Environmental Phenol and Paraben Exposure Risks and Their Potential Influence on the Gene Expression Involved in the Prognosis of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading malignant tumors in US men. The lack of understanding of the molecular pathology on the risk of food supply chain exposures of environmental phenol (EP) and paraben (PB) chemicals limits the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options. This research aims to utilize a risk assessment approach to demonstrate the association of EP and PB exposures detected in the urine samples along with PCa in US men (NHANES data 2005–2015). Further, we employ integrated bioinformatics to examine how EP and PB exposure influences the molecular pathways associated with the progression of PCa. The odds ratio, multiple regression model, and Pearson coefficients were used to evaluate goodness-of-fit analyses. The results demonstrated associations of EPs, PBs, and their metabolites, qualitative and quantitative variables, with PCa. The genes responsive to EP and PB exposures were identified using the Comparative Toxicogenomic Database (CTD). DAVID.6.8, GO, and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to delineate their roles in prostate carcinogenesis. The plug-in CytoHubba and MCODE completed identification of the hub genes in Cytoscape software for their roles in the PCa prognosis. It was then validated by using the UALCAN database by evaluating the expression levels and predictive values of the identified hub genes in prostate cancer prognosis using TCGA data. We demonstrate a significant association of higher levels of EPs and PBs in the urine samples, categorical and numerical confounders, with self-reported PCa cases. The higher expression levels of the hub genes (BUB1B, TOP2A, UBE2C, RRM2, and CENPF) in the aggressive stages (Gleason score > 8) of PCa tissues indicate their potential role(s) in the carcinogenic pathways. Our results present an innovative approach to extrapolate and validate hub genes responsive to the EPs and PBs, which may contribute to the severity of the disease prognosis, especially in the older population of US men.     

Settling state detection of SBR based on DO profile analysis using dynamic time warping

Settleability of activated sludge is one of the most important variables for stable solid-liquid separation of the biological wastewater process. Moreover, effective decanting is a sensitive work at sequencing batch reactor (SBR) which has a settleability fault, such as filamentous/non-filamentous bulking, deflocculation and sludge rising. It is not easy to monitor sludge settleability directly without any specified measurement system, but the values of settling phase can be measured by installing basic measuring instruments for monitoring the process in the reaction stage of SBR. In this study, patterns of DO profiles measured at settling phase showing significant difference according to the process status were used to explore whether a problem occurs or not. To use this information, an online algorithm was developed to detect and diagnose the settling fault. A dynamic programming method that is one of the pattern recognition methods was used to detect and classify the patterns of the DO profiles. Based on the discriminant function made by dynamic time warping results and an extracted variable from DO profiles, the classification rules were generated. With the discriminant function, the settleability fault was detected and classified successfully.     

Development of RF-MEMS switch on PCB substrates with polyimide planarization

This paper describes an improved manufacturing technology for the fabrication of radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems switches on a laminated printed circuit board (PCB). The process simplifies the fabrication process without sacrificing the RF performance of switches on the PCB. The proposed process patterns a 17.5-/spl mu/m-thick copper layer on the PCB; as a result, the surface becomes highly nonplanarized. Polyimide is then used to planarize the PCB's patterned copper layer. The use of polyimide for planarization has not only made the fabrication process simpler, but it has also reduced the formation of voids in the photoresist sacrificial layer where metallic membrane is deposited and patterned. The switches fabricated with this technology demonstrate a low insertion loss (less than 0.06 dB at 10 GHz) and good isolation (less than 20 dB at 10 GHz).     

LRP5 Regulates HIF-1α Stability via Interaction with PHD2 in Ischemic Myocardium

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) has been studied as a co-receptor for Wnt/β-catenin signaling. However, its role in the ischemic myocardium is largely unknown. Here, we show that LRP5 may act as a negative regulator of ischemic heart injury via its interaction with prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2), resulting in hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) degradation. Overexpression of LRP5 in cardiomyocytes promoted hypoxia-induced apoptotic cell death, whereas LRP5-silenced cardiomyocytes were protected from hypoxic insult. Gene expression analysis (mRNA-seq) demonstrated that overexpression of LRP5 limited the expression of HIF-1α target genes. LRP5 promoted HIF-1α degradation, as evidenced by the increased hydroxylation and shorter stability of HIF-1α under hypoxic conditions through the interaction between LRP5 and PHD2. Moreover, the specific phosphorylation of LRP5 at T1492 and S1503 is responsible for enhancing the hydroxylation activity of PHD2, resulting in HIF-1α degradation, which is independent of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Importantly, direct myocardial delivery of adenoviral constructs, silencing LRP5 in vivo, significantly improved cardiac function in infarcted rat hearts, suggesting the potential value of LRP5 as a new target for ischemic injury treatment.     

Decision model for coagulant dosage using genetic programming and multivariate statistical analysis for coagulation/flocculation at water treatment process

In this research, genetic programming and multivariate statistical analysis techniques have been applied for decision support on the coagulant dosage and the mixing ratio as two kinds of coagulants have been injected at the same time in the coagulating sedimentation process of water treatment. The coagulant dosage has typically been determined through the Jar-test, which requires a long experiment time in a field-water treatment plant. It is difficult to efficiently determine the coagulant dosage since water quality changes with time. As there are no human experts who have sufficient knowledge and experience in the field, coagulants may be injected with an improper mixing ratio, which causes poor performance in the coagulating sedimentation process. In this study, a model for the approximation of coagulant dosage has been developed using genetic programming (GP). The performance of this model was evaluated through validation. A guideline on the optimal mixing ratio between PACS (Poly Aluminum Chloride Silicate) and PAC (Poly Aluminum Chloride) has been provided through statistical analysis.     

Tunneling-induced spectral broadening of a single atom in a three-dimensional optical lattice

We have investigated the spectral broadening in the near-resonance fluorescence spectrum of a single rubidium atom trapped in a three-dimensional (3D) optical lattice in a strong Lamb-Dicke regime. Besides the strong Rayleigh peak, the spectrum exhibited weak Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman sidebands. The line width of the Rayleigh peak for low potential depths was well explained by matter-wave tunneling between the first-two lowest vibrational states of 3D anisotropic harmonic potentials of adjacent local minima of the optical lattice.     

Evaluation of the buffing volume in last third flocculation basin using CFD

In Korea, the party walls of the flocculation basin consist generally of four parts, as three party walls and the outlet wall. The space between the third party wall and the outlet wall is therefore not the full extent of the flocculation basin and sedimentation basin. This space is theoretically totally unfounded. In order to practically apply the third party wall as an outlet wall, the volume capacity of the last third flocculation process needs to be determined on the ground that the perforated baffle (opening ratio 6%) is not ideal for the rectification effect. The buffer zone, according to the G value, is required in the last third flocculation process for a uniform flow at the outlet. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the size of the buffer zone in the last third flocculation process using CFD. Conclusions are made as follows: The difference of outflow rate percentage between the upper, middle and bottom part sections reduces according to the expansion of the third basin volume from 4.2 to 7.7 at each G value. We can suggest that the effluent percentage at the three sections is less affected by the G value than by the volume increase. For G values ranging from 11 to 16(1/s), the buffer zone needs to range from 10% to 20% compared with the last third volume by the velocity of standard deviation of 5 at the outlet. Also, when the velocity of standard deviation at the outlet is 2.5 or less, the buffer zone needs to range from 45% to 55%.     

In silico prediction models for thyroid peroxidase inhibitors and their application to synthetic flavors

Food Science and Biotechnology - Systematic toxicity tests are often waived for the synthetic flavors as they are added in a very small amount in foods. However, their safety for some endpoints...     

Sludge settleability detection using automated SV30 measurement and comparisons of feature extraction methods

The need for automation and measurement technologies to detect the process state has been a driving force in the development of various measurements at wastewater treatment plants. While the number of applications of automation & measurement technologies to the field is increasing, there have only been a few cases where they have been applied to the area of sludge settling. It is not easy to develop an automated operation support system for the detection of sludge settleability due to its site-specific characteristics. To automate the human operator’s daily test and diagnosis work on sludge settling, an on-line SV30 measurement was developed and an automated detection algorithm on settleability was developed that imitated heuristics to detect settleability faults. The automated SV30 measurement is based on automatic pumping with a predefined schedule, the image capture of the settling test with a digital camera, and an analysis of the images to detect the settled sludge height. To detect settleability faults such as deflocculation and bulking from these images, two feature extraction methods were used and their performance was evaluated.     

Microstructure and properties of hot extruded AZ31-0.25%Sb Mg-alloy

The effects of hot extrusion treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31-0.25%Sb Mg alloy were investigated by means of mechanical properties measurement and microstructure observation.The results show that the microstructure of AZ31-0.25%Sb Mg alloys consists ofα-Ms matrix,Mg_(17)Al_(12) and Mg_3Sb_2 phases.The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield tensile strength(YTS) of the alloy are obviously enhanced by hot extrusion treatment,and the enhanced extent of UTS and YTS increas...