This work demonstrates a novel approach to evaluating the mechanical properties of the whole human femoral head in case of severe OA.Folic acid supplementation is recommended for neural tube defect prevention during pregnancy. We conducted an observational, retrospective national registry study to determine the rate of dispensing of periconceptional folic acid after prescription in a sample of French women representative of the general population. Our study population (n = 186,061) was a representative sample of the French population, recorded in the Health Data System database on pharmacy dispensing of medication and mandatory reporting of pregnancy. Between 2006 and 2016, 14.3% of pregnant women had a prescription for folic acid supplementation during the month preceding conception and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Of these prescriptions, 30.9% were issued before the start of pregnancy. This percentage was lower for first pregnancies. The rate of pharmacy dispensing during the preconception period increased progressively from 3.8% to 8.3% between 2006 and 2016. In France, the rate of pharmacy dispensing of periconceptional folic acid after medical prescription is very low and does not follow international recommendations. It seems essential to implement awareness-raising policies targeting the general population and physicians regarding effective periconceptional supplementation, particularly starting in the preconception period. Clarification of international recommendations and fortification of flour could improve the efficacy of folate supplementation at population level.The nanoencapsulation of essential oils enhances their applicability in several areas, such as pharmaceuticals and food biopreservation. This study focuses on the encapsulation of Saccocalyx satureioides Coss. et Durieu essential oil into nanoemulsions by high-pressure homogenization (HPH) and its effect on the volatile constituents and the antioxidant and anticancer activities of the essential oil. The analysis of hydrodistilled (HD) S. satureioides essential oil using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed a total of 28 constituents, representing 99.80%, while only 13 constituents were identified in nanoemulsions, representing 98.65% of the total volatile material. The use of HPH led to qualitative and quantitative differences between the volatile profiles of the HD and the nanoemulsion of S. satureioides essential oil. Whereas borneol, α-terpineol, and thymol were the predominant constituents in the HD oil, carvacrol, thymol, and γ-terpinene were the major constituents in the nanoemulsion. The antioxidant activity of the S. satureioides essential oil nanoemulsion displayed was lower as compared to that of HD oil using DPPH free radical-scavenging, CUPRAC, and ABTS assays. This is consistent with the differences in total flavonoid, total phenolic, and volatiles detected in both HD oil and its nanoemulsion. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity on liver cancer cells (Hep-G2) was stronger using nanoemulsions (106 μg/mL) than using HD oil (274.8 μg/mL).Piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) are a reduced, but fundamental, source of power for embedded, remote, and no-grid connected electrical systems. Some key limits, such as low power density, poor conversion efficiency, high internal impedance, and AC output, can be partially overcome by matching their internal electrical impedance to that of the applied resistance load. However, the applied resistance load can vary significantly in time, since it depends on the vibration frequency and the working temperature. Hence, a real-time tracking of the applied impedance load should be done to always harvest the maximum energy from the PEH. This paper faces the above problem by presenting an active control able to track and follow in time the optimal working point of a PEH. It exploits a non-conventional AC-DC converter, which integrates a single-stage DC-DC Zeta converter and a full-bridge active rectifier, controlled by a dedicated algorithm based on pulse-width modulation (PWM) with maximum power point tracking (MPPT). A prototype of the proposed converter, based on discrete components, was created and experimentally tested by applying a sudden variation of the resistance load, aimed to emulate a change in the excitation frequency from 30 to 70 Hz and a change in the operating temperature from 25 to 50 °C. Results showed the effectiveness of the proposed approach, which allowed to match the optimal load after 0.38 s for a ΔR of 47 kΩ and after 0.15 s for a ΔR of 18 kΩ.Metabolomics analysis of biological samples is widely applied in medical and natural sciences. Assigning the correct chemical structure in the metabolite identification process is required to draw the correct biological conclusions and still remains a major challenge in this research field. Several metabolite tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation spectra libraries have been developed that are either based on computational methods or authentic libraries. These libraries are limited due to the high number of structurally diverse metabolites, low commercial availability of these compounds, and the increasing number of newly discovered metabolites. Phase II modification of xenobiotics is a compound class that is underrepresented in these databases despite their importance in diet, drug, or microbiome metabolism. The O-sulfated metabolites have been described as a signature for the co-metabolism of bacteria and their human host. Herein, we have developed a straightforward chemical synthesis method for rapid preparation of sulfated metabolite standards to obtain mass spectrometric fragmentation pattern and retention time information. We report the preparation of 38 O-sulfated alcohols and phenols for the determination of their MS/MS fragmentation pattern and chromatographic properties. check details Many of these metabolites are regioisomers that cannot be distinguished solely by their fragmentation pattern. We demonstrate that the versatility of this method is comparable to standard chemical synthesis. This comprehensive metabolite library can be applied for co-injection experiments to validate metabolites in different human sample types to explore microbiota-host co-metabolism, xenobiotic, and diet metabolism.check details
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