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The present work reports a facile strategy to develop L-arginine mediated Zn doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and its enhanced photocatalytic activity. The physicochemical properties of Zn-doped g-C3N4 were studied extensively by XPS, UV–Vis, XRD, SEM and BET analysis. The studied properties of the photocatalyst were then correlated with its photocatalytic hydrogen production rates. Zn doping was evidenced by the presence of Zn-N peak from high-resolution core level XPS spectral analysis. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution experiments revealed that, upon Zn doping, the hydrogen production rate of g-C3N4 was increased from 34.6 to 78.7 µmol/g.h, i.e. 2.3 times more. The enhancement in the photocatalytic properties after Zn doping was addressed by estimating changes in the positions of conduction band minimum and valence band maximum through XPS valence band spectral analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Alterations in the musculoskeletal system, especially in the lower limbs, limit physical activity and affect balance and walking. Postural impairments in haemophilic preteens could increase the risk of bleeding events and deteriorate the physical condition, promoting the progression of haemophilic arthropathy. Aim This study aims to evaluate static postural balance in haemophilic children, assessed by means of the Wii Balance Board® ( WBB). Methods Nineteen children with haemophilia and 19 without haemophilia aged 9-10 years, have participated in this study. Postural balance was assessed by performing four tests, each one lasting 15 s: bipodal eyes open ( BEO), bipodal eyes closed ( BEC), monopodal dominant leg ( MD) and monopodal non-dominant leg ( MND). Two balance indices, standard deviation of amplitude ( SDA) and standard deviation of velocity ( SDV) were calculated in the anterior-posterior ( AP) and medial-lateral ( ML) directions. Results Index values were higher in haemophilic group and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05) in only six ( SDAAP in BEO, BEC and MD conditions, SDAML in BEO, SDVAP in BEO and SDVML in MND condition) of 16 parameters analysed. Conclusion Tests performed indicate a poorer static postural balance in the haemophilic cohort compared to the control group. Accordingly, physiotherapy programmes, physical activity and sports should be designed to improve the postural balance with the aim of preventing joint deterioration and improving quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Alterations in the musculoskeletal system, especially in the lower limbs, limit physical activity and affect balance and walking. Postural impairments in haemophilic preteens could increase the risk of bleeding events and deteriorate the physical condition, promoting the progression of haemophilic arthropathy. Aim This study aims to evaluate static postural balance in haemophilic children, assessed by means of the Wii Balance Board® ( WBB). Methods Nineteen children with haemophilia and 19 without haemophilia aged 9-10 years, have participated in this study. Postural balance was assessed by performing four tests, each one lasting 15 s: bipodal eyes open ( BEO), bipodal eyes closed ( BEC), monopodal dominant leg ( MD) and monopodal non-dominant leg ( MND). Two balance indices, standard deviation of amplitude ( SDA) and standard deviation of velocity ( SDV) were calculated in the anterior-posterior ( AP) and medial-lateral ( ML) directions. Results Index values were higher in haemophilic group and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05) in only six ( SDAAP in BEO, BEC and MD conditions, SDAML in BEO, SDVAP in BEO and SDVML in MND condition) of 16 parameters analysed. Conclusion Tests performed indicate a poorer static postural balance in the haemophilic cohort compared to the control group. Accordingly, physiotherapy programmes, physical activity and sports should be designed to improve the postural balance with the aim of preventing joint deterioration and improving quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Selecting the splice variant that best represents a coding gene is a crucial first step in many experimental analyses, and vital for mapping clinically relevant variants. This study compares the longest isoforms, MANE Select transcripts, APPRIS principal isoforms, and expression data, and aims to determine which method is best for selecting biological important reference splice variants for large-scale analyses., Results: Proteomics analyses and human genetic variation data suggest that most coding genes have a single main protein isoform. We show that APPRIS principal isoforms and MANE Select transcripts best describe these main cellular isoforms, and find that using the longest splice variant as the representative is a poor strategy. Exons unique to the longest splice isoforms are not under selective pressure, and so are unlikely to be functionally relevant. Expression data are also a poor means of selecting the main splice variant. APPRIS principal and MANE Select exons are under purifying selection, while exons specific to alternative transcripts are not. There are MANE and APPRIS representatives for almost 95% of genes, and where they agree they are particularly effective, coinciding with the main proteomics isoform for over 98.2% of genes., Availability and Implementation: APPRIS principal isoforms for human, mouse and other model species can be downloaded from the APPRIS database (https://appris.bioinfo.cnio.es), GENCODE genes (https://www.gencodegenes.org/) and the Ensembl website (https://www.ensembl.org). MANE Select transcripts for the human reference set are available from the Ensembl, GENCODE and RefSeq databases (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/refseq/). Lists of splice variants where MANE and APPRIS coincide are available from the APPRIS database., Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.)

We conducted a case-control study in order to evaluate whether ABO gene polymorphisms were associated with a high risk of developing COVID-19 in a cohort of patients. Six ABO gene polymorphisms (rs651007 T / C , rs579459 T / C , rs495828 T/G , rs8176746 A/C , rs8176740 T/A , and rs512770 T / C ) were determined using TaqMan genotyping assays in a group of 415 COVID-19 patients and 288 healthy controls. The distribution of rs651007 T / C , rs579459 T / C , rs495828 T / G , and rs8176746 A / C polymorphisms was similar in patients and healthy controls. Nonetheless, under co-dominant (OR = 1.89, pC Co-dominant = 6 × 10 -6 ), recessive (OR = 1.98, pC Recessive = 1 × 10 -4 ), and additive (OR = 1.36, pC Additive = 3 × 10 -3 ) models, the TT genotype of the rs8176740 T/A polymorphism increased the risk of developing COVID-19. In the same way, under co-dominant, recessive, and additive models, the TT genotype of the rs512770 T / C polymorphism was associated with a high risk of developing COVID-19 (OR = 1.87, pC Co-dominant = 2 × 10 -3 ; OR = 1.87, pC Recessive = 5 × 10 -4 ; and OR = 1.35, pC Additive = 4 × 10 -3 , respectively). On the other hand, the GTC and GAT haplotypes were associated with a high risk of COVID-19 (OR = 5.45, pC = 1 × 10 -6 and OR = 6.33, pC = 1 × 10 -6 , respectively). In addition, the rs8176740 TT genotype was associated with high-platelet plasma concentrations in patients with COVID-19. Our data suggested that the ABO rs512770 T/C and rs8176740 T/A polymorphisms increased the risk of developing COVID-19 and the plasma concentration of platelets.

Heavy metals are one of the most common types of pollutants in ground water due to their wide sources, non-degradability and high toxicity. Many traditional wastewater treatments were not capable of removing enough such contaminants in order to meet quality standards. Nanosized zerovalent transition metals have emerged as a great candidate for ground water remediation, due to their simplicity and low fabrication cost, furthermore they can comply with simple chemical synthesis. Here, we present the synthesis of nano zerovalent nickel (nZVN) by a simple grinding reduction method. The obtained nZVN was characterized with XRD, SEM, EDS and BET surface area. The results confirms the formation of nZVN and the active particle cluster size ranges from 100 to 200 nm. N 2 adsorption isotherms revealed that the formation mesoporous cluster of nZVN with good surface area. The adsorption of Cr(VI) using nZVN showed 96% removal efficiency for 10 ppm concentration, and even up to 98% when the temperature is slightly raised to 36 °C (309 K). The removal efficiencies of Cr by zerovalent nickel was well fitted by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood first order reaction kinetic model with deceptive rate constant values of 0.6699, 0.7956 and 1.0251 min -1 at temperature 200, 303 and 309 K, respectively. In total, our studies suggest that nanoscale zerovalent iron is a capable material for Cr(VI) remediation from groundwater.

Objectives: To assess the demographic characteristics and comorbidities of the group to be studied, as well as various quality indicators of a Major Ambulatory Surgery (MAS) program. Quantification of the surgical-anesthetic incidents., Study Design: We aimed to perform a retrospective and descriptive analysis of disabled patients who had received oral ambulatory surgery under general anesthesia. Data obtained from the clinical history and telephone interview included the demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, previous dental history, cause of the mental disability, degree of mental retardation, comorbidity measured according to the scale of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), anesthesia or preoperative surgical treatments, level of analgesia, length of stay, incidents in the Resuscitation Ward, the rate of substitution, suspensions, patients admitted, complications and the degree of patient satisfaction., Results: We included 112 oral surgery procedures performed on disabled patients who were treated under general inhalational anesthesia as part of MAS during the years 2006-2007. During this period, 577 restorations, 413 extractions, 179 sealants, 102 pulpectomies, 22 root canal treatments, 17 gingivectomies and 3 frenectomies were performed. A total of 75% (78 cases) of the patients had coexisting medical pathology. The average surgery time per patient was 72.69 +/- 29.78 minutes. The rate of replacement was 100%. The rate of suspension was 1.92%. The percentage of patients readmitted was 1.92%,due to significant bleeding in the mouth, which did not require treatment and the patients were discharged from hospital 24 hours after being admitted. The rate of patients who required re-hospitalization was 3.84%., Conclusions: The MAS performed in this group, despite being on patients with high comorbidity resulted in only a low number of medical incidents reported.

Objectives: When talking about day surgery we have to differentiate between minor and major ambulatory surgery. Ambulatory surgery enables the patient to stay in the hospital not more than a few hours, showing similar safety and efficacy than conventional surgery. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the results of an ambulatory surgery program., Methods: Descriptive retrospective study of the results of the Ambulatory Surgery in a Urology Department, including 4,185 patients in a four-year period, from January 1st 2003 to December 31st 2006., Results: In the study period the global substitution rate was 83.6%. The hospital admission rate was 2.5%, most of which were early admissions. Major complications appeared in 26 patients (0.6%), being major bleeding the predominant one. Most complications were minor or mild, and pain at the site of the surgical wound was the most frequent problem found., Conclusions: The increase and continuous promotion of ambulatory surgery are more than justified. The high satisfaction among patients undergoing this type of surgery, with a very low number of complications registered, provides us with a valuable tool for health-care expenditure control.

Objective: To determine the effect of a psychological stress control intervention on lymphocyte populations in patients preparing for outpatient surgery., Patients and Methods: A prospective randomized controlled trial enrolling 74 patients scheduled for major outpatient surgery at the Hospital Universitario de Albacete in Spain. The patients were randomized to a control (n = 37) or experimental group (n = 37). Measurements were recorded at baseline (preoperative visit) and before entering the operating room (just before surgery). The experimental group received treatment in a psychological stress control program consisting of an interview, watching a video, provision of informative literature about the operation and techniques for controlling anxiety. Anxiety was measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg) was applied, and lymphocyte populations were assessed (total white cell count; CD3, CD4, CD4RA, CD4RO, CD8, CD56, CD19, and CD56 lymphocyte counts). Values were expressed as means (SD)., Results: The group that received psychological stress prevention therapy had significantly lower CD19 (B lymphocyte) cell counts than did the control group just before surgery. No differences were found between the groups for any other variables., Conclusions: Psychological stress control therapy prevents a decrease in B cell populations before outpatient surgery.