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Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) were used in various application, including in mortar production. The ability of SAP to absorb a high amount of water made this material become a promising water reservoir in the mortar that can later mitigate micro-cracks in concrete. Besides SAP, a nutrient must be embedded into self-healing mortar to support metabolism in bacteria-based self-healing mortar. However, adding SAP and nutrient was reported to decrease the mechanical properties of the resulting self-healing mortar. Thus, in this research, the modification in the mix design of mortar containing SAP and nutrient were observed. The water to cement ratio was decreased up to 0.3. The amount of SAP and entrained water added is based on its swelling capacity. The swelling capacity of SAP, the workability of fresh mortar, and the compressive strength of mortar were examined. The results show that the swelling capacity of SAP was affected by the pH and the presence of calcium ions in the solution. The higher the pH and the calcium ion in the solution, the lower SAP’s swelling capacity. Applying the modified mortar mix design containing SAP and nutrient proofed to mitigate the reduction in workability and compressive strength of the resulting self-healing mortar.

The paper describes the effect of the local surface modelling methods known as plane, quadric and triangulation on the generation of the 3D mesh models of the historical objects with rock-based building structures using Cloudcompare, an open-source software for point cloud data processing. The methodology begins with data collection of the 3D test objects using terrestrial laser scanning technology, the pre-processing of the point cloud data, the point cloud subsampling process, the process of generating of the local surface modelling data, the process of generating the 3D mesh models and finally, the analysis, which involves the 3D surface deviation analysis between the generated 3D mesh models. The overall results shows that there are no significant differences between the 3D mesh models that was generated from all the three local surface modelling methods. The histogram analysis shows that the plane and the quadric local surface modelling methods is the best methods to be used in the research where the 3D test object to be modelled contains curvy surfaces without sharp edges and corners.

Digital documentation of rock art traditionally relies on a point cloud captured by a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) or derived from an oriented image obtained using photogrammetry. In modern photogrammetry, the dense point cloud is generated using multi-view stereo (MVS) and subsequently used to generate a photorealistic 3D model. A recent method to reconstruct 3D models from images is Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), which uses volume density to render the scenes through neural networks. The advantage of NeRF is that it can construct 3D models faster without using high computer processors and memory. NeRF has been studied in various applications, including cultural heritage, but not specifically for rock art documentation. Therefore, this paper evaluates three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques using NeRF on Nerfstudio platform on two rock art datasets and compares them with the point cloud and 3D mesh models obtained from TLS and photogrammetry/MVS. The results have shown that NeRF does not match MVS in achieving geometric precision and texture quality. However, its learning-based approach accelerates reconstruction and offers potential enhancements to complement photogrammetric workflow.

Continental collision zones are structurally one of the most heterogeneous areas intermixing various different units within a relatively small space. A good example of this is the Dinarides, a mountain chain situated in the central Mediterranean, where thick carbonates cover older crystalline basement units and remnants of subducted oceanic crust. This is further complicated by the highly variable crustal thickness ranging from 20 to almost 50 km. In terms of spatial extension, this area is relatively small but covers tectonically differentiated domains making, any seismic or geological analysis complex, with significant challenges in areas that lack seismic information on crustal structure. Presently there is no comprehensive 3D crustal model of the Dinarides (and surrounding areas). Using the compilations of previous studies and employing kriging interpolation, we created a vertically and laterally varying crustal model defined on a regular grid for the wider area of the Dinarides, also covering parts of Adriatic Sea and the SW part of the Pannonian Basin. The model is divided by three interfaces, Neogene deposit bottom, carbonate rock complex bottom and Moho discontinuity, with seismic velocities (P and S waves) and density defined at each grid point. To validate the newly derived model, we calculated travel times for an earthquake recorded on several seismic stations in the Dinarides area. The calculated travel times show significant improvement when compared to the simple 1D model used for routine earthquake location in Croatia. The model derived in this work represents the first step towards improving our knowledge of the crustal structure in the complex area of the Dinarides. We hope that the newly assembled model will be useful for all forthcoming studies (e.g., as a starting model for seismic tomography, as a model for earthquake simulations) which require knowledge of the crustal structure.

Статтю присвячено комплексній оцінці станов­ленню та розвитку інституту банкрутства в Украї­ні, у тому числі становленню інституцій, які реалі­зують державну політику з банкрутства, недоліки та переваги функціонування кожної з них, визна­чено основні функції Міністерства юстиції України при реалізації державної політики з банкрутства. Запропоновано періодизацію становлення та розвитку адміністративно-правового регулюван­ня інституту банкрутства в Україні. В ході дослі­дження висвітлено питання стосовно головних чинників, які, на нашу думку, мали найбільший вплив на розвиток інституту банкрутства в Укра­їни та на його модернізацію та трансформацію. На нашу думку, чинниками, які впливають на становлення розвитку інституту банкрутства в Україні є створення державних інституцій, імплементація та змінна нормативно-правових актів у процедурі банкрутства. Таким чином, адміністративно-правовий ме­ханізм регулювання відносин, які виникають у процедурі банкрутства є динамічним процесом та перебуває в постійному розвитку й спромож­ний пристосовуватися до змін, які відбуваються в процедурі банкрутства. Провідне місце в регулюванні процедури банкрутства відводиться Міністерству юстиції України. Доречно зазначити, що Міністерство юстиції України при реалізації державної полі­тики з банкрутства наділено контрольно-наг­лядовою, регулятивною та інформаційно-аналі­тичною функцією. На нашу думку, необхідно визначити сфери відносин, у яких відбувається реалізація функ­цій Міністерства юстиції України. На сам кінець варто, підсумувати, що ефек­тивне адміністративно-правове регулювання можливе лише за умови досягнення співвідно­шення мети правового регулювання та реально­го результату правового регулювання. Одним із ефективних шляхів досягнення співвідношення мети правового регулювання та реального результату правового регулюван­ня є налагодження взаємодії між структурними підрозділами міжтериторіальних управлінь Мі­ністерства юстиції України та Департаментом з процедур банкрутства, шляхом створення круг­лих столів із представниками міжрегіональних управлінь (особами, які конкретно займаються перевірками діяльності арбітражних керуючих), з метою обговорення спірних питань, що вини­кають у процесі проведення перевірок (інших заходів контролю), задля усунення прогалин законодавства, виявлених у реальних ситуаці­ях, при здійсненні арбітражними керуючими від­повідних повноважень; з подальшим офіційним оприлюдненням роз'яснень та рекомендацій, у формі інформаційних листів, Департаментом.

Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) is based on electrical stimulation of the heart without alteration of action potential and mechanical activation, the data on its fundamental molecular mechanisms are limited. Here we demonstrate clinical and physiological effect of 12 months CCM in 29 patients along with transcriptomic molecular data. Based on the CCM effect the patients were divided into two groups: responders (n = 13) and non-responders (n = 16). RNA-seq data were collected for 6 patients before and after CCM including 3 responders and 3 non-responders. The overall effect of CCM on gene expression was mainly provided by samples from the responder group and included the upregulation of the genes involved in the maintenance of proteostasis and mitochondrial structure and function. Using pathway enrichment analysis, we found that baseline myocardial tissue samples from responder group were characterized by upregulation of mitochondrial matrix-related genes, Z disc-protein encoding genes and muscle contraction-related genes. In summary, twelve months of ССM led to changes in signaling pathways associated with cellular respiration, apoptosis, and autophagy. The pattern of myocardial remodeling after CCM is associated with initial expression level of myocardial contractile proteins, adaptation reserves associated with mitochondria and low expression level of inflammatory molecules.

Employed for over a century, the traditional way of monitoring sea level variability by tide gauges – in combination with modern observational techniques like satellite altimetry – is an inevitable ingredient in sea level studies over the climate scales and in coastal seas. The development of the instrumentation, remote data acquisition, processing, and archiving in the last decades has allowed the extension of the applications to a variety of users and coastal hazard managers. The Mediterranean and Black seas are examples of such a transition – while having a long tradition of sea level observations with several records spanning over a century, the number of modern tide gauge stations is growing rapidly, with data available both in real time and as a research product at different time resolutions. As no comprehensive survey of the tide gauge networks has been carried out recently in these basins, the aim of this paper is to map the existing coastal sea level monitoring infrastructures and the respective data availability. The survey encompasses a description of major monitoring networks in the Mediterranean and Black seas and their characteristics, including the type of sea level sensors, measuring resolutions, data availability, and existence of ancillary measurements, altogether collecting information about 240 presently operational tide gauge stations. The availability of the Mediterranean and Black seas sea level data in the global and European sea level repositories has been also screened and classified following their sampling interval and level of quality check, pointing to the necessity of harmonization of the data available with different metadata and series in different repositories. Finally, an assessment of the networks' capabilities for their use in different sea level applications has been done, with recommendations that might mitigate the bottlenecks and ensure further development of the networks in a coordinated way, a critical need in the era of human-induced climate changes and sea level rise.

This paper presents a developed methodology of 3D modelling of rock art painting located at high above shelter floor based on close-range photogrammetric technique. Instead of using elevated devices to reach inaccessible paintings due to high elevation, the developed method proposed a simple technique. The camera was mounted on an expandable pole to acquire the panel with normal and tilted camera settings. Due to inaccessibility to place the control point marker on the panel surface, the distribution of photo control was positioned below the panel. Based on the configuration, the image of the panel was acquired using the low-spatial resolution multispectral camera in a two elevated strips position that imitates the aerial photogrammetry flight line. The camera was set parallely to the painting panel on both strips, with additional tilted geometry included at the upper strip of the camera block. The acquired multispectral images were then processed using commercial SfM photogrammetry software to generate a 3D point cloud. The accuracy of constructed point cloud was then analysed by comparing it with the point cloud generated using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). The result has shown that the multispectral 3D point cloud has a small deviation against the TLS point cloud. The mean deviation was -0.43mm, indicating a slight downscaled on the multispectral point cloud.

Currently, the problem of the development of resistance to drugs among microorganisms that colonize the urogenital system is becoming especially relevant due to broadly distributed dysbiotic conditions of the reproductive system of men and women. Therefore, there should be constant monitoring of the qualitative and quantitative composition of microbiota of the urogential tract and determination of the levels of antibiotic-resistance of strains of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms in the reproductive system of various layers of the population. We monitored 774,375 people of various age and sex – patients of the independent diagnostic laboratory INVITRO in the city Dnipro in 2017–2019. Among the examined people, 640,783 of the patients were diagnosed with the development of dysbiotic disorders, accounting for 82.7% of the total amount of the applications for medical help. According to the results of identification of the range of dysbiotic conditions of the urogenital system of patients of different ages and sexes, we determined the dominating role of facultative anaerobes in the development of dysbiotic impairments caused by colonizations by large numbers of conditionally-pathogenic microorganisms: in women, Gardnerella accounted for 86.1%, Staphylococcus – 63.2%, Streptococcus – 54.1%, Candida – 69.3%; in men, Streptococcus were found in 83.0%, Staphylococcus – 79.4%, Corynebacterium – 54.2% and Candida – 37.6% of the cases. Share of obligate anaerobes was also quite large: women were diagnosed with Prevotella in 59.7%, Peptostreptococcus in 53.2%, Fusobacterium in 45.4% of the cases cases; men were observed to have Peptostreptococcus 62.4%, Clostridium in 54.3%, Bacteroides in 32.5% of the cases. We determined high parameters of frequency of diagnosing antibiotic-resistant isolates of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms that circulate in the urogenital tract of patients with dysbiotic impairments, belonging to the following families: Mycoplasmataceae – 78.6%, Enterobacteriaceae – 56.0% and genera – Staphylococcus – 76.1%, Gardnerella – 24.3%, Corynebacterium – 21.2%. The research revealed increase in the frequency of detection of strains of urapathogenic bacteria resistant to the applied antibiotic preparations in 2018–2019 compared with the data of 2017: increases of 10.3% and 6.4% in representatives of family Mycoplasmataceae resistant to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin respectively, 4.8% and 4.0% in Enterobacteriaceae resistant to chloramphenicol and ampicillin respectively, and 8.9% in the genus Staphylococcus resistant to vancomycin.

A continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is used to detect the most important scales governing the dynamics of a turbulent wall jet flow that evolves through a backward facing step. Our particular interest is the region downstream of the step. The fluctuating velocity signals obtained experimentally by a laser Doppler anemometer at different heights from the wall are first analyzed in Fourier space by performing the density energy spectra (PSD). In the recirculation zone, we noticed that the flow loses its equilibrium when we approach the wall. This is obviously due to the complex nature of flow dynamics which exhibits a complex structure with various scales. Then, we applied the CWT with two wavelet functions: the eighth derivative of a Gaussian which is selected on the basis of the wavelet entropy measures and a Morlet wavelet. The first one is used to locate the more energetic structures and the second to detect the dominant frequencies of the high energy structures. It turns out that, in the external zone characterized by the presence of intermittent eddies; most of the energy is concentrated in the large scale structures. In the shear layer, different scales of structures are observed. We can also observe the physical phenomena such as extension or breakup of structures. In addition, the relative wavelet energy is applied to give the energy distribution at each scale. On the other hand, the Morlet wavelet is used in order to monitor the dragging of large structures characterized by a low frequency (large scale) originating from the wall-jet's external region towards the reattachment region. It is shown that the energy of these eddy structures decreases along their dragging.

The transmission main-intake isoneof the most important units to supply the electricity in some place. Each transmission main-intake has its own utilities and assets according to each function and type. During this time, each transmission main-intake structure and the assets inside only canbe monitored by 2-dimensional (2D) model other than on-site visits. This study is conducted to produce a 3-dimensional (3D) model of the building's internal structure and assets that will facilitate and further improves the monitoring process, maintenance and documentation of assets for certain parties for further uses in form of 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM). This study was conducted in Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) control and relay room at PE61 132/22KV Transmission main-intake building of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) using Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) Topcon GLS-2000 model. At the data processing stage, several series of software was used to complete the 3D model. Scanning process will generate an indoor point cloud of the building. The result from the data processing stage is more focused on the 3D internal model of the building that has been digitized from the point cloud data. The 3D model will be able to show the internal structure of buildings and the assets more clearly. In order to complete the 3D BIM, information regarding the assets was added. In this study, the efficiency of TLS Topcon GLS-2000 for 3D BIM was determined in term of its accuracy by comparing with the distometer. The accuracy for scanned data from TLS were compared with the distometer by using root mean square error (RMSE) formula, and the accuracy is only ±0.004 m.

The state-of-the-art lightweight multispectral cameras are widely used for low altitude remote sensing, also can be exploited as a tool for close-range photogrammetry application. The acquired imagery can be used for generating the 3D model using Structure-from-Motion/ Multi-view Stereo (SfM/MVS) processing software. In photogrammetry, camera calibration is an essential step for accurate measurement. The parameter of the camera system can be estimated using photogrammetric self-calibration bundle-adjustment, or by automatic and straightforward calibration procedure developed by computer vision (CV) community. When using SfM/MVS photogrammetry software, the pre-calibration value is not required, as the algorithm calculates the parameter as a part of point cloud construction process. Nevertheless, processing with the uncalibrated image is only suitable when no metric accuracy required in the modelling project. This paper aims to evaluate the measurement accuracy on generated 3D point cloud based on different estimated parameter method. The evaluation of measurement accuracy started by estimates the camera’s interior parameter using two different approaches; photogrammetric self-calibration bundle-adjustment and computer vision calibration. The estimated parameter from both methods then imported into commercial SfM/MVS software to construct the 3D point cloud. The point cloud also generated using uncalibrated images and used for measurement accuracy assessment. All parameters applied to the same datasets involved three different check-fields. Two accuracy assessments were performed by comparing the check-points and check-distance extracted with the total station measurement. As a result, the point cloud generated using photogrammetric approach provides the most accurate result on both assessments. While the automatic on-the-job self-calibration shows inconsistent results.

The popularity of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) has been introduced into a field of surveying and has increased dramatically especially in producing the 3D model of the building. The used of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is becoming rapidly popular because of its ability in several applications, especially the ability to observe complex documentation of complex building and observe millions of point cloud in three-dimensional in a short period. Users of building plan usually find it difficult to translate the traditional two-dimensional (2D) data on maps they see on a flat piece of paper to three-dimensional (3D). The TLS is able to record thousands of point clouds which contains very rich of geometry details and made the processing usually takes longer time. In addition, the demand of building survey work has made the surveyors need to obtain the data with full of accuracy and time saves. Therefore, the aim of this study is to study the limitation uses of TLS and its suitability for building survey and mapping. In this study, the efficiency of TLS Leica C10 for building survey was determined in term of its accuracy and comparing with Zeb-Revo Handheld Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) and the distometer. The accuracy for scanned data from both, TLS and MLS were compared with the Distometer by using root mean square error (RMSE) formula. Then, the 3D model of the building for both data, TLS and MLS were produced to analyze the visualization for different type of scanners. The software used; Autodesk Recap, Autodesk Revit, Leica Cyclone Software, Autocad Software and Geo Slam Software. The RMSE for TLS technique is 0.001 m meanwhile, RMSE for MLS technique is 0.007 m. The difference between these two techniques is 0.006 m. The 3D model of building for both models did not have too much different but the scanned data from TLS is much easier to process and generate the 3D model compared to scanned data from MLS. It is because the scanned data from TLS comes with an image, while none from MLS scanned data. There are limitations of TLS for building survey such as water and glass window but this study proved that acquiring data by TLS is better than using MLS.

This paper discusses the use of the lightweight multispectral camera to acquire three-dimensional data for rock art documentation application. The camera consists of five discrete bands, used for taking the motifs of the rock art paintings on a big structure of a cave based on the close-range photogrammetry technique. The captured images then processed using commercial structure-from-motion photogrammetry software, which automatically extracts the tie point. The extracted tie points were then used as input to generate a dense point cloud based on the multi-view stereo (MVS) and produced the multispectral 3D model, and orthophotos in a different wavelength. For comparison, the paintings and the wall surface also observed by using terrestrial laser scanner which capable of recording thousands of points in a short period of time with high accuracy. The cloud-to-cloud comparison between multispectral and TLS 3D point cloud show a sub-cm discrepancy, considering the used of the natural features as control target during 3D construction. Nevertheless, the processing also provides photorealistic orthophoto, indicates the advantages of the multispectral camera in generating dense 3D point cloud as TLS, photorealistic 3D model as RGB optic camera, and also with the multiwavelength output.

In recent years, museums are utilizing the ability of virtual reality (VR) technologies to visualize their collections in three-dimensional (3D) environment. The demands for 3D digitization of cultural heritage have increase greatly to facilitate the development of virtual museum. Among the available techniques, the use of laser scanning for digital recording and 3D reproduction of the heritage sites and archaeological artefacts are technically more reliable due to its rapid and high resolution data capture. However, the suitable 3D laser scanners used greatly depend on the level of details and size of an object. This research used medium and close-range type of laser scanners to digitally record the heritage objects. The aim of this research was to develop methodology framework for digital recording and 3D reproduction of archaeological artefact and heritage sites in Malaysia by using terrestrial laser scanning technology. Besides, this research focused on the reconstruction of photorealistic 3D models based on the colour information yield by close-range photogrammetry. The colour descriptions were obtained either by built-in camera or externally integrated camera on the laser scanner. For better colour descriptions, external images were captured by independent Nikon D300s digital camera. The geometric model accuracy of A’Famosa and terracotta Buddha statuette was in 5 mm and 0.41 mm respectively. 3D flythrough animation was rendered by using the coloured point clouds model. The development of 3D Virtual Walkthrough Museum (3DVWM) utilized the 3D PDF document and SCENE WebShare platform to offer realistic visualization experience to the visitors where the reality-based models could be manipulate in 3D geometric aspects and use of metric analysis. Thus, 3DVWM can facilitate the virtual museum application in Malaysia and enable wider visitors to virtually appreciate the cultural heritage in Malaysia. Thus, this indirectly stimulates the tourism industry in our country.

The paper describes the used of close-range photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning technologies as an innovative technology for acquiring the three-dimensional data of an ancient cave paintings. The close-range photogrammetry technology used in the research was divided in two categories which are the UAV-based close-range photogrammetry and the terrestrialbased close-range photogrammetry. The UAV-based technology involved with the used of calibrated Phantom 4 System while the terrestrial-based technology involved with the calibrated Sony F828 digital camera and pPhotoModeler software. Both stereo and convergent image acquisition techniques were used to acquire the images of the paintings. The ancient cave paintings were also recorded using terrestrial laser scanning technology. In the research, the FARO Focus 3D terrestrial laser scanner was used to capture the three-dimensional point clouds and images of the paintings. The finding shows that both close-range photogrammetry and laser scanning technologies provide excellent solutions to map and to record the ancient paintings. As compared to the conventional method, both close-range photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning technology provide a noncontact solution for data acquisition and the data was recorded in digital format for better protection and security.

The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC) occurred in the August–September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the M/Y Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM) monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC), and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS) and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 3–12 h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite and very difficult to model. Indeed, the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) simulations captured longer period aerosol events quite well but largely failed to capture the timing of high-frequency phenomena. Ultimately, the research findings of these cruises demonstrate the real world challenges of satellite-based missions, significant aerosol life cycle questions such as those the future Aerosol/Clouds/Ecosystems (ACE) will investigate, and the importance of small-scale phenomena such as sea breezes, squall lines, and nucleation events embedded within SWM patterns in dominating aerosol life cycle and potential relationships to clouds.

The increasing awareness of the depletion of fossil fuel resources and the environmental benefits motivates the use of vegetable oils, however there is little known information about ignition and combustion characteristics of vegetable oil based fuels under off diesel engine conditions. These conditions are normally reached either during starting or when the engine is sufficiently worn out. A fuel was prepared by co-solvent blending of coconut oil with 20% butyl alcohol and was analysed. An experimental study of the measurement of ignition delay (ID) characteristics of conical fuel sprays impinging on hot surface in cylindrical combustion chamber was carried out. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of hot surface temperatures on ignition delays of microemulsion of coconut oil at various ambient air pressures and temperatures which would have reached under off diesel engine conditions. An experimental set-up was designed and developed for a maximum air pressure of 200 bar and a maximum temperature of 800 °C with the emphasis on optical method for the measurement of ignition delay. Hot surface temperature range chosen was 300–450 °C and ambient air pressure (inside the combustion chamber) range chosen was 10–25 bar. Present study shows that at fixed injection pressure and fixed ambient (hot surface) temperature, at higher ambient air pressure (25 bar) inside the combustion chamber, ignition delay of diesel and microemulsion of coconut oil are comparable and therefore are having matching combustion characteristics. Although a pressure of 25 bar is much less than the precombustion pressure of most diesel engines but again conclusively establish that combustion characteristics are same despite lower air pressure, temperature and lower injection pressure. At higher injection pressure ignition delay of microemulsion of coconut oil and pure diesel attains the lower value at the same ambient air pressure inside the combustion chamber. It can also be seen that at fixed injection pressure and higher ambient temperature conditions, ignition delay variations of microemulsion of coconut oil with chamber pressure show approximate same trend as that of conventional diesel fuel.

The current work addresses one of the key building blocks towards an improved understanding of flood processes and associated changes in flood characteristics and regimes in Europe: the development of a comprehensive, extensive European flood database. The presented work results from ongoing cross-border research collaborations initiated with data collection and joint interpretation in mind. A detailed account of the current state, characteristics and spatial and temporal coverage of the European Flood Database, is presented. At this stage, the hydrological data collection is still growing and consists at this time of annual maximum and daily mean discharge series, from over 7000 hydrometric stations of various data series lengths. Moreover, the database currently comprises data from over 50 different data sources. The time series have been obtained from different national and regional data sources in a collaborative effort of a joint European flood research agreement based on the exchange of data, models and expertise, and from existing international data collections and open source websites. These ongoing efforts are contributing to advancing the understanding of regional flood processes beyond individual country boundaries and to a more coherent flood research in Europe.

In this study, a new type of a double-layer ceramic membrane was used for the filtration of wastewater. The synthesized membrane consists of a macroporous substrate (with pore size of about 0.1 μm) prepared following the colloid filtration technique and a thin film functional layer (with pore size of about 10 nm) carried out according to the sol–gel preparation method. The ceramic membranes were tested for the removal of cadmium, zinc, Methylene Blue and Malachite Green from water under a pressure of 5 bar and a treatment time of 2 h. Liquid filtration and flow tests through these membranes resulted in a rejection rate of 100% for Methylene Blue and Malachite Green. This paper also presents the ability of the tubular membrane prepared to separate heavy metals (cadmium and zinc) from their synthetic aqueous solutions. The influence of the applied pressure, feed solute concentration, feed pH on the rejection of cadmium and zinc ions was studied. Retention rates of cadmium and zinc ions of 100% were observed for an initial feed concentration of 10−4 mol/L.

The fraction of antibiotics that are excreted from the intestine during administration leads to disruption of commensal bacteria as well as resulting in dysbiosis and various diseases. To protect the gut microbiota during treatment with antibiotics, use of activated carbon (AC) has recently been reported as a method to adsorb antibiotics. However, the antibiotic adsorption by AC is nonspecific and may also result in the adsorption of essential biological molecules. In this work, we reported that an anion exchange resin (AER) has better specificity than AC for adsorbing the β-lactam antibiotic cefoperazone (CEF). Because CEF has a negatively charged carboxylate group and a conjugated system, the AER was used to adsorb CEF through electrostatic and π-π interactions. The AER was specific for CEF over biological molecules such as bile acids and vitamins in the intestine. The AER protected Escherichia coli from CEF in vitro . Furthermore, oral administration of the AER reduced the fecal free CEF concentration, and protected the gut microbiota from CEF-induced dysbiosis.

The gut-liver axis may be involved in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns leak through the intestinal barrier to the liver via the portal vein to contribute to NASH development. Active vitamin D 3 (1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ) is a potential therapeutic agent to enhance the intestinal barrier. Active vitamin D 3 also suppresses inflammation and fibrosis in the liver. However, the adverse effects of active vitamin D 3 such as hypercalcemia limit its clinical use. We created a nano-structured lipid carrier (NLC) containing active vitamin D 3 to deliver active vitamin D 3 to the intestine and liver to elicit NASH treatment. We found a suppressive effect of the NLC on the lipopolysaccharide-induced increase in permeability of an epithelial layer in vitro. Using mice in which NASH was induced by a methionine and choline-deficient diet, we discovered that oral application of the NLC ameliorated the permeability increase in the intestinal barrier and attenuated steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in liver at a safe dose of active vitamin D 3 at which the free form of active vitamin D 3 did not show a therapeutic effect. These data suggest that the NLC is a novel therapeutic agent for NASH.

The fraction of administered antibiotics that reach the cecum and colon causes dysbiosis of the gut microbiome, resulting in various diseases. Protection of the gut microbiome from antibiotics using antibiotic adsorbents in the cecum and colon is a promising method to overcome this issue. Previously, activated charcoal (AC) has been reported to protect the gut microbiome of host animals. AC is an adsorbent that is widely used to capture toxic compounds and overdosed drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. The specificity of adsorbents for antibiotics is critical to avoid the risk of unexpected side effects caused by nonspecific adsorption of biological compounds in the intestinal fluid, such as bile acids and essential micronutrients. Here, we have developed specific adsorbents for vancomycin (VCM), which is known to cause gut dysbiosis. The adsorbents were composed of polyethyleneglycol-based microparticles (MPs) in which a specific ligand for VCM, D-Ala-D-Ala-OH, was attached via dendrons of D-lysine to raise the content of the ligand in the MPs. The MPs successfully protected Staphylococcus lentus from VCM in vitro because of the adsorption of VCM in the culture media. Pre-administration of MPs to mice reduced the amount of free VCM in the feces to an undetectable level. This treatment minimized the effect of VCM on gut microbiota and provided protection against Clostridioides difficile infection after oral challenge with spores., (©2020 BMFH Press.)

Immunomodulatory function of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been gathering much attention for the therapy of autoimmune diseases. ATRA is a chemically unstable molecule which requires proper formulation for targeted delivery. Here we examined nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) for the formulation of ATRA. NLC is a representative nanoparticle formulation especially suited for oral delivery. We established the preparation procedures of ATRA-containing NLC (NLC-RA) which minimizes the degradation of ATRA during the preparation process. NLC-RA thus obtained was taken up by macrophages and induced anti-inflammatory response via suppressing NF-κB signaling as well as via enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, NLC-RA enhanced differentiation of naïve T cells to regulatory T cells in the co-culture system with dendritic cells. These results suggest that NLC-RA is a promising alternative therapy for the autoimmune diseases especially intestinal bowel disease.

The induction of antigen-specific immunotolerance has been gathering attention concerning the therapy of allergy and autoimmune diseases. Tolerogenic dendritic cells (tDCs) play crucial roles in immunotolerance therapy because they induce anergic responses for auto-reactive helper T cells, and also enhance differentiation to regulatory T cells to maintain tolerance against auto-antigens. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is one of the representative molecules used to induce tDCs. We have proposed a simple formulation of ovalbumin nanoparticles complexed with ATRA (OVA/RA NPs). OVA/RA NPs were taken up by DCs and successfully induced phenotypes of tDCs.

The active form of vitamin D 3 , 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 has been found to exert multiple effects on the suppression of progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Vitamin D 3 has been gathering attention as a therapy for IBD. However, the clinical trials conducted to date revealed that a relatively high dosage of vitamin D 3 was required to see a significant therapeutic effect. Thus, effective formulation and delivery of vitamin D 3 to colonic inflammatory lesions will be required. Herein we describe the preparation of a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) for the encapsulation of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 for colonic delivery via oral administration. The optimized fabrication procedure enabled the incorporation of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 in the NLC by minimizing the destruction of chemically unstable 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 . The obtained NLCs orally delivered 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 to the colon in mice and maintained a high concentration of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 in the colonic tissue for at least 12 h. The NLC showed multiple effects on the suppression of symptoms of colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate, namely maintaining crypt structure, reducing the tissue concentration of inflammatory cytokines, suppressing the infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and augmenting anti-inflammatory CX 3 CR1 high macrophages. Our NLCs containing 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 may be an alternative treatment for IBD therapy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Therapeutic peptides and diagnostic agents with their molecular size below the renal clearance threshold suffer from short blood circulation time. Here, we report a novel design of peptide-based ligand with a strong binding affinity to human serum albumin (HSA), which can be used as a tag to extend the blood circulation of small-size molecules. We designed ligands with dual alkyl groups connected with a negatively charged spacer. The ligands showed both higher binding affinity to HSA and a higher retention in mice blood than that of a single alkylated peptide.