Anti-wrinkle efficacy of standardized phenolic acids polymer extract (PAPE) from propolis: Implications for antiaging and skin health.

Background: The increasing quest for effective and safe antiaging skincare solutions has led to a surge in the exploration of natural compounds such as phenolic acids. Despite the proven efficacy of traditional antiaging ingredients like retinol, their associated side effects have necessitated the search for alternatives.

Aims: This study aimed to assess the anti-wrinkle efficacy of a standardized phenolic acids polymer extract (PAPE) from propolis, employing both in vitro and clinical methodologies to explore its suitability as a novel antiaging skincare ingredient for sensitive and nonsensitive skin types.

Machine Learning and Causal Approaches to Predict Readmissions and Its Economic Consequences Among Canadian Patients With Heart Disease: Retrospective Study.

Background: Unplanned patient readmissions within 30 days of discharge pose a substantial challenge in Canadian health care economics. To address this issue, risk stratification, machine learning, and linear regression paradigms have been proposed as potential predictive solutions. Ensemble machine learning methods, such as stacked ensemble models with boosted tree algorithms, have shown promise for early risk identification in specific patient groups.

Multiple Primary Angiosarcomas of the Colon.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal angiosarcomas are rare and represent less than 1% of all gastrointestinal tract malignancies, with most occurring in the stomach and small intestine. Occurrence in the colorectal segments is considered extremely rare. .

Nonaqueous Polyethylene Glycol as a Safer Alternative to Ethanolic Propolis Extracts with Comparable Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity.

We compared the chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of two propolis extracts: one obtained with nonaqueous polyethylene glycol, PEG 400 (PgEP), and the other obtained with ethanol (EEP) We analyzed the total phenolic content (TPC) and the concentrations of ten markers of propolis antioxidant activity with HPLC-UV: caffeic acid, -coumaric acid, -ferulic acid, -cinnamic acid, kaempferol, apigenin, pinocembrin, chrysin, CAPE, and galangin. Antioxidant activity was tested using DPPH and FRAP assay, and antimicrobial activity was assessed through minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) determination. Maceration gave the yield of propolis of 25.

Propolis Extract and Its Bioactive Compounds-From Traditional to Modern Extraction Technologies.

Propolis is a honeybee product known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects. It is rich in bioactive molecules whose content varies depending on the botanical and geographical origin of propolis. These bioactive molecules have been studied individually and as a part of propolis extracts, as they can be used as representative markers for propolis standardization.

64Gb/s PAM4 and 160Gb/s 16QAM modulation reception using a low-voltage Si-Ge waveguide-integrated APD.

We demonstrate waveguide-integrated silicon-germanium avalanche photodiodes with a maximum responsivity of 15.2 A/W at 16x avalanche gain, and 33 GHz bandwidth. Intensity-modulation-direct-detection (IMDD) and coherent channel reception test demonstrated the APD's performance with higher-order formats, allowing 32 Gbaud PAM-4 and 40 Gbaud 16QAM channel reception without any digital signal processing conventionally used for receiver impairments mitigation.

Hybrid OFDM receiver assisted by a variable frequency comb.

A physically assisted orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiver is described and characterized. In contrast to recent reports that utilize two physically distinct frequency combs with Verniered frequency pitch, the new receiver topology relies on a single frequency-toggled frequency comb. Dual-comb photonic front end was replaced by a single comb split into two switched paths to achieve spectral decomposition.

Toxicity of nanosilver and fumonisin B and their interactions on duckweed (Lemna minor L.).

In the environment co-contamination of several toxicants commonly occurs. However, toxicological studies usually are focused on only one toxicant. The aim of this study was to investigate toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and mycotoxin fumonisin B (FB) and their possible interactions as well as to explore tentative mechanism of their toxic effect.

Endophytic Bacterial Communities Associated with Roots and Leaves of Plants Growing in Chilean Extreme Environments.

Several studies have demonstrated the relevance of endophytic bacteria on the growth and fitness of agriculturally-relevant plants. To our knowledge, however, little information is available on the composition, diversity, and interaction of endophytic bacterial communities in plants struggling for existence in the extreme environments of Chile, such as the Atacama Desert (AD) and Patagonia (PAT). The main objective of the present study was to analyze and compare the composition of endophytic bacterial communities associated with roots and leaves of representative plants growing in Chilean extreme environments.

Channel cloning by multi-mode phase-sensitive parametric mixer.

We investigate high fidelity channel replication approaching the idealized notion of channel cloning with negligible excess noise and distortion. Previously proposed cloning architectures require that the channel carriers to be externally seeded, limiting their ultimate usefulness, whereas the self-seeded approach limits the channel number and signal-to-noise ratio. Specifically, when a single channel is replicated, the noise figure (NF) remains above the well-known 3-dB limit, and multi-channel replication by a dual-pump driven parametric mixer faces a theoretical NF limit of 6-dB.

Ultra-broadband multimode 3dB optical power splitter using an adiabatic coupler and a Y-branch.

As an essential component of mode division multiplexing (MDM) system, a multimode 3dB power splitter with low loss, high power balance, and low mode crosstalk is highly desired. In this paper, we propose an ultra-broadband on-chip multimode 3dB optical power splitter using an adiabatic coupler and an S-bend based Y-branch. As an example, a splitter for the four-lowest modes of a rib waveguide on silicon on insulator (SOI) platform is designed.

Network analysis of a proposed exit pathway for protons to the P-side of cytochrome c oxidase.

Cytochrome c Oxidase (CcO) reduces O, the terminal electron acceptor, to water in the aerobic, respiratory electron transport chain. The energy released by O reductions is stored by removing eight protons from the high pH, N-side, of the membrane with four used for chemistry in the active site and four pumped to the low pH, P-side. The proton transfers must occur along controllable proton pathways that prevent energy dissipating movement towards the N-side.

The effect of hazardous pollutants from coal combustion activity: Phytotoxicity assessment of aqueous soil extracts.

Airborne fly ash and related hazardous particles derived from coal combustion contaminate soil and groundwater, negatively affecting ecosystems. The aim of this study was chemical and toxicological evaluation of aqueous extracts of soil collected from the vicinity of a coal-fired Plomin power plant (PPP), using Lemna (Lemna minor L.) bioassay and additional biochemical indicators - photosynthetic pigments, lipid peroxidation, antioxidative enzymes and glutathione.

Octave-spanning coherent supercontinuum generation in silicon on insulator from 1.06 μm to beyond 2.4 μm.

Efficient complementary metal-oxide semiconductor-based nonlinear optical devices in the near-infrared are in strong demand. Due to two-photon absorption in silicon, however, much nonlinear research is shifting towards unconventional photonics platforms. In this work, we demonstrate the generation of an octave-spanning coherent supercontinuum in a silicon waveguide covering the spectral region from the near- to shortwave-infrared.

In Vivo Sarcomere Length Measurement in Whole Muscles during Passive Stretch and Twitch Contractions.

Muscle force is dictated by micrometer-scale contractile machines called sarcomeres. Whole-muscle force drops from peak force production to zero with just a few micrometers of sarcomere length change. No current technology is able to capture adequate dynamic sarcomere data in vivo, and thus we lack fundamental data needed to understand human movement and movement disorders.

Increased Serum Interleukin-10 but not Interleukin-4 Level in Children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia.

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in children, and it has been associated with wheezing. The aim of this study was to examine the serum level of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and to analyse them in relation to the presence of wheezing.

Methods: The study included 166 children with radiologically confirmed pneumonia.

All optical wavelength multicaster and regenerator based on four-mode phase-sensitive parametric mixer.

Four-mode phase-sensitive (4MPS) process has been employed in a parametric mixer based wavelength multicaster, enhancing the multicasting conversion efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, the 4MPS parametric multicaster is an outstanding candidate for all-optical regeneration, owing to its inherent capabilities to clamp amplitude fluctuations by the saturated parametric effect and to squeeze phase distortions by the phase sensitive process. The investigation in this paper focuses on the 4MPS multicaster operated in the saturation gain regime, including theoretical simulations and experimental demonstrations on amplitude and phase noise regeneration over 20 multicasting signal copies.

Subnoise detection of a fast random event.

Observation of random, nonrepetitive phenomena is of critical importance in astronomy, spectroscopy, biology, and remote sensing. Heralded by weak signals, hidden in noise, they pose basic detection challenges. In contrast to repetitive waveforms, a single-instance signal cannot be separated from noise through averaging.

Toxicological and chemical assessment of arsenic-contaminated groundwater after electrochemical and advanced oxidation treatments.

Owing to its proven toxicity and mutagenicity, arsenic is regarded a principal pollutant in water used for drinking. The objective of this study was the toxicological and chemical evaluation of groundwater samples obtained from arsenic enriched drinking water wells before and after electrochemical and ozone-UV-H2O2-based advanced oxidation processes (EAOP). For this purpose, acute toxicity test with Daphnia magna and chronic toxicity test with Lemna minor L.

Two-fold transmission reach enhancement enabled by transmitter-side digital backpropagation and optical frequency comb-derived information carriers.

We demonstrate a two-fold reach extension of 16 GBaud 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) system based on erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA)-only amplified standard and single mode fiber -based link. The result is enabled by transmitter-side digital backpropagation and frequency referenced carriers drawn from a parametric comb.

APPLIED OPTICS. Overcoming Kerr-induced capacity limit in optical fiber transmission.

Nonlinear optical response of silica imposes a fundamental limit on the information transfer capacity in optical fibers. Communication beyond this limit requires higher signal power and suppression of nonlinear distortions to prevent irreversible information loss. The nonlinear interaction in silica is a deterministic phenomenon that can, in principle, be completely reversed.

Fiber optical parametric amplifiers in optical communication systems.

The prospects for using fiber optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) in optical communication systems are reviewed. Phase-insensitive amplifiers (PIAs) and phase-sensitive amplifiers (PSAs) are considered. Low-penalty amplification at/or near 1 Tb/s has been achieved, for both wavelength- and time-division multiplexed formats.

Quadrature demultiplexing using a degenerate vector parametric amplifier.

We report on quadrature demultiplexing of a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signal into two cross-polarized binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) signals with negligible penalty at bit-error rate (BER) equal to 10(-9). The all-optical quadrature demultiplexing is achieved using a degenerate vector parametric amplifier operating in phase-insensitive mode. We also propose and demonstrate the use of a novel and simple phase-locked loop (PLL) scheme based on detecting the envelope of one of the signals after demultiplexing in order to achieve stable quadrature decomposition.

Contrasting effects of nanoparticle-protein attraction on amyloid aggregation.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have been experimentally found to either promote or inhibit amyloid aggregation of proteins, but the molecular mechanisms for such complex behaviors remain unknown. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated the effects of varying the strength of nonspecific NP-protein attraction on amyloid aggregation of a model protein, the amyloid-beta peptide implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, with increasing NP-peptide attraction, amyloid aggregation on the NP surface was initially promoted due to increased local protein concentration on the surface and destabilization of the folded state.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia in children: clinical features and laboratory diagnosis.

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children with CAP and find clinical, radiological and laboratory features helpful to diagnose Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. Furthermore, we evaluated the value of serology, real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and culture for the accurate diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.