Effects of the presence of probiotic bacteria in the aging medium on the surface roughness and chemical composition of two dental alloys

The aims of this study were: (a) to determine if the presence of probiotic bacteria in an aging medium, that is, artificial saliva in this study, has relevant effects on the surface roughness and the chemical composition of two main alloys used in dentistry (NiTi and stainless steel [SS]) and (b) in the case of NiTi, if these effects are influenced by the coating of the alloy (rhodium and titanium nitride). Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the surface morphology and identify metal oxides formed on the surface of the alloys. Experiments demonstrated that the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri can induce processes that alter some features of the surface such as roughness and chemical composition. The effect is dependent on the type of alloy and coating. The bacteria increased roughness in the case of uncoated NiTi more than saliva alone (pH = 4.8). Probiotic bacteria tend to decrease the corrosive influence of saliva on NiTi when the alloy is coated with rhodium or titanium nitride and this effect was also evidenced on SS. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that only SS samples are prone to oxidation processes, predominantly associated with exposure to saliva rather than probiotic bacteria.     

Photodegradation of clopyralid in TiO2 suspensions: Identification of intermediates and reaction pathways

The work is concerned with the kinetics, identification of intermediates and reaction pathways of the photocatalytic degradation of the herbicide clopyralid (3,6-dichloropyridine-2-carboxylic acid) in UV illuminated aqueous suspensions of TiO₂ (Degussa P25). In the investigated concentration range (0.5–3.0 mM) the photocatalytic degradation kinetics of clopyralid in the first stage of the reaction follows approximately a pseudo-first kinetic order. The highest reaction rate was observed at 4 mg mL⁻¹of catalyst concentration, the apparent activation energy of the reaction being 7.74 kJ mol⁻¹. The effect of the presence of hydrogen peroxide, potassium bromate, and ammonium persulfate, acting as electron acceptors along with molecular oxygen, were also studied. By studying the effect of ethanol as a hydroxyl radical scavenger it was shown that the heterogeneous catalysis takes place mainly via hydroxyl radicals. The reaction intermediates (3,6-dichloropyridin-2-ol, 3,6-dichloro hydroxypyridine-2-carboxylic acid, and 3,3′,6,6′-tetrachloro-2,4′-bipyridine-2′-carboxylic acid) were identified and the kinetics of their appearance/disappearance was followed by LC–MS/MS (ESI+). Tentative photodegradation pathways were proposed and discussed.     

Bioactive Components and Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits from Nine Sorbus Genotypes

In this study, biochemical profile of fruits of 9 Sorbus genotypes was analyzed. The content of total sugars ranged from 69.7 g/kg (‘Titan’) to 217.5 g/kg (Sorbus torminalis) and total organic acids from 17.7 g/kg (‘Businka’) to 40.2 g/kg (S. torminalis). The highest content of total anthocyanins had ‘Burka’ (871 mg/kg FW) and ‘Businka’ (856 mg/kg FW). Quercetin derivatives represented more than 95% of total flavonols. ‘Alaja krupnaja’ had 3.5‐ to 29‐fold higher rutin content than other analyzed genotypes. S. torminalis fruits had the greatest diversity of isorhamnetin and kaempferol derivatives. Chlorogenic acid was the major hydroxycinnamic acid and its share was 33% to 73% of total analyzed hydoxycinnamic acid derivatives. The richest in chlorogenic acid were ‘Krasavica’ and ‘Alaja krupnaja’ fruits. Cultivar ‘Businka’ had the highest content of epicatechin (40.7 mg/kg) and neochlorogenic acid (1061 mg/kg). Different procyanidin oligomers were detected among flavanols in Sorbus fruits. The highest content of total flavanols was measured in ‘Alaja Krupnaja’ fruits. Cultivars ‘Krasavica’ (84.5 mg/kg) and ‘Burka’ (85.1 mg/kg) had 1.2‐ to 6.9‐fold higher amount of total carotenoids. ‘Businka’ was highlighted as the richest in total tannin and phenolic contents (3768 mg GAE/kg) and consequently, it had the highest antioxidant activity (57.6 mM TE/kg FW). Being abundant in polyphenolics, some extracts of Sorbus genotypes, for example, ‘Businka,’ ‘Burka,’ and ‘Alaja krupnaja’ could serve as valuable resource of bioactive compounds to food and pharmaceutical industries.     

Chemical synthesis, structural and optical properties of quantum sized semiconducting tin(II) selenide in thin film form

A chemical route to nanocrystalline photoconducting tin(II) selenide quantum dots in thin film form was developed and the structural and optical properties of the synthesized materials were studied. The synthesized SnSe nanocrystals deposited as thin films belong to the orthorhombic crystalline system. Unit cell parameters of the as-deposited and thermally treated semiconducting quantum dots in thin film form were determined from experimental X-ray diffraction data employing multiple regression analysis technique. An average crystal size of 14.8 nm was estimated for as-deposited SnSe quantum dots using the Debye-Scherrer approach which increases to 23.3 nm upon annealing. Average crystal size increase upon thermal treatment is accompanied by slight enlargement of the unit cell parameters. On the basis of optical absorption studies of the SnSe films, conclusions regarding the band structure of this material in reciprocal space were derived. The as-deposited films are characterized by indirect band gap energy of 1.20 eV which exhibits a slight red shift to 1.10 eV upon annealing. Additional electronic transition of a direct type was found to occur at 1.74 eV in the case of as-deposited films, shifting to 1.65 eV in the course of annealing. All these values are blue-shifted with respect to the macrocrystalline material ones, which along with the red shift detected upon annealing, is a strong indication of the three-dimensional confinement effects in the studied nanocrystals.     

Protein Fraction in Edible Macedonian Mushrooms

 The protein distribution in each of fifty-two kinds of Macedonian edible mushrooms was established by the Landry and Moureaux fractionation scheme. The investigated Macedonian mushroom samples contained a relatively high total protein content (14.0–52.1%, dry basis). The abundance of protein fractions was as follows: albumins (24.78%), globulins (11.46%), glutelin-like material (7.43%), glutelins (11.46%), prolamins (5.67%), and prolamin-like material (5.31%). Received: 21 July 2000 / Revised version: 4 October 2000     

Effects of Combined Allogenic Adipose Stem Cells and Hyperbaric Oxygenation Treatment on Pathogenesis of Osteoarthritis in Knee Joint Induced by Monoiodoacetate

The beneficial effects of HBO in inflammatory processes make it an attractive type of treatment for chronic arthritis. In addition, the effects of combination therapy based on adipose stem cells and HBO on OA progression have not been fully investigated. The current study explored the efficacy of intra-articular injection of allogeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) combined with hyperbaric oxygenation treatment (HBO) in a rat osteoarthritis (OA) model. The rat OA model was induced by intra-articular injection of monoiodoacetate (MIA) and 7 days after application of MIA rats were divided into five groups: healthy control (CTRL), osteoarthritis (OA), ADMSCs (ADS), the HBO+ADS^21day and HBO+ADS^28day groups. A single dose of 1 × 10⁶ allogeneic ADMSCs suspended in sterile saline was injected into the knee joint alone or in combination with HBO treatment. Rats were sacrificed at 3 or 4 weeks after MIA injection. Treatment outcomes were evaluated by radiographic, morphological and histological analysis and by specific staining of articular cartilage. We also measured the level of inflammatory and pro/antioxidative markers. We confirmed that combined treatment of ADMSCs and HBO significantly improved the regeneration of cartilage in the knee joint. Rtg score of knee joint damage was significantly decreased in the HBO+ADS^21day and HBO+ADS^28day groups compared to the OA. However, the positive effect in the HBO+ADS^28day group was greater than the HBO+ADS^21day group. The articular cartilage was relatively normal in the HBO+ADS^28day group, but moderate degeneration was observed in the HBO+ADS^21day compared to the OA group. These findings are in line with the histopathological results. A significantly lower level of O₂⁻. was observed in the HBO+ADS^28day group but a higher NO level compared to the HBO+ADS^21day group. Moreover, in the HBO+ADS^28day group significantly higher concentrations of IL-10 were observed but there was no significant difference in proinflammatory cytokine in serum samples. These results indicate that a single intra-articular injection of allogeneic ADMSCs combined with HBO efficiently attenuated OA progression after 28 days with greater therapeutic effect compared to alone ADMSCs or after 3 weeks of combined treatment. Combined treatment might be an effective treatment for OA in humans.     

Circulating Endothelial Cells: A New Possible Marker of Endothelial Damage in Kawasaki Disease,Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Background: Kawasaki Disease (KD) and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) are pediatric diseases characterized by systemic inflammation and vascular injury, potentially leading to coronary artery lesions (CALs). Data on vascular injury occurring during acute COVID-19 (AC19) in children are still lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate endothelial injury in KD-, MIS-C- and AC19-dosing circulating endothelial cells (CECs). Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective study. CECs were enumerated by CellSearch technology through the immunomagnetic capture of CD146-positive cells from whole blood. Results: We enrolled 9 KD, 20 MIS-C and 10 AC19. During the acute stage, the AC19 and KD patients had higher CECs levels than the MIS-C patients. From the acute to subacute phase, a significant CEC increase was observed in the KD patients, while a mild decrease was detected in the MIS-C patients. Cellular clusters/syncytia were more common in the KD patients. No correlation between CECs and CALs were found in the MIS-C patients. The incidence of CALs in the KD group was too low to investigate this correlation. Conclusions: Our study suggests a possible role of CECs as biomarkers of systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in KD and MIS-C and different mechanisms of vascular injury in these diseases. Further larger studies are needed.     

RPE65 c.353G>A,p.(Arg118Lys): A Novel Point Mutation Associated with Retinitis Pigmentosa and Macular Atrophy

Precise genetic diagnosis in RPE65-mediated retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is necessary to establish eligibility for genetic treatment with voretigene neparvovec: a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector providing a functional RPE65 gene. This case report aims to report a novel RP-related point mutation RPE65 c.353G>A, p.(Arg118Lys), a variant of uncertain significance associated with a severe clinical presentation and the striking phenotypic feature of complete macular atrophy. We report the case of a 40-year-old male with inherited retinal dystrophy, all features typical for the RPE65-associated RP, and marked macular atrophy. Genetic testing identified that the patient was a compound heterozygote in trans form with two heterozygous variants: RPE65 c.499G>T, p.(Asp167Tyr) and RPE65 c.353G>A, p.(Arg118Lys). Furthermore, short-wavelength and near-infrared autofluorescence patterns exhibited deficiencies specific to mutations in the visual cycle genes. To the best of our knowledge, RPE65 c.353G>A, p.(Arg118Lys) is the first described point mutation on this locus, among all other reported insertional mutations, currently classified as likely benign and of uncertain significance. We concluded that this variant contributed to the pathological phenotype, demonstrating its significance clearly to be reclassified as likely pathogenic. This being the case, patients with this specific variant in homozygous or compound heterozygous form would be likely candidates for genetic treatment with voretigene neparvovec.     

Crystallization and rheological properties of soya milk chocolate produced in a ball mill

The aim of this paper is to define the optimal conditions for the pre-crystallization of chocolate produced in a ball mill, that contains 20% soya milk. Chocolate mass and soya milk are refined in a ball mill employing three refining times (30, 60 and 90 min) and pre-crystallization temperatures (26, 28 and 30 °C).