27 research outputs found
High-Pressure fractionation of tropical fruits with potential antibacterial activity: M. indica L. and B. Guineensis
The great interest in the potential health benefits of tropical fruits is due to their high content of antioxidants
and phytochemicals. Colombia ranks as the second country with the major biodiversity worldwide. B.
guineensis (Arecaceae) is a palm that grows in Colombia and Central America. The purple-black fruits of this
plant are rich in thermal-stable anthocyanins. M. indica L. (Anacardiaceae) is a great source of phenolic
compounds. It has multiple functional properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic and
anticarcinogenic activities. In this work, high-pressure extraction techniques: supercritical fluid extraction
(SFE) and enhanced solvent extraction (ESE), and two different fractionation techniques: i) cascade
fractionation and ii) sequential fractionation were applied. Fractions were analyzed by means of their phenolic
content, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial activity against different bacterial strains: E. coli, P. mirabilis, S.
Aurerus, S. enteritidis, E. aerogenes and P. aeruginosa. The sequential fractionation of B. guineensis pulp
consisted in three steps: 1) supercritical CO2, 2) CO2 + 50% ethanol, and 3) CO2/EtOH/H2O (50:25:25). A red
fraction rich in phenolic compounds, high antioxidant and antibacterial capacity (inhibition zone ~ 10 mm) was
obtained in the last step. A cascade fractionation of M. indica leaves using CO2 + 50% H2O and three
separators (S1, S2 and S3) was evaluated. Fractions obtained in S1 and S2 presented antioxidant capacity
and antibacterial activity against P. mirabilis, and S2 also against S. Aureus and Salmonella
Ampelisca lusitanica (Crustacea: Amphipoda): new species for the Atlantic coast of Morocco
Background
This study reports for the first time the presence of the Lusitanian ampeliscid amphipod Ampelisca lusitanica Bellan-Santini & Marques, 1986 in the northwestern Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Methods
Specimens were collected in January 2015 from intertidal rock pools along the El Jadida shoreline associated with the brown algae Bifurcaria bifurcata and Sargassum muticum.
Results
Systematic description of the species is presented, as well as a discussion of its ecological and geographical distribution.
Conclusion
This new finding extends the geographical distribution from the Lusitanian (Europe) to the Mauritanian (Africa) region and increases knowledge of the ecology and the global distribution of A. lusitanica found, previously, only on Portuguese and Spanish coasts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Performance Of A Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber Exposed To The WANF Neutrino Beam
We present the results of the first exposure of a Liquid Argon TPC to a
multi-GeV neutrino beam. The data have been collected with a 50 liters
ICARUS-like chamber located between the CHORUS and NOMAD experiments at the
CERN West Area Neutrino Facility (WANF). We discuss both the instrumental
performance of the detector and its capability to identify and reconstruct low
multiplicity neutrino interactions.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Submitted for publication to Physical Review
Sex and gender differences in acute stroke care: metrics, access to treatment and outcome. A territorial analysis of the Stroke Code System of Catalonia
Introduction: Previous studies have reported differences in the management and outcome of women stroke patients in comparison with men. We aim to analyze sex and gender differences in the medical assistance, access to treatment and outcome of acute stroke patients in Catalonia. Patients and methods: Data were obtained from a prospective population-based registry of stroke code activations in Catalonia (CICAT) from January/2016 to December/2019. The registry includes demographic data, stroke severity, stroke subtype, reperfusion therapy, and time workflow. Centralized clinical outcome at 90 days was assessed in patients receiving reperfusion therapy. Results: A total of 23,371 stroke code activations were registered (54% men, 46% women). No differences in prehospital time metrics were observed. Women more frequently had a final diagnosis of stroke mimic, were older and had a previous worse functional situation. Among ischemic stroke patients, women had higher stroke severity and more frequently presented proximal large vessel occlusion. Women received more frequently reperfusion therapy (48.2% vs 43.1%, p < 0.001). Women tended to present a worse outcome at 90 days, especially for the group receiving only IVT (good outcome 56.7% vs 63.8%; p < 0.001), but not for the group of patients treated with IVT + MT or MT alone, although sex was not independently associated with clinical outcome in logistic regression analysis (OR 1.07; 95% CI, 0.94â1.23; p = 0.27) nor in the analysis after matching using the propensity score (OR 1.09; 95% CI, 0.97â1.22). Discussion and conclusion: We found some differences by sex in that acute stroke was more frequent in older women and the stroke severity was higher. We found no differences in medical assistance times, access to reperfusion treatment and early complications. Worse clinical outcome at 90 days in women was conditioned by stroke severity and older age, but not by sex itself
Measurement of Through-Going Particle Momentum By Means Of Multiple Scattering With The ICARUS T600 TPC
The ICARUS collaboration has demonstrated, following the operation of a 600
ton (T600) detector at shallow depth, that the technique based on liquid Argon
TPCs is now mature. The study of rare events, not contemplated in the Standard
Model, can greatly benefit from the use of this kind of detectors. In
particular, a deeper understanding of atmospheric neutrino properties will be
obtained thanks to the unprecedented quality of the data ICARUS provides.
However if we concentrate on the T600 performance, most of the
charged current sample will be partially contained, due to the reduced
dimensions of the detector. In this article, we address the problem of how well
we can determine the kinematics of events having partially contained tracks.
The analysis of a large sample of atmospheric muons collected during the T600
test run demonstrate that, in case the recorded track is at least one meter
long, the muon momentum can be reconstructed by an algorithm that measures the
Multiple Coulomb Scattering along the particle's path. Moreover, we show that
momentum resolution can be improved by a factor two using an algorithm based on
the Kalman Filtering technique
Impact of COVID-19 infection on the outcome of patients with ischemic stroke
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We evaluated whether stroke severity, functional outcome, and mortality are different in patients with ischemic stroke with or without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. METHODS: A prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study in Catalonia, Spain. Recruitment was consecutive from mid-March to mid-May 2020. Patients had an acute ischemic stroke within 48 hours and a previous modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0 to 3. We collected demographic data, vascular risk factors, prior mRS score, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, rate of reperfusion therapies, logistics, and metrics. Primary end point was functional outcome at 3 months. Favourable outcome was defined depending on the previous mRS score. Secondary outcome was mortality at 3 months. We performed mRS shift and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: We evaluated 701 patients (mean age 72.3±13.3 years, 60.5% men) and 91 (13%) had COVID-19 infection. Median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was higher in patients with COVID-19 compared with patients without COVID-19 (8 [3â18] versus 6 [2â14], P=0.049). Proportion of patients with a favourable functional outcome was 33.7% in the COVID-19 and 47% in the non-COVID-19 group. However, after a multivariable logistic regression analysis, COVID-19 infection did not increase the probability of unfavourable functional outcome. Mortality rate was 39.3% among patients with COVID-19 and 16.1% in the non-COVID-19 group. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, COVID-19 infection was a risk factor for mortality (hazard ratio, 3.14 [95% CI, 2.10â4.71]; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ischemic stroke and COVID-19 infection have more severe strokes and a higher mortality than patients with stroke without COVID-19 infection. However, functional outcome is comparable in both groups
Micromechanical Properties of Injection-Molded StarchâWood Particle Composites
The micromechanical properties of injection molded starchâwood particle composites were investigated as a function of particle content and humidity conditions.
The composite materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The microhardness
of the composites was shown to increase notably with the concentration of the wood particles. In addition,creep behavior under the indenter and temperature dependence
were evaluated in terms of the independent contribution of the starch matrix and the wood microparticles to the hardness value. The influence of drying time on the density
and weight uptake of the injection-molded composites was highlighted. The results revealed the role of the mechanism of water evaporation, showing that the dependence of water uptake and temperature was greater for the starchâwood composites than for the pure starch sample. Experiments performed during the drying process at 70°C indicated that
the wood in the starch composites did not prevent water loss from the samples.Peer reviewe
Quality of Cosmetic Argan Oil Extracted by Supercritical Fluid Extraction from Argania spinosa L.
Argan oil has been extracted using supercritical CO2. The influence of the variables pressure (100, 200, 300, and 400âbar) and temperature (35, 45, 55°C) was investigated. The best extraction yields were achieved at a temperature of 45°C and a pressure of 400 bar. The argan oil extracts were characterized in terms of acid, peroxide and iodine values, total tocopherol, carotene, and fatty acids content. Significant compositional differences were not observed between the oil samples obtained using different pressures and temperatures. The antioxidant capacity of the argan oil samples was high in comparison to those of walnut, almond, hazelnut, and peanut oils and comparable to that of pistachio oil. The physicochemical parameters of the extracted oils obtained by SFE, Soxhlet, and traditional methods are comparable. The technique used for oil processing does not therefore markedly alter the quality of argan oil