The mainstream smoke yields of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined for 50 commercial U.S. cigarettes using a validated GC/MS method with the International Organization of ...Standardization (ISO) and Canadian Intense (CI) smoking machine regimens. PAH mainstream smoke deliveries vary widely among the commercial cigarettes with the ISO smoking regimen primarily because of differing filter ventilation. The more abundant, lower molecular weight PAHs such as naphthalene, fluorene, and phenanthrene predominantly comprise the total PAH yields. In contrast, delivery yields of high molecular weight PAHs such as benzobfluoranthene, benzoepyrene, benzokfluoranthene, and benzoapyrene (BaP) are much lower. Comparative analysis of PAHs deliveries shows brand specific differences. Correlation analysis shows strong positive associations between BaP and most of the other PAHs as well as total PAHs. The results suggest that BaP may be a representative marker for other PAH constituents in cigarette smoke generated from similarly blended tobacco, particularly those PAHs with similar molecular weights and chemical structures.
China faces a major increase in cardiovascular disease, yet there is limited population‐based data on risk factors, particularly in children. Fasting blood samples, anthropometry and blood pressure ...were collected on 9,244 children and adults aged ≥7 years in late 2009 as part of the national China Health and Nutrition Survey. Prevalent overweight, elevated blood pressure, and cardiometabolic risk factors: glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high‐ and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C and LDL‐C), and C‐reactive protein (CRP) are presented. We found that 11% of Chinese children and 30% of Chinese adults are overweight. Rates of diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and inflammation are high and increased with age and were associated with urbanization. Approximately 42% of children have at least one of the following: pre‐diabetes or diabetes, hypertension, high TC, LDL‐C, TG, and CRP and low HDL‐C, as do 70% men and 60% women aged 18–40 years and >90% of men and women ≥60 years. In sum, the HbA1c findings suggest that as many as 27.7 million Chinese children and 334 million Chinese adults may be pre‐diabetic or diabetic. The high prevalence in less urban areas and across all income levels suggests that cardiometabolic risk is pervasive across rural and urban China.
This study focuses on a determination of the cell voltage losses observed for Pt and PtRu loading reductions in H
2/air and reformate/air polymer/electrolyte-membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Experiments ...with catalyst-coated membranes (CCM) of varying anode and cathode catalyst loadings with H
2/O
2 and H
2/air demonstrate that the anode catalyst loading in
state-of-the-art membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) operating on pure H
2 can be reduced to 0.05
mg
Pt/cm
2 without significant voltage losses, while the cell voltage losses upon a reduction of the cathode catalyst loading from 0.40 to 0.20
mg
Pt/cm
2 for optimized MEAs amounts to 10–20
mV, consistent with purely kinetic losses due to the oxygen reduction reaction. It is shown that H
2/air operation with
state-of-the-art MEAs very closely approaches the Pt-specific power density (in units of g
Pt/kW) for large-scale automotive fuel cell applications with pure H
2 feed.
For reformate/air operation, PtRu anode loadings can be reduced to 0.20
mg
PtRu/cm
2 for reformate containing 100
ppm CO with a 2% air-bleed. Any further reduction will, however, require either a change in operating conditions (i.e. lower CO concentration or cell temperature ⪢80
°C) or novel, more CO-tolerant anode catalysts.
Structural and functional homologies between the Zika and Dengue viruses' envelope proteins raise the possibility that cross-reactive antibodies induced following Zika virus infection might enhance ...subsequent Dengue infection. Using the rhesus macaque model we show that prior infection with Zika virus leads to a significant enhancement of Dengue-2 viremia that is accompanied by neutropenia, lympocytosis, hyperglycemia, and higher reticulocyte counts, along with the activation of pro-inflammatory monocyte subsets and release of inflammatory mediators. Zika virus infection induced detectable Dengue cross-reactive serum IgG responses that significantly amplified after Dengue-2 virus infection. Serum from Zika virus immune animals collected prior to Dengue-2 infection showed significant capacity for in vitro antibody dependent enhancement of Dengue-1, 2, 3 and 4 serotypes suggesting that pre-existing immunity to Zika virus could potentially enhance infection by heterologous Dengue serotypes. Our results provide first in vivo evidence that prior exposure to Zika virus infection can enhance Dengue infection, which has implications for understanding pathogenesis and the development of vaccines.
Wastewater treatment plants often face the problems of sludge settling mainly due to sludge bulking. Generally, synthetic organic polymer and/or inorganic coagulants (ferric chloride, alum and quick ...lime) are used for sludge settling. These chemicals are very expensive and further pollute the environment. Whereas, the bioflocculants are environment friendly and may be used to flocculate the sludge. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by sludge microorganisms play a definite role in sludge flocculation. In this study, 25 EPS producing strains were isolated from municipal wastewater treatment plant. Microorganisms were selected based on EPS production properties on solid agar medium. Three types of EPS (slime, capsular and bacterial broth mixture of both slime and capsular) were harvested and their characteristics were studied. EPS concentration (dry weight), viscosity and their charge (using a Zetaphoremeter) were also measured. Bioflocculability of obtained EPS was evaluated by measuring the kaolin clay flocculation activity. Six bacterial strains (BS2, BS8, BS9, BS11, BS15 and BS25) were selected based on the kaolin clay flocculation. The slime EPS was better for bioflocculation than capsular EPS and bacterial broth. Therefore, extracted slime EPS (partially purified) from six bacterial strains was studied in terms of sludge settling sludge volume index (SVI) and dewatering capillary suction time (CST). Biopolymers produced by individual strains substantially improved dewaterability. The extracted slime EPS from six different strains were partially characterized.
In order to develop high strength metal–matrix composites with acceptable ductility, bulk nanostructured aluminum–matrix composites reinforced with graphene nanoflakes were fabricated by cryomilling ...and hot extrusion processes. Microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized and determined using transmission electron microscopy, electron dispersion spectroscopy, as well as static tensile tests. The results show that, with an addition of only 0.5wt% graphene nanoflakes, the bulk nanostructured aluminum/graphene composite exhibited increased strength and unsubdued ductility over pure aluminum. Besides, the mechanical properties of the composites with higher content of graphene nanoflakes were also measured and investigated. Above 1.0wt% of graphene nanoflakes, however, this strengthening effect sharply dropped due to the clustering of graphene nanoflakes. Furthermore, the optimal addition of graphene nanoflakes into the nanocrystalline aluminum matrix was calculated and discussed.
Receptor for AGE (RAGE) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that engages distinct classes of ligands. The biology of RAGE is driven by the settings in which these ligands accumulate, such ...as diabetes, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders and tumors. In this review, we discuss the context of each of these classes of ligands, including advance glycation end-products, amyloid beta peptide and the family of beta sheet fibrils, S100/calgranulins and amphoterin. Implications for the role of these ligands interacting with RAGE in homeostasis and disease will be considered.
BACKGROUND
Chikungunya virus, a mosquito‐borne arbovirus, often co‐circulates with the Zika, dengue, and yellow fever viruses in Aedes mosquito‐infested areas where cases of arbovirus ...transfusion‐transmitted infections have been reported. Building on past experience to help maintain the availability of safe components during major outbreaks of chikungunya virus in La Reunion, Italy, and Thailand and of Zika virus in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Americas, pathogen inactivation is a mitigation strategy to reduce the risk of transfusion‐transmitted infection. Inactivation of chikungunya virus was investigated for platelets in 100% plasma using amotosalen/ultraviolet A light, and in red blood cells using amustaline/glutathione.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS
Platelets in 100% plasma and red blood cells (RBCs) were spiked with chikungunya virus. Infectious chikungunya virus titers were measured in contaminated blood products before and after treatment with amotosalen/ultraviolet A light for platelets in 100% plasma and after treatment with amustaline/glutathione for RBCs. Viral infectivity was quantified by plaque assay.
RESULTS
The mean chikungunya virus infectivity titers before inactivation were 6.50 log10 plaque‐forming units/mL for platelets in 100% plasma and 7.60 log10 plaque‐forming units/mL for RBCs. No infectivity was detected after amotosalen/ultraviolet A light or amustaline/glutathione treatment, corresponding to greater than 6.5 log10 plaque‐forming units/mL and greater than 7.1 log10 plaque‐forming units/mL of inactivation, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Robust levels of chikungunya virus inactivation were achieved for platelets in 100% plasma and for RBC components. The licensed amotosalen/ultraviolet A light technology and the amustaline/glutathione pathogen‐reduction system under development may provide an opportunity for comprehensive mitigation of the risk of chikungunya virus transfusion‐transmitted infection by plasma, platelets, and RBCs.
The small intestine epithelium undergoes rapid and continuous regeneration supported by crypt intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Bmi1 and Lgr5 have been independently identified to mark long-lived ...multipotent ISCs by lineage tracing in mice; however, the functional distinctions between these two populations remain undefined. Here, we demonstrate that Bmi1 and Lgr5 mark two functionally distinct ISCs in vivo. Lgr5 marks mitotically active ISCs that exhibit exquisite sensitivity to canonical Wnt modulation, contribute robustly to homeostatic regeneration, and are quantitatively ablated by irradiation. In contrast, Bmi1 marks quiescent ISCs that are insensitive to Wnt perturbations, contribute weakly to homeostatic regeneration, and are resistant to high-dose radiation injury. After irradiation, however, the normally quiescent Bmi1+ ISCs dramatically proliferate to clonally repopulate multiple contiguous crypts and villi. Clonogenic culture of isolated single Bmi1+ ISCs yields long-lived self-renewing spheroids of intestinal epithelium that produce Lgr5-expressing cells, thereby establishing a lineage relationship between these two populations in vitro. Taken together, these data provide direct evidence that Bmi1 marks quiescent, injury-inducible reserve ISCs that exhibit striking functional distinctions from Lgr5+ ISCs and support a model whereby distinct ISC populations facilitate homeostatic vs. injury-induced regeneration.
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