Laughter as a diagnostic measure of psoriasis severity

Laughter has been studied for its beneficial effects on health and as a therapeutic method to prevent and treat medical conditions. We explore the predictive potential of laughter as a psoriasis severity diagnostic tool. In this study, the dermatologist first examines the patient and registers the PASI and BSA scores. Then patients complete the DLQI and EQ-5D-3L (quality of life), as well as the HADS (anxiety and depression) and the NEO PI-R (personality traits). Finally, the laughs of 30 patients with plaque psoriasis (15 mild cases and 15 moderate to severe cases), and 30 healthy controls will be registered. To do this, patients and accompanying health controls (in pairs), watch a 15-minute video with humorous sketches..

The sociotype questionnaire: assessing the social burden of skin diseases

Skin diseases can cause a significant psychosocial burden. A number of studies have considered issues such as a lower quality of life, increased anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and other psychological disorders. However, adequate means for evaluating social interaction difficulties, diminished social networks, and the impoverished conversational exchanges that affect the wellbeing and mental health of the individual, have not been sufficiently developed. This study is based on the sociotype approach that has recently been proposed as a new theoretical construct implemented in the form of a questionnaire; it examines the social bonding structures and relational factors associated with dermatological conditions..

Proctitis in patients with monkeypox infection: a single‑center analysis of 42 consecutive cases from a multidisciplinary observational study on monkeypox proctitis

Background: The current monkeypox (MP) virus outbreak was declared an international emergency in July 2022. The aim of this report is to describe our initial experience with patients with MP, focusing on proctitis. Methods: We conducted an observational study between 20 May and 31 July 2022, on patients with MP at a reference tertiary center in Madrid, Spain. A descriptive analysis on MP was performed, focusing on its characteristics, symptoms, diagnosis, and outcomes. Results: A total of 143 positive MP cases were diagnosed in our center; 42 of them [all male, median age 39 years (range: 22–57 years)] had proctitis (29.37%), and 3 patients (2.09%/MP total cases and 7.14%/MP proctitis) required surgical drainage of a perianal abscess. Conclusions: General and digestive surgeons must be aware of the presence of proctological impairment and complications due to MP viru

Tailoring silk fibroin separator membranes pore size for improving performance of lithium ion batteries

The search of natural materials for their application in energy storage systems in general and batteries in particular is growing due to their promising properties and the need of environmental sustainability. Silk fibroin (SF) is one of those materials due to their mechanical and thermal properties, non-toxicity and biocompatibility. Further, SF exhibits excellent cycling performance as separator for lithium-ion battery applications. This work reports on SF membranes with different pore sizes (within the rages: 38–22, 106–38 and 250-106 μm) prepared for separators in lithium-ion batteries. The morphology, structure and thermal properties were evaluated. It is shown that the β-sheet conformation percentage increases with increasing pore size, which also leads to higher electrolyte uptake, reaching 350% for SF membranes with pore size of 250–106 μm. With respect to battery performance, a high discharge capacity (131.3 mAh g−1, for C/8) is obtained for this membraneFCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) for financial support under the framework of Strategic Funding grants UID/FIS/04650/2019, and UID/QUI/0686/2019 and project PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017. The author also thanks the FCT for financial support under grant SFRH/BPD/112547/2015 (C.M.C.) and Investigator FCT Contract CEECIND/00833/2017 (R.G.). Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through project MAT2016-76039-C4-3-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) (including FEDER financial support) and from the Basque Government Industry and Education Departments under the ELKARTEK, HAZITEK and PIBA (PIBA-2018-06

Silk fibroin and sericin polymer blends for sustainable battery separators

Natural polymers are a promising alternative for reducing the environmental impact of batteries. For this reason, it is still necessary to study their behavior and implement its use in these devices, especially in separator membranes. This work reports on new separator membranes based on silk fibroin (SF) and silk sericin (SS) prepared by salt leaching method. The effect of the different SS relative content on the physiochemical properties of the membranes and on the electrochemical performance of the corresponding batteries with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) as cathodes has been reported. It is observed that the increasing of SS content leads to a decrease of the overall crystallinity of the membranes. All SF/SS membranes presented a well-defined porosity above 75% with a uniform distribution of interconnected micropores. The electrolyte uptake and the ionic conductivity are dependent on the relative SS content. The addition of 10 wt% of SS into SF membranes, induce a high ionic conductivity of 4.09 mS.cm−1 and high lithium transference number (0.52), due to the improvement of the Li+ ions conduction paths within the blended structure. Charge/discharge tests performed in Lithium/C-LFP half-cells reveal a discharge capacity of 85 mAh.g−1 at 2C after 100 cycles for batteries with a SF/SS separator, containing a 10 wt% of SS, which suggests a stabilizing effect of Sericin on discharge capacity. Further, a 50% and 35% of capacity of retention and capacity fade, respectively, is observed. The presented SF/SS membrane show high electrochemical stability, being suitable for implementation in a next generation of sustainable battery systems. This could allow the SS valorization considering that 150,000 tons of SS are abandoned each year, reducing the contamination of environmental effluents.The authors thank the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for financial support under the framework of Strategic Funding grants UID/FIS/04650/2020, UID/EEA/04436/2020, and UID/QUI/0686/2020 and under projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028157 and PTDC/FIS-MAC/ 28157/2017 funded by national funds through FCT and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). The authors also thank the FCT for financial support under FCT investigator contracts CEECIND/00833/ 2017 (RG) and 2020.04028.CEECIND (C.M.C.). Financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK 2018 program (KK-2018/00098) is acknowledged. The authors thank for technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU/ ERDF, EU)

Solid polymer electrolytes based on gellan gum and ionic liquid for sustainable electrochromic devices

Materials sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant in every developed technology and, consequently, environmentally friendly solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on gellan gum and different quantities of ionic liquid (IL) 1- Ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-thiocyanate [Emim][SCN] have been prepared and applied in electrochromic devices (ECDs). The addition of the IL does not affect the crystalline phase of gellan gum and the samples show a compact morphology, surface uniformity, no phase separation and good distribution of the IL within the carrageenan matrix. The developed SPE are thermally stable up to ~ 100 ºC and show suitable mechanical properties. The most concentrated sample (39 wt.% IL content) reaches a maximum ionic conductivity value of 6.010–3 S cm–1 and 1.810–2 S cm–1 at 30 ºC and 90 ºC, respectively. The electrochromic device (ECD) was fabricated with poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) as working electrode and the developed SPE was compared with an aqueous 0.1 M KNO3 solution. The electrochromic performance of the electrolyte was assessed in terms of spectroelectrochemistry, demonstrating a fully flexible ECD operating at voltages below 1.0 V. This novel electrolyte opens the door to the preparation of high performance sustainable ECD.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT): Strategic Funding grants UID/FIS/04650/2021, UID/CTM/50025/2021, and UID/QUI/0686/2021; projects PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017 and POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046985. R. G. and C. M. C. thank the FCT for the contracts under the Stimulus of Scientific Employment: CEECIND/00833/2017 and 2020.04028 CEECIND, respectively. Basque Government for funding under the ELKARTEK program; Basque University System Research Groups, IT-1290-19 and the University of the Basque Country (GIU18/197). L. C. -A. thanks the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) for the doctoral grant PIFI20/0

Application of the NBS impact evaluation framework: NBS performance and impact evaluation case studies

Selecting appropriate indicators of NBS performance and impact can bechallenging, and is context-dependent. In this chapter, we present case studiesfrom a variety of NBS demonstrations across Europe and Asia that illustrate theapplication of the NBS indicators and methods presented in Chapter 4 andthoroughly described in Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions:Appendix of Methods. Each case study presents a brief NBS description, reasonsfor the selection of specific indicators for that particular NBS and a brief overviewof the ways the indicators are applied and/or monitored. The case studiesdescribe the stakeholders involved in co-design and co-monitoring of NBS anddiscuss the barriers and lessons learned during or after the process. Each casestudy provides key references for further reading.The case studies in this chapter focus on the selection of recommended indicatorsfor NBS performance and impact, which are generally of primary importancewhen creating NBS monitoring and evaluation plans. The case studies furtherdemonstrate how and why additional indicators can be selected to reflectparticular objectives of projects and local challenges