881 research outputs found
Analysis of Microbial Diversity in Disturbed Soil
This paper uses the composition and abundance of microbial species to analyze soil recovery in disturbed land. Surface mining disturbs ecological communities throughout the world. As organizations seek to reclaim these disturbed lands, a proper analysis of recovery is needed. In previous studies, recovery of disturbed land was limited to surface examinations, which do not characterize the possible unseen devastating effects of the subsoil. Soil microorganisms are extremely sensitive to environmental changes such as strip mining. It is proposed that these microorganisms may serve as better indicators of recovery post disturbance. Our analysis indicates microbial recovery, however it may not depict recovery of the entire ecosystem
Agronomic potential value of household urban solid wastes by composting and composts quality assessment
Using composting technology, the biodegradable fraction of solid wastes collected from Agbalepedogan district in Lomé (Togo) was transformed into composts with no phytotoxicity suitable for use in agriculture. The household urban solid wastes were mixed with poultry manure and Mucuna pruriens leaves in appropriate percentages and transformed into composts. The composting process was monitored by temperature, pH and C/N ratio controlling. The composts quality was appreciated by phytotoxicity test, particle size distribution, contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter and trace elements. The results showed that composts particle size distribution presented four fractions (>10 mm, 5-10 mm, 2-5 mm and ≤2 mm) whose average percentages are respectively 9.04±0.2%; 10.71±0.2%; 12.68±0.4% and 67.53±0.6%, respectively. Composts produced contained 1.02±0.1% - 2.72±0.2% of nitrogen, 1.35±0.3% - 2.70±0.4% of phosphorus, 1.31±0.2% - 1.72±0.3% of potassium and 23.50±0.4% - 37.75±0.5% of organic matter. The pH in final composts were between 8.50±0.2 and 9.00±0.3 while C/N ratio varying from 8.06±0.2 to 13.13±0.2. The concentrations of some heavy metals in final products were 79.8±1.7 - 140.2±1.6 mg/kg.dm of zinc, 27.1±1.01 - 76.6±1.03 mg/kg.dm of copper, 2.07±0.33 - 9.19±0.22 mg/kg.dm of lead, 4.13±0.16 - 11.05±0.36 mg/kg.dm of nickel and 0.79±0.02 - 2.15±0.03 mg/kg.dm of cadmium. These concentrations were lower than the limited value for heavy metals prescribed by French and US EPA regulation for organic and organic-mineral fertilizers.
Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 9(2): 1-8, December 201
Primary Klebsiella pneumoniae Liver Abscess with Metastatic Spread to Lung and Eye, a North-European Case Report of an Emerging Syndrome
A syndrome of community acquired liver abscess caused by highly virulent hypermucoviscous, rmpA positive Klebsiella pneumoniae strains occurs with high incidence in Asia. We here report a case complicated by metastatic infection, to our knowledge, the first one described in Northern Europe. This and other recently reported cases indicate the emergence of this severe syndrome outside of Asia
A Solution for Little Hierarchy Problem and b --> s gamma
We show that all the parameters which destabilize the weak scale can be taken
around the weak scale in the MSSM without conflicting with the SM Higgs mass
bound set by LEP experiment. The essential point is that if the lightest
CP-even Higgs h in the MSSM has only a small coupling to Z boson, g_{ZZh}, LEP
cannot generate the Higgs sufficiently. In the scenario, the SM Higgs mass
bound constrains the mass of the heaviest CP-even Higgs H which has the SM like
g_{ZZH} coupling. However, it is easier to make the heaviest Higgs heavy by the
effect of off-diagonal elements of the mass matrix of the CP-even Higgs because
the larger eigenvalue of 2 times 2 matrix becomes larger by introducing
off-diagonal elements. Thus, the smaller stop masses can be consistent with the
LEP constraints. Moreover, the two excesses observed at LEP Higgs search can
naturally be explained as the signals of the MSSM Higgs h and H in this
scenario. One of the most interesting results in the scenario is that all the
Higgs in the MSSM have the weak scale masses. For example, the charged Higgs
mass should be around 130 GeV. This looks inconsistent with the lower bound
obtained by the b --> s gamma process as m_{H^\pm}>350GeV. However, we show
that the amplitude induced by the charged Higgs can naturally be compensated by
that of the chargino if we take the mass parameters by which the little
hierarchy problem can be solved. The point is that the both amplitudes have the
same order of magnitudes when all the fields in the both loops have the same
order of masses.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, input parameter slightly changed, figures
replaced, references correcte
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Immunization with a Peptide Containing MHC Class I and II Epitopes Derived from the Tumor Antigen SIM2 Induces an Effective CD4 and CD8 T-Cell Response
Here, we sought to determine whether peptide vaccines designed harbor both class I as well as class II restricted antigenic motifs could concurrently induce CD4 and CD8 T cell activation against autologous tumor antigens. Based on our prior genome-wide interrogation of human prostate cancer tissues to identify genes over-expressed in cancer and absent in the periphery, we targeted SIM2 as a prototype autologous tumor antigen for these studies. Using humanized transgenic mice we found that the 9aa HLA-A*0201 epitope, SIM2237–245, was effective at inducing an antigen specific response against SIM2-expressing prostate cancer cell line, PC3. Immunization with a multi-epitope peptide harboring both MHC-I and MHC-II restricted epitopes induced an IFN-γ response in CD8 T cells to the HLA-A*0201-restricted SIM2237–245 epitope, and an IL-2 response by CD4 T cells to the SIM2240–254 epitope. This peptide was also effective at inducing CD8+ T-cells that responded specifically to SIM2-expressing tumor cells. Collectively, the data presented in this study suggest that a single peptide containing multiple SIM2 epitopes can be used to induce both a CD4 and CD8 T cell response, providing a peptide-based vaccine formulation for potential use in immunotherapy of various cancers
The Role of the Transcription Factor SIM2 in Prostate Cancer
Background: Recent reports have suggested a possible involvement of Single-minded homolog 2 (SIM2) in human solid cancers, including prostate cancer. However, the exact role of SIM2 in cancer in general, and in prostate cancer in particular, remains largely unknown. This study was designed to elucidate the role of SIM2 in prostate cancer using a shRNA-based approach in the PC3 prostate cancer cell line. Methods: Lentiviral shRNAs were used to inhibit SIM2 gene and protein levels in PC3 cells. Quantitative RT-PCR and branched DNA were performed to evaluate transcript expression. SIM2 protein expression level was measured by western blot. Profiling of gene expression spanning the whole genome, as well as polar metabolomics of several major metabolic pathways was performed to identify major pathway dysregulations. Results: SIM2 gene and protein products were significantly downregulated by lenti-shRNA in PC3 cell line. This low expression of SIM2 affected gene expression profile, revealing significant changes in major signaling pathways, networks and functions. In addition, major metabolic pathways were affected. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest an involvement of SIM2 in key traits of prostate tumor cell biology an
Large Inter-individual Differences in Responses to a Block of High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training: a Case Series in National-level Cyclists and Triathletes
International Journal of Exercise Science 13(2): 480-487, 2020. The aim was to investigate individual responses on VO2maxand performance to a block of high intensity aerobic interval training (HIIT) in national-level endurance athletes. METHODS: National-level cyclists and triathletes (five men and two women, 31 ± 3.3 years, VO2max65.1 ± 3.3 ml·kg-1·min-1) conducted 14 HIIT sessions (4x4 min uphill running at 90-95% maximal heart rate) in nine days during preseason. VO2maxin running and cycling, lactate threshold (LT) in cycling, oxygen cost of cycling (CC), and a cycling time-trial (TT) were tested two days pre and seven days post intervention. Feasibility was determined using attendance rates, adherence (defined as completing all sessions), and reported adverse events. RESULTS: The results showed that adherence was 100% with 100% attendance rate. No adverse events were reported. TT (-75.6 ± 50.8 seconds, p\u3c 0.0001)but not VO2maxcycling (-0.2 ± 4.6 ml×kg-1×min-1, p= 0.53) or running (0.2 ± 1.2ml×kg-1×min-1, p= 0.85) was improved on group level. The individual responses varied from -8.2% to +14.5% change in VO2max, and -7.5% to +0.8% in TT. CONCLUSIONS: The large inter-individual differences in responses call for tailor-making HIIT blocks, mapping of biomarkers to avoid overtraining, and studying the effects of such blocks with longer follow-up than seven days
Unified approach to photo and electro-production of mesons with arbitrary spins
A new approach to identify the independent amplitudes along with their
partial wave multipole expansions, for photo and electro-production is
suggested,which is generally applicable to mesons with arbitrary spin-parity.
These amplitudes facilitate direct identification of different resonance
contributions.Comment: 11 page
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