Lignocellulose-based analytical devices: bamboo as an analytical platform for chemical detection

This article describes the development of lignocellulose-based analytical devices (LADs) for rapid bioanalysis in low-resource settings. LADs are constructed using either a single lignocellulose or a hybrid design consisting of multiple types of lignocellulose. LADs are simple, low-cost, easy to use, provide rapid response, and do not require external instrumentation during operation. Here, we demonstrate the implementation of LADs for food and water safety (i.e., nitrite assay in hot-pot soup, bacterial detection in water, and resazurin assay in milk) and urinalysis (i.e., nitrite, urobilinogen, and pH assays in human urine). Notably, we created a unique approach using simple chemicals to achieve sensitivity similar to that of commercially available immunochromatographic strips that is low-cost, and provides on-site, rapid detection, for instance, of Eschericia coli (E. coli) in water

A Novel Two-Component Response Regulator Links rpfwith Biofilm Formation and Virulence of Xanthomonasaxonopodis pv. Citri

Citrus bacterial canker caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri is a serious disease that impacts citrus productionworldwide, and X. axonopodis pv. citri is listed as a quarantine pest in certain countries. Biofilm formation is important forthe successful development of a pathogenic relationship between various bacteria and their host(s). To understand themechanisms of biofilm formation by X. axonopodis pv. citri strain XW19, the strain was subjected to transposonmutagenesis. One mutant with a mutation in a two-component response regulator gene that was deficient in biofilmformation on a polystyrene microplate was selected for further study. The protein was designated as BfdR for biofilmformation defective regulator. BfdR from strain XW19 shares 100% amino acid sequence identity with XAC1284 of X.axonopodis pv. citri strain 306 and 30–100% identity with two-component response regulators in various pathogens andenvironmental microorganisms. The bfdR mutant strain exhibited significantly decreased biofilm formation on the leafsurfaces of Mexican lime compared with the wild type strain. The bfdR mutant was also compromised in its ability to causecanker lesions. The wild-type phenotype was restored by providing pbfdR in trans in the bfdR mutant. Our data indicatedthat BfdR did not regulate the production of virulence-related extracellular enzymes including amylase, lipase, protease, andlecithinase or the expression of hrpG, rfbC, and katE; however, BfdR controlled the expression of rpfF in XVM2 medium,which mimics cytoplasmic fluids in planta. In conclusion, biofilm formation on leaf surfaces of citrus is important for cankerdevelopment in X. axonopodis pv. citri XW19. The process is controlled by the two-component response regulator BfdR viaregulation of rpfF, which is required for the biosynthesis of a diffusible signal factor

Kinetic Modeling for Microwave-Enhanced Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Manganese Oxide

This study was originally performed to compare the MnO2-based degradation of aqueous methylene blue (MB) under microwave irradiation- (MW-) enhanced and conventional heating- (CH-) enhanced conditions. The degradation process and kinetics were investigated to elucidate the microwave effect on the reaction. The results showed that all three tested conditions, sole MnO2, MnO2/CH, and MnO2/MW, followed the third-order (second upon MB and first upon MnO2) kinetic model. However, a higher degradation rate of MB was available under the MW-enhanced process, which implies that the “athermal effect” of MW might be of more benefit for the generation of electrophilic oxygen ions (, , and ) to degrade MB. The results showed that the degradation percentage of MB could reach 100%, corresponding to 92% total organic carbon (TOC) removal under microwave irradiation at pH 7.20 for 10 min

Proizvodnja novog probiotičkog sira tipa Cheddar, veće ACE inhibicijske aktivnosti i većeg udjela γ-aminomaslačne kiseline, s pomoću Lactobacillus casei Zhang, izolirane iz fermentiranoga mliječnog napitka

Cheddar cheese has been manufactured with Lactobacillus casei Zhang as the dairy starter adjunct. L. casei Zhang had previously been isolated from koumiss collected from Xilin Guole in Inner Mongolia and characterized in detail with regard to their probiotic potential. The addition of L. casei Zhang to Cheddar cheese had no adverse effects on sensory criteria. The cheese made with 0.1, 1 and 2 % of the probiotic strain L. casei Zhang adjuncts contained high levels of the Lactobacillus after 6 months of ripening with final counts of 9.6·10^7, 7.7·10^7 and 1.02·10^8 CFU/g, respectively. In the ripe control cheese, without the addition of probiotic strain L. casei Zhang, the number of Lactobacillus reached 5.7·107 CFU/g. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) analysis was used to distinguish the added L. casei Zhang from the natural flora of the cheese and to determine whether L. casei Zhang grew in the cheese. ACE-inhibitory activity and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations in the cheese were measured. Compared with control cheese, experimental cheese with 0.1, 1 and 2 % of probiotic strain L. casei Zhang revealed some increase in ACE-inhibitory activity and GABA mass fraction. In the present study, the production of both ACE-inhibitory activity and GABA in the probiotic cheese with the L. casei Zhang adjunct isolated from koumiss has been found for the first time. The results suggest that cheese with the probiotic strain L. casei Zhang showed good potential for application in the management of hypertension.Proizveden je sir tipa Cheddar s pomoću dodane kulture Lactobacillus casei Zhang, prethodno izolirane iz fermentiranoga mliječnog napitka „koumiss“ (Xilin Guole, središnja Mongolija, Kina). Iscrpno su ispitana probiotička svojstva izolirane kulture. Utvrđeno je da dodatak kulture nije bitno promijenio senzorička svojstva sira. Sir pripremljen s 0,1 % probiotičke kulture imao je nakon 6 mjeseci zrenja 9,6·107 CFU/g, sir s 1 % probiotičke kulture 7,7·107 CFU/g, a sir s 2 % probiotičke kulture 1,02·108 CFU/g bakterija roda Lactobacillus. U zrelom je kontrolnom uzorku sira (bez dodatka L. casei Zhang) broj bakterija Lactobacillus bio 5,7·107 CFU/g. Provedbom ERIC-PCR analize razlučena je dodana kultura L. casei Zhang od prirodne mikroflore sira, te utvrđen njezin rast. Također je izmjerena veća ACE inhibicijska aktivnost te veći udio γ-aminomaslačne kiseline u dobivenom siru, u usporedbi s kontrolnim uzorkom. Rezultati pokazuju da se dodatkom probiotičke kulture L. casei Zhang dobiva sir boljih svojstava, čija veća primjena pridonosi liječenju povišenog arterijskog tlaka

The incidence and risk of developing a second primary esophageal cancer in patients with oral and pharyngeal carcinoma: a population-based study in Taiwan over a 25 year period

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of oral and pharyngeal (including oral cavity, oropharynx and hypopharynx) carcinoma increases rapidly in Asia and South Pacific because of betel quid chewing. Thus far, large-scale epidemiological studies are not available yet to stratify these patients by their risks of developing a second primary cancer in the digestive tract including esophagus, stomach, colon, and rectum.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based study was conducted using the database from the Taiwan National Cancer Registry for the period 1979-2003. We quantified standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and cumulative incidence of second primary cancers among 33,787 patients with initial diagnoses of oral and pharyngeal carcinoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among these four digestive tract organs, the esophagus was the only site of second cancer with excess risk in patients with oral and pharyngeal carcinoma. The incidence and risk of developing a second primary esophageal cancer differed by the site of the primary index tumor, most frequently seen in hypopharyngeal cancer (71/4,218 = 1.68%, SIR = 22.76, 95% CI 17.77-28.70), followed by oropharyngeal cancer (30/3,403 = 0.88%, SIR = 14.29, 95% CI 9.64-20.39) and the least in oral cavity cancer (99/26,166 = 0.38%, SIR = 5.57, 95% CI 4.53-6.78). In addition, the risk was extraordinarily high for patients with a follow-up interval ≤ 1 year and those with first primary cancer diagnosed at age ≤50. These patients may justify more close surveillance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study represents the first population-based study in Asia attempting to stratify the patients of oral and pharyngeal carcinoma by their risk of developing a second esophageal cancer. It helps identify patients at high risk and tailor the application of intense follow-up surveillance to the estimated risk in each individual case.</p

Integrating before and after crash features into measuring the effectiveness of intersection safety improvement project in Harbin /

Many studies focused on the analysis of effect factors contributing to the crashes and development of crash prediction models have resulted in aggregate researches to quantify the safety effects of geometric and traffic variables and environmental concerns on the expected outcome of fatal, injury and/or property damage losses at specific locations. Crash insight regarding different locations, however, has rarely been performed. Such investigations are useful for at least two reasons. First, there is a priori need to identify high risk sites with respect to crash. Second, it is generally believed that different crash types (e.g. rear-end, angle etc.) are associated with road geometry, the environment and traffic condition, and as a result justifying the inside causes of such crashes helps with understanding and improving the specific ability to make effective countermeasures. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to (1) demonstrate that different crash types are associated to intersections in different ways and (2) reveal that the statistics of intersection crashes may lead to greater insights considering crash occurrence and countermeasure effectiveness. This paper first divides crashes into 5 categories or types: pedestrian-involved, rear-end, head-on, angle and sideswipe crash types. Based on 3208 crashes collected on the intersections in the city of Harbin during the period of 1992–2008, distribution, overall count and the occurrence of rate features are estimated resulting in two models. The performed analysis reveals that safety improvement factors such as the presence of a signal light set, a traffic monitoring device and ITS measure have a positive association with intersection crash in different ways, suggesting that different traffic control and management aspects may be helpful in identifying specific countermeasures in the overall safety improvement project. Santrauka Daugelis tyrimų, nagrinėjančių efektyvumo veiksnius, padedančius nustatyti susidūrimų prognozavimo modelius, paskatino įvairius tyrimus įvertinti eismo aplinkos sudedamųjų dalių ir jų parametrų įtaką mirties ir (arba) turtinės žalos atvejams konkrečiose vietose. Iki šiol tai buvo retas reiškinys. Tokie tyrimai yra svarbūs bent jau dėl dviejų priežasčių. Pirma, reikia nustatyti padidintos rizikos vietas atsižvelgiant į eismo įvykį. Antra, manoma, kad skirtingos susidūrimo rūšys yra susijusios su kelio geometrija, aplinkos ir eismo sąlygomis ir kaip pasekmė, pateisinanti vidines tokių susidūrimų priežastis, padeda suprasti ir pagerinti konkrečias galimybes imtis atsakomųjų veiksmų. Todėl šio darbo tikslas—parodyti, kad skirtingos susidūrimo rūšys įvairiai susijusios su eismu sankryžose, kad susidūrimų sankryžose statistika gali lemti didesnę įžvalgą, atsižvelgiant į įvykusį eismo įvykį ir atsakomųjų priemonių veiksmingumą. Šiame darbe susidūrimai skirstomi į 5 rūšis: susidūrimai su pėsčiaisiais, įvažiavimas į galinę transporto priemonės dalį, susidūrimas priekinėmis transporto priemonės dalimis, kampinis smūgis ir šoninis smūgis. Pasiskirstymas, bendras skaičius ir susidūrimų dažnis apskaičiuojami pagal du modelius remiantis informacija, surinkta iš 3028 eismo įvykių, įvykusių 1992–2008 m. Charbino miesto (Kinija) sankryžose. Atlikta analizė parodė, kad saugaus gerinimo veiksniai, t. y. šviesoforas, eismo stebėjimo prietaisai ir t.t., turi teigiamą įtaką. Skirtingi eismo kontrolės ir valdymo aspektai gali padėti rasti konkrečias atsakomąsias priemones, įgyvendinant visą saugaus eismo gerinimo projektą. Резюме Проблема безопасности дорожного движения актуальна во всех городах мира. Не является исключением и китайский город Харбин. Авторы исследуют влияние совокупности факторов, возникающих до и после дорожно-транспортного происшествия, для оценки эффективности проекта по безопасному движению на перекрестках в упомянутом городе. Исследуются места увеличенного риска возникновения дорожно-транспортного происшествия. Также принимается во внимание, что различные типы дорожно-транспортных происшествий тесно связаны с геометрическими параметрами дороги, условиями окружающей среды, условиями самого движения и т. д. Целью исследования было показать связь и влияние различных типов дорожно-транспортных происшествий на конкретные ситуации движения на перекрестках. Это необходимо для того, чтобы понять необходимость ответных мер по обеспечению безопасности дорожного движения в потенциально опасных местах. Все дорожно-транспортные происшествия разделены на 5 типов. Далее на основании информации о 3028 дорожно-транспортных происшествий, зарегистрированных в период с 1992 по 2008 гг. на перекрестках города Харбина, представлены статистические результаты исследования. Проведенное исследование показало, что меры по увеличению безопасности дорожного движения (например, светофор, видео наблюдение за движением и т. д.) имели положительное влияние. Различные аспекты контроля за дорожным движением и управления им помогают найти ответные меры по претворению в жизнь проекта по обеспечению безопасности дорожного движения. Reikšminiai žodžiai: susidūrimas, sankryža, susidūrimų dažnis, eismo kontrolė, šviesos signalas, atsakomosios priemonės, saugus eismas Ключевые слова: дорожно-транспортное происшествие, безопасность дорожного движения, перекресток, столкновение, контроль за движением, ответные мер

The 2005 Ilan earthquake doublet and seismic crisis in northeastern Taiwan: evidence for dyke intrusion associated with on-land propagation of the Okinawa Trough

Northern Taiwan underwent mountain building in the early stage of the Taiwan orogeny but is currently subjected to post-collisional crustal extension. It may be related to gravitational collapse or to the rifting of the Okinawa Trough, which lies offshore northeastern Taiwan. The Ilan Plain, northeastern Taiwan, which is bounded by the normal fault systems and filled up with thick Pliocene–Pleistocene sedimentary sequences, formed under such an extension environment. Over there on 2005 March 5 two earthquakes with about the same magnitude (M_L = 5.9) occurred within 68 s and produced intense aftershocks activity according to the records of Central Weather Bureau Seismic Network of Taiwan. We relocated the earthquake sequence by the three-dimension earthquake location algorithm with the newly published 3-D Vp and Vp/Vs velocity model, and determined the first-polarity focal mechanisms of the earthquake doublet. One major cluster of aftershocks which trends E–W and dips steeply to the south can be identified and picked up as a potential fault plane. The focal mechanisms of the two main shocks are both classified as normal type by first-polarity but strike-slip by centroid moment tensor inversion; however two methods both yield consistent E–W strike. Static coseismic deformation was additionally determined from Global Positioning System (GPS) daily solutions at a set of continuous GPS stations and from strong-motion seismographs. These data show NW–SE extension at high angle to the fault plane, which cannot be explained from a simple strike-slip double-couple mechanism. On the other hand, the small vertical displacements and steep fault plane cannot be explained from a simple normal event as well. We present from elastic dislocation modelling that the geodetic data are best explained by significant component of tensile source with centimetre-scale of opening on a 15-km-long fault extending from 1 to 13 km depth. We therefore interpret the crisis as the result of dyke intrusion at the very tip of the Okinawa Trough, which is reasonably driven by backarc spreading