Mechanophore-linked hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene for the remote detection and quantification of mechanical stress

Polymers containing chromophores often exhibit mechanoresponsive behaviour, allowing the remote detection of stress in components such as rocket motors without taking the rockets out of service. Here we describe a polymer comprising a difunctional spiropyran chromophore and methyl methacrylate cross-linked with hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB). This polymer was developed as a sensor for the non-destructive monitoring of mechanical stress by using the force-induced colour changes as a quantitative readout. After about 40 N of load was applied there was a gradual colour changes proportional to the compressive forces on the sample, as revealed by in-situ monitoring using a video camera and UV–Vis spectrometry. The tests highlighted a gradual decrease in the transmitted light intensity at 675 nm with increasing load, due to the opening of the spiropyran rings and their conversion to the coloured merocyanine forms. A reversible change to the initial colour occurred 72 h after the load was removed, but only under artificial fluorescent lighting, confirming that visible light is required for the ring-closing reaction. This new polymer is an ideal candidate for the remote detection of stress-induced damage in inaccessible structures or essential equipment that cannot be withdrawn from service for testing

The Surge of Environmental Social and Governance Reporting and Sustainable Development Goals: Some Normative Thoughts

The rising demand for Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure by stakeholders has created a new tide of sustainability reporting, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With this new rising tide, the need for enhanced credibility in ESG information has stimulated the development of carbon accounting, ESG disclosure measures and regulations around the world. The aim of this article is to analyse the risks and opportunities of ESG practices and the impact of different stakeholders on the measures, tools and frameworks, including SDGs used among different sectors to report sustainability performance. This study finds that business leaders worldwide have an opportunity to use transparent information about ESG risks and opportunities to promote more effective engagement with investors and other stakeholders and global, national and organisational leaders have a legal and ethical responsibility to deliver sustainable outcomes to their global and local communities

Implementation of Carbon Dioxide Gas Injection Method for Gas Recovery at Rashidpur Gas Field, Bangladesh

Natural gas plays an important role for the economic development of Bangladesh. It is the primary options to satisfy the environmentally clean energy, whereas coal is a dirty energy source and oil creates an unhealthy environment. Bangladesh is the seventh-largest producer of natural gas in Asia. Gas supplies meet 56% of domestic energy demand. The proven natural gas reserve in Bangladesh is only 19.73 Tcf. The Rashidpur Gas Field (RGF) is located in the Sylhet Basin, Northeast Bangladesh. It is 35 km long and 7 km anticlinal structure and asymmetric in nature with steeper eastern flank (22˚ to 25˚) and gentler western flank (8˚ to 12˚). There are two gas zones in depth between 1380m to 2787m below surface. Sandstone reservoirs of Miocene-Pliocene age and are considered to have been originated shallow marine depositional environment. The reservoir porosity-permeability values are very good, with estimated gas initially in place (GIIP) of the RGF was 2.242 Tcf with 58% recovery, thus recording an initial gas reserve is 1.309 Tcf. Five gas producing wells (RP-1, 3, 4, 6 and 7) in the RGF are producing 50 MMscf gas per day. Due to the demand of natural gas with decreasing production rate, this enhanced natural gas plays a vital role in the national economy of the country. This research depicts the development of the daily production of the RGF from 50 MMscfd to 99 MMscfd using software from the existing production wells. Thus the natural gas in the RGF would be enhanced/recovered using carbon dioxide (CO2) gas injection by Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR) method from the RGF reservoir. Applying this method would play a vital role to increase the daily production rate of the RGF

Identification and Characterization of Human Monoclonal Antibodies for Immunoprophylaxis against Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Background. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections are the major cause of diarrheal morbidity among children living in developing countries. ETEC mediates small intestine adherence through bacterial adhesion followed by production of enterotoxins that induce diarrhea. Currently there is no vaccine available for ETEC. One of the most predominant adhesin of pathogenic ETEC strains is colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I). The CFA/I adhesion tip, CfaE, is required for ETEC binding to human intestinal cells and colonization. Human antibodies against CfaE have potential to block colonization of ETEC and serve as a potent immunoprophylactic against ETEC-related diarrhea. Methods. A panel of human IgG1 monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) were generated against CfaE. The antibodies were tested in vitro for blockage of bacterial adhesion to intestinal cells and in vivo for inhibition of bacterial colonization in the ileum. Antibody epitope analysis were performed using BioLuminate software (Schrodinger, Inc.), followed by mutagenesis of the predicted residues located in the antibody/CfaE interface and in-vitro binding assays. Results. The lead IgG1 anti-CfaE HuMAbs blocked 50% of adhesion of ETEC bacterial cells to human intestinal cells at concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 1.3 ug/ml. In vivo studies revealed 2 to 4 log decrease in colony forming units in the small intestine when the bacteria were pre-incubated with anti-CfaE MAbs as compared to an irrelevant isotype control. In silico epitope analysis revealed critical residues involved in the MAbs interaction with CfaE. Two of the leads HuMabs recognize epitopes sequence conserved across other 6 major adhesins. Conclusions. We have identified a panel of fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibodies against CfaE protein of ETEC. These antibodies are capable of blocking in vitro and in vivo ETEC adhesion to intestinal cells at low concentrations. Two lead antibodies recognizing sequence conserved epitopes have the potential for cross-protection against multiple ETEC strains

Bayesian 2-Stage Space-Time Mixture Modeling with Spatial Misalignment of the Exposure in Small Area Health Data

We develop a new Bayesian two-stage space-time mixture model to investigate the effects of air pollution on asthma. The two-stage mixture model proposed allows for the identification of temporal latent structure as well as the estimation of the effects of covariates on health outcomes. In the paper, we also consider spatial misalignment of exposure and health data. A simulation study is conducted to assess the performance of the 2-stage mixture model. We apply our statistical framework to a county-level ambulatory care asthma data set in the US state of Georgia for the years 1999-2008

Identification of GDF-6 blocking antibodies as anti-melanoma therapeutics

Through comparative oncogenomic studies and functional analyses, we have identified the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) factor GDF6 as a new melanoma oncogene. The secreted, carboxy-terminal portion of GDF6 is the active form that binds to cell-surface receptors to initiate BMP signaling. Targeted antibodies directed against secreted proteins are a proven therapeutic modality in several diseases. To develop therapeutic antibodies against the active form of GDF6, we generated a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Due to the high similarity of human and mouse GDF6 proteins, the C-terminal GDF6 protein was expressed as bacterial recombinant protein with fusion tags to enhance immunogenicity. The Expresso Screening System (Lucigen) was used to select fusion tags, and MBP and SlyD were chosen for optimal protein solubility and purification recovery. Ten CD1 mice were immunized with GDF6-MBP fusion protein and robust immune responses were observed in all animals after 5 immunizations. Animals were sacrificed for hybridoma fusion, and hybridoma clones were screened by ELISA using GDF6-SlyD fusion protein to select clones with specific binding activity to GDF6. Over 70 monoclonal antibodies were identified with strong reactivity to GDF6, and a subset has been shown to recognize the endogenous, secreted form of GDF6 via western blot. These antibodies will be screened for their activity to block GDF6 binding to melanoma cells and ability to inhibit downstream signaling using both in vitro assays and in vivo xenograft models

Identification of fully human monoclonal antibodies against the adhesin domain of colonizing factor antigen I of Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) causes significant diarrheal illness in infants in the developing world and travelers to endemic countries including military personnel. Infection of the host involves bacterial colonization of the small intestinal epithelium and toxin secretion leading to watery diarrhea. CFA/I is the most common colonizing factor antigens expressed on the surface of ETEC isolates. The CFA/I adhesin, CfaE, appears to be required for ETEC binding to human intestinal cells for colonization. Human antibodies against the binding domain of CfaE have potential to block colonization of ETEC and serve as a potent immunoprophylactic therapeutic for ETEC-related diarrhea. In the current study, we generated a panel of fully human monoclonal antibodies (HuMabs) against the adhesin domain of CfaE using mice transgenic for human immunoglobulin genes and identified lead antibodies utilizing a series of in vitro assays. Mice were immunized with the N-terminal binding domain of CfaE fused to maltose binding protein. Over thirty unique IgG1 HuMabs were identified with binding activity to recombinant CfaE. These antibodies were tested for inhibition of hemagglutination of type A human erythrocytes by ETEC. Two lead HuMabs, 837-6 and 840-53, inhibited hemagglutination at low concentrations (\u3c 1 nM). Both antibodies also blocked the binding of ETEC with intestinal epithelial cells. Biacore analysis revealed an affinity of less than 2 nM with distinct epitopes of CfaE. Our analysis suggests that CfaE specific HuMabs 837-6 and 840-53, as the first isolated fully human monoclonal antibodies against CfaE adhesion domain, could potentially be used in combination with heat labile toxin neutralizing antibodies to prevent traveler’s diarrhea

APPLICATION OF MORPHO-ANATOMICAL TRAITS OF MAIZE PLANT TO QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN MAIZE SEED SYSTEM

Good seed quality can be obtained through control of the entire seed production process. There are emerging issues in the seed sector due to seed quality in market. In many countries seed and planting materials available to farmers are often of insufficient quality, thus undermining the potential performance of crops. The objective this study was to use morpho-anatomical traits to determine the levels of maize hybrid seed purity on the market in Uganda. A total of 120 samples of four popular commercial maize hybrid were collected from agro-dealers in 13 districts, representing 3 seed companies\u2019 distribution network. The samples were planted and evaluated based on their descriptors, using an Alpha Lattice Design, with two replications at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge. Data were collected for 33 morpho-anatomical traits. Results showed significant (P<0.05) differences within hybrids, and sources of seed among districts. Among the test materials, only Longe 9H had no significant (P<0.05) difference within traits but others had some levels of significant (P<0.05) differences. The principal component analysis of quantitative traits resulted in four components for each variety, with the explanation total of 53.3% for Longe 6H, 51.1% for Longe 7H, and 92.8% for Longe 9H and 39.1% for Longe 10%. There were varying levels of contamination of commercial hybrids based on morphoanatomical traits diversity within hybrids, compared to their descriptors for the traits evaluated. Hence, there is need to strengthen the quality control sub-sector for improved productivity at farmer levels.Des semences de bonne qualit\ue9 peuvent \ueatre obtenues en exer\ue7ant un control syst\ue9matique sur chacun des maillons du syst\ue8me de production semenci\ue8re. Le secteur semencier conna\ueet de plus en plus de difficult\ue9s, et ceci en raison de la qualit\ue9 des semences sur le march\ue9. Dans plusieurs pays, les semences disponibles pour les producteurs sont souvent de qualit\ue9 non satisfaisante, reduisant ainsi la performance des cultures. L\u2019objectif de l\u2019\ue9tude \ue9tait de se servir des caract\ue8res morpho-anatomiques afin de determiner le niveau purit\ue9 des semences de ma\uefs hybride sur le march\ue9 semencier en Ouganda. Au total 120 \ue9chantillons des quatre vari\ue9t\ue9es commerciales populaires de ma\uefs hybride ont \ue9t\ue9 collect\ue9s chez les distributeurs de semences dans 13 districts, repr\ue9sentant les r\ue9seaux de distribution de 3 compagnies semenci\ue8res. Les \ue9chantillons ont \ue9t\ue9 sem\ue9s et \ue9valu\ue9s en se basant sur leurs descripteurs. Le dispositive exp\ue9rimental Alpha Lattice a \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9, avec deux r\ue9p\ue9titions \ue0 l\u2019institut national de recherche des ressources culturales (NaCRRI), Namulonge. Les donn\ue9es de 33 caract\ue8res morphoanatomiques ont \ue9t\ue9 collect\ue9es. Les r\ue9sultats ont montr\ue9 des differences significatives (P<0,05) ont \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9es parmi les hybrides, ainsi que les sources des semences au sein des districts. Parmi les mat\ue9riels test\ue9s, seul Longe 9H n\u2019avait exhib\ue9 aucune difference significative (P<0,05) des caract\ue8res \ue9valu\ue9s, mais certains ont des differences significatives \ue0 (P<0,05). l\u2019analyse en composntes principales des traits quantitatifs a montr\ue9 quatre composantes pour chaque vari\ue9t\ue9, avec l\u2019ensemble de ces composantes expliquant 53,3% de la variation totale pour Longe 6H, 51,1% pour Longe 7H, 92,8% pour Longe 9H et 39,1% pour Longe 10%. Les niveaux de contamination \ue9taient variables, sugg\ue9rant la n\ue9cessit\ue9 de renforcer le sous-secteur de control de qualit\ue9 en vue d\u2019une meilleure productivit\ue9 au niveau des producteurs