Impact of calcium hydroxide on physical characteristics and leaching stability of metakaolin-based geopolymer waste form containing radioactive borate waste

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Enhancement of carbamazepine removal rate using Tetradesmus obliquus KNUA061 and NaOCl and utilization of the resulting biomass

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are discharged into receiving water bodies mainly from sewage treatment plants. Due to the inefficient removal in conventional wastewater treatment facilities, PPCPs have become a major concern to aquatic ecosystems, water quality, and public health worldwide since they cause harmful effects on aquatic life and human even at low doses. Among the PPCPs, carbamazepine (CBZ) is one of the most commonly prescribed anticonvulsant drugs and consumed more than 1,000 tons per year. Due to its structural complexity, CBZ is known as recalcitrant compound highly stable during wastewater treatment. Consequently, it has become one of the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals in waste water, surface water, and even drinking water. In this study, Korean indigenous microalgae strains were tested as eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions for CBZ removal. Based on the preliminary biological CBZ degradation tests, Tetradesmus obliquus KNUA061 demonstrating the best CBZ removal rate was selected for further experiments. In order to increase strain KNUA061's CBZ removal efficiency, NaOCl, which is widely accepted in the water purification process, was used as an additional stimulus to induce stress conditions. At around 20 μg L−1 CBZ, addition of 1.0 mg NaOCl resulted in approximately 20% of removal rate increase without suppressing cells growth. Roughly 90% of CBZ remained its original form and the composition of the transformed secondary metabolites was less than 10% during the biodegradation process by the microalga. Based on the results of the antioxidant enzyme activities, degree of lipid oxidation, and amino acid contents, it was concluded that the redox-defence system in microalgal cells may have been activated by the NaOCl treatment. Biomass analysis results showed that higher heating value (HHV) of strain KNUA061 biomass was higher than those of lignocellulosic energy crops suggesting that it could be utilized as a possible renewable energy source. Even though its biodiesel properties were slightly below the international standards due to the high PUFA contents, the biodiesel produced from T. obliquus KNUA061 could be used as a blending resource for transportation fuels. It was also determined that the microalgal biomass has acceptable feasibility as a sustainable dietary supplement feedstock due to its high essential amino acid contents

Copy number variations (CNVs) identified in Korean individuals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Copy number variations (CNVs) are deletions, insertions, duplications, and more complex variations ranging from 1 kb to sub-microscopic sizes. Recent advances in array technologies have enabled researchers to identify a number of CNVs from normal individuals. However, the identification of new CNVs has not yet reached saturation, and more CNVs from diverse populations remain to be discovered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 65 copy number variation regions (CNVRs) in 116 normal Korean individuals by analyzing Affymetrix 250 K Nsp whole-genome SNP data. Ten of these CNVRs were novel and not present in the Database of Genomic Variants (DGV). To increase the specificity of CNV detection, three algorithms, CNAG, dChip and GEMCA, were applied to the data set, and only those regions recognized at least by two algorithms were identified as CNVs. Most CNVRs identified in the Korean population were rare (<1%), occurring just once among the 116 individuals. When CNVs from the Korean population were compared with CNVs from the three HapMap ethnic groups, African, European, and Asian; our Korean population showed the highest degree of overlap with the Asian population, as expected. However, the overlap was less than 40%, implying that more CNVs remain to be discovered from the Asian population as well as from other populations. Genes in the novel CNVRs from the Korean population were enriched for genes involved in regulation and development processes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CNVs are recently-recognized structural variations among individuals, and more CNVs need to be identified from diverse populations. Until now, CNVs from Asian populations have been studied less than those from European or American populations. In this regard, our study of CNVs from the Korean population will contribute to the full cataloguing of structural variation among diverse human populations.</p

Revisiting roles of mast cells and neural cells in keloid: exploring their connection to disease activity

BackgroundMast cells (MCs) and neural cells (NCs) are important in a keloid microenvironment. They might contribute to fibrosis and pain sensation within the keloid. However, their involvement in pathological excessive scarring has not been adequately explored.ObjectivesTo elucidate roles of MCs and NCs in keloid pathogenesis and their correlation with disease activity.MethodsKeloid samples from chest and back regions were analyzed. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was conducted for six active keloids (AK) samples, four inactive keloids (IK) samples, and three mature scar (MS) samples from patients with keloids.ResultsThe scRNA-seq analysis demonstrated notable enrichment of MCs, lymphocytes, and macrophages in AKs, which exhibited continuous growth at the excision site when compared to IK and MS samples (P = 0.042). Expression levels of marker genes associated with activated and degranulated MCs, including FCER1G, BTK, and GATA2, were specifically elevated in keloid lesions. Notably, MCs within AK lesions exhibited elevated expression of genes such as NTRK1, S1PR1, and S1PR2 associated with neuropeptide receptors. Neural progenitor cell and non-myelinating Schwann cell (nmSC) genes were highly expressed in keloids, whereas myelinating Schwann cell (mSC) genes were specific to MS samples.ConclusionsscRNA-seq analyses of AK, IK, and MS samples unveiled substantial microenvironmental heterogeneity. Such heterogeneity might be linked to disease activity. These findings suggest the potential contribution of MCs and NCs to keloid pathogenesis. Histopathological and molecular features observed in AK and IK samples provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying pain and pruritus in keloid lesions

Disability of Hearing Impairment Is Positively Associated With Urine Albumin/Creatinine Ratio in Korean Adults: The 2011–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine whether chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with hearing thresholds in the nationwide, large-scaled Korean population. Methods. This study analyzed the data of 9,798 subjects of 19 years and older (4,387 males and 5,411 females). Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was measured from first-voided spot urine samples. The air-conduction hearing threshold was measured at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz and pure tone audiogram (PTA) average was calculated as the four-frequency average of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz. Results. Urine ACR was significantly correlated with the PTA average of better ear in both genders, especially at 3 and 6 kHz in males and at 1, 3, 4, and 6 kHz in females. After adjusting, urine ACR also increased the risk of hearing loss in female, especially if urine ACR was 30 mg/g and more (odds ratio, 1.636–2.229. This study showed that the degree of hearing loss was significantly different according to categories of urine ACR in both genders. Hearing loss without disability was found less but that with bilateral hearing disability was found more as urine ACR increased. In generally, prevalence of hearing loss with disability was higher in males than females. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that urine ACR was significantly correlated with the PTA average of better ear in Korean adults of both genders. This study suggests that clinicians should carefully monitor the hearing level for subjects with elevated urine ACR, even though high urine ACR within the normal range

Metal-free, polyether-mediated H_2-release from ammonia borane: roles of hydrogen bonding interactions in promoting dehydrogenation

Polyetheral additives were found to be efficient promoters to enhance the rate of H2-release from ammonia borane (AB) at various temperatures. In particular, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (T4EGDE, 29 wt% relative to AB + T4EGDE) exhibited significantly improved activities for AB dehydrogenation, with the material-based hydrogen storage capacity of 10.3 wt% at 125 °C within 40 min. In situ FT-IR spectroscopy indicated the formation of B-(cyclodiborazanyl)amino-borohydride (BCDB), borazine, and μ-aminodiborane as gaseous byproducts. In addition, 11B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy further revealed that diammoniate of diborane (DADB) was initially formed to give polyaminoborane as liquid and/or solid spent-fuel, consistent with previous reports. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations suggested that hydrogen bonding interactions between AB and a polyetheral promoter initially played an important role in increasing the reactivity of B–H bonds of AB by transferring electron density from oxygen atoms of the promoter into B–H bonds of AB. These partially activated, hydridic B–H bonds were proposed to help promote the formation of diammoniate of diborane (DADB), which is considered as a reactive intermediate, eventually enhancing the rate of H2-release from AB. In addition, our in situ solid state 11B magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR measurements further confirmed that the rate of DADB formation from AB with a small quantity of T4EGDE was found to be much faster than that of pristine AB even at 50 °C. This metal-free method for H2-release from AB with an added, small quantity of polyethers would be helpful to develop feasible hydrogen storage systems for long-term fuel cell applications

Reversibly controlled ternary polar states and ferroelectric bias promoted by boosting square???tensile???strain

Interaction between dipoles often emerges intriguing physical phenomena, such as exchange bias in the magnetic heterostructures and magnetoelectric effect in multiferroics, which lead to advances in multifunctional heterostructures. However, the defect-dipole tends to be considered the undesired to deteriorate the electronic functionality. Here, we report deterministic switching between the ferroelectric and the pinched states by exploiting a new substrate of cubic perovskite, BaZrO3, which boosts square-tensile-strain to BaTiO3 and promotes four-variants in-plane spontaneous polarization with oxygen vacancy creation. First-principles calculations propose a complex of an oxygen vacancy and two Ti3+ ions coins a charge-neutral defect-dipole. Cooperative control of the defect-dipole and the spontaneous polarization reveals ternary in-plane polar states characterized by biased/pinched hysteresis loops. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate that three electrically controlled polar-ordering states lead to switchable and non-volatile dielectric states for application of non-destructive electro-dielectric memory. This discovery opens a new route to develop functional materials via manipulating defect-dipoles and offers a novel platform to advance heteroepitaxy beyond the prevalent perovskite substrates

The impact of education on cortical thickness in amyloid-negative subcortical vascular dementia: cognitive reserve hypothesis

Background: The protective effect of education has been well established in Alzheimer's disease, whereas its role in patients with isolated cerebrovascular diseases remains unclear. We examined the correlation of education with cortical thickness and cerebral small vessel disease markers in patients with pure subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCl) and patients with pure subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD). Methods: We analyzed 45 patients with svMCl and 47 patients with SVaD with negative results on Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomographic imaging who underwent structural brain magnetic resonance imaging. The main outcome was cortical thickness measured using surface-based morphometric analysis. We also assessed the volumes of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and numbers of lacunes as other outcomes. To investigate the correlation of education with cortical thickness, WMH volume, and number of lacunes, multiple linear regression analyses were performed after controlling for covariates, including Mini Mental State Examination, in the svMCl and SVaD groups. Results: In the SVaD group, higher education was correlated with more severe cortical thinning in the bilateral dorsolateral frontal, left medial frontal, and parahippocampal areas, whereas there was no correlation of education with cortical thickness in the svMCl group. There was no correlation between education and cerebral small vessel disease, including WMH and lacunes, in both patients with svMCl and patients with SVaD. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the compensatory effects of education on cortical thinning apply to patients with SVaD, which might be explained by the cognitive reserve hypothesis

Regulation of Adipose Tissue Stromal Cells Behaviors by Endogenic Oct4 Expression Control

BACKGROUND: To clarify the role of the POU domain transcription factor Oct4 in Adipose Tissue Stromal Cells (ATSCs), we investigated the regulation of Oct4 expression and other embryonic genes in fully differentiated cells, in addition to identifying expression at the gene and protein levels. The ATSCs and several immature cells were routinely expressing Oct4 protein before and after differentiating into specific lineages. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Here, we demonstrated the role of Oct4 in ATSCs on cell proliferation and differentiation. Exogenous Oct4 improves adult ATSCs cell proliferation and differentiation potencies through epigenetic reprogramming of stemness genes such as Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, and Rex1. Oct4 directly or indirectly induces ATSCs reprogramming along with the activation of JAK/STAT3 and ERK1/2. Exogenic Oct4 introduced a transdifferentiation priority into the neural lineage than mesodermal lineage. Global gene expression analysis results showed that Oct4 regulated target genes which could be characterized as differentially regulated genes such as pluripotency markers NANOG, SOX2, and KLF4 and markers of undifferentiated stem cells FOXD1, CDC2, and EPHB1. The negatively regulated genes included FAS, TNFR, COL6A1, JAM2, FOXQ1, FOXO1, NESTIN, SMAD3, SLIT3, DKK1, WNT5A, BMP1, and GLIS3 which are implicated in differentiation processes as well as a number of novel genes. Finally we have demonstrated the therapeutic utility of Oct4/ATSCs were introduced into the mouse traumatic brain, engrafted cells was more effectively induces regeneration activity with high therapeutic modality than that of control ATSCs. Engrafted Oct4/ATSCs efficiently migrated and transdifferentiated into action potential carrying, functionally neurons in the hippocampus and promoting the amelioration of lesion cavities