Hydrogen leak detection device Patent

Development of device for detecting hydrogen in ambient environment

Sniffer used as portable hydrogen leak detector

Sniffer type portable monitor detects hydrogen in air, oxygen, nitrogen, or helium. It indicates the presence of hydrogen in contact with activated palladium black by a change in color of a thermochromic paint, and indicates the quantity of hydrogen by a sensor probe and continuous readout

Minor parties and independents in times of change: Scottish local elections 1974 to 2007

This article explores the electoral performance of minor party and Independent candidates in Scottish local elections from 1974 to 2007. This is a period which began with a major restructuring of local government and ended with a change in the electoral system from first-past-the-post to the single transferable vote. It encompasses a second restructuring in the 1990s, the consolidation of the Scottish National Party as an electoral force, and the creation of the Scottish Parliament. Throughout the period, while there have been ebbs and flows, Independents and minor parties have remained significant players in local electoral politics in Scotland

Shattering or Supporting Stereotypes? Examining Gender In/equality in English Language Textbooks in Brunei

This paper examines the representation of gender relations in textbooks used to teach the English language in public secondary schools in Brunei. The country is currently ranked 95th in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Index among 153 countries analysed. This fact seems to suggest that there is a significant gender gap existing in the country. As textbooks used in schools are considered among the most potent tools for promoting gender in/equality, they deserve to be examined in detail. Using Content Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as methods of analysis, this paper seeks to address the following questions: (i) in what ways and to what extent, is gender inequality manifested in textbooks used to teach the English language in Brunei and (ii) what are the implications and pedagogical measures which may be taken to address the persistence of gender inequality? The findings of the study show that the portrayal of gender relations in the textbook is fairly balanced, which is rather surprising considering the pervasive perception of conservatism and patriarchy in many Muslim societies, including Brunei. This suggests the need for a nuanced discussion of the nation’s social, cultural, economic, and political milieu in order to obtain a true picture of gender relations in the country

Characterization of multicopper oxidase CopA from Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 : Involvement in bacterial lignin oxidation

CopA is a protein formed as part of a copper resistance operon in Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato, but CopA has also been identified from gene library screening as a potential lignin-oxidising enzyme. Few bacterial homologues for bacterial multi-copper laccases have been identified that can assist in lignin degradation. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that copA and copC genes were found in the genomes of bacterial strains capable of lignin oxidation. In this study, CopA enzymes from bacterial strains with lignin oxidation activity, Pseudomonas putida and P. fluorescens, were heterologously expressed and characterised kinetically, and expression of bacterial CopC proteins was also investigated. Purified CopA enzymes were dependent upon exogenous copper (II) ions for activity when expressed under fully aerated conditions, however after expression under microaerobic conditions with copper reconstitution, the activity was independent of copper addition. The CopA enzymes showed activity towards the laccase substrates 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS); syringaldazine (SGZ); guaiacol; 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP). Moreover, CopA proteins were able to oxidise the lignin model compounds guaiacylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl (GGE) and 2,2′-dihydroxy-3,3′-dimethoxy-5,5′-dicarboxybiphenyl (DDVA), giving oxidised dimerised products; and they were active towards Ca-lignosulfonate, giving vanillic acid as product. A double gene deletion of copA-I and copA-II genes in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 was constructed, and this mutant showed diminished growth capability on different small aromatic compounds related with lignin degradation, when copper salts were present in the media

Contribution of hepatic organic anion-transporting polypeptides to docetaxel uptake and clearance

The antimicrotubular agent docetaxel is a widely used chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of multiple solid tumors and is predominantly dependent on hepatic disposition. In this study, we evaluated drug uptake transporters capable of transporting radiolabeled docetaxel. By screening an array of drug uptake transporters in HeLa cells using a recombinant vacciniabased method, five organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATP) capable of docetaxel uptake were identified: OATP1A2, OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP1C1, and Oatp1b2. Kinetic analysis of docetaxel transport revealed similar kinetic parameters among hepatic OATP1B/1b transporters. An assessment of polymorphisms (SNPs) in SLCO1B1 and SLCO1B3 revealed that a number of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 variants were associated with impaired docetaxel transport. A Transwell-based vectorial transport assay using MDCKII stable cells showed that docetaxel was transported significantly into the apical compartment of double-transfected (MDCKII-OATP1B1/MDR1 and MDCKII-OATP1B3/MDR1) cells compared with singletransfected (MDCKII-OATP1B1 and MDCKII-OATP1B3) cells (P \u3c 0.05) or control (MDCKII-Co) cells (P \u3c 0.001). In vivo docetaxel transport studies in Slco1b2-/- mice showed approximately \u3e5.5-fold higher plasma concentrations (P \u3c 0.01) and approximately 3-fold decreased liver-to-plasma ratio (P \u3c 0.05) of docetaxel compared with wild-type (WT) mice. The plasma clearance of docetaxel in Slco1b2-/- mice was 83% lower than WT mice (P \u3c 0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrates the important roles of OATP1B transporters to the hepatic disposition and clearance of docetaxel, and supporting roles of these transporters for docetaxel pharmacokinetics

Interaction of three regiospecific amino acid residues is required for OATP1B1 gain of OATP1B3 substrate specificity

The human organic anion-transporting polypeptides OATP1B1 (SLCO1B1) and OATP1B3 (SLCO1B3) are liver-enriched membrane transporters of major importance to hepatic uptake of numerous endogenous compounds, including bile acids, steroid conjugates, hormones, and drugs, including the 3-hydroxy-3- methylglutaryl Co-A reductase inhibitor (statin) family of cholesterol-lowering compounds. Despite their remarkable substrate overlap, there are notable exceptions: in particular, the gastrointestinal peptide hormone cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8) is a high affinity substrate for OATP1B3 but not OATP1B1. We utilized homologous recombination of linear DNA by E. coli to generate a library of cDNA containing monomer size chimeric OATP1B1-1B3 and OATP1B3-1B1 transporters with randomly distributed chimeric junctions to identify three discrete regions of the transporter involved in conferring CCK-8 transport activity. Site-directed mutagenesis of three key residues in OATP1B1 transmembrane helices 1 and 10, and extracellular loop 6, to the corresponding residues in OATP1B3, resulted in a gain of CCK-8 transport by OATP1B1. The residues appear specific to CCK-8, as the mutations did not affect transport of the shared OATP1B substrate atorvastatin or the OATP1B1-specific substrate estrone sulfate. Regions involved in gain of CCK-8 transport by OATP1B1, when mapped to the crystal structures of bacterial transporters from the major facilitator superfamily, are positioned to suggest these regions could readily interact with drug substrates. Accordingly, our data provide new insight into the molecular determinants of the substrate specificity of these hepatic uptake transporters with relevance to targeted drug design and prediction of drug-drug interactions. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Publicación de datos abiertos enlazados: revisión sistemática de la literatura para identificar problemas y herramientas técnicas de apoyo al proceso

On the Internet, we find a large amount of information from government institutions that has been published in open format. However, only a part of these data is available in standard formats such as Resource Description Framework (RDF), and to a lesser extent, is published as Linked Open Data (LOD). The main objective of the research presented in this paper is to identify problems and tools used in the process of publishing LOD with the purpose of establishing a basis for the construction of a future framework that will help public institutions to facilitate such processes. To fulfill the objective, we conducted a systematic literature review in order to assess the state-of-the-art in this matter. The contribution of this work is to identify the frequent problems that arise in the LOD publishing process. It also provides a detail of the frameworks proposed in scientific papers grouping the technical tools by phases that correspond to the LOD publication life cycle. In addition, it compiles the characteristics of the ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) tools that predominate in this review, such as Pentaho Data Integration (Kettle) and OpenRefine.En Internet encontramos una gran cantidad de información procedente de instituciones de gobierno que se ha publicado en formato abierto. Sin embargo, sólo una parte de estos datos está disponible en formatos estándar como Resource Description Framework (RDF) y, en menor medida, se publican como Linked Open Data (LOD). El objetivo principal de la investigación presentada en esta publicación es identificar los problemas y las herramientas utilizadas en el proceso de publicación de LOD con el fin de establecer una base para la construcción de un futuro marco que ayude a las instituciones públicas a facilitar dichos procesos. Para cumplir con el objetivo, realizamos una revisión sistemática de la literatura con el fin de evaluar el estado del arte en la materia. La contribución de este trabajo es identificar los problemas frecuentes que surgen en el proceso de publicación de LOD. También proporciona un detalle de los marcos propuestos en artículos científicos agrupando las herramientas técnicas por fases que corresponden al ciclo de vida de la publicación LOD. Además, recopila las características de las herramientas ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) que predominan en esta revisión, como Pentaho Data Integration (Kettle) y OpenRefine.Facultad de Informátic

Serum Concentrations of Myostatin and Myostatin-Interacting Proteins do not differ between young and Scarcopenic elderly men

Peer reviewedPostprin

Particle Swarm Optimization for Optimal Frequency Response with High Penetration of Photovoltaic and Wind Generation

As the installation of solar-photovoltaic and wind-generation systems continue to grow, the location must be strategically selected to maintain a reliable grid. However, such strategies are commonly subject to system adequacy constraints, while system security constraints (e.g., frequency stability, voltage limits) are vaguely explored. This may lead to inaccuracies in the optimal placement of the renewables, and thus maximum benefits may not be achieved. In this context, this paper proposes an optimization-based mathematical framework to design a robust distributed generation system, able to keep system stability in a desired range under system perturbance. The optimum placement of wind and solar renewable energies that minimizes the impact on system stability in terms of the standard frequency deviation is obtained through particle swarm optimization, which is developed in Python and executed in PowerFactory-DIgSILENT. The results reveal that the proposed approach has the potential to reduce the influence of disturbances, enhancing critical clearance time before frequency collapse and supporting secure power system operation