The Electronic Spin State of Diradicals Obtained from the Nuclear Perspective: The Strange Case of Chichibabin Radicals.

With a view towards the development of molecular spintronics, non-linear optics, and qubits, a great amount of research effort aims to establish the factors which govern the spin classification of diradicals. Electron spin resonance (ESR) is an indispensable tool for such research. However, in some cases, the mere presence of an ESR spectrum is insufficient to ascertain that the presumed diradical is indeed a triplet state.

Plants' Impact on the Human Brain-Exploring the Neuroprotective and Neurotoxic Potential of Plants.

Background: Plants have long been recognized for their potential to influence neurological health, with both neuroprotective and neurotoxic properties. This review explores the dual nature of plant-derived compounds and their impact on the human brain.

Discussion: Numerous studies have highlighted the neuroprotective effects of various phytoconstituents, such as those found in , , , , and .

The impact of spin-orbit coupling on fine-structure and spin polarisation in photoexcited porphyrin triplet states.

The photoexcited triplet states of porphyrins show great promise for applications in the fields of opto-electronics, photonics, molecular wires, and spintronics. The magnetic properties of porphyrin triplet states are most conveniently studied by time-resolved continuous wave and pulse electron spin resonance (ESR). This family of techniques is singularly able to probe small yet essential details of triplet states: zero-field splittings, g-anisotropy, spin polarisation, and hyperfine interactions.

New information of the biodiversity of the nymphalid family (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) species collected in Romania's fauna between 1887-1984.

Background: This paper complements the data published thus far about species of the nymphalid family with data collected in Romania's eight regions between 1887 and 1984 and elsewhere in Europe (Austria, Germany, Croația, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Switzerland), including the date and the site of original collection. For the first time, this research presents the collecting information of the species held in the entomological collection of the Museum of Natural History in Sibiu. It identifies the species of the nymphalid family in six of the museum's lepidoptera collections.

Identifying Predictors of Anal HPV Status in HPV-Vaccinated MSM: A Machine Learning Approach.

Anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has a high prevalence in men who have sex with men (MSM), resulting in an increased risk for anal cancer. The present work aimed to identify factors associated with HPV in a prospective cohort of HPV-vaccinated MSM using a random forest (RF) approach. This observational study enrolled MSM patients admitted to an Italian (sexually transmitted infection) STI-AIDS Unit.

Machine Learning Methods for Fear Classification Based on Physiological Features.

This paper focuses on the binary classification of the emotion of fear, based on the physiological data and subjective responses stored in the DEAP dataset. We performed a mapping between the discrete and dimensional emotional information considering the participants' ratings and extracted a substantial set of 40 types of features from the physiological data, which represented the input to various machine learning algorithms-Decision Trees, k-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machine and artificial networks-accompanied by dimensionality reduction, feature selection and the tuning of the most relevant hyperparameters, boosting classification accuracy. The methodology we approached included tackling different situations, such as resolving the problem of having an imbalanced dataset through data augmentation, reducing overfitting, computing various metrics in order to obtain the most reliable classification scores and applying the Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations method for interpretation and for explaining predictions in a human-understandable manner.

EPR of Photoexcited Triplet-State Acceptor Porphyrins.

The photoexcited triplet states of porphyrin architectures are of significant interest in a wide range of fields including molecular wires, nonlinear optics, and molecular spintronics. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a key spectroscopic tool in the characterization of these transient paramagnetic states singularly well suited to quantify spin delocalization. Previous work proposed a means of extracting the absolute signs of the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters, and , and triplet sublevel populations by transient continuous wave, hyperfine measurements, and magnetophotoselection.

Magnetic sensitivity of cryptochrome 4 from a migratory songbird.

Night-migratory songbirds are remarkably proficient navigators. Flying alone and often over great distances, they use various directional cues including, crucially, a light-dependent magnetic compass. The mechanism of this compass has been suggested to rely on the quantum spin dynamics of photoinduced radical pairs in cryptochrome flavoproteins located in the retinas of the birds.

Individual Characteristics as Prognostic Factors of the Evolution of Hospitalized COVID-19 Romanian Patients: A Comparative Observational Study between the First and Second Waves Based on Gaussian Graphical Models and Structural Equation Modeling.

This study examines the role played by individual characteristics and specific treatment methods in the evolution of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), through the lens of an observational study performed in a comparative approach between the first and second waves of coronavirus pandemic in Romania. The research endeavor is configured on a two-fold approach, including a detailed observation of the evolution of 274 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (145 in the first wave and 129 in the second wave of infection) according to specific treatment methods applied and patients' individual features, as well as an econometric (quantitative) analysis through structural equation modeling and Gaussian graphical models designed to acknowledge the correlations and causal relationship between all considered coordinates. The main results highlight that the specific treatment methods applied had a positive influence on the evolution of COVID-19 patients, particularly in the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Antiproliferative and antibacterial potential of tetrahexylammonium bromide-based ionic liquids.

Ionic liquids (ILs) exhibit cytotoxic effects on prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In this study, the antibacterial and antiproliferative activities of tetrahexylammonium bromide-based ILs were investigated. In order to evaluate the therapeutic potential of these ionic liquids, firstly microbiological assay using both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were conducted by employing Disk-Diffusion and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chlorine (TTC) methods to assess the antimicrobial effects.

Sea-Buckthorn Seed Oil Induces Proliferation of both Normal and Dysplastic Keratinocytes in Basal Conditions and under UVA Irradiation.

Past decades demonstrate an increasing interest in herbal remedies in the public eye, with as many as 80% of people worldwide using these remedies as healthcare products, including those for skin health. Sea buckthorn and its derived products (oil; alcoholic extracts), rich in flavonoids and essential fatty acids, are among these healthcare products. Specifically, sea buckthorn and its derivatives are reported to have antioxidant and antitumor activity in dysplastic skin cells.

Integrating Biosignals Measurement in Virtual Reality Environments for Anxiety Detection.

This paper proposes a protocol for the acquisition and processing of biophysical signals in virtual reality applications, particularly in phobia therapy experiments. This protocol aims to ensure that the measurement and processing phases are performed effectively, to obtain clean data that can be used to estimate the users' anxiety levels. The protocol has been designed after analyzing the experimental data of seven subjects who have been exposed to heights in a virtual reality environment.

An Investigation of Various Machine and Deep Learning Techniques Applied in Automatic Fear Level Detection and Acrophobia Virtual Therapy.

In this paper, we investigate various machine learning classifiers used in our Virtual Reality (VR) system for treating acrophobia. The system automatically estimates fear level based on multimodal sensory data and a self-reported emotion assessment. There are two modalities of expressing fear ratings: the 2-choice scale, where 0 represents relaxation and 1 stands for fear; and the 4-choice scale, with the following correspondence: 0-relaxation, 1-low fear, 2-medium fear and 3-high fear.

Spin Delocalization in the Radical Cations of Porphyrin Molecular Wires: A New Perspective on EPR Approaches.

The spin delocalization in the radical cations of a series of ethyne-linked oligoporphyrins was investigated using EPR spectroscopy. The room-temperature spectral envelope for these oligomers deviates significantly from the benchmark trend in line width expected for a completely delocalized spin density, in contrast to the butadiyne-linked analogues measured previously. Here, we show, using DFT calculations and complementary low-temperature ENDOR measurements, that this deviation is primarily driven by a more pronounced inequivalence of the N spins within individual subunits for the ethyne-linked oligoporphyrins.

Fear Level Classification Based on Emotional Dimensions and Machine Learning Techniques.

There has been steady progress in the field of affective computing over the last two decades that has integrated artificial intelligence techniques in the construction of computational models of emotion. Having, as a purpose, the development of a system for treating phobias that would automatically determine fear levels and adapt exposure intensity based on the user's current affective state, we propose a comparative study between various machine and deep learning techniques (four deep neural network models, a stochastic configuration network, Support Vector Machine, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Random Forest and k-Nearest Neighbors), with and without feature selection, for recognizing and classifying fear levels based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and peripheral data from the DEAP (Database for Emotion Analysis using Physiological signals) database. Fear was considered an emotion eliciting low valence, high arousal and low dominance.

A YopH PTP1B Chimera Shows the Importance of the WPD-Loop Sequence to the Activity, Structure, and Dynamics of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases.

To study factors that affect WPD-loop motion in protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), a chimera of PTP1B and YopH was created by transposing the WPD loop from PTP1B to YopH. Several subsequent mutations proved to be necessary to obtain a soluble, active enzyme. That chimera, termed chimera 3, retains productive WPD-loop motions and general acid catalysis with a pH dependency similar to that of the native enzymes.

Prognostic Value of Secretoneurin in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: Data From the Albumin Italian Outcome Sepsis Study.

Objectives: Secretoneurin directly influences cardiomyocyte calcium handling, and circulating secretoneurin levels seem to improve risk prediction in patients with myocardial dysfunction by integrating information on systemic stress, myocardial function, and renal function. Accordingly, in this study, we hypothesized that secretoneurin would improve risk prediction in patients with sepsis and especially in patients with septic shock as these patients are more hemodynamically unstable.

Design: Multicenter, interventional randomized clinical trial.

Randomized, multicenter trial of lateral Trendelenburg versus semirecumbent body position for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Purpose: The lateral Trendelenburg position (LTP) may hinder the primary pathophysiologic mechanism of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). We investigated whether placing patients in the LTP would reduce the incidence of VAP in comparison with the semirecumbent position (SRP).

Methods: This was a randomized, multicenter, controlled study in invasively ventilated critically ill patients.

Chlamydia trachomatis and HPV co-infections in HIV negative men from a multi-ethnic area of Northern Italy at high prevalence of cervical malignancies.

Chlamydia trachomatis and HPV coinfections in the male population are often a disregarded issue. We performed a study to evaluate the prevalence of such infections in heterosexual HIV negative men from a Northern Italy multi-ethnic area at high prevalence for cervical malignancies. Urethral swabs (US) or first-voided urine were evaluated retrospectively from 1317 patients attending Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clinic and from 3388 outpatients attending private clinics.

Conservative tryptophan mutants of the protein tyrosine phosphatase YopH exhibit impaired WPD-loop function and crystallize with divanadate esters in their active sites.

Catalysis in protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) involves movement of a protein loop called the WPD loop that brings a conserved aspartic acid into the active site to function as a general acid. Mutation of the tryptophan in the WPD loop of the PTP YopH to any other residue with a planar, aromatic side chain (phenylalanine, tyrosine, or histidine) disables general acid catalysis. Crystal structures reveal these conservative mutations leave this critical loop in a catalytically unproductive, quasi-open position.

The sleeve gastrectomy intervention to treat morbid obesity in a Parkinson's disease patient.

Background & Aims: Some Parkinson's disease patients may develop morbid obesity, on account of the reduction in exercise and/or of the appearance of compulsive food intake in the first years after diagnosis. The prescription of central appetite suppressants is actually not recommended in Parkinson's disease patients. To the best of our knowledge, no cases of morbidly obese Parkinson's disease patients submitted to bariatric surgery procedures have been reported in literature before.

Multiple cervical levels: increased risk of dysphagia and dysphonia during anterior cervical discectomy.

Background: Anterior cervical discectomy (ACD) is widely used for symptomatic cervical spine pathologies. The most common complications associated with this type of surgery are dysphagia and dysphonia; however, the risk factors associated with them have not been adequately elucidated. The purpose of this study is to assess the incidence of self-reported dysphagia and dysphonia and the associated risk factors after ACD.

The impact of remote patient monitoring (telehealth) upon Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure.

Objective: To study the impact of remote patient monitoring (RPM) upon the most frequent diagnosis in hospitalized patients over 65 years of age-heart failure (HF). We examined the effect of RPM on hospital utilization and Medicare costs of HF patients receiving home care.

Materials And Methods: Two studies were simultaneously conducted: A randomized and a matched-cohort study.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the spine: a comprehensive review with illustrative clinical cases.

Primary spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are uncommon malignancies that are increasingly reported in the literature. Spinal PNETs, like their cranial counterparts, are aggressive tumors and patients with these tumors typically have short survival times despite maximal surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Because no standard management guidelines exist for treating these tumors, a multitude of therapeutic strategies have been employed with varying success.