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TiO2 photocatalysis is based on the photoexcitation of electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. Increasing the rate of photocatalytic reactions requires decreasing the rate r at which the electrons are de-excited back to the valence band. Ozone was expected to be a good candidate to lower r on the basis that it is a much better electron scavenger than oxygen. In addition, it does not leave residues. To illustrate that, monochloroacetic acid (MCAA) was chosen as a model water pollutant since MCAA itself or its intermediate oxidation products do not directly react with O3 and since it is nonvolatile. At a dose rate of 290 mg h-1 of nonphotoexcited O3, the MCAA removal rate at pH 3.4 and 7 was multiplied by a factor of ca. 7 in both distilled and tap water. TOC associated with MCAA was removed at about the same rate as MCAA. Cl- ions were gradually oxidized into C1O3- ions. The chemistry underlying these O3 effects is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,1,1-Trichloroethane (TCA) has been chosen for the study of the reducing versus oxidizing steps of carbon, involved in the degradation, in UV-irradiated TiO2 aqueous suspensions, of chlorinated alkanes containing two C atoms. At wavelengths > 290 nm, TCA disappearance rate was largely increased in the presence of TiO2. The corresponding apparent first-order rate constant was lower by a factor of only ca. 1.2 than that of nitrobenzene under the same conditions. Within experimental accuracy, the rate of release of Cl ions was equivalent to the TCA disappearance rate, which illustrated the dechlorination efficiency of TiO2, photocatalysis. Indeed, monochloroacetic acid and, at very low concentrations, monochloroacetaldehyde were the only chlorinated intermediate products detected. Analyses by HPLC of aldehydes (2,4-DNPH derivatization) and carboxylic acids allowed the quantification of ten intermediate products containing these functionalities. Glycolic acid (HO−CH2−COOH) was the product that reached the highest concentration. From the practical viewpoint, it is important to emphasize that all the organic intermediate products were progressively oxidized. From the fundamental viewpoint, a discussion on the nature and formation pathways of the intermediate products brings evidence of the coexistence of reduction and oxidation steps involving the organic material; detection of cis-butenedioic acid, however at very low concentrations, indicated the existence of coupling radical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the vitality of binary decomposition in optical image recognition to prevent obtaining failure and false detections. It highlights the importance of looking for new lineal correlations substituting the costly task of investigating filters of high computational cost and very laborious optical implementation. Moreover, the importance of binary decomposition of a gray level image is shown for its further processing.

As screwed joints, dental restorations may suffer mechanical failures such as screw loosening and implant or prosthetic screw failure due to fatigue. This work is focused on the failure of the implant and develops a numerical methodology to predict its fatigue life under cyclic loading conditions. This methodology is based on the combination of Critical Plane Methods and the Theory of Critical Distances to account for stress multiaxiality and notch effects. The obtained predictions were validated experimentally, which can be used to identify the main geometrical, assembly and operational factors affecting the fatigue behavior of dental implants. As a result, a powerful and efficient design tool for fatigue life prediction of dental implants is presented. This methodology complements a previously presented one focused on the fatigue life prediction of the prosthetic screw, thereby, offering now a complete design tool package regardless the critical component of the dental restoration, predicting accurately the fatigue response of the restoration, with no need for long-term fatigue test campaigns. This is a pioneering work since no other fatigue design methodology for dental implants with such a solid foundation and experimental validation has been published to date., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: The research group reports financial support was provided by the University of the Basque Country through the project LTC AENIGME [COLAB19/04] and 10.13039/501100003086Basque Government, Spain [grant number IT1542-22]. Mikel Armentia reports a relationship with BTI ImasD S.L. that includes: employment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The aim of this study was to explore and assess office-based ultrasound-guided intraosseous and intra-articular infiltrations of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) in patients with moderate and severe knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Seventy-nine patients (30 women and 49 men) with grade 3-4 KOA according to the Kellgren-Lawrence classification participated in the study. All patients were treated with a minimally invasive technique using local anesthesia WALANT (wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet) in the ambulatory setting. A PRGF intra-articular infiltration and two intraosseous infiltrations in the tibial plateau and femoral condyle were performed weekly for a total of three sessions. The evaluation of the results was carried out using knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) at baseline and post-treatment. After a follow-up period of 11 months (median) [interquartile range, 7-14], all the KOOS domains showed statistically significant improvement ( p < 0.001). Moreover, 88% of the patients showed a pain reduction of at least 10 points (minimally clinically important improvement) from pre- to post-treatment. Our retrospective study using the in-office procedure of ultrasound-guided combination of intra-articular and intraosseous infiltrations of PRGF is a safe and efficacious approach for the treatment of grade 3-4 knee osteoarthritis.

Ecological networks represent the architecture over which diversity is assembled. The compartmentalization of trophic links and the spatial aggregation of species determine ecosystem dynamics and stability. Species traits such as body size or those related to dispersal ability or environmental and trophic niche may determine the role of a species in different ecological networks such as food webs and occurrence networks. However, the empirical analysis of these connections and their determinants were seldom considered. Our study focused on 16 species of piscivorous fishes from 27 water bodies of the Paraná River floodplain, which were surveyed between 4 and 20 times over 5 years. Occurrence networks and food webs were built from abundance of species by site and preys by gut content. Using null models and methods for weighted bipartite networks, we evaluated the compartmentalization in both kinds of networks. The topological roles of species in each network along four hydro-climatic conditions were calculated, based on their membership in a module standardized within module connectivity 'z' and between module connectivity 'c' and related to species body size and 30 eco-morphological variables. A significant modular organization in feeding links and species occurrences was detected. While species of larger body size seem to have a main role connecting modules in food webs, the smaller size species foster the connection among spatial aggregations. However, body size was not the main determinant of intra module connectivity. Morphologies associated with linear races (fusiform body) and manoeuvrability (orbicular body) and predation behaviours were consistently related to intra and inter-module connectivity in food webs and occurrence networks. Our results support the modular organization of food webs and occurrence networks of the main consumers of the Paraná River floodplain and the trait-related interrelationship among these networks. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of the trait-role association may foster the stable modular structure observed at higher levels. The recognition of the connecting role of the species in the different networks will improve the understanding of their importance in the functioning of ecosystems, thus enhancing the knowledge of the mechanisms shaping biodiversity., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2022 British Ecological Society.)

Background: Nerve compression syndromes of the upper extremity are a common cause of neuropathic pain and functional impairment. Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) infiltrations have emerged as an effective biological approach to the treatment of this type of injury. The objectives of this retrospective observational study were to assess clinical improvement in patients with median and ulnar nerve entrapment syndrome after undergoing biologically-assisted nerve release surgery with plasma-rich-in-growth-factors (PRGF) technology. Methods: Participants (n = 39) with moderate-to-severe nerve compression syndrome of the upper limb diagnosed by both electromyography and clinical examination, and who were treated with PRGF, were identified from the center’s medical records. The evaluation was based on patient-reported outcomes. Pre- and post-treatment differences in the Visual analog scale (VAS), the Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire (BCTQ), and the Quick-DASH score were assessed. Results: Three study groups were conducted: patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (n = 16), with recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome (n = 8), and with ulnar nerve entrapment (n = 15). The median follow-up was 12 months (interquartile range (IQR), 9−16). In comparison to pre-treatment values, all three study groups obtained statistically significant improvements for the three analyzed scales at the end of the follow-up, with p < 0.001 for all scales in the carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment groups and p < 0.01 for all scales in the recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome group. There were no serious adverse effects in the analyzed patients. Conclusion: PRGF-assisted open surgical nerve release treatment (intraneural and perineural liquid PRGF infiltrations and nerve wrapping with PRGF membrane) exerts long-term beneficial effects on pain reduction and functional improvement in the nerve and nerve−muscle unit in patients with upper extremity compression syndromes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that E.A. is the Scientific Director of and S.P. and R.P. are scientists at the BTI Biotechnology Institute, a biomedical company that investigates in the fields of regenerative medicine and PRGF-Endoret technology. The rest of the authors state that they have no conflict of interest.

Both invertebrates and vertebrates possess a cluster of immediate and local wound-sealing, pathogen-killing, and tissue healing responses known as immunoclotting and immunothrombosis, respectively, to cope with two life-threatening emergencies, namely, bleeding and microbial invasion. Despite their convergence in function, immunoclotting and immunothrombosis are deployed by different blood cells and intravascular multidomain proteins. In vertebrates, these proteins share some domains with intrinsic chemical affinities useful in generating cooperative networks such as pathogen and damage pattern recognition molecules. Moreover, many of the proteins involved in coagulation and fibrinolysis in humans are multifunctional molecules playing roles in other processes from inflammation to healing and beyond. In our modern society, however, the interaction of activated intravascular allosteric proteins with one another and with blood cells entails vulnerabilities posing a biological paradox: intravascular proteins that locally operate as tissue repair enhancers can nevertheless generate pathogenic processes by acting systemically. In this manuscript, we contextualize and frame the coagulation system and hemostasis through an evolutionary time scale, illustrating their role as dual players in the defense against exsanguination and pathogens while significantly influencing wound healing.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is nowadays used in the treatment of different types of cutaneous lesions. However, different compositions can influence clinical outcomes. Among them, the inclusion of leukocytes is controversial. High-throughput proteomics techniques were used to analyze the proteins that are differentially expressed in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) after treatment for 24 h with two PRP types, autologous topical serum (Endoret serum-ES) derived from plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) and leukocyte- and platelet-rich plasma (L-PRP). The identified proteins were then classified by both Gene Ontology and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. The obtained results show that the compositions of ES and L-PRP differ in such a way that they induce different responses in HDFs. ES-treated HDFs overexpress growth factor-related proteins, leading to protein synthesis, cell proliferation and migration. By contrast, L-PRP treatment induces a response similar to that caused by proinflammatory molecules. These data could explain the contradictory clinical results obtained for the different types of PRP, especially with respect to their leukocyte contents.

Statement of Problem: Dental implant geometry affects the mechanical performance and fatigue behavior of butt-joint implant-supported restorations. However, failure of the implant component has been generally studied by ignoring the prosthetic screw, which is frequently the critical restoration component., Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of 3 main implant geometric parameters: the implant body diameter, the platform diameter, and the implant-abutment connection type (external versus internal butt-joint) on the fatigue life of the prosthetic screw. The experimental values were further compared with the theoretical ones obtained by using a previously published methodology., Material and Methods: Four different designs of direct-to-implant dental restorations from the manufacturer BTI were tested. Forty-eight fatigue tests were performed in an axial fatigue testing machine according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14801. Linear regression models, 95% interval confidence bands for the linear regression, and 95% prediction intervals of the fatigue load-life (F-N) results were obtained and compared through an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to determine the influence of the 3 parameters under study on the fatigue behavior (α=.05)., Results: Linear regression models showed a statistical difference (P<.001) when the implant body diameter was increased by 1 mm; an average 3.5-fold increase in fatigue life was observed. Increasing the implant abutment connection diameter by 1.4 mm also showed a significant difference (P<.001), leading to 7-fold longer fatigue life on average. No significant statistical evidence was found to demonstrate a difference in fatigue life between internal and external implant-abutment connection types., Conclusions: Increasing the implant platform and body diameter significantly improved (P<.001) the fatigue life of the prosthetic screw, whereas external and internal connections provided similar results. In addition, experimental results proved the accuracy of the fatigue life prediction methodology., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Statement of Problem: Cold rolling is widely used for screw thread manufacturing in industry but is less common in implant dentistry, where cutting is the preferred manufacturing method., Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the surface finish and mechanical performance of a specific model of prosthetic screw used for direct restorations manufactured by thread rolling and cutting., Material and Methods: The thread profiles were measured in an optical measuring machine, the residual stresses in an X-ray diffractometer, the surface finish in a scanning electron microscope, and then fatigue and static load tests were carried out in a direct stress test bench according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14801. Finally, linear regression models and 95% interval confidence bands were calculated and compared through ANCOVA for fatigue tests while the t test was used for statistical comparisons (α=.05)., Results: The surface finish was smoother, and compressive residual stresses were higher for the roll-threaded screws. Linear regression models showed a fatigue life 9 times higher for roll-threaded screws (P=1) without affecting static behavior, which showed statistically similar static strengths (P=.54). However, the thread profile in the roll-threaded screws was not accurately reproduced, but this should be easily corrected in future prototypes., Conclusions: Rolling was demonstrated to be a better thread-manufacturing process for prosthetic screws, producing improved surface quality and fatigue behavior., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ocular surface health, the cognitive status, psychological health or human neurological disorders, among others, can be assessed by studying eye blinking, which can be differentiated in spontaneous, reflex and voluntary. Its diagnostic potential has provided a great number of works that evaluate their characteristics and variations depending on the subject's condition (sex, tiredness, health, …). The objective of this study was to analyse the differences in blinking kinematics of spontaneous and reflex blinks, distinguishing between direct and consensual reflexes, using a self-developed, non-invasive and image processing-based method. A video-oculography system is proposed using an air jet driven by a syringe to induce reflex and a high-speed camera to record the blinking of both eyes. The light intensity diffused by the eye changes during blinking and peaks when the eyelid closes. Sixty-second sequences were recorded of 25 subjects blinking. Intensity curves were off-line fitted to an exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG) function, whose σ , μ and τ parameters were analysed. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of these parameters was conducted to test the influence of the subject, the eye and blink type. In the closing phase, direct and consensual corneal reflexes are faster than spontaneous blinking, but there was no significant difference between them, nor between right and left eyes. In the opening phase, the direct corneal reflex was the slowest and significant differences appeared between right and left eyes., Competing Interests: We declare we have no competing interests, (© 2020 The Authors.)

A known technique to obtain subpixel resolution by using object tracking through cross-correlation consists of interpolating the obtained correlation function and then refining peak location. Although the technique provides accurate results, peak location is usually biased toward the closest integer coordinate. This effect is known as the peak-locking error and it strongly limits this calculation technique's experimental accuracy. This error may differ depending on the scene and algorithm used to fit and interpolate the correlation peak, but in general, it may be attributed to a sampling problem and the presence of aliasing. Many studies in the literature analyze this effect in the Fourier domain. Here, we propose an alternative analysis on the spatial domain. According to our interpretation, the peak-locking error may be produced by a non-symmetrical sample distribution, thus provoking a bias in the result. According to this, the peak interpolant function, the size of the local domain and low-pass filters play a relevant role in diminishing the error. Our study explores these effects on different samples taken from the DIC Challenge database, and the results show that, in general, peak fitting with a Gaussian function on a relatively large domain provides the most accurate results.

We analysed the influence of ecological factors, phylogenetic history and trade-offs between traits on the life-history variation among 10 loricariid species of the middle Paraná River. We measured eight life-history variables and classified the life-history strategies following the equilibrium-periodic-opportunistic (EPO) model. Principal-component analysis of life-history traits segregated species along a gradient from small opportunistic (low fecundity, low parental investment) to large equilibrium (low-medium fecundity, high parental investment) species. A clear periodic strategist was absent in the analysed assemblage. Variation partitioning by canonical phylogenetic ordination analysis showed both a component of variation uniquely explained by phylogenetic history (PH; 32.2%) and a component shared between PH and ecological factors (EF; 37%). The EPO model is a useful tool for predicting correlations among life-history traits and understanding potential demographic responses of species to environmental variation. Life-history patterns observed throughout Loricariidae suggests that this family has diversified across all three endpoint strategies of the EPO model. Our study indicates that evolutionary lineage affiliation at the level of subfamily can be a strong predictor of the life-history strategy used by each species., (© 2019 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

Background: There is a lack of scientific evidence on long-term follow-up of the outcomes of the presbyLASIK techniques. This study aimed to objectively evaluate corneal stability three years following excimer laser central presbyLASIK., Methods: This is a longitudinal, retrospective, observation of a consecutive series of cases comprising 24 eyes which had been treated by central myopic or hyperopic Presbymax central presbyLASIK. Eyes treated with the same version of presbyLASIK software were included and followed by corneal topography at three months, one and three years after surgery. Based on the corneal topography data, customised software - based on a light propagation algorithm and developed using Matlab software - was used to analyse the simulated behaviour of light through the ocular media. The range of objective corneal depth of focus was also measured., Results: Results were assessed separately for myopes and hyperopes at pupillary diameters of 3.0 and 6.0 mm. The results showed corneal multifocality outcomes to remain constant (p > 0.05) throughout the three-year follow-up period., Conclusion: The use of light propagation analysis of the multifocal anterior corneal surface following a Presbymax central presbyLASIK procedure demonstrated stable outcomes over a three-year follow-up period., (© 2019 Optometry Australia.)

Introduction: There has been a paradigm shift in the management of acquired sensory neural deafness in the past 30years. This is due to the emergence of implantable hearing devices such as the cochlear implant. The objective of this study is to identify surgical and functional outcomes of post-lingual and cross-over patients implanted with a cochlear implant under the National Ministry of Heath Cochlear Implant (CI) Program between 2009-2013., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all postlingual and cross-over recipients of cochlear implants under the National Ministry of Heath CI Programme from 2009 to 2013. The outcomes measured were surgical complications and functional outcome. Surgical complications were divided into major and minor complications. Functional outcomes were measured using Categorical Auditory Performances (CAP) scale., Results: A total of 41 post-lingual and 15 cross-over patients were implanted between 2009 and 2013. The age of implantees ranged from 3.6 years to 63.2 years old. There were two major complications (3.6%), one is a case of electrode migration at three months post implantation, and six months post second implantation. Another was a case of device failure at about one-year post implantation. Both patients were reimplanted in the same ear. There was no minor complication. The CAP score for both groups (overall) showed significant improvement with 96.4% achieved CAP score of five and above at 24 months after implantation (p<0.001). The CAP score showed marked improvement at the first 6 months post implantation and continued to improve with time in both groups., Conclusion: The Malaysian National Ministry of Health Cochlear implant (CI) Program between 2009-2013 has been a successful programme with good surgical and functional outcomes among the post lingual and cross-over patients.