrhizal colonization of roots is traditionally evaluated by empirical methods, such as root microscopy. We compared this method with data from using a real time PCR technique, and determined the correlation between methods, indicating particularities of a promising system for a quick and accurate molecular diagnostic of arbuscular mycorrhization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF, is a forage found worldwide, but it is negatively impacted by the clover root borer, . Methanolic extraction has been reported for isolating formononetin from vegetal tissues, with an antifeeding effect on . However, this methodology is time-consuming and also extracts other secondary metabolites, whereas enzymatic assays can provide higher specificity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important symbionts of many plant species, facilitating the acquisition of soil nutrients by roots. We hypothesized that AMF root colonization is strongly influenced by the composition of the soil microbiome. Here, we evaluated mycorrhizal colonization of two plants, the grass Urochloa brizantha (Brachiaria) and the legume Crotalaria juncea (Crotalaria).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Condens Matter
September 2020
This work presents a Green's function approach, originally implemented in graphene with well-defined edges, to the surface of a strong 3D topological insulator with a sequence of proximitized superconducting (S) and ferromagnetic (F) surfaces. This consists of the derivation of the Green's functions for each region by the asymptotic solutions method and their coupling by a tight-binding Hamiltonian with the Dyson equation to obtain the full Green's functions of the system. These functions allow the direct calculation of the momentum-resolved spectral density of states, the identification of subgap interface states and the derivation of the differential conductance for a wide variety of configurations of the junctions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCopper (Cu) mining has to address a critical environmental issue related to the disposal of heavy metals and metalloids (HMs). Due to their deleterious effects on living organisms, Cu and arsenic (As) have gained global attention, and thus their monitoring in the environment is an important task. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate the alteration of soil enzyme activities (EAs) and soil microbial functional diversity with Cu/As contamination, and 2) to select the most reliable biochemical indicators of Cu/As contamination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter structure in the brain, responsible for the interconnection of the brain hemispheres. Its segmentation is a required preliminary step for any posterior analysis, such as parcellation, registration, and feature extraction. In this context, the quality control (QC) of CC segmentation allows studies on large datasets with no human interaction, and the proper usage of available automated and semi-automated algorithms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMoyamoya vasculopathy is a condition of chronic, progressive occlusion of the distal internal carotid arteries and the Circle of Willis. The resultant ischemia produces compensatory angiogenesis and the growth of a network of collateral blood vessels, which on angiography resemble a "puff of smoke" or "moyamoya" in Japanese. The objective of this case report is to describe the clinical course of a patient with Down and moyamoya syndromes and to enlighten clinicians about strategies that can be taken to enhance the care of similar patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhereas soil test information on the fertility and chemistry of soils has been important to elaborate safe and sound agricultural practices, micro-scale information can give a whole extra dimension to understand the chemical processes occurring in soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects that the consecutive application of untreated poultry litter, alum-treated litter or ammonium nitrate (NHNO) had on P solubility in soils over 20 years. For this, we used soil test data, sequential chemical fractionation (SCF) of P, and P K-edge XANES and μ-fluorescence spectroscopies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComput Methods Programs Biomed
February 2018
Background And Objective: The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter structure in the brain and has a significant role in central nervous system diseases. Its volume correlates with the severity and/or extent of neurodegenerative disease. Even though the CC's role has been extensively studied over the last decades, and different algorithms and methods have been published regarding CC segmentation and parcellation, no reviews or surveys covering such developments have been reported so far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrop production in the Brazilian Cerrado is limited by soil phosphorus (P) supply without large inputs of inorganic P fertilizer, which may become more costly and scarce in the future. Reducing dependency on fertilizer P requires a greater understanding of soil P supply in the highly weathered soils in this important agricultural region. We investigated the impact of no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) agriculture on accumulated (legacy) soil P and P forms in four long-term sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer cells preferentially home to the bone microenvironment, which provides a unique niche with a network of multiple bidirectional communications between host and tumor, promoting survival and growth of bone metastases. In the bone microenvironment, the c-fms proto-oncogene that encodes for the CSF-1 receptor, along with CSF-1, serves as one critical cytokine/receptor pair, functioning in paracrine and autocrine fashion. Previous studies concentrated on the effect of inhibition of host (mouse) c-fms on bone metastasis, with resulting decrease in osteolysis and bone metastases as a paracrine effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Condens Matter
July 2010
This work presents a novel approach to describing spectral properties of graphene layers with well-defined edges. We microscopically analyze the boundary problem for the continuous Bogoliubov-de Gennes-Dirac equations and derive the Green functions for normal and superconducting graphene layers. Importing the idea used in tight-binding models of a microscopic hopping that couples different regions, we are able to set up and solve an algebraic Dyson equation describing a graphene-superconductor junction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Conversions to open surgery during laparoscopic cholecystectomy are performed in 20% of patients with acute cholecystitis, and are associated with increased morbidity and costs. The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors for conversion and to evaluate morbidity, mortality and hospital stay.
Methods: A prospective cohort of patients admitted to the emergency department with acute cholecystitis.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
February 2010
Purpose: To determine whether normal function and structure, as recently found in forms of Usher syndrome, also occur in a population of patients with nonsyndromic retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Methods: Patients with simplex, multiplex, or autosomal recessive RP (n = 238; ages 9-82 years) were studied with static chromatic perimetry. A subset was evaluated with optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Purpose: To define the phenotype of the retinal degeneration associated with mutations in the CERKL gene.
Methods: Six patients (ages, 26-54 years) from three unrelated families with CERKL mutations were studied clinically and by electroretinography, kinetic, and chromatic static perimetry, autofluorescence (AF) imaging, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Results: Three siblings were homozygotes for p.
Purpose: To determine the retinal disease expression in the rare form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) caused by Lebercilin (LCA5) mutation.
Methods: Two young unrelated LCA patients, ages six years (P1) and 25 years (P2) at last visit, both with the same homozygous mutation in the LCA5 gene, were evaluated clinically and with noninvasive studies. En face imaging was performed with near-infrared (NIR) reflectance and autofluorescence (AF); cross-sectional retinal images were obtained with optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Usher syndrome (USH) is a genetically heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive deaf-blinding disorders. Pathophysiology leading to the blinding retinal degeneration in USH is uncertain. There is evidence for involvement of the photoreceptor cilium, photoreceptor synapse, the adjacent retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, and the Crumbs protein complex, the latter implying developmental abnormalities in the retina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the underlying retinal micropathology in subclasses of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) caused by rhodopsin (RHO) mutations.
Methods: Patients with RHO-ADRP (n = 17, ages 6-73 years), representing class A (R135W and P347L) and class B (P23H, T58R, and G106R) functional phenotypes, were studied with optical coherence tomography (OCT), and colocalized visual thresholds were determined by dark- and light-adapted chromatic perimetry. Autofluorescence imaging was performed with near-infrared light.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
June 2008
Purpose: To determine the retinal phenotype of Usher syndrome type III (USH3A) caused by clarin-1 (CLRN1) gene mutations in a non-Finnish population.
Methods: Patients with USH3A (n = 13; age range, 24-69) representing 11 different families were studied and the results compared with those from patients with USH2A (n = 24; age range, 17-66). The patients were evaluated by ocular examination, kinetic and static perimetry, near-infrared autofluorescence, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Introduction: The Guatemalan society was exposed to an internal armed conflict during the period from 1962 to 1996. During these years, the civil society suffered multiple traumatic events. The objective of this study is to understand the psychological impact that the conflict had on the mental health of the Guatemalans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Electroencephalogr
July 2003
Neurofeedback (NFB) is an operant conditioning procedure, by which the subject learns to control his/her EEG activity. On one hand, Learning Disabled (LD) children have higher values of theta EEG absolute and relative power than normal children, and on the other hand, it has been shown that minimum alpha absolute power is necessary for adequate performance. Ten LD children were selected with higher than normal ratios of theta to alpha absolute power (theta/alpha).
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