Improved Quantification of Prostaglandins in Biological Samples by Optimizing Simultaneously the Relationship Eicosanoid/Internal-Standard and Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Although a wide variety of articles on quantification of eicosanoids by using internal standards are published every year, little has been done on how much internal standard should be added. This article demonstrates that the application of experimental design enables estimating the interaction eicosanoid/internal-standard and to select confidently an optimal amount of internal standard and a response factor (RF) for the analysis of eicosanoids in a high number of samples, where the amount of sample is limited and the unknown levels of eicosanoids are spanned in a wide range of concentrations. The results revealed that the interaction eicosanoid/internal-standard is an important factor that affects the validity of the RF and subsequently the accuracy of the analysis

Effect of Different Degrees of Hydrogenated Fish Oil on Intestinal Carcinogenesis in Min/+ mice

Intake of trans fatty acids from hydrogenated fish oils has been related to increased risk of coronary heart diseases. The possible effect on colorectal carcinogenesis is unclear. Materials and Methods: Multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min/+) mice were fed one of four experimental diets: either raw fish oil (FO), low (LHFO)-, high (HHFO)- or fully-hydrogenated fish oil (FFHO), from 0 to 9 weeks of age. The number and size of intestinal tumors were recorded. Results: There was no difference between the intervention groups in the numbers of developed intestinal tumors. The tumor size was statistically significantly lower in HHFO vs. the FO-group in male Min/+ mice. The HHFO and FHFO groups had lower weight gain than did the FO group (p=0.008 and p=0.04, respectively), but gender differences, due to effect of dietary intervention on weight gain, were found in Min/+ mice. Conclusion: When compared with raw fish oil, different degrees of hydrogenation of the fish oil had no effect on intestinal carcinogenesis in Min/+ mice

Cancer prevention – the feasibility and acceptability of promoting breast cancer risk reduction in the screening setting through a lifestyle magazine

Cancer prevention and early detection strategies are fundamental to reducing breast cancer burden. Offering prevention guidance on modifiable risk factors within early detection settings is rare. We aimed to evaluate the acceptability of a magazine focused on lifestyle and cancer prevention for use in breast screening clinics. A lifestyle magazine was developed and distributed within two breast screening settings in the West of Scotland over a 2 month period. Women were either offered the magazine on arrival or in a self service format. Uptake was recorded by NHS staff. Women’s views were sought via an evaluation questionnaire. Staff were interviewed on their experiences of intervention delivery. Uptake was greatest when offered to attendees (95% vs 20% self -service). The evaluation questionnaire response rate was 17.3%. Almost 60% of respondents reported an increased knowledge about breast cancer and lifestyle and felt motivated to find out more about cancer prevention and 40% expressed intentions to make lifestyle changes. Over 90% of respondents thought lifestyle factors were important in breast cancer prevention. Staff feedback was positive, indicating no detrimental effects on workloads. In conclusion, a cancer prevention lifestyle magazine can be successfully delivered in the breast screening setting and deserves further exploration for roll out

Fatty acids in habitual diet, plasma phospholipids, and tumour and normal colonic biopsies in young colorectal cancer patients

Fatty acid metabolism is altered in colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to investigate incorporation of dietary n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into plasma phospholipids (PLs), tumour tissue, and normal mucosa in young CRC patients. We also aimed to study differences in PUFA composition between tumour and normal mucosa, and PUFA status associated with cancer stage. Sixty-five CRC patients younger than 55 years were included in a multicenter study. We assessed dietary fatty acid composition by food-frequency questionnaire. Fatty acid composition in plasma PL (n = 65) and tumour and normal colonic biopsies (n = 32) were analysed by gas chromatography. We observed a significant correlation for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) between dietary intake and concentration in plasma PL (weight%) (r = 0.42; P = 0.001), but not for any n-6 PUFA. Tissue concentrations of arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and DHA (weight%) were 1.7–2.5 times higher in tumour than normal mucosa (P ≤ 0.001). Concentrations of n-3 and n-6 PUFA in plasma PL and tissues were not related to Duke’s stage, although patients with more severe cancer stage reported higher intake of n-3 PUFA. In conclusion, we found accumulation of the longchained n-3 and n-6 PUFA in tumour tissue in young CRC patient

Enhancing the efficacy of cytotoxic agents for cancer therapy using photochemical internalisation.

Photochemical internalisation (PCI) is a technique for improving cellular delivery of certain bioactive agents which are prone to sequestration within endolysosomes. There is a wide range of agents suitable for PCI-based delivery including toxins, oligonucleotides, genes and immunoconjugates which demonstrates the versatility of this technique. The basic mechanism of PCI involves triggering release of the agent from endolysosomes within the target cells using a photosensitiser which is selectively retained with the endolysosomal membranes. Excitation of the photosensitiser by visible light leads to disruption of the membranes via photooxidative damage thereby releasing the agent into the cytosol. This treatment enables the drugs to reach their intended subcellular target more efficiently and improves their efficacy. In this review we summarise the applications of this technique with the main emphasis placed on cancer chemotherapy

Testing and Optimization of PVAm/PVA Blend Membranes for Biogas Upgrading

Membrane technology is an energy saving, environment friendly and low cost separation technology. This master’s thesis has focused on testing and optimization of polyvinylamine/polyvinylalcohol (PVAm/PVA) blend fixed-site-carrier (FSC) membranes on polysulfone supports for separation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Permeation tests, process simulation and cost estimation were applied to evaluate CO2/CH4 separation performance and process feasibility for biogas upgrading. Utilization of biogas as a natural gas substitute or as vehicle fuel can contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Orthogonal experimental design (OED) was employed to study the influences of membrane preparation conditions on the transport properties of flat sheet PVAm/PVA blend FSC membranes. The conjoint analysis method was applied for the statistical analysis of OED results using SPSS software, and the importance of the investigated membrane preparation condition parameters on the CO2/CH4 separation performance was found to be: polymer concentration in casting solution > heat treatment temperature > heat treatment duration > content of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymer. The optimized membrane preparation conditions in the interval investigated were: 1 wt% polymer in the casting solution, containing 3 wt% of CNTs, heat-treated at 105 °C for 0.5 h. It was found that a membrane with a very thin selective layer (375 nm) was able to achieve both high CO2/CH4 selectivity and CO2 permeance. Reinforcing the PVAm/PVA membrane with CNTs was investigated, but no significant effect was found within the range of investigation. SEM analysis has shown that CNTs gathers in large aggregates, and that an even distribution of well-dispersed CNTs is needed to secure a defect free selective layer. Permeation tests were performed in an advanced mixed gas permeation rig and operating conditions were optimized on the basis of OED and conjoint analysis by SPSS software. The relative importance of the operating condition parameters investigated in this work was in the following order: relative humidity > sweep gas flow rate > feed gas pressure > feed gas flow rate. The optimized operating conditions were found at a feed gas pressure of 2 bar with a relative humidity of 80 % and a feed gas flow rate and sweep gas flow rate at 12.3 cm3/s and 0.18 cm3/s, respectively. CO2/CH4 selectivity of 31 with a CO2 permeance of 0.16 m3(STP)/(m2.h.bar) was obtained at optimized conditions. A conceptual design of a biogas upgrading process with a feed gas flow rate at 300 Nm3/h (60 vol% CH4 and 40 vol% CO2) was conducted. Two different process designs with a feed gas pressure of 2 and 5 bar were simulated in UniSim. In a two-stage membrane module separation system with recycle it was possible to purify biogas up to 99.3 vol% CH4 (vehicle fuel quality), and obtain a CH4 recovery of 98 %. The total membrane area was reduced a lot by increasing the feed gas pressure from 2 to 5 bar. The capital cost of the most promising process design was estimated to US$4.622 million, and the running costs were estimated to be US$0.603/Nm3 upgraded biogas. The total membrane area was 7900 m2. The most important economic parameter for upgrading biogas is the price of upgraded biogas as vehicle fuel, and a price of US$1.22/Nm3 is necessary to secure a positive net present value of the project after 10 years

Feasibility study and modelling of multistage amine reclaimer

One of the largest expenses in CO2 capture is the transport and disposal of waste from the amine reclaimer, and top up of fresh amine~\citep{KIP}. The main reason for this is because the waste stream contains quite large amounts of fresh amine, and the sheer volume of waste. If amount of MEA in waste could be reduced, both the volume of waste would be reduced, which lowers the transport and disposal cost, and the amount of amine for top up would be reduced. In other words, the total operational cost of the system could be considerably lowered. This study investigated the possibility of reducing the amine (MEA) in the waste stream by looking at a two stage reclaiming process. A model based on the work done by Linn Christine Loe Haaversen was developed to include several new features, including a second stage. This model was the basis of cost optimization. The cost optimization took several factors into account. The cost of waste transportation and handling, top up amine cost, cost of compressing low pressure lean amine to the pressure of main system and heat input to reclaimer vessels all were included the objective function subject to minimization. The unconstrained variables in this optimization were heat entered into both stages, and pressure in second stage. From the results of the optimization, a second low pressure stage is beneficiary from an operating cost perspective. A cost minimum was detected where 63.9% of the MEA fed into the system was returned to the main carbon capturing plant, 36.5% in first stage, and 27.4% in second stage. At optimum, the pressure of the second stage was 65.1 kPa. The optimization is only for steady state. Start-up and shut-down is not included. This can be looked at for future work. There are uncertainties linked to properties of compounds, and the model output have not been compared to actual values from a carbon capturing plant. This is due to low availability of information. This study is only looking on operation cost, so there should also be a investment cost analysis before concluding that a second stage is profitable or not

Feature Reuse in Federated Learning: Toward a Federated Feature Store

Organisasjoner som deployerer maskinlæringsmodeller (ML-modeller) i stor skala melder om en rekke fordeler ved å ha sentralt definerte og gjenbrukbare ML features når nye modeller skal bygges, slik som ved redusert dataprosesseringsinnsats og konsekvente features både ved trening og bruk av modeller. Federated Learning (FL) er en ny teknikk innen distribuert ML som søker å håndtere utfordringer rundt privat og distribuert data ved trening av ML-modeller. Til tross for at FL fortsatt er i et veldig tidlig stadium, er det rimelig å forvente at det vil bli brukt i økende grad i takt med veksten av Internet of Things (IoT) og andre edge-enheter. Med utgangspunkt i de rapporterte fordelene ved gjenbruk av features i sentralisert ML, kan en forvente at feature-gjenbruk kan gi lignende fordeler for FL-anvendelser. Men, nåværende løsninger for å gjenbruke features, Feature Stores (FSs), antar at all data er sentralt aksesserbar, og de kan derfor ikke oppfylle kravene FL stiller. For å addressere denne begrensningen i eksisterende løsninger, vil denne oppgaven forsøke å besvare problemstillingen: Hvordan kan vi gjenbruke ML-features mellom ulike anvendelser av FL for å effektivisere ressursbruken på klientenheter? Problemstillingen besvares ved å følge en Design Science Research (DSR)-metodologi for å designe og implementere et system for gjenbruk av features i FL, kalt Federated Feature Store (FFS). Systemet evalueres ved først å anvendedet på to ulike FL-oppgaver, for deretter å måle ressursbruken under prosessering og inntak av data ved ulike gjenbruksnivåer av features. Evalueringen viser at ressursbruken i forbindelse med dataprosessering og -inntak avtar lineært med økende gjenbruksnivå. Den reduserte ressursbruken antyder et lavere energiforbruk, som ikke bare er viktig for eksempelvis batteridrevne mobile enheter, men også har økonomiske og miljømessige gevinster. Resultatene fra oppgaven belyser muligheter for videre forskning på gjenbruk av features i Vertical FL (VFL), tiltak for sikkerhet og tilgangskontroll av features, og designforbedringer for å øke ytelsen i kryss-silo anvendelser av FL. Forskere oppfordres også til å ikke bare undersøke tekniske og ingeniørmessige fordeler ved gjenbruk av features, men også å se på miljømessige og økonomiske virkninger.Organizations deploying Machine Learning (ML) models at scale report numerous benefits of having centrally defined and reusable ML features when building new models, such as reduced Feature Engineering (FE) efforts and consistency in features in both training and operations. Federated Learning (FL) is a recent and actively researched area of distributed ML that aims to address data privacy issues in ML model training. While FL is still in a very early phase of adoption, it is reasonable to assume that it will be increasingly used as the number of Internet of Things (IoT) and other edge devices grow. Extrapolating from the reported benefits of feature reuse in centralized ML contexts, one may expect that feature reuse can achieve similar benefits for FL applications. However, current systems addressing feature reuse, Feature Stores (FSs), assume that data is centrally accessible, and thus they do not satisfy the constraints of FL. To address this limitation, the thesis poses the RQ: How can we reuse ML features across different applications in an FL environment to increase resource efficiency on client devices? The RQ is answered by following a Design Science Research (DSR) methodology to design and implement a system for feature reuse in FL, the Federated Feature Store (FFS). The FFS is evaluated by first applying it to two different FL tasks, then measuring resource consumption during FE and feature ingestion for varying levels of feature reuse. The evaluation demonstrates a linear decrease in resource usage for increasing levels of feature reuse during FE and feature ingestion. The decreased resource usage implies reduced energy consumption, which is not only crucial for battery–powered mobile devices but also provides economic and environmental benefits. The thesis results shed light on opportunities for further research into feature reuse in vertical FL, security and access-control measures for feature reuse, and design improvements to improve performance in cross–silo FL applications. Re searchers are encouraged to study not only the engineering and technical benefits of ML feature reuse but also examine the environmental and economic impacts

Characteristics of wake merging downstream of side-by-side porous disks

Sammenslåingen av "wakene" til to porøse disker plassert side om side med varierende diskavstand undersøkes eksperimentelt i en vindtunnel. To diskdesign brukes: en ikke-uniform disk og en "mesh"-disk. Hot-wire anemometri brukes til å anskaffe to "spanwise" profiler på 8 og 30 diametre nedstrøms, og langs midtlinjen mellom dobbelt-disk oppsettet opp til 40 diameter nedstrøms. De "spanwise" Castaing-parameterprofilene bekrefter tilstedeværelsen av ringer med indre intermittens i de ytterste delene av "waken". Disse ringene er det første turbulensfenomenet som møtes mellom diskene. Etter dette punktet utvikler turbulensen seg til en tilstand der et "inertial" område er observerbart i turbulensspektrene. Lenger nedstrøms blir den interne intermittensen neglisjerbar. Disse hendelsene er repeterbare og forekommer i samme rekkefølge for begge typer porøse disker. Denne robustheten gjør at vi kan utvikle et generelt kart over sammenslåingen av de to "wakene".The wake merging of two side-by-side porous disks with varying disk spacing is investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel. Two disk designs are employed: a non-uniform disk and a mesh disk. Hot-wire anemometry is utilized to acquire two spanwise profiles at 8 and 30 diameters downstream, and along the centreline between the dual-disk set-up up to 40 diameter downstream. The spanwise Castaing parameter profiles confirm the appearance of rings of internal intermittency at the outermost parts of the wakes. These rings are the first phenomenon to meet between the disks. After this point, the turbulence develops to a state whereby an inertial range is observable in the spectra. Farther downstream, the internal intermittency becomes negligible. These events are repeatable and occur in the same order for both types of porous disks. This robustness allows us to develop a general map of the merging of the two wakes