Role of Titanium Dioxide-Immobilized PES Beads in a Combined Water Treatment System of Tubular Alumina Microfiltration and PES Beads.

The membrane process has a limit to the decay of various pollutants in water. To improve the problem, the roles of backwashing media and titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst-immobilized-polyethersulfone (PES) beads' concentration were investigated in a combined system of tubular alumina MF and the PES beads for advanced drinking water treatment. The space between the outside of the MF membrane and the module inside was filled with the PES beads. UV at a wavelength of 352 nm was irradiated from outside of the acryl module. A quantity of humic acid and kaolin was dissolved in distilled water for synthetic water. Water or air intermittent backwashing was performed outside to inside. The membrane fouling resistance after 3 h process (Rf,180) was minimum at 30 g/L of the PES beads for water backwashing, and at 40 g/L for air backwashing when increasing the PES beads from 0 to 50 g/L. The irreversible membrane fouling resistance after physical cleaning (Rif) was at the bottom at 5 g/L of the PES beads for water backwashing, which was 3.43 times higher than minimal at 40 g/L of the PES beads for air backwashing. The treatment effectiveness of turbidity increased when increasing the PES beads' concentration from 0 to 50 g/L; however, it reached a maximum at 98.1% at 40 g/L and 99.2% at 50 g/L for water and air backwashing, respectively. The treatment effectiveness of UV254 absorbance, which was dissolved organic matter (DOM), increased dramatically when increasing the PES beads; however, it reached a peak of 83.0% at 40 g/L and 86.0% at 50 g/L for water and air backwashing, respectively. Finally, the best PES beads' concentration was 20~30 g/L to minimize the membrane fouling; however, it was 50 g/L to remove pollutants effectively. The water backwashing was better than the air at treating DOM; however, the air backwashing was more effective than the water at removing turbid matter and reducing membrane fouling.

An Ultrasonic Multi-Beam Concentration Meter with a Neuro-Fuzzy Algorithm for Water Treatment Plants.

Ultrasonic concentration meters have widely been used at water purification, sewage treatment and waste water treatment plants to sort and transfer high concentration sludges and to control the amount of chemical dosage. When an unusual substance is contained in the sludge, however, the attenuation of ultrasonic waves could be increased or not be transmitted to the receiver. In this case, the value measured by a concentration meter is higher than the actual density value or vibration. As well, it is difficult to automate the residuals treatment process according to the various problems such as sludge attachment or sensor failure. An ultrasonic multi-beam concentration sensor was considered to solve these problems, but an abnormal concentration value of a specific ultrasonic beam degrades the accuracy of the entire measurement in case of using a conventional arithmetic mean for all measurement values, so this paper proposes a method to improve the accuracy of the sludge concentration determination by choosing reliable sensor values and applying a neuro-fuzzy learning algorithm. The newly developed meter is proven to render useful results from a variety of experiments on a real water treatment plant.

Superficial mastoid fascia as an accessible donor for various augmentations in Asian rhinoplasty.

This study was designed to assess the anatomic characteristics and clinical versatility of superficial mastoid fascia as a soft-tissue donor for augmentation in Asian rhinoplasty. Dissections were performed on four fresh cadavers (eight ears) for histologic study. A 3×10 mm2-sized full layer of skin and underlying soft tissue was harvested from the postauricular area, transversely and longitudinally (cephalic and caudal directions), 5 mm apart from the midpoint of the auriculocephalic sulcus. The average fascial thickness and nerve distribution were assessed using digital microscopic images after haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. In the histologic study, the average measured thickness of the superficial mastoid fascia was between 3.8 and 4.5 mm in various directions. Clinically, 33 subjects who underwent rhinoplasty using superficial mastoid fascia were assessed prospectively. When soft tissue was needed in various types of augmentations, a longitudinal incision was made on the posterior auriculocephalic sulcus and the maximum thickness of superficial mastoid fascia was harvested. The sizes of the superficial mastoid fascia used in the 33 subjects ranged from 0.4×2.5 cm2 to 1.2×4.2 cm2. The superficial mastoid fascia was grafted regionally for the nasion, tip and nasal dorsum. In two cases, hypertrophic scars developed at the donor site. Four subjects experienced transient dysaesthesia and hypoaesthesia at the donor area postoperatively. Superficial mastoid fascia may be a useful resource in rhinoplasty as a donor for various types of augmentations, allowing easy access without prominent scarring or permanent sensory nerve damage when a low-to-moderate volume of soft tissue is required.

An update on auricular reconstruction: three major auricular malformations of microtia, prominent ear and cryptotia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Microtia, prominent ear, and cryptotia are the most common types of auricular malformations. This review provides updated information on these types of reconstructions, in addition to recalling previously accepted surgical methods. RECENT FINDINGS: Autogenous costal cartilage is still considered as an ideal material for framework fabrication in microtia reconstruction. Many surgeons have adopted the Nagata approach, the Brent approach, or variations of the two, in their work. With these employed techniques, auricles reconstructed by experienced surgeons have proven to be aesthetically promising. However, with regards to the harvesting of the costal cartilage, the underdevelopment of the chest wall donor site, alopecia of the scalp, and scarring of the postauricular-mastoid region are still considered problematic aspects of these approaches. Some articles have described attempts to solve these problems, whereas some experiments in cartilage production using tissue engineering techniques have shown promise in their initial stages of development.It is generally accepted that prominent ears should be corrected through a combination of sculpting and suture techniques, according to the individual shape and the quality of the ear prominence.Most of the cryptotia malformations show not only embedded upper auricles, but also associated adhesions of the upper auricular cartilage. Their correction should therefore resolve both deformities. SUMMARY: A number of articles highlighting clinical experiences with auricular reconstructions for microtia, prominent ear, and cryptotia have been included in this review. We believe that the information synthesized here will become a basis for further development of auricular reconstruction techniques.

Asiaticoside induces human collagen I synthesis through TGFbeta receptor I kinase (TbetaRI kinase)-independent Smad signaling.

Skin aging appears to be principally related to a decrease in the levels of type I collagen, the primary component of the skin dermis. Asiaticoside, a saponin component isolated from Centella asiatica, has been shown to induce type I collagen synthesis in human dermal fibroblast cells. However, the mechanism underlying asiaticoside-induced type I collagen synthesis, especially at a molecular level, remains only partially understood. In this study, we have attempted to characterize the action mechanism of asiaticoside in type I collagen synthesis. Asiaticoside was determined to induce the phosphorylation of both Smad 2 and Smad 3. In addition, we detected the asiaticoside-induced binding of Smad 3 and Smad 4. In a consistent result, the nuclear translocation of the Smad 3 and Smad 4 complex was induced via treatment with asiaticoside, pointing to the involvement of asiaticoside in Smad signaling. In addition, SB431542, an inhibitor of the TGFbeta receptor I (TbetaRI) kinase, which is known to be an activator of the Smad pathway, was not found to inhibit both Smad 2 phosphorylation and Type 1 collagen synthesis induced by asiaticoside. Therefore, our results show that asiaticoside can induce type I collagen synthesis via the activation of the TbetaRI kinase-independent Smad pathway.

Anti-inflammatory effects of magnolol and honokiol are mediated through inhibition of the downstream pathway of MEKK-1 in NF-kappaB activation signaling.

Propionibacterium acnes, an anaerobic pathogen, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acne and seems to initiate the inflammatory process by producing proinflammatory cytokines. In order to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effects and action mechanisms of magnolol and honokiol, several methods were employed. Through DPPH and SOD activity assays, we found that although both magnolol and honokiol have antioxidant activities, honokiol has relatively stronger antioxidant activities than magnolol {[for DPPH assay, % of DPPH bleaching of magnolol and honokiol (500 microM magnolol: 19.8%; 500 microM honokiol: 67.3%)]; [for SOD assay, SOD activity (200 microM magnolol: 53.4%; 200 microM honokiol: 64.3%)]}. Moreover, the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) induced by P. acnes in THP-1 cells, a human monocytic cell line, was reduced by magnolol and honokiol {[for IL-8 (10 microM magnolol: 42.7% inhibition; 10 microM honokiol: 51.4% inhibition)]; [for TNF-alpha (10 microM magnolol: 20.3% inhibition; 10 microM honokiol: 39.0% inhibition)]}. Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) activity was also suppressed by them [(15 microM magnolol: 45.8% inhibition), (15 microM honokiol: 66.3% inhibition)]. Using a nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) luciferase reporter assay system and Western analysis, we identified that magnolol and honokiol exert their anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the NF-kappaB element, which exists in Cox-2, IL-8, and TNF-alpha promoters [(15 microM magnolol: 44.8% inhibition), (15 microM honokiol: 42.3% inhibition)]. Of particular note is that magnolol and honokiol operate downstream of the MEKK-1 molecule. Together with their previously known antibacterial activity against P. acnes and based on these results, we suggest that magnolol and honokiol may be introduced as possible acne-mitigating agents.

Glycyrrhizin induces melanogenesis by elevating a cAMP level in b16 melanoma cells.

In mammalian melanocytes, melanin synthesis is controlled by tyrosinase, the critical enzyme in the melanogenic pathway. A recent report showed that the stimulation of melanogenesis by glycyrrhizin (GR) is because of an increased tyrosinase expression at mRNA and protein levels. But, the molecular events of melanogenesis induced by GR remain to be elucidated. In this study, using B16 melanoma cells, we showed that GR activated activator protein-1 (AP-1) and cyclic response filament "CRE" promoters, but not the nuclear factor-kappaB promoter. In addition, although GR stimulated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, p42/44(mapk), consistent with GR-induced AP-1 promoter activation, GR-induced melanogenesis was not blocked by PD98059, an MEK1 inhibitor, suggesting that MAPkinase induced by GR does not have a direct effect on the level of melanin content. But, GR-induced melanogenesis was inhibited by an inhibitor of protein kinase A (H-89). This result was further confirmed by the fact that GR induced the phosphorylation of CRE binding protein (CREB) and inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta phosphorylation as well as the production of cAMP, indicating that GR induces melanogenesis through cAMP signaling. In addition, the fact that GR-induced CRE activation was blocked by H-89 but GR-induced increase of cAMP production was not suggests that GR operates upstream of protein kinase A.