Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Environ Manage 2018 Dec 3;232:607-614. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido, Av. Francisco Mota, 572, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Electronic address:

Protected areas are an important strategy to safeguard biodiversity. However, if social development is not considered, biological conservation targets may not be achieved. In this empirical study, we assess the relationship between poverty and conservation goals in dry forests within a 62,000-ha Brazilian National Park (Caatinga biome). Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran. Electronic address:

This research aimed to optimize the polysaccharides extraction of oleaster fruit and then to investigate the physicochemical and functional properties of extracted polysaccharides. Temperature, water to dry matter ratio, time, and alcohol ratio were considered as variables. Purity of extracted polysaccharides was considered as the response. Read More

Res Microbiol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Biology of Bacteria, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland. Electronic address:

Infectious urolithiasis is a consequence of long-standing urinary tract infections with urease-positive bacteria, especially Proteus spp. However, because of the often mixed nature of urinary tract infections, in the case of urinary stones formation, several species of bacteria may be involved in the process. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of the bacterial species: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Providencia stuartii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus on the crystallization caused by Proteus mirabilis. Read More

Dev Biol 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.

Eggs have developed their own strategies for early development. Amphibian, teleost fish, and ascidian eggs show cortical rotation and an accompanying structure, a cortical parallel microtubule (MT) array, during the one-cell embryonic stage. Cortical rotation is thought to relocate maternal deposits to a certain compartment of the egg and to polarize the embryo. Read More

Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to prove the synergic complementarity of attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (micro-ATR FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) by studying implant samples with bone affected by peri-implantitis.

Materials And Methods: Six samples of implanted bone affected by peri-implantitis and one control healthy bone were analyzed. Thick bone sections included in epoxy-resin and removed implants were analyzed by micro-ATR FTIR, SEM-EDS, and micro-CT. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2018 Dec 6;14(12):e1007432. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Viral Pathogenesis Unit, Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.

CCR5 plays immune functions and is the coreceptor for R5 HIV-1 strains. It exists in diverse conformations and oligomerization states. We interrogated the significance of the CCR5 structural diversity on HIV-1 infection. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0208591. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gontrode, Belgium.

The response of trees to a changing climate can be affected by transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, i.e. phenotypic variation that is conserved and transferred to the offspring. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0208423. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Mathematics, College of Science, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.

As the big data science develops, efficient methods are demanded for various data analysis. Granger causality provides the prime model for quantifying causal interactions. However, this theoretic model does not meet the requirement for real-world data analysis, because real-world time series are diverse whose models are usually unknown. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0207707. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Hellenic Foundation for Cancer Research/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

In the current study, we performed a complete analysis, with four different methods, of all four HER family receptors, in a series of patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab-based regimens and evaluated their prognostic value. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples were collected from 227 patients, considered to be HER2-positive when assessed at the local laboratories. We evaluated gene amplification, copy number variations (CNVs), mRNA and protein expression of all four HER family members. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0207219. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Departament d'Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.

Cooperation is one of the behavioral traits that define human beings, however we are still trying to understand why humans cooperate. Behavioral experiments have been largely conducted to shed light into the mechanisms behind cooperation-and other behavioral traits. However, most of these experiments have been conducted in laboratories with highly controlled experimental protocols but with limitations in terms of subject pool or decisions' context, which limits the reproducibility and the generalization of the results obtained. Read More

PLoS One 2018 6;13(12):e0208137. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Farr Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Maternal serum concentrations of folate, homocysteine, and vitamin B12 have been associated with pre-eclampsia. Nevertheless, reported studies involve limited number of cases to reliably assess the nature of these associations. Our aim was to examine the relation of these three biomarkers with pre-eclampsia risk in a large Colombian population. Read More

Acta Med Port 2018 Nov 30;31(11):624-632. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Unidade da Dor. Serviço de Anestesiologia. Hospital de Santo António. Centro Hospitalar do Porto. Porto. Portugal.

Introduction: Chronic postoperative pain is the most frequent late complication of inguinal hernia repair surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of chronic post-hernioplasty pain in outpatient care at Centro Hospitalar do Porto, describe it, analyse its relation with other variables defined in the literature and study its functional interference.

Material And Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study between February and May 2016, using a structured telephone interview composed of questions from the authors and sections of published questionnaires, two of which are validated for the Portuguese language and culture. Read More

Med J Aust 2018 Dec;209(11):490-494

University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Background: The Mamil (middle-aged man in Lycra) appears to be an emergent cycling-focused species.

Objectives: To explore the nature and distribution of the Mamilian species; to determine whether rates of cycling by middle-aged men in Australia have changed since the pre-Mamilian era.

Setting: Secondary analysis of representative population-based datasets. Read More

J Appl Physiol (1985) 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

Identifying structural limitations in O transport is primarily restricted by current methods employed to characterise the nature of physiological remodelling. Inadequate resolution or breadth of available data has impaired development of routine diagnostic protocols and effective therapeutic strategies. Understanding O transport within striated muscle faces major challenges, most notably in quantifying how well individual fibres are supplied by the microcirculation, which has necessitated exploring tissue O supply using theoretical modelling of diffusive exchange. Read More

Aging Ment Health 2018 Dec 6:1-11. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

a Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences , University College London , London , UK.

Objective: The objectives of this systematic review were to: 1) understand how people living with dementia are involved in making decisions; 2) explore the different decisional styles and domains of decision-making that people living with dementia experience and 3) identify what influences the level of decisional involvement of people living with dementia.

Methods: A systematic review of literature identified studies from Medline, PsycINFO, HAPI and CINAHL databases. Search terms related to decision-making and dementia. Read More

Org Lett 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Nuclear Medicine , Yonsei University College of Medicine , Seoul 03722 , Republic of Korea.

Oxidized iodoarenes (OIAs), prepared via mCPBA-mediated oxidation, have been demonstrated as versatile precursors for the synthesis of [F]fluoroarenes in the absence of catalysts. OIAs have been identified as intermediates in single-pot syntheses of iodonium salts and ylides but have never been recognized as radiofluorination precursors. Here, the isolated OIAs were used without any catalysts to produce functionalized [F]fluoroarenes, regardless of the electronic nature of the arenes. Read More

Langmuir 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

We discuss the role of the metal-ligand (M-L) interfaces in the chemistry of ligand protected, atomically precise noble metal clusters, a new and expanding family of nanosystems, in solution as well as in gas phase. A few possible mechanisms in which the structure and dynamics of M-L interfaces could trigger intercluster exchange reactions are presented first. How interparticle chemistry can be a potential mechanism of Ostwald ripening, a well-known particle coarsening process, is also discussed. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Interventional Medicine, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.

Surgery remains the first choice of cure for early stage lung cancer. However, many patients are diagnosed at advanced stage, and thus miss the opportunity to undergo surgery. As such patients derive limited benefits from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, alternatives focusing on local control have emerged, including iodine-125 seed implantation. Read More

J Fish Dis 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Fish Disease Research Unit, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.

Aeromonas spp. are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment, acting as facultative or obligate pathogens for fish. Identifying Aeromonas spp. Read More

New Phytol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD, 21037.

Forest ecosystem methane (CH ) research has focused on soils, but trees are also important sources and sinks in forest CH budgets. Living and dead trees transport and emit CH produced in soils; living trees and deadwood emit CH produced inside trees by microorganisms; and trees produce CH through an abiotic photochemical process. Here, we review the state of the science on the production, consumption, transport, and emission of CH by living and dead trees, and the spatial and temporal dynamics of these processes across hydrologic gradients inclusive of wetland and upland ecosystems. Read More

Chem Rec 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, 61 rue de Bruxelles, B-5000, Namur, Belgium.

Beyond individual scientific virtuosity and creativity that leading figures in chemistry have displayed, they have sometimes conveyed wider messages of significance beyond their own professional specialization. They include insights into broader aspects of science, society or the ways of the world. On the other hand, the words, attitudes and actions of eminent chemists from former times have not always presented good models for others to follow, whether judged by their own contemporary or our present standards. Read More

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Nano Functional Materials and Applications, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan 475001, China. and International Laboratory for Quantum Functional Materials of Henan, and School of Physics and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China.

GeP3 is a new kind of IV-V two dimensional material that has been predicted very recently. Here, we have theoretically explored the electronic properties of GeP3 nanoribbons (NRs) by employing first-principles calculations within density functional theory. We find that, unlike other monolayer materials, the bandgaps of armchair GeP3 NRs exhibit a strong even-odd oscillation as a function of nanoribbon width and such oscillations can remain intensive even when the width reaches up to 9 nm. Read More

Dalton Trans 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China.

In this work, we report the syntheses, crystal structures and magnetic properties of three novel Zn-Ln mixed metal complexes, namely [Zn4Dy2(L1)2(L2)2(N3)2]Cl2·2H2O (1), [Zn4Tb2(L1)2(L2)2(Cl)2][ZnN3Cl3]·2H2O (2), and [Zn4Gd2(L1)2(L2)2(Cl)2][ZnN3Cl3]·2H2O (3), in which L12- and L23- were formed from the ligand L [L = N1,N3-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)diethylenetriamine] through in situ reactions. Interestingly, carbon dioxide in air was absorbed in the process of forming carbamate ligand L23-; this can be ascribed to the insertion of CO2 into M-N amide bonds. Moreover, 1 and 2 represent the first series of 3d-4f SMMs containing carbamate ligands by fixation of CO2 in air. Read More

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Institute of Nano-Science and Technology, Habitat Centre, Phase - 10, Sector - 64, Mohali-160062, India.

This study is an effort to understand the mechanism of the effect of the chain length of co-surfactants on the growth of copper oxalate inside the core of reverse micelles using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). In this study, we have used two different kinds of co-surfactants viz. 1-butanol (C4) and 1-octanol (C8) for the formation of the microemulsions. Read More

Nat Biotechnol 2018 Dec;36(12):1132

Nature Biotechnology.

Elife 2018 Dec 6;7. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, United States.

Interdisciplinary syntheses are needed to scale up discovery of the environmental drivers and molecular basis of adaptation in nature. Here we integrated novel approaches using whole genome sequences, satellite remote sensing, and transgenic experiments to study natural loss-of-function alleles associated with drought histories in wild . The genes we identified exhibit population genetic signatures of parallel molecular evolution, selection for loss-of-function, and shared associations with flowering time phenotypes in directions consistent with longstanding adaptive hypotheses 7 times more often than expected by chance. Read More

Personal Disord 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.

Psychopathy has long been conceptualized in terms of an absence of emotion. Yet, recent studies have suggested that the experience of other-directed negative emotions may be more intimately linked to psychopathy than previously acknowledged, although there is limited knowledge concerning the experience of such emotions. The present study examined the disposition to experience two other-directed emotions, spitefulness and contempt, that are conceptually linked with psychopathy but currently are limited in empirical support. Read More

Chemphyschem 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Boreskov Institute of Catalysis RAS, pr. Lavrenteva 5, 630000, Novosibirsk, RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

Colloidal catalysts for water oxidation to dioxygen, which are stable on storage and under the reaction conditions, are synthesized based on CoIII, MnIII, FeIII and CuII hydroxides. Stabilization of the colloids with dextrated starch allows the process of hydroxide ageing to be stopped at the stage of the formation of primary nuclei (ca. 2-3 nm from TEM data). Read More

Proteins 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.

Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase (Pth) cleaves the ester bond between the peptide and the tRNA of peptidyl-tRNA molecules, which are the products of defective translation, to recycle the tRNA for further rounds of protein synthesis. Pth is ubiquitous in nature, and its activity is essential for bacterial viability. Here, we have determined the crystal structure of Pth from Thermus thermophilus (TtPth) at 1. Read More

Saudi Med J 2018 Dec;39(12):1186-1194

Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail.

Objectives: To explore the risk factors, the prevalence rate, and gene types of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria as the causative agents of infection at King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital (KAASH), Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted during the period between February 2017 and January 2018. All samples obtained from the KAASH were analyzed. Read More

Environ Sci Process Impacts 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Ecological Engineering Research Program, School of Engineering & Computer Science, University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95211, USA and Earth & Environmental Sciences Area, Energy Geosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Unconventional oil and gas development uses the subsurface injection of large amounts of a variety of industrial chemicals, and there are concerns about the return of these chemical to the surface with water produced with oil and gas from stimulated wells. Produced water, including any flowback of injected fluids, must be managed so as to protect human health and the environment, and understanding the chemistry of produced water from stimulated wells is necessary to ensure the safe management of produced water. In 2014, California instituted mandatory reporting for all well stimulations, including sampling produced water two times and comprehensive chemical characterization of fluids injected and fluids recovered from stimulated wells. Read More

Dalton Trans 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.

The reaction of Mn(CO)5Br with sodium ethylenedithiolate was reported in 1968 to give a dark red binuclear H2C2S2Mn2(CO)6 complex possessing the unusual property of complexing reversibly with ammonia to give a yellow H2C2S2Mn2(CO)6·NH3 adduct. In order to provide some insight into the nature of this adduct, density functional studies were performed on the H2C2S2Mn2(CO)n (n = 4 to 8) systems as well as their relevant ammonia and trimethylphosphine adducts. These theoretical studies support the structure of H2C2S2Mn2(CO)6 originally suggested 50 years ago involving the binding of the ethylenedithiolate C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond as well as the sulfur atoms to the Mn2 unit with a bonding Mn-Mn distance of ∼2. Read More

Dalton Trans 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Institute of New Energy Technology, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.

Renewable energy utilization by energy conversion devices is regarded as a promising solution to resolve energy crisis and environmental pollution problems. Solar energy occupies 99% of the total energy of the Earth; therefore, the development of photovoltaic technology to convert solar energy into electricity is attracting considerable interests. The state-of-the-art research in this field mainly focuses on the improvement of power conversion efficiency under the sunlight irradiation by new materials development, device structure optimization, technique innovation, etc. Read More

Acta Bioeng Biomech 2018 ;20(4):59-67

Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, The University of Western Australia, Perth Australia.

Purpose: Residual stress has a great influence on the mechanical behaviour of arterial wall. Numerous research groups used the Uniform Stress Hypothesis to allow the inclusion of the effects of residual stress when computing stress distributions in the arterial wall. Nevertheless, the available methods used for this purpose are very computationally expensive, due to their iterative nature. Read More

Zoolog Sci 2018 Dec;35(6):521-527

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Bats play crucial ecological and economic roles. However, this group of mammals is largely threatened due to anthropogenic activities inside or around their caves. In the present study, we investigate the effects of cave microclimate and physiological parameters on bat roost preference in Fairy Cave Nature Reserve (Fairy Cave NR). Read More

Qual Health Res 2018 Dec 6:1049732318811704. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

1 Lancaster University, Bailrigg, UK.

There is a tendency to exclude people with intellectual disabilities from participating in research about their own lives. While the use of participatory research approaches is increasing, the methods used for engaging people with intellectual disabilities in research are generally limited to interviews and focus groups. Yet a focus on the spoken or written word can present a challenge for those who may prefer to use alternative forms of communication. Read More

Luminescence 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Institute of Molecule and Crystal Physics Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 71 Prospect Oktyabrya, Ufa, Russia.

Fluorescence (FL) from Eu ion solid individual compounds was observed for the first time using the examples EuCl , EuI and EuBr . Fluorescence was detected at excitation by ultraviolet (UV) light from powdered samples of Eu (II) halides at room temperature (RT) in an argon atmosphere. In air, FL of all Eu compounds studied was stable, and intensity persisted for weeks. Read More

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), University Hospitals of Granada-University of Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain.

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering (TE) have experienced significant advances in the development of in vitro engineered skin substitutes, either for replacement of lost tissue in skin injuries or for the generation of in vitro human skin models to research. However, currently available skin substitutes present different limitations such as expensive costs, abnormal skin microstructure and engraftment failure. Given these limitations, new technologies, based on advanced therapies and regenerative medicine, have been applied to develop skin substitutes with several pharmaceutical applications that include injectable cell suspensions, cell-spray devices, sheets or 3D-scaffolds for skin tissue regeneration and others. Read More

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

The University of Sydney, Brain and Mind Centre.

Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is clinically characterised by a wide range of motor, cognitive, and behavioural features but remains challenging to diagnose accurately. Despite recent evidence supporting the presence of social cognition and emotion processing disturbances, few studies have explored the nature of empathic ability in CBS. This study aimed to: (i) investigate the extent to which cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy are affected in CBS, and (ii) to determine the impact of such changes on carer burden. Read More

J Fluoresc 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Chemistry, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India.

Surface modified colloidal gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) were used as efficient quenchers of luminol (LH) fluorescence either in homogeneous aqueous medium or its noncovalent assembly with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The mechanism as well as the extent of fluorescence quenching was found to be strongly dependent on the nature of the nanoparticles. While simple static type fluorescence quenching mechanism was perceived with AuNP, a more complex protocol involving quenching sphere model was envisaged for AgNP quenching. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2019 ;1888:153-174

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Chemogenomic profiling is a powerful and unbiased approach to elucidate pharmacological targets and the mechanism of bioactive compounds. It is based on identifying cellular hypersensitivity and resistance caused by individual gene modulations with genome-wide coverage. Due to the requirement of bar-coded, genome-wide deletion collections, high-resolution experiments of this nature have historically been limited to fungal systems. Read More

Eur Radiol 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Radiology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, 920-8641, Japan.

Objectives: To identify imaging features that assist in discriminating intraductal papillary neoplasms of the bile duct (IPNBs) from papillary cholangiocarcinomas (PCCs).

Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board. Using the recently proposed histological diagnostic criteria for biliary papillary neoplasms, IPNBs and PCCs were selected from 537 biliary neoplasms consecutively resected in a 12. Read More

Nano Converg 2018 Dec 6;5(1):37. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Botany, Bioresource Tech Laboratory, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, 495009, India.

In the present study silver nanoparticles fabricated by using leaf extract of Alpinia calcarata. We have also studied the effect of various experimental parameters viz., metal ion concentration, pH and incubation period on nanoparticle biosynthesis. Read More

Chem Commun (Camb) 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Lehrstuhl für Anorganische Chemie und Strukturchemie and Centrum für Molekulare Materialien CM2, Fakultät für Chemie, Universität Bielefeld, Lehrstuhl für Anorganische Chemie und Strukturchemie, Fakultät für Chemie, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.

In situ grown crystals of CF3I and CF3CH2I are dominated by II and FF interactions. Their co-crystals with benzene, (CF3I)2·C6H6 and CF3CH2I·C6H6, contain two completely different sets of intermolecular interactions. (CF3I)2·C6H6 shows a unique halogen-bond type: above-the-bond C-IπC6H6 interactions. Read More

Biomater Sci 2018 Dec 6. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Novel hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties similar to human soft tissue have increasing applications in biomedicine, soft robotics, and biocompatible electronics. However, most of these materials require multiple-step fabrication, are not robust, and compromise bioactivity. Thus, aiming to address these shortfalls, herein, we report a versatile hydrogel system with tunable properties and a facile one-pot fabrication process. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2018 5;2018:9856851. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Department of Material Science, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 1402/2, 46117 Liberec 1, Czech Republic.

Reduced friction and wear of materials after the use of the carbon nanomaterials including nanodiamonds (NDs) have been confirmed by several studies in material engineering. Mechanical cleaning of the tooth surface by brush bristles should leave as little tissue roughened as possible. Higher surface roughness increases the tissue's wear and encourages the redeposition of the bacteria and the colouring agents present in the diet. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2018 4;2018:2780948. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Laboratory of Microbiology Studies, Life Sciences Institute, Campus Governador Valadares, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua São Paulo 745, Centro, Governador Valadares, MG, 35010180, Brazil.

Dental caries are a process of demineralization and destruction of human teeth. They originate through many factors and are associated with biofilm formation, which consists of bacteria adhered to the teeth that form a structurally and functionally organized mass called dental plaque. Both the presence of and the frequent consumption of sucrose correlate with a higher prevalence of caries in humans. Read More

PeerJ 2018 28;6:e5991. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

PostGraduate Program in Ethnobiology and Nature Conservation, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Crato, Ceará, Brazil.

Background: Fruit consumption is currently considered beyond the nutritional aspects because of the important roles in disease prevention and benefits to health. The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical profile and evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of different fractions obtained from fruit pulps of (MFFs).

Methods: Initially, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol fractions were obtained from the pulps. Read More

Res Involv Engagem 2018 1;4:43. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

5Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.

Plain Summary: This article examines the overall experiences of community researchers in their involvement with the 'PROMPT' project for smoking cessation, which targeted community members who were homeless or at-risk for homelessness. More specifically, four community members, representing the study population were involved in the project as researchers. They were asked to complete surveys at both the beginning and end of each research training session to better understand their learning as it related to using a key instrument for this project, a spirometer, to measure project participants' lung function. Read More

Clin Hypertens 2018 1;24:17. Epub 2018 Dec 1.

Vascular Biology and Hypertension Branch, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 8106, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.

Measures of the functional and structural properties of blood vessels can be used to assess preclinical stage of vascular disorders. Recent experimental and population studies show that arterial stiffening precedes development of high blood pressure, and can be used to predict future cardiovascular events. Arterial stiffness was also shown to be reversible in several experimental models of various conditions. Read More