Lubricant properties of trimethylolpropane trioleate biodegradable oil: High pressure density and viscosity, film thickness, Stribeck curves and influence of nanoadditives

Lubricant properties of trimethylolpropane trioleate synthetic base oil (TMPTO) were experimentally determined under different temperatures, pressures and rolling-sliding conditions. With the aim to obtain the viscosity-pressure coefficient, density and viscosity measurements were performed up to 150 MPa with a falling-body viscometer and a vibrating tube densimeter, respectively. Film thickness and friction properties were determined with a ball-on-disc apparatus from temperatures of 303.15 to 353.15 K, from slide-roll ratios from 5 to 50% at 50 N (applied load). Finally, it has also been evaluated if the use of nanoparticles as additives could involve changes on film thickness and Stribeck curves of TMPTO base oil. For this aim, hexagonal-boron nitride nanoparticles (h-BN) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) were used at mass concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 wt%. The viscosity of TMPTO increases from 15 mPa s (at 10 MPa and 353.15 K) to 525 mPa s (at 150 MPa and 303.15 K). The Stribeck curves for TMPTO are placed between elastohydrodynamic and mixed lubrication. All nanolubricants show very similar Stribeck curves, being the lowest friction coefficient obtained for 0.25 wt% of GnP. It has been found that for most of the experimental conditions the addition of the GnP promotes an increase of the film thicknessSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the European Regional Development Fund programme and the Xunta de Galicia have supported this manuscript through ENE2017-86425-C2-2-R, GRC ED431C 2020/10 and ED431E 2018/08 projects. Dr. María J. G. Guimarey acknowledges a postdoctoral fellowship from the Xunta de Galicia (Spain) and the financial support from IACOBUS programmeS

Soil quality impacts of current South American agricultural practices

Increasing global demand for oil seeds and cereals during the past 50 years has caused an expansion in the cultivated areas and resulted in major soil management and crop production changes throughout Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and southern Brazil. Unprecedented adoption of no-tillage as well as improved soil fertility and plant genetics have increased yields, but the use of purchased inputs, monocropping i.e., continuous soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), and marginal land cultivation have also increased. These changes have significantly altered the global food and feed supply role of these countries, but they have also resulted in various levels of soil degradation through wind and water erosion, soil compaction, soil organic matter (SOM) depletion, and nutrient losses. Sustainability is dependent upon local interactions between soil, climate, landscape characteristics, and production systems. This review examines the region’s current soil and crop conditions and summarizes several research studies designed to reduce or prevent soil degradation. Although the region has both environmental and soil resources that can sustain current agricultural production levels, increasing population, greater urbanization, and more available income will continue to increase the pressure on South American croplands. A better understanding of regional soil differences and quantifying potential consequences of current production practices on various soil resources is needed to ensure that scientific, educational, and regulatory programs result in land management recommendations that support intensification of agriculture without additional soil degradation or other unintended environmental consequences.EEA ParanáFil: Wingeyer, Ana Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; ArgentinaFil: Amado, Telmo Jorge Carneiro. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Centro de Ciências Rurais; BrasilFil: Pérez Bidegain, Mario. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Agronomía; UruguayFil: Studdert, Guillermo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Perdomo Varela, Carlos Honorio. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Agronomía; UruguayFil: García, Fernando O. International Plant Nutrition Institute. Americas and Oceania Group. Latin America - Southern Cone; ArgentinaFil: Karlen, Douglas L. United States. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Estados Unido

Evaluation of DNA Single and Double Strand Breaks in Women with Cervical Neoplasia Based on Alkaline and Neutral Comet Assay Techniques

A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was performed in order to determine the relation of DNA single (ssb) and double (dsb) strand breaks in women with and without cervical neoplasia. Cervical epithelial cells of 30 women: 10 with low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LG-SIL), 10 with high-grade SIL (HG-SIL), and 10 without cervical lesions were evaluated using alkaline and neutral comet assays. A significant increase in global DNA damage (ssb + dsb) and dsb was observed in patients with HG-SIL (48.90 ± 12.87 and 23.50 ± 13.91), patients with LG-SIL (33.60 ± 14.96 and 11.20 ± 5.71), and controls (21.70 ± 11.87 and 5.30 ± 5.38; resp.). Pearson correlation coefficient reveled a strong relation between the levels ssb and dsb (2=0.99, =0.03, and 2=0.94, =0.16, resp.) and progression of neoplasia. The increase of dsb damage in patients with HG-SIL was confirmed by DNA breakage detection-FISH (DBD-FISH) on neutral comets. Our results argue in favor of a real genomic instability in women with cervical neoplasia, which was strengthened by our finding of a higher proportion of DNA dsb

Empleo de secciones de tallo de plantas in vitro de papaya (híbrido IBP 42-99) para obtener callos con estructuras embriogénicas

Inside in vitro propagation via, the somatic embriogenesis offers possibilities of obtaining top volumes of production in a minor period of time and a lower cost, which are a method potentially more efficient than the regeneration via organogenesis. In papaya the somatic embryogenesis could have developed from zigotic embryos and axis hipocotilos, nevertheless in case of the hybrids these methods cannot be used and it becomes necessary to develop it from a somatic fabric, without link with the sexual reproduction. This work chased as main objective Evaluated the use of in vitro plants stem sections of the Carica papaya IBP 42-99 hybrid for the formation of callus with embryogenic structures. As plant material were use in vitro plants of the papaya hybrid IBP 42-99. For it there took sections of different parts of the stem from the meristem up to the base of the in vitro plants, was use the culture medium Nitsh and Nitsh supplemented with 1.5 mg.l-1 of 6-BAP and 1.5 mg.l-1 of AIA. It was achieved to obtain callus from the stem sections with the culture medium used, nevertheless, in the treatments where used cylinders inside 1.0 cm from the apex down, the best results were achieved. The use of in vitro plants stem sections as explant for the formation of callus in this vegetable species it opens new possibilities for his in vitro propagation, specially in case of resultant hybrids of genetic improvement programs.Key words: apexes, Carica papaya, callogenesis, somatic embryogenesisDentro de las vías de propagación in vitro de plantas, la embriogénesis somática ofrece posibilidades de obtener volúmenes de producción superiores en un menor período de tiempo y a un costo más bajo, lo cual la convierte en un método potencialmente más eficiente que la regeneración vía organogénesis. En papaya se ha podido desarrollar la embriogénesis somática a partir de embriones cigoticos y eje hipocotilos, sin embargo en el caso de los híbridos no se pueden emplear estos métodos y se hace necesario desarrollarla a partir de un tejido somático, sin vínculo con la reproducción sexual. Este trabajo persiguió como objetivo principal evaluar el uso de secciones de tallo de plantas in vitro del híbrido de Carica papaya IBP 42-99 para la formación de callos con estructuras embriogénicas. Se tomaron secciones de diferentes partes del tallo desde el meristemo apical hasta la base de las plantas in vitro y se utilizó el medio de cultivo propuesto por Nitsh y Nitsh suplementado con 1.5 mg.l-1 de 6-BAP y 1.5 mg.l-1 de AIA. Se logró formar callos a partir de las secciones de tallo con el medio de cultivo empleado, sin embargo, en los tratamientos donde se utilizaron explantes de la sección del tallo que se encontraba dentro de 1.0 cm desde el ápice hacia abajo se lograron los mejores resultados. El uso de secciones de tallo de plantas in vitro como explantes para la formación de callos en esta especie vegetal abre nuevas posibilidades para su propagación in vitro, especialmente en el caso de híbridos resultantes de programas de mejoramiento genético.Palabras clave: ápices, Carica papaya, callogénesis, embriogénesis somátic

B-cell regeneration profile and minimal residual disease status in bone marrow of treated multiple myeloma patients

© 2021 by the authors.B-cell regeneration during therapy has been considered as a strong prognostic factor in multiple myeloma (MM). However, the effects of therapy and hemodilution in bone marrow (BM) B-cell recovery have not been systematically evaluated during follow-up. MM (n = 177) and adult (≥50y) healthy donor (HD; n = 14) BM samples were studied by next-generation flow (NGF) to simultaneously assess measurable residual disease (MRD) and residual normal B-cell populations. BM hemodilution was detected in 41 out of 177 (23%) patient samples, leading to lower total B-cell, B-cell precursor (BCP) and normal plasma cell (nPC) counts. Among MM BM, decreased percentages (vs. HD) of BCP, transitional/naïve B-cell (TBC/NBC) and nPC populations were observed at diagnosis. BM BCP increased after induction therapy, whereas TBC/NBC counts remained abnormally low. At day+100 postautologous stem cell transplantation, a greater increase in BCP with recovered TBC/NBC cell numbers but persistently low memory B-cell and nPC counts were found. At the end of therapy, complete response (CR) BM samples showed higher CD19− nPC counts vs. non-CR specimens. MRD positivity was associated with higher BCP and nPC percentages. Hemodilution showed a negative impact on BM B-cell distribution. Different BM B-cell regeneration profiles are present in MM at diagnosis and after therapy with no significant association with patient outcome.This work has been supported by the International Myeloma Foundation-Black Swan Research Initiative, the EuroFlow Consortium (grant LSHB-CT-2006-018708); Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBER-ONC; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Madrid, Spain and FONDOS FEDER), numbers: CB16/12/00400, CB16/12/00233, CB16/12/00369, CB16/12/00489 and CB16/12/00480; grant from Bilateral Cooperation Program between Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-CAPES (Brasília/Brazil) and Dirección General de Políticas Universitárias (DGPU)-Ministério de Educación, Cultura y Deportes (Madrid/Spain) number DGPU 311/15; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro of Brazil (FAPERJ) numbers: E26/110.105/2014 and E26/102.191/2013; grant from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico of Brazil (CNPQ), number: 400194/2014-7. R.M.d.P. was supported by a grant from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/DGPU), number: 000281/2016-06 and CAPES/PROEX 641/2018, Brazil; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro of Brazil (FAPERJ) number: E01/200/537/2018

Predicting Survival after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Myelofibrosis : Performance of the Myelofibrosis Transplant Scoring System (MTSS) and Development of a New Prognostic Model

Accurate prognostic tools are crucial to assess the risk/benefit ratio of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) in patients with myelofibrosis (MF). We aimed to evaluate the performance of the Myelofibrosis Transplant Scoring System (MTSS) and identify risk factors for survival in a multicenter series of 197 patients with MF undergoing allo-HCT. After a median follow-up of 3.1 years, 47% of patients had died, and the estimated 5-year survival rate was 51%. Projected 5-year risk of nonrelapse mortality and relapse incidence was 30% and 20%, respectively. Factors independently associated with increased mortality were a hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index (HCT-CI) ≥3 and receiving a graft from an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor or cord blood, whereas post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) was associated with improved survival. Donor type was the only parameter included in the MTSS model with independent prognostic value for survival. According to the MTSS, 3-year survival was 62%, 66%, 37%, and 17% for low-, intermediate-, high-, and very high-risk groups, respectively. By pooling together the low- and intermediate-risk groups, as well as the high- and very high-risk groups, we pinpointed 2 categories: standard risk and high risk (25% of the series). Three-year survival was 62% in standard-risk and 25% in high-risk categories (P <.001). We derived a risk score based on the 3 independent risk factors for survival in our series (donor type, HCT-CI, and PT-Cy). The corresponding 5-year survival for the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories was 79%, 55%, and 32%, respectively (P <.001). In conclusion, the MTSS model failed to clearly delineate 4 prognostic groups in our series but may still be useful to identify a subset of patients with poor outcome. We provide a simple prognostic scoring system for risk/benefit considerations before transplantation in patients with MF

An increase of cereal intake as an approach to weight reduction in children is effective only when accompanied by nutrition education: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main emphasis of dietary advice for control of obesity has been on reducing dietary fat. Increasing ready to eat cereal (RTEC) consumption could be a strategy to reduce fat intake and increase carbohydrate intake resulting in a diet with lower energy density.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>1. To determine if an increase in RTEC intake is an effective strategy to reduce excess body weight and blood lipids in overweight or at risk of overweight children. 2. To determine if a nutrition education program would make a difference on the response to an increase in cereal intake. 3) To determine if increase in RTEC intake alone or with a nutrition education program has an effect on plasma lipid profile.</p> <p>Experimental design</p> <p>One hundred and forty seven overweight or at risk of overweight children (6–12 y of age) were assigned to one of four different treatments: a. One serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast; b. one serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast and another one for dinner; c. one serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast and a nutrition education program. d. Non intervention, control group. Anthropometry, body composition, physical activity and blood lipids were measured at baseline, before treatments, and 12 weeks after treatments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After 12 weeks of intervention only the children that received 33 ± 7 g of RTEC and nutrition education had significantly lower body weight [-1.01 (-1.69, -0.34) ], p < 0.01], lower BMI [-0.95 (-1.71, -0.20), p < 0.01] and lower total body fat [-0.71 (-1.71, 0.28), p < 0.05] compared with the control group [1.19 (0.39, 1.98), 0.01 (-0.38, 0.41), 0.44 (-0.46, 1.35) respectively]. Plasma triglycerides and VLDL were significantly reduced [-20.74 (-36.44, -5.05), -3.78 (-6.91, -0.64) respectively, p < 0.05] and HDL increased significantly [6.61 (2.15, 11.08), p < 0.01] only in this treatment group. The groups that received 1 or 2 doses of RTEC alone were not significantly different to the control group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A strategy to increase RTEC consumption, as a source of carbohydrate, to reduce obesity is effective only when accompanied by nutrition education. The need for education could be extrapolated to other strategies intended for treatment of obesity.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clincial Trial Registry. Request no: ACTRN12608000025336</p

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Associated to Mycobacterium bovis in Wild Artiodactyl Species from Southern Spain, 2006–2010

The control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is at a critical point in the last stage of eradication in livestock. Wildlife species recently have emerged infected with TB in Europe, particularly ungulates in the Iberian Peninsula. Epidemiological information regarding TB in wild ungulates including affected species, prevalence, associated risk factors and appropriate diagnostic methods need to be obtained in these countries

Using surveillance data to estimate pandemic vaccine effectiveness against laboratory confirmed influenza A(H1N1)2009 infection : two case-control studies, Spain, season 2009-2010

Background: Physicians of the Spanish Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System report and systematically swab patients attended to their practices for influenza-like illness (ILI). Within the surveillance system, some Spanish regions also participated in an observational study aiming at estimating influenza vaccine effectiveness (cycEVA study). During the season 2009-2010, we estimated pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness using both the influenza surveillance data and the cycEVA study. Methods: We conducted two case-control studies using the test-negative design, between weeks 48/2009 and 8/2010 of the pandemic season. The surveillance-based study included all swabbed patients in the sentinel surveillance system. The cycEVA study included swabbed patients from seven Spanish regions. Cases were laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009. Controls were ILI patients testing negative for any type of influenza. Variables collected in both studies included demographic data, vaccination status, laboratory results, chronic conditions, and pregnancy. Additionally, cycEVA questionnaire collected data on previous influenza vaccination, smoking, functional status, hospitalisations, visits to the general practitioners, and obesity. We used logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR), computing pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness as (1-OR *100. Results: We included 331 cases and 995 controls in the surveillance-based study and 85 cases and 351 controls in the cycEVA study. We detected nine (2.7%) and two (2.4%) vaccine failures in the surveillance-based and cycEVA studies, respectively. Adjusting for variables collected in surveillance database and swabbing month, pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness was 62% (95% confidence interval (CI): -5; 87). The cycEVA vaccine effectiveness was 64% (95%CI: -225; 96) when adjusting for common variables with the surveillance system and 75% (95%CI: -293; 98) adjusting for all variables collected. Conclusion: Point estimates of the pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness suggested a protective effect of the pandemic vaccine against laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H1N1)2009 in the season 2009-2010. Both studies were limited by the low vaccine coverage and the late start of the vaccination campaign. Routine influenza surveillance provides reliable estimates and could be used for influenza vaccine effectiveness studies in future seasons taken into account the surveillance system limitations