Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol by Immobilized Rhodococcus sp. Strain Y-1

A high efficiency p-nitrophenol (PNP) degrading bacterial strain Y-1 capable of utilizing PNP as sole carbon and energy source was screened and isolated from the activated sludge of Jilin Chemical Plant Oxidation Ditch in China. 16S rDNA sequencing identified strain Y-1 to be Rhodococcus sp. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate were employed to immobilize the Rhodococcus sp. strain Y-1. Compared to the free cells, the immobilized cells possessed better PNP-degrading activity and stronger tolerance against the inhibitory effect of PNP. An orthogonal experimental design of L9 (34) was used to investigate the effects of temperature, pH, and agitation rate on the biodegradation capabilities of the immobilized cells; the optimum conditions were as follows: 30 °C, pH at 7.0–7.5, shaken at 120 rpm. Moreover, immobilization supplemented with 1 g Fe3O4 significantly enhanced the PNP degradation capability (up to 500 mg L–1). Our results indicated that immobilized Rhodococcus sp. strain Y-1 possessed good potential for application in the treatment of wastewater containing PNP

Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol by Immobilized Rhodococcus sp. Strain Y-1

A high efficiency p-nitrophenol (PNP) degrading bacterial strain Y-1 capable of utilizing PNP as sole carbon and energy source was screened and isolated from the activated sludge of Jilin Chemical Plant Oxidation Ditch in China. 16S rDNA sequencing identified strain Y-1 to be Rhodococcus sp. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate were employed to immobilize the Rhodococcus sp. strain Y-1. Compared to the free cells, the immobilized cells possessed better PNP-degrading activity and stronger tolerance against the inhibitory effect of PNP. An orthogonal experimental design of L9 (34) was used to investigate the effects of temperature, pH, and agitation rate on the biodegradation capabilities of the immobilized cells; the optimum conditions were as follows: 30 °C, pH at 7.0–7.5, shaken at 120 rpm. Moreover, immobilization supplemented with 1 g Fe3O4 significantly enhanced the PNP degradation capability (up to 500 mg L–1). Our results indicated that immobilized Rhodococcus sp. strain Y-1 possessed good potential for application in the treatment of wastewater containing PNP

Regulation of Gene Expression and Inhibition of Experimental Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis by Dietary Genistein

AbstractProstate cancer frequently metastasizes to the bone, and the treatment outcome for metastatic prostate cancer has been disappointing so far. Dietary genistein, derived primarily from soy product, has been proposed to be partly responsible for the low rate of prostate cancer in Asians. Our previous studies have shown that genistein elicits pleiotropic effects on prostate cancer cells, but there are no studies documenting comprehensive gene expression profiles and antitumor effects of dietary genistein on human prostate cancer grown in human bone environment. In this study, we investigated the effects of genistein on PC3 prostate cancer cells and experimental PC3 bone tumors created by injecting PC3 cells into human bone fragments previously implanted in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (SCID human model). We found that genistein significantly inhibited PC3 bone tumor growth using both prevention and intervention strategies. By using microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction technology, we found that genistein regulated the expression of multiple genes involved in the control of cell growth, apoptosis, and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. For example, the expression of various metalloproteinases (MMPs) in PC3 bone tumors was inhibited by genistein treatment, whereas osteoprotegerin was upregulated. MMP immunostaining and transfection experiments also demonstrated that MMP-9 expression was inhibited in PC3 cells in vitro and PC3 bone tumors in vivo after genistein treatment. These results, particularly the in vivo results, demonstrate that dietary genistein may inhibit prostate cancer bone metastasis by regulating metastasis-related genes. Genistein may thus be a promising agent for the prevention and/or treatment of prostate cancer

Modeling of an automatic control system for a multipurpose mobile robot’s spatial motion

Modeling of an automatic control system for a multipurpose mobile robot’s spatial motion = Моделювання системи автоматичного керування просторовим рухом мобільного робота багатоцільового призначення / O. V. Kozlov, G. V. Kondratenko, O. S. Gerasin, H. Mingxin // Електротехнічні та комп’ютерні системи. – 2018. – № 28 (104). – С. 248–256.Анотація. В роботі представлена імітаційна модель системи автоматичного керування багатоцільовим гусеничним мобільним роботом з окремими основними притискними магнітами для переміщення та виконання заданих різнотипних (двох і більше) технологічних операцій на похилих та вертикальних феромагнітних поверхнях в складних або небезпечних для людського життя та здоров’я умовах. Розроблена функціональна схема системи автоматичного керування, яка враховує взаємний вплив параметрів позиціонування мобільного робота, а саме: значення курсу (кута повороту) і лінійної швидкості переміщення по похилій поверхні. Крім того, розглянуті основні властивості керованого тиристорного перетворювача, сенсорної частини, регуляторів та мобільного робота в цілому для дослідження поведінки робота в різних умовах. Виконано налаштування регуляторів швидкості та кута повороту методом параметричної оптимізації основних показників якості керування за допомогою сучасного програмного забезпечення. Отримані перехідні процеси системи керування кутом та швидкістю мобільного робота з урахуванням взаємовпливу контурів управління швидкістю та кутом, а також без урахування їх взаємного впливу. Результати комп’ютерного моделювання показують наявність суттєвого впливу контуру керування курсом на характер перехідного процесу за швидкістю, в той же час, контур керування швидкістю має незначний вплив на характер перехідного процесу за курсом. Отримані характеристики показують високу адекватність поведінки розробленої моделі системи автоматичного керування просторовим рухом мобільного робота існуючим зразкам подібного обладнання та високі показники якості керування, зокрема для керованих координат проводиться аналіз часу перехідного процесу, перерегулювання, статичної помилки та коливальності.Abstract. The paper presents the simulation model of the automatic control system (ACS) for a caterpillar mobile robot (MR) with separate main clamping magnets intended for moving on ferromagnetic surfaces. The developed model accounts for the mutual influence of the MR positioning parameters, as well as the main properties of the ACS’s elements

Electronic Waste Disassembly with Industrial Waste Heat

Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are resource-rich but hazardous, demanding innovative strategies for post-consumer collection, recycling, and mining for economically precious constituents. A novel technology for disassembling electronic components from WPCBs is proposed, using hot air to melt solders and to separate the components and base boards. An automatic heated-air disassembling equipment was designed to operate at a heating source temperature at a maximum of 260 °C and an inlet pressure of 0.5 MPa. A total of 13 individual WPCBs were subjected to disassembling tests at different preheat temperatures in increments of 20 °C between 80 and 160 °C, heating source temperatures ranging from 220 to 300 °C in increments of 20 °C, and incubation periods of 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 min. For each experimental treatment, the disassembly efficiency was calculated as the ratio of electronic components released from the board to the total number of its original components. The optimal preheat temperature, heating source temperature, and incubation period to disassemble intact components were 120 °C, 260 °C, and 2 min, respectively. The disassembly rate of small surface mount components (side length ≤ 3 mm) was 40-50% lower than that of other surface mount components and pin through hole components. On the basis of these results, a reproducible and sustainable industrial ecological protocol using steam produced by industrial exhaust heat coupled to electronic-waste recycling is proposed, providing an efficient, promising, and green method for both electronic component recovery and industrial exhaust heat reutilization

Progression of renal cell carcinoma is inhibited by genistein and radiation in an orthotopic model

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported the potentiation of radiotherapy by the soy isoflavone genistein for prostate cancer using prostate tumor cells in vitro and orthotopic prostate tumor models in vivo. However, when genistein was used as single therapy in animal models, it promoted metastasis to regional para-aortic lymph nodes. To clarify whether these intriguing adverse effects of genistein are intrinsic to the orthotopic prostate tumor model, or these results could also be recapitulated in another model, we used the orthotopic metastatic KCI-18 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) model established in our laboratory. METHODS: The KCI-18 RCC cell line was generated from a patient with papillary renal cell carcinoma. Following orthotopic renal implantation of KCI-18 RCC cells and serial in vivo kidney passages in nude mice, we have established a reliable and predictable metastatic RCC tumor model. Mice bearing established kidney tumors were treated with genistein combined with kidney tumor irradiation. The effect of the therapy was assessed on the primary tumor and metastases to various organs. RESULTS: In this experimental model, the karyotype and histological characteristics of the human primary tumor are preserved. Tumor cells metastasize from the primary renal tumor to the lungs, liver and mesentery mimicking the progression of RCC in humans. Treatment of established kidney tumors with genistein demonstrated a tendency to stimulate the growth of the primary kidney tumor and increase the incidence of metastasis to the mesentery lining the bowel. In contrast, when given in conjunction with kidney tumor irradiation, genistein significantly inhibited the growth and progression of established kidney tumors. These findings confirm the potentiation of radiotherapy by genistein in the orthotopic RCC model as previously shown in orthotopic models of prostate cancer. CONCLUSION: Our studies in both RCC and prostate tumor models demonstrate that the combination of genistein with primary tumor irradiation is a more effective and safer therapeutic approach as the tumor growth and progression are inhibited both in the primary and metastatic sites

MONAI: An open-source framework for deep learning in healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a tremendous impact across most areas of science. Applications of AI in healthcare have the potential to improve our ability to detect, diagnose, prognose, and intervene on human disease. For AI models to be used clinically, they need to be made safe, reproducible and robust, and the underlying software framework must be aware of the particularities (e.g. geometry, physiology, physics) of medical data being processed. This work introduces MONAI, a freely available, community-supported, and consortium-led PyTorch-based framework for deep learning in healthcare. MONAI extends PyTorch to support medical data, with a particular focus on imaging, and provide purpose-specific AI model architectures, transformations and utilities that streamline the development and deployment of medical AI models. MONAI follows best practices for software-development, providing an easy-to-use, robust, well-documented, and well-tested software framework. MONAI preserves the simple, additive, and compositional approach of its underlying PyTorch libraries. MONAI is being used by and receiving contributions from research, clinical and industrial teams from around the world, who are pursuing applications spanning nearly every aspect of healthcare.Comment: www.monai.i

Quantitative analysis of a prey-predator model with stage structure for the predator

In this paper, we propose a diffusive prey-predator model with stage structure for the predator. We first analyze the stability of the nonnegative steady states for the reduced ODE system and then study the same question for the corresponding reaction-diffusion system with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We find that a Hopf bifurcation occurs in the ODE system, but no Turing pattern happens in the reaction-diffusion system. However, when a natural cross diffusion term is included in the model, we can prove the emergence of stationary patterns (i.e., nonconstant positive stationary solutions) for this system; moreover, these stationary patterns do not exist in the considered parameter regime when there is no cross diffusion