showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Confirmation of gA quenching using the revised spectrum-shape method for the analysis of the 113Cd β-decay as measured with the COBRA demonstrator
2021
In this article we present an updated spectrum-shape analysis of the $^{113}$Cd fourfold forbidden non-unique $\beta$-decay transition in order to address the quenching of the weak axial-vector coupling $g_{\rm A}$ in low-momentum exchange nuclear processes. The experimental data were collected in a dedicated low-threshold run with the COBRA demonstrator at the LNGS and resulted in 44 individual $^{113}$Cd spectra. These data are evaluated in the context of three nuclear model frameworks based on a revised version of the spectrum-shape method and the conserved vector current hypothesis. The novel idea devised in the present work is to fit the value of the small relativistic nuclear matrix e…
Gastrointestinal tumors: Phytochemical and drug combinations targeting the hallmarks of cancer
2021
Cancer is a worldwide burden resulting in millions of deaths each year. In particular, gastrointestinal tumors are life-threatening malignancies and one of the leading reasons for death in developed countries. Phytochemicals can be found in grains, vegetables, fruits and several foods. Many phytochemicals, such as curcumin, genistein, luteolin, vitexin-2-O-xyloside, avenanthramides, quercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), resveratrol, sulforaphane, piperine and thymoquinone have been used in combination with different chemotherapeutic agents for their synergistic anticancer effects against various forms of cancer. In this review, we describe the antitumor properties and biological eff…
Trophic and spatial complementarity on seed dispersal services by birds, wild mammals, and cattle in a Mediterranean woodland pasture
2021
Made available in DSpace on 2022-05-01T09:47:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-11-01 Università degli Studi di Palermo CYTED Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo Federación Española de Enfermedades Raras Most earth surfaces have undergone intensive land-use changes, creating habitat mosaics. Seed dispersal by animals is a crucial process in such mosaics, but community-wide studies comparing the functional complementarity and response to man-imposed habitat heterogeneity are rare. Here, we investigate the trophic and spatial seed dispersal networks underpinning a strong, woody vegetation expansion over a pastureland inside the largest forest remnant in western Sici…
Informant discrepancies in perceived parental psychological control, adolescent autonomy, and relatedness psychological needs
2021
Abstract Framed from Self-Determination Theory and Family Systems Theory, the present multi-informant study sought to contribute to a better understanding of the relations between discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' perceptions of parental psychological control and satisfaction of adolescents' needs for autonomy and relatedness. Participants were 190 Italian intact families in which an adolescent was present (Mage = 16.47 years, SDage = 1.41). Our findings highlighted that: (1) adolescents generally tended to perceive higher levels of psychological control than their parents reported; (2) adolescents tended to rate mothers' psychological control higher than the mothers themselves, wh…
B and T cell immune responses elicited by the Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine in nursing home residents
2021
Objectives The immunogenicity of the Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine is understudied in elderly people with comorbidities. SARS-CoV-2-S-targeted antibody and T cell responses following full vaccination were assessed in nursing home residents. Methods Sixty nursing home residents (44 female; age, 53-100 years), of whom 10 had previously been diagnosed of COVID-19, and 18 healthy controls (15 female; age, 27-54 years) were recruited. Pre- and post-vaccination blood specimens were available for quantitation of total antibodies binding SARS-CoV-2 S protein and enumeration of SARS-CoV-2-S-reactive IFN-γ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells by flow cytometry. Results The seroconversion rate in presumably SARS-CoV-2…
Pedogenesis and carbon sequestration in transformed agricultural soils of Sicily
2021
The increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is a consequence of human activities leading to severe environmental deteriorations. Techniques are thus needed to sequester and reduce atmospheric carbon. One of the proposed techniques is the transformation or construction of new soils into which more organic carbon can be sequestered and CO2 be consumed by increased weathering. By using a chronosequence of new and transformed soils on crushed limestone (0–48 years) in a Mediterranean area (Sicily), we tried to quantify the amount of organic carbon that could be additionally sequestered and to derive the corresponding rates. A further aim was to trace chemical weathering and related CO2 consump…
Ultra-short ion-exchange columns for fast charge variants analysis of therapeutic proteins
2021
Abstract The purpose of this work was to study the potential of recently developed ultra-short column hardware for ion exchange chromatography (IEX). Various prototype and commercial columns having lengths of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 mm and packed with non-porous 3 µm particles were systematically compared. Both pH and salt gradient modes of elution were evaluated. Similarly, what has been previously reported for reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) mode, an “on-off” retention mechanism was observed in IEX for therapeutic proteins and their fragments (25–150 kDa range). Because of the non-porous nature of the IEX packing material, the column porosity was relatively low (e = 0.42) and the…
Ascorbic acid content and transcriptional profiling of genes involved in its metabolism during development of petals, leaves, and fruits of orange (C…
2021
Citrus fruit is one of the most important contributors to the ascorbic acid (AsA) intake in humans. Here, we report a comparative analysis of AsA content and transcriptional changes of genes related to its metabolism during development of petals, leaves and fruits of Valencia Late oranges (Citrus sinensis). Petals of close flowers and at anthesis contained the highest concentration of AsA. In fruits, AsA content in the flavedo reached a maximum at color break, whereas the pulp accumulated lower levels and experienced minor fluctuations during development. AsA levels in leaves were similar to those in the flavedo at breaker stage. The transcriptional profiling of AsA biosynthetic, degradatio…
Economic analysis of the scale-up and implantation of a hollow fibre membrane contactor plant for nitrogen recovery in a full-scale wastewater treatm…
2021
[EN] Nitrogen recovery technologies such as the hollow fibre membrane contactor are now being developed. However, an economic analysis is needed prior to their full-scale application in wastewater treatment plants. The aim of this study was to analyse the economic and environmental aspects of scaling-up this method. To achieve it, a full-scale 40,000 m3·day¿1-wastewater treatment plant influent flow rate was simulated jointly with a membrane contactor plant to evaluate the minimum costs of optimum operating conditions of membrane contactors (pH, feed flow rate and membrane surface). The optimum conditions for treating 600 m3·day¿1 of reject water was found to be 10 pH, 0.08 m3·s¿1 feed flow…
Komunikācijas zinātnes doktorantu sekcija: Kopsavilkumi : 2021. gada 17. februāris
2021
false
2021
Six bile acid alkyl amide derivatives were studied with respect to their gelation properties. The derivatives were composed of three different bile acids with hexyl or cyclohexyl side chains. The gelation behaviour of all six compounds were studied for 36 solvents with varying polarities. Gelation was observed mainly in aromatic solvents, which is characteristic for bile-acid-based low molecular weight gelators. Out of 108 bile acid-solvent combinations, a total of 44 gel systems were formed, 28 of which from lithocholic acid derivatives, only two from deoxycholic acid derivatives, and 14 from cholic acid derivatives. The majority of the gel systems were formed from bile acids with hexyl si…
Characterization and Quantitation of Carbon Black Nanomaterials in Polymeric and Biological Aqueous Dispersants by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fract…
2021
Characterization of carbon black (CB) nanomaterials is required in industrial and research areas. Hence, in this study, asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation coupled to UV–vis and DLS detectors in series (AF4-UV–vis-DLS) was studied to evaluate the CB dispersion behavior in polymeric and biological dispersants, given the relevance of these media in practical applications. Under the experimental conditions, the results indicated that polymeric and biological dispersions showed size distributions with hydrodynamic diameters of 404 and 175 nm, respectively, for a particle core diameter of 40 nm. The polymeric dispersant provided lower stability as a function of time than that achieved by …
Racing for a SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine
2021
Interview with EMBO Members Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin, BioNTech, conducted by science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt.
Grand Est, Moselle, Epping, Lotissement Neuergarten, 2e tranche. La suite d’un petit établissement rural de l’âge du Bronze final diagnostiqué en 2019
2021
Straightforward Regio- and Diastereoselective Synthesis, Molecular Structure, Intermolecular Interactions and Mechanistic Study of Spirooxindole-Engr…
2021
Straightforward regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of bi-spirooxindole-engrafted rhodanine analogs 5a–d were achieved by one-pot multicomponent [3 + 2] cycloaddition (32CA) reaction of stabilized azomethine ylide (AYs 3a–d) generated in situ by condensation of L-thioproline and 6-chloro-isatin with (E)-2-(5-(4-chlorobenzylidene)-2,4-dioxothiazolidin-3-yl)-N-(2-morpholinoethyl)acetamide. The bi-spirooxindole-engrafted rhodanine analogs were constructed with excellent diastereo- and regioselectivity along with high chemical yield. X-ray crystallographic investigations for hybrid 5a revealed the presence of four contiguous stereocenters related to C11, C12, C19 and C22 of the spiro struct…
Female alliances against the proximity violence
2021
The chapter analizes the phenomenon of proximity violence as umbrella concept of the most underhanded form of violence against women. It then explores the contribution of the female professionals working in the shelters and the specific tools used by them in order to support migrant women victims of proximity violence.
Chromatographic profiles and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils obtained from some species and cultivars of the Mentheae tribe (Lamiaceae)
2021
Abstract The present study was focused on the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils (EsO) obtained from five Lamiaceae representatives grown in the south of Ukraine. Among them are Salvia sclarea L., Monarda didyma (cultivar ‘Cambridge Scarlet’), Thymus pulegioides (cultivar ‘2/6-07’), Thymus vulgaris (cultivar ‘Jalos’), and Thymus serpyllum L. The component analysis of the EsO was carried out by gas chromatography method coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The antimicrobial properties of the EsO were determined using the agar diffusion test against widespread pathogenic bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, St…
Differences in Motivation to Engage in Sexual Activity Between People in Monogamous and Non-monogamous Committed Relationships
2021
This study compared motivations to engage in sex between monogamous and non-monogamous respondents (n = 1,238, out of which 641 monogamous and 596 non-monogamous respondents; women—47.4%, men—50.9%, other gender—1.7%; age: M = 27.78 years, SD = 7.53, range = 18–62). The research aim was to identify whether there are differences in self-reported reasons to engage in sexual activity between these two groups. Presented with 17 reasons to engage in sexual activity, the respondents rated the frequency with which they engage in sex for each reason. While both monogamous and non-monogamous respondents reported to engage in sex with the same frequency for the reasons of sexual release and physical …
Third-order nonlinear optical effects of silver nanoparticles and third harmonic generation from their plasma plumes
2021
Abstract We investigated the third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) of various sizes, which were produced by disintegration of commercially available 20 and 100 nm NPs in different solvents. It is observed that NPs with the sizes less or greater than 30 nm possess saturable absorption or reverse saturable absorption (or two-photon absorption), respectively. The NPs suspensions show a self-focusing effect. In addition, the third harmonic generation from the plasma plumes produced by nanosecond laser ablation of bulk Ag and Ag NPs of 100 nm and 20 nm sizes is reported. The third harmonic efficiency from the plasmas containing NPs was higher compa…
Cutaneous and Allergic reactions due to COVID‐19 vaccinations: A review
2021
ABSTRACT Introduction The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has had an unprecedented impact on the overall health and the global economy. Vaccination is currently the most dependable strategy to end the pandemic, despite the slower‐than‐hoped‐for rollout, particularly for low‐to‐middle‐income countries, and the uncertain duration of protection afforded by vaccination. The spike protein of the virus (immunodominant antigen of the virus) is the main target of the approved and candidate SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines. This protein binds to the ACE2 receptor of the host cell, initiating the entry of the virus into the cell and the chain of subsequent events ending to Acute R…
Repurposing of the ALK inhibitor crizotinib for acute leukemia and multiple myeloma cells
2021
Crizotinib was a first generation of ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of ALK-positive non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients. COMPARE and cluster analyses of transcriptomic data of the NCI cell line panel indicated that genes with different cellular functions regulated the sensitivity or resistance of cancer cells to crizotinib. Transcription factor binding motif analyses in gene promoters divulged two transcription factors possibly regulating the expression of these genes, i.e., RXRA and GATA1, which are important for leukemia and erythroid development, respectively. COMPARE analyses also implied that cell lines of various cancer types displayed varying degr…
Introducing randomness in the analysis of chemical reactions: An analysis based on random differential equations and probability density functions
2021
[EN] In this work we consider a particular randomized kinetic model for reaction-deactivation of hydrogen peroxide decomposition. We apply the Random Variable Transformation technique to obtain the first probability density function of the solution stochastic process under general conditions. From the rst probability density function, we can obtain fundamental statistical information, such as the mean and the variance of the solution, at every instant time. The transformation considered in the application of the Random Variable Transformation technique is not unique. Then, the first probability density function can take different expressions, although essentially equivalent in terms of comp…
El precio de ser itinerante. Viajes, acompañamiento y espacios cortesanos de la reina Leonor de Sicilia (r. 1349-1375)
2021
This article is an attempt to detail which logistical, economic and human implications had the itinerancy of the medieval monarchy. For this reason, the paper focuses on the characteristics of the itinerancy of Eleanor of Sicily, third wife of Pedro the Ceremonious and queen of the Crown of Aragon between 1349 and 1375. Through the analysis of her documentation, from chancery and treasury resources, it has been possible to establish an itinerary of the queen for three years, from 1354 to 1357. The analysis of this itinerary allows us to see the confluence of the royal couple entourages and the consequences of the beginning of the Dos Pedros war. At the same time, the paper focuses on the pe…
The Large Hadron–Electron Collider at the HL-LHC
2021
The Large Hadron-Electron Collider (LHeC) is designed to move the field of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) to the energy and intensity frontier of particle physics. Exploiting energy-recovery technology, it collides a novel, intense electron beam with a proton or ion beam from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The accelerator and interaction region are designed for concurrent electron-proton and proton-proton operations. This report represents an update to the LHeC's conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2012. It comprises new results on the parton structure of the proton and heavier nuclei, QCD dynamics, and electroweak and top-quark physics. It is shown how the LH…
When two become one: Integrating FRET and EPR into one structural model
2021
Social Innovation Toward a Meaningful Everyday Life for Nursing Home Residents: An Ethnographic Study
2021
Background: The literature shows that innovation, which includes culture change, may be important to create a meaningful everyday life for nursing home residents. However, there is a gap in how social innovation practices may contribute to this. The theoretical discourse for the study is person-centered care.Aim: The main aim was to explore phenomena within social innovation that can contribute to improving nursing home residents’ everyday lives.Design and Method: This study uses an ethnographic design with observations and interviews in two nursing homes in Southern Norway.Findings: The main theme was that social innovation within working practices in nursing homes includes phenomena that …
Effect of substitutions of key residues on the stability and the insecticidal activity of Vip3Af from Bacillus thuringiensis
2021
Modern agriculture demands for more sustainable agrochemicals to reduce the environmental and health impact. The whole process of the discovery and development of new active substances or control agents is sorely slow and expensive. Vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip3) from Bacillus thuringiensis are specific toxins against caterpillars with a potential capacity to broaden the range of target pests. Site-directed mutagenesis is one of the most approaches used to test hypotheses on the role of different amino acids on the structure and function of proteins. To gain a better understanding of the role of key amino acid residues of Vip3A proteins, we have generated 12 mutants of the Vip3Af1 …
Evidence of oblate-prolate shape coexistence in the strongly-deformed nucleus 119Cs
2021
International audience; Prolate-oblate shape coexistence close to the ground state in the strongly-deformed proton-rich A≈120 nuclei is reported for the first time. One of the four reported bands in 119Cs, built on a 11/2− state at 670 keV, consists of nearly degenerate signature partners, and has properties which unequivocally indicate the strongly-coupled πh11/2[505]11/2− configuration associated with oblate shape. Together with the decoupled πh11/2[541]3/2− band built on the 11/2− prolate state at 110 keV, for which a half-life of T1/2=55(5)μs has been measured, the new bands bring evidence of shape coexistence at low spin in the proton-rich strongly deformed A≈120 nuclei, a phenomenon p…
Norbert Elias, avec et contre Freud. Chemins pour une psychologie sociale et historique
2021
International audience
Psoriasis and its impact on the clinical outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism
2021
Abstract Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common and associated with high morbidity and mortality. Although chronic inflammation was not categorized as a traditional risk factor for VTE, chronic inflammation might increase the risk to develop VTE events. While studies confirmed an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in psoriatic patients, data regarding the influence of psoriasis on patients' cardiovascular profile and on prognosis of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) are sparse. Purpose We aimed to investigate the impact of psoriasis on prognosis of PE patients. Methods Hospitalized PE patients were stratified for psoriasis and the impact of psoriasis on outcome …
Evolution climatique au Jurassique inférieur (Sinémuriensupérieur) de la zone Nord-Ouest européenne, déduit de laminéralogie des argiles et des isoto…
2021
National audience; L’étude des minéraux argileux et des isotopes stables (carbone) du Sinémuriensupérieur du bassin de Cardigan Bay (forage de Mochras, Pays de Galles) et du bassinde Paris (forage de Montcornet, France) permet de mettre en évidence les conditionsenvironnementales et climatiques dominantes à cette période. Dans les deux bassins,situés à des paléolatitudes proches (30 à 35°N), les assemblages de minéraux argileuxcomprennent des chlorites, des illites, des interstratifiés illite-smectite (IS R1), dessmectites et des kaolinites dans des proportions variables. L'influence de la diagenèsed’enfouissement et de l'authigénèse étant négligeable dans les deux forages, lesminéraux argi…
Chemical constituents, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and bactericidal effect of Dicliptera verticillate (Acanthaceae)
2021
Abstract This study investigated the phytochemical constituents and evaluated the total phenolic content, it also determined the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the ethanol (EtOH) extract of the whole plant of Dicliptera verticillata. The phytochemical study was carried out using repeated silica gel column chromatography followed by Sephadex LH-20 to purify the extract which afforded three known compounds: lutein (1), shikimic acid (2) and guaiacylglycerol (3). The structures of these compounds were identified after analyses of their NMR and MS data and comparison of these data with those reported in the literature. The antioxidant and antibacterial activities were evaluated by …
Cucumis sativus l. Seeds ameliorate muscular spasm-induced gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders by simultaneously inhibiting calcium mediated s…
2021
Cucumis sativus L. is globally cultivated as an edible vegetable. Besides its nutritional benefits, it is used in traditional medicines against various ailments. The current study was designed to elucidate the multi-target mechanisms of a C. sativus seeds extract against asthma and diarrhea using network pharmacology along with a molecular docking approach. Furthermore, in-vitro and in-vivo experiments were conducted to verify the mechanistic insight of in silico studies. LC-ESI-MS/MS was performed to identify the bioactive compounds in the extract; later, some compounds were quantified by HPLC. C. sativus seed. EtOH has kaempferol in higher concentration 783.02 µg/g, followed by quercetin …
Conserved and newly acquired roles of PIF1 homologs in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
2021
ABSTRACTPHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are transcription factors that interact with the photoreceptors phytochromes and integrate multiple signaling pathways related to light, temperature, defense and hormone responses. PIFs have been extensively studied inArabidopsis thaliana, but less is known about their roles in other species. Here, we investigate the role of the two homologs of PIF1 found in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), namely PIF1a and PIF1b. Analysis of gene expression showed very different patterns, indicating a potential evolutionary divergence in their roles. At the protein level, light regulated the stability of PIF1a, but not PIF1b, further supporting a functional dive…
Deep Learning Estimation of 10-2 and 24-2 Visual Field Metrics Based on Thickness Maps from Macula OCT.
2021
Purpose To develop deep learning (DL) systems estimating visual function from macula-centered spectral-domain (SD) OCT images. Design Evaluation of a diagnostic technology. Participants A total of 2408 10-2 visual field (VF) SD OCT pairs and 2999 24-2 VF SD OCT pairs collected from 645 healthy and glaucoma subjects (1222 eyes). Methods Deep learning models were trained on thickness maps from Spectralis macula SD OCT to estimate 10-2 and 24-2 VF mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD). Individual and combined DL models were trained using thickness data from 6 layers (retinal nerve fiber layer [RNFL], ganglion cell layer [GCL], inner plexiform layer [IPL], ganglion cell-IPL […
The role of exercise on peripheral nerve regeneration: from animal model to clinical application
2021
Peripheral nerve injury is a complex condition with a variety of signs and symptoms depending on the severity and nerves involved. Peripheral nerve damage may lead to sensory and motor functions deficits and even lifelong disability, causing important socioeconomic costs worldwide. Despite the increase in knowledge of the mechanisms of injury and regeneration, a full functional recovery is still unsatisfying in the majority of patients. It is well known that exercise promotes physical and psychological well-being, by ameliorating general health. In the last years, there has been a growing interest in evaluating the effects of exercise on the peripheral nervous system. Experimental works wit…