Inhibiting effects of 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole on copper corrosion in 0.5M sulfuric acid

AbstractThe inhibiting efficiency of 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (MMI) on copper corrosion in sulfuric acid was investigated at 30°C. Its effectiveness was assessed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and gravimetric measurements. The results of study reveal that the inhibition efficiency of MMI depends on its concentration and attains approximately 81% at 10−4M. The inhibitor was adsorbed on the copper surface according the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The value of standard free energy of adsorption was calculated from this isotherm

Quality Assessment for CRT and LCD Color Reproduction Using a Blind Metric

This paper deals with image quality assessment that is capturing the focus of several research teams from academic and industrial parts. This field has an important role in various applications related to image from acquisition to projection. A large numbers of objective image quality metrics have been developed during the last decade. These metrics are more or less correlated to end-user feedback and can be separated in three categories: 1) Full Reference (FR) trying to evaluate the impairment in comparison to the reference image, 2) Reduced Reference (RR) using some features extracted from an image to represent it and compare it with the distorted one and 3) No Reference (NR) measures known as distortions such as blockiness, blurriness,. . .without the use of a reference. Unfortunately, the quality assessment community have not achieved a universal image quality model and only empiricalmodels established on psychophysical experimentation are generally used. In this paper, we focus only on the third category to evaluate the quality of CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) color reproduction where a blind metric is, based on modeling a part of the human visual system behavior. The objective results are validated by single-media and cross-media subjective tests. This allows to study the ability of simulating displays on a reference one

SYNERGETIC USE OF SENTINEL-1 AND SENTINEL-2 DATA FOR EXTRACTION OF BUILT-UP AREA IN A ROCKY DESERT OASIS, EXAMPLE FOR DRAA TAFILALT, SOUTH-EAST OF MOROCCO

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing technique capable of providing high-resolution imagery independent from daytime and to great extent unimpaired by weather conditions. Unlike the passive remote sensing active radars receive its' own reflected signal. Features of received signal make able to obtain additional information about surface objects and covers. Because of signal, double reflecting upon vertical surfaces like walls, it become common to study urbanized areas using SAR data. Because of mostly similar spectral characteristic of the typical buildings' roofs and sandy soils, that are distinguishing for Morocco, classification using visible and NIR multispectral remote sensing data is complicated. Thus, SAR data processing technique is rather useful while application to deserted area studying and urbanized areas identification

ASSESSING VEGETATION STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN OASIS AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS USING SENTINEL-2 IMAGE TIME SERIES: CASE STUDY FOR DRÂA-TAFILALET REGION MOROCCO

Nowadays, Moroccan oasis agro-ecosystems are under intense effect of natural and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, this essay proposes to use Leaf Area Index (LAI) to assess the consequences of the oases long-term biodegradation. The index was used as a widely-applied parameter of vegetation structure and an important indicator of plant growth and health. Therefore, a new optical multispectral Sentinel-2 data were used to build a long term LAI time series for the area of the Erfoud and Rissani oases, Errachidia province in Drâa-Tafilalet region in Morocco. Nine images of LAI spatial distribution over the study area were obtained by means of SNAP Biophysical Processor over the period since July 2015 till May 2018. Time series analysis of the resultedmaps has revealed a stable trend towards the average LAI decreasing and vegetation structure simplification as a consequence

Using random forest and decision tree models for a new vehicle prediction approach in computational toxicology

yesDrug vehicles are chemical carriers that provide beneficial aid to the drugs they bear. Taking advantage of their favourable properties can potentially allow the safer use of drugs that are considered highly toxic. A means for vehicle selection without experimental trial would therefore be of benefit in saving time and money for the industry. Although machine learning is increasingly used in predictive toxicology, to our knowledge there is no reported work in using machine learning techniques to model drug-vehicle relationships for vehicle selection to minimise toxicity. In this paper we demonstrate the use of data mining and machine learning techniques to process, extract and build models based on classifiers (decision trees and random forests) that allow us to predict which vehicle would be most suited to reduce a drug’s toxicity. Using data acquired from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) we propose a methodology using an area under a curve (AUC) approach that allows us to distinguish which vehicle provides the best toxicity profile for a drug and build classification models based on this knowledge. Our results show that we can achieve prediction accuracies of 80 % using random forest models whilst the decision tree models produce accuracies in the 70 % region. We consider our methodology widely applicable within the scientific domain and beyond for comprehensively building classification models for the comparison of functional relationships between two variables

Deregulated expression of TANK in glioblastomas triggers pro-tumorigenic ERK1/2 and AKT signaling pathways

Signal transmission by the noncanonical IkappaB kinases (IKKs), TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and IKKɛ, requires interaction with adapter proteins such as TRAF associated NF-κB activator (TANK). Although increased expression or dysregulation of both kinases has been described for a variety of human cancers, this study shows that deregulated expression of the TANK protein is frequently occurring in glioblastomas (GBMs). The functional relevance of TANK was analyzed in a panel of GBM-derived cell lines and revealed that knockdown of TANK arrests cells in the S-phase and prohibits tumor cell migration. Deregulated TANK expression affects several signaling pathways controlling cell proliferation and the inflammatory response. Interference with stoichiometrically assembled signaling complexes by overexpression or silencing of TANK prevented constitutive interferon-regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) phosphorylation. Knockdown of TANK frequently prevents constitutive activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). TANK-mediated ERK1/2 activation is independent from the canonical MAP kinase or ERK kinase (MEK) 1/2-mediated pathway and utilizes an alternative pathway that uses a TBK1/IKKɛ/Akt signaling axis, thus identifying a novel pathway suitable to block constitutive ERK1/2 activity.Peer reviewe

Antifungal activity of amphotericin B conjugated to nanosized magnetite in the treatment of paracoccidioidomycosis

This study reports on in vitro and in vivo tests that sought to assess the antifungal activity of a newly developed magnetic carrier system comprising amphotericin B loaded onto the surface of pre-coated (with a double-layer of lauric acid) magnetite nanoparticles. The in vitro tests compared two drugs; i.e., this newly developed form and free amphotericin B. We found that this nanocomplex exhibited antifungal activity without cytotoxicity to human urinary cells and with low cytotoxicity to peritoneal macrophages. We also evaluated the efficacy of the nanocomplex in experimental paracoccidioidomycosis. BALB/c mice were intratracheally infected with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and treated with the compound for 30 or 60 days beginning the day after infection. The newly developed amphotericin B coupled with magnetic nanoparticles was effective against experimental paracoccidioidomycosis, and it did not induce clinical, biochemical or histopathological alterations. The nanocomplex also did not induce genotoxic effects in bone marrow cells. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that amphotericin B coupled to magnetic nanoparticles and stabilized with bilayer lauric acid is a promising nanotool for the treatment of the experimental paracoccidioidomycosis because it exhibited antifungal activity that was similar to that of free amphotericin B, did not induce adverse effects in therapeutic doses and allowed for a reduction in the number of applications

Hippo signalling governs cytosolic nucleic acid sensing through YAP/TAZ-mediated TBK1 blockade

The Hippo pathway senses cellular conditions and regulates YAP/TAZ to control cellular and tissue homeostasis, while TBK1 is central for cytosolic nucleic acid sensing and antiviral defence. The correlation between cellular nutrient/physical status and host antiviral defence is interesting but not well understood. Here we find that YAP/TAZ act as natural inhibitors of TBK1 and are vital for antiviral physiology. Independent of transcriptional regulation and through the transactivation domain, YAP/TAZ associate directly with TBK1 and abolish virus-induced TBK1 activation, by preventing TBK1 Lys63-linked ubiquitylation and the binding of adaptors/substrates. Accordingly, YAP/TAZ deletion/depletion or cellular conditions inactivating YAP/TAZ through Lats1/2 kinases relieve TBK1 suppression and boost antiviral responses, whereas expression of the transcriptionally inactive YAP dampens cytosolic RNA/DNA sensing and weakens the antiviral defence in cells and zebrafish. Thus, we describe a function of YAP/TAZ and the Hippo pathway in innate immunity, by linking cellular nutrient/physical status to antiviral host defence

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries