Analytical methods for the determination of microplastics in sediments typically involve matrix drying, sieving, grinding, and flotation as part of the sample treatment. However, the real need for these steps and analytical validation studies are scarce. This work proposes a method that avoids the drying, sieving, and flotation procedures by using a direct acid attack of HNO₃/HCl (3:1) on wet sediment samples, assisted by microwave digestion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to scientifically validate the traditional use of (Gl) leaves as an antidiabetic agent attributed to a community in Mexico. The descriptive ethnobotanical study was conducted in San Miguel Tecpan, a municipality of Jilotzingo, State of Mexico, Mexico, where a structured questionnaire was applied to 44 inhabitants. studies evaluated the acute oral toxicity of Gl leaves in murine and the effects of a leaf infusion on glycemia in normoglycemic and diabetic rats; in addition, the interaction between Gl and metformin (Met) was also evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe compressive deformation of the extruded binary Mg-Gd with gadolinium in solid solution has been studied in situ by combining synchrotron diffraction and acoustic emission techniques during compression tests. These two techniques are useful in investigating the evolution of twinning in all its stages. The extruded bars develop a fiber texture with the basal plane parallel to the extrusion direction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPesticide use is crucial in global agriculture to control pests and increase crop yields. In Ecuador, the use of pesticides, including fungicides and insecticides, is common in crops such as potatoes and tomatoes. However, the indiscriminate use of these products has proven to have negative consequences for human health and the environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermophilic microorganisms possess several adaptations to thrive in high temperature, which is reflected as biosynthesis of proteins and thermostable molecules, isolation and culture represent a great methodological challenge, therefore High throughput sequencing enables screening of the whole bacterial genome for functional potential, providing rapid and cost-effective information to guide targeted cultures for the identification and characterization of novel natural products. In this study, we isolated two thermophilic bacterial strains corresponding to LB7 and LB8, from the microbial mats in the Atacama Desert. By combining genome mining, targeted cultures and biochemical characterization, we aimed to identify their capacity to synthesize bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA squamous odontogenic tumor (SOT) is an epithelial locally benign neoplasia derived from the periodontium of the jaws. It is considered a lesion of low incidence. Predominantly, it affects the mandible, although both jaw bones may be involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes
August 2024
Background: Significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the heterogeneity of heart failure (HF) phenotypes, particularly among patients with preserved or mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFp/mrEF). Our aim was to identify HF subtypes within the HFp/mrEF population.
Methods: K-prototypes clustering algorithm was used to identify different HF phenotypes in a cohort of 2 570 patients diagnosed with HFmrEF or HFpEF.
Heart failure is a severe medical condition with an important worldwide incidence that occurs when the heart is unable to efficiently pump the patient's blood throughout the body. The monitoring of edema in the lower limbs is one of the most efficient ways to control the evolution of the condition. Impedance spectroscopy has been proposed as an efficient technique to monitor body volume in patients with heart failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive compounds used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes which are most often administered intravenously. Adverse events that may induce both adverse reactions and drug-to-drug interactions with changes in expected biodistribution, potentially affecting patient safety and diagnostic accuracy. Adverse reactions are relatively rare due to the small doses and under-reporting is the norm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChile is a prominent seed exporter globally, but the seed microbiome of vegetables (46% of seeds) and its role in the early stages of plant growth have remained largely unexplored. Here, we employed DNA metabarcoding analysis to investigate the composition and putative functions of endophytic bacterial communities in ungerminated and germinated seeds of the commercial vegetables Apiaceae (parsley and carrot), Asteraceae (lettuce), Brassicaceae (cabbage and broccoli), and Solanaceae (tomato). Bacterial quantification showed 10 to 10 copies of the 16S rRNA gene per gram of ungerminated and germinated seeds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVegetable beverages are a convenient strategy to enhance the consumption of horticultural commodities, with the possibility of being fortified with plant by-products to increase functional quality. The main objective was to develop a new veggie beverage from broccoli stalks and carrot by-products seasoned with natural antioxidants and antimicrobial ingredients. Pasteurization, Ultrasound (US), and High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) and their combinations were used as processing treatments, while no treatment was used as a control (CTRL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to the current limited knowledge about the role of filamin A (FLNA) in pituitary tumour progression, we aimed to analyse FLNA expression levels and its impact on aggressive markers of pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs), using an integrative approach of in vivo and in vitro models and human samples. An increase in the expression levels of FLNA was observed in the advanced tumoural stages of the hyperplastic adenomatous pituitary model, concomitant with a decrease in cell proliferation and with a modification in the subcellular localisation of this protein. Similarly, overexpression of FLNA in the somatolactotropic GH3 cell line induced a decrease in the cell proliferation, promoted a migratory phenotype, increased invasion activity, and decreased the prolactin secretion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
August 2023
Introduction: Intracellular communication is essential for the maintenance of the anterior pituitary gland plasticity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether GPCR-Gαi modulates basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2)-induced proliferative activity in normal pituitary cell populations.
Methods: Anterior pituitary primary cell cultures from Wistar female rats were treated with FGF2 (10ng/mL) or somatostatin analog (SSTa, 100nM) alone or co-incubated with or without the inhibitors of GPCR-Gαi, pertussis toxin (PTX, 500nM), MEK inhibitor (U0126, 100µM) or PI3K inhibitor (LY 294002, 10 μM).
Toxicological studies have revealed that DEHP exposure during pregnancy may induce developmental disorders, especially in male offspring, leading to morphological and functional alterations in the reproductive system by mechanisms that should be investigated. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze the testicular toxicity induced by an environmentally relevant DEHP dose during development and its impact on FLNA, a protein that participates in the blood-testis barrier assembly. We used male Wistar rats exposed to DEHP during pregnancy and lactation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Optimal delivery and organisation of care is critical for surgical outcomes and healthcare systems efficiency. Anaesthesia volumes have been recently associated with improved postoperative recovery outcomes; however, the mechanism is unclear. Understanding the individual processes of care (interventions received by the patient) is important to design effective systems that leverage the volume-outcome association to improve patient care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObtaining cell concentration measurements from a culture assay by using bioimpedance is a very useful method that can be used to translate impedances to cell concentration values. The purpose of this study was to find a method to obtain the cell concentration values of a given cell culture assay in real time by using an oscillator as the measurement circuit. From a basic cell-electrode model, enhanced models of a cell culture immersed in a saline solution (culture medium) were derived.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastric ulcers (GU) constitute a disease with a global prevalence ≈ 8.09 million. Of their causes, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin (IND) rank as the second most frequent etiologic agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The unavailability of human and material resources can affect access to eye health services, constituting an obstacle in the fight against avoidable visual impairment. This study aimed to assess the availability and distribution of human and material resources for eye health in the public sector in Nampula province.
Methods: A mixed method approach was used, which included document reviews (to extract information regarding the number of professionals and inhabitants in each district) and application of a questionnaire to heads of the ophthalmology department in each health facility (to obtain the list of available equipment).
Ext Abstr Hum Factors Computing Syst
April 2022
The last several years have seen a strong growth of telerobotic technologies with promising implications for many areas of learning. HCI has contributed to these discussions, mainly with studies on user experiences and user interfaces of telepresence robots. However, only a few telerobot studies have addressed everyday use in real-world learning environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Macroautophagy is a lysosome-mediated degradation process that controls the quality of cytoplasmic components and organelles, with its regulation depending on autophagy-related proteins (Atg) and with Beclin1/Atg6 and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3/Atg8) being key players in the mammalian autophagy. As reports on this mechanism in the field of pituitary neuropathology and neuroendocrinology are scarce, our study analyzed the ultrastructural signs of macroautophagy and the expression of Beclin1 and LC3 proteins in human functioning PitNETs and in experimental pituitary tumors.
Methods: A group of humans functioning PitNETs and an experimental lactotroph model in rats of the F344 strain stimulated with estradiol benzoate (BE) were used.
Clostridioides difficile is an opportunistic spore-forming pathogen responsible for antibiotic-associated diarrhea in humans. C. difficile produces two main toxins: TcdA and TcdB as well as a third toxin named binary toxin (CDT) that is also involved in virulence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Electrical stimulation is a novel tool to promote the differentiation and proliferation of precursor cells. In this work we have studied the effects of direct current (DC) electrical stimulation on neuroblastoma (N2a) and osteoblast (MC3T3) cell lines as a model for nervous and bone tissue regeneration, respectively. We have developed the electronics and encapsulation of a proposed stimulation system and designed a setup and protocol to stimulate cell cultures.
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