Col4a3-/- Mice on Balb/C Background Have Less Severe Cardiorespiratory Phenotype and SGLT2 Over-Expression Compared to 129x1/SvJ and C57Bl/6 Backgrounds

Alport syndrome (AS) is a hereditary renal disorder with no etiological therapy. In the preclinical Col4a3^-/- model of AS, disease progression and severity vary depending on mouse strain. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is emerging as an attractive therapeutic target in cardiac/renal pathologies, but its application to AS remains untested. This study investigates cardiorespiratory function and SGLT2 renal expression in Col4a3^-/- mice from three different genetic backgrounds, 129x1/SvJ, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C. male Col4a3^-/- 129x1/SvJ mice displayed alterations consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Female, but not male, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C Col4a3^-/- mice exhibited mild changes in systolic and diastolic function of the heart by echocardiography. Male C57Bl/6 Col4a3^-/- mice presented systolic dysfunction by invasive hemodynamic analysis. All strains except Balb/C males demonstrated alterations in respiratory function. SGLT2 expression was significantly increased in AS compared to WT mice from all strains. However, cardiorespiratory abnormalities and SGLT2 over-expression were significantly less in AS Balb/C mice compared to the other two strains. Systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated only in mutant 129x1/SvJ mice. The results provide further evidence for strain-dependent cardiorespiratory and hypertensive phenotype variations in mouse AS models, corroborated by renal SGLT2 expression, and support ongoing initiatives to develop SGLT2 inhibitors for the treatment of AS.     

Growth,X-ray peak broadening studies,and optical properties of Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Undoped and Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) (Zn_1?xMg_xO, x=0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) were grown by the sol–gel method. X-ray results showed that the products were crystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite phase. Microscopy studies revealed that the undoped ZnO NPs and Zn_1?xMg_xO NPs had nearly spherical and hexagonal shapes. The size–strain plot (SSP) method was used to study the individual contributions of crystallite sizes and lattice strain on the peak broadening of the undoped and Mg-doped ZnO NPs. Some physical parameters such as strain, stress, and energy-density values were calculated for all reflection peaks of the XRD corresponding to the wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO in the 20–100° range from the SSP results. The effect of doping on the band-gap was also investigated by a photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer. The PL results showed that Mg²⁺ is a good dopant to control band gap of the ZnO properties.     

Conceptual design and statistical overview on the design of a passive DMFC single cell

A conceptual design and statistical overview about passive direct methanol fuel cells that have been fabricated from 2002 to 2013, is performed [1–70]. The major components of passive DMFCs such as: active area, type of Nafion, catalyst loading on the anode and cathode side, characteristics and designs of current collectors (CC), and also the optimum methanol concentration which resulted in the best performance are categorized and studied statistically and individually. Finally, the best combination for the design and fabrication of a reliable passive DMFC is recommended. Obtained results indicated that a MEA with 4 cm² active area, Nafion 117 and 4 mg/cm² Pt/Ru at the anode and 2 mg/cm² Pt black at the cathode (or 4 mg/cm² Pt/Ru at the anode – 4 mg/cm² Pt black at the cathode) as the catalyst loading, which is sandwiched between two stainless steel perforated current collectors that are coated by Pt (or Gold) could be a reliable design for a passive direct methanol single cell.     

Multi-level cross-layer protocol for end-to-end delay provisioning in wireless multimedia sensor networks

Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering - Rapid developments in information and communication technology in recent years have posed a significant challenge in wireless...     

Design equations for prediction of pressuremeter soil deformation moduli utilizing expression programming systems

Providing precise estimations of soil deformation modulus is very difficult due to its dependence on many factors. In this study, gene expression programming (GEP) and multi-expression programming (MEP) systems are presented to derive empirical equations for the prediction of the pressuremeter soil deformation modulus. The employed expression programming (EP) systems formulate the soil deformation modulus in terms of the soil physical properties. Selection of the best models is on the basis of developing and controlling several models with different combinations of the affecting parameters. The proposed EP-based models are established upon 114 pressuremeter tests on different soil types conducted in this study. The generalization capabilities of the models are verified using several statistical criteria. Contributions of the variables influencing the soil modulus are evaluated through a sensitivity analysis. The GEP and MEP approaches accurately characterize the soil deformation modulus resulting in a very good prediction performance. The result indicates that moisture content and soil dry unit weight can efficiently represent the initial state and consolidation history of soil for determining its modulus.     

Photoluminescence emission of nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide films prepared in phosphoric acid

The photoluminescence emission of nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide films formed in phosphoric acid is studied in order to explore their defect-based subband electronic structure. Different excitation wavelengths are used to identify most of the details of the subband states. The films are produced under different anodizing conditions to optimize their emission in the visible range. Scanning electron microscopy investigations confirm pore formation in the produced layers. Gaussian analysis of the emission data indicates that subband states change with anodizing parameters, and various point defects can be formed both in the bulk and on the surface of these nanoporous layers during anodizing.     

Investigation of well test behavior in gas condensate reservoir using single-phase pseudo-pressure function

Gas condensate reservoirs present complicated thermodynamic behavior when pressure falls below the dew point pressure, due to fluid dropout and change in the fluid composition. Condensate blockage in the near wellbore region reduces the well deliverability. Mixture composition change in the reservoir makes the interpretation of well tests in gas condensate reservoirs a serious challenge. In this study, at first the capillary number effect and Non-Darcy Flow on compositional simulation of gas condensate reservoirs were investigated and then well test analysis was carried out. The main objective of this work was to examine gas condensate well test analysis using single-phase gas pseudo-pressure and radial composite model assuming capillary number effect and Non-Darcy Flow. For this purpose some fluid samples were selected and results compared. Results indicate that estimation of reservoir properties below the dew point is in good agreement with actual input, particularly for lean fluid samples.