Deepfakes Generation and Detection: A Short Survey.

Advancements in deep learning techniques and the availability of free, large databases have made it possible, even for non-technical people, to either manipulate or generate realistic facial samples for both benign and malicious purposes. DeepFakes refer to face multimedia content, which has been digitally altered or synthetically created using deep neural networks. The paper first outlines the readily available face editing apps and the vulnerability (or performance degradation) of face recognition systems under various face manipulations.

Highly Sensitive Fentanyl Detection Based on Nanoporous Electrochemical Immunosensors.

Rapid and accurate detection of fentanyl (highly potent opioid) is a critical importance due to current opioids crisis worldwide. We report the highly sensitive detection of fentanyl utilizing the synergetic effect of nanoporous silicon as a substrate with a high interfacial area and specific antibody functionalization of nanoporous silicon. The electrochemical sensor consists of gold working and counter electrodes deposited on nanoprous silicon, antibodies immobilized between these electrodes and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode.

Bio-hybrid electronic and photonic devices.

Bio-hybrid devices, combining electronic and photonic components with cells, tissues, and organs, hold potential for advancing our understanding of biology, physiology, and pathologies and for treating a wide range of conditions and diseases. In this review, I describe the devices, materials, and technologies that enable bio-hybrid devices and provide examples of their utilization at multiple biological scales ranging from the subcellular to whole organs. Finally, I describe the outcomes of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded workshop envisioning potential applications of these technologies to improve health outcomes and quality of life.

Conceptual comparison of constructs as first step in data harmonization: Parental sensitivity, child temperament, and social support as illustrations.

This article presents a strategy for the initial step of data harmonization in Individual Participant Data syntheses, i.e., making decisions as to which measures operationalize the constructs of interest - and which do not.

Cholesterol Chip for the Study of Cholesterol-Protein Interactions Using SPR.

Cholesterol, an important lipid in animal membranes, binds to hydrophobic pockets within many soluble proteins, transport proteins and membrane bound proteins. The study of cholesterol-protein interactions in aqueous solutions is complicated by cholesterol's low solubility and often requires organic co-solvents or surfactant additives. We report the synthesis of a biotinylated cholesterol and immobilization of this derivative on a streptavidin chip.

Electrically pumped quantum-dot lasers grown on 300 mm patterned Si photonic wafers.

Monolithic integration of quantum dot (QD) gain materials onto Si photonic platforms via direct epitaxial growth is a promising solution for on-chip light sources. Recent developments have demonstrated superior device reliability in blanket hetero-epitaxy of III-V devices on Si at elevated temperatures. Yet, thick, defect management epi designs prevent vertical light coupling from the gain region to the Si-on-Insulator waveguides.

Anxiety and Avoidance in Close Relationships Are Associated With Responses to Negative and Positive Stimuli.

Humans tend to assign valence to objects, people, and events in the environment, but there are individual differences in the evaluation of the affective nature of these environmental stimuli. This exploratory study investigated how individual differences in anxiety and avoidance in close relationships are associated with the emotional appraisal of valenced and neutral stimuli. Participants evaluated negative, neutral, and positive stimuli for emotional valence in an image classification task.

Depletion of VGLL4 Causes Perinatal Lethality without Affecting Myocardial Development.

Congenital heart disease is one of the leading causes of pediatric morbidity and mortality, thus highlighting the importance of deciphering the molecular mechanisms that control heart development. As the terminal transcriptional effectors of the Hippo-YAP pathway, YAP and TEAD1 form a transcriptional complex that regulates the target gene expression and depletes either of these two genes in cardiomyocytes, thus resulting in cardiac hypoplasia. Vestigial-like 4 (VGLL4) is a transcriptional co-factor that interacts with TEAD and suppresses the YAP/TEAD complex by competing against YAP for TEAD binding.

The continuing evolution of barcode applications: Functional toxicology to cell lineage.

DNA barcoding is a method to identify biological entities, including individual cells, tissues, organs, or species, by unique DNA sequences. With the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS), there has been an exponential increase in data acquisition pertaining to medical diagnosis, genetics, toxicology, ecology, cancer, and developmental biology. While barcoding first gained wide access in identifying species, signature tagged mutagenesis has been useful in elucidating gene function, particularly in microbes.

Arsenite toxicity is regulated by queuine availability and oxidation-induced reprogramming of the human tRNA epitranscriptome.

Cells respond to environmental stress by regulating gene expression at the level of both transcription and translation. The ∼50 modified ribonucleotides of the human epitranscriptome contribute to the latter, with mounting evidence that dynamic regulation of transfer RNA (tRNA) wobble modifications leads to selective translation of stress response proteins from codon-biased genes. Here we show that the response of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells to arsenite exposure is regulated by the availability of queuine, a micronutrient and essential precursor to the wobble modification queuosine (Q) on tRNAs reading GUN codons.

Selenoproteins and the senescence-associated epitranscriptome.

Selenium is a naturally found trace element, which provides multiple benefits including antioxidant, anticancer, and antiaging, as well as boosting immunity. One unique feature of selenium is its incorporation as selenocysteine, a rare 21st amino acid, into selenoproteins. Twenty-five human selenoproteins have been discovered, and a majority of these serve as crucial antioxidant enzymes for redox homeostasis.

MOCVD Growth and Characterization of Be-Doped GaN.

Beryllium has been considered a potential alternative to magnesium as a p-type dopant in GaN, but attempts to produce conductive p-GaN:Be have not been successful. Photoluminescence studies have repeatedly shown Be to have an acceptor level shallower than that of Mg, but deep Be defects and other compensating defects render most GaN:Be materials n-type or semi-insulating at best. Previous reports use molecular beam epitaxy or ion implantation to dope GaN with Be, almost exclusively.

Alginate microfibers as therapeutic delivery scaffolds and tissue mimics.

Alginate, a naturally occurring polysaccharide, has been widely used in cell encapsulation, 3D culture, cell therapy, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Alginate's frequent use comes from its biocompatibility and ability to easily form hydrogel in a variety of forms (e.g.

Dual detection of COVID-19 antigens and antibodies using nanoscale fluorescent plasmonic substrates.

There is a continuing need for biosensors that can be used in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and to measure a subject's immune response to the virus itself (SARS-CoV-2). In this study, grating-coupled fluorescent plasmonic (GC-FP)-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens was coupled with antibody detection to yield a dual-mode detection assay. Pairs of capture and detection antibodies were screened for direct detection of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (Nuc) antigen, which were then combined with an existing GC-FP antibody detection assay.

Synthesis of End-Cap Enabled Self-Immolative Photoresists For Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography.

Conventional chemically amplified resists (CARs) rely on the usage of photoacid generators to serve as the source of chemical amplification. However, acid diffusion inevitably accompanies CARs and has led to the resolution, line edge roughness, and sensitivity (RLS) trade-off, which is the most challenging technical problem for modern photoresists. Herein, we take advantage of the self-immolative property of polyphthalaldehyde (PPA) derivatives to create end-cap enabled chain scissionable resists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

Formative Evaluation of Using Action Learning in a Master of Medical Education Assessment and Measurement Course.

Background: The future success of any graduate or professional degree program is dependent upon continuous feedback provided by instructors and students. Various teaching models used by medical educators include didactics, problem/case-based learning, small/large group work, distance/online education, simulation, labs, and service/experiential learning. Action Learning is a process "that involves a small group working on real problems, taking action, and learning as individuals, as a team, and as an organization.

Interspecific Contagious Yawning in Humans.

Contagious yawning, or the reflexive tendency to yawn following the detection of yawning in others, is well-documented among humans and a growing number of social vertebrates. While the most common form of yawn contagion occurs between conspecifics, some non-human animals in captivity have been reported to yawn in response to yawns from human handlers/caregivers. The current research sought to provide the first formal investigation of whether people yawn contagiously in response to yawns from non-human animals.

Machine Learning Approach to Delineate the Impact of Material Properties on Solar Cell Device Physics.

In this research, solar cell capacitance simulator-one-dimensional (SCAPS-1D) software was used to build and probe nontoxic Cs-based perovskite solar devices and investigate modulations of key material parameters on ultimate power conversion efficiency (PCE). The input material parameters of the absorber Cs-perovskite layer were incrementally changed, and with the various resulting combinations, 63,500 unique devices were formed and probed to produce device PCE. Versatile and well-established machine learning algorithms were thereafter utilized to train, test, and evaluate the output dataset with a focused goal to delineate and rank the input material parameters for their impact on ultimate device performance and PCE.

Results of the 2019 Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Health and Safety Practices.

In collaboration with RTI International, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) administered a survey to North American companies working with nanomaterials to assess health and safety practices.

Evaluation of site-specific methylation of the CMV promoter and its role in CHO cell productivity of a recombinant monoclonal antibody.

We previously demonstrated that increased monoclonal antibody productivity in dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)-amplified CHO cells correlates with phosphorylated transcription factor-cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter interactions. In this article, we extend the characterization to include CMV promoter methylation and its influence on NFκB and CREB1 transcription factor binding to the CMV promoter in two families of DHFR-amplified CHO cell lines. CMV promoter methylation was determined using bisulfite sequencing.

No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (): An Observational Study.

The overt and reflexive matching of behaviors among conspecifics has been observed in a growing number of social vertebrates, including avian species. In general, behavioral contagion-such as the spread of yawning-may serve important functions in group synchronization and vigilance behavior. Here, we performed an exploratory study to investigate yawn contagion among 10 captive juvenile ravens (), across two groups.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B regulates miR-208b-argonaute 2 association and thyroid hormone responsiveness in cardiac hypertrophy.

Increased production of reactive oxygen species plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including cardiac hypertrophy. In our search to identify redox-sensitive targets that contribute to redox signaling, we found that protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) was reversibly oxidized and inactivated in hearts undergoing hypertrophy. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of PTP1B in mice (PTP1B cKO mice) caused a hypertrophic phenotype that was exacerbated by pressure overload.