In the 5G mobile system, new features such as millimetre wave operation, small cell size and multi beam are requested at base stations. At millimetre wave, the base station antennas become very small in size, which is about 30 cm; thus, dielectric lens antennas that have excellent multi beam radiation pattern performance are suitable candidates. For base station application, the lens antennas with small thickness and small curvature are requested for light weight and ease of installation. In this paper, a new lens shaping method for thin and small lens curvature is proposed. In order to develop the thin lens antenna, comparisons of antenna structures with conventional aperture distribution lens and Abbe's sine lens are made. Moreover, multi beam radiation pattern of three types of lenses are compared. As a result, the thin and small curvature of the proposed lens and an excellent multi beam radiation pattern are ensured.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) via microalgae cultivations is getting renewed interest as climate change mitigation effort, owing to its excellent photosynthetic and CO2 fixation capability. Microalgae growth is monitored based on their biomass, cell concentrations and cell sizes. The key parametric relationships on microalgae growth under CO2 are absent in previous studies and this inadequacy hampers the design and scale-up of microalgae-based CCS. In this study, three representative microalgae species, Chlorella, Nostoc and Chlamydomonas, were investigated for establishing key correlations of cell concentrations and sizes towards their biomass fluctuations under CO2 influences of 0% to 20% volume ratios (v/v). This revealed that Chlorella and Chlamydomonas cell concentrations significantly contributed towards increasing biomass concentration under CO2 elevations. Chlorella and Nostoc cell sizes were enhanced at 20% (v/v). These findings provided new perspectives on growth responses under increasing CO2 treatment, opening new avenues on CCS schemes engineering designs and biochemical production.
This study presents an investigation about the effect of size variation on mechanical
performance of square core interlocking structures, by using finite element analysis
(FEA). The material used in this study is flax fibre reinforced polypropylene (PP)
composite. Abaqus software was used for modelling and visualizing number of six
interlocking honeycomb structures with different cell sizes and heights. In the first
analysis, Abaqus/standard was performed on the perfect models by applying quasistatic
loading to identify the imperfection shape and obtaining the buckling Eigenmodes
for the models, then the Eigen-modes from abaqus/standard were imported
to abaqus/explicit to run post-buckling analysis and simulate the overall imperfection
behaviour of models. The numerical results from the finite element analysis
simulation were used to plot load-displacement curve to each model. The area under
the load-displacement curve represents the total absorbed energy, energy absorption
per unit mass indicates the specific energy absorption, and the highest value of
specific energy absorption represents the optimum size. The findings demonstrated
that the square interlocking structure exhibits good energy absorption performance
in some geometrical cases, and also revealed that the natural fibre composites have
unique energy absorption capability under quasi-static loads.
The effect of addition of avocado (Persea americana) puree on the physical and microstructure of butter cake was studied.
Butter cakes were made by replacing butter with 10, 30 and 50% of avocado puree. Physical properties including batter
specific gravity, volume, colour and image analysis of cellular structure of the crumb were analyzed. Texture profile
analysis was determined using texture analyzer. The results showed that with the increased amount of avocado puree,
the batter specific gravity increased while volume of the cakes reduced. The texture profile analysis showed that the cakes
became harder as the amount of avocado puree increased, while cohesiveness was not affected. The cellular structure of
the crumb exhibited a decrease in the number of air cells while the average cell size increased with addition of avocado
puree. The colour analysis showed that the cake crumb became darker as the aavocado puree was increased.
A new design and analysis of a wide-band double-negative metamaterial, considering a frequency range of 0.5 to 7 GHz, is presented in this paper. Four different unit cells with varying design parameters are analyzed to evaluate the effects of the unit-cell size on the resonance frequencies of the metamaterial. Moreover, open and interconnected 2 × 2 array structures of unit cells are analyzed. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, based on the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio, is utilized in the majority of this investigation. The experimental portion of the study was performed in a semi-anechoic chamber. Good agreement is observed between the simulated and measured S parameters of the developed unit cell and array. The designed unit cell exhibits negative permittivity and permeability simultaneously at S-band (2.95 GHz to 4.00 GHz) microwave frequencies. In addition, the designed unit cell can also operate as a double-negative medium throughout the C band (4.00 GHz to 4.95 GHz and 5.00 GHz to 5.57 GHz). At a number of other frequencies, it exhibits a single negative value. The two array configurations cause a slight shift in the resonance frequencies of the metamaterial and hence lead to a slight shift of the single- and double-negative frequency ranges of the metamaterial.
Discrimination of different fishes can be done through different means which includes morphological appearance. When two fishes are successfully hybridized, they produce progenies that have shared morphology between their pure parent, hence, making morphometric characterization an important aspect of hybrid discrimination. However, erythrocyte characterization is also a simpler method for characterization. The dataset presented in this article represents the traditional morphological data, truss network data and erythrocyte data of pure and novel hybrids from reciprocal crosses of African catfish Clarias gariepinus and Asian catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus. Breeding of the broodstocks was done to produce pure and hybrid progenies which were maintained for a period of four to six months. Based on the cross combinations and morphotypes, traditional measurement of twenty-five morphological characters and five meristic counts were recorded. Thereafter pictures of the different fish groups were used to determine values of thirty-six distances between ten landmark points. The morphological abnormality of the hybrids at market size is also presented in this data article for the very first time. Blood was then collected from the caudal peduncle of ten fish per group and smeared on a slide for observation under a compound microscope (at 100 × magnification). Data gotten included erythrocytes parameters such as cell major axis, cell minor axis, nucleus major axis, nucleus minor axis cell area, nucleus area, cell volume, and nucleus volume. Data recording was through the Microsoft excel spreadsheet; which was also used to process the data to get the exclusive ranges of values for paired progenies. The data as presented is associated with the research article "Morphological characterization of the progenies of pure and reciprocal crosses of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878) and Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)" [1]. The dataset presented in this article can be used for easy identification of the novel hybrid progenies of the African Catfish and Asian Catfish.
Significantly high eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and fucoxanthin contents with high production rate were achieved in semi continuous culture of marine diatom. Effects of dilution rate on the production of biomass and high value biocompounds such as EPA and fucoxanthin were evaluated in semi-continuous cultures of Chaetoceros gracilis under high light condition. Cellular dry weight increased at lower dilution rate and higher light intensity conditions, and cell size strongly affected EPA and fucoxanthin contents. The smaller microalgae cells showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) value of 17.1 mg g-dw-1 fucoxanthin and 41.5% EPA content per total fatty acid compared to those observed in the larger cells. Chaetoceros gracilis can accumulate relatively higher EPA and fucoxanthin than those reported previously. In addition, maintenance of small cell size by supplying sufficient nutrients and light energy can be the key for the increase production of valuable biocompounds in C. gracilis.
Cs2Pb(MoO4)2crystals were prepared by crystallization from their own melt, and the crystal structure has been studied in detail. At 296 K, the molybdate crystallizes in the low-temperature α-form and has a monoclinic palmierite-related superstructure (space group C2/m, a = 2.13755(13) nm, b = 1.23123(8) nm, c = 1.68024(10) nm, β = 115.037(2)°, Z = 16) possessing the largest unit cell volume, 4.0066(4) nm3, among lead-containing palmierites. The compound undergoes a distortive phase transition at 635 K and incongruently melts at 943 K. The electronic structure of α-Cs2Pb(MoO4)2was explored by using X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods. For α-Cs2Pb(MoO4)2, the photoelectron core-level and valence-band spectra and the XES band representing the energy distribution of Mo 4d and O 2p states were recorded. Our results allow one to conclude that the Mo 4d and O 2p states contribute mainly to the central part and at the top of the valence band, respectively, with also significant contributions throughout the whole valence-band region of the molybdate under consideration.
Epoxy shape memory foam (ESM) was produced by an advanced aqueous method. Mixture of epoxy, sodium bicarbonate,
hardener and ammonium chloride was premixed and emulsified in distilled water by using high speed stirring (at 1200
rpm). The content of sodium bicarbonate used was 5, 10, 15 and 20 phr. Besides that, ammonium chloride was used
(based on stoichiometrical content) to also function as acidifying agent in initiating the decomposition process of sodium
bicarbonate at lower foaming temperature. The foam morphology was observed using SEM. It was found that higher
sodium bicarbonate produced more porosity, more cell size, thinner cell wall and more cell interconnection. Epoxy shape
memory foam with 10 phr of sodium bicarbonate exhibited good shape memory property and better compression set.
Shape memory behaviour was measured by the recovered time of the transformed sample to its original shape.
The responses of two species of microalgae, Chlorella sorokiniana and Chlorella zofingiensis, were compared regarding their morphological and biochemical properties under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. These microalgae were cultured under both conditions, and their crude ethanolic extracts were examined for their pigment and total phenolic contents. In addition, the microalgae's antioxidant activities were determined using a DPPH radical scavenging assay and a ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Both strains showed increases in cell size due to the accumulation of lipid bodies and other cell contents, especially carotenoids, under the mixotrophic condition. Notably, reductions in phenolic and chlorophyll contents were observed to be associated with lower antioxidant activity. C. zofingiensis compared with C. sorokiniana, demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and carotenoid content. This study showed that different species of microalgae responded differently to varying conditions by producing different types of metabolites, as evidenced by the production of higher levels of phenolic compounds under the photoautotrophic condition and the production of the same levels of carotenoids under both photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions.
Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 is a psychrophilic yeast isolated from Antarctica. It has an optimal growth in yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) and yeast mould (YM) broth media but not in potato dextrose (PD) broth medium. Early phase G. antarctica PI12 cells had elongated-shape and became oval-shaped as they aged. G. antarctica PI12 exhibited bipolar budding and formed a chain of cells during the lag and early exponential phases. The number of chains decreased as the yeast aged. It appeared mainly as a single cell at the stationary phase, and a small number of them still produced buds. Some cells at the stationary phase entered the quiescence state (G0) as a longterm survival strategy. The G. antarctica PI12 cell size decreased when they entered the stationary phase. G. antarctica PI12 was found to produce hydrolytic enzymes, chitinase, cellulase, mannanase, and xylanase. A higher glucose concentration of 2% in the PD agar medium inhibited the activities of chitinase but not the cellulase, mananase and xylanase.
Helminthiasis due to strongyles such as Haemonchus contortus, coccidiosis caused by Eimeria sp. and blood parasite diseases such as theileriosis by Theileria sp. have been reported to cause severe morbidity and mortality annually in small ruminants in Malaysia. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of helminthiasis, coccidiosis and theileriosis and to determine the packed cell volume (PCV) value of small ruminants in Perak, Malaysia. Blood and faecal samples were obtained from a total of 175 animals from 7 small ruminant farms in Kampar, Larut Matang and Selama, Kuala Kangsar and Manjung districts in Perak; the samples were examined for parasitic infestations from April to July 2011. The results of this study show that H. contortus was found in 152 (86.86%) animals, Eimeria sp. was found in 162 (92.57%) animals and the blood protozoa Theileria sp. was found in 25 (14.30%) animals. The PCV values of all of these animals were recorded between 7% and 44%. A total of 42 (24%) animals were anaemic, with a PCV of less than 21%. Continuous monitoring of small ruminant farms will provide important information for assisting farmers with managing the spread of parasitic infections and maintaining the productivity of animals.
Sarcocystis sp. infection was investigated in 20 necropsied captive wild mammals and 20 birds in 2 petting zoos in Malaysia. The gross post-mortem lesions in mammals showed marbling of the liver with uniform congestion of the intestine, and for birds, there was atrophy of the sternal muscles with hemorrhage and edema of the lungs in 2 birds. Naked eye examination was used for detection of macroscopic sarcocysts, and muscle squash for microscopic type. Only microscopically visible cysts were detected in 8 animals and species identification was not possible. Histological examination of the sections of infected skeletal muscles showed more than 5 sarcocysts in each specimen. No leukocytic infiltration was seen in affected organs. The shape of the cysts was elongated or circular, and the mean size reached 254 x 24.5 µm and the thickness of the wall up to 2.5 µm. Two stages were recognized in the cysts, the peripheral metrocytes and large numbers of crescent shaped merozoites. Out of 40 animals examined, 3 mammals and 5 birds were positive (20%). The infection rate was 15% and 25% in mammals and birds, respectively. Regarding the organs, the infection rate was 50% in the skeletal muscles followed by tongue and heart (37.5%), diaphragm (25%), and esophagus (12.5%). Further ultrastructural studies are required to identify the species of Sarcocystis that infect captive wild animals and their possible role in zoonosis.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the fine needle aspiration cytologic features of invasive lobular carcinoma of breast and to discuss problems that may occur in cytodiagnosis.
STUDY DESIGN: Fine needle aspiration cytologic smears from 21 cases of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of breast were subjected to detailed cytomorphologic analysis. Features studied included pattern of cells, size of cells, nuclear placement, pleomorphism, presence of intracytoplasmic lumina (ICL) and signet ring cells.
RESULTS: Cellularity was generally moderate or high, and the pattern was predominantly or partly dissociated in 86% of cases. Rosettelike pattern was discerned in alveolar-type ILC. Cell size was usually small or intermediate, with nuclei placed eccentrically in most cases. ICLs with or without signet ring cells were present in 12 cases (57%).
CONCLUSION: A cytologic picture consisting of predominantly dissociated small or intermediate-sized tumor cells with eccentric nuclei, with some of the cells showing ICLs, is highly suggestive of ILC. Indian file pattern, another characteristic feature of ILC, is, however, focal and inconsistent. Variant patterns of ILC may show other cytologic features, such as rosettelike pattern (alveolar variant of ILC) or large cell pattern (pleomorphic variant of ILC) and may consequently be difficult to categorize on cytologic smears.
The motoneurones with axons in the common peroneal nerve (CPN) of the rat and monkey were examined using retrograde labelling with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In both species, the CPN motoneurone pool was localized in the dorsolateral part of the ventral horn of the spinal cord. In the rat, the labelled motoneurones were located between the L3 and L6 spinal segments whereas in the monkey, they extended from the caudal end of L4 to the L6 spinal segments. In both species the majority of the labelled neurones were located within the L5 segment. The mean number of the CPN motoneurones in the rat and monkey was 458 and 1148, respectively. A bimodal size distribution of motoneurones was found in both species.
The productivity of smallholder sheep and goat flocks is constrained by high morbidity and mortality of young stock due to helminthosis and coccidiosis. We hypothesized that gastrointestinal parasites are prevalent and may cause severe infections amongst small ruminants in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and December 2019 to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and levels of infection with gastrointestinal strongyle and coccidia in selected smallholder goat flocks in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A total of 257 blood and fecal samples and management data were collected from four farms in Negeri Sembilan. Gastrointestinal parasites were detected by routine sodium chloride floatation, and the McMaster technique was used to quantify the fecal eggs/oocysts per gram outputs (EPG/OPG). The severity of infection was classified as mild (50-799), moderate (800-1200), or severe (>1200). The packed cell volume (PCV) was determined by microhematocrit centrifugation and classified as anemic or non-anemic. Coprological examination revealed an overall prevalence of 78.6% (CI = 72.74-83.44) and 100% flock level prevalence of strongyle and coccidia infection among goats from Negeri Sembilan with a higher infection in flock A-Lenggeng (95.6%) than B-Senawang (87.3%), D-Mendom (80.6%), or C-Seremban (60.0%). The co-infections of strongyle + Eimeria (50.6; CI = 44.50 to 56.64) were more common than single infections of either strongyle (16.7%; CI = 12.66 to 21.78) or Eimeria (4.3%; CI = 2.41 to 7.50). Quantitative analysis has revealed different (p < 0.05) patterns of EPG/OPG in various categories of goats. In total, there were 49.8% mild, 8.6% moderate, and 13.6% severe infections of strongyle and 40.1% mild, 6.6% moderate, and 19.8% severe infections of coccidia among goats. The mean PCV of goats with severe strongyle infection (24.60 ± 0.85) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the moderate (26.90 ± 1.15), or mild (28.23 ± 0.50) infections and the uninfected (30.4 ± 0.71). There were increased odds of infection with strongyle and coccidia among female (OR = 3.2) and adult (OR = 11.0) goats from smallholder flocks in Negeri Sembilan. In conclusion, gastrointestinal strongyles and coccidia occur at high frequency among smallholder goats, and there is a higher risk of infection amongst the adult and female stock.
Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) frequently occurs in haemodialysis
(HD) patients undergoing recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO)
therapy and is commonly associated with rHuEPO hypo-responsiveness.
However, the conventional iron indices are inadequate to exhibit the status or
utilisation of iron during erythropoiesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate
the accuracy and usefulness of the reticulocyte haemoglobin (RET-He) test
for diagnosing IDA in HD patients undergoing rHuEPO therapy. Methods: In
this cross-sectional study, fifty-five blood samples of HD patients on rHuEPO
therapy were collected and analysed for haematological and biochemical
parameters. A receiver operating characteristics curve was also plotted for
sensitivity and specificity analysis. IDA detection rates by RET-He, soluble
transferrin receptor (sTfR) and serum ferritin were 63.64%, 3.64% and 0%,
respectively. RET-He level was significantly correlated with sTfR level, mean
cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin level and the transferrin receptor-ferritin
index. The sensitivity and specificity of RET-He in detecting IDA were 78.3%
and 92.0%, respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.864. IDA was more
frequently detected by RET-He than by ferritin or sTfR in HD patients
undergoing rHuEPO therapy. The RET-He level also showed higher sensitivity
and specificity for the iron status in these patients. Therefore, RET-He is a
useful biomarker for the detection of IDA in HD patients undergoing rHuEPO
therapy.
Recent molecular phylogenetic studies of Gambierdiscus species flagged several new species and genotypes, thus leading to revitalizing its systematics. The inter-relationships of clades revealed by the primary sequence information of nuclear ribosomal genes (rDNA), however, can sometimes be equivocal, and therefore, in this study, the taxonomic status of a ribotype, Gambierdiscus sp. type 6, was evaluated using specimens collected from the original locality, Marakei Island, Republic of Kiribati; and specimens found in Rawa Island, Peninsular Malaysia, were further used for comparison. Morphologically, the ribotype cells resembled G. scabrosus, G. belizeanus, G. balechii, G. cheloniae and G. lapillus in thecal ornamentation, where the thecal surfaces are reticulate-foveated, but differed from G. scabrosus by its hatchet-shaped Plate 2', and G. belizeanus by the asymmetrical Plate 3'. To identify the phylogenetic relationship of this ribotype, a large dataset of the large subunit (LSU) and small subunit (SSU) rDNAs were compiled, and performed comprehensive analyses, using Bayesian-inference, maximum-parsimony, and maximum-likelihood, for the latter two incorporating the sequence-structure information of the SSU rDNA. Both the LSU and SSU rDNA phylogenetic trees displayed an identical topology and supported the hypothesis that the relationship between Gambierdiscus sp. type 6 and G. balechii was monophyletic. As a result, the taxonomic status of Gambierdiscus sp. type 6 was revised, and assigned as Gambierdiscus balechii. Toxicity analysis using neuroblastoma N2A assay confirmed that the Central Pacific strains were toxic, ranging from 1.1 to 19.9 fg P-CTX-1 eq cell-1, but no toxicity was detected in a Western Pacific strain. This suggested that the species might be one of the species contributing to the high incidence rate of ciguatera fish poisoning in Marakei Island.
Kacangma (Leonurus sibiricus L.) is a popular traditional herb that has been consumed for decades by the people of Sarawak as a herbal medicine or culinary ingredient. The toxicity of dried kacangma herb on Sprague Dawley male and female rats was evaluated through 90-day sub-chronic studies. The rats were fed kacangma at the rate of 0.5 (low dose), 5 (medium dose) and 25 (high dose) g/kg body weight. The control groups of rats received only the commercial rat pellet. Minor treatment-related effects were observed for body weights, organ weights and the lipid profile parameters and these did not appear to be of toxicological significance. In the sub-chronic toxicity studies, some indications of renal and liver toxicity were evident in the medium and high dose groups when plasma creatinine and liver enzymes were found to be higher when compared with the control and the low dose groups. The hematology study reveals statistically significant mild anemia in rats from the medium and high dose groups as indicated by decreases in hemoglobin, red blood cell count and packed cell volume (hematocrit value). Administration of kacangma herb at medium and high dose was also found to cause adverse effects in histopathological structure of the liver and kidney of both male and female rats. However, low dose group showed no significant differences compared to the control. Therefore, it is considered safe and less chance of developing toxicity if the herb is consumed at the dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight as observed throughout the 90 days period of sub-chronic study.
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an attractive target for cancer therapy due to its ability to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, without causing significant toxicity in normal tissues. We previously reported that galactoxyloglucan (PST001) possesses significant antitumor and immunomodulatory properties. However, the exact mechanism in mediating this anticancer effect is unknown. This study, for the first time, indicated that PST001 sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer (A549) and nasopharyngeal (KB) cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. In vitro studies suggested that PST001 induced apoptosis primarily via death receptors and predominantly activated caspases belonging to the extrinsic apoptotic cascade. Microarray profiling of PST001 treated A549 and KB cells showed the suppression of survivin (BIRC5) and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, as well as increased cytochrome C. TaqMan low density array analysis of A549 cells also confirmed that the induction of apoptosis by the polysaccharide occurred through the TRAIL-DR4/DR5 pathways. This was finally confirmed by in silico analysis, which revealed that PST001 binds to TRAIL-DR4/DR5 complexes more strongly than TNF and Fas ligand-receptor complexes. In summary, our results suggest the potential of PST001 to be developed as an anticancer agent that not only preserves innate biological activity of TRAIL, but also sensitizes cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.