Category Archives: Research
Stevensite: an efficient clay to retain tetracycline from wastewater
The tetracycline family of antibiotics are widely used for human therapy and animal feed. However, tetracycline (TC) is considered a contaminant of emerging concern in the environment due to its presence in wastewater effluents, surface waters and
Pain cognition in migraine
The evolving concept of pain has led to the reformulation of its biological meaning by placing it in a much broader frame. Currently, we look at pain as a multidimensional sensation, aimed not only to the localization
Rigid calibrated tangled clots of laser light
Spreading of light structures during their propagation significantly limits the possible applications of lasers. This seemingly unavoidable property of waves can be “corrected” either in inhomogeneous media, such as optical fibers, or in nonlinear media in which
African sleeping sickness today
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or African sleeping sickness, is one of 20 neglected tropical diseases listed by the World Health Organization (WHO). HAT can become a severe meningoencephilic disease developing after severe haemo-lymphatic infection. HAT takes two
New psychoactive substances: metabolites of synthetic cathinones induce cytotoxicity in human neuronal cells
Recently, a large number of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) have appeared on the European market. Their growing diffusion has become matter of worldwide concern and alarm for public health authorities, legislators, and clinical health specialists. They are
The RAS mRNA G-quadruplex: making undruggable cancer targets druggable
In many cancers, RAS proteins are constitutively activated by their oncogenic mutations or activation of their upstream molecules. RAS proteins play a central role in cancer cell malignancy, and drugs that target RAS are therefore believed to
Do people want to participate in decisions concerning their medicines?
Health and medication literacy are important factors linked to the outcomes of medical treatment (Table 1). Health literacy has been assessed in several countries all over the world and has been found to be limited. The level
Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis: an eye on retinal inflammation
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer’s disease cases are constantly increasing worldwide due to population aging. Typical symptoms of the disease include memory loss, cognitive deficits, personality and behavior modifications. At the
Do metals in pregnant women have association to preterm births?
Metals are widely distributed in the environment. Recent reports have demonstrated the risk of preterm birth following heavy metal exposure. Preterm births include those occurring before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy, and the rate of preterm births
Modeling epidemics and analyzing Ebola incidence data using Numerus Model Builder
Epidemics are quintessentially dynamic with outbreak, peak-incidence, and fadeout phases. The timings of outbreaks are hard to predict, as happened with the 2014 outbreak of Ebola viral disease in West Africa. To evaluate the risks of outbreaks,
MicroRNAs control cellular transition of hepatocytes during liver regeneration
Among adult organs, the liver is unique in its intrinsic ability to regenerate after injury through the proliferation of fully differentiated cells. Hepatocytes, which are the most abundant type of cells in liver, are quiescent and rarely
Compressed ultrasound imaging: finding tumors with a few transducers
Currently, ultrasound imaging is predominantly done by a probe that possesses many transducers, which are small devices that transmit, and then receive, acoustic waves. Decreasing the number of transducers, while maintaining image quality, is surely a desirable
Complexity of malaria dynamics under climate change
The transmission of malaria is highly variable and depends on a range of climatic and anthropogenic factors. For more than two decades, there has been a growing concern and hot debate over the impact of global warming
Emanation of tobacco smoke from the skin surfaces of active smokers and non-smokers exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke
Cigarette smoking is a significant risk factor for numerous health consequences and related disorders, and is found to affect non-smokers when they are exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS). Accurate epidemiological assessments of people who currently smoke are
Celiac disease and liver disorders
Immunologically mediated liver diseases belong to the common extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease. In celiac disease, increased intestinal permeability is thought to be an early feature in the pathogenesis. Dietary gluten drives intestinal inflammation and impairs the
Is retrieval from memory ‘automatic’?
Memory for studied material is impaired if attention is divided between learning the material and performance of a concurrent secondary task. We expected to find a similar trade-off when attention was divided during memory retrieval, but surprisingly
Invasive bumblebees become quickly the most important pollinators in their new habitats
Invasive species have been largely described as one of the main threats to global biodiversity. The European bumblebee Bombus terrestris was intentionally introduced in Chile in 1997 to be used as pollinator in greenhouse tomato crops because
Cocaine damages the muscle of the eels
The increasing use of illicit drugs by humans resulted in a gradual contamination of surface waters, since these substances, excreted with the urines, are not always efficiently removed from sewage effluents in sewage treatment plants. Today, the
Astrocytes modulate spinal pain processing by way of cannabinoid induced endocannabinoid release
Astrocytes were long thought to play only a supporting role in the central nervous system. However, the discovery that Ca2+ transients in astrocytes are coupled to the enhancement or depression of neuronal activity has led to the
Trace gas emissions from husbandry by combining satellite airborne and surface observations
Animal husbandry produces the potent greenhouse gas, methane, which traps heat in the atmosphere (like carbon dioxide). This industry also produces ammonia, which leads to particle (smog) formation that’s dangerous when breathed and affects sunlight and thus
