Commercialization of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology in North America: Pathways to Success in Northeast Ohio

The feasibility of hydrogen as a source of energy has been researched in one capacity or another for over a century. The first usage of the term ‘hydrogen economy’ is attributed to 11John Bockris in 1970. At the time, Dr. Bockris was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. During a discussion at the General Motors technical center in Michigan he used this term to describe his vision of United States cities being supplied with energy derived from the sun. Typical of a disruptive technology, many years of laboratory testing have created a hydrogen fuel cell product that is ready for the consumer but no commercial markets exist to make the product cost competitive

Any Old Time or Any Old Place

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/3021/thumbnail.jp

Effect of a MUC5AC antibody (NPC-1C) administered with second-line gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel on the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE: Treatment options are limited for patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) beyond first-line 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX), with such individuals commonly being treated with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether NPC-1C, an antibody directed against MUC5AC, might increase the efficacy of second-line gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients with advanced PDAC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter, randomized phase II clinical trial enrolled patients with advanced PDAC between April 2014 and March 2017 whose disease had progressed on first-line FOLFIRINOX. Eligible patients had tumors with at least 20 MUC5AC staining by centralized immunohistochemistry review. Statistical analysis was performed from April to May 2022. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) and nab-paclitaxel (125 mg/m2) administered intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 4-week cycle, with or without intravenous NPC-1C 1.5 mg/kg every 2 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. Pretreatment clinical variables were explored with Cox proportional hazards analysis. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients (median [range] age, 62 [36-78] years; 32 [41%] women; 9 [12%] Black; 66 [85%] White) received second-line treatment with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (n = 40) or gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and NPC-1C (n = 38). Median OS was 6.6 months (95% CI, 4.7-8.4 months) with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel vs 5.0 months (95% CI, 3.3-6.5 months; P = .22) with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and NPC-1C. Median PFS was 2.7 months (95% CI, 1.9-4.1 months) with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel vs 3.4 months (95% CI, 1.9-5.3 months; P = .80) with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and NPC-1C. The ORR was 3.1% (95% CI, 0.4%-19.7%) in the gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and NPC-1C group and 2.9% (95% CI, 0.4%-18.7%) in the gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel group. No differences in toxicity were observed between groups, except that grade 3 or greater anemia occurred more frequently in patients treated with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and NPC-1C than gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (39% [15 of 38] vs 10% [4 of 40]; P = .003). The frequency of chemotherapy dose reductions was similar in both groups (65% vs 74%; P = .47). Lower performance status, hypoalbuminemia, PDAC diagnosis less than or equal to 18 months before trial enrollment, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio less than 2.8, and CA19-9 greater than 2000 IU/mL were independently associated with poorer survival. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this randomized clinical trial of advanced PDAC, NPC-1C did not enhance the efficacy of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel. These data provide a benchmark for future trials investigating second-line treatment of PDAC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01834235

Steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome candidate gene CLVS1 regulates podocyte oxidative stress and endocytosis

We performed next-generation sequencing in patients with familial steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) and identified a homozygous segregating variant (p.H310Y) in the gene encoding clavesin-1 (CLVS1) in a consanguineous family with 3 affected individuals. Knockdown of the clavesin gene in zebrafish (clvs2) produced edema phenotypes due to disruption of podocyte structure and loss of glomerular filtration barrier integrity that could be rescued by WT CLVS1 but not the p.H310Y variant. Analysis of cultured human podocytes with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated CLVS1 knockout or homozygous H310Y knockin revealed deficits in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and increased susceptibility to apoptosis that could be rescued with corticosteroid treatment, mimicking the steroid responsiveness observed in patients with SSNS. The p.H310Y variant also disrupted binding of clavesin-1 to α-tocopherol transfer protein, resulting in increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in CLVS1-deficient podocytes. Treatment of CLVS1-knockout or homozygous H310Y-knockin podocytes with pharmacological ROS inhibitors restored viability to control levels. Taken together, these data identify CLVS1 as a candidate gene for SSNS, provide insight into therapeutic effects of corticosteroids on podocyte cellular dynamics, and add to the growing evidence of the importance of endocytosis and oxidative stress regulation to podocyte function

Rancang Bangun Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Gelombang Air Laut (Pelampung) Kapasitas 100 Watt

Wilayah bumi didominasi oleh laut. Ombak merupakan gerakan air laut yang turun-naik atau bergulung-gulung. Untuk itu kita akan mencoba menggali informasi tentang tenaga gelombang air laut yang sudah dimanfaatkan oleh banyak negara, termasuk Indonesia. Studi ini membahas tentang cara membuat pembangkit listrik tenaga gelombang air untuk menghasilkan energi listrik. Tujuan pembuatan alat ini adalah pemanfaatan gelombang air laut sebagai energi listrik untuk kebutuhan manusia dan desa-desa pesisir pantai yang belum teraliri listrik. Untuk cara kerja pembangkit listrik tenaga gelombang air laut ini adalah dengan pelampung yang nantinya ketika ada gelombang laut datang pelampung akan terseret mengikuti arah gelombang,otomatis pelampung yang satunya akan terangkat, dan ketika tidak ada gelombang maka posisi pelampung akan kembali seperti semula. Berdasarkan pembuatan alat pembangkit listrik tenaga gelombang laut diperoleh kesimpulan bahwa  putaran Mekanik 744 RPM menghasilkan tegangan dari generator sebesar 30V dan Arus 0.25A, charger controller tegangan 28 V arus 0.37 A,baterai tegangan 12.1 V arus 0.6 A, kemudian inverter DC to AC Tegangan 223 V arus 0.7 A. Dan menghasilkan maksimal beban daya sebesar 130 Watt. Kata kunci : energi alternatif, gear, gelombang air, pelampung

Global Saturated Regulator with Variable Gains for Robot Manipulators

In this paper, we propose a set of saturated controllers with variable gains to solve the regulation problem for robot manipulators in joint space. These control schemes deliver torques inside the prescribed limits of servomotors. The gamma of variable gains is formed by continuous, smooth, and differentiable functions of the joint position error and velocity of the manipulator. A strict Lyapunov function is proposed to demonstrate globally asymptotic stability of the closed-loop equilibrium point. Finally, the functionality and performance of the proposal are illustrated via simulation results and comparative analysis against Proportional-Derivative (PD) control scheme on a two-degrees-freedom direct-drive robot manipulator

Direct Measurement of Performance: A New Era in Antimicrobial Stewardship

Penicillin allergies are among of the most commonly reported allergies, yet only 10% of these patients are truly allergic. This leads to potential inadvertent negative consequences for patients and makes treatment decisions challenging for clinicians. Thus, allergy assessment and penicillin skin testing (PST) are important management strategies to reconcile and clarify labeled penicillin allergies. While PST is more common in the inpatient setting where the results will immediately impact antibiotic management, this process is becoming of increasing importance in the outpatient setting. PST in the outpatient setting allows clinicians to proactively de-label and educate patients accordingly so beta-lactam antibiotics may be appropriately prescribed when necessary for future infections. While allergists have primarily been responsible for PST in the outpatient setting, there is an increasing role for pharmacist involvement in the process. This review highlights the importance of penicillin allergy assessments, considerations for PST in the outpatient setting, education and advocacy for patients and clinicians, and the pharmacist’s role in outpatient PST