The Independence of Signaling Pathways Mediating Increased Expression of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 1 in HepG2 Cells Exposed to Free Fatty Acids or Triglycerides

We have shown that both free fatty acids (FFA) and triglycerides (TG) increase expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in vivo and in vitro. To determine signaling mechanisms responsible, HepG2 cells were exposed to FFA, emulsified TG, or the combination. The combination of FFA and TG increased PAI-1 to a greater extent than either agent alone (fold induction: 0.45mM FFA 1.7±0.2, 1000mg/dl TG 1.9±0.1, both 2.3±0.2, n=10, p<0.05 for comparison of combination with either alone). Cells transfected with PAI-1 5' flanking region containing the 4G or 5G polymorphism displayed similar activity in response to FFA, but modestly greater activity with the 4G polymorphism in response to TG (fold induction: 5G-1.28±0.14 and 4G- 1.46±0.13, n=6, p<0.05 for comparison). Deletion analyses demonstrated that FFA and TG induce PAI-1 expression through distinct regions of the promoter. Inhibition of protein kinase C inhibited the response to FFA but not TG. Accordingly, increased FFA and TG contribute to increased PAI- I through independent mechanisms

Designing and querying XML views based on the ORA-SS data model

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A new MOF-5 homologue for selective separation of methane from C₂ hydrocarbons at room temperature

A new MOF-5 homologue compound UTSA-10 has been obtained under solvothermal conditions from a mixture of Zn(NO3)2⋅6H2O and commercially available linker, 2-methylfumaric acid, in N,N-dimethylformamide. The moderate surface area and suitable pore sizes enable the activated UTSA-10a to separate methane from C2 hydrocarbons at room temperature

Efficacy and safety of Ozone Therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B : A multicenter, randomized clinical trial [abstract]

Background. Ozone therapy has a long history. Some studies proved that ozone therapy was useful in treatment of virus hepatitis.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of new medical ozone therapy system for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Method. One hundred eighty-nine patients with chronic hepatitis B were included in this open-label, phase 3 study, and randomly assigned to receive ozone autohemotherapy with experimental ozone generator TianYi (group 1) or with ozone generator Humares (group 2) or oral diammonium glycyrrhizinate capsules (group 3) in a 1:1:1 ratio for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was sera HBV DNA level of less than 1×103 IU/ml or having a more than 2 log10 reduction in HBV DNA level at the end of 12 weeks treatment as compared to baseline HBV DNA level. Secondary end points included HBeAg seroconversion, biochemical response, and combined response. Results. At the end of 12 weeks treatment, the proportion of patients reached the primary end point of virologic response in group 1, group 2, and group 3 were 22.4% (13/58, 95% CI, 12.5 to 35.3), 14.7 (9/61, 95% CI, 7.0 to 26.2) and 3.9% (2/51, 95% CI, 0.5 to 13.5), respectively (p=0.021) in the pre-protocol population. Virologic response occurred in more patients receiving ozone therapy with experimental device than patients receiving oral diammonium glycyrrhizinate capsules (mean difference 18.5%, 95% CI 6.3 to 31.5, p=0.005). However, there was no statistical difference in VR12 rates between the treatment of medical ozone therapy system with experimental device (group 1) and with Humares (group 2) (mean difference 7.7%, 95% CI -6.5 to 22.0, p=0.282). More HBeAg seroconversion in patients treated by Tianyi ozone therapy system than those treated by Humares ozone therapy device and oral diammonium glycyrrhizinate capsules (14.8%, 5.1% and 7.3%, respectively, P = 0.272). Higher biochemical response rate was observes in patients receiving ozone therapy than oral diammonium glycyrrhizinate capsules (31.6%, 36.7% and 24.0%, respectively, p = 0.359). The safety profile was similar for the three treatment groups and adverse events were .scare infrequent and mild. Conclusions. Ozone therapy had superior antiviral efficacy with a similar safety profile as compared with oral diammonium glycyrrhizinate capsules through week 12 treatment. Ozone therapy is also associated with normalized ALT and AST levels, demonstrating that ozone therapy could benefit the patients with chronic hepatitis B

Optimisation for clamping force of aircraft composite structure assembly considering form defects and part deformations

Given the existence of manufacturing defects and the accumulation of assembly errors, non-compliant assembly appears between components, especially for composite structure assembly. In the engineering application, the clamping force (CF) is often used to eliminate the clearance between mating components, but the improper CF may result in unwanted structure failure. Thus, on the premise of ensuring the safety of composite parts, this study proposes a procedure to systematically optimise the assembly CF. Firstly, the components mating surfaces were obtained by laser scanner, and the matching of actual surfaces was transformed and simplified based on ‘equivalent surface’ concept. Then, a mathematical optimisation model was established. The CF layout and magnitude were taken as variables, and the clearance elimination rate and the overall assembly force value were employed as objective functions. Finally, the improved genetic algorithm (GA) was used to solve this problem. A parametric finite element analysis (FEA) model was built, and model accuracy was verified by physical experiments. The finite element calculation and post-processing were carried out by Python script in ABAQUS®. Compared to the engineer’s traditional approach, the influence of form defects and part deformations were considered, which can help control the assembly stress well and ensure product performance

Fretting wear analysis of spline couplings in agricultural tractor with axis deviation

The spline pair needs to transmit large alternating torque and other directional loads, which causes the fretting wear of the spline pair to be serious, which leads to the failure of the spline pair connection and reduces the reliability of the entire transmission system. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out research on fretting wear of spline pairs and improve the ability of splines to resist fretting wear. In this paper, based on the finite element method, a model considering the tooth fretting wear property of the agricultural tractor spline couplings model was developed to analyze changes of contact stress and relative slip distributions, in which the axis deviation was considered. The results show that axis deviation significantly increases the value of contact stress and relative slip in the spline couplings. With the increasing deviation, the value of contact stress and relative slip slightly raise accordingly. The friction coefficient shall not be too small when the system is lubricated. As a result, maintenance of the agricultural tractor transmission system can be required

Improved SnO2 Electron Transport Layers Solution-Deposited at Near Room Temperature for Rigid or Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells with High Efficiencies

Electron transport layer (ETL) is a functional layer of great significance for boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To date, it is still a challenge to simultaneously reduce the surface defects and improve the crystallinity in ETLs during their low-temperature processing. Here, a novel strategy for the mediation of in situ regrowth of SnO2 nanocrystal ETLs is reported: introduction of controlled trace amounts of surface absorbed water on the fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) or indium-tin oxide (ITO) surfaces of the substrates using ultraviolet ozone (UVO) pretreatment. The optimum amount of adsorbed water plays a key role in balancing the hydrolysis-condensation reactions during the structural evolution of SnO2 thin films. This new approach results in a full-coverage SnO2 ETL with a desirable morphology and crystallinity for superior optical and electrical properties, as compared to the control SnO2 ETL without the UVO pretreatment. Finally, the rigid and flexible PSC devices based on the new SnO2 ETLs yield high PCEs of up to 20.5% and 17.5%, respectively

Vektor Malaria Baru di Kabupaten Kotabaru, Provinsi Kalimantan Selatan, Indonesia

Nyamuk Anopheles merupakan vektor dari Malaria. Dari sekitar 400 spesies nyamuk Anopheles telah ditemukan 67 spesies dapat menularkan malaria dan 24 diantaranya ditemukan di Indonesia. Kabupaten Kotabaru merupakan kabupaten endemis malaria di Kalimantan Selatan. Data mengenai spesies vektor malaria spesifik pada suatu daerah sangat berperan penting sebagai salah satu bahan rekomendasi bagi tindak lanjut kebijakan pengendalian malaria. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui data vektor malaria di Kabupaten Kotabaru melalui uji PCR. Penelitian deskriptif dengan desain cross sectional. Penangkapan nyamuk dilakukan di Desa Siayuh Trans dan Magalau Hulu, tambang emas Kura-Kura dan Desa Muara Uri dengan metode penangkapan UOL, UOD, dinding dan kandang. Uji PCR dilaksanakan di laboratorium biomolekuler BBPPVRP Salatiga pada bulan Februari-April 2015. Hasil penangkapan nyamuk didapatkan 345 ekor nyamuk Anopheles yang terdiri dari 9 spesies: An. barbirostris, An. tesselatus, An. balabacensis, An. vagus, An. hyrcanus group, An. peditaeniatus, An. kochi, An. flavirostris, An. umbrosus. Seluruh nyamuk Anopheles yang didapatkan dibuat 56 pool sampel Anopheles sp untuk diuji PCR yang telah diklasifikasikan berdasarkan spesies, tanggal dan metode penangkapan. Hasil PCR terindentifikasi 3 spesies vektor malaria di Desa Siayuh Trans yaitu An. vagus, An. peditaeniatus dan An. tesselatus yang merupakan vektor malaria baru di Propinsi Kalimantan Selatan