Correlation-driven sub-3 fs charge migration in ionised adenine

2021

Sudden ionisation of a relatively large molecule can initiate a correlation-driven process dubbed charge migration, where the electron density distribution is expected to rapidly change. Capturing this few-femtosecond/attosecond charge redistribution represents the real-time observation of the electron correlation in the molecule. So far, there has been no experimental evidence of this process. Here we report on a time-resolved study of the correlation-driven charge migration process occurring in the bio-relevant molecule adenine after ionisation by a 15-35 eV attosecond pulse . We find that, the production of intact doubly charged adenine - via a shortly-delayed laser-induced second ionisa…

Newborn screening and disease variants predict neurological outcome in isovaleric aciduria.

2021

Isovaleric aciduria (IVA), a metabolic disease with severe (classic IVA) or attenuated phenotype (mild IVA), is included in newborn screening (NBS) programs worldwide. The long-term clinical benefit of screened individuals, however, is still rarely investigated. A national, prospective, observational, multi-center study of individuals with confirmed IVA identified by NBS between 1998 and 2018 was conducted. Long-term clinical outcomes of 94 individuals with IVA were evaluated, representing 73.4% (for classic IVA: 92.3%) of the German NBS cohort. In classic IVA (N = 24), NBS prevented untimely death except in one individual with lethal neonatal sepsis (3.8%) but did not completely prevent si…

Ring opening polymerization of d,l-lactide and ε-caprolactone catalysed by (pyrazol-1-yl)copper(ii) carboxylate complexes

2021

1,2-Bis{(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)methyl}benzene (L) reacts with [Cu(OAc)2] and C6H5COOH, 4-OH-C6H4COOH, 2-Cl-C6H4COOH and (3,5-NO2)2-C6H3COOH to afford the copper complexes [Cu2(C6H5COO)4(L)2] (1), [Cu2(4-OH-C6H4COO)4(L)2] (2), [Cu2(2-Cl-C6H4COO)4(L)2]n (3) and [Cu{(3,5-NO2)2-C6H3COO}2L]n (4) which are characterised by IR, mass spectrometry, elemental analyses, and X-ray crystallography. The structural data revealed two geometries that are adopted by the complexes: (i) paddle wheel in 1, 2·7H2O, 3 and (ii) regular chains in 3 and 4. Magnetic studies show strong antiferromagnetic couplings in the paddle wheel complexes and a weak antiferromagnetic coupling in the monometallic chain one. Cat…

Interpreting the Sustainable Development Goals through the Perspectives of Utopia and Governance

2021

The article analyses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the perspective of their self-understanding of political sense expressed in key SDG documents, including both UN documents and reports produced by individual countries. Utopia and governance are presented as ideal-typical approaches and analytical tools for qualitative content analysis. This approach is argued to be particularly illuminating in the case of politics of international development, as international development is simultaneously highly utopian and deeply embedded in rationalities of governance. As this analytical framework is applied to the SDGs, it is shown that their utopian pronouncements are related to the id…

Human capital and income inequality revisited

2021

This paper revisits the relationship between human capital and income inequality, using an updated data set on human capital inequality and a novel database on earnings inequality. We find an inver...

The timing of initial imaging in testicular cancer: impact on radiological findings and clinical decision making

2021

Background In testicular cancer determination of clinical stage and recommendation of therapeutic strategy after inguinal orchiectomy are based on primary imaging by CT-scan of the chest and CT- or MRI- abdomen. It has not been investigated so far, whether the imaging should be performed before or after primary testicular surgery. Staging before surgery means exposing all patients to CT radiation irrespective of ensured histologic malignancy while postoperative staging could pose a risk in biased clinical decision making by increased presence of unspecific lymph node enlargement caused by postsurgical effects. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between the timing of initial …

Dependence of polytetrafluoroethylene reflectance on thickness at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths in air

2021

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an excellent diffuse reflector widely used in light collection systems for particle physics experiments. However, the reflectance of PTFE is a function of its thickness. In this work, we investigate this dependence in air for light of wavelengths 260 nm and 450 nm using two complementary methods. We find that PTFE reflectance for thicknesses from 5 mm to 10 mm ranges from 92.5% to 94.5% at 450 nm, and from 90.0% to 92.0% at 260 nm. We also see that the reflectance of PTFE of a given thickness can vary by as much as 2.7% within the same piece of material. Finally, we show that placing a specular reflector behind the PTFE can recover the loss of reflectance i…

Electrical detection of the spin reorientation transition in antiferromagnetic TmFeO3 thin films by spin Hall magnetoresistance

2021

$\mathrm{Tm}\mathrm{Fe}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ (TFO) is a canted antiferromagnet that undergoes a spin reorientation transition (SRT) with temperature between 82 and 94 K in single crystals. In this temperature region, the N\'eel vector continuously rotates from the crystallographic $c$ axis (below 82 K) to the $a$ axis (above 94 K). The SRT allows for a temperature control of distinct antiferromagnetic states without the need for a magnetic field, making it apt for applications working at terahertz frequencies. For device applications, thin films of TFO are required as well as an electrical technique for read-out of the magnetic state. Here, we demonstrate that orthorhombic TFO thin films can be…

Job Insecurity in Nursing: A Bibliometric Analysis

2021

Nurses are a key workforce in the international health system, and as such maintaining optimal working conditions is critical for preserving their well-being and good performance. One of the psychosocial risks that can have a major impact on them is job insecurity. This study aimed to carry out a bibliometric analysis, mapping job insecurity in 128 articles in nursing, and to determine the most important findings in the literature. The search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection database using the Science Citation Index (SCI)-Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) indexes on 6 March 2020. This field of discipline has recently been established and has experienced s…

More Dubious Dead Sea Scrolls

2021

Abstract In the course of the last eighteen years more than 75 new “Dead Sea Scrolls” fragments have surfaced on the antiquities market. These are commonly referred to as post-2002 Dead Sea Scrolls-like fragments. A growing number of scholars regard a substantial part of them as forgeries. In this article, we will discuss four more dubious fragments, but this time from the 20th Century—or at least from pre-2002. Two of the fragments have been known since the late nineties and are published in the DJD series. One was published in Revue de Qumran (2003), and one in Gleanings from the Caves (2016). All four are today accepted as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls dataset even though they are unprove…

Circulating Tumor DNA Detection by Digital-Droplet PCR in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Systematic Review

2021

Simple Summary Pancreatic cancer is a digestive tumor that is most difficult to treat and carries one of the worst prognoses. The anatomical location of the pancreas makes it very difficult to obtain enough tumor material to establish a molecular diagnosis, so knowing the biology of this tumor and implementing new targeted-therapies is still a pending issue. The use of liquid biopsy, a blood sample test to detect circulating-tumor DNA fragments (ctDNA), is key to overcoming this difficulty and improving the evolution of this tumor. Liquid biopsies are equally representative of the tissue from which they come and allow relevant molecular and diagnostic information to be obtained in a faster …

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown Measures on Quality of Life among Italian General Population

2021

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world in the year 2020 has put a strain on our ability to cope with events and revolutionized our daily habits. On 9 March, Italy was forced to lockdown to prevent the spread of the infection, with measures including the mandatory closure of schools and nonessential activities, travel restrictions, and the obligation to spend entire weeks in the same physical space. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on quality of life (QoL) in a large Italian sample, in order to investigate possible differences in QoL levels related to both demographic and pandemic-specific variables. A total of 2251 Italian a…

Rente AT-MP : une jurisprudence contra legem

2021

International audience

Desymmetrization of Prochiral Cyclobutanones via Nitrogen Insertion: A Concise Route to Chiral γ‐Lactams

2021

Abstract Asymmetric access to γ‐lactams is achieved via a cyclobutanone ring expansion using widely available (1S,2R)‐1‐amino‐2‐indanol for chiral induction. Mechanistic analysis of the key N,O‐ketal rearrangement reveals a Curtin–Hammett scenario, which enables a downstream stereoinduction (up to 88:12 dr) and is corroborated by spectroscopic, crystallographic, and computational studies. In combination with an easy deprotection protocol, this operationally simple sequence allows the synthesis of a range of optically pure γ‐lactams, including those bearing all‐carbon quaternary stereocenters. In addition, the formal synthesis of drug molecules baclofen, brivaracetam, and pregabalin further …

Evidence of resistance training-induced neural adaptation in older adults

2021

The deleterious effects of aging on force production are observable from the age of 40 upwards, depending on the measure. Neural mechanisms contributing to maximum force production and rate of force development have been suggested as descending drive from supraspinal centers, spinal motoneuron excitability, and corticospinal inhibition of descending drive; all of which influence motor unit recruitment and/or firing rate. Resistance-trained Master athletes offer a good source of information regarding the inevitable effects of aging despite the countermeasure of systematic resistance-training. However, most evidence of neural adaptation is derived from longitudinal intervention studies in pre…

A receptor-antibody hybrid hampering MET-driven metastatic spread

2021

AbstractBackgroundThe receptor encoded by the MET oncogene and its ligand Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) are at the core of the invasive-metastatic behavior. In a number of instances genetic alterations result in ligand-independent onset of malignancy (METaddiction). More frequently, ligand stimulation of wild-type MET contributes to progression toward metastasis (METexpedience). Thus, while MET inhibitors alone are effective in the first case, combination therapy with ligand inhibitors is required in the second condition.MethodsIn this paper, we generated hybrid molecules gathering HGF and MET inhibitory properties. This has been achieved by ‘head-to-tail’ or ‘tail-to-head’ fusion of a sin…

Experimental Confirmation of a Topological Isomer of the Ubiquitous Au25(SR)18 Cluster in the Gas Phase

2021

High-resolution electrospray ionization ion mobility mass spectrometry has revealed a gas-phase isomer of the ubiquitous, extremely well-studied Au25(SR)18 cluster both in anionic and cationic form. The relative abundance of the isomeric structures can be controlled by in-source activation. The measured collision cross section of the new isomer agrees extremely well with a recent theoretical prediction (Matus, M. F.; et al. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 8087) corresponding to a Au25(SR)18– isomer that is energetically close and topologically connected to the known ground-state structure via a simple rotation of the gold core without breaking any Au–S bonds. The results imply that the structural d…

Functions and Therapeutic Potential of Extracellular Hsp60, Hsp70, and Hsp90 in Neuroinflammatory Disorders

2021

Neuroinflammation is implicated in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, but the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Progress may be accelerated by developing a comprehensive view of the pathogenesis of CNS disorders, including the immune and the chaperone systems (IS and CS). The latter consists of the molecular chaperones; cochaperones; and chaperone cofactors, interactors, and receptors of an organism and its main collaborators in maintaining protein homeostasis (canonical function) are the ubiquitin–proteasome system and chaperone-mediated autophagy. The CS has also noncanonical functions, for instance, modulation of the IS with induction of proinflammatory cytokines. …

Similarities and differences between crystal and enzyme environmental effects on the electron density of drug molecules

2021

Abstract The crystal interaction density is generally assumed to be a suitable measure of the polarization of a low‐molecular weight ligand inside an enzyme, but this approximation has seldomly been tested and has never been quantified before. In this study, we compare the crystal interaction density and the interaction electrostatic potential for a model compound of loxistatin acid (E64c) with those inside cathepsin B, in solution, and in vacuum. We apply QM/MM calculations and experimental quantum crystallography to show that the crystal interaction density is indeed very similar to the enzyme interaction density. Less than 0.1 e are shifted between these two environments in total. Howeve…

Plausible Role of Estrogens in Pathogenesis, Progression and Therapy of Lung Cancer

2021

Malignant neoplasms are among the most common diseases and are responsible for the majority of deaths in the developed world. In contrast to men, available data show a clear upward trend in the incidence of lung cancer in women, making it almost as prevalent as breast cancer. Women might be more susceptible to the carcinogenic effect of tobacco smoke than men. Furthermore, available data indicate a much more frequent mutation of the tumor suppressor gene-p53 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) female patients compared to males. Another important factor, however, might lie in the female sex hormones, whose mitogenic or carcinogenic effect is well known. Epidemiologic data show a correlatio…

Continuous play: leisure engagement in competitive fighting games and taekwondo

2021

In order to better understand the development of play and games in modern lives, this article examines two competitive leisure groups: digital fighting game players and traditional taekwondo practi...

La question de l’argent au cœur des pratiques d'échange de maison, proposition d’un cadre de recherche

2021

International audience

Ultrafast structural changes within a photosynthetic reaction centre

2021

Nature <London> / Physical science 589, 310 - 314 (2021). doi:10.1038/s41586-020-3000-7

In vivo phage display: identification of organ-specific peptides using deep sequencing and differential profiling across tissues.

2021

Abstract In vivo phage display is widely used for identification of organ- or disease-specific homing peptides. However, the current in vivo phage biopanning approaches fail to assess biodistribution of specific peptide phages across tissues during the screen, thus necessitating laborious and time-consuming post-screening validation studies on individual peptide phages. Here, we adopted bioinformatics tools used for RNA sequencing for analysis of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data to estimate the representation of individual peptides during biopanning in vivo. The data from in vivo phage screen were analyzed using differential binding—relative representation of each peptide in the target…

Non-readmission decisions in the intensive care unit: A qualitative study of physicians' experience in a multicentre French study.

2021

Purpose Deciding not to re-admit a patient to the intensive care unit (ICU) poses an ethical dilemma for ICU physicians. We aimed to describe and understand the attitudes and perceptions of ICU physicians regarding non-readmission of patients to the ICU. Materials and methods Multicenter, qualitative study using semi-directed interviews between January and May 2019. All medical staff working full-time in the ICU of five participating centres (two academic and three general, non-academic hospitals) were invited to participate. Participants were asked to describe how they experienced non-readmission decisions in the ICU, and to expand on the manner in which the decision was made, but also on…

Isolation and Molecular Docking of Cytotoxic Secondary Metabolites from Two Red Sea Sponges of the Genus Diacarnus

2021

Factors associated with epiphora following orbital‐sparing maxillectomy via modified Weber–Ferguson incision with lower blepharoplasty

2021

Purpose The aims of the study were to estimate the frequency of epiphora and to identify factors associated with epiphora after orbital-sparing maxillectomy via modified Weber-Ferguson incision with lower blepharoplasty (OSOSM-MWFILB). Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study enrolling a sample derived from the patient population undergoing OSM-MWFILB over a 7-year period. The predictor variables were grouped into demographic, related health status, anatomic, tumor-specific, and therapeutic categories. The primary outcome variable was the presence of postmaxillectomy epiphora (PME). Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate regression mixed-effect models were computed. Results The …

Reinforcement learning approach to nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics

2021

We use a reinforcement learning approach to reduce entropy production in a closed quantum system brought out of equilibrium. Our strategy makes use of an external control Hamiltonian and a policy gradient technique. Our approach bears no dependence on the quantitative tool chosen to characterize the degree of thermodynamic irreversibility induced by the dynamical process being considered, require little knowledge of the dynamics itself and does not need the tracking of the quantum state of the system during the evolution, thus embodying an experimentally non-demanding approach to the control of non-equilibrium quantum thermodynamics. We successfully apply our methods to the case of single- …

Dipolar coupling of nanoparticle-molecule assemblies: An efficient approach for studying strong coupling

2021

Strong light-matter interactions facilitate not only emerging applications in quantum and non-linear optics but also modifications of materials properties. In particular the latter possibility has spurred the development of advanced theoretical techniques that can accurately capture both quantum optical and quantum chemical degrees of freedom. These methods are, however, computationally very demanding, which limits their application range. Here, we demonstrate that the optical spectra of nanoparticle-molecule assemblies, including strong coupling effects, can be predicted with good accuracy using a subsystem approach, in which the response functions of the different units are coupled only a…

Sympathetic Nervous System Predominance in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators After Coping With Acute Stress

2021

It has been suggested that intimate partner violence (IPV) against women perpetrators present emotional dysregulations when dealing with acute stress, which in turn could help to explain their proneness to violence. Emotional regulation can be objectively measured by means of psychophysiological parameters/variables/indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, such as cardiorespiratory (heart rate [HR], pre-ejection period [PEP] and respiratory sinus arrythmia [RSA]) and electrodermal (skin conductance levels [SCL]) signals. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether IPV perpetrators ( n = 107) present differential psychophysiological and psychological state changes when coping…

El tema de la muerte para hablar desde el feminismo a futuras maestras

2021

El arte contemporáneo es fuente inagotable de recursos para la formación de docentes. Es importante acercar el arte hecho por mujeres a las futuras educadoras para que vinculen la experiencia artística con su propia realidad como mujeres. En la creación artística actual se tratan temas sociales, políticos y culturales que son esenciales para la formación de educadoras. Proponemos estrategias innovadoras para la formación artística del colectivo docente de Educación Primaria. Optamos por temáticas vinculadas a las emociones, las necesidades y la vida cotidiana, como el concepto 'la muerte', que permite indagar en las problemáticas actuales y facilita nuevas miradas hacia el arte desde una pe…

Job Satisfaction of Fitness Professionals in Portugal: A Comparative Study of Gender, Age, Professional Experience, Professional Title, and Education…

2021

This research characterizes and compares the job satisfaction of fitness professionals in Portugal between genders, ages, professional experience, professional title, and educational qualifications. A total of 401 fitness professionals answered the online questionnaire Job Satisfaction Scale, which has 16 factors rated on a Likert scale with seven levels. The statistical analysis comprises descriptive and statistical tests to compare the results of two (t-test) or more (ANOVA) groups. Overall, the results demonstrated that fitness professionals were moderately satisfied with their work. The lower degrees of job satisfaction were concerning salary, opportunities for promotion, and stability …

Is pharmacotherapy useful for treating personality disorders?

2021

Personality disorders are characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individ...

Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Depression: Evidence from Preclinical Studies.

2021

AbstractMedicinal plants and their extracts are natural remedies with enormous potential for treating various diseases, including depression and anxiety. In the case of depression, hundreds of plants have traditionally been used in folk medicine for generations. Different plant extracts and natural products have been analyzed as potential antidepressant agents with validated models to test for antidepressant-like effects in animals, although other complementary studies have also been employed. Most of these studies focus on the possible mediators implicated in these potential effects, with dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline being the principal neurotransmitters implicated, both through …

tRNA-derived fragments: A new class of non-coding RNA with key roles in nervous system function and dysfunction

2021

tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNA) are a recently identified family of non-coding RNA that have been associated with a variety of cellular functions including the regulation of protein translation and gene expression. Recent sequencing and bioinformatic studies have identified the broad spectrum of tsRNA in the nervous system and demonstrated that this new class of non-coding RNA is produced from tRNA by specific cleavage events catalysed by ribonucleases such as angiogenin and dicer. Evidence is also accumulating that production of tsRNA is increased during disease processes where they regulate stress responses, proteostasis, and neuronal survival. Mutations to tRNA cleaving and modifying enz…

Characteristic of chronic plaque psoriasis patients treated with biologics in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. risk analysis from the PSO-BIO-COVI…

2021

Background The susceptibility of patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and the risks or benefits related to the use of biological therapies for COVID-19 are unknown. Few data about prevalence, clinical course and outcomes of COVID-19 among psoriatic patients were reported. The aims of this study were 1) to assess the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in psoriatic patients treated with biologic agents during the first phase of the emergency (22 February to 22 April 2020) in Italy, and 2) to report the clinical outcomes of patients who have been exposed to individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis, aged ≥18 years and …