Microfluidic Chip for Trapping Magnetic Nanoparticles and Heating in Terms of Biological Analysis

In this study, we reported the results of the design and the fabrication a planar coil in copper (square, a = 10 mm, 15mm high, 90 turns), these planar coils were integrated in a microfluidic chip for trapping magnetic nanoparticles and local heating applications. A small thermocouple (type K, 1 mm tip size) was put directly on top of the micro-channel in poly(dimethyl-siloxane) in order to measure the temperature inside the channel during applying current. The design of planar coils was based on optimizing the results of the magnetic calculation. The most suitable value of the magnetic field generated by the coil was calculated by ANSYS® software corresponded to the different distances from the coil surface to the micro-channel bottom (magnetic field strength Hmax = 825 A/m). The magnetic filed and heating relationship was balanced in order to manipulating the trapping magnetic nanoparticles and heating process. This design of the microfluidic chip can be used to develop a complex microfluidic chip using magnetic nanoparticles

A novel IGHMBP2 variant and clinical diversity in Vietnamese SMARD1 and CMT2S patients

BackgroundPathogenic variants in the IGHMBP2 gene are associated with two distinct autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorders: spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1; OMIM #604320) and Charcot–Marie–Tooth type 2S (CMT2S; OMIM #616155). SMARD1 is a severe and fatal condition characterized by infantile-onset respiratory distress, diaphragmatic palsy, and distal muscular weakness, while CMT2S follows a milder clinical course, with slowly progressive distal muscle weakness and sensory loss, without manifestations of respiratory disorder.MethodsWhole-exome sequencing of the IGHMBP2 gene was performed for eight Vietnamese patients with IGHMBP2-related neuromuscular disorders including five patients with SMARD1 and the others with CMT2S.ResultsWe identified one novel IGHMBP2 variant c.1574T > C (p.Leu525Pro) in a SMARD1 patient. Besides that, two patients shared the same pathogenic variants (c.1235 + 3A > G/c.1334A > C) but presented completely different clinical courses: one with SMARD1 who deceased at 8 months of age, the other with CMT2S was alive at 3 years old without any respiratory distress.ConclusionThis study is the first to report IGHMBP-2-related neuromuscular disorders in Vietnam. A novel IGHMBP2 variant c.1574T > C (p.Leu525Pro) expressing SMARD1 phenotype was detected. The presence of three patients with the same genotype but distinct clinical outcomes suggested the interaction of variants and other factors including relating modified genes in the mechanism of various phenotypes

Atypical sideways recognition of CD1a by autoreactive γδ T cell receptors

CD1a is a monomorphic antigen-presenting molecule on dendritic cells that presents lipids to αβ T cells. Whether CD1a represents a ligand for other immune receptors remains unknown. Here we use CD1a tetramers to show that CD1a is a ligand for Vδ1+ γδ T cells. Functional studies suggest that two γδ T cell receptors (TCRs) bound CD1a in a lipid-independent manner. The crystal structures of three Vγ4Vδ1 TCR-CD1a-lipid complexes reveal that the γδ TCR binds at the extreme far side and parallel to the long axis of the β-sheet floor of CD1a’s antigen-binding cleft. Here, the γδ TCR co-recognises the CD1a heavy chain and β2 microglobulin in a manner that is distinct from all other previously observed γδ TCR docking modalities. The ‘sideways’ and lipid antigen independent mode of autoreactive CD1a recognition induces TCR clustering on the cell surface and proximal T cell signalling as measured by CD3ζ phosphorylation. In contrast with the ‘end to end’ binding of αβ TCRs that typically contact carried antigens, autoreactive γδ TCRs support geometrically diverse approaches to CD1a, as well as antigen independent recognition

Novel Enzyme Actions for Sulphated Galactofucan Depolymerisation and a New Engineering Strategy for Molecular Stabilisation of Fucoidan Degrading Enzymes

Fucoidans from brown macroalgae have beneficial biomedical properties but their use as pharma products requires homogenous oligomeric products. In this study, the action of five recombinant microbial fucoidan degrading enzymes were evaluated on fucoidans from brown macroalgae: Sargassum mcclurei, Fucus evanescens, Fucus vesiculosus, Turbinaria ornata, Saccharina cichorioides, and Undaria pinnatifida. The enzymes included three endo-fucoidanases (EC 3.2.1.-GH 107), FcnA2, Fda1, and Fda2, and two unclassified endo-fucoglucuronomannan lyases, FdlA and FdlB. The oligosaccharide product profiles were assessed by carbohydrate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography. The recombinant enzymes FcnA2, Fda1, and Fda2 were unstable but were stabilised by truncation of the C-terminal end (removing up to 40% of the enzyme sequence). All five enzymes catalysed degradation of fucoidans containing α(1→4)-linked l-fucosyls. Fda2 also degraded S. cichorioides and U. pinnatifida fucoidans that have α(1→3)-linked l-fucosyls in their backbone. In the stabilised form, Fda1 also cleaved α(1→3) bonds. For the first time, we also show that several enzymes catalyse degradation of S. mcclurei galactofucan-fucoidan, known to contain α(1→4) and α(1→3) linked l-fucosyls and galactosyl-β(1→3) bonds in the backbone. These data enhance our understanding of fucoidan degrading enzymes and their substrate preferences and may assist development of enzyme-assisted production of defined fuco-oligosaccharides from fucoidan substrates

Rational design of a hydrolysis-resistant mycobacterial phosphoglycolipid antigen presented by CD1c to T cells

Whereas proteolytic cleavage is crucial for peptide presentation by classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins to T cells, glycolipids presented by CD1 molecules are typically presented in an unmodified form. However, the mycobacterial lipid antigen mannosyl-β1-phosphomycoketide (MPM) may be processed through hydrolysis in antigen presenting cells, forming mannose and phosphomycoketide (PM). To further test the hypothesis that some lipid antigens are processed, and to generate antigens that lead to defined epitopes for future tuberculosis vaccines or diagnostic tests, we aimed to create hydrolysis-resistant MPM variants that retain their antigenicity. Here, we designed and tested three different, versatile synthetic strategies to chemically stabilize MPM analogs. Crystallographic studies of CD1c complexes with these three new MPM analogs showed anchoring of the lipid tail and phosphate group that is highly comparable to nature-identical MPM, with considerable conformational flexibility for the mannose head group. MPM-3, a difluoromethylene-modified version of MPM that is resistant to hydrolysis showed altered recognition by cells, but not by CD1c proteins, supporting the cellular antigen processing hypothesis. Furthermore, the synthetic analogs elicited T cell responses that were cross-reactive with nature-identical MPM, fulfilling important requirements for future clinical use.NWO15.002.Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic MaterialsBio-organic Synthesi

Tree species diversity and utilities in a contracting lowland hillside rainforest fragment in Central Vietnam

Abstract Background Within the highly bio-diverse ‘Northern Vietnam Lowland Rain Forests Ecoregion’ only small, and mostly highly modified forestlands persist within vast exotic-species plantations. The aim of this study was to elucidate vegetation patterns of a secondary hillside rainforest remnant (elevation 120–330 m, 76 ha) as an outcome of natural processes, and anthropogenic processes linked to changing forest values. Methods In the rainforest remnant tree species and various bio-physical parameters (relating to soils and terrain) were surveyed on forty 20 m × 20 m sized plots. The forest's vegetation patterns and tree diversity were analysed using dendrograms, canonical correspondence analysis, and other statistical tools. Results Forest tree species richness was high (172 in the survey, 94 per hectare), including many endemic species (>16%; some recently described). Vegetation patterns and diversity were largely explained by topography, with colline/sub-montane species present mainly along hillside ridges, and lowland/humid-tropical species predominant on lower slopes. Scarcity of high-value timber species reflected past logging, whereas abundance of light-demanding species, and species valued for fruits, provided evidence of human-aided forest restoration and ‘enrichment’ in terms of useful trees. Exhaustion of sought-after forest products, and decreasing appreciation of non-wood products concurred with further encroachment of exotic plantations in between 2010 and 2015. Regeneration of rare tree species was reduced probably due to forest isolation. Conclusions Despite long-term anthropogenic influences, remnant forests in the lowlands of Vietnam can harbor high plant biodiversity, including many endangered species. Various successive future changes (vanishing species, generalist dominance, and associated forest structural-qualitative changes) are, however, expected to occur in small forest fragments. Lowland forest biodiversity can only be maintained if forest fragments maintain a certain size and/or are connected via corridors to larger forest networks. Preservation of the forests may be fostered using new economic incentive schemes

Some Effects on the Temperature of the Mine Air at the Heading Face

Currently, with the increase in mining output leading to deeper mining levels, the volume of heading face serving production has also increased. The thermal environment tends to worsen when digging deep due to the geothermal's effect, which increases the air temperature at the heading face. According to QCVN01/2011-BCT, the temperature at the heading face is not allowed to exceed 300C. To ensure this, in Vietnam today, mainly forced ventilation method uses local fans to provide a clean amount of air to ensure a favorable environment for workers. With the forced ventilation method, the duct position is usually arranged on the side, and the distance from the duct mouth to the heading face is determined to ensure that l < 6√s. In this study, a numerical simulation method by Ansys CFX software is applied to study the influence of several factors such as duct position, air temperature of duct, and roughness characteristics of roadway on the temperature of the mine air at the heading face. The models are set up with six duct positions and four air temperature of duct parameters. Model 1 (y =1.1 m) is better than models 2 to 6 in terms of temperature distribution and the lowest temperature values. Four models have different wind temperatures, and we can see the significant influence of the inlet air temperature of the duct on the thermal environment of the heading face. The results show that with the model T = 297.15K, the temperature value on the roadway length is guaranteed as specified < 303K. The result is a reference for determining the duct position and cool for the high-temperature heading face

Parallel Computation of Rough Set Approximations in Information Systems with Missing Decision Data

The paper discusses the use of parallel computation to obtain rough set approximations from large-scale information systems where missing data exist in both condition and decision attributes. To date, many studies have focused on missing condition data, but very few have accounted for missing decision data, especially in enlarging datasets. One of the approaches for dealing with missing data in condition attributes is named twofold rough approximations. The paper aims to extend the approach to deal with missing data in the decision attribute. In addition, computing twofold rough approximations is very intensive, thus the approach is not suitable when input datasets are large. We propose parallel algorithms to compute twofold rough approximations in large-scale datasets. Our method is based on MapReduce, a distributed programming model for processing large-scale data. We introduce the original sequential algorithm first and then the parallel version is introduced. Comparison between the two approaches through experiments shows that our proposed parallel algorithms are suitable for and perform efficiently on large-scale datasets that have missing data in condition and decision attributes

Ensemble learning updating classifier for accurate land cover assessment in tropical cloudy areas

Land use/cover information is fundamental for the sustainable management of resources. Notwithstanding the advancement of remote sensing, analysts daunt to generate sufficient-quality land use/cover products due to dense-cloud-contaminated and/or technical issues. This study proposes a novel approach (Ensemble Learning Updating Classifier/ELUC), which can be applied with various classification algorithms and data sets to simplistically generate new classifications or renew existing classifications with a remarkable accuracy improvement. Applying miscellaneous features of Landsat-8 images, the ELUC of a random-forest-based algorithm produces sequences of single-time classifications with a mean overall accuracy of 84%. Through the study period, these sequences of individual classifications were then joined to achieve a final classification which reaches an overall accuracy of 94%. Also, the ELUC of the random-forest-based algorithm outperforms that of Kernel-Density-Estimation with a 5% overall accuracy higher. These outcomes confirm the effectiveness of the ELUC for a remarkably consistent land use/cover estimation with a data-rich environment