Integrating efficient filtration and visible-light photocatalysis by loading Ag-doped zeolite Y particles on aluminia nanofiber membrane

Filtration membrane technology has already been employed to remove various organic effluents produced from the textile, paper, plastic, leather, food and mineral processing industries. To improve membrane efficiency and alleviate membrane fouling, an integrated approach is adopted that combines membrane filtration and photocatalysis technology. In this study, alumina nanofiber (AF) membranes with pore size of about 10 nm (determined by the liquid-liquid displacement method) have been synthesized through an in situ hydrothermal reaction, which permitted a large flux and achieved high selectivity. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are subsequently doped on the nanofibers of the membranes. Silver nanoparticles can strongly absorb visible light due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, and thus induce photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes, including anionic, cationic and neutral dyes, under visible light irradiation. In this integrated system, the dyes are retained on the membrane surface, their concentration in the vicinity of the Ag NPs are high and thus can be efficiently decomposed. Meanwhile, the usual flux deterioration caused by the accumulation of the filtered dyes in the passage pores can be avoided. For example, when an aqueous solution containing methylene blue is processed using an integrated membrane, a large flux of 200 L m-2 h-1 and a stable permeating selectivity of 85% were achieved. The combined photocatalysis and filtration function leads to superior performance of the integrated membranes, which have a potential to be used for the removal of organic pollutants in drinking water.

Profiling and characterisation of key weather variables and their implication on building design

Local climate is a critical element in the design of buildings. In this paper, ten years of historical weather data in Australia's all eight capital cities are analyzed to characterize the variation profiles of climatic variables. The method of descriptive statistics is employed. Either the pattern of cumulative distribution and/or the profile of percentage distribution are used to graphically illustrate the similarity and difference between different study locations. It is found that although the weather variables vary with different locations, except for the extreme parts, there is often a good, nearly linear relation between weather variable and its cumulative percentage for the majority of middle part. The implication of these extreme parts and the slopes of the middle parts on building design is also discussed.

Profiling work motivation of project workers

The purpose of this study is to understand the constructs of work motivation in project-based organizations. We first juxtapose work motivation in traditional and project-based organizations to put forward an operational definition of work motivation for our study. We then present the research methodology where we profile work motivation as perceived by project workers using principal component analysis. We obtain a five factor structure of work motivation. Finally, we discuss these results by putting them within the project management perspective and suggest managerial implications.

Profiling work motivation of project workers

The purpose of this study is to understand the constructs of work motivation in project—based organizations. We first juxtapose work motivation in traditional and project—based organizations to put forward an operational definition of work motivation for our study. We then present the research methodology where we profile work motivation as perceived by project workers using principal component analysis. We obtain a five factor structure of work motivation. Finally, we discuss these results by putting them within the project management perspective and suggest managerial implications.

Acoustic, mechanical and near-infrared profiling of osteoarthritic progression in bovine joints

Early-stage treatments for osteoarthritis are attracting considerable interest as a means to delay, or avoid altogether, the pain and lack of mobility associated with late-stage disease, and the considerable burden that it places on the community. With the development of these treatments comes a need to assess the tissue to which they are applied, both in trialling of new treatments and as an aid to clinical decision making. Here, we measure a range of mechanical indentation, ultrasound and near-infrared spectroscopy parameters in normal and osteoarthritic bovine joints in vitro to describe the role of different physical phenomena in disease progression, using this as a basis to investigate the potential value of the techniques as clinical tools. Based on 72 samples we found that mechanical and ultrasound parameters showed differences between fibrillated tissue, macroscopically normal tissue in osteoarthritic joints, and normal tissue, yet did were unable to differentiate degradation beyond that which was visible to the naked eye. Near-infrared spectroscopy showed a clear progression of degradation across the visibly normal osteoarthritic joint surface and as such, was the only technique considered useful for clinical application.

Transcriptome Profiling of Sexual Maturation and Mating in the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata

Sexual maturation and mating in insects are generally accompanied by major physiological and behavioural changes. Many of these changes are related to the need to locate a mate and subsequently, in the case of females, to switch from mate searching to oviposition behaviour. The prodigious reproductive capacity of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the factors that has led to its success as an invasive pest species. To identify the molecular changes related to maturation and mating status in male and female medfly, a microarray-based gene expression approach was used to compare the head transcriptomes of sexually immature, mature virgin, and mated individuals. Attention was focused on the changes in abundance of transcripts related to reproduction, behaviour, sensory perception of chemical stimulus, and immune system processes. Broad transcriptional changes were recorded during female maturation, while post-mating transcriptional changes in females were, by contrast, modest. In male medfly, transcriptional changes were consistent both during maturation and as a consequence of mating. Of particular note was the lack of the mating-induced immune responses that have been recorded for Drosophila melanogaster, that may be due to the different reproductive strategies of these species. This study, in addition to increasing our understanding of the molecular machinery behind maturation and mating in the medfly, has identified important gene targets that might be useful in the future management of this pest.

Recycling endosome membrane incorporation into the leading edge regulates lamellipodia formation and macrophage migration

In comparison to our knowledge of the recycling of adhesion receptors and actin assembly, exactly how the cell controls its surface membrane to form a lamellipodium during migration is poorly understood. Here, we show the recycling endosome membrane is incorporated into the leading edge of a migrating cell to expand lamellipodia membrane. We have identified the SNARE complex that is necessary for fusion of the recycling endosome with the cell surface, as consisting of the R-SNARE VAMP3 on the recycling endosome partnering with the surface Q-SNARE Stx4/SNAP23, which was found to translocate and accumulate on the leading edge of migrating cells. Increasing VAMP3-mediated fusion of the recycling endosome with the surface increased membrane ruffling, while inhibition of VAMP3-mediated fusion showed that incorporation of the recycling endosome is necessary for efficient lamellipodia formation. At the same time, insertion of this recycling endosome membrane also delivers its cargo integrin α5β1 to the cell surface. The loss of this extra membrane for lamellipodia expansion and delivery of cargo in cells resulted in macrophages with a diminished capacity to effectively migrate. Thus, the recycling endosome membrane is incorporated into the leading edge and this aids expansion of the lamellipodia and simultaneously delivers integrins necessary for efficient cell migration.

Expression of PTRF in PC3 cells modulates cholesterol dynamics and the actin cytoskeleton impacting secretion pathways

Expression of caveolin-1 is up-regulated in prostate cancer metastasis and is associated with aggressive recurrence of the disease. Intriguingly, caveolin-1 is also secreted from prostate cancer cell lines and has been identified in secreted prostasomes. Caveolin-1 is the major structural component of the plasma membrane invaginations called caveolae. Co-expression of the coat protein Polymerase I and transcript release factor (PTRF) is required for caveolae formation. We recently found that expression of caveolin-1 in the aggressive prostate cancer cell line PC-3 is not accompanied by PTRF, leading to noncaveolar caveolin-1 lipid rafts. Moreover, ectopic expression of PTRF in PC-3 cells sequesters caveolin-1 into caveolae. Here we quantitatively analyzed the effect of PTRF expression on the PC-3 proteome using stable isotope labeling by amino acids in culture and subcellular proteomics. We show that PTRF reduced the secretion of a subset of proteins including secreted proteases, cytokines, and growth regulatory proteins, partly via a reduction in prostasome secretion. To determine the cellular mechanism accounting for the observed reduction in secreted proteins we analyzed total membrane and the detergent-resistant membrane fractions. Our data show that PTRF expression selectively impaired the recruitment of actin cytoskeletal proteins to the detergent-resistant membrane, which correlated with altered cholesterol distribution in PC-3 cells expressing PTRF. Consistent with this, modulating cellular cholesterol altered the actin cytoskeleton and protein secretion in PC-3 cells. Intriguingly, several proteins that function in ER to Golgi trafficking were reduced by PTRF expression. Taken together, these results suggest that the noncaveolar caveolin-1 found in prostate cancer cells generates a lipid raft microenvironment that accentuates secretion pathways, possibly at the step of ER sorting/exit. Importantly, these effects could be modulated by PTRF expression.

Biochemical profiling of proteins and metabolites in wound exudate from chronic wound environments

The lack of fundamental knowledge on the biological processes associated with wound healing represents a significant challenge. Understanding the biochemical changes that occur within a chronic wound could provide insights into the wound environment and enable more effective wound management. We report on the stability of wound fluid samples under various conditions and describe a high-throughput approach to investigate the altered biochemical state within wound samples collected from various types of chronic, ulcerated wounds. Furthermore, we discuss the viability of this approach in the early stages of wound sample protein and metabolite profiling and subsequent biomarker discovery. This approach will facilitate the detection of factors that may correlate with wound severity and/or could be used to monitor the response to a particular treatment.

Increased sedation requirements in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for respiratory and cardiorespiratory failure

Critically ill patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are often noted to have increased sedation requirements. However, data related to sedation in this complex group of patients is limited. The aim of our study was to characterise the sedation requirements in adult patients receiving ECMO for cardiorespiratory failure. A retrospective chart review was performed to collect sedation data for 30 consecutive patients who received venovenous or venoarterial ECMO between April 2009 and March 2011. To test for a difference in doses over time we used a regression model. The dose of midazolam received on ECMO support increased by an average of 18 mg per day (95% confidence interval 8, 29 mg, P=0.001), while the dose of morphine increased by 29 mg per day (95% confidence interval 4, 53 mg, P=0.021) The venovenous group received a daily midazolam dose that was 157 mg higher than the venoarterial group (95% confidence interval 53, 261 mg, P=0.005). We did not observe any significant increase in fentanyl doses over time (95% confidence interval 1269, 4337 µg, P=0.94). There is a significant increase in dose requirement for morphine and midazolam during ECMO. Patients on venovenous ECMO received higher sedative doses as compared to patients on venoarterial ECMO. Future research should focus on mechanisms behind these changes and also identify drugs that are most suitable for sedation during ECMO.