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Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) was synthesized following hot injection method and the process was optimized by varying temperature conditions. Four samples at different temperatures viz., 200, 250, 300 and 350 °C were prepared and analyzed using different characterization techniques. Based on the correlation between XRD, Raman and XPS, we conclude that the formation of ZnS and SnS2 occurs at 350 °C but at 200 °C there is no breakdown of the complex as per XRD. According to Raman and XPS analysis, as the temperature rises, the bonds between the metals become weaker, which is visibly seen in Raman and XPS due to the minor peaks of copper sulfide. Scanning electron microscopic analysis confirmed nanometric particles which increase in size with temperature. The photocatalytic evaluation showed that CZTS synthesized at 200 °C performed efficiently in the removal of the two colorants, methylene blue and Rhodamine 6G, achieving 92.80% and 90.65%, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation efficiencies decreased at higher temperatures due to bigger sized CZTS particles as confirmed by SEM results. Computational simulations confirm that CZTS has a highly negative energy -25,764 Ry, confirming its structural stability and higher covalent than ionic character.
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Cobre , Azul de Metileno , Rodaminas , Sulfetos , Rodaminas/química , Azul de Metileno/química , Sulfetos/química , Cobre/química , Catálise , Compostos de Estanho/química , Temperatura Alta , Poluentes Químicos da Água/químicaAssuntos
Hipertensão Portal , Varizes , Humanos , Hipertensão Portal/complicações , Varizes/complicaçõesRESUMO
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a serious long-term complication that has a negative impact on graft and patient survival. The purpose of the present study was to describe the incidence of PTDM in a Mexican cohort and evaluate its association with a previous family history of diabetes (FHD). METHODS: A retrospective single-center cohort study was conducted on patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT). The primary outcome was time from LT to PTDM. The diagnosis of PTDM was established using the ADA criteria. A mediation analysis that used adjusted Cox regression models and considered pretransplant prediabetes a mediator was performed, to determine the total effect and direct effect of FHD on PTDM. RESULTS: A total of 152 patients were included, with a median follow-up time of 41 months; 19.2% (nâ¯=â¯29) had pretransplant diabetes. During the follow-up time, 15% of patients developed PTDM (nâ¯=â¯23), with an incidence rate of 4.71 cases/100 person-years. PTDM was significantly higher in patients with FHD, compared with those with no FHD (8.72 cases/100 person-years vs 2.04 cases/100 person-years, respectively; pâ¯=â¯0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio of PTDM for FHD was 4.14 (95% CI 1.60-10.7), pâ¯=â¯0.005) and 3.48 (95% CI 1.35-9.01, pâ¯=â¯0.010), when further controlled for pretransplant prediabetes. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of PTDM was similar to that reported in most international studies. As with type 2 diabetes, family history plays an important role in the development of PTDM, even after accounting for pretransplant prediabetes. Patients with FHD should undergo a stricter metabolic program.
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INTRODUCTION: After the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the number of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) has increased exponentially, and gastroenterologists and other specialists most likely will be involved in the care of those patients. AIM: To evaluate the knowledge Latin American gastroenterologists and endoscopists (staff physicians and residents) have about the characteristics of COVID-19, as well as the prevention measures to be taken during endoscopic procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study that included gastroenterologists and endoscopists from 9 Latin American countries. An electronic questionnaire was applied that was designed to evaluate the knowledge of symptoms, risk groups for severe disease, prevention measures, and the reprocessing of endoscopes utilized in patients with COVID-19. RESULTS: Information was obtained from 133 physicians. Ninety-five percent of them correctly identified the most frequent symptoms of the virus, and 60% identified the 3 risk groups for severe disease. Sixty-six percent of those surveyed did not consider it necessary to use standard precautions during endoscopic procedures, and 30% did not consider contact precautions necessary. Forty-eight percent of the participants surveyed were not familiar with the protocol for reprocessing the endoscopes utilized in patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The majority of the gastroenterologists and endoscopists surveyed were familiar with the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and the populations at risk for complications. There was a lack of knowledge about prevention measures (during clinical care and endoscopic procedures) and the reprocessing of endoscopic equipment by 70% and 48%, respectively, of those surveyed. Dissemination and teaching strategies that increase the knowledge of specific biosafety measures must be carried out.
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Infecções por Coronavirus , Endoscopia Gastrointestinal , Gastroenterologistas , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Pandemias , Pneumonia Viral , COVID-19 , Infecções por Coronavirus/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Coronavirus/terapia , Estudos Transversais , Endoscópios , Humanos , América Latina , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , Pneumonia Viral/prevenção & controle , Pneumonia Viral/terapia , Fatores de Risco , Esterilização , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Mucosal involvement is frequently seen in cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There is no consensus regarding the prevalence, and a wide range of lesions has been reported. Its prognostic significance is currently unknown and a matter of controversy. OBJECTIVE: To classify oral lesions in lupus, evaluate their prevalence and assess their possible association with disease activity. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive study between 2016 and 2017. A total of 150 lupus patients were matched by sex, age and smoking status with 151 healthy individuals. All subjects underwent a careful evaluation of oral mucosa. On the same day of the clinical assessment, each patient underwent a peripheral venous blood and urine analysis. All patients underwent a full medical history, physical examination and a careful examination of the oral cavity. For each one, we obtained photographs of ten areas of the oral cavity. Two dermatologists of our group blindly recorded the presence and morphology of oral lesions. The disease activity of CLE patients was scored using the Revised Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index, and in SLE patients, activity was measured using the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index. RESULTS: In CLE patients, there was a statistically significant correlation between higher cutaneous disease activity and the following oral findings: discoid plaques, cobblestone and red/brown-pigmented macules. In patients with CLE, red macules on jugal mucosa were statistically associated with anaemia and positive antinuclear antibodies titres; additionally, the presence of gingivitis was related to systemic inflammation. In SLE patients, gingival telangiectases were statistically significantly associated with leucopenia, hypocomplementemia and systemic inflammation. LIMITATIONS: Biopsies on mucosal lesions were not performed. CONCLUSION: Some specific oral lesions correlate with disease activity in CLE and SLE.
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Lúpus Eritematoso Cutâneo/complicações , Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico/complicações , Doenças da Boca/complicações , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mucosa Bucal/patologiaRESUMO
Quality of in vitro-produced embryos is influenced by changes in gene expression in response to adverse conditions. Gene markers for predicting 'good embryos' do not exist at present. We propose that the expression of pluripotency markers OCT4-SOX2-NANOG in D9 (day 9) bovine demi-embryos correlated with development at D13 (day 13). Day 8 in vitro-produced blastocysts were split in two cloned halves, one half (D9) was subjected to analysis of pluripotency markers and the other was kept in culture until D13 of development. Embryo development was scored and correlated with its own status at D9 and assigned to one of two categories: G1, arrested/dead; or G2, development up to D13. SOX2 and NANOG expression levels were significantly higher in embryos from G1 and there was also negative correlation between SOX2 and embryo survival to D13 (G3; r = -0.37; P = 0.03). We observed a significant reduction in the expression of the three studied genes from D9 to D13. Furthermore, there was a correlation between the expression of pluripotency markers at D9 and embryo diameter and the expression of trophoblastic markers at D13 (TP1-EOMES-FGF4-CDX2-TKDP1). Finally, the quotient between the relative expression of SOX2 and OCT4 in the D9 blastocysts from G1 and G2 showed that embryos that were considered as competent (G2) had a quotient close to one, while the other group had a quotient of 2.3 due to a higher expression of SOX2. These results might indicate that overexpression of SOX2 at the blastocyst stage had a negative effect on the control of embryonic developmental potential.
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Blastocisto/metabolismo , Técnicas de Cultura Embrionária/métodos , Embrião de Mamíferos/metabolismo , Desenvolvimento Embrionário/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Fatores de Transcrição SOXB1/genética , Animais , Blastocisto/citologia , Bovinos , Embrião de Mamíferos/citologia , Embrião de Mamíferos/embriologia , Feminino , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Polyacrylonitrile nonwovens intercalated with graphene oxide (GO) sheets were prepared by a simultaneous electrospinning-spray deposition system. These hybrid nonwovens were carbonized in a two-stage process to obtain a mesostructured hybrid carbon containing carbon nanofibers (CNF) and reduced GO sheets (CNF/RGO). During the carbonization process, the CNF act as spacers between the RGO layers to prevent their compactation and restacking resulting in a three-dimensional structure. The presence of RGO increases the electrical conductivity in the CNF/RGO material. The resulting hybrid carbon is nitrogen-doped as indicated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. This N-doped porous carbon was used to prepare electrodes with improved sensitivity for the electrochemical detection of L-cysteine.
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BACKGROUND: An algorithm based on measurement of a serum tumour necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) and antidrug antibodies (ADA) has been proposed previously to guide dose escalation or therapy switching in the early (i.e. the first months of) treatment of psoriasis by anti-TNF. In long-term treatment of responding patients with psoriasis, it is usual to empirically reduce standard doses of anti-TNF to reduce exposure while maintaining clinical response. The relationship between serum anti-TNF, ADA levels and clinical efficacy in long-term treated patients with psoriasis has not yet been determined, so the potential role of these parameters in guiding dose escalation in this scenario is unknown. AIMS: To evaluate the relationship between drug/ADA levels and clinical efficacy in a group of patients with psoriasis undergoing long-term treatment with adalimumab or etanercept. METHODS: This was a single-centre, prospective, cohort study of patients with psoriasis receiving adalimumab or etanercept for a minimum of 48 weeks. All patients were started on the standard dose, but some adalimumab users had a reduced frequency of administration. Clinical efficacy was measured using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Serum concentrations were measured by ELISA. Clinical assessment and blood sample collection were carried out simultaneously within 24 h before the next drug administration. RESULTS: In total, 21 patients were enrolled (67 simultaneous clinical and serum determinations: 38 receiving adalimumab, 29 receiving etanercept). We did not find any association between serum anti-TNF levels and clinical response. None of the patients developed ADA. CONCLUSIONS: ADA and anti-TNF levels are not related to clinical effectiveness in patients with psoriasis undergoing long-term treatment with adalimumab or etanercept.
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Adalimumab/farmacocinética , Anticorpos/imunologia , Etanercepte/farmacocinética , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/sangue , Adalimumab/administração & dosagem , Adalimumab/imunologia , Adulto , Idoso , Anti-Inflamatórios/administração & dosagem , Anti-Inflamatórios/imunologia , Anti-Inflamatórios/farmacocinética , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Etanercepte/administração & dosagem , Etanercepte/imunologia , Feminino , Seguimentos , Humanos , Imunossupressores/administração & dosagem , Imunossupressores/imunologia , Imunossupressores/farmacocinética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Psoríase/tratamento farmacológico , Fatores de Tempo , Resultado do Tratamento , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/antagonistas & inibidoresRESUMO
Embryo splitting has been used for the production of identical twins and to increase the pregnancy rate per available embryo. Split blastocysts can develop to term; however, little is known about the impact on gene expression of split embryos, especially at the whole transcriptome level. This work was aimed to evaluate the effect of blastocyst splitting on global gene expression profile at the elongation stage. For that, split and time-matched nonsplit (control group) bovine blastocysts were transferred to a bovine recipient and recovered at Day 17 of development. The number of collected embryos, their size, and global gene expression was compared between both groups. From 16 transferred split embryos, six (37.5%) were collected, whereas nine elongated were recovered from 17 nonsplit (52.9%). Neither the recovery rate nor the average length of the elongated embryos was significantly different between both groups. However more than 50% of embryos from the control group had a length surpassing 100 mm, whereas only 33% of the split embryos reached that size. Global gene expression was performed in individual elongated embryos from both groups using Two-Color Microarray-Based Gene Expression Analysis. From detected genes, 383 (1.31%) were differentially expressed between both groups, among them, 185 (0.63%) were downregulated and 198 (0.67%) genes were upregulated in split embryos. Bioinformatic analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed that embryo splitting affects transcriptomes of resulting elongated embryos, mainly downregulating genes involved in matrix remodelation, control of growth, detoxification, and transport of metabolites. These in turns might have a detrimental impact on the developmental potential of produced embryos.
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Blastocisto/citologia , Bovinos/embriologia , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento/fisiologia , Transcriptoma/fisiologia , Animais , Blastocisto/fisiologia , Desenvolvimento Embrionário , Feminino , Fertilização in vitro , GravidezAssuntos
Tartarato de Brimonidina/administração & dosagem , Dermatomiosite/complicações , Exantema/tratamento farmacológico , Pele/patologia , Administração Tópica , Agonistas de Receptores Adrenérgicos alfa 2/administração & dosagem , Adulto , Biópsia , Dermatomiosite/diagnóstico , Dermatomiosite/tratamento farmacológico , Exantema/diagnóstico , Exantema/etiologia , Feminino , Géis , HumanosRESUMO
Gold electrodes, previously prepared with surface anchored PAMAM dendrimers, were further modified with a Ni-containing tetraazamacrocycle resulting in a novel electrocatalytic material which proved to be particularly efficient for the electrochemical oxidation of methanol in basic aqueous medium.