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The incidence of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma has increased for decades in most Western countries - a trend virtually restricted to women aged50 or 60 years. In southern Europe, conversely, the trends have been insufficiently studied. This article reports a study from Italy.Thirty-eight local cancer registries, currently covering 15,274,070 women, equivalent to 49.2% of the Italian national female population, participated. Invasive cancers registered between 1990 and 2015 with an International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd revision, topography code C51 and morphology codes compatible with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6294) were eligible. Incidence trends were analysed using joinpoint regression models, with calculation of the estimated annual percent change (EAPC), and age-period-cohort models.Total incidence showed a regular and significant decreasing trend (EAPC, -0.96; 95% confidence interval (CI), -1.43 to -0.48). This was entirely accounted for by women aged ≥60 years (EAPC, -1.34; 95% CI, -1.86 to -0.81). For younger women, the EAPC between 1990 and 2012 was 1.20 (95% CI, 0.34 to 2.06) with a non-significant acceleration thereafter. This pattern did not vary substantially in a sensitivity analysis for the effect of geographic area and duration of the registry. The age-period-cohort analysis revealed a risk decrease in cohorts born between 1905 and 1940 and a new increase in cohorts born since 1945.The decreasing trend observed among older women and the resulting decrease in total rate are at variance with reports from most Western countries. Age-period-cohort analysis confirmed a decreasing trend for earliest birth cohorts and an opposite one for recent ones.

This paper examines the impacts of emergency cash-transfers on individuals' social distancing behaviour and beliefs about COVID-19. We focus on the impacts of "Auxilio Emergencial" (AE): a large-scale cash-transfer in Brazil, targeting low-income individuals who were unemployed or informally employed during the pandemic. To identify causal effects we exploit exogenous variation, arising from the AE design, in individuals' access to the cash-transfer programme. Using data from an online survey, our results suggest that eligibility to the emergency cash transfer led to a reduced likelihood of individuals contracting COVID-19, likely to have been driven by a reduction in working hours. Moreover, the cash transfer seems to have increased perceptions about the seriousness of coronavirus, while also exacerbating misconceptions about the pandemic. These findings indicate effects of emergency cash-transfers in determining individuals' narratives about a pandemic, in enabling social distancing and potentially in reducing the spread of the disease.

Some cationic and amphiphilic α-helical segments of proteins adsorb to prokaryotic membranes when synthesized as individual polypeptide sequences, resulting in broad and potent antimicrobial activity. However, amphiphilicity, a determinant physicochemical property for peptide-membrane interactions, can also be observed in some β-sheets.The software Kamal was used to scan the human reference proteome for short (7-11 amino acid residues) cationic and amphiphilic protein segments with the characteristic periodicity of β-sheets. Some of the uncovered peptides were chemically synthesized, and antimicrobial assays were conducted. Biophysical techniques were used to probe the molecular interaction of one peptide with phospholipid vesicles, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and the bacterium Escherichia coli.Thousands of compatible segments were found in human proteins, five were synthesized, and three presented antimicrobial activity in the micromolar range. Hs10, a nonapeptide fragment of the Complement C3 protein, could inhibit only the growth of tested Gram-negative microorganisms, presenting also little cytotoxicity to human fibroblasts. Hs10 interacted with LPS while transitioning from an unstructured segment to a β-sheet and increased the hydrodynamic radius of LPS particles. This peptide also promoted morphological alterations in E. coli cells.Data presented herein introduce yet another molecular template to probe proteins in search for encrypted membrane-active segments and demonstrates that, using this approach, short peptides with low cytotoxicity and high selectivity to prokaryotic cells might be obtained.This work widens the biotechnological potential of the human proteome as a source of antimicrobial peptides with application in human health.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important compound for several industrial sectors, but it becomes harmful to human health under high concentrations. Thus, the development of simple, low cost and fast analytical methods capable to detect and monitor H2O2 is fundamentally important. In the present study, we report a simple route for synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the presence of a nanostructured polysaccharide (cellulose nanowhiskers) to produce a hybrid material, which was employed as a colorimetric probe for H2O2 detection. Our results revealed that AgNPs tend to experience catalytic decomposition when exposed to H2O2, causing a decrease of AgNPs absorption band at 410 nm in accordance with H2O2 concentration. This decrease was linearly dependent on H2O2 concentration (in the ranges 0.01–30 μM and 60–600 μM), yielding limits of detection of 0.014 μM and 112 μM, respectively. The easy-to-interpret H2O2 sensor also proved to be suitable for real samples analysis even in the presence of other interfering substances.

CO2 electroreduction (eCO2R) into fuel products is a promising technology to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and store renewable energy. The main metal-based electrocatalysts widely employed in CO2 reduction are characterized by high overpotentials, low stability and unsatisfactory selectivity. As a result, a growing interest in the use of boron-doped diamond (BDD)-based electrocatalysts have been observed due to its excellent properties. This review sheds light on the techniques applied toward the eCO2R on BDD surface and the effects of the operational conditions. Particular emphasis will be given on recent advances made in the quest for enhancing the performance of BDD in eCO2R through its modification with defects insertion or functionalization with metal-based materials. The review will also present a brief overview of the challenges and directions of future research with respect to the development of different electrochemical systems for eCO2R on BDD electrodes.

INTRODUCTION: Placentas of obese women have higher lipid content compared to lean women. We have previously shown that supplementation of overweight and obese women with omega-3 fatty acids decreases placental esterification pathways and total lipid content in a mid-western population (Ohio). We hypothesized that placental lipid accumulation and inflammation would be similar between lean and obese women living in a region of high omega-3 intake, such as Hawaii. METHODS: Fifty-five healthy, normal glucose tolerant women from Honolulu Hawaii, dichotomized based on pre-pregnancy BMI into lean (BMI 30 kg/m(2), n=26), were recruited at scheduled term cesarean delivery. Maternal plasma DHA levels were analyzed by mass spectrometry. Expression of key genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and esterification were measured in placental tissue using qPCR. Total lipids were extracted from placental tissue via the Folch method. TNF-α concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in placental lysates. RESULTS: DHA levels were higher in lean women compared to obese women (P =0.02). However, DHA levels in obese women in Hawaii were eight times higher compared to obese Ohioan women (P=0.05) between lean and obese women in Hawaii. Furthermore, TNF-α placental lysates were not different between lean and obese women. CONCLUSIONS: Though obese women in Hawaii have lower DHA levels compared to their lean counterparts, these levels remain over eight times as high as obese Ohioan women. These relatively high plasma omega-3 levels in obese women in Hawaii may suppress placental lipid esterification/storage and inflammation to the same levels of lean women, as seen previously in vitro.

Ethnopharmacological relevance The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the potential of plants used in secular traditional medicine and considers this an important source of evidence to assess their effectiveness and safety. Brazil is rich in biodiversity and traditional uses based on the Amerindian culture. However, many processes started with the arrival of the Portuguese in the year 1500. The successive economic cycles, for example, led to destruction of native vegetation and an intense cultural erosion. As a consequence, the information about the use of plants in the past centuries are dispersed and without interpretation. In this study a methodology to evidence the traditionality of Brazilian plants was demonstrated using data about barbatimao barks (Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville - Fabaceae) and Copaiba oleoresin (Copaifera spp. - Fabaceae) in wound healing, was established. Material and methods Data about use of the plants were recovered from bibliography published between 1576 and 2011. The books (101) were classified using weights, considering the date of publication and the source of Information. Older books that describe primary information received weight 10, while books written more recently and with secondary information received weight 0.4. A score for each category of medicinal use was calculated based on the books weights and the frequency of citation. A review about the current use of both plants was also performed from ethnobotanical studies published in journals. Results and discussion The traditional secular use of barks of barbatimao and oleoresin of copaiba to treat wounds was confirmed based on the historic bibliographic research. The most frequent use of barbatimao in a timeline of 500 years of Brazil’s history, was as astringent, whereas for copaiba was as healing of skin and mucosal lesions. The continuous and current use of these plants to treat wounds, confirmed by recent ethnobotanical studies, is an indicative of the resilience of these remedies and their effectiveness. Conclusion The use of preparations containing barbatimao barks and copaiba oleoresin can be considered effective in the treatment of wounds. Nonetheless, it is necessary to improve the quality of the formulas as established by WHO.

Reliable analytical techniques to evaluate dairy products, including milk, are of outmost importance to ensure food safety against contaminants. Among possible substances employed as adulterants in milk, urea raises deep concern due to its harmful effects to consumer’s health. In the present study, a biosensing platform was developed to be applied in the electrochemical detection of urea. The sensing platform was fabricated using polymeric electrospun nanofibers of polyamide 6 (PA6) and polypyrrole (PPy) deposited onto fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes, which were then modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO). This material showed excellent properties for the immobilization of urease enzyme, conferring the FTO/PA6/PPy/ZnO/urease electrode high sensitivity for urea detection within the concentration range between 0.1 and 250 mg dL−1 with a limit of detection of 0.011 mg dL−1. The results achieved evidence the potential of electrospun nanofibers-based electrodes for applications in biosensors aiming at dairy products analysis.

Highlights • CHS genes and capsular architecture are linked in C. neoformans. • CHS3 is the most important chitin metabolism gene linked to cryptococcal capsular structures. • Lack of CHS genes affects extracellular vesicle formation and endogenous chitinase activity., Cryptococcus neoformans mutants lacking each of the eight putative chitin synthase genes (CHS) have been previously generated. However, it is still unclear how deletion of chitin synthase genes affects the cryptococcal capsule. Since the connections between chitin metabolism and capsular polysaccharides in C. neoformans are numerous, we analyzed the effects of deletion of CHS genes on capsular and capsule-related structures of C. neoformans. CHS deletion affected capsular morphology in multiple ways, as determined by scanning electron microscopy and immunofluorescence analysis. Molecular diameter, serological reactivity and export of capsular polysaccharide were also affected in most of the chsΔ mutants, but the most prominent alterations were observed in the chs3Δ strain. C. neoformans cells lacking CHS genes also had altered formation of extracellular vesicles and variable chitinase activity under stress conditions. These results reveal previously unknown functions of CHS genes that greatly impact the physiology of C. neoformans.

This work examines electrokinetic remediation (ER) processes for removing Pb2+ in contaminated soils. For this purpose, different cathodic supporting electrolytes (NaNO3 0.1 M, EDTA 0.1 M and citric acid 0.1 M) were used into the catholyte reservoir, while in the anodic compartment, a solution of NaNO3 0.1 M was used. Additionally, the application of direct current (DC) and reverse polarity (RP) for removing of Pb2+ from the soil was also evaluated. Regarding to results obtained in this study indicated that RP and citric acid favored an efficient electromigration of Pb2+, favoring its elimination from the soil. This behavior can be explained because the elimination of Pb2+ depended on the dissolution/precipitation ionic species as well as the pH in the soil, which were maintaining in different sections in the soil, contributing to maintain the pH conditions, by using RP and citric acid, promoting the lead elimination. In order to use a feasible approach for monitoring Pb2+ concentration, adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) technique was used, obtaining acceptable confidence and good sensitivity for the concentration of Pb2+ with LOD about 0.1 mg L−1. Phytotoxicity tests showed that the ER process could be useful as a treatment technique for reducing hazardous soil toxicity polluted with Pb2+. The results confirmed the significant reduction of the germination in the anodic and cathodic regions for ER by applying DC with NaNO3 and EDTA as cathodic solutions. However, high germination (60–80%) was obtained for ER by using NaNO3 and citric acid solutions in cathodic compartments by applying RP or DC, respectively. Finally, the effluent generated by ER technology, in each one of experiments, was treated by electrocoagulation with Al electrodes, obtaining complete removal of Pb2+ from liquid after 60 min.

Whether it be in a single neuron or a more complex biological system like the human brain, form and function are often directly related. The functional organization of human visual cortex, for instance, is tightly coupled with the underlying anatomy with cortical shape having been shown to be a useful predictor of the retinotopic organization in early visual cortex. Although the current state-of-the-art in predicting retinotopic maps is able to account for gross individual differences, such models are unable to account for any idiosyncratic differences in the structure-function relationship from anatomical information alone due to their initial assumption of a template. Here we developed a geometric deep learning model capable of exploiting the actual structure of the cortex to learn the complex relationship between brain function and anatomy in human visual cortex such that more realistic and idiosyncratic maps could be predicted. We show that our neural network was not only able to predict the functional organization throughout the visual cortical hierarchy, but that it was also able to predict nuanced variations across individuals. Although we demonstrate its utility for modeling the relationship between structure and function in human visual cortex, our approach is flexible and well-suited for a range of other applications involving data structured in non-Euclidean spaces.

Sensors and biosensors for monitoring food traceability, quality, safety, and nutritional value are of outmost importance nowadays. Electrospinning, a simple, straightforward and versatile technique to fabricate 1D micro- and nanomaterials, is among the most potential strategies to further advance the development of chemical (bio)sensors. Electrospun nanofibers are capable of improving several attributes of chemical (bio)sensors due to the high specific surface area, high porosity and 1-D confinement characteristics. Furthermore, the possibility to buildup multifunctional nanostructures by functionalizing the nanofiber surface with a wide range of distinct nanomaterials (such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, nanoparticles and conjugated polymers), enhances the (bio)sensing capabilities through additional properties and synergistic effects. In this review, we outline the representative progress in the last decade on the development of multifunctional hybrid electrospun nanofibers of varied morphology and composition, and their applications in chemical (bio)sensor platforms for analysis of food and agricultural products.

The development of novel graphene-based nanocomposites is a hotspot in materials science due to their unique optical, electronic, thermal, mechanical and catalytic properties for varied applications. The present work reports on the development of a graphene-based ternary nanocomposite of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles (PEDOT:PSS-rGO-AuNPs) for the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). The hybrid nanocomposite showed superior electrochemical properties and higher stability compared to each individual component as electrode materials, showing a synergistic effect between PEDOT, rGO and AuNPs. The nanocomposite was obtained via a facile one-step approach and was assembly with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The PEDOT:PSS-rGO-AuNPs-HRP modified electrode has been used for the amperometric detection of H 2 O 2 and exhibited a high sensitivity of up to 677 μA mM −1 cm −2 , with a wide linear range from 5 to 400 μM and a low detection limit of 0.08 μM (S/N = 3). This developed enzymatic biosensor showed to be highly stable and unresponsive to potentially interfering substances, and it could be used for sensing H 2 O 2 in real samples, including tap water and bovine milk samples. These enhanced sensing performance could be ascribed to the intimate contact of AuNPs onto the rough surface of the PEDOT:PSS-rGO nanocomposite, which has a high electrical conductivity and large surface area, providing it as an excellent substrate for the growth and support of nanoparticles. The method developed in this work opens up a general route to prepare a wide range of graphene-based hybrid nanocomposite films with multiple functions including sensing and biosensing.