Photocatalytic water disinfection by simple and low-cost monolithic and heterojunction ceramic wafers

In this work, the photocatalytic disinfection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) using dual layer ceramic wafers, prepared by a simple and low-cost technique, was investigated. Heterojunction wafers were prepared by pressing TiO2 and WO3 powders together into 2 layers within a single, self-supported monolith. Data modelling showed that the heterojunction wafers were able to sustain the formation of charged species (after an initial "charging" period). In comparison, a wafer made from pure TiO2 showed a less desirable bacterial inactivation profile in that the rate decreased with time (after being faster initially). The more favourable kinetics of the dual layer system was due to superior electron-hole vectorial charge separation and an accumulation of charges beyond the initial illumination period. The results demonstrate the potential for developing simplified photocatalytic devices for rapid water disinfection

Adiposity is associated with blunted cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and cognitive responses to acute mental stress

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited - Copyright @ 2012 Jones et al.Obesity and mental stress are potent risk factors for cardiovascular disease but their relationship with each other is unclear. Resilience to stress may differ according to adiposity. Early studies that addressed this are difficult to interpret due to conflicting findings and limited methods. Recent advances in assessment of cardiovascular stress responses and of fat distribution allow accurate assessment of associations between adiposity and stress responsiveness. We measured responses to the Montreal Imaging Stress Task in healthy men (N=43) and women (N=45) with a wide range of BMIs. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) measures were used with novel magnetic resonance measures of stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR) and arterial compliance to assess cardiovascular responses. Salivary cortisol and the number and speed of answers to mathematics problems in the task were used to assess neuroendocrine and cognitive responses, respectively. Visceral and subcutaneous fat was measured using T2*-IDEAL. Greater BMI was associated with generalised blunting of cardiovascular (HR:β=−0.50 bpm.unit−1, P=0.009; SV:β=−0.33 mL.unit−1, P=0.01; CO:β=−61 mL.min−1.unit−1, P=0.002; systolic BP:β=−0.41 mmHg.unit−1, P=0.01; TPR:β=0.11 WU.unit−1, P=0.02), cognitive (correct answers: r=−0.28, P=0.01; time to answer: r=0.26, P=0.02) and endocrine responses (cortisol: r=−0.25, P=0.04) to stress. These associations were largely determined by visceral adiposity except for those related to cognitive performance, which were determined by both visceral and subcutaneous adiposity. Our findings suggest that adiposity is associated with centrally reduced stress responsiveness. Although this may mitigate some long-term health risks of stress responsiveness, reduced performance under stress may be a more immediate negative consequence.This work is funded by the UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Siemens Medical Systems, British Heart Foundation (BHF), NIHR Senior Research Fellowship & The Fondation Leducq, BHF Intermediate Fellowship

p53, p21, Rb, MDM2 proteins in tongue carcinoma from patients <35 years

published_or_final_versio

Towards reliability centred maintenance of wind turbines

Reliability centred maintenance applied to a fleet of wind turbines is presented in this paper. The key components and failure modes are identified via analysis of maintenance records. Corrective actions which an operator can take to mitigate such failures are discussed, together with implementation issues. By developing a robust set of RCM tools, wind farm operators can better quantify and minimise operational expenditure of wind farm fleets

The relationship between the systemic inflammatory response, tumour proliferative activity, T-lymphocytic and macrophage infiltration, microvessel density and survival in patients with primary operable breast cancer

The significance of the inter-relationship between tumour and host local/systemic inflammatory responses in primary operable invasive breast cancer is limited. The inter-relationship between the systemic inflammatory response (pre-operative white cell count, C-reactive protein and albumin concentrations), standard clinicopathological factors, tumour T-lymphocytic (CD4+ and CD8+) and macrophage (CD68+) infiltration, proliferative (Ki-67) index and microvessel density (CD34+) was examined using immunohistochemistry and slide-counting techniques, and their prognostic values were examined in 168 patients with potentially curative resection of early-stage invasive breast cancer. Increased tumour grade and proliferative activity were associated with greater tumour T-lymphocyte (P&lt;0.05) and macrophage (P&lt;0.05) infiltration and microvessel density (P&lt;0.01). The median follow-up of survivors was 72 months. During this period, 31 patients died; 18 died of their cancer. On univariate analysis, increased lymph-node involvement (P&lt;0.01), negative hormonal receptor (P&lt;0.10), lower albumin concentrations (P&lt;0.01), increased tumour proliferation (P&lt;0.05), increased tumour microvessel density (P&lt;0.05), the extent of locoregional control (P&lt;0.0001) and limited systemic treatment (Pless than or equal to0.01) were associated with cancer-specific survival. On multivariate analysis of these significant covariates, albumin (HR 4.77, 95% CI 1.35–16.85, P=0.015), locoregional treatment (HR 3.64, 95% CI 1.04–12.72, P=0.043) and systemic treatment (HR 2.29, 95% CI 1.23–4.27, P=0.009) were significant independent predictors of cancer-specific survival. Among tumour-based inflammatory factors, only tumour microvessel density (P&lt;0.05) was independently associated with poorer cancer-specific survival. The host inflammatory responses are closely associated with poor tumour differentiation, proliferation and malignant disease progression in breast cancer

Cell cycle regulatory proteins and oral squamous cell carcinoma development

Abstract no. 1279published_or_final_versio

The gut microbiome variability of a butterflyfish increases on severely degraded Caribbean reefs.

Environmental degradation has the potential to alter key mutualisms that underlie the structure and function of ecological communities. How microbial communities associated with fishes vary across populations and in relation to habitat characteristics remains largely unknown despite their fundamental roles in host nutrition and immunity. We find significant differences in the gut microbiome composition of a facultative coral-feeding butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) across Caribbean reefs that differ markedly in live coral cover (∼0-30%). Fish gut microbiomes were significantly more variable at degraded reefs, a pattern driven by changes in the relative abundance of the most common taxa potentially associated with stress. We also demonstrate that fish gut microbiomes on severely degraded reefs have a lower abundance of Endozoicomonas and a higher diversity of anaerobic fermentative bacteria, which may suggest a less coral dominated diet. The observed shifts in fish gut bacterial communities across the habitat gradient extend to a small set of potentially beneficial host associated bacteria (i.e., the core microbiome) suggesting essential fish-microbiome interactions may be vulnerable to severe coral degradation

A proof of concept pilot trial of probiotics in symptomatic oral lichen planus (CABRIO)

OBJECTIVE: To preliminary evaluate the clinical effects of probiotics in individuals with symptomatic oral lichen planus and the possible mechanisms of action. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A group of 30 individuals with symptomatic oral lichen planus were recruited in a randomised double-blind parallel group controlled (1:1) proof-of-concept pilot trial of probiotic VSL#3 vs placebo. Efficacy outcomes included changes in pain numeric rating scale, oral disease severity score and the chronic oral mucosal disease questionnaire. Adverse effects, home diary and withdrawals were assessed as feasibility outcomes. Mechanistic outcomes included changes in salivary and serum levels of CXCL10 and IFN-γ and in oral microbial composition. RESULTS: The probiotic VSL#3 was safe and well tolerated. We observed no statistically significant change in pain, disease activity, quality of life, serum/salivary CXCL10 or oral microbial composition with respect to placebo. Salivary IFN-γ levels demonstrate a trend for a reduced level in the active group (p = 0.082) after 30 days of probiotic consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The present proof-of-concept study provides some weak not convincing indication of biological and clinical effects of probiotic VSL#3 in individuals with painful oral lichen planus. Further research in this field is needed, with the current study providing useful information to the design of future clinical trials

FDG‐PET/CT after two cycles of R‐CHOP in DLBCL predicts complete remission but has limited value in identifying patients with poor outcome – final result of a UK National Cancer Research Institute prospective study

The UK National Cancer Research Institute initiated a prospective study (UKCRN‐ID 1760) to assess the prognostic value of early fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)‐positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In total, 189 patients with DLBCL treated with R‐CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) had baseline and post‐cycle‐2 PET (PET2) within a quality assurance framework. Treatment decisions were based on CT; PET2 was archived for central blinded reporting after treatment completion. The association of PET2 response with end‐of‐treatment CT, progression‐free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was explored. The end‐of‐treatment complete response rate on CT was 83·9%, 75·0%, 70·5%, 40·4% and 36·4% for Deauville score (DS) 1 (n = 34), 2 (n = 39), 3 (n = 46), 4 (n = 56) and 5 (n = 14) (P < 0·001); and 64·1% and 50·0% for the maximum standardised uptake value (∆SUVmax) of ≥66% (n = 168) and <66% (n = 21), respectively (P = 0·25). After a median 5·4 years of follow‐up, the 5‐year PFS was 69·4%, 72·8%, 76·7%, 71·2% and 47·6% by DS 1–5 (P = 0·01); and 72·6% and 57·1% by ∆SUVmax of ≥66% and <66% (P = 0·03), respectively. The association with DS remained in multivariable analyses, and was consistent for OS. Early complete metabolic response (DS 1–3) at interim PET/CT after two cycles of R‐CHOP in DLBCL was associated with a higher end‐of‐treatment complete and overall response rate; however, only DS‐5 patients had inferior PFS and OS

The formation of Kuiper-belt Binaries through Exchange Reactions

Recent observations have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper-belt. The discovered binaries have four characteristics they comprise a few percent of the TNOs, the mass ratio of their components is close to unity, their internal orbits are highly eccentric, and the orbits are more than 100 times wider than the primary's radius. In contrast, theories of binary asteroid formation tend to produce close, circular binaries. Therefore, a new approach is required to explain the unique characteristics of the TNO binaries. Two models have been proposed. Both, however, require extreme assumptions on the size distribution of TNOs. Here we show a mechanism which is guaranteed to produces binaries of the required type during the early TNO growth phase, based on only one plausible assumption, namely that initially TNOs were formed through gravitational instabilities of the protoplanetary dust layer.Comment: 12pages, 4 figure