Microhardness and Fracture Toughness Anisotropy in Cubic Zirconium Oxide Single Crystals

Vickers and Knoop indentation tests have been used to study the fracture and deformation characteristics of 9.4-mol%-Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ single crystals. K_c is anisotropic, with values of 1.9 and 1.1 MPa·m^1/2 for radial cracks propagating along (100) and (110), respectively. The toughness for these two orientations was also determined using the single-edge notched-beam geometry, and yielded values of 1.9 and 1.5 MPa·m^1/2.     

The use of specimen tilt in transmission electron microscopy of the central nervous system

Thin sections of nervous tissue were viewed at different tilt angles using a transmission electron microscope equipped with a eucentric goniometer stage. In a comparison study of various degrees of tilt, one can observe additional morphological features within synaptic profiles, define subsynaptic structures such as Taxi-bodies, and clearly see the crystalline formation of cytochemical tracers. This study demonstrates the value of tilting thin-sections in the analysis of synapses and other biological material at the ultrastructural level.     

HLA antigens and erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency in Sardinia

Wind enhances the carcinogenic effect of chronic Iltraviolet radiation (UVL). This was demonstrated in hairless mice that were irradiated for 42 weeks with mercury are lamps. One group of animals was exposed to continuous wind flow of 2.7 m/s except for the daily I-2 min time interval when they were removed from the wind tunnel and irradiated. Another group of animals received identical irradiation but were protected from wind. The first tumour appeared in the UVL and wind group after 105 days of irradiation, and at 164 days of irradiation all surviving mice in the group had developed tumours. The group of mice receiving identical irradiation but protected from wind had their first tumour appear at 154 days of irradiation, and by 164 days of irradiation only 40% of the mice had developed tumours.     

Preparation and characterization of Co-Ru/TiO2/MWCNTs electrocatalysts in PEM hydrogen electrolyzer

The subject of this study is preparation and characterization of hypo-hyper d-electrocatalysts with reduced amount of precious metals aimed for water electrolysis. The studied electrocatalysts contain 10% mixed metallic phase (Co:Ru = 1:1 wt., Co:Ru = 4:1 wt. and Co:Ru:Pt = 4:0.5:0.5 wt.), 18% TiO₂ as a crystalline anatase deposited on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Previously, MWCNTs were activated in 28% nitric acid. As a reference electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction, corresponding electrocatalysts with pure Pt metallic phase and mixed CoPt (Co:Pt = 1:1 wt.) metallic phase were prepared. Also, as a reference electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction, electrocatalyst with pure Ru metallic phase was prepared.The prepared electrocatalysts were structurally characterized by means of XPS, XRD, TEM, SEM and FTIR analysis.Electrochemical characterization was performed by means of cyclic voltammetry and potentiodynamic method in the PEM hydrogen electrolyzer. The range of the catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution of studied electrocatalysts was the following: CoRuPt (4:0.5:0.5) > CoPt (1:1) > Pt > CoRu (1:1) > CoRu (4:1). The order of the catalytic activity for oxygen evolution was the following: CoRu (1:1) > Ru > CoRu (4:1) > Pt > CoRuPt (4:0.5:0.5) > CoPt (1:1).     

Toxoplasma gondii infection and food consumption: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-controlled studies

ABSTRACT

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease causing severe symptoms in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. On average, worldwide, around 30% of people are seropositive. The oral transmission route is of great significance and food, particularly meat, is an important transmission vehicle for T. gondii. However, the role of different food matrices is debated. Objectives: The aim of this review was to assess the risk of humans developing acute T. gondii infection via the foodborne route. Study eligibility criteria: Case-control studies including acute cases of T. gondii infection were included after literature searches, without time limits, in several databases. All studies estimating the risk of acquiring T. gondii infection after consumption of specific food categories were included. Results: Three risk factors proved to be significantly associated with acute T. gondii infection in humans: consumption of raw/undercooked meat, Odds Ratio (OR) 3.44 (1.29–9.16), consumption of raw/undercooked beef, OR 2.22 (1.57–3.12), and consumption of raw/undercooked sheep meat, OR 3.85 (1.85–8.00). Consumption of raw/undercooked pork, raw eggs, and unpasteurized milk proved to be non-significant risk factors. Limitations: Limitations in the present review and meta-analysis are due to the low number of case-control studies available for analysis and the lack of a search strategy targeting gray literature. Conclusion: Consumption of raw/undercooked beef and sheep meat are important risk factors for T. gondii infection. Their consumption should be avoided in order to prevent toxoplasmosis, particularly by those in at-risk categories, including pregnant women. The review protocol is registered in PROSPERO database (CRD42016043295).     

Implementation of Clinical Proteomics: A Step Closer to Personalized Medicine?

The success of clinical proteomics, per definition, is ultimately defined by the clinical implementation of proteomics findings. Extensive research activity in the field, targeting especially biomarker discovery, has been conducted in the past decades, with several studies suggesting a benefit from proteome‐based application in patient management. This viewpoint article discusses the current status in clinical proteomics with respect to implementation (as evidenced by the use of protein findings in drug labeling and patient stratification), and proposes specific action points for accelerating the biomarker validation process, placing special emphasis on the importance of data and resource sharing.     

Policies regarding public availability of published research data in pediatrics journals

Scientometrics - Sharing research data is an increasingly necessary requirement for the advancement of science. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, to analyze the policies on openness in...     

RETORCH: an approach for resource-aware orchestration of end-to-end test cases

Software Quality Journal - Continuous integration practice mandates to continuously introduce incremental changes into code, but doing so may introduce new faults too. These faults could be...