Mononuclear cells from the cord blood and granulocytecolony stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood:is there a potential for treatment of cerebral palsy?

To investigate a possible therapeutic mechanism of cell therapy in the field of cerebral palsy using granulocyte-colony stimulating factor（G-CSF）-mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells（m PBMCs）,we compared the expression of inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophic factors in PBMCs and m PBMCs from children with cerebral palsy to those from healthy adult donors and to cord blood mononuclear cells donated from healthy newborns.No significant differences in expression of neurotrophic factors were found between PBMCs and m PBMCs.However,in cerebral palsy children,the expression of interleukin-6 was significantly increased in m PBMCs as compared to PBMCs,and the expression of interleukin-3 was significantly decreased in m PBMCs as compared to PBMCs.In healthy adults,the expression levels of both interleukin-1βand interleukin-6 were significantly increased in m PBMCs as compared to PBMCs.The expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factors in m PBMC from cerebral palsy children was significantly higher than that in the cord blood or m PBMCs from healthy adults.The expression of G-CSF in m PBMCs from cerebral palsy children was comparable to that in the cord blood but significantly higher than that in m PBMCs from healthy adults.Lower expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines（interleukin-1β,interleukin-3,and-6）and higher expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines（interleukin-8 and interleukin-9）were observed from the cord blood and m PBMCs from cerebral palsy children rather than from healthy adults.These findings indicate that m PBMCs from cerebral palsy and cord blood mononuclear cells from healthy newborns have the potential to become seed cells for treatment of cerebral palsy.

The photodynamic therapy on Streptococcus mutans biofilms using erythrosine and dental halogen curing unit

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of photodynamic therapy （PDT）, using erythrosine as a photosensitizing agent and a dental halogen curing unit as a light source, on Streptococcus mutans in a biofilm phase. The S. mutans biofilms were formed in a 24-well cell culture cluster. Test groups consisted of biofilms divided into four groups： group 1： no photosensitizer or light irradiation treatment （control group）; group 2： photosensitizer treatment alone; group 3： light irradiation alone; group 4： photosensitizer treatment and light irradiation. After treatments, the numbers of colony-forming unit （CFU） were counted and samples were examined by confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy （CLSM）. Only group 4 （combined treatment） resulted in significant increases in cell death, with rates of 75% and 55% after 8 h of incubation, and 74% and 42% at 12 h, for biofilms formed in brain-heart infusion （BHI） broth supplemented with 0% or O. 1% sucrose, respectively. Therefore, PDT of S. mutans biofilms using a combination of erythrosine and a dental halogen curing unit, both widely used in dental clinics, resulted in a significant increase in cell death. The PDT effects are decreased in biofilms that form in the presence of sucrose.

Factors Affecting Energy Efficiency Investments—A Case Study of Bhutan

Energy efficiency is providing the same services consuming less energy.Less energy means less energy bill and less greenhouse emissions.Bhutan presents a unique scenario in promoting the use of energy efficiency equipment and investments.Bhutan enjoys availability of adequate low cost hydropower energy resource that is green and clean and enjoys cheap electrical energy.To aggravate the situation,the domestic tariffs are subsidized and even free up to 100 units in rural parts of the country.Export tariffs are determined independently according to entirely different principles.However for cooking,Bhutan imports LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas)from India.With increasing threats of climate change,it is reported water flow in rivers is decreasing.For energy security and related socio environmental issues,prospects of energy supply constraints and increasing demand of quality power in the country,there is a need to take appropriate policy measures which would lead to the development of indigenous,local and dispersed clean energy sources in the future.When a customer is asked to retrofit the house with energy efficiency,the owner questions oneself if the available investment resources are being directed to an effective return.Various criteria are available but all can not to be considered to come to a final decision.This paper presents an overview of many factors which affect energy efficiency investment in building in Bhutan.

Effect of front guide nozzle shape on the flow characteristics in an augmentation channel of a direct drive turbine for wave power generation

There is an increasing interest in cross flow turbines(also known as Banki turbines) for small and low head applications because of their simple structure as well as low capital and maintenance costs.The present work aims at implementing the direct drive turbine(DDT) of cross flow type for wave power generation.A numerical wave tank was used to simulate the waves and after obtaining the desired wave properties;the augmentation channel plus the front guide nozzle and rear chamber were integrated to the numerical wave tank.The waves in the numerical wave tank were generated by a piston type wave maker which was located at the wave tank inlet.The inlet which was modeled as a plate wall moved sinusoidally with the general function x = asinω t.The augmentation channel consisted of a front nozzle,rear nozzle and an internal fluid region which represented the turbine housing.The front and rear nozzles were geometrically the same.Three different front guide nozzle configurations were studied:a standard guide nozzle which was originally attached to the augmentation channel and two other front guide nozzles of different geometries.The purpose of this study is to observe how the front guide nozzle shape influences the flow downstream,mainly in the augmenta-tion channel,water power and the first stage energy conversion.The analysis was performed using a commercial CFD code ANSYS-CFX.The results of the flow in the augmentation channel for the three front guide nozzles are presented in this paper.

Performance analysis of a wave energy converter using numerical simulation technique

A general purpose viscous flow solver Ansys CFX was used to study a Savonius type wave energy converter in a 3D numerical viscous wave tank.This paper presents the results of a computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis of the effect of blade configuration on the performance of two Savonius rotors for wave energy extraction.A piston-type wave generator was incorporated in the computational domain to generate the desired incident waves.A complete OWC system with a 3-bladed Savonius rotor was modeled in a three dimensional numerical wave tank and the hydrodynamic conversion efficiency was estimated.The flow over the rotors was assumed to be two-dimensional(2D),viscous,turbulent and unsteady.The CFX code was used with a solver of the coupled conservation equations of mass,momentum and energy,with an implicit time scheme and with the adoption of the hexahedral mesh and the moving mesh techniques in areas of moving surfaces.Turbulence was modeled with the k-e model.The results indicated that the developed models are suitable to analyze the water flows both in the chamber and in the turbine.For the turbine,the numerical results of pressure and torque were compared for the two cases.

Performance studies on an oscillating water column employing a Savonius rotor

A new oscillating water column (OWC) design is proposed in this study to incorporate a simpler Savonius type turbine. Conventional OWC devices employ a bi-directional turbine such as a Wells or an Impulse turbine to extract energy from the air. The disadvantages of the Wells turbine include its inability to self start and stalling. The Savonius turbine is much cheaper and is an effective option at low Reynolds numbers. In the current rectangular OWC device, unlike the circular OWC, the width of entry of the capture chamber can be increased without being influenced by the diameter at the turbine section. To improve its primary capture efficiency, the front and rear walls of the OWC are inclined to minimize reflection. The Savonius rotor characteristics are studied with respect to the change in frequency of the incoming waves. The rotor rpm is sensitive to wave period and primary conversion efficiency while changes in depth only affect the rotor rpm at lower frequencies. The Savonius rotor shows promising results and can be incorporated into large scale OWC devices to reduce costs of the turbine component of the system.

Cord blood transplantation for the treatment of acute leukemia

Objective This review discussed the available data on treatment outcomes of cord blood transplantation （CBT） for acute leukemia. Data sources The data cited in this review were obtained from articles listed in Medline and Pubmed. Study selection We reviewed the articles of clinical results from various registries and institutions, as well as our experiences with CBT in children, adolescents and adults. Results This research has clearly shown that cord blood （CB） has several unique characteristics resulting in distinct advantage and disadvantages when compared to transplantation with unrelated donor bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. The field of CBT has advanced from investigating its safety and feasibility to addressing more specific issues such as accelerating engraftment, extending access, and examining outcomes in specific subgroups of patients. Many approaches have been investigated in the attempt to improve engraftment and survival. Variable factors have been identified, such as factors related to donor choice （human leukocyte antigen （HLA） compatibility, cell dose, and others） and transplantation （conditioning and graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis regimen）. Data support that CB should be considered a reasonable option in those that do not have HLA matched sibling donor and for those in whom the time to transplant is critical. Conclusions CB is a reasonable alternative to unrelated donor bone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cells for transplantation. Recently developed strategies aimed at improving hematopoietic recovery and reducing early transplantation-related mortality could further improve treatment outcomes of CBT for patients with acute leukemia.

Experimental studies on the flow characteristics in an inclined bend-free OWC device

A bend-free rectangular cross-section OWC device was designed and constructed for studying the effect of inclination on the flow characteristics inside the device.The inclination is meant to reduce reflection of waves and induce higher velocities in the turbine section.Experimental measurements were made in a wave channel where the OWC device was tested.An S-type Pitot tube was used to measure dynamic pressure of air in the turbine section at several inclinations.Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV)was also done to study the flow of both air and water in the OWC device.In order to focus solely on primary energy capture,no turbine was installed in the OWC device.The dynamic pressure readings were analysed for suction and compression stages.Water volume fluctuations inside the capture chamber were also recorded and compared for different inclinations.The result was an increase in the velocity of air flowing in the capture chamber and hence a rise in the kinetic energy available to the turbine.It was found from experimental studies that as the angle of inclination reduced,the velocity of air in the turbine section increased.The lower angles also caused higher run-up and larger volume of water into the capture chamber.