Xeno-Free Biomimetic ECM Model for Investigation of Matrix Composition and Stiffness on Astrocyte Cell Response.

Astrocytes, highly specialized glial cells, play a critical role in neuronal function. Variations in brain extracellular matrix (ECM) during development and disease can significantly alter astrocyte cell function. Age-related changes in ECM properties have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Photochemically-Driven CO Release Using a Metastable-State Photoacid for Energy Efficient Direct Air Capture.

One of the grand challenges underlying current direct air capture (DAC) technologies relates to the intensive energy cost for sorbent regeneration and CO release, making the massive scale (GtCO /year) deployment required to have a positive impact on climate change economically unfeasible. This challenge underscores the critical need to develop new DAC processes with substantially reduced regeneration energies. Here, we report a photochemically-driven approach for CO release by exploiting the unique properties of an indazole metastable-state photoacid (mPAH).

Novel quinoline/thiazinan-4-one hybrids; design, synthesis, and molecular docking studies as potential anti-bacterial candidates against MRSA.

In an attempt to develop effective and safe antibacterial agents, we synthesized novel thiazinanones by combining the quinolone scaffold and the 1,3-thiazinan-4-one group by reaction between ((4-hydroxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinolin-3-yl)methylene)hydrazinecarbothioamides and 2,3-diphenylcycloprop-2-enone in refluxing ethanol in the presence of triethyl amine as a catalyst. The structure of the synthesized compounds was characterized by spectral data and elemental analysis, IR, MS, H and C NMR spectroscopy which showed two doublet signals for CH-5 and CH-6 and four sharp singlets for the protons of thiazinane NH, CH[double bond, length as m-dash]N, quinolone NH and OH, respectively. Also, the C NMR spectrum clearly showed the presence of two quaternary carbon atoms which were assigned to thiazinanone-C-5 and C-6.

Quantifying the efficacy of protective eyewear in pediatric soccer-induced retinal injury.

Background: Ocular injury is common in children playing sports. Sports-related eye injuries, if severe enough, can lead to permanent vision impairment. Soccer, the most popular sport in the world, is a sport in which players rarely use protective eyewear.

Cytocentric measurement for regenerative medicine.

Any Regenerative Medicine (RM) business requires reliably predictable cell and tissue products. Regulatory agencies expect control and documentation. However, laboratory tissue production is currently not predictable or well-controlled.

A deep-learning framework for spray pattern segmentation and estimation in agricultural spraying systems.

This work focuses on leveraging deep learning for agricultural applications, especially for spray pattern segmentation and spray cone angle estimation. These two characteristics are important to understanding the sprayer system such as nozzles used in agriculture. The core of this work includes three deep-learning convolution-based models.

Estimation of nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes into a Barrier Island lagoon via meteoric groundwater discharge.

Meteoric groundwater discharge (MGD) to coastal regions transports terrestrial freshwater and nutrients that may alter coastal ecosystems by supporting harmful algal blooms. Estimation of MGD-driven nutrients is crucial to assess potential effects on coastal zones. These estimates require a reliable assessment of MGD rates and pore water nutrient concentrations below subterranean estuaries.

A Sister-Group Comparison of Branching and Pedicellariae in Brittlestars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea).

Branching of arms and presence of pedicellariae are characters among ophiuroids found only in the order Euryalida (snakestars and basketstars). Family Asteronychidae has neither character; family Euryalidae has 2 small clades with branched arms; and family Gorgonocephalidae has all species with pedicellariae and 3 or 4 clades with branched arms. Despite the rare occurrence of these characters in the Ophiuroidea, they might be key adaptations within the Euryalida that have led to relatively high diversification.

An infrared transient from a star engulfing a planet.

Planets with short orbital periods (roughly under 10 days) are common around stars like the Sun. Stars expand as they evolve and thus we expect their close planetary companions to be engulfed, possibly powering luminous mass ejections from the host star. However, this phase has never been directly observed.

Epsin Mimetic UPI Peptide Delivery Strategies to Improve Endothelization of Vascular Grafts.

Endothelialization of engineered vascular grafts for replacement of small-diameter coronary arteries remains a critical challenge. The ability for an acellular vascular graft to promote endothelial cell (EC) recruitment in the body would be very beneficial. This study investigated epsins as a target since they are involved in internalization of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2.

Comparison of the Performance of Density Functional Methods for the Description of Spin States and Binding Energies of Porphyrins.

This work analyzes the performance of 250 electronic structure theory methods (including 240 density functional approximations) for the description of spin states and the binding properties of iron, manganese, and cobalt porphyrins. The assessment employs the Por21 database of high-level computational data (CASPT2 reference energies taken from the literature). Results show that current approximations fail to achieve the "chemical accuracy" target of 1.

Fifty-Five Years of Research on , and in .

The basic properties of the duplication process can be defined by two time periods: , the time for a round of chromosome replication, and , the time between the end of a round of replication and cell division. Given the durations of these periods, the pattern of chromosome replication during the cell cycle can be determined for cells growing with any doubling time. In the 55 years since these parameters were identified, there have been numerous investigations into their durations and into the elements that determine their initiations.

A multi-firearm, multi-orientation audio dataset of gunshots.

Early detection of firearm discharge has become increasingly critical for situational awareness in both civilian and military domains. The ability to determine the location and model of a discharged firearm is vital, as this can inform effective response plans. To this end, several gunshot audio datasets have been released that aim to facilitate gunshot detection and classification of a discharged firearm based on acoustic signatures.

The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise.

The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion potential at Buck Island Reef, U.

Multiple Schedules Facilitate Rapid Noncontingent Reinforcement Schedule Thinning.

We evaluated a noncontingent reinforcement treatment that included initial brief exposures to signaled alternation of availability and nonavailability of reinforcement, followed by rapid schedule thinning. Results confirmed findings from previous research (typically with differential reinforcement schedules) that establishing stimulus control across multiple treatment components facilitated schedule thinning. We discuss both the clinical utility of this procedure and the utility of stimulus control for making interventions more practical for clinicians.

A mechanism by which gut microbiota elevates permeability and inflammation in obese/diabetic mice and human gut.

Objective: Ample evidence exists for the role of abnormal gut microbiota composition and increased gut permeability ('leaky gut') in chronic inflammation that commonly co-occurs in the gut in both obesity and diabetes, yet the detailed mechanisms involved in this process have remained elusive.

Design: In this study, we substantiate the causal role of the gut microbiota by use of faecal conditioned media along with faecal microbiota transplantation. Using untargeted and comprehensive approaches, we discovered the mechanism by which the obese microbiota instigates gut permeability, inflammation and abnormalities in glucose metabolism.

Peritoneal pre-conditioning impacts long-term vascular graft patency and remodeling.

There are questions about how well small-animal models for tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) translate to clinical patients. Most TEVG studies used grafting times ≤6 months where conduits from generally biocompatible materials like poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) perform well. However, longer grafting times can result in significant intimal hyperplasia and calcification.

Semantic segmentation for fully automated macrofouling analysis on coatings after field exposure.

Biofouling is a major challenge for sustainable shipping, filter membranes, heat exchangers, and medical devices. The development of fouling-resistant coatings requires the evaluation of their effectiveness. Such an evaluation is usually based on the assessment of fouling progression after different exposure times to the target medium (e.

A Computational Framework for the Swelling Dynamics of Mucin-like Polyelectrolyte Gels.

Gastric mucus is a polyelectrolyte gel that serves as the primary defense of the stomach lining against acid and digestive enzymes. Mucus is released from granules in specialized cells where it is stored at very high concentration. Experiments show that such a dense mucus gel may swell explosively within a short time period, and that this is accompanied by a massive transport of monovalent cations from the extracellular environment into the densely packed mucus in exchange for divalent calcium that had crosslinked the negatively-charged mucus fibers.

Precision Landing of a Quadcopter Drone by Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor in a GPS-Denied Environment.

This paper describes the deployment, integration, and demonstration of a Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor (SVGS) as a novel technology for autonomous 6-DOF proximity maneuvers and precision landing of a quadcopter drone. The proposed approach uses a vision-based photogrammetric position and attitude sensor (SVGS) to estimate the position of a landing target after video capture. A visual inertial odometry sensor (VIO) is used to provide position estimates of the UAV in a ground coordinate system during flight on a GPS-denied environment.

Intelligent diagnosis of flip chip solder joints with resolution enhanced SAM image.

Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) technique has been applied to defect inspection in electronic devices. With the increase of packaging density, detection of the micro-defects in high density devices becomes more and more challenging. The SAM test is suffering from sacrificing the spatial resolution to reach a certain penetration depth of the ultrasonic waves.

Optimization of parameters in coherent spin dynamics of radical pairs in quantum biology.

Identification of the external electromagnetic fields and internal hyperfine parameters which optimize the quantum singlet-triplet yield of simplified radical pairs modeled by Schrödinger system with spin Hamiltonians given by the sum of Zeeman interaction and hyperfine coupling interaction terms are analyzed. A method that combines sensitivity analysis with Tikhonov regularization is implemented. Numerical results demonstrate that the quantum singlet-triplet yield of the radical pair system can be significantly reduced if optimization is pursued simultaneously for both external magnetic fields and internal hyperfine parameters.

Oceanic differences in coral-bleaching responses to marine heatwaves.

Anomalously high ocean temperatures have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration over the last several decades because of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and marine heatwaves. Reef-building corals are sensitive to such temperature anomalies that commonly lead to coral bleaching, mortality, and changes in community structure. Yet, despite these overarching effects, there are geographical differences in thermal regimes, evolutionary histories, and past disturbances that may lead to different bleaching responses of corals within and among oceans.

Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development.

The eastern tropical Pacific is oceanographically unfavorable for coral-reef development. Nevertheless, reefs have persisted there for the last 7000 years. Rates of vertical accretion during the Holocene have been similar in the strong-upwelling Gulf of Panamá (GoP) and the adjacent, weak-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí (GoC); however, seasonal upwelling in the GoP exacerbated a climate-driven hiatus in reef development in the late Holocene.