Technology

Viral infections, most commonly by cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), polyoma virus type I(BK), andfungal infections, mainly by Aspergillus Fumigatus (Asp),are among the deadliest complications for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoieticstem cell transplantation. Treatment with antiviral and antifungal pharmacological agents, which are today's standard therapy, is often ineffective or toxic whereas it can lead to the outgrowth of drug-resistant strains. Adoptive immunotherapy with the use of antigen-specific T-cells to restore antigen-specific immunity posttransplant, offers an attractive alternative approach to conventional drugs. We here, aimed to generate at large scale, multipathogenspecific T cells (mp-STs) that simultaneously target CMV, EBV, BK and Asp, from healthy donors, with a rapid, simplified, low-cost and minimally laborious protocol. A total of 1,5x10 7 mononuclear cells, derived from 15-20ml blood of eight CMV and EBV seropositive donors, were pulsed with viral pepmixes(CMV: IE1, pp65;EBV: EBNA1, LMP2, BZLF1;BK: Large T, VP1) combined with either Asp lysate or Asp pepmixes (Crf1, Gel1 and SHMT) and cultured in the presence of IL-4/IL-7 for 10 days in G-rex bioreactors. The cells were characterized immunophenotypically by flow cytometry and their specificity/functionality was assessed by IFN-γ Elispot assay. Cells stimulated with either Asp lysate (n=4) or Asp pepmixes (n=4), had a similarexpansion, reaching a mean of 170±36x10 6 and 206±46x10 6 cells, respectively. All cell lines were polyclonal, comprised predominantly of CD4+ cells (70±5% and 72±3% respectively) and CD8+ cells (19±4% and 18±2% respectively) and expressed central (CD45RA-/CD62L+: 36±6%, and 35±2% respectively) and effector memory markers (CD45RA-/CD62L-: 53±5%, and 54±3% respectively). Importantly, allmp-STs lines (8/8) were specific against all targeted pathogens [mean±SEM spot forming cells (SFC)/2x10 5

To determine the optimum condition for the extraction of Hyssopus officinalis L. essential oil (EO) by instant controlled pressure drop (in French: Détente Instantanée Contrôlée or DIC), the influential parameters of pressure, heating time per cycle, number of cycles, mean particle diameter of the herb, and water concentration in the steam generator feed were evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). The impact of using an ethanol-water mixture to generate the required vapor in the DIC process on EO extraction was investigated. The optimum condition was found to be at pressure=1 bar, heating time=100 s, cycles=12, particle diameter=1 mm, and water concentration=80 v%. The addition of ethanol turned out to be more efficient at higher heating times and cycle numbers. The optimum yield in DIC was highest compared with hydrodistillation (HD), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and Soxhlet (SOX) methods; their values, expressed as total area percentages per internal standard area percentage, were 39.04, 10.98, 1.58, and 7.71, respectively. Comparison of the four methods also indicated that the DIC- EO was of a superior quality. The analysis of the DIC-treated residual herb in the optimum experiment revealed that unlike the low amount of valuable oxygenated monoterpenes, the availability of sesquiterpenes increased, which proved that DIC performs selectively while extracting more valuable EO components. The DIC-EO and its extract were examined for total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity using Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assay, respectively. Comparison of these results with those obtained from HD demonstrated higher TPC and antioxidant activity of the DIC-EO. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the raw material and residual herb in the optimum experiment showed significant structure modifications induced by the DIC process.

Chronic diseases are the primary cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for 67% of deaths. One of the major challenges in developing new treatments is the lack of understanding of the exact underlying biological and molecular mechanisms. Chronic cardiovascular diseases are the single most common cause of death worldwide, and sudden deaths due to cardiac arrhythmias account for approximately 50% of all such cases. Traditional genetic screening for genes involved in cardiac disorders is laborious and frequently fails to detect the mutation that explains or causes the disorder. However, when mutations are identified, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from affected patients make it possible to address fundamental research questions directly relevant to human health. As such, hiPSC technology has recently been used to model human diseases and patient-specific hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) thus offer a unique opportunity to investigate potential disease-causing genetic variants in their natural environment. The purpose of this review is to present the current state of knowledge regarding hiPSC-CMs, including their potential, limitations, and challenges and to discuss future prospects.

Tylosin has been used as a livestock feed additive and antibiotic growth promoter for many years. However, the mode of action by which tylosin enhances animal growth is unclear. We used high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to investigate the effects of tylosin as a feed additive on swine gut microbiota. No significant difference in the rate of weight increase was observed between control and tylosin-treated pigs during a 10 week feeding trial. However, tylosin-treated pigs showed rapid increases in the relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes. Increases in Firmicutes species are associated with (so-called) obese type gut microbiota. The abundance of species of four families of the phylum Firmicutes (Streptococcaceae, Peptococcaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Clostridiaceae) correlated positively with host weight gain. The abundance of Streptococcaceae family bacteria was least affected by tylosin-treatment. Distribution analysis of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) show...

The coupling of propagating surface plasmon waves and localized plasmon oscillations in nanostructures is an essential phenomenon determining electromagnetic field enhancement on the nanoscale. Here, we use our recently developed ultrafast photoemission near-field probing technique to investigate the fundamental question of plasmon-plasmon coupling and its effect on large field enhancement factors. By measuring and analyzing plasmon field enhancement values at different nanostructured surfaces, we can separate the contributions from propagating and localized plasmons. When resonance conditions are met, a significant field enhancement factor can be attributed to the generation of localized plasmons on surface nanostructures, acting as dipole sources resonantly driven by the propagating plasmon field. Our plasmon-plasmon coupling results can contribute directly to applications in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and the development of plasmonic sensors and nanostructured photo...

programmers and web users? What is the cultural significance of Open APIs? By exploring these questions from both social and technical perspectives, this dissertation argues that Open APIs can be designed for the benefit of the programming community, but profit-seeking vendors restrict the openness of Open APIs to reinforce the commodification of data in contemporary Internet culture. This process reframes the meaning of the word ‗open' from its historical association with the Free and Open Source Software movements. Most popular Open APIs are vendor-dependant and thus facilitate the domination of Internet companies over the programming community, which could have a negative effect on the computing industry. Open APIs have their origin in private APIs. A private API, or internal API, is an interface to connect the function of different applications within one specific system for internal use, in effect reducing the cost and redundancy of transactions to improve efficiency. Programmers used private APIs long before the popularity of Open APIs, as far back as when Microsoft was developing Windows 3.1x, which was released in 1992 (Microsoft, 2014). The Windows APIs provide access to the fundamental resources or processes such as file systems or devices managed throughout the Windows operating system. Many resources or procedures involved in Windows were standardised through APIs, so programmers could integrate the many dimensions of Windows in order to gain extra functionality for their programs in a more convenient and efficient way

The characterization of novel metal reinforced electro-dialysis ion exchange membranes, for water desalination, by attenuated total reflectance Fourier Transform infra-red spectroscopy mapping is presented in this paper. The surface of the porous stainless steel fibre meshes was treated in order to enhance the amount of surface oxide groups and increase the material hydrophilicity. Then, the metal membranes were functionalized through a sol-gel reaction with silane coupling agents to enhance the affinity with the ion exchange resins and avoid premature metal oxidation due to redox reactions at the metalpolymer interface. Polished cross sections of the composite membranes embedded into an epoxy resin revealed interfaces between metallic frameworks and the silane layer at the interface with the ion exchange material. The morphology of the metalpolymer interface was investigated with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infra-red micro-spectroscopy. Fourier transform infra-red mapping of the interfaces was performed using the attenuated total reflectance mode on the polished cross-sections at the Australian Synchrotron. The nature of the interface between the metal framework and the ion exchange resin was shown to be homogeneous and the coating thickness was found to be around 1 μm determined by Fourier transform infra-red micro-spectroscopy mapping. The impact of the coating on the properties of the membranes and their potential for water desalination by electro-dialysis are also discussed.

Polymorphisms of carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes, known to be involved in metabolism of carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, are relatively common in most populations. Cigarette and bidi smoking has been demonstrated to increase the risk of head and neck cancers in our study group. This study evaluated the risk of head and neck cancers (HNC) in relation to two deletion polymorphisms of the glutathione S-transferase family GST M1 and GST T1. We found that the null GST M1 and GST T1 genotypes were associated with an increased risk of developing head and neck cancers. We found smokers, with null genotypes of GST M1 (68.3%) and GST T1 (57.5%) were at a significantly higher risk of head and neck cancers. It is possible that the decreased activity of GST affects various functions like the mechanisms of DNA damage, including those mediated by tobacco and oxidative stress. The present study investigated whether homozygous gene deletions of GST M1 and GST T1 increases the incidence of head an...

Indian Journal of Biotechnology Vol 6 October 2007, pp 456-462 ... Genomic analysis of SNPs in breast cancer by using bioinformatics databases ... K Siva Sankar1, N Satish Chandra Reddy1, Kaiser Jamil1,2* and Vamsy C Mohana2 1Genetics Department, Bhagwan ...

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a viabilidade do emprego isolado e simultâneo dos mutantes rin, norA, og c e hp em heterozigose, em genótipos de tomateiro, visando à melhoria da qualidade pós-colheita dos frutos. Foram avaliados 18 genótipos que diferem quanto às combinações entre estes locos em dois diferentes backgrounds (FloraDade e background experimental). Contrastes não ortogonais foram estabelecidos para quantificar os efeitos dos alelos mutantes, isoladamente ou combinados em um mesmo genótipo, em dois backgrounds, sobre a produção total e produção precoce de frutos, massa média, firmeza, coloração externa, teores de licopeno e betacaroteno dos frutos. Os alelos norA e rin em heterozigose, no background FloraDade, desaceleraram a taxa de perda de firmeza e reduziram os teores de licopeno e betacaroteno nos frutos maduros. As combinações heterozigotas entre o mutante rin e os mutantes norA, og c e hp aumentaram a firmeza dos frutos. O efeito do genótipo rin+/rin nor+/no...

Sebuah perusahaan manufaktur yang bergerak pada industri makanan di Indonesia masih menggunakan mesin manual dalam proses packing. Proses ini membutuhkan lebih banyak tenaga kerja dan masih terdapat kondisi bottleneck. Perusahaan perlu meningkatkan efisiensi lini produksi, terutama pada packing line. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan jumlah dari stasiun kerja optimal dengan menggunakan metode terbaik, dan menentukan perencanaan yang optimal dari packing line. Kriteria evaluasi untuk metode terbaik adalah output dan proses, dan kriteria evaluasi untuk garis keseimbangan adalah garis efisiensi dan jumlah stasiun kerja. Empat pendekatan berbeda yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan analitis (Branch and Bound method), pendekatan heuristik (Rank Position Weight System method), pendekatan metaheuristic (Ant Colony Optimization method) dan pendekatan simulasi (metode COMSOAL). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa efisiensi jalur meningkat 12% dan jumlah stasiun kerja menurun menjadi 11 stasiun kerja. Perusahaan dapat mengurangi biaya tenaga kerja sebesar Rp 6.006.000 per bulan dengan perencanaan yang optimal.

Применение регрессионного анализа и нейронных сетей для построения моделей рынка смартфонов Honor Козич Полина Александровна Приамурский государственный университет имени Шолом-Алейхема Студент Баженов Руслан Иванович Приамурский государственный университет имени Шолом-Алейхема К.п.н., доцент, зав. кафедры информационных систем, математики и правовой информатики Аннотация В данной статье рассматривается применение и построение нейронной сети в Neural Network Wizard. Исследование производится на основе данных рынка смартфонов Honor. Экспериментальные данные были взяты с сайта dns-shop.ru. В результате исследования получены модели, позволяющие определить стоимость смартфона. Ключевые слова: нейронная сеть, Neural Network Wizard, смартфон, Honor.

A central issue in biological data analysis is that uncertainty, resulting from different factors of variability, may change the effect of the events being investigated. Therefore, robustness is a fundamental step to be considered. Robustness refers to the ability of a process to cope well with uncertainties, but the different ways to model both the processes and the uncertainties lead to many alternative conclusions in the robustness analysis. In this paper we apply a framework allowing to deal with such questions for mass spectrometry data. Specifically, we provide robust decisions when testing hypothesis over a case/control population of subject measurements (i.e. proteomic profiles). To this concern, we formulate (i) a reference model for the observed data (i.e., graphs), (ii) a reference method to provide decisions (i.e., test of hypotheses over graph properties) and (iii) a reference model of variability to employ sources of uncertainties (i.e., random graphs). We apply these models to a realcase study, analyzing the mass spectrometry profiles of the most common type of Renal Cell Carcinoma; the Clear Cell variant.

The application of waste rubber tires for ground improvement helps to improve the environment by recycling and reusing it as admixtures. This research aims to investigate the shear strength parameters of rubber-sand mixtures. By using crumb rubber with a constant size (425μm), the sand is replaced by different percentages (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10%) of crumb rubber by weight. A direct shear box test is used to determine the shear strength parameters of rubber-sand mixtures with two different controlled densities. The samples were loaded with normal stresses of 20, 40 and 80kPa and were sheared at a rate of 1mm/min. Although, this experiment discovered that crumb rubbers improve the shear strength parameters in loose sand, however, a reduction in shear strength parameters was found in dense sand. Moreover, it was observed that the inclusion of crumb rubbers into sand greatly improve the strain energy of both loose and dense sand. Likewise, rubber has a low unit weight which makes it ...

Rhizosphere microorganisms are essential for plant growth and development. Many factors, including environmental conditions, genotype, seed inoculation with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and plant growth stages, influence rhizosphere microbiology. In this study, the dynamics of nitrogen and microbiological soil status at different growth stages of two maize hybrids, as well as their grain yield were analyzed, under the influence of seed inoculation with inoculant containing Azotobacter chroococum, Azotobacter vinelandii, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus licheniformis on during three experimental years. Higher nitrogen amount (NA), total number of microorganisms (TNM), number of azotobacters (NAZ), number of aminoheterotrophs (NAM), total number of sporogenic bacteria (NS), number of actinomycetes (NAC), number of oligotrophic (NO) and grain yield, as well as lower number of fungi (NF) were obtained under favorable environmental conditions. The hybrid NS 6010 had highe...

Salataje povrtarska vrsta koja je vrlocenjenau dijetetskoj ishrani, a osetljiva je na zaslanjenje podloge. Salataje gajenatokom proleca i jesenikao pescanakultura. Za razlikuod kontrolnesalate koja je zalivana sa modifikovanim Hoagland-ovim rastvorom, salata kod koje je ispitivan utica] zaslanjenja zalivana je sa mineralnom vodom Sveti Dordeiz Torde, sa izrazito visokim stepenom zaslanjenja. Zaslanjena mineralna voda nije uticala na promenu prinosa salate, kao i sadriaja fosfora, kalijuma, natrijuma, vitamina C, hlorofila i p-karotina, alije dovela do smanjenja sadriaja azota (posebno nitratnog oblika]i povecanjasadriaja magnezijuma, sumpora i hlora, ito ne umanjuje njenu nutritivnu vrednost.

In India, a major part of the rural economy is dependent on the grazing-based livestock husbandry which is unique integration of agriculture and livestock coupled with rich traditional knowledge. Ecosystems of common property resources had been a mainstay in rural economy and livelihood. The traditional grazing forage resources in arid and semi-arid regions have deteriorated a lot due to various factors including heavy grazing pressure, climate change and dominance of invasive species, thus, needs rejuvenation. Additionally, these are causing serious economic and ecological problems such as poor productivity, soil and water erosion and reduced carbon sequestration. The genetic improvement of these grasses encounters various problems such as polyploidy, apomixis, seed shedding and shattering and poor seed to ovule ratio. Transfer of desirable traits from donor germplasm becomes difficult due to the existence of apomixis. The breeding objectives are also multifold including herbage yield, forage nutritional quality, abiotic stress tolerance etc. Identification of sexual lines is prerequisite for transfer of traits. Mutation attempts are also not effective due to polyploidy. ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi has collected rich genetic diversity in these range grasses especially Dichanthium-Bothriochloa complex, Heteropogon, Chrysopogon, Sehima, Panicum, Cenchrus, Pennisetum etc. from different parts of the country as well as procurement from gene banks of the world. These germplasm were evaluated for morphological traits which indicated the existence of wide variation for various morpho-agronomic traits. The paper deals with reporting the extent of variability among the potential range grasses; with prospects of utilizing the diversity in rejuvenating the degraded rangelands of India and other places with isoclimatic conditions.

This study looks into how using ChatGPT in statistics classes affects students' participation and motivation in UAE higher education. A difficult subject that is frequently seen negatively, statistics can lower students' motivation and involvement. This study investigates how such integration might enhance students' learning experiences by utilizing ChatGPT, an AI-driven platform that offers interactive and tailored help. Regression analysis was used in a quantitative study design to evaluate the connection between ChatGPT integration and shifts in student involvement and motivation. University students were given a structured survey to complete in order to get data on their motivation and level of involvement after utilizing ChatGPT for their statistics assignment. The findings show that ChatGPT has a statistically significant beneficial impact on motivation and engagement, indicating that AI-based tools can be crucial in fostering a more encouraging and stimulating learning environment. By demonstrating ChatGPT's capacity to satisfy students' demands for independence and individualized instruction, these results advance educational theory in line with Self-Determination Theory. In order to improve learning results and student happiness in higher education, the study's managerial implications for educational institutions suggest using AI tools to boost student motivation and engagement.

The primary goal of systems biologists is to understand the mechanics underlying complex, collective, self-organizing behaviors displayed by all living systems, from biofilm formation and wound healing to embryogenesis. Myxococcus xanthus is a soil bacterium used as a model organism to study biofilm self-organization. It has a relatively large genome and a complex life cycle that involves two distinct phases. M. xanthus cells can move on agar, and a few million cells will organize to form a predatory biofilm or "swarm" that grows and expands if placed on a nutrient-rich agar surface. If placed on a nutrient-poor agar surface, the same swarm will turn inward and contract, aggregating to form spore-filled multicellular fruiting bodies designed to survive periods of starvation. Extensive progress has been made in identifying genes and genetic pathways that regulate fruiting body formation. However, an accurate description of the dynamics that underlie the process of aggregation is still lacking, and there is still debate and disagreement on the subject. This dissertation provides some explanation regarding individual M. xanthus cell behavior during fruiting body formation, as well as the behavior of aggregates. In the first part of this work, we show that the transition from individual cells to the formation of multicellular aggregates can be controlled through relatively small changes in M. xanthus cell behavior; complicated cell-to-cell signaling, stigmergy (where a trace formed by a cell on an agar surface influences the movement of nearby cells that contact the trace), and cell differentiation are not required for aggregation. We propose that M. xanthus aggregation matches a physical phenomenon that has been characterized in non-living systems, called motility induced phase separation (MIPS). By studying non-reversing mutant cells and manipulating their velocities, we show that cell movement can be made to fall within the boundary of the phase region so that cells succeed in forming aggregates. Alternately, cell movement can be made to fall outside the boundary of the phase region so that cells fail to form aggregates. After the initial stages of aggregation, an M. xanthus swarm actively rearranges the number and relative positions of aggregates by causing some of them to move, merge, or disappear. In the second part of this work, we demonstrate that equations describing Ostwald ripening within a thin liquid film were able to predict aggregate behavior with high accuracy. Consistent with this theory, both relative aggregate size and the distance between aggregates influence the likelihood that a given aggregate will disappear. In general, in neighboring aggregates, the ones that are small and in close proximity will tend to shrink and disappear, while the larger, more isolated aggregates will likely persist and become permanent. By tracking individual cells around aggregates, we show that more cells are leaving shrinking, disappearing aggregates than entering them, while more cells are entering growing, persistent aggregates than leaving them. All of these data are in good agreement with the Ostwald ripening equations. In the last part of this work, we show that aggregation can break down in only a certain number of ways by analyzing single gene disruption of four paralogous gene families representing almost 400 genes. We found that gene families correlate with phenotype, suggesting possible redundancy. In conclusion, my dissertation data provides possible answers to some of the persistent questions regarding M. xanthus developmental dynamics.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), a leafy vegetal widely consumed worldwide, fresh cut or minimally processed, constitutes a major dietary source of natural antioxidants and bioactive compounds. In this study, reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UHPLC) coupled to electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time-offlight mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS) was applied for the comprehensive profiling of polar and semi-polar metabolites from three lettuce cultivars (baby, romaine, and iceberg). The UHPLC systems allowed the use of a small-particle-size C18 column (1.8 m), with very fine resolution for the separation of up to seven isomers, and the QTOF mass analyzer enabled sensitive detection with high mass resolution and accuracy in full scan. Thus, a total of 171 compounds were tentatively identified by matching their accurate mass signals and suggested molecular formula with those previously reported in family Asteraceae. Afterwards, their structures were also corroborated by the MS/MS data provided by the QTOF analyzer. Well-known amino acids, organic acids, sesquiterpene lactones, phenolic acids and flavonoids were characterized, e.g. lactucin, lactucopicrin, caftaric acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeoylmalic acid, chicoric acid, isochlorogenic acid A, luteolin, and quercetin glycosides. For this plant species, this is the first available report of several isomeric forms of the latter polyphenols and other types of components such as nucleosides, peptides, and tryptophan-derived alkaloids. Remarkably, 10 novel structures formed by the conjugation of known amino acids and sesquiterpene lactones were also proposed. Thus, the methodology applied is a useful option to develop an exhaustive metabolic profiling of plants that helps to explain their potential biological activities and folk uses.

Recently, the efficacy of probiotics in treatment of neurodegenerative disorders has been reported in animal and clinical studies. Here, we assessed the effects of Bacillus coagulans JA845 in counteracting the symptoms of D-galactose (D-gal)/AlCl 3 -induced Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a mice model through behavioral test, histological assessment and biochemical analysis. Ten weeks of pretreatment with B. coagulans JA845 prevented cognitive decline, attenuated hippocampal lesion and protected neuronal integrity, which demonstrated the neuroprotective features of B. coagulans JA845 in vivo. We also found that supplementation of B. coagulans JA845 alleviated amyloid-beta deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau in hippocampus of D-gal/AlCl 3 -induced AD model mice. Furthermore, B. coagulans JA845 administration attenuated oxidative stress and decreased serum concentration of inflammatory cytokines by regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 and MyD88/TRAF6/NF-κB pathway. Our results demonstrated for the first time that B. coagulans has the potential to help prevent cognitive decline and might be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

A chaotic neuron with hysteretic and creep characteristics is proposed based on the conventional chaotic neuron model, with which a neural network is constructed, and the synchronous control between the hysteretic creep chaotic neuron or neural network and the deterministic chaotic neuron or neural network is investigated by the sliding mode control. The hysteretic activation function of the neuron is constructed by shifting the sigmoid function. The hysteretic parameters have creep properties, which lead to the uncertain responses of the neurons. The equivalent sliding mode control law can be designed according to the error equation of the synchronous system, and the Lyapunov method is used to prove the stability of the system. Furthermore, fuzzy sliding mode control law is designed to restrain the chattering, to reduce the synchronous error, as well as to shorten the transition time. The validity of this method has been proved by simulation experiments.

The fluctuating two-ray (FTR) fading model provides a much better fit than other fading models for small-scale fading measurements in millimeter wave communications. In this paper, using a mixture of gamma distributions, new exact analytical expressions for the probability density and cumulative distribution functions of the FTR distribution with arbitrary fading parameters are presented. Moreover, the performance of digital communication systems over the FTR fading channel is evaluated in terms of the channel capacity and the bit error rate. The interaction between channel fading parameters and system performance is further investigated. Our newly derived results extend and complement previous knowledge of the FTR fading model.

We have previously shown that adenosine amine congener (ADAC), a selective A1adenosine receptor agonist, can ameliorate noise- and cisplatin-induced cochlear injury. Here we demonstrate the dose-dependent rescue effects of ADAC on noise-induced cochlear injury in a rat model and establish the time window for treatment.Methods. ADAC (25–300 μg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to Wistar rats (8–10 weeks old) at intervals (6–72 hours) after exposure to traumatic noise (8–16 kHz, 110 dB sound pressure level, 2 hours). Hearing sensitivity was assessed using auditory brainstem responses (ABR) before and 12 days after noise exposure. Pharmacokinetic studies investigated ADAC concentrations in plasma after systemic (intravenous) administration.Results. ADAC was most effective in the first 24 hours after noise exposure at doses>50 μg/kg, providing up to 21 dB protection (averaged across 8–28 kHz). Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated a short (5 min) half-life of ADAC in plasma after...

The fabrication of multi-level SU-8 microstructures using multiple coating and exposure steps and a single developing step has been achieved for up to six layers of SU-8. Alternating layers of SU-8 2010 (thin) and SU-8 2100 (thick) photoresist films were spin coated, followed by soft-bake, ultraviolet (UV) exposure and post-exposure bake steps. The multiple SU-8 layers were simultaneously developed to create patterned microstructures with overall thicknesses of up to 500 µm and minimum lateral feature size of 10 µm. The use of a single developing step facilitated fabrication of complex multi-level SU-8 microstructures that might be difficult, or even impossible, to achieve by sequential processing of multiple SU-8 layers that are individually coated, baked, exposed and developed.

Rutherford backscattering detected at grazing angle under channeling conditions was employed to observe and quantify surface structural damage to InP(100) produced by dielectric deposition methods involving direct 13.56 MHz r.f. plasma exposure. Sputter deposition at any plasma power produced surface damage, to a maximum depth of about 30/~ at power densities within the range 0.25-2.2 W cm-2. In contrast, damage due to plasma deposition was not observable at any plasma power density up to 0.32 W cm -2 for InP substrates at either 250 or 31 °C. This power level produced the high SiO2 deposition rate of 1500 .~, min-1. Thus plasma deposition is particularly applicable to InP, whereas diode sputter deposition should be avoided for any application in which structural damage may be detrimental.

Nowadays, businesses are growing day by day. The executives of these growing businesses have to be nested with business operations to get more profits, to increase customer satisfaction, and to create quick solutions for possible problems. Therefore, businesses benefit from mobile operators' institutional solutions for their executives to communicate with each other in any expected time and place and to obtain any data about business. In this paper, it is benefitted from fuzzy logic concept based on individual knowledge and experiences to select mobile line that offers the most economic, the best and the most suitable solutions for the business needs, between the choices for the businesses. In fuzzy logic, criteria and alternatives can be evaluated incrementally by linguistic variables and membership functions and there is a soften transition than classical logic between concepts. In the selection of corporate mobile line, decision making business mobile-line, decision making process is handled by using fuzzy logic approach for the personal preferences which are difficult to express numerically

The application of phage display technology to mammalian proteins with multiple transmembrane regions has had limited success due to the difficulty in generating these proteins in sufficient amounts and purity. We report here a method that can be easily and generally applied to sorting of phage display libraries with multispan protein targets solubilized in detergent. A key feature of this approach is the production of biotinylated multispan proteins in virions of a baculovirus vector that allows library panning without prior purification of the target protein. We obtained Fab fragments from a naı ¨ve synthetic antibody phage library that, when engineered into full-length immunoglobulin (Ig)G, specifically bind cells expressing claudin-1, a protein with four transmembrane regions that is used as an entry co-receptor by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Affinity-matured variants of one of these antibodies efficiently inhibited HCV infection. The use of baculovirus particles as a source of mammalian multispan protein facilitates the application of phage display to this difficult class of proteins.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and palm tree (Elaeis guianeensis) are crops with high biofuel yields, 7.6 m 3 ha À1 y À1 of ethanol and 4 Mg ha À1 y À1 of oil, respectively. The joint production of these crops enhances the sustainability of ethanol. The objective of this work was comparing a traditional sugarcane ethanol production system (TSES) with a joint production system (JSEB), in which ethanol and biodiesel are produced at the same biorefinery but only ethanol is traded. The comparison is based on ISO 14.040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006, and appropriate indicators. Production systems in Cerrado (typical savannah), Cerrada ˜o (woody savannah) and pastureland ecosystems were considered. Energy and carbon balances, and land use change impacts were evaluated. The joint system includes 100% substitution of biodiesel for diesel, which is all consumed in different cropping stages. Data were collected by direct field observation methods, and questionnaires applied to Brazilian facilities. Three sugarcane mills situated in Sa ˜o Paulo State and one palm oil refinery located in Para State were surveyed. The information was supplemented by secondary sources. Results demonstrated that fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions decreased, whereas energy efficiency increased when JSEB was compared to TSES. In comparison with TSES, the energy balance of JSEB was 1.7 greater. In addition, JSEB released 23% fewer GHG emissions than TSES. The ecosystem carbon payback time for Cerrado, Cerrada ˜o, and Degraded Grassland of JSEB was respectively 4, 7.7 and À7.6 years. These are typical land use types of the Brazilian Cerrado region for which JSEB was conceived.

The investigated petroleum acids have been isolated from middle oil fractions (b.p. 270-380?C) of Vojvodina crude oil "Kelebija." Group-structural analysis was performed with low resolution mass spectrometry using Field Ionization and Chemical Ionization. The identified carboxylic acids, CnH2n+zO2, belong to the series of monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic and tetracyclic carboxylic acids. Physiological activity of isolated petroleum acids was determined using aqueous solutions of potassium salts. High auxin activity was determined using the coleoptile test (20.5% increase in coleoptile) with petroleum acid concentration of 10-7M, and very high biological activity of gibberellin type was determined using the endosperm test (31.6% increase in concentration of reducing sugars) with petroleum acid concentration of 10-7M.

A half-adder (HA) and a full-adder (FA) using hybrid circuits combining three-gate single-electron transistors (TG-SETs) with metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs) are proposed. The proposed HA consists of three TG-SETs, two enhanced-mode NMOSFETs, and two depletion-mode NMOSFETs, and the proposed FA consists of eight TG-SETs, two enhanced-mode NMOSFETs, and two depletion-mode NMOSFETs. The complexities in the HA and the FA are 7 and 12, respectively, and the worst-case delays in the HA and the FA are 1.48 ns and 2.25 ns, respectively. Compared with the conventional CMOS FA with 0.35 μm technology, the proposed FA can be constructed with 0.43 of devices, and can operate with 3.5 of worst-case delay, 1/534 of average power consumption, and 1/152 of power-delay-product (PDP). The proposed HA and FA can be operated as a half-subtractor (HS) and a full-subtractor (FS) in the case when the levels of the control gates in the HA and the FA are fitly determined. The b...

The work aimed at developing a MRI-guided protocol for the visualization of the release of material entrapped in liposomes stimulated by the local application of pulsed low-intensity non-focused ultrasound (pLINFU). The task was achieved by formulating liposomes filled up with the clinically approved paramagnetic agent gadoteridol, because the release of the agent from the nanovesicles is accompanied by a significant MRI signal enhancement. The protocol was validated in vivo on mice-bearing subcutaneous syngeneic B16 melanoma and i.v. injected with the paramagnetic liposomes. Upon exposing tumor to pLINFU (3 MHz, insonation time 2 min, duty cycle 50%) few minutes after liposomes injection, a signal enhancement of ca. 35% was detected. The effective release of the agent was confirmed by the strong enhancement measured in kidneys calyx and bladder due to the rapid renal excretion of the agent released in the tumor.

A simple, safe, rapid and economical method was developed for the isolation of high-purity forskolin from Coleus forskohlii roots using activated charcoal as an adsorbent in a column. The elution was carried out under reduced pressure to make the process rapid. Activated charcoal acted as a reversed phase adsorbent and allowed elution of forskolin without much impurities. The residue, obtained from the eluate was purified and crystallized using different solvent mixtures to obtain pure forskolin. The forskolin isolated was analyzed and characterized by UV, IR, RP-HPLC, electrospray ionization MS, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR. The yield was 0.097% w/w (RSD 5.6%). The purity was 96.9% w/w (RSD 0.3%) as determined by RP-HPLC. The present method enables researchers to produce high-purity forskolin in their labs by using common chemicals.

Physicochemical properties of Swietenia humilis Zucc seed oils were determined along with its fatty acid composition, by using gas-liquid chromatography. The oil content found in the germ portion of the seeds was 45.38%. From physicochemical oil evaluations, an oil density of 0.9099 mg•ml -1 at 28°C; a refraction index of 1.4740 at 20°C; a saponification index of 159.55 mg KOH•g -1 ; a peroxide index of 0.739 meq O 2 •kg -1 , and 0.367% free fatty acid content were shown. From chromatographic oil evaluations, eight fatty acids were identified showing palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1 cis-9), linoleic (C18:2 cis-9,12), and linolenic (C18:3 cis-9,12,15) as the most predominant. The percentage of saturated, monounsatured and polyunsatured fatty acids were at 18.45, 29.27 and 47.50%, respectively. These results show that 'venadillo' oil has a high content of essential fatty acids, mainly linoleic and linolenic. Therefore, this oil shows promissory uses as nutritional component to reduce the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in blood, mostly from patients with higher cardiovascular disease risks.

The growing complexity of cybersecurity and the limited availability of skilled professionals contribute to the vulnerability of systems. Security experts traditionally use event logs to evaluate system security, identify vulnerabilities, and uncover potential cyberattacks. Analyzing these logs can be challenging and lengthy, particularly for those without specialized expertise. To overcome this challenge, automated systems are crucial for assisting both security professionals and those without specialized knowledge in analyzing security events. This research presents a novel method for automating the process of extracting and utilizing knowledge from security event logs. A new framework is presented that combines Association Rule Mining and Causal Inference to identify patterns and causal relationships within event log data. By leveraging machine learning techniques, the system automatically extracts critical security information and translates it into actionable recommendations for non-expert users, eliminating the need for continuous human intervention. The framework was experimentally validated in a university network environment at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), where it demonstrated 92% accuracy in event correlation, 95% accuracy in causal inference, and 85% usability for non-expert users. This proposed system provides a cost-effective and scalable solution for enhancing security across various environments, including small and large-scale ones. The proposed system significantly reduces the time and cost associated with manual log analysis, offering a scalable solution that can enhance security across small and large-scale environments. The findings highlight the potential of this method to improve system security while reducing reliance on specialized expertise, making it highly applicable in commercial contexts.

Measurements of the W ± → ± ν and Z → + -production cross sections (where ± = e ± , µ ± ) in proton-proton collisions at √ s = 13 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb -1 . The total inclusive W ± -boson production cross sections times the singlelepton-flavour branching ratios are σ tot W + = 11.83 ± 0.02 (stat) ± 0.32 (sys) ± 0.25 (lumi) nb and σ tot W -= 8.79 ± 0.02 (stat) ± 0.24 (sys) ± 0.18 (lumi) nb for W + and W -, respectively. The total inclusive Z-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window 66 < m < 116 GeV, is σ tot Z = 1.981 ± 0.007 (stat) ± 0.038 (sys) ± 0.042 (lumi) nb. The W + , W -, and Z-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The crosssection ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in σ fid W + /σ fid W -= 1.295±0.003 (stat)±0.010 (sys) and σ fid W ± /σ fid Z = 10.31±0.04 (stat)±0.20 (sys). Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and to next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements.

The deposition of thin copper based films onto carbon steel surface is described, using premixed flames with different oxygen/methane ratios doped with aqueous copper nitrate as precursor. We investigated the chemical properties of the copper as a function of oxygen/methane ratio. Using fuel rich flames (equivalence ratio 0.665), the deposited copper film was entirely metallic. When the equivalence ratio was increased to 0.850 or greater the copper film contained predominantly Cu 2 + . Furthermore, the flame can be used for post deposition modification, as demonstrated by reduction of Cu 2 + containing films to Cu metal. All the films were characterised by X-ray diffraction, Raman and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A rotating sample holder was employed to avoid over heating of the sample and the critical variables such as sample height in the flame and deposition time were optimised. Deposition for 20 min, which translated to a total residence time in the flame of approx. 76 s, produces metallic copper films of thickness 169 ± 18 nm as determined by anodic stripping and SEM. The microstructure of the metallic films was clearly composed of fused copper spheres of 100-150 nm, which are probably formed in the flame and subsequently deposited on the surface with good adhesion.

The aim of this study was to examine the physiological and genetic stability of the industrial wine yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus var. uvarum under acidic stress during fermentation. The yeasts were sub-cultured in aerobic or fermentative conditions in media with or without L-malic acid. Changes in the biochemical profiles, karyotypes, and mitochondrial DNA profiles were assessed after minimum 50 generations. All yeast segregates showed a tendency to increase the range of compounds used as sole carbon sources. The wild strains and their segregates were aneuploidal or diploidal. One of the four strains of S. cerevisiae did not reveal any changes in the electrophoretic profiles of chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA, irrespective of culture conditions. The extent of genomic changes in the other yeasts was strain-dependent. In the karyotypes of the segregates, the loss of up to 2 and the appearance up to 3 bands was noted. The changes in their mtDNA patterns were much broader, reaching 5 missing and 10 additional bands. The only exception was S. bayanus var. uvarum Y.00779, characterized by significantly greater genome plasticity only under fermentative stress. Changes in karyotypes and mtDNA profiles prove that fermentative stress is the main driving force of the adaptive evolution of the yeasts. L-malic acid does not influence the extent of genomic changes and the resistance of wine yeasts exhibiting increased demalication activity to acidic stress is rather related to their ability to decompose this acid. The phenotypic changes in segregates, which were found even in yeasts that did not reveal deviations in their DNA profiles, show that phenotypic characterization may be misleading in wine yeast identification. Because of yeast gross genomic diversity, karyotyping even though it does not seem to be a good discriminative tool, can be useful in determining the stability of wine yeasts. Restriction analysis of mitochondrial DNA appears to be a more sensitive method allowing for an early detection of genotypic changes in yeasts. Thus, if both of these methods are applied, it is possible to conduct the quick routine assessment of wine yeast stability in pure culture collections depositing industrial strains.

The Internet of Things environment supports the device-to-device communication. These devices respond to the events generated to serve various applications. The processing of these applications need reliable data dissemination to achieve accuracy in data distribution. In such cases, localization of events occurring in the environment becomes most crucial. Moreover, in heterogeneous IoT scenario, event localization may help in real time service delivery. This paper proposes a Direction of Arrival based event localization method for IoT environment. The proposed work uses auto-regression modeling to estimate the location of events. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is evaluated in IoT based environment.

Five yeast isolates obtained from cashew tree flowers in Nigeria resembled Cryptococcus neoformans phenotypically by producing brown pigmented colonies on niger seed agar, expressing a capsule, and being able to grow at 37 1C. However, rRNA gene sequences, including the 18S rRNA gene, the D1/D2 domains of the 26S rRNA gene and the ITS112 regions, suggested that these yeasts form a basal lineage within the Trichosporonales (Tremellomycetidae, Hymenomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi). Since the isolates could not be identified with any known genus and species within the Trichosporonales, we describe them as Cryptotrichosporon anacardii gen. et sp. nov. with CBS 9551 T ( = NRRL Y-27671) as the type strain. The taxonomic conflict between phenetic and molecular classification schemes within this group of fungi is discussed, and is resolved in favor of the latter.

Trots en förväntad framtid, med en växande äldremarknad som till en del är beredd att betala mer för bra vård, klart uttalade och allt större vårdbehov, ökande svårigheter att rekrytera vårdpersonal och en pressad ekonomi inom den svenska vården, har ingen marknadsmässig ...

Epithelial Cl -secretion plays important roles in water secretion preventing bacterial/viral infection and regulation of body fluid. We previously suggested that quercetin would be a useful compound for maintaining epithelial Cl -secretion at a moderate level irrespective of cAMP-induced stimulation. However, we need a compound that stimulates epithelial Cl -secretion even under cAMP-stimulated conditions, since in some cases epithelial Cl -secretion is not large enough even under cAMP-stimulated conditions. We demonstrated that quercetin and myricetin, flavonoids, stimulated epithelial Cl -secretion under basal conditions in epithelial A6 cells. We used forskolin, which activates adenylyl cyclase increasing cytosolic cAMP concentrations, to study the effects of quercetin and myricetin on cAMP-stimulated epithelial Cl -secretion. In the presence of forskolin, quercetin diminished epithelial Cl -secretion to a level similar to that with quercetin alone without forskolin. Conversely, myricetin further stimulated epithelial Cl -secretion even under forskolin-stimulated conditions. This suggests that the action of myricetin is via a cAMPindependent pathway. Therefore, myricetin may be a potentially useful compound to increase epithelial Cl -secretion under cAMPstimulated conditions. In conclusion, myricetin would be a useful compound for prevention from bacterial/viral infection even under conditions that the amount of water secretion driven by cAMP-stimulated epithelial Cl -secretion is insufficient.

The paper discusses two different approaches to the quality of service assessment in circuitand packet-switched networks. It shows the fundamental differences between these environments, traffic characteristics and their impact on key performance indicators. The author presents an example of quality evaluation in legacy and modern networks. He also highlights the multi-service character of current packet networks and underlines the need for diverse quality measures to describe individual services. The heterogeneous character of the Next Generation Networks determines new challenges in the area of quality assessment, which is also addressed here. The paper introduces the special session on Service Quality (ServQual), which is included in the Ninth International Conferences on Advanced Service Computing – Service Computation 2017, held in Athens, Greece. KeywordsQoS; QoE; benchmarking measurements, quality model, customer experience.