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Three different extraction procedures for eight pesticides (chlorfenvinphos, diazinon, ethyl parathion, ethiofencarb, fenitrothion, malathion, metalaxyl, pirimicarb) in water samples are compared. The extraction procedures are: liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE) and microextraction (ME). For each procedure the most suitable conditions were obtained experimentally, with special remarks on ME, in which the effects of different mixtures of Kaltron with other solvents were tested. A preconcentration factor (PF) was used to rank the methods; the best results were observed for ME, (PF 15-45, whereas PF < 10 for SPE, and PF ≤ 13 for LLE). In all cases, the determination was performed by gas chromatography, using a nitrogen phosphorus detector and the internal standard method (methyl parathion) as the quantification procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful grasping with multi-fingered prosthetic or robotic hands remains a challenge to be solved for the effective use of these hands in unstructured environments. To this end, currently available tactile sensors need to improve their sensitivity, robustness, and spatial resolution, but a better knowledge of the distribution of contact forces in the human hand in grasping tasks is also necessary. The human tactile signatures can inform models for an efficient control of the artificial hands. In this study we present and analyze a dataset of tactile signatures of the human hand in twenty-one representative activities of daily living, obtained using a commercial high spatial resolution pressure sensor. The experiments were repeated for twenty-two subjects. The whole dataset includes more than one hundred million pressure data. The effect of the task and the subject on the grip force and the contribution to this grip force made by the different hand regions were analyzed. We also propose a method to effectively synchronize the measurements from different subjects and a method to represent the tactile signature of each task, highlighting the hand regions mainly involved in the task. The correlations between hand regions and between different tasks were also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the protein phosphorylation mechanism in the mobilization of vegetative storage proteins (VSPs) is totally unknown. Patatin is the major VSP of the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber that encompasses multiple differentially phosphorylated isoforms. In this study, temporal changes in the phosphorylation status of patatin isoforms and their involvement in patatin mobilization are investigated using phosphoproteomic methods based on targeted two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). High-resolution 2-DE profiles of patatin isoforms were obtained in four sequential tuber life cycle stages of Kennebec cultivar: endodormancy, bud break, sprouting and plant growth. In-gel multiplex identification of phosphorylated isoforms with Pro-Q Diamond phosphoprotein-specific stain revealed an increase in the number of phosphorylated isoforms after the tuber endodormancy stage. In addition, we found that the phosphorylation status of patatin isoforms significantly changed throughout the tuber life cycle (P < 0.05) using the chemical method of protein dephosphorylation with hydrogen fluoride-pyridine (HF-P) coupled to 2-DE. More specifically, patatin phosphorylation increased by 32% from endodormancy to the tuber sprouting stage and subsequently decreased together with patatin degradation. Patatin isoforms were not randomly mobilized because highly phosphorylated Kuras-isoforms were preferably degraded in comparison to less phosphorylated non-Kuras isoforms. These results lead us to conclude that patatin is mobilized by a mechanism dependent on the phosphorylation status of specific isoforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed storage proteins play a fundamental role in plant reproduction and human nutrition. They accumulate during seed development as reserve material for germination and seedling growth and are a major source of dietary protein for human consumption. Storage proteins encompass multiple isoforms encoded by multi-gene families that undergo abundant glycosylations and phosphorylations. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) is a proteomic tool especially suitable for the characterization of storage proteins because of their peculiar characteristics. In particular, storage proteins are soluble multimeric proteins highly represented in the seed proteome that contain polypeptides of molecular mass between 10 and 130 kDa. In addition, high-resolution profiles can be achieved by applying targeted 2-DE protocols. 2-DE coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) has traditionally been the methodology of choice in numerous studies on the biology of storage proteins in a wide diversity of plants. 2-DE-based reference maps have decisively contributed to the current state of our knowledge about storage proteins in multiple key aspects, including identification of isoforms and quantification of their relative abundance, identification of phosphorylated isoforms and assessment of their phosphorylation status, and dynamic changes of isoforms during seed development and germination both qualitatively and quantitatively. These advances have translated into relevant information about meaningful traits in seed breeding such as protein quality, longevity, gluten and allergen content, stress response and antifungal, antibacterial, and insect susceptibility. This review addresses progress on the biology of storage proteins and application areas in seed breeding using 2-DE-based maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus associated with immune dysregulation. The use of immunosuppressant drugs as part of COVID-19 treatment (such as Tocilizumab or high -dose corticosteroids) increases the risk of opportunistic infections. Here we present a case of a patient without prior immunosuppression that developed a serious fungal infection after the use of high dose corticosteroids in the setting of severe COVID-19 and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

A 23-year-old woman presented to our dermatology clinic for the sudden onset of pruritic lesions on her forearms and legs for the past two days ago. She had been restoring used furniture infested with woodworm. We observed many oval "comet-shaped" erythematous maculopapules with a serpiginous track on the exposed parts of her forearms and legs (Figure 1). Considering the temporal relationship and the contact with woodworm, we were able to diagnose it as Pyemotes ventricosus . We prescribed topical corticosteroids twice daily. By the 8th day, the lesions had cleared.

Introduction: Idiopathic Palmoplantar Eccrine Hidradenitis (IPPH) is a rare neutrophilic derma tosis, with painful erythematous nodules of sudden onset in the plantar or palmoplantar region, in children without other underlying diseases., Objective: To present a case that shows the main clinical and histological characteristics of this entity., Clinical Case: 11-year-old girl with a 48-hours history of painful erythematous-violaceous nodules on the right foot plant associated with fever of up to 38.2 °C, with no history of interest except hyperhidrosis and intense exercising on previous days. Given the clinical suspicion of IPPH, a skin biopsy was performed, which showed inflammatory neutrophil infiltration around eccrine sweat glands and neutrophilic abscesses, confirming the diagnosis. Oral NSAIDs and rest were prescribed, with resolution of the lesions in 7 days., Conclusions: This case demonstrates the most important aspects of this entity, in many cases underdiagnosed, since it can be confused with other pathologies that occur with painful acral nodules, but have different pathogenic and therapeutic implications. To properly identify the IPPH allows preventing an unnecessary alarm, both patients and their parents, as in dermatologists and pediatricians themselves.

The constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem is the least-squares problem that calls for a rotation matrix that optimally aligns two matrices of the same order. Over past decades, the algorithm of choice for solving this problem has been the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm, which is effectively no more than the computation of the singular value decomposition of a particular matrix. Its justification, as presented separately by Kabsch and Umeyama, is not totally algebraic since it is based on solving the minimization problem via Lagrange multipliers. In order to provide a more transparent alternative, it is the main purpose of this paper to present a purely algebraic justification of the algorithm through the exclusive use of simple concepts from linear algebra. For the sake of completeness, a proof is also included of the well known and widely used fact that the orientation-preserving rigid motion problem, i.e., the least-squares problem that calls for an orientation-preserving rigid motion that optimally aligns two corresponding sets of points in d -dimensional Euclidean space, reduces to the constrained orthogonal Procrustes problem.

Patatin is the major tuber storage protein constituted by multiple isoforms highly variable across potato ( S. tuberosum) varieties. Here, we report a first association study of the variability of patatin isoforms between cultivars with their differences in tuber quality traits. Patatin-based proteomic distances were assessed between 15 table and/or processing potato cultivars from profiles of patatin obtained by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The content of ash, dry matter, reducing sugars, starch, total protein, and amino acid composition was also evaluated in tubers of each cultivar. Results showed that proteomic distances were significantly ( P < 0.05) associated with differences in the content of ash, dry matter, and essential amino acids. Proteomic distances were also able to identify outlier cultivars regarding the content of dry matter, content of protein, and protein quality. In conclusion, patatin-based proteomic distances can shorten the screening and selection processes of potato cultivars with advantageous characteristics in molecular breeding.

Introduction: The purpose of our study was to compare the effect, on the inflammatory response and fibrosis formation, of four commercially available sealant products applied on an injured trachea in a Wistar rat population., Materials and Methods: We compared four different sealants: cyanoacrylate, fibrin/thrombin, albumin/glutaraldehyde, and polyethylene glycol-based hydrogel (PEG). Rats were organized into six groups of similar size. Four of them were experimental, one was a baseline control group (BCG), and the sixth one was a reference control group (RCG). The RCG and experimental groups underwent the same surgical intervention with tracheal puncture, but no sealant was applied in the RCG. The BCG underwent the same cervical and peritracheal dissection without tracheal puncture. Rats were euthanized after eight weeks., Results: The operation was performed on 54 rats, of which 12 died, leaving a final sample of 42 rats. Macroscopic analysis revealed no superficial tracheal or vascular fistulas, nor signs of local abscess. Although the groups treated with cyanoacrylate, fibrin/thrombin, and albumin/glutaraldehyde showed some degree of fibrosis, the treated area of the PEG group showed neither inflammatory nor scar signs. Microscopic assessment of the BCG and RCG showed no remarkable findings. With the exception of the PEG group, which had a light fibrosis and poor inflammatory response as did the BCG and RCG groups, the other groups showed varying degrees of fibrosis and cicatrization., Conclusion: Our study showed that the group treated with PEG had a mild inflammatory and fibrotic response, which is useful in tracheal or tracheobronchial surgical procedures. However, groups treated with cyanoacrylate, fibrin/thrombin, and albumin/glutaraldehyde showed fibrosis and cicatrization.

Objective: To study the composition, surface characteristics and response to removal torque of an implant surface subjected to hydrofluoric acid etching and posterior passivating with hydrofluoric and nitric acid., Study Design: Twelve implants were initially selected and their physico-chemical characteristics were evaluated by means of energy-dispersive X-rays (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, 24 implants - 12 measuring 8 mm and 12 measuring 10 mm in length - were implanted in 6 Beagle dogs. Twelve implants were removed after a recovery period of 6 weeks, followed by removal of the remaining 12 implants after 12 weeks, using a torque calibrator (Gauge Tonichi model BGT150CN-S) with a force registry range of 0-150 Ncm., Results: EDS analysis of the surface chemical composition only revealed the presence of titanium in the etched surfaces. In the same way as with the surfaces of other dental implants, XPS analysis revealed traces of other elements present in the surface, fundamentally carbon. Following dual acid etching, the surface showed the roughness resulting from acid action, with a morphology that proved to be quite homogeneous. The roughness values obtained exceeded 1 mm. The mean removal torque values after 6 weeks were 79.7 Ncm for the 8 mm implants and 115 Ncm for the 10 mm implants. After 12 weeks, these values increased to 101.2 Ncm and 139.7 Ncm, respectively., Conclusions: Hydrofluoric and nitric acid etching affords optimum surface characteristics comparable to those of other surfaces. The recorded removal torque values raise the possibility of human clinical application for early or immediate loading procedures.