Microfungal contamination of damp buildings--examples of risk constructions and risk materials.

To elucidate problems with microfungal infestation in indoor environments, a multidisciplinary collaborative pilot study, supported by a grant from the Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was performed on 72 mold-infected building materials from 23 buildings. Water leakage through roofs, rising damp, and defective plumbing installations were the main reasons for water damage with subsequent infestation of molds. From a score system assessing the bioavailability of the building materials, products most vulnerable to mold attacks were water damaged, aged organic materials containing cellulose, such as wooden materials, jute, wallpaper, and cardboard. The microfungal genera most frequently encountered were Penicillium (68%), Aspergillus (56%), Chaetomium (22%), Ulocladium, (21%), Stachybotrys (19%) and Cladosporium (15%). Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Stachybotrys chartarum were the most frequently occurring species. Under field conditions, several trichothecenes were detected in each of three commonly used building materials, heavily contaminated with S. chartarum. Under experimental conditions, four out of five isolates of S. chartarum produced satratoxin H and G when growing on new and old, very humid gypsum boards. A. versicolor produced the carcinogenic mycotoxin sterigmatocystin and 5-methoxysterigmatocystin under the same conditions

Topologically Linked Crystals

We discovered a new class of topological crystals, namely linked rings of crystals. Two rings of tantalum triselenide (TaSe3) single crystals were linked to each other while crystal growing. The topology of the crystal form is called a "Hopf link", which is the simplest link involving just two component unknots linked together exactly once. The feature of the crystals is not covered by the conventional crystallography.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in J. Crystal Growt

Optimal design of multi-channel microreactor for uniform residence time distribution

Multi-channel microreactors can be used for various applications that require chemical or electrochemical reactions in either liquid, gaseous or multi phase. For an optimal control of the chemical reactions, one key parameter for the design of such microreactors is the residence time distribution of the fluid, which should be as uniform as possible in the series of microchannels that make up the core of the reactor. Based on simplifying assumptions, an analytical model is proposed for optimizing the design of the collecting and distributing channels which supply the series of rectangular microchannels of the reactor, in the case of liquid flows. The accuracy of this analytical approach is discussed after comparison with CFD simulations and hybrid analytical-CFD calculations that allow an improved refinement of the meshing in the most complex zones of the flow. The analytical model is then extended to the case of microchannels with other cross-sections (trapezoidal or circular segment) and to gaseous flows, in the continuum and slip flow regimes. In the latter case, the model is based on second-order slip flow boundary conditions, and takes into account the compressibility as well as the rarefaction of the gas flow

Geologiske kort i Danmark - hvad viser de kvartærgeologiske kort

Denne artikel er et svar på foregående debatindlæg om “det ærlige jordartskort”, hvori forfatterne forklarer bagrunden for fremstillingen af geologiske kort i Danmark

Использование вейвлет-преобразования при локализации последовательностей символов

В статье предложен метод автоматического определения масштаба вейвлет-преобразования при локализации квазипериодических последовательностей (текстур, областей с символьной информацией и т.д.) путем анализа функции энергии коэффициентов вейвлет-преобразования. Реализация предложенного метода при разработке приложений, связанных с локализацией и распознаванием символьной информации, повысила универсальность таких систем за счет повышения точности локализации символьной информации путем автоматизации выбора масштаба вейвлет-преобразования.У статті запропоновано метод автоматичного визначення масштабу вейвлет-перетворення при локалізації квазіперіодичних послідовностей (текстур, областей з символьною інформацією (СІ) тощо) шляхом аналізу функції енергії коефіцієнтів вейвлет-перетворення. Реалізація методу при розробці додатків, які пов’язані з локалізацією та розпізнаванням символьної інформації, підвищила універсальність таких систем за рахунок збільшення точності локалізації СІ шляхом автоматизації вибору масштабу вейвлет-перетворення.Method of automatically determining wavelet transform scale on the base of analyzing the function of the energy wavelet transform coefficients is proposed. It is used for localization of quasiperiodic sequences (patterns, areas with character information, etc.). The proposed method is used in image processing systems related to the localization and recognition of the symbolic information. It is allowed to increase versatility of such systems by improving the accuracy localization of the symbolic information by automating choice of scale wavelet transform

Adiabatic description of nonspherical quantum dot models

Within the effective mass approximation an adiabatic description of spheroidal and dumbbell quantum dot models in the regime of strong dimensional quantization is presented using the expansion of the wave function in appropriate sets of single-parameter basis functions. The comparison is given and the peculiarities are considered for spectral and optical characteristics of the models with axially symmetric confining potentials depending on their geometric size making use of the total sets of exact and adiabatic quantum numbers in appropriate analytic approximations

Hepatoprotective effects of semaglutide, lanifibranor and dietary intervention in the GAN diet-induced obese and biopsy-confirmed mouse model of NASH

Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has emerged as a major challenge for public health because of high global prevalence and lack of evidence‐based therapies. Most animal models of NASH lack sufficient validation regarding disease progression and pharmacological treatment. The Gubra‐Amylin NASH (GAN) diet‐induced obese (DIO) mouse demonstrate clinical translatability with respect to disease etiology and hallmarks of NASH. This study aimed to evaluate disease progression and responsiveness to clinically effective interventions in GAN DIO‐NASH mice. Disease phenotyping was performed in male C57BL/6J mice fed the GAN diet high in fat, fructose, and cholesterol for 28–88 weeks. GAN DIO‐NASH mice with biopsy‐confirmed NASH and fibrosis received low‐caloric dietary intervention, semaglutide (30 nmol/kg/day, s.c.) or lanifibranor (30 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. Within‐subject change in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Activity Score (NAS) and fibrosis stage was evaluated using automated deep learning‐based image analysis. GAN DIO‐NASH mice showed clear and reproducible progression in NASH, fibrosis stage, and tumor burden with high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Consistent with clinical trial outcomes, semaglutide and lanifibranor improved NAS, whereas only lanifibranor induced regression in the fibrosis stage. Dietary intervention also demonstrated substantial benefits on metabolic outcomes and liver histology. Differential therapeutic efficacy of semaglutide, lanifibranor, and dietary intervention was supported by quantitative histology, RNA sequencing, and blood/liver biochemistry. In conclusion, the GAN DIO‐NASH mouse model recapitulates various histological stages of NASH and faithfully reproduces histological efficacy profiles of compounds in advanced clinical development for NASH. Collectively, these features highlight the utility of GAN DIO‐NASH mice in preclinical drug development