Analysis Distribution of Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a Concentration in Belawan Medan North Sumatra

Sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a are important water qualityparameter in the sea, especially the coastal areas. The research was conducted inJanuary - March 2017 in the waters of Belawan, North Sumatera Province with theaim to determine the relationship of sea surface temperature and chlorophyllconcentrations-a.The method used is survey with direct measurements in the watersof Belawan, North Sumatera and using MODIS Aqua satellite image data in March2016 - February 2017. Sea surface temperature MODIS Aqua satellite image datain March 2016 - February 2017 ranged from 29.45 to 31.7oC and chlorophyll-arange of 0.48 to 2.62 mg / l. Field data sea surface temperature ranges from 26-30°Cand chlorophyll-a range of 2.08 to 17.62 mg / l. Interpretation of the data from theMODIS Aqua satellite imagery and field data to explain that the sea surfacetemperature and chlorophyll concentrations-a very weak, r = 0.1791. Data weremapped to show the variability of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-aconcentrations March 2016 until February 2017

Helicobacter pylori interstrain restriction-modification diversity prevents genome subversion by chromosomal DNA from competing strains

Helicobacter pylori, bacteria that colonize the human gastric mucosa, possess a large number of genes for restriction‐modification (R‐M) systems, and essentially, every strain possesses a unique complement of functional and partial R‐M systems. Nearly half of the H.pylori strains studied possess an active type IIs R‐M system, HpyII, with the recognition sequence GAAGA. Recombination between direct repeats that flank the R‐M cassette allows for its deletion whereas strains lacking hpyIIRM can acquire this cassette through natural transformation. We asked whether strains lacking HpyII R‐M activity can acquire an active hpyIIRM cassette [containing a 1.4 kb kanamycin resistance (aphA) marker], whether such acquisition is DNase sensitive or resistant and whether restriction barriers limit acquisition of chromosomal DNA. Our results indicate that natural transformation and conjugation‐like mechanisms may contribute to the transfer of large (4.8 kb) insertions of chromosomal DNA between H.pylori strains, that inactive or partial R‐M systems can be reactivated upon recombination with a functional allele, consistent with their being contingency genes, and that H.pylori R‐M diversity limits acquisition of chromosomal DNA fragments of ≥1 kb

The prognostic impact of comorbidity, nutritional and performance status on patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of nutritional status, comorbidity, and performance status on patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 112 DLBCL patients who were diagnosed at our center between 2009 and 2018. Demographic and disease characteristics and laboratory test results were recorded. Assessments were made using the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (CCI-A) for comorbidity, albumin level for nutritional status, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score for performance status. Results: The mean age of the patients was found to be 62.63 ± 15.16 years. The ECOG score of 65 patients (69.1%) was in the range of 0-1. The mean follow-up time of the patients was determined to be 25.24 ± 25.11 months, and at the end of the follow-up period, 64 patients (57.1%) were survivors. The progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and 5-year OS rates of those with CCI-A > 4 were found to be significantly lower than those with CCI-A score ≤4 (P < 0.05). As a result of the Cox-Regression (Backward: LR method) analysis, ECOG and albumin levels were found to be independent risk factors for both OS and PFS (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CCI-A, ECOG, and nutritional status are independent prognostic markers for DLBCL patients. Initial evaluation of these patients should include all these parameters, which are easily available at the time of diagnosis

MobilomeFINDER: web-based tools for in silico and experimental discovery of bacterial genomic islands

MobilomeFINDER (http://mml.sjtu.edu.cn/MobilomeFINDER) is an interactive online tool that facilitates bacterial genomic island or ‘mobile genome’ (mobilome) discovery; it integrates the ArrayOme and tRNAcc software packages. ArrayOme utilizes a microarray-derived comparative genomic hybridization input data set to generate ‘inferred contigs’ produced by merging adjacent genes classified as ‘present’. Collectively these ‘fragments’ represent a hypothetical ‘microarray-visualized genome (MVG)’. ArrayOme permits recognition of discordances between physical genome and MVG sizes, thereby enabling identification of strains rich in microarray-elusive novel genes. Individual tRNAcc tools facilitate automated identification of genomic islands by comparative analysis of the contents and contexts of tRNA sites and other integration hotspots in closely related sequenced genomes. Accessory tools facilitate design of hotspot-flanking primers for in silico and/or wet-science-based interrogation of cognate loci in unsequenced strains and analysis of islands for features suggestive of foreign origins; island-specific and genome-contextual features are tabulated and represented in schematic and graphical forms. To date we have used MobilomeFINDER to analyse several Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus suis genomes. MobilomeFINDER enables high-throughput island identification and characterization through increased exploitation of emerging sequence data and PCR-based profiling of unsequenced test strains; subsequent targeted yeast recombination-based capture permits full-length sequencing and detailed functional studies of novel genomic islands

Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a vision for achieving a sustainable future. Reliable, timely, comprehensive, and consistent data are critical for measuring progress towards, and ultimately achieving, the SDGs. Data from citizen science represent one new source of data that could be used for SDG reporting and monitoring. However, information is still lacking regarding the current and potential contributions of citizen science to the SDG indicator framework. Through a systematic review of the metadata and work plans of the 244 SDG indicators, as well as the identification of past and ongoing citizen science initiatives that could directly or indirectly provide data for these indicators, this paper presents an overview of where citizen science is already contributing and could contribute data to the SDG indicator framework. The results demonstrate that citizen science is “already contributing” to the monitoring of 5 SDG indicators, and that citizen science “could contribute” to 76 indicators, which, together, equates to around 33%. Our analysis also shows that the greatest inputs from citizen science to the SDG framework relate to SDG 15 Life on Land, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation. Realizing the full potential of citizen science requires demonstrating its value in the global data ecosystem, building partnerships around citizen science data to accelerate SDG progress, and leveraging investments to enhance its use and impact

Pseudomonas aeruginosa utilizes the host-derived polyamine spermidine to facilitate antimicrobial tolerance

Pseudomonas aeruginosa undergoes diversification during infection of the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung. Understanding these changes requires model systems that capture the complexity of the CF lung environment. We previously identified loss-of-function mutations in the 2-component regulatory system sensor kinase gene pmrB in P. aeruginosa from CF lung infections and from experimental infection of mice. Here, we demonstrate that, while such mutations lowered in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations for multiple antimicrobial classes, this was not reflected in increased antibiotic susceptibility in vivo. Loss of PmrB impaired aminoarabinose modification of LPS, increasing the negative charge of the outer membrane and promoting uptake of cationic antimicrobials. However, in vivo, this could be offset by increased membrane binding of other positively charged molecules present in lungs. The polyamine spermidine readily coated the surface of PmrB-deficient P. aeruginosa, reducing susceptibility to antibiotics that rely on charge differences to bind the outer membrane and increasing biofilm formation. Spermidine was elevated in lungs during P. aeruginosa infection in mice and during episodes of antimicrobial treatment in people with CF. These findings highlight the need to study antimicrobial resistance under clinically relevant environmental conditions. Microbial mutations carrying fitness costs in vitro may be advantageous during infection, where host resources can be utilized

A near-infrared probe for non-invasively monitoring cerebrospinal fluid flow by F-18-positron emitting tomography and fluorescence

PURPOSE:Knowing the precise flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is important in the management of multiple neurological diseases. Technology for non-invasively quantifying CSF flow would allow for precise localization of injury and assist in evaluating the viability of certain devices placed in the central nervous system (CNS). METHODS:We describe a near-infrared fluorescent dye for accurately monitoring CSF flow by positron emission tomography (PET) and fluorescence. IR-783, a commercially available near-infrared dye, was chemically&nbsp;modified and&nbsp;radiolabeled with fluorine-18 to give [18F]-IR783-AMBF3. [18F]-IR783-AMBF3 was intrathecally injected into the rat models with normal and aberrant CSF flow and evaluated by the fluorescence and PET/MRI or PET/CT imaging modes. RESULTS:IR783-AMBF3 was clearly distributed in CSF-containing volumes by PET and fluorescence. We compared IR783-AMBF3 (fluorescent at&nbsp;778/793 nm, ex/em) to a shorter-wavelength, fluorescein equivalent (fluorescent at&nbsp;495/511 nm, ex/em). IR783-AMBF3 was superior for its ability to image through blood (hemorrhage) and for imaging CSF-flow, through-skin, in subdural-run lumboperitoneal shunts. IR783-AMBF3 was safe under the tested dosage both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION:The superior imaging properties of IR783-AMBF3 could lead to enhanced accuracy in the treatment of patients and would assist surgeons in non-invasively diagnosing diseases of the CNS

A Novel Poisoned Water Detection Method Using Smartphone Embedded Wi-Fi Technology and Machine Learning Algorithms

Water is a necessary fluid to the human body and automatic checking of its quality and cleanness is an ongoing area of research. One such approach is to present the liquid to various types of signals and make the amount of signal attenuation an indication of the liquid category. In this article, we have utilized the Wi-Fi signal to distinguish clean water from poisoned water via training different machine learning algorithms. The Wi-Fi access points (WAPs) signal is acquired via equivalent smartphone-embedded Wi-Fi chipsets, and then Channel-State-Information CSI measures are extracted and converted into feature vectors to be used as input for machine learning classification algorithms. The measured amplitude and phase of the CSI data are selected as input features into four classifiers k-NN, SVM, LSTM, and Ensemble. The experimental results show that the model is adequate to differentiate poison water from clean water with a classification accuracy of 89% when LSTM is applied, while 92% classification accuracy is achieved when the AdaBoost-Ensemble classifier is applied

Analysis of Optimal Motion Performance for Underactuated Gantry Crane System using MOPSO with Linear Weight Summation Approach

This paper present the development of Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) with Linear Weight Summation (LWS) approach to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Gantry Crane System (GCS). The purpose of using LWS is to control the desired trolley position and payload oscillation according to the Settling Time (Ts), Steady State Error (SSE) and Overshoot (OS). The effectiveness of variation in weight summation is observed to find the optimal motion performances of the system. It demonstrated that GCS is able to achieve the goals while able to move the trolley as fast as possible to the desired position with low payload oscillation. Through this approach, the best optimal motion performances can be achieved by setting similar value of weightage for OS and Ts and reduce the priority for SSE