Recent Progress in Stimuli-Responsive Antimicrobial Electrospun Nanofibers

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes have garnered significant attention in antimicrobial applications, owing to their intricate three-dimensional network that confers an interconnected porous structure, high specific surface area, and tunable physicochemical properties, as well as their notable capacity for loading and sustained release of antimicrobial agents. Tailoring polymer or hybrid-based nanofibrous membranes with stimuli-responsive characteristics further enhances their versatility, enabling them to exhibit broad-spectrum or specific activity against diverse microorganisms. In this review, we elucidate the pivotal advancements achieved in the realm of stimuli-responsive antimicrobial electrospun nanofibers operating by light, temperature, pH, humidity, and electric field, among others. We provide a concise introduction to the strategies employed to design smart electrospun nanofibers with antimicrobial properties. The core section of our review spotlights recent progress in electrospun nanofiber-based systems triggered by single- and multi-stimuli. Within each stimulus category, we explore recent examples of nanofibers based on different polymers and antimicrobial agents. Finally, we delve into the constraints and future directions of stimuli-responsive nanofibrous materials, paving the way for their wider application spectrum and catalyzing progress toward industrial utilization

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Transcriptome profiling of rabbit parthenogenetic blastocysts developed under in vivo conditions

Parthenogenetic embryos are one attractive alternative as a source of embryonic stem cells, although many aspects related to the biology of parthenogenetic embryos and parthenogenetically derived cell lines still need to be elucidated. The present work was conducted to investigate the gene expression profile of rabbit parthenote embryos cultured under in vivo conditions using microarray analysis. Transcriptomic profiles indicate 2541 differentially expressed genes between parthenotes and normal in vivo fertilised blastocysts, of which 76 genes were upregulated and 16 genes downregulated in in vivo cultured parthenote blastocyst, using 3 fold-changes as a cut-off. While differentially upregulated expressed genes are related to transport and protein metabolic process, downregulated expressed genes are related to DNA and RNA binding. Using microarray data, 6 imprinted genes were identified as conserved among rabbits, humans and mice: GRB10, ATP10A, ZNF215, NDN, IMPACT and SFMBT2. We also found that 26 putative genes have at least one member of that gene family imprinted in other species. These data strengthen the view that a large fraction of genes is differentially expressed between parthenogenetic and normal embryos cultured under the same conditions and offer a new approach to the identification of imprinted genes in rabbit. © 2012 Naturil-Alfonso et al.This work was supported by Generalitat Valenciana research programme (Prometeo 2009/125). Carmen Naturil was supported by Generalitat Valenciana research programme (Prometeo 2009/125). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Naturil Alfonso, C.; Saenz De Juano Ribes, MDLD.; Peñaranda, D.; Vicente Antón, JS.; Marco Jiménez, F. (2012). Transcriptome profiling of rabbit parthenogenetic blastocysts developed under in vivo conditions. PLoS ONE. 7(12):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051271S111712Harness, J. V., Turovets, N. A., Seiler, M. J., Nistor, G., Altun, G., Agapova, L. S., … Keirstead, H. S. (2011). Equivalence of Conventionally-Derived and Parthenote-Derived Human Embryonic Stem Cells. PLoS ONE, 6(1), e14499. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014499Lu, Z., Zhu, W., Yu, Y., Jin, D., Guan, Y., Yao, R., … Zhou, Q. (2010). Derivation and long-term culture of human parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells using human foreskin feeders. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 27(6), 285-291. doi:10.1007/s10815-010-9408-5Koh, C. J., Delo, D. M., Lee, J. W., Siddiqui, M. M., Lanza, R. P., Soker, S., … Atala, A. (2009). Parthenogenesis-derived multipotent stem cells adapted for tissue engineering applications. Methods, 47(2), 90-97. doi:10.1016/j.ymeth.2008.08.002Vrana, K. E., Hipp, J. D., Goss, A. M., McCool, B. A., Riddle, D. R., Walker, S. J., … Cibelli, J. B. (2003). Nonhuman primate parthenogenetic stem cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(Supplement 1), 11911-11916. doi:10.1073/pnas.2034195100Chen, Z., Liu, Z., Huang, J., Amano, T., Li, C., Cao, S., … Liu, L. (2009). Birth of Parthenote Mice Directly from Parthenogenetic Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem Cells, 27(9), 2136-2145. doi:10.1002/stem.158Sritanaudomchai, H., Ma, H., Clepper, L., Gokhale, S., Bogan, R., Hennebold, J., … Mitalipov, S. (2010). Discovery of a novel imprinted gene by transcriptional analysis of parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells. Human Reproduction, 25(8), 1927-1941. doi:10.1093/humrep/deq144Fang, Z. F., Gai, H., Huang, Y. Z., Li, S. G., Chen, X. J., Shi, J. J., … Sheng, H. Z. (2006). Rabbit embryonic stem cell lines derived from fertilized, parthenogenetic or somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos. Experimental Cell Research, 312(18), 3669-3682. doi:10.1016/j.yexcr.2006.08.013Wang, S., Tang, X., Niu, Y., Chen, H., Li, B., Li, T., … Ji, W. (2007). Generation and Characterization of Rabbit Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem Cells, 25(2), 481-489. doi:10.1634/stemcells.2006-0226Piedrahita, J. A., Anderson, G. B., & BonDurant, R. H. (1990). On the isolation of embryonic stem cells: Comparative behavior of murine, porcine and ovine embryos. Theriogenology, 34(5), 879-901. doi:10.1016/0093-691x(90)90559-cNaturil-Alfonso, C., Saenz-de-Juano, M. D., Peñaranda, D. S., Vicente, J. S., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2011). Parthenogenic blastocysts cultured under in vivo conditions exhibit proliferation and differentiation expression genes similar to those of normal embryos. Animal Reproduction Science, 127(3-4), 222-228. doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2011.08.005Besenfelder, U., Strouhal, C., & Brem, G. (1998). A Method for Endoscopic Embryo Collection and Transfer in the Rabbit. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A, 45(1-10), 577-579. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0442.1998.tb00861.xMehaisen, G. M. K., Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., Vicente, J. S., & Lavara, R. (2006). In vitro and in vivo viability of vitrified and non-vitrified embryos derived from eCG and FSH treatment in rabbit does. Theriogenology, 65(7), 1279-1291. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2005.08.007Bilodeau-Goeseels, S., & Schultz, G. A. (1997). Changes in Ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid Content Within in Vitro-produced Bovine Embryos1. Biology of Reproduction, 56(5), 1323-1329. doi:10.1095/biolreprod56.5.1323Conesa, A., Gotz, S., Garcia-Gomez, J. M., Terol, J., Talon, M., & Robles, M. (2005). Blast2GO: a universal tool for annotation, visualization and analysis in functional genomics research. Bioinformatics, 21(18), 3674-3676. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/bti610Edgar, R. (2002). Gene Expression Omnibus: NCBI gene expression and hybridization array data repository. Nucleic Acids Research, 30(1), 207-210. doi:10.1093/nar/30.1.207Weltzien, F.-A., Pasqualini, C., Vernier, P., & Dufour, S. (2005). A quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay for European eel tyrosine hydroxylase. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 142(1-2), 134-142. doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2004.12.019Llobat, L., Marco-Jiménez, F., Peñaranda, D., Saenz-de-Juano, M., & Vicente, J. (2011). Effect of Embryonic Genotype on Reference Gene Selection for RT-qPCR Normalization. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 47(4), 629-634. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0531.2011.01934.xLiu, N., Enkemann, S. A., Liang, P., Hersmus, R., Zanazzi, C., Huang, J., … Liu, L. (2010). Genome-wide Gene Expression Profiling Reveals Aberrant MAPK and Wnt Signaling Pathways Associated with Early Parthenogenesis. Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, 2(6), 333-344. doi:10.1093/jmcb/mjq029Abdoon, A. S., Ghanem, N., Kandil, O. M., Gad, A., Schellander, K., & Tesfaye, D. (2012). cDNA microarray analysis of gene expression in parthenotes and in vitro produced buffalo embryos. Theriogenology, 77(6), 1240-1251. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2011.11.004Labrecque, R., & Sirard, M.-A. (2011). Gene expression analysis of bovine blastocysts produced by parthenogenic activation or fertilisation. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 23(4), 591. doi:10.1071/rd10243Rizos, D., Clemente, M., Bermejo-Alvarez, P., de La Fuente, J., Lonergan, P., & Gutiérrez-Adán, A. (2008). Consequences ofIn VitroCulture Conditions on Embryo Development and Quality. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 43, 44-50. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0531.2008.01230.xLonergan, P., Rizos, D., Kanka, J., Nemcova, L., Mbaye, A., Kingston, M., … Boland, M. (2003). Temporal sensitivity of bovine embryos to culture environment after fertilization and the implications for blastocyst quality. Reproduction, 337-346. doi:10.1530/rep.0.1260337Memili, E., & First, N. L. (2000). Zygotic and embryonic gene expression in cow: a review of timing and mechanisms of early gene expression as compared with other species. Zygote, 8(1), 87-96. doi:10.1017/s0967199400000861Latham, K. E. (2001). Embryonic genome activation. Frontiers in Bioscience, 6(3), d748-759. doi:10.2741/a639Niemann, H., & Wrenzycki, C. (2000). Alterations of expression of developmentally important genes in preimplantation bovine embryos by in vitro culture conditions: Implications for subsequent development. Theriogenology, 53(1), 21-34. doi:10.1016/s0093-691x(99)00237-xCorcoran, D., Fair, T., Park, S., Rizos, D., Patel, O. V., Smith, G. W., … Lonergan, P. (2006). Suppressed expression of genes involved in transcription and translation in in vitro compared with in vivo cultured bovine embryos. Reproduction, 131(4), 651-660. doi:10.1530/rep.1.01015Morison, I. M., Ramsay, J. P., & Spencer, H. G. (2005). A census of mammalian imprinting. Trends in Genetics, 21(8), 457-465. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2005.06.008Bischoff, S. R., Tsai, S., Hardison, N., Motsinger-Reif, A. A., Freking, B. A., Nonneman, D., … Piedrahita, J. A. (2009). Characterization of Conserved and Nonconserved Imprinted Genes in Swine1. 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Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

CLINICAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS COMMUNICATED IN LIBRAS

Abstract OBJECTIVE To validate a video containing image representations of clinical signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections expressed in Libras. METHOD Methodology development study conducted in an audio communication school. Thirty-six deaf people were selected. A video containing image representations of clinical signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections expressed in Libras was produced. Semantic validation was performed by deaf students and content validation by three judges who are Libras experts. The validation results were subjected to the Content Validity Index, where an index score > 0.80/80% was considered as agreement among judges. RESULTS Seven signs and symptoms related to sexually transmitted infections were validated and obtained satisfactory Content Validity Indexes, most of them with 100% representativeness and agreement. CONCLUSION The validation process made the expressions of signs and symptoms related to sexually transmitted infections represented in Libras valid for establishing effective communication in the area of the study, turning it into a care tool that facilitates and standardizes communication with deaf people through Libras