MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT FOR AIRPORT PAVEMENT NETWORK

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Specimen size effects on the diametrical mechanical testing of cylindrical asphalt mixes

Journal of Testing and Evaluation236436-441JTEV

Immobilization of cobalt-based polyoxometalates on titanium dioxide nanorod for enhancement in photoelectrochemical water oxidation

In this study, an effective hole scavenger layer of polyoxometalates (POMs) with excellent redox properties and high durability is coated on titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods to enhance the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation activity. Nanocomposite films, composing of cobalt-based POMs (Co-POMs) and TiO2 nanorod, were first fabricated by hydrothermal reaction, following by layer-by-layer (LbL) growth of Co-POMs on the TiO2 surface. It can be observed that the onset potential of Co-POMs immobilized TiO2 photoanode was lower and the induced photocurrent at the applied potential of 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) was almost two times that of pristine TiO2 under neutral conditions. Co-POMs layers would retard the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs by extracting and transporting the generated holes, thus ameliorate the overall PEC performance. There was an optimal number of Co-POM layers beyond which the produced photocurrent density started to decline. This work provides a facile LbL method to deposit Co-POMs layers on TiO2 nanorod to promote PEC water oxidation under a neutral environment, which is proved to be more favorable for long-term application.Ministry of Education (MOE)The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support given by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore (Grant No. 2018-T1-001-077-02; Project ID 2018-T1-001-077) for the completion of this work

Polyoxometalates for bifunctional applications: catalytic dye degradation and anticancer activity

Improving the efficiencies of organic compound degradations by catalytic materials is a challenging materials research field. In our research, we successfully synthesized cobalt-based polyoxometalates (CoV-POMs) via a simple crystallization-driven self-assembly method. The incorporation of the newly synthesized CoV-POMs into peroxymonosulphate (PMS), forming a mixture, greatly enhancing the catalytic activation for a complete degradation of dye solution. The positive synergic effect between CoV-POMs and PMS was substantiated by a relatively meager degradation of less than 10% in the system without CoV-POMs, in which CoV-POMs played a vital role to activate PMS towards free radicals generation for dye degradation. Methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB) dyes were completely decolorized under 60 min with the presence of 40 mg/L CoV-POMs and 150 mg/L PMS. The CoV-POMs/PMS system was pH dependance with a lower dye degradation efficiency at elevated pH. The effect of pH was more prominent in RB dye, in which the degradation efficiency dropped drastically from 93.3% to 41.12% with the increase in the solution pH from 7 to 11. The quenching tests suggested that sulfate radicals were the dominant active species involving in the dye degradation reaction. Besides MB and RB dyes, CoV-POMs/PMS system also showed significant activity towards the degradation of phenol red (PR) and methyl orange (MO) dyes. In the biological test, CoV-POMs exhibited non-toxic behavior towards normal cells that reduced safety concern for the large-scale wastewater treatment application. In addition, the testing divulged the anticancer property of CoV-POMs with more than 35 % of A549 lung adenocarcinoma and MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma were killed with 250 mg/L CoV-POMs. The selective lethality of CoV-POMs towards cancer cells was found to be caused by different extents of cellular apoptosis. In overall, the synthesized bifunctional CoV-POMs manifested superior activities in the examined applications, specifically dye degradation and anticancer.Ministry of Education (MOE)Submitted/Accepted versionThis work was financially supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore (Grant No. RG102/18; Project ID. 2018-T1-001-077)

High-quality Schistosoma haematobium genome achieved by single-molecule and long-range sequencing.

Background: Schistosoma haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease affecting >100 million people worldwide. Chronic infection with this parasitic trematode can lead to urogenital conditions including female genital schistosomiasis and bladder cancer. At the molecular level, little is known about this blood fluke and the pathogenesis of the disease that it causes. To support molecular studies of this carcinogenic worm, we reported a draft genome for S. haematobium in 2012. Although a useful resource, its utility has been somewhat limited by its fragmentation. Findings: Here, we systematically enhanced the draft genome of S. haematobium using a single-molecule and long-range DNA-sequencing approach. We achieved a major improvement in the accuracy and contiguity of the genome assembly, making it superior or comparable to assemblies for other schistosome species. We transferred curated gene models to this assembly and, using enhanced gene annotation pipelines, inferred a gene set with as many or more complete gene models as those of other well-studied schistosomes. Using conserved, single-copy orthologs, we assessed the phylogenetic position of S. haematobium in relation to other parasitic flatworms for which draft genomes were available. Conclusions: We report a substantially enhanced genomic resource that represents a solid foundation for molecular research on S. haematobium and is poised to better underpin population and functional genomic investigations and to accelerate the search for new disease interventions. © 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press

Clinical management of elbow hygroma in a Malayan Tigress (Panthera tigris jacksoni): a case report

This case reports detail the clinical management of an elbow hygroma in a Malayan Tigress (Panthera tigris jacksoni). A twelve (12) years old Malayan Tigress weighing 112 kg with body condition score of 3/5 kept in captivity was reported by rangers in the National Wildlife Rescue Centre, Sungkai, Perak, Malaysia with a primary complaint of a lump at the right elbow of the forelimb. Physical and clinical examinations showed normal pulse and respiratory rates, additionally, an 8 cm x 9 cm well demarcated, soft lump caudal to the right forelimb elbow joint was palpated. Based on the physical examination and clinical signs, a diagnosis of elbow hygroma was made on that point of time. The tigress was managed by surgical lancing and wound cleaning. During the intra-operative session, the tigress was premedicated with an anti-cholinergic agent, an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory agent and a supplement of vitamin D. During the post-operative medical management, antibiotic was administered to prevent secondary bacterial infection, papase as anti-inflammatory and iodine spray for wound care management. In conclusion, hygroma on the elbow was managed non-invasive surgical procedure and proper management by avoiding the overwhelming effects of possible risk factors can be a preventive measure for this case