Enhancing the separation performance of glassy PPO with the addition of a molecular sieve (ZIF-8): Gas transport at various temperatures

In this study, we prepared and characterized composite films formed by amorphous poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and particles of the size-selective Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 (ZIF-8). The aim was to increase the permselectivity properties of pure PPO using readily available materials to enable the possibility to scale-up the technology developed in this work. The preparation protocol established allowed robust membranes with filler loadings as high as 45 wt% to be obtained. The thermal, morphological, and structural properties of the membranes were analyzed via DSC, SEM, TGA, and densitometry. The gas permeability and diffusivity of He, CO2, CH4, and N2 were measured at 35, 50, and 65 \ub0C. The inclusion of ZIF-8 led to a remarkable increase of the gas permeability for all gases, and to a significant decrease of the activation energy of diffusion and permeation. The permeability increased up to +800% at 45 wt% of filler, reaching values of 621 Barrer for He and 449 for CO2 at 35 \ub0C. The ideal size selectivity of the PPO membrane also increased, albeit to a lower extent, and the maximum was reached at a filler loading of 35 wt% (1.5 for He/CO2, 18 for CO2/N2, 17 for CO2/CH4, 27 for He/N2, and 24 for He/CH4). The density of the composite materials followed an additive behavior based on the pure values of PPO and ZIF-8, which indicates good adhesion between the two phases. The permeability and He/CO2 selectivity increased with temperature, which indicates that applications at higher temperatures than those inspected should be encouraged

Human Bone RIgeneration in MAXillo-facial area using an innovative medical device for Tissue engineering (BRIMAX)

Bone regeneration today is one of the most important challenges for medicine and the need for this is particularly evident in the maxillo-facial area: our clinical trial will be based on a model of bone defect as in alveolar socket preservation and sinus lift augmentation, well described surgical techniques. The RIGENERA® system permits extraction of stem cells from a small sample of connective tissue obtained from the patient’s lingual mucosa or from a post-extraction surgical site (where an endosseous implant may be inserted), dental pulp or dental follicle. Our project is to demonstrate the efficacy in the maxillo-facial area of an innovative clinical protocol of bone tissue engineering based on a new medical device called Rigeneracons (CE certified Class I). Our clinical trial use already acquired technologies in comparation with new technologies (new selection methods, new Bio-compatible materials etc.) produced by us. Besides, we perform an in-vitro test to quantify the proliferative capacity of a cellular suspension obtained after disaggregation of connective tissue originating from the oral cavity using the RIGENERA® system, a biologic tissue disaggregator (Human Brain Wave–Torino, Italy) that recently came on the market. Evaluation of the histologic characteristics of neo-formed osseous tissue will be shown and discussed

Unexpectedly high second-order nonlinear optical properties of simple Ru and Pt alkynyl complexes as an analytical springboard for NLO-active polymer films

The unexpectedly high quadratic hyperpolarizability values of simple Ru and Pt alkynyl complexes have been measured by the EFISH technique, and this prompted us to investigate their potential as molecular building blocks for composite films with second harmonic generation properties

New thiocyanate-free ruthenium(ii) sensitizers with different pyrid-2-yl tetrazolate ligands for dye-sensitized solar cells

The synthesis of two new thiocyanate free Ru(ii) complexes with different pyrid-2-yl tetrazolate ligands is reported, along with their electrochemical, spectroscopic and theoretical characterization. The corresponding dye-sensitized solar cell devices were prepared, leading to 3.4% conversion efficiency, promising data, considering the simplicity of the ligands and the high chemical stability of the complexes

Development and validation of a recommended checklist for assessment of surgical videos quality: the LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS) video assessment tool

Introduction: There has been a constant increase in the number of published surgical videos with preference for open-access sources, but the proportion of videos undergoing peer-review prior to publication has markedly decreased, raising questions over quality of the educational content presented. The aim of this study was the development and validation of a standard framework for the appraisal of surgical videos submitted for presentation and publication, the LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS) video assessment tool. Methods: An international committee identified items for inclusion in the LAP-VEGaS video assessment tool and finalised the marking score utilising Delphi methodology. The tool was finally validated by anonymous evaluation of selected videos by a group of validators not involved in the tool development. Results: 9 items were included in the LAP-VEGaS video assessment tool, with every item scoring from 0 (item not presented in the video) to 2 (item extensively presented in the video), with a total marking score ranging from 0 to 18. The LAP-VEGaS video assessment tool resulted highly accurate in identifying and selecting videos for acceptance for conference presentation and publication, with high level of internal consistency and generalisability. Conclusions: We propose that peer review in adherence to the LAP-VEGaS video assessment tool could enhance the overall quality of published video outputs. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Quantification of table olives' acid, bitter and salty tastes using potentiometric electronic tongue fingerprints

The intensities of the gustatory attributes of table olives is one of the sensory set of parameters evaluated by trained sensory panels accordingly to the recommendations of the International Olive Council. However this is an expensive and time-consuming process that only allows the evaluation of a limited number of samples per day. So, an electronic tongue coupled with multivariate statistical tools, is proposed for assessing the median intensities of acid, bitter and salty tastes perceived in table olives. The results showed that the device, coupled with linear discriminant analysis, could be used as a taste sensor, allowing classifying aqueous standard solutions according to the three basic tastes (repeated K-fold cross-validation: 98% ± 3% of correct classifications) based on the electrochemical signals of 5 sensors. It was demonstrated that the taste sensor with multiple linear regression models, enabled quantifying the median intensities of the three basic tastes (repeated K-fold cross-validation: R2 ? 0.96 ± 0.04) perceived in table olives by a trained sensory panel, based on the potentiometric fingerprints (2125 signal profiles) of aqueous olive pastes and brines. The overall satisfactory results showed the electronic tongue potential to assess the intensities of gustatory attributes of table olives, formerly only achievable by sensory panels.This work was financially supported by Project POCI-01–0145-FEDER-006984 – Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM and by Project UID/QUI/00616/2013 – CQ-VR both funded by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) – and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal. Strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit is also acknowledged. Nuno Rodrigues thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for the Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/104038/2014)

Mesoangioblasts at 20: from the embryonic aorta to the patient bed

In 2002 we published an article describing a population of vessel-associated progenitors that we termed mesoangioblasts (MABs). During the past decade evidence had accumulated that during muscle development and regeneration things may be more complex than a simple sequence of binary choices (e.g., dorsal vs. ventral somite). LacZ expressing fibroblasts could fuse with unlabelled myoblasts but not among themselves or with other cell types. Bone marrow derived, circulating progenitors were able to participate in muscle regeneration, though in very small percentage. Searching for the embryonic origin of these progenitors, we identified them as originating at least in part from the embryonic aorta and, at later stages, from the microvasculature of skeletal muscle. While continuing to investigate origin and fate of MABs, the fact that they could be expanded in vitro (also from human muscle) and cross the vessel wall, suggested a protocol for the cell therapy of muscular dystrophies. We tested this protocol in mice and dogs before proceeding to the first clinical trial on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients that showed safety but minimal efficacy. In the last years, we have worked to overcome the problem of low engraftment and tried to understand their role as auxiliary myogenic progenitors during development and regeneration

Spin distribution measurement for 64Ni + 100Mo at near and above barrier energies

Spin distribution measurements were performed for the reaction 64Ni + 100Mo at three beam energies ranging from 230 to 260 MeV. Compound nucleus (CN) spin distributions were obtained channel selective for each evaporation residue populated by the de-excitation cascade. A comparison of the spin distribution at different beam energies indicates that its slope becomes steeper and steeper with increasing beam energy. This change in slope of the spin distribution is mainly due to the onset of fission competition with particle evaporation at higher beam energies

COVAD survey 2 long-term outcomes: unmet need and protocol

Vaccine hesitancy is considered a major barrier to achieving herd immunity against COVID-19. While multiple alternative and synergistic approaches including heterologous vaccination, booster doses, and antiviral drugs have been developed, equitable vaccine uptake remains the foremost strategy to manage pandemic. Although none of the currently approved vaccines are live-attenuated, several reports of disease flares, waning protection, and acute-onset syndromes have emerged as short-term adverse events after vaccination. Hence, scientific literature falls short when discussing potential long-term effects in vulnerable cohorts. The COVAD-2 survey follows on from the baseline COVAD-1 survey with the aim to collect patient-reported data on the long-term safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in immune modulation. The e-survey has been extensively pilot-tested and validated with translations into multiple languages. Anticipated results will help improve vaccination efforts and reduce the imminent risks of COVID-19 infection, especially in understudied vulnerable groups

Observation of inverse Compton emission from a long γ-ray burst.

Long-duration γ-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from ultra-relativistic jets launched from the collapsing cores of dying massive stars. They are characterized by an initial phase of bright and highly variable radiation in the kiloelectronvolt-to-megaelectronvolt band, which is probably produced within the jet and lasts from milliseconds to minutes, known as the prompt emission1,2. Subsequently, the interaction of the jet with the surrounding medium generates shock waves that are responsible for the afterglow emission, which lasts from days to months and occurs over a broad energy range from the radio to the gigaelectronvolt bands1-6. The afterglow emission is generally well explained as synchrotron radiation emitted by electrons accelerated by the external shock7-9. Recently, intense long-lasting emission between 0.2 and 1 teraelectronvolts was observed from GRB 190114C10,11. Here we report multi-frequency observations of GRB 190114C, and study the evolution in time of the GRB emission across 17 orders of magnitude in energy, from 5 × 10-6 to 1012 electronvolts. We find that the broadband spectral energy distribution is double-peaked, with the teraelectronvolt emission constituting a distinct spectral component with power comparable to the synchrotron component. This component is associated with the afterglow and is satisfactorily explained by inverse Compton up-scattering of synchrotron photons by high-energy electrons. We find that the conditions required to account for the observed teraelectronvolt component are typical for GRBs, supporting the possibility that inverse Compton emission is commonly produced in GRBs