Human platelet lysate supports SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell proliferation and differentiation into a dopaminergic-like neuronal phenotype under xenogeneic-free culture conditions.

SH-SY5Y is a human neuroblastoma cell line that can be differentiated into several neuronal phenotypes, depending on culture conditions. For this reason, this cell line has been widely used as an in vitro model of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). However, most studies published to date used fetal bovine serum (FBS) as culture medium supplement for SH-SY5Y cell differentiation. We report on the testing of human platelet lysate (hPL) as a culture medium supplement to support SH-SY5Y cell culture. Both standard hPL and a fibrinogen-depleted hPL (FD-hPL) formulation, which does not require the addition of anticoagulants to culture media, promoted an increase in SH-SY5Y cell proliferation in comparison to FBS, without compromising metabolic activity. SH-SY5Y cells cultured in hPL or FD-hPL also displayed a higher number of neurite extensions and stained positive for MAP2 and synaptophysin, in the absence of differentiation stimuli; reducing hPL or FD-hPL concentration to 1% v/v did not affect cell proliferation or metabolic activity. Furthermore, following treatment with retinoic acid (RA) and further stimulation with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor beta (NGF-ß), the percentage of SH-SY5Y cells stained positive for dopaminergic neuronal differentiation markers (tyrosine hydroxylase [TH] and Dopamine Transporter [DAT]) was higher in hPL or FD-hPL than in FBS, and gene expression of dopaminergic markers TH, DAT, and DR2 was also detected. Overall, the data herein presented supports the use of hPL to differentiate SH-SY5Y cells into a neuronal phenotype with dopaminergic features, and the adoption of FD-hPL as a fully xenogeneic free alternative to FBS to support the use of SH-SY5Y cells as a neurodegeneration model.

Chromatic changes in vision with diffractive ophthalmic optics.

Diffractive optics is a valuable technique for designing presbyopia-correcting lenses, but its effectiveness is wavelength-dependent. This study investigates the spatio-chromatic alterations in visual resolution associated with diffractive multifocal lenses by using non-invasive, removable diffractive bifocal contact lenses. The study combines theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and clinical intra-observer experiments to assess visual acuity under various lighting conditions. Results demonstrate the introduction of spatio-chromatic asymmetry and a change in visual acuity under red and blue lights, depending on the operating diffraction order employed in the lens design. The energy distribution of the diffractive contact lens studied favors resolution under red illumination at far distances and under blue illumination at near distances. These findings are consistent with computational simulations and provide insights into the visual changes induced by diffractive ophthalmic lenses.

Peptidomics analysis of in vitro digested wheat breads: Effect of genotype and environment on protein digestibility and release of celiac disease and wheat allergy related epitopes.

Wheat proteins can trigger immunogenic reactions due to their resistance to digestion and immunostimulatory epitopes. Here, we investigated the peptidomic map of partially digested bread samples and the fingerprint of epitope diversity from 16 wheat genotypes grown in two environmental conditions. Flour protein content and composition were characterized; gastric and jejunal peptides were quantified using LC-MS/MS, and genotypes were classified into high or low bread protein digestibility. Differences in flour protein content and peptide composition distinguish high from low digestibility genotypes in both growing environments. No common peptide signature was found between high- and low-digestible genotypes; however, the celiac or allergen epitopes were noted not to be higher in low-digestible genotypes. Overall, this study established a peptidomic and epitope diversity map of digested wheat bread and provided new insights and correlations between weather conditions, genotypes, digestibility and wheat sensitivities such as celiac disease and wheat allergy.

Overview of the distinctive characteristics of strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry in berries, berry wines, and berry spirits.

Red berries have gained popularity as functional and nutritious food due to their health benefits, leading to increased consumer demand and higher production, totaling over 11,000 ktons for strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries combined in 2021. Nutritionally, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries present high levels of vitamin C (9.7-58.8 mg/100 g dry weight [dw]), folates (6-24 µg/100 g dw), and minerals (96-228 mg/100 g dw). Due to their perishable nature, producers have utilized alcoholic fermentation to extend their shelf life, not only increasing the lifespan of red berries but also attracting consumers through the production of novel beverages. Strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry wines possess low alcohol (5.5-11.1% v/v), high acidity (3.2-17.6 g/L), and interesting bioactive molecules such as phenolic compounds, carotenoids, polysaccharides, and melatonin. Distillation holds tremendous potential for reducing food waste by creating red berry spirits of exceptional quality. Although research on red berry spirits is still in the early stages, future studies should focus on their production and characterization. By incorporating these factors, the production chain would become more sustainable, profitable, and efficient by reducing food waste, capitalizing on consumer acceptance, and leveraging the natural health-promoting characteristics of these products. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of strawberry, blueberry, and red raspberry in berries, wines, and spirits, with a focus on their chemical composition and production methods.

Activity of Epsilon-poly-L-lysine against Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates of Urinary Tract Infections.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae are notorious for their resistance to antibiotics and propensity for biofilm formation, posing significant threats to human health. Epsilon-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) emerges as a naturally occurring antimicrobial poly(amino acid), which positions it as a prospective agent for addressing challenges linked to multidrug resistance. ε-PL symbolizes a promising avenue in the pursuit of efficacious therapeutic strategies and warrants earnest consideration within the realm of clinical treatment. Thus, our objective was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of 38 selected P. aeruginosa and ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae clinical isolates and determine the ability of ε-PL to inhibit biofilm formation. After PCR analysis, detection of genes related to ß-lactamases was observed among the selected isolates of P. aeruginosa [blaSPM (35.7%), blaKPC (35.7%), blaSHV (14.3%), blaCTX-M (14.3%), blaOXA (14.3%), blaTEM (7.1%), blaPER (7.1%), blaVIM (7.1%), and blaVIM-2 (7.1%)] and K. pneumoniae [blaCTX-M (91.7%), blaTEM (83.3%), blaKPC (16.7%), blaNDM (12.5%), and blaOXA (4.2%)]. The results of testing the activity of ε-PL against the clinical isolates showed relatively high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the P. aeruginosa (range: 8-64 µg/mL) and K. pneumoniae isolates (range: 16-32 µg/mL). These results suggest the need for prior optimization of ε-PL concerning its viability as an alternative to antibiotics for treating infections caused by P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae of clinical origin. It is noteworthy that, in the context of a low antibiotic discovery rate, ε-PL could play a significant role in this quest, considering its low toxicity and the unlikely development of resistance. Upon exposure to ε-PL, P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae isolates exhibited a reduction in biofilm production, with ε-PL concentration showing an inverse relationship, particularly in isolates initially characterized as strong or moderate producers, indicating its potential as a natural antimicrobial agent with further research needed to elucidate optimal concentrations and application methods across different bacterial species. Further research is needed to optimize its use and explore its potential in various applications.

Linear fitting of biconic surfaces for corneal modeling.

This paper presents a method for reconstructing the corneal surface. The proposed method was tested in 56 healthy and 15 post-orthokeratology corneas. The Medmont E300 Corneal Topographer was used to measure the anterior corneal elevation, and custom MATLAB scripts were employed for data analysis, fitting, and other computational processes. The results obtained were compared with the fitting to an ellipsoid and to a biconic, using an alternative method, showing similarities among the different approaches. Additionally, the advantages of this method and the biconic's generality over the ellipsoid were also demonstrated. In conclusion, the method proposed offers an approach with potential applications in the field of visual and ophthalmic optics related with modeling of the cornea and other optical surfaces.

Design and Development of a Web-Based Prospective Nationwide Registry for Ocular Inflammatory Diseases: UVEITE.PT - The Portuguese Ocular Inflammation Registry.

Uveitis is a heterogeneous collection of infrequent diseases, which poses significant challenges to cost-effective research in the field. Medical registries are being increasingly recognized as crucial tools to provide high-quality data, thus enabling prospective clinical research. This paper describes the design and technical structure development of an innovative countrywide electronic medical record for uveitis, Uveite.pt, and gives an overview of the cohort registered since its foundation, March 2020.Uveite.pt is an electronic medical record platform developed by the Portuguese Ocular Inflammation Group (POIG), a scientific committee of the Portuguese Ophthalmology Society. This is a nationwide customized web-based platform for uveitis patients useful for both clinical practice and real-world-based research, working as a central repository and reporting tool for uveitis. This paper describes the technical principles, the design and the development of a web-based interoperable registry for uveitis in Portugal and provides an overview of more than 400 patients registered in the first 18 months since inception.In infrequent diseases, the existence of registries enables to gather evidence and increase research possibilities to clinicians. The adoption of this platform enables standardization and improvement of clinical practice in uveitis. It is useful to apprehend the repercussion of medical and surgical treatments in uveitis and scleritis, supporting clinicians in the strict monitoring of drug adverse reactions and surgical outcomes.

Optical characterization and through-focus performance of two advanced monofocal intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To compare the refractive power profile, subjective depth-of-field and objective optical quality of two advanced monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) designed to improve intermediate vision. METHODS: This prospective study evaluated forty-six eyes of twenty-three patients, aged 54-68 years, binocularly implanted with two monofocal enhanced intraocular lenses (IOLs), the Tecnis Eyhance and the Physiol Isopure. Subjective through-focus visual acuity curves were obtained by placing trial lenses in front of the eye while wearing its best spherical-cylindrical correction for distance. Objective optical quality was defined as the area under the modulation transfer function, calculated from the wavefront maps measured with a high-resolution aberrometer. The optical design of both lenses was compared based on their refractive power profiles measured with the lenses immersed in saline solution. RESULTS: Both lenses have progressive aspherical geometries, in which the sagittal power decreases rapidly from the center to the edge of the optical zone. Mean monocular through-focus curves show a best corrected distance visual acuity of - 0.02 logMAR with both lenses. Through-focus visual acuity was marginally higher for the Eyhance, with a difference of 1 letter at the defocus position of - 0.5D and 3 letters between - 1.0D and - 2.0D. Objective assessment of optical quality revealed only a difference of about 2 points in MTF area at distance. CONCLUSION: Both IOLs use a similar approach to improve intermediate vision. The Eyhance showed marginally better subjective performance than the Isopure at the target vergences between - 1.00D and - 2.00D, although these results did not reach statistical significance and were not replicated by the objective findings.

Fast and Simple UPLC-Q-TOF MS Method for Determination of Bitter Flavan-3-ols and Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins: Impact of Vegetable Protein Fining Agents on Red Wine Composition.

Wine phenolic compounds, particularly proanthocyanidins (PAs), play a significant role in wine sensory characteristics, specifically bitterness and astringency. Although not consensual, flavan-3-ols and oligomeric PAs are generally considered the primary contributors to wine bitterness. Patatin, a vegetable protein fining agent, has been explored as an alternative to animal and synthetic fining agents for reducing wine bitterness. However, contradictory results exist regarding its effectiveness in removing flavan-3-ols and oligomeric PAs in red wines. In this work, a UPLC-Q-TOF MS/MS method was optimized and validated for accurately measuring flavan-3-ols, as well as dimeric and trimeric PAs, in red wines. The MS/MS analysis of flavan-3-ols, in addition to the typical fragmentation described in the literature, revealed an intense mass fragment resulting from the loss of C3O2 and C3O2 + H2O from the parent ion. It was observed that flavan-3-ols and PAs undergo oxidation during sample preparation, which was reversed by the addition of 5 g/L of ascorbic acid. The method demonstrated good linearity range (2 mg/L to 20 mg/L), detection limit (0.3 mg/L to 0.7 mg/L), quantification limit (0.8 mg/L to 2.2 mg/L), precision (repeatability 2.2% to 7.3%), and accuracy (recovery 98.5% to 100.5%). The application of patatin at different doses (5 g/L to 30 g/L) in two different red wine matrices did not reduce the levels of monomeric, dimeric, and trimeric PAs in red wines. However, similar behaviors were observed for pea protein and gelatin. Therefore, wine fining trials and efficiency measurements of the treatments in each matrix are strongly advised.

Analysis of Wavefront Data Obtained With a Pyramidal Sensor in Pseudophakic Eyes Implanted With Diffractive Intraocular Lenses.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical validity of using wavefront measurements obtained with a recently available pyramidal aberrometer to assess the optical quality of eyes implanted with diffractive intraocular lenses (IOLs). METHODS: Individual biometric data were used to create models of pseudophakic eyes implanted with two diffractive IOLs. Their synthetic wavefronts were calculated by ray-tracing with near infrared wavelength (0.85 µm). Comparisons of the through-focus visual acuity of 12 pseudophakic eyes were obtained with three different methods: clinical defocus curves; simulated defocus curves calculated from ray-tracing in the customized model eyes; and through-focus simulated defocus curves calculated from the wavefront data measured with a pyramidal aberrometer. RESULTS: Image quality calculated from wavefront data obtained by ray-tracing with 0.85 µm wavelength, without scaling the phase to 0.55 µm, resulted in a significantly different through-focus curve compared to the reference values. Even so, after scaling of the wavefront data to 0.55 µm, the defocus curves calculated from the wavefronts measured with the pyramidal aberrometer did not match the shape and the depth of field of the clinical defocus curves or the theoretical expected values. CONCLUSIONS: Correcting for the longitudinal chromatic aberration of the eye when measuring the wavefront of eyes implanted with diffractive IOLs under near infrared light only accounts for the best focus shift due to the longitudinal chromatic aberration, but not for the wavelength dependence of the diffractive element. The pyramidal sensor does not seem to properly sample the slopes of a wavefront measured from a pseudophakic eye implanted with a presbyopia-correcting diffractive IOL to a clinically acceptable level. [J Refract Surg. 2023;39(7):438-444.].

Iron metabolism in colorectal cancer: a balancing act.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second deadliest malignancy worldwide. Current dietary habits are associated with increased levels of iron and heme, both of which increase the risk of developing CRC. The harmful effects of iron overload are related to the induction of iron-mediated pro-tumorigenic pathways, including carcinogenesis and hyperproliferation. On the other hand, iron deficiency may also promote CRC development and progression by contributing to genome instability, therapy resistance, and diminished immune responses. In addition to the relevance of systemic iron levels, iron-regulatory mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment are also believed to play a significant role in CRC and to influence disease outcome. Furthermore, CRC cells are more prone to escape iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis) than non-malignant cells due to the constitutive activation of antioxidant genes expression. There is wide evidence that inhibition of ferroptosis may contribute to the resistance of CRC to established chemotherapeutic regimens. As such, ferroptosis inducers represent promising therapeutic drugs for CRC. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: This review addresses the complex role of iron in CRC, particularly in what concerns the consequences of iron excess or deprivation in tumor development and progression. We also dissect the regulation of cellular iron metabolism in the CRC microenvironment and emphasize the role of hypoxia and of oxidative stress (e.g. ferroptosis) in CRC. Finally, we underline some iron-related players as potential therapeutic targets against CRC malignancy.

Incidence of symptomatic gallstones after bariatric surgery: the impact of expectant management.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for sustained weight reduction and obesity-related comorbidities. The development of gallstones as a result of rapid weight loss is a well-known consequence of bariatric procedures. It remains unclear, if there is an increased risk of these gallstones becoming symptomatic. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 505 consecutive patients submitted to either Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass or Sleeve Gastrectomy between January and December 2019 was performed. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence of symptomatic cholelithiasis in asymptomatic patients with their gallbladder in situ after bariatric surgery and to identify potential risk factors for its development. RESULTS: Of the 505 patients included, 79 (15.6%) underwent either previous cholecystectomy. (n = 67, 84.8%) or concomitant cholecystectomy during bariatric surgery (n = 12, 15.2%). Among the remaining 426 (84.4%) patients, only 8 (1.9%) became symptomatic during the 12-month follow-up period. When compared with patients who remained asymptomatic, they had a higher median preoperative BMI (47.0 vs. 42.8, p = 0.046) and prevalence of cholelithiasis on preoperative ultrasound (62.5% vs. 10.7%, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed preoperative BMI and cholelithiasis on preoperative ultrasound as independent risk factors for symptomatic biliary disease (OR 1.187, 95%CI 1.025-1.376, p = 0.022 and OR 10.720, 95%CI 1.613-71.246, p = 0.014, respectively). CONCLUSION: Considering a low incidence of symptomatic gallstones after bariatric surgery, concomitant cholecystectomy should only be performed in symptomatic patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Preoperative factors, such as a higher BMI and positive ultrasound for cholelithiasis, may be related to the development of symptomatic gallstones.

Pitfalls of Using NIR-Based Clinical Instruments to Test Eyes Implanted with Diffractive Intraocular Lenses.

The strong wavelength dependency of diffractive elements casts reasonable doubts on the reliability of near-infrared- (NIR)-based clinical instruments, such as aberrometers and double-pass systems, for assessing, post-surgery, the visual quality of eyes implanted with diffractive multifocal intraocular lenses (DMIOLs). The results obtained for such patients when using NIR light can be misleading. Ordinary compensation for the refractive error bound to chromatic aberration is not enough because it only considers the best focus shift but does not take into account the distribution of light energy among the foci which strongly depends on the wavelength-dependent energy efficiency of the diffractive orders used in the DMIOL design. In this paper, we consider three commercial DMIOL designs with the far focus falling within the range of (-1, 0, +1)-diffractive orders. We prove theoretically the differences existing in the physical performance of the studied lenses when using either the design wavelength in the visible spectrum or a NIR wavelength (780 to 850 nm). Based on numerical simulation and on-bench experimental results, we show that such differences cannot be neglected and may affect all the foci of a DMIOL, including the far focus.

Using passive Wi-Fi for community crowd sensing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sensing passersby and detecting crowded locations is a growing area of research and development in the last decades. The COVID-19 pandemic compelled authorities and public and private institutions to monitor access and occupancy of crowded spaces. This work addresses the detection of crowds in points of interest (POI) by using a territory grid analysis categorizing POIs by the services available in each location and comparing data gathered from a community passive Wi-Fi infrastructure against mobile cellular tower association data from telecom companies. In Madeira islands (Portugal), we used data from the telecom provider NOS for the timespan of 4 months as ground truth and found a strong correlation with sparse passive Wi-Fi. An official regional mobile application shows the occupancy data to end-users based on the territory categorization and the passive Wi-Fi infrastructure in POIs. Occupancy data shows historical hourly trends of each location, and the real-time occupation, helping visitors and locals plan their commutes better to avoid crowded spaces.

Risk and Prophylactic Management of Gallstone Disease in Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and A Bayesian meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The frequency and management of gallstone disease (GD) in bariatric patients, including the role of routine prophylactic concomitant cholecystectomy (CCY), are still a matter of debate. This study aims to assess the risk of de novo GD in patients undergoing bariatric surgery (BS) and their predictive factors, as well as mortality and morbidity in prophylactic CCY compared to BS alone. METHODS: We performed a systematic review, searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science until April 2021. We performed a Bayesian meta-analysis to estimate the risk of GD development after BS and the morbidity and mortality associated with BS alone versus BS + prophylactic CCY. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by meta-regression analysis. RESULTS: The risk of de novo post bariatric GD was 20.7% (95% credible interval [95% CrI] = 13.0-29.7%; I2 = 75.4%), and that of symptomatic GD was 8.2% ([95% CrI] = 5.9-11.1%; I2 = 66.9%). Pre-operative average BMI (OR = 1.04; 95% CrI = 0.92-1.17) and female patients' proportion (OR = 1.00; 95% CrI = 0.98-1.04) were not associated with increased risk of symptomatic GD. BS + prophylactic CCY was associated with a 97% probability of a higher number of postoperative major complications compared to BS alone (OR = 1.74, 95% CrI = 0.97-3.55; I2 = 56.5%). Mortality was not substantially different between the two approaches (OR = 0.79; 95% CrI = 0.03-3.02; I2 = 20.7%). CONCLUSION: The risk of de novo symptomatic GD after BS is not substantially high. Although mortality is similar between groups, odds of major postoperative complications were higher in patients submitted to BS + prophylactic CCY. It is still arguable if prophylactic CCY is a fitting approach for patients with a preoperative lithiasic gallbladder.

Real-Time Ship Segmentation in Maritime Surveillance Videos Using Automatically Annotated Synthetic Datasets.

This work proposes a new system capable of real-time ship instance segmentation during maritime surveillance missions by unmanned aerial vehicles using an onboard standard RGB camera. The implementation requires two stages: an instance segmentation network able to produce fast and reliable preliminary segmentation results and a post-processing 3D fully connected Conditional Random Field, which significantly improves segmentation results by exploring temporal correlations between nearby frames in video sequences. Moreover, due to the absence of maritime datasets consisting of properly labeled video sequences, we create a new dataset comprising synthetic video sequences of maritime surveillance scenarios (MarSyn). The main advantages of this approach are the possibility of generating a vast set of images and videos, being able to represent real-world scenarios without the necessity of deploying the real vehicle, and automatic labels, which eliminate human labeling errors. We train the system with the MarSyn dataset and with aerial footage from publicly available annotated maritime datasets to validate the proposed approach. We present some experimental results and compare them to other approaches, and we also illustrate the temporal stability provided by the second stage in missing frames and wrong segmentation scenarios.

Bioinformatics study of expression from genomes of epidemiologically related MRSA CC398 isolates from human and wild animal samples.

One of the most important livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) genetic lineages is the clonal complex (CC) 398, which can cause typical S. aureus-associated infections in people. In this work, whole-genome sequencing, RNA-sequencing, and gel-based comparative proteomics were applied to study the genetic characteristics of three MRSA CC398 isolates recovered from humans (strains C5621 and C9017), and from an animal (strain OR418). Of the three strains, C9017 presented the broadest resistance genotype, including resistance to fluroquinolone, clindamycin, tiamulin, macrolide and aminoglycoside antimicrobial classes. The scn, sak, and chp genes of the immune evasion cluster system were solely detected in OR418. Pangenome analysis showed a total of 288 strain-specific genes, most of which are hypothetical or phage-related proteins. OR418 had the most pronounced genetic differences. RNAIII (δ-hemolysin) gene was clearly the most expressed gene in OR418 and C5621, but it was not detected in C9017. Significant differences in the proteome profiles were found between strains. For example, the immunoglobulin-binding protein Sbi was more abundant in OR418. Considering that Sbi is a multifunctional immune evasion factor in S. aureus, the results point to OR418 strain having high zoonotic potential. Overall, multiomics biomarker signatures can assume an important role to advance precision medicine in the years to come. SIGNIFICANCE: MRSA is one of the most representative drug-resistant pathogens and its dissemination is increasing due to MRSA capability of establishing new reservoirs. LA-MRSA is considered an emerging problem worldwide and CC398 is one of the most important genetic lineages. In this study, three MRSA CC398 isolates recovered from humans and from a wild animal were analyzed through whole-genome sequencing, RNA-sequencing, and gel-based comparative proteomics in order to gather systems-wide omics data and better understand the genetic characteristics of this lineage to identify distinctive markers and genomic features of relevance to public health.

Natural Variation in the Content and Degree of Polymerization of Fructans in Wheat: Potential for Selection of Genotypes with Beneficial Health Composition.

Fructans are important biocompounds because of their health-promoting effects as dietary fiber and prebiotics and also because of their harmful effects as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) particularly in people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and recently as potential triggers of non-celiac wheat/gluten sensitivity. In this work, we have analyzed the fructan contents as well as its degree of polymerization (DP) in a genetically diverse set of wheat varieties, modern and landraces, from different commonly consumed species (N = 124). A significant variation in fructan contents within and between species was observed, with the following relationship: Triticum aestivum (Landraces) > Triticum aestivum (Modern) ≥ Triticum turgidum (Modern) = T. turgidum (Landraces) ≥ Triticum spelta. In addition, a substantial part of the fructans (>50%) showed a DP ≤ 6. Considering that wheat is a major source of fructans, our results can contribute to a better nutritional management of our diets and be a basis for targeted wheat breeding to alter fructan contents.

Short-term tear film stability, optical quality and visual performance in two dual-focus contact lenses for myopia control with different optical designs.

PURPOSE: To assess and compare short-term visual and optical quality and tear film stability between two dual-focus (DF) prototype myopia control contact lenses (CLs) having different inner zone diameters. METHODS: Twenty-eight myopic subjects were included in this randomised, double-masked crossover study. Refraction, best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and tear film stability were measured at baseline (i.e., when uncorrected). Subjects were then binocularly fitted with the DF CLs, with only the sensorial dominant eye being assessed. Lenses were of the same material and had inner zone diameters of either 2.1 mm (S design) or 4.0 mm (M design). Visual and physical short-term lens comfort, over-refraction, best-corrected VA, stereopsis at 40 cm, best-corrected photopic and mesopic contrast sensitivity (CS), size and shape of light disturbance (LD), wavefront aberrations, subjective quality of vision (QoV Questionnaire) and tear film stability were measured for each lens. RESULTS: Both CL designs decreased tear film stability compared with baseline (p < 0.05). VA and photopic CS were within normal values for the subjects' age with each CL. When comparing lenses, the M design promoted better photopic CS for the 18 cycles per degree spatial frequency (p < 0.001) and better LD (p < 0.02). However, higher-order aberrations were improved with the S design (p = 0.02). No significant difference between the two CLs was found for QoV scores and tear film stability. CONCLUSIONS: Both DF CLs provided acceptable visual performance under photopic conditions. The 4.0 mm inner zone gave better contrast sensitivity at high frequencies and lower light disturbance, while the 2.1 mm central diameter induced fewer higher-order aberrations for a 5 mm pupil diameter. Both CLs produced the same subjective visual short-term lens comfort.

Modeling Adoption, Security, and Privacy of COVID-19 Apps: Findings and Recommendations From an Empirical Study Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.

BACKGROUND: The global health crisis caused by COVID-19 has drastically changed human society in a relatively short time. However, this crisis has offered insights into the different roles that such a worldwide virus plays in the lives of people and how those have been affected, as well as eventually proposing new solutions. From the beginning of the pandemic, technology solutions have featured prominently in virus control and in the frame of reference for international travel, especially contact tracing and passenger locator applications. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to study specific areas of technology acceptance and adoption following a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) research model. METHODS: We presented a research model based on UTAUT constructs to study the determinants for adoption of COVID-19-related apps using a questionnaire. We tested the model via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) using travelers' data from an insular tourist region. RESULTS: Our model explained 90.3% of the intention to use (N=9555) and showed an increased understanding of the vital role of safety, security, privacy, and trust in the usage intention of safety apps. Results also showed how the impact of COVID-19 is not a strong predictor of adoption, while age, education level, and social capital are essential moderators of behavioral intention. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of scientific impact, the results described here provide important insights and contributions not only for researchers but also for policy and decision makers by explaining the reasons behind the adoption and usage of apps designed for COVID-19.