Effect of surfactant concentration variation on the thermoelectric properties of mesoporous ZnO

The electrical and thermal conductivities and the Seebeck coefficient of mesoporous ZnO thin films were investigated to determine the change of their thermoelectric properties by controlling surfactant concentration in the mesoporous ZnO films, because the thermoelectric properties of mesoporous ZnO films can be influenced by the porosity of the mesoporous structures, which is primarily determined by surfactant concentration in the films. Mesoporous ZnO thin films were successfully synthesized by using sol-gel and evaporation-induced self-assembly processes. Zinc acetate dihydrate and Brij-76 were used as the starting material and pore structure-forming template, respectively. The porosity of mesoporous ZnO thin films increased from 29% to 40% with increasing surfactant molar ratio. Porosity can be easily altered by controlling the molar ratio of surfactant/precursor. The electrical and thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficients showed a close correlation with the porosity of the films, indicating that the thermoelectric properties of thin films can be changed by altering their porosity. Mesoporous ZnO thin films with the highest porosity had the best thermoelectric properties (the lowest thermal conductivity and the highest Seebeck coefficient) of the films examined. © 2013 Min-Hee Hong et al

Thermoelectric properties of Al-doped mesoporous ZnO thin films

Al-doped mesoporous ZnO thin films were synthesized by a sol-gel process and an evaporation-induced self-assembly process. In this work, the effects of Al doping concentration on the electrical conductivity and characterization of mesoporous ZnO thin films were investigated. By changing the Al doping concentration, ZnO grain growth is inhibited, and the mesoporous structure of ZnO is maintained during a relatively high temperature annealing process. The porosity of Al-doped mesoporous ZnO thin films increased slightly with increasing Al doping concentration. Finally, as electrical conductivity was increased as electrons were freed and pore structure was maintained by inhibiting grain growth, the thermoelectric property was enhanced with increasing Al concentration. © 2013 Min-Hee Hong et al

Respiratory viral infections in exacerbation of chronic airway inflammatory diseases: novel mechanisms and insights from the upper airway epithelium.

Respiratory virus infection is one of the major sources of exacerbation of chronic airway inflammatory diseases. These exacerbations are associated with high morbidity and even mortality worldwide. The current understanding on viral-induced exacerbations is that viral infection increases airway inflammation which aggravates disease symptoms. Recent advances in in vitro air-liquid interface 3D cultures, organoid cultures and the use of novel human and animal challenge models have evoked new understandings as to the mechanisms of viral exacerbations. In this review, we will focus on recent novel findings that elucidate how respiratory viral infections alter the epithelial barrier in the airways, the upper airway microbial environment, epigenetic modifications including miRNA modulation, and other changes in immune responses throughout the upper and lower airways. First, we reviewed the prevalence of different respiratory viral infections in causing exacerbations in chronic airway inflammatory diseases. Subsequently we also summarized how recent models have expanded our appreciation of the mechanisms of viral-induced exacerbations. Further we highlighted the importance of the virome within the airway microbiome environment and its impact on subsequent bacterial infection. This review consolidates the understanding of viral induced exacerbation in chronic airway inflammatory diseases and indicates pathways that may be targeted for more effective management of chronic inflammatory diseases

Resident's strategy survey on a new end use of recycled water in Australia

The concept of using recycled water for washing machine was introduced as a new end use. As there is a noticeable lack social research in understanding the general public perceptions of this application, the resident's strategy survey was carried out at some selective suburbs in Sydney with demographically based significant differences of general, gender, age, education, and property style and ownership. The survey indicates that the majority in the community considers the use of recycled water for washing machine is indispensable in view of continuing drought and the associated water shortages. Given safety assurance and demonstration, recycled water for washing machine has a considerable proportion within the responses. The general level of knowledge in community clearly understand that recycled water is more environmentally friendly option, whereas from cleanness and public health point of view, higher quality water is required to be reused in washing machine. Moreover, the residents reckon to have a small unit for pre-treatment (point of use) before recycled water entering washing machines might assure the quality and safety. The survey also shows the major concerns for a resident to use recycled water for washing machine are public health, water cleanness and washing machine durability. © 2009 Desalination Publications

The impact of the Southern Annular Mode on future changes in Southern Hemisphere rainfall

A robust positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is projected for the end of the 21st century under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 scenario, which results in rainfall decreases in the midlatitudes and increases in the high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). We find that this SAM trend also increases rainfall over the SH subtropics in austral summer but not in winter, leading to a pronounced wintertime poleward expansion of the subtropical dry zone. These dynamically driven rainfall changes by the SAM appear to oppose the thermodynamically driven projected rainfall changes in the SH subtropics and midlatitudes, whereas the two components reinforce each other in the high latitudes. However, we show that most climate models fall short in capturing the observed SAM component driven by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and associated rainfall in the austral warm seasons, which limits our confidence in quantifying the contribution of the SAM to projected rainfall changes.11145Ysciescopu

A comprehensive framework for the assessment of new end uses in recycled water schemes

Nowadays, recycled water has provided sufficient flexibility to satisfy short-term freshwater needs and increase the reliability of long-term water supplies in many water scarce areas, which becomes an essential component of integrated water resources management. However, the current applications of recycled water are still quite limited that are mainly associated with non-potable purposes such as irrigation, industrial uses, toilet flushing and car washing. There is a large potential to exploit and develop new end uses of recycled water in both urban and rural areas. This can greatly contribute to freshwater savings, wastewater reduction and water sustainability. Consequently, the paper identified the potentials for the development of three recycled water new end uses, household laundry, livestock feeding and servicing, and swimming pool, in future water use market. To validate the strengths of these new applications, a conceptual decision analytic framework was proposed. This can be able to facilitate the optional management strategy selection process and thereafter provide guidance on the future end use studies within a larger context of the community, processes, and models in decision-making. Moreover, as complex evaluation criteria were selected and taken into account to narrow down the multiple management alternatives, the methodology can successfully add transparency, objectivity and comprehensiveness to the assessment. Meanwhile, the proposed approach could also allow flexibility to adapt to particular circumstances of each case under study. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Measuring the signal-to-noise ratio of a neuron

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a commonly used measure of fidelity in physical systems, is defined as the ratio of the squared amplitude or variance of a signal relative to the variance of the noise. This definition is not appropriate for neural systems in which spiking activity is more accurately represented as point processes. We show that the SNR estimates a ratio of expected prediction errors and extend the standard definition to one appropriate for single neurons by representing neural spiking activity using point process generalized linear models (PP-GLM). We estimate the prediction errors using the residual deviances from the PP-GLM fits. Because the deviance is an approximate χ2 random variable, we compute a bias-corrected SNR estimate appropriate for single-neuron analysis and use the bootstrap to assess its uncertainty. In the analyses of four systems neuroscience experiments, we show that the SNRs are -10 dB to -3 dB for guinea pig auditory cortex neurons, -18 dB to -7 dB for rat thalamic neurons, -28 dB to -14 dB for monkey hippocampal neurons, and -29 dB to -20 dB for human subthalamic neurons. The new SNR definition makes explicit in the measure commonly used for physical systems the often-quoted observation that single neurons have low SNRs. The neuron's spiking history is frequently a more informative covariate for predicting spiking propensity than the applied stimulus. Our new SNR definition extends to any GLM system in which the factors modulating the response can be expressed as separate components of a likelihood function

A new optional recycled water pre-treatment system prior to use in the household laundry

With a constantly growing population, water scarcity becomes the limiting factor for further social and economic growth. To achieve a partial reduction in current freshwater demands and lessen the environmental loadings, an increasing trend in the water market tends to adopt recycled water for household laundries as a new recycled water application. The installation of a small pre-treatment unit for water purification can not only further improve the recycled water quality, but also be viable to enhance the public confidence and acceptance level on recycled water consumption. Specifically, this paper describes column experiments conducted using a 550. mm length bed of zeolite media as a one-dimensional flow reactor. The results show that the zeolite filter system could be a simple low-cost pre-treatment option which is able to significantly reduce the total hardness level of recycled water via effective ion exchange. Additionally, depending on the quality of recycled water required by end users, a new by-pass controller using a three-level operation switching mechanism is introduced. This approach provides householders sufficient flexibility to respond to different levels of desired recycled water quality and increase the reliability of long-term system operation. These findings could be beneficial to the smooth implementation of new end uses and expansion of the potential recycled water market. The information could also offer sound suggestions for future research on sustainable water management and governance. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Potassium channel dysfunction in human neuronal models of Angelman syndrome

Disruptions in the ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) gene cause Angelman syndrome (AS). Whereas AS model mice have associated synaptic dysfunction and altered plasticity with abnormal behavior, whether similar or other mechanisms contribute to network hyperactivity and epilepsy susceptibility in AS patients remains unclear. Using human neurons and brain organoids, we demonstrate that UBE3A suppresses neuronal hyperexcitability via ubiquitin-mediated degradation of calcium- and voltage-dependent big potassium (BK) channels. We provide evidence that augmented BK channel activity manifests as increased intrinsic excitability in individual neurons and subsequent network synchronization. BK antagonists normalized neuronal excitability in both human and mouse neurons and ameliorated seizure susceptibility in an AS mouse model. Our findings suggest that BK channelopathy underlies epilepsy in AS and support the use of human cells to model human developmental diseases

Incidence of rotavirus gastroenteritis by age in African, Asian and European children: Relevance for timing of rotavirus vaccination

© 2016 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis. © GSK Biologicals SA.Variability in rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) epidemiology can influence the optimal vaccination schedule. We evaluated regional trends in the age of RVGE episodes in low- to middle- versus high-income countries in three continents. We undertook a post-hoc analysis based on efficacy trials of a human rotavirus vaccine (HRV; Rotarix™, GSK Vaccines), in which 1348, 1641, and 5250 healthy infants received a placebo in Europe (NCT00140686), Africa (NCT00241644), and Asia (NCT00197210, NCT00329745). Incidence of any/severe RVGE by age at onset was evaluated by active surveillance over the first two years of life. Severity of RVGE episodes was assessed using the Vesikari-scale. The incidence of any RVGE in Africa was higher than in Europe during the first year of life (≤2.78% vs. ≤2.03% per month), but much lower during the second one (≤0.86% versus ≤2.00% per month). The incidence of severe RVGE in Africa was slightly lower than in Europe during the first year of life. Nevertheless, temporal profiles for the incidence of severe RVGE in Africa and Europe during the first (≤1.00% and ≤1.23% per month) and second (≤0.53% and ≤1.13% per month) years of life were similar to those of any RVGE. Any/severe RVGE incidences peaked at younger ages in Africa vs. Europe. In high-income Asian regions, severe RVGE incidence (≤0.31% per month) remained low during the study. The burden of any RVGE was higher earlier in life in children from low- to middle- compared with high-income countries. Differing rotavirus vaccine schedules are likely warranted to maximize protection in different settings