STEAM GASIFICATION OF SOME MONGOLIAN COALS

The gasification tests for the Alagtolgoi and Ailbayan coal deposits were conducted in the temperature up to 850°C using bench scale reactor in order to evaluate product gas composition. Prior to the gasification experiments, the raw coal was pyrolysed in a stainless steel reactor under N2 atmosphere at a temperature of 500°C for 1 h. General behavior of the coal conversion was quite similar for both coals. The gasification tests show that an increase in temperature enhances the formation of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The highest yield of hydrogen and carbon dioxide concentrations of the Ailbayan coal are achieved at temperature of 850°C, which were 2.859 mmol⋅g-1⋅min-1 and 1.054 mmol⋅g-1⋅min-1 respectively. However maximum rate of hydrogen for Alagtolgoi subbituminous coal reached around 800°C. Overall results show that the maximum gasification rate is reached earlier for subbituminous coal than for bituminous coal, but product gas evolution was higher for the investigated bituminous coal

A step towards valid detection and quantification of lung cancer volume in experimental mice with contrast agent-based X-ray microtomography

Tumor volume is a parameter used to evaluate the performance of new therapies in lung cancer research. Conventional methods that are used to estimate tumor size in mouse models fail to provide fast and reliable volumetric data for tumors grown non-subcutaneously. Here, we evaluated the use of iodine-staining combined with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to estimate the tumor volume of ex vivo tumor-burdened lungs. We obtained fast high spatial resolution three-dimensional information of the lungs, and we demonstrated that iodine-staining highlights tumors and unhealthy tissue. We processed iodine-stained lungs for histopathological analysis with routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&amp;E) staining. We compared the traditional tumor burden estimation performed manually with H&amp;E histological slices with a semi-automated method using micro-CT datasets. In mouse models that develop lung tumors with well precise boundaries, the method that we describe here enables to perform a quick estimation of tumorous tissue volume in micro-CT images. Our method overestimates the tumor burden in tumors surrounded by abnormal tissue, while traditional histopathological analysis underestimates tumor volume. We propose to embed micro-CT imaging to the traditional workflow of tumorous lung analyses in preclinical cancer research as a strategy to obtain a more accurate estimation of the total lung tumor burden.</p

Vitamin D supplements and prevention of tuberculosis infection and disease

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D metabolites support innate immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. METHODS: We randomly assigned children who had negative results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, using the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube assay (QFT), to receive a weekly oral dose of 14,000 IU vitamin D3 or placebo over 3 years. The primary outcome was the proportion of children having a positive QFT result at 3 years. Secondary outcomes included end-study vitamin D status and incidence of tuberculosis disease, acute respiratory infections and adverse events. RESULTS: 8851 participants underwent randomization (4418 to vitamin D, 4433 to placebo), of whom 95.6% had baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations <20 ng/mL. Mean end-study 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in participants randomized to vitamin D vs. placebo was 31.0 vs. 10.7 ng/mL (95% CI for difference, 19.9 to 20.6 ng/mL), and 147 participants in the vitamin D group vs. 134 participants in the placebo group tested positive by QFT (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.10, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.38, P=0.42). Tuberculosis disease was diagnosed in 21 children in the vitamin D group and 25 children in the placebo group (aRR 0.87, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.55). 29 participants randomized to vitamin D and 34 randomized to placebo were hospitalized for treatment of acute respiratory infections (aRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.40). Incidence of adverse events did not differ significantly between study arms. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D supplementation did not reduce risk of tuberculosis infection, tuberculosis disease or acute respiratory infections among vitamin D-deficient schoolchildren in Mongolia

c-Cbl and Cbl-b Act Redundantly to Protect Osteoclasts from Apoptosis and to Displace HDAC6 from β-Tubulin, Stabilizing Microtubules and Podosomes

c-Cbl and Cbl-b are highly conserved adaptor proteins that participate in integrin signaling, regulating cytoskeletal organization, motility, and bone resorption. Deletion of both c-Cbl and Cbl-b in mice leads to embryonic lethality, indicating that the two proteins perform essential redundant functions. To examine the redundant actions of c-Cbl and Cbl-b in osteoclasts, we depleted c-Cbl in Cbl-b−/− osteoclasts by using a short hairpin RNA. Depleting both Cbl proteins disrupted both the podosome belt and the microtubule network and decreased bone-resorbing activity. Stabilizing the microtubules with paclitaxel or inhibiting histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), which destabilizes microtubules by deacetylating β-tubulin, protected both the microtubule network and the podosome belt. Examination of the mechanism involved demonstrated that the conserved four-helix bundle of c-Cbl's tyrosine kinase binding domain bound to β-tubulin, and both c-Cbl and Cbl-b displaced HDAC6. In addition to the effects on microtubules and the podosome belt, depleting both Cbls significantly increased the levels of the proapoptotic protein Bim and apoptosis relative to the levels induced by eliminating either protein alone. Thus, both c-Cbl and Cbl-b promote bone resorption via the stabilization of microtubules, allowing the formation of the podosome belt in osteoclasts, and by promoting osteoclast survival

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically