► Chemical, physical and microbial properties of green waste composts. ► Increasing additions of biosolids increased EC, extractable N and P. ► Decreased pH and microbial activity but increased ...fungal richness. ► PCA separated fungal communities based on biosolids addition.
The effects of adding biosolids to a green waste feedstock (100% green waste, 25% v/v biosolids or 50% biosolids) on the properties of composted products were investigated. Following initial composting, 20% soil or 20% fly ash/river sand mix was added to the composts as would be carried out commercially to produce manufactured soil. Temperatures during composting reached 50°C, or above, for 23days when biosolids were included as a composting feedstock but temperatures barely reached 40°C when green waste alone was composted. Addition of biosolids to the feedstock increased total N, EC, extractable NH4, NO3 and P but lowered pH, macroporosity, water holding capacity, microbial biomass C and basal respiration in composts. Additions of soil or ash/sand to the composts greatly increased the available water holding capacity of the materials. Principal component analysis (PCA) of PCR-DGGE 16S rDNA amplicons separated bacterial communities according to addition of soil to the compost. For fungal ITS-RNA amplicons, PCA separated communities based on the addition of biosolids. Bacterial species richness and Shannon’s diversity index were greatest for composts where soil had been added but for fungal communities these parameters were greatest in the treatments where 50% biosolids had been included. These results were interpreted in relation to soil having an inoculation effect and biosolids having an acidifying effect thereby favouring a fungal community.
Nav channels are essential for metazoan membrane depolarization, and Nav channel dysfunction is directly linked with epilepsy, ataxia, pain, arrhythmia, myotonia, and irritable bowel syndrome. Human ...Nav channelopathies are primarily caused by variants that directly affect Nav channel permeability or gating. However, a new class of human Nav channelopathies has emerged based on channel variants that alter regulation by intracellular signaling or cytoskeletal proteins. Fibroblast growth factor homologous factors (FHFs) are a family of intracellular signaling proteins linked with Nav channel regulation in neurons and myocytes. However, to date, there is surprisingly little evidence linking Nav channel gene variants with FHFs and human disease. Here, we provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that mutations in SCN5A (encodes primary cardiac Nav channel Nav1.5) that alter FHF binding result in human cardiovascular disease. We describe a five*generation kindred with a history of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and sudden cardiac death. Affected family members harbor a novel SCN5A variant resulting in p.H1849R. p.H1849R is localized in the central binding core on Nav1.5 for FHFs. Consistent with these data, Nav1.5 p.H1849R affected interaction with FHFs. Further, electrophysiological analysis identified Nav1.5 p.H1849R as a gain-of-function for INa by altering steady-state inactivation and slowing the rate of Nav1.5 inactivation. In line with these data and consistent with human cardiac phenotypes, myocytes expressing Nav1.5 p.H1849R displayed prolonged action potential duration and arrhythmogenic afterdepolarizations. Together, these findings identify a previously unexplored mechanism for human Nav channelopathy based on altered Nav1.5 association with FHF proteins.
The analysis and fractionation of large DNA molecules plays a key role in many genome projects. The standard method, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), is slow, with running times ranging from ...10 hours to more than 200 hours. In this report, we describe a thumbnail-sized device that sorts large DNA fragments (61-209 kilobases (kb)) in 15 seconds, with a resolution of approximately 13%. An array of micron-scale posts serves as the sieving matrix, and integrated microfluidic channels spatially shape the electric fields over the matrix. Asymmetric pulsed fields are applied for continuous-flow operation, which sorts DNA molecules in different directions according to their molecular masses, much as a prism deflects light of different wavelengths at different angles. We demonstrate the robustness of the device by using it to separate large DNA inserts prepared from bacterial artificial chromosomes, a widely used DNA source for most genomics projects.
In a previous work, we demonstrated the propulsive force produced by controllable traveling mechanical waves in a thin plastic sheet suspended in air above a flat surface, thus confirming the ...physical basis for a "flying" carpet near a horizontal surface. Here, we discuss the fundamental and experimental conditions for realizing such a demonstration. We first present the theory motivating our work and use it to determine the range of experimental conditions most likely to produce a forward propulsive force. We then present a detailed description of the experimental approach to produce the traveling waves, including integrated piezoelectric actuators and sensors to provide feedback control, artifact elimination, and power considerations.
This project aimed to optimize communication strategies to support family communication about familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and improve cascade testing uptake among at-risk relatives. ...Individuals and families with FH provided feedback on multiple strategies including: a family letter, digital tools, and direct contact.
Feedback from participants was collected via dyadic interviews (n = 11) and surveys (n = 98) on communication strategies and their proposed implementation to improve cascade testing uptake. We conducted a thematic analysis to identify how to optimize each strategy. We categorized optimizations and their implementation within the project's healthcare system using a Traffic Light approach.
Thematic analysis resulted in four distinct suggested optimizations for each communication strategy and seven suggested optimizations that were suitable across all strategies. Four suggestions for developing a comprehensive cascade testing program, which would offer all optimized communication strategies also emerged. All optimized suggestions coded green (n = 21) were incorporated. Suggestions coded yellow (n = 12) were partially incorporated. Only two suggestions were coded red and could not be incorporated.
This project demonstrates how to collect and analyze stakeholder feedback for program design. We identified feasible suggested optimizations, resulting in communication strategies that are patient-informed and patient-centered. Optimized strategies were implemented in a comprehensive cascade testing program.
Metastasis, the truly lethal aspect of cancer, occurs when metastatic cancer cells in a tumor break through the basement membrane and penetrate the extracellular matrix. We show that MDA-MB-231 ...metastatic breast cancer cells cooperatively invade a 3D collagen matrix while following a glucose gradient. The invasion front of the cells is a dynamic one, with different cells assuming the lead on a time scale of 70 h. The front cell leadership is dynamic presumably because of metabolic costs associated with a long-range strain field that precedes the invading cell front, which we have imaged using confocal imaging and marker beads imbedded in the collagen matrix. We suggest this could be a quantitative assay for an invasive phenotype tracking a glucose gradient and show that the invading cells act in a cooperative manner by exchanging leaders in the invading front.
Material properties of orthorhombic κ-phase (InxGa1−x)2O3 thin films grown on a c-plane sapphire substrate by pulsed-laser deposition are reported for an indium content up to x ∼ 0.35. This extended ...range of miscibility enables band gap engineering between 4.3 and 4.9 eV. The c-lattice constant as well as the bandgap depends linearly on the In content. For x > 0.35, a phase change to the hexagonal InGaO3(ii) and the cubic bixbyite structure occurred. The dielectric function and the refractive index were determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry as a function of the alloy composition. We propose zirconium to induce n-type conductivity and have achieved electrically conducting thin films with a room temperature conductivity of up to 0.1 S/cm for samples with a low In content of about x = 0.01. Temperature-dependent Hall-effect measurements yielded a thermal activation energy of the free electron density of 190 meV. Schottky barrier diodes with rectification ratios up to 106 were investigated by quasi-static capacitance voltage and temperature-dependent current voltage measurements.
BACKGROUNDTinnitus and vertigo have been studied in many ways. This led to a variety of explanations from multiple medical disciplines. The musculature of the jaw and cervical spine have also been ...researched in this regard. Dysfunctional musculature can trigger tinnitus and dizziness. This subtype of tinnitus is called cervicogenic somatosensory tinnitus. OBJECTIVEThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of manual therapy on subject-reported, individually perceived impairment due to cervicogenic somatosensory tinnitus (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory), dizziness (Dizziness Handicap Inventory), and hypertonia of the musculature of the head and cervical spine. MATERIALS AND METHODSIn a prospective randomized trial, 80 patients (40 in the intervention group/40 in the control group) were medically examined and interviewed. Afterwards, they received targeted manual therapy. RESULTSAfter manual therapy, there were significant differences in the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Dizziness Handicap Inventory, and muscular hypertonia between the groups, all in favor of the intervention group. CONCLUSIONManual examination and therapy proved to be effective. It should be increasingly applied in the absence of ENT pathology and suspected cervicogenic somatosensory tinnitus. The role of individual muscles requires further investigation.
PDF
