Commercially available activated carbon cloth electrodes are treated using nitric acid and ethylenediamine solutions, resulting in chemical surface charge enhanced carbon electrodes for capacitive ...deionization (CDI) applications. Surface charge enhanced electrodes are then configured in a CDI cell to examine their salt removal at a fixed charging voltage and both reduced and opposite polarity discharge voltages, and subsequently compared to the salt removal of untreated electrodes. Substantially improved salt removal due to chemical surface charge and the use of a discharge voltage of opposite sign to the charging voltage is clearly demonstrated in these CDI cycling tests, an observation which for the first time validates both enhanced CDI and extended-voltage CDI effects predicted by the Donnan model Biesheuvel et al., Colloids Interf. Sci. Comm., 10.1016/j.colcom.2015.12.001 (2016). Our experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the use of carbon electrodes with optimized chemical surface charge can extend the CDI working voltage window through discharge voltages of opposite sign to the charging voltage, which can significantly enhance the salt adsorption capacity of CDI electrodes. Thus, in addition to carbon pore size distribution, chemical surface charge in carbon micropores is considered foundational for salt removal in CDI cells.
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•Improved salt removal due to chemical surface charge and a reduction in discharge voltage was observed.•The amphoteric Donnan model properly predicts salt removal for CDI cells.•Both the extended voltage CDI and enhanced CDI effects were validated.•Carbon surface charge significantly impacts salt removal in CDI cells.
We systematically study how diverse physiologic systems in the human organism dynamically interact and collectively behave to produce distinct physiologic states and functions. This is a fundamental ...question in the new interdisciplinary field of Network Physiology, and has not been previously explored. Introducing the novel concept of Time Delay Stability (TDS), we develop a computational approach to identify and quantify networks of physiologic interactions from long-term continuous, multi-channel physiological recordings. We also develop a physiologically-motivated visualization framework to map networks of dynamical organ interactions to graphical objects encoded with information about the coupling strength of network links quantified using the TDS measure. Applying a system-wide integrative approach, we identify distinct patterns in the network structure of organ interactions, as well as the frequency bands through which these interactions are mediated. We establish first maps representing physiologic organ network interactions and discover basic rules underlying the complex hierarchical reorganization in physiologic networks with transitions across physiologic states. Our findings demonstrate a direct association between network topology and physiologic function, and provide new insights into understanding how health and distinct physiologic states emerge from networked interactions among nonlinear multi-component complex systems. The presented here investigations are initial steps in building a first atlas of dynamic interactions among organ systems.
Summary
Human dental plaque is a complex microbial community containing an estimated 700 to 19,000 species/phylotypes. Despite numerous studies analysing species richness in healthy and diseased ...human subjects, the true genomic composition of the human dental plaque microbiota remains unknown. Here we report a metagenomic analysis of a healthy human plaque sample using a combination of second‐generation sequencing platforms. A total of 860 million base pairs of non‐human sequences were generated. Various analysis tools revealed the presence of 12 well‐characterized phyla, members of the TM‐7 and BRC1 clade, and sequences that could not be classified. Both pathogens and opportunistic pathogens were identified, supporting the ecological plaque hypothesis for oral diseases. Mapping the metagenomic reads to sequenced reference genomes demonstrated that 4% of the reads could be assigned to the sequenced species. Preliminary annotation identified genes belonging to all known functional categories. Interestingly, although 73% of the total assembled contig sequences were predicted to code for proteins, only 51% of them could be assigned a functional role. Furthermore, ∼ 2.8% of the total predicted genes coded for proteins involved in resistance to antibiotics and toxic compounds, suggesting that the oral cavity is an important reservoir for antimicrobial resistance.
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), especially resulting from placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), has become a worldwide concern in maternity care. We describe a novel method of uterine compression sutures ...(the ‘Nausicaa’ technique) as an alternative to hysterectomy for patients who have suffered from major PPH. We applied this technique in 68 patients with major PPH during caesarean section (including 43 patients with PAS, 20 patients with placenta praevia totalis, and five patients with uterine atony), and none of these patients required further hysterectomy. We conclude that our Nausicaa suture is a simple and feasible alternative to hysterectomy in patients suffering from major PPH.
Despite the vast progress and achievements in systems biology and integrative physiology in the last decades, there is still a significant gap in understanding the mechanisms through which (i) ...genomic, proteomic and metabolic factors and signaling pathways impact vertical processes across cells, tissues and organs leading to the expression of different disease phenotypes and influence the functional and clinical associations between diseases, and (ii) how diverse physiological systems and organs coordinate their functions over a broad range of space and time scales and horizontally integrate to generate distinct physiologic states at the organism level. Two emerging fields, network medicine and network physiology, aim to address these fundamental questions. Novel concepts and approaches derived from recent advances in network theory, coupled dynamical systems, statistical and computational physics show promise to provide new insights into the complexity of physiological structure and function in health and disease, bridging the genetic and sub-cellular level with inter-cellular interactions and communications among integrated organ systems and sub-systems. These advances form first building blocks in the methodological formalism and theoretical framework necessary to address fundamental problems and challenges in physiology and medicine. This 'focus on' issue contains 26 articles representing state-of-the-art contributions covering diverse systems from the sub-cellular to the organism level where physicists have key role in laying the foundations of these new fields.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation plays a role in atherosclerosis; therefore the lower the formation of oxidative LDL (oxLDL), the lower the occurrence of coronary heart diseases (CHD). ...Mulberry, the fruit of Morus alba L., is used effectively in Chinese medicines for prevention of CHD. However, the mechanism of this action is unclear. Two extracts, MWEs (mulberry water extracts) and MACs (mulberry anthocyanin-rich extracts), which exhibit antioxidative and anti-atherosclerogensis abilities in vitro. Data showed that MWEs and MACs were able to inhibit (P < 0.05) the relative electrophoretic mobility (REM), ApoB fragmentation, and thiobarbituric acid reaction substances (TBARS) formation in Cu²⁺-mediated oxidation LDL. MWEs and MACs also had the ability of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging for reducing the formation of free radicals mediated by copper ions. Furthermore, we observed that MWEs and MACs could decrease (P < 0.05) macrophage death induced by oxLDL. In addition, the MWEs and MACs also could inhibit (P < 0.05) the formation of foam cells. Both MWEs and MACs showed a great ability of scavenging radicals, inhibition of LDL oxidation, and decrease in atherogenic stimuli in macrophages, while the efficacy of MACs is 10-fold greater than that of MWEs. It also demonstrated that anthocyanin components in mulberry extracts were regarded as the prevention of atherosclerosis.
Objectives
Reciprocal age-related impairments in physical and cognitive functioning have been termed ‘cognitive frailty’, which is associated with adverse health outcomes and is a potential target ...for preventing or delaying the onset of disability in older people. However, cognitive frailty as currently defined is challenging to diagnose. To facilitate earlier diagnosis and intervention, we conducted this study to develop and validate a simple evidence-based instrument to identify community-dwelling elders at risk of cognitive frailty.
Design
Retrospective analyses of data from the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study (ILAS) to develop a prediction model, and from the Longitudinal Aging Study of Taipei (LAST) for external validation.
Setting
Community-dwelling adults from Taipei City, New Taipei City and Yilan (I-Lan) County, Taiwan.
Participants
1271 community residents ≥65 years old, without impaired global cognition or dependency for activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living.
Measurements
Demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, medical history, Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Functional Autonomy Measuring System, Functional Assessment Staging Test, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, handgrip strength, 6-metre walk speed.
Methods
Baseline characteristics of groups with/without cognitive frailty were analyzed and factors differing significantly in univariate analysis input to binary logistic regression to develop a cognitive frailty risk (CFR) score.
Results
The prevalence of cognitive frailty was 15.8% overall; ILAS 21.4%, LAST 8.4%. Predictors of CFR comprised: age ≥75 years; female sex; waist circumference ≥90 cm (male), ≥80 cm (female); calf circumference <33 cm (male), <32 cm (female); memory deficits; and diabetes mellitus. CFR ≥5/14 had sensitivity of 70%, specificity of 60%, and predictive accuracy of 72%.
Conclusions
A CFR score based on simple history-taking and anthropometric measurements integrates age, sex, cardiometabolic risk, memory deficits, sarcopenia, and nutrition, with validated predictive accuracy, and could be performed easily in community settings to identify seniors with cognitive frailty for appropriate interventions.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and its impact on mortality, functional decline and cognitive impairment among elder residents in long-term care settings. DESIGNS: A ...prospective cohort study. SETTINGS: Two veteran homes in Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1,248 male residents aged equal or more than 65 years. MEASUREMENTS: Charlson’s comorbidity index (CCI), Minimum data set (MDS), resident assessment protocols (RAP), Activity of daily living-Hierarchy scale, Cognitive Performance Scale, MDS Social engagement scale. RESULTS: The mean age of participants is 83.1 ± 5.1 years, and the prevalence of malnutrition was 6.1%. Inadequate dietary content (57.9%) and unintentional weight loss (31.6%) account for the majority of malnutrition identified by MDS tool. Higher 18-month mortality rate (25% vs. 14.2%), higher baseline CCI (median 1 vs. 0), and higher baseline sum of RAP triggers (median 8.5 vs. 5) were noted among residents with malnutrition. Furthermore, malnutrition was shown predictive for functional decline (OR: 3.096, 95% CI: 1.715-5.587) and potential cognitive improvement (OR: 2.469, 95% CI: 1.188-5.128) among survivors after adjustment for age, body mass index and CCI. CONCLUSION: Malnutrition among elder men residing in veteran homes was associated with multimoridities and higher care complexity, and was predictive for mortality and functional decline.
Memory storage involves activity-dependent strengthening of synaptic transmission, a process termed long-term potentiation (LTP). The late phase of LTP is thought to encode long-term memory and ...involves structural processes that enlarge the synapse. Hence, understanding how synapse size is graded provides fundamental information about the information storage capability of synapses. Recent work using electron microscopy (EM) to quantify synapse dimensions has suggested that synapses may structurally encode as many as 26 functionally distinct states, which correspond to a series of proportionally spaced synapse sizes. Other recent evidence using super-resolution microscopy has revealed that synapses are composed of stereotyped nanoclusters of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors and scaffolding proteins; furthermore, synapse size varies linearly with the number of nanoclusters. Here we have sought to develop a model of synapse structure and growth that is consistent with both the EM and super-resolution data. We argue that synapses are composed of modules consisting of matrix material and potentially one nanocluster. LTP induction can add a trans-synaptic nanocluster to a module, thereby converting a silent module to an AMPA functional module. LTP can also add modules by a linear process, thereby producing an approximately 10-fold gradation in synapse size and strength.
This article is part of the themed issue ‘Integrating Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity’.
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