Thermocapillary manipulation of droplets using holographic beam shaping: Microfluidic pin ball

International audienceWe demonstrate that holographically generated optical patterns offer greater flexibility for the thermocapillary control of water droplets than Gaussian spots; droplets can be stopped in faster flows while using less optical intensity when the surface tension variations are created by line patterns instead of single spots. Further, experiments are performed making use of variable light patterns to achieve controlled droplet routing in a four-way cross microfluidic channel. Finally, multiple droplet storage is demonstrated as well as changing drop order. © 2008 American Institute of Physics

Olive Oil Composition: Volatile Compounds

volatile composition of olive oil

Gas Chromatography in the Analysis of Compounds Released from Wood into Wine

Wood has been used in alcoholic beverages for centuries, mainly as material for containers used for alcoholic beverages aging. Recently OIV (Organisation International de la Vigne et du Vin) approved the use of chips (Resolution oeno 3/2005) and staves as alternatives for barrels. These practices are being rapidly spread among winemakers. The increased used of these alternatives are mainly related to low investments, similar sensorial results obtained in shorter time, simplicity of use and the possibility of avoiding contamination and offflavours, too-often related to aged or contaminated barrels. Besides oak, other woods are being looked at for enological purposes, such as acacia, cherry, chestnut and mulberry. Their characteristics are commonly compared to oak. In the past, chestnut (Castanea sativa) was widely used in the Mediterranean area, because of its availability and its cheap price. Chestnut wood has higher porosity than oak. Cherry wood (Prunus avium) has high porosity and oxygen permeation, and is usually used for short aging times. Acacia wood (Robinia pseudoacacia) is hard, with low porosity. Mulberry wood (Morus alba and Morus nigra) is tender and elastic, with medium porosity, and is characterized by a low release of compounds. The lack of properties for cooperage is now overcome by their possible use as staves or chips. The aim of this work is to present an overview on volatile and semi-volatile composition of different kind of wood with oenological interest. Within this purpose, this work will be focused on a bibliographic review of the most used chromatographic methods for characterization of volatile and semi-volatile compounds, including also a brief description of the most common reported sample preparation methods for chromatographic analysis

Artificial intelligence-enabled probabilistic load demand scheduling with dynamic pricing involving renewable resource

Residential demand response is one of the key enabling technologies which plays an important role in managing the load demand of prosumers. However, the load scheduling problem becomes quite challenging due to the involvement of dynamic parameters and renewable energy resources. This work has proposed a bi-level load scheduling mechanism with dynamic electricity pricing integrated with renewable energy and storage system to overcome this problem. The first level involves the formulation of load scheduling and optimization problems as optimal stopping problems with the objective of energy consumption and delay cost minimization. This problem involved the real-time electricity pricing signal, customers load scheduling priority, machine learning (ML) based forecasted load demand, and renewable & storage unit profiles, which is solved using mathematical programming with branch-and-cut & branch-and-bound algorithms. Since the first-level optimization problem is formulated as a stopping problem, the optimal time slots are obtained using a one-step lookahead rule to schedule the load with the ability to handle the uncertainties. The second level is used to further model the load scheduling problem through the dynamic electricity pricing signal. The cost minimization objective function is then solved using the genetic algorithm (GA), where the input parameters are obtained from the first-level optimization solution. Furthermore, the impact of load prioritization in terms of time factor and electricity price is also modeled to allow the end-users to control their load. Analytical and simulation results are conducted using solar-home electricity data, Ausgrid, AUS to validate the proposed model. Results show that the proposed model can handle uncertainties involved in the load scheduling process along with a cost-effective solution in terms of cost and discomfort reduction. Furthermore, the bi-level process ensures cost minimization with end-user satisfaction regarding the dynamic electricity price signal

Radiotherapy for pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma – review of the literature

none13Background and purpose Pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma (pACC) is a rare disease with poor prognosis. Publications on radiotherapy (RT) are scarce. This review summarizes the current data on RT for pACC and possibly provides first evidence to justify its use in this setting. Materials and methods We searched the PubMed and Embase database for manuscripts regarding RT for pACC. Results We included 17 manuscripts reporting on 76 patients treated with RT, after screening 2961 references and 269 full articles. In addition, we added data of 4 unreported pACC patients treated by co-authors. All reports based on retrospective data. Median age at first diagnosis was 11.1 years (70% female); 78% of patients presented with hormonal activity. RT was mostly performed for curative intent (78%). 88% of RT were administered during primary therapy. The site of RT was predominantly the local tumor bed (76%). Doses of RT ranged from 15 to 62 Gy (median 50 Gy). Information on target volumes or fractionation were lacking. Median follow-up was 6,9 years and 64% of the patients died of disease, with 33% alive without disease. In 16 of 48 patients with available follow-up data after adjuvant RT (33%) no recurrence was reported and in 3 of 9 patients palliative RT seemed to induce some benefit for the patient. Conclusions Our first systematic review on RT for pACC provides too few data for any general recommendation, but adjuvant RT in patients with high risk might be considered. International collaborative studies are urgently needed to establish better evidence on the role of RT in this rare malignancy.noneWiegering, Verena; Riedmeier, Maria; Thompson, Lester D.R.; Virgone, Calogero; Redlich, Antje; Kuhlen, Michaela; Gultekin, Melis; Yalcin, Bilgehan; Decarolis, Boris; Härtel, Christoph; Schlegel, Paul-Gerhardt; Fassnacht, Martin; Timmermann, BeateWiegering, Verena; Riedmeier, Maria; Thompson, Lester D. R.; Virgone, Calogero; Redlich, Antje; Kuhlen, Michaela; Gultekin, Melis; Yalcin, Bilgehan; Decarolis, Boris; Härtel, Christoph; Schlegel, Paul-Gerhardt; Fassnacht, Martin; Timmermann, Beat

The trophectoderm acts as a niche for the inner cell mass through C/EBPα-regulated IL-6 signaling

IL-6 has been shown to be required for somatic cell reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). However, how Il6 expression is regulated and whether it plays a role during embryo development remains unknown. Here, we describe that IL-6 is necessary for C/EBPα-enhanced reprogramming of B cells into iPSCs but not for B cell to macrophage transdifferentiation. C/EBPα overexpression activates both Il6 and Il6ra genes in B cells and in PSCs. In embryo development, Cebpa is enriched in the trophectoderm of blastocysts together with Il6, while Il6ra is mostly expressed in the inner cell mass (ICM). In addition, Il6 expression in blastocysts requires Cebpa. Blastocysts secrete IL-6 and neutralization of the cytokine delays the morula to blastocyst transition. The observed requirement of C/EBPα-regulated IL-6 signaling for pluripotency during somatic cell reprogramming thus recapitulates a physiologic mechanism in which the trophectoderm acts as niche for the ICM through the secretion of IL-6.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Combinatorial activity of flavonoids with antibiotics against drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The use of resistance-modifying agents is a potential strategy that is used to prolong the effective life of antibiotics in the face of increasing antibiotic resistance. Since certain flavonoids are potent bacterial efflux pump inhibitors, we assessed morin, rutin, quercetin, hesperidin, and (+)-catechin for their combined activity with the antibiotics ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, erythromycin, oxacillin, and ampicillin against drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Four established methods were used to determine the combined efficacy of each combination: microdilution checkerboard assays, time-kill determinations, the Etest, and dual disc-diffusion methods. The cytotoxicity of the flavonoids was additionally evaluated in a mouse fibroblast cell line. Quercetin and its isomer morin decreased by 3- to 16-fold the minimal inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and erythromycin against some S. aureus strains. Rutin, hesperidin, and (+)-catechin did not promote any potentiation of antibiotics. Despite the potential cytotoxicity of these phytochemicals at a high concentration (fibroblast IC50 of 41.8 and 67.5mg/L, respectively), quercetin is commonly used as a supplement for several therapeutic purposes. All the methods, with exception of the time-kill assay, presented a high degree of congruence without any apparent strain specificity.This work was supported by Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors—COMPETE, FCT/MEC (PIDDAC), and FEDER through Projects Bioresist—PTDC/EBB-EBI/ 105085/2008; Phytodisinfectants—PTDC/DTP-SAP/1078/ 2012 (COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028765) and the PhD grants awarded to Ana Abreu (SFRH/BD/84393/ 2012) and Anabela Borges (SFRH/BD/63398/2009). The authors are very grateful to Professor Simon Gibbons (De- partment of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, The School of Pharmacy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London) for providing the bacterial strains.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Isosexual precocious pseudopuberty during mitotane treatment in a child with adrenocortical carcinoma:A case report

Background Mitotane is employed as adjuvant therapy in managing adrenocortical carcinoma in pediatric patients. While various adverse effects, such as estrogen-like manifestations, are well-documented in adults, there is limited knowledge regarding pediatric-specific toxicity. This report details an uncommon case of isosexual precocious pseudopuberty induced during childhood due to the estrogen-like effects of mitotane. Case report A 2.8-year-old female diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma (pT4 pN0 M0) underwent adjuvant treatment with mitotane and cytotoxic chemotherapy following incomplete resection (tumor stage III). Approximately eight months into mitotane treatment, she exhibited signs of puberty (Tanner stage 2), including progressive breast development, uterine enlargement, vaginal discharge, and an advancement of bone age by nearly two years. Gonadotrophin-dependent puberty and endogenous estrogen production were ruled out. The precocious pseudopuberty was attributed to previously reported estrogen-like effects of mitotane therapy. Subsequent administration of the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole in combination with mitotane led to a reduction in clinical signs of puberty. Conclusion Monitoring for estrogen-like effects of mitotane is crucial, particularly in pre-pubertal children, to avert potentially irreversible changes associated with precocious pseudopuberty. Aromatase inhibitors may serve as a prompt therapeutic option, enabling the continuation of mitotane treatment

Lycopene-rich extract from red guava ( Psidium guajava L.) displays cytotoxic effect against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 via an apoptotic-like pathway

This study investigated a lycopene-rich extract from red guava (LEG) for its chemical composition using spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and computational studies. The cytotoxic activity of LEG and the underlying mechanism was studied in human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), murine fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3), BALB/c murine peritoneal macrophages, and sheep blood erythrocytes by evaluating the cell viability with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method and flow cytometry. Spectrophotometry analysis showed that LEG contained 20% of lycopene per extract dry weight. Experimental and theoretical ATR-FTIR suggests the presence of lycopene, whereas MS/MS spectra obtained after fragmentation of the molecular ion [M]+• of 536.4364 show fragment ions at m/z 269.2259, 375.3034, 444.3788, and 467.3658, corroborating the presence of lycopene mostly related to all-trans configuration. Treatment with LEG (1600 to 6.25μg/mL) for 24 and 72h significantly affected the viability of MCF-7 cells (mean half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50]=29.85 and 5.964μg/mL, respectively) but not NIH-3T3 cells (IC50=1579 and 911.5μg/mL, respectively). Furthermore LEG at concentrations from 800 to 6.25μg/mL presented low cytotoxicity against BALB/c peritoneal macrophages (IC50≥800μg/mL) and no hemolytic activity. LEG (400 and 800μg/mL) caused reduction in the cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest, DNA fragmentation, modifications in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and morphologic changes related to granularity and size in MCF-7 cells; however, it failed to cause any significant damage to the cell membrane or display necrosis or traditional apoptosis. In conclusion, LEG was able to induce cytostatic and cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells probably via induction of an apoptotic-like pathway.The authors acknowledge the computational time provided by CENAPAD/SP on the project proj697. Alexandra Plácido is gratefully to FCT by her grant SFRH/BD/97995/2013, financed by POPH–QREN–Tipologia 4.1–Formação Avançada, subsidized by Fundo Social Europeu and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior. The work at REQUIMTE/LAQV received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2013. Adriany das G. N. Amorim is grateful to CAPES by for the doctoral fellowship process no. 99999.004236/2014-09 in Federal University of Piauí (UFPI). Eder A. Barbosa is grateful to PNPD/CAPES for its post-doctoral fellowship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Controlled RNA contamination and degradation and its impact on qPCR gene expression in S. epidermidis biofilms

RNA quality is of utmost importance to perform gene expression quantification by qPCR. The classical methods used to determine \RNA\ quality are based on electrophoresis and spectrophotometer assessment, namely A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios. It was previously shown that due to the complex nature of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms, \RNA\ extraction procedures could impact mRNA quality and thus accurate quantification. Herein, we contaminated and degraded \RNA\ extracted from S. epidermidis biofilms, and assessed the effect on gene expression by qPCR. As expected, thermal degradation of RNA had a significant impact on gene expression on two out of the three tested genes. On the other hand, the contamination of the extracted \RNA\ yielded an interesting result: while most contaminants did not changed the purity indicators or the integrity of RNA, significant changes on gene expression levels were found. This work confirms that poor \RNA\ extraction has an important impact in qPCR quantification, emphasizing the consequences of carry-over contaminants on gene expression studies. Additionally, our results show that the parameters commonly used to assess the quality of extracted \RNA\ from bacterial cultures seem to be insufficient to ensure reliable gene expression determination.This work was funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and COMPETE grants PTDC/BIA-MIC/113450/2009 and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014309. The following authors had an individual FCT fellowship: VC (SFRH/BD/78235/2011); LDRM (SFRH/BD/66166/2009)