Enhanced Photoluminescence of Europium-Doped TiO Nanoparticles Using a Single-Source Precursor Strategy.

TiO:Eu nanoparticles with varying europium concentrations were successfully synthesized via a one-pot sol-gel approach using a molecular heterometallic single-source precursor (SSP) Eu-Ti. For comparison, nanomaterials with similar europium levels were also produced by impregnating europium salts onto the same TiO substrate. All the nanomaterials were thoroughly characterized using Eu elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning (SEM), transmission (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL).

Method for the Mixing Design and Physical Characterization of Air-Foamed Lightweight Clay Concrete: A Response to the Issue of Recycling Dredged Sediments.

From both economic and environmental points of view, the reuse of dredged sediments in the direct onsite casting of concrete represents a promising method for replacing sand. The aim of this study was to develop a cementitious material that (i) reuses the thin particles of sediments; (ii) has a low density due to the incorporation of air foam in the material; and (iii) achieves a minimum mechanical strength of 0.5 MPa for embankment applications.

Mechanical Behavior of 3D-Printed Zig-Zag Honeycomb Structures Made of BASF Ultrafuse 316L.

The aim of this study is to determine the mechanical behavior of 2D honeycomb cellular structures with deformation initiators subject to quasi-static compression testing. Two different loading directions were studied: in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OP). The deformation initiators sought to stabilize the mechanical response by decreasing the initial peak force in the case of OP loading.

Multiscale Elastic Modulus Characterization of TiFeMn, an Iron-Titanium-Manganese Alloy Dedicated to Hydrogen Storage.

Hydrogen storage in intermetallic compounds, known as solid-state storage, relies on a phase change by the metal alloy. This phenomenon causes a violent change in volume at the crystalline scale, inducing a change of volume for the millimetric particles and, with time, important stresses on the tanks. It is thus necessary to know the mechanical behavior of the material to report these phenomena and improve the tanks' reliability.

A Comparative Analysis of Mitogenomes in Species of the Complex and Other Species of the Genus (Formicidae, Dolichoderinae).

Using next-generation sequencing data, the complete mitogenomes of six species from the genus were assembled. This study explores the mitochondrial genomes of species, among them the five species from the complex, comparing them with each other and with other species from Dolichoderinae subfamily to understand their evolutionary relationships and evolution. mitochondrial genomes contain the typical set of 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and the A + T-rich control region.

Conjugated Human Serum Albumin/Gold-Silica Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Carrier of a Chemotherapeutic Drug.

We report the design and development of a novel multifunctional nanostructure, RB-AuSiO_HSA-DOX, where tri-modal cancer treatment strategies-photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), chemotherapy-luminescent properties and targeting are integrated into the same scaffold. It consists of a gold core with optical and thermo-plasmonic properties and is covered by a silica shell entrapping a well-known photosensitizer and luminophore, Rose Bengal (RB). The nanoparticle surface was decorated with Human Serum Albumin (HSA) through a covalent conjugation to confer its targeting abilities and as a carrier of Doxorubicin (DOX), one of the most effective anticancer drugs in clinical chemotherapy.

Should Artificial Intelligence Play a Durable Role in Biomedical Research and Practice?

During the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) was applied to nearly all domains of human activity, including scientific research. It is thus warranted to ask whether AI thinking should be durably involved in biomedical research. This problem was addressed by examining three complementary questions (i) What are the major barriers currently met by biomedical investigators? It is suggested that during the last 2 decades there was a shift towards a growing need to elucidate complex systems, and that this was not sufficiently fulfilled by previously successful methods such as theoretical modeling or computer simulation (ii) What is the potential of AI to meet the aforementioned need? it is suggested that recent AI methods are well-suited to perform classification and prediction tasks on multivariate systems, and possibly help in data interpretation, provided their efficiency is properly validated.

Purification and Electron Transfer from Soluble c-Type Cytochrome TorC to TorA for Trimethylamine N-Oxide Reduction.

The enterobacterium present in the human gut can reduce trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) to trimethylamine during anaerobic respiration. The TMAO reductase TorA is a monomeric, bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide (bis-MGD) cofactor-containing enzyme that belongs to the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase family of molybdoenzymes. TorA is anchored to the membrane via TorC, a pentahemic -type cytochrome which receives the electrons from the menaquinol pool.

Risk Factors and Pain Management in the Incidence of Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Study.

: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common surgical complication that increases hospital stay duration, hospitalization costs, readmission rates and mortality. This study aims to describe the incidence of POD in an elderly patient population and to investigate pain assessment as a risk factor for postoperative confusion. Additionally, we aim to determine a predictive model for POD.

Breaking Left-Right Symmetry by the Interplay of Planar Cell Polarity, Calcium Signaling and Cilia.

The formation of the embryonic left-right axis is a fundamental process in animals, which subsequently conditions both the shape and the correct positioning of internal organs. During vertebrate early development, a transient structure, known as the left-right organizer, breaks the bilateral symmetry in a manner that is critically dependent on the activity of motile and immotile cilia or asymmetric cell migration. Extensive studies have partially elucidated the molecular pathways that initiate left-right asymmetric patterning and morphogenesis.

The Wilms' Tumor Suppressor WT1 in Cardiomyocytes: Implications for Cardiac Homeostasis and Repair.

The Wilms' tumor suppressor WT1 is essential for the development of the heart, among other organs such as the kidneys and gonads. The Wt1 gene encodes a zinc finger transcription factor that regulates proliferation, cellular differentiation processes, and apoptosis. WT1 is also involved in cardiac homeostasis and repair.

Subset of DN Memory B Cells Expressing Low Levels of Inhibitory Receptor BTLA Is Enriched in SLE Patients.

The dialogue between T and B cells can be regulated by different mechanisms, such as co-inhibitory receptors, which therefore play a crucial role in preventing autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is a co-inhibitory receptor expressed on many myeloid and lymphoid cells. Although peripheral B cells express a very high amount of BTLA, previous works in the context of autoimmunity mainly focused on T cells, and whether BTLA expression on B cells plays a role in the lupus pathogenesis is still unclear.

The Chemokine System as a Key Regulator of Pulmonary Fibrosis: Converging Pathways in Human Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and the Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis Model in Mice.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and lethal interstitial lung disease (ILD) of unknown origin, characterized by limited treatment efficacy and a fibroproliferative nature. It is marked by excessive extracellular matrix deposition in the pulmonary parenchyma, leading to progressive lung volume decline and impaired gas exchange. The chemokine system, a network of proteins involved in cellular communication with diverse biological functions, plays a crucial role in various respiratory diseases.

From Green Chemistry to Healthy Environments: Silver Nanoparticles as a Dual Antioxidant and Antibacterial Agents for Advancing Biomedicine and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment.

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant extracts is an eco-friendly method with potential for biomedical and environmental applications. This study aims to synthesize silver nanoparticles (SO-AgNPs) using L. extract and evaluate their antioxidant and antibacterial properties, positioning them as candidates for applications in sustainable biomedicine and wastewater treatment.

The Role of Morphological Structure in Determining the Optimal Viewing Position During Visual Word Recognition in Beginning Readers.

Background/objectives: The present study examines the role of morphemic units in the initial word recognition stage among beginning readers. We assess whether and to what extent sublexical units, such as morphemes, are used in processing French words and how their use varies with reading proficiency.

Methods: Two experiments were conducted to investigate the perceptual and morphological effects on the recognition of words presented in central vision, using a variable-viewing-position technique.

Learning to Train and to Explain a Deep Survival Model with Large-Scale Ovarian Cancer Transcriptomic Data.

Ovarian cancer is a complex disease with poor outcomes that affects women worldwide. The lack of successful therapeutic options for this malignancy has led to the need to identify novel biomarkers for patient stratification. Here, we aim to develop the outcome predictors based on the gene expression data as they may serve to identify categories of patients who are more likely to respond to certain therapies.

Optimizing Radiation Dose and Image Quality in Stroke CT Protocols: Proposed Diagnostic Reference Levels for Multiphase CT Angiography and Perfusion Imaging.

Objective: In suspected acute ischemic stroke, it is now reasonable to expand the conventional "stroke protocol" (non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT), arterial CT angiography (CTA), and optionally CT perfusion (CTP)) to early and late venous head scans yielding a multiphase CTA (MP-CTA) to increase diagnostic confidence. Diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) have been defined for neither MP-CTA nor CTP. We therefore present dosimetry data, while also considering image quality, for a large, unselected patient cohort.

Comparison of Untargeted and Markers Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds with SIFT-MS and SPME-GC-MS to Assess Tea Traceability.

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world and presents a great aromatic diversity depending on the origin of the production and the transformation process. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) greatly contribute to the sensory perception of tea and are excellent markers for traceability and quality. In this work, we analyzed the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by twenty-six perfectly traced samples of tea with two analytical techniques and two data treatment strategies.

Unearthing Genetic Treasures: Exploring Lost Autochthonous Varieties in Lebanon.

Background/objectives: Lebanon, one of the oldest centers of grapevine ( L.) cultivation, is home to a rich diversity of local grape varieties. This biodiversity is linked to the country's unique topography and millennia of cultural history.

An Update of Phenotypic-Genotypic IMNEPD Cases and a Bioinformatics Analysis of the New Gene Variants.

Background/objectives: Biallelic mutations in the gene are associated with a rare genetic disease known as infantile-onset multisystem neurologic, endocrine, and pancreatic disease (IMNEPD). In this study, we describe a new case carrying a previously identified mutation, provide an updated analysis of the relative frequencies of the clinical features across all published cases (including the three latest studies), and perform a bioinformatics analysis of the newly identified PTRH2 protein variants from a structural perspective.

Methods: Clinical examination of the patients was carried out, and genetic testing was performed using a genome sequencing strategy.

Effects of Temperature and Random Forces in Phase Transformation of Multi-Stable Systems.

Multi-stable behavior at the microscopic length-scale is fundamental for phase transformation phenomena observed in many materials. These phenomena can be driven not only by external mechanical forces but are also crucially influenced by disorder and thermal fluctuations. Disorder, arising from structural defects or fluctuations in external stimuli, disrupts the homogeneity of the material and can significantly alter the system's response, often leading to the suppression of cooperativity in the phase transition.

Synthesis of Temporin-SHa Retro Analogs with Lysine Addition/Substitution and Antibiotic Conjugation to Enhance Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Anticancer Activities.

In the face of rising the threat of resistant pathogens, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer a viable alternative to the current challenge due to their broad-spectrum activity. This study focuses on enhancing the efficacy of temporin-SHa derived NST-2 peptide (), which is known for its antimicrobial and anticancer activities. We synthesized new analogs of using three strategies, i.

An Eye Tracker Study on the Understanding of Implicitness in French Elementary School Children.

Background: The aim of this study is to use an eye tracker to compare the understanding of three forms of implicitness (i.e., presupposition, conversational implicatures, and irony) in 139 pupils from the first to the fifth year of elementary school.

Suppression of MT5-MMP Reveals Early Modulation of Alzheimer's Pathogenic Events in Primary Neuronal Cultures of 5xFAD Mice.

We previously reported that membrane-type 5-matrix metalloproteinase (MT5-MMP) deficiency not only reduces pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in 5xFAD (Tg) mice in vivo but also impairs interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)-mediated neuroinflammation and Aβ production in primary Tg immature neural cell cultures after 11 days in vitro. We now investigate the effect of MT5-MMP on incipient pathogenic pathways that are activated in cortical primary cultures at 21-24 days in vitro (DIV), during which time neurons are organized into a functional mature network. Using wild-type (WT), MT5-MMP (MT5), 5xFAD (Tg), and 5xFADxMT5-MMP (TgMT5) mice, we generated primary neuronal cultures that were exposed to IL-1β and/or different proteolytic system inhibitors.

Factors Affecting the Population of Excited Charge Transfer States in Adenine/Guanine Dinucleotides: A Joint Computational and Transient Absorption Study.

There is compelling evidence that the absorption of low-energy UV radiation directly by DNA in solution generates guanine radicals with quantum yields that are strongly dependent on the secondary structure. Key players in this unexpected phenomenon are the photo-induced charge transfer () states, in which an electric charge has been transferred from one nucleobase to another. The present work examines the factors affecting the population of these states during electronic relaxation.