Yearly Archives: 2015
Does habitual Internet use affect our brain? Are both genders in danger?
The Internet has not only become our external memory and essential media source for social life and entertainment, it also has full potential to become addictive. Even though it is still a matter of discussion whether Internet
HIV-1 pathology: when metabolism meets immunology
“We are what we eat” To this day, the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is still a public health problem with more than 33 million affected people worldwide with a growing number of cases. Immunology
The Keepers of the Ring
Just imagine that you are driving and have a flat tire. Would you find it logical that the design of your car does not allow you to place the jack inside the car trunk? This is exactly
A new pluripotent building block for the synthesis of fluorine-containing functional molecules
Fluorine, which is represented by symbol F, is the most electronegative element (fluorine 4.0 vs. carbon 2.6, nitrogen 3.4, and oxygen 3.4): this means that fluorine strongly withdraws electrons from neighboring atoms. The introduction of fluorine or
Deposition of aluminum and iron in benign bone tumors (exostosis)
An exostosis is an outgrowth of new bone from the surface of a bone into the muscles; it is a frequent benign tumor in children. An exostosis causes discomfort and chronic pain, depending on its size and
Why food preparation is important
Plant foods such as fruits and vegetables are full of beneficial plant chemicals – phytochemicals – that can be lost during cooking. Water soluble phytochemicals, such as cancer-preventing glucosinolates from members of the cabbage family and phenolics
Muscle activation patterns after anterior cruciate ligament injury
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee joint. An injury to the ACL typically occurs during dynamic sports activities involving rapid changes of movement direction or landing from jumps, such as basketball,
Use of antibiotics in animals and people – resistance transfer
There is a great debate going on in the European Union and the United States, regarding the effects of the use of antibiotics in animals and the potential transfer of resistance to man, primarily via the consumption
Floating electrodes to manipulate small-gravity particle samples in modern microfluidic systems
Many biological samples such as bacteria and biomacromolecule are of negligibly small gravity due to their submicron size. To flexibly manipulate small-gravity particle samples dispersed in liquids is a challenge that has vexed researchers for years. But
New separation principle of proteins by liquid chromatography resulting in ultrafast high-resolution separation
The purpose of separation science is to isolate some useful substances from natural and/or synthesized products to serve for human society. An ideal separation method is to have the feature of “three high” of high resolution (quality),
Dental problems in a lesser dwarf lemur
Even non-human primates suffer from dental problems. In lemurs, teeth might crack due to especially hard food items like certain nuts, but also sugar contents in artificial diets or gingival lesions caused by hard food insects favor
Net Spin Transfer in Polymer Depolymerization
Depolymerization plays an particularly important role in the synthesis of novel macromolecule materials form recycled monomers, but it could also be influenced by multiple factors, especially the experiment conditions which makes analysis difficult to the polymer depolymerization.
A simple chemosensor for naked-eye and fluorogenic detection of cyanide
Cyanide (CN−) is one of the most lethally toxic chemicals to the living environment. However, CN− is widespread in industrial processes, such as gold mining, metallurgy, electroplating, and the synthesis of nylon, fibers, and resins Thus, it
The growing number of resistance traits may limit the number of efficient antibiotics
Antibiotics are one of the major medical innovations of the 20th century. However, due to the escalation of multi- and even pandrug resistance in human clinical isolates, mainly in bacteria such as community-acquired Enterobacteriaceae and nosocomial Gram-negative
Mass spectrometry for characterization of anti-theft devices directly from banknotes
The growth of bank and automated teller machine (ATM) thefts, particularly with the use of explosives, is a serious and increasing crime that has recently doubled in frequency in Brazil. Anti-theft security inks or anti-theft devices (ATDs)
Meta-analysis in the Big-data era
Meta-analysis plays an important role in summarizing and synthesizing scientific evidence derived from multiple studies. (In Greek, ‘meta’ pertains to ‘with, across, or after’, referring to a level above or beyond.) By combining multiple data sources, one
Daily costs were higher on day 1 than on subsequent days for surgical ICU patients
Not all hospitals beds are created equal. In the most basic case, a hospital may have beds on a general ward and beds in an intensive care unit (ICU). The main difference between these two locations is
Mucosal immunoglobulins define a healthy gut
The microbiota is the complex community of microorganisms inhabiting all the surfaces that are exposed to the external world, including the oral and gut mucosa, the skin, etc. A highly diverse microbiota has been associated with a
The number of AMPA receptors on the cell surface is abnormally increased in the brain of Cln3-knock-out mice
Nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other by electrical and chemical signals. The amino acid, glutamate is the main stimulatory chemical signal in the brain. When a nerve terminal releases glutamate, it binds and activates
A novel, unexpected example of C1 chemistry!
C1 chemistry refers to the conversion of simple molecules containing one carbon atom only, such as the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide or poisonous carbon monoxide, into higher-value products. One classical example in chemical industry, proposed
