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Objective: To identify the changes in the concentration of the main components of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oil in response to five different LED colors. Design/Methodology/Approach: A completely randomized experimental design was used. The design included five treatments (white light; blue light; red light; 75% blue light and 25% red light; and 75% red light and 75% blue light) and 10 repetitions, at a 25 μmol m−2 s−1 luminous intensity, during a 16 h photoperiod. The thyme plants were sown in a pot with a substrate made up of 50% peat, 48% perlite, and 2% vermicompost. Each plant was an experimental unit. The plants were placed in light isolation chambers and subjected to the treatment for 35 days. Results: The concentration of the main molecules in the essential oil recorded considerable changes between treatments: the concentration of thymol (its main component) increased in the white light treatments, as well as in the red light (75%) and blue light (75%) treatments. In addition, the composition of the essential oil resulting from these treatments is different to the composition reported in the references. Study Limitations/Implications: The light intensity used in this experiment was lower than the light intensity required for plant growth; however, it was enough to produce changes in the secondary metabolism. Findings/Conclusions: The changes in the quality of the light modify the composition of the thyme essential oil. Even at a low light intensity (25 µmol m-2 s-1), the changes in the spectrum composition under which the plants grow influence the composition of the essential oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on three collaborative research projects across multiple divisions in art education, which were showcased at the 2022 National Art Education Association Convention panel sponsored by the Professional Learning Through Research working group. Topics discussed include the evolution of collaborative research practices, and the way in which the online studio interaction of two higher education professors intersects with their collaborative research practice.

The new plant production methods that use artificial light to replace or complement sunlight have proven that changes in the wavelength of incidental light result in variations in growth, development and secondary metabolism of plants, depending on the genotype and other environmental conditions. However, these methods have been scarcely studied in medicinal and edible plants. The aim of this study was to determine the response of thyme plants (Thymus vulgaris) under different wavelengths. The plants were exposed to red light (660 nm), blue light (440 nm), white light and two proportions of red-blue for 16 hours a day at an intensity of 25 μmol m-2 s-1. The treatments were isolated from sunlight and from each other. Red light was found to promote the formation of etiolated plants, with a low accumulation of chlorophyll, dry matter and phenolic compounds compared to the white light treatment. Blue light generated compact plants with a higher accumulation of chlorophyll and dry matter than red light, but similar to the white light treatment. In terms of phenolic compounds, accumulation was higher under the two latter treatments. The planting of thyme under a combination of blue-red light at a 3:1 ratio was found to result in a compact growth and to improve the accumulation of phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) delivers real-time observation ofphysical perturbations such as vibrations or strain variations in conventional optical fibers with high sensitivity. The high density of sensing points and large network footprint provided by a single DAS system, along with the availability of a vast optical fiber network already deployed both in land and in oceanic regions, contrast with the high deployment and maintenance cost of conventional instrumentation networks for seismology. This situation has triggered a rapid growth of DAS deployments for seismic monitoring in recent years. Photonic engineers and geophysicists have joined efforts to prove the value of optical fibers as distributed seismometers, which has resulted in a wide panoply of tests demonstrating diverse applicability across the geosciences. For example, DAS has been successfully applied recording local to teleseismic earthquakes, monitoring glacial icequakes, and observing oceanographic phenomena at the sea floor. Most of the realized tests have been performed using commercially available optical fiber interrogators based on phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry. Among them, DAS based on chirped pulse distributed acoustic sensing have provided optimized performance in terms of both range and sensitivity, particularly at low frequencies. In this communication, we provide a comprehensive review of the current situation of DAS for seismology applications, focusing on near surface monitoring, where already deployed optical fibers can be repurposed as sensor networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The novel technique of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) holds great potential for underwater seismology by transforming standard telecommunication cables, such as those currently traversing various regions of the world's oceans, into dense arrays of seismo‐acoustic sensors. To harness these measurements for seismic monitoring, the ability to record transient ground deformations is investigated by analyzing ambient noise, earthquakes, and their associated phase velocities, on DAS records from three dark fibers in the Mediterranean Sea. Recording quality varies dramatically along the fibers and is strongly correlated with the bathymetry and the apparent phase velocities of recorded waves. Apparent velocities are determined for several well‐recorded earthquakes and used to convert DAS S‐wave strain spectra to ground motion spectra. Excellent agreement is found between the spectra of nearby underwater and on‐land seismometers and DAS converted spectra, when the latter are corrected for site effects. Apparent velocities greatly affect the ability to detect seismic deformations: for the same ground motions, slower waves induce higher strains and thus are more favorably detected than fast waves. The effect of apparent velocity on the ability to detect seismic phases, quantified by expected signal‐to‐noise ratios, is investigated by comparing signal amplitudes predicted by an earthquake model to recorded noise levels. DAS detection capabilities on underwater fibers are found to be similar to those of nearby broadband sensors, and superior to those of on‐land fiber segments, owing to lower velocities at the ocean‐bottom. The results demonstrate the great potential of underwater DAS for seismic monitoring and earthquake early warning. Key Points: The noise content of underwater distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) along three different telecommunication cables is quantified and compared to adjacent broadband stationsEarthquake detection capabilities using DAS are similar to those of broadband instrumentsDetection capabilities are mainly a function of the recorded noise, cable response, and apparent velocity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification and quantification of global change, including climate change, requires long time series of key variables. In this work, the fundamentals and operation of low-cost long-term coastal observatories are described, and preliminary data are shown. The vision is to offer a scientific platform of physicochemical data for at least the next 100 years, what requires establishing sustainable strategies, training human resources, strong institutional support, and long-term funding sources. The network formally operates since 2013 and has generated more than 6 million data points, continuously growing, of which >1.5 million data points are permanently stored and available through a public access web platform. The strategies and methodologies are described and, in the Mazatlan observatory, data recovery and basic statistics of eight environmental variables are presented. During 2015, an extreme El Niño year, marine temperatures increased from the bay to the middle Urias coastal lagoon, were higher than atmospheric temperatures, and showed the impact of a thermal power plant. In surface waters of Mazatlan bay, hypoxic periods were also observed. It is expected that results will foster the development of other projects, and will be useful to the scientific community and decision makers, for a better management of coastal ecosystems worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although both C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)- and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4)-using HIV-1 strains cause AIDS, the emergence of CXCR4-utilizing variants is associated with an accelerated decline in CD4 + T cells. It remains uncertain if CXCR4-using viruses hasten disease or if these variants only emerge after profound immunological damage. We show that exclusively CXCR4- as compared to cocirculating CCR5-utilizing variants are less sensitive to neutralization by both contemporaneous autologous plasma and plasma pools from individuals that harbor only CCR5-using HIV-1. The CXCR4-utilizing variants, however, do not have a global antigenic change because they remain equivalently susceptible to antibodies that do not target coreceptor binding domains. Studies with envelope V3 loop directed antibodies and chimeric envelopes suggest that the neutralization susceptibility differences are potentially influenced by the V3 loop. In vitro passage of a neutralization sensitive CCR5-using virus in the presence of autologous plasma and activated CD4 + T cells led to the emergence of a CXCR4-utilizing virus in 1 of 3 cases. These results suggest that in some but not necessarily all HIV-1 infected individuals humoral immune pressure against the autologous virus selects for CXCR4-using variants, which potentially accelerates disease progression. Our observations have implications for using antibodies for HIV-1 immune therapy.

Abstract: HIV-1 subtype C (HIV-1C) CXCR4-using virus is isolated infrequently and is poorly characterized. Understanding HIV-1C env characteristics has implications for the clinical use of antiretrovirals that target viral entry. A total of 209 env clones derived from 10 samples with mixed CCR5-(R5), CXCR4-using (X4) or dual-tropic HIV-1C were phenotyped for coreceptor usage. Intra-patient X4 and R5 variants generally formed distinct monophyletic phylogenetic clusters. X4 compared to R5 envs had significantly greater amino acid variability and insertions, higher net positive charge, fewer glycosylation sites and increased basic amino acid substitutions in the GPGQ crown. Basic amino acid substitution and/or insertion prior to the crown are highly sensitive characteristics for predicting X4 viruses. Chimeric env functional studies suggest that the V3 loop is necessary but often not sufficient to impart CXCR4 utilization. Our studies provide insights into the unique genotypic characteristics of X4 variants in HIV-1C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cardiac Transplantation has been consolidated at a world level thanks to the technological biomedicine development, as well as to the each time bigger integration of a multidisciplinary approach witch contributes to preserve the quality of life of transplant receptors, as well as to the cultural change witch goes to the legal environment for the world as a whole. The Military Central Hospital of México witch medical history includes pioneer aportations in Renal Transplant, counts with a highly trained medical personnel in cardiopulmonar transplant surgery, and a multidisciplinary team highly competitive, as well as biotechnological and vital support resources of intensive care, immunosupression, histopathology myocardial biopsies, and a so careful procuration process witch contemplates medical-legal, psychiatric, psychosocial and bioethical issues, necessary to be taken into account in order to make a successful transplantation process. The current work describes the actual knowledge on cardiac transplant and pointed out the characteristics needed by a Cardiac Transplant Center in terms of candidates selection and evaluation, procuration process, surgical technique, and immunosupression management, as well as all the various medical disciplines witch must work in line with the established requirements of the National Transplantation Center, in order to offer a quality life chance for the cardiac insufficiency patients. The Military Central Hospital of Mexico, an emblematic medical center of the Military Sanity Directorate of the Mexican Army and Air Force, counts with a human and material infrastructure to answer to the required challenge of a transplant program, as was demonstrated with the first formal cardiac procuration recently done in a promissory interinstitutional cooperation, which has gave a new life of opportunity to a receptor patient thanks to the generosity of a military donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plasmodium falciparum infection has been reported to increase human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load (VL), which can facilitate HIV transmission. We prospectively studied the impact of mild P falciparum coinfection on HIV VL in Rwanda. Methods: We measured plasma HIV VL at presentation with malaria infection and weekly for 4 weeks after artemether-lumefantrine treatment in Rwandan adults infected with HIV with P falciparum malaria. Regression analyses were used to examine associations between malaria infection and HIV VL changes. Samples with detectable virus underwent genotypic drug-resistance testing. Results: We enrolled 28 HIV-malaria coinfected patients and observed 27 of them for 5 weeks. Three patients (11%) were newly diagnosed with HIV. Acute P falciparum infection had no significant effect on HIV VL slope over 28 days of follow-up. Ten patients with VL <40 copies/mL at enrollment maintained viral suppression throughout. Seventeen patients had a detectable VL at enrollment including 9 (53%) who reported 100% adherence to ARVs; 3 of these had detectable genotypic drug resistance. Conclusions: Unlike studies from highly malaria-endemic areas, we did not identify an effect of P falciparum infection on HIV VL; therefore, malaria is not likely to increase HIV-transmission risk in our setting. However, routine HIV testing should be offered to adults presenting with acute malaria in Rwanda. Most importantly, we identified a large percentage of patients with detectable HIV VL despite antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Some of these patients had HIV genotypic drug resistance. Larger studies are needed to define the prevalence and factors associated with detectable HIV VL in patients prescribed ARVs in Rwanda.

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

Abstract: Kafirins are stored proteins that negatively affect the nutritional quality of sorghum grain. Kafirin concentration and other chemical characteristics were determined in 12 sorghum hybrids and varied significantly, from 58% (HB1) to 42% (HB12) as percent total protein. Kafirin concentration correlated negatively with crude protein (CP) (−0.49), with acid detergent fiber (−0.40), apparent metabolizable energy (−0.61), and true metabolizable energy corrected for N (−0.63). HB12 was the hybrid with the lowest content of kafirins, amylose and tannins, and the highest content of apparent metabolizable energy. No differences were observed in the concentration of starch, but differences were found in apparent metabolizable energy (3325–2944kcalkg−1) probably due to a greater availability of starch, related to differences in kafirin concentration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

: BackgroundHepatitis C is a major cause of liver disease worldwide. It has been associated with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQL) and psychiatric symptoms. Our aim was to assess HRQL, depression, and illness understanding in patients with chronic hepatitis C without previous interferon therapy.: MethodsConsecutive patients attending a referral center were enrolled. HRQL was measured using SF-36 questionnaire, depression with Zung self-rating depression scale, and illness understanding with self-applied knowledge test.: ResultsOf 157 patients enrolled, 112 were female (71%) and 45 male (29%). Ninety-seven patients (61.8%) had cirrhosis. HRQL was significantly decreased in chronic hepatitis C patients compared to historical normal controls in all eight domains of the SF-36 (p < 0.001). In hepatitis C cirrhotic patients, HRQL was significantly lower among Child-Pugh class B and C subjects in domains reflecting physical health (p <0.05). Ninety-two patients (58.6%) had depression that resulted in lower HRQL when compared to nondepressed patients (p <0.05). One hundred fourteen patients (72.6%) had poor illness understanding of hepatitis C. These subjects had significantly lower HRQL scores in six of eight SF-36 domains when compared to patients with better understanding of the disease (p <0.05).: ConclusionsChronic hepatitis C patients attending a tertiary-referral center had significant decrease in HRQL associated with depression (58.6%) and poor illness understanding (72.6%). Educational programs and their impact on HRQL need to be addressed in detail, particularly for the pre-treatment scenario. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]