Placement of oppositely charged aminoacids at a polypeptide termini determines the voltage-controlled braking of polymer transport through nanometer-scale pores

Protein and solid-state nanometer-scale pores are being developed for the detection, analysis, and manipulation of single molecules. In the simplest embodiment, the entry of a molecule into a nanopore causes a reduction in the latter's ionic conductance. The ionic current blockade depth and residence time have been shown to provide detailed information on the size, adsorbed charge, and other properties of molecules. Here we describe the use of the nanopore formed by Staphylococcus aureus alpha-hemolysin and polypeptides with oppositely charged segments at the N- and C-termini to increase both the polypeptide capture rate and mean residence time of them in the pore, regardless of the polarity of the applied electrostatic potential. The technique provides the means to improve the signal to noise of single molecule nanopore-based measurements

Studiu privind influenţa diferitelor preparate levuriene folosite în tehnologia de producere a cidrului asupra compuşilor de aromă

Cider is an alcoholic beveragemade from the fermentedjuice of applesand whose production technology does not differ greatlyfrom that of wine.This study wants to identify the influence of selected yeast to aroma compounds from cider. The cider samples were obtained by 110L of apple juice after classic fermentation. It was divided into seven glass containers of 15 liters of juice and subjected to fermentation. It was used seven types of selected yeast: V1-Fermativ Blanc Aromatique Sodinal®, V2-Lalvin Rhone 2056 Yseo Lallemand®, V3-Maurivin AB®, V4-Yseo Cross Evolution Lallemand®, V5-Fermactive Thyol Sodinal®, V6-Afinity ECA5 Levure-Yeast®, V7-Fermactive RBR®.The primary fermentation lasted for two weeks at a constant temperature of 18 ° C. The secondary fermentation happened after bottling. The cider aroma compounds were analysed by gas chromatography. It should be noted that it is not possible to carry out the quantitative analysis of the flavor compounds, so that the areas of the peaks corresponding to the identified compounds were used. It has been studied how the area increases depending on the yeast strains used. The results show a high content of flavor compounds of the group of alcohols, esters and acidsin all seven variants. Of all seven variants of levurian preparations, it was noted in the experiment with a high number of aromatic compounds in V3-Maurivin AB®

Caracteristici organoleptice ale unor vinuri spumante experimentale

There are two main production processes for the quality sparkling wines: traditional and „charmate“methods. In the traditional procedure, the second alcoholic fermentation of the base wine is carried out in sealed bottles. Some of the most popular sparkling wines, such as Champagne and Cava, are produced by the traditional method. Sensory and organoleptic characteristics are one of the most important indicators of sparkling wine quality for the acceptability of a product by consumers. So, this research is focused on the study of the influence of different yeasts strains on the organoleptic profile of the experimental sparkling white wines produced by traditional method. Therefore, a Muscat Ottonel grape must was used and passed by a reverse osmosis process. The obtained permeate was mixed with a calculated amount of the concentrate to generate a must with a potential of 10.5% (v/v) alcohol, in order to obtain the base wine for the second fermentation. The obtained, stabilized, sparkling wine was analyzed for oenological parameters and to determine the organoleptic characteristics. Following the organoleptic analysis, the significant differences in the sensory profile for the analyzed wine samples were confirmed

The role of cardiovascular imaging for myocardial injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, following peer review. The version of record: Bernard Cosyns, Stijn Lochy, Maria Luiza Luchian, Alessia Gimelli, Gianluca Pontone, Sabine D Allard, Johan de Mey, Peter Rosseel, Marc Dweck, Steffen E Petersen, Thor Edvardsen, on behalf of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), The role of cardiovascular imaging for myocardial injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, Volume 21, Issue 7, July 2020, Pages 709–714, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeaa136 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeaa13

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Nanopore tweezers: Voltage-controlled trapping and releasing of analytes

Several devices for single-molecule detection and analysis employ biological and artificial nanopores as core elements. The performance of such devises strongly depends on the amount of time the analytes spend into the pore. This residence time needs to be long enough to allow the recording of a high signal-to-noise ratio analyte-induced blockade. We propose a simple approach, dubbed nanopore tweezing, for enhancing the trapping time of molecules inside the pore via a proper tuning of the applied voltage. This method requires the creation of a strong dipole that can be generated by adding a positive and a negative tail at the two ends of the molecules to be analyzed. Capture rate is shown to increase with the applied voltage while escape rate decreases. In this paper we rationalize the essential ingredients needed to control the residence time and provide a proof of principle based on atomistic simulations