12508 research outputs found
Sort by
Revascularisation of type 2 diabetics with coronary artery disease: Insights and therapeutic targeting of O-GlcNAcylation
Get PDFYesCoronary artery bypass graft (CABG) using autologous saphenous vein continues to be a gold standard procedure to restore the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscles in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, CAD patients with T2DM are at higher risk of graft failure. While failure rates have been reduced through improvements in procedure-related factors, much less is known about the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which T2DM initiates vein graft failure. This review gives novel insights into these cellular and molecular mechanisms and identifies potential therapeutic targets for development of new medicines to improve vein graft patency.
One important cellular process that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of T2DM is protein O-GlcNAcylation, a dynamic, reversible post-translational modification of serine and threonine residues on target proteins that is controlled by two enzymes: O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). Protein O-GlcNAcylation impacts a range of cellular processes, including trafficking, metabolism, inflammation and cytoskeletal organisation. Altered O-GlcNAcylation homeostasis have, therefore, been linked to a range of human pathologies with a metabolic component, including T2DM.
We propose that protein O-GlcNAcylation alters vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cell function through modification of specific protein targets which contribute to the vascular re-modelling responsible for saphenous vein graft failure in T2DM
Understanding AI adoption in manufacturing and production firms using an integrated TAM-TOE model
No full textYesThis study aims to identify how environmental, technological, and social factors influence the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the context of digital manufacturing. The Industry 4.0 era has brought a breakthrough in advanced technologies in fields such as nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, fifth-generation wireless technology, fully autonomous vehicles, 3D printing and so on. In this study, we attempted to identify the socioenvironmental and technological factors that influence the adoption of artificial intelligence embedded technology by digital manufacturing and production organizations. In doing so, the extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework is used to explore the applicability of Industry 4.0. A conceptual model was proposed that used an integrated technology acceptance model (TAM)-TOE model and was tested using survey-based data collected from 340 employees of small, medium and large organizations. The results highlight that all the relationships, except organizational readiness, organizational compatibility and partner support on perceived ease of use, were found to be significant in the context of digital manufacturing and production organizations. The results further indicated that leadership support acts as a countable factor to moderate such an adoption
Solution processed PVB/mica flake coatings for the encapsulation of organic solar cells
Get PDFYesOrganic photovoltaics (OPVs) die due to their interactions with environmental gases, i.e., moisture and oxygen, the latter being the most dangerous, especially under illumination, due to the fact that most of the active layers used in OPVs are extremely sensitive to oxygen. In this work we demonstrate solution-based effective barrier coatings based on composite of poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB)and mica flakes for the protection of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based organic solar cells (OSCs)against photobleaching under illumination conditions. In the first step we developed a protective layer with cost effective and environmentally friendly methods and optimized its properties in terms of transparency, barrier improvement factor, and bendability. The developed protective layer maintained a high transparency in the visible region and improved oxygen and moisture barrier quality by the factor of ~7. The resultant protective layers showed ultra-flexibility, as no significant degradation in protective characteristics were observed after 10 K bending cycles. In the second step, a PVB/mica composite layer was applied on top of the P3HT film and subjected to photo-degradation. The P3HT films coated with PVB/mica composite showed improved stability under constant light irradiation and exhibited a loss of <20% of the initial optical density over the period of 150 h. Finally, optimized barrier layers were used as encapsulation for organic solar cell (OSC) devices. The lifetime results confirmed that the stability of the OSCs was extended from few hours to over 240 h in a sun test (65◦C, ambient RH%) which corresponds to an enhanced lifetime by a factor of 9 compared to devices encapsulated with pristine PVB.Higher Education Commission of Pakistan through NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan and “The APC was funded by Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University for funding through Vice Deanship of Scientific Research Chairs”
Health-risk assessment for roof-harvested rainwater via QMRA in Ikorodu area, Lagos, Nigeria
Get PDFYesThis paper presents a study to assess the roof-harvested rainwater (RHRW) in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, Nigeria, and recommends guidance to minimise the health risk for its households. The types, design and use of rainwater harvesting systems have been evaluated in the study area to inspect the human risk of exposure to Escherichia coli (E. coli). To achieve these objectives, a detailed survey
involving 125 households has been conducted which showed that 25% of them drink RHRW. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) analysis has been used to quantify the risk of exposure to harmful E. coli from RHRW utilised as potable water, based on the ingestion of 2 L of rainwater per
day per capita. Results have revealed that the maximum E. coli exposure risk from the consumption of RHRW, without application of any household water treatment technique (HHTTs) and with application of alum only, were 100 and 96 respectively, for the estimated number of infection risk per 10,000
exposed households per year. This estimation has been done based on 7% of E. coli as viable and harmful. Conclusively, it is necessary that a form of disinfectant be applied to the RHRW before use
Sustainability and the Circular Economy
No full textNoSustainability is a triad including techno-economic efficiency, compatibility with the “Planetary Boundaries”, and equity - enabling a decent quality of life for all. Circular Economy models often focus only on closing material flows in order to increase economic activity or market share. This overlooks the equity dimension. Here we focus on the Performance Economy, which extends the Circular Economy in ways that can enhance equity. The Performance Economy model concentrates on making best use of stocks in the economy, including labour which is a renewable resource. Extending product life through re-use, remanufacturing and reprocessing and shifting from non-renewable inputs (including energy) to renewable inputs (including labour) can improve resource efficiency and increase the supply of rewarding employment. The Performance Economy requires changes in business practices more than technological innovation, including a different view of the functions of value chains, and can be promoted by different approaches to taxation
Handbook of tissue engineering scaffolds: Volume Two
No full textNoThis title provides a comprehensive and authoritative review on recent advancements in the application and use of composite scaffolds in tissue engineering. Chapters focus on specific tissue/organ (mostly on the structure and anatomy), the materials used for treatment, natural composite scaffolds, synthetic composite scaffolds, fabrication techniques, innovative materials and approaches for scaffolds preparation, host response to the scaffolds, challenges and future perspectives, and more. Bringing all the information together in one major reference, the authors systematically review and summarise recent research findings, thus providing an in-depth understanding of scaffold use in different body systems
Co-creating social licence for sharing health and care data
Get PDFYesOptimising the use of patient data has the potential to produce a transformational change in healthcare planning, treatment, condition prevention and understanding disease progression. Establishing how people's trust could be secured and a social licence to share data could be achieved is of paramount importance.
The study took place across Yorkshire and the Humber, in the North of the England, using a sequential mixed methods approach comprising focus groups, surveys and co-design groups. Twelve focus groups explored people's response to how their health and social care data is, could, and should be used. A survey examined who should be able to see health and care records, acceptable uses of anonymous health and care records, and trust in different organisations. Case study cards addressed willingness for data to be used for different purposes. Co-creation workshops produced a set of guidelines for how data should be used.
Focus group participants (n = 80) supported sharing health and care data for direct care and were surprised that this is not already happening. They discussed concerns about the currency and accuracy of their records and possible stigma associated with certain diagnoses, such as mental health conditions. They were less supportive of social care access to their records. They discussed three main concerns about their data being used for research or service planning: being identified; security limitations; and the potential rationing of care on the basis of information in their record such as their lifestyle choices. Survey respondents (n = 1031) agreed that their GP (98 %) and hospital doctors and nurses (93 %) should be able to see their health and care records. There was more limited support for pharmacists (37 %), care staff (36 %), social workers (24 %) and researchers (24 %). Respondents thought their health and social care records should be used to help plan services (88 %), to help people stay healthy (67 %), to help find cures for diseases (67 %), for research for the public good (58 %), but only 16 % for commercial research. Co-creation groups developed a set of principles for a social licence for data sharing based around good governance, effective processes, the type of organisation, and the ability to opt in and out.
People support their data being shared for a range of purposes and co-designed a set of principles that would secure their trust and consent to data sharing.This work was supported by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSTRC)
The role of mobile phones as a possible pathway for pathogen movement, a cross-sectional microbial analysis
Get PDFYesIntroduction: Mobile phones are used the world over, including in healthcare settings. This study aimed to investigate the viable microbial colonisation of mobile phones used by healthcare personnel. Methods: Swabs collected on the same day from 30 mobile phones belonging to healthcare workers from three separate paediatric wards of an Australian hospital were cultured on five types of agar plate, then colonies from each phone were pooled, extracted and sequenced by shotgun metagenomics. Questionnaires completed by staff whose phones were sampled assisted in the analysis and interpretation of results. Results and discussion: All phones sampled cultured viable bacteria. Overall, 399 bacterial operational taxonomic units were identified from 30 phones, with 1432 cumulative hits. Among these were 58 recognised human pathogenic and commensal bacteria (37 Gram-negative, 21 Gram-positive). The total number of virulence factor genes detected was 347, with 1258 cumulative hits. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were detected on all sampled phones and overall, 133 ARGs were detected with 520 cumulative hits. The most important classes of ARGs detected encoded resistance to beta-lactam, aminoglycoside and macrolide antibiotics and efflux pump mediated resistance mechanisms. Conclusion: Mobile phones carry viable bacterial pathogens and may act as fomites by contaminating the hands of their users and indirectly providing a transmission pathway for hospital-acquired infections and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Further research is needed, but meanwhile adding touching mobile phones to the five moments of hand hygiene is a simple infection control strategy worth considering in hospital and community settings. Additionally, the implementation of practical and effective guidelines to decontaminate mobile phone devices would likely be beneficial to the hospital population and community at large
Using long term simulations to understand heat transfer processes during steady flow conditions in combined sewers
Get PDFYesThis paper describes a new heat transfer parameterisation between wastewater and insewer air based on understanding the physical phenomena observed in free surface wastewater and in-sewer air. Long-term wastewater and in-sewer air temperature data were collected and studied to indicate the importance of considering the heat exchange with in-sewer air and the relevant seasonal changes. The new parameterisation was based on the physical flow condition variations. Accurate modelling of wastewater temperature in linked combined sewers is needed to assess the feasibility of in-sewer heat recovery. Historically, the heat transfer coefficient between wastewater and in-sewer air has been estimated using simple empirical relationships. The newly developed parameterisation was implemented and validated using independent long-term flow and temperature datasets. Predictive accuracy of wastewater temperatures was investigated using a Taylor diagram, where absolute errors and correlations between modelled and observed values were plotted for different site sizes and seasons. The newly developed coefficient improved wastewater temperature modelling accuracy, compared with the older empirical approaches, which resulted in predicting more potential for heat recovery from large sewer networks. For individual locations, the RMSE between observed and predicted temperatures ranged between 0.15 and 0.5 °C with an overall average of 0.27 °C. Previous studies showed higher RMSE ranges, e.g., between 0.12 and 7.8 °C, with overall averages of 0.35, 0.42 and 2 °C. The new coefficient has also provided stable values at various seasons and minimised the number of required model inputs
Self-aeration development and fully cross-sectional air diffusion in high-speed open channel flows
Get PDFYesSelf-aeration in open channel flows occurs owing to free surface air entrainment. Self-aeration development and fully cross-sectional distribution of air concentration are not thoroughly understood. In the present study, an analytical solution for the averaged cross-sectional air concentration in the gradually varying region is established using a simplified mechanism of free surface air entrainment. For a fully cross-sectional distribution of air concentration affected by the channel bottom, a model of a diffusion region without wall restraint is proposed, and two situations are classified based on averaged cross-sectional air concentration. Good agreement between measured data and calculations is obtained, and the computational accuracy of the air concentration distribution near the wall is improved. The results reveal that the channel slope determines the air entrainment quantity, while water flow discharge determines the self-aeration evolution distance. The solutions for the averaged cross-sectional air concentration and the effect of the bottom wall on air diffusion promote air–water flow applications in hydraulic engineering practices.This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 51939007, 51979183]; Sichuan Province Science and Technology support program [grant number 2019JDTD0007]