Increased Uptake of Chelated Copper Ions by Lolium perenne Attributed to Amplified Membrane and Endodermal Damage

The contributions of mechanisms by which chelators influence metal translocation to plant shoot tissues are analyzed using a combination of numerical modelling and physical experiments. The model distinguishes between apoplastic and symplastic pathways of water and solute movement. It also includes the barrier effects of the endodermis and plasma membrane. Simulations are used to assess transport pathways for free and chelated metals, identifying mechanisms involved in chelate-enhanced phytoextraction. Hypothesized transport mechanisms and parameters specific to amendment treatments are estimated, with simulated results compared to experimental data. Parameter values for each amendment treatment are estimated based on literature and experimental values, and used for model calibration and simulation of amendment influences on solute transport pathways and mechanisms. Modeling indicates that chelation alters the pathways for Cu transport. For free ions, Cu transport to leaf tissue can be described using purely apoplastic or transcellular pathways. For strong chelators (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)), transport by the purely apoplastic pathway is insufficient to represent measured Cu transport to leaf tissue. Consistent with experimental observations, increased membrane permeability is required for simulating translocation in EDTA and DTPA treatments. Increasing the membrane permeability is key to enhancing phytoextraction efficiency.     

Evaluation of the effect of Ultra Rice® EDTA supplementation on the soluble iron,visual acceptance and vitamin A stability of commercial milled rice blends

The addition of NaFeEDTA at only 5% of total iron to ferric pyrophosphate‐fortified Ultra Rice^® increased the in vitro soluble iron ten‐fold. Ultra Rice^® formulated with NaFeEDTA at 2–7% of total iron, or with Na₂EDTA·2H₂O at 0.5× the total iron equivalents, increased the soluble iron seven‐ to thirty‐fold. The colour of the batches was acceptable through 20 weeks at 21 °C, but colour stability needs to be evaluated under authentic storage conditions. Although only 34–46% of the initial vitamin A remained after extrusion, 18‐week storage at 30 °C/70% relative humidity, and simulated cooking, there were indications that losses could be decreased by raising the pH (to ~5) and/or using a better protected vitamin A ingredient. The enhancement of soluble iron afforded by low‐level NaFeEDTA or Na₂EDTA·2H₂O supplementation suggests that this fortification strategy may merit further study as a means of increasing absorbable iron in Ultra Rice^®.     

Pertussis Toxin Inhibits Encephalitogenic T-Cell Infiltration and Promotes a B-Cell-Driven Disease during Th17-EAE

Pertussis toxin (PTX) is a required co-adjuvant for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by immunization with myelin antigen. However, PTX’s effects on EAE induced by the transfer of myelin-specific T helper cells is not known. Therefore, we investigated how PTX affects the Th17 transfer EAE model (Th17-EAE). We found that PTX significantly reduced Th17-EAE by inhibiting chemokine-receptor-dependent trafficking of Th17 cells. Strikingly, PTX also promoted the accumulation of B cells in the CNS, suggesting that PTX alters the disease toward a B-cell-dependent pathology. To determine the role of B cells, we compared the effects of PTX on Th17-EAE in wild-type (WT) and B-cell-deficient (µMT) mice. Without PTX treatment, disease severity was equivalent between WT and µMT mice. In contrast, with PTX treatment, the µMT mice had significantly less disease and a reduction in pathogenic Th17 cells in the CNS compared to the WT mice. In conclusion, this study shows that PTX inhibits the migration of pathogenic Th17 cells, while promoting the accumulation of pathogenic B cells in the CNS during Th17-EAE. These data provide useful methodological information for adoptive-transfer Th17-EAE and, furthermore, describe another important experimental system to study the pathogenic mechanisms of B cells in multiple sclerosis.     

AMBO: All Members-Based Optimizer for Solving Optimization Problems

There are many optimization problems in different branches of science that should be solved using an appropriate methodology. Population-based optimization algorithms are one of the most efficient approaches to solve this type of problems. In this paper, a new optimization algorithm called All Members-Based Optimizer (AMBO) is introduced to solve various optimization problems. The main idea in designing the proposed AMBO algorithm is to use more information from the population members of the algorithm instead of just a few specific members (such as best member and worst member) to update the population matrix. Therefore, in AMBO, any member of the population can play a role in updating the population matrix. The theory of AMBO is described and then mathematically modeled for implementation on optimization problems. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on a set of twenty-three standard objective functions, which belong to three different categories: unimodal, high-dimensional multimodal, and fixed-dimensional multimodal functions. In order to analyze and compare the optimization results for the mentioned objective functions obtained by AMBO, eight other well-known algorithms have been also implemented. The optimization results demonstrate the ability of AMBO to solve various optimization problems. Also, comparison and analysis of the results show that AMBO is superior and more competitive than the other mentioned algorithms in providing suitable solution.     

On the dependence of interfacial resistance on contact materials between cathode and interconnect in solid oxide fuel cells

The dependence of interfacial contact resistance (ICR) on contact materials between cathode and interconnect is systematically studied under both isothermal oxidation and thermal cycling conditions. Three kinds of cathode current-collecting layer (CCCL) are used, (La,Sr) (Co,Fe)O₃ (LSCF), LSCF+10%Ag, and Ag, and tested in a SUS430/CCCL/SUS430 sandwich structure to simulate the actual operation of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Experimental results show that the ICR of LSCF+10%Ag exhibits the smallest value, in comparison with the specimens with LSCF and Ag paste, as well as the sample without a CCCL. For LSCF+10%Ag contact, the ICR increases from 0.0069 mΩ cm² to 3.74 mΩ cm² under an isothermal condition for 150 h, then increases from 3.74 mΩ cm² to 10.79 mΩ cm² after 15 thermal cycles. This work provides information for the understanding of possible mechanisms of performance degradation of SOFCs.     

A novel hybrid hypervolume indicator and reference vector adaptation strategies based evolutionary algorithm for many-objective optimization

Engineering with Computers - A novel hybrid many-objective evolutionary algorithm called Reference Vector Guided Evolutionary Algorithm based on hypervolume indicator (H-RVEA) is proposed in this...     

Parametric Optimization of Complementary Split-Ring Resonator Dimensions for Planar Antenna Size Miniaturization

Wireless Personal Communications -     

Direct electrochemical detection of purine- and pyrimidine-based nucleotides with sinusoidal voltammetry

Sinusoidal voltammetry was employed to detect both purine- and pyrimidine-based nucleic acids. Adenine and cytosine, representing these two classes of nucleic acids, could be measured with submicromolar detection limits at a copper electrode under these conditions, where the sensitivity for adenine was much higher than that for cytosine. Detection limits for purine-containing nucleotides [e.g., adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)] were on the order of 70-200 nM using this method. These detection limits are achieved for native nucleotides and are over 2 orders of magnitude lower than those found with UV absorbance detection. Submicromolar detection limits were also obtained for pyrimidine-based nucleotides, which could also be detected with high sensitivity due to the presence of a sugar backbone that is electroactive at the copper surface. This detector is not fouled by the nucleotides and may be used for the sensitive detection of analytes eluting continuously in a flowing stream, i.e., from a chromatography column or an electrophoresis capillary.     

Multi-channel local ternary pattern for content-based image retrieval

Pattern Analysis and Applications - A feature based on a single modality such as color or texture is not sufficient to investigate the appearance variation across multiple images. In this paper, a...