Comparison of PM10 Pattern and PM2.5 Carbonaceous Fraction from Episodic and Non Episodic Period of Peat Land Wildfire

The peatland wildfire in Indonesia was periodically occurs even in nun ENSO period thus may pose health risk do the inhabitants each year. During non episodic peatland wildfire, we measured PM2.5 using 2 sets of PM2.5 samplers combined with secondary data from fixed monitoring station for ambient PM10. We compare the data with previous Study on episodic wildfire in this peatland area. EC and OC concentrations in PM2.5 were determined using a thermal/optical carbon analyzer with IMPROVE-A protocol. The pattern of PM10 during episodic peatland wildfire can reach more Ethan ten times of PM10 standard (24 h). This is may pose health risk since this high concentration may persist during one month or more. While during non episodic wildfire the ambient PM10 showed moderate fluctuation. During episodic burning period, the ambient atmosphere are enriched by OC1 and OC2 fraction, while in non episodic burning, fraction of OC2, OC3 as well as OC4 shows higher level than OC1. Based on EC ratio analysis the char-EC in biomass burning shows higher than soot-EC leading to dominant fraction of low temperatur elemental carbon originated from biomass burnin

Chemical speciation of water-soluble ionic components in PM2.5 derived from peatland fires in Sumatra Island

We conducted a field study to characterize water-soluble ionic species in PM2.5 from peatland fires using ground-based samplings at fire sources and receptor sites in the Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. We determined the concentrations of PM2.5 mass, water-soluble ions, and some chemical elements. Through PM2.5 field samplings at three peatland fire sources, we have shown that the mass fractions of typical peatland fire water-soluble ionic components tend to differ between peatland fire sources. Thus, our results indicate that PM2.5 source profiles of water-soluble ionic components for peatland fire must be selected with extreme caution if applied to a receptor model. From the viewpoint of ionic composition of each peatland fire sample, Cl− and NH4+ were consistently dominant anions and cations, respectively, for all peatland fire samples, i.e., NH4Cl was a consistently dominant component. Through field samplings of the ambient PM2.5 in Pekanbaru during peatland fire-induced haze and non-haze periods, we found differences in PM2.5 mass and total water-soluble ionic component concentrations between haze and non-haze samples. Four components, C2O42−, NO3−, SO42−, and NH4+, showed highly elevated levels during haze periods. Since these four ions are recognized as the major secondarily formed aerosol components, the increased total concentrations of water-soluble ionic components during haze periods can mainly be derived from the gas-to-aerosol conversion process. The ionic compositions of haze samples at receptor sites are obviously different from those at peatland fire source samples. In particular, NH4Cl, which is characteristic of peatland fire PM2.5 sources, is low at sites during haze periods

Characterization analysis and polymorphism detection of the porcine Myd88 gene

The myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (Myd88) is an essential adaptor protein, which mediates in all Toll-like receptor (TLR) members signal transduction, except for TLR3. In this study, the 4464 bp genomic sequence of porcine Myd88 was first isolated, whereupon tissue distribution, chromosome mapping and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) were analyzed. Our results revealed that porcine Myd88 gene, which was located at chromosome 13 linked with marker S0288 (distance = 40 cR; LOD = 8.66), was widely expressed in all the examined tissues. There were 16 potential SNPs in the isolated genome fragment. SNP 797T/C in the first intron was studied, with no significant association being found between the genotype and immune traits in pigs (p > 0.05). The porcine Myd88 protein contained both the death domain (DD) and the Toll/IL-1 receptor domain (TIR). Leu residues, essential for its structure, were the most abundant encountered in the DD. The TIR contained two conserved motifs which may play important roles in the Myd88 function

Quantifying lifestyle based social equity implications for national sustainable development policy

The aim of this research is to address the challenge of achieving more equitable social outcomes through a reduction and fairer allocation of environmental burdens, and in doing so, contributing to national sustainable development policy. This novel study demonstrates the nature of societal outcomes through the lens of inequity with respect to lifestyle related environmental footprints and stakeholder preferences. Footprints are derived using input-output analysis, while environmental issue preferences and potential remedial actions are identified using a national survey. To highlight the value of the broadly applicable framework, here we demonstrate a case study of Japan, which is interesting due to shifting demographics engendering an aging, shrinking population. Key findings include that the mitigation of environmental footprints in line with household preferences can positively influence both societal equity outcomes and contribute to closing the gap between rich and poor. Importantly, broad participation, i.e. participation irrespective of income level, is shown to be more effective than participation from a single sector. These findings can assist policymakers to develop policies which are responsive to societal preferences and demographic trends while also furthering the debate toward clarifying norms for acceptable levels of social equity

Effect of Dietary Zinc Oxide on Morphological Characteristics, Mucin Composition and Gene Expression in the Colon of Weaned Piglets

The trace element zinc is often used in the diet of weaned piglets, as high doses have resulted in positive effects on intestinal health. However, the majority of previous studies evaluated zinc supplementations for a short period only and focused on the small intestine. The hypothesis of the present study was that low, medium and high levels of dietary zinc (57, 164 and 2,425 mg Zn/kg from zinc oxide) would affect colonic morphology and innate host defense mechanisms across 4 weeks post-weaning. Histological examinations were conducted regarding the colonic morphology and neutral, acidic, sialylated and sulphated mucins. The mRNA expression levels of mucin (MUC) 1, 2, 13, 20, toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, 4, interleukin (IL)-1β, 8, 10, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were also measured. The colonic crypt area increased in an age-depending manner, and the greatest area was found with medium concentration of dietary zinc. With the high concentration of dietary zinc, the number of goblet cells containing mixed neutral-acidic mucins and total mucins increased. Sialomucin containing goblet cells increased age-dependently. The expression of MUC2 increased with age and reached the highest level at 47 days of age. The expression levels of TLR2 and 4 decreased with age. The mRNA expression of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 were down-regulated with high dietary zinc treatment, while piglets fed with medium dietary zinc had the highest expression. It is concluded that dietary zinc level had a clear impact on colonic morphology, mucin profiles and immunological traits in piglets after weaning. Those changes might support local defense mechanisms and affect colonic physiology and contribute to the reported reduction of post-weaning diarrhea

Discovery of os cordis in the cardiac skeleton of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Cardiovascular diseases, especially idiopathic myocardial fibrosis, is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in captive great apes. This study compared the structure and morphology of 16 hearts from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) which were either healthy or affected by myocardial fibrosis using X-ray microtomography. In four hearts, a single, hyperdense structure was detected within the right fibrous trigone of the cardiac skeleton. High resolution scans and histopathology revealed trabecular bones in two cases, hyaline cartilage in another case and a focus of mineralised fibro-cartilaginous metaplasia with endochondral ossification in the last case. Four other animals presented with multiple foci of ectopic calcification within the walls of the great vessels. All hearts affected by marked myocardial fibrosis presented with bone or cartilage formation, and increased collagen levels in tissues adjacent to the bone/cartilage, while unaffected hearts did not present with os cordis or cartilago cordis. The presence of an os cordis has been described in some ruminants, camelids, and otters, but never in great apes. This novel research indicates that an os cordis and cartilago cordis is present in some chimpanzees, particularly those affected by myocardial fibrosis, and could influence the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death

Development and characterisation of a large diameter decellularised vascular allograft

The aims of this study were to develop a biological large diameter vascular graft by decellularisation of native human aorta to remove the immunogenic cells whilst retaining the essential biomechanical, and biochemical properties for the ultimate benefit of patients with infected synthetic grafts. Donor aortas (n = 6) were subjected to an adaptation of a propriety decellularisation process to remove the cells and acellularity assessed by histological analysis and extraction and quantification of total DNA. The biocompatibility of the acellular aortas was determined using standard contact cytotoxicity tests. Collagen and denatured collagen content of aortas was determined and immunohistochemistry was used to determine the presence of specific extracellular matrix proteins. Donor aortas (n = 6) were divided into two, with one half subject to decellularisation and the other half retained as native tissue. The native and decellularised aorta sections were then subject to uniaxial tensile testing to failure [axial and circumferential directions] and suture retention testing. The data was compared using a paired t-test. Histological evaluation showed an absence of cells in the treated aortas and retention of histoarchitecture including elastin content. The decellularised aortas had less than 15 ng mg¯¹ total DNA per dry weight (mean 94% reduction) and were biocompatible as determined by in vitro contact cytotoxicity tests. There were no gross changes in the histoarchitecture [elastin and collagen matrix] of the acellular aortas compared to native controls. The decellularisation process also reduced calcium deposits within the tissue. The uniaxial tensile and suture retention testing revealed no significant differences in the material properties (p > 0.05) of decellularised aorta. The decellularisation procedure resulted in minimal changes to the biological and biomechanical properties of the donor aortas. Acellular donor aorta has excellent potential for use as a large diameter vascular graft

Rhinosinusitis derived Staphylococcal enterotoxin B possibly associates with pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND: During clinical practice, we noticed that some patients with both ulcerative colitis (UC) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) showed amelioration of UC after treatment of CRS. This study was designed to identify a possible association between CRS and UC. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with both CRS and UC received treatment with functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for CRS. Clinical symptom scores for CRS and UC, as well as serum levels of anti-Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) were evaluated at week 0 and week 12. Sinus wash fluid SEB content was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The surgically removed tissues were cultured to identify growth of Staphylococcus. aureus (S. aureus). Immunohistochemistry was employed to identify anti-SEB positive cells in the colonic mucosa. Colonic biopsies were obtained and incubated with SEB. Mast cell activation in the colonic mucosa in response to incubation with SEB was observed with electron microscopy and immunoassay. RESULTS: The clinical symptom scores of CRS and UC severe scores (UCSS) were significantly reduced in the UC-CRS patients after FESS. The number of cultured S. aureus colonies from the surgically removed sinus mucosa significantly correlated with the decrease in UCSS. High levels of SEB were detected in the sinus wash fluids of the patients with UC-CRS. Histamine and tryptase release was significantly higher in the culture supernate in the patients with UC-CRS than the patients with UC-only and normal controls. Anti-SEB positive cells were located in the colonic mucosa. CONCLUSION: The pathogenesis of UC in some patients may be associated with their pre-existing CRS by a mechanism of swallowing sinusitis-derived SEB. We speculate that SEB initiates inappropriate immune reactions and inflammation in the colonic mucosa that further progresses to UC