Experimental Measurements of Binder Wave Speeds using Wavenumber Decomposition

Prior work has provided few wave speed measurements for the binder materials commonly used with plastic- bonded energetics. Furthermore, those measurements that have been reported are largely based upon rudimentary, \u27pitch and catch\u27 methodologies, which involve sending a pulse from one transducer to another transducer at a set distance apart and measuring the time of flight. Given this, a more rigorous method for determining longitudinal and shear wave speeds in this important class of materials was desired. In this work, material wave speeds are recovered by measuring the vibrational response of a 2D line across the surface of a beam in response to a mechanical excitation and analyzing the data in the frequency-wavenumber domain

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-degrading Bacteria from Aviation Fuel Spill Site at Ibeno, Nigeria

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)–degrading bacteria were isolated from aviation fuel contaminated soil at Inua Eyet Ikot in Ibeno, Nigeria. PAH-degrading bacteria in the contaminated soil were isolated by enrichment culture technique. Isolates with high PAH degrading potential characterized by their extensive growth on PAH-supplemented minimal salt medium were screened for their naphthalene, phenanthrene and chrysene degradability. The screening medium which contained selected PAHs as the sole source of carbon and energy showed that Micrococcus varians AFS-2, Pseudomonas putida AFS-3 and Alcaligenes faecalis AFS-5 exhibited a concentration–dependent growth in all the PAH–compounds tested. There were visible changes in the color of growth medium suggesting the production of different metabolites. Their acclimation to different PAH substrates was also evident as A. faecalis AFS-5 isolated from chrysene grew well on other less complex aromatic compounds. The isolate exhibited best growth (0.44 OD600) when exposed to 10 ppm of chrysene for 5 days and could utilize up to 90 ppm of chrysene. This isolate and others with strong PAH-degrading potentials are recommended for bioremediation of PAHs in aviation fuel-contaminated sites in the tropics

Effect of Activated Carbon Amendment on Bacterial Community Structure and Functions in a PAH Impacted Urban Soil

ABSTRACT: We collected urban soil samples impacted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a sorbent-based remediation field trial to address concerns about unwanted side-effects of 2 % powdered (PAC) or granular (GAC) activated carbon amendment on soil microbiology and pollutant biodegradation. After three years, total microbial cell counts and respiration rates were highest in the GAC amended soil. The predominant bacterial community structure derived from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) shifted more strongly with time than in response to AC amendment. DGGE band sequencing revealed the presence of taxa with closest affiliations either to known PAH degraders, e.g. Rhodococcus jostii RHA-1, or taxa known to harbor PAH degraders, e.g. Rhodococcus erythropolis, in all soils. Quantification by real-time polymerase chain reaction yielded similar dioxygenases gene copy numbers in unamended, PAC-, or GACamended soil. PAH availability assessments in batch tests showed th

The Reproducibility of 31-Phosphorus MRS Measures of Muscle Energetics at 3 Tesla in Trained Men

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides an exceptional opportunity for the study of in vivo metabolism. MRS is widely used to measure phosphorus metabolites in trained muscle, although there are no published data regarding its reproducibility in this specialized cohort. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility of (31)P-MRS in trained skeletal muscle

WldS Reduces Paraquat-Induced Cytotoxicity via SIRT1 in Non-Neuronal Cells by Attenuating the Depletion of NAD

WldS is a fusion protein with NAD synthesis activity, and has been reported to protect axonal and synaptic compartments of neurons from various mechanical, genetic and chemical insults. However, whether WldS can protect non-neuronal cells against toxic chemicals is largely unknown. Here we found that WldS significantly reduced the cytotoxicity of bipyridylium herbicides paraquat and diquat in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, but had no effect on the cytotoxicity induced by chromium (VI), hydrogen peroxide, etoposide, tunicamycin or brefeldin A. WldS also slowed down the death of mice induced by intraperitoneal injection of paraquat. Further studies demonstrated that WldS markedly attenuated mitochondrial injury including disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, structural damage and decline of ATP induced by paraquat. Disruption of the NAD synthesis activity of WldS by an H112A or F116S point mutation resulted in loss of its protective function against paraquat-induced cell death. Furthermore, WldS delayed the decrease of intracellular NAD levels induced by paraquat. Similarly, treatment with NAD or its precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide attenuated paraquat-induced cytotoxicity and decline of ATP and NAD levels. In addition, we showed that SIRT1 was required for both exogenous NAD and WldS-mediated cellular protection against paraquat. These findings suggest that NAD and SIRT1 mediate the protective function of WldS against the cytotoxicity induced by paraquat, which provides new clues for the mechanisms underlying the protective function of WldS in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, and implies that attenuation of NAD depletion may be effective to alleviate paraquat poisoning

A Robust Ensemble Algorithm for Ischemic Stroke Lesion Segmentation: Generalizability and Clinical Utility Beyond the ISLES Challenge

Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) is essential for stroke diagnosis, treatment decisions, and prognosis. However, image and disease variability hinder the development of generalizable AI algorithms with clinical value. We address this gap by presenting a novel ensemble algorithm derived from the 2022 Ischemic Stroke Lesion Segmentation (ISLES) challenge. ISLES'22 provided 400 patient scans with ischemic stroke from various medical centers, facilitating the development of a wide range of cutting-edge segmentation algorithms by the research community. Through collaboration with leading teams, we combined top-performing algorithms into an ensemble model that overcomes the limitations of individual solutions. Our ensemble model achieved superior ischemic lesion detection and segmentation accuracy on our internal test set compared to individual algorithms. This accuracy generalized well across diverse image and disease variables. Furthermore, the model excelled in extracting clinical biomarkers. Notably, in a Turing-like test, neuroradiologists consistently preferred the algorithm's segmentations over manual expert efforts, highlighting increased comprehensiveness and precision. Validation using a real-world external dataset (N=1686) confirmed the model's generalizability. The algorithm's outputs also demonstrated strong correlations with clinical scores (admission NIHSS and 90-day mRS) on par with or exceeding expert-derived results, underlining its clinical relevance. This study offers two key findings. First, we present an ensemble algorithm (https://github.com/Tabrisrei/ISLES22_Ensemble) that detects and segments ischemic stroke lesions on DWI across diverse scenarios on par with expert (neuro)radiologists. Second, we show the potential for biomedical challenge outputs to extend beyond the challenge's initial objectives, demonstrating their real-world clinical applicability

Current opinion on the role of testosterone in the development of prostate cancer: a dynamic model

Background: Since the landmark study conducted by Huggins and Hodges in 1941, a failure to distinguish between the role of testosterone in prostate cancer development and progression has led to the prevailing opinion that high levels of testosterone increase the risk of prostate cancer. To date, this claim remains unproven. Presentation of the Hypothesis: We present a novel dynamic mode of the relationship between testosterone and prostate cancer by hypothesizing that the magnitude of age-related declines in testosterone, rather than a static level of testosterone measured at a single point, may trigger and promote the development of prostate cancer. Testing of the Hypothesis: Although not easily testable currently, prospective cohort studies with population-representative samples and repeated measurements of testosterone or retrospective cohorts with stored blood samples from different ages are warranted in future to test the hypothesis. Implications of the Hypothesis: Our dynamic model can satisfactorily explain the observed age patterns of prostate cancer incidence, the apparent conflicts in epidemiological findings on testosterone and risk of prostate cancer, racial disparities in prostate cancer incidence, risk factors associated with prostate cancer, and the role of testosterone in prostate cancer progression. Our dynamic model may also have implications for testosterone replacement therapy