Protective effect of rubber seed oil on human endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to characterize the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Rubber Seed Oil (RSO) against atherosclerosis (AS) through the study of the protective effects and mechanisms on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). METHODS: HUVECs were treated with RSO, ox-LDL, RSO + ox-LDL, respectively, followed by cell activity testing, levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, ROS, NO, the mRNA expression of eNOS and protein expression of MCP-1, VCAM-1, eNOS, TLR4, NF-κB p65、p-NF-κB p65. RESULTS: Compared with the ox-LDL group, cell viability, NO level and the expression of eNOS mRNA significantly increased. and the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, ROS were significantly decreased, which was accompanied by decreases in TLR4 mRNA, TLR4, MCP-1, VCAM-1 protein expression, as well as the ratio of NF-κB p-p65/p65 in the group treated with 250 µg/ml ox-LDL + 50 µg/ml RSO, 250 µg/ml ox-LDL + 100 µg/ml RSO, 250 µg/ml ox-LDL + 150 µg/ml RSO. CONCLUSIONS: RSO can reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, oxidative factors involved in injured vascular endothelial cells, exhibiting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties HUVECs exposed to ox-LDL. In addition, it may alleviate endothelial cell damage by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

The application portfolio empowerment method and ELECTRE-I for optimising the control of ammonia release during the aerobic fermentation process.

Aerobic fermentation composting can transform solid organic waste into biological organic fertiliser, while reducing resource wastage and ecological damage. However, in the composting process, a serious loss of nitrogen occurs, primarily in the form of the release of ammonia gas. The release of ammonia gas not only pollutes the environment, but also diminishes the presence of nutrient elements, resulting in compost products that are lower in quality. Given that many factors influence the release of ammonia gas during the aerobic fermentation process, it is difficult to determine optimal process parameters. In an effort to address this issue, we propose herein a combinational weighting method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weighting method to determine the weight of each secondary index. We also establish a parametric optimisation model based on the ammonia release conditions of the ELECTRE-I method that provides a theoretical underpinning and a decision basis for optimising the process parameters that mediate the release of ammonia during the aerobic fermentation process. This method can be widely employed to reduce the release of ammonia gas and may be of significance to the future development of bioengineering-based composting technology.

Effect of fipronil on biogas production performance during anaerobic digestion of chicken manure and corn straw.

Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide that has a good control effect on pests of commercial poultry. Although many studies have reported the environmental fate of fipronil, the influence of residual fipronil in poultry waste on biogas production has not been further explored yet. In this article, an experimental comparative study on anaerobic digestion (AD) of chicken manure (CM) and corn straw (CS) with different fipronil concentrations (FCs) was carried at 8% of total solid (TS) and mid-temperature (35 ± 1)°C. The results showed that fipronil had a significant effect on biogas production during AD of CM and CS. When the FC is at a low level (≤10 mg·kg-1), the biogas production rate is increased and the digestion period was shortened, while higher FC (≥ 20 mg·kg-1) showed an inhibitory effect. During the monitoring of enzyme activity, low FC showed no significant effect on cellulase and saccharase, but the urease activity increased in the early stage. High FC showed inhibition of activity of cellulase and urease, but the saccharase activity was significantly inhibited until FC reached 40 mg·kg-1. This study also confirms that the environment in anaerobic digester is favorable for the degradation of fipronil, and its half-life is about 15.83 days.

Graphene/Ionic liquid composite films and ion exchange.

Wettability of graphene is adjusted by the formation of various ionic surfaces combining ionic liquid (IL) self-assembly with ion exchange. The functionalized ILs were designed and synthesized with the goal of obtaining adjustable wettability. The wettability of the graphene surface bearing various anions was measured systematically. The effect of solvent systems on ion exchange ratios on the graphene surface has also been investigated. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of the graphene/IL composite films were investigated on a nanometer scale. The elasticity and adhesion behavior of the thin film was determined with respected to the indentation deformation by colloid probe nanoindentation method. The results indicate that anions played an important role in determining graphene/IL composite film properties. In addition, surface wetting and mechanics can be quantitatively determined according to the counter-anions on the surface. This study might suggest an alternate way for quantity detection of surface ions by surface force.

Preparation and mechanics of nanotextures on adapting a low adhesive surface using local oxidation nanolithography.

This paper describes an application for atomic force microscopy to the fabrication of nanotextures with various features on a GaAs surface by local oxidation nanolithography (LON). By controlling the geometrical shapes and surface coverage of the nanotexture, the surface adhesion can be adjusted to a low adhesive surface. The influence of environmental conditions, such as relative humidity and temperature on adhesion behavior, was studied. An optic heater was employed to minimize thermal effect on an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever and PbZrTiO3 scanner. In our study, AFM is used for both fabrication and characterization. LON allows the fabricated nanotextures to be altered in situ without the need to change masks or repeat the entire fabrication process. Furthermore, the nanoadhesion characterization of nanotextures on a GaAs surface was investigated with a colloidal probe method.

Field evaluation of measuring indoor noise exposure in workplace with task-based active RFID technology.

This paper describes the research using RFEMS (Radio Frequency Identification Exposure Monitoring System), which is designed by applying the task-based active RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, to measure the indoor noise exposure dose in a workplace. The RFEMS and sound level meter are mounted on the vests of eight workers to carry out on-site field test by monitoring the time activity pattern (TAP), and the noise dose level exposed by the workers. The data are recorded and instantaneously transmitted to a computer to be saved in the server and later compared to those obtained using the standard method. The results that have a 0.909 correlation coefficient (R(2)), and 1.64% average measure error confirm the accuracy of using RFEMS for monitoring TAP. Additionally, the combined use of RFEMS and sound level meter leads to the development of a semi noise dosimetry (SND), a real-time electronic indirect noise dosimetry (REIND), and an equivalent electronic recording indirect noise dosimetry (EEIND). The results obtained using these three devices are well correlated with the results monitored by using a PND (personal noise dosimetry) with correlation coefficients (R(2)) of 0.915, 0.779 and 0.873, respectively. The errors of noise dose expressed in TWA (time weight average) for these three methods are 0.81, 1.57 and 1.23 dBA, respectively; they are well within the general errors of the average dosimetries. These observations indicate that the RFEMS developed in this research is applicable for conducting task-based measurements of indoor noise. It uses a relatively inexpensive sound level meter to measure the noise exposure doses that are comparable to those obtained with a standard dosimetry in addition to monitoring the worker's time activity pattern. The findings will assist in studying the source of long-term noise exposed by workers, and hence this devise is a valuable tool for tracing and monitoring long-term noise exposure with reduced manpower requirements.

Time location analysis for exposure assessment studies of indoor workers based on active RFID technology.

In this article, we describe the development of a radio frequency identification exposure monitoring system (RFEMS) suitable for tracking and identifying workers' locations in indoor workplaces. Five workers in southern Taiwan wore the RFEMS integrated into their equipment vests. Location and exposure data were transferred to data analysis software for visualization and tabular analysis in real-time. Data were grouped into seven task activity location categories to determine the time spent and percentage reception in each location. The RFEMS could also synchronously indicate the surrounding conditions using various sensors. Additional experiments were focused on locating of boundaries and determining the instrument stability, power sustainability, and reception efficiency in typical environments. The RFEMS instruments provided adequate range for locating (typically ca. 6-45 m in each zone), allowing us to locate subjects within distinct microenvironments and to distinguish between the activities of a variety of workers, the average time activity pattern (TAP) recording deviation for both human observations and RFEMS was ca. 0.21-1.57%. Power consumption experiments revealed that the system could be sustained for more than 124 h. A pilot field test indicated that the RFEMS offers a new level of accuracy for direct quantification of time activity patterns in exposure assessments of indoor workers over long periods of time.