Impact of Vitamin D in Prophylaxis and Treatment in Tuberculosis Patients

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in many infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), that remains one of the world’s top infectious killers with 1.5 million deaths from TB in 2021. Vitamin D suppresses the replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro and showed a promising role in TB management as a result of its connection with oxidative balance. Our review encourages the possible in vivo benefit of a joint administration with other vitamins, such as vitamin A, which share a known antimycobacterial action with vitamin D. However, considering the low incidence of side effects even at high dosages and its low cost, it would be advisable to assess vitamin D level both in patients with active TB and high-risk groups and administer it, at least to reach sufficiency levels.     

Comprehension of a novel accent by young and older listeners.

The authors investigated perceptual learning of a novel accent in young and older listeners through measuring speech reception thresholds (SRTs) using speech materials spoken in a novel—unfamiliar—accent. Younger and older listeners adapted to this accent, but older listeners showed poorer comprehension of the accent. Furthermore, perceptual learning differed across groups: The older listeners stopped learning after the first block, whereas younger listeners showed further improvement with longer exposure. Among the older participants, hearing acuity predicted the SRT as well as the effect of the novel accent on SRT. Finally, a measure of executive function predicted the impact of accent on SRT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Green approach towards hydrolysing wheat gluten using waste ingredients from pineapple processing industries

In this work, wheat gluten was hydrolysed with pineapple crude extract, obtained from pineapple core which is a waste from the pineapple processing industry. The efficacy of crude pineapple extract was at par with the commercial bromelain in terms of hydrolysing wheat gluten. The hydrolysis proceeded at a rapid rate during the first 60 min, then slowed down till 120 min, followed by a further steep rise until 180 min and a very slow reaction up to the 24-h incubation period. The resulting hydrolysates had a fair solubility (>40%) over a pH range of 2–10. The molecular masses of the identified mixture of peptides ranged between 500 and 5000 Da, with 16% and 79% of the identified peptides in the range 0.5–1.0 and 1.0–2.0 kDa, respectively. The functional properties of the hydrolysates were remarkably better than the original gluten.     

Preparation,characterization, and antimicrobial activity of ferrocene-containing polymeric materials

Ferrocenyl(benzyl) imidazole (FcIm) and two related methyl-imidazolium salts (FcMIm⁺I^– and FcMIm⁺PF₆^–) were synthesized for their incorporation into plasticized PVC by solvent casting technique. The obtained materials were investigated for their thermal stability and, compared to pure polymer, films containing ionic ferrocene derivatives in 0.5% w/w loading were found slightly more stable. The pure ferrocene compounds showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermis, but not against Escherichia coli, with a maximum for FcMIm⁺PF₆^– salt. After incorporation into PVC polymer, antibacterial activity against S. epidermis was observed (by disk diffusion test) only for PVC/FcMIm⁺PF₆^– (5% w/w) film, from which a release of 14.6% of the ferrocenilimidazolium cation in aqueous medium was measured after 24 hr.     

Partial oxidation of propane on Nafion supported catalytic membranes

Nafion supported catalytic membranes were found to be effective in the partial oxidation of propane to oxygenates with H₂O₂ in the presence of Fe²⁺ under mild conditions. The influence of [Fe²⁺] and [H₂O₂] on the reaction rate and product distribution in the temperature range 80–110°C has been ascertained. A reaction pathway involving the electrophilic activation of propane on superacid sites and subsequent reaction of the activated propane molecules with OH radicals generated by Fe²⁺/H₂O₂ Fenton system is discussed.     

Adolescents' Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Notions of Women as Sex Objects: Assessing Causality and Underlying Processes

The aim of this study was to clarify causality in the previously established link between adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) and notions of women as sex objects. Furthermore, the study investigated which psychological processes underlie this link and whether the various influences varied by gender. On the basis of data from a three-wave panel survey among 962 Dutch adolescents, structural equation modeling initially showed that exposure to SEIM and notions of women as sex objects had a reciprocal direct influence on each other. The direct impact of SEIM on notions of women as sex objects did not vary by gender. However, the direct influence of notions of women as sex objects on exposure to SEIM was only significant for male adolescents. Further analyses showed that, regardless of adolescents' gender, liking of SEIM mediated the influence of exposure to SEIM on their beliefs that women are sex objects, as well as the impact of these beliefs on exposure to SEIM.     

The enigma of "hidden" traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE: To examine individuals with "hidden" traumatic brain injury (TBI), defined in this study as those who sustained a blow to the head, with altered mental status, and experienced a substantial number of the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae typically associated with brain injury but did not make the causal connection between the injury and its consequences. DESIGN: Comparison of four groups of individuals matched for age, gender, years of education, and duration of loss of consciousness. SETTING: This study of hidden TBI followed the identification of 143 individuals who, within a larger study of people with TBI who live in the community, identified themselves as "nondisabled" (they were to be part of the comparison sample) but who had experienced a blow to the head that left them at minimum dazed and confused. PARTICIPANTS: 21 of these 143 individuals also reported large numbers of symptoms (eg, headaches, memory problems) associated with TBI. This group (Hidden TBI-High Symptoms group) was compared to three other matched samples: one with known TBI (Known Mild TBI group) and one with no disability (No Disability group) (both of which were drawn from the larger study), and one group of individuals who identified themselves as having no disability but who had experienced a blow to the head that resulted in a few symptoms (Head Trauma-Low Symptoms group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All study participants were administered an interview that incorporated several existing instruments documenting levels of reported symptoms, emotional well-being/distress, and vocational/social handicaps. RESULTS: The Hidden TBI-High Symptoms group was found to be similar to the Known Mild TBI group in terms of the number and types of symptoms experienced, whereas the Head Trauma-Low Symptoms group was similar in this respect to the No Disability group. The two former groups also evidenced high levels of emotional distress, whereas the two latter groups did not. However, on measures of handicap, the Hidden TBI-High Symptoms and Head Trauma-Low Symptoms groups were similar to the No Disability group and dissimilar from the Known Mild TBI group in that the last group experienced vocational handicap, in particular, whereas the other groups did not. Conclusions: We conclude that hidden TBI occurs at a nontrivial level (7% of our nondisabled sample). Also, individuals with hidden TBI (with persistent symptoms), unlike those with known mild TBI, are likely to experience emotional distress but not vocational handicap following injury.     

Effects of chronic haloperidol and sulpiride treatment on rat nigral GABA content

The effects of chronic haloperidol and sulpiride treatment on nigral GABA content were investigated in rats. Chronic sulpiride treatment is capable of inducing an increase in nigral GABA content whilst no significant effect is observed following chronic haloperidol treatment at the doses used. The different effects of haloperidol and sulpiride on nigral GABA content were related to the different neuropharmacological spectrum of the two drugs.     

Changes in total body bone mineral density following a common bone health plan with two versions of a unique bone health supplement: a comparative effectiveness research study

Background  

The US Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health suggests America's bone-health is in jeopardy and issued a "call to action" to develop bone-health plans that: (1) improve nutrition, (2) increase health literacy and, (3) increase physical activity. This study is a response to this call to action.     

High temperature long term stability of SiC Schottky diodes

Reliability of Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices is still an open problem, preventing a wider application of such a promising technology. Moreover, specific reliability assessment procedures must be developed for SiC devices, as they are designed to work at temperatures well beyond those of standard Silicon devices. A detailed investigation about the reliability of 600 V, 6 A Silicon Carbide Schottky diodes is accomplished along this paper. It is based on an extensive set of high temperature reverse bias endurance tests, performed on devices featuring different packages. Only small forward voltage drop and reverse current drifts have been recorded after a 1000 h long test, confirming the parametric stability and the reliability level reached by last generation SiC Schottky diodes. Moreover, devices assembled in TO220 package without flame retardant components in the molding compound performed better than devices assembled in other TO220 packages, or assembled in hermetic TO3 package, pointing out the role played by the interface between the green molding compound and the top passivation layer in the long term parametric stability.