Classification and treatment of ureteroceles in the adult

Ureterocele or congenital pseudocystic dilatation of the terminal portion of the ureter due to persistence of Chwalla's membrane is frequent in female adults (17-35%) in its orthotopic form. It expands the short submucosal segment of the normally situated ureter and may be intravesical or extravesical. The diagnosis is primarily radiological based on intravenous urography (IVU) and endoscopy (urethrocystoscopy). Treatment depends on the site of the ureterocele, the clinical context, associated anomalies and especially the dimensions. Endoscopic treatment has numerous advantages and deserved to be more widely used.     

Drug resistance among malaria and other parasites

Recent decades have witnessed the emergence and spread of parasites resistant to standard drug therapies, particularly malaria. Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum has now spread to most malarial areas, and resistance to other antimalarial drugs, including mefloquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, have become significant problems in some parts of Southeast Asia and South America. Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax is well established in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and has been reported in other areas. Trichomonas and Giardia infections resistant to metronidazole have also been documented. This article reviews the current status of drug resistance among parasites, particularly malaria, and offers strategies for managing patients with these infections.     

Enrichment of chips with fibre from a tiger-nut (Cyperus esculentus) milk co-product at ‘source of fibre foods’ and ‘high fibre content foods’ levels: impact on processing,physico-chemical and sensory properties

The impact of integrating a tiger-nut milk co-product into the wheat chip production process for enriching fibre content to meet European recommendations for ‘source of fibre foods’ and ‘high fibre content foods’ was studied. Four different flours, based on their composition and particle size, were obtained from the co-product. Wheat flour was substituted at the 5%, 10% and 20% levels with the co-product, and the processing, physico-chemical and sensory properties of chip were studied. In the baking phase, mass loss was more marked for the substituted samples (42%) than the control (34%), but differences diminished after the tempering time (33%) by absorbing moisture from the environment. This effect was related to the increased chips surface (≈43%) in the forming phase because dough retraction decreased. The co-product as a fibre source produced alterations to chip processing and its physico-chemical properties should be taken into account. However, chips positively impacted consumer acceptability.     

Metabolic shift of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms with different levels of polyphosphate storage

Previous studies have shown that polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) are able to behave as glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) under different conditions. In this study we investigated the behavior of a culture enriched with Accumulibacter at different levels of polyphosphate (poly-P) storage. The results of stoichiometric ratios Gly_degraded/HAc_uptake, PHB_synthesized/HAc_uptake, PHV_synthesized/HAc_uptake and P_release/HAc_uptake confirmed a metabolic shift from PAO metabolism to GAO metabolism: PAOs with high poly-P content used the poly-P to obtain adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), and glycogen (Gly) to obtain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and some ATP. In a test where poly-P depletion was imposed on the culture, all the acetate (HAc) added in each cycle was transformed into polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) despite the decrease of poly-P inside the cells. This led to an increase of the Gly_degraded/HAc_uptake ratio that resulted from a shift towards the glycolytic pathway in order to compensate for the lack of ATP formed from poly-P hydrolysis. The shift from PAO to GAO metabolism was also reflected in the change in the PHA composition as the poly-P availability decreased, suggesting that polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) is obtained due to the consumption of excess reducing equivalents to balance the internal NADH, similarly to GAO metabolism. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed a significant PAO population change from Type I to Type II Accumulibacter as the poly-P availability decreased in short term experiments. This work suggests that poly-P storage levels and GAO-like metabolism are important factors affecting the competition between different PAO Types in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems.     

Fragmentation of small carbon clusters, a review

An overview of the works devoted to fragmentation of small carbon clusters is given in a first part. Fragmentation of swift neutral and (multi) charged carbon clusters studied with the AGAT spectrometer is presented and discussed in a second part.     

Effect of ethanol as gasoline additive on vehicle fuel delivery system corrosion

In this research, the effect of ethanol as gasoline additive has been investigated into metal corrosion of a fuel delivery system. Corrosion tests have been performed in gasoline with different percentages of ethanol, using weight loss (immersion test) and electrochemical impedance stereoscopy (EIS) procedures. Surface of test specimens were checked by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after 144 days of immersion in test solution. Also corroded components were analyzed using energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDAX) method. Test results, investigations, and analyses, altogether show more corrosion with the increase in ethanol percentage and water content in gasoline. Test results show that among different materials in fuel delivery system, aluminum alloys and hard soldering alloys have less corrosion than the others. Also chloride and sulfide were recognized as the main compound of corrosion products; therefore, the control of these two elements in fuel delivery system is a must in case of using ethanol as fuel additive in near future.     

RDX Detection with THz Spectroscopy

Spectroscopic analysis in the Terahertz frequency range, providing characteristic “signatures” for explosive and non-explosive materials, is proposed as an efficient and powerful tool for explosive identification. It is demonstrated that spectral responses of materials can be used as fingerprints that distinguish cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) from other materials even with simple detectors and a limited number of available frequencies. Detection is performed using a modified least squares approach and multilayer perceptrons that operate on smoothed reflectance spectra. The performance of the detectors is evaluated through application to spectra of RDX and several common materials. A Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis demonstrates that our detectors exhibit the desirable properties of high probability of detection and low probability of false alarm.     

Mesoporous Silica‐Based Supports for the Controlled and Targeted Release of Bioactive Molecules in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) have attracted increasing interest as supports in the design of controlled delivery materials. Besides their excellent properties as loading supports (that is, large surface area and pore volume), the modification of their external surface with molecular/supramolecular ensembles allows the design of gated MSPs. Delivery systems based on gated MSPs show “zero delivery” until an adequate stimulus is present and triggers gate opening and the cargo is released. Encapsulation of bioactive molecules in gated MSPs may improve biological stability, facilitate component handling, mask unpleasant sensorial properties, and modulate the bioaccessibility of target molecules along the gastrointestinal tract. These properties make gated MSPs excellent candidates for encapsulating bioactive molecules and their subsequent utilization in the formulation of functional foods. This text highlights the most significant endogenous triggering stimuli that might be applied to design these site‐specific delivery systems, as well as the strategies to develop them. Given the novelty of using MSPs in the food sector, the benefits and current potential limitations of employing MSPs in human food have been identified and discussed.     

EQUILIBRATION OF APPLE TISSUE IN OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION: MICROSTRUCTURAL CHANGES

The changes in density and porosity and the microstructural development of apple tissue throughout the equilibration in osmotic treatments were analyzed for different osmotic solution concentrations. The effect of vacuum impregnation of the sample with the osmotic solution, before the osmotic treatment was also studied. Two periods were differentiated in the process. For relatively short term treatments (24-48 h) cell walls shrunk or separated from plasmalemma because of the cell water loss while compositional pseudoequilibrium was achieved. Afterwards for long term treatments, a bulk flux of osmotic solution into the fruit tissue occurred in line with the relaxation of mechanical energy accumulated in the deformed cell wall matrix. So, the true equilibrium (chemical plus mechanical), achieved when no changes either in sample composition or weight occurred, implied cell wall sphericity and sample volume recovery. However, some degree of irreversibility was observed in cell wall recovery, especially for osmotic treatments at high concentration without previous vacuum impregnation of sample.