Bacteria adhesion on the surface is an initial step to create biofouling, which may lead to a severe infection of living organisms and humans. This study is concerned with investigating the textile properties including wettability, porosity, total pore volume, and pore size in association with bacteria adhesion. As model bacteria, Gram-negative, rod-shaped Escherichia coli and the Gram-positive, spherical-shaped Staphylococcus aureus were used to analyze the adhesion tendency. Electrospun webs made from polystyrene and poly(lactic acid) were used as substrates, with modification of wettability by the plasma process using either O2 or C4F8 gas. The pore and morphological characteristics of fibrous webs were analyzed by the capillary flow porometer and scanning electron microscopy. The substrate’s wettability appeared to be the primary factor influencing the cell adhesion, where the hydrophilic surface resulted in considerably higher adhesion. The pore volume and the pore size, rather than the porosity itself, were other important factors affecting the bacteria adherence and retention. In addition, the compact spatial distribution of fibers limited the cell intrusion into the pores, reducing the total amount of adherence. Thus, superhydrophobic textiles with the reduced total pore volume and smaller pore size would circumvent the adhesion. The findings of this study provide informative discussion on the characteristics of fibrous webs affecting the bacteria adhesion, which can be used as a fundamental design guide of anti-biofouling textiles.
Endothelial dysfunction has been linked to vascular inflammation and foam cell formation but the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. We sought to define the factors inducing inflammation and smooth muscle foam cell formation under endothelial dysfunction using endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-deficient mice. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from eNOS-deficient mice displayed increased expression of macrophage-related genes and elevated lipid uptake. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was upregulated in the aorta from the eNOS-deficient mice and promoted macrophage chemotaxis toward VSMCs while enhancing the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-3. Notably, NPY induced lipid uptake in VSMCs, facilitating smooth muscle foam cell formation, in association with enhanced expression of genes related to modified low-density lipoprotein uptake and macrophages. NPY was augmented by inflammatory pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in VSMCs. PTX3 enhanced macrophage migratory capacity through the NPY/neuropeptide Y receptor axis and this effect was attenuated by pharmacological inhibition with a receptor-specific antagonist. These observations suggest that endothelial dysfunction leads to the elevation of NPY that amplifies vascular inflammation by increasing inflammatory cell chemotaxis and triggers smooth muscle foam cell formation.
Power system decentralization has been an emerging topic for the past decade in an effort to improve power quality and environment protection via the increased integration of renewable energy sources. Toward these objectives, decentralized microgrids have been proposed and thoroughly investigated in terms of technical capabilities and economic performance. In fact, the planning and actual operation of small-scale, decentralized microgrids have started in countries, such as Canada, Japan, USA, U.K., and other countries. It is expected that the research in this area will progress and eventually take over the existing paradigm of large-scale power generation in the future. These small-size decentralized microgrids could be connected with nearby microgrids under normal operating conditions, but under special events, such as natural or man-made disasters, they would be disconnected and run in an islanded mode. Under such a high impact, low probability events, the microgrid must have the resiliency to successfully reconnect with other microgrids and the main grid. In this paper, an energy management system (EMS) for a microgrid having a resiliency function, allowing to operate under the islanded mode after an accident, is proposed. The proposed tool, called Resilient Energy Management System (ResEMS), aims at procuring reserve power into the microgrid's battery energy storage system (BESS) effectively, by importing it from the nearby connected power system. The quantity of power to be imported is decided considering the value of the load, photovoltaic device generation, and the state of charge (SOC) of BESS. The accident is assumed to be a predictable natural disaster, which means that the accident occurrence date or time period can be estimated. The proposed ResEMS has been applied to a microgrid comprising of a BESS, a diesel generator, and several photovoltaic devices. The simulation results verify its beneficial operation. INDEX TERMS Energy management system, reserve power, resiliency, battery energy storage system.
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