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Messages sent across multiple platforms can be correlated to infer users’ attitudes, behaviors, preferences, lifestyles, and more. Therefore, research on anonymous communication systems has intensified in the last few years. This research introduces a new algorithm, Threading Statistical Disclosure Attack with EM (TSDA-EM), that employs real-world data to reveal communication’s behavior in an anonymous social network. In this study, we utilize a network constructed from email exchanges to represent interactions between individuals within an institution. The proposed algorithm is capable of identifying communication patterns within a mixed network, even under the observation of a global passive attacker. By employing multi-threading, this implementation reduced the average execution time by a factor of five when using a dataset with a large number of participants. Additionally, it has markedly improved classification accuracy, detecting more than 79% of users’ communications in large networks and more than 95% in small ones.

Multiband superconductivity plays an important role in many emergent novel superconductors and has attracted great interest over the years. Various related experimental aspects have been intensely researched, but a quantitative understanding on the Cooper-pair transport remains still elusive, despite its fundamental and technological importance. We study a Josephson junction with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), where both tip and sample are Pb, a prototypical type I two-band superconductor. We map the properties of the junction across a wide range of normal state conductances revealing in-gap features originating from multiple Andreev reflections (MARs) and the Josephson effect. We present the theoretical framework to extract the transmission through the transport channels and describe the Cooper-pair tunneling with quantitative precision through two superconducting bands. This paves the way for the understanding of increasingly complicated superconductors.

Hydrogels elaborated from Dasylirion spp. and enriched with grape seed extract (GSE) were investigated for tentative use in dental treatment. Cellulose-GSE hydrogels were elaborated with varying GSE contents from 10 to 50 wt%. The mechanical and physical properties, antimicrobial effect, biocompatibility, and in vitro cytotoxicity were studied. In all the cases, the presence of GSE affects the hydrogel’s mechanical properties. The elongation decreased from 12.67 mm for the hydrogel without GSE to 6.33 mm for the hydrogel with the highest GSE content. The tensile strength decrease was from 52.33 N/mm2 (for the samples without GSE) and went to 40 N/mm2 for the highest GSE content. Despite the adverse effects, hydrogels possess suitable properties for manipulation. In addition, all hydrogels exhibited excellent biocompatibility and no cytotoxicity, and the antibacterial performance was demonstrated against S. mutans, E. Faecalis, S. aureus, and P. aureginosa. Furthermore, the hydrogels with 30 wt% GSE inhibited more than 90% of the bacterial growth.

Background and objectives: The development of the oral microbiome begins in the prenatal stage. Breast milk contains antimicrobial proteins, microorganisms, metabolites, enzymes, and immunoglobulins, among others; therefore, differences have been noted in the type of microorganisms that colonize the oral cavity of children who are breastfed compared to those who are formula-fed. Our objective was to establish the relationship between breastfeeding, formula feeding, or mixed feeding (breastfeeding and formula) with the presence of S. mutans in a population of children under 6 months of age. Materials and Methods: The patients were recruited from the Child Care Center of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and from the pediatric dentistry postgraduate clinics of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez; children exclusively fed maternally, with formula, and/or mixed were included. Those who had been fed within the previous hour were excluded. The sample was taken with a smear of the jugal groove using a sterile micro-brush. For the identification of Streptococcus mutans, a culture of Mitis Salivarius Agar (Millipore) was used. Results: 53.3% corresponded to females and 46.7% to males, 36.7% corresponded to maternal feeding, 23.3% corresponded to formula feeding, and 40% corresponded to mixed feeding. In 90% of the infants, the parents indicated that they did not perform oral hygiene. The CFU count showed that infants who were exclusively breastfed had an average of 9 × 10 CF/mL, formula-fed infants had an average of 78 × 10 CFU/mL, and those who had mixed feeding 21 × 10 CFU/mL. Conclusions: According to the results obtained, it was possible to corroborate that exclusive breastfeeding limits the colonization of Streptococcus mutans compared to those infants who receive formula or mixed feeding; these results could have a clinical impact on the dental health of infants by having a lower presence of one of the main etiological factors involved in dental caries and the type of microbiome established in the oral cavity.

Abstract In hybrid Josephson junctions with three or more superconducting terminals coupled to a semiconducting region, Andreev bound states may form unconventional energy band structures, or Andreev matter, which are engineered by controlling superconducting phase differences. Here we report tunnelling spectroscopy measurements of three-terminal Josephson junctions realised in an InAs/Al heterostructure. The three terminals are connected to form two loops, enabling independent control over two phase differences and access to a synthetic Andreev band structure in the two-dimensional phase space. Our results demonstrate a phase-controlled Andreev molecule, originating from two discrete Andreev levels that spatially overlap and hybridise. Signatures of hybridisation are observed in the form of avoided crossings in the spectrum and band structure anisotropies in the phase space, all explained by a numerical model. Future extensions of this work could focus on addressing spin-resolved energy levels, ground state fermion parity transitions and Weyl bands in multiterminal geometries.

Abstract Light–matter coupling allows control and engineering of complex quantum states. Here we investigate a hybrid superconducting–semiconducting Josephson junction subject to microwave irradiation by means of tunnelling spectroscopy of the Andreev bound state spectrum and measurements of the current–phase relation. For increasing microwave power, discrete levels in the tunnelling conductance develop into a series of equally spaced replicas, while the current–phase relation changes amplitude and skewness, and develops dips. Quantitative analysis of our results indicates that conductance replicas originate from photon assisted tunnelling of quasiparticles into Andreev bound states through the tunnelling barrier. Despite strong qualitative similarities with proposed signatures of Floquet–Andreev states, our study rules out this scenario. The distortion of the current–phase relation is explained by the interaction of Andreev bound states with microwave photons, including a non-equilibrium Andreev bound state occupation. The techniques outlined here establish a baseline to study light–matter coupling in hybrid nanostructures and distinguish photon assisted tunnelling from Floquet–Andreev states in mesoscopic devices.

Abstract Magnetic impurities on superconductors lead to bound states within the superconducting gap, so called Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. They are parity protected, which enhances their lifetime, but makes it more difficult to excite them. Here, we realize the excitation of YSR states by microwaves facilitated by the tunnel coupling to another superconducting electrode in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). We identify the excitation process through a family of anomalous microwave-assisted tunneling peaks originating from a second-order resonant Andreev process, in which the microwave excites the YSR state triggering a tunneling event transferring a total of two charges. We vary the amplitude and the frequency of the microwave to identify the energy threshold and the evolution of this excitation process. Our work sets an experimental basis and proof-of-principle for the manipulation of YSR states using microwaves with an outlook towards YSR qubits.

Abstract Quantum magnetic impurities give rise to a wealth of phenomena attracting tremendous research interest in recent years. On a normal metal, magnetic impurities generate the correlation-driven Kondo effect. On a superconductor, bound states emerge inside the superconducting gap called the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. Theoretically, quantum impurity problems have been successfully tackled by numerical renormalization group (NRG) theory, where the Kondo and YSR physics are shown to be unified and the normalized YSR energy scales universally with the Kondo temperature divided by the superconducting gap. However, experimentally the Kondo temperature is usually extracted from phenomenological approaches, which gives rise to significant uncertainties and cannot account for magnetic fields properly. Using scanning tunneling microscopy at 10 mK, we apply a magnetic field to several YSR impurities on a vanadium tip to reveal the Kondo effect and employ the microscopic single impurity Anderson model with NRG to fit the Kondo spectra in magnetic fields accurately and extract the corresponding Kondo temperature unambiguously. Some YSR states move across the quantum phase transition (QPT) due to the changes in atomic forces during tip approach, yielding a continuous universal scaling with quantitative precision for quantum spin- $$\frac{1}{2}$$ 1 2 impurities.

Background: Motor and intellectual disabilities (MIDs) represent a great challenge for maintaining general health due to physical and cognitive limitations, particularly in the maintenance and preservation of oral health. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic tool for bacterial control, including oral biofilms; however, knowledge of the bactericidal effectiveness of oral biofilms from patients with MIDs is insufficient. This study aims to determine the antimicrobial effect of AgNPs on different oral biofilms taken from patients with and without MIDs. Methods: Two sizes of AgNPs were prepared and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through consecutive sampling, biofilm samples were collected from 17 subjects with MIDs and 20 subjects without disorders. The antimicrobial effect was determined by obtaining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AgNPs, and the identification and distribution of oral bacterial species were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, correlations between sociodemographic characteristics and the antimicrobial levels of AgNPs were also explored. The values of the MIC results were analyzed with IBM-SPSS software (version25) using non-parametric tests for independent groups and correlations, with statistical significance being considered as p < 0.05. Results: Both sizes of AgNPs exhibited tight particle size distributions (smaller: 10.2 ± 0.7 nm; larger: 29.3 ± 2.3 nm) with zeta potential values (−35.0 ± 3.3 and −52.6 ± 8.5 mV, respectively) confirming the stability that resulted in little to no agglomeration of nanoparticles. Although both sizes of AgNPs had good antimicrobial activity in all oral biofilms, the smallest particles had the best antimicrobial effects on the oral biofilm samples from patients with and without MIDs, even better than chlorhexidine (CHX) (p < 0.05). Likewise, the patients with disabilities showed higher levels of antimicrobial sensitivity to AgNPs compared with CHX (p < 0.05). Although the microorganisms included in the biofilms of females had a statistically higher growth level, the AgNP antimicrobial effect was statistically similar in both genders (p > 0.05). The most frequent bacteria for all oral biofilms were S. mutans (100%), P. intermedia (91.6%), T. forsythia (75.0%), T. denticola (75.0%), P. gingivalis (66.6%), F. nucleatum (66.6%), S. sobrinus (50.0%), and A. actinomycetemcomitans (8.3%). Conclusions: AgNPs exhibited considerable antimicrobial potential to be used as a complementary and alternative tool in maintaining and preserving oral health in patients with MIDs.

Este artículo contribuye a la investigación abordando el uso del poder ejecutivo unilateral de manera comparada entre los Estados Unidos de América y España. Ambos países tienen herramientas legales que permiten al Ejecutivo legislar de forma unilateral, poniendo en cuestión el principio de separación de poderes. Basándonos en los estudios de Mayer y Santolaya sobre las órdenes ejecutivas y los reales decretos-ley respectivamente, revisamos y ampliamos sus hallazgos con datos actuales, además de realizar un análisis comparado de estas herramientas jurídicas. Nuestras hipótesis son que los Gobiernos progresistas tienden a recurrir con más frecuencia a estas herramientas, especialmente durante sus primeros cien días en el cargo, más aún, cuando los Gobiernos tienen poco apoyo de su rama legislativa. De esta manera, se hace un uso excesivo de la legislación que proviene del Ejecutivo para promover la agenda política del Gobierno, excediendo la intención con la que las órdenes ejecutivas y los reales decretos fueron planteados por los legisladores constituyentes en ambos países.

We assessed the emergence, growth, phenotypic plasticity and quality of both landrace and commercial tomato fruits under conditions of elevated temperature and increased CO2 concentrations [CO2]. Four growth chambers were used in which temperature and [CO2] differed: LTLC (30 °C, 400 µmol CO2 mol−1), LTHC (30 °C, 1200 µmol CO2 mol−1), HTLC (40 °C, 400 µmol CO2 mol−1) and HTHC (40 °C, 1200 µmol CO2 mol−1). The acronyms indicate the following: LT, low temperature; HT, high temperature; LC, low [CO2]; and HC, high [CO2]. Elevated temperatures significantly affected emergence in both genotypes, with the rate decreasing below 35% at HT compared to over 95% at LT. At HT, seedlings died before producing true leaves. This increase in temperature negatively affected plant growth, though HC produced some compensatory growth promotion. Regarding HT and CO2 interactions, HC failed to counteract the negative impacts of HT. The commercial variety showed a higher relative distance plasticity index (RDPI) under HT, whereas the landrace showed greater plasticity in plant height under HC. The largest fruit sizes were observed at LT, whereas no fruits were found at HTLC. Elevated temperature at HC resulted in enhanced total phenol content and increased antioxidant activity in the fruits.

With the help of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) it has become possible to address single magnetic impurities on superconducting surfaces and to investigate the peculiar properties of the in-gap states known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. These systems are an ideal playground to investigate multiple aspects of superconducting bound states, such as the occurrence of quantum phase transitions or the interplay between Andreev transport physics and the spin degree of freedom, with profound implications for disparate topics like Majorana modes or Andreev spin qubits. However, until very recently YSR states were only investigated with conventional tunneling spectroscopy, missing the crucial information contained in other transport properties such as shot noise. In this paper we adapt the concept of full counting statistics (FCS) to provide the deepest insight thus far into the spin-dependent transport in these hybrid atomic-scale systems. We illustrate the power of FCS by analyzing different situations in which YSR states show up including single-impurity junctions with a normal and a superconducting STM tip, as well as double-impurity systems where one can probe the tunneling between individual YSR states [Nat. Phys. 16, 1227 (2020)10.1038/s41567-020-0971-0]. The FCS concept allows us to unambiguously identify every tunneling process that plays a role in these situations and to classify them according to the charge transferred in them. Moreover, FCS provides all the relevant transport properties, including current, shot noise, and all the cumulants of the current distribution. In particular, our approach is able to reproduce the experimental results recently reported on the shot noise of a single-impurity junction with a normal STM tip [Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 247001 (2022)10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.247001]. We also predict the signatures of resonant (and nonresonant) multiple Andreev reflections in the shot noise and Fano factor of single-impurity junctions with two superconducting electrodes and show that the FCS approach allows us to understand conductance features that have been incorrectly interpreted in the literature. In the case of double-impurity junctions we show that the direct tunneling between YSR states is characterized by a strong reduction of the Fano factor that reaches a minimum value of 7/32, a significant result in quantum transport. The FCS approach presented here can be naturally extended to investigate the spin-dependent superconducting transport in a variety of situations, such as atomic spin chains on surfaces or superconductor-semiconductor nanowire junctions, and it is also suitable to analyze multiterminal superconducting junctions, irradiated contacts, and many other basic situations.

Background and Objectives: Periodontal disease (PD) is a multifactorial oral disease regularly caused by bacterial biofilms. Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) have offered good antimicrobial activity; moreover, there is no available scientific information related to their antimicrobial effects in biofilms from patients with PD. This study reports the bactericidal activity of AgNP against oral biofilms related to PD. Materials and Methods: AgNP of two average particle sizes were prepared and characterized. Sixty biofilms were collected from patients with (30 subjects) and without PD (30 subjects). Minimal inhibitory concentrations of AgNP were calculated and the distribution of bacterial species was defined by polymerase chain reaction. Results: Well-dispersed sizes of AgNP were obtained (5.4 ± 1.3 and 17.5 ± 3.4 nm) with an adequate electrical stability (−38.2 ± 5.8 and −32.6 ± 5.4 mV, respectively). AgNP showed antimicrobial activities for all oral samples; however, the smaller AgNP had significantly the most increased bactericidal effects (71.7 ± 39.1 µg/mL). The most resistant bacteria were found in biofilms from PD subjects (p < 0.05). P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia were present in all PD biofilms (100%). Conclusions: The AgNP showed efficient bactericidal properties as an alternative therapy for the control or progression of PD.

Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its clinical entity, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) continue to represent an important health burden worldwide. Although great advances have been made towards determining the way viral genetic diversity affects clinical outcome, genetic association studies have been hindered by the complexity of their interactions with the human host. This study provides an innovative approach for the identification and analysis of epidemiological associations between HIV Viral Infectivity Factor (Vif) protein mutations and four clinical endpoints (Viral load and CD4 T cell numbers at time of both clinical debut and on historical follow-up of patients. Furthermore, this study highlights an alternative approach to the analysis of imbalanced datasets, where patients without specific mutations outnumber those with mutations. Imbalanced datasets are still a challenge hindering the development of classification algorithms through machine learning. This research deals with Decision Trees, Naïve Bayes (NB), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). This paper proposes a new methodology considering an undersampling approach to deal with imbalanced datasets and introduces two novel and differing approaches (MAREV-1 and MAREV-2). As theses approaches do not involve human pre-determined and hypothesis-driven combinations of motifs having functional or clinical relevance, they provide a unique opportunity to discover novel complex motif combinations of interest. Moreover, the motif combinations found can be analyzed through traditional statistical approaches avoiding statistical corrections for multiple tests.

In the present work, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC), antioxidant activity, and phenolic profile from pulp (PU) and peel (PE) extracts obtained from the ciricote (Cordia dodecandra A. DC.) fruit by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) in immature (IM), semimature (SM), and mature (MM) stages were investigated. The effect of the diameter of the ultrasonic probe in the IM stage was also evaluated. The TPC and antioxidant activity in IM fruit extracts by UAE increased up to 11.01 and 23.82 times, respectively, compared to the maceration method. The main phenolic compounds in the PE of IM fruit identified by UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS were quantified as caffeic acid, rutin, and rosmarinic acid, distributed as 45.82, 41.45, and 12.72%, respectively. The PE extracts of IM fruit obtained with the 3 mm diameter probe had 1.27, 2.44, and 1.37 times the TPC (19.93 ± 0.28 mg GAE (Gallic equivalents) g−1 dw), TFC (34.85 ± 4.99 mg RE (Rutin equivalents) g−1 dw), and antioxidant activity (122.09 ± 17.09 µTE (Trolox equivalents) g−1 (DPPH)), respectively, compared to those obtained with a 13 mm diameter probe. The results obtained suggest the use of the ciricote native fruit as a source of bioactive compounds, directly as fresh fruit or processed, thus helping to increase its production and consumption.

Spindle cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma characterized by elongated and pleomorphic epithelial cells that resemble a sarcoma. Due to its rareness, and histological resemblance to various sarcomas, the diagnosis of this neoplasia is challenging. Herein we present the case of an 82-year-old female with a polypoid, ulcerated, soft tissue mass located on the left side of the maxilla. The tomographic examination showed a hyperdense mass that infiltrated the orbital cavity, ethmoidal cells, middle and lower nasal concha, maxillary sinus, zygomatic arch, and mandibular ramus on the left side. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of spindle cells that were sarcomatous in appearance, with aberrant mitosis, along with a group of pleomorphic cells with a more epithelioid and hyperchromatic appearance on a stroma of densely vascularized fibrous tissue. The immunohistochemistry panel used to determine the lineage of the tumor rendered the diagnosis of SCC. The diagnosis of SCC is challenging to the pathologist since its morphology can resemble a sarcoma. Thus, immunohistochemistry is a valuable resource to support the diagnosis. We propose that SCC should be considered when examining a biphasic neoplasm with the aforementioned histological characteristics and markers.

En febrero del presente año la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) dio a conocer la presencia de una nueva cepa de un virus que estaba generando enfermedades respiratorias altamente contagiosas, el COVID- 19, ¿pero qué es este virus? Los coronavirus (CoVs) son una familia de virus con genoma RNA pertenecientes al orden Nidovirales, los cuales se han clasificado en tres subgrupos α, β, y γ, los subtipos “α” y “β” se encuentran distribuidos en mamíferos, incluyendo humanos y el subtipo “γ” en aves, sin embargo, un cuarto grupo denotado como “δ” ha sido reclasificado debido a su capacidad de infectar porcinos 1; estos subtipos de coronavirus se caracterizan principalmente por generar enfermedades de tipo respiratorio y gastrointestinales 2.

Thermal radiation is a ubiquitous physical phenomenon that has been usually described with the help of Planck’s law, but recent developments have proven its limitations. Now, experimental advances have demonstrated that the far-field thermal radiation properties of subwavelength objects drastically violate Planck’s law.

Background: Oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of autoimmune nature, with infiltration of T lymphocytes that destroy the basal stratum, which causes white striae, erosions, ulcers and breaks in epithelial continuity. Case report: 54-year-old woman with multiple reticular and erosive lesions in the region of the buccal mucosa and lateral borders of the tongue, as well as desquamative gingivitis. Treatment with mometasone was started thrice daily for 20 days and intermittently with miconazole gel to prevent iatrogenic mycosis by the corticosteroid. The patient was examined at 20 days, after which 80 % improvement of the lesions that had central ulcerations was observed, which allowed the ingestion of food and fluids without pain and improved the quality of life. Conclusions: In autoimmune diseases, clinical-histopathological correlation is important for a definitive diagnosis to be established. Clinical follow-up of these patients should be carried out in the long term, in order to achieve remission of the lesions, control of the disease and avoid future complications.

La odontodisplasia regional (OR) es una anomalía del desarrollo poco frecuente, que involucra componentes del ectodermo y el mesodermo, esta alteración afecta tanto dentición temporal como permanente, siendo el maxilar frecuentemente más afectado que la mandíbula. Acude paciente masculino de 13 años por presentar retraso en la erupción de órganos dentarios 21 al 24. A la exploración intraoral los tejidos blandos contaban con características normales, se apreciaba una formación incompleta de los órganos dentarios sin lograr apreciar una distinción en la opacidad entre el esmalte y la dentina, con cámaras pulpares amplias. Se procedió a la extracción quirúrgica de los dientes 21 al 24, un mes posterior a esto se realizó la rehabilitación protésica temporal. La OR es una alteración poco descrita por lo que aún falta esclarecer la etiología y evolución a largo plazo del padecimiento, el dar a conocer los nuevos casos permite ampliar el conocimiento en cuanto a su frecuencia, además de concientizar al profesional de la salud acerca de la presencia y tratamiento de la misma.

Magnetic impurities on superconductors induce discrete bound levels inside the superconducting gap, known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. YSR levels are fully spin polarized such that the tunneling between YSR states depends on their relative spin orientation. Here, we use scanning tunneling spectroscopy to resolve the spin dynamics in the tunneling process between two YSR states by experimentally extracting the angle between the spins. To this end, we exploit the ratio of thermally activated and direct spectral features in the measurement to directly extract the relative spin orientation between the two YSR states. We find freely rotating spins down to 7 mK, indicating a purely paramagnetic nature of the impurities. Such a noncollinear spin alignment is essential not only for producing Majorana bound states but also as an outlook manipulating and moving the Majorana state onto the tip.

Actinic prurigo (AP) is a type of photodermatosis that primarily affects the Latin American mestizo population. Histologically, AP cheilitis exhibits acanthosis with spongiosis and vacuolation of the basal cell layer overlying a dense lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate that forms well-defined lymphoid follicles. Toluidine blue is a thiazide, acidophilic, and metachromatic dye used in vivo to selectively stain the acidic components of tissues such as sulfates, carboxylates, and phosphate radicals that are incorporated into DNA and RNA. It is necessary to develop a method that allows detecting, on clinical grounds the area of the lesion in which it is more feasible to find such structures. Thus to increase the sensitivity of the biopsy, in AP cheilitis to accurately identify where the lymphoid follicles reside, based on the higher concentration of DNA in such structures and thus confirm the diagnosis. In this study, staining was positive in 85% of patients with AP cheilitis, in 14 of whom 82% lymphoid follicles were observed by histopathology. One of the pathologist’s problems in establishing the diagnosis of AP is that the main histopathological characteristics are not always identified in the submitted samples because it is not easy to clinically identify the most representative site of the lesion selected for performing a biopsy. Based on our results, we propose using toluidine blue as an auxiliary method to choose a tissue sample to facilitate the diagnosis and allow clinicians to make clinical correlations between the histopathological and therapeutic findings.

Background and Objectives: Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is the main microorganism associated with the presence of dental caries and specific serotypes of this bacteria have been related to several systemic diseases limiting general health. In orthodontics, white spot lesions (WSL), represent a great challenge for clinicians due to the great fluctuation of their prevalence and incidence during conventional orthodontic treatments. Although silver nanoparticles (AgNP) have been demonstrated to have great antimicrobial properties in several microorganisms, including S. mutans bacteria, there is no available information about anti adherence and antimicrobial properties of AgNP exposed to two of the most relevant serotypes of S. mutans adhered on orthodontic materials used for conventional therapeutics. The objective of this study was to determine anti-adherence and antimicrobial levels of AgNP against serotypes c and k of S. mutans on conventional orthodontic appliances. Materials and Methods: An AgNP solution was prepared and characterized using dispersion light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Antimicrobial and anti-adherence activities of AgNP were determined using minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and bacterial adherence testing against serotypes c and k of S. mutans clinically isolated and confirmed by PCR assay. Results: The prepared AgNP had spherical shapes with a good size distribution (29.3 ± 0.7 nm) with negative and well-defined electrical charges (−36.5 ± 5.7 mV). AgNP had good bacterial growth (55.7 ± 19.3 µg/mL for serotype c, and 111.4 ± 38.6 µg/mL for serotype k) and adherence inhibitions for all bacterial strains and orthodontic wires (p < 0.05). The serotype k showed statistically the highest microbial adherence (p < 0.05). The SS wires promoted more bacterial adhesion (149.0 ± 253.6 UFC/mL × 104) than CuNiTi (3.3 ± 6.0 UFC/mL × 104) and NiTi (101.1 ± 108.5 UFC/mL × 104) arches. SEM analysis suggests CuNiTi wires demonstrated better topographical conditions for bacterial adherence while AFM evaluation determined cell wall irregularities in bacterial cells exposed to AgNP. Conclusions: This study suggests the widespread use of AgNP as a potential anti-adherent and antimicrobial agent for the prevention of WSL during conventional orthodontic therapies and, collaterally, other systemic diseases.

Critical analysis of the book coordinated by Carmen Peña Ardid on the history of culture during the period of transition to democracy in Spain.

Higher education in Spain has to deal with constant troubles and uncertainties due to the economic crisis, high rates of unemployment in young people, lack for study habits in secondary school and legal fluctuations. This uncertain environment does not foster student effort and it is behind the important rates of abandon in higher education. The Bologna Process was thought to create a new paradigm in higher education in the European Union. However, the changes came from the top (governments) to the bottom (lectures and students) so they were not properly supported by specialized training oriented to lecturers. It did not include the appropriate changes in lower education stages (secondary education) to prepare student when facing University. Therefore, in the past decade several new teaching methodologies have appeared to deal with student demotivation and to fight against dropouts. Those methodologies try to keep the students engaged during the whole course paying more attention to their learning process, attitudes, motivations and expectations. Consequently, in this paper, we present a four-year experiment whose main objective is to keep students engaged during the whole year and to foster their motivation in order to increase their learning outcomes. The experiment is based on the application of gamification to the assessment process emulating a traditional platform video-game, like Super Mario. The results show that this experiment was positive for most students who achieved good marks and good rates of task completion.

Tangerine (Citrus reticulata. CRP) and grapefruit (Citrus paradisi. CPP) pectins obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and conventional extraction (CE) using citric acid were characterized to establish their potential uses as an alternative source of commercial pectin. The pectins obtained by UAE and CE presented a pseudoplastic fluid characteristic with shear thinning behavior, a high esterification degree (CRP 82.30–71.81% and CPP 84.25–72.15%) and were of commercial quality based on galacturonic acid content (CRP 76.03% and CPP 76.03–71.01%). CPP presented greater viscosimetric molecular weight than CRP. Meanwhile, CRP presented greater polyphenol and protein content with respect CPP. The functional properties were influenced by citrus source and extraction method. UAE favored greater yields in a shorter time (CPP: 26.05%, 30 min; CRP: 13.46%, 15 min) compared to CE. UAE combined with the use of citric acid offers an effective alternative for obtaining high-quality pectins with lower polluting effluent, time and energy requirements.

The effect of temperature (60, 70, 80, and 90 °C) and time (30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 min) on citric acid extraction of Haden mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Haden) peel pectin was evaluated in the present study. In order to obtain a better understanding of both the extraction process and the characteristics of the pectin (obtained from an agro-industrial waste) for a future scaling process, the following characterizations were performed: (1) Kinetic, with the maximum extraction times and yields at all evaluated temperatures; (2) thermodynamic, obtaining activation energies, enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs free energies for each stage of the process; (3) physicochemical (chemical analysis, monosaccharide composition, degree of esterification, galacturonic acid content, free acidity, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analyses); and (4) economical, of the pectin with the highest yield. The Haden mango peel pectin was found to be characterized by a high-esterified degree (81.81 ± 0.00%), regular galacturonic acid content (71.57 ± 1.26%), low protein (0.83 ± 0.05%) and high ash (3.53 ± 0.02%) content, low mean viscometric molecular weight (55.91 kDa), and high equivalent weight (3657.55 ± 8.41), which makes it potentially useful for food applications.

Abstract: Background: Actinic prurigo (AP) is an idiopathic photodermatosis. Although its initial manifestations can appear in 6 to 8-year-old children, cases are diagnosed later, between the second and fourth decades of life, when the injuries are exacerbated. Objective: To identify risk factors associated with clinical manifestations of AP such as skin and mucosal lesions. Methods: Thirty patients with AP and 60 controls were included in the study, the dependent variable was the presence of skin or labial mucosal lesions, the independent variables were age, sex, solar exposure, living with pets or farm animals, exposure to wood smoke, smoking habit, years smoking, and hours spent per day and per week in contact with people who smoke. Results: Of the 30 diagnosed AP patients, 66.7% were female. Patients age ranged from 7 to 71 years and the mean age was 35.77 ± 14.55 years. We found significant differences with the age and cohabitation with farm animals. Those who lived with farm animals presented 14.31 times higher probability of developing AP (95% CI 3-78.06). Study limitations: This is a case-control study; therefore, a causal relationship cannot be proven, and these results cannot be generalized to every population. Conclusions: The identification of factors related to the development of AP increases our knowledge of its physiopathology. Moreover, identifying antigens that possibly trigger the allergic reaction will have preventive and therapeutic applications in populations at risk of AP.

Here, Cuiet al. report radiative heat transfer in few Ångström to 5 nm gap sizes, between a gold-coated probe and a heated planar gold substrate subjected to various surface cleaning procedures. They found that insufficiently cleaned probes and substrates led to unexpectedly large radiative thermal conductances.

We studied the coherent electron transport through metal–protein–metal junctions based on a blue copper azurin, in which the copper ion was replaced by three different metal ions (Co, Ni and Zn). Our results show that neither the protein structure nor the transmission at the Fermi level change significantly upon metal replacement. The discrepancy with previous experimental observations suggests that the transport mechanism taking place in these types of junctions is probably not fully coherent.

Abstract: Background: Pemphigus is part of a group of blistering diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. Based on its autoimmune origin, autoantibodies develop in pemphigus that are directed toward cell surface components of keratinocytes. However, some data cannot be explained, such as the lack of a relationship between autoantibody levels and the severity of clinical manifestations, treatment resistance, the presence of inflammatory infiltrates and the potential occurrence of apoptosis as determinants of vesicle formation. Objective: To examine the presence of apoptosis in pemphigus vulgaris by TUNEL technique. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we selected 15 paraffin-embedded tissues from subjects who were diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The samples were subjected to TUNEL assay and examined under an Olympus BX61 fluorescence microscope. Positivity was categorized dichotomously, and the statistical analysis was performed using the X2 test. Results: Positivity was observed in basal layer cells in 14 (93.3%) cases. In 13 (86.7%) of the positive cases, we noted espinosum and granular layers that formed the blister roof, and in 12 cases (80%), positive acantholytic cells were observed. Conclusions: TUNEL positivity was observed in pemphigus vulgaris, implicating apoptosis in the pathophysiology of this condition, which can help guide the development of apoptotic blockers as therapeutics.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Actinic prurigo is an idiopathic photodermatosis, the pathophysiology of which has been hypothesized to involve subtype IV type b (Th2) hypersensitive response, whereby IL4, IL5, and IL13 are secreted and mediate the production of B cells, IgE, and IgG4. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of serum IgE levels and the clinical severity of injuries. METHODS: This case-control study comprised patients with a clinical and histopathological diagnosis of actinic prurigo, as well as clinically healthy subjects, from whom 3cc of peripheral blood was taken for immunoassay. Cases were classified by lesion severity as mild, moderate, and severe. Descriptive statistics were analyzed, and chi-square test was performed. RESULTS: We included 21 actinic prurigo patients and 21 subjects without disease; 11 patients with actinic prurigo had elevated serum IgE levels, and 10 had low serum levels. Six actinic prurigo (AP) patients with elevated serum levels of IgE had moderate injuries, 4 had severe injuries, and 1 had minor injuries. Eight out of 10 patients with normal IgE levels presented with minor injuries in the clinical evaluation. The 21 controls did not have increased serum IgE levels. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated IgE levels are associated with moderate to severe clinical lesions, suggesting that actinic prurigo entails a type IV subtype b hypersensitivity response in which Th2 cells predominate.

Actinic prurigo (AP) is an idiopathic photodermatosis; the initial manifestations usually occur during the first decades of life but can appear at any age. Cases are usually diagnosed late once the lesions have exacerbated; due to the extensive involvement of the vermilion border and the etiology, it has been confused with and related to a potentially malignant process. Syndecan-1 and E-cadherin were positive in the epidermis, with moderate-to-intense staining in 100% of samples. Ki67 and MCM3 were expressed in the lower third of the epidermis and showed greater immunolabeling in samples that contained lymphoid follicles (Ki 67: epidermis [17.7% ± 6.79%] and dermis [7.73% ± 6.69%]; MCM3: epidermis [22.92% ± 10.12%] and dermis [6.13% ± 6.27%]). In conclusión AP is a disease in which there is no evidence that the lesions are potentially cancerous. AP cheilitis should not be confused with actinic cheilitis because they are separate entities.

The objective of this work was the recovery of chitosan by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) from white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) chitin, and the physicochemical and structural characterization of the obtained biopolymer, as well as its antimicrobial effect on Pythium ultimum growth. A 23 factorial design was used to evaluate chitosan extraction conditions. Instrumental analysis techniques for chitosan characterization and radial growth inhibition, as an antifungal activity test, were performed. The ultrasonically extracted chitosan (UC) reached a yield of 86.96% with 100% solubility, a degree of deacetylation (DDA) >78%, molecular weight (MW) of 3.928 × 105 g mol−1, and a crystallinity index (Icr) of 87%, calculated through nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The inhibitory activity of the chitosan was evaluated against the oomycete Pythium ultimum, observing a 93% radial inhibition over 24 h. UAE proved to be an excellent alternative to the conventional deacetylation, reducing reaction time and obtaining a UC with higher MW and (Icr) than the commercial one, which could potentiate its applications.

We describe the synthesis and single-molecule electrical transport properties of a molecular wire containing a π-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) group and its charge-transfer complex with F4TCNQ. We form single-molecule junctions using the in situ break junction technique using a homebuilt scanning tunneling microscope with a range of conductance between 10 G0 down to 10−7 G0. Within this range we do not observe a clear conductance signature of the neutral parent molecule, suggesting either that its conductance is too low or that it does not form a stable junction. Conversely, we do find a clear conductance signature in the experiments carried out on the charge-transfer complex. Due to the fact we expected this species to have a higher conductance than the neutral molecule, we believe this supports the idea that the conductance of the neutral molecule is very low, below our measurement sensitivity. This idea is further supported by theoretical calculations. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first reported single-molecule conductance measurements on a molecular charge-transfer species.

Resumen El efecto del sustrato, tipo de estaca y concentración de ácido indolbutírico (AIB) se evaluó en el enraizado de estacas de Pinus leiophylla con el propósito de multiplicar progenies de familias de medios hermanos con crecimiento sobresaliente. Para ello se utilizaron dos tipos de sustratos (agrolita y una mezcla de turba-agrolita-vermiculita 1:1:1), dos tipos de estacas (apicales y basales) y dos concentraciones de AIB (0 y 10,000 ppm). La probabilidad y porcentaje de enraizado, crecimiento de la estaca y características de las raíces formadas de P. leiophylla se evaluaron. Los resultados indican que usando estacas basales es 3.5 veces más probable que el enraizamiento de P. leiophylla sea exitoso que utilizando estacas apicales. El tratamiento formado por la mezcla de turba-agrolita-vermiculita, estaca basal y 10,000 ppm de AIB produjo 45.3 % de enraizamiento (mayor porcentaje), mientras que con el testigo solo se obtuvo 8.6 % de enraizamiento (agrolita, estaca basal y sin AIB). Las interacciones que incluyeron el tipo de sustrato mostraron diferencias significativas (P ≤ 0.05) en el crecimiento de la estaca. El uso de agrolita y la aplicación de AIB favorecieron un mayor número de raíces, particularmente en las estacas tipo basal de P. leiophylla.

In the growing field of biomolecular electronics, blue-copper Azurin stands out as one of the most widely studied protein in single-molecule contacts. Interestingly, despite the paramount importance of the structure/dynamics of molecular contacts in their transport properties, these factors remain largely unexplored from the theoretical point of view in the context of single Azurin junctions. Here we address this issue using all-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Azurin adsorbed to a Au(111) substrate. In particular, we focus on the structure and dynamics of the free/adsorbed protein and how these properties are altered upon single-point mutations. The results revealed that wild-type Azurin adsorbs on Au(111) along two well defined configurations: one tethered via cysteine groups and the other via the hydrophobic pocket surrounding the Cu 2 + . Surprisingly, our simulations revealed that single amino-acid mutations gave rise to a quenching of protein vibrations ultimately resulting in its overall stiffening. Given the role of amino-acid vibrations and reorientation in the dehydration process at the protein-water-substrate interface, we suggest that this might have an effect on the adsorption process of the mutant, giving rise to new adsorption configurations.

Protein-based electronics is an emerging field which has attracted considerable attention over the past decade. Here, we present a theoretical study of the formation and electronic structure of a metal-protein-metal junction based on the blue-copper azurin from pseudomonas aeruginosa. We focus on the case in which the protein is adsorbed on a gold surface and is contacted, at the opposite side, to an STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) tip by spontaneous attachment. This has been simulated through a combination of molecular dynamics and density functional theory. We find that the attachment to the tip induces structural changes in the protein which, however, do not affect the overall electronic properties of the protein. Indeed, only changes in certain residues are observed, whereas the electronic structure of the Cu-centered complex remains unaltered, as does the total density of states of the whole protein.

Wollamide B is a cationic antimycobacterial cyclohexapeptide that exhibits activity against Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) (IC50 of 3.1 μM). Aiming to define its structural activity relationship (SAR), optimizing potency and pharmacokinetic properties, libraries of analogues were synthesized following a standard Fmoc-based solid phase peptide synthesis approach. The antimycobacterial activities of wollamide B and all the synthesized analogues were tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) H37Rv. Parallely, in vitro drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (ADME) profiling was done for the synthesized compounds to evaluate their drug likeness. Among the 25 synthesized wollamides five of them showed potent activities with MICs ≤ 3.1 μM and found to be nontoxic against human HepG2 cells up to 100 μM. The results of the in vitro ADME profiling revealed the remarkable plasma stability and very good aqueous solubility of the class in general while the metabolic stability was found to be moderate to low. Of particular note, compounds 7c (MIC = 1.1 μM) and 13c (0.6 μM) that exhibited good balance of antimycobacterial activity vs. optimal pharmacokinetic properties could be used as a new lead for further development.

Although many recent studies have focused on the development of new applications for wireless sensor networks, less attention has been paid to knowledge-based sensor nodes. The objective of this work is the development in a real network of a new distributed system in which every sensor node can execute a set of applications, such as fuzzy ruled-base systems, measures, and actions. The sensor software is based on a multi-agent structure that is composed of three components: management, application control, and communication agents; a service interface, which provides applications the abstraction of sensor hardware and other components; and an application layer protocol. The results show the effectiveness of the communication protocol and that the proposed system is suitable for a wide range of applications. As real world applications, this work presents an example of a fuzzy rule-based system and a noise pollution monitoring application that obtains a fuzzy noise indicator.

In this article there talks each other the discussion that exists concerning the utility of the exercises of paper and pencil, being this one of the principal weakness in the contemporary school. That's why it begins formulating a typical exercise of kinematics, in which there for is asked the student a simple reasoning of a concrete situation, later it is analyzed which would be the possible solutions to the enunciated situation, and then the statement transforms in a problem of research adding parameters, variables and modifying the purpose of the questions, this way a problematic situation appears in the what one the student will be capable of choosing the fundamental aspects to solve it, in such a way that this one adopts an attitude adequate before a research process. Finally a perfectible solution appears in accordance with the scheme used by the student to verify it experimentally.

Nature Communications 8: Article number: 14479 (2017); Published: 15 February 2017; Updated: 25 June 2018 The original HTML version of this Article omitted the article number; it should have been ‘14479’. This has now been corrected in the HTML version of the Article. The PDF version was correct from the time of publication.

En este artículo se trata la discusión que hay en torno a la utilidad de los ejercicios de lápiz y papel, siendo estos una de las principales falencias en la escuela contemporánea. Por eso se inicia formulando un ejercicio típico de cinemática, en el cual se pide al estudiante un razonamiento simple de una situación concreta, después se analiza cuáles serían las posibles respuestas a la situación enunciada, y luego se transforma el enunciado en un problema de investigación añadiendo parámetros, variables y modificando la intencionalidad de las preguntas, de esta manera se plantea una situación problemática en la cual el estudiante será capaz de elegir los aspectos fundamentales para resolverla, de tal forma que éste adopte una actitud adecuada ante un proceso investigativo. Por último se plantea una solución perfectible de acuerdo al esquema empleado por el estudiante para verificarla experimentalmente.

Sin resumen