Spin dependent photoelectron tunnelling from GaAs into magnetic Cobalt

The spin dependence of the photoelectron tunnel current from free standing GaAs films into out-of- plane magnetized Cobalt films is demonstrated. The measured spin asymmetry (A) resulting from a change in light helicity, reaches +/- 6% around zero applied tunnel bias and drops to +/- 2% at a bias of -1.6 V applied to the GaAs. This decrease is a result of the drop in the photoelectron spin polarization that results from a reduction in the GaAs surface recombination velocity. The sign of A changes with that of the Cobalt magnetization direction. In contrast, on a (nonmagnetic) Gold film A ~ 0%

Seizure And COVID-19: Association and Review of Potential Mechanism.

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, China, this highly transmissible virus has since spread rapidly around the world. Though respiratory complication is the primarily reported manifestation though rare, yet serious neurological complications are being frequently reported in the literature. In selected coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases neurologic complications may manifest as seizures. In this paper, we have reviewed current literature on seizures linked with SARS- COV 2 infection including published or pre-print original articles, review articles, and case reports. We have discussed the electroencephalogram (EEG), imaging, and Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings in COVID-19 patients presenting with seizure. We will be concluding the paper by briefly discussing the three possible seizure development mechanisms in patients infected with SARS- COV 2, which includes - (a) Direct Mechanism (b) Indirect Mechanism and (c) Exacerbation of Seizure in Patients with Epilepsy (PWE). Our aim is to update the physicians working with COVID-19 patients about this potential complication and hope that understanding of these proposed mechanisms can provide an opportunity for the physicians for early diagnosis or even better, help prevent this complication

Meaning and medication: a thematic analysis of depressed adolescents' views and experiences of SSRI antidepressants alongside psychological therapies

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a key period of risk for the emergence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The prescription of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of depression in adolescents is an issue of worldwide controversy, and evidence regarding their safety and efficacy is inconclusive. In the UK, NICE guidelines have recently recommended offering SSRIs to adolescents alongside psychological therapy or on their own if therapy is refused. Thus, SSRIs are increasingly becoming a major component of treatment for adolescents. This study qualitatively explored adolescents' views and experiences of SSRIs within their accounts of engaging in a psychological therapy for depression, particularly focusing on meanings they attached to medication-use. METHODS: The qualitative study reports data from semi-structured interviews conducted 12-months post-treatment with 12 adolescents who were clinically referred and treated for depression as part of the IMPACT trial. The interviews were analysed using Thematic Analysis. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: 'a perceived threat to autonomy', 'a sign of severity', 'a support, not a solution', and 'an ongoing process of trial and error'. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the value of bringing adolescents' voices into the broader debate on the use of antidepressants in their age group and in the development of future guidelines. Future implications for research and clinical practice are discussed

Valorization of wine‐making by‐products’ extracts in cosmetics

The increased demand for conscious, sustainable and beneficial products by the consumers has pushed researchers from both industries and universities worldwide to search for smart strategies capable of reducing the environmental footprint, especially the ones connected with industrial wastes. Among various by-products, generally considered as waste, those obtained by winemaking industries have attracted the attention of a wide variety of companies, other than the vineries. In particular, grape pomaces are considered of interest due to their high content in bioactive molecules, especially phenolic compounds. The latter can be recovered from grape pomace and used as active ingredients in easily marketable cosmetic products. Indeed, phenolic compounds are well known for their remarkable beneficial properties at the skin level, such as antioxidant, antiaging, anti-hyperpigmentation and photoprotective effects. The exploitation of the bioactives contained in grape pomaces to obtain high value cosmetics may support the growing of innovative start-ups and expand the value chain of grapes. This review aims to describe the strategies for recovery of polyphenols from grape pomace, to highlight the beneficial potential of these extracts, both in vitro and in vivo, and their potential utilization as active ingredients in cosmetic products

Stability and Antioxidant Activity of Hydro-Glyceric Extracts Obtained from Different Grape Seed Varieties Incorporated in Cosmetic Creams

Grape seeds are agro-industrial by-products, which if improperly managed, may be responsible for socioeconomic and environmental problems. Nevertheless, it is possible to effectively valorize them by means of extraction of the bioactive compounds, especially the antioxidant phenolic molecules, using a safe, green, and environmentally-friendly extractive medium (i.e., hydro-glyceric solution). In the present study, the extraction was performed using seeds from two Lebanese varieties, Obeidi and Asswad Karech, and three international varieties, Marselan, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc. The type and amount of phenolic compounds were identified by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Marselan was the extract richer in catechins (132.99 +/- 9.81 mu g/g of dried matter), and it also contained a higher amount of phenolic compounds (49.08 +/- 0.03 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of dry matter and 10.02 +/- 0.24 mg of proanthocyanidin content/g of dry matter). The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was assessed using three different colorimetric assays including 2,2-DiPhenyl-1-PicrylHydrazyl (DPPH), CUPRIC ion Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC), and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). As expected, Marselan exhibited the highest antioxidant activity; as well, the total phenolic and proanthocyanidin content were the highest. The stability of the Marselan extract incorporated into a commercial cream, was performed at three different temperatures (4, 25, and 50 degrees C), and four different concentrations (5, 4, 3, 2%), over a period of 4 months, using different methods such as centrifugation, Heat-Shock Cycles, pH, and viscosity. All Marselan hydro-glyceric extract formulations were proven to be stable over the entire 4 months, where the highest stability was achieved at 4 degrees C and the least at 50 degrees C. This study supports the suitability of the incorporation of phenolic extracts into commercial creams to enrich the cosmetic industry with effective, natural, and safe skincare products

Multi-Step Biomass Fractionation of Grape Seeds from Pomace, a Zero-Waste Approach

Grape seeds are the wineries' main by-products, and their disposal causes ecological and environmental problems. In this study seeds from the pomace waste of autochthonous grape varieties from Lebanon, Obeidi (white variety) and Asswad Karech (red variety) were used for a multi-step biomass fractionation. For the first step, a lipid extraction was performed, and the obtained yield was 12.33% (w/w) for Obeidi and 13.04% (w/w) for Asswad Karech. For the second step, polyphenols' recovery from the defatted seeds was carried out, resulting in 12.0% (w/w) for Obeidi and 6.6% (w/w) for Asswad Karech, with Obeidi's extract having the highest total phenolic content (333.1 ± 1.6 mg GAE/g dry matter) and antioxidant activity (662.17 ± 0.01 µg/mL of Trolox equivalent). In the third step, the defatted and dephenolized seeds were subsequently extracted under alkaline conditions and the proteins were isoelectric precipitated. The recovered protein extract was 3.90% (w/w) for Obeidi and 4.11% (w/w) for Asswad Karech seeds, with Asswad Karech's extract having the highest protein content (64 ± 0.2 mg protein/g dry matter). The remaining exhausted residue can be valorized in cosmetic scrubs formulations as a replacement for plastic microbeads. The designed zero-waste approach multi-step biomass fractionation has the potential to improve the valorization of the side products (grape seeds) of these two Lebanese autochthonous grape varieties

Systematic and Empirical Study of the Dependence of Polyphenol Recovery from Apricot Pomace on Temperature and Solvent Concentration Levels

This work aims to study the impact of solvent mixture (between 0 and 50% ethanol/water mixture) and temperature (between 25°C and 75°C) levels on the solid-liquid extraction of phenolic compounds (quantity and bioactivity) from apricot pomace. Results show that the mean augmentation of 1% ethanol in the range [0–12%] enhances by three times the extraction of polyphenols compared to the same augmentation in the range [0–50%]. Similarly, the mean augmentation of 1°Celcius in the range [0–25°Celcius] enhances by two times the extraction of polyphenols compared to the same augmentation in the range [0–75°Celcius]. Moreover, 1% of ethanol exhibited a greater impact on the phenolic compound extraction than 1°Celsius. The response surface methodology showed that the optimal extraction condition was reached with 50% ethanol/water at 75°C giving a total phenolic content (TPC) of 9.8 mg GAE/g DM, a flavonoids content (FC) of 8.9 mg CE/g DM, a tannin content (TC) of 4.72 mg/L, and an antiradical activity (AA) of 44%. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that polyphenols were influenced by the selectivity of the solvent as well as the properties of each phenolic compound. Apricot pomace extracts could therefore be used as natural bioactive molecules for many industrial applications

Exhausted Grape Seed Residues as a Valuable Source of Antioxidant Molecules for the Formulation of Biocompatible Cosmetic Scrubs

Grape seed of Obeidi, a white Lebanese autochthonous variety, was previously tested in different studies as a valuable source of bioactive molecules such as polyphenols, oils, and proteins by means of extraction procedures for the development of cosmetic and therapeutic products. However, an un-valorized, exhausted grape seed residue remains as "secondary waste" after the extraction processes. In this study, the exhausted seeds have been further exploited to produce cosmetic scrubs capable of releasing antioxidant molecules during the exfoliation process, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy and going toward a zero-waste process. The deep characterization of the exhausted seeds confirmed the presence of antioxidant phenolic molecules including gallic acid, catechins and protocatechuic acid (0.13, 0.126, and 0.089 mg/g of dry matter DM), and a high phenolic content (11.85 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of dry matter (DM)). Moreover, these residues were shown to possess a sandy texture (Hausner ratio (HR): 1.154, Carr index (CI): 0.133, and angle of repose: 31.62 (& DEG;) degrees), similar to commercial natural exfoliants. In this respect, exhausted Obeidi grape seed residues were incorporated at increasing concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% w/w) in a cosmetic scrub, and stored for 5 weeks at 4, 25, and 50 & DEG;C for stability testing. All tested scrub formulations exhibited good spreadability with a spread diameter of 3.6-4.7 cm and excellent physical stability, as no phase separation or color change were observed after four cycles of heat shock at 4 and 50 & DEG;C. Finally, an in vivo skin irritation test showed that the scrub enriched with 1.5% of exhausted Obeidi grape seed residues was the most promising formulation, as it possessed a high amount of phenolic molecules (0.042 & PLUSMN; 0.001 mg GAE/mL of scrub) and good stability and could be safely applied to the skin with no irritation phenomena. Overall results underlined that exhausted grape seed residues can be transformed into promising systems for both physical and chemical exfoliation, thus confirming the importance of the effective exploitation of agro-industrial by-products for the development of high value cosmeceutics towards a more sustainable and zero-waste approach

Optimization of Polyphenols' Recovery from Purple Corn Cobs Assisted by Infrared Technology and Use of Extracted Anthocyanins as a Natural Colorant in Pickled Turnip

An ecofriendly extraction technology using infrared (IR) irradiation Ired-Irrad® was applied to purple corn cobs to enhance polyphenol recovery for the first time. The IR extraction efficiency was compared to that of the water bath (WB) method. Response surface methodology (RSM) using a central composite design was conducted to determine the effect of the experimental conditions (extraction time and treatment temperature) and their interactions on the total polyphenol and anthocyanin yields. Optimal extraction of total phenolic compounds (37 mg GAE/g DM) and total monomeric anthocyanins (14 mg C3G/g DM) were obtained at 63 °C for 77 min using IR as an extraction technique and water as a solvent. HPLC revealed that the recovery of peonidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-glucoside was enhanced by 26% and 34%, respectively, when using IR. Finally, purple corn cobs' spray-dried extract was proven to be an important natural colorant of pickled turnip. It offers great potential for use as a healthy alternative to the carcinogenic rhodamine B synthetic dye, which was banned

Early-onset breast cancer in a Lebanese family with Lynch syndrome due to MSH2 gene mutation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are still controversies about the integration of breast cancer as a part of the disease spectrum in Lynch syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A regular follow-up of a Lebanese pedigree with Lynch syndrome due to a point mutation of MSH2 gene at the splice donor site of intron 3 started in 1996.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A 26-year-old pregnant woman, mutation carrier, developed an aggressive breast cancer, refractory to standard chemotherapy regimens. The microsatellite analysis of the tumor showed an unstable pattern for markers BAT25 and BAT26. The immunohistochemical staining was negative for MSH2 and MSH6 and normal for MLH1 and PMS6 enzymes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The segregation of the mutation with the disease phenotype and these results suggest that MSH2 inactivation may be involved in the accelerated breast carcinogenesis and might be considered in the cancer screening program.</p