A smog chamber comparison of a microfluidic derivatisation measurement of gas-phase glyoxal and methylglyoxal with other analytical techniques

A microfluidic lab-on-a-chip derivatisation technique has been developed to measure part per billion (ppbV) mixing ratios of gaseous glyoxal (GLY) and methylglyoxal (MGLY), and the method is compared with other techniques in a smog chamber experiment. The method uses-(2, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxylamine (PFBHA) as a derivatisation reagent and a microfabricated planar glass micro-reactor comprising an inlet, gas and fluid splitting and combining channels, mixing junctions, and a heated capillary reaction microchannel. The enhanced phase contact area-to-volume ratio and the high heat transfer rate in the micro-reactor resulted in a fast and highly efficient derivatisation reaction, generating an effluent stream ready for direct introduction to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). A linear response for GLY was observed over a calibration range 0.7 to 400 ppbV, and for MGLY of 1.2 to 300 ppbV, when derivatised under optimal reaction conditions. The analytical performance shows good accuracy (6.6% for GLY and 7.5% for MGLY), suitable precision (<12.0%) with method detection limits (MDLs) of 75 pptV for GLY and 185 pptV for MGLY, with a time resolution of 30 min. These MDLs are below or close to typical concentrations of these compounds observed in ambient air. The feasibility of the technique was assessed by applying the methodology to quantify α-dicarbonyls formed during the photo-oxidation of isoprene in the EUPHORE chamber. Good correlations were found between microfluidic measurements and Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR) with a correlation coefficient (2) of 0.84, Broadband Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (BBCEAS) (2 Combining double low line 0.75), solid phase micro extraction (SPME) (2 Combining double low line 0.89), and a photochemical chamber box modelling calculation (2 Combining double low line 0.79) for GLY measurements. For MGLY measurements, the microfluidic technique showed good agreement with BBCEAS (2 Combining double low line 0.87), SPME (2 Combining double low line 0.76), and the modeling simulation (2 Combining double low line 0.83), FTIR (2 Combining double low line 0.72) but displayed a discrepancy with Proton-Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) with 2 value of 0.39

ICDP workshop on the Lake Victoria Drilling Project (LVDP):Scientific Drilling of the World’s Largest Tropical Lake

Lake Victoria, which is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and has a catchment that extends to Rwanda and Burundi, is home to the largest human population surrounding any lake in the world and provides critical resources across eastern Africa. Lake Victoria is also the world’s largest tropical lake by surface area, but it is relatively shallow and without a major inlet, making it very sensitive to changes in climate, and especially hydroclimate. Furthermore, its size creates abundant habitats for aquatic fauna, including the iconic hyper-diverse cichlids, and serves as a major geographic barrier to terrestrial fauna across equatorial Africa. Given Lake Victoria’s importance to the eastern African region, its sensitivity to climate, and its influences on terrestrial and aquatic faunal evolution and dispersal, it is vital to understand the connection between the lake, regional climate, and how the lake size, shape, and depth has changed through its depositional history. This information can only be ascertained by collecting a complete archive of Lake Victoria’s sedimentary record. To evaluate Lake Victoria basin as a potential drilling target, ~50 scientists from 10 countries met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in July 2022 for the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) sponsored Lake Victoria Drilling Project (LVDP) workshop. Discussions of the main scientific objectives for a future drilling project included: 1) recovering the Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary records of Lake Victoria that document the dynamic nature of the lake, including multiple lacustrine and paleosol sequences; 2) establishing the chronology of recovered sediments, including using extensive tephra fingerprinting and other techniques from deposits in the region; 3) reconstructing past climate, environment, lacustrine conditions, and aquatic fauna, using an integrated multi-proxy approach, combined with climate and hydrologic modeling; and 4) connecting new records with existing sedimentary snapshots and fossils exposed in deposits around the lake, tying archeological, paleontological, sedimentological, tectonic, and volcanic findings to new drilling results. The LVDP provides an innovative way to address critical geological, paleontological, climatological, and evolutionary biological questions about Quaternary to modern landscapes and ecosystems in eastern Africa. Importantly, this project affords an excellent opportunity to help develop conservation and management strategies for regional responses to current and future changes in climate, land use, fisheries, and resiliency of at-risk communities in equatorial Africa

Auditory cue based on the golden ratio can improve gait patterns in people with parkinson’s disease

The harmonic structure of walking relies on an irrational number called the golden ratio (φ): in healthy subjects, it coincides with the stride-to-stance ratio, and it is associated with a smooth gait modality. This smoothness is lost in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), due to deficiencies in the execution of movements. However, external auditory cues seem to facilitate movement, by enabling the timing of muscle activation, and helping in initiating and modulating motor output. Based on a harmonic fractal structure of gait, can the administration of an auditory cue based on individual’s φ-rhythm improve, in acute, gait patterns in people with PD? A total of 20 participants (16 males, age 70.9 ± 8.4 years, Hoehn and Yahr stage-II) were assessed through stereophotogrammetry: gait spatio-temporal parameters, and stride-to-stance ratio were computed before, during, and after the φ-rhythm administration. Results show improvements in terms of stride length (p = 0.018), walking speed (p = 0.014), and toe clearance (p = 0.013) when comparing gait patterns before and after the stimulus. Furthermore, the stride-to-stance ratio seems to correlate with almost all spatio-temporal parameters, but it shows the main changes in the before–during rhythm comparison. In conclusion, φ-rhythm seems an effective cue able to compensate for defective internal rhythm of the basal ganglia in PD

ICDP workshop on the Lake Victoria Drilling Project (LVDP): scientific drilling of the world's largest tropical lake

Lake Victoria, which is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and has a catchment that extends to Rwanda and Burundi, is home to the largest human population surrounding any lake in the world and provides critical resources across eastern Africa. Lake Victoria is also the world's largest tropical lake by surface area, but it is relatively shallow and without a major inlet, making it very sensitive to changes in climate, and especially hydroclimate. Furthermore, its size creates abundant habitats for aquatic fauna, including the iconic hyper-diverse cichlids, and serves as a major geographic barrier to terrestrial fauna across equatorial Africa. Given Lake Victoria's importance to the eastern African region, its sensitivity to climate, and its influences on terrestrial and aquatic faunal evolution and dispersal, it is vital to understand the connection between the lake and regional climate and how the lake size, shape, and depth have changed through its depositional history. This information can only be ascertained by collecting a complete archive of Lake Victoria's sedimentary record. To evaluate the Lake Victoria basin as a potential drilling target, ∼ 50 scientists from 10 countries met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022 for the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-sponsored Lake Victoria Drilling Project (LVDP) workshop. Discussions of the main scientific objectives for a future drilling project included (1) recovering the Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary records of Lake Victoria that document the dynamic nature of the lake, including multiple lacustrine and paleosol sequences; (2) establishing the chronology of recovered sediments, including using extensive tephra fingerprinting and other techniques from deposits in the region; (3) reconstructing past climate, environment, lacustrine conditions, and aquatic fauna, using an integrated multi-proxy approach, combined with climate and hydrologic modeling; and (4) connecting new records with existing sedimentary snapshots and fossils exposed in deposits around the lake, tying archaeological, paleontological, sedimentological, tectonic, and volcanic findings to new drilling results. The LVDP provides an innovative way to address critical geological, paleontological, climatological, and evolutionary biological questions about Quaternary to modern landscapes and ecosystems in eastern Africa. Importantly, this project affords an excellent opportunity to help develop conservation and management strategies for regional responses to current and future changes in climate, land use, fisheries, and resiliency of at-risk communities in equatorial Africa.</p

Attività Fisica Adattata: Taiji-Quan. Una proposta di metodo di lavoro per le persone con Malattia di Parkinson

Riassunto La Malattia di Parkinson è la seconda malattia neurodegenerativa più diffusa al mondo dopo l’Alzheimer. Le persone affette sono ad alto rischio di caduta, con conseguenti disabilità fisiche e psicologiche, con aumento della paura di cadere e di uscire di casa, e riduzione dell’autonomia individuale. I disturbi dell’equilibrio rispondono in maniera incompleta al trattamento farmacologico, mentre si fanno sempre più numerose le evidenze scientifiche che dimostrano come la pratica del Taiji-Quan quale “attività fisica adattata” sia efficace nel migliorare l’equilibrio e dunque la qualità di vita delle persone con Malattia di Parkinson. Il presente lavoro vuole proporre un Programma di Allenamento Adattato di Taiji-Quan, ben definito, ripetibile, completo di significato rieducativo specifico per ogni singolo esercizio, da associare al Programma Farmacologico nel Progetto Riabilitativo Individuale delle persone con Malattia di Parkinson. Tale protocollo è attuabile anche in modalità telematica come tele-riabilitazione

The use of ultrasound in the clinical re-staging of the axilla after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

Introduction Ultrasound (US) is the imaging modality of choice for staging the axilla prior to surgery in patients with breast cancer (BC). High pathological complete response rates in the axilla after NACT mean a more conservative approach to surgery can be considered. Radiological re-staging is important in this decision making. After the presentation of results from ACOSOG Z1071 in December 2012, formal ultrasound re-assessment of the axilla after primary therapy was specifically requested in our institution. We report on the accuracy of axillary US (aUS) for identifying residual axillary disease post-NACT.Methods Data were collected on patients who had proven axillary disease prior to NACT and underwent axillary lymph node dissection after NACT between January 2013 and December 2015. Post-chemotherapy aUS reports and axillary pathology reports were classified as positive or negative for abnormal lymph nodes and for residual disease (cCR and pCR respectively).Results The sensitivity and specificity of aUS was 71% and 88% respectively. The negative predictive value (NPV) was 83%. The false negative rate was 29%.Conclusions Axillary ultrasound provides clinically useful information post-NACT, which will guide surgical decision-making. Patients with aUS-negative axillae are likely to have a lower false negative rate of SLNB after NACT (Boughey et al.). However, aUS does not replace the need to identify and biopsy the nodes which were proven to be positive prior to NACT

Insights on the paleoclimate and paleoecology of an Early Miocene hominoid site: a multiproxy study from Koru, Western Kenya

Abstract Early Miocene terrestrial ecosystems in eastern Africa were shaped by regional rifting, local, regional, and global climate change, and biogeography, which in turn influenced the evolution of hominoids and other vertebrates. Here, we present a multiproxy study focused on reconstructing the ecosystem structure and climate of the Koru 16 locality, which is a fossil-rich Early Miocene (?20 Ma) site in Kisumu County, Kenya. At Koru 16, the lithofacies consist of interbedded ash and weakly developed paleosols, indicating episodic volcanic disturbances from the nearby Tinderet volcanic complex. Paleosol features and elemental weathering estimates suggest warm, wet conditions. Over 1,000 fossil leaves from two quarries (?5 m apart) yielded 18 morphotypes, with 55% of the morphotypes found at both quarries, reflecting local landscape heterogeneity. Leaf physiognomic methods estimate mean annual precipitation at ?2,000 mm/yr and a mean annual temperature >25°C indicating a tropical climate. Leaf lifespan reconstructions suggest a semi-deciduous forest. Leaf mass per area values align with modern tropical rainforests and seasonal forests, corroborated by tree stump casts indicating a frequently disturbed forest with patches of closed- and open-canopy similar to modern primate-supporting tropical forests. The vertebrate fauna included a medium-sized pythonid, three ape species, and other typical Early Miocene mammals. This multiproxy result indicates that seasonally wet tropical forest environments played a role in the evolution of Early Miocene vertebrate communities and emphasizes the importance of site-specific studies in assessing habitat heterogeneity in Early Miocene hominoid ecosystems.1 Introduction 2 Research Background 2.1 Geological Setting 2.2 History of Research at Koru 3 Methods 3.1 Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Paleopedology 3.2 Paleontology 3.2.1 Paleobotany 3.2.2 Reconstruction of Forest Density and Basal Area 3.2.3 Vertebrates and Invertebrates 4 Results 4.1 Lithostratigraphy 4.2 Paleopedology 4.3 Plant Macrofossils 4.4 Forest Density Reconstruction 4.5 Vertebrate and Invertebrates 5 Discussion 5.1 Environments of Deposition 5.2 Koru 16 Climate and Ecosystem Structure 5.2.1 Climate From Paleosols and Flora 5.2.2 Floral Ecosystem Reconstruction 5.3 Fauna 5.4 Early Miocene Ecological Dynamism and Its Association With hominoid Evolution 6 Conclusio

Mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy in Parkinson's disease

© 2015 Vadalà et al. Electromagnetic therapy is a non-invasive and safe approach for the management of several pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative pathology caused by abnormal degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta in the midbrain resulting in damage to the basal ganglia. Electromagnetic therapy has been extensively used in the clinical setting in the form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy which can also be used in the domestic setting. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy to alleviate motor and non-motor deficits that characterize Parkinson's disease

Impacto de la Terapia de Alto Flujo de Oxígeno (TAFO) en un hospital pediátrico de la provincia de Buenos Aires

Introducción: Las infecciones respiratorias agudas bajas (IRAB), representan la causa más frecuente de consulta e internación en los meses de invierno. La insuficiencia respiratoria aguda es la complicación que motiva la internación de los pacientes y la necesidad de Unidad Terapia Intensiva (UTI). El objetivo del trabajo fue describir los resultados de la implementación de la Terapia de Alto Flujo (TAFO) en pacientes con IRAB grave internados en Terapia Intermedia. Métodos: Estudio prospectivo y descriptivo que incluyó pacientes de 1 a 36 meses internados en Terapia Intermedia en el Hospital Sor María Ludovica de la ciudad de La Plata, desde junio de 2018 a septiembre de 2019. Se ingresaron a TAFO pacientes sin respuesta al tratamiento con oxígeno a bajo flujo. El ingreso a UTI se consideró fracaso de la TAFO. Resultados: De 760 pacientes internados con IRAB, 91(11,9%) ingresaron a TAFO de los cuales 59 (64,8 %) tuvieron respuesta favorable con disminución de la frecuencia respiratoria (FR), frecuencia cardiaca (FC) y mejoría de la mecánica respiratoria; el resto (35,2%) pasó a UTI por fracaso terapéutico. Presentaron complicaciones a la TAFO el 5,5% de los pacientes. Conclusión: La TAFO fue una terapéutica segura, de fácil utilización que, a través de un aporte de oxígeno conocido, permitió la corrección de la hipoxemia, logrando la disminución de la FR, FC y mejoría de la mecánica respiratoria, dándole mayor comodidad al paciente durante su enfermedad.Introduction: Respiratory infections remain the major cause of outpatient consultation and hospital admissions during the winter season. Lower respiratory illness may cause severe acute respiratory insufficiency and hypoxemic respiratory failure, thus determining the need for hospitalization and eventual intensive care (ICU). The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of High Flow Oxygen Therapy (HFOT) implementation for patients with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) admitted to intermediate therapy unit. Methods: Prospective and descriptive study which included patients from age 1 to 36 months, hospitalized at intermediate therapy care unit at “Sor María Ludovica”, Hospital, in La Plata, from June, 2018 to September, 2019. Patients who did not show any improvement to low flow oxygen therapy were the subjects of this study. Further submission to ICU was considered as HFOT failure. Results: From 760 patients hospitalized with ALRI, 91 (11.9%) were admitted to TAFO. Fifty nine, (64.8%) had a favorable response with decreased respiratory and heart frequency rate, and an improvement of the work of breathing. The rest (35.1%) went to ICU due to therapeutic failure. Five point five percent of patients presented complications to TAFO. Conclusion: HFOT was a safe, easy to implement therapy treatment which improved the hypoxemic respiratory failure. This therapy reduced the respiratory and heart rate, and yielded a better and lower respiratory work, making patients more comfortable during illness