Recent developments on aerial lab-on-a-drone platforms for remote environmental monitoring: A review.

Background: Distinct classes of environmental contaminants - such as microplastics, volatile organic compounds, inorganic gases, hormones, pesticides/herbicides, and heavy metals - have been continuously released into the environment from different sources. Anthropogenic activities with unprecedented consequences have impacted soil, surface waters, and the atmosphere. In this scenario, developing sensing materials and analytical platforms for monitoring water and air quality is essential to supporting worldwide environmental control agencies.

Effects of two external cooling strategies on physiological and perceptual responses of athletes with tetraplegia during and after exercise in the heat.

Athletes with tetraplegia may experience marked hyperthermia while exercising under environmental heat stress due to their limited ability to dissipate heat through evaporative means. This study investigated the effectiveness of two external cooling strategies (i.e.

A review of the recent achievements and future trends on 3D printed microfluidic devices for bioanalytical applications.

3D printing has revolutionized the manufacturing process of microanalytical devices by enabling the automated production of customized objects. This technology promises to become a fundamental tool, accelerating investigations in critical areas of health, food, and environmental sciences. This microfabrication technology can be easily disseminated among users to produce further and provide analytical data to an interconnected network towards the Internet of Things, as 3D printers enable automated, reproducible, low-cost, and easy fabrication of microanalytical devices in a single step.

Office paper and laser printing: a versatile and affordable approach for fabricating paper-based analytical devices with multimodal detection capabilities.

Multiple protocols have been reported to fabricate paper-based analytical devices (PADs). However, some of these techniques must be revised because of the instrumentation required. This paper describes a versatile and globally affordable method to fabricate PADs using office paper as a substrate and a laser printing technique to define hydrophobic barriers on paper surfaces.

Direct immunoassay on a polyester microwell plate for colorimetric detection of the spike protein in swab and saliva samples.

This study presents the development of a polyester microplate for detecting the S-protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva and nasopharyngeal swab samples using direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology. The polyester microplate was designed to contain 96 zones with a 3 mm diameter each, and a volume of 2-3 μL. The experimental conditions including reagent concentration and reaction time were optimized.

Metabolic disorders and post-acute hospitalization in black/mixed-race patients with long COVID in Brazil: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Although low-middle income countries have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is scarce information about the impact of long COVID on their population. This study aimed to evaluate long COVID symptomatology, complications (hospital readmission and metabolic disorders), and main clinical features that impact Quality of Life (QoL).

Methods: This cross-sectional study provides a detailed clinical and laboratory picture of individuals who presented residual symptoms after mild to severe acute COVID-19.

3D printed microfluidic mixer for real-time monitoring of organic reactions by direct infusion mass spectrometry.

3D printing is a technology that has revolutionized traditional rapid prototyping methods due to its ability to build microscale structures with customized geometries in a simple, fast, and low-cost way. In this sense, this article describes the development of a microfluidic mixing device to monitor chemical reactions by mass spectrometry (MS). Microfluidic mixers were designed containing 3D serpentine and Y-shaped microchannels, both with a pointed end for facilitating the spray formation.

The use of flow cytometry to assess NCYC 921 performance for lipid production using sp. hydrolysates.

The yeast NCYC 921 was used for lipid production, using biomass hydrolysate as carbon source. The hydrolysate was obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass (at high solids loading) previously subjected to a hydrothermal pre-treatment. Afterwards was grown on sp.

Sandpaper-based electrochemical devices assembled on a reusable 3D-printed holder to detect date rape drug in beverages.

This study describes the development of a new electrochemical paper-based analytical device (ePAD) on alumina sandpaper substrate through a pencil-drawing process for square wave voltammetry measurements of midazolam maleate used as a "date rape drug" in beverages. The proposed ePAD was assembled on a reusable 3D printed holder to delimit its geometric area and ensure better robustness. The ePAD was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

Low-Cost Control and Measurement Circuit for the Implementation of Single Element Heat Dissipation Soil Water Matric Potential Sensor Based on a SnSe Thermosensitive Resistor.

A low-cost signal processing circuit developed to measure and drive a heat dissipation soil matric potential sensor based on a single thermosensitive resistor is demonstrated. The SnSe2 has a high thermal coefficient, from -2.4Ω/°C in the 20 to 25 °C to -1.

The impact of NOS3 gene polymorphism on papillary thyroid cancer susceptibility in patients undergoing radioiodine therapy.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer in the world. Noting that the gene polymorphism interferes with nitric oxide production, this study aims to identify and analyze the gene polymorphism in the intron 4 region in patients with papillary thyroid cancer. A case-control study was conducted with 31 papillary thyroid cancer patients of both genders who underwent thyroidectomy and treatment with sodium iodide radiopharmaceutical (131I) compared with 81 control patients.

Assessment of the effect of autohydrolysis treatment in banana's pseudostem pulp.

Banana's pseudostem pulp (BPP) is a potential by-product obtained in the mechanical fiber extraction of banana's pseudostem. Its chemical characterization revealed to have an interesting composition, with a high polysaccharides content and low content in lignin, which makes it particularly relevant for the biorefinery's biochemical platform. Autohydrolysis pretreatment, studied under isothermal (140 °C) and non-isothermal conditions (140-220 °C), yielded oligosaccharides, mainly gluco-oligosaccharides, as the main soluble products.

Inexpensive and nonconventional fabrication of microfluidic devices in PMMA based on a soft-embossing protocol.

This study describes an inexpensive and nonconventional soft-embossing protocol to produce microfluidic devices in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The desirable microfluidic structure was photo-patterned in a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) film deposited on glass substrate to produce a low-relief master. Then, this template was used to generate a high-relief pattern in stiffened PDMS by increasing of curing agent /monomer ratio (1:5) followed by thermal aging in a laboratory oven (200°C for 24 h).

Label-free counting of Escherichia coli cells in nanoliter droplets using 3D printed microfluidic devices with integrated contactless conductivity detection.

This study describes for the first time the development of 3D printed microfluidic devices with integrated electrodes for label-free counting of E. coli cells incorporated inside droplets based on capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CD). Microfluidic devices were fully fabricated by 3D printing in the T-junction shape containing two channels for disperse and continuous phases and two sensing electrodes for CD measurements.

Salivary diagnostics on paper microfluidic devices and their use as wearable sensors for glucose monitoring.

Microfluidic paper-based devices (μPADs) and wearable devices have been highly studied to be used as diagnostic tools due to their advantages such as simplicity and ability to provide instrument-free fast results. Diseases such as periodontitis and diabetes mellitus can potentially be detected through these devices by the detection of important biomarkers. This study describes the development of μPADs through craft cutter printing for glucose and nitrite salivary diagnostics.

Rare copy number alterations and copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity revealed in ameloblastomas by high-density whole-genome microarray analysis.

Background: Ameloblastoma (unicystic, UA, or multicystic, MA) is a rare tumor associated with bone destruction and facial deformity. Its malignant counterpart is the ameloblastic carcinoma (AC). The BRAFV600E mutation is highly prevalent in all these tumors subtypes and cannot account for their different clinical behaviors.

Assessment of the bifidogenic effect of substituted xylo-oligosaccharides obtained from corn straw.

This work evaluates the bifidogenic potential of substituted xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) obtained from a lignocellulosic feedstock (corn straw). Autohydrolysis was used to selectively hydrolyse the xylan-rich hemicellulosic fraction and the soluble oligosaccharides were purified by gel filtration chromatography. Selected oligosaccharides fractions within the target ranges of polymerization degree (4-6 and 9-21, samples S1 and S2, respectively) were characterized and their bifidogenic potential was investigated by in vitro fermentations using human fecal inocula.

Hydrothermal pretreatment of several lignocellulosic mixtures containing wheat straw and two hardwood residues available in Southern Europe.

This work studied the processing of biomass mixtures containing three lignocellulosic materials largely available in Southern Europe, eucalyptus residues (ER), wheat straw (WS) and olive tree pruning (OP). The mixtures were chemically characterized, and their pretreatment, by autohydrolysis, evaluated within a severity factor (logR0) ranging from 1.73 up to 4.

Biorefining strategy for maximal monosaccharide recovery from three different feedstocks: eucalyptus residues, wheat straw and olive tree pruning.

This work proposes the biorefining of eucalyptus residues (ER), wheat straw (WS) and olive tree pruning (OP) combining hydrothermal pretreatment (autohydrolysis) with acid post-hydrolysis of the liquid fraction and enzymatic hydrolysis of the solid fraction towards maximal recovery of monosaccharides from those lignocellulose materials. Autohydrolysis of ER, WS and OP was performed under non-isothermal conditions (195-230°C) and the non-cellulosic saccharides were recovered in the liquid fraction while cellulose and lignin remained in the solid fraction. The acid post-hydrolysis of the soluble oligosaccharides was studied by optimizing sulfuric acid concentration (1-4%w/w) and reaction time (10-60 min), employing a factorial (2(2)) experimental design.

Low resting metabolic rate is associated with greater lifespan because of a confounding effect of body fatness.

A negative association between resting metabolic rate (RMR) and lifespan is the cornerstone of the rate of living and free-radical damage theories of aging. Empirical studies supporting a negative association of RMR to lifespan may arise from the correlation between RMR and both daily energy expenditure (DEE) and thermoregulatory activity energy expenditure (TAEE). We screened 540 female mice for higher and lower DEE and measured RMR in the resulting 324 (60 %).

Pulp properties resulting from different pretreatments of wheat straw and their influence on enzymatic hydrolysis rate.

Wheat straw was subjected to three different processes prior to saccharification, namely alkaline pulping, natural pulping and autohydrolysis, in order to study their effect on the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis. Parameters like medium concentration, temperature and time have been varied in order to optimize each method. Milling the raw material to a length of 4mm beforehand showed the best cost-value-ratio compared to other grinding methods studied.

Hydrolysis of oligosaccharides over solid acid catalysts: a review.

Mild fractionation/pretreatment processes are becoming the most preferred choices for biomass processing within the biorefinery framework. To further explore their advantages, new developments are needed, especially to increase the extent of the hydrolysis of poly- and oligosaccharides. A possible way forward is the use of solid acid catalysts that may overcome many current drawbacks of other common methods.

Production and purification of xylooligosaccharides from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre by a non-isothermal process.

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibre, a by-product generated from non-woody, tropical perennial oil palm crop was evaluated for xylooligosaccharides (XOS) production. Samples of OPEFB fibre were subjected to non-isothermal autohydrolysis treatment using a temperature range from 150 to 220 °C. The highest XOS concentration, 17.

Pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass using ionic liquids: wheat straw fractionation.

This work is devoted to study pre-treatment methodologies of wheat straw with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([emim][CH3COO]) and subsequent fractionation to cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The method developed and described here allows the separation into high purity carbohydrate and lignin fractions and permits an efficient IL recovery. A versatility of the established method was confirmed by the IL reuse.