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Lungs often present tissue calcifications and even ossifications, both in the context of high or normal serum calcium levels. Precise mechanisms governing lung calcifications have not been explored. Herein, we emphasize recent advances about calcification processes in other tissues (especially vascular and bone calcifications) and discuss potential sources of calcium precipitates in the lungs, involvement of mineralization promoters and crystallization inhibitors, as well as specific cytokine milieu and cellular phenotypes characteristic for lung diseases, which may be involved in pulmonary calcifications. Further studies are necessary to demonstrate the exact mechanisms underlying calcifications in the lungs, document homologies in biomineralization processes between various tissues in physiological and pathologic conditions, and unravel any locally specific characteristics of mineralization processes that may be targeted to reduce or prevent functionally relevant lung calcifications without negatively affecting the skeleton.

Rapid diagnosis and whole genome sequencing confirmed a case of monkeypox in an HIV-positive individual receiving antiretroviral therapy. The patient had a normal CD4+ T-cell count and suppressed HIV viral load and presented with a genital rash in Melbourne, Australia after return from Europe in May 2022. He subsequently developed systemic illness and disseminated rash and 11 days after symptom onset, he was hospitalised to manage painful bacterial cellulitis of the genital area.

Acid sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is well-known to play a major pathophysiological role during brain ischemia linked to acute acidosis of ~ pH 6, while its function during physiological brain activity, linked to much milder pH changes, is still poorly understood. Here, by performing live cell imaging utilizing Na(+) and Ca(2+) sensitive and spatially specific fluorescent dyes, we investigated the role of ASIC1a in cytosolic Na(+) and Ca(2+) signals elicited by a mild extracellular drop from pH 7.4 to 7.0 and how these affect mitochondrial Na(+) and Ca(2+) signaling or metabolic activity. We show that in mouse primary cortical neurons, this small extracellular pH change triggers cytosolic Na(+) and Ca(2+) waves that propagate to mitochondria. Inhibiting ASIC1a with Psalmotoxin 1 (PcTX1) or ASIC1a gene knockout blocked not only the cytosolic but also the mitochondrial Na(+) and Ca(2+) signals. Moreover, physiological activation of ASIC1a by this pH shift enhances mitochondrial respiration and evokes mitochondrial Na(+) signaling even in digitonin - permeabilized neurons. Altogether our results indicate that ASIC1a is critical in linking physiological extracellular pH stimuli to mitochondrial ion signaling and metabolic activity and thus is an important metabolic sensor.

Cultured meat (also referred to as cultivated meat or cell-based meat)—CM—is fabricated through the process of cellular agriculture (CA), which entails application of bioengineering, i.e., tissue engineering (TE) principles to the production of food. The main TE principles include usage of cells, grown in a controlled environment provided by bioreactors and cultivation media supplemented with growth factors and other needed nutrients and signaling molecules, and seeded onto the immobilization elements—microcarriers and scaffolds that provide the adhesion surfaces necessary for anchor-dependent cells and offer 3D organization for multiple cell types. Theoretically, many solutions from regenerative medicine and biomedical engineering can be applied in CM-TE, i.e., CA. However, in practice, there are a number of specificities regarding fabrication of a CM product that needs to fulfill not only the majority of functional criteria of muscle and fat TE, but also has to possess the sensory and nutritional qualities of a traditional food component, i.e., the meat it aims to replace. This is the reason that bioengineering aimed at CM production needs to be regarded as a specific scientific discipline of a multidisciplinary nature, integrating principles from biomedical engineering as well as from food manufacturing, design and development, i.e., food engineering. An important requirement is also the need to use as little as possible of animal-derived components in the whole CM bioprocess. In this review, we aim to present the current knowledge on different bioengineering aspects, pertinent to different current scientific disciplines but all relevant for CM engineering, relevant for muscle TE, including different cell sources, bioreactor types, media requirements, bioprocess monitoring and kinetics and their modifications for use in CA, all in view of their potential for efficient CM bioprocess scale-up. We believe such a review will offer a good overview of different bioengineering strategies for CM production and will be useful to a range of interested stakeholders, from students just entering the CA field to experienced researchers looking for the latest innovations in the field.

Cardiac involvement in drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DS) is rare but associated with high mortality. The aim of this research was to systematically review case reports by PRISMA guidelines in order to synthetize the knowledge of cardiac manifestations of DS. We identified 42 cases from 36 case reports. Women were two times more affected than men. Two-thirds of patients had cardiac manifestation in the initial phase of the disease, while in one-third of cases cardiac manifestations developed later (mean time of 70 ± 63 days). The most common inciting medications were minocycline (19%) and allopurinol (12%). In 17% of patients, the heart was the only internal organ affected, while the majority (83%) had at least one additional organ involved, most commonly the liver and the kidneys. Dyspnea (55%), cardiogenic shock (43%), chest pain (38%), and tachycardia (33%) were the most common cardiac signs and symptoms reported. Patients frequently had an abnormal ECG (71.4%), and a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction was the most common echocardiographic finding (45%). Endomyocardial biopsy or histological examination at autopsy was performed in 52.4%, with the predominant finding being fulminant eosinophilic myocarditis with acute necrosis in 70% of those biopsied. All patients received immunosuppressive therapy with intravenous steroids, while non-responders were more likely to have received IVIG, cyclosporine, mycophenolate, and other steroid-sparing agents (60%). Gender and degree of left ventricular systolic dysfunction were not associated with outcomes, but short latency between drug exposure and the first DRESS symptom onset (

Reducing natural resources caused by the growth of the world’s population, meeting the growing demands of consumers, and preventing environmental pollution requires the development of sustainable and efficient procedures that include the valorization of wastes [...]

Introduction: 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives and their complexes with transition metals are the subject of many studies due to their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, and antidiabetic activities.Areas covered: Within this article, the authors review the synthesis and current applications of metal-8-hydroxyquinoline complexes in drug design with a critical overview of the latest advancements in the field.Expert opinion: Metal-8-hydroxyquinoline complexes are especially interesting because of their simple synthesis procedures and possible applications in modern medicine. The complexation between transition metal ions and 8-hydroxyquinoline or its derivatives is achieved via their O and N atoms. The main problem with their application is lipophilicity. This particular property has an impact on their solubility, biological activity, transport through the cell membrane, construction of the complex with a receptor, and development of drugs. Furthermore, in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancers, the passage of the complexes through the blood-brain barrier can only be ensured through novel drug design.

Impaired phosphodiesterase (PDE) function and mitochondrial Ca

IV-VI materials are some of the most efficient bulk thermoelectric materials due to their proximity to soft-mode phase transitions, which leads to low lattice thermal conductivity. It has been shown that the lattice thermal conductivity of PbTe can be considerably reduced by bringing PbTe closer to the phase transition e.g. via lattice expansion. However, the effect of soft phonon modes on the electronic thermoelectric properties of such system remains unknown. Using first principles calculations, we show that the soft zone center transverse optical phonons do not deteriorate the electronic thermoelectric properties of PbTe driven closer to the phase transition via lattice expansion due to external stress, and thus enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit. We find that the optical deformation potentials change very weakly as the proximity to the phase transition increases, but the population and scattering phase space of soft phonon modes increase. Nevertheless, scattering between electronic states near the band edge and soft optical phonons remains relatively weak even very near the phase transition., 8 pages, 7 figures

Impaired phosphodiesterase (PDE) function and mitochondrial Ca2+ - [Ca2+]m signaling leads to cardiac failure, ischemic damage and dysfunctional learning and memory. Yet, a causative link between these pathways is unknown. Here, we fluorescently monitored [Ca2+]m transients in hippocampal neurons evoked by caffeine followed by depolarization. [Ca2+]m efflux was apparent in WT but diminished in neurons deficient in the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger NCLX. Surprisingly, neuronal depolarization-induced Ca2+ transients alone failed to evoke strong [Ca2+]m efflux in WT neurons. Caffeine is also a PDE inhibitor. Pretreatment with the PDE2 inhibitor Bay 60-7550 rescued [Ca2+]m efflux triggered by neuronal depolarization. Inhibition of PDE2 acted by diminishing the Ca2+ dependent reduction of mitochondrial cAMP, thereby promoting NCLX phosphorylation. Selective PDE2 inhibition also enhanced [Ca2+]m efflux triggered by neuromodulators. We found that protection of neurons against excitotoxic insults, conferred by PDE2 inhibition, was diminished in NCLX KO neurons, thus is NCLX dependent. Finally, administration of Bay 60-7550 enhanced new object recognition learning in WT but not in NCLX KO mice. Our results identify a long-sought link between PDE and [Ca2+]m signaling thereby providing new therapeutic targets.

Calcium dynamics control synaptic transmission. Calcium triggers synaptic vesicle fusion, determines release probability, modulates vesicle recycling, participates in long-term plasticity and regulates cellular metabolism. Mitochondria, the main source of cellular energy, serve as calcium signaling hubs. Mitochondrial calcium transients are primarily determined by the balance between calcium influx, mediated by the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), and calcium efflux through the sodium/lithium/calcium exchanger (NCLX). We identified a human recessive missense SLC8B1 variant that impairs NCLX activity and is associated with severe mental retardation. On this basis, we examined the effect of deleting NCLX in mice on mitochondrial and synaptic calcium homeostasis, synaptic activity, and plasticity. Neuronal mitochondria exhibited basal calcium overload, membrane depolarization, and a reduction in the amplitude and rate of calcium influx and efflux. We observed smaller cytoplasmic calcium transients in the presynaptic terminals of NCLX-KO neurons, leading to a lower probability of release and weaker transmission. In agreement, synaptic facilitation in NCLX-KO hippocampal slices was enhanced. Importantly, deletion of NCLX abolished long term potentiation of Schaffer collateral synapses. Our results show that NCLX controls presynaptic calcium transients that are crucial for defining synaptic strength as well as short- and long-term plasticity, key elements of learning and memory processes.

Background/Aim. Autopsy studies rarely investigate the causes of natural death in psychiatric population. The aim of this study was to examine the causes of death among the subjects with various psychiatric disorders in whom a clinical (pathoanatomical) autopsy was requested. Methods. The study group included 118 patients (65% men, 35% women, mean age 58.2 ? 13.6 years) with a psychiatric diagnosis, in whom a clinical autopsy was performed. We compared the distribution of causes of natural death among psychiatric patients and other patients, representatives of the general population who died of natural causes. We also analyzed the difference between clinical diagnoses of cause of death and the autopsy findings in psychiatric patients. Results. Psychiatric patients died earlier than the control group (58 vs. 69 years), usually due to the respiratory (46%) and cardiovascular diseases (37%). The most common diagnoses in psychiatric patients were organic psychoses and dementias (F00-F09) and schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders (F20-F29). Majority of the patients (55%) died in general hospitals vs. specialized psychiatric hospitals (45%) due to somatic diseases. There was a significant difference in the distribution of causes of death compared to the control group in which the cardiovascular diseases dominated. Even in 64% of psychiatric patients there was a discrepancy between the clinical diagnosis of the cause of death and definite autopsy findings. Conclusion. The assessment of somatic diseases in psychiatric patients is insufficient, especially in specialized psychiatric hospitals. That leads to a significant discrepancy between clinical diagnosis of the cause of death and autopsy findings. Therefore, it is necessary to pay additional attention in diagnostics and treatment of somatic diseases in these patients to improve their health care.

In this review, we summarize current approaches to diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, focusing on the distinction from benign mesothelial proliferations and other malignant tumors. Current recommendations for reporting histological sub-type and tumor grade are also reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on immunohistochemical and molecular tools that may help in establishing the diagnosis of mesothelioma with greater confidence. Immunohistochemical stains for BRCA1-associated protein (BAP1) and methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) and homozygous deletion of p16 using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are emphasized as important methods for distinguishing benign from malignant mesothelial prolifera- tions.Conclusions. Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma is a heterogeneous group of aggressive pleural tumors for which histological classification plays an increasingly important role in patient management. Stage and resectability remain key drivers of therapeutic strategies and outcomes. There is an increasingly robust suite of diagnostic tools, including immunohistochemical stains for BAP1 and MTAP and p16 FISH, for differentiating benign from malignant mesothelial proliferations in cytology and tissue specimens.

Consumption of coffee and caffeine enhances learning efficiency and reduces the risk of stroke and neurodegenerative syndromes by a molecular pathway that is poorly understood. Here we fluorescently monitored mitochondrial Ca2+ transients in hippocampal neurons evoked by caffeine. Surprisingly, caffeine also had a long-lasting potentiation effect on mitochondrial Ca2+ ([Ca2+]m) efflux evoked by depolarization, in WT but not in neurons deficient in the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger NCLX. We reasoned that the caffeine effect is linked to phosphodiesterase inhibition, and focused on PDE2 that has the highest affinity to caffeine and is targeted to the mitochondria. Pretreatment of neurons with the selective PDE2 inhibitor Bay 60-7550 mimicked caffeine and rescued [Ca2+]m efflux triggered by neuronal depolarization. PDE2 inhibition also enhanced [Ca2+]m efflux triggered by neuromodulators. Inhibition of PDE2 acted by increasing mitochondrial cAMP thereby promoting NCLX phosphorylation. We found that protection of neurons against excitotoxic insults, conferred by PDE2 inhibition was diminished in NCLX KO neurons, thus is NCLX dependent. Finally, administration of Bay 60-7550 enhanced new object recognition learning in WT but not in NCLX KO mice. Our results identify a pathway linking caffeine and PDE to [Ca2+]m signaling, thereby providing new therapeutic targets for treating cognitive impairment and excitotoxicity.

Patient: Male, 28-year-old Final Diagnosis: Kaposi sarcoma inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS) Symptoms: Abdominal pain • anemia • dyspnea • fever • shock • thrombocytopenia Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Skin biopsy Specialty: Infectious Diseases Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Kaposi Sarcoma Inflammatory Cytokine Syndrome (KICS) is a relatively new syndrome described in patients co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) Herpes Virus (KSHV). KICS clinically resembles Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) and both present with various degrees of lymphadenopathy, pancytopenia, HIV and KSHV viremia, and signs of systemic inflammatory syndrome (SIRS). KICS has higher mortality than MCD and is rarely recognized. Lymph node, bone marrow, or splenic biopsy can help differentiate between the 2 entities. Case Report: We present a case of a 28-year-old African American man with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who was diagnosed with disseminated pulmonary and cutaneous KS. Following initiation of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), rapid immunologic recovery occurred followed by rapid clinical deterioration (IRIS) with multiorgan failure, overwhelming SIRS, and ultimately death. The patient’s symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings during this episode could not be solely explained by KS-IRIS, and MCD versus KICS was diagnosed. Conclusions: SIRS in patients with uncontrolled HIV viremia and CD4 lymphopenia has a broad differential diagnosis, including infectious and noninfectious causes. It encompasses sepsis due to common bacterial pathogens, various HIV-specific opportunistic infections, immunological conditions such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), and IRIS, malignancies such as primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and MCD, and finally KCIS. Clinicians involved in treatment of these patients should have a high index of suspicion for less-known and recently described syndromes such as KICS to recognize it early and initiate timely treatment, which might improve the high mortality associated with KICS.

Lactate is a major metabolite largely produced by astrocytes that nourishes neurons. ASIC1a, a Na

Background Connexins are transmembrane proteins forming gap junctions between the cells, which allow intercellular communication. Significance of gap junctions and connexins in lung carcinoma is not yet understood. The objective of the study was to investigate immunohistochemical expression and the localization of connexin-43 (Cx43) in primary lung carcinoma and its lymphatic metastases. Methods Surgical specimens of excised tumors from 88 patients (45 men and 43 women, 61.9 ± 7.4 years) with lung carcinoma (52 adenocarcinoma (AC), 36 squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC)) who were operated on at the University Hospital “Bezanijska Kosa” in a five-year period (2012–2016) were used. We conducted immunohistochemical staining for Cx43 and measured the degree of expression (percentage of positive cells and staining intensity) as well as localization of Cx43 in primary tumor and in lymphatic metastases. Results Immunohistochemical analysis of the primary tumors revealed that SqCC showed significantly higher percentage of tumor cells expressing Cx43 as well as higher staining intensity than AC (p Conclusion The results of this study showed that lung carcinomas express Cx43 in more than 65% of cases and that it was aberrantly localized (not membranous localization). We highlighted that SqCC expressed Cx43 more than did AC, both in primary tumor and lymphatic metastases. Further research is needed to establish whether Cx43 could be used as a prognostic biomarker in lung carcinoma.

The aim of the paper was to develop the simple procedures for preparation of inclusion complexes of ellagic acid (EA) with cyclodextrins (CDs) and to investigate their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.The structural characterization was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. The phase solubility technique was used to investigate the interactions between 'host' and 'guest' molecules and to estimate the molar ratio between them. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of EA and inclusion complexes were determined.The apparent stability constants were found to be 117 dmThe stability constants indicated the rapid release of EA from the inclusion complexes in the aqueous medium at 25 °C. The antioxidant activity of EA was increased, while the antimicrobial activity was preserved after complexation with CDs.

The aim of study was to model and optimize the extraction of polyphenols and flavonoids with expressed antioxidant activity from chickpea seeds using a central composite design. The optimal extraction conditions were the extraction time of 145.5 min, ethanol concentration of 83.7% and liquid-to-solid ratio of 24.9 (expressed as cm(3) per g). The content of total polyphenol and flavonoid was 2.75 g gallic acid equivalent per kilogram of the dried extract and 0.147 g rutin equivalent per kilogram of the dried extract, respectively. Using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, it was found that the optimal extract had the IC50 of 1.55 mg cm(-3).

Storage of a great amount of plum kernel waste becomes a challenge for food industry. In this work, the plum seed was used as a source of fixed oil that can be an ingredient of commercial products. Soxhlet extraction was carried out using the different solvents, such as n-hexane, n-heptane, ethyl acetate, acetone, or chloroform:methanol mixture (2:1 v/v). The highest yield of oil (about 30%) was obtained using n-heptane and n-hexane, while the lowest yield was obtained using ethyl acetate. The analysis of physico-chemical parameters indicated that all samples of plum seed oil have an exceptional quality. Schaal oven test indicated that the fixed oil of plum seed exhibited satisfactory oxidative stability at moderate storage temperatures (up to 65 °C). The composition of phenolic compounds in the oil samples was determined using HPLC method. The most abundant compound of seven identified and quantified phenolic compounds was vanillic acid. The highest content of β-carotene (1.67 mg 100 g−1 fixed oil) spectrophotometrically determined was in the oil extracted with n-hexane. The lowest content of β-carotene (1.26 mg 100 g−1 fixed oil) was determined in the oil extracted with a mixture of chloroform:methanol (2:1 v/v). This oil had the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 value of 4.35 mg mL−1) compared to other oil samples. The antioxidant activity was probably caused by the presence of phenolic compounds. The investigated physico-chemical properties demonstrated that the plum seed oil has a potential for application in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industry.

We present a first-principles method for the calculation of the temperature-dependent relaxation of symmetry-breaking atomic driving forces in photoexcited systems. We calculate the phonon-assisted decay of the photoexcited force on the low-symmetry $E_g$ mode following absorption of an ultrafast pulse in the prototypical group-V semimetals, Bi, Sb and As. The force decay lifetimes for Bi and Sb are of the order of $10$ fs and in good agreement with recent experiments, demonstrating that electron-phonon scattering is the dominant mechanism relaxing the symmetry-breaking forces. Calculations for a range of absorbed photon energies suggest that larger amplitude, symmetry-breaking atomic motion may be induced by choosing a pump photon energy which maximises the product of the initial $E_g$ force and its lifetime. We also find that the high-symmetry $A_{1g}$ force undergoes a partial decay to a non-zero constant on similar timescales, which has not yet been measured in experiments. We observe that the imaginary part of the electron self-energy, averaged over the photoexcited carrier distribution, provides a reasonable estimate for the decay rate of symmetry-breaking forces., 7 pages, 9 figures

Unlike in many other semiconductors, the band gap of PbTe increases considerably with temperature. We compute the thermoelectric transport properties of n-type PbTe from first principles including the temperature variation of the electronic band structure. The calculated temperature dependence of the thermoelectric quantities of PbTe is in good agreement with previous experiments when the temperature changes of the band structure are accounted for. We also calculate the optimum band gap values which would maximize the thermoelectric figure of merit of n-type PbTe at various temperatures. We show that the actual gap values in PbTe closely follow the optimum ones between 300 K and 900 K, resulting in the high figure of merit. Our results indicate that an appreciable increase of the band gap with temperature in direct narrow-gap semiconductors is very beneficial for achieving high thermoelectric performance., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures

Rutin is a flavonoid and has found a wide application in the treatment of various chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. The pharmaceutical application of rutin is limited due to its poor water solubility. One of the ways to enhance the solubility and stability is the formation of the inclusion complexes. The purpose of this study was to improve the solubility, antioxidative activity and photostability of rutin by preparation of the inclusion complexes with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). The inclusion complexes were structurally characterized using FT-IR, XRD, 1H NMR methods. The obtained results indicated that the complexation between rutin and cyclodextrins were successfully achieved in the mixture of ethanol and water 2:3 (v/v) at room temperature for 24 h. The study of phase-solubility was showed that the solubility of rutin was linearly increased in the solution of increasing amount of cyclodextrins, i.e. that the molar ratio was 1:1 in the complexes. The calculated values of stability constants were found to be 508.4 and 488.9 M−1 for rutin:β-CD and rutin:HP-β-CD complexes, respectively. After preparation of inclusion complexes, the antioxidant activity of rutin was improved due to the increase of its scavenge capacity. The photostability study indicates that the complexed rutin was a more stable and protected from the effect of irradiation in compared with free rutin. The improvement in the physicochemical properties provide the opportunities to the inclusion complexes of rutin to use for design of the new pharmaceutical products with modified characteristics of active substance.

Carvedilol is one of the most effective antihypertensive drugs used in the treatment of congestive heart failure. A major disadvantage of this pharmaceutical active substance is its limited solubility in water, gastric and intestinal fluids. One way to overcome this problem is the preparation of inclusion complexes. The aim of this study was to prepare the inclusion complexes of carvedilol with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and to investigate their physical properties. The formation of inclusion complexes with β-CD and HP-β-CD was confirmed using FTIR, 1H-NMR and XRD methods. Phase solubility studies indicate the formation of inclusion complexes in 1:2 molar ratio and the increase of carvedilol solubility. The stability constant (β 2) was found to be 3.4 × 104 and 5.1 × 104 M−2 for inclusion complexes of carvedilol:β-CD and carvedilol:HP-β-CD, respectively. Photostability of carvedilol was increased after preparation of inclusion complexes with β-CD and HP-β-CD. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the prepared complexes of carvedilol improve the solubility and stability of carvedilol and give it an advantage to be applied for the design of new pharmaceutical formulations.

The aim of this paper was to optimize an extraction procedure of quercetin from green tea using central composite design. Extraction time, ethanol concentration, and solid to liquid ratio were selected as the independent variables, while quercetin yield was defined as a response. The impact of factors and their interactions on the quercetin yield was studied based on the results of ANOVA test. The extraction time of 58.5 min, ethanol concentration of 94.7 % (v/v), and solid to liquid ratio of 1:19.4 (m/v) were found as the optimal conditions. The experimental confirmation of the proposed optimal conditions indicated that there was a good agreement between the experimental and predicted values. In addition to quercetin, the presence of 17 bioactive compounds was confirmed in the green tea extract using mass spectrometry method. Antioxidant, antimicrobial and antitumor activity of the optimal extract was determined using DPPH assay, disk diffusion method, and MTT assay, respectively.

The aim of this paper was to estimate the biological activity of the plum seed extract and to define the chemical composition by using the ESI-MS method. During the investigation of the antioxidant activity, the extract showed a better ability to inhibit DPPH radicals compared with amygdalin standard. The results of the antimicrobial study indicate that the extract has a greater effect on Gram-negative bacteria compared with amygdalin. Gram-positive bacteria and fungi remained resistant in both cases. Unlike amygdalin, the extract showed a greater antimicrobial activity against the same microbiological strains. Amygdalin was isolated from the extract before the investigation of antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-361, MDA-MB-453, HeLa and LS174 cell lines using MTT assay. Unlike the MDA-MB-453 cell line, the activity of standard and isolated amygdalin was not observed at the concentrations lower than 400 μg cm-3 on MDA-MB-361 cell line. The isolated amygdalin has not shown the activity in other cell lines. The antiproliferative activity of amygdalin standard was also noticed on HeLa and LS-174 cell lines at the concentrations of 333.27 and 333.17 μg cm-3, respectively. Cilj ovog rada bila je procena biološke aktivnosti ekstrakta semena šljive i definisanje hemijskog sastava primenom ESI-MS metode. Tokom ispitivanja antioksidativne aktivnosti, ekstrakt je pokazao bolju sposobnost inhibiranja DPPH radikala u poređenju sa standardom amigdalina. Rezultati antimikrobne studije pokazali su da ekstrakt ima veći uticaj na rast Gram-negativnih bakterija u odnosnu na amigdalin. Gram-pozitivne bakterije i gljivice ostale su rezistentne u oba slučaja. Za razliku od amigdalina, ekstrakt je pokazao veću antimikrobnu aktivnost na iste sojeve mikroorganizama. Amigdalin je izolovan iz ekstrakta pre ispitivanja antiproliferativne aktivnosti na MDA-MB-361, MDA-MB-453, HeLa i LS174 ćelijskim linijama upotrebom MTT testa. Za razliku od MDA-MB-453 ćelijskih linija, aktivnost standarda i izolovanog amigdalina nije uočena na MDA-MB-361 ćelijskim linijama pri koncentracijama nižim od 400 μg cm-3. Izolovani amigdalin nije pokazao aktivnost na ostalim ćelijskim linijama. Antiproliferativna aktivnost standarda amigdalina uočena je i na HeLa i LS-174 ćelijskim linijama pri koncentracijama 333.27 i 333.17 μg cm-3, respektivno.

PbTe is an important thermoelectric material for power generation applications due to its high conversion efficiency and reliability [1]. PbTe shows a shift of the electronic bandgap with temperature that is opposite to the majority of direct gap semiconductors, i.e. the gap increases with temperature [2]. In this work, we study the temperature dependence of the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of PbTe. We perform density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory calculations [3] in the local density approximation to calculate electronic and phonon bands. We use Wannier interpolation scheme to calculate electron-phonon matrix elements [4]. Using this information, we build accurate models of electronic and phonon bands, and deformation potentials from first principles. By solving the Boltzmann equation in the momentum relaxation time approximation, we calculate the mobility and thermoelectric transport properties of PbTe. Our results are in good agreement with experiments. We find that the temperature dependence of the gap has a substantial effect on thermoelectric transport in PbTe.

GeTe is a well-known ferroelectric and thermoelectric material that undergoes a structural phase transition from a rhombohedral to the rocksalt structure at $\ensuremath{\sim}600--700$ K. We present a first-principles approach to calculate the thermal expansion of GeTe in the rhombohedral phase up to the Curie temperature. We find the minimum of the Helmholtz free energy with respect to the structural parameters, including the internal atomic displacement, in a manner similar to the traditional Gr\"uneisen theory, explicitly accounting for the variation of the static elastic energy with respect to all structural parameters. We obtain the temperature dependence of the structural parameters of rhombohedral GeTe in very good agreement with experiments. In particular, we correctly reproduce a negative volumetric thermal expansion of GeTe near the phase transition. We show that the negative thermal expansion is induced by the coupling between acoustic and soft transverse optical phonons, which is also responsible for the low lattice thermal conductivity of GeTe.

Objectives An inclusion complex of biochanin A (BCA) with (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was prepared in the ethanol solution to improve its water solubility. Methods Using the FTIR, 1H-NMR, XRD, DSC and SEM methods, the structural characterization of the prepared complex was analysed. Key findings The phase-solubility study has shown that the solubility of BCA was increased twofold in 42% (v/v) ethanol solution after complexation with HP-β-CD. The complex between BCA and HP-β-CD was prepared in the molar ratio of 1 : 1. The antibacterial activity of the inclusion complex was investigated against the various bacteria, fungus and yeast using the microdilution method. The minimal inhibitory concentration values for the analysed strain of bacteria were in the range of 0.84–1.69 mg/cm3, whereby the prepared inclusion complex exhibited less effect on the reduction of the number of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae species compared to pure BCA. The inclusion complex of BCA was significantly more active against Candida albicans than pure BCA. Biochanin A and its inclusion complex has not expressed the activity against Aspergillus niger. Conclusions Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the antimicrobial activity of BCA was remained unchanged after complexation.

Stimulus-sensitive hydrogels are used as carriers for modified release of pharmaceuticals. The synthesis of thermosensitive hydrogels poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), p(NIPAM), and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate), p(NIPAM-HPMet), is performed. The synthesized hydrogels are characterized using FTIR and scanning electron microscope methods and swelling properties, and applied for modified release of ellagic acid (EA). This work presents the selective extraction of EA, as a natural antioxidant, from the aerial parts of Alchemilla vulgaris L. EA and A. vulgaris extract are incorporated into p(NIPAM) and p(NIPAM-HPMet) hydrogels and characterized by FTIR method. The EA content in the extract by the UHPLC-DAD-HESI-MS/MS method is determined (0.64mgcm(-3)). The total flavonoids content in the A. vulgaris extract was determined by the spectrophotometric method. Antioxidant activity of the A. vulgaris extract and EA is examined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. The p(NIPAM-HPMet) shows a better incorporation and release at 37 degrees C of EA standard and A. vulgaris extract (98.87 and 96.45% respectively), compared with p(NIPAM). [GRAPHICS] This is peer-reviewed version of the following article: Ilić-Stojanović, S.; Nikolić, V.; Kundaković, T.; Savić, I.; Savić-Gajić, I.; Jocić, E.; Nikolić, L. Thermosensitive Hydrogels for Modified Release of Ellagic Acid Obtained from Alchemilla Vulgaris L. Extract. Int. J. Polym. Mater. Polym. Biomater. 2018, 67 (9), 553–563. [https://doi.org/10.1080/00914037.2017.1354202]

Quercetin is a typical plant flavonoid with a wide variety of pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-cancer and anti-age activity. It can be used for treatment of cardiovascular disorders. However, the application of quercetin in pharmacy is limited because of its poor aqueous solubility, low bioavailability, low permeability and instability. In order to overcome the mentioned limitations, an inclusion complex of quercetin with (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin in a molar ratio of 1:1 have been prepared at room temperature by co-precipitation from ethanol solution. The inclusion complex was prepared at room temperature for 24 h by the co-precipitation method from ethanol solution. The obtained complex were evaporated and dried before the structural characterization. Based on the obtained results of FT-IR, DSC, 1H-NMR and XRD analysis, it can be concluded that the inclusion complex was formed by establishing the interaction between quercetin and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin. The phase solubility study indicates that the complexation of quercetin leads to increase the solubility of quercetin in water about 129-fold in the aqueous solution of HP-β-CD (10 mmol dm−3). Also, the photostability of quercetin was improved after its complexation with this cyclodextrin.

Department of Education and Learning, Northern Ireland (Investigators Programme No. 15/1A/3160.)

Early fault detection and diagnosis plays an increasingly important role in various energy systems where it is critical to avoid deteriorating condition, degraded efficiency and unexpected failures. Rolling-element bearings are among the most common components of rotating machinery used for transformation of energy. Mechanical wear and defective bearings cause rotating machinery to decrease its efficiency, and thus increase energy consumption. A new technique for early fault detection and diagnosis in rolling-element bearings based on vibration signal analysis is presented. After normalization and the wavelet transform of vibration signals, the standard deviation as a measure of average energy and the logarithmic energy entropy as a measure of the degree of disorder are extracted in sub-bands of interest as representative features. Then the feature space dimension is optimally reduced to two using scatter matrices. In the reduced two-dimensional feature space the fault detection and diagnosis is performed by quadratic classifiers. Accuracy of the new technique was tested on four classes of the recorded vibrations signals, i.e. normal, with the fault of inner race, outer race and balls operation. An overall accuracy of 100% was achieved. The new technique will be further tested and implemented in a real production environment.

The major obstacle in the design of materials with low lattice thermal conductivity is the difficulty in efficiently scattering phonons across the entire frequency spectrum. Using first principles calculations, we show that driving PbTe materials to the brink of the ferroelectric phase transition could be a powerful strategy to solve this problem. We illustrate this concept by applying tensile [001] strain to PbTe and its alloys with another rock-salt IV-VI material, PbSe; and by alloying PbTe with a rhombohedral IV-VI material, GeTe. This induces extremely soft optical modes at the zone center, which increase anharmonic acoustic-optical coupling and decrease phonon lifetimes at all frequencies. We predict that PbTe, Pb(Se,Te) and (Pb,Ge)Te alloys driven close to the phase transition in the described manner will have considerably lower lattice thermal conductivity than that of PbTe (by a factor of 2-3). The proposed concept may open new opportunities for the development of more efficient thermoelectric materials., 9 pages, 3 figures

The objective of this research was to use state-of-the-art artificial neural network approach to estimate the extent and effect of fluctuations in the chemical composition of stainless steel at tapping of an electric arc furnace, and thus scrap and alloy weights in the charge material mix, on the specific electrical energy consumption. Such an estimation would help to further evaluate process control strategies and optimize overall operation of the electric arc furnace. The multilayer perceptron architecture 5-5-1 with hyperbolic tangent function in the hidden layer and linear function in the output layer was used as an optimal neural network model. The model was built, tested and validated based on experimental melts of the electric arc furnace at a melt shop in Italy. The proposed model was presented as an adequate one based on the coefficient of determination (R-2) which was above 0.9 as well as other error parameters calculated. The highest effect on the electrical energy consumption has carbon content. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 7th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection (SEEP), Nov 23-25, 2014, Dubai, U Arab Emirates

Mechanical wear and defective bearings can cause machinery to reduce its reliability, safety and efficiency. Therefore it is very important to take care of bearings during maintenance and detect their faults in an early stage in order to assure safe and efficient operation. We present a new technique for an early fault detection and diagnosis in rolling-element bearings based on vibration signal analysis. After normalization and the wavelet transform of vibration signals, the logarithmic energy entropy as a measure of the degree of order/disorder is extracted in a few sub-bands of interest. Then the feature space dimension is optimally reduced to two using scatter matrices. In the reduced two-dimensional feature space the fault detection is performed by a quadratic classifier and the fault diagnosis by another two quadratic classifiers. Accuracy of the new technique was tested on the ball bearing data recorded at the Case Western Reserve University Bearing Data Center. In total four classes of the vibrations signals were studied, i.e. normal, with the fault of inner race, outer race and balls operation. An overall accuracy of 100% was achieved. The new technique can be used to increase productivity and energy efficiency by preventing unexpected faulty operation of machinery bearings.

The production processes in the packaging materials industry has to be very efficient and cost-effective. These processes usually take place under extreme conditions and high speeds that requires a high level of reliability and efficiency. Rollers including their supporting bearings and motors are the most common components of production machines in the packaging materials industry. Bearing faults, which often occur gradually, represent one of the foremost causes of failures in the industry. Therefore it is very important to take care of bearings during maintenance and detect their faults in an early stage in order to assure safe and efficient operation. We present a new automated technique for early fault detection and diagnosis in rolling-element bearings based on vibration signal analysis. After normalization and the wavelet transform of vibration signals, the standard deviation as a measure of average energy level and the logarithmic energy entropy as a measure of the degree of order/disorder are extracted in a few sub-bands of interest as representative features. Then the feature space dimension is optimally reduced to two using scatter matrices. In the reduced two-dimensional feature space the fault detection is performed by a quadratic classifier and the fault diagnosis by another two quadratic classifiers. Accuracy of the new technique was tested on the ball bearing data recorded at the Case Western Reserve University Bearing Data Center. In total four classes of the vibrations signals were studied, i.e. normal, with the fault of inner race, outer race and balls operation. An overall accuracy of 100% was achieved. The new technique can be used to increase reliability and efficiency by preventing unexpected faulty operation of machinery bearings.

The process of amygdalin extraction from plum seeds was optimized using central composite design (CCD) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). The effect of time, ethanol concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, and temperature on the amygdalin content in the extracts was estimated using both mathematical models. The MLP 4-3-1 with exponential function in hidden layer and linear function in output layer was used for describing the extraction process. MLP model was more superior compared with CCD model due to better prediction ability. According to MLP model, the suggested optimal conditions are: time of 120 min, 100% (v/v) ethanol, solid-to liquid ratio of 1:25 (m/v) and temperature of 34.4 degrees C. The predicted value of amygdalin content in the dried extract (25.42 g per 100 g) at these conditions was experimentally confirmed (25.30 g per 100 g of dried extract). Amygdalin (>90%) was isolated from the complex extraction mixture and structurally characterized by FT-IR, UV, and MS methods. &nbsp

We present a new technique for detection of epileptiform activity in EEG signals. After preprocessing of EEG signals we extract representative features in time, frequency and time-frequency domain as well as using non-linear analysis. The features are extracted in a few frequency sub-bands of clinical interest since these sub-bands showed much better discriminatory characteristics compared with the whole frequency band. Then we optimally reduce the dimension of feature space to two using scatter matrices. A decision about the presence of epileptiform activity in EEG signals is made by quadratic classifiers designed in the reduced two-dimensional feature space. The accuracy of the technique was tested on three sets of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals recorded at the University Hospital Bonn: surface EEG signals from healthy volunteers, intracranial EEG signals from the epilepsy patients during the seizure free interval from within the seizure focus and intracranial EEG signals of epileptic seizures also from within the seizure focus. An overall detection accuracy of 98.7% was achieved.

We investigate theoretically the possibility of lasing in the terahertz in a suitably designed quantum cascade structure comprising dilute magnetic semiconductors. quantum cascade laser. Tunability is based on the spin-dependent potential induced by a magnetic field. The Boltzmann equation approach was used in order to predict the dependence of the gain and current on magnetic and electric fields. The electron dynamics were modeled by taking electron-longitudinal optical phonon, electron-longitudinal acoustic phonon and electron-electron scattering into account. Tunability of the emission energy between 10 meV and 26 meV, and 38 meV and 42 meV, for transitions of spin-down and spin-up electrons respectively, may be achieved by varying a magnetic field up to 5 T, at a temperature of 1.5 K. Comparison of the calculated optical gain, and losses in the appropriate waveguide, indicates the prospect of achieving laser operation. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

A theoretical model describing the electron transport in InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors, modelled as ideal quantum dot superlattices, is presented. The carrier wave functions and energy levels were evaluated using the strain dependent 8-band k · p Hamiltonian and used to calculate all intra- and inter-period transition rates due to interaction with phonons and electromagnetic radiation. The interaction with longitudinal acoustic phonons and electromagnetic radiation was treated perturbatively within the framework of Fermi's golden rule, while the interaction with longitudinal optical phonons was considered taking into account their strong coupling to electrons. The populations of energy levels were then found from a system of rate equations, and the electron current in the superlattice was subsequently extracted. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The design of ZnCdSe-ZnMnSe-based quantum wells is considered, in order to obtain a large shift of the peak absorption wavelength in the far infrared range, due to a giant Zeeman splitting with magnetic field, while maintaining a reasonably large value of peak absorption. A triple quantum-well structure with a suitable choice of parameters has been found to satisfy such requirements. A maximal tuning range between 14.6 and 34.7 meV is obtained, when the magnetic field varies from zero to 5 T, so the wavelength of the absorbed radiation decreases from 85.2 to 35.7 /spl mu/m with absorption up to 1.25% at low temperatures. These structures might form the basis for magnetic field tunable photodetectors and quantum cascade lasers in the terahertz range.

Exploiting the fascinating properties of materials near soft mode phase transitions is an emerging concept in the quest to increase thermoelectric efficiency [1,2]. The underlying idea is that soft phonons lead to intrinsically low thermal conductivity, while possibly preserving electronic transport properties. Using first principles simulations, we show that driving PbTe near the transition from the rocksalt to a rhombohedral structure will significantly reduce its lattice thermal conductivity. We illustrate this concept by applying biaxial tensile (001) strain to both PbTe and its alloy with rocksalt PbSe, and also by alloying PbTe with rhombohedral GeTe [3]. Moreover, we investigate in detail how tuning the proximity to the soft optical mode phase transition via chemical composition affects the lattice thermal conductivity of (Pb,Ge)Te alloys [4]. We show that the anharmonic contribution to the lattice thermal conductivity is minimized at the phase transition due to the maximized acoustic-optical interaction. Furthermore, mass disorder shifts the conductivity minimum towards the composition at which the scattering due to mass disorder is maximized. The total lattice thermal conductivity and its anharmonic contribution vary continuously between the rocksalt and rhombohedral phases as expected for the second-order phase transition. Our results show that alloys with soft optical mode transitions are promising materials for achieving low thermal conductivity and possibly high thermoelectric efficiency. [1] D. T. Morelli, V. Jovovic, and J. P. Heremans, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 035901 (2008). [2] L.-D. Zhao et al, Nature 508, 373 (2014). [3] R. M. Murphy, E. D. Murray, S. Fahy, and I. Savic, Phys. Rev. B 93, 104304 (2016). [4] R. M. Murphy, E. D. Murray, S. Fahy, and I. Savic, Phys. Rev. B 95, 144302 (2017).

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is among leading causes of death worldwide. Different histological types of the lung carcinoma show significant differences in behavior. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the distribution patterns of metastases of different lung cancer histological types in autopsied individuals. METHODS: Protocols from all autopsies performed at the Institute of Pathology from 2008 till 2014 were reviewed retrospectively, and information on individuals' age, sex, histological type of primary lung cancer, presence and location of metastases, and causes of death were recorded. RESULTS: More than 90% of the individuals with lung cancer metastases were older than 50 years (mean age: 64.5 ± 10.3), with two-fold male predominance. The most frequent histological type in both sexes was adenocarcinoma (48%). Although, in general, hematogenous metastases were mostly found in the liver and adrenal glands, various histological types of lung cancer show specific dissemination patterns. Metastases in adrenal glands derived mostly from adenocarcinoma and large-cell carcinoma. Metastases in the intestines most frequently originated from large-cell carcinoma (P = 0.01). Metastatic complications and bronchopneumonia were the most frequent causes of death. CONCLUSIONS: While, overall, the most frequent hematogenous metastases occur in the liver and adrenal glands, various histological types of lung cancer show specific dissemination patterns. Knowing distribution of metastases is essential for making algorithms of treatment, as well as for improving clinical assessment of the patients with unclear clinical findings and suspicion on occult primary lung cancer.

It has been argued that the experimentally observed limitation of heat transport through boron nitride nanotubes is due to intershell scattering rather than to inefficient heat transfer to inner shells. Using an atomistic Green's function calculation, we present evidence that on the contrary, intershell or any other type of scattering along the nanotubes is not the main limiting mechanism, and heat conduction restricted to a few layers is responsible for the low thermal conductivities experimentally measured. Our results also indicate that anharmonic scattering in boron nitride is relatively weak, which might lead to considerably larger thermal conductivity for well-contacted nanotubes than previously reported.

Isotopic composition can dramatically affect thermal transport in nanoscale heat conduits such as nanotubes and nanowires. A 50% increase in thermal conductivity for isotopically pure boron ((11)B) nitride nanotubes was recently measured, but the reason for this enhancement remains unclear. To address this issue, we examine thermal transport through boron nitride nanotubes using an atomistic Green's function transport formalism coupled with phonon properties calculated from density functional theory. We develop an independent scatterer model for (10)B defects to account for phonon isotope scattering found in natural boron nitride nanotubes. Phonon scattering from (10)B dramatically reduces phonon transport at higher frequencies and our model accounts for the experimentally observed enhancement in thermal conductivity.