TiO2 nanotubes for room temperature toluene sensor

TiO2 nanotubes were used to prepare gas sensor and the gas sensing properties towards toluene were analyzed. Titania nanotube arrays were fabricated via electrochemical anodization method in glycerol electrolytes containing NH4F. The sensor fabricated from these nanotubes exhibits a good response to toluene at room temperature with good sensitivity. The toluene sensing properties were tested from 20 to 150 ppm concentrations.Fil: Perillo, Patricia Maria. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Desarrollo Tecnológico y Proyectos Especiales. Departamento de Micro y Nanotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Daniel Fabian. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Desarrollo Tecnológico y Proyectos Especiales. Departamento de Micro y Nanotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Boggio, Norberto Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Desarrollo Tecnológico y Proyectos Especiales. Departamento de Micro y Nanotecnología; Argentin

Influenza Virus Aerosols in Human Exhaled Breath: Particle Size, Culturability, and Effect of Surgical Masks

The CDC recommends that healthcare settings provide influenza patients with facemasks as a means of reducing transmission to staff and other patients, and a recent report suggested that surgical masks can capture influenza virus in large droplet spray. However, there is minimal data on influenza virus aerosol shedding, the infectiousness of exhaled aerosols, and none on the impact of facemasks on viral aerosol shedding from patients with seasonal influenza. We collected samples of exhaled particles (one with and one without a facemask) in two size fractions (“coarse”>5 µm, “fine”≤5 µm) from 37 volunteers within 5 days of seasonal influenza onset, measured viral copy number using quantitative RT-PCR, and tested the fine-particle fraction for culturable virus. Fine particles contained 8.8 (95% CI 4.1 to 19) fold more viral copies than did coarse particles. Surgical masks reduced viral copy numbers in the fine fraction by 2.8 fold (95% CI 1.5 to 5.2) and in the coarse fraction by 25 fold (95% CI 3.5 to 180). Overall, masks produced a 3.4 fold (95% CI 1.8 to 6.3) reduction in viral aerosol shedding. Correlations between nasopharyngeal swab and the aerosol fraction copy numbers were weak (r = 0.17, coarse; r = 0.29, fine fraction). Copy numbers in exhaled breath declined rapidly with day after onset of illness. Two subjects with the highest copy numbers gave culture positive fine particle samples. Surgical masks worn by patients reduce aerosols shedding of virus. The abundance of viral copies in fine particle aerosols and evidence for their infectiousness suggests an important role in seasonal influenza transmission. Monitoring exhaled virus aerosols will be important for validation of experimental transmission studies in humans

The Effects of Indoor Environmental Exposures on Pediatric Asthma: A Discrete Event Simulation Model

Background: In the United States, asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood across all socioeconomic classes and is the most frequent cause of hospitalization among children. Asthma exacerbations have been associated with exposure to residential indoor environmental stressors such as allergens and air pollutants as well as numerous additional factors. Simulation modeling is a valuable tool that can be used to evaluate interventions for complex multifactorial diseases such as asthma but in spite of its flexibility and applicability, modeling applications in either environmental exposures or asthma have been limited to date. Methods: We designed a discrete event simulation model to study the effect of environmental factors on asthma exacerbations in school-age children living in low-income multi-family housing. Model outcomes include asthma symptoms, medication use, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits. Environmental factors were linked to percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1%), which in turn was linked to risk equations for each outcome. Exposures affecting FEV1% included indoor and outdoor sources of $NO_2$ and $PM_{2.5}$, cockroach allergen, and dampness as a proxy for mold. Results: Model design parameters and equations are described in detail. We evaluated the model by simulating 50,000 children over 10 years and showed that pollutant concentrations and health outcome rates are comparable to values reported in the literature. In an application example, we simulated what would happen if the kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans were improved for the entire cohort, and showed reductions in pollutant concentrations and healthcare utilization rates. Conclusions: We describe the design and evaluation of a discrete event simulation model of pediatric asthma for children living in low-income multi-family housing. Our model simulates the effect of environmental factors (combustion pollutants and allergens), medication compliance, seasonality, and medical history on asthma outcomes (symptom-days, medication use, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits). The model can be used to evaluate building interventions and green building construction practices on pollutant concentrations, energy savings, and asthma healthcare utilization costs, and demonstrates the value of a simulation approach for studying complex diseases such as asthma

The adiponectin/leptin ratio is a useful tool to evaluate de metabolic status in an Obstetrical Intensive Care Unit

Introduction. Critically ill patients, including obstetrical patients, face undernutrition but a reliable and cost effective study to assess their nutritional state is still missing. Our main objective was to analyze serum leptin and adiponectin concentrations in puerperal women attended in an Obstetrical Intensive Care Unit (OICU) in order to evaluate their potential role as nutritional metabolic parameter. Methods. This was a descriptive, clinical, longitudinal and comparative study. We evaluated the anthropometric variables, clinical laboratories, daily calories and adiponectin and leptin serum levels of 16 puerperal women attended at the OICU of the Materno Perinatal Hospital “Mónica Pretelini” (HMPMP). Results. For all women there was a negative correlation with Spearman test between leptin the day of discharge from the obstetrical intensive care unit and the days of stay –0.632 (p = 0.011). Considering an adiponectin/leptin ratio, the media in the first day was of 0.3 (0.07–13.6) and in the day of discharge it was of 2.4 (0.1–24.6) in overweight women. The same values for obese women were of 0.3 (0.2–0.4) and 0.5 (0.3–1.2). Conclusion. After an average of six days of hospitalization, leptin showed a decrement in women attended at the OICU. As expected, adiponectin increased in both groups. The adiponectin/leptin ratio could be a useful metabolic parameter

Evaluation of cellular safety and the chemical composition of the peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) ethanolic extracts

Arachis hypogaea L. (Leguminosae) is distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. Peanut has high nutritional and commercial value. Scientific research showed that peanut has biological properties such as anticancer, antioxidant, antiinflammatory. However, it is necessary to know if consumption of peanut, either as food or as a phytopharmaceutical implies a health risk. The aim was to evaluate cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of ethanolic extracts from A. hypogaea. Also, chemical characterization of these extracts was performed. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT and Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) assays on Vero cells. Genotoxicity was studied by Micronuclei and comet assays on Balb/C mice. Qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of extracts were performed. Results showed that extracts have low cytotoxicity. Tegument ethanolic extract (TEE) and Seed ethanolic extract (SEE) were not genotoxic. The treatments with TEE at 250 mg/kg and SEE at 2000 mg/kg revealed (highest concentrations evaluated) some toxicity on blood marrow cells of mice. Chemical characterization indicated that TEE had 74.33 1.10 mg GAE/g of dried extract and SEE had 15.05 0.06 mg GAE/g of dried extract of total phenolic content. Also, proanthocyanidins (O.D. at 550 nm 1.39 0.15) and caffeic acid (2.46%) were identified in TEE. While, linoleic acid (58.84%) oleic acid (11.31%) and palmitic acid (8.37%) were major compounds of SEE. In conclusion, peanut consumption is safe at concentrations recommended for healthy uses, such as nutrition, and phytomedicine.Fil: Menis Candela, Florencia. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Giordano, Walter Fabian. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud; ArgentinaFil: Quiroga, Patricia Liliana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Escobar, Franco Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Mañas, Fernando Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Roma, Dardo Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Larrauri, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Comini, Laura Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas; Argentina. Ceprocor; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Elio Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Sabini, Maria Carola. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología; Argentin

Trypanocidal activity of four sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Asteraceae species

The sesquiterpene lactones eupatoriopicrin, estafietin, eupahakonenin B and minimolide have been isolated from Argentinean Astearaceae species and have been found to be active against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes. The aim of this work was to evaluate the activity of these compounds by analyzing their effect against the stages of the parasites that are infective for the human. Even more interesting, we aimed to determine the effect of the most active and selective compound on an in vivo model of T. cruzi infection. Eupatoriopicrin was the most active against amastigotes and tripomastigotes (IC50 = 2.3 µg/mL, and 7.2 µg/mL, respectively) and displayed a high selectivity index. This compound was selected to study on an in vivo model of T. cruzi infection. The administration of 1 mg/kg/day of eupatoriopicrin for five consecutive days to infected mice produced a significant reduction in the parasitaemia levels in comparison with non-treated animals (area under parasitaemia curves 4.48 vs. 30.47, respectively). Skeletal muscular tissues from eupatopicrin-treated mice displayed only focal and interstitial lymphocyte inflammatory infiltrates and small areas of necrotic; by contrast, skeletal tissues from T. cruzi infected mice treated with the vehicle showed severe lymphocyte inflammatory infiltrates with necrosis of the adjacent myocytes. The results indicate that eupatoriopicrin could be considered a promising candidate for the development of new therapeutic agents for Chagas disease.Fil: Elso, Orlando German. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Bivona, Augusto Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Alberti, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Cerny, Natacha. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Instituto de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable; ArgentinaFil: Fabian, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; ArgentinaFil: Morales, Maria Celina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Catalan, Cesar Atilio Nazareno. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Malchiodi, Emilio Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Cazorla, Silvia Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Sülsen, Valeria Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentin

Casting Without Reduction Versus Closed Reduction With or Without Fixation in the Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures in Children: Protocol for a Randomized Noninferiority Trial

El tratamiento agudo de las fracturas de radio distal, las fracturas más frecuentes en la población pediátrica, representa un reto para el cirujano ortopédico. Decidir sobre la restauración quirúrgica de la alineación o la inmovilización con yeso sin reducir la fractura es una preocupación compleja dado el potencial de remodelación de los huesos en los niños. Además, la falta de límites seguros de acortamiento y angulación basados ​​en la evidencia, que no pongan en peligro la funcionalidad de las extremidades superiores en el futuro, complica aún más esta decisión. Objetivo: El objetivo de los autores es medir los resultados funcionales, evaluados mediante el instrumento de función física pediátrica v2.0 del sistema de información de medición de resultados informados por el paciente (PROMIS). Los autores plantean la hipótesis de que los resultados no serán peores en los niños tratados con inmovilización con yeso in situ en comparación con los tratados con reducción cerrada con o sin fijación percutánea. Los autores también pretenden comparar los siguientes resultados secundarios: variación cubital y alineación de la fractura en los planos sagital y coronal, rango de movimiento, úlceras por presión, control del dolor, osteotomía del radio debido a deformidad, cura de la pseudoartrosis y remanipulación. Métodos: Este es el protocolo de un ensayo aleatorizado de no inferioridad que compara la funcionalidad de la extremidad superior en niños de 5 a 10 años, después de sufrir una fractura de radio distal, tratados con inmovilización con yeso in situ o reducción cerrada con o sin fijación en un solo hospital ortopédico. El seguimiento funcional se proyecta a los 6 meses, mientras que el seguimiento clínico y radiográfico se realizará a las 2 semanas, 3 meses y 9 meses. Resultados: El reclutamiento comenzó en julio de 2021. Hasta enero de 2022, 23 niños fueron aleatorizados. Los autores esperan reclutar un promedio de 5 pacientes mensualmente; por lo tanto, el reclutamiento y el análisis deberían estar completos para octubre de 2024. Conclusiones: Este diseño experimental que aborda la funcionalidad de la extremidad superior después de la inmovilización con yeso in situ en niños que han sufrido una fractura distal del radio puede generar información convincente que podría ayudar al médico a decidir sobre el tratamiento ortopédico más adecuadoQ3Background: Acute treatment for distal radius fractures, the most frequent fractures in the pediatric population, represents a challenge to the orthopedic surgeon. Deciding on surgical restoration of the alignment or cast immobilization without reducing the fracture is a complex concern given the remodeling potential of bones in children. In addition, the lack of evidence-based safe boundaries of shortening and angulation, that will not jeopardize upper-extremity functionality in the future, further complicates this decision. Objective: The authors aim to measure functional outcomes, assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Physical Function v2.0 instrument. The authors hypothesize that outcomes will not be worse in children treated with cast immobilization in situ compared with those treated with closed reduction with or without percutaneous fixation. The authors also aim to compare the following as secondary outcomes: ulnar variance and fracture alignment in the sagittal and coronal planes, range of motion, pressure ulcers, pain control, radius osteotomy due to deformity, pseudoarthrosis cure, and remanipulation. Methods: This is the protocol of a randomized noninferiority trial comparing upper-extremity functionality in children aged 5 to 10 years, after sustaining a distal radius fracture, treated with either cast immobilization in situ or closed reduction with or without fixation in a single orthopedic hospital. Functional follow-up is projected at 6 months, while clinical and radiographic follow-up will occur at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 9 months. Results: Recruitment commenced in July 2021. As of January 2022, 23 children have been randomized. Authors expect an average of 5 patients to be recruited monthly; therefore, recruitment and analysis should be complete by October 2024. Conclusions: This experimental design that addresses upper-extremity functionality after cast immobilization in situ in children who have sustained a distal fracture of the radius may yield compelling information that could aid the clinician in deciding on the most suitable orthopedic treatment.Revista Nacional - IndexadaS

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Infection Biomarkers and TP53 Mutations in Hepatocellular Carcinomas from Colombia

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Globally, the most important HCC risk factors are Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and/or Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), chronic alcoholism, and dietary exposure to aflatoxins. We have described the epidemiological pattern of 202 HCC samples obtained from Colombian patients. Additionally we investigated HBV/HCV infections and TP53 mutations in 49 of these HCC cases. HBV biomarkers were detected in 58.1% of the cases; HBV genotypes F and D were characterized in three of the samples. The HCV biomarker was detected in 37% of the samples while HBV/HCV coinfection was found in 19.2%. Among TP53 mutations, 10.5% occur at the common aflatoxin mutation hotspot, codon 249. No data regarding chronic alcoholism was available from the cases. In conclusion, in this first study of HCC and biomarkers in a Colombian population, the main HCC risk factor was HBV infection

The Benchtop mesoSPIM: a next-generation open-source light-sheet microscope for large cleared samples

In 2015, we launched the mesoSPIM initiative (www.mesospim.org), an open-source project for making light-sheet microscopy of large cleared tissues more accessible. Meanwhile, the demand for imaging larger samples at higher speed and resolution has increased, requiring major improvements in the capabilities of light-sheet microscopy. Here, we introduce the next-generation mesoSPIM ("Benchtop") with significantly increased field of view, improved resolution, higher throughput, more affordable cost and simpler assembly compared to the original version. We developed a new method for testing objectives, enabling us to select detection objectives optimal for light-sheet imaging with large-sensor sCMOS cameras. The new mesoSPIM achieves high spatial resolution (1.5 μm laterally, 3.3 μm axially) across the entire field of view, a magnification up to 20x, and supports sample sizes ranging from sub-mm up to several centimetres, while being compatible with multiple clearing techniques. The new microscope serves a broad range of applications in neuroscience, developmental biology, and even physics

Benchtop mesoSPIM: a next-generation open-source light-sheet microscope for cleared samples

In 2015, we launched the mesoSPIM initiative, an open-source project for making light-sheet microscopy of large cleared tissues more accessible. Meanwhile, the demand for imaging larger samples at higher speed and resolution has increased, requiring major improvements in the capabilities of such microscopes. Here, we introduce the next-generation mesoSPIM (“Benchtop”) with a significantly increased field of view, improved resolution, higher throughput, more affordable cost, and simpler assembly compared to the original version. We develop an optical method for testing detection objectives that enables us to select objectives optimal for light-sheet imaging with large-sensor cameras. The improved mesoSPIM achieves high spatial resolution (1.5 µm laterally, 3.3 µm axially) across the entire field of view, magnification up to 20×, and supports sample sizes ranging from sub-mm up to several centimeters while being compatible with multiple clearing techniques. The microscope serves a broad range of applications in neuroscience, developmental biology, pathology, and even physics