Several hundred U mL-1 of Nattokinase (NK), a fibrinolytic enzyme, can be produced by culturing recombinant Bacillus subtilis in Luria-Bertani broth in a shaking flask. For use as a nutraceutical, large-scale preparation and a simple purification process is required. The present study utilized a fed-batch process with a pH-stat and low-glycerol-level-maintain feeding strategy to cultivate a B. subtilis strain carrying a pHT01 plasmid with an NK-encoding gene (B. subtilis/pHT01-aprN1). Finally, a NK activity of 7778 ±17.28 U mL-1 was obtained, which represented a 26-fold increase of NK activity by high cell density cultivation compared to the flask culture. Furthermore, fermentation supernatant was successively purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and nickel column affinity chromatography with a total NK recovery rate of 65.2%.

The development of generic biopharmaceuticals is increasing the pressures for enhanced bioprocess productivity and yields. Autophagy (“self-eating”) is a cellular process that allows cells to mitigate stresses such as nutrient deprivation. Reputed autophagy inhibitors have also been shown to increase autophagic flux under certain conditions, and enhance recombinant protein productivity in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cultures. Since peptides are commonly added to bioprocess culture media in hydrolysates, we evaluated the impact on productivity of an autophagy-inducing peptide (AIP), derived from the cellular autophagy protein Beclin 1. This was analyzed in CHO cell batch and fed-batch serum-free cultures producing a human IgG1. Interestingly, the addition of 1 to 4 µM AIP enhanced productivity in a concentration-dependent manner. Cell-specific productivity increased up to 1.8-fold in batch cultures, while in fed-batch cultures a maximum 2-fold increase in volumetric productivity was observed. An initial drop in cell viability also occurred before cultures recovered normal growth. Overall, these findings strongly support the value of investigating the effects of autophagy pathway modulation, and in particular, the use of this AIP medium additive to increase CHO cell biotherapeutic protein production and yields.

A series of recent flood events in Canada affecting areas around lakes and reservoirs have highlighted the need to explicitly represent such features in large scale flood models. Water level fluctuations in lakes are traditionally modelled using detailed hydrological models designed – as far as possible – to represent the actual physical processes that take place. This approach, while appropriate for local-scale studies in data-rich areas, is not applicable for large-scale flood modelling where data availability for model calibration and validation is often severely limited. This paper explores two methodologies, one statistical and one physically based, designed to approximately predict the increase in the water level of lakes in Quebec (Canada) using only limited morphological information about the lakes and the estimated discharge entering the water body during a flood event. Of the two methods, the statistical approach proved to be the most applicable to a large-scale modelling framework as it exhibited lower errors whilst being considerably easier to implement in a semi-automated modelling chain.

Isolated pulmonary valve infective endocarditis (PVIE) is very rare, with a frequency of 1.6-2.7% of all endocarditis cases. We report the case of a patient who underwent successful pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) with a bio-prosthetic valve to treat isolated PVIE.

Massive empyema can mimic tension pneumothorax clinically and can be distinguished only radiographically. This distinction is crucial since needle decompression for tension pneumothorax can cause iatrogenic pneumothorax in those with massive empyema.

How plants cope with the increase of population density via root plasticity is not well documented. Abiotic environments and plant ontogeny may play an important role in determining plant response to density and thus contribute to understanding this issue. We aimed to investigate root plasticity in response to density under contrasting soil conditions at three stages of plant growth in an annual herbaceous species Abutilon theophrasti. We conducted a field experiment by subjecting plant individuals to low, medium and high densities (13.4, 36.0 and 121.0 plants m-2, respectively) under fertile and infertile soil conditions, and a series of root traits were measured at three harvests when they had grown for 30, 50 and 70 d. Results revealed the complexity of root response to density, which may increase, decrease or canalize, depending on the strength of above- and below-ground interactions, which varied with soil conditions or growth stage. The intensity of above- and/or below-ground interactions increased with decreased soil resources, but first increased then decreased with growth stage. Facilitation is more likely to occur at low to moderate below-ground interaction, when above-ground interaction is negligible, and resources are abundant and at early stage of plant growth. Plants may prefer to adjust biomass allocation to maintain total mass stable initially, before suffering decreased total mass, in response to intraspecific interactions.

Objective: Effective treatment for acute limb-threatening lower extremity (LE) thrombosis involves thrombolysis in addition to anticoagulation. There is limited available data on the outcomes and safety of catheter directed thrombolysis (CDT) to help guide its use in pediatrics. Procedure: Single-center retrospective medical record review of children (<21 years of age) that received CDT for LE and inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis over a 5-year span at a pediatric tertiary care center. Results: A total of 29 patients were identified for inclusion in the study, 76% (n=22) received overnight CDT while 24% (n=7) received tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) as a bolus dose during a single interventional procedure. The median age of the cohort was 15.8 years (range 0-19.1). All patients were treated with a course of anticoagulation. The thromboses represented were extensive, with 93% (n=27) being occlusive and affecting multiple venous segments. Thrombus resolution occurred in 35% (n=10) of patients. Rivaroxaban use during the course of anticoagulation and estrogen-containing hormonal therapy use prior to diagnosis were associated with thrombus resolution, while Hispanic ethnicity was associated with thrombus persistence. There was one major and 3 minor bleeding events that occurred as a complication of thrombolysis and no treatment related deaths. Conclusions: The administration of tPA, whether by CDT or as an intra-procedural bolus, for extensive LE and IVC thromboses is effective and safe in children when combined with a course of anticoagulation.

Moringa oleifera is is termed as life plant, miracle plant and multi-purpose plant for having several nutritional, pharmacological and industrial applications. It is used to make a novel fermented bio-product that is nutritionally rich and enhances the functionality of mango flavored yogurt. The effect of four different concentrations of moringa dried leaf powder are used during the production of mango flavored yogurt and analyzed for its physicochemical properties (pH, acidity, fat%, total soluble solids, moisture% ash%, fiber% and syneresis) and sensory characteristics. Results show that mango flavored yogurt fortified with 1% leaf powder of moringa oleifera has got highest score in majority of the sensory attributes over the storage period of 15 days at 5ºC. All treatments showed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher results for acidity, total soluble solids, protein & syneresis as compared to control treatment during fresh and storage period. While, all treatments showed less pH and moisture content than control and fat was nearly same in all treatments during fresh and storage period of 15 days at 5±1 ºC. The yogurt fortified with 1% Moringa oleiferaconcentration was overall most acceptable due to its better nutritional and physiochemical characteristics. Moreover, it is most acceptable among all other products by the sensory panel.

The low effectiveness factor of catalyst pellet caused by high internal diffusion limitation is a common issue in fixed-bed reactor. Nevertheless, hierarchical structured catalyst provides a promising solution for the contradiction between reaction activity and diffusion efficiency in large catalyst pellets. Herein, we studied the effect of pore structure parameters of the meso-macroporous catalyst on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis performances through experiment and pellet scale reaction-diffusion simulation. The pellet simulation firstly elucidated the reason for the significant improvement on activity and product selectivity for the meso-macroporous catalyst observed in our experiment. Further optimization via pellet simulation indicated the critical influences of wax filling degree and that the perfect matching between reaction and mass transfer rates by increasing macropore size and adjusting porosity within pellet enables the C5+ space-time yield to the maximum. This work could provide a theoretical guideline for the engineering design of the hierarchical structured catalyst pellet.

Let $G^2_n$ be the graph obtained by the strong prism of a graph $G_n$ with a given degree sequence, i.e. the strong product of $K_2$ and $G_n$. In this paper, we give the relationship between $G_n^2$ and $G_n$ for Kirchhoff index and the total number of spanning tress. which generalized the main results of Z.M. Li et al. ( Appl. Math. Comput., 2020, 382:125335), Y.G. Pan et al. ( Int. J. Quantum Chem. 118 (2018) . E25787) and Y.G. Pan et al. (2019, ArXiv: 1906.04339). We also presented the explicit expressions for the multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff indices of $G_n^2$ when $G_n$ is regular. Typically, Using this results we get the explicit expressions for the Kirchhoff index, multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff and the total number of spanning trees of the strong prism of a wheel $W_n$, respectively. It is surprising to find that the quotient of Kirchhoff (resp. multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff) index of $W_n^2$ and its Wiener (resp. Gutman) index is almost a constant. More specially, let $^2_{n,r}$ be the set of subgraphs obtained by randomly deleting $r$ vertical edges from $G^2_n$, where $0\leq r \leq n$. Explicit formulas for Kirchhoff index and number of spanning trees for any graph $G^2_{n,r}\in ^2_{n,r}$ are established, respectively.

Although children are less affected by Novel coronavirus disease 2019 than adults, it should not be missed, especially in those with underlying diseases. Herein, we report a patient with primary antibody deficiency, who was affected with COVID-19. This infection could be presented mildly in patients with immunodeficiency.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identified the effect of consumption of milk and pistachio as snacks on satiety, body fat percent, and macronutrient intake in overweight or obese women. Methods: In this randomized cross-over trial, sixty overweight and obese women with mean age of 24.42 ± 4.2 years participated. Each Intervention lasted two one-month periods with a 6-day washout period. A visual analogue scale was used to score satiety. To calculate energy intake(macronutrient), a food record was obtained. Body fat percentage was calculated using the Deurenberg formula. Results: At the end of the study, there was not any statistical difference in energy intake at each snack groups (p-value>0.05). Body fat percent for women in the milk group significantly decreased (p-value = 0.001). There was not any statistical difference in the area under the curve between pistachio and milk snack groups (226.13±54.5 and 225.16±47.48, respectively, p-value=0.930). Conclusion: The consumption of pistachio and milk as a daily mid-morning snack for a month has a similar effect on the maintenance of the satiety status in obese and overweight people but it doesn’t have any beneficial effects on calorie intake. Keyword: satiety, pistachio, milk What’s known? A satiety control strategy is a novel method for achieving and maintaining an optimal body weight. Although snacks consumed has a significant role in satiety status, there isn’t any specific guidance for snacking choices. What’s new? Presently, the evidence with regarding association between kind of snack and satiety results are inconsistent. As our finding, the functional food and healthy snacks consumed can a key role in satiety status.

Background: To compare the effects of modified triple-branched stent implantation and frozen elephant trunk technique on the quality of life (QoL) of acute Stanford Type A aortic dissection (AAAD) patients at different follow-up times. Methods: Data from 175 AAAD survivors was collected which were divided into two groups according to different surgical techniques: (group A): modified triple-branched stent graft implantation; (group B): frozen elephant trunk. The SF-36 were used to assess the QoL at discharge(AD), the third postoperative month (POM3), and the twelfth postoperative month (POM12). Results: (1)The total scores at each time of both groups showed lower than the normal level; Group A scored higher than group B at some time points in terms of some items, and some items at POM3 and POM12 scored higher than at discharge. Older patients underwent modified triple-branched stent graft implantation. (2) There were less patients with heavy self-perceived burden in group A than group B and patients with heavy self-perceived burden decreased over time. (3) Young postoperative AAD patients in group B with heavy self-perceived burden, acute renal failure, long LOS and blood loss（> 1000 mL / 24h）seemed to get a worse QoL. Conclusions: The impact on QoL of the modified triple-branched stent graft implantation technique seemed to be better than those of frozen elephant trunk surgery in some items.

We report a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) induced by diffuse fear of the COVID-19 pandemia and aggravated to ventricular fibrillation. After succesfull resuscitation the patient developed temporarily a J-wave after event. Though potentially live threatening in the acute phase both J-wave and TTC are reversible with receding of edema.

We are very thankful to Dr. Vendramin et al. (1) for their interest in our article about the “off label” use of new cardiac prosthetic valves in different clinical scenarios, and for their thoughtful comments.

Background and Purpose: The success of cancer chemotherapy is limited by multidrug resistance (MDR), which is mainly caused by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) overexpression. In the present study, we describe a novel microtubule inhibitor, 5-(N-methylmaleimid-3-yl)-chromone (SPC-160002), that can be used to overcome MDR. Experimental Approach: Key Results: A synthetic chromone derivative, SPC-160002, showed a broad spectrum of anti-proliferative effects on various human cancer cells without affecting P-gp expression and its drug efflux function. Treatment with SPC-160002 arrested the cell cycle at the M phase, as evidenced using fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and increased the levels of mitotic marker proteins, including cyclin B, pS10-H3, and chromosomal passenger complex. This mitotic arrest by SPC-160002 was mediated by promoting and stabilizing microtubule polymerization, similar to the mechanism observed in case of taxane-based drugs. Furthermore, SPC-160002 suppressed the growth and sphere-forming activity of cancer stem cells. Conclusion and Implications: Our data herein strongly suggest that SPC-160002, a novel microtubule inhibitor, can be used to overcome MDR and can serve as an attractive candidate for anticancer drugs.

The complexity of lipid feedstocks and the lack of data on physical properties hinder the simulation of oleochemical processing units. In this work, an iterative lumping approach is proposed to define an adequate number of key components such that diversification between lipid feedstocks becomes possible, while keeping the determination of physical properties as required for process modelling manageable. As a case study, the iterative lumping approach is used for simulation and optimization of a fatty acid distillation plant. For predicting vapour-liquid equilibria of fatty acids, the best results were acquired using the property method UNIQ-HOC. Using the iterative lumping approach, 11 key components were selected to represent the feedstock. The process model properly predicts the product composition, yield, purity and heat duty. The most important process parameters are found to be side-reflux-ratio, reboiler-outlet-temperature and heat-duty of the pitch-distiller. For optimization, an increase of the side-reflux-ratio and reboiler-outlet-temperature, is recommended.

Objective This study aims to determine the performance of cervical pessary in singleton pregnancies with a short cervix based on the learning curve. Design, Settings, Population, and Methods Between 2011 and 2018, 128 singleton gestation between 18th to 24th weeks with a short cervix (<25mm) were referred to our quasi-randomized trial. All cases were treated with progesterone, and, when available, cervical pessary was also offered. Three groups were created for statistical analysis: Group 1 (n=33), treated with progesterone-only; Group 2 and Group 3, treated with cervical pessary plus progesterone. Group 2, included the first cases (n=30), defined by the learning curve and cumulative sum analysis (LC-CUSUM), while Group 3, included the subsequent (n=65). Our outcome was delivery before 34 weeks. Main outcome measures and Results LC-CUSUM demonstrated that 30 patients achieved learning. The preterm birth rate before 34 weeks was 27.3% in Group 1, 20% in Group 2, and 4.6% in Group 3. There was no significant difference in the Group 1/Group 2 comparison (OR 1.10, P=0.945); the Group 1/Group 3 comparison, the difference was significant (OR 0.08, P=0.003). Conclusion LC-CUSUM determined 30 pessaries to achieve the best pessary performance. Cervical pessary plus progesterone can reduce the preterm birth before 34 weeks in patients with a short cervix. Funding This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 Keywords Preterm birth; learning curve; cervical pessary; vaginal progesterone; singleton pregnancy; short cervix; transvaginal ultrasound.

Based on a cold-flow experimental device, the transition between trickle flow and pulse flow in a 3D cocurrent downflow three-phase moving bed is investigated by the standard deviation of pressure drop and visual observations. Results show that at a constant gas flow rate, the trickle-to-pulse transition shifts to a higher liquid flow rate with the increasing solid flow rate because the particle moving inhibits the formation of local liquid blockage. Furthermore, an empirical model is proposed to fit the trickle-to-pulse transition boundary by correlating the dynamic liquid holdup at the boundary with the gas Reynolds number and the particle velocity. Finally, the effects of the particle moving on the liquid distribution is investigated, which show that the particle moving makes the liquid distribution more uniform when the solid flow rate is smaller than a certain value. But further increasing the solid flow rate, the liquid distribution becomes uneven

Acoustophoresis is a promising method in micro and nanotechnology attracting particular attentions as an efficient particle handling method. Droplet-based microfluidics has emerged as a valuable tool for miniaturization of biological reactions. This study numerically investigates a method of enriching the concentration of particles inside a droplet. The advantage of this method is that it proposes a non-contact solution to handle biological particles such as RBCs, CTCs and proteins. The finite volume method (FVM) was used as a CFD tool to model and simulate the problem. Particles were simulated using the discrete phase model (DPM). The numerically acquired results were compared with experimental data and were validated. Water droplet sizes were increased with an increase in the ratio of water to oil flow rate. Furthermore, some geometrical aspects were investigated in this work. An optimized microchip geometry, which resulted in an optimal enrichment of particles, was proposed by comparing different geometries.

Background Cardiac hydatid cyst is a rare parasitic disease. Since it may be associated with fatal complications, early diagnosis and treatment of a cardiac hydatid cyst is very important, however, it may stay asymptomatic for a long time, until they reveal themselves being perforated into cardiac chambers and/or pulmonary artery or systemic circulation. Case presentation: We report a case of a young asymptomatic boy, who underwent a routine chest x ray in a pre employment check up in whom we discovered a multiple pulmonary lesions and a right ventricle hydatid cyst. He then underwent a successful treatment Conclusion Due to the high risk of associated complications, cardiac hydatid cysts should be removed surgically, even in asymptomatic patients.

The transvaginal excision of lesion seems to a feasible and safe approach to treat cesarean scar pregnancy.

One environmental friendly wood adhesive based on waterborne polyurethane (WPU) grafted gelatin (G) was investigated in this research. The G was extracted from chromium shavings waste firstly, and then mixed with pre-polymer emulsion of WPU to synthesis the graft copolymer (WPUG) via solvent-free emulsion copolymerization. The synthesized copolymer was characterized regarding the mechanical properties test, TGA, FT-IR and other analysis technology. The results indicated that the WPUG has good stability, water resisting. The film-forming and thermal stability of G were improved after reacted with the pre-polymer of WPU, and the temperature of maximum weight loss was over 350 oC. The WPUG adhesive has excellent bonding power and mechanical properties, the dry bonding strength could reach 4.21 MPa when the R value was 1.5. The preparation of copolymer not only can perfectly satisfy the need of environment-friendly wood adhesives, but can also effectively improve the recycling use of chromium shavings waste.

Preferential flow plays an important role in soil water retention, movement, and solute transport. Heterogeneity, uncertainty, and the scale of preferential flow are the focus of current research. The multi-index method and preferential flow classification method were used to identify and quantify preferential characteristic and flow types at three points of a slope in the upstream of the drinking water supply area. Results show that the infiltration depth of the preferential flow on the hillside is about 400mm. The preferential flow fraction of the staining profile ranges from 56.6 to 74.8%. The result of multi-index evaluation shows that the weight of the peak value of the staining area and coefficient of variation are the two indexes that have a greater influence on the preferential flow. Regarding the difference of preferential flow at different slope positions, the peak value of the staining area at mid-slope is higher and the coefficient of variation is lower, indicating that the preferential flow at mid-slope is more developed than at upslope and downslope. The results of the quantitative analysis of preferential flow types show that the dyeing depth can be divided into three parts with two dividing points at 100 and 275 mm due to the distribution of stain width. The main type is macropore flow, especially macropore flow with mixed interaction, accounting for 49.8, 52.2, and 61.3% at upslope, mid-slope and downslope locations, respectively. The interaction between macropores gradually decreases with increasing soil depth and increasing elevation. As for the factors influencing preferential flow type, correlation analysis found that the higher the soil moisture content, the stronger the interaction between macropores. Influenced by bulk density, saturated conductivity, and porosity, matrix flow in the soil is relatively stable with a depth of approximately 10 cm. The results can provide a reference for the subsequent research on the preferential infiltration mechanism on different slope positions and the transport characteristics of water and nutrients.