Investigation on the Sound Absorption Properties of Waste Green Tea Residues Covered by Woven Fabric

Both household garbage and noise pollution are urgent challenges to modern society. This paper presents a straight-forward avenue for the utilization of natural waste green tea residues as sound absorption materials. Sound absorbers made of tea residues with 1 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm thickness were prepared, thus to study the effects of thickness on sound absorption. In addition, tea residues layer is featured backing the woven fabric layer to fabricate multilayer sound absorber and improve the absorption properties. This work has demonstrated that waste green tea residues are especially attractive to be used as sound absorber. It is also feasible to achieve required sound absorption by adjusting tea residues thickness and combination structures with different facing fabrics

Promoting biocompatibility of titanium by facile fabrication of phase-transited lysozyme induced hydroxyapatite coating

In this study, phase-transited lysozyme (PTL) induced Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 (PTL-HA) coating was applied to the 3D-printed titanium surface for improving bioactivity. The morphology and phase of the coating were analyzed by EDS, SEM, XRD, and XPS, while biocompatibility was investigated in vitro. The observation from SEM showed that a uniform coating with the presence of spheric-like and plate-shaped crystals was covered on the titanium. The main composition of the coating was Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2. More importantly, the in vitro results showed the PTL-HA coating could upregulate the expression of osteogenic-related genes. Therefore, it is considered that the phase-transited lysozyme-induced hydroxyapatite film was a promising, rapid, low-cost, and green route to improve the bioactivity of a bone implant

Integration of UAV and GF-2 Optical Data for Estimating Aboveground Biomass in Spruce Plantations in Qinghai, China

More refined and economical aboveground biomass (AGB) monitoring techniques are needed because of the growing significance of spruce plantations in climate change mitigation programs. Due to the challenges of conducting field surveys, such as the potential inaccessibility and high cost, this study proposes a convenient and efficient alternative to traditional field surveys that integrates Gaofen-2 (GF-2) satellite optical images and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-acquired optical and point cloud data to provide a reliable and refined estimation of the aboveground biomass (AGB) in spruce plantations. The feasibility of using data produced from the semiautomatic processing of UAV-based images and photogrammetric point clouds to replace conventional field surveys of sample plots in a young spruce plantation was evaluated. The AGB in 53 sample plots was estimated using data extracted from the UAV imagery. The UAV plot data and GF-2 optical data were used in four regression models to estimate the AGB in the study area. The coefficient of determination (R2), root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean percent standard error (MPSE), and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (LCCC) were calculated through five-fold cross-validation and stratified random sampling to evaluate the models’ efficacies. In the end, the most accurate model was used to generate the spatial distribution map of the AGB. The results revealed the following: (1) the individual-tree height (R2 = 0.90) and crown diameter (R2 = 0.74) extracted from UAV data were accurate enough to replace field surveys used to obtain the AGB at the plot levels; (2) the random forest (RF) model (R2 = 0.86; RMSE = 1.75 t/ha; MPSE = 15.75%; LCCC = 0.91) outperformed the ordinary least-squares (OLS) model (R2 = 0.68; RMSE = 2.49 t/ha; MPSE = 22.94%; LCCC = 0.81), artificial neural network (ANN) model (R2 = 0.67; RMSE = 2.54 t/ha; MPSE = 21.48%; LCCC = 0.80), and support vector machine (SVM) model (R2 = 0.60; RMSE = 2.84 t/ha; MPSE = 31.73%; LCCC = 0.76) in terms of the estimation accuracy; (3) an AGB map generated by the random forest model was in good agreement with field surveys and the age of the spruce plantations. Therefore, the method proposed in this study can be used as a refined and cost-effective way to estimate the AGB in young spruce plantations

Practice and Enlightenment of Australian Virtual Power Plant Participating in Market Operation

Under the new power system, the proportion of new energy and new entities continues to grow, new business users are diversified, and the power supply and demand sides exhibit a "double randomness" characteristic. Faced with such challenges, VPP (Virtual Power Plant), as source network load storage integrators that aggregate multiple distributed resources, provide the possibility for the supply-demand balance of the power system. At present, there is no mature operation mode for VPP in China, and they still rely mainly on aggregating load side resources for demand response. This article analyses Australia's participation, trading patterns, and profitability in the electricity market and ancillary services market, summarizes the profit and risk points of VPP in Australia, and proposes relevant suggestions for improving the business model of VPP and promoting their entry into the market in China based on the actual situation

Evaluation of Piperacillin/Sulbactam, Piperacillin/Tazobactam and Cefoperazone/Sulbactam Dosages in Gram-Negative Bacterial Bloodstream Infections by Monte Carlo Simulation

The optimal regimens of piperacillin/sulbactam (PIS 2:1), piperacillin/tazobactam (PTZ 8:1), and cefoperazone/sulbactam (CSL 2:1) are not well defined in patients based on renal function. This study was conducted to identify optimal regimens of BLBLIs in these patients. The antimicrobial sensitivity test was performed by a two-fold agar dilution method. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) was used to simulate the probability of target attainment (PTA) and the cumulative fraction of response (CFR) for various dosing regimens in patients with different renal functions. For strains with an MIC ≤ 8/4 mg/L, PIS 4.5 g q6h achieved 99.03%PTA in the subset of patients with creatinine clearance (CrCL) > 90 mL/min. For patients with CrCL 60–90 mL/min, PIS 4.5 g q6h achieved 81.2% CFR; for those with CrCL 40–59 mL/min, PIS 4.5 g q8h achieved 80.25% CFR. However, for patients infected by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, PIS 4.5 g q6h achieved a CFR lower than 80%. For patients infected by A. baumannii with a CrCL of 31–60 mL/min, PIS 6.0 g q8h and 4.5 g q6h achieved 81.24% and 82.42% CFR, respectively. For those infected by P. aeruginosa, PIS 4.5 g q6h reached 90% CFR. PIS and PTZ achieved a similar CFR when piperacillin was at the same dose. The CFRs of CSL were much lower than those of the other two agents in Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa infections. The antibacterial spectrum of PIS is superior to that of PTZ and CSL. Higher dosages and dosing adjustment according to renal function should be considered to treat Gram-negative bacterial BSIs

Genetic, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance characteristics associated with distinct morphotypes in ST11 carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae

ABSTRACTST11 is the most common lineage among carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections in Asia. Diverse morphotypes resulting from genetic mutations are associated with significant differences in microbial characteristics among K. pneumoniae isolates. Here, we investigated the genetic determinants and critical characteristics associated with distinct morphotypes of ST11 CRKP. An ST11-KL47 CRKP isolate carrying a pLVPK-like virulence plasmid was isolated from a patient with a bloodstream infection; the isolate had the “mcsw” morphotype. Two distinct morphotypes (“ntrd” and “msdw”) were derived from this strain during in vitro passage. Whole genome sequencing was used to identify mutations that cause the distinct morphotypes of ST11 CRKP. Transmission electron microscopy, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, growth assays, biofilm formation, virulence assays, membrane permeability assays, and RNA-seq analysis were used to investigate the specific characteristics associated with different morphotypes of ST11 CRKP. Compared with the parental mcsw morphotype, the ntrd morphotype resulted from mutation of genes involved in capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis (wza, wzc, and wbaP), a result validated by gene knockout experiments. This morphotype showed capsule deficiency and lower virulence potential, but higher biofilm production. By contrast, the msdw morphotype displayed competition deficiency and increased susceptibility to chlorhexidine and polymyxin B. Further analyses indicated that these characteristics were caused by interruption of the sigma factor gene rpoN by insertion mutations and deletion of the rpoN gene, which attenuated membrane integrity presumably by downregulating the phage shock protein operon. These data expand current understanding of genetic, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance characteristics associated with distinct morphotypes in ST11 CRKP

Platelets derived citrullinated proteins and microparticles are potential autoantibodies ACPA targets in RA patients

Citrullinated neoepitopes have emerged as key triggers of autoantibodies anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) synthesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Apart from their critical role in homeostasis and thrombosis, platelets have a significant contribution to inflammation as well. Although anuclear in nature, platelets have an intricate post-translational modification machinery. Till now, citrullination in platelets and its contribution to trigger autoantibodies ACPA production in RA is an unexplored research direction. Herein, we investigated the expression of peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD) enzymes and citrullinated proteins/peptides in the human platelets and platelet derived microparticles (PDP). Both PAD4 mRNA and protein, but not the other PAD isoforms, are detectable in the human platelets. With a strict filtering criterion,108 citrullination sites present on 76 proteins were identified in the human platelets, and 55 citrullinated modifications present on 37 different proteins were detected in the PDPs. Among them, some are well-known citrullinated autoantigens associated with RA. Citrullinated forms of thrombospondin-1, β-actin, and platelet factor-4 (also known as CXCL4) are highly immunogenic and bound by autoantibodies ACPA. Furthermore, ACPA from RA sera and synovial fluids recognized citrullinated proteins from platelets and significantly activated them as evidenced by P-selectin upregulation and sCD40 L secretion. These results clearly demonstrate the presence of citrullinated autoantigens in platelets and PDPs, thus could serve as potential targets of ACPA in RA. Copyright © 2023 Xu, Du, Xing, Chen, Wan, Wang, Xiong, Nandakumar, Holmdahl and Geng.Funding: The Natural Science Foundation of China (32170906), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University of Central China Normal University (CCNU20TS02112), and the Swedish Research Council (2019-01209).</p

Comparison of the inoculum effect of in vitro antibacterial activity of Imipenem/relebactam and Ceftazidime/avibactam against ESBL-, KPC- and AmpC-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract Objective To evaluate effect of inoculum size of extended-spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing-, AmpC-producing-, and KPC-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae on the in vitro antibacterial effects of imipenem/relebactam (IMR) and ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA). Methods We compared the impact of inoculum size on IMR and CZA of sixteen clinical isolates and three standard isolates through antimicrobial susceptibility tests, time-kill assays and in vitro PK/PD studies. Results When inoculum size increased from 105 to 107 CFU/mL, an inoculum effect was observed for 26.3% (5/19) and 52.6% (10/19) of IMR and CZA, respectively; time-kill assays revealed that the concentration of CZA increased from ≥ 4 × MIC to 16 × MIC to reach 99.9% killing rate against K. pneumoniae ATCC-BAA 1705 (KPC-2-, OXA-9- and SHV-182-producing) and 60,700 (SHV-27- and DHA-1-producing). While for IMR, a concentration from 1 × MIC to 4 × MIC killed 99.9% of the four strains. When the inoculum size increased to 109 CFU/mL, neither IMR nor CZA showed a detectable antibacterial effect, even at a high concentration. An in vitro PK/PD study revealed a clear bactericidal effect when IMR administered as 1.25 g q6h when inoculum size increased. Conclusion An inoculum effect on CZA was observed more frequent than that on IMR. Among the β-lactamase-producing strains, the inoculum effect was most common for SHV-producing and KPC-producing strains

BTF3 sustains cancer stem-like phenotype of prostate cancer via stabilization of BMI1

Abstract Background Cancer stem-like traits contribute to prostate cancer (PCa) progression and metastasis. Deciphering the novel molecular mechanisms underlying stem-like traits may provide important insight for developing novel therapeutics. Methods Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence assays in prostatic tissues; gain- and loss-of-function analyses using ectopic overexpression and shRNAs in PCa cell lines; measurements of tumorigenic and stemness properties, and transcription in vitro and in vivo; transcriptional analysis in public databases. Results We identified that overexpression of BTF3 in PCa tissues and BTF3 expression highly correlates to stem-like traits. Cancer stem-like characteristics in PCa including self-renewal and metastatic potential were impaired by BTF3 loss and promoted by BTF3 overexpression. Mechanistically, BTF3 could stabilize BMI1, which is a crucial regulator of prostate stem cell self-renewal. More importantly, our data revealed that BTF3 is highly predictive of poor prognosis and may help in risk stratification of PCa patients. Conclusions BTF3 promotes PCa progression though modeling stem-like traits in PCa. BTF3 represents a stratification marker in PCa progression and outcomes