Air Pollution and Sex Hormone Levels among Mechanics in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo)

Air pollution is today a real concern across the world, responsible for around 7 million deaths per year around the world. It is currently involved in the appearance and worsening of several non-transmissible pathologies, making it an environmental, health, and societal problem. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on the level of sex hormones in mechanics. We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical, prospective case-control study in Brazzaville on 228 patients (76 cases and 152 controls) from June 2020 to December 2022, a period of 30 months. This study made it possible to evaluate, on the one hand, the level of sexual hormones in men exposed to automobile pollution according to the automated method (ELFA) on mini vidas and, on the other hand, the quality of the air by a colorimetric, punctual method on a Dräger tube coupled with a Dräger accuro pump. The results obtained made it possible to establish a statistically significant link between automobile pollutants (CO, CO2, NO2, SO2) and the increase in LH and FSH on the one hand and the decrease in testosterone on the other hand. We also noted that the concentrations of automotive pollutants during this study were all above the standards required by the WHO. Exposure to automobile pollutants affects the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and therefore disrupts the level of sex hormones.

Exposure to Automobile Pollutants and Sperm Quality among Mechanics in Brazzaville (Congo)

Atmospheric pollution is today at the heart of all debates because of its potentially harmful effects on the environment, the climate, and human health;it currently constitutes a real public health problem. However, the increase in infertility around the world has led scientists to look for a link between air pollution and fertility. This study consisted of evaluating the short-term influence of automobile pollution on the semen parameters of mechanics in Brazzaville. A cross-sectional, analytical, prospective study between two groups (G1, exposed people and G2, unexposed people) was carried out in Brazzaville on 228 patients, i.e., G1 with 76 subjects and G2 with 152 subjects, between June 2020 and September 2022, a period of 27 months, in order to evaluate, on the one hand, the quality of sperm in men exposed to automobile pollution according to WHO recommendations and, on the other hand, the quality of the air by a colorimetric method, punctual on a Dräger tube coupled with a Dräger Accuro pump. The concentrations of automotive pollutants measured (CO, CO2, NO2, SO2) during this study were all above the 2021 air quality standards required by WHO. These results made it possible to establish a statistically significant link between air pollution and abnormal spermogram parameters, notably mobility, count, and morphology for the spermocytogram. Exposures to automobile pollutants can influence sperm quality, which is consistent with the results of our study. We observed an alteration in the morphology, mobility, and concentration of spermatozoa.

Case Report: Improvement of Long Lasting Hyperpigmentation by Aqueous Human Placenta Extract (Reju Growth Factor, RGF&#174) Treatment

Hyperpigmentation is a common skin problem in a woman. Prolonging topical use of skin whitening may cause hyperpigmentation such as ochronosis whose condition is a challenge for treatment. An aqueous human placenta extract (RGF&#174) contains bioactive therapeutic molecules. There is evidence of human placenta extract showing that melanin synthesis is inhibited by placenta extract in melanocytes. We first reported the case of the hyperpigmentation improvement following face skin mesotherapy human placenta extract treatment.

Case Report: Feasibility and Safety of Autologous NK Cell Therapy in Patients with Cancer

This study reported two cases of Thai cancer patients, including a 36-year-old female with thyroid cancer of more than 5 years and a 64-year-old male with lung and colon cancers of more than 10 years. The written informed consent was provided for autologous natural killer (NK) cell infusion at the anti-ageing and regenerative medicines clinic. Briefly, the blood was taken from the patient for NK cell count and their cytotoxic activity. Then, the patient’s NK cells were expanded in vitro, characterized and then counted before being delivered to the same patient by a single intravenous infusion. The vital signs and general physical examinations were observed for 2 - 6 hours after the infusion. The patients were discharged if there were no adverse effects. The data showed the increasing number of NK cells and level of cytotoxic activity after the NK cell treatment, compared to the pre-treatment. In addition, the increasing total live cell concentration, as identified by the high percentage of CD56dim/CD16bright cytotoxic NK cells, at day 21 of the NK cell expansion was consistent with the increasing cytotoxic activity of the patients after the treatment. Here, we demonstrated that this autologous NK cell therapy might be feasible;however, the study did not aim to evaluate the anti-cancer effect.

AP2/ERF transcription factors orchestrate very long chain fatty acid biosynthesis during Arabidopsis lateral root development

One key factor defining root system architecture is root branching,i.e.,the process of the formation of new root axes,called lateral roots(LRs),from an existing root.In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana,LRs originate from preselected pericycle cells that divide to create an LR primordium(LRP)that grows and eventually forms a new root apical meristem(Banda et al.,2019).During this developmental process,cell-fate acquisition is very plastic and depends on positional information rather than on cell lineage(Banda et al.,2019).Importantly,LR formation occurs inside the parent root,and the LRP must grow through overlying tissues before emerging into the soil.This LR emergence process is controlled by dynamic intercellular signaling and involves a tight coordination of cellular responses in the LRP and surrounding tissues(Banda et al.,2019).In particular,the growing LRP rapidly pushes against the overlying endodermis,a layer of cells mechanically reinforced by the Casparian strip.The crossing of the endodermis by the LRP between stagesⅣand V has been proposed as an important developmental checkpoint during LR development(Banda et al.,2019).

Observer design for induction motor： an approach based on the mean value theorem

In this paper, observer design for an induction motor has been investigated. The peculiarity of this paper is the synthesis of a mono-Luenberger observer for highly coupled system. To transform the nonlinear error dynamics for the induction motor into the linear parametric varying （LPV） system, the differential mean value theorem combined with the sector nonlinearity transformation has been used. Stability conditions based on the Lyapunov function lead to solvability of a set of linear matrix inequalities. The proposed observer guarantees the global exponential convergence to zero of the estimation error. Finally, the simulation results are given to show the performance of the observer design.

Rotational Slip Flow in Coaxial Cylinders by the Finite-Difference Lattice Boltzmann Methods

Recent studies on applications of the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM)and the finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method(FDLBM)to velocity slip simulations are mostly on one-dimensional(1D)problems such as a shear flow between parallel plates.Applications to a 2D problem may raise new issues.The author performed numerical simulations of rotational slip flow in coaxial cylinders as an example of 2D problem.Two types of 2D models were used.The first were multi-speed FDLBM models proposed by the author.The second was a standard LBM,the D2Q9 model.The simulations were performed applying a finite difference scheme to both the models.The study had two objectives.The first was to investigate the accuracies of LBM and FDLBM on applications to rotational slip flow.The second was to obtain an experience on application of the cylindrical coordinate system.The FDLBM model with 8 directions and the D2Q9 model showed an anisotropic flow pattern when the relaxation time constant or the Knudsen number was large.The FDLBM model with 24 directions showed accurate results even at large Knudsen numbers.