Fluctuation of cardiotocographic tracings during labor in fetal growth retardation

The objective of our study was to analyse the fluctuation of cardiotocographic scores during labor in fetal growth retardation (FGR). The study took place at the University hospital "Principe de Asturias", Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. 170 at term FGR fetuses and 170 at term fetuses without FGR as control group were compared using modified Fischer scores, which were blindly performed at 3, 5 and 10 cm of cervical dilatation. As results we found out that the mean value of the Fischer score was significantly lower in FGR at 3 cm of cervical dilatation (8.1 +/- 1 vs 8.7 +/- 0.6), as well as at 5 cm (7.6 +/- 0.9 vs 8.1 +/- 0.7) and at 10 cm (6.7 +/- 0.8 vs 7.4 +/- 0.8). Poor prognosis cardiotocograms were also more common in FGR than in the control group in the three cut-offs points studied (7.5% vs 0.6% at 3 cm, 9.8 vs 1.8 at 5 cm and 37.9 vs 11.6 at complete cervical dilatation). The afore mentioned differences were more remarkable as labor advanced. Conclusions are that poor fetal heart rate recordings were detected in FGR at the beginning of labor when compared with control group fetuses and the differences between both groups increased while the labor prolonging.     

Senescence-Independent Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Senolytic Drugs Dasatinib,Navitoclax, and Venetoclax in Zebrafish Models of Chronic Inflammation

Telomere shortening is the main molecular mechanism of aging, but not the only one. The adaptive immune system also ages, and older organisms tend to develop a chronic pro-inflammatory status with low-grade inflammation characterized by chronic activation of the innate immune system, called inflammaging. One of the main stimuli that fuels inflammaging is a high nutrient intake, triggering a metabolic inflammation process called metainflammation. In this study, we report the anti-inflammatory activity of several senolytic drugs in the context of chronic inflammation, by using two different zebrafish models: (i) a chronic skin inflammation model with a hypomorphic mutation in spint1a, the gene encoding the serine protease inhibitor, kunitz-type, 1a (also known as hai1a) and (ii) a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH) model with inflammation induced by a high-fat diet. Our results show that, although these models do not manifest premature aging, the senolytic drugs dasatinib, navitoclax, and venetoclax have an anti-inflammatory effect that results in the amelioration of chronic inflammation.     

Influence of filler size and concentration on the low and high temperature dielectric response of poly(vinylidene fluoride) /Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 composites

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3([PVDF]1 ? x/[PZT]x ) composites of volume fractions x and (0?C3) type connectivity were prepared in the form of thin films. The films were prepared by solvent casting with PZT powder of 0.84, 1.86, and 2.35???m average size with filler contents up to 40?% volume. The crystalline phase of the polymer matrix was the nonpolar ??-phase and the polar ??-phase. Dielectric measurements were performed in order to evaluate the influence of the filler size and content as well as the effect of the polymer matrix in the overall response of the material. No nucleation effect of any of the phases was observed for the used fillers. The spherulitic structure of the pure ??-PVDF and the characteristic porosity of the ??-phase material are destroyed for high PZT volume fractions. The inclusion of ceramic particles in the PVDF polymer matrix increases the complex dielectric constant of the composites independently of the PVDF polymer matrix. The dielectric properties of the composites are mainly affected by the amount of the ceramic particles. With respect to the relaxation processes of the polymer, the activation energy of the ??_a-relaxation increases and the glass transition temperature decreases with increasing particle size and content. The high-temperature conductivity decreases with increasing filler content and there is an important contribution of the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars effect to the overall dielectric response.     

Effect of Fortification with Various Types of Milk Proteins on the Rheological Properties and Permeability of Nonfat Set Yogurt

ABSTRACT: Yogurt base was prepared from reconstituted skim milk powder (SMP) with 2.5% protein and fortified with additional 1% protein (wt/wt) from 4 different milk protein sources: SMP, milk protein isolate (MPI), micellar casein (MC), and sodium caseinate (NaCN). Heat‐treated yogurt mixes were fermented at 40 °C with a commercial yogurt culture until pH 4.6. During fermentation pH was monitored, and storage modulus (G′) and loss tangent (LT) were measured using dynamic oscillatory rheology. Yield stress (σ_yield) and permeability of gels were analyzed at pH 4.6. Addition of NaCN significantly reduced buffering capacity of yogurt mix by apparently solubilizing part of the indigenous colloidal calcium phosphate (CCP) in reconstituted SMP. Use of different types of milk protein did not affect pH development except for MC, which had the slowest fermentation due to its very high buffering. NaCN‐fortified yogurt had the highest G′ and σ_yield values at pH 4.6, as well as maximum LT values. Partial removal of CCP by NaCN before fermentation may have increased rearrangements in yogurt gel. Soluble casein molecules in NaCN‐fortified milks may have helped to increase G′ and LT values of yogurt gels by increasing the number of cross‐links between strands. Use of MC increased the CCP content but resulted in low G′ and σ_yield at pH 4.6, high LT and high permeability. The G′ value at pH 4.6 of yogurts increased in the order: SMP = MC < MPI < NaCN. Type of milk protein used to standardize the protein content had a significant impact on physical properties of yogurt. Practical Application: In yogurt processing, it is common to add additional milk solids to improve viscosity and textural attributes. There are many different types of milk protein powders that could potentially be used for fortification purposes. This study suggests that the type of milk protein used for fortification impacts yogurt properties and sodium caseinate gave the best textural results.     

Azaaurones as Potent Antimycobacterial Agents Active against MDR- and XDR-TB

Herein we report the screening of a small library of aurones and their isosteric counterparts, azaaurones and N-acetylazaaurones, against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Aurones were found to be inactive at 20 μm , whereas azaaurones and N-acetylazaaurones emerged as the most potent compounds, with nine derivatives displaying MIC₉₉ values ranging from 0.4 to 2.0 μm . In addition, several N-acetylazaaurones were found to be active against multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) clinical M. tuberculosis isolates. The antimycobacterial mechanism of action of these compounds remains to be determined; however, a preliminary mechanistic study confirmed that they do not inhibit the mycobacterial cytochrome bc1 complex. Additionally, microsomal metabolic stability and metabolite identification studies revealed that N-acetylazaaurones are deacetylated to their azaaurone counterparts. Overall, these results demonstrate that azaaurones and their N-acetyl counterparts represent a new entry in the toolbox of chemotypes capable of inhibiting M. tuberculosis growth.     

Microfabrication of vacuum-sealed cavities with nanocrystalline and ultrananocrystalline diamond membranes and their characteristics

Vacuum-sealed cavities featuring diamond membranes are fabricated using plasma-activated direct bonding technology. A chemical mechanical polished (CMP) silicon dioxide interlayer, deposited on diamond with a high temperature oxide (HTO) process at 850 °C in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) furnace, is employed for successful direct bonding and vacuum cavity formation. The circular cavities are defined on the thermally grown oxide of the phosphorus-doped Si wafer (4-in, < 100>, 1.2 Ω/sq) using reactive ion etching (RIE). The same microfabrication steps are applied for low residual stress (i.e. < 50 MPa) nanocrystalline (NCD) and ultrananocrystalline (UNCD) diamonds to determine and compare membrane characteristics. For both diamond types, successful microfabrication of membranes is demonstrated using the optimized process flow. Profilometer measurements of membrane deflection are compared with finite element modeling (FEM), and indicate a Young's modulus of 1000 GPa for NCD and 850 GPa for UNCD. Furthermore, FEM analysis suggests the residual stress of UNCD membrane is approximately 100 MPa tensile, whereas NCD one does not show any significant residual stress (< 50 MPa). Our results show that NCD is a more promising choice than UNCD as a membrane material for electromechanical transducers.     

Optimization of ODHE membrane reactor based on mixed ionic electronic conductor using soft computing techniques

This work presents the optimization of the operating conditions of a membrane reactor for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. The catalytic membrane reactor is based on a mixed ionic–electronic conducting material, i.e. Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_δ−3, which presents high oxygen flux above 750 °C under sufficient chemical potential gradient. Specifically, diluted ethane is fed into the reactor chamber and air (or diluted air) is flushed to the other side of the membrane. A framework based on Soft Computing techniques has been used to maximize the ethylene yield by simultaneously varying five operation variables: nominal reactor temperature (Temp); gas flow in the reaction compartment (QHC); gas flow in the oxygen-rich compartment (QAir); ethane concentration in the reaction compartment (%C₂H₆); and oxygen concentration in oxygen-rich compartment (%O₂). The optimization tool combines a genetic algorithm guided by a neural network model. This shows how the neural network model for this particular problem is obtained and the analysis of its behavior along the optimization process. The optimization process is analyzed in terms of: (1) catalytic figures of merit, i.e., evolution of yield and selectivity towards different products and (2) framework behavior and variable significance. The two experimental areas maximizing the ethylene yield are explored and analyzed. The highest yield reached in the optimization process exceeded 87%.     

Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediator Resolvin E1 Mitigates the Progress of Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Liver Fibrosis in Sprague-Dawley Rats by Attenuating Fibrogenesis and Restricting Proliferation

Liver fibrosis is a complex process associated to most types of chronic liver disease, which is characterized by a disturbance of hepatic tissue architecture and the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix. Resolvin E1 (RvE1) is a representative member of the eicosapentaenoic omega-3 lipid derivatives, and is a drug candidate of the growing family of endogenous resolvins. Considering the aforementioned, the main objective of this study was to analyze the hepatoprotective effect of RvE1 in a rat model of liver fibrosis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 70 mg/mg body weight intraperitoneally (i.p)) as an inductor of liver fibrosis once weekly and RvE1(100 ng/body weight i.p) twice weekly for four weeks. RvE1 suppressed the alterations induced by DEN, normalizing the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and ameliorated DEN injury by decreasing the architecture distortion, inflammatory infiltration, necrotic areas, and microsteatosis. RvE1 also limited DEN-induced proliferation through a decrease in Ki67-positive cells and cyclin D1 protein expression, which is related to an increase of the levels of cleaved caspase-3. Interestingly, we found that RvE1 promotes higher nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)p65 than DEN. RvE1 also increased the levels of nuclear the nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), but with no antioxidant effect, measured as an increase in glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and a decrease in the ratio of glutathione (GSH)/GSSG. Taken together, these results suggest that RvE1 modulates the fibrogenesis, steatosis, and cell proliferation in a model of DEN induced fibrosis.     

Effect of blend ratio and elongation flow on the morphology and properties of epoxy resin‐poly(trimethylene terephthalate) blends

The effect of processing conditions on the morphology of polymer blends is a topic of tremendous practical interest especially for thermoset–thermoplastic blends. The effect of blend ratio and the nature of the flow field (shear flow vs. elongation flow) on the morphology is followed here using blends of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)‐poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT). Morphology of the blends prepared by the conventional melt mixing technique is compared with that prepared by using an elongation mixer (RMX device invented by Muller et al.). The blends prepared by the elongation mixer showed excellent transparency and higher storage modulus at room temperature than the conventional mixer. In the case of samples prepared by the RMX device T_g of the epoxy phase has been shifted to lower temperatures indicating a molecular level mixing between PTT and DGEBA. However the conventional melt mixed samples showed only a marginal shift in T_g to low temperatures indicating that the system is not as miscible as that prepared by the RMX device. The use of RMX device for thermoset–thermoplastic blends is novel and no work has been reported in this relation. The properties of the blends were strongly affected by the composition and the crystallization of the semicrystalline PTT phase. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1679–1688, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers