Electrical conductivity and electrochemical studies of Cr-doped MoO3 nanoflakes for energy storage applications.

The growing demand for electricity has increased the interest of the researchers towards exploration of energy storing devices (ESDs). With the motif for developing electrochemical energy storage devices, this research work is focussed on the study of MoO3 nanoparticles and its doping with chromium as an efficient electrode material for energy storage applications. The nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method and were examined by powder X-ray diffraction, which determined the thermodynamically stable orthorhombic phase of MoO3, and their morphologies were examined using scanning electron microscopy displaying flake-like structures. The typical vibrational bands of Mo-O were identified from Infra-red and Raman spectral analysis. The ultra violet diffuse reflectance spectra revealed the decrease in optical band gap after doping with chromium. The temperature dependent AC and DC conductivities were enhanced on doping. Electrochemical behaviour of the nanoparticles was probed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) analysis for which specific capacitance (C sp) value of 334 Fg-1 was achieved for Cr-doped MoO3 nanoparticles. The electrochemical performance of the sample was found to be increased after doping with Cr.

Integrative study of Permian coal-bearing horizons: biostratigraphy, palaeovegetation, and palaeoclimate in the South Karanpura Basin.

The article deals with the integrated and comprehensive study of the coal-bearing horizons from the South Karanpura Basin to delineate the biostratigraphy, palaeovegetation, palaeodepositional settings, and palaeoclimate in and around the investigated area during the deposition of Permian sediments. Highly diversified megafloral assemblages consist 13 genera and 72 species of order Glossopteridales, Cordaitales and Equisetales are documented among which 37 taxa are newly reported from Barakar and Raniganj formations of the area. Palynoassemblages-I and -II are recovered, which demonstrate the biostratigraphic age as Kungurian and Wordian-Capitanian, respectively. Overall the vegetation represents a luxuriant forest subjugated by arborescent deciduous trees bearing Glossopteris foliage with some conifers, cordaites, filicales, and peltaspermales. The biomarker study of the basin illustrates the unimodal distribution of n-alkanes in the sample set ranges from C14 to C29 which suggests major input from a single source of organic matter. The involvement of microbial activity and algal input is suggested for the basin. A relatively moderate-to-high water level condition can be inferred from elevated n-C25. The high CIA, PIA values and A-CN-K plot suggest intense weathering conditions in the source area. The source rocks are characterized by mature clayey type with abundant clay mineral, i.e., kaolinite. The current study portrays that the Permian climate was cooler in initial phase, which later on became warm temperate with high humidity. The palaeofloral entities and geochemical parameters suggest absolute diversification of Permian flora, the existence of continental freshwater setting in the vicinity and oxic to anoxic environment with fluctuating ground water conditions during the deposition of sediments.

Computed time average digital holographic fringe pattern under random excitation.

Time average digital holography under random excitation or square wave excitation is established as an on-site non-destructive testing tool for defect detection in large metallic and composite sandwich structures due to its high sensitivity, single exposure interferogram, and fast inspection capability. However, extensive calibration studies are necessary to corroborate the defect type and defect size with the excitation frequency range and excitation magnitude. In this paper, a method to simulate a time average digital holographic fringe pattern under random excitation is proposed with the idea to minimize the number of calibration experiments and also for better evaluation of the size and type of defect. The proposed method circumvents the requirement for a closed form expression for the complex characteristic fringe function for time average interferometry under random excitation. The computed fringe pattern is illustratively compared with an experimental time average digital holographic fringe pattern.

Recurrence analysis of surface pressure characteristics over symmetrical aerofoil.

We study the surface pressure data exhibiting the underlying dynamical behavior of the flow transition over the upper surface of the aerofoil by using recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). In this study, NACA 2415 aerofoil subjected to a turbulent inflow of TI=8.46% at various angles of attack ranging from α=0° to 20° with an increment of 5° corresponding to Re=2.0×105 is considered. We show that the values of recurrence quantification measures effectively distinguish the underlying dynamics of time series surface pressure data at each port, which proves RQA as an effective tool in accurately predicting the flow transitions.

Digital holographic study on the dynamic response of plates with geometric and material discontinuities simulating potted-insert metallic honeycomb sandwich structures.

The inspection of face sheet bonding, through optical interferometry techniques like holography and shearography, in potted-insert honeycomb-cored sandwich panels is different from the inspection of panels without inserts due to their complex response toward thermal and vibration stressing. In this paper, the dynamic responses of metallic honeycomb-cored sandwich structures with bonded and debonded inserts are studied using time-averaged digital holography and illustrated. At high frequencies, the face sheet regions at perfectly bonded inserts act as hard points, and regions across a debonded insert locally resonate in the sensitivity range of interferometry. Since the discontinuities created by such inserts are very complex to simulate numerically, we simulate potted-insert sandwich structures through plates with multiple holes and with multiple fully and partially bonded local stiffeners to validate this fast inspection procedure. The simulated dynamic response of the plates is compared with the time-averaged digital holography results. The operational deflection shapes near stiffeners are similar to those of fully potted inserts in a sandwich panel. Thus, the extent of debond can be evaluated at high frequencies as simulated through partially bonded stiffeners.

The PNPLA3 I148M variant is associated with transaminase elevations in type 2 diabetes patients treated with basal insulin peglispro.

Basal insulin peglispro (BIL) is a novel insulin with hepato-preferential action. In phase 3 trials, BIL showed significantly improved glycemic control but higher levels of transaminases (alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)), triglycerides (TGs) and liver fat content (LFC) compared with insulin glargine (GL). As variants in PNPLA3 (I148M) and TM6SF2 (E167K) are associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, we assessed these variants in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients randomized to receive BIL (n=1822) or GL (n=1270) in three phase 3 trials. Magnetic resonance imaging assessments of LFC were conducted in a subset of patients (n=296). Analyses showed α-corrected significant increases in change from baseline in AST (P=0.0004) and nominal increases in ALT (P=0.019), and LFC (P=0.035) for PNPLA3 (148M/M) genotypes in the BIL arm at 26 weeks but no significant associations in GL. PNPLA3 (148M/M) was also associated with increases in total cholesterol (P=0.014) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.005) but not with hemoglobin A1c or TG. T2D patients with the PNPLA3 (148M/M) genotype treated with BIL may be more susceptible to increased liver fat deposition. The current data provide further insights into the biological role of PNPLA3 in lipid metabolism.

Acid stress induces differential accumulation of metabolites in Escherichia coli O26:H11.

AIMS: Acid exposure induces accumulation of certain metabolites in bacteria. The experimental objective was to identify the primary metabolites accumulating in Escherichia coli O26:H11 as a function of acid (pH 3·6) exposure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Different buffers of pH 7·5 and 3·6 were used to study the metabolites accumulating in E. coli O26:H11 cells during such pH exposure. After 24 h of acid exposure, there was a 7-log decline in E. coli populations on trypticase soy agar plates. Untargeted metabolomic analysis identified 293 primary metabolites of which 145 metabolites were differentially (P < 0·01) accumulating between pH 7·5 and 3·6 in E. coli O26:H11. CONCLUSIONS: After 24 h of acid exposure, 21 different metabolic pathways appeared to be functional, suggesting that the cells were still metabolically active. Among the identifiable pathways, the key differentially expressed pathways were associated with peptidoglycan biosynthesis, purine metabolism, d-Glutamine/d-glutamate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and inositol phosphate metabolism. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Shiga toxin producing non-O157 E. coli strains such as E. coli O26 are responsible for a growing number of food-related illnesses in the United States and around the world. From food production to consumption, micro-organisms in foods experience dramatic pH fluctuations by organic acids introduced either during food processing or by inorganic acids in the stomach. Acid exposure induces specific metabolite accumulation in bacterial cells. Understanding the survival mechanisms of pathogenic micro-organisms by studying the metabolome would be helpful in introducing effective hurdles and thus ensuring food safety.

Influence of ionizing radiation on the antimicrobial activity of the antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim.

The response of the antimicrobial compounds sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP) - individually and in mixtures - to ionizing radiation was investigated using laboratory prepared mixtures and a commercial pharmaceutical formulation. The residual antibacterial activity of the solutions was monitored using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli test strains. Based on antibacterial activity, SMX was more susceptible to ionizing radiation as compared to TMP. The antibacterial activity of SMX and TMP was completely eliminated at 0.2 kGy and 0.8 kGy, respectively. However, when SMX and TMP were in a mixture, the dose required to eliminate the antibacterial activity was 10 kGy, implying a synergistic antibacterial activity when these are present in mixtures. Only when the antibiotic concentration was below the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of TMP (i.e., 2 µmol dm-3) did the antibacterial activity of the SMX and TMP mixture disappear. These results imply that the synergistic antimicrobial activity of antimicrobial compounds in pharmaceutical waste streams is a strong possibility. Therefore, antimicrobial activity assays should be included when evaluating the use of ionizing radiation technology for the remediation of pharmaceutical or municipal waste streams.

High throughput sequencing reveals a novel fabavirus infecting sweet cherry.

The genus Fabavirus currently consists of five species represented by viruses that infect a wide range of hosts but none reported from temperate climate fruit trees. A virus with genomic features resembling fabaviruses (tentatively named Prunus virus F, PrVF) was revealed by high throughput sequencing of extracts from a sweet cherry tree (Prunus avium). PrVF was subsequently shown to be graft transmissible and further identified in three other non-symptomatic Prunus spp. from different geographical locations. Two genetic variants of RNA1 and RNA2 coexisted in the same samples. RNA1 consisted of 6,165 and 6,163 nucleotides, and RNA2 consisted of 3,622 and 3,468 nucleotides.

Investigation on vibration excitation of debonded sandwich structures using time-average digital holography.

Sandwich structures, in the modern aerospace industry, are more sought after due to their high strength to stiffness ratio resulting in significant weight gains. Optical techniques like time-average holography and shearography are preferred in industries for inspection of huge sandwich and composite panels because of whole-field (full coverage) inspection in a lesser time leading to large savings in cost. These techniques conventionally use sinusoidal frequency sweep to capture the local resonance of defective regions. This paper highlights the difficulties with the conventional approach of time-average digital holography (TADH) and proposes a novel defect identification strategy through square wave excitation. The proposed method enhances the speed and accuracy of inspection; thereby it saves cost and increases confidence level. Extensive experiments have been carried out using honeycomb sandwich panels to demonstrate the methodology.

Ultrasound during mid-gestation: Agreement with physical foetal and placental measurements and use in predicting gestational age in sheep.

To determine the effects of poor maternal nutrition and litter size on foetal growth during mid-gestation, pregnant ewes (n = 82) were fed 100%, 60% or 140% of NRC TDN beginning at day 30.2 ± 0.2 of gestation. Transabdominal ultrasound was performed weekly between day 46.0 ± 0.4 and 86.0 ± 0.7 to monitor foetal heart width (HW), umbilical diameter (UMB), rib width (RW) and placentome outer (OD) and inner diameter (ID). Data were analysed with repeated-measures using the mixed procedure for effects of maternal diet, litter size and gestation, and equations predictive of gestational age were generated using the regression procedure. To determine the agreement of ultrasound measurement and actual size, ewes (n = 20-21) were euthanized at day 45 or 90 to obtain corresponding postmortem measurements for Bland-Altman analysis. The HW, UMB and placentome OD and ID increased with gestation (p < .0001) but were unaffected by maternal diet or litter size (p ≥ .12). Ultrasound underestimated postmortem measurements of HW (14.8%), UMB (7.3%), placentome OD (4.5%) and ID (37.3%) at day 90 of gestation. Ultrasound underestimated RW at day 45 (7.7%) but overestimated RW (23.8%) at day 90, indicating inconsistent bias when reporting RW by ultrasound. Combining the HW, UMB, RW and placentome OD generated the strongest equation predictive of gestational age (R2  = .91). These findings indicate that during mid-gestation, maternal diet or litter size did not affect HW, UMB or placentome diameters and these factors can be used to estimate gestational age.

Does Addition of Propolis to Glass Ionomer Cement Alter its Physicomechanical Properties? An In Vitro Study.

Propolis is a natural resinous substance produced by honey bees. The antimicrobial effects of glass ionomer cement have been shown to improve with the addition of propolis; however its effect on the physicomechanical properties of the cement is not known. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the compressive strength and solubility of conventional restorative glass ionomer cement following the addition of propolis. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty half cylindrical samples were prepared with conventional restorative glass ionomer cement formed the control group. Another twenty samples were prepared with propolis added to conventional restorative glass ionomer cement formed the experimental group. The compressive strength was assessed using universal testing machine. To assess solubility, the samples were immersed in deionised water at room temperature, for 7 days. The solubility was measured as a difference in the weight of the sample; prior to immersion and following immersion at the end of each day. RESULTS: The control group had a significantly higher mean compressive strength of 146.26 Mpa as compared to the experimental group (135.06 Mpa). The solubility between the groups was significant. CONCLUSION: In comparison to the control group, incorporation of propolis to conventional restorative glass ionomer cement decreased the compressive strength significantly. The solubility of the cement in the experimental group increased significantly over 7day period as compared to the control group.

High-Throughput Sequencing Identifies Novel Viruses in Nectarine: Insights to the Etiology of Stem-Pitting Disease.

Recent studies have shown the superiority of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology over many standard protocols for pathogen detection. HTS was initiated on fruit tree accessions from disparate sources to improve and advance virus-testing procedures. A virus with genomic features resembling most closely that of the recently described Nectarine stem-pitting-associated virus, putative member of genus Luteovirus, was found in three nectarine trees (Prunus persica cv. nectarina), each exhibiting stem-pitting symptoms on the woody cylinder above the graft union. In these samples, HTS also revealed the presence of a coinfecting virus with genome characteristics typical of members of the genus Marafivirus. The same marafivirus- and luteovirus-like viruses were detected in nonsymptomatic nectarine and peach selections, indicating only a loose relationship between these two viruses with nectarine stem-pitting disease symptoms. Two selections infected with each of these viruses had previously tested free of known virus or virus-like agents using the current biological, serological, and molecular tests employed at the Clean Plant Center Northwest. Overall, this study presents the characterization by HTS of novel marafivirus- and luteovirus-like viruses of nectarine, and provides further insights into the etiology of nectarine stem-pitting disease. The discovery of these new viruses emphasizes the ability of HTS to reveal viruses that are not detected by existing protocols.

Ductal Plate Malformation in the Liver of Boxer Dogs: Clinical and Histological Features.

Ductal plate malformations (DPMs) represent developmental biliary disorders with a wide phenotypic spectrum. This study characterizes DPM in 30 Boxer dogs. Median age was 1.5 (range, 0.3-10.0) years, with 12 dogs <1 year. Clinical features included increased serum levels of liver enzymes (28), gastrointestinal signs (16), poor body condition (14), abdominal effusion (9), and hepatic encephalopathy (2). Additional malformations included gallbladder atresia (8), atrophied left liver (2), absent quadrate lobe with left-displaced gallbladder (1), portal vasculature atresia (left liver, 1), intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (1), and complex intrahepatic arteriovenous malformation (1). All dogs had portal tracts dimensionally expanded by a moderate-to-severe multiple small bile duct phenotype embedded in abundant extracellular matrix; 80% displayed variable portal-to-portal bridging. Quantitative analysis confirmed significantly increased fibrillar collagen and a 3-fold increased portal tract area relative to 6 Boxer and 10 non-Boxer controls. Biliary phenotype was dominated by tightly formed CK19-positive ductules, typically 10 to 15 µm in diameter, with 3 to >30 profiles per portal tract, reduced luminal apertures, and negative Ki-67 immunoreactivity. CK19-positive biliary epithelium intersected directly with zone 1 hepatocytes as a signature feature when considered with other DPM characteristics. Phenotypic variation included a multiple small bile duct phenotype (all dogs), predominantly thin-walled sacculated ducts (4), well-formed saccular ducts (4), and sacculated segmental, interlobular, and intralobular ducts (Caroli malformation, 2 dogs, one with bridging portal fibrosis). Histologic evidence of portal venous hypoperfusion accompanied increased biliary profiles in every case. We propose that this spectrum of disorders be referred to as DPM with appropriate modifiers to characterize the unique phenotypes.

Does Addition of Propolis to Glass Ionomer Cement Alter its Physicomechanical Properties? An in Vitro Study.

UNLABELLED: Propolis is a natural resinous substance produced by honey bees. The antimicrobial effects of glass ionomer cement have been shown to improve with the addition of propolis; however its effect on the physicomechanical properties of the cement is not known. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the compressive strength and solubility of conventional restorative glass ionomer cement following the addition of propolis. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty half cylindrical samples were prepared with conventional restorative glass ionomer cement formed the control group. Another twenty samples were prepared with propolis added to conventional restorative glass ionomer cement formed the experimental group. The compressive strength was assessed using universal testing machine. To assess solubility, the samples were immersed in deionised water at room temperature, for 7 days. The solubility was measured as a difference in the weight of the sample; prior to immersion and following immersion at the end of each day. RESULTS: The control group had a significantly higher mean compressive strength of 146.26 Mpa as compared to the experimental group (135.06 Mpa). The solubility between the groups was significant. CONCLUSION: In comparison to the control group, incorporation of propolis to conventional restorative glass ionomer cement decreased the compressive strength significantly. The solubility of the cement in the experimental group increased significantly over 7day period as compared to the control group.

Impact of irradiation and immunosuppressive agents on immune system homeostasis in rhesus macaques.

In this study we examined the effects of non-myeloablative total body irradiation (TBI) in combination with immunosuppressive chemotherapy on immune homeostasis in rhesus macaques. Our results show that the administration of cyclosporin A or tacrolimus without radiotherapy did not result in lymphopenia. The addition of TBI to the regimen resulted in lymphopenia as well as alterations in the memory/naive ratio following reconstitution of lymphocyte populations. Dendritic cell (DC) numbers in whole blood were largely unaffected, while the monocyte population was altered by immunosuppressive treatment. Irradiation also resulted in increased levels of circulating cytokines and chemokines that correlated with T cell proliferative bursts and with the shift towards memory T cells. We also report that anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment and CD3 immunotoxin administration resulted in a selective and rapid depletion of naive CD4 and CD8 T cells and increased frequency of memory T cells. We also examined the impact of these treatments on reactivation of latent simian varicella virus (SVV) infection as a model of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection of humans. None of the treatments resulted in overt SVV reactivation; however, select animals had transient increases in SVV-specific T cell responses following immunosuppression, suggestive of subclinical reactivation. Overall, we provide detailed observations into immune modulation by TBI and chemotherapeutic agents in rhesus macaques, an important research model of human disease.

Antiviral gene expression in psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis patients have relatively infrequent cutaneous viral infections compared to atopic dermatitis patients. Increased expression of four antiviral proteins (MX1, BST2, ISG15 and OAS2) has been reported in psoriatic skin and genetic studies of psoriasis have identified susceptibility genes in antiviral pathways. OBJECTIVE: To determine if psoriasis is associated with pervasive expression of antiviral genes in skin and blood. METHODS: We performed RNA sequencing on skin samples of 18 subjects with chronic plaque psoriasis and 16 healthy controls. We examined the expression of a predefined set of 42 antiviral genes, each of which has been shown in previous studies to inhibit viral replication. In parallel, we examined antiviral gene expression in atopic dermatitis, non-lesional psoriatic skin and psoriatic blood. We performed HIV-1 infectivity assays in CD4+ peripheral blood T cells from psoriatic and healthy individuals. RESULTS: We observed significant overexpression of 16 antiviral genes in lesional psoriatic skin, with a greater than two-fold increase in ISG15, RSAD2, IRF7, MX2 and TRIM22 (P < 1E-07). None of these genes was overexpressed in atopic dermatitis skin (P < 0.0001) or non-lesional psoriatic skin. In contrast to the skin compartment, no differences in antiviral gene expression were detected in the peripheral blood of psoriasis cases compared to healthy controls. CD4+ T cells from both psoriatic and healthy patients supported HIV-1 infection at a similar rate. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight psoriasis as an inflammatory disease with cutaneous but not systemic immune activation against viral pathogens.

Circulating Th2 memory cells in IgG4-related disease are restricted to a defined subset of subjects with atopy.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is characterized by a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate composed of IgG4(+) plasma cells, tumefactive lesions, obliterative phlebitis, and mild to moderate eosinophilia. It has been suggested that IgG4-RD is characterized by allergic manifestations and is potentially driven by enhanced T-helper type 2 (Th2) responses. We aimed to investigate the potential contribution of atopy to enhanced Th2 responses in IgG4-RD. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 39 patients were isolated and subjected to in vitro mitogenic stimulation with PMA and ionomycin. Following stimulation, gated CD3(+) CD4(+) T cells were analyzed for production of the Th2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Among the 39 patients analyzed, only the 18 patients who had a history of atopy showed increases in circulating Th2 memory cells. Our results indicate that Th2 responses that have been reported in IgG4-RD may result from concomitant atopic manifestations in disease subjects.

Shrinking lung syndrome presenting as an initial pulmonary manifestation of SLE.

Shrinking lung syndrome (SLS) is a rare pulmonary complication of an underlying autoimmune disorder and is reported in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We describe the favorable outcome of SLS in an 18-year-old Hispanic male who presented with SLS as the initial pulmonary manifestation of SLE.