299645 research outputs found
Sort by
Quantifying impacts of seabird bycatch using genetic assignment: A case study of black-footed albatross in U.S. fisheries
No full textCase Report: Neurolymphomatosis of the peripheral nerve as a presentation of relapsed pediatric high-grade B cell lymphoma
No full textNeurolymphomatosis (NL) of the peripheral nerve in pediatrics has never been reported, and ultrasonography (USG) as an investigation modality is rarely used. We report a case of an 11-year-old boy with stage 4 mature high-grade B cell lymphoma who presented with a two-week history of right ulnar neuropathy and left sciatic neuropathy one month after the completion of frontline chemotherapy. This case report illustrates the rare presentation of NL in lymphoma relapse and hopes to emphasize how early identification of this diagnosis and timely treatment are essential. Moreover, this case points out how USG, in the context of palpable mass and localized neurological signs, could facilitate a diagnosis of NL
Pursuit of Fabulous Outcomes in Complicated Type B Aortic Dissection: New Wine into an Old Bottle?
No full textModification of aggregation-prone regions of Arabidopsis glutamyl-tRNA reductase leads to increased stability while maintaining enzyme activity
Get PDFThe aggregation-prone region (APR) is a hydrophobic polypeptide motif that promotes protein aggregation, most commonly in the unfolded or misfolded state. It has been described that chaperones can shield the APRs of proteins, thereby preventing aggregate formation during de novo protein synthesis and stress response. Glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR) is a key enzyme in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis (TBS) which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis. The GluTR sequence contains two APRs located at the N-terminus, which are suggested to be associated with the dysregulation of protein homeostasis during folding and refolding processes or under stress conditions. It remains open if these APRs directly contribute to GluTR aggregation in vivo, and how their removal or the modification might impact the aggregation and stability. In this study, we altered and removed the GluTR-APRs to investigate their effects on the stability and enzymatic activity of GluTR. Deletion of the APRs has been shown to be highly disruptive to the structure of GluTR, and a substitution mutation of V→P in each APR has also lowered the GluTR stability and activity. In contrast, the mutation V→T resulted in a modest reduction (18–30%) in GluTR aggregation in vitro, which was associated with a 27% improvement in GluTR stability in vivo relative to the wild-type enzyme. These results indicate that a point mutation in APR can improve GluTR stability without significantly affecting enzyme activity, thus imposing a potential direction for bioengineering of GluTR to improve productivity of the TBS pathway in plants.published_or_final_versio
International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE): Working Paper Series, Vol. 348
No full textThe folk museum in Hong Kong—as both concept and practice—is part of a colonial effort at defining and packaging Chinese past. Following the establishment of Antiquities and Monuments Office in 1976, folk museum constitutes an institutional path to the heritagization of Chinese past, where the local traditional dwellings participated in framing the declaration of monuments towards the end of the colonial era in 1997. In the name of preserving objects of historical interests, there has been a spirit of pragmaticism throughout such processes under examination. Efforts were made to keep the evidence of Chinese architectural, agricultural and industrial traditions in situ. Surprisingly, the growing stress on integrity of different aspects of a heritage site was a result of the collaboration of stakeholders of increasing social complexity. This paper demonstrates the multi-layered process of turning traditional dwellings into folk museums through a broader picture of global-local circumstances. According to our examination of the traditional dwellings in Hong Kong’s heritage lists, such cases as Sheung Yiu Folk Museum and Sam Tung Uk Museum — discussed below as exemplars — were then carefully chosen in order to move the local heritage agenda. We illustrate the roles of varied stakeholders in the stretched interplay between preservation and urbanization, city fabric and rural lands, and colonialism and cosmopolitanism. published_or_final_versio
Ceramic-carbon Janus membrane for robust solar-thermal desalination
Get PDFThe desalination performance of conventional distillation membranes is limited by insufficient stability and energy efficiency, impeding their application in sustainable water production. Herein, we report a ceramic-carbon Janus membrane with solar-thermal functionality for enhanced desalination performance, energy efficiency, and stability for hypersaline water treatment. The feed and permeate sides of this Janus membrane are designed with different properties such as wettability, conductivity, and solar-thermal conversion to enhance performance. We demonstrate that this membrane exhibits higher solar-thermal efficiency (66.8–68.8%) and water flux (3.3–5.1 L m–2 h–1) than most existing polymeric solar-thermal distillation membranes. Simulation results ascribe enhanced performance to an increased membrane surface temperature, which mitigates temperature polarization and attenuation, thus enhancing the desalination driving force. The nano-carbon membrane surface accelerates water evaporation by inducing a transition from free water to intermediate water with decreased hydrogen bonding and a lower evaporation energy barrier. Water vapor molecules transport through the membrane pores by a combined mechanism of Knudsen diffusion and viscous flow. Even for seawater and hypersaline water, the membrane exhibits stable water flux and salt rejection due to its scaling-resistant surface and stable interfacial temperature. This work provides a strategy for rationally designing next-generation Janus membranes for sustainable water purification.published_or_final_versio
Invasive Big‐Headed Ants and Black Rats Are Dominant Arthropod Predators Across Opposing Habitats of a Degraded Oceanic Island
No full textInvasive animals threaten island-native arthropods with predation. We found that introduced ants and rats conducted 77% of experimental arthropod live bait predations on Ascension Island. Predation was mostly by big-headed ants Pheidole megacephala inland and around non-native vegetation, and by black rats Rattus rattus in coastal lowland habitats and caves.</p
Spatial dynamics of per capita building carbon emissions in the Greater Bay Area: Pathways to net zero carbon by 2060
No full textAchieving carbon neutrality by 2060 presents a critical challenge for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), a region contributing 12% of China's GDP with diverse urban forms and rapidly evolving energy demands. This study aims to provides a detailed spatial and temporal analysis of per capita building carbon emissions in the GBA from 2030 to 2060 under Business-As-Usual (BAU) and three Carbon Neutrality (CN) scenarios. With a fine spatial resolution of 500m x 500m, the study employs the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system for multi-scenario emissions predictions, and applies Random Forest Regression (RFR) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) to model spatial variability and identify key emission drivers. Results reveal significant spatial variability, with per capita emissions under BAU exceeding 420.7 tons/person in 2030 and decreasing only to 271.8 tons/person by 2060. Under CN1 and CN3, which emphasize aggressive decarbonization and carbon capture, the highest per capita emissions reach negative levels by 2060 in the key cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Population density, urban form, and land use are identified as influencing emissions patterns. This study highlights the need for localized strategies that combine both supply- and demand-side measures to achieve deep decarbonization. It encourages urban planners and policymakers to adopt green building practices, energy storage technologies, and strong policy frameworks to create sustainable urban environments. The framework can also be applied to other urban regions and emphasizes the importance of integrating technological innovations with tailored policies to reach a net-zero carbon built environment
Elucidating the roles of intestinal niche factors and their interactions in Hirschsprung disease through integrated analysis [Poster presentation]
No full textHirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a congenital disorder characterized by the absence of ganglion cells in the distal colon. Autologous or allogenic transplantation of enteric progenitor cells/neurons are considered as promising regenerative therapies for HSCR. However, the migration, differentiation, and functional integration of the grafted progenitor cells into the host gut are highly dependent on the interaction with the intestinal neural stem cell niche constituting the postnatal gut microenvironment. To date, the essential intestinal niche factors required for enteric neural crest cell migration and differentiation remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we conducted a pilot integrated analysis of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on aganglionic and ganglionic colonic segments of a small cohort of HSCR patients to identify the molecular signatures characterizing the niche environment of the colon of HSCR patients. The comparison of expressions in gene and transcript level between aganglionic and ganglionic segments revealed a related set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Enrichment analysis of the DEGs further emphasized signaling pathways pertinent to enteric nervous system development and function. In addition, scRNA-seq of colonic tissues from HSCR patients, including neuronal cells and other cell types, demonstrated complementary insights, showing the granularity of gene expression changes in individual cell populations. Moreover, to better understand the factors guiding early ENS development, we also employed a scRNA-seq dataset of mouse embryonic ENS models and through this model we analyzed cell-cell interactions and characterized the expression of key markers in the early stages of ENS generation—insights that can inform how transplanted cells might integrate into the gut in human HSCR. By integrating WGS, RNA-seq, and scRNA-seq datasets, this study provides a glimpse into the potential intestinal niche factors dysregulated in HSCR patients.published_or_final_versio