A Facile and Green Microwave-Assisted Strategy to Induce Surface Properties on Complex-Shape Polymeric 3D Printed Structures

Light- induced polymeric 3D printing is becoming a well-established fabrication method, showing manifold advantages such as control of the local chemistry of the manufactured devices. It can be considered a green technology, since the parts are produced when needed and with minimum amount of materials. In this work 3D printing is combined with another green technology, microwave-assisted reaction, to fabricate objects of complex geometry with controllable surface properties, exploiting the presence of remaining functional groups on the surface of 3D printed specimens. In this context, surface functionalization with different amines is studied, optimizing formulations, reaction times, and avoiding surface deterioration. Then, two different applications are investigated. MW-functionalized filter-type structures have been tested against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, showing high bactericidal activity on the surface along all areas of the complex-shaped structure. Second, a fluidic chip composed of three separated channels is 3D printed, filled with different amine-reactive dyes (dansyl and eosine derivatives), and made to react simultaneously. Complete and independent functionalization of the surface of the three channels is achieved only after 2 min of irradiation. This study demonstrates that light induced 3D printing and microwave-induced chemistry can be used together effectively, and used to produce functional devices

Mining Environmental Liability and Its in Situ Treatment with Calcium Oxide for Zinc Removal

Mining environmental liabilities have negative effects on human health, the ecosystem and property. This study was conducted at the Cercapuquio Mining Environmental Liability (MEL) in the district of Chongos Alto. The wastewater analysis was conducted at Universidad Continental and data were obtained on metal content and hydrogen potential. This investigation revealed that the Cercapuquio MEL wastewater had a higher concentration of zinc, 9,916 mg/L, and the pH level was 7.53 (alkaline), which is why this effluent exceeds the maximum permissible limit of the annual average. A neutralizing reagent was also prepared by recycling eggshells, calcined at 1000 °C for 40 min, obtaining quicklime with 61.30% calcium oxide (CaO). For wastewater treatment, the quicklime obtained in neutralizing solution was used, which, when applied to the effluent, had the effect of lowering the zinc concentration from 9.916 mg/L to 0.051 mg/L and the pH from 7.53 to 10.36. The average zinc removal achieved in the effluent is 96%

Patient Perspective on the Management of Cancer Pain in Spain

Pain in cancer is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Breakthrough pain, in particular, severely impacts the quality of life of patients. In this study, we evaluated management and care of pain in Spain from the patient perspective by assessing the experience of 275 patients who had suffered breakthrough pain. Although most patients had suffered moderate-to-severe pain in the last 24 hours, pain relief was achieved in the majority of cases. The body areas with a higher pain intensity was felt varied based on primary cancer. Adherence to treatment was subpar, and patients were moderately concerned about addiction to treatment and adverse events. Doctors did not assess pain in every visit and there is room for improvement in its classification. Education strategies directed toward patients and health care personnel are needed to improve pain assessment, follow-up, and compliance. These could guide shared decision-making and improve communication about cancer pain to improve its care

Expression of a barley cystatin gene in maize enhances resistance against phytophagous mites by altering their cysteine-proteases

Phytocystatins are inhibitors of cysteine-proteases from plants putatively involved in plant defence based on their capability of inhibit heterologous enzymes. We have previously characterised the whole cystatin gene family members from barley (HvCPI-1 to HvCPI-13). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of barley cystatins on two phytophagous spider mites, Tetranychus urticae and Brevipalpus chilensis. The determination of proteolytic activity profile in both mite species showed the presence of the cysteine-proteases, putative targets of cystatins, among other enzymatic activities. All barley cystatins, except HvCPI-1 and HvCPI-7, inhibited in vitro mite cathepsin L- and/or cathepsin B-like activities, HvCPI-6 being the strongest inhibitor for both mite species. Transgenic maize plants expressing HvCPI-6 protein were generated and the functional integrity of the cystatin transgene was confirmed by in vitro inhibitory effect observed against T. urticae and B. chilensis protein extracts. Feeding experiments impaired on transgenic lines performed with T. urticae impaired mite development and reproductive performance. Besides, a significant reduction of cathepsin L-like and/or cathepsin B-like activities was observed when the spider mite fed on maize plants expressing HvCPI-6 cystatin. These findings reveal the potential of barley cystatins as acaricide proteins to protect plants against two important mite pests

Epidemiological aspects of facial trauma in a third level hospital in Mexico

Background: Facial trauma is common in early adulthood and may require complex surgery and even high mortality. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional study at the Hospital General de México during the period from January 2018 to December 2021. Patients with a diagnosis of fracture of the facial region, who had a complete clinical record, of any age, were included. Patients who did not comply with the treatment in the hospital unit, with incomplete clinical records, were excluded. Through non-probability sampling, a sample of 156 patients was formed. The descriptive data analysis was carried out by calculating frequencies and percentages for the qualitative variables. For the quantitative variables, measures of central tendency and dispersion were calculated according to the distribution of the variables (mean and standard deviation). for variables with normal distribution and median with interquartile range for variables with non-normal distribution). Results: 156 patients were included, the male sex predominated (89.7%), the age group from 21 to 30 years (35.3%), the injury mechanism of aggression by a third party (54.5%). Facial fractures occurred in the following descending order: orbit (64.7%), zygoma (41.7% n=65), mandibular (23.1% n=36), nasal (22.4% n=35), maxilla (21.8% n=34), NOE (4.5% n=7), Le Fort (3.8% n=6), and palate (3.8% n=6). Within orbital fractures, the most frequently affected region was the orbital floor (42.3%). The patients with orbital fracture were mostly men (88.1% versus 11.9%). The highest frequency of these fractures was between the ages of 21 and 30 (38.6%). Surgical treatment of fractures in general was established in 44.9%, performing open reduction and internal fixation of fractures in 41.0%. Conclusions: The most frequent facial fractures are: orbit, zygoma, and mandibular; they mainly affect the male sex in the second decade of life, they are produced mainly by aggressions to third parties. The management of facial fractures is predominantly surgical, through open reduction and internal fixation

Bioderived dyes-mediated vat photopolymerization 3D printing of chitosan hydrogels for tissue engineering

The importance of 3D printable hydrogels is constantly increasing in the field of tissue engineering, due to their characteristic structure and similarity with the human body extracellular matrix (ECM). Herein, Quinizarin-based bioderived photoactive dyes were employed for the 3D printing of methacrylated chitosan by vat pho-topolymerization (VPP). Dyes are commonly needed in VPP to obtain good resolution avoiding the light scattering in the vat, here the bioderived molecules had further utility granting the printability with good resolution while acting both as photosensitizers and fillers/crosslinkers. Defined and detailed architectures in the range of millimetres were obtained with low printing times showing for the first time the possibility to obtain all-chitosan 3D structures with suspended features by Digital Light Processing (DLP), which is a form of vat photopolymerization; such a result is not achievable without the quinizarin-derived dyes. The same structures were achieved with an opti-mized concentration of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, as a comparison, enhancing the resolution. For all the formulations, the important feature to obtain the gel printability (considering reactiveness, viscosity, shear thinning behaviour, mechanical properties and stability) were evaluated. The hydrogels mechanical character-ization and swelling properties were also tested and reported. Lastly, the possible application in tissue engi-neering was also evaluated through cell proliferation analysis over samples, including metabolic activity and DNA contempt assays. The use of such bioderived photoactive molecules that simultaneously act as photosensitizer enhancing the ink reactivity, as dye improving the definition of the final structures and as filler/crosslinker increasing the me-chanical stability, could represent a valuable route for the DLP printing of soft hydrogels

Ratio of the Dead to Wounded (D/W) Indicators and Associated Factors in Major Earthquakes of America from 1960 to 2011

Corrigendum to “Ratio of the Dead to Wounded (D/W) Indicators and Associated Factors in Major Earthquakes of America from 1960 to 2011”. Journal of Earthquakes 2015; 436960, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/436960.The paper presented deals with the casualties, mortality, and morbidity occurred during the major earthquakes of America during a period of 51 years. The work provides statistical evidence that the deaths/wounded (D/W) ratio used for many agencies in the planning of the preparation and response activities to earthquakes does not fit the relation 1 : 3. In addition, a model is presented in order to evaluate the possible association between different analysis variables such as the subregion of the American continent affected, population density, HDI, and the time and magnitude of the earthquake and the effects of these on the death toll, the number of the wounded, and the D/W indexes. Although the model generated it is not robust enough for decision making, it could be useful and improvable in order to apply it in the planning and management of these kinds of natural disasters. For these reasons, we think that it would be interesting to do further progress in this line of research by making a more comprehensive study of the variables associated with mortality and morbidity, using a more representative sample of earthquakes that sure will confirm the results presented in this work.This work was funded by the Spanish Field Epidemiology Training Program and was done as part of research activities of Ana Ayuso-Alvárez, M.S., Marcello S. Rossi S., D.S., and Dante Culqui, M.S., in the Spanish Field Epidemiology Training Program.S

Annual dune plant communities in the Southwest coast of Europe

This study presents an updated sintaxonomic review of the annual communities from coastal dunes in the Southwest coast of Europe, specifically in the Iberian Peninsula, including both types: directly influenced by the sea salt spray and not affected by this influence. The floristic segregation of the different plant associations was obtained by statistical agglomerative processes (UPGMA, Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) plus principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and discussed based on the interpretation of phytosociological tables. Three new communities in central western Portugal were found and are described: Pseudorlayo minusculae-Polycarpietum alsinifoli, Cerastio diffusae-Vulpietum fontqueranae and Omphalodo kunzinskyanae-Evacietum ramosissimae