The available pneumococcal conjugate vaccines provide protection against only those serotypes that are included in the vaccine, which leads to a selective pressure and serotype replacement in the population. An alternative low-cost, safe and serotype-independent vaccine was developed based on a non-encapsulated pneumococcus strain. This study evaluates process intensification to improve biomass production and shows for the first time the use of perfusion-batch with cell recycling for a bacterial vaccine production. Batch, fed-batch and perfusion-batch were performed at 10 L scale using a complex animal component-free culture medium. Cells were harvested at the highest optical density, concentrated and washed using microfiltration or centrifugation to compare cell separation methods. Higher biomass was achieved using perfusion-batch, which removes lactate while retaining cells. The biomass produced in perfusion-batch would represent at least 4-fold greater number of doses per cultivation than in the previously described batch process. Each strategy yielded similar vaccines in terms of quality as evaluated by Western blot and animal immunization assays, indicating that, so far, perfusion-batch is the best strategy for the intensification of pneumococcal whole cell vaccine production, since it can be integrated to the cell separation process keeping the same vaccine quality.

A document by Mustafa Kurban. Click on the document to view its contents.

ABSTRACT We consider the values of residues of functions. We know the residues of some functions at their poles. For example $$ Res(\Gamma(s),-k) = {k!}, k\in $$ but then some functions are hard, for example $$ Res(e^{\Gamma(s)},-k) = ? $$ if we consider a series expansion of eΓ[s], we get terms $$ Res\left(^n {l!}, -k\right) $$ for some such expansions it appears that there is a convergent limit, for large n. i.e. $$ Res\left(^n {l!}, s=0\right) \approx 0.80562017... $$ and $$ Res\left(^n {l!}, s=-1\right) \approx -1.21469623... $$ If we call this $$ Q[e^{\Gamma(s)}](k) = Res\left(^n {l!}, s=-k\right) $$ then we could define a function f(x) = ^\infty Q[e^{\Gamma(s)}](k)x^k \approx 0.806 - 1.215x + 1.02621x^2 - 0.13931294x^3 + 0.04446964782x^4 - ... where interestingly, the higher terms are more precise with only a few terms required in the truncated version of Q. For the function f(x), it seems like the minimum is around x₀ = 0.658734 with a value of v = 0.418402, with some likely bounds 0.401076 < v < 0.454371 and 0.62907 < x₀ < 0.726154.

Groundwater is an important water resource for the ecological restoration and the life and production of the inhabitants of the Loess hilly region. A quantitative exploration of groundwater recharge mechanism and the spatial-temporal variation pattern is the key for an effective evaluation of groundwater resources in this region. Based on a Bayesian model and a Sinusoidal model, the spatial-temporal distribution pattern of the water transmission time and the groundwater recharge ratio were investigated. The results showed that the transmission time of groundwater by precipitation and surface water were 443.16 d and 64.58 d, respectively, which yielded a recharge ratio of 29.22% and 70.78%, respectively. Surface water was the main recharge source of groundwater in this region. The values of the groundwater recharge ratio by precipitation in the rainy season and dry season were 32.83% and 25.60%, respectively. Groundwater recharge mainly occurred during the rainy season. From upstream to downstream of the small watershed, the groundwater recharge ratio by precipitation increased gradually, while the groundwater recharge ratio by surface water decreased. The spatial characteristics of groundwater recharge ratio were all nonetheless not obvious. Groundwater recharge mainly took place in the upstream region of the watershed, while the discharge took place in the downstream area. Groundwater recharge occurred mostly through a combination of piston flow and preferential flow. The findings of this study could provide a reference for the development, the utilisation and the protection of groundwater resources in small watershed in the Loess Hilly region.

Background: Most studies on the transition from pediatric to adult care focus on practices at a single institution. We examine the transition for young adults with type 1 diabetes across an entire Canadian province with a small, mostly rural population: Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Our aim is to determine a comprehensive picture of how transition is occurring in one jurisdiction and explore potential methods for improvement. Methods: A provincial diabetes database and hospital admission data were reviewed for a cohort of young adults who transitioned into adult care to determine the number of transfers occurring, patient characteristics, and the number of diabetes-related hospitalizations. Semi-structured interviews with pediatric and adult diabetes providers were conducted to determine the current process of transition and identify ways for improvement, including the potential role of family physicians. Results: Between 2008 and 2013, 93 patients with type 1 diabetes transitioned into adult care. Fifteen interviews were conducted across the province’s four regional health authorities. Various models of transition care are being employed, reflecting staff and resource availability. While no structured transition program was identified, many providers were comfortable with their current transition processes. Suggested improvements included more structured processes, shared educational resources, and a dedicated transfer clinic. Conclusions: In a province with a relatively small number of patients who transition out of pediatric care annually, we found different approaches for transitioning them into adult care, but this variation may not negatively impact patient outcomes.

Rationale, aims, and objectives: The study was to compare the Turkish version of the (Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scales) SSQOL and the SF-36 scales used to determine The Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of stroke patients, to evaluate the effectiveness of both scales and to determine whether these two scales differ according to sociodemographic characteristics in stroke patients. HRQOL measurements, are commonly used to quantify disease burden, to evaluate treatment method, and to facilitate benchmarking. Descriptive and methodological design. Method: This study was conducted with 205 patients who were hospitalized with the diagnosis of stroke, and followed up for at least 48 hours in a neurology department of a hospital in Istanbul. The data of the study were collected using a form including 18 questions related to sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and the disease, SF-36 and SSQOL Scales. In the analysis of data; in addition to descriptive statistical methods, Kruskal- Wallis test, Mann Whitney U test, Sperman’s correlation analysis were used. Significance was evaluated at p <0.05. Approval of the institutional ethics committee was obtained. Results: The mean age of the study group was 65.23 ± 13.64 years, and consisted of primary school graduates (46.6%), married (75%), and unemployed (84.9%) patients. It was observed that mean scores of SF-36 and SSQOL subdimensions - apart from mental health-mood subdimensions- were higher than those of SSQOL, and both scales have higher internal consiistencies ranging between: 0.74- 0.97 for SSQOL, and 0.59-0.95 for SF-36. Besides, there was a positive, and statistically significant correlation between dimensions of the scales (p <0.05), while, moderate correlation existed between similar subdimensions (r= 0.042-0.59). Conclusions: Both scales can be used to evaluate the quality of life of acute stroke patients. However, SSQOL is recommended as a priority for acute stroke patients.

We addressed the recent plea for a use of traits with a direct mechanistic link to drought tolerance to be considered in trait-based and global change ecology. On 122 herbaceous species covering a broad range of water availability conditions in temperate grasslands, we demonstrated the feasibility of the use of turgor loss point (πtlp), a key leaf drought tolerance trait that becomes operational for large-scale studies via the novel osmometry method. We investigated the coordination of this mechanistic trait with other commonly used proxies of drought tolerance. πtlpwas not or very weakly coordinated with the first two leading dimension of the global spectrum of form and function, plant height and specific leaf area. πtlp was tightly coordinated with intrinsic water use efficiency and leaf dry matter content. We suggest that stratification by plant functional types and/or accounting for species phylogeny might help to identify trait relationships that may be transferable among different systems.

Many manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals are moving from batch to continuous processing. While this approach offers advantages over batch processing to manufacturers, demonstration of viral clearance for continuous processes is more complex. Regulators expect manufacturers to use an appropriate scale down model, based on solid scientific justification, to verify the viral reduction capacity of the manufacturing process. The output from chromatography columns operated in continuous processes fluctuates in concentration so that the load for the subsequent column is not homogenous. This must be considered when designing viral clearance studies. One way to approach clearance studies is to downscale the continuous process, using multi-column chromatography systems and in-line spiking of virus. The multi-column chromatography systems and experienced operators, however, may not be available at the CRO performing the study. Another approach is to evaluate each step in traditional batch mode, using existing chromatography systems, but to modify the spiking and loading conditions to mimic the variance introduced by the transition between the two connected process steps. Using a standard chromatography system, we have evaluated a flow through anion exchange chromatography step in a monoclonal antibody process using five different methods to introduce the virus to the column. We have shown that regardless of whether the virus spike is introduced in a well-mixed batch mode, introduced as a concentrated pulse of virus with homogeneous mAb or with a concentrated peak of mAb, the clearance of MMV was similar. This study introduces an alternative way to evaluate viral clearance in a continuous process.

The existence and stability of MNg42+(Sb2F11−1)2 (Ng=Ar,Ne,He,M=Au, Ag, Cu) salt compounds are theoretically investigated in this study. This undertaking is carried out to address the following challenges: (1) synthesizing a bulk salt compound containing a noble gas lighter than krypton and (2) synthesizing the congeners of AuXe42+(Sb2F11−1)2 containing noble gases other than Xe. The reliability of our calculations on the MNg42+(Sb2F11−1)2 (Ng=Ar,Ne,He,M=Au, Ag, Cu) systems is assessed by benchmark calculations of the well-known AuXe42+(Sb2F11−1)2 salt. In the benchmark calculations, a two-pronged evaluation strategy, including direct and indirect evaluation methods, is used to theoretically investigate the spectroscopic constants of AuXe42+and the existence and stability of the AuXe42+(Sb2F11−1)2 salt. The validity of the theoretical calculation methods in the benchmark calculations of AuXe42+(Sb2F11−1)2 allows us to adopt a similar methodology to effectively predict the existence and stability of MNg42+(Sb2F11−1)2 (Ng=Ar,Ne,He,M=Au, Ag, Cu) salt compounds. Calculations based on the Born–Haber cycle using estimated lattice energies and some necessary ancillary thermochemical data show that MAr42+(Sb2F11−1)2 (M=Au, Ag, Cu) salt compounds can be synthesized. The upper-limit stable temperatures are estimated to be −224.43, −146.21, and −80.39 °C. The CuAr42+(Sb2F11−1)2salt compound is a promising candidate. Our calculations also show that the MNg42+(Sb2F11−1)2 (Ng=Ne,He,M=Au, Ag, Cu) salt compounds cannot be stabilized.

 Kanzuliman Academic International Journal on Razawiyât  (KAIJOR) - 2019

Background: How quickly percutaneous coronary intervention is performed in patients with a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a core quality measure, reported as door-to-balloon (D2B) time in minutes. Aims: This retrospective study of 1193 patients was undertaken to explore how well six hospitals in a large healthcare system achieved time from the emergency department (ED) to the first ECG <10 minutes and D2B time ≤90 minutes. Methods: STEMI coordinators provided shelved data collected between 1-1-2016 and 8-31-2018. D2B times were available for 818 patients. The overall median time from the ED to the first ECG was 4 minutes and all hospitals achieved median times less than 10 minutes. There was a significant difference between the hospital with the highest (88%) and lower percentage of patients (79%) attaining the recommended time from the ED to the first ECG <10 minutes (p<0.025). The overall median D2B time for the entire sample was 63 minutes and the difference between D2B time among hospitals was significant (p<0.001). Collectively, the six hospitals achieved a D2B time <90 minutes well above the recommended goal by the American Heart Association (87.8% vs 75% respectively, p<0.001). The most compelling finding was that field STEMI activation with direct patient transportation to the cardiac catheterization laboratory(CCL) resulted in significantly shorter D2B times than ED activation (p<0.001). Patients with D2B time <90 minutes had a lower mortality than those with D2B time >90 minutes (5.3% vs 19.0% respectively, p<0.001). Conclusion: Achieving D2B time <90 minutes has a significant impact on mortality associated with STEMI. Field STEMI activation with direct patient transport to the CCL significantly shortened D2B time. Further study is needed to assess the benefit of close collaboration between hospital and Emergency Medical Service personnel to implement this mode of patient transportation to the CCL to improve STEMI care.

Grassland ecosystems account for more than 10% of the global CH4 sink in soils. A 4-year field experiment found that addition of P alone did not affect CH4 uptake and experimental addition of N alone significantly suppressed CH4 uptake, while concurrent N and P additions suppressed CH4 uptake to a lesser degree. A meta-analysis including 382 data points in global grasslands corroborated these findings. Global extrapolation with an empirical modeling approach estimated that contemporary N addition suppresses CH4 sink in global grassland by 11% and concurrent N and P deposition alleviates this suppression by 6%. The P alleviation of N-suppressed CH4 sink is primarily attributed to substrate competition, defined as the competition between ammonium and CH4 for the methane monooxygenase enzyme. The N and P impacts on CH4 uptake indicate that projected increases in N and P depositions might substantially affect CH4 uptake and alter the global CH4 cycle.

Climate change puts the habitat functions of wildlife conservation areas at risk. Conservation areas managed for wetlands can be considered a network, permitting the tracking of current climate conditions within the network under projected future climates. A climate classification of the nodes in such a network can help the selection among multiple conservation management strategies based on their relative climate-connectedness. We examined wetlands in 48 US National Wildlife Refuges and mapped their climate networks to permit the incorporation of climate linkages. Using four climate projections, we found five climatic classes of wetlands: three are climatically stable; four are climate hubs, becoming climatically similar to current climate conditions of many other units; three whose current climate appear in many refuges; 8-16 whose climate conditions appear in only one other unit; and 10-25 are climatically isolated. The relative isolation of wetlands makes them particularly appropriate for network-based climate assessments.

Species composition of communities are firstly affected by environmental filtering where species are progressively selected from the available species pool, and then by spatial aggregation which result in specific spatial organizations. However, the hierarchical effects of these processes across spatial scales are poorly understood. Using dataset of forest plots in northeastern China, we quantified the effects of environmental filtering at region-zone, zone-area, area-district, district-plot scales, and spatial aggregation at within-plot scale on β-diversity along latitudes. We showed that the patterns of β-diversity was mainly dominated by the processes at the region-zone, district-plot, and within-plot scales.We also showed that environmental filtering at the broader scales had stronger effects at higher latitudes, while at the finer scales only at lower latitudes. The effects of spatial aggregation were more prominent at lower latitudes. We highlight that the scale-dependency of the ecological processes needs to be fully considered in future studies.

Intraguild predation (IGP) is a type of interaction in which a top predator simultaneously competes and predates an intermediate prey that shares a third prey species with the top predator. While common in nature, most theoretical population dynamics models proposed in the literature predict that this three species interaction usually leads to extinction of the intermediate prey population. Predator-induced defenses are widely seen in these systems and should be incorporated in IGP models to promote coexistence. With this aim, we introduce a nonlinear response to the predation of IG-predator on IG-prey. The phase diagram of species coexistence is obtained as function of the attack efficiency and the degree of nonlinearity of the defense mechanism. Further we show how the nonlinearity affects the equilibrium populations. We unveil that there is an optimal nonlinearity at which the convergence towards the stationary coexistence regime is the fastest. KEY-WORDS: Intraguild predation; Defense mechanism; Nonlinear-induced coexistence.

The current study aims to: 1) Evaluate the richness pattern of conifer species; 2) Assess the relative importance of climatic, topographic, edaphic, and human factors on richness patterns; 3) Explore the dominant drivers at vulnerability and endemism levels; and 4) Identify the most important areas of conifer diversity (IPAs). We compiled 8,962 distributional records of 97 conifer species to estimate the richness at 50 km2 resolution. Generalized linear models and hierarchical partitioning were applied to evaluate the effect of drivers on the richness pattern followed by stepwise regression to select the best group of predictors. We found that topographic heterogeneity and soil nutrient-fertility were consistently the strongest drivers of richness, while seasonality, energy, water, and human drivers contributed much lower. Moreover, IPAs mostly located outside nature reserves, meanwhile inside ecoregions. Overall, our findings indicated that hypotheses of soil-topographic heterogeneity would provide great insights into conservation of conifer diversity and ecosystem-functioning.

Dew plays a crucial role in ecosystem processes in arid and semiarid regions, and is expected to be affected by climate warming. However, how warming simulation affects dew formation has been long ignored and rarely addressed. We measured dew amount and duration and plant traits related to dew condensation from 2012 to 2017 in a long-term infrared warming experiment in an alpine grassland of Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that (1) warming reduced the dew amount by 42%-91% and reduced dew duration by 32 days compared to the ambient condition. (2) Plant functional groups differed in dew formation. (3) Under the warming treatment, the dew amount decreased with plant height; while under the ambient conditions, the dew amount showed the opposite trend. Warming using an infrared heater system greatly reduces dew formation, which if overlooked, could lead to overestimation of climate warming impacts on ecosystem processes.

Fire-prone ecosystems and their vegetation have evolved in response to this disturbance. Stress produced by fires promotes the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites which could alter subsequent fire regimes. The aim of this work was to evaluate the variation in the biosynthesis of chlorophylls, carotenoids, phenolic compounds and tannins in response to fire. Leaves of six native species were selected and three experimental burns (EB) were conducted. Spectrophotometric methods were used to quantify the metabolites. As results, a temporary variation on the biosynthesis of chlorophylls and secondary metabolites in response to fire was found. Chlorophylls and carotenoid contents decreased within a short temporal scale, but their concentrations returned to pre-event conditions one-year after disturbance. Concentrations of phenolic compounds and tannins in burnt plants increased up to two years after EB. The fast-metabolic response evidenced the plant tolerance to fire. These metabolites could be used as bioindicators of vegetation resilience after fire.

Introduction: Compression therapy for keloid is an important adjuvant treatment of this pathological scar, especially to reduce its elevation, improve scar features (e.g. pliability and plasticity) and ease symptoms. However, this therapy is unpleasant and uncomfortable for patients, due to the need to combine elastic bands or garments, foams (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) and silicone sheets, for at least 8 to 12 hours a day. Objective: To create a device to apply compression on keloid, which would facilitate and simplify the scar compression therapy. Material and Methods: A review of existing devices was carried out through the main databases of patents, as well as on common research platforms (desk research). Design Thinking was used for the elaboration of the prototypes to validate the concepts and the functionality of the device. The component parts were 3D printed and assembled to form a single device. Results: Eleven documents were found in the main search and none found in desk research. The device for keloid compression was developed using a spring mechanism, comprised by three structural units, which were attached as a single piece and it was adhesive to the skin. Conclusion: A device for keloid pressure therapy was developed using the Design Thinking.

β-carotene is an indispensable nutrient for human health and its global consumer demand is increasing. In order to promote the market supply and volumetric productivity of β-carotene using engineered Yarrowia. lipolytica strain. The fed-batch fermentation and DO-stat fed-batch fermentation were carried out. 73.5g/L biomass and 0.3g/L β-carotene were obtained in fed-batch. 94g/L biomass and 0.4g/L β-carotene were harvest during DO-stat fed-batch fermentation. The results of intracellular energy showed that more ATP and NADP+/NADPH were produced in DO-stat fed-batch fermentation as compared to that under fed-batch fermentation. Moreover, three kinetic models showed that the higher μm, Yx/s, and Yp/s values were achieved for DO-stat fed-batch fermentation. In this study, the DO-stat strategy was first reported for the β-carotene produce and the obtained results showed that it is a promising strategy in the industrialized β-carotene production.

Carbazole (Cz) dimers in various cofacial conformations, including staggered (Stg), anti, and syn, were explored by means of ab initio calculations at SOS-MP2, SOS-CIS(D0), and additional coupled cluster calculation levels. As in other π-conjugated molecules, strong Cz excimers form in the syn conformation in both the S1 and T1 states, leading to significantly reduced optical excitation energies, whereas the dimers in the Stg and anti conformations, upon excitation, remain as simple excited dimers, showing similar optical energy gaps to that of the monomer. Being far more stable in the ground state, however, the Stg dimer turned out to be nearly isoenergetic to the syn dimer in the S1 state, and even more stable in the T1 state. In addition, a considerable potential energy barrier between the syn and Stg dimers was found in the calculated S1-state potential energy surface. Given that the ground-state intermolecular interactions are expected to govern the dimer conformations of Cz-based materials in the solid-state films of organic electronics, these results strongly demonstrate that the electronic excitation of Cz dimers do not necessarily lead to the strong excimer formation, unless Cz molecules were forced to be arranged in the syn conformation.

There are many functions which have symmetric residues. Traditional sums over these, would cancel out. By summing over only one part of the domain, we can generate transforms. EXAMPLE Consider the function Γ(−s²). Which has poles at $, k \in [1,\infty)$, for integer k. The residues at these poles give $$ Res(\Gamma(-s^2),) = }{2k!}, k \ge 1 $$ Hence a one-sided sum over these (Inverse Mellin Transform) would look similar to $$ f(x) = ^\infty }{ 2 k! } x^k $$ whereas a symmetric sum, would cancel out on both sides. This could be a fundamental function, I can’t seem to find anything about it. For $$ Res(\Gamma(-e^x),) = }{k k!}, k \ge 1 $$ We have $$ ^\infty }{k k!}x^k = \log(x) + \Gamma(0,x) + \gamma $$ Similarly $$ Res(\Gamma(-2^x),) = }{k k!}, k \ge 1 $$ We have $$ ^\infty }{k k! \log(2)}x^k $$ For the residues of $\Gamma(-)$, we get $$ 2-2e^{-x} = ^\infty }{k!} x^k $$ For the residue of Γ(−(x + x²)) we get $$ ^\infty }{ k!}x^k = ?? $$ yet another mysterious series, which can be linked to this concept! For the last one, I chose to sum over the positive roots of the function, when solving for the integers.

Due to the Doppler effect in waves, one can't efficiently transmit signals underwater. This paper takes you to novel approaches that utilize sonar conversion techniques as well as different UART communication methods and software defined networking mechanisms, in order to build underwater wireless networks. The case for UWNs being utilized for oceanic colonization is also presented, as well as how this applies to the creation of "Aquatic IOT type technologies" and new forms of telemetry. Presented in this paper are concepts that were deployed by the Stark Drones Corporation in competing for various challenges such as "The Internet of H2O Challenge" and GigabitDCx. Also presented, is a proposal to apply these technologies for monitoring lake contamination and various forms of e-coli buildup as well as phosphorus run-ons. These networks allow for a cleaner, more sustainable and observable ocean. 

This is an informal treatment of the instantaneous unit hydrograph IUH/GIUH \cite{Rigon_2015} estimation under the simplifying assumption that rainfall inputs are given as a discrete sequence of rain impulses (that we will call from now, rain record) This, more than being a simplification, is related to the discrete nature of rain at small time scales of aggregation and has a physical basis (e.g. \cite{Lovejoy_1985}).  This manuscript is distributed according to the CC v4 license.