Glycerol for improving solubility and evaluation of antimicrobial activity for natural products

With this study, we aimed to improve solubility and provide enhanced evaluation of antimicrobial activity with the addition of glycerol as a co-solvent with DMSO. The antimicrobial activities of glycerol and DMSO were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, and glycerol was found to be cause less growth inhibition. Compounds with poor water solubility were selected for biological screening and solubility testing. The glycerol/DMSO solution improved the time to solubilize (at 10mM) in ten out of the twenty-one tested compounds. Apparent assay solubility was assessed using turbidity measurements with a spectrophotometer at 600 nm. Notable improvement in solubility (where less light was blocked by lack of particulate matter) was observed for six compounds with glycerol/DMSO in media. To gauge our spectrophotometric analysis of solubility, we subjected six compounds to analysis with liquid-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. These analyses confirmed the solubility results obtained spectrophotometrically. Improved bioactivity with glycerol/DMSO/media against S. aureus was observed for four of the seven active compounds, resulting in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) less than that of our standard water/DMSO/media solution. This study provides a rapid and effective way of assessing solubility in standard antimicrobial assay conditions and offers new solutions for improving solubility in-vitro by employing glycerol as a co-solvent

Sugar prevalence in Aedes albopictus differs by habitat, sex and time of day on Masig Island, Torres Strait, Australia

Background: Sugar feeding is a fundamental behaviour of many mosquito species. For Aedes albopictus, an important vector of dengue virus and chikungunya virus, little is known about its sugar-feeding behaviour, and no studies have been conducted on this in the southern hemisphere. This knowledge is pivotal for determining the potential of attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) to control this important vector. Methods: The prevalence of sugar was assessed in 1808 Ae. albopictus from Masig Island, Torres Strait, Australia collected between 13 and 25 March 2020. Fructose presence and content in field-collected Ae. albopictus were quantified using the cold anthrone assay. Results: Significantly more male (35.8%) than female (28.4%) Ae. albopictus were sugar fed. There was a significant interaction between sex and time of day on the probability of capturing sugar-fed Ae. albopictus. For both sexes, fructose prevalence and content were higher in mosquitoes caught in the morning than in the afternoon. Female Ae. albopictus collected in the residential habitat were significantly more likely to be sugar fed than those collected in the woodland habitat. Conclusions: These findings provide baseline information about the sugar-feeding patterns of Ae. albopictus and provide essential information to enable an assessment of the potential of ATSBs for vector suppression and control on Masig Island, with relevance to other locations where this species occurs

Die Phytolithe aus dem Hortfund Domsen, Burgenlandkreis

Im Tagebauvorfeld Profen im südlichen Sachsen-Anhalt wurde 2013 bei archäologischen Ausgrabungen ein Gefäß dokumentiert, das frühbronzezeitliche Metallgegenstände enthielt. In den Sedimentresten aus dem Gefäß wurden Reste von Halmen und Spelzen sowie große Mengen an dicht gelagerten Phytolithen dokumentiert, bei denen es sich um Reste von Getreide handeln könnte. Es wird angenommen, daß die Gegenstände im Gefäß mit Stroh umwickelt oder gepolstert waren

An exploration of function analysis and function allocation in the commercial flight domain

The applicability is explored of functional analysis methods to support cockpit design. Specifically, alternative techniques are studied for ensuring an effective division of responsibility between the flight crew and automation. A functional decomposition is performed of the commercial flight domain to provide the information necessary to support allocation decisions and demonstrate methodology for allocating functions to flight crew or to automation. The function analysis employed 'bottom up' and 'top down' analyses and demonstrated the comparability of identified functions, using the 'lift off' segment of the 'take off' phase as a test case. The normal flight mission and selected contingencies were addressed. Two alternative methods for using the functional description in the allocation of functions between man and machine were investigated. The two methods were compared in order to ascertain their relative strengths and weaknesses. Finally, conclusions were drawn regarding the practical utility of function analysis methods

Can we predict real-time fMRI neurofeedback learning success from pretraining brain activity?

Neurofeedback training has been shown to influence behavior in healthy participants as well as to alleviate clinical symptoms in neurological, psychosomatic, and psychiatric patient populations. However, many real-time fMRI neurofeedback studies report large inter-individual differences in learning success. The factors that cause this vast variability between participants remain unknown and their identification could enhance treatment success. Thus, here we employed a meta-analytic approach including data from 24 different neurofeedback studies with a total of 401 participants, including 140 patients, to determine whether levels of activity in target brain regions during pretraining functional localizer or no-feedback runs (i.e., self-regulation in the absence of neurofeedback) could predict neurofeedback learning success. We observed a slightly positive correlation between pretraining activity levels during a functional localizer run and neurofeedback learning success, but we were not able to identify common brain-based success predictors across our diverse cohort of studies. Therefore, advances need to be made in finding robust models and measures of general neurofeedback learning, and in increasing the current study database to allow for investigating further factors that might influence neurofeedback learning

Screening and diagnosing depression in women visiting GPs' drop in clinic in Primary Health Care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Only half of all depressions are diagnosed in Primary Health Care (PHC). Depression can remain undetected for a long time and entail high costs for care and low quality of life for the individuals. Drop in clinic is a common form of organizing health care; however the visits are short and focus on solving the most urgent problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of depression among women visiting the GPs' drop in clinic and to identify possible clues for depression among women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The two-stage screening method with "high risk feedback" was used. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to screen 155 women visiting two GPs' drop in clinic. Women who screened positive (BDI score ≥10) were invited by the GP to a repeat visit. Major depression (MDD) was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria and the severity was assessed with Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Women with BDI score <10 constituted a control group. Demographic characteristics were obtained by questionnaire. Chart notations were examined with regard to symptoms mentioned at the index visit and were categorized as somatic or mental.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The two-stage method worked well with a low rate of withdrawals in the second step, when the GP invited the women to a repeat visit. The prevalence of depression was 22.4% (95% CI 15.6–29.2). The severity was mild in 43%, moderate in 53% and severe in 3%. The depressed women mentioned mental symptoms significantly more often (69%) than the controls (15%) and were to a higher extent sick-listed for a longer period than 14 days. Nearly one third of the depressed women did not mention mental symptoms. The majority of the women who screened as false positive for depression had crisis reactions and needed further care from health professionals in PHC. Referrals to a psychiatrist were few and revealed often psychiatric co-morbidity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of previously undiagnosed depression among women visiting GPs' drop in clinic was high. Clues for depression were identified in the depressed women's symptom presentation; they often mention mental symptoms when they visit the GP for somatic reasons e.g. respiratory infections. We suggest that GPs do selective screening for depression when women mention mental symptoms and offer to schedule a repeat visit for follow-up rather than just recommending that the patient return if the mental symptoms do not disappear.</p

Characterisation of the dip-bump structure observed in proton-proton elastic scattering at root s=8 TeV

The TOTEM collaboration at the CERN LHC has measured the differential cross-section of elastic proton-proton scattering at root s = 8 TeV in the squared four-momentum transfer range 0.2 GeV2 &lt; vertical bar t vertical bar &lt; 1.9 GeV2. This interval includes the structure with a diffractive minimum ("dip") and a secondary maximum ("bump") that has also been observed at all other LHC energies, where measurements were made. A detailed characterisation of this structure for root s = 8 TeV yields the positions, vertical bar t vertical bar(dip) = (0.521 +/- 0.007) GeV2 and vertical bar t vertical bar(bump) = (0.695 +/- 0.026) GeV2, as well as the cross-section values, d sigma/dt vertical bar(dip) = (15.1 +/- 2.5) mu b/GeV2 and d sigma/dt vertical bar(bump) = (29.7 +/- 1.8) mu b/Ge-2, for the dip and the bump, respectively

Characterisation of the dip-bump structure observed in proton-proton elastic scattering at root s=8 TeV

The TOTEM collaboration at the CERN LHC has measured the differential cross-section of elastic proton-proton scattering at root s = 8 TeV in the squared four-momentum transfer range 0.2 GeV2 &lt; vertical bar t vertical bar &lt; 1.9 GeV2. This interval includes the structure with a diffractive minimum ("dip") and a secondary maximum ("bump") that has also been observed at all other LHC energies, where measurements were made. A detailed characterisation of this structure for root s = 8 TeV yields the positions, vertical bar t vertical bar(dip) = (0.521 +/- 0.007) GeV2 and vertical bar t vertical bar(bump) = (0.695 +/- 0.026) GeV2, as well as the cross-section values, d sigma/dt vertical bar(dip) = (15.1 +/- 2.5) mu b/GeV2 and d sigma/dt vertical bar(bump) = (29.7 +/- 1.8) mu b/Ge-2, for the dip and the bump, respectively