Search results for: cell detection

Authors: Tejinder Pal Singh, Ravinder Kumar Malik, Gurpreet Kaur

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Adhesion is key factor for colonization of the gastrointestinal tract and the ability of probiotic strains to inhibit pathogens. Therefore, the adhesion ability is considered as a suitable biomarker for the selection of potential probiotic. In the present study, eight probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri strains were evaluated as viable, LiCl treated or heat-killed forms and compared with probiotic reference strains (L. reuteri ATCC55730). All strains investigated were able to adhere to Caco-2 cells. All probiotic L. reuteri strains tested were able to inhibit and displace (P < 0.05) the adhesion of Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Salmonella typhi NCDC113, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC53135 and Enterococcus faecalis NCDC115. The probiotic strain L. reuteri LR6 showed the strongest adhesion and pathogen inhibition ability among the eight L. reuteri strains tested. In addition, the abilities to inhibit and to displace adhered pathogens depended on both the probiotic and the pathogen strains tested suggesting the involvement of various mechanisms. The adhesion and antagonistic potential of the probiotic strains were significantly decreased upon exposure to 5M LiCl, showing that surface molecules, proteinaceous in nature, are involved. The heat-killed forms of the probiotic L. reuteri strains also inhibited the attachment of selected pathogens to Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, in vitro assays showed that L. reuteri strains, as viable or heat-killed forms, are adherent to Caco-2 cell line model and are highly antagonistic to selected pathogens in which surface molecules, proteinaceous molecules in particular, plays an important role.

Keywords: probiotics, Lactobacillus reuteri, adhesion, Caco-2 cells

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Authors: Othman M. Hakami, Abdul Jabbar Al-Rajab

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Occurrence of heavy metals in water resources increased in the recent years albeit at low concentrations. Lead (PbII) is among the most important inorganic pollutants in ground and surface water. However, removal of this toxic metal efficiently from water is of public and scientific concern. In this study, we developed a rapid and efficient removal method of lead from water using chitosan/magnetite nanoparticles. A simple and effective process has been used to prepare chitosan/magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) (CS/Mag NPs) with effect on saturation magnetization value; the particles were strongly responsive to an external magnetic field making separation from solution possible in less than 2 minutes using a permanent magnet and the total Fe in solution was below the detection limit of ICP-OES (<0.19 mg L-1). The hydrodynamic particle size distribution increased from an average diameter of ~60 nm for Fe3O4 NPs to ~75 nm after chitosan coating. The feasibility of the prepared NPs for the adsorption and desorption of Pb(II) from water were evaluated using Chitosan/Magnetite NPs which showed a high removal efficiency for Pb(II) uptake, with 90% of Pb(II) removed during the first 5 minutes and equilibrium in less than 10 minutes. Maximum adsorption capacities for Pb(II) occurred at pH 6.0 and under room temperature were as high as 85.5 mg g-1, according to Langmuir isotherm model. Desorption of adsorbed Pb on CS/Mag NPs was evaluated using deionized water at different pH values ranged from 1 to 7 which was an effective eluent and did not result the destruction of NPs, then, they could subsequently be reused without any loss of their activity in further adsorption tests. Overall, our results showed the high efficiency of chitosan/magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) in lead removal from water in controlled conditions, and further studies should be realized in real field conditions.

Keywords: chitosan, magnetite, water, treatment

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Authors: Kyou Hee Shim, Hwa Sung Shin

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When a thrombolysis agent is administered to treat ischemic stroke, excessive reactive oxygen species are generated due to a sudden provision of oxygen and occurs secondary damage cell necrosis. Thus, it is necessary to administrate adjuvant as well as thrombolysis agent to protect and reduce damaged tissue. As cerebral blood vessels have specific structure called blood-brain barrier (BBB), it is not easy to transfer substances from blood to tissue. Therefore, development of a drug carrier is required to increase drug delivery efficiency to brain tissue. In this study, cyanobacterial pigment from the blue-green algae known for having neuroprotective effect as well as antioxidant effect was nasally administrated for bypassing BBB. In order to deliver cyanobacterial pigment efficiently, the nano-sized liposome was used as a carrier. Liposomes were coated with a positive charge of chitosan since negative residues are present at the nasal mucosa the first gateway of nasal administration. Characteristics of liposome including morphology, size and zeta potential were analyzed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and zeta analyzer. As a result of cytotoxic test, the liposomes were not harmful. Also, being administered a drug to the ischemic stroke animal model, we could confirm that the pharmacological effect of the pigment delivered by chitosan coated liposome was enhanced compared to that of non-coated liposome. Consequently, chitosan coated liposome could be considered as an optimized drug delivery system for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

Keywords: ischemic stroke, cyanobacterial pigment, liposome, chitosan, nasal administration

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Authors: Jafar Ahmadi, Zhohreh Asiaban, Sedigheh Fabriki Ourang

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Brassinosteroids (BRs) regulate cell elongation, vascular differentiation, senescence and stress responses. BRs signal through the BES1/BZR1 family of transcription factors, which regulate hundreds of target genes involved in this pathway. In this research a comprehensive genome-wide analysis was carried out in BES1/BZR1 gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana, Cucumis sativus, Vitis vinifera, Glycin max, and Brachypodium distachyon. Specifications of the desired sequences, dot plot and hydropathy plot were analyzed in the protein and genome sequences of five plant species. The maximum amino acid length was attributed to protein sequence Brdic3g with 374aa and the minimum amino acid length was attributed to protein sequence Gm7g with 163aa. The maximum Instability index was attributed to protein sequence AT1G19350 equal with 79.99 and the minimum Instability index was attributed to protein sequence Gm5g equal with 33.22. Aliphatic index of these protein sequences ranged from 47.82 to 78.79 in Arabidopsis thaliana, 49.91 to 57.50 in Vitis vinifera, 55.09 to 82.43 in Glycin max, 54.09 to 54.28 in Brachypodium distachyon 55.36 to 56.83 in Cucumis sativus. Overall, data obtained from our investigation contributes a better understanding of the complexity of the BES1/BZR1 gene family and provides the first step towards directing future experimental designs to perform systematic analysis of the functions of the BES1/BZR1 gene family.

Keywords: BES1/BZR1, brassinosteroids, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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Authors: Jianghao Hu, Hongyu Wang

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The effective and efficient human pose estimation algorithm is an important task for real-time human pose estimation on mobile devices. This paper proposes a light-weight human key points detection algorithm, Light-Weight Network for Real-Time Pose Estimation (LWPE). LWPE uses light-weight backbone network and depthwise separable convolutions to reduce parameters and lower latency. LWPE uses the feature pyramid network (FPN) to fuse the high-resolution, semantically weak features with the low-resolution, semantically strong features. In the meantime, with multi-scale prediction, the predicted result by the low-resolution feature map is stacked to the adjacent higher-resolution feature map to intermediately monitor the network and continuously refine the results. At the last step, the key point coordinates predicted in the highest-resolution are used as the final output of the network. For the key-points that are difficult to predict, LWPE adopts the online hard key points mining strategy to focus on the key points that hard predicting. The proposed algorithm achieves excellent performance in the single-person dataset selected in the AI (artificial intelligence) challenge dataset. The algorithm maintains high-precision performance even though the model only contains 3.9M parameters, and it can run at 225 frames per second (FPS) on the generic graphics processing unit (GPU).

Keywords: depthwise separable convolutions, feature pyramid network, human pose estimation, light-weight backbone

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Saad M. Darwish, Magda M. Madbouly, Murad B. Khorsheed

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Sign Languages (SL) are the most accomplished forms of gestural communication. Therefore, their automatic analysis is a real challenge, which is interestingly implied to their lexical and syntactic organization levels. Hidden Markov models (HMM’s) have been used prominently and successfully in speech recognition and, more recently, in handwriting recognition. Consequently, they seem ideal for visual recognition of complex, structured hand gestures such as are found in sign language. In this paper, several results concerning static hand gesture recognition using an algorithm based on Type-2 Fuzzy HMM (T2FHMM) are presented. The features used as observables in the training as well as in the recognition phases are based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). SVD is an extension of Eigen decomposition to suit non-square matrices to reduce multi attribute hand gesture data to feature vectors. SVD optimally exposes the geometric structure of a matrix. In our approach, we replace the basic HMM arithmetic operators by some adequate Type-2 fuzzy operators that permits us to relax the additive constraint of probability measures. Therefore, T2FHMMs are able to handle both random and fuzzy uncertainties existing universally in the sequential data. Experimental results show that T2FHMMs can effectively handle noise and dialect uncertainties in hand signals besides a better classification performance than the classical HMMs. The recognition rate of the proposed system is 100% for uniform hand images and 86.21% for cluttered hand images.

Keywords: hand gesture recognition, hand detection, type-2 fuzzy logic, hidden Markov Model

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Authors: Beng Yew Low, Cher Liang Cha, Cheng Yong Teoh

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Due to a lack of continual assessment or grade related data, identifying first-year engineering students in a polytechnic education at risk of failing is challenging. Our experience over the years tells us that there is no strong correlation between having good entry grades in Mathematics and the Sciences and excelling in hardcore engineering subjects. Hence, identifying students at risk of failure cannot be on the basis of entry grades in Mathematics and the Sciences alone. These factors compound the difficulty of early identification and intervention. This paper describes the development of a predictive analytics model in the early detection of students at risk of failing and evaluates its effectiveness. Data from continual assessments conducted in term one, supplemented by data of student psychological profiles such as interests and study habits, were used. Three classification techniques, namely Logistic Regression, K Nearest Neighbour, and Random Forest, were used in our predictive model. Based on our findings, Random Forest was determined to be the strongest predictor with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.994. Correspondingly, the Accuracy, Precision, Recall, and F-Score were also highest among these three classifiers. Using this Random Forest Classification technique, students at risk of failure could be identified at the end of term one. They could then be assigned to a Learning Support Programme at the beginning of term two. This paper gathers the results of our findings. It also proposes further improvements that can be made to the model.

Keywords: continual assessment, predictive analytics, random forest, student psychological profile

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Authors: Sanjeev Kumar Raghuwanshi, Yadvendra Singh

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The objective of this paper is to develop and optimize the Fiber Bragg (FBG) grating based Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor for monitoring the hazardous toxic chemicals and gases in underground mines or any industrial area. A fully cladded telecommunication standard FBG is proposed to develop to produce surface plasmon resonance. A thin few nm gold/silver film (subject to optimization) is proposed to apply over the FBG sensing head using e-beam deposition method. Sensitivity enhancement of the sensor will be done by adding a composite nanostructured Graphene Oxide (GO) sensing layer using the spin coating method. Both sensor configurations suppose to demonstrate high responsiveness towards the changes in resonance wavelength. The GO enhanced sensor may show increased sensitivity of many fold compared to the gold coated traditional fibre optic sensor. Our work is focused on to optimize GO, multilayer structure and to develop fibre coating techniques that will serve well for sensitive and multifunctional detection of hazardous chemicals. This research proposal shows great potential towards future development of optical fiber sensors using readily available components such as Bragg gratings as highly sensitive chemical sensors in areas such as environmental sensing.

Keywords: surface plasmon resonance, fibre Bragg grating, sensitivity, toxic gases, MATRIX method

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Authors: Maysoon Khalil Askar

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The delineation of possible areas of corrosion along the external face of an underground oil pipeline in Trunk line of Al- Garraf oil field was investigated using the horizontal electrical resistivity profiling technique and study the contribution of pH, Moisture Content in Soil and Presence chlorides, sulfates and total dissolve salts in soil and water. The test sites represent a physical and chemical properties of soils. The hydrogen-ion concentration of soil and groundwater range from 7.2 to 9.6, and the resistivity values of the soil along the pipeline were obtained using the YH302B model resistivity meter having values between 1588 and 720 Ohm-cm. the chloride concentration in soil and groundwater is high (more than 1000 ppm), total soulable salt is more than 5000 ppm, and sulphate range from 0.17% and 0.98% in soil and more than 600 ppm in groundwater. The soil is poor aeration, the soil texture is fine (clay and silt soil), the water content is high (the groundwater is close to surface), the chloride and sulphate is high in the soil and groundwater, the total soulable salt is high in ground water and finally the soil electric resistivity is low that the soil is very corrosive and there is the possibility of the pipeline failure. These methods applied in the study are quick, economic and efficient for detecting along buried pipelines which need to be protected. Routine electrical geophysical investigations along buried oil pipelines should be undertaken for the early detection and prevention of pipeline failure with its attendant environmental, human and economic consequences.

Keywords: soil resistivity, corrosion, cathodic protection, chloride concentration, water content

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Authors: B. Nageshwar Rao

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Urinary tract infection (UTI) represents the most commonly acquired bacterial infection worldwide, with substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. The objective of the study is to characterize the microbial profiles of uropathogenic in the obstetric population by RTPCR. Study design: An observational cross-sectional study was performed at a single tertiary health care hospital among 50 pregnant women with UTIs, including asymptomatic and symptomatic patients attending the outpatient department and inpatient department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.Methods: Serotyping and genes detection of various uropathogens were studied using RTPCR. Pulse filed gel electrophoresis methods were used to determine the various genetic profiles. Results: The present study shows that CsgD protein, involved in biofilm formation in Escherichia coli, VIM1, IMP1 genes for Klebsiella were identified by using the RTPCR method. Our results showed that the prevalence of VIM1 and IMP1 genes and CsgD protein in E.coli showed a significant relationship between strong biofilm formation, and this may be due to the prevalence of specific genes. Finally, the genetic identification of RTPCR results for both bacteria was correlated with each other and concluded that the above uropathogens were common isolates in producing Biofilm in the pregnant woman suffering from urinary tract infection in our hospital observational study.

Keywords: biofilms, Klebsiella, E.coli, urinary tract infection

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Authors: Yogesh Karunakar, Praveen Kandaswamy

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Mother’s milk provides the most superior source of nutrition to a child. There is no other substitute to the mother’s milk. Postpartum secretions like breast milk can be analyzed on the go for testing the presence of any harmful pathogen before a mother can feed the child or donate the milk for the milk bank. Since breast feeding is one of the main causes for transmission of diseases to the newborn, it is mandatory to test the secretions. In this paper, we describe the detection of pathogens like E-coli, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Zika and Ebola virus through an innovative method, in which we are developing a unique chip for testing the mother’s milk sample. The chip will contain an antibody specific to the target pathogen that will show a color change if there are enough pathogens present in the fluid that will be considered dangerous. A smart-phone camera will then be acquiring the image of the strip and using various image processing techniques we will detect the color development due to antigen antibody interaction within 5 minutes, thereby not adding to any delay, before the newborn is fed or prior to the collection of the milk for the milk bank. If the target pathogen comes positive through this method, then the health care provider can provide adequate treatment to bring down the number of pathogens. This will reduce the postpartum related mortality and morbidity which arises due to feeding infectious breast milk to own child.

Keywords: postpartum, fluids, camera, HIV, HCV, CMV, Zika, Ebola, smart-phones, breast milk, pathogens, image processing techniques

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Authors: Behnaz Moradijamei, Michael Higgins

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Identifying community structure is a critical task in analyzing social media data sets often modeled by networks. Statistical models such as the stochastic block model have proven to explain the structure of communities in real-world network data. In this work, we develop a goodness-of-fit test to examine community structure's existence by using a distinguishing property in networks: cyclic structures are more prevalent within communities than across them. To better understand how communities are shaped by the cyclic structure of the network rather than just the number of edges, we introduce a novel method for deciding on the existence of communities. We utilize these structures by using renewal non-backtracking random walk (RNBRW) to the existing goodness-of-fit test. RNBRW is an important variant of random walk in which the walk is prohibited from returning back to a node in exactly two steps and terminates and restarts once it completes a cycle. We investigate the use of RNBRW to improve the performance of existing goodness-of-fit tests for community detection algorithms based on the spectral properties of the adjacency matrix. Our proposed test on community structure is based on the probability distribution of eigenvalues of the normalized retracing probability matrix derived by RNBRW. We attempt to make the best use of asymptotic results on such a distribution when there is no community structure, i.e., asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis. Moreover, we provide a theoretical foundation for our statistic by obtaining the true mean and a tight lower bound for RNBRW edge weights variance.

Keywords: hypothesis testing, RNBRW, network inference, community structure

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Authors: Abdelmaoula Mahamoud Tahir, Sedat Sert

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The possibility of improving the shear strength of unsaturated clayey soil with the addition of olivine was investigated in this paper. Unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests (UU), under different cell pressures (namely: 100 kPa and 200 kPa), with varying percentages of olivine (10% and 20% by weight) and with one day, 28 days, and 56 days curing times, were performed to determine the shear strength of the soil. The increase in strength was observed as a function of the increase in olivine content. An olivine content of 25% was determined as the optimum value to achieve the targeted improvement for both cure times. A comparative study was also conducted between clay samples treated with only olivine and others in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH). Clay samples treated with olivine and activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) had higher shear strength than non-activated olivine-treated samples. It was determined that the strength of the clay samples treated with only olivine did not increase over time and added resistance only with the high specific gravity of olivine. On the other hand, the samples activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) added to the resistance with high specific gravity and the chemical bonds of olivine. Morphological and mineralogical analyzes were carried out in this study to see and analyze the chemical bonds formed after the reaction. The main components of this improvement were the formation of magnesium-aluminate-hydrate and magnesium-silicate-hydrate. Compared to older methods such as cement addition, these results show that in stabilizing clayey soils, olivine additive offers an energy-efficient alternative for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Keywords: ground stabilization, clay, olivine additive, KOH, microstructure

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Authors: Luca Collini, Michele Antolotti, Diego Schiavi

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At present, complex geometries within production time shrinkage, rapidly increasing demand, and high-quality standard requirement make the non-destructive (ND) control of additively manufactured components indispensable means. On the other hand, a technology gap and the lack of standards regulating the methods and the acceptance criteria indicate the NDT of these components a stimulating field to be still fully explored. Up to date, penetrant testing, acoustic wave, tomography, radiography, and semi-automated ultrasound methods have been tested on metal powder based products so far. External defects, distortion, surface porosity, roughness, texture, internal porosity, and inclusions are the typical defects in the focus of testing. Detection of density and layers compactness are also been tried on stainless steels by the ultrasonic scattering method. In this work, the authors want to present and discuss the radiographic and the ultrasound ND testing on additively manufactured Ti₆Al₄V and inconel parts obtained by the selective laser melting (SLM) technology. In order to test the possibilities given by the radiographic method, both X-Rays and γ-Rays are tried on a set of specifically designed specimens realized by the SLM. The specimens contain a family of defectology, which represent the most commonly found, as cracks and lack of fusion. The tests are also applied to real parts of various complexity and thickness. A set of practical indications and of acceptance criteria is finally drawn.

Keywords: non-destructive testing, selective laser melting, radiography, UT method

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Authors: Sahar Ehsani, David James, Vernon Hodge

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In this experimental study, total selenium in solution was measured with Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, GFAAS, then chemical reactions with sodium borohydride were used to reduce selenite to hydrogen selenide. Hydrogen selenide was then stripped from the solution by purging the solution with nitrogen gas. Since the two main speciations in oxic waters are usually selenite, Se(IV) and selenate, Se(VI), it was assumed that after Se(IV) is removed, the remaining total selenium was Se(VI). Total selenium measured after stripping gave Se(VI) concentration, and the difference of total selenium measured before and after stripping gave Se(IV) concentration. An additional step of reducing Se(VI) to Se(IV) was performed by boiling the stripped solution under acidic conditions, then removing Se(IV) by a chemical reaction with sodium borohydride. This additional procedure of removing Se(VI) from the solution is useful in rare cases where the water sample is reducing and contains selenide speciation. In this study, once Se(IV) and Se(VI) were both removed from the water sample, the remaining total selenium concentration was zero. The method was tested to determine Se(IV) and Se(VI) in both purified water and synthetic irrigation water spiked with Se(IV) and Se(VI). Average recovery of spiked samples of diluted synthetic irrigation water was 99% for Se(IV) and 97% for Se(VI). Detection limits of the method were 0.11 µg L⁻¹ and 0.32 µg L⁻¹ for Se(IV) and Se(VI), respectively.

Keywords: Analytical Method, Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Selenate, Selenite, Selenium Speciations

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Authors: Felipe A. Guth, Shane Ward, Kevin McDonnell

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The assessment of disease levels in crop fields is an important and time-consuming task that generally relies on expert knowledge of trained individuals. Image classification in agriculture problems historically has been based on classical machine learning strategies that make use of hand-engineered features in the top of a classification algorithm. This approach tends to not produce results with high accuracy and generalization to the classes classified by the system when the nature of the elements has a significant variability. The advent of deep convolutional neural networks has revolutionized the field of machine learning, especially in computer vision tasks. These networks have great resourcefulness of learning and have been applied successfully to image classification and object detection tasks in the last years. The objective of this work was to propose a new method based on deep learning convolutional neural networks towards the task of disease level monitoring. Common RGB images of winter wheat were obtained during a growing season. Five categories of disease levels presence were produced, in collaboration with agronomists, for the algorithm classification. Disease level tasks performed by experts provided ground truth data for the disease score of the same winter wheat plots were RGB images were acquired. The system had an overall accuracy of 84% on the discrimination of the disease level classes.

Keywords: crop disease assessment, deep learning, precision agriculture, residual neural networks

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Authors: Redouane Krini, Lutz Nuhn, Hicham El Mard Cheol Woo Ha, Yoondeok Han, Kwang-Sup Lee, Dong-Yol Yang, Jinsoo Joo, Rudolf Zentel

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To use Quantum Dots (QDs) in the two photon initiated polymerization technique (TPIP) for 3D patternings, QDs were modified on the surface with photosensitive end groups which are able to undergo a photopolymerization. We were able to fabricate fluorescent 3D lattice structures using photopatternable QDs by TPIP for photonic devices such as photonic crystals and metamaterials. The QDs in different diameter have different emission colors and through mixing of RGB QDs white light fluorescent from the polymeric structures has been created. Metamaterials are capable for unique interaction with the electrical and magnetic components of the electromagnetic radiation and for manipulating light it is crucial to have a negative refractive index. In combination with QDs via TPIP technique polymeric structures can be designed with properties which cannot be found in nature. This makes these artificial materials gaining a huge importance for real-life applications in photonic and optoelectronic. Understanding of interactions between nanoparticles and biological systems is of a huge interest in the biomedical research field. We developed a synthetic strategy of polymer functionalized nanoparticles for biomedical studies to obtain hybrid systems of QDs and copolymers with a strong binding network in an inner shell and which can be modified in the end through their poly(ethylene glycol) functionalized outer shell. These hybrid systems can be used as models for investigation of cell penetration and drug delivery by using measurements combination between CryoTEM and fluorescence studies.

Keywords: biomedical study models, lithography, photo induced polymerization, quantum dots

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Authors: Subir Gupta, Subhas Ganguly

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In this paper, we demonstrate the new area of application of image processing in metallurgical images to develop the more opportunity for structure-property correlation based approaches of alloy design. The present exercise focuses on the development of image processing tools suitable for phrase segmentation, grain boundary detection and recognition of micro-constituents in SEM micrographs of ferrite and pearlite steels. A comprehensive data of micrographs have been experimentally developed encompassing the variation of ferrite and pearlite volume fractions and taking images at different magnification (500X, 1000X, 15000X, 2000X, 3000X and 5000X) under scanning electron microscope. The variation in the volume fraction has been achieved using four different plain carbon steel containing 0.1, 0.22, 0.35 and 0.48 wt% C heat treated under annealing and normalizing treatments. The obtained data pool of micrographs arbitrarily divided into two parts to developing training and testing sets of micrographs. The statistical recognition features for ferrite and pearlite constituents have been developed by learning from training set of micrographs. The obtained features for microstructure pattern recognition are applied to test set of micrographs. The analysis of the result shows that the developed strategy can successfully detect the micro constitutes across the wide range of magnification and variation of volume fractions of the constituents in the structure with an accuracy of about +/- 5%.

Keywords: SEM micrograph, metallurgical image processing, ferrite pearlite steel, microstructure

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Authors: Swati Bishnoi, D. Haranath, Vinay Gupta

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In this work, we demonstrate that the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) could be improved significantly by using ZnO doped with Aluminum (Al) and Europium (Eu) as cathode buffer layer (CBL). The ZnO:Al,Eu nanoparticle layer has broadband absorption in the ultraviolet (300-400 nm) region. The Al doping contributes to the enhancement in the conductivity whereas Eu doping significantly improves emission in the visible region. Moreover, this emission overlaps with the absorption range of polymer poly [N -9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′- benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) significantly and results in an enhanced absorption by the active layer and hence high photocurrent. An increase in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.8% has been obtained for ZnO: Al,Eu CBL as compared to 5.9% for pristine ZnO, in the inverted device configuration ITO/CBL/active layer/MoOx/Al. The active layer comprises of a blend of PCDTBT donor and [6-6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) acceptor. In the reference device pristine ZnO has been used as CBL, whereas in the other one ZnO:Al,Eu has been used as CBL. The role of the luminescent CBL layer is to down-shift the UV light into visible range which overlaps with the absorption of PCDTBT polymer, resulting in an energy transfer from ZnO:Al,Eu to PCDTBT polymer and the absorption by active layer is enhanced as revealed by transient spectroscopy. This enhancement resulted in an increase in the short circuit current which contributes in an increased PCE in the device employing ZnO: Al,Eu CBL. Thus, the luminescent ZnO: Al, Eu nanoparticle CBL has great potential in organic solar cells.

Keywords: cathode buffer layer, energy transfer, organic solar cell, power conversion efficiency

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Authors: Juan Patricio Ibáñez, Exequiel López

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A method for synthesizing copper nanoparticles through an electrochemical approach is proposed, employing surfactants to stabilize the size of the newly formed nanoparticles. The electrolyte was made up of a matrix of H₂SO₄ (190 g/L) having Cu²⁺ (from 3.2 to 9.5 g/L), sodium dodecyl sulfate -SDS- (from 0.5 to 1.0 g/L) and Tween 80 (from 0 to 7.5 mL/L). Tween 80 was used in a molar relation of 1 to 1 with SDS. A glass cell was used, which was in a thermostatic water bath to keep the system temperature, and the electrodes were cathodic copper as an anode and stainless steel 316-L as a cathode. This process was influenced by the control exerted through the initial copper concentration in the electrolyte and the applied current density. Copper nanoparticles of electrolytic purity, exhibiting a spherical morphology of varying sizes with low dispersion, were successfully produced, contingent upon the chemical composition of the electrolyte and current density. The minimum size achieved was 3.0 nm ± 0.9 nm, with an average standard deviation of 2.2 nm throughout the entire process. The deposited copper mass ranged from 0.394 g to 1.848 g per hour (over an area of 25 cm²), accompanied by an average Faradaic efficiency of 30.8% and an average specific energy consumption of 4.4 kWh/kg. The chemical analysis of the product employed X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), while physical characteristics such as size and morphology were assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was identified that the initial concentration of copper and the current density are the variables defining the size and dispersion of the nanoparticles, as they serve as reactants in the cathodic half-reaction. The presence of surfactants stabilizes the nanoparticle size as their molecules adsorb onto the nanoparticle surface, forming a thick barrier that prevents mass transfer with the exterior and halts further growth.

Keywords: copper nanopowder, electrochemical synthesis, current density, surfactant stabilizer

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Authors: Mewa Singh

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Nanomedicine, a fusion of nanotechnology and medicine, is an emerging technology ideally suited to the targeted therapies. Nanoparticles overcome the low selectivity of anti-cancer drugs toward the tumor as compared to normal tissue and hence result-in less severe side-effects. Our new technology, HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™, uses a new molecule (MR007) in the creation of nanoparticles that not only helps in nanonizing the medicine but also provides synergy to the medicine. The simplified manufacturing process will result in reduced manufacturing costs. Treatment is made more convenient because hybrid nanomedicines can be produced in oral, injectable or transdermal formulations. The manufacturing process uses no protein, oil or detergents. The particle size is below 180 nm with a narrow distribution of size. Importantly, these properties confer great stability of the structure. The formulation does not aggregate in plasma and is stable over a wide range of pH. The final hybrid formulation is stable for at least 18 months as a powder. More than 97 drugs, including paclitaxel, docetaxel, tamoxifen, doxorubicinm prednisone, and artemisinin have been nanonized in water soluble formulations. Preclinical studies on cell cultures of tumors show promising results. Our HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™ platform enables the design and development of hybrid nano-pharmaceuticals that combine efficacy with tolerability, giving patients hope for both extended overall survival and improved quality of life. This study would discuss or present this new discovery of HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™ which targets drug delivery, synergistic, and potentiating effects, and barriers of drug delivery and advanced drug delivery systems.

Keywords: nano-medicine, nano-particles, drug delivery system, pharmaceuticals

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Authors: Mst Ilme Faridatul, Bo Wu

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Multi-temporal urban land cover mapping is of paramount importance for monitoring urban sprawl and managing the ecological environment. For diversified urban activities, it is challenging to map land covers in a complex urban environment. Spectral indices have proved to be effective for mapping urban land covers. To improve multi-temporal urban land cover classification and mapping, we evaluate the performance of three spectral indices, e.g. modified normalized difference bare-land index (MNDBI), tasseled cap water and vegetation index (TCWVI) and shadow index (ShDI). The MNDBI is developed to evaluate its performance of enhancing urban impervious areas by separating bare lands. A tasseled cap index, TCWVI is developed to evaluate its competence to detect vegetation and water simultaneously. The ShDI is developed to maximize the spectral difference between shadows of skyscrapers and water and enhance water detection. First, this paper presents a comparative analysis of three spectral indices using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM), Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. Second, optimized thresholds of the spectral indices are imputed to classify land covers, and finally, their performance of enhancing multi-temporal urban land cover mapping is assessed. The results indicate that the spectral indices are competent to enhance multi-temporal urban land cover mapping and achieves an overall classification accuracy of 93-96%.

Keywords: land cover, mapping, multi-temporal, spectral indices

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Authors: Arab M., Ait Abdallah M., Zeraoulia N., Boumaza H., Aoutia M., Griene L., Ait Abdelkader B.,

Abstract:

breast and ovarian cancer are respectively the first and fourth leading causes of cancer among women in Algeria. A family story of cancer in the most important risk factor, and in most cases of families with breast and /or ovarian cancer, the pattern of cancer family can be attributed to mutation in BRCA1/2genes. objectibes: the aim of our study in to investigate the spectrum of BRCA1/2 germiline mutation in familial breast and /or ovarian cancer and to determine the prevalence and the nature of BRCA1/2mutation in Algeria methods: we deremined the prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutation within a cohort of 161 probands selected according the eisinger score double stranded sanger sequencing of all coding exons of BRCA1/2including flanking intronic region were performed results: we identified a total of 23 distinct deleterious mutations (class5) 12 differents mutations in BRCA1(52%) and 11 in BRCA2(48%). 78% (18/23) were protein truncating and 22%(5/23) missens mutations.3 novel deleterious mutations have been identified, which have not been described in public mutation database. one new mutation were found in two unrelated patients. the overall mutation detection rate in our study is 28,5%(46/161).more over, an UVS c7783 located in BRCA2 is found in two unrelated probands and segregate in the 02 families/ conclusion: our results sugget of large spectrum of BRCA1/2 mutation in Algerian breast/ovarian cancer family. The nature and prevalence of BRCA1/2mutation in algerian families are ongoing in a larger study, 80 probands are to day under investigation. This study which may therefore identify the genetic particularity of Algerian breast /ovarian cancer.

Keywords: BRCA1/2 mutations, hereditary breast cancer, algerian women, prvalence

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Authors: Vincent Iacobellis, Kamran Behdinan

Abstract:

A finite element cohesive zone model is used to predict the temperature dependent material properties of a polyimide matrix composite with unidirectional carbon fiber arrangement. The cohesive zone parameters have been obtained from previous research involving an atomistic-to-continuum multiscale simulation of the fiber-matrix interface using the bridging cell multiscale method. The goal of the research was to both investigate the effect of temperature change on the composite behavior with respect to transverse loading as well as the validate the use of cohesive parameters obtained from atomistic-to-continuum multiscale modeling to predict fiber-matrix interfacial cracking. From the multiscale model cohesive zone parameters (i.e. maximum traction and energy of separation) were obtained by modeling the interface between the coarse-grained polyimide matrix and graphite based carbon fiber. The cohesive parameters from this simulation were used in a cohesive zone model of the composite microstructure in order to predict the properties of the macroscale composite with respect to changes in temperature ranging from 21 ˚C to 316 ˚C. Good agreement was found between the microscale RUC model and experimental results for stress-strain response, stiffness, and material strength at low and high temperatures. Examination of the deformation of the composite through localized crack initiation at the fiber-matrix interface also agreed with experimental observations of similar phenomena. Overall, the cohesive zone model was shown to be both effective at modeling the composite properties with respect to transverse loading as well as validated the use of cohesive zone parameters obtained from the multiscale simulation.

Keywords: cohesive zone model, fiber-matrix interface, microscale damage, multiscale modeling

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Authors: E. M. Vieira, C. S. Vieira, L. P. Bonifácio, L. M. de Oliveira Ciabati, A. C. A. Franzon, F. S. Zaratini, J. A. C. Sanchez, M. S. Andrade, J. P. Dias de Souza

Abstract:

The quality of prenatal care is key to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Communication between the health service and users can stimulate prevention and care. M-health has been an important and low cost strategy to health education. The PRENACEL programme (prenatal in the cell phone) was developed. It consists of a programme of information via SMS from the 20^th week of pregnancy up to 12^th week after delivery. Messages were about prenatal care, birth, contraception and breastfeeding. Communication of the pregnant woman asking questions about their health was possible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of PRENACEL as a useful complement to the standard prenatal care. Twenty health clinics were selected and randomized by cluster, 10 as the intervention group and 10 as the control group. In the intervention group, women and their partner were invited to participate. The control group received the standard prenatal care. All women were interviewed in the immediate post-partum and in the 12^th and 24^th week post-partum. Most women were married, had more than 8 years of schooling and visit the clinic more than 6 times during prenatal care. The intervention group presented lowest percentage of higher economic participants (5.6%), less single mothers and no drug user. It also presented more prenatal care visits than the control group and it was less likely to present Severe Acute Maternal Mortality when compared to control group as well as higher percentage of partners (75.4%) was present at the birth compared to control group. Although the study is still being carried out, preliminary data are showing positive results of the compliance of women to prenatal care.

Keywords: cellphone, health technology, prenatal care, prevention

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Authors: Arefeh Jafarian, Mohammad Taghikani, Saied Abroun, Amir Allahverdi, Masoud Soleimani

Abstract:

Introduction: The miRNAs have key roles in control of pancreatic islet development and insulin secretion. In this regards, current study investigated the pancreatic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) by up-regulation of miR-375 and down-regulation of miR-9 by lentiviruses containing miR-375 and anti-miR-9. Findings: After 21 days of induction, islet-like clusters containing insulin producing cells (IPCs) were confirmed by dithizone (DTZ) staining. The IPCs and β cell specific related genes and proteins were detected using qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence on days 7, 14 and 21 of differentiation. Glucose challenge test was performed at different concentrations of glucose as well as extracellular and intracellular insulin and C-peptide were assayed using ELISA kit. In derived IPCs by miR-375 alone are capable to express insulin and other endocrine specific transcription factors, the cells lack the machinery to respond to glucose. The differentiated hMSCs by miR-375 and anti-miR-9 lentiviruses could secrete insulin and c-peptide in a glucose-regulated manner. Conclusion: It was found that over-expression of miR-375 led to a reduction in levels of Mtpn protein in derived IPCs, while treatment with anti-miR-9 following miR-375 over-expression had synergistic effects on MSCs differentiation and insulin secretion in a glucose-regulated manner. The researchers reported that silencing of miR-9 increased OC-2 protein in IPCs that may contribute to the observed glucose-regulated insulin secretion. These findings highlight miRNAs functions in stem cells differentiation and suggest that they could be used as therapeutic tools for gene-based therapy in diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: diabetes, differentiation, MSCs, insulin producing cells, miR-375, miR-9

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Authors: Hasan Basri Jumin, Danil Endriand Basri

Abstract:

Isolated protoplast from embryogenic callus of orange Jessamine (Murraya paniculata L. (Jack) cultured and maintained under growth chamber at the temperature +25oC. The parameter observed are the plating efficiency, the number of spherical embryos, heard-shaped embryos-like structure, shoot formation, and plantlets obtained. Treatment was arranged with 0.0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 or 1.0 mg 1-1 Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and 0, 300, 500 mg 1/l malt extract (ME) and 0.M sorbitol in the medium with 2.5 % sucrose. Interaction between 0.001 mg/l NAA and 500 mg/l was observed the higher percentage of planting efficiency. For embryo development from callus, the media was added to 0.0 mg/l, 0.001 mg/l, 0.01 ,mg/l, 0.1 mg/l, 1.0 mg/l NAA, and 1.0 %, 2.0 %, 3.0 %, 4.0 % sucrose. Media supplemented with 0.01mg/l NAA, and 1.0% sucrose was found to be a suitable medium for the development of spherical somatic embryos. A combination of 0.1 mg/ indole acetic acid (IAA) and 0.1 mg/l zeatin constituted the spherical somatic embryo became heart-shaped embryos-like structure. A combination between GA3 0.1 mg 1/l GA3 and 0.1 mg 1-1 zeatin is looking high, growing the heart-shaped embryos-like structure to form a shoot. Cells were developed into spherical embryos and grew into heart-shaped embryos, and then spherical somatic embryos developed into shoot formation. Sequence from single protoplast to plantlets was obtained by using a low concentration of plant growth regulator and sucrose; This recovery of single protoplast to be completed plantlets is a new technology in plant cell culture, and this could be used in genetic engineering in citrus.

Keywords: heart-shaped-embryos-like-structure, Muraya-paniculata, plant-growth-regulator, spherical- somatic-embryo, single protoplast, glucose

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Authors: Howaida I. Abd-Alla, Nagwa M. M. Shalaby

Abstract:

The fruit rind of Fortunella margarita (Nagami Kumkuat) was investigated for its chemical constituents. Thirteen metabolites were obtained and classified into, a sterol; β-sitosterol (1) and twelve phenolic compounds, three coumarins; xanthotoxin (2), isopimpinellin (3), umbelliferone (4), nine flavonoids of O-glycosides of flavone; apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), apigenin-7-O-rhamnoglucoside (rhoifolin) (6), C-glycosides; vitexin (7), vicenin II (8), and the methoxylated; 6-methoxyapigenin-7-methyl ether (9) and tangeretin (10) as well as flavanones class; naringenin (11), liquiritigenin (12), hesperdin (hesperetin-7-rhamnoglucoside) (13). All compounds were identified for the first time in F. margarita except compound (8). The major glycosides 5, 6, and 13 and total crude extract showed potential antiviral activity against live Newcastle disease virus vaccine strains (Komarov and LaSota) and live infectious bursitis viruses vaccine strain D78 replication in VERO cell cultures and on specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs. Antiviral inhibitory concentration fifty (IC50), cytotoxic concentration fifty (CC50), and therapeutic index (TI) were calculated. In addition, the extract and compounds 7 and 13 showed marked antimicrobial activity against different strains of fungi, Gram-positive and negative bacteria, including some foodborne pathogens of animal origin, caused human disease. These results suggested that the extract of F. margarita may be considered potentially useful as a source of natural antiviral and antimicrobial agents. It can be used as an ingredient for functional food and/or pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: antimicrobial, antiviral, Fortunella margarita, Nagami Kumkuat, phenolic secondary metabolites

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Authors: Gyati Shilakari Asthana, Abhay Asthana

Abstract:

Purpose: The therapeutic potential of oligonucleotide (ODN) is primarily dependent upon its safe and efficient delivery to specific cells overcoming degradation and maximizing cellular uptake in vivo. The present study is focused to design low molecular weight chitosan nanoconstructs to meet the requirements of safe and effectual delivery of ODNs. LMW-chitosan is a biodegradable, water soluble, biocompatible polymer and is useful as a non-viral vector for gene delivery due to its better stability in water. Methods: LMW chitosan ODN nanoparticles (CHODN NPs) were formulated by self assembled method using various N/P ratios (moles ratio of amine groups of CH to phosphate moieties of ODNs; 0.5:1, 1:1, 3:1, 5:1 and 7:1) of CH to ODN. The developed CHODN NPs were evaluated with respect to gel retardation assay, particle size, zeta potential and cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency. Results: Complete complexation of CH/ODN was achieved at the charge ratio of 0.5:1 or above and CHODN NPs displayed resistance against DNase I. On increasing the N/P ratio of CH/ODN, particle size of the NPs decreased whereas zeta potential (ZV) value increased. No significant toxicity was observed at all CH concentrations. The transfection efficiency was increased on increasing N/P ratio from 1:1 to 3:1, whereas it was decreased with further increment in N/P ratio upto 7:1. Maximum transfection of CHODN NPs with both the cell lines (Raw 267.4 cells and Hela cells) was achieved at N/P ratio of 3:1. The results suggest that transfection efficiency of CHODN NPs is dependent on N/P ratio. Conclusion: Thus the present study states that LMW chitosan nanoparticulate carriers would be acceptable choice to improve transfection efficiency in vitro as well as in vivo delivery of oligonucleotide.

Keywords: LMW-chitosan, chitosan nanoparticles, biocompatibility, cytotoxicity study, transfection efficiency, oligonucleotide

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Authors: Mehdi Abbasi, Shadan Navid, Mohammad Pourahmadi, M. Majidi Zolbin

Abstract:

We have recently reported that melatonin as antioxidant enhances the efficacy of colonization of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Melatonin as an antioxidant plays a vital role in the development of SSCs in vitro. This study aimed to investigate evaluation of sertoli cells and melatonin simultaneously on SSC proliferation following transplantation to testis of adult mouse busulfan-treated azoospermia model. SSCs and sertoli cells were isolated from the testes of three to six-day old male mice.To determine the purity, Flow cytometry technique using PLZF antibody were evaluated. Isolated testicular cells were cultured in αMEM medium in the absence (control group) or presence (experimental group) of sertoli cells and melatonin extract for 2 weeks. We then transplanted SSCs by injection into the azoospermia mice model. Higher viability, proliferation, and Id4, Plzf, expression were observed in the presence of simultaneous sertoli cells and melatonin in vitro. Moreover, immunocytochemistry results showed higher Oct4 expression in this group. Eight weeks after transplantation, injected cells were localized at the base of seminiferous tubules in the recipient testes. The number of spermatogonia and the weight of testis were higher in the experimental group relative to control group. The results of our study suggest that this new protocol can increase the transplantation of these cells can be useful in the treatment of male infertility.

Keywords: colonization, melatonin, spermatogonial stem cell, transplantation

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