A zero emission concept analysis of a single family house

© Copyright SINTEF Academic Press and Norwegian University of Science and Technology 201

Evaluation of Phenotypic Markers for Selection and Identification of Candida dubliniensis

Candida dubliniensis is often associated with C. albicans in cultures. Easy-to-perform selective isolation procedures for these closely related species do not exist. Therefore, we evaluated previously described discriminatory phenotypic markers for C. dubliniensis. A total of 150 oral rinses from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients were cultured on CHROMagar Candida. Dark green colonies described as being indicative of C. dubliniensis and other green colonies, 170 in total, were isolated. Chlamydospore formation, intracellular β-d-glucosidase activity, ability to grow at 42°C, carbohydrate assimilation pattern obtained by the API ID 32C, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used for phenotypic characterization. Sequencing of the 5′ end of the nuclear large-subunit (26S) ribosomal DNA gene was used for definitive species identification for C. dubliniensis. C. dubliniensis was found in 34% of yeast-colonized HIV-infected patients. The color of the colonies on CHROMagar Candida proved to be insufficient for selecting C. dubliniensis, since only 30 of 53 proven C. dubliniensis isolates showed a dark green color in primary cultures. The described typical chlamydospore formation can give only some indication of C. dubliniensis. The assimilation pattern proved to be insufficient to discriminate C. dubliniensis from C. albicans. All C. dubliniensis strains showed no or highly restricted growth at 42°C and a lack of β-d-glucosidase activity. Unfortunately, atypical C. albicans strains can also exhibit these phenotypic traits. FT-IR spectroscopy combined with hierarchical clustering proved to be as reliable as genotyping for discriminating the two species

A zero emission concept analysis of a single family house

The main aim of the work has been to do modeling and calculations of the energy use, embodied emission and the total CO2-emission for a typical Norwegian residential building. By doing this we try to reveal and study the main drivers for the CO2-emission, and also which performance is necessary for components and solutions in a Zero Emission Building according to the current Norwegian ZEBdefinition. The preliminary conclusions from this study are: 1. For a typical single family home (2 storeys) it is rather easy to achieve a ZEB-O (Operation) level, which in this case can be labeled a zero energy building (energy produced on-site with PV equals total electricity demand). 2. Taking into account also the embodied emissions from materials and installations it is difficult to achieve the ZEB-OM (Operation and Material) level by using only the flat roof for PV-production. 3. Even if the calculation of embodied emission (EE) has considerable uncertainties, preliminary results indicate that EE is significantly higher than the emission related to operational energy use. However, in current calculation no significant effort has been made to reduce EE, in contrast to operational energy use where high performance solutions have been used. 4. To achieve a ZEB-OM level a combination of further reduced energy demand, high COP/SPF thermal systems, reduced embodied emissions and increased PV-production seems to be the solution

Intra- and inter-individual variation of zinc intake by pregnant women and its relationship with nutritional status relative to this nutrient

O zinco é um nutriente essencial durante períodos de rápido crescimento e desenvolvimento, como por exemplo, a gestação. O objetivo desse trabalho foi estimar a ingestão usual de zinco em gestantes, verificando a variabilidade intra e inter-individual e sua relação com o estado nutricional. Foram estudadas 46 gestantes (22 no 1° trimestre de gestação - grupo 1 ; e 24 no 2º trimestre de gestação - grupo 2), com idade superior a 19 anos, que não fizeram uso de suplemento vitamínico mineral contendo zinco, atendidas no Ambulatório de Obstetrícia do Hospital Universitário da USP e no Serviço de Pré-Natal do Centro de Saúde \"Geraldo de Paula Souza\" da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da USP. O consumo alimentar usual com ênfase no Zn foi estimado por meio de registro alimentar de 3 dias não-consecutivos. A ingestão calórica foi de 1977±422 kcal/dia para o 1° trimestre e de 1989±464 kcal/dia para o segundo. Apesar de não ter atingido a EER a distribuição média percentual para carboidratos, lipídeos e proteínas foi adequada nos dois grupos. A média de ingestão de zinco foi de 9,34±3,2 mg/dia para o 1° trimestre de 9, 1±3,2 mg/dia para o 2° trimestre, sendo que 62% e 58,3% das gestantes do grupo do 1° trimestre e do 2° respectivamente, não atingiram os valores de EAR (11 mg). A variabilidade intra -individual da ingestão de zinco foi maior entre as gestantes do 1° trimestre enquanto que a variabilidade interindividual foi maior entre as gestantes do 2° trimestre. Os parâmetros bioquímicos utilizados para avaliar o estado nutricional relativo ao zinco foram: o plasma, os eritrócitos e a urina de 24 horas. As médias das concentrações de zinco no plasma foram 65,5±11,8 µg/dL e 59,6±9,2 µg/dL para o 1º e o 2° trimestre de gestação, portanto dentro da normalidade. Nos eritrócitos as médias de concentrações foram 37,5±6,9 µgZn/gHb e 38,3±6, 1 µgZn/gHb para o 1° e o 2º trimestre de gestação, portanto abaixo dos valores de referência. Na urina de 24 horas as médias de concentrações foram 254,8±97,8 µg/dia e 281±137,6 µg/dia para o 1° e o 2° trimestre de gestação, portanto dentro da normalidade. Não houve correlação linear significativa a 5% entre a ingestão de zinco e as variáveis bioquímicas, apenas para as gestantes do 2° trimestre encontramos relação de significância (p=0,0173), mas que foi inversa, e analisada isoladamente não foi suficiente para a correta interpretação. Os resultados indicam que apesar das gestantes estarem com o estado nutricional relativo ao zinco adequado, há necessidade de mais investigação, pois os resultados apresentados não foram suficientes para determinar a relação entre a ingestão de zinco e os parâmetros bioquímicos avaliados.Zinc is an essential nutrient for development and rapid growth, as gestational period. lhe purpose of this work was to estimate the usual zinc intake for pregnant women, and verify the variability intra and inter-individual and its relationship with the nutritional status. We evaluated 46 pregnant women (22 in the first trimester - group 1; and 24 in the second trimester - group 2), aged 19 years and older, who did not use mineral or/and vitamin supplement containing zinc, assisted at the Ambulatório de Obstetrícia do Hospital Universitário USP and at the Serviço de Pré-Natal do Centro de Saúde \"Geraldo de Paula Souza\" da Faculdade de Saúde Pública - USP. The usual nutrient intake, specially Zn, was assessed with a 3 days food records. The mean energy intake was 1977 ±422 kcal/day for the first trimester group and 1989±464 kcal/day for the second one. Although the two groups were below the EER both showed adequacy in the distribution (%) for carbohydrate, fat and proteins. The mean zinc intake was 9,34±3,2 mg/day for the first trimester group and 9, 1 ±3,2 mg/day for the second one, and from this results we observed that 62% of the women in the first trimester group and 58,3% in the second had Zn intake below the EAR (11 mg). The intra-individual variability of zinc intake among the pregnant women in the first trimester group was greater than the second one while the inter-individual variability among the pregnant women of the second trimester was greater than those in the first. The biochemical parameters used to evaluate the zinc nutritional status were: plasma, erythrocyte and 24 hours urine zinc concentrations. Mean plasma zinc concentration was 65,5±11,8 µg/dL and 59,6±9,2 µg/dL for the first and second trimester groups, meaning they were adequate according this parameter. Mean erythrocyte zinc concentration was 37,5±6,9 µgZn/gHb and 38,3±6, 1 µgZn/gHb for the first and the second trimester respectively, meaning that they were not adequate according to this parameter. Mean 24 hours urine concentration was 254,8±97,8 µg/day and 281 ±137,6 µg/day for the 1 st and the 2nd trimester groups respectively, meaning they were adequate for this parameter. There was no significant correlation between zinc intake and biochemical parameters. The results of this study suggest that in spite of the adequate zinc status in these pregnant women, more investigation is needed once there were no sufficient data to determine the relationship between zinc intake and its biochemical parameters

Increased prostaglandin-D2 in male STAT3-deficient hearts shifts cardiac progenitor cells from endothelial to white adipocyte differentiation

Cardiac levels of the signal transducer and activator of transcription factor-3 (STAT3) decline with age, and male but not female mice with a cardiomyocyte-specific STAT3 deficiency conditional knockout (CKO) display premature age-related heart failure associated with reduced cardiac capillary density. In the present study, isolated male and female CKOcardiomyocytes exhibit increased prostaglandin (PG)-generating cyclooxygenase-2 (COX- 2) expression. The PG-degrading hydroxyprostaglandin-dehydrogenase-15 (HPGD) expression is only reduced in male cardiomyocytes, which is associated with increased prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) secretion from isolated male but not female CKO-cardiomyocytes. Reduced HPGD expression in male cardiomyocytes derive from impaired androgen receptor (AR)–signaling due to loss of its cofactor STAT3. Elevated PGD2 secretion in males is associated with increased white adipocyte accumulation in aged male but not female hearts. Adipocyte differentiation is enhanced in isolated stem cell antigen-1 (SCA-1)+ cardiac progenitor cells (CPC) from young male CKO-mice compared with the adipocyte differentiation of male wild-type (WT)-CPC and CPC isolated from female mice. Epigenetic analysis in freshly isolated male CKO-CPC display hypermethylation in pro-angiogenic genes (Fgfr2, Epas1) and hypomethylation in the white adipocyte differentiation gene Zfp423 associated with up-regulated ZFP423 expression and a shift from endothelial to white adipocyte differentiation compared with WT-CPC. The expression of the histone-methyltransferase EZH2 is reduced in male CKO-CPC compared with male WT-CPC, whereas no differences in the EZH2 expression in female CPC were observed. Clonally expanded CPC can differentiate into endothelial cells or into adipocytes depending on the differentiation conditions. ZFP423 overexpression is sufficient to induce white adipocyte differentiation of clonal CPC. In isolated WT-CPC, PGD2 stimulation reduces the expression of EZH2, thereby up-regulating ZFP423 expression and promoting white adipocyte differentiation. The treatment of young male CKO mice with the COX inhibitor Ibuprofen or the PGD2 receptor (DP)2 receptor antagonist BAY-u 3405 in vivo increased EZH2 expression and reduced ZFP423 expression and adipocyte differentiation in CKO-CPC. Thus, cardiomyocyte STAT3 deficiency leads to age-related and sex-specific cardiac remodeling and failure in part due to sex-specific alterations in PGD2 secretion and subsequent epigenetic impairment of the differentiation potential of CPC. Causally involved is the impaired AR signaling in absence of STAT3, which reduces the expression of the PG-degrading enzyme HPGD

In Vitro Rapid Antigen Test Performance with the SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.617.2 (Delta)

Rapid antigen tests (RATs) are an integral part of SARS-CoV-2 containment strategies. As emerging variants of concern (VOCs) displace the initially circulating strains, it is crucial that RATs do not fail to detect these new variants. In this study, four RATs for nasal swab testing were investigated using cultured strains of B.1.1 (non-VOC), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.617.2 (Delta). Based on dilution series in cell culture medium and pooled saliva, the limit of detection of these RATs was determined in a laboratory setting. Further investigations on cross-reactivity were conducted using recombinant N-protein from seasonal human coronaviruses (hCoVs). RATs evaluated showed an overall comparable performance with cultured strains of the non-VOC B.1.1 and the VOCs Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. No cross-reactivity was detected with recombinant N-protein of the hCoV strains HKU1, OC43, NL63, and 229E. A continuous evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 RAT performance is required, especially with regard to evolving mutations. Moreover, cross-reactivity and interference with pathogens and other substances on the test performance of RATs should be consistently investigated to ensure suitability in the context of SARS-CoV-2 containment