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Large scale outbreaks of infectious respiratory disease have repeatedly plagued the globe over the last 100 years. The scope and strength of the outbreaks are getting worse as pathogenic RNA viruses are rapidly evolving and highly evasive to vaccines and anti-viral drugs. Germicidal UV-C is considered as a robust agent to disinfect RNA viruses regardless of their evolution. While genomic damage by UV-C has been known to be associated with viral inactivation, the precise relationship between the damage and inactivation remains unsettled as genomic damage has been analyzed in small areas, typically under 0.5 kb. In this study, we assessed genomic damage by the reduced efficiency of reverse transcription of regions of up to 7.2 kb. Our data seem to indicate that genomic damage was directly proportional to the size of the genome, and a single hit of damage was sufficient for inactivation of RNA viruses. The high efficacy of UV-C is already effectively adopted to inactivate airborne RNA viruses.
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Vírus de RNA , Raios Ultravioleta , Inativação de Vírus , Vírus de RNA/efeitos da radiação , Vírus de RNA/genética , Vírus de RNA/fisiologia , Inativação de Vírus/efeitos da radiação , Genoma Viral , Humanos , Transcrição Reversa , RNA Viral/genéticaRESUMO
Conventional power-integrated wireless neural recording devices suffer from bulky, rigid batteries in head-mounted configurations, hindering the precise interpretation of the subject's natural behaviors. These power sources also pose risks of material leakage and overheating. We present the direct printing of a power-integrated wireless neural recording system that seamlessly conforms to the cranium. A quasi-solid-state Zn-ion microbattery was 3D-printed as a built-in power source geometrically synchronized to the shape of a mouse skull. Soft deep-brain neural probes, interconnections, and auxiliary electronics were also printed using liquid metals on the cranium with high resolutions. In vivo studies using mice demonstrated the reliability and biocompatibility of this wireless neural recording system, enabling the monitoring of neural activities across extensive brain regions without notable heat generation. This all-printed neural interface system revolutionizes brain research, providing bio-conformable, customizable configurations for improved data quality and naturalistic experimentation.
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Encéfalo , Cabeça , Animais , Camundongos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Crânio , Eletrônica , Tecnologia sem FioRESUMO
Rehabilitation training is essential for a successful recovery of upper extremity function after stroke. Training programs are typically conducted in hospitals or rehabilitation centers, supervised by specialized medical professionals. However, frequent visits to hospitals can be burdensome for stroke patients with limited mobility. We consider a self-administered rehabilitation system based on a mobile application in which patients can periodically upload videos of themselves performing reach-to-grasp tasks to receive recommendations for self-managed exercises or progress reports. Sensing equipment aside from cameras is typically unavailable in the home environment. A key contribution of our work is to propose a deep learning-based assessment model trained only with video data. As all patients carry out identical tasks, a fine-grained assessment of task execution is required. Our model addresses this difficulty by learning RGB and optical flow data in a complementary manner. The correlation between the RGB and optical flow data is captured by a novel module for modality fusion using cross-attention with Transformers. Experiments showed that our model achieved higher accuracy in movement assessment than existing methods for action recognition. Based on the assessment model, we developed a patient-centered, solution-based mobile application for upper extremity exercises for hemiplegia, which can recommend 57 exercises with three levels of difficulty. A prototype of our application was evaluated by potential end-users and achieved a good quality score on the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS).
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Aplicativos Móveis , Reabilitação do Acidente Vascular Cerebral , Acidente Vascular Cerebral , Humanos , Reabilitação do Acidente Vascular Cerebral/métodos , Extremidade Superior , Movimento , Recuperação de Função FisiológicaRESUMO
Ependymoma is a rare adult tumor that originates from ependymal cells of the central nervous system, primarily occurring in the cerebral ventricles or the central canal of the spinal cord. In this paper, we report a case of extensive leptomeningeal seeding of ependymoma of a 39-year-old male patient, in whom the tumor was found incidentally after head trauma. The MRI exhibited diffuse leptomeningeal infiltrative lesions along with bilateral multiple cerebral sulci, basal cisterns, cerebellopontine angle, cerebellar folia. It also showed multinodular enhancing T1 low T2 high signal intensity lesions along the whole spinal cord. After the tumor biopsy at right temporal lesion, pathologic diagnosis was classic ependymoma (WHO grade 2). The patient has undergone radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and is currently maintaining a stable condition two years after surgery. This report suggests that when considering the differential diagnosis of extensive lesions both in the intracranial and intraspinal space, ependymoma should also be considered.
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In this research, the geyser phenomenon occurring in a small-diameter two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) was observed and the instability of the device was discussed. Geyser phenomena interfere with the natural circulation of internal working fluids, increasing the thermal resistance of the system and contributing to the instability of the device. This study attempts to improve the thermal performance and stability of the system using cellulose nanofiber (CNF) fluid as the working fluid. The use of CNF fluid was observed to reduce the magnitude of temperature change inside the evaporator of the TPCT significantly. Moreover, it improved the local boiling heat transfer coefficient by 3.1 %, 87.3 %, and 181.2 % on average when the filling ratios are 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75, respectively. Studying the local heat transfer performance and instability will be helpful in designing a more stable TPCT efficiently. Additionally, the findings of this study can be applied to solar thermal power generation or heat pipe research for cooling strategies in computing servers, depending on the input heat load.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by autoreactive B cells and dysregulation of many other types of immune cells including myeloid cells. Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common target organ manifestations of SLE. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP, also known as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5)), was initially identified as a central regulator of cellular responses to hypertonic stress and is a pleiotropic stress protein involved in a variety of immunometabolic diseases. To explore the role of TonEBP, we examined kidney biopsy samples from patients with LN. Kidney TonEBP expression was found to be elevated in these patients compared to control patients - in both kidney cells and infiltrating immune cells. Kidney TonEBP mRNA was elevated in LN and correlated with mRNAs encoding inflammatory cytokines and the degree of proteinuria. In a pristane-induced SLE model in mice, myeloid TonEBP deficiency blocked the development of SLE and LN. In macrophages, engagement of various toll-like receptors (TLRs) that respond to damage-associated molecular patterns induced TonEBP expression via stimulation of its promoter. Intracellular signaling downstream of the TLRs was dependent on TonEBP. Therefore, TonEBP can act as a transcriptional cofactor for NF-κB, and activated mTOR-IRF3/7 via protein-protein interactions. Additionally, TonEBP-deficient macrophages displayed elevated efferocytosis and animals with myeloid deficiency of TonEBP showed reduced Th1 and Th17 differentiation, consistent with macrophages defective in TLR signaling. Thus, our data show that myeloid TonEBP may be an attractive therapeutic target for SLE and LN.
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Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico , Nefrite Lúpica , Animais , Camundongos , Rim , Transdução de Sinais , Macrófagos , Fatores de Transcrição NFATCRESUMO
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by dopaminergic neuronal damage. In this study, three tea extracts from Hadong, Korea, were evaluated in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurotoxicity damage model (C57BL/6 mice) for their therapeutic effects against PD: green tea (GT), semi-fermented tea (SFT), and fermented tea (FT). Theaflavin content in the teas increased but catechin content decreased with the degree of fermentation. In addition, SFT showed the highest theanine and γ-aminobutyric acid contents. SFT at a concentration of 25 µg/mL showed the highest activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay among all samples. Furthermore, the 2,2'-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging activity of 25 µg/mL SFT was higher than that of l-ascorbic acid. Fermented tea suppressed the expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and macrophage-1, as well as inhibited overexpression of apoptotic signals, including p-53, cleaved caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. Moreover, GT, SFT, and FT regulated the MPTP-induced oxidative stress-related factors, including superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4. Fermented tea also alleviated MPTP-induced behavioral impairment and dopaminergic neuronal damage and reduced α-synuclein levels. These results indicate that fermented tea is effective for the treatment of neuro-inflammatory, neuro-apoptotic, and neuro-oxidative disorders.
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Fármacos Neuroprotetores , Doença de Parkinson , Animais , Camundongos , Doença de Parkinson/tratamento farmacológico , Doença de Parkinson/metabolismo , Antioxidantes/farmacologia , Antioxidantes/uso terapêutico , Fármacos Neuroprotetores/farmacologia , Fármacos Neuroprotetores/uso terapêutico , 1-Metil-4-Fenil-1,2,3,6-Tetra-Hidropiridina/uso terapêutico , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Inflamação/tratamento farmacológico , CháRESUMO
Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein involved in DNA repair and redox regulation. The redox activity of APE1/Ref-1 is involved in inflammatory responses and regulation of DNA binding of transcription factors related to cell survival pathways. However, the effect of APE1/Ref-1 on adipogenic transcription factor regulation remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of APE1/Ref-1 on the regulation of adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. During adipocyte differentiation, APE1/Ref-1 expression significantly decreased with the increased expression of adipogenic transcription factors such as CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)-α and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ, and the adipocyte differentiation marker adipocyte protein 2 (aP2) in a time-dependent manner. However, APE1/Ref-1 overexpression inhibited C/EBP-α, PPAR-γ, and aP2 expression, which was upregulated during adipocyte differentiation. In contrast, silencing APE1/Ref-1 or redox inhibition of APE1/Ref-1 using E3330 increased the mRNA and protein levels of C/EBP-α, PPAR-γ, and aP2 during adipocyte differentiation. These results suggest that APE1/Ref-1 inhibits adipocyte differentiation by regulating adipogenic transcription factors, suggesting that APE1/Ref-1 is a potential therapeutic target for regulating adipocyte differentiation.
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Receptores Ativados por Proliferador de Peroxissomo , Fatores de Transcrição , Animais , Camundongos , Células 3T3-L1 , Adipócitos/metabolismo , Proteína alfa Estimuladora de Ligação a CCAAT/metabolismo , Diferenciação Celular , Receptores Ativados por Proliferador de Peroxissomo/metabolismo , PPAR gama/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismoRESUMO
We evaluated the neuroprotective effect of L-theanine in Parkinson's disease and the underlying mechanism focusing on WNT/ß-catenin signaling mediated by the MAPK pathway. We treated MPTP-induced SH-SY5Y cells with various concentrations of L-theanine (50, 100, 200, and 500 µg/mL), and we also treated Parkinson's model mice with L-theanine. L-theanine treatment effectively reduced the immunohistochemical hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, particularly Lewy bodies and α-synuclein, and increased the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells. L-theanine also improved the motor dysfunction in MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease model mice as measured by the rotarod test. The levels of several pro-inflammatory mediators that are overexpressed in Parkinson's disease, namely TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2, and MAC-1, were reduced following L-theanine treatment, and the levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2, caspase-3, p53, and PARP-1 were significantly reduced. L-theanine regulated the oxidative stress-related factors SOD-1, GST, and NOX-4 by targeting several proteins related to WNT/ß-catenin signaling, i.e., ß-catenin, WNT-3a, WNT-5a, TCF1/TCF7, and LEF1, via the MAPK pathway (p-JNK, p-ERK, and p-p38). Our results indicate that L-theanine is neuroprotective and has anti-inflammatory effects that could be beneficial for treating Parkinson's disease.
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Neuroblastoma , Fármacos Neuroprotetores , Doença de Parkinson , Camundongos , Humanos , Animais , Doença de Parkinson/tratamento farmacológico , Doença de Parkinson/metabolismo , beta Catenina/metabolismo , Via de Sinalização Wnt , Fármacos Neuroprotetores/farmacologia , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BLRESUMO
Condensation, which can be observed in nature as a phase change heat transfer phenomenon, is a critical phenomenon in industrial fields such as power generation, water desalination, and environmental control. Many existing studies have applied surfaces with different wettability by controlling the surface topology to enhance condensation heat transfer. However, the industrial applicability is close to zero due to the limited size and shape of surfaces and low supersaturation conditions. Here, we regulate the surface topology of large-area copper tubes, which are representative industrial metals. We fabricated four copper tubes with different surface structures. We analyzed the condensation phenomenon of the modified tube under specific supersaturation conditions by measuring the overall heat transfer coefficient. We analyzed the condensation phenomenon by measuring the condensation heat transfer coefficient. We have recognized that there is a difference between the maximum droplet radius and the droplet detaching frequency depending on the size and shape of the structure. We measured the contact angle and contact angle hysteresis to accurately analyze the droplet behavior on each surface. As a result, we show that there is a correlation between contact angle hysteresis (CAH) and the total heat transfer coefficient, indicating heat transfer performance. These findings can be applied when evaluating surfaces with excellent condensation heat transfer performance for use in real industrial environments, which can dramatically reduce time and cost.
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Despite the ever-increasing demand for transparent power sources in wireless optoelectronics, most of them have still relied on synthetic chemicals, thus limiting their versatile applications. Here, a class of transparent nanocellulose paper microsupercapacitors (TNP-MSCs) as a beyond-synthetic-material strategy is demonstrated. Onto semi-interpenetrating polymer network-structured, thiol-modified transparent nanocellulose paper, a thin layer of silver nanowire and a conducting polymer (chosen as a pseudocapacitive electrode material) are consecutively introduced through microscale-patterned masks (which are fabricated by electrohydrodynamic jet printing) to produce a transparent conductive electrode (TNP-TCE) with planar interdigitated structure. This TNP-TCE, in combination with solid-state gel electrolytes, enables on-demand (in-series/in-parallel) cell configurations in a single body of TNP-MSC. Driven by this structural uniqueness and scalable microfabrication, the TNP-MSC exhibits improvements in optical transparency (T = 85%), areal capacitance (0.24 mF cm-2 ), controllable voltage (7.2 V per cell), and mechanical flexibility (origami airplane), which exceed those of previously reported transparent MSCs based on synthetic chemicals.
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Nanofios , Prata , Capacitância Elétrica , Condutividade Elétrica , PolímerosRESUMO
The phenotypic and functional plasticity of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) during obesity plays a crucial role in orchestration of adipose and systemic inflammation. Tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) (also called NFAT5) is a stress protein that mediates cellular responses to a range of metabolic insults. Here, we show that myeloid cell-specific TonEBP depletion reduced inflammation and insulin resistance in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity but did not affect adiposity. This phenotype was associated with a reduced accumulation and a reduced proinflammatory phenotype of metabolically activated macrophages, decreased expression of inflammatory factors related to insulin resistance, and enhanced insulin sensitivity. TonEBP expression was elevated in the ATMs of obese mice, and Sp1 was identified as a central regulator of TonEBP induction. TonEBP depletion in macrophages decreased induction of insulin resistance-related genes and promoted induction of insulin sensitivity-related genes under obesity-mimicking conditions and thereby improved insulin signaling and glucose uptake in adipocytes. mRNA expression of TonEBP in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was positively correlated with blood glucose levels in mice and humans. These findings suggest that TonEBP in macrophages promotes obesity-associated systemic insulin resistance and inflammation, and downregulation of TonEBP may induce a healthy metabolic state during obesity.
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Resistência à Insulina , Humanos , Camundongos , Animais , Resistência à Insulina/genética , Fatores de Transcrição NFATC/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Obesidade/metabolismo , Inflamação/metabolismo , Camundongos Obesos , Células Mieloides/metabolismo , Insulina/metabolismo , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BLRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Little is known about how the interaction between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and vascular calcification (VC) affects cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients. This study investigated the combined prognostic effect of RDW and VC in ESKD patients starting dialysis. METHODS: A retrospective single-center study of 582 ESKD patients was conducted. VC was assessed by calculating the aortic calcification index (ACI) using computed tomography. Patients were divided into low ACI-low RDW, low ACI-high RDW, high ACI-low RDW, and high ACI-high RDW groups based on median ACI (17.12) and RDW (14.3) values. The association between RDW and VC and the composite endpoint of CV events and death was analyzed. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.1 years (range, 1.5-5.5 years), 165 CV events (28.4%) and 124 deaths (21.4%) occurred. Cox regression showed that the low ACI-high RDW (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-2.66; p = 0.03) and high ACI-low RDW (adjusted HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.21-3.14; p = 0.006) groups had a greater risk of CV events and death than the low ACI-low RDW group. The high ACI-high RDW group had the greatest risk (adjusted HR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.42-3.52; p = 0.001). The effect of the interaction between ACI and RDW on CV events and mortality was statistically significant (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: High RDW and VC interact to increase the risk of CV events and death in ESKD patients.
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This study investigates the quenching behavior and heat transfer characteristics of a copper cube immersed in cellulose nanofiber (CNF) solutions. The heat transfer performance of CNF solutions during boiling has been examined in several studies, but the quenching behavior of CNF solutions, which is an important heat transfer method, has not been evaluated. In this study, four copper cubes with the same dimensions and four different quenchants (deionized water and 0.01%, 0.1% and 0.5% CNF solutions) were prepared. A copper cube heated to greater than 600 °C was submerged three times in the quenchant. This was repeated with different copper cubes in each of the quenchants. The time at which the heated copper cube convectively transferred heat to the surroundings was recorded. The cooling time was shortest when the cube was immersed in a 0.5% CNF solution for the first time. The average cooling time for quenching in the 0.5% CNF solution was 30.3% shorter than that in DI water. In this study, film boiling during quenching was thoroughly observed and analyzed to explain the cause of enhancement in heat transfer efficiency.
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In this study, we fabricated a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold using industrial polylactic acid (PLA), which promoted the proliferation and differentiation of human neural stem cells. An industrial PLA 3D scaffold (IPTS) cell chip with a square-shaped pattern was fabricated via computer-aided design and printed using a fused deposition modeling technique. To improve cell adhesion and cell differentiation, we coated the IPTS cell chip with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs), nerve growth factor (NGF) protein, an NGF peptide fragment, and sonic hedgehog (SHH) protein. The proliferation of F3.Olig2 neural stem cells was increased in the IPTS cell chips coated with Au-NPs and NGF peptide fragments when compared with that of the cells cultured on non-coated IPTS cell chips. Cells cultured on the IPTS-SHH cell chip also showed high expression of motor neuron cell-specific markers, such as HB9 and TUJ-1. Therefore, we suggest that the newly engineered industrial PLA scaffold is an innovative tool for cell proliferation and motor neuron differentiation.
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Diferenciação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Células-Tronco Neurais/efeitos dos fármacos , Poliésteres/química , Poliésteres/farmacologia , Alicerces Teciduais/química , Adesão Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Linhagem Celular , Proteínas Hedgehog/metabolismo , Humanos , Nanopartículas Metálicas/química , Neurônios Motores/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurônios Motores/metabolismo , Nanofibras/química , Células-Tronco Neurais/metabolismo , Fator de Transcrição 2 de Oligodendrócitos/metabolismo , Impressão TridimensionalRESUMO
We investigated the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory efficacy of hederagenin coating on maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (HM) in atopic dermatitis (AD), as well as the physical and optical properties of maghemite nanoparticles (MP) using SEM, XRD spectroscopy, UV-vis spectra, Raman spectra, and FTIR spectroscopy. Dose-dependent treatment with HM (10, 50, 100, 200 µg/mL) inhibited the expression of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and Tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α) in inflammatory induced HaCaT and Jurkat cells with inflammation caused by TNF/IFN-γ and PMA/A23187. AD model was induced by performing topical application of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and dermatophagoides farinae extract (DFE) for a 31-day period on 8-week-old BALB/c mice. The HM treatments efficiently diminished the AD-like cutaneous lesion induced by DNCB-DFE sensitization in mice. Compared to the AD-only groups, HM treatment considerably attenuated mast cell infiltration and lowered epidermal, and dermal thickness of mice ears skin. In addition, HM treatment prominently alleviated the enlarged size and weight of lymph nodes. Furthermore, HM treatment resulted in a notable reduction in the mRNA expression of Th1 cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ), Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-6), Th17 (IL-17), and TSLP. Our data showed that HM provides better AD attenuation compared to MP. Additionally, HM had synergistic effect and act as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agent. Thus, HM shows great potential in AD medication and as a substitution of non-steroid-based medication.
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Dermatite Atópica , Nanopartículas , Animais , Anti-Inflamatórios/farmacologia , Anti-Inflamatórios/uso terapêutico , Citocinas/genética , Dermatite Atópica/induzido quimicamente , Dermatite Atópica/tratamento farmacológico , Compostos Férricos , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Ácido Oleanólico/análogos & derivados , PeleRESUMO
Local primary emissions of air pollutants are responsible for public health, decreasing productivity, and cultural activities in local residential areas. In this study, an integrated air quality observation and modeling system with a geographical information system (GIS) was developed to characterize the air pollution caused by local primary emission sources. This integrated system could provide air quality monitoring, data analysis, and visualization results that reflect air pollutant concentration data in a study area containing a local rural village (LRV) and an asphalt manufacturing facility (AMF). Additionally, the model was used to estimate the contributions of air quality from an emission source at the receptor and determine the control factor for the emission rate or meteorological changes. From the forward and backward modeling results, we found that the concentrations of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) concentrations in the village were affected by the unique meteorological and emission conditions. The PM2.5 concentration was significantly increased for the cases with a slow wind speed of 1 m/s or high wind speed of 3 m/s, with an emission rate of 10 g/s. The contribution of AMF emissions was explained by contribution factor analysis. During the study period of December 2014-December 2015, the incoming contribution of PM2.5 at the LRV measurement station was approximately 47.6%. These results suggest that the proposed method can be useful for understanding adverse air quality conditions and estimating the emissions of air pollutants from primary sources for local environmental and public health authorities.
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Poluentes Atmosféricos , Poluição do Ar , Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Poluição do Ar/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental , Sistemas de Informação Geográfica , Material Particulado/análiseRESUMO
It is difficult to find the micromirror array with desired specifications for augmented-reality displays, and the custom fabricating methods are complicated and unstable. We propose a novel, to our knowledge, three-dimensional see-through augmented-reality display system using the holographic micromirror array. Unlike the conventional holographic waveguide-type augmented-reality displays, the proposed system utilizes the holographic micromirror array as an in-coupler, without any additional elements. The holographic micromirror array is fabricated through the simple, effective, and stable method of applying the total internal reflection-based hologram recording using a dual-prism. The optical mirror and microlens array are set as references, and the specifications can be customized. It reconstructs a three-dimensional image from a displayed elemental image set without using any additional device, and the user can observe a three-dimensional virtual image while viewing the real-world objects. Thus, the principal advantages of the existing holographic waveguide-type augmented-reality system are retained. An optical experiment confirmed that the proposed system displays three-dimensional images exploiting the augmented-reality system simply and effectively.
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In general, the dropwise condensation supported by superhydrophobic surfaces results in enhanced heat transfer relative to condensation on normal surfaces. However, in supersaturated environments that exceed a certain supersaturation threshold, moisture penetrates the surface structures and results in attached condensation, which reduces the condensation heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, when designing superhydrophobic surfaces for condensers, the surface structure must be resistant to attached condensation in supersaturated conditions. The gap size and complexity of the micro/nanoscale surface structure are the main factors that can be controlled to maintain water repellency in supersaturated environments. In this study, the condensation heat exchange performance was characterized for three different superhydrophobic titanium surface structures via droplet behavior (DB) mapping to evaluate their suitability for power plant condensers. In addition, it was demonstrated that increasing the surface structure complexity increases the versatility of the titanium surfaces by extending the window for improved heat exchange performance. This study demonstrates the usefulness of DB mapping for evaluating the performance of superhydrophobic surfaces regarding their applicability for industrial condenser systems.
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We examined the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of asiatic acid (AA) in atopic dermatitis (AD). AA treatment (5-20 µg/mL) dose-dependently suppressed the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α level and interleukin (IL)-6 protein expression in interferon (IFN)-γ + TNF-α-treated HaCaT cells. The 2,4-dinitrocholrlbenzene (DNCB)-induced AD animal model was developed by administering two AA concentrations (30 and 75 mg/kg/d: AD + AA-L and AD + AA-H groups, respectively) for 18 days. Interestingly, AA treatment decreased AD skin lesions formation and affected other AD characteristics, such as increased ear thickness, lymph node and spleen size, dermal and epidermal thickness, collagen deposition, and mast cell infiltration in dorsal skin. In addition, in the DNCB-induced AD animal model, AA treatment downregulated the mRNA expression level of AD-related cytokines, such as Th1- (TNF-α and IL-1ß and -12) and Th2 (IL-4, -5, -6, -13, and -31)-related cytokines as well as that of cyclooxygenase-2 and CXCL9. Moreover, in the AA treatment group, the protein level of inflammatory cytokines, including COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-8, as well as the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways, were decreased. Overall, our study confirmed that AA administration inhibited AD skin lesion formation via enhancing immunomodulation and inhibiting inflammation. Thus, AA can be used as palliative medication for regulating AD symptoms.