Creating Multiband and Broadband Metamaterial Absorber by Multiporous Square Layer Structure

Plasmonics - Since the metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is composed of electromagnetic resonance structures, the main operational mechanism of the MPA is electromagnetic resonance. In this work,...     

Improving phosphorus sustainability of sugarcane production in Brazil

Phosphorus (P) use in global food and bioenergy production needs to become more efficient and sustainable to reduce environmental impacts and conserve a finite and critical resource (Carpenter & Bennett, Environmental Research Letters, 2011, 6, 014009; Springmann et al., Nature, 2018, 562, 519). Sugarcane is one crop with a large P footprint because production is centered on P‐fixing soils with low P availability (Roy et al., Nature Plants, 2016, 2, 16043; Withers et al., Scientific Reports, 2018, 8, 2537). As global demand for processed sugar and bioethanol continues to increase, we advocate that improving P efficiency could become a key sustainability goal for the sugarcane industry. Here, we applied the 5R global P stewardship framework (Withers et al., Ambio, 2015, 44, 193) to identify more sustainable options to manage P in Brazilian sugarcane production. We show that current inputs of P fertilizer to the current crop area could be reduced by over 305 Gg, or 63%, over the next three decades by reducing unnecessary P fertilizer use, better utilization of recyclable bioresources and redesigning recommendation systems. Adoption of these 5R options would save the sugarcane industry in Brazil 528 US$ million and help safeguard global food and energy security.     

Evaluation of the MODS culture technique for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis

Background

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a devastating condition. The rapid instigation of appropraite chemotherapy is vital to reduce morbidity and mortality. However rapid diagnosis remains elusive; smear microscopy has extremely low sensitivity on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in most laboratories and PCR requires expertise with advanced infrastructure and has sensitivity of only around 60% under optimal conditions. Neither technique allows for the microbiological isolation of M. tuberculosis and subsequent drug susceptibility testing. We evaluated the recently developed microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay format for speed and accuracy in diagnosing TBM.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Two hundred and thirty consecutive CSF samples collected from 156 patients clinically suspected of TBM on presentation at a tertiary referal hospital in Vietnam were enrolled into the study over a five month period and tested by Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) smear, MODS, Mycobacterial growth Indicator tube (MGIT) and Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture. Sixty-one samples were from patients already on TB therapy for >1day and 19 samples were excluded due to untraceable patient records. One hundred and fifty samples from 137 newly presenting patients remained. Forty-two percent (n = 57/137) of patients were deemed to have TBM by clinical diagnostic and microbiological criteria (excluding MODS). Sensitivity by patient against clinical gold standard for ZN smear, MODS MGIT and LJ were 52.6%, 64.9%, 70.2% and 70.2%, respectively. Specificity of all microbiological techniques was 100%. Positive and negative predictive values for MODS were 100% and 78.7%, respectively for HIV infected patients and 100% and 82.1% for HIV negative patients. The median time to positive was 6 days (interquartile range 5–7), significantly faster than MGIT at 15.5 days (interquartile range 12–24), and LJ at 24 days (interquartile range 18–35 days) (P<0.01).

Conclusions

We have shown MODS to be a sensitive, rapid technique for the diagnosis of TBM with high sensitivity, ease of performance and low cost (0.53 USD/sample).     

Effects of Quercetin against Doxorubicin-Induced Testicular Toxicity in Male Rats

Biology Bulletin - This study investigated the protective effects of quercetin (QUE) in doxorubicin (DOX)-induced testicular toxicity in rats. In the present study, testicular histomorphometry, the...     

Proposal of 28 GHz In Vitro Exposure System Based on Field Uniformity for Three‐Dimensional Cell Culture Experiments

This paper proposes a novel in vitro exposure system operating at millimeter‐wave (mmWave) 28 GHz, one of the frequency bands under consideration for fifth generation (5G) communication. We employed the field uniformity concept along cross‐sectional observation planes at shorter distances from the radiation antenna for better efficiency and a small‐size system. A choke‐ring antenna was designed for this purpose in consideration of a wider beamwidth (BW) and a symmetric far‐field pattern across three principal planes. The permittivity of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium solution was measured to examine the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the skin cell layer inside a Petri dish model for a three‐dimensional (3D) cell culture in vitro experiment. The best deployment of Petri dishes, taking into account a geometrical field symmetry, was proposed. Local SAR values within the cell layer among the Petri dishes were determined with different polarization angles. It was determined that this polarization effect should be considered when the actual exposure and deployment were conducted. We finally proposed an in vitro exposure system based on the field uniformity including downward exposure from an antenna for 3D cell culture experiments. A small‐size chamber system was obtained, and the size was estimated using the planar near‐field chamber design rule. Bioelectromagnetics. 2019;40:445–457. © 2019 Bioelectromagnetics Society     

Molecular cloning and characterization of mouse cardiac junctate isoforms.

Junctate is a newly identified integral ER/SR membrane calcium binding protein, which is an alternative splicing form of the same gene generating aspartyl beta-hydroxylase and junctin. Screening a mouse heart cDNA library using canine junctin cDNA as a probe yielded three complete mouse heart cDNAs. One of the cDNAs is homologous to the previously reported human junctate. The three mouse junctate proteins are composed of 270, 259, and 215 amino acids (we named them junctate-1, -2, and -3). The apparent molecular masses of the mouse junctates in SDS-PAGE were in the range between 40 and 53 kDa. Northern and Western blot analyses indicate that mouse junctates are expressed in heart, brain, spleen, lung, liver, kidney, and stomach, but not in skeletal muscle. The apparent molecular weights of junctates from heart and brain were somewhat different from those from the other tissues tested, suggesting that there are tissue-specific expression patterns of the different junctate isoforms. Immunohistochemical studies showed that junctates were expressed both in ventricular and atrial tissues. This is the first study that shows the presence of 3 distinct cardiac junctate isoforms expressed in various mammalian tissues.