Acetylcholine (Ach) is the main neurotransmitter in the neuronal cholinergic system and also works as a signaling molecule in non-neuronal cells and tissues. The diversity of signaling pathways ...mediated by Ach provides a basis for understanding the biology of the cholinergic epithelial cells and immune cells in the gill of the species studied.
NECs in the gill were not found surprisingly, but specialized cells showing the morphological, histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of eosinophils were located in the gill filaments and respiratory lamellae.
Much remains unknown about the interaction between the nerves and eosinophils that modulate both the release of acetylcholine and its nicotinic and muscarinic receptors including the role of acetylcholine in the mechanisms of O2 chemosensing. In this study we report for the first time the expression of Ach in the pavement cells of the gill lamellae in fish, the mast cells associated with eosinophils and nerve interaction for both immune cell types, in the gill of the extant butterfly fish Pantodon buchholzi. Multiple roles have been hypothesized for Ach and alpha nAChR in the gills. Among these there are the possible involvement of the pavement cells of the gill lamellae as O2 chemosensitive cells, the interaction of Ach positive mast cells with eosinophils and interaction of eosinophils with nerve terminals. This could be related to the use of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) and the alpha 2 subunit of the acetylcholine nicotinic receptor (alpha 2 nAChR). These data demonstrate the presence of Ach multiple sites of neuronal and non-neuronal release and reception within the gill and its ancestral signaling that arose during the evolutionary history of this conservative fish species.
•Immunocytochemical markers of acetylcholine and nAChR in the gill of butterfly fish.•Eosinophils and mast cells and their nerve interaction.•Absence of NECs is compensated by the cholinergic epithelial cells.•Ach signaling during evolutionary history.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In this work, tapered/etched multicore fiber (MCF) probes are spliced with multimode fiber (MMF) to fabricate the sensor structure. To improve sensitivity, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and molybdenum ...disulfide nanoparticles (MoS 2 -NPs) are used to immobilize both probes. Synthesized AuNPs and molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 )-nanoparticles (NPs) have peak absorption wavelengths of 519 and 330 nm, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy is used to examine the morphology of the NPs. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to characterize the NP-immobilized optical fiber sensor structures, and SEM-EDX is used to verify the NP-coating over fiber structure. The functionalization of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme over the NP-immobilized probe increases the specificity of the sensor later on. Finally, the developed sensor probes are tested by detecting various acetylcholine concentrations. In addition, performance analyses, such as reusability, reproducibility, and selectivity (in the presence of ascorbic acid, glucose, dopamine, and uric acid), are carried out, and proposed biosensors are experimentally evaluated. The developed tapered fiber sensor with a sensitivity of 0.062 nm/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{M} </tex-math></inline-formula> can detect even very low concentrations, such as 14.28 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{M} </tex-math></inline-formula>, over a wide detection range of 0-1000 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{M} </tex-math></inline-formula>.
In this article, the stability analysis and control synthesis of interval type-2 (IT2) polynomial-fuzzy-model-based networked control systems are investigated under the event-triggered control ...framework. The nonlinear dynamics in the plant is efficiently represented by an IT2 polynomial fuzzy model that the IT2 membership functions are utilized to capture the uncertainties in the plant. An event-triggered IT2 polynomial fuzzy controller is then designed to stabilize the nonlinear model subject to uncertainties. The stability conditions of the closed-loop control system are summarized in the form of sum-of-squares. Under the imperfectly premise matching (IPM) concept, the membership-function-dependent (MFD) approach is applied to endow the polynomial fuzzy controllers with more flexibility in terms of number of rules and premise membership functions. In the MFD approach under the IPM concept, both the number of rules and the shape of membership functions in the fuzzy models and controllers can be different. Also, the information of IT2 membership functions of the polynomial fuzzy model and controller is considered and adopted to further relax the stability conditions. Furthermore, the intrinsic mismatched issue of the premise variables of the fuzzy model and controllers due to the event-triggering mechanism is handled by the MFD approach. A detailed simulation example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed event-based control strategy.
Abstract Several dedicated High-Performance Computing (HPC) centers provide essential expertise and support in developing a suitable portfolio of EUROfusion standard codes. Barcelona Supercomputing ...Center (BSC) is one of these HPC hubs involved in this complex task. Several fusion codes were selected, installed and analyzed to meet the developers’ requirements, ranging from portability to GPU, improving the performance, getting better data management, extending the capacity of coupling with other codes, etc. In this paper, we will describe the work developed by BSC and some of the tasks carried out in this project. We will explain briefly how the project is faced and the work required to create good quality codes, i.e. robust and trustable software capable of running efficiently in modern HPC systems.
The nervous system and immune system have broad and overlapping distributions in the body, and interactions of these ubiquitous systems are central to the field of neuroimmunology. Over the past two ...decades, there has been explosive growth in our understanding of neuroanatomical, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that mediate central modulation of immune functions through the autonomic nervous system. A major catalyst for growth in this field was the discovery that vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) caused a prominent attenuation of the systemic inflammatory response evoked by endotoxin in experimental animals. This effect was mediated by acetylcholine (ACh) stimulation of nicotinic receptors on splenic macrophages. Hence, the circuit was dubbed the "cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway". Subsequent work identified the α7 nicotinic ACh receptor (α7nAChR) as the crucial target for attenuation of pro-inflammatory cytokine release from macrophages and dendritic cells. Further investigation made the important discovery that cholinergic T cells within the spleen and not cholinergic nerve cells were the source of ACh that stimulated α7 receptors on splenic macrophages. Given the important role that inflammation plays in numerous disease processes, cholinergic anti-inflammatory mechanisms are under intensive investigation from a basic science perspective and in translational studies of animal models of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. This basic work has already fostered several clinical trials examining the efficacy of VNS and cholinergic therapeutics in human inflammatory diseases. This review provides an overview of basic and translational aspects of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory response and relevant pharmacology of drugs acting at the α7nAChR.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Pandemi COVID-19 yang mewabah di penjuru dunia termasuk Indonesia terus menyisakan dampaknya di berbagai sektor kehidupan, utamanya keluarga. Ketahanan keluarga turut diuji baik dari unsur dalam dan ...luar. Tidak sedikit kajian ilmiah dan penelitian digiatkan guna mengurai sekaligus memberikan solusi terhadap masalah ketahanan keluarga di Indonesia. Tulisan berikut juga turut melengkapi penelitian sebelumnya yang focus terhadap pembangunan ketahanan keluarga di masa pandemi COVID-19 dengan pendekatan Need for Achievement (N-Ach), satu teori motivasi yang diintroduksi oleh David McClelland. Dengan kajian jenis penelitian kualitatif yang bersifat deskriptif-analitik, diharapkan masyarakat terbantu dan memiliki bekal tambahan dalam menjaga ketahanan keluarga di masa pandemi. Hasil penelitian ini berkesimpulan bahwa terdapat beberapa unsur yang harus ditingkatkan dalam kehidupan keluarga seperti ketahanan psikologis, ketahanan ekonomi, ketahanan social dan yang tidak kalah penting menjaga ketahanan spiritual. Kemudian, dalam menjalankan unsur-unsur tersebut perlu ditopang oleh prinsip-prinsip hukum keluarga dan teori motivasi supaya peran masing-masing anggota keluarga mampu dioptimalkan sehingga resiliensi atau ketahanan keluarga dalam kondisi apapun selalu terjaga.
Road side shapes, including balconies, have great impacts on airflow around buildings, but the couple-effect of the balcony structure and wind direction on the canyon ventilation has not been fully ...studied. Considering five wind directions (α = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) and three discontinuous balcony arrangements (leeward-side balcony, windward-side balcony, and both-sides balconies), this study aims to investigate the effect of wind directions on the ventilation of the canyon with balconies via computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The turbulence modelling method is validated by reported wind-tunnel experiment in the literature. Moreover, ACH (air exchange rate) and NEV (net escape velocity) were used to evaluate the ventilation capability of the canyon. The results demonstrates that under all the wind directions, the ventilation capacity of the canyon with the balconies is lower than that of the regular canyon. Also, at most wind directions (α = 0°, 30°, 45°, and 60°) except α = 90°, the ventilation of the canyon with leeward-side balcony is the best, and that is the worst in the canyon with both-sides balconies. In addition, for all the canyon with balconies, with the increase of α, the ventilation capacity of the leeward pedestrian domain (leeward NEV*) becomes lower. From the result of this study, it is recommended that when designing buildings with balconies, balconies should be arranged in the buildings on the leeward side as far as possible. This paper will be useful for urban planners to design cities with high self-ventilation capacity.
•Five wind directions and three discontinuous balcony arrangements were considered.•Canyon with balconies has lower ventilation capacity than regular canyon.•Canyon with leeward-side balcony has the best ventilation capacity.•Ventilation in the pedestrian zones is influenced greatly by the wind direction.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Cleanroom with the secondary return system was modeled with airflow and energy network.•The air change rate has a notable influence on the mean age of air globally and locally.•The air change rate ...has a small effect on contaminant removal effectiveness and air change efficiency.•Promotion of return air volume in the occupied area could reduce local pollutant concentration levels;•Computational fluid dynamics procedure was validated by the on-site measurements.
Improving air quality in occupied area has always been the core focus of ventilation design in cleanrooms. A 10,000 class pharmaceutical cleanroom, with secondary return system, was firstly introduced. Full computational fluid dynamics procedure validated by on-site measurements was then applied to model such cleanroom airflow and particle transport. Energy balance of this ventilation system was also analyzed. Details of room airflow and contaminant fields for the specific zone (above the device and around the human body) were subsequently analyzed concerning the effect of delivering ventilation flow rate and return air volume. Representative parameters, mean age of air, contaminant removal effectiveness, and air change efficiency at the occupied zone and the whole space were evaluated. Results demonstrate that promotion of the return air volume in the occupied area could appropriately reduce pollutant concentration level. Moreover, an increase in ACH (air change rate per hour) did not always shorten the local age of air near the equipment. For a large ACH, it not only will raise the dust around the machine again, it will also cause uncomfortable flow draft. Additionally, when ACH = 20 h−1 and 25 h−1 were achieved respectively, the age of air was reduced by 32% and 21.4% in the whole room and further done by 31.1% and 23.5% in the occupied zone; with identical changes, room air change efficiency (RACE) was achieved at 49.3 % and 50.4 %, respectively. It shows that the increase of ACH seems to have little effect on the air change efficiency. When ACH increases from 15 h−1 to 20 h−1, the efficiency of pollutant removal at the occupied zone will not be significantly improved (ε= 1.78).
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The airborne droplet route has been recognized as the main pathway of infection transmission in indoor environments, drawing the attention to a proper design of Heating, Ventilation and Air ...Conditioning (HVAC) systems. This is particularly relevant for gathering spaces such as schools and universities, due to the high crowding levels and the long exposure times. Using 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations based on a Eulerian-Lagrangian approach and validated against velocity measurements, the present study investigates the distribution over time of airborne droplets (aerosol) emitted in correspondence of the teacher position inside a lecture room, during a 2-h speaking activity (so reproducing a 2-h lesson), as a function of different air supply rates from the HVAC system. As the aim of the paper is to provide useful information for proper design and operation of HVAC systems, the room has been assumed to be empty. Results show that increasing the air supply rate is not always an effective solution to reduce aerosol concentration in correspondence of the positions occupied by the students attending the lesson. In fact, for the specific case under investigation, the aerosol concentration around the classroom seats does not always decrease when increasing the supply rates, even though the overall number of particles in the room decreases. This behaviour is mainly due to the asymmetric disposition of the seats with respect to the diffusers and extraction grilles, and underlines the importance of CFD approaches in investigating the fluid dynamics in indoor environments.
•The distribution over time of aerosol droplets emitted by a teacher speaking in front of the class for 2 h is assessed.•Various air supply rates (3.75 h−1, 7.5 h−1, 15 h−1) have been investigated, in terms of the occupants exposure to aerosol.•The air supply rate is not always an effective solution to improve the indoor air quality.•Local air streams must be considered in designing ventilation systems and assessing the exposure risk to airborne diseases.•The air change rate is not enough to assess the effectiveness of HVAC systems.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•The Kalman decay method in suited to multizone’s applications.•The Kalman method is 40% more accurate than the 2-points decay method.•The in-situ Kalman decay method has an uncertainty of 20% ...maximum.•The formulation of the Kalman decay method’s uncertainty is given.
The measurement of a natural airflow-rate is already challenging. It is often realised thanks to the decay method. Dealing with multi-zone naturally ventilated buildings is even more challenging as multi-zone’s applications prevent from using single-tracer gas methods. A method has already shown its ability to measure the global airflow-rate of a multi-zone passive stack dwelling. It is based on the Kalman filter applied to decay methods implemented quasi-simultaneously in each outlet room of a dwelling. This paper presents a numerical sensitivity analysis of the so-called “Kalman decay method”. Formulations of the global uncertainty are drawn depending on parameters involved in the analysis. It allowed improving the accuracy, compared to the conventional 2-points method, from 8 to 48%. If the sensor is placed near the outlet, an accuracy between 8 and 20% can be achieved. The main influential parameter is occupation in living rooms of the dwelling during the test, but its effect on the global uncertainty of the Kalman decay method is 20% lower than on the conventional 2-points method.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
