Prevention of iron- and copper-mediated oxidative DNA damage by neurotransmmitters and related compounds: Evidence for metal binding as an antioxidant mechanism

An array of health concerns have been attributed to oxidative DNA damage from the hydroxyl radical (*OH), and the presence of the most biologically available metals iron and copper perpetuate the production of this radical through the Fenton and Fenton-like reactions, respectively. The concentrations at which flavonol and polyphenol antioxidants prevent 50% of DNA damage (IC50) were measured using gel electrophoresis assays upon Fe(II)/H2O2- and Cu(I)/H2O2-mediated DNA damage (Chapter 2). Results show that catechol- and gallol-containing antioxidants differ greatly in preventing DNA damage by Cu(I)/H2O2, compared to Fe(II)/H2O2, behavior that was explained using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Semiquinone and other radical formation indicated that some polyphenol compounds could promote copper redoxy cycling, leading to increased DNA damage and prooxidant activity. DNA damage assays also revealed that hydroxy-keto functional groups participate in preventing iron-mediated DNA damage prevention depending on the type of hydroxy-keto group present in the flavonolic compound (Chapter 2). Concentration of labile iron and copper are elevated in patients with neurological disorders, causing concern about metal-neurotransmitter interactions. Both catecholamine and amino acid neurotransmitters are known to bind these metals, and their antioxidant properties have been previously examined. To further investigate the extent to which metal-binding affects antioxidant activity, of both neurotransmitter types, their iron-mediated iii DNA damage inhibition was quantified, UV-vis studies were used to detect iron and copper binding, and cyclic voltammetry was used the determine redox potentials for these neurotransmitters with and without iron (Chapter 3). In contrast to the amino acid neurotransmitters, catecholamine neurotransmitters prevent iron-mediated DNA damage and are electrochemically active. When bound to iron, these catecholamines shift redox potentials outside the range for iron(II) generated *OH. Curcumin, a novel preventative treatment for Alzheimer\u27s symptoms, also demonstrated the ability to prevent iron- and copper-mediated DNA damage (IC50 values of 28 and 55 μM, respectively) as well as versatile redox activity, indicating that metal binding can explain most of the antioxidant and prooxidant activity of these compounds, and this mechanistic insight will help in identifying antioxidants to treat and prevent neurodegenerative diseases

An approximation of predictive maintenance for a plane propeller through sensorization, vibration analysis and Machine Learning

In industrial machinery, failure will eventually occur, either in the short term due to manufacturing defects, or in the long run due to accumulations of debris, deterioration of internal parts, or purely from wear and tear. Machinery, systems, and industrial lines force factory operators to deal with seemingly endless maintenance and repair cycles, particularly when undetected faults in machinery cause catastrophic failure. Maintenance and repair schedules can be more efficiently planned if we study the behaviour of the machine before the failure occurs. That it's known with the name of Predictive Maintenance. With it, it's possible to save significant amounts of money in an industrial environment by less production stops and less useless maintenance mechanics work hours. Predictive maintenance has more and more name in the production lines and is also used in the Aeronautical Industry to be able to foresee what failures are going to arise in the aircraft parts. With this, it's possible to proceed to carry out necessary maintenance activities before failures occur and extend the life of the machinery. One way to study this maintenance is by analysing machinery vibrations. These mechanical parameters can determine abnormal behaviour and thus alert failures. The longer the behaviour of a machine is studied, the easier it is to draw conclusions due to the large amount of data collected. The objective is to know the machine, create behaviour models, detect anomalies to carry out maintenance and avoid failures.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructur

Pulsed laser deposition of superconducting Sr2RuO4 thin-films and the role of crystallographic defects

Sr2RuO4 (SRO214) is a prototypical unconventional superconductor. However, since the discovery of superconductivity a quarter of a century ago, the symmetry of the bulk and surface superconducting states in single-crystal SRO214 remains highly controversial. Solving this problem is impeded by the fact that superconducting SRO214 is extremely challenging to achieve in thin-films as structural defects and impurities sensitively annihilate the superconducting state. Despite a handful of successful results on the growth of superconducting SRO214 thin-films by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), reproducible growth by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) remains extremely challenging. In this thesis, we developed a protocol for the reliable growth of superconducting SRO214 thin-films by pulsed laser deposition and identify the type of structural defects that are responsible for destroying superconductivity. We have systematically investigated the structure-electrical-properties relationship of epitaxial SRO214 thin-films grown by PLD on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2TaAlO6)0.7 (LSAT). Growth parameters including temperature, substrate and target composition have been varied to understand their influence on the microstructure and electrical properties of SRO214. We also investigated the presence of impurities and crystallographic defects using X-ray diffraction techniques in conjunction with electron microscopy to identify the underlying microstructural features that suppress superconductivity in SRO214 thin-films. We demonstrate that, careful control of the starting material is essential to achieve superconductivity. By replacing the conventional SRO214 polycrystalline target with a single crystal of Sr3Ru2O7 (SRO327), we succeed in growing reproducible, high quality, superconducting SRO214 thin-films. By varying the SRO214 thickness, we observe the absence of superconductivity in films thinner than 50 nm (grown using a pulse frequency of 2 Hz). The suppression of superconductivity in thinner films is found to correlate to in-plane misorientation and mosaic twist, caused by in-plane screw dislocations that form close to the SRO214/LSAT interface. In conclusion, this work provides the first reliable pulsed laser deposition protocol for superconducting SRO214 thin-films. The results are of immediate interest to the superconducting and magnetism communities and form the foundation for a whole new spectrum of proximity experiments involving unconventional superconducting symmetries.EPSRC (1799492

The CHAIN-REDS Semantic Search Engine

e-Infrastructures, and in particular Data Repositories and Open Access Data Infrastructures, are essential platforms for e-Science and e-Research and are being built since several years both in Europe and the rest of the world to support diverse multi/inter-disciplinary Virtual Research Communities. So far, however, it is difficult for scientists to correlate papers to datasets used to produce them and to discover data and documents in an easy way. In this paper, the CHAINREDS project’s Knowledge Base and its Semantic Search Engine are presented, which attempt to address those drawbacks and contribute to the reproducibility of science

Review of Measures to Control Airborne Pollutants in Broiler Housing

Broiler housing is a significant source of airborne pollutants from animal production, which lead to degradation of indoor air quality and outdoor emissions, particularly ammonia, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide, odours and particulate matter. In this chapter, we first analyse the current state of the art on the consequences of these pollutants on broiler farming, farm workers, and the environment. This includes the factors affecting pollutants generation, quantification, and mitigation measures suppressing airborne pollutants. Next, we describe different best available techniques for environmental protection and sustainability of broiler production, namely feeds and feeding management, feed supplements, bedding management and treatment of exhaust air. Thus, broiler farms should select mitigation strategies based on several considerations, such as location, climate conditions, environmental policies and financial resourcesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis against Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Phyllocnistidae).

This article is the copyright property of the Entomological Society of America and may not be used for any commercial or other private purpose without specific written permission of the Entomological Society of America.The purpose of this work was to analyze the efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner on the control of Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Phyllocnistidae) in laboratory and field trials. In the laboratory, four B. thuringiensis were used: Dipel (commercial formulation) and the isolates K, 6, and 15 (collections of the University of Azores). A surfactant solution of nonoxinol also was tested with or without the different suspensions of B. thuringiensis. Leaves of Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck with second or third instars of leafminer larvae were used in all tests. Bacterial suspensions were applied topically on the surface of intact leaf mines or by injection inside the mine, near the head of the leafminer. When injecting both concentrations of Dipel into the mines, mortality of the leafminers increased compared with the topical application, although no significant differences were observed. The addition of the nonoxinol to the Dipel suspension, applied topically, increased the effect of B. thuringiensis, but differences were not significant. The mortality of the leafminers treated only with the nonoxinol solution increased significantly 48 h after treatment, compared with the control group, suggesting an insecticidal effect of this surfactant when used at a concentration of 0.01%. All the tested B. thuringiensis were equally active against the leafminer, either when applied topically or by mine injection. Field trials showed a significant difference between larval mortality of the control group and the results observed at the trees treated with B. thuringiensis 48 h after treatments

Laminar blood flow in stenotic microchannels

In this work, Newtonian and non-Newtonian laminar blood flow in rectangular microchannels with symmetric and asymmetric atheroma were numerically studied. It was observed that the impact of symmetry of the atheroma is almost negligible and the non-Newtonian properties of blood leads to higher pressure drops and wall shear stresses than the ones obtained for Newtonian flows.The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by FCT (Science and Technology Foundation), COMPETE, QREN and FEDER: : EXPL/EMS-SIS/2215/2013 and PTDC/SAU-ENB/116929/2010

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress

The House and the Senate have considered immigration measures on a variety of issues in the 114th Congress. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113) extends four immigration programs through September 30, 2016: the EB-5 immigrant investor Regional Center Pilot Program, the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, the Conrad State program for foreign medical graduates, and the special immigrant religious worker program. P.L. 114-113 also contains provisions on the Visa Waiver Program and certain nonimmigrant visa categories. Other enacted immigration-related measures include the Border Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-68) on border security personnel, the Adoptive Family Relief Act (P.L. 114-70) on intercountry adoption, and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (P.L. 114-92) on the Afghan special immigrant visa program. The House has passed several other immigration-related bills. Among them are the Northern Border Security Review Act (H.R. 455), the Preclearance Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 998), the Border Security Technology Accountability Act of 2015 (H.R. 1634), the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 3009), and the American SAFE Act of 2015 (H.R. 4038). H.R. 998 has also been reported by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. In addition, various bills on border security, interior enforcement, visa security, and asylum, among other issues, have been considered by a House or Senate committee. Border security- related measures have been reported or ordered to be reported by the House Homeland Security Committee (H.R. 399, H.R. 3583, H.R. 3586), or the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (S. 750, S. 1808, S. 1864,S. 1873). Interior enforcement provisions are included in bills ordered to be reported by the House Judiciary Committee (H.R. 1147, H.R. 1148, H.R. 1153) or reported by the House Appropriations Committee (H.R. 3128). S. 1635, as reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also contains interior enforcement- related provisions. Several of these interior enforcement bills also contain key provisions on other immigration issues. Among the other issues addressed in these bills are employment eligibility verification (H.R. 1147); visa security and naturalization (H.R. 1148); and expedited removal, asylum, parole, and unaccompanied alien children (H.R. 1153). H.R. 1149, as ordered to be reported by the House Judiciary Committee, also addresses unaccompanied alien children. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 114th Congress. Department of Homeland Security appropriations are addressed in CRS Report R44053, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2016, and, for the most part, are not covered here