The relentless pursuit of understanding matter at ever-finer scales has pushed optical microscopy to surpass the diffraction limit and realize super-resolution microscopy, which enables visualizing structures shorter than the wavelength of the light emitted by the sample. In the present work, we harnessed extreme ultraviolet beams to create sub-μm grating structures, which were revealed by extreme ultraviolet structured illumination microscopy. We establish that the resolution extension is achievable in the extreme ultraviolet, thereby opening the door to significant resolution enhancement, mainly defined by the wavelength employed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCape gooseberries are exquisitely flavored fruits; their rapid deterioration reduces their shelf life. Understanding the unique mycobiome of fruit peels is an essential step in identifying the taxa causing postharvest loss. The current study proposes to analyze the fungal communities of cape gooseberry peels collected from an organic orchard at unripe and ripe stages and purchased from open-air market sites, using the ITS2 region metabarcoding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo novel asymmetric phthalocyanine derivatives, ZnPc-1 and ZnPc-2, are synthesized to enhance charge transfer properties and mitigate deep-level traps on the perovskite surface using electron-rich nitrogen atoms. PSCs with ZnPc-1 and ZnPc-2 as hole-transporting materials (HTMs) achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 12.11% and 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: The determination of Aneurysm wall enhancement (AWE) by human readers on visual inspection alone is subjective and prone to error. A three-dimensional (3D) method for quantifying the aneurysm wall's signal intensity (SI) enables objective determination of AWE. Inter-reader agreement and agreement between subjective and objective determination of AWE were assessed in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cape gooseberry ( L.) is a wellconsumed crop in Ecuador, whose fruits are abundant in bioactive molecules. Its rapid post-harvest deterioration and safety limit its market potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review comprehensively investigates the intricate interplay between small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a devastating malignancy with limited therapeutic options. Our analysis reveals the pivotal roles of sncRNAs in various facets of PDAC biology, spanning diagnosis, pathogenesis, drug resistance, and therapeutic strategies. sncRNAs have emerged as promising biomarkers for PDAC, demonstrating distinct expression profiles in diseased tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn amplicon metagenomic approach based on the ITS2 region of fungal rDNA was used to investigate the diversity of fungi associated with mature strawberries collected from a volcanic orchard and open-air market stands. Based on the Kruskal-Wallis test, no statistically significant differences were observed in both non-phylogenetic and phylogenetic alpha diversity indices. According to beta diversity analyses, significant differences in fungal communities were found between groups (orchard vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImproving productive performance is a daily challenge in the poultry industry. Developing cost-effective additives and strategies that improve performance in antibiotic-free poultry production is critical to maintaining productivity and efficiency. This study evaluates the influence of a commercially available phytogenic feed additive (CA-PFA, that comprises silymarin, betaine and curcumin extracts as main ingredients) and silymarin on commercial broilers' productive performance and liver function with and without carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced liver damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Brazilian scorpion Tityus melici, native to Minas Gerais and Bahia, is morphologically related to Tityus serrulatus, the most medically significant species in Brazil. Despite inhabiting scorpion-envenomation endemic regions, T. melici venom remains unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFβ-Carotene oxygenase 1 (BCO1) catalyzes the cleavage of β-carotene to form vitamin A. Besides its role in vision, vitamin A regulates the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and immune cell differentiation. BCO1 activity is associated with the reduction of plasma cholesterol in humans and mice, while dietary β-carotene reduces hepatic lipid secretion and delays atherosclerosis progression in various experimental models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) present a significant clinical challenge with poor prognosis, often unresponsive to systemic chemotherapy. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a treatment approach for select patients. The use of curcumin, a natural compound with antitumor properties, in HIPEC is of interest due to its lower side effects compared to conventional drugs and potential for increased efficacy through direct delivery to the peritoneal cavity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFinasteride is commonly prescribed to treat benign prostate hyperplasia and male-pattern baldness in cis men and, more recently, trans individuals. However, the effect of finasteride on cardiovascular disease remains elusive. We evaluated the role of finasteride on atherosclerosis using low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-deficient (Ldlr) mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the cropping systems that integrate the corn crop, the insertion of Crotalaria ochroleuca G. Don is predominantly intercropped. In this context, there is a need to observe herbicides that present selectivity for this sunn hemp species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this paper is to present the results obtained by the Latin-American and Caribbean personal dosimetry services that participated, with the support of IAEA, in the 2020-Eurados whole-body dosemeter intercomparison for photon radiation. All participant services in this study use thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) systems except one that uses optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosemeters. Data analysis shows that 93.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To share a Latin-American perspective of the use of telemedicine, together with blood pressure measurements outside the medical office, as a potential contribution to improving access to the health system, diagnosis, adherence, and persistence in hypertension treatment.
Material And Methods: A document settled by a Writing Group of Mexico Hypertension Experts Group, Interamerican Society of Hypertension, Epidemiology and Cardiovascular Prevention Council of the Interamerican Society of Cardiology, and National Cardiologist Association of Mexico.
Results: In almost all Latin American countries, the health sector faces two fundamental challenges: (1) ensure equitable access to quality care services in a growing population that faces an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and (2) optimise the growing costs of health services, maintaining equity, accessibility, universality, and quality.
The objective of the trial was to evaluate three vaccination schemes against (CP) alpha-toxoid through drinking water to determine if they can protect against clinical signs of necrotic enteritis and coccidiosis in broiler chickens. Three hundred 1-day-old Cobb 500 male chicks were used in 4 treatments with 10 repetitions. Each group received 1 of the following treatments over the course of 29 days: T1, no vaccination; T2, vaccination on Day 1; T3, vaccination on Day 7; and T4, vaccination on Days 7 and 17.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Because limited data exist, we sought to evaluate timeliness of multimodal treatments in a safety net breast cancer population.
Methods: Breast cancer patients treated at a safety net hospital from 2016 to 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Time intervals were defined as primary time (PT) from diagnosis to initiation of primary intervention, secondary time (ST) from completion of primary to initiation of secondary intervention, and tertiary time (TT) from completion of secondary to initiation of tertiary intervention.
This study aimed to establish factors associated with delayed surgery in patients with proximal femoral fracture and to assess patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after surgery including all-cause 6-months mortality. This was a single-center, observational, prospective cohort study that included patients with a proximal femur fracture. We described patients' HRQoL measured by EuroQoL (EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS) questionnaire and perioperative complications (including mortality) 6 months after surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe production of waxes from vegetable oils, such as palm oil, for use as a base material in products for human applications is an alternative to those derived from petroleum and animals. Seven palm oil-derived waxes, called biowaxes (BW1-BW7) in this work, were obtained by catalytic hydrotreating of refined and bleached African palm oil and refined palm kernel oil. They were characterized by three properties: compositional, physicochemical (melting point, penetration value, and pH), and biological (sterility, cytotoxicity, phototoxicity, antioxidant, and irritant).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) especially ST398, is a zoonotic agent. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) and MRSA among workers in the pork production chain.
Methods: 659 workers associated with 123 pig farms, livestock transporters, one pig slaughterhouse, pork transporters and 23 pork butcheries were studied for recovery, and all isolates were characterized (antibiotic resistance, MLST and -typing).