A comprehensive review of hybrid forward osmosis systems: Performance, applications and future prospects

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Forward osmosis (FO) has been increasingly studied in the past decade for its potential as an emerging low-energy water and wastewater treatment process. However, the term "low-energy" may only be suitable for those applications in where no further treatment of the draw solution (DS) is required either in the form of pretreatment or post-treatment to the FO process (e.g. where the diluted DS is the targeted final product which can be used directly or simply discarded). In most applications, FO has to be coupled with another separation process in a so-called hybrid FO system to either separate the DS from the final product water or to be used as an advanced pre-treatment process to conventional desalination technologies. The additional process increases the capital cost as well as the energy demand of the overall system which is one of the several challenges that hybrid FO systems need to overcome to compete with other separation technologies. Yet, there are some applications where hybrid FO systems can outperform conventional processes and this study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the current state of hybrid FO systems. The recent development and performance of hybrid FO systems in different applications have been reported. This review also highlights the future research directions for the current hybrid FO systems to achieve successful implementation

Inhibition of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 suppresses angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo

Endothelial cell survival is indispensable to maintain endothelial integrity and initiate new vessel formation. We investigated the role of SHP-2 in endothelial cell survival and angiogenesis in vitro as well as in vivo. SHP-2 function in cultured human umbilical vein and human dermal microvascular endothelial cells was inhibited by either silencing the protein expression with antisense-oligodesoxynucleotides or treatment with a pharmacological inhibitor (PtpI IV). SHP-2 inhibition impaired capillary-like structure formation (p < 0.01; n = 8) in vitro as well as new vessel growth ex vivo (p < 0.05; n = 10) and in vivo in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (p < 0.01, n = 4). Additionally, SHP-2 knock-down abrogated fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2)-dependent endothelial proliferation measured by MTT reduction ( p ! 0.01; n = 12). The inhibitory effect of SHP-2 knock-down on vessel growth was mediated by increased endothelial apoptosis ( annexin V staining, p ! 0.05, n = 9), which was associated with reduced FGF-2-induced phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), Akt and extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and involved diminished ERK1/2 phosphorylation after PI3-K inhibition (n=3). These results suggest that SHP-2 regulates endothelial cell survival through PI3-K-Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways thereby strongly affecting new vessel formation. Thus, SHP-2 exhibits a pivotal role in angiogenesis and may represent an interesting target for therapeutic approaches controlling vessel growth. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Oral immunization of haemaggulutinin H5 expressed in plant endoplasmic reticulum with adjuvant saponin protects mice against highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus infection

Pandemics in poultry caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A virus occur too frequently globally, and there is growing concern about the HPAI A virus due to the possibility of a pandemic among humans. Thus, it is important to develop a vaccine against HPAI suitable for both humans and animals. Various approaches are underway to develop such vaccines. In particular, an edible vaccine would be a convenient way to vaccinate poultry because of the behaviour of the animals. However, an edible vaccine is still not available. In this study, we developed a strategy of effective vaccination of mice by the oral administration of transgenic Arabidopsis plants (HA-TG) expressing haemagglutinin (HA) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Expression of HA in the ER resulted in its high-level accumulation, N-glycosylation, protection from proteolytic degradation and long-term stability. Oral administration of HA-TG with saponin elicited high levels of HA-specific systemic IgG and mucosal IgA responses in mice, which resulted in protection against a lethal influenza virus infection with attenuated inflammatory symptoms. Based on these results, we propose that oral administration of freeze-dried leaf powders from transgenic plants expressing HA in the ER together with saponin is an attractive strategy for vaccination against influenza A virus.X111411Ysciescopu

Hepatitis following famotidine: a case report

H2 receptor antagonists can rarely cause idiosyncratic drug reactions leading to acute hepatitis. Famotidine, however, is considered a relatively safe drug with regards to hepatotoxicity. We report a case of a 47 year old male with a history of hepatitis C who developed acute hepatitis on the third day of hospitalization with a dramatic rise in his liver enzymes from normal values at the time of admission. The acute rise in liver enzymes made us consider an adverse drug reaction and famotidine was discontinued. Subsequently his liver enzymes came back to normal in seven days. Thus, physicians should consider famotidine induced hepatitis as a possible etiology of acute liver dysfunction

Enhanced Supersymmetry of Nonrelativistic ABJM Theory

We study the supersymmetry enhancement of nonrelativistic limits of the ABJM theory for Chern-Simons level $k=1,2$. The special attention is paid to the nonrelativistic limit (known as `PAAP' case) containing both particles and antiparticles. Using supersymmetry transformations generated by the monopole operators, we find additional 2 kinematical, 2 dynamical, and 2 conformal supercharges for this case. Combining with the original 8 kinematical supercharges, the total number of supercharges becomes maximal: 14 supercharges, like in the well-known PPPP limit. We obtain the corresponding super Schr\"odinger algebra which appears to be isomorphic to the one of the PPPP case. We also discuss the role of monopole operators in supersymmetry enhancement and partial breaking of supersymmetry in nonrelativistic limit of the ABJM theory.Comment: 22 pages, references added, version to appear in JHE

Pharmacological screening using an FXN-EGFP cellular genomic reporter assay for the therapy of Friedreich ataxia

Copyright @ 2013 Li et al. 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.Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by neurodegeneration and cardiomyopathy. The presence of a GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of the FXN gene results in the inhibition of gene expression and an insufficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. There is a correlation between expansion length, the amount of residual frataxin and the severity of disease. As the coding sequence is unaltered, pharmacological up-regulation of FXN expression may restore frataxin to therapeutic levels. To facilitate screening of compounds that modulate FXN expression in a physiologically relevant manner, we established a cellular genomic reporter assay consisting of a stable human cell line containing an FXN-EGFP fusion construct, in which the EGFP gene is fused in-frame with the entire normal human FXN gene present on a BAC clone. The cell line was used to establish a fluorometric cellular assay for use in high throughput screening (HTS) procedures. A small chemical library containing FDA-approved compounds and natural extracts was screened and analyzed. Compound hits identified by HTS were further evaluated by flow cytometry in the cellular genomic reporter assay. The effects on FXN mRNA and frataxin protein levels were measured in lymphoblast and fibroblast cell lines derived from individuals with FRDA and in a humanized GAA repeat expansion mouse model of FRDA. Compounds that were established to increase FXN gene expression and frataxin levels included several anti-cancer agents, the iron-chelator deferiprone and the phytoalexin resveratrol.Muscular Dystrophy Association (USA), the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (USA), the Brockhoff Foundation (Australia), the Friedreich Ataxia Research Association (Australasia), Seek A Miracle (USA) and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program

A huge intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma of the bile duct treated by right trisectionectomy with caudate lobectomy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Because intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the bile duct (IPMN-B) is believed to show a better clinical course than non-papillary biliary neoplasms, it is important to make a precise diagnosis and to perform complete surgical resection.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We herein report a case of malignant IPMN-B treated by right trisectionectomy with caudate lobectomy and extrahepatic bile duct resection. Radiologic images showed marked dilatation of the left medial sectional bile duct (B4) resulting in a bulky cystic mass with multiple internal papillary projections. Duodenal endoscopic examination demonstrated very patulous ampullary orifice with mucin expulsion and endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram confirmed marked cystic dilatation of B4 with luminal filling defects. These findings suggested IPMN-B with malignancy potential. The functional volume of the left lateral section was estimated to be 45%. A planned extensive surgery was successfully performed. The remnant bile ducts were also dilated but had no macroscopic intraluminal tumorous lesion. The histopathological examination yielded the diagnosis of mucin-producing oncocytic intraductal papillary carcinoma of the bile duct with poorly differentiated carcinomas showing neuroendocrine differentiation. The tumor was 14.0 × 13.0 cm-sized and revealed no stromal invasiveness. Resection margins of the proximal bile duct and hepatic parenchyma were free of tumor cell. The patient showed no postoperative complication and was discharged on 10^thpostoperative date. He has been regularly followed at outpatient department with no evidence of recurrence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Considering a favorable prognosis of IPMN-B compared to non-papillary biliary neoplasms, this tumor can be a good indication for aggressive surgical resection regardless of its tumor size.</p

Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas in a male patient

Mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) make up a morphologic family of similar appearing tumors arising in the ovary and various extraovarian organs such as pancreas, hepatobiliary tract and mesentery. MCNs of the pancreas occur almost exclusively in women. Here, we report a rare case of MCN in a male patient. A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of back pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a multilocular cyctic mass 6.3 cm in diameter in the pancreatic tail. In addition, the outer wall and septae with calcification were demonstrated in the cystic lesion. On magnetic resonance imaging , the cystic fluid had low intensity on T1-weighted imaging and high intensity on T2-weighted imaging. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) showed neither communication between the cystic lesion and the main pancreatic duct nor encasement of the main pancreatic duct. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed neither solid component nor thickness of the septae in the cystic lesion. Consequently, we performed distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy under the diagnosis of cystic neoplasia of the pancreas. Histopathologically, the cystic lesion showed two distinct component: an inner epithelial layer and an outer densely cellular ovarian-type stromal layer. Based on these findings, the cystic lesion was diagnosed as MCN