The performance and exhaust emissions of a diesel engine fuelled with Calophyllum inophyllum- palm biodiesel

© 2019 by the authors. Nowadays, increased interest among the scientific community to explore the Calophyllum inophyllum as alternative fuels for diesel engines is observed. This research is about using mixed Calophyllum inophyllum-palm oil biodiesel production and evaluation that biodiesel in a diesel engine. The Calophyllum inophyllum-palm oil methyl ester (CPME) is processed using the following procedure: (1) the crude Calophyllum inophyllum and palm oils are mixed at the same ratio of 50:50 volume %, (2) degumming, (3) acid-catalysed esterification, (4) purification, and (5) alkalinecatalysed transesterification. The results are indeed encouraging which satisfy the international standards, CPME shows the high heating value (37.9 MJ/kg) but lower kinematic viscosity (4.50 mm2/s) due to change the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition compared to Calophyllum inophyllum methyl ester (CIME). The average results show that the blended fuels have higher Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) and NOx emissions, lower Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), along with CO and HC emissions than diesel fuel over the entire range of speeds. Among the blends, CPME5 offered better performance compared to other fuels. It can be recommended that the CPME blend has great potential as an alternative fuel because of its excellent characteristics, better performance, and less harmful emission than CIME blends

Association analysis of polymorphism in KIAA1717, HUMMLC2B, DECR1 and FTO genes with meat quality traits of the Berkshire breed

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in KIAA1717, HUMMLC2B, DECR1, and FTO genes have been found to be associated with some pork meat quality traits. In this study, we discovered that, in addition to meat quality traits reported previously, SNPs in these genes also are significantly associated with other meat quality traits in the Berkshire breed. A total of 323 Berkshire pigs bred under the same conditions were used for meat quality evaluation and polymerase chain reaction-amplified genes with restriction endonucleases (PCR-RFLP) genotyping analyses. The association analysis of RFLP genotyping with meat quality traits revealed that the SNPs in these 4 genes have novel associations with multiple meat quality traits (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05); a SNP in KIAA1717 was associated with meat color (CIE L), backfat thickness, drip loss, water-holding capacity, and pH24hr; a SNP in HUMMLC2B was associated with chemical composition (collagen), drip loss, shear force, and pH24hr; a SNP in DECR1 was associated with meat color (CIE a and b) and backfat thickness; and a SNP in FTO was associated with meat color (CIE L, a and b), protein content, drip loss, and water-holding capacity. Taken collectively, our results suggest that these 4 SNPs may be used for marker-assisted selection as a genetic marker for meat quality traits in Berkshire pigs.Key words: Berkshire, genetic markers, meat quality, SN

Left Ventricle Quantification Using Direct Regression with Segmentation Regularization and Ensembles of Pretrained 2D and 3D CNNs

Cardiac left ventricle (LV) quantification provides a tool for diagnosing cardiac diseases. Automatic calculation of all relevant LV indices from cardiac MR images is an intricate task due to large variations among patients and deformation during the cardiac cycle. Typical methods are based on segmentation of the myocardium or direct regression from MR images. To consider cardiac motion and deformation, recurrent neural networks and spatio-temporal convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been proposed. We study an approach combining state-of-the-art models and emphasizing transfer learning to account for the small dataset provided for the LVQuan19 challenge. We compare 2D spatial and 3D spatio-temporal CNNs for LV indices regression and cardiac phase classification. To incorporate segmentation information, we propose an architecture-independent segmentation-based regularization. To improve the robustness further, we employ a search scheme that identifies the optimal ensemble from a set of architecture variants. Evaluating on the LVQuan19 Challenge training dataset with 5-fold cross-validation, we achieve mean absolute errors of 111 +- 76mm^2, 1.84 +- 0.9mm and 1.22 +- 0.6mm for area, dimension and regional wall thickness regression, respectively. The error rate for cardiac phase classification is 6.7%.Comment: Accepted at the MICCAI Workshop STACOM 201

High Fidelity Tape Transfer Printing Based On Chemically Induced Adhesive Strength Modulation

Transfer printing, a two-step process (i.e. picking up and printing) for heterogeneous integration, has been widely exploited for the fabrication of functional electronics system. To ensure a reliable process, strong adhesion for picking up and weak or no adhesion for printing are required. However, it is challenging to meet the requirements of switchable stamp adhesion. Here we introduce a simple, high fidelity process, namely tape transfer printing(TTP), enabled by chemically induced dramatic modulation in tape adhesive strength. We describe the working mechanism of the adhesion modulation that governs this process and demonstrate the method by high fidelity tape transfer printing several types of materials and devices, including Si pellets arrays, photodetector arrays, and electromyography (EMG) sensors, from their preparation substrates to various alien substrates. High fidelity tape transfer printing of components onto curvilinear surfaces is also illustrated

Stress-induced decreases in local cerebral glucose utilization in specific regions of the mouse brain

BACKGROUND: Restraint stress in rodents has been reported to activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and to increase c-fos expression in regions that express components of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system. We have previously reported that acute central administration of CRF increased a measure of relative local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU), a measure of neuronal activity in specific brain regions, and activated the HPA axis in mice. It was hypothesized that the involvement of the CRF system in the stress response would lead to similar changes in relative LCGU after restraint stress. In the present studies the effect of restraint stress on relative LCGU and on the HPA axis in C57BL/6N mice were examined. FINDINGS: Restraint stress activated the HPA axis in a restraint-duration dependent manner, but in contrast to the reported effects of CRF, significantly decreased relative LCGU in frontal cortical, thalamic, hippocampal and temporal dissected regions. These findings support evidence that stressors enforcing limited physical activity reduce relative LCGU, in contrast to high activity stressors such as swim stress. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the present studies do not support the hypothesis that stress-induced changes in relative LCGU are largely mediated by the CRF system. Further studies will help to delineate the role of the CRF system in the early phases of the relative LCGU response to stress and investigate the role of other neurotransmitter systems in this response

Geographic Variation in Advertisement Calls in a Tree Frog Species: Gene Flow and Selection Hypotheses

In a species with a large distribution relative to its dispersal capacity, geographic variation in traits may be explained by gene flow, selection, or the combined effects of both. Studies of genetic diversity using neutral molecular markers show that patterns of isolation by distance (IBD) or barrier effect may be evident for geographic variation at the molecular level in amphibian species. However, selective factors such as habitat, predator, or interspecific interactions may be critical for geographic variation in sexual traits. We studied geographic variation in advertisement calls in the tree frog Hyla japonica to understand patterns of variation in these traits across Korea and provide clues about the underlying forces for variation.We recorded calls of H. japonica in three breeding seasons from 17 localities including localities in remote Jeju Island. Call characters analyzed were note repetition rate (NRR), note duration (ND), and dominant frequency (DF), along with snout-to-vent length.The findings of a barrier effect on DF and a longitudinal variation in NRR seemed to suggest that an open sea between the mainland and Jeju Island and mountain ranges dominated by the north-south Taebaek Mountains were related to geographic variation in call characters. Furthermore, there was a pattern of IBD in mitochondrial DNA sequences. However, no comparable pattern of IBD was found between geographic distance and call characters. We also failed to detect any effects of habitat or interspecific interaction on call characters.Geographic variations in call characters as well as mitochondrial DNA sequences were largely stratified by geographic factors such as distance and barriers in Korean populations of H. japonica. Although we did not detect effects of habitat or interspecific interaction, some other selective factors such as sexual selection might still be operating on call characters in conjunction with restricted gene flow

Male Responses to Conspecific Advertisement Signals in the Field Cricket Gryllus rubens (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

In many species males aggregate and produce long-range advertisement signals to attract conspecific females. The majority of the receivers of these signals are probably other males most of the time, and male responses to competitors' signals can structure the spatial and temporal organization of the breeding aggregation and affect male mating tactics. I quantified male responses to a conspecific advertisement stimulus repeatedly over three age classes in Gryllus rubens (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in order to estimate the type and frequency of male responses to the broadcast stimulus and to determine the factors affecting them. Factors tested included body size, wing dimorphism, age, and intensity of the broadcast stimulus. Overall, males employed acoustic response more often than positive phonotactic response. As males aged, the frequency of positive phonotactic response decreased but that of the acoustic response increased. That is, males may use positive phonotaxis in the early stages of their adult lives, possibly to find suitable calling sites or parasitize calling males, and then later in life switch to acoustic responses in response to conspecific advertisement signals. Males with smaller body size more frequently exhibited acoustic responses. This study suggests that individual variation, more than any factors measured, is critical for age-dependent male responses to conspecific advertisement signals

The pharmacological regulation of cellular mitophagy

Small molecules are pharmacological tools of considerable value for dissecting complex biological processes and identifying potential therapeutic interventions. Recently, the cellular quality-control process of mitophagy has attracted considerable research interest; however, the limited availability of suitable chemical probes has restricted our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved. Current approaches to initiate mitophagy include acute dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) by mitochondrial uncouplers (for example, FCCP/CCCP) and the use of antimycin A and oligomycin to impair respiration. Both approaches impair mitochondrial homeostasis and therefore limit the scope for dissection of subtle, bioenergy-related regulatory phenomena. Recently, novel mitophagy activators acting independently of the respiration collapse have been reported, offering new opportunities to understand the process and potential for therapeutic exploitation. We have summarized the current status of mitophagy modulators and analyzed the available chemical tools, commenting on their advantages, limitations and current applications

Natural Variation in Arabidopsis thaliana Revealed a Genetic Network Controlling Germination Under Salt Stress

Plant responses to environmental stresses are polygenic and complex traits. In this study quantitative genetics using natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana was used to investigate the genetic architecture of plant responses to salt stress. Eighty seven A. thaliana accessions were screened and showed a large variation for root development and seed germination under 125 and 200 mM NaCl, respectively. Twenty two quantitative trait loci for these traits have been detected by phenotyping two recombinants inbred line populations, Sha x Col and Sha x Ler. Four QTLs controlling germination under salt were detected in the Sha x Col population. Interestingly, only one allelic combination at these four QTLs inhibits germination under salt stress, implying strong epistatic interactions between them. In this interacting context, we confirmed the effect of one QTL by phenotyping selected heterozygous inbred families. We also showed that this QTL is involved in the control of germination under other stress conditions such as KCl, mannitol, cold, glucose and ABA. Our data highlights the presence of a genetic network which consists of four interacting QTLs and controls germination under limiting environmental conditions

Stereotactic body radiation therapy with or without transarterial chemoembolization for patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma: preliminary analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objectives of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for small non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and SBRT combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for advanced HCC with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty one patients with HCC who were treated with SBRT were used for the study. We studied 32 HCC lesions, where 23 lesions (22 patients) were treated targeting small non-resectable primary HCC, and 9 lesions (9 patients) targeting PVTT using the Cyberknife. All the 9 patients targeting PVTT received TACE for the advanced HCC. Tumor volume was 3.6–57.3 cc (median, 25.2 cc) and SBRT dose was 30–39 Gy (median, 36 Gy) in 3 fractions for consecutive days for 70–85% of the planned target volume.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median follow up was 10.5 months. The overall response rate was 71.9% [small HCC: 82.6% (19/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 44.4% (4/9)], with the complete and partial response rates of 31.3% [small HCC: 26.1% (6/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 11.1% (1/9)], and 50.0% [small HCC: 56.5% (13/23), advanced HCC with PVTT: 33.3% (3/9)], respectively. The median survival period of small HCC and advanced HCC with PVTT patients was 12 months and 8 months, respectively. No patient experienced Grade 4 toxicity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SBRT for small HCC and SBRT combined with TACE for advanced HCC with PVTT showed feasible treatment modalities with minimal side effects in selected patients with primary HCC.</p