Marc J. Mathews

The mechanism by which moderate alcohol consumption influences coronary heart disease

BackgroundModerate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). A suitably integrated view of the CHD pathogenesis pathway will help to elucidate how moderate alcohol consumption could reduce CHD risk.MethodsA comprehensive literature review was conducted focusing on the pathogenesis of CHD. Biomarker data were further systematically analysed from 294 cohort studies, comprising 1 161 560 subjects. From the above a suitably integrated CHD pathogenetic system for the purpose of this study was developed.ResultsThe resulting integrated system now provides insight into the integrated higher-order interactions underlying CHD and moderate alcohol consumption. A novel ‘connection graph’ further simplifies these interactions by illustrating the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and the relative risks (RR) attributed to various measureable CHD serological biomarkers. Thus, the possible reasons for the reduced RR for CHD with moderate alcohol consumption become clear at a glance.ConclusionsAn integrated high-level model of CHD, its pathogenesis, biomarkers, and moderate alcohol consumption provides a summary of the evidence that a causal relationship between CHD risk and moderate alcohol consumption may exist. It also shows the importance of each CHD pathway that moderate alcohol consumption influences.

How do high glycemic load diets influence coronary heart disease

BackgroundDiet has a significant relationship with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Traditionally the effect of diet on CHD was measured with the biomarker for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. However, LDL is not the only or even the most important biomarker for CHD risk. A suitably integrated view of the mechanism by which diet influences the detailed CHD pathogenetic pathways is therefore needed in order to better understand CHD risk factors and help with better holistic CHD prevention and treatment decisions.MethodsA systematic review of the existing literature was conducted. From this an integrated CHD pathogenetic pathway system was constructed. CHD biomarkers, which are found on these pathways, are the only measurable data to link diet with these CHD pathways. They were thus used to simplify the link between diet and the CHD mechanism. Data were systematically analysed from 294 cohort studies of CHD biomarkers constituting 1 187 350 patients.Results and discussionThe resulting integrated analysis provides insight into the higher-order interactions underlying CHD and high-glycemic load (HGL) diets. A novel “connection graph” illustrates the measurable relationship between HGL diets and the relative risks attributed to the important CHD serological biomarkers.The “connection graph” vividly shows that HGL diets not only influence the lipid and metabolic biomarkers, but also the inflammation, coagulation and vascular function biomarkers in an important way.ConclusionA focus primarily on the low density lipoprotein cholesterol biomarker for CHD risk has led to the traditional guidelines of CHD dietary recommendations. This has however inadvertently led to HGL diets. The influence of HGL diets on the other CHD biomarkers is not always fully appreciated. Thus, new diets or other interventions which address the full integrated CHD impact, as shown in this paper, are required.

Oral health and coronary heart disease

BackgroundIt is well documented that there is some correlation between poor oral health in the form of periodontal disease and coronary heart disease (CHD). It is unclear whether this correlation is due to a causal relationship or shared underlying disorder such as inflammation. A suitable integrated model of the CHD pathogenetic pathways relevant to periodontal disease may help to elucidate the association. Such a model is currently not available in literature.MethodsA previously developed integrated model of CHD was used to investigate potential pathogenetic pathways linking periodontal disease to CHD biomarkers.ResultsThe integrated model was created to provide insight into possible higher-order biological interactions underlying CHD and periodontal disease. In order to simplify these interactions a novel ‘connection graph’ was developed. It quantitatively illustrates the relationship between periodontal disease and various serological biomarkers of CHD. The pathogenesis of periodontitis shows various possible pathways which could link periodontitis to CHD pathogenesis.ConclusionAn integrated model of CHD was developed which provides a summary of the potential CHD effects of periodontal disease. Further research must refine and validate the model.

Analysis of energy consumption and cost distribution on a South African cement plant

Cement prices in South Africa were regulated until 1996, whereafter the industry became competitive. New local and international competition increases strain on the oversupplied market. This and rising energy costs drive cement plants to increase focus on cost effective operations. A number of energy management methods exists, but often require large capital investments. This paper investigates the typical energy source distribution of cement plants, and compares it to the energy cost distribution of a South African cement plant by means of a case study. The purpose of this investigation is to determine which energy sources should form part of an energy management system aimed at improved profitability. Previous research was used to determine the most feasible tactic. Advantages of the “plan-do-check-act” (PDCA) approach of ISO 50001 are briefly discussed to introduce it as a suggested basis for the energy management system. From the case study it was found that coal made up 88% of plant energy with electricity only contributing 12%. However, the cost of electricity is about 4.83 times higher than that of coal and thus results in electrical energy contributing 39% to the total energy cost. This motivates that the management of electrical energy is a critical component for energy management on a cement plant, even though it only contributes to 12% of the energy consumption.

An integrated model of coronary heart disease

A hydrocarbons have attracted concern as a kind of environmental pollutants along with possible health threats. Comamonas testosteroni strain P19 was originally isolated as a biphenyl degrader and capable of degrading several aromatic compounds as a sole source of carbon and energy. Here, we describe the metabolic insight by genetic and physiological analysis indicating how aromatic compounds are metabolized in C. testosteroni strain P19. The strain has a circular chromosome of 5,633,218 bp with a G+C content of 67.65% and one plasmid. The annotation identified gene clusters encoding essential proteins for metabolizing several aromatic hydrocarbons including anthranilate, benzoate, biphenyl, m-hydroxybenzoate, p-hydroxybenzoate, p-methoxybenzoate, phenol, phthalate, protocatechuate, terephthalate etc. Random plasposon mutagenesis confirmed that the predicted gene clusters were essential in the metabolic pathways of the compounds. In addition, we identified novel metabolite on degradation of ferulate which had very similar structure to vanillate. Based on structural assignment, the unknown product was revealed as a dimer of vanillate that was a novel intermediate in ferulate degradation pathway. Subsequently, genomic approach suggested the metabolic network of aromatic compounds in C. testosteroni strain P19.S enterica serovar typhimurium (Salmonella typhimurium) is the most common causative agent of human gastroenteritis after consumption of contaminated seafood. The use of lytic bacteriophages against this pathogen can be a new and promising approach for the prevention of food-contamination and food-borne infection. This study investigated the potential application of the bacteriophage SE-5 during depuration to reduce S. typhimurium in cockles (Cerastoderma edule) at different multiplicity of infection (MOI). Cockles were infected with 106 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL of S. typhimurium in the seawater and each infected group was treated with four different MOI values: 100, 10, 1 and 0.1. Infected cockles were depurated in non-recirculating seawater at 16°C for 12 hour. After S. typhimurium accumulation at 16° C, the initial mean values of bacteria in cockles were 6.20 log CFU/g. Depuration with phages at MOI 0.1 was the best condition to inactivate S. typhimurium in cockles, the concentration was reduced by 1.7 log CFU/g after 2 hours of depuration. Reduction for the other MOI values (MOI=1; MOI=10; MOI=100) was 1.13, 1.21 and 2.10 log CFU/g after 6 hours, 12 hours and 12 hours of treatment respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a depuration trial using bacteriophage in the cockle treatment process. The data of this study indicate clearly that the application of the bacteriophages could reduce significantly the population of S. typhimurium in infected cockles. Moreover, cockles could be maintained alive during the depuration process. Therefore, the application of bacteriophage was effectively proven to be useful for shellfish depuration.S members of the genus Lavandula (Lavenders) are economically important crop plants that produce and store large quantities of essential oils (EO; a mixture of primarily monoterpenes) in glandular trichomes, or oil glands. Because glandular trichomes are specialized for EO production, they strongly express the related structural and regulatory genes. We have generated substantial genomic resources to probe essential oil metabolism in lavenders, and have cloned several key EO biosynthetic genes including lavandulyl diphosphate synthase, caryophyllene, borneol dehydrogenase, cineole synthase, and beta-phellandrene synthase from these plants. We have also developed a set of EST-SSR markers capable of delineating a number of lavender species effectively. In this presentation the author will present a summary of his recent findings.This novel, albeit abstract representation of alphaIntroduction The superfamily of 2OG-dependent dioxygenases, by definition, comprises members from all major taxa, and participates in neutralizing the effects of several forms of abiotic stress, viz., pesticides, hypoxia, and osmotic. The oxidative decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate to succinate is coupled with a concomitant substrate hydroxylation and, is in most cases, followed by an additional specialized conversion.W optics has historically been mainly used for imaging applications, light has now become a tool of manipulation and direct interaction with biological samples. It is well known that when light impinges on an object, it exerts a small pressure on it known as optical force. An immediate application of optical forces is found in optical tweezers, which in biology are usually employed as a non-invasive technique to immobilize cellular organisms for imaging purposes. These techniques, including more pioneering ideas such as, e.g., cell optical sorting and in-vivo manipulation, require a precise understanding on how the optical pressure affects biological organisms. This calls for the development of precise numerical methods, whose development will be crucial for applications of the aforementioned techniques. In this respect, ab-initio techniques represent a very important tool that can provide quantitative answers to the problem. By employing a series of massively parallel FDTD simulations, we study how optical forces act on biological matter. As a representative case study, we here consider deformed Red Blood Cells (RBC) illuminated by a monochromatic plane wave. We consider typical deformations arising due to the presence of a disease such as malaria. Realistic parameters for the geometry and the refractive index are then taken from published experiments. In our theoretical campaign, we study the dependence of the optical force on the particle shape and the incident wavelength. We show that optical forces change appreciably with the deformation, with amplitude variation in the pN range for RBCs affected by disease.Background: Epidermal Growth Factor receptor (EGFR) family is a group of four highly conserved trans-membrane tyrosine kinase receptors (EGFR, ErbB2/HER2, ErbB3/HER3 and ErbB4/HER4) involved in fate decision of many pivotal biological processes. Several mutations on EGFR have been associated to number of human cancers making it one of the most sought after target for cancer therapeutics. However despite its therapeutic importance, its full length structural behavior is still illusive. Therefore to utilize and exploit this magic drug target, it is imperative to decipher its structure.Most immunosuppressive agents were initially developed as antibiotics produced by the genus Streptomyces . This investigation was devoted to explore the bioactive metabolite of the Streptomyces variabilis ASU319 extract and testing the purified active compound of this extract as an immunosuppressive agent in rats blood. Elucidation of the chemical structure and optimization of the active compound were studied as well. Antimicrobial activity was conducted using agar-well diffusion and disc diffusion assays. The antimicrobial metabolite was extracted from the fermentation broth by ethyl acetate and purified by TLC and silica gel column chromatography. The pure active compound was then subjected to spectroscopic analyses: 1 H NMR, Elemental analysis, IR and Mass spectra. The active antimicrobial compound was tested as an immunosuppressive agent by injection in the rat blood and the complete blood count (CBC) was determined. The crude extracts of the selected active antagonistic five isolates were tested to prevent the inflammation and proliferation of lymphocytes of the rats blood. The active antimicrobial compound of Streptomyces ASU319 was purified and proven as an immunosuppressive agent. The tested compound decreased each of the neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes than the positive control. The compound was of molecular weight 458 g/mol and had given the proposed chemical formula C 24 H 46 O 8 . The most potent bacterial isolate was identified by 16SrRNA sequencing as Streptomyces variabilis ASU319 with accession number [GenBank: KC145278]. These results revealed that Streptomyces variabilis ASU319 is potential microbial for production of active antimicrobial compound that has the ability to decrease the proliferation of the lymphocytes cells in the blood and may be a good immunosuppressive agent.New fluorescent N-(2 and 3-methoxyphenyl) thieno [3, 2-b] pyridin-7-amines were synthesized by C-N coupling of 7-bromothieno [3, 2-b] pyridine with 2 or 3 methoxy anilines and gave very low growth inhibitory (GI50) values when studied in human tumor cell lines but also in non-tumor cells. So, pursuing a future clinical administration of these compounds, they were encapsulated in nanoliposomes due to the toxicity presented in vitro in non-tumor cells. The compounds are reasonably fluorescent in solvents of different polarity exhibiting fluorescence quantum yields between 10% and 60%. Nanoliposomes are technological developments for the encapsulation and delivery of bioactive agents. Because of their biocompatibility and biodegradability along with their size, nanoliposomes have potential applications in a vast range of fields including nanotherapy. Nanoliposomes are able to enhance the performance of bioactive agents by improving their bioavailability in vitro and in vivo stability as well as preventing their unwanted interactions with other molecules. These compounds have been successfully encapsulated in different nanoliposome formulations as revealed by fluorescence emission and fluorescence anisotropy measurements. These results are important for future drug delivery developments using these compounds as antitumor agents.H infections are present worldwide and microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites can be responsible for such infections. Fungal infections exhibit low occurrence; however, because they take longer to detect and treat, high rates of morbidity and mortality are known. Thus, fungal infections namely those associated to Aspergillus niger represent actual challenges especially for elderly, neonates or those having an underlying disease or under immunosuppressive drug treatments. Microbial metabolomics has been breaking new ground as a very useful tool in several areas including those related to microbial diagnosis. Microorganisms produce several volatile metabolites, the whole of which can be used as unique chemical fingerprints of each species and possibly of strain. This richness of information holds the promise for diagnosing infections. This research study aims to in-depth study the A. niger exometabolome in order to establish metabolites pattern that can be further exploited for fungal diagnosis. A methodology based on advanced multidimensional gas chromatography (HSSPME/GC×GC-ToFMS) tandem with multivariate analysis was developed. Different growth conditions were assayed. A. niger exometabolome revealed around 500 metabolites distributed over several chemical families being the major ones alcohols, aldehydes, esters, hydrocarbons, ketones and terpenoids. A subset of 44 metabolites defined as the A. niger metabolomic biomarkers pattern was selected and successfully used to distinguish this species from others previously chosen revealing its useful potential.T cell phone technology is an integral part of everyday life and, it is used to chat including voice and picture and in addition has many other applications. Male reproductive system is highly compartmentalized and sensitive biological system that requires the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to normal function, hence we studied effects of GMS (Towers and Mobile radiation) on reproductive hormones (FSH, AMH, LH, Testosterone) and interference of other factors such as smoking, distant and hours near towers, mobile using period, and tumors related with. Our study was applied on 144 samples and was compared with 50 controls. The result showed significant increase in LH & FSH levels while significant decrease in Testosterone & AMH hormone, also there was a significant increase in hormone levels of smoking and nonsmoking persons and distend from tower and a large percentage of tumor disease.M pulegium and Eucalyptus camaldulensis are important plant species with applications in flavouring processed foods. Their essential oils were tested for antifungal activity to explore biocontrol ways vs. fungal rot of apples in storage. Extracts analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed M. pulegium dominated by pulegone and E. camaldulensis, by 1,8 cineole and α pinene. Oils antifungal activity was studied vs. Alternaria alternata and Penicillium expansum. Oil of M. pulegium is thrice most active than E. camaldulensis. Chemical components show synergism. Inhibition suggests food-preservation application. Classification algorithms are proposed based on information entropy and its production. Oils components are classified by numbers of C=C bonds, O atoms and cycles. Classification algorithms are based on information entropy. When applying procedures to moderate-size sets, excessive results appear compatible with data and suffer combinatorial explosion; however, after equipartition conjecture one obtains selection criterion resulting from classification between hierarchical trees. Information entropy permits classifying oils components and agrees with principal component analyses.H metals are common environmental pollutants to the aquatic organisms. Several aquatic species have been used as biomarkers and bio-monitoring subjects for heavy metal pollution. Behavioral changes are sensitive markers of toxicity. The effects of Cd and Mn on the survival, locomotion, attachment and feeding behaviors of the gastropod snail Biomphalaria alexandrina were determined. The 96-h LC50 for Cd and Mn were 0.38 and 156.57 mg/l, respectively. Snails were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of each metal plus a control for chronic exposure period (16-20 days) and the survival curves were determined. Locomotion and feeding behaviors of snails exposed to Cd and Mn at acute (96 h exposure) and chronic exposure (24 days exposure) intervals were recorded. The survival curves showed that long term exposure of snails to ascending concentrations of Cd and Mn caused a gradual decrease in the survival rate of B. alexandrina in a dose-dependent manner. Compared to control, a significant decrease was recorded in the feeding and locomotion behaviors of exposed snails. The tendency to feed in B. alexandrina was significantly decreased by acute exposure to Cd and completely blocked by Mn exposure. The feeding rate was 4.8±0.68 bites/min. in Cd-exposed snails compared to 16.3±1.7 bites/minute in control. A significant decrease was recorded in the locomotion behavior of exposed snail groups compared to control. The path length of traces was 3351.2±95.3 mm in control compared to 295.3±50 and 1610.5±58.9 mm, respectively for Mn and Cd exposed snails. Thus, sub-lethal metal concentrations affected B. alexandrina behaviors, potentially impacting the snail’s activity and tendency to feed. The present study also demonstrated B. alexandrina as a sensitive bio-indicator and can be used as a model organism to assess heavy metals risk factors for severe toxicity in freshwater ecosystems.1 (ACC) deaminase promotes plant growth by sequestering and cleaving the ethylene precursor ACC to α-ketobutyrate and ammonium. Many plant growth promoting rhizobacteria producing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase as a source of nitrogen has an eminent role in plant nutrition. The present work deals with comparative analysis of ACCD producing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are Azospirillum lipoferum, Phyllobacterium brassicacearum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica OSU18 and Bacillus cereus. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis of ACCD producing PGPR species represents the common conserved domain belonging to the tryptophan synthase beta subunit-like PLP-dependent enzymes super family and closely related to each other. The predicted homology models of ACCD of PGPR have similar protein structure with similar folds often share similar function. This analysis represents the evolutionary conservation and same biochemical function of ACCD producing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. This analysis is very helpful to understand the biological function of PGPR species.Today, cell phone technology is an integral part of everyday life and, its use to chat including voice and picture in addition to many other applications. Male reproductive system is highly compartmentalized and sensitive biological system that requires the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to normal function, hence we studied effects of GMS (Towers and Mobil radiation)on reproductive hormones (FSH,AMH,LH, Testosterone) and interference of other factors such as smoking ,distant and hours near towers, Mobil using period, and tumors related with .Our study applied on (144) sample compared with (50) control, the result showed significant increase in LH&FSH levels while significant decrease in Testosterone & AMH hormone, also significant increase inhormone levels smoking and non-smoking persons and distend from tower.S steroid hormones regulate multiple female reproductive functions. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inflammationassociated enzyme to regulate prostaglandin production. Previous studies demonstrated that COX-2-deficient mice failed to ovulate suggesting a vital role of COX-2 in ovulation. Sex steroid hormones were reported to modulate COX-2 expression: Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) was able to inhibit interlukin-1β-induced COX-2 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells while estradiol (E2) was able to promote COX-2 expression in the rat oviduct. In the ovary, the significance and the involving mechanisms of androgens and estrogens in COX-2 regulation remain mostly unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify whether and how sex steroid hormones affect COX-2 expression in rat ovarian granulosa cells. Previous studies suggested that PKC could be activated by FSH or LH in follicular granulosa cells leading to inflammatory-like consequences. Thus, a PKC activator PDD (phorbol-12, 13-didecanoate) was used in this study. It was noted that DHT appeared to attenuate PDDinduced COX-2 protein, mRNA expression and promoter activity; However, E2 was able to enhance PDD induced COX-2 protein, mRNA expression and promoter activity. In addition, the PDD-mediated PGE2 production was also impacted by DHT and E2. The PDD-mediated COX-2 expression was inhibited by parthenolide (NF-κB inhibitor) but was enhanced by SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) or wortmannin (PI3K inhibitor). Thus, DHT and E2 may affect PKC-mediated inflammation in ovarian granulosa cells by acting through these signaling players.D to the natural complementary properties in DNA sequences based on double helix pair exploring longer DNA pieces and its reverse fragment in complementary symmetry with a distance play an important role in modern genetic analysis. In this talk, the substring complementary string matching technique is used to detect and analyze the structure of DNA motif. We focused on the relationship between fragment and its reverse fragment in complementary symmetry and the possible structure of palindromic sequences, hairpin prediction. Statistical measurements are used to process some selected human genome data and all possible corresponding fragments are identified. We convert the identified data into visualized figures to illustrate the visible analysis results of quantities of complex DNA sequences as extracted information.

Failure Prediction of Mine De-watering Pumps

Abstract The de-watering reticulation system of a deep level mine requires a network of pumps to pump water from underground to the surface. These de-watering pumps are exposed to extreme operating conditions, which can result in unacceptably short service lives. It is thus important for mining personnel to use the available tools to improve system operations and maintenance procedures. Current maintenance strategies involve reactive and preventive models, which can lead to failure creep. In order to implement proactive strategies, forecasting models are required. One of such models can be Weibull models, which has proven to be successful for many product failure mechanisms. The Weibull models have been used extensively in the reliability-engineering environment, but have not yet been implemented on a de-watering pump operating in extreme conditions on a deep level mine. A new practical method for predicting pump failure using various Weibull distribution functions was thus developed. The methodology was validated on four pumps, and it was found that the failures of new pumps were successfully predicted based on the Weibull analysis of previously failed pumps. It was also found that a quadratic relationship exists between the characteristic life of a de-watering pump and the operating depth underground. This is significant because all of the factors affecting the service life of a de-watering pump are quantified regarding only the operating depth and the characteristic life.

Automated electricity bill analysis in South Africa

The ever-increasing cost of energy puts industries under pressure. Industries are forced to monitor their energy consumption and to manage energy more efficiently and responsibly. Some industrial companies have multiple operations spread out over a wide area, making it logistically difficult to get a holistic view of the company’s energy performance. Valuable information is freely available in the form of electricity bills. However, to benefit from the information in the bills, the data should be extracted and analysed, which is a time-consuming process. In this paper, a need for an automated centralised system that extracts and analyses electricity data from bills was identified. The methodology for extracting, organising, and presenting the electricity bill information is explained in detail. The system is implemented for a gold mining company, and the results are interpreted and discussed. It was found that the system is beneficial for companies with many operations. As the number of operations increases, the value of automated bill analysis increases.

The integrated effect of moderate exercise on coronary heart disease

Summary Background: Moderate exercise is associated with a lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). A suitable integrated model of the CHD pathogenetic pathways relevant to moderate exercise may help to elucidate this association. Such a model is currently not available in the literature. Methods: An integrated model of CHD was developed and used to investigate pathogenetic pathways of importance between exercise and CHD. Using biomarker relative-risk data, the pathogenetic effects are representable as measurable effects based on changes in biomarkers. Results: The integrated model provides insight into higherorder interactions underlying the associations between CHD and moderate exercise. A novel ‘connection graph’ was developed, which simplifies these interactions. It quantitatively illustrates the relationship between moderate exercise and various serological biomarkers of CHD. The connection graph of moderate exercise elucidates all the possible integrated actions through which risk reduction may occur. Conclusion: An integrated model of CHD provides a summary of the effects of moderate exercise on CHD. It also shows the importance of each CHD pathway that moderate exercise influences. The CHD risk-reducing effects of exercise appear to be primarily driven by decreased inflammation and altered metabolism.