Novel Foaming-Agent Free Insulating Geopolymer Based on Industrial Fly Ash and Rice Husk

This study highlights the synthesis of a new thermal insulating geopolymer based on the alkaline activation of fly ashes. A porous geopolymer material can be prepared without the addition of a foaming agent, using high ratio solution/ashes (activating solutions used are water, sodium or potassium hydroxide). In order to increase the porosity of the material and to make it more ecological, rice husks are incorporated into the formulation. The geopolymer materials were prepared at room temperature and dried at moderate temperature (105 °C) by a simple procedure. The microstructural characteristics of these new porous geopolymers were assessed by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to confirm the geopolymerisation. The effect of the ratio solution/ashes and the percentage of the rice husk addition on thermal and mechanical analysis was evaluated. An insulating material for a solution/ashes ratio of 0.9 and a rice husk content of 15% having a λ value of 0.087 W/(m·K), a porosity of 61.4% and an Rc value of 0.1 MPa was successfully prepared.

Rhinovirus C replication is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum and triggers cytopathic effects in an in vitro model of human airway epithelium

The clinical impact of rhinovirus C (RV-C) is well-documented; yet, the viral life cycle remains poorly defined. Thus, we characterized RV-C15 replication at the single-cell level and its impact on the human airway epithelium (HAE) using a physiologically-relevant in vitro model. RV-C15 replication was restricted to ciliated cells where viral RNA levels peaked at 12 hours post-infection (hpi), correlating with elevated titers in the apical compartment at 24hpi. Notably, infection was associated with a loss of polarized expression of the RV-C receptor, cadherin-related family member 3. Visualization of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) during RV-C15 replication revealed two distinct replication complex arrangements within the cell, likely corresponding to different time points in infection. To further define RV-C15 replication sites, we analyzed the expression and colocalization of giantin, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, and calnexin with dsRNA. Despite observing Golgi fragmentation by immunofluorescence during RV-C15 infection as previously reported for other RVs, a high ratio of calnexin-dsRNA colocalization implicated the endoplasmic reticulum as the primary site for RV-C15 replication in HAE. RV-C15 infection was also associated with elevated stimulator of interferon genes (STING) expression and the induction of incomplete autophagy, a mechanism used by other RVs to facilitate non-lytic release of progeny virions. Notably, genetic depletion of STING in HAE attenuated RV-C15 and -A16 (but not -B14) replication, corroborating a previously proposed proviral role for STING in some RV infections. Finally, RV-C15 infection resulted in a temporary loss in epithelial barrier integrity and the translocation of tight junction proteins while a reduction in mucociliary clearance indicated cytopathic effects on epithelial function. Together, our findings identify both shared and unique features of RV-C replication compared to related rhinoviruses and define the impact of RV-C on both epithelial cell organization and tissue functionality–aspects of infection that may contribute to pathogenesis in vivo.

The High Ratio of the Plasma miR-96/miR-99b Correlated With Poor Prognosis in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Object: This study aims to clarify the expression of plasma miRNA in CRC patients, and to clarify the potential use of these miRNAs in diagnosis and prognosis, and to establish a prognostic model to initially explore its clinical value.Methods: We detected the expression of 6 miRNAs in normal colon epithelial cell lines and colorectal cancer cell lines by qRT-PCR and they were validated in the tissues of three subtypes: 20 healthy subjects, 41 pCRC and 49 mCRC patients. COX regression and ROC analyses use to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic efficacy of candidate miRNAs. Subsequently, we initially established a nomogram prognostic model. MiRNA is also used to construct miRNA-mRNA interaction network and PPI network modules.Results: Five miRNAs showed significant differential expression in pCRC, mCRC patients and normal groups. ROC analysis showed that CEA, miR-96, miR-99b and miR-96/miR-99b are distinguishable from pCRC and mCRC patients, with AUC ranging from 0.65 to 0.91; among them, the ratio of miR-96/miR-99b is stronger than any diagnostic indicators, such as CEA and CA125. Multivariate survival analysis identified miR-96, miR-99b, N stage, M stage and clinical stage as independent prognostic indicators of mCRC. The nomogram based on these 5 characteristics has satisfactory prognostic values.Conclusion: Our data indicate that plasma miR-96/miR-99b can be used as a promising biomarker for early detection of mCRC patients; our nomogram has a promising evaluation value.

Targeting CD33 for acute myeloid leukemia therapy

Background The aim of this study was to analyze the level of CD33 expression in patients with newly diagnosed AML and determine its correlation with clinical characteristics. Methods Samples were collected for analysis from AML patients at diagnosis. We evaluated the level of CD33 expression by flow cytometry analysis of bone marrow. Chi-square or t- tests were used to assess the association between the high and low CD33 expression groups. Survival curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression model method. Results In this study we evaluated the level of CD33 expression in de novo patients diagnosed from November 2013 until January 2019. The mean value of 73.4% was used as the cutoff for the two groups. Statistical analysis revealed that 53 of the 86 (61.2%) AML patients were above the mean. Although there was no statistical significance between CD33 expression level and gene mutation, FLT3 mutation (P = 0.002) and NPM1 mutation (P = 0.001) were more likely to be seen in the high CD33 group. The overall survival (OS) was worse in the high CD33 group (39.0 m vs. 16.7 m, x2 = 13.06, P < 0.001). The Cox survival regression display that the CD33 is independent prognostic marker (HR =0.233,p = 0.008). Univariate analysis showed that the high expression of CD33 was an unfavorable prognostic factor. Of the 86 patients, CD33-high was closely related to the patients with normal karyotype (x2 = 4.891,P = 0.027), high white blood cell count (WBC, t = 2.804, P = 0.007), and a high ratio of primitive cells (t = 2.851, P = 0.005). Conclusions These findings provide a strong rationale for targeting CD33 in combination with chemotherapy, which can be considered a promising therapeutic strategy for AML.

Risk Information in Non-Financial Disclosure

This paper aims to research the topics related to risk included in non-financial disclosure (NFD) of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) and explore factors that influence the risk topics ratio in NFD. We applied a content analysis using topic modeling to discover latent risk topics in NFD. Next, with Ward’s clustering, we identified four groups of companies with a homogenous risk topic mixture. For causal analysis, to explain the differences in risk topics ratio, we used qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), which allowed us to obtain three paths (variable configurations) leading to the high ratio of risk topics in NFD. Our results suggest that companies disclosing risk information extensively in their NFDs concentrate almost solely on social risk matters. In contrast, companies talking briefly about environmental and social (E&S) risk prepare their NFDs with a more balanced distribution of E&S topics and their financial implication. In general, the companies’ exposure to E&S risk and the use of NFD standards and guidelines as well as the type of NFD impact the space dedicated to risk information. This paper contributes to academics and regulators, filling the gap about risk disclosure in the NFD, identifying the nature of corporate risk disclosures, and upgrading research about determinants of risk information in non-financial disclosure.

Higher Neutrophil-lymphocyte Ratio in TB/HIV Co-infection Compared to Pulmonary Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils and lymphocytes play a significant role in inflammation and a high ratio of neutrophils over lymphocytes (NLR) has been used as an inflammatory marker to predict the severity of various diseases. Here we compared the NLR among pulmonary tuberculosis and TB/HIV co-infection.METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, included patients with pulmonary TB without cavitation TB (n=50), with cavitation TB (n=50) and HIV co-infection (n=27). Complete blood count was examined, including neutrophils and lymphocyte. NLR was calculated and compared between groups. RESULTS: Neutrophils were significantly higher (p=0.004) in TB with cavitation compared to those with no cavitation (8.27±1.45 x103/μL vs. 6.61±1.4 x103/μL, respectively); whereas the lymphocytes were similar in both groups, resulting in a significantly higher NLR (p=0.009) in pulmonary TB with cavitation compared to pulmonary TB with no cavitation (5.98±1.85 vs. 4.42±1.86, respectively). On the contrary, both neutrophils as well as lymphocyte were significantly lower in TB/HIV compared to pulmonary TB, which for neutrophil were 5.14±2.19 x103/μL vs. 7.4±1.45 x103/μL, respectively (p=0.003) and for lymphocyte (1.02 ±0.57 x103/μL vs. 1.57±0.64 x103/μL, respectively (p=0.001), resulting in a significantly higher (p=0.041) NLR value in TB/HIV (6.05±2.67) compared to pulmonary TB (5.16±1.88).CONCLUSION: High NLR in pulmonary TB with cavitation as well as in TB with HIV co-infection may be of great interest for biomarker in TB severity. Further study confirming NLR as potential marker is imperative.KEYWORDS: lymphocyte, neutrophil, NLR, tuberculosis, TB/HIV

The obstacles facing Riyada- financed projects – A field study from the perspective of an entrepreneur in Asir region –: المعوقات التي تواجه المشاريع الممولة من ريادة – دراسة ميدانية من منظور ريادةً بمنطقة عسير –

The present research aimed to identify constraints facing projects funded by Riyadah: a field study from Riyadah's perspective in Assir region. And to study the hypotheses of the study represented in the presence of a statistically significant impact of the financing obstacles facing Riyada- financed projects in Aseer region The research was based on the descriptive and analytical approach, and the research population included all owners of the projects funded by Reyadah in Asir region, and a simple random sample consisted of (150) respondents was selected. The study concluded that the funding constraints facing projects funded by Riyadah in Assir region were of a average ratio, that the marketing constraints facing projects funded by Riyadah in Assir region were of high ratio, and that the administrative and organizational constraints facing projects funded by Riyadah in Assir region were of high ratio. Also, it was concluded that there is a statistically significant impact on each of (funding constraints, marketing constraints, and administrative & organizational constraints) facing projects funded by Riyadah in Assir region. The research recommended the necessity for Riyadah Institution to give the owners of the funded projects specialized courses in management and organization that help them in carrying out the tasks assigned to them, and the necessity to follow up the funded projects periodically so that the performance is evaluated on an ongoing basis and the mistakes are corrected. As well, Riyadah Institution has to provide help and assistance for various categories in order to create different job opportunities for many people.

Income Differences between Flexibly and Nonflexibly Employed Persons and Their Deconstruction: An Analysis Based on Data from the 2018 China Mobility Monitor

The article analyzed the income differences between flexibly and nonflexibly employed persons based on the 2018 China Mobile Population Dynamics Monitoring Data, using OLS methods, propensity score matching (PSM), and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. The results show that the income of flexibly employed persons is 11.9%–23.6% higher than that of nonflexibly employed persons, with differences in individual endowment characteristics explaining 53.9% of the income difference and differences in coefficients of nonmarket factors explaining 45.7% of the income difference. The degree of income difference between the two groups in different industries varies; except for the primary industry, the secondary and tertiary industries all show higher income for flexibly employed persons than for nonflexibly employed persons. The difference in income between the two groups was as high as 25% or more in the sectors of “rental and business services,” “education,” and “culture, sports, and entertainment.” The high ratio of employers and self-employed workers in flexible employment and the fact that the average number of hours worked per week is 12.6 hours higher for flexible workers than for nonflexible workers are important factors contributing to the difference in earnings between these two groups. Clarifying the extent of the current income disparity between flexible and nonflexible employment groups and its sources, and formulating and adjusting relevant policies and measures in a timely manner are conducive to creating a fair and equitable labour market environment and promoting the healthy development of flexible employment under the new circumstances.