10/14/2024


While the NTP treatment did not improve flower yield and quality, the silicon treatment increased anthocyanins and dry weight percentage in red flowers. NTP treatment increased zinc concentration, while it decreased potassium, magnesium, and manganese, and increased silicon concentration in white flowers. The combination of silicon and NTP showed negative effects on some nutraceutical proprieties of red flowers thus highlighting that the two treatments cannot be combined in edible flower production. In conclusion, the positive effect of silicon use in edible flower production has been demonstrated while the NTP technology showed contrasting results and its use should be explored in greater depth, including a consideration of its role in biotic attack prevention and reduced chemical input.The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) index in cancer is a complementary approach for estimating metastatic risk. Considering the demand for evaluating metastatic risk based on liquid biopsies, tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be exploited to generate the EMT index. For the generation of EVs-based EMT index, it is essential to selectively isolate each epithelial cell and mesenchymal cell-derived EVs. This study proposes a novel microfluidic chip for selectively separating two types of EVs in an efficient and timely manner. The microfluidic chip is fully integrated with a micromixer for the creation of efficient collision between EVs and specific antibody-coated microbeads (7 and 15 μm in diameter) and a hydrodynamic particle separator for the stratification of EVs bound microbeads according to the sizes of microbeads. Using this chip, over 90% of EVs expressing the epithelial marker (epithelial cell adhesion molecule, EpCAM) and the mesenchymal marker (CD49f) can be selectively isolated within 6.7 min per 100 μL of sample volume. The clinical relevance of EMT is investigated using plasma samples from 20 breast cancer patients and 10 age-matched controls. The EMT index produced from the microfluidic chip is in a good agreement with the conventional tissue-based EMT index and is significantly high in patients with aggressive breast cancer subtypes, compared with healthy controls. In addition, the patients with high scores on the EMT index (≥5) shows recurrence within 5 years after adjuvant treatment. Predicting EMT-index-based metastatic risk using our microfluidic chip can be beneficial for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.Electrophysiological study is an essential and significant strategy to explore the biological mechanism of electrogenic cells. Current advanced nanodevices can achieve the high-fidelity intracellular electrophysiological recordings, and most of detection systems record the extracellular and intracellular action potentials (EAPs and IAPs) in an asynchronous or isolated manner, so it is demanded to develop the platform to reveal correlation between EAP and IAP recording. Here, we establish a utility strategy to achieve synchronized intracellular and extracellular recording of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes by low-voltage three-dimensional (3D) nanoroded electroporation. By integrating the advantages of nanodevice and microdevice, 3D nanoroded microdevice is developed to achieve the high-throughput large-scale synchronous intracellular and extracellular electrophysiological study. By applying low-voltage electroporation, intracellular and extracellular signals can be synchronously acquired from intracellular access and extracellular coupling, respectively. Recorded synchronized signals contain both typical EAPs and IAPs, which have good synchronicity in spatiotemporal dimensions at each recording site. Moreover, correlation between both signals is further bridged in experimental and simulated way. This intracellular electrophysiological platform presents unique advantages over the conventional system to achieve the synchronized intracellular and extracellular electrophysiological study at membrane voltage level.
A significant challenge in cancer therapy is to maximize the therapeutic efficacy and minimize the side effects. In the past decade, a lot of nanoparticles have been used as the carriers for efficient drug delivery.

This study was to prepare R9 modified with
I-labeled cRGD and ce6 which self-assembled with miR-139-5p to form nanoparticles (Ce6-R9-
I-RGD-MNPs), and to further take advantage of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect of radiolabeled nanoparticles to realize the integration of tumor diagnosis and treatment. We successfully synthesized and represented it, saline and serum stability experiments demonstrating good stability. Moreover, Ce6-R9-
I-RGD-MNPs showed superior tumor targeting and the effect of combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radiotherapy treatment in vivo and vitro.

The pathological results further confirmed that the therapeutic doses of Ce6-R9-
I-RGD-MNPs cause pathological changes of tumor tissues while showing minimal toxicity to normal tissues.
The pathological results further confirmed that the therapeutic doses of Ce6-R9-125I-RGD-MNPs cause pathological changes of tumor tissues while showing minimal toxicity to normal tissues.Tool innovation has played a crucial role in human adaptation. Yet, this capacity seems to arise late in development. Before 8 years of age, many children struggle to solve the hook task, a common measure of tool innovation that requires modification of a straight pipe cleaner into a hook to extract a prize. Whether these findings are generalizable beyond postindustrialized Western children remains unclear. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Estradiol.html In many small-scale subsistence societies, children engage in daily tool use and modification, experiences that theoretically could enhance innovative capabilities. Although two previous studies found no differences in innovative ability between children from Western and small-scale subsistence societies, these did not account for the latter's inexperience with pipe cleaners. Thus, the current study investigated how familiarity with pipe cleaners affected hook task success in 132 Congolese BaYaka foragers (57 girls) and 59 Bondongo fisher-farmers (23 girls) aged 4-12 years. We contextualized these findings within children's interview responses and naturalistic observations of how pipe cleaners were incorporated into daily activities. Counter to our expectation, prior exposure did not improve children's performance during the hook task. Bondongo children innovated significantly more hooks than BaYaka children, possibly because they participate in hook-and-line fishing. Observations and interviews showed that children imagined and innovated novel uses for pipe cleaners outside the experimental context, including headbands, bracelets, and suspenders. We relate our findings to ongoing debates regarding systematic versus unsystematic tool innovation, the importance of prior experience for the ontogeny of tool innovation, and the external validity of experimental paradigms.
Surgical (SM) or cloth facemasks (CM) has become mandatory in many public spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. They may interfere with the participation in physical activities.

To evaluate how these masks influence dyspnoea (primary outcome), exercise performance and cardiorespiratory response during a 1-min sit-to-stand test (1STST), and to assess masks discomfort sensations.

A randomized crossover trial was conducted in healthy adults. They performed 3 1STST (with either no mask (NM), a SM, or a CM) separated from each other by 24-72h. The number of 1STST repetitions and leg rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured. Dyspnoea (Borg scale), hearth rate, respiratory rate and SpO
were recorded before and at the end of 1STST, as well as after a short resting period. Several domains of subjective discomfort perceptions with masks were assessed.

Twenty adults aged 22 ± 2y (11 males) were recruited. Wearing the CM generated significantly higher dyspnoea than NM at all time points, but it only became clinically relevant after the 1STST (median difference, 1 [95%CI 0 to 1]). The SM generated a small but significant higher leg RPE than NM (median difference, 1 [95%CI 0 to 1]). The masks had no impact on 1STST performance nor cardiorespiratory parameters. Both masks were rated similarly for discomfort perceptions except for breathing resistance where CM was rated higher.

In healthy adults, the CM and SM had minimal to no impact on dyspnoea, cardiorespiratory parameters, and exercise performance during a short submaximal exercise test.
In healthy adults, the CM and SM had minimal to no impact on dyspnoea, cardiorespiratory parameters, and exercise performance during a short submaximal exercise test.
To evaluate the institutional indicators of academic success, performance and failure and to identify the factors that influence the performance, academic adaptation and mental health of nursing students.

Descriptive, cross-sectional study.

Data collection was performed between April 2018 and January 2020, focusing on academic data of nursing students (n=348) and answers to a questionnaire with active students of the course with at least two years since admission (n=88).

Academic data indicates negative trends on academic failure and dropouts. Mean academic performance was 7.56 out of 10 and ALEQ-r results showed high academic adaptation in all dimensions, except in the personal dimension of scale. The prevalence of depressive symptoms reported was 60.2% (95%CI 49.8-70.1%) and presented as predictors of this condition both academic performance and adaptation.

There was found a trend in academic failure and dropouts among nursing students, as well as a relevant prevalence of depressive symptoms despite good average of academic adaptation and academic performance.
There was found a trend in academic failure and dropouts among nursing students, as well as a relevant prevalence of depressive symptoms despite good average of academic adaptation and academic performance.
The aim of this paper is to describe how the Invitational Theory were used to frame each of the phases of this sequential mixed methods study to provide valuable insights to the failure to fail phenomenon.

The assessment of student nurses in clinical courses in undergraduate programmes remains problematic, with some students passing clinical courses when they do not meet standards for practice - failure to fail. Failure to fail is the allocation of passing grades to students who do not meet standards for practice. An understanding of assessors' experiences is central to unravelling the complexities surrounding the phenomenon of failure to fail. Traditionally, such inquiry has been specific and narrow. The Invitational Theory is offered as a comprehensive approach to provide insights and understanding into the complex phenomenon of failure to fail.

The five domains of the Invitational Theory; people, processes, programmes, policies and places, were used to inform this sequential exploratory mixed methodsf literature regarding failure to fail. How the theoretical framework facilitates the understanding of failure to fail is described in this paper.
The Invitational Theory domains provides a comprehensive and unique viewpoint of assessment of nursing students and contributed to the emerging body of literature regarding failure to fail. How the theoretical framework facilitates the understanding of failure to fail is described in this paper.