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Coal fly ash (CFA) samples used in building construction were assessed for natural radioactivity by gamma-ray spectrometry analysis. Activity concentrations in the original CFA sample were 101, 55.5 and 493 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. They were compared with the activity concentrations measured in five fineness ranges (from < 45 to > 200 µm). Then, the finer the CFA is, the higher the activity concentrations. Radioactive hazard was assessed for 765 samples collected for 10 years. The annual effective dose was 0.95 mSv y−1 for the fly ash and lower than 1 mSv y−1 for all the scenarios considered for a building material. Therefore, CFA may be used to manufacture building materials safely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this expository note, we give a self-contained presentation of the equivalence between the opposite category of commutative monoids and that of commutative, monoid k -schemes that are diagonalizable, for any field k . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural radioactivity in coal fly ash and natural pozzolan Portland cement samples produced in Spain was measured by gamma spectrometry. Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K ranged from 15.7 to 88.3 Bq kg−1, from 12.8 to 81.0 Bq kg−1 and from 37.0 to 678.0 Bq kg−1, respectively. The radiological hazards samples owing to the mentioned natural radioactivity were inferred from determinations of the activity concentration index, I, absorbed dose rate, Dext, and annual effective dose, Ep, which falls within 0.20 mSv to 0.87 mSv (coal-cement) and 0.18 mSv to 0.50 mSv (pozzolan-cement) (≤ 1 mSv, threshold criterion). Therefore, these cements are proper to be used for building purposes as result of their radiological assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their minimal genomes, plant viruses are forced to hijack specific cellular pathways to ensure host colonization, a condition that most frequently involves physical interaction between viral and host proteins. Among putative viral interactors are the movement proteins, responsible for plasmodesma gating and genome binding during viral transport. Two of them, DGBp1 and DGBp2, are required for alpha-, beta- and gammacarmovirus cell-to-cell movement, but the number of DGBp-host interactors identified at present is limited. By using two different approaches, yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, we found three Arabidopsis factors, eIF3g1, RPP3A and WRKY36, interacting with DGBp1s from each genus mentioned above. eIF3g1 and RPP3A are mainly involved in protein translation initiation and elongation phases, respectively, while WRKY36 belongs to WRKY transcription factor family, important regulators of many defence responses. These host proteins are not expected to be associated with viral movement, but knocking out WRKY36 or silencing either RPP3A or eIF3g1 negatively affected Arabidopsis infection by Turnip crinkle virus. A highly conserved FNF motif at DGBp1 C-terminus was required for protein-protein interaction and cell-to-cell movement, suggesting an important biological role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity concentration of 232Th, 226Ra and 40K was determined in 11 white and 63 grey Portland cements by using gamma spectrometry. The potential γ-ray radiation hazards due to mentioned activity concentrations were assessed by following five approaches: internal hazard index, Hin, external hazard index, Hex, activity concentration index, I, absorbed dose rate, D, and effective dose, Ep. All of these showed results falling below threshold limits. Particularly, white cements exhibited slightly lower values than grey ones. The annual effective dose estimated for all the Portland cements falls within 0.10 mSv to 0.47 mSv (≤ 1 mSv: threshold criterion for building materials). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flavanol composition of red wine, stemming from grape skins and seeds, is a determinant factor of its quality. It has been proposed that the wine flavanol structure depends on the grape cultivar but with skin-derived flavanols prevailing in traditional red winemaking from mature grapes. However, this has not been confirmed for many cultivars. This study analysed the flavanol composition in grapes, wines, and pomace of Syrah, Marselan, and Tannat, Vitis vinifera cultivars known for their potential to yield tannic wines. Across two vintages, 20 wines were produced through traditional winemaking. Flavanols were analysed by HPLC–MS/MS before and after acid-catalysed depolymerisation of proanthocyanidins. Grapes of different ripeness were considered as vineyard with different agronomical characteristics. Nevertheless, each cultivar exhibited a characteristic flavanol composition in both grapes and wines. Notably, all Marselan wines had high proportions of seed-derived flavanols (high proportions of monomers, dimers and low of prodelphinidins), from grapes with high skin flavanol content. In contrast, Tannat and Syrah wines had high proportions of skin-derived flavanols, irrespective of the corresponding seed flavanol levels in grapes. Flavanol extractability from skins mainly regulated wine composition, being unusually low in Marselan, rising with ripeness in Syrah, and consistently high in Tannat, masking the high seed flavanol contents of its grapes. Therefore, wines with high proportions of seed-derived flavanols can be obtained from fermentative macerations of ripe grapes. Pomaces were found to be a rich source of flavanols, primarily from seeds where they largely remain unextractable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disease progresses from an asymptomatic phase, or compensated cirrhosis, to a symptomatic phase, or decompensated cirrhosis, and its complications often lead to hospitalization, loss of quality of life and high mortality [[1]]. 7 Téllez L, Guerrero A. Management of liver decompensation in advanced liver disease: renal impairment, liver failure, adrenal insufficiency, cardiopulmonary complications. Acute or chronic liver failure, renal impairment including hepatorenal syndrome, and cardiopulmonary complications of cirrhosis are summarized in the article by Luis Téllez and Antonio Guerrero. [Extracted from the article]

The correct affiliations are given below. The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-022-01148-4. Correction to: Clinical Drug Investigation (2022) 42 (Suppl 1):S1-S2 https://doi.org/10.1007/... The affiliations of José Luis Lledó-Navarro in the original version of this article were not correct. [Extracted from the article]

Autophagy is a catabolic pathway responsible for the maintenance of the tissue and organism homeostasis. Several amino acids regulate autophagic activity in different tissues, such as liver and muscle, but much less is known about this regulation in the brain. The lack of autophagy in neurons leads to a strong neurodegenerative phenotype and epileptic disorders. We summarize the current knowledge about the regulation of autophagy mediated by amino acids and how macroautophagy could serve as source of amino acids. We review the contribution of macroautophagy in the brain physiology and pathology emphasizing the relevancy of the proper control of amino acid levels such as glutamate and GABA in the brain due to its role as neurotransmitters and energy source. Furthermore, we discuss how malfunction in autophagy may result in pathological consequences, because many genetic epileptic disorders are related to signaling or metabolic pathways controlling both macroautophagy and amino acid metabolism in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SP 1 sp Liver Unit, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain SP 2 sp Vall d'Hebron Institut of Research (VHIR), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain SP 3 sp Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain SP 4 sp CIBERehd, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain The original article has been corrected. Correction to: Clinical Drug Investigation https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-022-01148-4 The affiliations of Beatriz Mínguez in the original version of this article were not correct. The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-022-01148-4. [Extracted from the article]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with myelodysplasia-related changes is characterized by the presence of multilineage dysplasia (MLD), frequently related to high-risk cytogenetics and poor outcome. However, the presence of MLD does not modify the favorable prognostic impact of NPM1 mutation. The prognosis of patients with AML presenting marked dysplasia lacking high-risk cytogenetics and NPM1 mutation is uncertain. We evaluated the prognostic impact of MLD in 177 patients with intermediate-risk cytogenetics AML (IR-AML) and wild-type NPM1. Patients were categorized as MLD-WHO (WHO myelodysplasia criteria; n = 43, 24 %), MLD-NRW (significant MLD non-reaching WHO criteria; n = 16, 9 %), absent MLD ( n = 80, 45 %), or non-evaluable MLD ( n = 38, 22 %). No differences concerning the main characteristics were observed between patients with or without MLD. Outcome of patients with MLD-WHO and MLD-NRW was similar, and significantly worse than patients lacking MLD. The presence of MLD (66 vs. 80 %, p = 0.03; HR, 95 % CI = 2.3, 1.08-4.08) and higher leukocyte count at diagnosis was the only variable associated with lower probability of complete remission after frontline therapy. Concerning survival, age and leukocytes showed an independent prognostic value, whereas MLD showed a trend to a negative impact ( p = 0.087, HR, 95 % CI = 1.426, 0.95-2.142). Moreover, after excluding patients receiving an allogeneic stem cell transplantation in first CR, MLD was associated with a shorter survival (HR, 95 % CI = 1.599, 1.026-2.492; p = 0.038). In conclusion, MLD identifies a subgroup of patients with poorer outcome among patients with IR-AML and wild-type NPM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study are to consider the experience of flow from a nonlinear dynamics perspective. The processes and temporal nature of intrinsic motivation and flow, would suggest that flow experiences fluctuate over time in a dynamical fashion. Thus it can be argued that the potential for chaos is strong. The sample was composed of 20 employees (both full and part time) recruited from a number of different organizations and work backgrounds. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was used for data collection. Once obtained the temporal series, they were subjected to various analyses proper to the complexity theory (Visual Recurrence Analysis and Surrogate Data Analysis). Results showed that in 80% of the cases, flow presented a chaotic dynamic, in that, flow experiences delineated a complex dynamic whose patterns of change were not easy to predict. Implications of the study, its limitations and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Although previous studies have proposed a positive influence of resilience on the mental and physical health of health care workers, empirical evidence on its relationship with occupational health remains scarce. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between individual resilience and several occupational health indicators, as well as exploring the moderating role of organizational resilience and sociodemographic attributes on this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used with a questionnaire applied to a sample of 325 workers from the Spanish health care sector. Results: Individual resilience was significantly associated with the indicators of occupational health. A direct effect of individual resilience on job satisfaction was found. The influence of resilience on the perception of fatigue and suffering from an illness was reverse. Age moderated the impact of resilience on the perception of stress and medical leave. Besides, organizational resilience proved to be an important adjustment variable in job satisfaction and perception of stress. Conclusions: The findings show the relevance to take both individual and organizational resilience into account when applying intervention programs to improve the occupational health of health care workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circadian rhythmicity is associated to clinical variables that play an important role in both schizophrenia (SZ) and substance use disorders (SUD), although the characteristics of the coexistence of these two diagnoses (SZ +) remain mostly unknown. Hence, we studied a sample of 165 male patients divided in three groups each of 55, according to their diagnoses (SZ + , SZ, and SUD), as well as a healthy control (HC; n = 90) group. Alongside with sociodemographic and clinical variables, circadian rhythms were registered through a sleep–wake data structured interview, a circadian typology questionnaire, and distal skin temperature (DST) using the Thermochron iButton every 2 min during 48 h. Analyses showed that SZ + and SZ patients presented a longer sleep (delay in wake-up time) and mostly an intermediate circadian typology, while SUD patients slept less hours, displaying a morning typology. The DST showed the highest daily activation and stability for the SUD group, even when compared with the HC group. The presence of schizophrenia (SZ + and SZ) was related to a DST pattern with a reduced amplitude determined by a wakefulness impairment, which was more pronounced for SZ patients whose sleep period was adequate. The assessment of circadian rhythms in under treatment male patients with SZ should be focused on the diurnal period as a possible marker of either treatment adherence or patient's recovery, irrespective of the presence of a comorbid SUD. Further research with additional objective measures may provide knowledge transferable to therapeutic strategies and could be useful to establish possible endophenotypes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To support the bio-based industry in development of environment-friendly processes and products, an optimal toolbox of biocatalysts is key. Although functional screen of (meta)genomic libraries may potentially contribute to identifying new enzymes, the discovery of new enzymes meeting industry compliance demands is still challenging. This is particularly noticeable in the case of proteases, for which the reports of metagenome-derived proteases with industrial applicability are surprisingly limited. Indeed, proteolytic clones have been typically assessed by its sole activity on casein or skim milk and limited to mild screening conditions. Here, we demonstrate the use of six industry-relevant animal and plant by-products, namely bone, feather, blood meals, gelatin, gluten, and zein, as complementary substrates in functional screens and show the utility of temperature as a screening parameter to potentially discover new broad-substrate range and robust proteases for the biorefinery industry. By targeting 340,000 clones from two libraries of pooled isolates of mesophilic and thermophilic marine bacteria and two libraries of microbial communities inhabiting marine environments, we identified proteases in four of eleven selected clones that showed activity against all substrates herein tested after prolonged incubation at 55 °C. Following sequencing, in silico analysis and recombinant expression in Escherichia coli, one functional protease, 58% identical at sequence level to previously reported homologs, was found to readily hydrolyze highly insoluble zein at temperatures up to 50 °C and pH 9–11. It is derived from a bacterial group whose ability to degrade zein was unknown. This study reports a two-step screen resulting in identification of a new marine metagenome-derived protease with zein-hydrolytic properties at common biomass processing temperatures that could be useful for the modern biorefinery industry. Key points: • A two-step multi-substrate strategy for discovery of robust proteases. • Feasible approach for shortening enzyme optimization to industrial demands. • A new temperature-tolerant protease efficiently hydrolyzes insoluble zein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that a pronounced variation of the apparent viscosity with shear joined to the control shear mode of a rheometer can justify why monotonous and non-monotonous steady-flow curves can be obtained testing the same non-Newtonian fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh persimmon puree showed a rheological behavior corresponding to a weak gel, where storage modulus (G′) prevailed over loss modulus (G″). In a temperature sweep test (from 25-80-25 °C), G′ values increased at temperatures above 60 °C and continued increasing during the subsequent cooling step showing a wide scattering. These changes indicated a gelation phenomena that resulted in a more rigid and irregular gel structure. The gelation was lower in the acidified puree (pH 4.4) than in the puree at its natural pH (5.9). The addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetate sodium avoided the increase of G′ during the heating and reduced the G′ increase in the cooling step. Thus, gelation in persimmon puree occurred by a heat-set gelation influenced by pH, and also by cold-set gelation depending on an ionotropic mechanism. The incubation of persimmon puree with Viscozyme L (1 g/L, 25 °C, 30 min) allowed to obtain a more fluid product able to tolerate a thermal processing at 85 °C without gelation. During the incubation with Viscozyme L, the pH of the persimmon puree decreased monotonically as a consequence of its pectinmetylesterase activity, and the continuous measurement of pH could be used to monitor this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-management of blood glucose level is part and parcel of diabetes treatment, which involves invasive, painful, and uncomfortable methods. A proper non-invasive blood glucose monitor (NIBGM) is therefore desirable to deal better with it. Microwave resonators can potentially be used for such a purpose. Following the positive results from an in vitro previous work, a portable device based upon a microwave resonator was developed and assessed in a multicenter proof of concept. Its electrical response was analyzed when an individual's tongue was placed onto it. The study was performed with 352 individuals during their oral glucose tolerance tests, having four measurements per individual. The findings revealed that the accuracy must be improved before the diabetes community can make real use of the device. However, the relationship between the measuring parameter and the individual's blood glucose level is coherent with that from previous works, although with higher data dispersion. This is reflected in correlation coefficients between glycemia and the measuring magnitude consistently negative, although small, for the different datasets analyzed. Further research is proposed, focused on system improvements, individual calibration, and multitechnology approach. The study of the influence of other blood components different to glucose is also advised. Graphical abstract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The feasibility of performing laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) as an outpatient procedure in selected patients in the context of a specialized unit has been assessed in this study. Methods: Retrospective cohort of 22 patients who underwent LA without hospital admission under strict selection criteria within a specific laparoscopic surgery unit of a tertiary hospital center has been reported. Patient demographics, indications for surgery, operative data, outpatient management, morbidity, and immediate follow-up have been analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients was 50.9 years (median 52.5, range 28-65) and 13 (59.1%) were women. All patients underwent successful LA and none of them required conversion to laparotomy. The mean length of the procedure was 56.6 min (median 60, range 15-120 min) and no patient required transfusion. The most common indications for surgery were adrenal incidentaloma and primary hyperaldosteronism (36.4% each). Three patients accurately complied with the MAS regimen and the other 19 spent the night on a DC basis and were discharged with the hospital stay being less than 23 h. No patient required readmission and relevant events occurred only in three patients. With regard to postoperative pain management, only six patients (27.27%) required more than 1 week of analgesics. In 68.1% of the cases, resuming physical and professional activity took less than 2 weeks and only three patients required more than 1 month before restoring a 'normal life.' Conclusion: By applying strict protocol and selection criteria, LA can be safely and successfully performed as an outpatient procedure within an experienced laparoscopic unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study analyses the factors affecting mobilisation and engraftment in autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation according to the number of CD34[sup +] re-infused. Materials and methods: A total of 190 patients underwent mobilisation with G-CSF alone (n = 113) or in combination with chemotherapy (n = 77). A total of 116 patients (61%) were autografted with <2 × 10[sup 6] CD34[sup +] cells/kg and 74 patients were transplanted with >2 × 10[sup 6] CD34[sup +] cells/kg. Rates of granulocyte and platelet recovery were estimated using the productlimit method of Kaplan-Meier and compared using a log-rank test. The Cox regression model was used for the multivariate analysis of factors influencing engraftment. Differences between cohorts were evaluated by one-way ANOVA or Mann-Whitney tests, and multivariate analysis was performed using a stepwise lineal regression. Results: Neutrophil and platelet engraftment was significantly longer with < 2 × 10[sup 6]/CD34[sup +]/ kg (12 vs 10 days, P = 0.014 and 16 vs 13 days, P = 0.0001 respectively). Platelet recovery was affected by exposure to alkylating agents (P = 0.04), refractory disease (P = 0.02) and AML (P = 0.0001), but only the last two variables remained significant in Cox regression (P < 0.01). Granulocyte engraftment was longer in CML (univariate, P = 0.04) and in refractory disease (multivariate, P = 0.02). In patients re-infused with >2 × 10[sup 6]/CD34[sup +]/kg, the Cox model did not identify prognostic factors for haematopoietic recovery. Conclusion: Although mobilisation schedules and disease status influenced not only the yield of progenitor cells, but also the engraftment kinetics, the number of CD34[sup +] re-infused was the main predictor of haematopoietic recovery. While engraftment succeeded in most of the cases, the re-infusion of >2 × 10[sup 6]/CD34[sup +]/kg resulted in significantly shorter recovery times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of spatial transcriptomics is rapidly expanding, and with it the repertoire of available technologies. However, several of the transcriptome-wide spatial assays do not operate on a single cell level, but rather produce data comprised of contributions from a – potentially heterogeneous – mixture of cells. Still, these techniques are attractive to use when examining complex tissue specimens with diverse cell populations, where complete expression profiles are required to properly capture their richness. Motivated by an interest to put gene expression into context and delineate the spatial arrangement of cell types within a tissue, we here present a model-based probabilistic method that uses single cell data to deconvolve the cell mixtures in spatial data. To illustrate the capacity of our method, we use data from different experimental platforms and spatially map cell types from the mouse brain and developmental heart, which arrange as expected. Alma Andersson et al. present a probabilistic framework that integrates single-cell and bulk spatial transcriptomics in order to spatially map cell types onto their respective tissues. They apply their method to the developing human heart and mouse brain to demonstrate the power of the technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequencing the nucleic acid content of individual cells or specific biological samples is becoming increasingly common. This drives the need for robust, scalable and automated library preparation protocols. Furthermore, an increased understanding of tissue heterogeneity has lead to the development of several unique sequencing protocols that aim to retain or infer spatial context. In this study, a protocol for retaining spatial information of transcripts has been adapted to run on a robotic workstation. The method spatial transcriptomics is evaluated in terms of robustness and variability through the preparation of reference RNA, as well as through preparation and sequencing of six replicate sections of a gingival tissue biopsy from a patient with periodontitis. The results are reduced technical variability between replicates and a higher throughput, processing four times more samples with less than a third of the hands on time, compared to the standard protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]