Unraveling the ferroelectric switching mechanisms in ferroelectric pure and La doped HfO(2 )epitaxial thin films

Epitaxial orthorhombic phase La doped HfO2 films are promising for achieving robust ferroelectric polarization without wake-up effect. However, lowering the coercive field is crucial for achieving low-power memory devices. In this work, we have investigated the influence of the La content effect on the structural and ferroelectric properties of epitaxial HfO2 thin films. We show that while the remanent polarization is optimum for 2-5 at. % La-doped HfO2 films, the coercive field is decreased with La doping. The experimental work is supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations which show that the polarization switching in epitaxial La:HfO2 films can be understood based on the synergetic contribution of the presence of a non-ferroelectric monoclinic phase and the La doping itself that causes a reduction of the nucleation and DW motion energy barriers for the crossing path, which makes it more probable than the non-crossing one.Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innova- tion (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) , through the Severo Ochoa FUNFUTURE (CEX2019-000917-S) , PID2020-112548RB-I00 and PID2019-107727RB-I00 projects, and from Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR 00804) is acknowledged. We also acknowledge project TED2021-130453B-C21, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR. This work was supported by: (i) the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding Contract UIDB/04650/2020; (ii) exploratory project 2022.01740.PDTC and (iii) the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation pro- gramme under grant agreement No 958174 (M-ERA-NET3/0003/2021-NanOx4EStor) . J. P. B. S. also thanks FCT for the contract under the Institutional Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus - 2021 Call (CEE- CINST/00018/2021) . A.S. also acknowledges FCT for the PhD grant with reference 2022.13796.BD

Primary pleural myxoid liposarcoma: case report and literature review

Myxoid liposarcoma is a histological subtype of malignant tumors within the group of sarcomas. It is more common in men between the ages of 40 and 50 years. Diagnosis is difficult because they are usually asymptomatic lesions, computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance are the studies of choice. The gold of treatment is surgical resection with free margins. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have shown a good response. A 46-year-old male was detected incidental mediastinal lesion by radiography, CT scan showed a hypodense lesion in the right hemithorax that extended to the left hemithorax, infiltrating the diaphragm and large vessels. The patient underwent an exploratory thoracotomy, finding a multilobulated tumor and mucous content approximately 600 ml, adjacent structures were infiltrated, so complete resection was not possible. Subsequently, adjuvant chemotherapy given. The histopathological diagnosis was myxoid liposarcoma. Myxoid liposarcoma is a malignant lesion. The primary pleural origin is rare. Surgical resection with free margins has a good prognosis. Due to advanced disease, a complete resection in this case was not possible, that compromised the patient prognosis

A secagem de uva flame seedless e D. Maria em secador solar na região de Borba (Alentejo-Portugal)

Visando melhorar a secagem de uva, em secador solar, na região de Borba, ensaiaram-se tratamentos de pré-secagem, por imersão, nos frutos das cultivares Flame seedless (sem grainha) e D.Maria (com grainha). A pulverização pré-colheita testou-se apenas na D.Maria. A colheita, os frutos das Flame seedless e D.Maria apresentaram valores médios de açúcar de 22-24 e 20-24g/100gPF respectivamente. As pulverizações com oleato de etilo, na uva D.Maria, não provocaram diferenças significativas permanentes nos indicadores fisiológicos estudados (pH, acidez, açucares, fenóis totais, dureza e cor). A secagem da Flame seedless foi mais rápida (10-12 dias) do que a da D.Maria, (cerca de 20 dias). 0 rendimento de transformação (Kg uva/Kg passa) na Flame seedless foi melhor do que na D.Maria. Os melhores rendimentos obtiveram-se na cv. Flame seedless com as imersões em oleato de etilo (0,2%), e na cv. D. Maria com as imersões em oleato de etilo (0,2 e 1%) e as pulverizações com oleato de etilo 15 1/ha. As analises da passa Flame seedless evidenciaram maior acidez total nos frutos pré-tratados com acido ascorbico e maior acidez e açucares redutores nas passas da 2 a colheita. As passas D.Maria pré-tratadas por pulverização ou imersão mostraram maior acidez. As pulverizadas apresentaram menos açucares redutores. Quanto a textura, as passas mais duras foram as das imersões com acido ascorbico 3% (Flame seedless), e as em azeite 0,1% (D.Maria). Na analise sensorial os provadores preferiram as passas Flame seedless. Destas seleccionaram as testemunhas e os tratamentos com carbonato de potássio (1ª colheita). Na D.Maria não notaram diferenças significativas entre os vários pré-tratamentos, preferindo as pré-tratadas com carbonato de potássio (2,5%) no que se refere a aceitabilidade global

Ferroelectric orthorhombic ZrO2 thin films achieved through nanosecond laser annealing

A new approach for the stabilization of the ferroelectric orthorhombic ZrO2 films is demonstrated through nanosecond laser annealing (NLA) of as-deposited Si/SiOx/W(14 nm)/ZrO2(8 nm)/W(22 nm), grown by ion beam sputtering at low temperatures. The NLA process optimization is guided by COMSOL multiphysics simulations. The films annealed under the optimized conditions reveal the presence of the orthorhombic phase, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Macroscopic polarization-electric field hysteresis loops show ferroelectric behavior, with saturation polarization of 12.8 mu C cm(-2), remnant polarization of 12.7 mu C cm(-2) and coercive field of 1.2 MV cm(-1). The films exhibit a wake-up effect that is attributed to the migration of point defects, such as oxygen vacancies, and/or a transition from nonferroelectric (monoclinic and tetragonal phase) to the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase. The capacitors demonstrate a stable polarization with an endurance of 6.0 x 10(5) cycles, demonstrating the potential of the NLA process for the fabrication of ferroelectric memory devices with high polarization, low coercive field, and high cycling stability.A.P.S.C. and M.C.I. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding Contract UIDB/04650/2020. This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 958174 (M-ERA-NET3/0003/2021-NanOx4EStor). M. C. I. and C. G. acknowledge the financial support by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI - UEFISCDI, project number COFUND-M-ERANET-3-NanOx4Estor, within PNCDI III and POC 332/390008/29.12.2020-SMIS 109522. The authors acknowledge the CERIC-ERIC Consortium for access to experimental facilities and financial support under proposals 20202037, 20202038, and 20192055. The authors would also like to thank Jose Santos for technical support in the Thin Film Laboratory at CF-UM-UP. J.L.M-D. thanks the ERC grant, EU-H2020-ERC-ADG #882929, EROS. And the Royal Academy of Engineering, grant CIET1819_24. MOH thanks the Herchel Smith foundation of Cambridge for a research fellowship. This work made use of the University of Cambridge Wolfson Electron Microscopy Suite

Myosteatosis in a systemic inflammation-dependent manner predicts favorable survival outcomes in locally advanced esophageal cancer

Increased adiposity and its attendant metabolic features as well as systemic inflammation have been associated with prognosis in locally advanced esophageal cancer (LAEC). However, whether myosteatosis and its combination with systemic inflammatory markers are associated with prognosis of esophageal cancer is unknown. Our study aimed to investigate the influence of myosteatosis and its association with systemic inflammation on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in LAEC patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). We retrospectively gathered information on 123 patients with LAEC submitted to dCRT at the University of Campinas Hospital. Computed tomography (CT) images at the level of L3 were analyzed to assess muscularity and adiposity. Systemic inflammation was mainly measured by calculating the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Median PFS for patients with myosteatosis (n = 72) was 11.0 months vs 4.0 months for patients without myosteatosis (n = 51) (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.83; P = .005). Myosteatosis was also independently associated with a favorable OS. Systemic inflammation (NLR > 2.8) was associated with a worse prognosis. The combination of myosteatosis with systemic inflammation revealed that the subgroup of patients with myosteatosis and without inflammation presented less than half the risk of disease progression (HR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.26-0.85; P = .013) and death (HR: 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21-0.72; P = .003) compared with patients with inflammation. This study demonstrated that myosteatosis without systemic inflammation was independently associated with favorable PFS and OS in LAEC patients treated with dCRT81669676976FAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo2018/23428-

CYTOTOXICITY, ANTI-POLIOVIRUS ACTIVITY AND IN SILICO BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF CONSTITUENTS FROM MAYTENUS GONOCLADA (CELASTRACEAE)

Objective: The in silico free access web tools PASS online and ChemMapper were used to predict potential biological activities of compounds 1 to 8 isolated from Maytenus gonoclada (Celastraceae). The constituents 4'-O-methylepigalocatequin (6), tingenone (7) and proanthocyanidin A (8), and ethanolic extracts were subjected to in vitro cytotoxicity using VERO cells and anti-Poliovirus assays. Methods: QSAR and molecular superposition, correlating the average number of pharmacophores were used in the prediction studies. Cellular line VERO ATCC CCL-81 was used to determine anti-Poliovirus effect, observed by colorimetric (MTT) method. The annexing V/propidium iodide assay was used to determine the occurrence of apoptosis in the cytotoxicity assays. Results: The experimental results found for constituents 6-8 were in accordance with observed data obtained through PASS online and ChemMapper simulation. Conclusion: Compound 7 showed higher cytotoxic and apoptosis induction properties, and 6 and 8 presented anti-Poliovirus activity

Multicompartment body composition analysis in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Background During aging, changes occur in the proportions of muscle, fat, and bone. Body composition (BC) alterations have a great impact on health, quality of life, and functional capacity. Several equations to predict BC using anthropometric measurements have been developed from a bi-compartmental (2-C) approach that determines only fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM). However, these models have several limitations, when considering constant density, progressive bone demineralization, and changes in the hydration of the FFM, as typical changes during senescence. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to propose and validate a new multi-compartmental anthropometric model to predict fat, bone, and musculature components in older adults of both sexes. Methods This cross-sectional study included 100 older adults of both sexes. To determine the dependent variables (fat mass [FM], bone mineral content [BMC], and appendicular lean soft tissue [ALST]) whole total and regional dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body scans were performed. Twenty-nine anthropometric measures and sex were appointed as independent variables. Models were developed through multivariate linear regression. Finally, the predicted residual error sum of squares (PRESS) statistic was used to measure the effectiveness of the predicted value for each dependent variable. Results An equation was developed to simultaneously predict FM, BMC, and ALST from only four variables: weight, half-arm span (HAS), triceps skinfold (TriSK), and sex. This model showed high coefficients of determination and low estimation errors (FM: R2adj: 0.83 and SEE: 3.16; BMC: R2adj: 0.61 and SEE: 0.30; ALST: R2adj: 0.85 and SEE: 1.65). Conclusion The equations provide a reliable, practical, and low-cost instrument to monitor changes in body components during the aging process. The internal cross-validation method PRESS presented sufficient reliability in the model as an inexpensive alternative for clinical field use.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Progression of mitral regurgitation in rheumatic valve disease : role of left atrial remodeling

Introduction: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common valve abnormality in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) often associated with stenosis. Although the mechanism by which MR develops in RHD is primary, longstanding volume overload with left atrial (LA) remodeling may trigger the development of secondary MR, which can impact on the overall progression of MR. This study is aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of MR progression in patients with RHD. Methods: Consecutive RHD patients with non-severe MR associated with any degree of mitral stenosis were selected. The primary endpoint was a progression of MR, which was defined as an increase of one grade in MR severity from baseline to the last follow-up echocardiogram. The risk of MR progression was estimated accounting for competing risks. Results: The study included 539 patients, age of 46.2 ± 12 years and 83% were women. At a mean follow-up time of 4.2 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 1.2–6.9 years), 54 patients (10%) displayed MR progression with an overall incidence of 2.4 per 100 patient-years. Predictors of MR progression by the Cox model were age (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.541, 95% CI 1.222–1.944), and LA volume (HR 1.137, 95% CI 1.054–1.226). By considering competing risk analysis, the direction of the association was similar for the rate (Cox model) and incidence (Fine-Gray model) of MR progression. In the model with LA volume, atrial fibrillation (AF) was no longer a predictor of MR progression. In the subgroup of patients in sinus rhythm, 59 had an onset of AF during follow-up, which was associated with progression of MR (HR 2.682; 95% CI 1.133–6.350). Conclusions: In RHD patients with a full spectrum of MR severity, progression of MR occurs over time is predicted by age and LA volume. LA enlargement may play a role in the link between primary MR and secondary MR in patients with RHD

Peptide:lipid ratio and membrane surface charge determine the mechanism of action of the antimicrobial peptide BP100. Conformational and functional studies

The cecropin-melittin hybrid antimicrobial peptide BP100 (H-KKLFKKILKYL-NH2) is selective for Gram-negative bacteria, negatively charged membranes, and weakly hemolytic. We studied BP100 conformational and functional properties upon interaction with large unilamellar vesicles, LUVs, and giant unilamellar vesicles, GUVs, containing variable proportions of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol (PG). CD and NMR spectra showed that upon binding to PG-containing LUVs BP100 acquires a-helical conformation, the helix spanning residues 3-11. Theoretical analyses indicated that the helix is amphipathic and surface-seeking. CD and dynamic light scattering data evinced peptide and/or vesicle aggregation, modulated by peptide: lipid ratio and PG content. BP100 decreased the absolute value of the zeta potential () of LUVs with low PG contents; for higher PG, binding was analyzed as an ion-exchange process. At high salt, BP100-induced LUVS leakage requires higher peptide concentration, indicating that both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions contribute to peptide binding. While a gradual release took place at low peptide:lipid ratios, instantaneous loss occurred at high ratios, suggesting vesicle disruption. Optical microscopy of GUVs confirmed BP100-promoted disruption of negatively charged membranes. the mechanism of action of BP100 is determined by both peptide:lipid ratio and negatively charged lipid content While gradual release results from membrane perturbation by a small number of peptide molecules giving rise to changes in acyl chain packing, lipid clustering (leading to membrane defects), and/or membrane thinning, membrane disruption results from a sequence of events large-scale peptide and lipid clustering, giving rise to peptide-lipid patches that eventually would leave the membrane in a carpet-like mechanism. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Institut Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia de fluidos complexos (INCTFCx)Nude de Apoio Pesquisa de Fluidos Complexos (NAPFCx)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Univ São Paulo, Inst Chem, Dept Biochem, BR-05513970 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Med Biochem, Nucl Magnet Resonance Natl Ctr, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilEmbrapa Recursos Genet & Biotecnol, BR-70770917 Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biophys, BR-04044020 São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2007/50970-5FAPESP: 2013/08166-5Web of Scienc