Goethite–titania composite: disinfection mechanism under UV and visible light

Goethite–titania (a-FeOOH–TiO2) composites were prepared by co-precipitation and mechanical milling. The structural, morphological and optical properties of as-synthesized composites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, respectively. a-FeOOH–TiO2 composites and TiO2-P25, as reference, were evaluated as photocatalysts for the disinfection of Escherichia coli under UV or visible light in a stirred tank reactor. a-FeOOH–TiO2 exhibited better photocatalytic activity in the visible region than TiO2-P25. The mechanical activation increased the absorption in the visible range of TiO2-P25 and the photocatalytic activity of a-FeOOH– TiO2. In the experiments with UV light and a-FeOOH–TiO2, mechanically activated, a 5.4 log-reduction of bacteria was achieved after 240 min of treatment. Using visible light the a-FeOOH–TiO2 and the TiO2-P25 showed a 3.1 and a 0.7 log-reductions at 240 min, respectively. The disinfection mechanism was studied by ROS detection and scavenger experiments, demonstrating that the main ROS produced in the disinfection process were superoxide radical anion, singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radica

Effect of Social Rank upon Estrus Induction and Some Reproductive Outcomes in Anestrus Goats Treated With Progesterone + eCG

We evaluated the possible role of the social rank [R] (i.e., low—LSR, middle—MSR, or high—HSR) in anestrus goats exposed to a P4 + eCG [D] (i.e., 100 or 350 IU) estrus induction protocol (EIP). Adult, multiparous (two to three lactations), multiracial, dairy-type goats (Alpine–Saanen–Nubian x Criollo goats (n = 70; 25°51′ North) managed under stall-fed conditions were all ultrasound evaluated to confirm anestrus status while the R was determined 30 d prior to the EIP. The variables of estrus induction (EI, %), estrus latency (LAT, h), estrus duration (DUR, h), ovulation (OVU, %), ovulation rate (OR, n), corpus luteum size (CLS, cm), pregnancy (PREG, %), kidding (KIDD, %), and litter size (LS, n) as affected by R, D, and the R × D interaction, were evaluated. While OVU and CLS favored (p 0.05; 38.5%) KIDD. However, EI, LAT, DUR, OR, and PREG were affected by the R × D interaction. The HSR group had the largest (p < 0.05) EI % and DUR h, irrespective of D. The shortest (p < 0.05) LAT occurred in D350, irrespective of R. While the largest (p < 0.05) OR occurred in HSR and MSR within D350, the HSR + D350 group had the largest PREG (p < 0.05). These research outcomes are central to defining out-of-season reproductive strategies designed to attenuate seasonal reproduction in goats

Does Size Matters? Relationships among Social Dominance and Some Morphometric Traits upon Out-of-Season Reproductive Outcomes in Anestrus Dairy Goats Treated with P4 + eCG

The possible role of the social rank (R) (i.e., low-LSR, middle-MSR, or high-HSR) in anestrus goats exposed to a P4 + eCG (D) (i.e., 100 or 350 IU) estrus induction protocol (EIP) was evaluated. Goats (Alpine-Saanen-Nubian × Criollo; n = 70; 25° North) managed under stall-fed conditions were all ultrasound evaluated to confirm anestrous status, while the social rank was determined 30 d prior to the EIP. The response variables included estrus induction (EI, %), duration of estrus (DUR, h), ovulation rate (OR, n), live weight (LW, kg), thoracic perimeter (TP, cm), thoracic diameter (TD, cm), body length (BL, cm), height at withers (HW, cm), beard length (BEA, cm), compactness index (COM, cm), and anamorphosis index (ANA, cm), as affected by R, D, and the R × D interaction were evaluated, while the correlation coefficients among reproductive and morphometric variables were quantified. An R × D interaction (p 0.05) with any response variable, either reproductive or morphometric. As expected, LW had high correlation coefficients (p < 0.01) with TP (0.86), TD (0.88), BL (0.82), HW (0.75), BEA (0.51), COM (0.97), and ANA (0.75). In general, the morphometric variables as a whole demonstrated important correlation coefficients among them (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.38 up to 0.84. To estimate the importance of the morphometric differences between social rank upon estrus induction, a principal component (PC) analysis was performed based on the correlation matrix derived from the corporal measurements. The PC1 and PC2 explained 70.3% and 17.6% of the morphometric variation, respectively. The PC1 was a measure of the goat size (i.e., small, medium, large) and its association with estrus occurrence was evaluated using a logistic regression model; the bigger the goat, the increased probability of being in estrus, by up to five times compared to small goats. Our results confirm that the higher social ranked, larger goats amalgamated some fundamental factors to be successful: aggressiveness, primacy to food access, augmented live weight, and corporal size; all of these were able to modulate out-of-season reproductive success in crossbred dairy goats subjected to an estrus induction protocol and managed under stall-fed conditions in Northern Mexico

Natural History of MYH7-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND Variants in myosin heavy chain 7 (MYH7) are responsible for disease in 1% to 5% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM); however, the clinical characteristics and natural history of MYH7-related DCM are poorly described. OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the phenotype and prognosis of MYH7-related DCM. We also evaluated the influence of variant location on phenotypic expression. METHODS We studied clinical data from 147 individuals with DCM-causing MYH7 variants (47.6% female; 35.6 +/- 19.2 years) recruited from 29 international centers. RESULTS At initial evaluation, 106 (72.1%) patients had DCM (left ventricular ejection fraction: 34.5% +/- 11.7%). Median follow-up was 4.5 years (IQR: 1.7-8.0 years), and 23.7% of carriers who were initially phenotype-negative developed DCM. Phenotypic expression by 40 and 60 years was 46% and 88%, respectively, with 18 patients (16%) first diagnosed at <18 years of age. Thirty-six percent of patients with DCM met imaging criteria for LV noncompaction. During follow-up, 28% showed left ventricular reverse remodeling. Incidence of adverse cardiac events among patients with DCM at 5 years was 11.6%, with 5 (4.6%) deaths caused by end-stage heart failure (ESHF) and 5 patients (4.6%) requiring heart transplantation. The major ventricular arrhythmia rate was low (1.0% and 2.1% at 5 years in patients with DCM and in those with LVEF of <= 35%, respectively). ESHF and major ventricular arrhythmia were significantly lower compared with LMNA-related DCM and similar to DCM caused by TTN truncating variants. CONCLUSIONS MYH7-related DCM is characterized by early age of onset, high phenotypic expression, low left ventricular reverse remodeling, and frequent progression to ESHF. Heart failure complications predominate over ventricular arrhythmias, which are rare. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Porous and conductive SnO2 ceramics as a promising nanostructured substrate to host photocatalytic hematite coatings: Towards low cost solar-driven water splitting

Commercially viable generation of “green” hydrogen fuel by solar-driven water splitting requires the design of low-cost photoelectrodes and photo-devices with high photoelectrochemical performance. In this regard, conductive and easily fabricated 3D-oxide ceramics with nanosized grains and high porosity are promising as a substrate with a large surface area to host photocatalytic coatings. To test this approach, hematite photoelectrodes have been grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition onto free-standing SnO2-based ceramics. The photoanodes formed onto Sb2O5-SnO2, CuO-Sb2O5-SnO2, and on MoO3-Sb2O5-SnO2 substrates in aqueous 1 M NaOH under 1 sun irradiation exhibit photocurrent densities of 0.44 mA/cm2, 0.56 mA/cm2, and 0.39 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, respectively. The porosity of ceramics results in the 3D growth of a thin hematite coating on ceramic grains in the substrate to a depth of ca. 3 μm. The obtained photoelectrodes are discussed based on the data of photoelectrochemical measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy. Routes to improved performance are discussed

Suplementación de ácidos grasos poliinsaturados en el empadre de ovejas nulíparas Katahdin: eficiencia reproductiva y crecimiento pre-destete de las crías

A total of 46 nulliparous Katahdin ewes were distributed under a completely randomized block design in two dietary treatments (n=23) around mating to evaluate the effects of adding of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) on the reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth in lambs. Treatments were two concentrates formulated isoenergetic and isoproteic that contained or did not contain (control) n-6 PUFA, and both were offered for 42 d (7 d before the breeding period and 35 d of breeding period; exposure to ram). Dietary addition of PUFA shortened (P0.05) other reproductive variables. Lamb birth weight did not change (P>0.05) with addition of PUFA; however, the dietary addition of PUFA increased (P0.05) las demás variables reproductivas. En crías, el peso al nacimiento no varió (P>0.05) con la adición de AGP; sin embargo, la inclusión dietaria de AGP aumentó (P<0.05) la tasa de crecimiento pre-destete y el peso al destete en corderos, pero no en corderas. La inclusión de AGP en la dieta también mejoró (P<0.05) el crecimiento pre-destete en crías de parto gemelar pero no en crías de parto simple. En conclusión, la inclusión de AGP omega 6 en la dieta de ovejas nulíparas Katahdin durante el empadre, redujo el tiempo de aparición del estro sin afectar otras variables reproductivas; asimismo, mejoró el crecimiento pre-destete de sus crías machos y aquellas nacidas en parto gemelar

Resilient dragons: Exploring Odonata communities in an urbanization gradient

Cities function as ecological systems composed of a geosphere, a biosphere and an anthroposphere, interacting with each other and generating various selection pressures on urban organisms. Odonates (damselflies and dragonflies) are frequent inhabitants of urban areas, showing no clear or unique responses to urbanization. Thus, we defined an urbanization gradient using a habitat integrity index (HII) calculated for 19 sites in central Mexico, and investigated: a) changes in species richness and abundance along the urbanization gradient; and, b) the relationship between presence of waste of anthropic origin, chemical conditions of water, macrophyte cover, and odonate species richness, abundance and community composition. We analyzed the data for the whole odonate community, as well as for dragonfly and damselfly communities separately in each site. We found higher damselfly species richness and abundance in sites with low urbanization than in sites with high urbanization, and no differences in dragonfly communities along the gradient. We found a positive relationship between dragonfly species richness and abundance and waste percentage and macrophyte cover, and a negative relationship with dissolved solids in water. Our results indicated that odonate communities were fairly tolerant to urbanization and dragonflies were less affected than damselflies. However, we suggest that during design and restructuring of cities, the care and conservation of water bodies and all the life forms that inhabit there, be considered