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“Intestinimonas massiliensis” sp. nov, a new bacterium isolated from human gut
No full textAbstractHere we report the main features of the proposed new bacterial species “Intestinimonas massiliensis” sp. nov. The type strain GD2T (CSUR=P1930) was isolated from the gut microbiota of a healthy patient using a culturomics approach combined with taxonogenomics
Cell membrane modulation as adjuvant in cancer therapy
No full textAbstractCancer is a complex disease involving numerous biological processes, which can exist in parallel, can be complementary, or are engaged when needed and as such can replace each other. This redundancy in possibilities cancer cells have, are fundamental to failure of therapy. However, intrinsic features of tumor cells and tumors as a whole provide also opportunities for therapy. Here we discuss the unique and specific makeup and arrangement of cell membranes of tumor cells and how these may help treatment. Interestingly, knowledge on cell membranes and associated structures is present already for decades, while application of membrane modification and manipulation as part of cancer therapy is lagging. Recent developments of scientific tools concerning lipids and lipid metabolism, opened new and previously unknown aspects of tumor cells and indicate possible differences in lipid composition and membrane function of tumor cells compared to healthy cells. This field, coined Lipidomics, demonstrates the importance of lipid components in cell membrane in several illnesses. Important alterations in cancer, and specially in resistant cancer cells compared to normal cells, opened the door to new therapeutic strategies. Moreover, the ability to modulate membrane components and/or properties has become a reality. Here, developments in cancer-related Lipidomics and strategies to interfere specifically with cancer cell membranes and how these affect cancer treatment are discussed. We hypothesize that combination of lipid or membrane targeted strategies with available care to improve chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy will bring the much needed change in treatment in the years to come
Classifying injury narratives of large administrative databases for surveillance—A practical approach combining machine learning ensembles and human review
No full textAbstractInjury narratives are now available real time and include useful information for injury surveillance and prevention. However, manual classification of the cause or events leading to injury found in large batches of narratives, such as workers compensation claims databases, can be prohibitive. In this study we compare the utility of four machine learning algorithms (Naïve Bayes, Single word and Bi-gram models, Support Vector Machine and Logistic Regression) for classifying narratives into Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Injury and Illness event leading to injury classifications for a large workers compensation database. These algorithms are known to do well classifying narrative text and are fairly easy to implement with off-the-shelf software packages such as Python. We propose human-machine learning ensemble approaches which maximize the power and accuracy of the algorithms for machine-assigned codes and allow for strategic filtering of rare, emerging or ambiguous narratives for manual review. We compare human-machine approaches based on filtering on the prediction strength of the classifier vs. agreement between algorithms.Regularized Logistic Regression (LR) was the best performing algorithm alone. Using this algorithm and filtering out the bottom 30% of predictions for manual review resulted in high accuracy (overall sensitivity/positive predictive value of 0.89) of the final machine-human coded dataset. The best pairings of algorithms included Naïve Bayes with Support Vector Machine whereby the triple ensemble NBSW=NBBI-GRAM=SVM had very high performance (0.93 overall sensitivity/positive predictive value and high accuracy (i.e. high sensitivity and positive predictive values)) across both large and small categories leaving 41% of the narratives for manual review. Integrating LR into this ensemble mix improved performance only slightly.For large administrative datasets we propose incorporation of methods based on human-machine pairings such as we have done here, utilizing readily-available off-the-shelf machine learning techniques and resulting in only a fraction of narratives that require manual review. Human-machine ensemble methods are likely to improve performance over total manual coding
Fulminant ecchymosis as the initial manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) triggered by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection: A case report and review of the literature
No full textAbstractWe present a unique and informative instance of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), and discuss this case in the context of the literature addressing the immunopathogenesis of APS associated with diverse infections. We describe the case of a 43-year-old man with no significant past medical history who presented with the acute onset of fever, hemoptysis, and extensive bullous, ecchymotic lesions in both lower extremities. Punch biopsy of the lesion demonstrated thrombotic vasculopathy. Further evaluation revealed serum antiphospholipid antibodies as well as a positive RSV PCR in a nasal swab specimen. Clinical manifestations, positive laboratory and pathological findings were strongly suggestive of APS associated with a recent RSV infection. When an infectious etiology is considered for APS, RSV should also be included in the differential diagnosis
A new fluorescence-based method for characterizing in vitro aerosol exposure systems
No full textAbstractKnowledge of how an in vitro aerosol exposure system delivers a test aerosols to the biological test system is among the most crucial prerequisites for the interpretation of exposure experiments and relies on detailed exposure system characterization. Although various methods for this purpose exist, many of them are time consuming, require extensive instrumentation, or offer only limited ability to assess the performance of the system under experimental settings. We present the development and evaluation of a new, highly robust and sensitive fluorometry-based method for assessing the particle size specific delivery of liquid aerosols.Glycerol aerosols of different mean particle sizes and narrow size distributions, carrying the fluorophore disodium fluorescein, were generated in a condensation monodisperse aerosol generator. Their detailed characterization confirmed their stability and the robustness and reproducibility of their generation. Test exposures under relevant experimental settings in the Vitrocell® 24/48 aerosol exposure system further confirmed their feasibility for simulating exposures and the high sensitivity of the method.Potential applications of the presented method range from the experimental confirmation of computationally simulated particle dynamics, over the characterization of in vitro aerosol exposure systems, to the detailed description of aerosol delivery in test systems of high complexity
A PPy-B15C5 modified lanthanum (III) electrode in acetonitrile and its thermodynamic application
No full textAbstractPolypyrrole modified electrode prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of a complexing ligand, benzo-15-crown-5 (B15C5), was prepared and investigated as a La3+-selective electrode in acetonitrile. The potentiometric response of the electrode was linear within the La3+ concentration range 1×10−4 to 1×10−1M with a Nernstian slope of 19.5mV decade−1 in AN. The electrode was applied to study the complexation of the lanthanum (III) ion in acetonitrile with other basic solvent molecules (D) such as dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, propylene carbonate, N,N,Diethylaniline and methanol. The successive complex formation constant (βi) and Gibbs energies of transfer (ΔGtr) of La3+ in AN in relation to such D were obtained
Energy efficiency of a concentration gradient flow battery at elevated temperatures
No full textAbstractFast growth of intermittent renewable energy generation introduces a need for large scale electricity storage. The Concentration Gradient Flow Battery (CGFB) is an emerging technology which combines Electrodialysis with Reverse Electrodialysis into a flow battery which is able to safely store very large amounts of energy in environmental friendly NaCl solutions. In this work, (dis)charge efficiency, energy density and power density are both theoretically and experimentally investigated. Fifteen constant current experiments (−47.5 to +37.5 A m−2) are performed at 40 °C and two experiments (−32.5 and 15 A m−2) at 10 and 25 °C. The magnitudes of the three main energy dissipation sources (internal resistance, water transport and co-ion transport) are measured and mitigation strategies are proposed. The effect of current density, state of charge and temperature on the dissipation sources is analysed. Water transport is shown to cause hysteresis, lower (dis)charge efficiencies and lower energy capacity. At constant current and with increasing temperature, internal resistance is reduced but unwanted water transport is increased. This study reports charge efficiencies up to 58% and discharge efficiencies up to 72%. Full charge or discharge of the battery is shown inefficient. The optimal operating range is therefore introduced and identified (concentration difference Δm > 0.5 and energy efficiency η > 0.4)
Balancing technical and user objectives in the redesign of a peruvian cookstove
No full textAbstractOver the past decade a large amount of research has been dedicated in academic literature to improving the technical capabilities of improved cookstoves; primarily the performance efficiency and reduction of emissions. Unfortunately, as published literature has highlighted, the trade-offs that result from placing such a concentrated emphasis on these technical objectives is that improved cookstoves lack the same level of usability as the traditional cookstoves. Thus, users often return to using their traditional stoves and the potential impact of the improved cookstoves is never fully realized. In order for improved cookstoves to have greater impact, there must be better balance between the two competing design objectives of technical capabilities and usability. This paper explores the challenges and benefits associated with achieving the appropriate balance, and demonstrates its application through the modification of a traditional cookstove used in the Tambogrande region of Peru. This modification includes an inexpensive set of pot skirts that integrate directly with the traditional stove. These pot skirts allow for varying sizes and number of pots, and the use of traditional fuels. Laboratory testing, using the Water Boiling Test (WBT), identified the skirts' technical improvements: 41.7% increased thermal efficiency, 32.7% decreased fuel consumption, 28.8% decreased time to boil. Field testing was performed to determine the pot skirts acceptance and compatibility with the traditional cookstoves, with over 75% of the participants recognizing some type of benefit. Although the technical improvements of these pot skirts are less than other cookstoves on the market, the higher levels of usability are likely to lead to a more positive end-user reaction, which could potentially lead to higher rates of adoption and impact. Though these results are primarily focused on the application of improved cookstoves, the need for more balance between technical and user objectives is applicable to nearly all products being designed for the developing world