Minimum Enrichment Research Articles

Profile-wise enrichment of metallic pollutants (Pb, Cr and Cd) in various sewage and non-sewage irrigated soils of Prayagraj

The study examined the profile-wise enrichment of metallic pollutants (Pb, Cr and Cd) at different sites, i.e., Naini, Draupadi Ghat, Phaphamau and Beligaon in Prayagraj (U.P.), India. The soil samples were collected from different soil profile depths: 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm. It was observed that maximum enrichment of Pb, Cr and Cd was found at the (0-15 cm) depth of sewage and non-sewage irrigated soil (5.12±0.42, 4.08±038 and 3.58±031 mg kg-1 ) and (1.58±0.09, 1.08±0.09 and 1.02±0.08 mg kg-1 ) and minimum enrichment was found at the (45-60 cm) depth (2.18, 0.56 and 0.48 mg kg-1 ) and (0.69±0.04, 0.56±0.04 and 0.47±0.03 mg kg-1 ) in Naini, respectively. Maximum enrichment of Pb, Cr and Cd was found at the (0-15 cm) depth of sewage and non-sewage irrigated soil (2.44±0.22, 2.19±0.14 and 2.08±0.16 mg kg-1 ) and (1.09±0.07, 0.97±0.06 and 0.84±0.07 mg kg-1 ) and minimum enrichment was found at the (45-60 cm) depth (1.01±0.06, 0.98±0.05 and 0.71±0.06 mg kg-1 ) and (0.19±0.02, 0.15±0.01 and 0.11±0.01 mg kg-1 ) in Beligaon, respectively. To find the maximum enrichment of heavy metals in Naini and the minimum enrichment in Beligaon. The enrichment of metallic pollution decreased with increasing soil profile depth in both sewage and non-sewage irrigated soils. Metallic contamination in soil can persist for a long time and create serious problems; therefore, proper monitoring of sewage irrigated soils is required to reduce metallic pollution

Assessment of Some Trace Elements in Surface Water and Soil near Al-Ahdab Oil Field, Wasit Governorate, Iraq

The main objective of this munscript is to spot light on the negative consequences of oil emissions from Al-Ahdab oil field on the water and soil surrounding the oil field at Wasit Governorate. To obtain this objective, seven sediment samples were collected from the surfacre soil, in addition to five water samples from the Tigris River near Al-Ahdab oil field within Al-Kut Wasit governorate. The more effective eight trace elements were chosen to detect the limitations of their occurrence in the soil and water of the study area, these are Fe, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Zr. The Zr is used as a background for the specific equations applied. Samples of sediments and water were collected in October 2022. The standardization of the Enrichment Factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (I-geo), and contamination factor (CF) in addition to the pollution load index (PLI) were applied to detect the extent of soil pollution. In contrast, the hydrochemistry of water samples was determined by comparing the results of the analysis with the standards of WHO, 2018, and IQS, 2009. The enrichment factor value (EF) Cadmium value (Cd) in soil samples is 6.6, which reflects a significant impact of air emissions, the cobalt (Co) value is 1.77m this value reflects minimum Enrichment factor while the EF has a rather moderate enrichment factor. By applying the I-geo equation, the oitput results indicate unpolluted soil for Co, and Ni metals, while it is moderately polluted for Cu, Cr, Zn, and Pb metals. According to the PLI index, the soil of the study area is ordered as moderately contaminated for these metals. As for the hydrochemistry of surface water of the Tigris River near the study area, the water samples are classified as not contaminated by (Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Cu).

Multi‐polygenic score model informs the genetic basis of heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a polygenic and multifaceted disease with many implicated biological pathways across diverse cell types. The heterogeneous phenotypic manifestation, beyond the common characteristic signature of Amyloid beta plaque, across cognition, pathology, and treatment response is well recognized. However, how the polygenic basis of the disease influences the disease heterogeneity across individuals at genomic and cellular levels remains largely uncharacterized.MethodHere we develop multi‐ polygenic score (PGS) model to assess the genetic basis of molecular phenotypes associated with AD by systematically integrating large‐scale single‐cell RNA‐seq profiling data of 1.9 million cells from 427 human subjects and hundreds of PGSs trained on more than 269,000 individuals in UK Biobank.ResultsWe summarize commonly observed transcriptional changes associated with AD as 21 transcriptional hallmarks (Tx1‐Tx21) by applying multivariate differential expression on single‐cell profiling data. Each of our Tx hallmarks consists of dozens to hundreds of cell type‐resolved gene expression patterns across six major cell types. Those 21 Tx hallmarks capture several known cellular and pathological signatures in AD, pinpointing their candidate driver genes, pathways, and cell types of action. Combinations of Tx hallmark burdens lead to a classification of our 427 donors into 14 AD and non‐AD subtypes (G1‐G14) with distinct phenotypic enrichments. For example, one of the AD groups (G5) driven by excitatory neuron‐associated hallmarks shows elevated levels of amyloid burden (p‐value = 6.4×10‐3) but minimum enrichment for tangles (p‐value > 0.5) and cognitive measurements (p‐value > 0.05).We take advantage of pervasive pleiotropy and systematically assess the polygenic basis of Tx hallmarks by evaluating the cross‐trait predictive performance of publicly available ancestry‐matched PGS models across our 427 subjects. We find distinct patterns of PGS‐Tx hallmark associations models, including cholesterol PGS models that predict oligodendrocyte Tx hallmarks, and volume of the gray matter in different regions of the brain predicts Tx hallmarks in excitatory and inhibitory neurons, indicating the ability to infer dysregulated AD hallmarks, risk groups, and subtypes across individuals decades before symptoms occur.ConclusionOverall, our results pave the way toward genetics‐based prognosis and transcriptional subtyping in complex and heterogeneous traits, even in inaccessible tissues.

A holistic approach to the assessment of heavy metal levels and associated risks in the coastal sediment of Giresun, southeast Black Sea

A seasonal study was conducted to assess the levels, sources, and potential ecological risks of heavy metals (HM) in coastal sediments along the Giresun Coast, located on the southeast coast of the Black Sea. The mean concentrations of HMs as mg/kg were ranked as Fe (27646.37) > Al (27348.55) > Mn (571.87) > Zn (94.16) > Cr (60.64) > Cu (45.66) > Pb (41.37) > Ni (27.29) > Co (14.47) > As (7.36) > Cd (0.20), respectively. At all stations through the year, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni were in “the minimum enrichment” class as evaluated by the enrichment factor (EF). As assessed by the contamination factor (CF), all HM levels except Pb, Fe and Cu were “low” or “moderately polluted” at all stations and seasons. With the exception of Cd levels, all HMs in all seasons and stations pointed out “low ecological risk” according to the ecological risk index (Eri). According to the sediment quality guidelines, Ni, Cu and Pb were observed to pose a high ecological risk to habitat. The combined risk assessment indices pointed out low to moderate ecological risk. The study concluded that the region is subject to minimum anthropogenic disturbances in the aquatic environment.

Physics guided data-driven model to estimate minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) for hydrocarbon gases

Local or regional availability of hydrocarbon gases, and being associated with the native fluids makes them a reliable candidate for gas injection processes. As the achievement of miscibility leads to higher recoveries (see the comprehensive review on miscibility by Dindoruk et al., 2021), miscible hydrocarbon injection will be preferred where it is feasible. Using hydrocarbon gases for miscible injection has additional benefits 1) High outlet pressures from the separators (using gas compressors) (Griffith et al., 1970) leading to lesser gas volume to transport, 2) Reduction of flaring: in many places where there is no or not enough infrastructure capacity to transport these gases, such gases are simply flared (Worldbank, 2022; USCUSA, 2022), 3) Being associated with the in-situ fluids, less likely to have issues such as corrosion, or other potential problems. Methane (dominant component in hydrocarbon gas streams) and other live HC blends is classified greenhouse gases (GHG) which are harmful to the environment and such actions do not comply with the tighter carbon/emission reduction policies that are being implemented, especially considering the fact that resulting in the emission of methane, which has 28 to 36 times the global warming potential (GWP) compared to CO2 (EPA2, 2022; Turner et al., 2016; Turner et al., 2019). From the recovery point of view and as well as tuning the equation of state (EOS) for gas injection processes, minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) is a pivotal parameter estimating the recovery factor during gas injection processes. In this study we developed a methodology using Light Gradient Boost (Light GBM) (Ke et al., 2017) based model to estimate: 1) Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP) for the injected stream of hydrocarbon (HC) gas, and 2) minimum heavy HC gas (C2H6, C3H8 or their equivalence like CO2 and H2S) that is required to be added for a target MMP into the light HC gas stream. This is also known as minimum miscible enrichment, MME to achieve a prescribed MMP if the pressure requirements for a given lean gas are too high to implement in the field, usually due to compression cost and/or reservoir/well integrity reasons. We validate our MMP model using Leave-One-Out-Cross-Validation (LOOCV) (Shao, 1993) method which is the least unbiased cross -validation method and therefore proves the robustness of the proposed model. We compared the accuracy of the proposed model (AARE = 3.83%) with the leading correlations in the industry, and the proposed model significantly outperforms all the relevant models in the literature as shown in this study (Maklavani et al., 2010; Eakin and Mitch, 1988; Glaso, 1985; Kuo, 1985). The proposed model fully considers the underlying physics of miscibility and takes into consideration all the key and easy to obtain input parameters that influence the miscibility pressure of the injected gas.

Neutronic analysis on molten salt reactor FUJI-12 using 235U as fissile material in LiF-BeF2-UF4 fuel

Neutronic analysis on the Molten Salt Reactor FUJI-12 using the fissile material 235U in LiF-BeF2-UF4 has been carried out. The problem faced in the use of thorium-based fuel is that the amount of 233U is small and not available in nature. 233U was produced through the 232Th breeding at a cost of $46 million/kg. That is a very high price when compared to 235U enrichment, which is only $100/kg. The MSR FUJI-12 used in this study is a generation IV reactor with a mixture of liquid salt fuel LiF-BeF2-ThF4-UF4 and thorium-based fuel (232Th+233U). In this study, neutronic analysis was carried out by replacing thorium-based fuel with uranium-based fuel (235U+238U). Neutronic analysis was performed using the OpenMC 0.13.0 code, which is a Monte Carlo simulation-based neutron analysis code. The nuclear data library used for neutronic calculations is ENDF B-VII/1. The fuel is used in a LiF-BeF2-UF4 molten salt mixture with three eutectic compositions: fuel 1, fuel 2, and fuel 3. Each fuel composition is optimized by enriching 235U in UF4 by 3 % to 8 %. The optimization results show the stability of the reactor criticality value, which is the main parameter so that the reactor can operate for the specified time. The optimization results show that fuel 1 cannot reach its optimal state in each variation of 235U enrichment. Fuel 2 and fuel 3 can reach optimal conditions at a minimum enrichment of 8 % and 7 % 235U. The results of the analysis of the distribution of the neutron flux in the reactor core show the distribution of nuclear reactions that occur in the core. The distribution of flux values in fuel 1 shows that the fission chain reaction is not running perfectly. Fuel 2 and fuel 3 are more stable by maintaining maximum flux at the center of the reactor core.

Application of Isotopically Labeled Engineered Nanomaterials for Detection and Quantification in Soils via Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

Finding and quantifying engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in soil are challenging because of the abundance of natural nanomaterials (NNMs) with the same elemental composition, for example, TiO2. Isotopically enriched ENMs may be distinguished from NNMs with the same elemental composition using single-particle inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (spICP-TOF-MS) to measure multiple isotopes simultaneously within each ENM and NNM in soil, but the minimum isotope enrichment needed for detection of ENMs in soil is not known. Here, we determined the isotope enrichment needed for 47Ti-enriched TiO2 ENMs to be detectable in soil and assessed the effects of weathering on those requirements for less soluble TiO2 and more soluble CuO ENMs. The isotope-enriched ENMs were dosed into two different soils and were extracted and measured by spICP-TOF-MS after 1, 7, and 30 days. Isotope-enriched ENMs were recovered and detected for all three time points. The 47Ti-enriched TiO2 ENMs were detectable in Lufa 2.2 soil at a nominal dosed concentration of 10 mg-TiO2 kg-1 which is an environmentally relevant concentration in biosolid-amended soils. For distinguishing an ∼70 nm diameter TiO2 ENM from TiO2 NNMs in Lufa 2.2 soil, an ∼10 wt % 47Ti isotope-enrichment was required, and this enrichment requirement increases as the particle size decreases. This study is the first to evaluate the tracking ability of isotope-enriched ENMs at an individual particle level in soil and provides guidance on the isotope enrichment requirements for quantification of ENMs made from Earth-abundant elements in soils.

Spatial-temporal distribution and pollution indices of heavy metals in the Turnasuyu Stream sediment, Turkey.

The potential contamination levels and human health risk of heavy metals in sediment of the Turnasuyu Stream in Ordu, Turkey, were evaluated comprehensively by taking seasonal samples from three different locations. The order of the mean heavy metals (HMs) concentrations (mg/kg) were as follows: Fe > Al > Mn > Pb > Zn > Cu > Co > Cr > Ni > Cd > As. All HM levels, except Cd and Pb, were in the minimum enrichment range as assessed by the sediment enrichment factor (EF). Similar low contamination levels for all HM, except Pb and Cd, were also observed when the contamination factor (CF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) were taken into account. The low risk of the study area has also been confirmed by the ecological risk index (Eri) values. The probable human health risk assessment has been performed, and the lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values for adults were found as negligible with values below 10-6. In addition, the hazard index (HI) and total hazard index (THI) results were both higher in children than in adults. The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) revealed the highest correlation between Cd and Pb (0.85). When the ecological indexes and statistical results are evaluated together, it is thought that the presence of HMs in the sediment may be due to lithological reasons as well as anthropogenic activities such as quarrying, municipal, agricultural, and domestic discharges in the region. Mitigation measures should be taken in accordance with the standards within the river basin to prevent the potential risks of pollution.

Heavy Metal Accumulation and Phytoremediation Potentiality of Some Selected Mangrove Species from the World's Largest Mangrove Forest.

Simple SummaryPlant or nature-based cleanup or removal of pollutants is one of the most promising eco-friendly approaches for sustainable ecosystem management. Consequently, the contamination level, accumulation and remediation ability of three mangrove plants (Excoecaria agallocha, Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia apetala) and their surrounding sediments were studied. Analyses of accumulated metals by using several indices reveals that the area is low to moderately contaminated, and all the three plants examined can be used as phytoextractors as they have the ability to store metals in their tissues. E. agallocha can be used as a good phytostabiliser for Mn which can reduce the risk of erosion and leaching of this pollutant to water bodies. Furthermore, for metal extraction, A. officinalis was found more suitable than other two plants. Overall, the results indicate that these mangrove plants can be used in the phytoremediation of contaminated soils by metals.Toxic metal pollution is a global issue, and the use of metal-accumulating plants to clean contaminated ecosystems is one of the most rapidly growing ecologically beneficial and cost-effective technologies. In this study, samples of sediment and three mangrove species (Excoecaria agallocha, Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia apetala) were collected from the world’s largest mangrove forest (along the Northern Bay of Bengal Coast) with the aim of evaluating metal concentrations, contamination degrees, and phytoremediation potentiality of those plants. Overall, the heavy metals concentration in sediment ranged from Cu: 72.41–95.89 mg/kg; Zn: 51.28–71.20 mg/kg; Fe: 22,760–27,470 mg/kg; Mn: 80.37–116.37 mg/kg; Sr: 167.92–221.44 mg/kg. In mangrove plants, the mean concentrations were in the order of E. agallocha > A. officinalis > S. apetala. The mean (± SD) concentration of each metal in the plant tissue (root) was found following the descending order of Fe (737.37 ± 153.06) > Mn (151.13 ± 34.26) > Sr (20.98 ± 6.97) > Cu (16.12 ± 4.34) > Zn (11.3 ± 2.39) mg/kg, whereas, in the leaf part, the mean concentration (mg/kg) of each metal found in the order of Fe (598.75 ± 410.65) > Mn (297.27 ± 148.11) > Sr (21.40 ± 8.71) > Cu (14.25 ± 2.51) > Zn (12.56 ± 2.13). The contamination factor (CF) values for the studied metals were in the descending order of Cu > Sr > Zn > Fe > Mn. The values of Igeo (Geo-accumulation index) and CF showed that the area was unpolluted to moderately polluted by Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and Sr. Enrichment factor (EF) values in both sampling stations portrayed moderate to minimum enrichment. Phytoremediation potentiality of the species was assessed by bio-concentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF). BCF values showed less accumulation for most of the heavy metals (<1) except Mn which was highly accumulated in all mangrove plants. The translocation factor (TF) values depicted that most of the heavy metals were strongly accumulated in plant tissues (>1). However, the BCF value depicts that Mn was highly bioconcentrated in E. agallocha, but the translocation on leaves tissue were minimum, which reveals that E. agallocha is phytoextractor for Mn, and accumulated in root tissues. All the examined plants can be used as phytoextractors as they have bioconcentration factors <1 and translocation factors >1. However, A. officinalis is clearly more suitable for metal extraction than S. apetala and E. agallocha in terms of hyper-metabolizing capabilities.

Evaluation of Environmental Geochemistry of Trace Metal Pollutant in Sediments of Outlet Jeneberang River, Indonesia

The Jeneberang River flows between settlements, rice fields, traditional ports which are located in the southernmost part of Makassar. Regional development and increasing population are anthropogenic as a source of heavy metal input to rivers, and require a sustainable geochemical study of the environment. Study objectives, concentration and spatial distribution, use of sediment samples for grain size and Coupled Plasma-Osiloscope Emission Spectroscopy (ICP–OES) method for trace elements. The average yield of the seven river sediment samples was (Cr)149 mg kg-¹ (Mn)1388.14 mg kg-¹, (Cd)0.74 mg kg-¹, (Cu)54.71 mg kg-¹, (Zn)130.28 mg kg- , (Pb)3675 mg kg-1.&#x0D; The conclusion on the grain size of the sand, it is known that the order is dominated by concentration: Mn&gt;Zn&gt;Cr&gt;Pb=Cu then changes to the grain size of silt clay: Mn&gt;Cr&gt;Zn&gt;Cu&gt;Pb, showing indications of migration, exchange phase and heavy metal enrichment. The order of heavy metal contamination uses the Igeo average value: Cd&gt;Cr=Pb&gt;Mn&gt;Cu&gt;Zn is class 1, namely 0 &lt; Igeo &lt; 1 = not polluted to moderately polluted, and the order of heavy metal enrichment uses EF: Cu (0.64), Mn (0.58), Pb (0.56), Zn (0.73), Cd (0.41), Cr (0.55), generally EF &lt; 2 is deficiency to minimal enrichment. It seems that the heavy metals in the minimum contamination and enrichment criteria which are strengthened by statistical analysis of correlation factors and multiple scatter are Pb and Zn.

Assessment of Heavy Metal Levels in Soil and Vegetables in Some Farms Around Mining Sites in Mangu Local Government Area Plateau State, Nigeria

When the mining process is not properly controlled, it can be a source of heavy metals pollution in the environment. The uptake of these heavy metals in edible parts of vegetables can be a direct source of the metals into the human food chain. This study assessed the concentrations of lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) in soil and vegetables obtained from nine (9) farms around mining sites in Mangu LGA. Concentrations of heavy metals in soil and vegetables were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results revealed the concentrations of the heavy metals at the farms to be within the recommended maximum levels of world soils but were higher than their respective controls. This implies that the artisanal mining contributed to the increased values of these heavy metals in the environment. Also, the mean concentrations of the heavy metals at Mangu Halle mining site decreased in the order Mn &gt; Zn &gt; Cr &gt; Cu &gt; Ni &gt; Pb &gt; Cd whereas at Alogwom it decreased in the order Mn &gt; Zn &gt; Pb &gt; Cu &gt; Ni &gt; Cr &gt; Cd. The enrichment factor (EF) of the elements showed deficiency to minimum enrichment for all the heavy metals whereas the pollution index (PI) of the metals indicated very slight contamination to moderate pollution. The results of the heavy metals in the vegetables showed that the bioaccumulation of the metals followed a pattern: Zn &gt; Cu &gt; Pb &gt; Cr &gt; Cd &gt; Ni. Levels of Cd, Pb and Ni in the vegetables were observed to be higher than the recommended limit for vegetables whereas Cu, Cr and Zn exhibited lower values than recommended standards. Thus, their consumption might pose health risk to consumers and therefore there is the need for proper monitoring of the illegal mining activities to reduce health risk and the extent of heavy metals contamination.

CXCL10 and its related key genes as potential biomarkers for psoriasis: Evidence from bioinformatics and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Although several studies have attempted to investigate the etiology of and mechanism underlying psoriasis, the precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. Our study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying psoriasis based on bioinformatics.GSE30999, GSE34248, GSE41662, and GSE50790 datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The Gene Expression Omnibus profiles were integrated to obtain differentially expressed genes in R software. Then a series of analyses was performed, such as Gene Ontology annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, protein-protein interaction network analysis, among others. The key genes were obtained by CytoHubba, and validated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.A total of 359 differentially expressed genes were identified between 270 paired lesional and non-lesional skin groups. The common enriched pathways were nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Seven key genes were identified, including CXCL1, ISG15, CXCL10, STAT1, OASL, IFIT1, and IFIT3. These key genes were validated as upregulated in the 4 datasets and M5-induced HaCaT cells.Our study identified 7 key genes, namely CXCL1, ISG15, CXCL10, STAT1, OASL, IFIT1, and IFIT3, and 2 mostly enriched pathways (nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction) involved in psoriatic pathogenesis. More importantly, CXCL1, ISG15, STAT1, OASL, IFIT1, IFIT3, and especially CXCL10 may be potential biomarkers. Therefore, our findings may bring a new perspective to the molecular mechanism underlying psoriasis and suggest potential biomarkers.

Abstract LB201: Understanding genetic variation in cancer using nanopore targeted sequencing

Abstract Structural variations (SV), a hallmark of genomic instability in cancer can either activate oncogenes or inactivate tumor suppressor genes. SVs tend to be recurrent and have been associated with several cancer types. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is mostly blind to large SVs, lacking sensitivity with false positive rates up to 89% in SV detection. Long-read, single-molecule sequencing platforms can address larger variations as they typically generate read lengths of tens of thousands of bases and have helped identify thousands of genomic features pertinent to cancer that were previously missed by short-read sequencing. However, the throughput and coverage offered by whole genome long read sequencing makes it infeasible to conduct large-scale genomic studies.Targeted sequencing significantly improves accuracy and coverage by offering the depth necessary to detect rare alleles in a heterogenous population of cells. Using the nanopore Cas9-targeted sequencing (nCATS), a PCR-free enrichment system from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, we targeted 10 prominent cancer genes in MCF 10A and SK-BR-3 breast cell lines. However, we observed that the number of reads generated for targets longer than 30kb were not sufficient to accurately call SVs. To further enhance this approach, we developed an Affinity-based Cas-9-Mediated Enrichment (ACME) step, that uses HisTag DynabeadsTM to pulldown non-target reads. With ACME we achieved ~ 75-fold enrichment of the BRCA2 region and 35-65x coverage of this ~90 kb target on our panel. We observed an increase in enrichment and coverage of other genes on the panel as well, with enrichment as high as 5000-fold for some genes. While ACME is a biochemical approach, recently, adaptive sequencing or “Read Until”, a computational approach that ‘rejects' non-target reads has been used by a couple of groups for target enrichment. Using UNCALLED, a variation of Read Until, we observed an ~10x coverage of our targets. Recognizing the potential and limitations of both, biochemical and computational approaches, our efforts now are directed towards a combined approach where we expect to achieve a minimum enrichment of 200-fold across all targets. With a 200-fold enrichment of a 3.5Mb target, we should get between 200x - 400x coverage of the target, which should be high enough to detect SVs in as low as 10% of the cells in the sample. This would support large scale SV analysis to help define the landscape of such variants in the population and identify regions of therapeutic or diagnostic interest. Citation Format: Shruti V. Iyer, Melissa Kramer, Sara Goodwin, W. Richard McCombie. Understanding genetic variation in cancer using nanopore targeted sequencing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB201.

Access to chewable materials during lactation affects sow behaviour and interaction with piglets

We investigated how providing chewable materials to piglets during the early weeks of life affect sow behaviour, sow and piglet interaction and sow health in pens with farrowing crates.We divided 59 pregnant sows into two treatment groups: the Control group (C, n = 29) and the Rope-Paper group (RP, n = 30). Piglets in the C group had the minimum enrichment required by Finnish legislation. For the RP group, we added sisal ropes and non-glossy newsprint paper. We recorded the behaviour of sows and their litters for a four-hour period during the first 7–18 days of life of the piglets. Skin and udder damage of the sow was recorded once a week five times. Behavioural data was divided into two categories according to the age of the litters. The first group contained litters aged from 7 to 13 days (n(RP) = 22 n(C) = 22) and the second group litters aged 14 days or older (n(RP) = 24 n(C) = 24).Younger piglets (age 7–13 days) in the RP group manipulated the udder more frequently (p < 0.01) and the duration of udder manipulation was longer than in the C group (p = 0.02). Further, the RP group had more udder contact events in which 20 % or less of the piglets took part and in which less than 50 % took part (p < 0.01 for both).Older piglets (age ≥ 14 days) in the RP group touched the sows’ body more frequently (p < 0.05).Sows in the C group were standing (p = 0.01), eating (p = 0.04) and performing oral-nasal manipulation (p < 0.01) more often.In the C group, repeated measures of skin lesions differed significantly between observation days (p = 0.00), sows tending to have a higher skin lesion score in observation week 5, with a median score of 1.5 (1–3), than in observation week 4, with a median score of 1 (1–2) (p = 0.06).In conclusion, piglets that had access to chewable materials after birth made more contact with the sow during lactation. However, sows in the C groupperformed more active behaviour. The behavioural mechanisms underlying these changes are not yet clear. Further investigations of the usage of chewable materials in farrowing units equipped with crates and their effects on the behaviour of sows and piglets are therefore warranted.

Assessment of heavy metal pollution of drain sediments in the urban area of Mexicali, Mexico

The valley of Mexicali is one of the most important agricultural areas in the northwest of Mexico. Rapid urbanization has meant that parts of the agricultural channels and drains now lie within the urban area. To evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals in urban drain sediments, thirty-one samples were collected in the Mexicali urban area. Mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn were 0.28, 70.0, 17.0, 4.48 × 10 .4, 13.5, 32.3 and 229 mg kg− 1, respectively. The geoaccumulation index results indicated that most of the drain sediments were from unpolluted to slightly polluted by heavy metals for most of the sites, with the exception of Cu which had seven sites Class 3, two sites Class 4 and two sites Class 5 and 6, respectively. Similarly, the enrichment factors showed that most of the sites had minimum enrichment.

Quality indicators of metals pollution in the coastal sediments in Sangihe Islands Regency, North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia

Metal pollution in coastal areas is one of the focused environmental concerns. Sediment quality in the coastal zone reflects the long-term environmental status because it keeps a record of the development in the area. Quality indicators for metals in surface sediments were evaluated at 18 points of sediment sampling sites of these three bays using the Enrichment factor (EF) and the geo accumulation index (Igeo). Research locations in the coastal areas of Sangihe Island, Talengan Bay, Manalu, and Dagho Bay have values below the metal concentration at the background value. The Igeo category at the three research sites can generally be divided into two criteria, namely: Background concentration and unpolluted. For the types of Cr and Mg metals that are categorized as experiencing enrichment Minimum enrichment (Less), with an EF value <2, Moderate enrichment (Moderate), with a value of 2≤EF <5, and Enough enrichment (significant), with a value of 5≤EF <20. Whereas Co metal experiences enrichment of Very High enrichment (Very High), with a value of 20≤ EF < 40, and Extremely High (extremely high), with an EF value of ≥40, but still has an igeo value <1 which indicates that the metal Co is still in the category of no pollution.

Potentially Toxic Elements in Urban Soils of Havana, Cuba

Urban soils are characterised by a strong anthropogenic influence. Potentially toxic elements were studied in various horizons of 35 urban soils in Havana, Cuba, classified as Urbic or Garbic Technosols. Pseudo-total, available, and acid-oxalate extractable concentrations were determined. The pseudo-total concentrations were generally higher than the average values for the world’s soils but similar to those published for urban soils. In a few cases, very high values of copper or lead were found. Nickel and chromium concentrations exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations for agricultural soils in 22% and 12% of samples. Vanadium concentrations were always very high. There was minimum enrichment of most samples in Co, Mn, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Ni, but outliers reached moderate or significant enrichment. Enrichment was significant for V, while for Pb, Zn, and Hg the median values denoted moderate enrichment, but outliers reached significant enrichment in Zn and extremely high enrichment in Pb and Hg. The available elements amounted to between 0.07% of the pseudo-total vanadium and 30% lead and cadmium. The published toxicity limits for bioavailable Cd, Mn, Ni, and Pb were exceeded in 14%, 39%, 10%, and 56% of samples, respectively. The concentrations of pseudo-total total iron, cobalt, chromium, and nickel, and available cobalt, nickel and titanium were significantly lower in soils with gleyic properties (reducing conditions).

Advanced Nuclear Reactor AP1000 with ThO2-UO2 Fuel

Thorium can be used for next generation nuclear reactor fuel since its has 3-4 times more abundance and will produce less nuclear high level waste compared to uranium. In this analysis, ThO2-UO2 fuel is used with variation of enriched U-235 to determine the criticality condition of Westinghouse advanced nuclear reactor AP1000. Neutronic calculations have been performed using SRAC 2006 code system with JENDL 4.0 nuclear data library. AP1000 can achieve it criticality when a minimum enrichment of UO2 is 4.45% with the maximum amount of the ThO2 fuel rods in the fuel assembly are 1.5%. The convertion ratio for ThO2- UO2 fuel tends to increase and the neutron spectra became harder with the escalating of the amount of the ThO2.

The Validation of the VereBeef™ Detection Kit.

VereBeef™ Detection Kit, incorporating both multiplex PCR and microarray technologies on a lab-on-chip platform, is intended for qualitative detection and differentiation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, E. coli O26, E. coli O45, E. coli O103, E. coli O111, E. coli O121, E. coli O145, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) virulence factors (stx1A, stx2A, eae), and Salmonella species in one test using raw beef trim samples. This product underwent extensive evaluations, including inclusivity-exclusivity, method comparison, robustness, lot-to-lot variability, and stability studies. The inclusivity/exclusivity study demonstrated that VereBeef Detection Kit specifically detects and identifies target analytes without occurrence of false-positive and false-negative detection. In the method comparison study, the performance of the VereBeef Detection Kit was compared with U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook's methods for target organism detection in raw beef trim using E. coli O157:H7 single inoculation and Salmonella and non-O157 STEC dual inoculation. Data demonstrated equivalence in both methods. The robustness study showed that changes in the test parameters do not impact assay performance. Collectively, VereBeef Detection Kit is able to detect target pathogens in raw beef trim with a minimum enrichment time of 8 h for E. coli O157:H7 detection and 10 h for Salmonella and non-O157 STEC detection.

Minimum environmental enrichment is effective in activating antitumor immunity to transplanted tumor cells in mice.

Studies of environmental enrichment are progressing in the fields of nervous system, stress and exercise. Recently, housing in enriched environment have shown to influence to carcinogenesis and life span. However, the study for antitumor effect of environmental enrichment are difficult to reproduce due to the complexity of the experimental technique. Thus, a simpler experiment system is needed for antitumor study using environmental enrichment. In this research, we propose a minimum environmental enrichment, which is an experimental system by placing one mouse igloo which is normally used as a mouse shelter in the rearing environment. The experimental system of minimum environmental enrichment is not only easy to reproduce but also have enhanced activity to suppress the growth of transplanted tumor significantly. It was found that the activation of NK cells is involved also in the immune system related to tumor immunity of minimum environmental enrichment. Because minimum environmental enrichment is effective in activating antitumor immunity to transplanted tumor cells in mice, we believe this will be useful for promoting antitumor studies using environmental enrichment.