A waste-free thermal power station firing domestic wastes with the use of new combustion technology

Factors causing an extremely negative situation with respect to the environment in cities of Russia that has been created continuously over the last 40 years by numerous storage sites of domestic wastes, which at the same time are a considerable resource of renewable (inexhaustible) fuel, are considered. A combustion theory for multicomponent and high-moisture domestic wastes as nontraditional fuel is developed, and technology for their thermal reprocessing is developed on the basis of this theory.     

Pharmacogenetics of OATP Transporters Reveals That SLCO1B1 c.388A>G Variant Is Determinant of Increased Atorvastatin Response

Aims

The relationship between variants in SLCO1B1 and SLCO2B1 genes and lipid-lowering response to atorvastatin was investigated.

Material and Methods

One-hundred-thirty-six unrelated individuals with hypercholesterolemia were selected and treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/day/4 weeks). They were genotyped with a panel of ancestry informative markers for individual African component of ancestry (ACA) estimation by SNaPshot^® and SLCO1B1 (c.388A>G, c.463C>A and c.521T>C) and SLCO2B1 (−71T>C) gene polymorphisms were identified by TaqMan^® Real-time PCR.

Results

Subjects carrying SLCO1B1 c.388GG genotype exhibited significantly high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol reduction relative to c.388AA+c.388AG carriers (41 vs. 37%, p = 0.034). Haplotype analysis revealed that homozygous of SLCO1B1*15 (c.521C and c.388G) variant had similar response to statin relative to heterozygous and non-carriers. A multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that c.388GG genotype was associated with higher LDL cholesterol reduction in the study population (OR: 3.2, CI95%:1.3–8.0, p < 0.05).

Conclusion

SLCO1B1 c.388A>G polymorphism causes significant increase in atorvastatin response and may be an important marker for predicting efficacy of lipid-lowering therapy.     

Gold nanoparticle‐functionalized thread as a substrate for SERS study of analytes both bound and unbound to gold

The potential of thread for use as a substrate for inexpensive, disposable diagnostics for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has been showed in this study. Gold‐nanoparticle coated thread can be embedded into fabrics to detect chemical or biological analytes in military and medical applications through SERS. Using this inexpensive and widely available material enables reduction in the volumes of nanoparticle solution required compared to alternatives. By testing multiple analytes, it was observed that molecular structure played a significant role in SERS signal amplification, and hence, the technique is limited to the detection of a small number of analytes possessing highly polarizable structures. Although direct chemical bonding between analyte molecules and nanoparticles gives the strongest signal enhancement, it remains possible to easily discern signals generated by analytes not directly bound, provided they possess suitable structure. Amplification of SERS signal by controlling the aggregation state of the gold nanoparticles to increase the number of SERS hotspots was observed. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1598–1605, 2014