Predicting bacterial transport through saturated porous media using an automated machine learning model

Escherichia coli, as an indicator of fecal contamination, can move from manure-amended soil to groundwater under rainfall or irrigation events. Predicting its vertical transport in the subsurface is essential for the development of engineering solutions to reduce the risk of microbiological contamination. In this study, we collected 377 datasets from 61 published papers addressing E. coli transport through saturated porous media and trained six types of machine learning algorithms to predict bacterial transport. Eight variables, including bacterial concentration, porous medium type, median grain size, ionic strength, pore water velocity, column length, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and organic matter content were used as input variables while the first-order attachment coefficient and spatial removal rate were set as target variables. The eight input variables have low correlations with the target variables, namely, they cannot predict target variables independently. However, using the predictive models, input variables can effectively predict the target variables. For scenarios with higher bacterial retention, such as smaller median grain size, the predictive models showed better performance. Among six types of machine learning algorithms, Gradient Boosting Machine and Extreme Gradient Boosting outperformed other algorithms. In most predictive models, pore water velocity, ionic strength, median grain size, and column length showed higher importance than other input variables. This study provided a valuable tool to evaluate the transport risk of E.coli in the subsurface under saturated water flow conditions. It also proved the feasibility of data-driven methods that could be used for predicting other contaminants’ transport in the environment

Chitosan treatment reduces softening and chilling injury in cold-stored Hami melon by regulating starch and sucrose metabolism

Cold-stored Hami melon is susceptible to chilling injury, resulting in quality deterioration and reduced sales. Pre-storage treatment with chitosan reduces fruit softening and chilling injury in melon; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, Gold Queen Hami melons were treated with 1.5% chitosan solution for 10 min before cold storage at 3°C and then the effect of chitosan was examined on fruit firmness, weight loss, chilling injury, soluble solid content (SSC), pectin, and soluble sugar contents of melon fruit. Also, the enzyme activities and gene expressions related to fruit softening and starch and sucrose metabolism were investigated. Chitosan treatment reduced the fruit softening and chilling injury, maintained the high levels of starch and sucrose contents, and regulated the enzyme activities and gene expressions related to starch and sucrose metabolism. Fruit firmness was significantly positively correlated with sucrose and starch contents. Altogether, we uncovered the potential mechanism of chitosan coating mitigating melon softening and chilling injury through the regulation of starch and sucrose metabolism

Involvement of endoplasmic reticulum stress in trigeminal ganglion corneal neuron injury in dry eye disease

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disease with a high prevalence worldwide. Uncomfortable corneal sensations severely affect daily life in DED patients. Hence, corneal neuron injury is a vital pathogenesis in DED. Notably, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) plays a role in peripheral neuron injury. However, the role of ERS in DED corneal neuron injury is still far from being clear. In this study, we established an environmental DED (eDED) model in vivo and a hyperosmotic DED model in vitro. Subsequently, trigeminal ganglion (TG) corneal neurons were retrograde labeled by WGA-Alexa Fluor 555, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to collect targeted corneal neurons for RNA sequencing in mice. Our results revealed that there is TG corneal neuron injury but not neuron apoptosis in DED. ERS-related genes and proteins were upregulated in TG corneal neurons of the eDED mice. ERS inhibition alleviated TG corneal neuron’s ERS-related injury. Therefore, ERS-induced TG corneal neuron injury may be an important pathomechanism and provide a promising therapeutic approach to DED

Association of Serum Uric Acid with Arterial Stiffness in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Background/Aims: Serum uric acid (SUA) has been proposed as a mediator associated with increased cardiovascular risk and arterial stiffness. However, evidence on the association between SUA and arterial stiffness in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between SUA and arterial stiffness in PD patients. Methods: The patients who performed vascular profiler test from January 1, 2014 to October 31, 2016, and with SUA values were enrolled. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). The relationship between SUA and baPWV was tested by multiple linear regression models. Results: Of 645 PD patients, mean SUA was 6.80 (±1.29) mg/dL, mean baPWV was 1713 (±505) cm/s. In fully adjusted linear regression models, higher SUA was significantly associated with higher baPWV in young [standardized coefficients (β), 0.085; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.013 to 0.130; P=0.02] but not in elderly (β, -0.194; 95% CI, -0.774 to 0.093; P=0.1) PD patients. In gender-stratified models of young patients, there was a significant association between SUA and baPWV in male (β, 0.115; 95% CI, 0.015 to 0.182; P=0.02) but not in female. Male in the highest gender-specific SUA quartile had a higher baPWV than those in the lowest quartile (β, 0.132; 95% CI, 0.011 to 0.209; P=0.03). This gender difference was reversed when selecting male patients with lower SUA levels (quartile 1 and 2) and female patients with higher SUA levels (quartile 3 and 4). Conclusion: SUA was positively associated with baPWV in young PD patients, and this association was significant in males but not in females, which is possibly explained by the higher SUA level in males than in females

Оценка помехоустойчивости метода диагностики роторных узлов машин в зависимости от условий предварительной фильтрации вибрационного сигнала

Произведено сравнение двух способов предварительной фильтрации при оценке технического состояния роторных узлов машин по методу анализа спектра огибающей вибрационного сигнала. Определена помехоустойчивость метода при воздействии широкополосных шумов.ditions of Prefiltration of the Vibration Signal The comparison of the two methods of prefiltration during evaluation of technical condition of the machine rotor units is performed in the paper using the method of the analysis of the spectrum of the vibration waveform envelope. Noise stability of the method under the action of broadband noise is determined

The heat shock protein 70 gene as a new alternative molecular marker for the taxonomic identification of Streptomyces strains

Abstract With the developments in taxonomy, the classically used highly conserved 16S rRNA molecular marker has shown some disadvantages among closely related species. For further taxonomic studies of the prokaryotes, specific PCR primers were designed from two conserved regions in the amino acid sequences of the 70-kDa heat shock protein sourced from 20 different genera in actinomycetes. These were used for the amplification of the hsp70 genes in 16 Streptomyces strains. Then, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships among these Streptomyces strains and compared the tree topology based on the hsp70 gene with those based on the previously used markers (16S rRNA and gyrB). To our knowledge, this is the first use of the hsp70 gene as a molecular marker for the taxonomic identification of Streptomyces

Downregulating ANGPTL3 by miR-144-3p promoted TGF-β1-induced renal interstitial fibrosis via activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Despite observations of decreased ANGPTL3 (angiopoietin-like protein 3) levels in tubular atrophy and renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF), its functional implications and regulatory mechanisms in RIF remain unclear. This investigation employed unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mice as in vivo model and human proximal kidney tubuloepithelial HK-2 cells under TGF-β1 treatment as in vitro model to explore RIF. The RIF extent was evaluated using H & E staining and Masson's trichrome staining. There was a significant decrease in ANGPTL3 levels and an increase in miR-144-3p, accompanied by heightened expressions of α-SMA, p-PI3K, p-AKT, Collagen I, and Fibronectin in the UUO mice and HK-2 cells treated with TGF-β1. Enhancing ANGPTL3 expression or suppressing miR-144-3p mitigated TGF-β1-induced cellular apoptosis, inflammation, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation, as evidenced by altered levels of α-SMA, Collagen I, Fibronectin, and associated signaling markers. Using a bioinformatics approach, a miR-144-3p binding site was discovered on the ANGPTL3 mRNA, and this finding was subsequently confirmed through luciferase reporter assay. In HK-2 cells stimulated with TGF-β1, the suppression of ANGPTL3 negated the effects of inhibiting miR-144-3p. Under comparable conditions, the use of LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K/AKT pathway, nullified the effects caused by the knockdown of ANGPTL3. Collectively, these findings indicate that miR-144-3p exacerbates RIF through PI3K/AKT pathway activation by targeting ANGPTL3, highlighting a novel potential therapeutic target for RIF management