Distinct gut microbiomes in Thai patients with colorectal polyps

BACKGROUND Colorectal polyps that develop via the conventional adenoma-carcinoma sequence[e.g.,tubular adenoma(TA)]often progress to malignancy and are closely associated with changes in the composition of the gut microbiome.There is limited research concerning the microbial functions and gut microbiomes associated with colorectal polyps that arise through the serrated polyp pathway,such as hyperplastic polyps(HP).Exploration of microbiome alterations asso-ciated with HP and TA would improve the understanding of mechanisms by which specific microbes and their metabolic pathways contribute to colorectal carcinogenesis.AIM To investigate gut microbiome signatures,microbial associations,and microbial functions in HP and TA patients.METHODS Full-length 16S rRNA sequencing was used to characterize the gut microbiome in stool samples from control participants without polyps[control group(CT),n=40],patients with HP(n=52),and patients with TA(n=60).Significant differences in gut microbiome composition and functional mechanisms were identified between the CT group and patients with HP or TA.Analytical techniques in this study included differential abundance analysis,co-occurrence network analysis,and differential pathway analysis.RESULTS Colorectal cancer(CRC)-associated bacteria,including Streptococcus gallolyticus(S.gallolyticus),Bacteroides fragilis,and Clostridium symbiosum,were identified as characteristic microbial species in TA patients.Mediterraneibacter gnavus,associated with dysbiosis and gastrointestinal diseases,was significantly differentially abundant in the HP and TA groups.Functional pathway analysis revealed that HP patients exhibited enrichment in the sulfur oxidation pathway exclusively,whereas TA patients showed dominance in pathways related to secondary metabolite biosynthesis(e.g.,mevalonate);S.gallolyticus was a major contributor.Co-occurrence network and dynamic network analyses revealed co-occurrence of dysbiosis-associated bacteria in HP patients,whereas TA patients exhibited co-occurrence of CRC-associated bacteria.Furthermore,the co-occurrence of SCFA-producing bacteria was lower in TA patients than HP patients.CONCLUSION This study revealed distinct gut microbiome signatures associated with pathways of colorectal polyp development,providing insights concerning the roles of microbial species,functional pathways,and microbial interactions in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Limit load and failure mechanisms of a vertical Hoek-Brown rock slope

The problem considered in this short note is the limit load determination of a vertical rock slope.The classical limit theorem is employed with the use of adaptive finite elements and nonlinear programming to determine upper and lower bound limit loads of a Hoek-Brown vertical rock slope.The objective function of the mathematical programming problem is such as to optimize a boundary load,which is known as the limit load,resembling the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip footing.While focusing on the vertical slope,parametric studies are carried out for several dimensionless ratios such as the dimensionless footing distance ratio,the dimensionless height ratio,and the dimensionless rock strength ratio.A comprehensive set of design charts is presented,and failure envelopes shown with the results explained in terms of three identified failure mechanisms,i.e.the face,the toe,and the Prandtl-type failures.These novel results can be used with great confidence in design practice,in particularly noting that the current industry-based design procedures for the presented problem are rarely found.

Reliability assessment for serviceability limit states of stiffened deep cement mixing column-supported embankments

The reliability and deterministic analyses of wood-cored stiffened deep cement mixing and deep cement mixing column-supported embankments(referred to as WSCSE and DCSE,respectively)considering serviceability limit state requirements are presented in this paper.Random field theory was used to simulate the spatial variability of soil
cement mixing(SCM)material in which the adaptive Kriging Monte Carlo simulation was adopted to estimate the failure probability of a column
supported embankment(CSE)system.A new method for stochastically generating random values of unconfined compressive strength(qu)and the ratio(Ru)between the undrained elastic modulus and qu of SCM material based on statistical correlation data is proposed.Reliability performance of CSEs concerning changes in the mean(μ),coefficient of variation(CoV),and vertical spatial correlation length(θv)of qu and Ru are presented and discussed.The obtained results indicate that WSCSE can provide a significantly higher reliability level and can tolerate more SCM material spatial variability than DCSE.Some performance of DCSE and WSCSE,which can be considered satisfactory in a deterministic framework,cannot guarantee an acceptable reliability level from a probabilistic viewpoint.This highlights the importance and necessity of employing reliability analyses for the design of CSEs.Moreover,consideration of only μ and CoV of qu seems to be sufficient for reliability analysis of WSCSE while for DCSE,uncertainties regarding the Ru(i.e.both μ and CoV)and θv of qu cannot be ignored.

Designing Adaptive Multiple Dependent State Sampling Plan for Accelerated Life Tests

A novel adaptive multiple dependent state sampling plan(AMDSSP)was designed to inspect products from a continuous manufacturing process under the accelerated life test(ALT)using both double sampling plan(DSP)and multiple dependent state sampling plan(MDSSP)concepts.Under accelerated conditions,the lifetime of a product follows the Weibull distribution with a known shape parameter,while the scale parameter can be determined using the acceleration factor(AF).The Arrhenius model is used to estimate AF when the damaging process is temperature-sensitive.An economic design of the proposed sampling plan was also considered for the ALT.A genetic algorithm with nonlinear optimization was used to estimate optimal plan parameters to minimize the average sample number(ASN)and total cost of inspection(TC)under both producer’s and consumer’s risks.Numerical results are presented to support the AMDSSP for the ALT,while performance comparisons between the AMDSSP,the MDSSP and a single sampling plan(SSP)for the ALT are discussed.Results indicated that the AMDSSP was more flexible and efficient for ASN and TC than the MDSSP and SSP plans under accelerated conditions.The AMDSSP also had a higher operating characteristic(OC)curve than both the existing sampling plans.Two real datasets of electronic devices for the ALT at high temperatures demonstrated the practicality and usefulness of the proposed sampling plan.

Development of Eggshell Waste Incorporated with a Porous Host as a Humidity Adsorption Material

The duck eggshell waste was developed to the novel desiccant that is friendly to human and environment.The calcium oxide(Ca O)and calcium chloride(CaCl_(2))as the calcium-based desiccants were prepared from eggshell waste.The Ca O desiccant derived from the eggshell waste sintering at 1300℃,while the CaCl_(2)desiccant was extracted from eggshell waste with the hydrochloric(HCl)solution at difierent concentrations from 5 to 30 wt%.The yield percentage of CaCl_(2)desiccant increased with increasing the HCl concentration to 25 wt%.The humidity adsorption behavior were investigated in the range of 75%-5%relative humidity.The results show the CaCl_(2)desiccant has the highest hydration rate.The porous host from the kaolin was sintered at different temperatures from 200 to 1000℃and incorporated with 30%w/v concentrations of CaCl_(2).The physical properties and the humid-adsorption capacity of all porous host conditions were investigated.The porous host at sintering temperature 800℃has the highest specific surface area.Moreover,the porous host at sintering temperature 800℃with the 30%w/v concentration of CaCl_(2)desiccant has the highest humid-adsorption capacity.

The Fractional Investigation of Fornberg-Whitham Equation Using an Efficient Technique

In the last few decades,it has become increasingly clear that fractional calculus always plays a very significant role in various branches of applied sciences.For this reason,fractional partial differential equations(FPDEs)are of more importance to model the different physical processes in nature more accurately.Therefore,the analytical or numerical solutions to these problems are taken into serious consideration and several techniques or algorithms have been developed for their solution.In the current work,the idea of fractional calculus has been used,and fractional FornbergWhithamequation(FFWE)is represented in its fractional view analysis.Awell-knownmethod which is residual power series method(RPSM),is then implemented to solve FFWE.TheRPSMresults are discussed through graphs and tables which conform to the higher accuracy of the proposed technique.The solutions at different fractional orders are obtained and shown to be convergent toward an integer-order solution.Because the RPSM procedure is simple and straightforward,it can be extended to solve other FPDEs and their systems.

Modelling of a tubular solid oxide fuel cell with different designs of indirect internal reformer

The cell performance and temperature gradient of a tubular solid oxide fuel cell with indirect internal reformer （IIR-SOFC） fuelled by natural gas, containing a typical catalytic packed-bed reformer, a catalytic coated wall reformer, a catalytic annular reformer, and a novel catalytic annular-coated wall reformer were investigated with an aim to determine the most efficient internal reformer system. Among the four reformer designs, IIR-SOFC containing an annular-coated wall reformer exhibited the highest performance in terms of cell power density （0.67 W.cm 2） and electrical efficiency （68%） with an acceptable temperature gradient and a moderate pressure drop across the reformer （3.53 × 10 5 kPa）. IIR-SOFC with an annular-coated wall reformer was then studied over a range of operating conditions： inlet fuel temperature, operating pressure, steam to carbon （S ： C） ratio, gas flow pattern （co-flow and counter-flow pattern）, and natural gas compositions. The simulation results showed that the temperature gradient across the reformer could not be decreased using a lower fuel inlet temperature （1223 K-1173 K） and both the power density and electrical efficiency of the cell also decreased by lowering fuel inlet temperature. Operating in higher pressure mode （1-10 bar） improved the temperature gradient and cell performance. Increasing the S ： C ratio from 2 ： 1 to 4：1 could decrease the temperature drop across the reformer but also decrease the cell performance. The average temperature gradient was higher and smoother in IIR-SOFC under a co-flow pattern than that under a counter-flow pattern, leading to lower overpotential and higher cell performance. Natural gas compositions significantly affected the cell performance and temperature gradient. Natural gas containing lower methane content provided smoother temperature gradient in the system but showed lower power density and electrical efficiency.

Effects of Photosynthetically Active Radiation and Air Temperature on CO_2 Uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus in the Open Field

Since trees and plants can absorb CO2, forests are widely regarded as a carbon sink that may control the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The CO2 uptake rate of plants is affected by the plant species and environmental conditions such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature, water and nutrient contents. PAR is the most immediate environmental control on photosynthesis while air temperature affects both photorespiration and dark respiration. In the natural condition, PAR and temperature play an important role in net CO2 uptake. The effects of PAR and air temperature on the CO2 uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus grown in a natural habitat were studied in the present work. Due to many uncontrollable factors, a simple rectangular hyperbola could not represent the measured data. The data were divided into groups of 2oC intervals; CO2 uptake in each group may then be related to PAR by a rectangular hyperbola function. Using the obtained functions, the effect of PAR was removed from the original data. The PAR-independent CO2 uptake was then related to air temperature. Finally, the effects of PAR (I) and air temperature (Ta) on the CO2 uptake rate (A) were combined as: (-0.0575Ta2+2.6691Ta-23.264)I A= ——————————————— (-0.00766Ta2+0.40666Ta-3.99924) (-4.8794Ta2+227.13Ta-2456.9)+I

Road induced edge effects on a forest bird community in tropical Asia

Background: Edge effects cause changes in bird community richness, abundance, and/or distribution within a landscape, but the avian guilds most influenced can vary among regions. Although Southeast Asia has the highest rates of deforestation and projected species loss, and is currently undergoing an explosive growth in road infrastructure, there have been few studies of the effects of forest edges on avian communities in this region.Methods: We examined avian community structure in a dry evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand adjacent to a five-lane highway. We evaluated the richness and abundance of birds in 11 guilds at 24 survey points on three parallel transects perpendicular to the edge. At each point, 10-min surveys were conducted during February-August 2014 and March-August 2015. Vegetation measurements were conducted at 16 of the bird survey points and ambient noise was measured at all 24 survey points.Results: We found a strongly negative response to the forest edge for bark-gleaning, sallying, terrestrial, and understory insectivores and a weakly negative response for arboreal frugivore-insectivores, foliage gleaning insectivores, and raptors. Densities of trees and the percentage canopy cover were higher in the interior, and the ambient noise was lower. In contrast, arboreal nectarivore-insectivores responded positively to the forest edge, where there was a higher vegetation cover in the ground layer, a lower tree density, and a higher level of ambient noise.Conclusion: Planners should avoid road development in forests of high conservation value to reduce impacts on biodiversity. Where avoidance is impossible, a number of potential mitigation methods are available, but more detailed assessments of these are needed before they are applied in this region.

Ancient Materials and Substitution Materials Used in Thai Historical Masonry Structure Preservation

The historical structures of Thailand are some of the most fascinating ancient sites in Asia.Their architectures reveal past cultures,traditions,knowledge,and expertise.Masonry materials are the major materials used to construct the historical structures in Thailand.One of the essential problem of Thai historical structure preservation is a shortage of engineering properties data for the structural stability assessment.Moreover,the in-depth engineering properties and the suitable substitution materials for Thai historical preservation are rarely found.Therefore,the engineering properties of the ancient masonry materials have to be explored together with the development of suitable substitute materials.This paper presents the physical and engineering properties of ancient materials and substitution materials for the preservation of Thailand’s historical structures.The ancient materials,including brick and mortar,are collected from historical places in the Bangkok and Ayutthaya Provinces.The physical and engineering properties of the masonry materials,such as the chemical composition,mineralogical composition,density,porosity,absorption,water vapor transmission,compressive strength,and modulus of elasticity,were evaluated in the laboratory.Fly ash was used as a pozzolanic material to partially replace the slaked lime to restore the historical mortar.The binder to sand ratio was controlled at 1:3 by weight.The slaked lime was substituted by fly ash at the rates of 10–30%by weight of binder.The engineering properties of the substitution mortars were also evaluated and compared with the ancient masonry materials.A masonry prism was also constructed to evaluate the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity of the masonry structures.The physical and engineering properties of the ancient masonry materials obtained in this study can be included in a database for the preservation of Thailand’s historical masonry structures.The use of fly ash to partially replace the slaked lime could decrease the setting time and increase the compressive strength of historical repair mortar.The empirical equation obtained from this study could be used to predict the compressive strength of the masonry prisms of Thailand’s historical structures.

Strain rate effects on sand and its quantitative analysis

Strain rate effects on the stress-strain behavior of sand were investigated by performing special plane strain and triaxial compression tests on saturated and air-dried sand specimens. In these tests, the loading strain rate was changed many times by a factor of up to 1 000 during otherwise monotonous loading at a constant axial strain rate. Test results show that the stress jump upon a stepwise change in the strain rate decays with an increase in the irreversible strain when monotonous loading continues at the changed strain rate and the amount of stress jump is essentially proportional to the instantaneous stress. Based on the amount of these stress jumps, a parameter fl called the rate-sensitivity coefficient is introduced to represent the quantity of the observed viscous properties of sand, which equals 0.021 3 and 0.024 2 respectively for Hostun and Toyoura sands. Further analyses on the results indicate that the effect of the presence of pore water is deemed to be negligible with sand and the fl value is rather independent of loading method, wet condition and confining pressure.

Effects of Biochar Particle Size on Methane Emissions from Rice Cultivation

Biochar amendment is generally recognized as an effective mitigation option of methane(CH_(4))emissions from rice cultivation.Although its mitigation mechanisms are not well understood,the potential relevance of surface area and porosity of biochar has been discussed.This study aimed to evaluate the application of different biochar particle sizes on CH_(4) production,oxidation,and emissions from rice cultivation in a clay loam soil,based on the assumption that porosity and surface area of biochar are directly related to its mitigation effects.Rice was grown under greenhouse conditions for two growing seasons,either with 0.5–2 mm(small,SB)or with 2–4 mm(large,LB)biochar.The results show that both sizes of biochar increased soil pH and redox potential(Eh)during rice growth.Soil dissolved organic carbon(DOC),nitrate(NO^(−)_(3)),and sulfate(SO^(2−)_(4))also increased under both biochar amendments,but size effects were not observed.SB and LB suppressed the abundance of CH_(4) producers(methanogens)but stimulated the abundance of CH_(4) consumers(methanotrophs).The increase of soil Eh and electron acceptors(NO^(−)_(3)and SO^(2−)_(4))indicated the increase in soil oxidation capacity is a barrier to CH_(4) production by methanogens in both biochar treatments.Laboratory incubation experiments showed that CH_(4) production activity was significantly(p≤0.05)reduced by 18.5%using SB and by 11.3%using LB compared to the control.In contrast,the stimulation of methanotrophs promoted greater CH_(4) oxidation activity by 15.0%in SB and 18.7%in LB compared to the control.It shows that CH_(4) production was reduced more by larger surface area biochar(SB),while a greater increase in CH_(4) oxidation was found using larger pore volume biochar(LB).The effects on CH_(4) production were more pronounced than those on CH_(4) oxidation,resulting in a greater reduction of cumulative CH_(4) emissions by SB than LB(by 26.6%and 19.9%compared to control,respectively).

Critical Top Tension for Static Equilibrium Configuration of A Steel Catenary Riser

This paper aims to present the critical top tension for static equilibrium configurations of a steel catenary riser（SCR） by using the finite element method. The critical top tension is the minimum top tension that can maintain the equilibrium of the SCR. If the top tension is smaller than the critical value, the equilibrium of the SCR does not exist. If the top tension is larger than the critical value, there are two possible equilibrium configurations. These two configurations exhibit the nonlinear large displacement. The configuration with the smaller displacement is stable, while the one with larger displacement is unstable. The numerical results show that the increases in the riser＇s vertical distances, horizontal offsets, riser＇s weights, internal flow velocities, and current velocities increase the critical top tensions of the SCR. In addition, the parametric studies are also performed in order to investigate the limit states for the analysis and design of the SCR.

Darcy-Forchheimer Hybrid Nano Fluid Flow with Mixed Convection Past an Inclined Cylinder

This article aims to investigate the Darcy Forchhemier mixed convection flow of the hybrid nanofluid through an inclined extending cylinder.Two different nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes(CNTs)and iron oxide Fe3O4 have been added to the base fluid in order to prepare a hybrid nanofluid.Nonlinear partial differential equations for momentum,energy and convective diffusion have been changed into dimensionless ordinary differential equations after using Von Karman approach.Homotopy analysis method(HAM),a powerful analytical approach has been used to find the solution to the given problem.The effects of the physical constraints on velocity,concentration and temperature profile have been drawn as well for discussion purpose.The numerical outcomes have been carried out for the drag force,heat transfer rate and diffusion rate etc.The Biot number of heat and mass transfer affects the fluid temperature whereas the Forchhemier parameter and the inclination angle decrease the velocity of the fluid flow.The results show that hybrid nanofluid is the best source of enhancing heat transfer and can be used for cooling purposes as well.

Gallic Acid-loaded Cellulose Acetate Electrospun Nanofibers: Thermal Properties, Mechanical Properties, and Drug Release Behavior

The gallic acid-loaded electrospun cellulose acetate fibers were successfully prepared. The fiber containing 2.5% gallic acid was smooth surface but observed drug flake on the surface of the fiber when increasing drug content. The thermal properties, mechanical properties and drug release behavior of the fibers were investigated comparing to the corres-ponding films.

Perspective on the perovskite quantum dots for flexible photovoltaics

Owing to the ever-increasing charging demand for portable electronics,display devices and wearable electronic textiles,flexible and lightweight solar cells are highly urgent to be developed.New-generation solution-processable photovoltaic(PV)devices attracted great attentions due to their unique properties of low-cost,lightweight,and large-area printing compatibility with flexible substrates[1].

A Novel Multiple Dependent State Sampling Plan Based on Time Truncated Life Tests Using Mean Lifetime

The design of a new adaptive version of the multiple dependent state(AMDS)sampling plan is presented based on the time truncated life test under the Weibull distribution.We achieved the proposed sampling plan by applying the concept of the double sampling plan and existing multiple dependent state sampling plans.A warning sign for acceptance number was proposed to increase the probability of current lot acceptance.The optimal plan parameters were determined simultaneously with nonlinear optimization problems under the producer’s risk and consumer’s risk.A simulation study was presented to support the proposed sampling plan.A comparison between the proposed and existing sampling plans,namely multiple dependent state(MDS)sampling plans and a modified multiple dependent state(MMDS)sampling plan,was considered under the average sampling number and operating characteristic curve values.In addition,the use of two real datasets demonstrated the practicality and usefulness of the proposed sampling plan.The results indicated that the proposed plan is more flexible and efficient in terms of the average sample number compared to the existing MDS and MMDS sampling plans.

Common Fixed Point Theorems for Weakly Compatible Mappings in Fuzzy Metric Spaces Using (JCLR) Property

In this paper, we prove a common fixed point theorem for a pair of weakly compatible mappings in fuzzy metric space using the joint common limit in the range property of mappings called (JCLR) property. An example is also furnished which demonstrates the validity of main result. We also extend our main result to two finite families of self mappings. Our results improve and generalize results of Cho et al. [Y. J. Cho, S. Sedghi and N. Shobe, “Generalized fixed point theorems for compatible mappings with some types in fuzzy metric spaces,” Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Vol. 39, No. 5, 2009, pp. 2233-2244.] and several known results existing in the literature.

Using Project Based Learning in a Fundamental Chemistry Course:An Experience Report

In this paper,we report the experience received from the project-based learning activity in a fundamental chemistry course.We involved the first year students in Faculty of Engineering at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi,Ratchaburi Learning Center,Thailand.This work considers the innovative activities performed in the field of chemistry and physics.This activity has been intensively implemented in teaching first year students.A project has been created to build up a small machine for measuring the concentration of sucrose solutions.The students participated in a project based learning(PBL)process,in which they worked in groups to create the instrument designed to measure the sucrose concentration in percentage by weight of sucrose in pure water solvent.Project-based learning has gained a greater position in the classroom as researchers have documented what teachers have long understood:Students become more engaged in learning when they have a chance to dig into complex and challenging problems that closely resemble real life.Moreover,several surveys have been conducted along one academic year to evaluate the impact of this method.The results of the surveys show that PBL encourages students’motivation and improves their knowledge involving the project.It is also pointed out that this methodology requires more dedication from lecturers than traditional methodology.

Influence of Poly(vinyl chloride) on Natural Rubber/Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene Blends

Blend of natural rubber (NR) and chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) was so interesting due to binding of the good oil resistance of CSM, the good mechanical properties and low cost of NR. However, due to the different polarities of two rubbers, phase separation and inferior properties of NR/CSM blend were obtained. The practical way to improve its properties is the addition of the third component to bind both phases of the blend. Effects of poly(vinyl chloride), PVC as compatibilizer on cure characteristics, morphology, mechanical properties and automotive fuel resistance of NR/ CSM blend were investigated. In this contribution, NR/CSM blend with blend ratio of 50/50 was prepared using a two-roll mill, and then vulcanized in a compression mold at 160°C. The PVC content was varied from 1 to 7 phr. It was found that the usage of 7 phr PVC led to improve interaction between NR and CSM phases. Therefore, increase in cure characteristics, mechanical strength and automotive fuel resistance of the blend was observed.