ABSTRACT The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's expansion, driven by economic growth, includes extending Metro systems and altering land use. This transformation, especially noticeable near these ...routes, has led to shifts in land cover – reduced green spaces, increased impervious surfaces, and decreased water storage. These changes, coupled with denser population and higher waste-generation, have compromised drainage efficiency, amplifying flood vulnerability. This study focuses on Pink Line's 34.5-kilometre stretch from Khae Rai intersection along Tiwanon Road to Min Buri, aiming to evaluate Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI) near the Metro line, identify critical influencing factors and propose mitigation strategies. The analysis divided the study area into five zones based on characteristics, evaluating FVI using population density (PO), drainage efficiency (DE), impervious ratio (IR), garbage management (GB), and pond area ratio (PA). FVI values ranged from 0.41 to 0.55. Sensitivity analysis showed minor FVI impacts at Lat Pla Khao and Ram Intra km.4 stations due to DE and IR, with reduced FVI at Khu Bon and Eastern Ring Road stations from PA and GB improvements. PA and IR enhancements consistently lowered FVI, while fluctuations were observed with GB and DE changes, with notable impacts at Min Buri Market Station. Understanding factor sensitivity aids in planning local mitigation-strategies.
Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter up to 2.5 μm (PM
2.5
) is associated with many health consequences, where PM
2.5
concentration obtained ...from the monitoring station was normally applied as the exposure level, so that the concentration of PM
2.5
in unmonitored areas has not been captured. The satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) product is then used to spatially predict ground truth of PM
2.5
concentration that covers the locations with no air quality monitoring station, but this method has seldom been developed in Thailand. This study aimed at estimating ground-level PM
2.5
concentration at 3 km × 3 km spatial resolution over Northern region of Thailand in 2021 using the random forest model integrating the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) AOD products from Terra and Aqua satellites, meteorological factors, and land use data. A random forest model contained 100 decision trees was utilized to train the model, and 10-fold cross-validation approach was implemented to validate the model performance. The good consistency between actual (observed) and predicted concentrations of PM
2.5
in Northern region of Thailand was observed, where a coefficient of determination (
R
2
) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the model fitting were 0.803 and 14.30 μg/m
3
, respectively, and those of 10-fold cross-validation approach were 0.796 and 14.64 μg/m
3
, respectively. The three most important predictors for estimating the ground-level concentrations of PM
2.5
in this study were normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), relative humidity, and number of fire hotspot, respectively. Findings from this study revealed that integrating the MODIS AOD, meteorological variables, and land use data into the random forest model precisely and accurately estimated ground-level PM
2.5
concentration over Northern region of Thailand that can be further used to investigate the effects of PM
2.5
exposure on health consequences, even in unmonitored locations, in epidemiological studies.
The adsorption process of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto a stainless steel surface was investigated using the quartz crystal microbalance based on admittance analysis. The adhered mass change ∆m ...increased with time as a result of contacting the BSA solution, and considerably long period (>2 h) was required for the attainment of the asymptotic values of ∆m as well as dissipation factor ∆D. The relation between ΔD and Δm suggested that the layer of adsorbed BSA molecules became stiffer with increasing time at higher BSA concentration. The relation between Δm after 2 h and the final BSA concentration was described well by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. However, the time course of Δm clearly deviated from the Langmuir adsorption model. The stretched exponential function model described the time course of Δm well although it was an empirical one.
Polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS), are categorized as biodegradable bioplastics that have progressively being utilized as food packaging replacing the obtrusive petroleum ...plastic. This study aims to evaluate the toxicity of bioplastics and petroleum-based plastic polyethylene (PE) on Artemia franciscana and animal cell lines. Each plastic sample was assessed in its powdered form, and the size distribution of PE, PLA, and PBS microplastic particles was observed by optical microscopy. Additionally, the toxicity of hatching percentage and mortality rate was investigated. The results demonstrated that the percentage of hatching and the mortality rate post treatment with PLA and PBS particles for 24 and 48 h did not significantly alter in comparison to those treated with PE particles. However, the percentage of Artemia hatching reduced post treatment with plastic particles in comparison to the control, as well as the mortality rate increased with a high concentration of plastic particles. The morphology of Artemia after ingesting microplastic particles was obtained using phase contrast inverted microscopy. The accumulation of plastic in the Artemia gut was observed succeeding its exposure to PE, PLA, and PBS particles. In addition, the cytotoxicity of plastics on human keratinocyte (HaCaT), normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF), and African green monkey kidney (Vero) cell lines were determined by MTT assay. The result exhibited that increasing concentrations of microplastic particles had substantially less toxic to practically nontoxic effect on the cells. The biomolecule profile by synchrotron-IR technique displayed that plastics potentially have more alteration effect in epithelial kidney cells (Vero) than fibroblasts (NHDF) and keratinocytes (HaCaT). Our results demonstrate that PE, PLA, and PBS had toxicity on Artemia following ingestion, in accordance with the concentration and duration tests. Moreover, microplastic particles were nontoxic or harmless to animal cell lines and altered some intracellular biomolecule profiles. These discoveries are essential not only for environmental health risk assessment but also in order to establish recommendations toward safer utilization of bioplastics-based materials for a robust lifestyle.
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An article published in this journal used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of combining chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ) and zinc in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. ...Findings from this study indicate that zinc supplements did not enhance the clinical efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in improving COVID-19 treatment. Although this finding is consistent with many previous studies, several concerns regarding study protocol and trial registration, including interventions and primary outcomes, have been raised in which the protocol has been changed after the completion of the recruitment.
Kidney dysfunction is considered a cardiovascular risk factor. However, few longitudinal studies have examined the effects of air pollution on kidney function. We evaluated associations between ...long-term air pollution exposure and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using data from a cohort of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) study in Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand.
This longitudinal study included 1839 subjects (aged 52–71 years in 2002) from the EGAT1 cohort study during 2002–2012. eGFR, based on creatinine, was measured in 2002, 2007, and 2012. Annual mean concentrations of air pollutants (i.e., particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO)) prior to a measurement of creatinine were assessed with the ordinary kriging method. Mixed-effect linear regression models were used to assess associations between air pollutants and eGFR, while controlling for potential covariates. eGFR values are expressed as percent change per interquartile range (IQR) increments of each pollutant.
Lower eGFR was associated with higher concentrations of PM10 (−1.99%, 95% confidence interval (CI): −3.33, −0.63), SO2 (−4.89%, 95%CI: −6.69, −3.07), and CO (−0.97%, 95%CI: −1.96, 0.03). However, after adjusting for temperature, relative humidity, PM10, and SO2, no significant association was observed between CO and eGFR.
Our findings support the hypothesis that long-term exposure to high concentrations of PM10 and SO2 is associated with the progression of kidney dysfunction in subjects of the EGAT cohort study.
•Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is used for kidney disease staging.•Long-term exposure to PM10 and SO2 was associated with lower eGFR.•These findings suggest that air pollution affects kidney function.
Two numerical simulations are being used to quality of the water in a non-uniform flow stream. The first model is a hydrodynamic model that uses the Crank-Nicolson formula to provide velocity profile ...and level of water. The second phase is a dispersion model, where the governing function uses advection-dispersion-reaction equations to provide the concentrations of contaminants. The first and second models are described as one-dimensional equations. The first determined flow velocity profile of the hydrodynamic model shall be the input into the dispersion model at each phase. The finite difference methods are proposed to solve the dispersion model a four points explicit upwind schemes, a third order Crank-Nicolson schemes, and the four points implicit methods, which give the approximated pollutant concentrations. Finally, we present a numerical simulation of all schemes, so as to illustrate their applicability to real-world problems. The proposed topic is related and economic to be used in real-world challenges relatively low cost of the program and the straightforwardness of its implementations. It is also good to achieve suitable places and easier timeframes for different discharge locations.
Abstract
Objectives
Cutibacterium acnes is one of the common multifactorial causes that play an important role in the pathophysiology of acne vulgaris. We aimed to develop novel antimicrobial ...peptides for reduction of the hypercolonization.
Methods
Six cationic peptides were derived by de novo designation. The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of peptides were investigated. The peptide conformation was determined by circular dichroism spectrometry. The antimicrobial effects of peptides were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and DNA-binding ability assay.
Results
Among designed peptides, WSKK11 and WSRR11 were effective antimicrobials against C. acnes at MICs of 128 and 64 mg/L, respectively. The MICs of WSKK11 against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were 8, 8 and 32 mg/L, while those of WSRR11 were 64, 32 and 32 mg/L, respectively. WSKK11 and WSRR11 were less toxic to human erythrocytes (<2%) and not toxic to macrophages, keratinocytes and fibroblasts up to 512 mg/L. WSKK11 and WSRR11 mostly revealed the conformation of the undefined or random coil structures under mimicked environmental conditions. The peptides affected cell surfaces and cell membranes of C. acnes as well as possibly translocating through the cell membrane, observed by a combination of SEM and TEM, respectively. WSKK11 and WSRR11 had the ability to bind bacterial DNA.
Conclusions
The two novel antimicrobial peptides WSKK11 and WSRR11 are members of a new class of antimicrobial agents that could deal with acne problems. Therefore, the antimicrobial peptides may be promising novel active agents for dermatological, beauty and cosmeceutical applications.
We aimed to enhance understanding of the molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) by building a new global dataset targeting previously unstudied geographical areas. In total, we ...sampled 96 plant species from 25 sites that encompassed all continents except Antarctica. AMF in plant roots were detected by sequencing the nuclear SSU rRNA gene fragment using either cloning followed by Sanger sequencing or 454-sequencing. A total of 204 AMF phylogroups (virtual taxa, VT) were recorded, increasing the described number of Glomeromycota VT from 308 to 341 globally. Novel VT were detected from 21 sites; three novel but nevertheless widespread VT (Glomus spp. MO-G52, MO-G53, MO-G57) were recorded from six continents. The largest increases in regional VT number were recorded in previously little-studied Oceania and in the boreal and polar climatic zones — this study providing the first molecular data from the latter. Ordination revealed differences in AM fungal communities between different continents and climatic zones, suggesting that both biogeographic history and environmental conditions underlie the global variation of those communities. Our results show that a considerable proportion of Glomeromycota diversity has been recorded in many regions, though further large increases in richness can be expected in remaining unstudied areas.
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