Search

Gynoxys cuicochensis Cuatrec., a member of the Asteraceae family, inhabits the Fierro Urco moor in the province of Loja. Despite not being used in traditional medicine, it possesses significant landscape value due to its striking yellow inflorescence. For investigating its chemical composition and potential pharmacological properties, a phytochemical characterization of the plant's ethanolic extract was conducted. The extract was obtained through static maceration for three days for the initial filtration, followed by one day for the second and third filtrations. Chlorophyll was separated using Diaion HP-20 resin as a solid phase packed in separation funnels, and an ethanol:water liquid phase with a concentration gradient ranging from 6:4 to 9:1 for elution. The dechlorophyllized extract was then freezedried and fractionated using gravity column chromatography. The obtained fractions were further purified through microcolumn and preparative chromatography. To elucidate the chemical structure of the molecules, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry were employed. Two metabolites were isolated for this study. The first one is a known glycosylated flavonoid called Nicotiflorin, while the second one is a phenolic derivative named 1,3-di-O-trans-feruloylquinic acid, which lacks a precise pharmacological description. This discovery represents an interesting and unique finding for this species, suggesting its potential medicinal use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data continue to accumulate demonstrating that those belonging to racialized groups face implicit bias in the emergency care delivery system across many indices, including triage assessment. The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) was developed and widely implemented across the US to improve the objectivity of triage assessment and prioritization of care delivery; however, research continues to support the presence of subjective bias in triage assessment. We sought to assess the relationship between perceived race and/or need for translator and assigned ESI score and whether this was impacted by hospital geography. We performed retrospective EMR-based review of patients presenting to urban and rural emergency departments of a health system in Maine with one of the top ten most common chief complaints (CC) across a 5-year period, excluding psychiatric CCs. We used multivariable regression to analyze the relationships between perceived race, need for translator, and gender with ESI score, wait time, and hallway bed assignments. We found that patients perceived as non-white were more likely to receive lower acuity ESI scores and have longer wait times as compared to patients perceived as white. Patients perceived as female were more likely to receive lower acuity scores and wait longer to be seen than patients perceived as male. The need for an interpreter was associated with increased wait times but not significantly associated with ESI score. After stratification by hospital geography, evidence of subjective bias was limited to urban emergency departments and was not evident in rural emergency departments. Further investigation of subjective bias in emergency departments in Maine, particularly in urban settings, is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triage refers to classifying and prioritizing patients based on the severity of their injuries or illnesses in the health care setting. The increasing number of elderly patients seeking care in emergency departments (EDs) highlights the need for special attention to the unique needs of this patient population. Aim: We aimed to compare the qSOFA, Emergency Severity Index (ESI), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and Manchester Triage System (MTS) scores to assist ED physicians in assessing the severity of elderly patients' clinical conditions and triaging them appropriately. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1066 patients aged 65 and over who presented to our ED as outpatients or by ambulance between September 1, 2022, and August 30, 2023. Scoring systems at the time of admission to the ED were recorded separately for outpatients and arriving by ambulance. Results: According to the qSOFA, patients with a score of 0 were 0.976 times less likely to arrive by ambulance compared to those scoring 1 and above (OR = 0.976, p =.934). According to the NEWS, patients in the moderate-risk category were 0.447 times less likely to arrive by ambulance (OR = 0.447, p =.054). According to the ESI score, patients requiring high resource use with normal vital signs were 146.758 times more likely to arrive by ambulance (OR = 146.758, p =.001). Conclusion: Significant differences in patients' methods of presentation to the ED were observed based on the MTS, qSOFA, NEWS, and ESI scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization of synthetic and natural melanin nanoparticles (MNPs) has been challenging due to the variability of properties and chemical bonding. Although eumelanin was the first to be discovered, four additional subcategories of melanin now exist including pheomelanin, neuromelanin, allomelanin and pyomelanin. Mass spectrometry (MS) methods have provided crucial insights into the bonding, structure, and mechanism regarding MNP formation, but inconsistent findings in the literature have caused further confusion in the analysis and structure of MNPs. This mini‐review will focus on the types of MS experiments that have been used to analyze MNPs and what kind of information can be gained from different ionization sources, collisional activation experiments, and reaction monitoring quantitative methods when analyzing different subcategories of MNPs. Additionally, future directions regarding alternative applications of MNPs in MS experiments, mass defect analyses of complex mixtures, and a standardized nomenclature for isomeric redox states will all be addressed. © 2023 The Authors. Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Industrial Chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine patients who presented to the emergency department following motorcycle accidents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic period in order to comparatively assess the incidence of these accidents, associated trauma severity, and patient outcomes. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we evaluated 1,137 patients who presented to the Adult Emergency Department of Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital with injuries caused by motorcycle accidents. The electronic files of the patients who were determined to have presented to the emergency department after a motorcycle accident were screened, and their age, gender, blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, body temperature (at presentation), time of the accident, motorcycle speed at the time of the accident as reported by the driver, protective equipment used, time of arrival at the emergency department, length of stay in the emergency department and hospital, the types of treatment applied throughout the patients’ stay, and the outcomes of the patients were recorded in the case forms. Results: Of the 1135 patients included in the study, 129 (11.4%) presented to the emergency department before the pandemic and 1,006 (88.6%) during the pandemic period. There were 1,055 (93%) male patients and 80 (7%) female patients. Of all the patients, 145 (12.9%) were hospitalized, and 990 (87.2%) left the hospital. Of those who left the emergency room, 42 (3.7%) refused treatment, and 35 (3.1%) left without the physician’s approval. Of the hospitalized patients, 20 (1.8%) were admitted to the intensive care unit, and four (0.4%) were referred to other hospitals. Upon examination of in-hospital mortality, it was determined that 1,132 (99.7%) patients survived, and three (0.3%) died. When assessing the association between injury locations according to the use of full-body protective equipment, a correlation was found in terms of head and neck, lung, extremity, pelvis, and multi-trauma injuries. Conclusion: Regardless of traffic density, the use of protective equipment by motorcycle drivers prevents serious injuries in accidents. The EMTRAS and ESI scores are clinical prediction tools that can be used to predict mortality and morbidity in motorcycle accidents [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) is the most popular tool used to triage patients in the US and abroad. Evidence has shown that ESI has its limitations in correctly assigning acuity. To address this, AI can be incorporated into the triage process, decreasing the likelihood of assigning an incorrect ESI level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The absence of MRI-lesion reduces considerably the probability of having an excellent outcome (International League Against Epilepsies [ILAE] class I–II) after epilepsy surgery. Surgical success in magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI)-negative cases relies therefore mainly on non-invasive techniques such as positron-emission tomography (PET), subtraction ictal/inter-ictal single-photon-emission-computed-tomography co-registered to MRI (SISCOM), electric source imaging (ESI) and morphometric MRI analysis (MAP). We were interested in identifying the optimal imaging technique or combination to achieve post-operative class I-II in patients with MRI-negative focal epilepsy. Methods: We identified 168 epileptic patients without MRI lesion. Thirty-three (19.6%) were diagnosed with unifocal epilepsy, underwent surgical resection and follow-up ⩾ 2 years. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and diagnostic odds ratio (OR) were calculated for each technique individually and in combination (after co-registration). Results: 23/33 (70%) were free of disabling seizures (75.0% with temporal and 61.5% extratemporal lobe epilepsy). None of the individual modalities presented an OR > 1.5, except ESI if only patients with interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) were considered (OR 3.2). On a dual combination, SISCOM with ESI presented the highest outcome (OR = 6). MAP contributed to detecting indistinguishable focal cortical dysplasia in particular in extratemporal epilepsies with a sensitivity of 75%. Concordance of PET, ESI on interictal epileptic discharges, and SISCOM was associated with the highest chance for post-operative seizure control (OR = 11). Conclusion: If MRI is negative, the chances to benefit from epilepsy surgery are almost as high as in lesional epilepsy, provided that multiple established non-invasive imaging tools are rigorously applied and co-registered together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical method used for various purposes such as drug development, quality assurance, food inspection, and monitoring of pollutants in the environment. In recent years, with the active development of antibodies and nucleic acid-based drugs, impurities with various modifications are produced. These can lead to a decrease in drug stability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy, making it crucial to differentiate these impurities. Previously, attempts have been made to estimate the monoisotopic mass and ion amounts in the spectrum generated by electrospray ionization (ESI). However, conventional methods could not explicitly estimate the number of constituents, and discrete state evaluations, such as the probability that the number of constituents is k or k+1, were not possible. We propose a method where, for each possible number of constituents in the sample, mass spectrometry is modeled using parameters like monoisotopic mass and ion counts. Using Simulated Annealing, NUTS, and stochastic variational inference, we determine the parameters for each constituent number model and the maximum posterior probability. Finally, by comparing the maximum posterior probabilities between models, we select the optimal number of constituents and estimate the monoisotopic mass and ion counts under that scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This presentation summarizes the evolution of my experience as a Biology teacher, which starts from a traditional perspective of teaching the discipline towards the search for new paradigms - antipatriarchal, antiability and intercultural-didactic by the hand of Sexual Education (ESI). Contributions are taken from feminist thought and from other social groups produced in various historical and political contexts that question knowledge and knowledge given from the recognition of the persistence of the coloniality of power-knowledge, that is, of a hierarchy imposed by the axes of power of race, social class, sex-gender, among others, fundamentally, in the educational field. The intersectional paradigm of ESI is proposed in the creation of didactic devices for the construction of a counter-hegemonic didactics, that is, a counter-Didactics. It should be sought in those places where it is possible to "rethink what is crystallized and naturalized to build other teaching proposals, based on equality as a starting point" (Ramírez, 2023:4). That is the place of the ESI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach to the detection of 3-chloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) by "soft" mass spectrometry methods is proposed. The method is based on the chemical modification of a target compound with derivatizing agents, such as 4-bromobutyl- and 3-(bromomethyl) phenylboronic acids, followed by the quaternization of pyridine by the derivatives. The resulting products are organic salts, the cations of which are easily detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/desorption/ionization ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. The mass spectra of the stimulated fragmentation of such cations mainly contain ion peaks corresponding to protonated pyridine molecules, which makes it possible to use the selected reaction monitoring for the selective detection of 3-MCPD and other diols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of electrospray ionization, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and gas chromatography–mass-spectrometry (GC–MS) with electron ionization is used for the analysis of products and intermediates of the isoprene telomerization reaction catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbene Pd(II) complexes in presence of methanol. It is shown that soft ionization mass spectrometry techniques allow the detection of the main catalytically active cationic intermediate of palladium in real time whereas GC–MS is efficient in the structure determination of hydrogenated telomerization products. The data obtained are confirmed by NMR spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EEG source imaging (ESI) solutions obtained from a targeted density montage are similar to the ones calculated from a high-density montage. • This targeted density montage will alleviate HD-EEG's time and resource demand, making ESI more accessible to epilepsy centers. • Tangentially oriented foci show a statistically significant higher distance than radially oriented foci. High-density (HD) electroencephalography (EEG) is increasingly used in presurgical epilepsy evaluation, but it is demanding in time and resources. To overcome these issues, we compared EEG source imaging (ESI) solutions with a targeted density and HD-EEG montage. HD-EEGs from patients undergoing presurgical evaluation were analyzed. A low-density recording was created by selecting the 25 electrodes of a standard montage from the 83 electrodes of the HD-EEG and adding 8–11 electrodes around the electrode with the highest amplitude interictal epileptiform discharges. The ESI solution from this "targeted" montage was compared to that from the HD-EEG using the distance between peak vertices, sublobar concordance and a qualitative similarity measure. Fifty-eight foci of forty-three patients were included. The median distance between the peak vertices of the two montages was 13.2 mm, irrespective of focus' location. Tangential generators (n = 5/58) showed a higher distance than radial generators (p = 0.04). We found sublobar concordance in 54/58 of the foci (93%). Map similarity, assessed by an epileptologist, had a median score of 4/5. ESI solutions obtained from a targeted density montage show high concordance with those calculated from HD-EEG. Requiring significantly fewer electrodes, targeted density EEG allows obtaining similar ESI solutions as traditional HD-EEG montage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil degradation and desertification are persistent ecological issues that present significant challenges worldwide. An accurate evaluation of land susceptibility to desertification is essential for developing suitable strategies or policies to address it on national scales. Modified Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) model is widely utilized to assess environmental and desertification sensitivity. This study employed MEDALUS model to identify environmentally sensitive areas prone to desertification in the Harrir region, northern Iraq. A total of 102 soil samples were collected from 0 to 20 cm depth covering a land area of 279.36 km2. Environmental sensitivity area index (ESAI) was used to evaluate sensitivity of the study area to environmental changes. The results indicated that ∼68.18 km2 of the study area would be exposed to land degradation and desertification. Fragile (F) regions accounted for 39.63 km2, underscoring the need for effective management and conservation practices. Only a small portion of the region (2.81 km2) was classified as ‘critical’ (C). Further analysis revealed that fragile sub-classes F1, F2, and F3 accounted for 11.84%, 17.16%, and 14.19% respectively, while critical subclass C1, C2, and C3 areas accounted for 10.97%, 9.12%, and 1.006% respectively. The remaining areas were either classified as unaffected or had potential for being influenced by environmental changes. Approximately 24.41% of the study area had the potential for being influenced by environmental sensitivity. This highlights the importance of implementing effective management and conservation practices to protect fragile regions in the study area. Policymakers and land managers can effectively prioritize and implement targeted interventions to prevent further soil degradation and desertification in the Harrir region of northern Iraq.

En esta presentación, se resume la evolución de mi experiencia como profesora de Biología, que parte de una perspectiva tradicional de la enseñanza de la disciplina, hacia la búsqueda de nuevos paradigmas ―antipatriarcales, anticapacitistas e interculturales― didácticos de la mano de la Educación Sexual Integral (ESI). Se toman aportes del pensamiento feminista y de otros grupos sociales producidos en diversos contextos históricos y políticos, que ponen en cuestión saberes y conocimientos dados a partir del reconocimiento de la persistencia de la colonialidad del poder-saber, es decir, de una jerarquización impuesta por los ejes de poder de lo racial, la clase social, el sexo-género, entre otros, fundamentalmente, en el ámbito educativo. Se propone el paradigma interseccional de la ESI en la creación de dispositivos didácticos para la construcción de una didáctica contrahegemónica, es decir, una contra-Didáctica. Esta debe buscarse en aquellos lugares donde se posibilite “repensar lo cristalizado y naturalizado para construir propuestas de enseñanza otras, basadas en la igualdad como punto de partida” (Ramírez, 2023, p. 4). Ese es el lugar de la ESI.

Juvenile hormone (JH III) is an important example of a chemical signaling derived from the terpene biosynthetic pathway. Because of its impact on many species’ reproductive and developmental processes, analytical approaches must be developed to accurately identify and measure it in biological samples. In this technical note, we explored the gas-phase dissociative behavior of JH III using tandem mass spectrometry combined with electrospray ionization to provide diagnostic fragment-ions for quantitative purposes.

Presentamos nuestra línea de trabajo “Pedagogía feminista: mitos y realidades sobre la Educación Sexual Integral (ESI) en el nivel secundario” del Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Nacional del Sur. Es un proyecto reciente que intenta visibilizar la vinculación entre feminismo y educación. Para ello busca indagar en torno a los sentidos y creencias sobre la ESI que se producen, reproducen y transforman en las escuelas de nivel secundario de la ciudad de Bahía Blanca. La temática se inscribe desde posiciones poscríticas y decoloniales, por lo que el andamiaje epistemológico-metodológico se ancla en la perspectiva de las etnografías colaborativas y participativas. Nos interesa co-construir experiencias y conocimiento sobre la ESI en las escuelas públicas de gestión estatal, de nivel secundario que favorezcan la generación de dispositivos de cambio pedagógico e institucional. Por último, aspiramos a consolidar un grupo y una línea de trabajo interdisciplinaria desde el enfoque de la pedagogía feminista.

Research background: The post-World Financial Crisis period has showed us that an application of the qualitative data focused on the expectations of the enterprises and consumers in a combination with the quantitative data in the individual economy sectors is a good prerequisite for reliable prediction of the economic cycles. Purpose of the paper: The main goal of the presented study was to test the ESI prediction capabilities and its components in a relation to the economic cycles of the EU countries in the individual time periods. Methods: The time series for the period Q1 2000 to Q4 2022 and the three selected time periods were a subject to undergo the selection of the cyclical component applying the Hodrick-Prescott filter and then, the relationship between the variables was determined employing the Pearson correlation coefficient with the time shifts. The relation of ESI and its components to GDP and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which represent the economic cycle, was analysed. The prediction volume and the cross-correlation values determined the nature of the observed cyclical variables. Findings & value added: The results of the analysis point to the fact that ESI and its components are able to ensure a high-quality prediction of the economic cycle only in the selected EU countries. Regarding the components of the ESI, the Consumer confidence indicator, Construction and Industrial confidence indicators show the best predictive capabilities. The analytical outcomes show that the ESI size and lead period vary over time and after the 2008 crisis, the ESI showed better predictive capabilities in a relation to GDP and IIP than before the crisis. The Covid 19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on the ESI predictive capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Lumbar herniated disc (HNP) is mainly treated by conservative management. Epidural steroid injection (ESI) has been an option to treat failed cases prior to surgery. Triamcinolone has been widely used due to its efficacy in bringing about pain reduction for up to three months. However, several reports have shown some severe adverse events. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is made from blood through centrifugation. Several studies supported the potential short to long-term effects, and safety of PRP injection in treating HNP. The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy of PRP in treatment of single-level lumbar HNP in comparison to triamcinolone. Methods Thirty patients were treated by transforaminal epidural injections. PRP was obtained from 24 ml venous blood through standardized double-spin protocol. Participants included fifteen patients each being in triamcinolone and PRP groups. The same postoperative protocols and medications were applied. The visual analogue scale of leg (LegVAS), collected at baseline, 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks, was the primary outcome. The BackVAS, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), adverse event, and treatment failure were the secondary endpoints. Results Platelet ratio of PRP in fifteen patients was 2.86 ± 0.85. Patients treated by PRP injections showed statistically and clinically significant reduction in LegVAS at 6, 12, and 24 weeks, and in ODI at 24 weeks. It demonstrated comparable results on other aspects. No adverse event occurred in either group. Conclusion Noncommercial epidural double-spin PRP yielded superior results to triamcinolone. Due to its efficacy and safety, the procedure is recommended in treating single level lumbar HNP. Trial registration NCT, NCT05234840. Registered 1 January 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT05234840 .

Introduction: Overcrowding in emergency departments (ED) is a global concern, emphasizing the need for effective resource allocation. Triage plays a crucial role in prioritizing patients based on medical needs. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of National Early Warning Score (NEWS) in predicting the ED patients’ outcomes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals in Tehran, Iran, from June to July 2023. Adult patients presenting to ED were included. Data for calculating the NEWs and emergency severity index (ESI), as well as outcomes were recorded by trained nurses, and then the accuracy of each score in predicting the outcomes was evaluated. Results: A total of 2,085 patients were analyzed. The majority were male (57%) with a mean age of 54.4 years. The primary outcome, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within 24 hours of admission, occurred in 1.9% of patients, while the need for intensive care unit (ICU) care and/or mechanical ventilation happened in 3.4%, and CPR or need for ICU care and/or mechanical ventilation was observed in 4.3% of studied cases. Each one-point increase in NEWS was associated with a 52% higher likelihood of CPR (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41 to 1.65, p

Copyright of Revista Nuestra América is the property of Edicoes Universidade Fernando Pessoa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are small noncoding RNAs derived from genome to control target gene expression. Recently we have developed a novel platform permitting high-yield production of bioengineered miRNA agents (BERA). This study is to produce and utilize novel fully-humanized BERA/miR-328-3p molecule (hBERA/miR-328) to delineate the role of miR-328-3p in controlling nutrient uptake essential for cell metabolism. We first demonstrated successful high-level expression of hBERA/miR-328 in bacteria and purification to high degree of homogeneity (>98%). Biologic miR-328-3p prodrug was selectively processed to miR-328-3p to suppress the growth of highly-proliferative human osteosarcoma (OS) cells. Besides glucose transporter protein type 1, gene symbol solute carrier family 2 member 1 (GLUT1/SLC2A1), we identified and verified large neutral amino acid transporter 1, gene symbol solute carrier family 7 member 5 (LAT1/SLC7A5) as a direct target for miR-328-3p. While reduction of LAT1 protein levels by miR-328-3p did not alter homeostasis of amino acids within OS cells, suppression of GLUT1 led to a significantly lower glucose uptake and decline in intracellular levels of glucose and glycolytic metabolite lactate. Moreover, combination treatment with hBERA/miR-328 and cisplatin or doxorubicin exerted a strong synergism in the inhibition of OS cell proliferation. These findings support the utility of novel bioengineered RNA molecules and establish an important role of miR-328-3p in the control of nutrient transport and homeostasis behind cancer metabolism.

Cloud computing facilities can provide crucial computing support for processing the time series of satellite data and exploiting their spatio-temporal information content. However, dedicated efforts are still required to develop workflows, executable on cloud-based platforms, for ingesting the satellite data, performing the targeted processes, and generating the desired products. In this study, an operational workflow is proposed, based on monthly Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) anomaly, and implemented in cloud-based online Virtual Earth Laboratory (VLab) platform, as a demonstration, to monitor European agricultural water stress. To this end, daily time-series of actual and reference evapotranspiration (ETa and ET0), from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) sensor, were used to execute the proposed workflow successfully on VLab. The execution of the workflow resulted in obtaining one decade (2011–2020) of European monthly agricultural water stress maps at 0.04˚ spatial resolution and corresponding stress reports for each country. To support open science, all the workflow outputs are stored in GeoServer, documented in GeoNetwork, and made available through MapStore. This enables creating a dashboard for better visualization of the results for end-users. The results from this study demonstrate the capability of VLab platform for water stress detection from time series of SEVIRI-ET data.

Abstract Objectives Acute triage is needed to prioritize care and achieve optimal resource allocation in busy emergency departments. The main objective is to compare the FRench Emergency Nurse Classification in Hospital scale (FRENCH) to the American scale Emergency Severity Index (ESI). Secondary objectives are to compare for each scale the over and under-triage, the triage matching to the gold standard and the inter-individual sorting reproducibility between the nurses. Methods This is a prospective observational study conducting among the nursing staffs and nursing students, selected from Caen University College Hospital and Lisieux Hospital Center emergency departments between two months. Each group individually rank 60 referent clinical cases composed by scales designers. An assessment of scale practicality is collected after for each tool. The collected parameters are analyzed by a Cohen kappa concordance test (κ). Results With 8151 triage results of gold standard scenarios sorting in two scales by the same nurses, the FRENCH scale seems to give better triage results than the US ESI scale (nurse: FRENCH 60% and ESI 53%, p = 0.003 ; nursing students: FRENCH 49% and ESI 42%, p

The in-depth structural and compositional investigation of biodegradable polymeric materials, neat or partly degraded, is crucial for their successful applications. Obviously, an exhaustive structural analysis of all synthetic macromolecules is essential in polymer chemistry to confirm the accomplishment of a preparation procedure, identify degradation products originating from side reactions, and monitor chemical–physical properties. Advanced mass spectrometry (MS) techniques have been increasingly applied in biodegradable polymer studies with a relevant role in their further development, valuation, and extension of application fields. However, single-stage MS is not always sufficient to identify unambiguously the polymer structure. Thus, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has more recently been employed for detailed structure characterization and in degradation and drug release monitoring of polymeric samples, among which are biodegradable polymers. This review aims to run through the investigations carried out by the soft ionization technique matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) MS/MS in biodegradable polymers and present the resulting information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although dicofol has been widely banned all over the world as a kind of organochlorine contaminant, it still exists in the environment. This study developed a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) detection technique for dicofol, an environmental pollutant, for the first time using in-source fragmentation. The results confirmed that m/z 251 was the only precursor ion of dicofol after in-source fragmentation, and m/z 139 and m/z 111 were reasonable product ions. The main factors triggering the in-source fragmentation were the H+ content and solution conductivity when dicofol entered the mass spectrometer. Density functional theory can be used to analyze and interpret the mechanism of dicofol fragmentation reaction in ESI source. Dicofol reduced the molecular energy from 8.8 ± 0.05 kcal/mol to 1.0 ± 0.05 kcal/mol, indicating that the internal energy release from high to low was the key driving force of in-source fragmentation. A method based on HPLC-MS/MS was developed to analyze dicofol residues in environmental water. The LOQ was 0.1 μg/L, which was better than the previous GC or GC-MS methods. This study not only proposed an HPLC-MS/MS analysis method for dicofol for the first time but also explained the in-source fragmentation mechanism of compounds in ESI source, which has positive significance for the study of compounds with unconventional mass spectrometry behavior in the field of organic pollutant analysis and metabonomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lumbar herniated disc (HNP) is mainly treated by conservative management. Epidural steroid injection (ESI) has been an option to treat failed cases prior to surgery. Triamcinolone has been widely used due to its efficacy in bringing about pain reduction for up to three months. However, several reports have shown some severe adverse events. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is made from blood through centrifugation. Several studies supported the potential short to long-term effects, and safety of PRP injection in treating HNP. The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy of PRP in treatment of single-level lumbar HNP in comparison to triamcinolone. Methods: Thirty patients were treated by transforaminal epidural injections. PRP was obtained from 24 ml venous blood through standardized double-spin protocol. Participants included fifteen patients each being in triamcinolone and PRP groups. The same postoperative protocols and medications were applied. The visual analogue scale of leg (LegVAS), collected at baseline, 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks, was the primary outcome. The BackVAS, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), adverse event, and treatment failure were the secondary endpoints. Results: Platelet ratio of PRP in fifteen patients was 2.86 ± 0.85. Patients treated by PRP injections showed statistically and clinically significant reduction in LegVAS at 6, 12, and 24 weeks, and in ODI at 24 weeks. It demonstrated comparable results on other aspects. No adverse event occurred in either group. Conclusion: Noncommercial epidural double-spin PRP yielded superior results to triamcinolone. Due to its efficacy and safety, the procedure is recommended in treating single level lumbar HNP. Trial registration: NCT, NCT05234840. Registered 1 January 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT05234840. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Electric source imaging (ESI) of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) has shown significant yield in numerous studies; however, its implementation at most centers is labor‐ and cost‐intensive. Semiautomatic ESI analysis (SAEA) has been proposed as an alternative and has previously shown benefit. Computer‐assisted automatic spike cluster retrieval, averaging, and source localization are carried out for each cluster and are then reviewed by an expert neurophysiologist, to determine their relevance for the individual case. Here, we examine its yield in a prospective single center study. Method: Between 2017 and 2022, 122 patients underwent SAEA. Inclusion criteria for the current study were unifocal epilepsy disorder, epilepsy surgery with curative purpose, and postoperative follow‐up of 2 years or more. All patients (N=40) had continuous video‐electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring with 37 scalp electrodes, which underwent SAEA. Forty patients matched our inclusion criteria. Results: Twenty patients required intracranial monitoring; 13 were magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐negative. Mean duration of analyzed EEG was 4.3 days (±3.1 days), containing a mean of 12 749 detected IEDs (±22 324). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of SAEA for localizing the epileptogenic focus of the entire group were 74.3%, 80%, and 75%, respectively, leading to an odds ratio (OR) of 11.5 to become seizure‐free if the source was included in the resection volume (p <.05). In patients with extratemporal lobe epilepsy, our results indicated an accuracy of 68% (OR=11.7). For MRI‐negative patients (n = 13) and patients requiring intracranial EEG (n = 20), we found a similarly high accuracy of 84.6% (OR=19) and 75% (OR = 15.9), respectively. Significance: In this prospective study of SAEA of long‐term video‐EEG, spanning several days, we found excellent localizing information and a high yield, even in difficult patient groups. This compares favorably to high‐density ESI, most likely due to marked improved signal‐to‐noise ratio of the averaged IEDs. We propose including ESI, or SAEA, in the workup of all patients who are referred for epilepsy surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Academic Library & Information Science is the property of Anhui University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Electrophysiological source imaging (ESI) aims at reconstructing the precise origin of brain activity from measurements of the electric field on the scalp. Across laboratories/research centers/hospitals, ESI is performed with different methods, partly due to the ill-posedness of the underlying mathematical problem. However, it is difficult to find systematic comparisons involving a wide variety of methods. Further, existing comparisons rarely take into account the variability of the results with respect to the input parameters. Finally, comparisons are typically performed using either synthetic data, or in-vivo data where the ground-truth is only roughly known. We use an in-vivo high-density EEG dataset recorded during intracranial single pulse electrical stimulation, in which the true sources are substantially dipolar and their locations are precisely known. We compare ten different ESI methods, using their implementation in the MNE-Python package: MNE, dSPM, LORETA, sLORETA, eLORETA, LCMV beamformers, irMxNE, Gamma Map, SESAME and dipole fitting. We perform comparisons under multiple choices of input parameters, to assess the accuracy of the best reconstruction, as well as the impact of such parameters on the localization performance. Best reconstructions often fall within 1 cm from the true source, with most accurate methods hitting an average localization error of 1.2 cm and outperforming least accurate ones erring by 2.5 cm. As expected, dipolar and sparsity-promoting methods tend to outperform distributed methods. For several distributed methods, the best regularization parameter turned out to be the one in principle associated with low SNR, despite the high SNR of the available dataset. Depth weighting played no role for two out of the six methods implementing it. Sensitivity to input parameters varied widely between methods. While one would expect high variability being associated with low localization error at the best solution, this is not always the case, with some methods producing highly variable results and high localization error, and other methods producing stable results with low localization error. In particular, recent dipolar and sparsity-promoting methods provide significantly better results than older distributed methods. As we repeated the tests with “conventional” (32 channels) and dense (64, 128, 256 channels) EEG recordings, we observed little impact of the number of channels on localization accuracy; however, for distributed methods denser montages provide smaller spatial dispersion. Overall findings confirm that EEG is a reliable technique for localization of point sources and therefore reinforce the importance that ESI may have in the clinical context, especially when applied to identify the surgical target in potential candidates for epilepsy surgery.

En este artículo se socializan las propuestas de integración y de integralidad de las funciones universitarias de extensión, investigación y docencia, en torno a la articulación de la Geografía con la Educación Sexual Integral (ESI), desarrolladas por nuestro equipo en la Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Argentina. Se incluye la definición de integración y de integralidad de las funciones universitarias y la trayectoria del equipo autoral en la temática. Además, se caracteriza la propuesta de ESI en contraposición a los modelos tradicionales de educación sexual y en su relación con la perspectiva de Derechos Humanos. A su vez, se presentan algunas contribuciones específicas de la Geografía a la ESI, a partir de los desarrollos disciplinares relativos al género y las sexualidades. Por último, se expone un ejemplo de integralidad de funciones universitarias y algunos resultados a partir de las voces de docentes de Geografía de la escuela secundaria.

Drought is a complex natural hazard which can create significant impacts on society and environment. Given that this phenomenon varies across space and changes over time dependent on various factors (e.g., physical conditions and human activities), the available of spatiotemporal drought data enables a better monitoring and assessment of drought severity This study introduced the integrated multivariate drought index (iMDI) data, a new regional drought index, at 1 km spatial and monthly temporal resolutions for the Vietnamese Central Highlands over a 20-years period. The iMDI was developed recently which is a combination of vegetation condition index (VCI), the temperature condition index (TCI), and the evaporative stress index (ESI) based on the feature of scaling algorithms (i.e., normalisations and standardisation). The data were processed using the median values of MODIS time-series imagery obtained from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The iMDI datasets are available for monthly and annual drought monitoring between 2001 and 2020. Additionally, the datasets of VCI, TCI, and ESI were provided so that users can apply for their own purposes even though these data can directly obtain from GEE or other sources. Users, especially those without technical expertise, can reap the advantages of having open access to iDMI data. By doing so, they can reduce their expenses and the time required to process data. As such, this accessibility can promote the use of data for diverse applications, such as evaluating the impact of droughts on the environment and human activities and monitoring droughts regionally.

IntroductionImmunoassays and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assays are commonly employed in clinical laboratories for measurement of total testosterone in serum. Results obtained from either of these methodologies compare poorly due to differences in calibration and/or inadvertent detection of interfering substances by the immunoassays. Standardization efforts are underway, but recent studies indicate that accuracy remains an issue.MethodsThis study compares the results from four independently developed and validated LC-MS/MS assays for total testosterone. The calibration for each assay was verified using National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material 971.ResultsInitially, one of the four assays had a mean percent difference of +11.44%, compared to the All Method Mean, but following re-verification of all five non-zero calibrator concentrations with the NIST SRM 971, the mean percent difference decreased to -4.88%. Subsequently, the agreement between all four assays showed a mean bias of

In this contribution, ethanolic extracts of Cuminum cyminum (C. cyminum) seeds were evaluated in terms of phytochemical content, total phenol and flavonoid contents. As far as the analytical techniques are concerned, UV–Vis, FTIR, HPLC, NMR (1H and 13C) and ESI-MS were performed. The binding capacity of five different antidiabetic enzymes was tested by in silico molecular docking studies. The HPLC, UV–Vis, FTIR, NMR and ESI-MS data highlighted the presence of seven biologically active molecules e.g. α-pinene, β-pinene, Δ3-carene, ρ-cymene, α-terpineol, cuminaldehyde and linalool. The results coming from the in silico molecular docking studies showed that such phytochemicals present in the cumin seed extracts play an important role in the activity of key enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Therefore, C. cyminum is proven to be useful for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and its major secondary complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in refinery wastewater is an extremely complex mixture of various organic compounds. Using mass spectrometry, it is impossible to characterize all of the DOM molecules with only one ionization source. In this study, negative-ion, electrospray ionization (ESI), positive-ion ESI, and positive-ion atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) were coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to analyze the molecular composition of DOM in a refinery wastewater stream during the treatment process. There were obvious differences in the heteroatom composition, number of DOM constituents, and chemical properties in refinery wastewater under the three ionization modes. Acidic CHO and CHOS compounds detected by (-)ESI, basic CHN and CHON compounds detected by (þ)ESI, and hydrocarbons detected by (þ)APPI were analyzed to determine the molecular transformations that occurred during treatment. In an anaerobic biological treatment process, acidic CHO and CHOS compounds with a high oxygen content were preferentially removed, and acidic CHO and CHOS compounds with a low oxygen content were produced. In an aerobic biological process, acidic CHO and CHOS compounds with a low oxygen content were preferentially removed, and acidic CHO and CHOS compounds with a high oxygen content were produced. The whole biological treatment process has a poor removal efficiency for CHN and CHON compounds, and hydrocarbons. An activated carbon (AC) adsorption process removed different heteroatom compounds mainly with a low oxygen content for acidic and basic compounds. The transformation mechanism of CHO and CHOS compounds in the biological treatment process was analyzed by the Kendrick mass defect (KMD) theory and a mass difference network analysis. In the anaerobic process, large amounts of oxygenated CHO and CHOS compounds were degraded by decarboxylation, deoxydation, demethoxylation, and dehydration reactions, and converted to lower oxygen content compounds. In the aerobic processes, these low oxygen CHO and CHOS compounds mainly underwent carboxylation and oxidation reactions. This study determined the transformation characteristics and mechanisms of different types of organic compounds in refinery wastewater during the treatment process. The results provide guidance for the design and optimization of technologies for refinery wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Argentinian Journal of Applied Linguistics is the property of Federacion Argentina de Asociaciones de Profesores de Ingles and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: Acute triage is needed to prioritize care and achieve optimal resource allocation in busy emergency departments. The main objective is to compare the FRench Emergency Nurse Classification in Hospital scale (FRENCH) to the American scale Emergency Severity Index (ESI). Secondary objectives are to compare for each scale the over and under-triage, the triage matching to the gold standard and the inter-individual sorting reproducibility between the nurses. Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducting among the nursing staffs and nursing students, selected from Caen University College Hospital and Lisieux Hospital Center emergency departments between two months. Each group individually rank 60 referent clinical cases composed by scales designers. An assessment of scale practicality is collected after for each tool. The collected parameters are analyzed by a Cohen kappa concordance test (κ). Results: With 8151 triage results of gold standard scenarios sorting in two scales by the same nurses, the FRENCH scale seems to give better triage results than the US ESI scale (nurse: FRENCH 60% and ESI 53%, p = 0.003 ; nursing students: FRENCH 49% and ESI 42%, p < 0.001). In the two groups ESI has also a big tendency to under-sort (p = 0.01), particularly for the most severe patients (p < 0.01). The interobserver sorting concordance for any experience gives good results for the FRENCH and the ESI without any difference (nurses : FRENCH KPQ=0.72 ESI KPQ=0.78; p = 0.32 ; students KPQ=0.44 KPQ=0.55; p = 0.22). Conclusion: The ESI and FRENCH scales comparison on 8151 sorting results shows direct validity in favor of FRENCH one and similar interobserver agreement for both scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Currently, in the analysis of triacylglycerol (TAG) composition of the Moringa oleifera seed oil (MOSO), there are still approximately 13.9% of TAG still unknown. Reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a refractive index detector (RID) has previously been applied for the identification of TAG in MOSO. A new approach focuses on the properties of the fatty acid assay and the full characterisation of TAGs. Identification and determination of TAG compositions in MOSO were done by LC‐Q‐TOF (LCMS‐9030) with ESI interface and HCOONH4 (ammonium formate) additive in the mobile aqueous phase. Triolein (OOO) was 39.3% and is the dominant TAG in MOSO. This new method was able to fully characterise a total of 33 TAG compositions using accurate mass MS data and MS/MS spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic sulfur-containing compounds are widely distributed in oil, especially in its low-volatile and heavy fractions (resins, asphaltenes), and this dictates the need for their determination when reliable methods for sulfur removing, cleaning and processing oil are developed. In these cases, "soft" ionization mass spectrometry methods, based on electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), are particularly effective. However, aromatic sulfur-containing compounds have low polarity and cannot be readily ionized by these methods. To overcome the problem, their preliminary conversion into sulfonium salts by the action of alkyl iodides and a silver-containing agent is widely used. In the process of developing more economical derivatization methods, we found a rather unexpected possibility of implementing S-alkylation of organic sulfides with commercial polydialkylsiloxanes (alkyl = CH3 or C2H5) in the presence of triflic acid (CF3SO3H) as a superacid co-alkylating agent. For homologous dibenzothiophenes as a typical model representative of petroleum sulfur-containing aromatic compounds, ESI and MALDI mass spectra exhibited the signals of corresponding S-alkylsulfonium salts with a high signal-to-noise ratio. A rational mechanism for the described chemical transformation is proposed, including the indispensable activation by triflic acid and the cleavage of the Si-C bond. Specific collision-induced dissociation of corresponding S-alkylated sulfonium cations is considered. The applicability of the derivatization approach to the analysis of petroleum products by high-resolution mass spectrometry is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is considered among the most perilous events with catastrophic consequences, particularly from the agro-economic point of view. These consequences are expected to exacerbate under the increasing meteorological aberrations due to changing climate, which necessitates investigating drought variabilities. This study presents a thorough spatiotemporal assessment of drought trends and variabilities over the agriculture-dominated Marathwada Region, Maharashtra, India. The precipitation data is extracted from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded product, whereas actual evapotranspiration (ET) and Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) are obtained from Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) datasets. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is used to characterize drought occurrences at multiple time frames, whereas non-parametric tests, i.e., modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) and Sen's slope (SS) tests, are employed to detect trends. The results reveal the region to be prone to droughts, and SPI at a longer time frame (i.e., 12-monthly moving frame) can capture drought occurrences better than the shorter time frames, which can be attributed to the lesser randomness in the time series in the longer frame. A mix of positive/negative trends of SPI series are found for the monsoonal months; however, they are relatively more concentrated towards negative ZMMK. Hence, the Marathwada Region can be inferred to have exhibited a relatively increased tendency towards drought occurrences. The seasonal differences in mean values and trends of rainfall, ET, and ESI are discussed in detail. Since the Marathwada Region has a monsoon-dominated climate with high agricultural importance, the information reported in this study will help in devising water management strategies to minimize the repercussions of droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ecosystem-level ESI generally underestimates the vegetation evaporative stress (ESI v). • Underprediction is more prominent during high VPD periods. • ESI and ESI v have similar spatial distribution during the growing season. Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), also sometimes referred as Evaporative Stress Ratio (ESR), has been widely used as an indicator of vegetation evaporative stress, and is often used to track forest and agriculture droughts. Lower the stress, higher is the value of ESI or ESR. The goal of this study is to assess the suitability of these indices for tracking vegetation evaporative stress. As the dynamics of water loss from vegetation through transpiration (T) can be different than that of evapotranspiration (ET) from the ecosystem, it is hypothesized that ESI or ESR may not be sufficiently representative of the vegetation evaporative stress. Using eddy covariance flux tower data of 518 site years, distributed across 49-sites and 9 land covers globally, our findings reveal underestimation of vegetation evaporative stress by ESI during periods of high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and overestimation during dry, low-VPD periods. The results highlight the need to improve representativeness of ESI for monitoring vegetation evaporative stress. Notably, this may entail accurate estimation of ecosystem T in systems lacking in-situ data, a challenge that warrants further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northern shores of the Strait of Hormuz constitute one of the most diverse shorelines in the Persian Gulf, characterized by both utility and environmental richness. Situated in the Qeshm channel, which hosts the largest mangrove habitat, major industries, and commercial port, these shores are subject to the occurrence of oil spills, posing potential substantial harm. This study employs General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME) and numerical modeling to assess the potential risks to shorelines from hypothetical oil spills, considering the distinctive features of the shores and their environmental sensitivity. The results indicate that high-risk levels are not excessively prevalent overall and are confined to approximately 24 km. The shape of the channel and hydrodynamic conditions highlight the eastern sector of the Bandar Abbas urban area as particularly susceptible to oil spill entrapment. The findings indicate that high-risk areas are predominantly located away from industrial-oil shores and primarily consist of muddy shores. Therefore, internal strategies of Oil Spill Contingency Plan (OSCP) of companies are deemed insufficient and necessitate comprehensive planning initiatives. • The first shoreline risk assessment study in Qeshm channel considering the possibility of oil spills, wave height, current speed and shore type. • The risk situation in the eastern region of Qeshm channel is not at a high level, about 24 km of the shore is facing high risk. • Due to the curvature of the coast and hydrodynamic conditions, there is a possibility that hypothetical spills will be trapped on the eastern shore of Bandar Abbas city. • The Hara Mangrove Forest protected area, although facing low risk, but due to its naturally sensitive nature, should be taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]