Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel Irradiated and Acetalized for Osteochondral Defect Repair: Mechanical, Chemical, and Histological Evaluation after Implantation in Rat Knees

Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) hydrogel plugs were implanted in artificial osteochondral defects on the trochlear groove of rat knees. After 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 weeks of followup, samples containing the implants were mechanically evaluated by creep indentation test, chemically, and histologically by optical microscopy. The mechanical test pointed towards an increase of the implant creep modulus and the chemical analysis exhibited an increasing concentration of calcium and phosphorus within the implants over time. Optical microscopy showed no foreign body reaction and revealed formation, differentiation, and maintenance of new tissue at the defect/implant interface. The absence of implant wear indicated that the natural articular lubrication process was not disturbed by the implant. The performance of the irradiated and acetalized PVA was considered satisfactory for the proposed application

Phenolic profile and biological activity of table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

Table grapes are largely produced and consumed in the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, in the last years, the commercial interest in table grapes and other non-alcoholic grape products has notably increased worldwide. In addition to the nutritional aspects, polyphenol compounds in fresh grapes could exert positive effects on human health. The aim of this study was the characterization of the phenolic pattern of sixteen grape varieties and the evaluation of the associated antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activity at gastric level. The methods used were: 1) Folin-Cocalteau\u2019s assay for the quantification of total polyphenol content; 2) High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with Diode-Array Detector (DAD) to perform the quantitative analysis of grapes phenolic fraction 3) DPPH (1,1,-diphenil-2-picrylhydrazyl) spectrophotometric assay for the assessment of radical scavenging activity; 4) assessment of IL-8 release from human gastric epithelial cells to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of grape extracts. Some grapes, including seedless varieties, showed that the phenolic pattern was highly correlated with the biological activities, and, in particular, with peel and seeds portion. These results suggest that selected grape varieties could represent, also for consumers who do not drink wine, a source of healthy compounds potentially able to counteract oxidative stress and gastric inflammation

Effectiveness of laughter therapy on anxiety and depression in hospitalized patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To verify the effectiveness of laughter therapy on anxiety and depression in hospitalized patients. Methods: A systematic review of experimental studies and quasi-experimental studies was carried out after being registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020138934). The search was performed in September 2022 in PubMed, Web of Science, Lilacs, Cochrane Library and Scopus. Inclusion criteria were: a) hospitalized patients who experienced anxiety or depression and who underwent at least one session of laughter therapy, b) studies with outcomes of laughter therapy on anxiety and depression. The studies were selected in two stages: by reading the titles and abstracts of the studies, and by reading the full papers that met the eligibility criteria. The risk of bias of the studies was assessed using the RoB 2 and ROBINS-I tools. The quality of the evidence synthesis was measured by GRADE. Results: 4,472 studies were found and 15 of them were included. Laughter therapy was shown to be effective in reducing anxiety and depression in both hospitalized children and adults. Ten were randomized controlled trials (nine of them were at high risk of bias) and five were quasi-experimental studies. Meta-analysis showed significant improvement in anxiety (mean difference = -10.55, 95% CI: -19.97, -1.14, p 0.03, I² = 84%) and depression (mean difference = -2.43, 95% CI: -3.63, -1.24, p <0.0001, I² =0%). Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it was verified that laughter therapy seems to be more effective than standard care for reducing anxiety and depression in hospitalized patients. However, further studies with low risk of bias are required

Measurements in two bases are sufficient for certifying high-dimensional entanglement

High-dimensional encoding of quantum information provides a promising method of transcending current limitations in quantum communication. One of the central challenges in the pursuit of such an approach is the certification of high-dimensional entanglement. In particular, it is desirable to do so without resorting to inefficient full state tomography. Here, we show how carefully constructed measurements in two bases (one of which is not orthonormal) can be used to faithfully and efficiently certify bipartite high-dimensional states and their entanglement for any physical platform. To showcase the practicality of this approach under realistic conditions, we put it to the test for photons entangled in their orbital angular momentum. In our experimental setup, we are able to verify 9-dimensional entanglement for a pair of photons on a 11-dimensional subspace each, at present the highest amount certified without any assumptions on the state.Comment: 11+14 pages, 2+7 figure

Manejo do dossel vegetativo e seu efeito nos componentes de produção da videira Merlot.

A poda verde é uma prática cultural utilizada para melhorar as condições do dossel vegetativo dos vinhedos, visando a favorecer a qualidade da uva e do vinho. Nesse sentido, realizou-se este experimento entre as safras de 1993/1994 e 1996/1997, com diferentes modalidades de poda verde, num vinhedo do cv. Merlot conduzido em latada. Houve 12 tratamentos e três repetições, sendo o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados. Os tratamentos constituíram-se da testemunha e de 11 diferentes modalidades de poda verde, ou seja, desbrota, desponta e desfolha, algumas delas em diferentes épocas do ciclo vegetativo da videira. O componente principal 1, da análise de componentes principais (ACP) feita em cada ano, separadamente, mostra que o tratamento 10 (desbrota + desponta + desfolha realizada no início da floração, eliminando-se as folhas abaixo dos cachos) discriminou-se nos quatro anos, e os tratamentos 7 (desfolha realizada 21 dias antes da colheita, eliminando-se metade das folhas abaixo dos cachos) e 6 (desfolha realizada 21 dias antes da colheita, eliminando-se as folhas abaixo dos cachos), em três deles; a ACP da média dos quatro anos também evidencia essa discriminação entre eles. Constata-se que o tratamento 10 foi um dos que tiveram intensidade de poda verde mais intensa, caracterizando-se por variáveis indicativas de plantas com vigor e produtividade mais baixos que os demais

Evaluation of Hungarian Wines for Resveratrol by Overpressured Layer Chromatography

A method, including solid phase extraction sample preparation, overpressured layer chromatographic separation and subsequent densitometric evaluation, was developed for measurement of total resveratrol (cis- and trans-isomers) content of wine. The amount of resveratrol was determined in wine samples from different winemaking regions of Hungary. The total resveratrol was high in Hungarian red wines (3.6–11 mg/L), and much lower in white ones (0.04–1.5 mg/L)

Classes de genes de resistência expressos por Urochloa decumbens cv. Basilisk e outras seis espécies de Poaceae.

O Urochloa decumbens cv. Basilisk é uma forrageira utilizada devido a sua tolerância a solos com alto teor de alumínio e baixa fertilidade, além de rápido estabelecimento. As forrageiras são constantemente atacadas por outros organismos e possuem, assim, mecanismos pré-formados e induzíveis de autodefesa, que estão relacionados a genes de resistência (Genes R). Esses genes têm papel fundamental no reconhecimento de proteínas específicas expressadas por genes de avirulência (Avr) e podem ser distribuídas em classes que apresentam diferentes mecanismos moleculares, sendo as principais, CNLs, TNLs, RLPs e RLKs. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho foi descobrir os genes de resistência expressos por U. decumbens que sejam comuns aos genes de resistência de outras gramíneas. Foi realizado um estudo do transcritoma de U. decumbens através do sequenciamento Illumina. As sequências foram tratadas e anotadas, e então, organizadas em um banco de dados. Em seguida, retribuíram-se sequências de transcrito primário das gramíneas Setaria italica, Sorghum bicolor, Brachypodion distachyon, Zea mays, Panicum virgatum e Oryza sativa do banco de dados Phytozome, organizando-as em um banco de dados local através de SQL

Phenolic pro&#64257;le and antioxidant activity of different grape (Vitis vinifera L.) varieties

In the last years, the interest in non-alcoholic grape products has considerably increased. Table grapes are largely produced in the Mediterranean area and their consumption has raised worldwide. Beside the positive pattern of nutrients, table grapes could provide benefits on human health. Among the health-promoting substances contained in table grapes, flavonoids (mainly anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols and flavonols) seem to be the most interesting. The aim of this study was the characterization of the phenolic pattern of sixteen grape varieties, and the evaluation of the associated antioxidant activity. The methods were: 1) Folin-Cocalteau's assay for the quantification of total polyphenol content; 2) DPPH (1,1,-diphenil-2—picrylhydrazyl) assay and 3) ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) spectrophotometric assays for the assessment of radical scavenging activity; 4) High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method, coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (ESI-MS) and DAD detector was developed in order to obtain the phenolic pattern of grape samples. Data obtained in this study underline that some table grape varieties can show interesting phenolic pattern independently from the presence or not of seeds. This observation suggests that selected varieties of seedless grapes could represent an interesting source of healthy compounds, satisfying consumers' preferences and reducing concerns versus alcoholic beverages