showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Whole-Blood Mitochondrial DNA Copies Are Associated With the Prognosis of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome After Sepsis
2021
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an inflammatory process of the lungs that develops primarily in response to pulmonary or systemic sepsis, resulting in a disproportionate death toll in intensive care units (ICUs). Given its role as a critical activator of the inflammatory and innate immune responses, previous studies have reported that an increase of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a biomarker for fatal outcome in the ICU. Here we analyzed the association of whole-blood mtDNA (wb-mtDNA) copies with 28-day survival from sepsis and sepsis-associated ARDS. We analyzed mtDNA data from 687 peripheral whole-blood samples within 24 h of sepsis diagnosis from unrelat…
Debiasing media articles–reducing hindsight bias in the production of written work.
2021
Written work such as Wikipedia articles can contain hindsight bias. Since reading biased texts can, in turn, increase recipients’ individual hindsight bias, it is an important agenda to examine effective debiasing strategies. In the present study (N = 164), we tested whether providing authors with debiasing strategies can effectively reduce hindsight bias in their content. Specifically, participants wrote an article based on several newspaper articles about a dam and we manipulated whether they received event knowledge (i.e., dam collapse) and a debiasing intervention. Ten blind coders rated the extent to which the produced articles were suggestive of the disaster. Debiasing was successful …
Experimental Set up of Advanced Lighting Systems for Load Shifting Strategies
2021
Shiftable and modulable loads are an essential part of smart grids in the effort for improving the efficiency of the power system and providing new ancillary services. Most of the researches considered shiftable loads and the impact on the power grid. Smart lighting systems are able to modulate their consumption while preserving the visual duty, therefore they can take part to this action. In this context, this paper presents an advanced experimental setup implemented in the SolarLab of the University of Palermo, with the aim of studying the impact on the end-user's energy consumption and on the power grid of smart lighting systems. In this light, different control strategies will be consid…
Volcanic Lakes in Africa: The VOLADA_Africa 2.0 Database, and Implications for Volcanic Hazard
2021
Volcanic lakes pose specific hazards inherent to the presence of water: phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions, lahars, limnic gas bursts and dispersion of brines in the hydrological network. Here we introduce the updated, interactive and open-access database for African volcanic lakes, country by country. The previous database VOLADA (VOlcanic LAke DAta Base, Rouwet et al., Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2014, 272, 78–97) reported 96 volcanic lakes for Africa. This number is now revised and established at 220, converting VOLADA_Africa 2.0 in the most comprehensive resource for African volcanic lakes: 81 in Uganda, 37 in Kenya, 33 in Cameroon, 28 in Madagascar, 19 in Ethiop…
Serological biomarkers for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium abscessus infections in cystic fibrosis patients
2021
International audience; Background: Culture conditions sometimes make it difficult to detect non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), particularly Mycobacterium abscessus, an emerging cystic fibrosis (CF) pathogen. The diagnosis of NTM positive cases not detected by classical culture methods might benefit from the development of a serological assay.Methods: As part of a diagnostic accuracy study, a total of 173 sera CF-patients, including 33 patients with M. abscessus positive cultures, and 31 non-CF healthy controls (HC) were evaluated. Four M. abscessus antigens were used separately, comprising two surface extracts (Interphase (INP) and a TLR2 positive extract (TLR2eF)) and two recombinant pro…
The Assessment of General Health Status in Patients with Odonto-Periodontal Pathology and Diabetes Mellitus
2021
Abstract The present research attempts to assess the general health status of the studied group of patients by applying the questionnaire method. The research group has been composed of 210 subjects, from both urban and rural areas, having periodontal pathologies and disorders of the glucidic metabolism. In order to obtain information about the general health condition as well as the orodental hygiene, we have applied the questionnaire method, this being well individualized and adapted to be relevant to the present study. It was highlighted that patients with odonto-periodontal pathology and diabetes gave a more affected general health compared to those without diabetes.
Metabolic Syndrome: From Molecular Mechanisms to Novel Therapies
2021
The metabolic syndrome (MetS) consists of a cluster of metabolic abnormalities including central obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia [...]
OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY OF CANDIDATES IN THE LIGO/VIRGO BINARY MERGER ERROR BOXES
2021
We performed optical spectroscopy of the candidates inside the gravitational wave errorboxes (S190408an, S190425z, S190426c, S190510g, S190728q, S190814bv). The spectral classification of 34 transients observed with the 10.4m Gran Telescopio de Canarias prior to 1 Sep 2019 is presented. We ruled out the association of these candidates with gravitational wave events.
Teachers negotiating multilingualism in the EFL classroom
2021
Tässä artikkelissa tutkimme suomalaisten englanninopettajien käsityksiä maahanmuuttajaoppilaista, joilla on monikielinen tausta, vieraan kielen luokkahuoneessa. Aiemmat tutkimukset monikielisistä oppijoista ovat keskittyneet toisen kielen oppimiseen tai oppijan äidinkieleen. Tässä tutkimuksessa keskitymme englantiin vieraana kielenä, sillä maailma on aiempaa monikielisempi ja liikkuvuus yleisempää kuin ennen. Aineistona on englannin opettajien haastattelut (n=7), joissa he pohtivat kokemuksiaan maahanmuuttajaoppilaista vieraan kielen oppitunnilla. Analyysimenetelmänä oli laadullinen sisällönanalyysi. Tulokset osoittavat, että osallistujat eivät olleet pohtineet monikielisyyttä englannin opp…
Assessment of Biological Parameters that (Influence) Affect the Quality of Life in a Group of Patients with Metabolic Syndrome
2021
Abstract The study included a group of 42 patients with metabolic syndrome and 32 patients without metabolic syndrome. The following biological data: BMI, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, low HDL cholesterol levels were statistically compared using the ANOVA test. To assess the impact on quality of life, patients in both groups completed the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. To verify the statistical confirmation of the results we used the Chi 2 test. In order to correlate the results with the gender and age of the patients, we formed the following age groups 45-54 years, 55-64 years, 65-74 years and over 75 years. We found that the dimensions that affect the quality of life differ depending on the a…
Non-arbitrary minimum threshold of yearly performed pancreatoduodenectomies: National multicentric study
2021
Abstract Background Annual hospital volume of pancreatoduodenectomies could influence postoperative outcomes. The aim of this study is to establish with a non-arbitrary method the minimum threshold of yearly performed pancreatoduodenectomies in order to improve several postoperative quality outcomes. Method Prospective follow-up of patients submitted to pancreatoduodenectomy in participating hospitals during 1 year. The influence of hospital volume on quality outcomes was analyzed by univariable and multivariable models. The minimum threshold of yearly performed pancreatoduodenectomies to improve outcomes was established by Akaike’s information criteria. Results Data from 877 patients opera…
La pluralità dei sistemi musicali e le origini della musica (parte prima)
2021
Il testo tratta la nascita degli interessi scientifici verso le tradizioni musicali extraoccidentali grazie alla nuova disciplina denominata "musicologia comparata" e agli studi etno-antropologici di orientamento evoluzionista e diffusionista. In questo contesto di studio viene dato particolare rilievo alle ipotesi riguardanti le origini della musica, che vengono sinteticamente ripercorse e valutate.
Characterization of DC series arc faults in PV systems based on current low frequency spectral analysis
2021
Abstract This work presents an experimental study focused on the characterization of series arc faults in direct current (DC) photovoltaic (PV) systems. The aim of the study is to identify some relevant characteristics of arcing current, which can be obtained by means of low frequency spectral analysis of current signal. On field tests have been carried out on a real PV system, in accordance with some tests requirements of UL 1699B Standard for protection devices against PV DC arc faults. Arcing and non-arcing current signals are acquired and compared and the behavior of a set of indicators proposed by authors is analyzed. Different measurement equipment have been used, in order to study th…
Eosinophilic and Noneosinophilic Asthma
2021
Background Phenotypic characteristics of patients with eosinophilic and noneosinophilic asthma are not well characterized in global, real-life severe asthma cohorts. Research Question What is the prevalence of eosinophilic and noneosinophilic phenotypes in the population with severe asthma, and can these phenotypes be differentiated by clinical and biomarker variables? Study Design and Methods This was an historical registry study. Adult patients with severe asthma and available blood eosinophil count (BEC) from 11 countries enrolled in the International Severe Asthma Registry (January 1, 2015-September 30, 2019) were categorized according to likelihood of eosinophilic phenotype using a pre…
Impacto en la asistencia en salud mental tras la colaboración entre atención primaria y salud mental
2021
Resumen Introduccion El medico de atencion primaria es el profesional con el que el paciente psiquiatrico tiene contacto en primer lugar y con mayor frecuencia. Por ello, es fundamental una buena coordinacion entre los servicios de atencion primaria (AP) y salud mental (SM) para brindar la mejor atencion a los pacientes y a la vez optimizar los recursos limitados de ambos servicios. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar si la colaboracion entre AP y SM da como resultado un manejo mas eficaz de los pacientes con patologia psiquiatrica. Metodologia Se realiza un estudio observacional, retrospectivo, en espejo con una muestra total de 135 pacientes mayores de 16 anos derivados por primera …
ASSESSMENT AND REHABILITATION PROGRAM IN DIZZINESS PATIENTS PRESENTING VERTEBRAL FRACTURE
2021
Vertebral fragility fractures, usually occurring in elderly people affected by osteoporosis, due to bones resistance alteration, produce balance disorders [1].Balance is the correct connection between the subject and the surrounding environment [2]. Neuro-physiological, biomechanical, emotional, psychological and relational factors have an important influence in posture assessment and balance maintenance, because of the universally recognized role of “polisensorial system.” A preferential motor-sensorial strategy is always present with possibility of readaptation during life, especially after a central or peripheral injury, establishing neuro-plastic processes and compensation mechanisms to…
Fractal Dimension Logarithmic Differences Method for Low Voltage Series Arc Fault Detection
2021
Series arc faults introduce singularities in the current signal and changes over time. Fractal dimension can be used to characterize the dynamic behaviour of the current signal by providing a degree of signal chaos. This measure of irregularity exhibits changes in signal behaviour that can suitably be used as a basis for series arc fault detection. In this paper, an efficient low voltage series arc fault detection method based on the logarithmic differences of the estimate of the fractal dimension of the current signal using the multiresolution length-based method is presented. The discrete wavelet transform and the hard thresholding denoising with the universal threshold are also used. Exp…
The effect of blue-light-blocking lenses on retinal straylight
2021
Sometimes yellow-tinted lenses are recommended to help improve visual quality. As yellow lenses filter blue light, it is believed that their use could decrease the intensity of scattered light in the eye (retinal straylight). However, the results of some studies have contradicted this assumption (Van Os et al. 2017). Currently various nontinted blue-light-blocking lenses are used to protect the eyes from short-wavelength light. The objective of this study was to determine whether blue-light-blocking lenses affect the levels of retinal straylight in the eye. A straylight meter (C-Quant, Oculus) was used for retinal straylight measurements. The measurements were performed under four different…
Eco depletion: The impact of hunger on prosociality by means of environmentally friendly attitudes and behavior
2021
Abstract The present research investigated the impact of hunger on prosociality in a consumer choice context by means of environmentally friendly attitudes and behavior. Two eye-tracking studies were conducted with hunger measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2). The data were analyzed through bivariate correlations, Pearson's chi-square tests, and analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Our findings, based on cross-sectional and experimental evidence from field and lab settings, revealed that hungry consumers express more prosocial attitudes than their satiated counterparts in terms of general environmental concerns and importance ratings of buying eco-labeled products. However, we found no sig…
The addition of TACE to palliative chemotherapy is associated with extended survival in unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
2021
Effects of 5-Azacitidine on Dnmt2/Trdmt1 expression levels and endoplasmic reticulum stress in cellular models of insulinoma
2021
Diabetes mellitus affects people all over the world of all ages or social groups making it a worldwide healthcare challenge. Moreover, untreated or badly treated diabetes carries a risk of serious complications including premature death (IDF Diabetes Atlas 9th edition, 2019). The main symptom of diabetes is insulin secretion and/or action disorder leading to hyperglycemia what results in impaired carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism (“Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus,” 2013). Dnmt2/ Trdmt1 in its structure and sequence is similar to DNA methyltransferases, however, it has been shown that mainly methylates aspartic acid transfer RNA, specifically at the cytosine-38 resi…
Bio-inspired Ni dinuclear complexes as heterogeneous catalysts for hydrogen evolution
2021
Abstract A major challenge in the sustainable production of hydrogen is lowering the electrochemical overpotential and the activation energy of the hydrogen evolution reaction. Some enzymes have two metallic Ni centers and catalyze this reaction with high activity. Taking inspiration from them, we have developed two novel dinuclear Ni(II) complexes, Ni-PATIO and Ni-PACO, with promise as molecular catalysts. Ni-PACO exhibits a square-planar geometry for both Ni(II) and two-fold rotational symmetry both in solid and solution states, whereas Ni-PATIO displays one square-planar Ni(II) center and one octahedral Ni(II) configuration, which confer it magnetic properties. We show that both complexe…
1818P Body mass index (BMI) is not a cancer risk factor for BRCA1/2 carriers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies
2021
Current methodologies for phytosterol analysis in foods
2021
Abstract Plant sterols (PS) (phytosterols and phytostanols) are bioactive compounds of all vegetable foods where can be found as free sterol alcohols and as conjugates. These latter forms have been less studied, although they may have potential beneficial effects, whereas some PS have several approved health claims, especially in lowering blood cholesterol levels. In this context, it is necessary to establish analytical methods for food authentication, assessing PS health benefits and unfolding future applications. Several extraction methodologies have been employed for the extraction of PS from food matrixes (usually solvent extraction and saponification) although solid-phase extraction, s…
LeptonInjector and LeptonWeighter: A neutrino event generator and weighter for neutrino observatories
2021
We present a high-energy neutrino event generator, called LeptonInjector, alongside an event weighter, called LeptonWeighter. Both are designed for large-volume Cherenkov neutrino telescopes such as IceCube. The neutrino event generator allows for quick and flexible simulation of neutrino events within and around the detector volume, and implements the leading Standard Model neutrino interaction processes relevant for neutrino observatories: neutrino-nucleon deep-inelastic scattering and neutrino-electron annihilation. In this paper, we discuss the event generation algorithm, the weighting algorithm, and the main functions of the publicly available code, with examples.
Financial Stress and Basis in Energy Markets
2021
We investigate the relationship between energy commodities bases, inventory and financial stress from 1994 to 2018. We find that, from the 1998 Asian crisis the effect of financial stress on energy commodities bases gradually increased and from the 2008 crisis became positive, while the effect of inventory showed a gradual decline over time. The reactions of bases to changes in financial stress is nonlinear, as they are higher in the high financial stress periods. This is more profound in crude oil market than heating oil and natural gas. Moreover, the reactions of bases to the changes in inventory is nonlinear, as the reactions are lower when the inventory level is high confirming the theo…
A dispersive estimate of scalar contributions to hadronic light-by-light scattering
2021
We consider the contribution of scalar resonances to hadronic light-by-light scattering in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. While the $f_0(500)$ has already been addressed in previous work using dispersion relations, heavier scalar resonances have only been estimated in hadronic models so far. Here, we compare an implementation of the $f_0(980)$ resonance in terms of the coupled-channel $S$-waves for $\gamma^*\gamma^*\to \pi\pi/\bar K K$ to a narrow-width approximation, which indicates $a_\mu^{\text{HLbL}}[f_0(980)]=-0.2(2)\times 10^{-11}$. With a similar estimate for the $a_0(980)$, the combined effect is thus well below $1\times 10^{-11}$ in absolute value. We also estimate the …
STUDIO MULTICENTRICO IN NETWORK DI CENTRI UNIVERSITARI ITALIANI SULLA PREVALENZA DELL’INFEZIONE TUBERCOLARE LATENTE (ITBL) IN STUDENTI DI AREA SANITA…
2021
Introduzione. La tubercolosi (TB) rappresenta ancora oggi un problema di salute pubblica a livello globale. Sebbene l’incidenza mostri ampie differenze geografiche, la TB rappresenta una delle più importanti cause di morte e quella principale da singolo agente infettivo (3). Si stima che un terzo della popolazione mondiale risulti infettata in forma latente da ceppi di Mycobacterium tuberculosis. L’infezione tubercolare latente (ITBL) e la TB costituiscono ancora oggi, un rischio professionale per gli operatori sanitari e soggetti a questi equiparati, quali studenti che svolgono attività formativa professionalizzante in ambito assistenziale. La maggior parte dei casi di malattia attiva di o…
Toll Like Receptors as Sensors of the Tumor Microbial Dysbiosis: Implications in Cancer Progression
2021
Microbiota is a complex ecosystem of active microorganisms resident in the body of mammals. Although the majority of these microorganisms resides at the distal gastrointestinal tract, high-throughput DNA sequencing technology have made possible to understand that several other tissues of the human body host their own microbiota, even those once considered sterile, such as lung tissue. These bacterial communities have important functions in maintaining a healthy body state and the host immune system has evolved multiple mechanisms by which maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the microbiota. The maintenance of this dialogue allows the induction of protective responses to pathogens and r…
Inverse Conformational Selection in Lipid–Protein Binding
2021
International audience; Interest in lipid interactions with proteins and other biomolecules is emerging not only in fundamental biochemistry but also in the field of nanobiotechnology where lipids are commonly used, for example, in carriers of mRNA vaccines. The outward-facing components of cellular membranes and lipid nanoparticles, the lipid headgroups, regulate membrane interactions with approaching substances, such as proteins, drugs, RNA, or viruses. Because lipid headgroup conformational ensembles have not been experimentally determined in physiologically relevant conditions, an essential question about their interactions with other biomolecules remains unanswered: Do headgroups excha…
Cutinases: Characteristics and Insights in Industrial Production
2021
Cutinases (EC 3.1.1.74) are serin esterases that belong to the α/β hydrolases superfamily and present in the Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad. They show characteristics between esterases and lipases. These enzymes hydrolyze esters and triacylglycerols and catalyze esterification and transesterification reactions. Cutinases are synthesize by plant pathogenic fungi, but some bacteria and plants have been found to produce cutinases as well. In nature they facilitate a pathogen’s invasion by hydrolyzing the cuticle that protects plants, but can be also used for saprophytic fungi as a way to nourish themselves. Cutinases can hydrolyze a wide range of substrates like esters, polyesters, triacylglycero…
Riflessioni sull’iconografia funeraria lilibetana nell’età di Cicerone
2021
Twenty-four, and possibly twenty-five painted stelae and aediculae were found, in different times, in the area of the necropolis of Lilybaeum (1903, 1974-1984), and further North, nearer to the ancient sea-shore (1895); most recently, two new entries enhanced the Museo Lilibeo (2009), beside two elements from decorated epitymbia. Despite previous scholarly opinions spread these artifacts over three centuries, as a whole, they can be assigned approximately to Cicero’s time. Some cross-cutting features, as a matter of fact, connect the stelae and the “Salinas” aediculae, and indicate that both date between the late 2nd and the late 1st century BC. Nevertheless, they constitue two neatly diffe…
Reliability Generalization Study of the Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool
2021
The so-called Person-Centered Care (PCC) model identifies three fundamental principles: changing the focus of attention from the disease to the person, individualizing care, and promoting empowerment. The Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT) has gained wide acceptance as a measure of PCC in recent years due to its brevity and simplicity, as well as its ease of application and interpretation. The objective of this study is to carry out a reliability generalization meta-analysis to estimate the internal consistency of the P-CAT and analyze possible factors that may affect it, such as the year of publication, the care context, the application method, and certain sociodemographic proper…
Influence of the adhesive strategy in the sealing ability of resin composite inlays after deep margin elevation
2021
Background The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the gingival margin position and the adhesive strategy selected to perform deep margin elevation (DME) in marginal sealing of resin composite inlays by a nanoleakage test. Material and Methods 12 sound third molars were selected and expulsive MOD cavities for inlays were prepared. Experimental groups were established according to gingival margin location (enamel: 1 mm above cemento-enamel junction (CEJ), dentin: 1 mm below CEJ, or DME, and the adhesive strategy used to lute inlays and elevate the gingival margin. Therefore, the six experimental groups were: 1) Enamel + etch-and-rinse adhesive (ERA) Adper Scotchbond 1XT (SB1X…
Exploring the mechanisms by which reindeer droppings induce fen peat methane production
2021
Abstract Peatlands, especially fens, are known to emit methane. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) use mires mainly as spring and summer pastures. In this work we observed that adding reindeer droppings to fen peat increased the potential methane production by 40%. This became apparent when droppings originating from reindeer kept in pen or pasture in winter were added to methanogenic fen peat samples. The droppings introduced Methanobacteriaceae (Methanobrevibacter; > 90% of the mcrA MiSeq reads) to the peat, which was originally populated by Methanosarcinaceae, Methanosaetaceae, Methanoregulaceae, Methanobacteriaceae, Methanomassiliicoccaceae, Methanocellaceae and Methanomicrobiaceae. The origi…
TTAPE-Me dye is not selective to cardiolipin and binds to common anionic phospholipids nonspecifically
2021
Identification, visualization, and quantitation of cardiolipin (CL) in biological membranes is of great interest because of the important structural and physiological roles of this lipid. Selective fluorescent detection of CL using noncovalently bound fluorophore 1,1,2,2-tetrakis[4-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)-phenylethene (TTAPE-Me) has been recently proposed. However, this dye was only tested on wild-type mitochondria or liposomes containing negligible amounts of other anionic lipids, such as phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylserine (PS). No clear preference of TTAPE-Me for binding to CL compared to PG and PS was found in our experiments on artificial liposomes, Escherichia coli ins…