A Stable Low Power Dissipating 9 T SRAM for Implementation of 4 × 4 Memory Array with High Frequency Analysis

Wireless Personal Communications - Today’s high speed data processing and memory storage operations demand immediate data write and retrieval to meet up to benchmark. To act as a volatile or...     

Butyrate and Propionate Restore the Cytokine and House Dust Mite Compromised Barrier Function of Human Bronchial Airway Epithelial Cells

Barrier dysfunction of airway epithelium contributes to the development of allergies, airway hyper-responsiveness and immunological respiratory diseases. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) enhance and restore the barrier function of the intestinal epithelium. This study investigated whether acetate, propionate and butyrate enhance the integrity of bronchial epithelial cells. Differentiating human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) grown on transwells were exposed to butyrate, propionate and acetate while trans-epithelial electrical resistance was monitored over time. Restorative effects of SCFA were investigated by subsequent incubation of cells with IL-4, IL-13 or house dust mite extract and SCFA. SCFA effects on IL-4-induced cytokine production and the expression of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling pathways were investigated by ELISA and Western blot assays. Propionate and butyrate enhanced the barrier function of differentiating 16HBE cells and induced complete recovery of the barrier function after exposure to the above-mentioned stimuli. Butyrate decreased IL-4-induced IL-6 production. IL-4 decreased ZO-1 protein expression and induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) in 16HBE cells, both of which could be restored by SCFA. SCFA showed prophylactic and restorative effects on airway epithelial barrier function, which might be induced by increased ZO-1 expression.     

Modification of narrow‐spectrum peptidomimetic polyurethanes with fatty acid chains confers broad‐spectrum antibacterial activity

Each year, thousands of patients die from antimicrobial‐resistant bacterial infections that fail to respond to conventional antibiotic treatment. Antimicrobial polymers are a promising new method of combating antibiotic‐resistant bacterial infections. We have previously reported the synthesis of a series of narrow‐spectrum peptidomimetic antimicrobial polyurethanes that are effective against Gram‐negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli; however, these polymers are not effective against Gram‐positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. With the aim of understanding the correlation between chemical structure and antibacterial activity, we have subsequently developed three structural variants of these antimicrobial polyurethanes using post‐polymerization modification with decanoic acid and oleic acid. Our results show that such modifications converted the narrow‐spectrum antibacterial activity of these polymers into broad‐spectrum activity against Gram‐positive species such as S. aureus, however, also increasing their toxicity to mammalian cells. Mechanistic studies of bacterial membrane disruption illustrate the differences in antibacterial action between the various polymers. The results demonstrate the challenge of balancing antimicrobial activity and mammalian cell compatibility in the design of antimicrobial polymer compositions. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Two placebo-controlled crossover studies in healthy subjects to evaluate gastric acid neutralization by an alginate–antacid formulation (Gaviscon Double Action)

Objective: To investigate the intragastric acid neutralization activity of a combined alginate-antacid formulation.

Significance: Published studies have investigated the reflux-suppressing alginate component of Gaviscon Double Action (Gaviscon DA; RB, UK) but intragastric acid neutralization activity of the antacid component has not been evaluated in vivo.

Methods: Intragastric pH monitoring, using a custom-made 10-electrode catheter, was evaluated in a two-part exploratory study in healthy subjects; Part I (n?=?6) tested suitability of the catheter using antacid tablets (Rennie; Bayer, Germany); Part II (n?=?12) evaluated gastric acid neutralization activity of Gaviscon DA liquid (20?ml) versus placebo in fasted subjects using a randomized, open-label, crossover design. The primary endpoint was the percentage of time that intragastric pH ≥4 was measured during 30?min post-treatment. A confirmatory study of identical design was subsequently conducted (n?=?20).

Results: Monitoring pH using the multielectrode catheter was a viable approach, directly detecting changes in intragastric pH following a single dose of antacid tablets. In the exploratory study, the percentage of time that pH ≥4 during 30?minutes post-treatment was 46.8% with Gaviscon DA liquid versus 4.7% with placebo (p?=?0.0004). These findings were supported by the confirmatory study, where pH ≥4 was recorded 50.8% of the time with Gaviscon DA versus 3.5% with placebo (p?=?0.0051). In this study, Gaviscon DA was safe and well tolerated.

Conclusions: These studies demonstrate the effective acid neutralizing capacity of Gaviscon DA versus placebo in healthy, fasted subjects. This adds to the evidence base for the combination of alginates and antacids.     

Taxonomy of digital community currency platforms*

ABSTRACT

Community currencies are used to pay for products or services within specific groups defined by geographical boundaries or specific common interests. Financial crises, social emergence in developing countries, and increased access to digital devices have stimulated a growing number of communities worldwide to develop digital currency projects. These projects use technologies ranging from traditional plastic cards to mobile phones and blockchain technologies. Following the design science research approach, this paper analyzes digital community currencies (DCCs) by developing a taxonomy based on platform architecture, governance, transactionality and virtuality. By investigating 22 DCC platforms around the world, 4 groups were distinguished: local, proprietary, commons and cyber. The identification of these four different groups of digital community currencies allows us to better discuss the potentials and limitations of each one of them. The presented taxonomy can be useful to researchers and practitioners both to explain and to design DCC platforms. Discussing each of the emerging categories from the proposed taxonomy helps us to provide insights into DCCs, offering a new theoretical frame for investigating the particular case of digital payment platforms.     

A fuzzy logic approach to reliable real-time recognition of facial emotions

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper represents our newly developed software for emotion recognition from facial expressions. Besides allowing emotion recognition from image files and...     

The influence of cap rock composition on hydrocarbon seep type in the Zagros oil fields,a study using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer mineral map

The persistent natural hydrocarbon seepage in onshore basins challenges observation and exploration technologies, which are required to document and assess these valuable indications of the presence of oil and gas in the subsurface. This paper aims at demonstrating the relationship between the compositional variation of an evaporite cap rock and the types of seeps occurring at the surface. For this purpose, the multispectral Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data was utilized for mapping mineral variations of a petroleum system in the Zagros oil fields. Relative absorption-band depth (RBD), band rationing and the boosted regression trees (BRT) were applied to enhance and classify the mineral composition of evaporite, sandstone, and marly limestone formations. The gas seeps were associated with the areas of gypsum-bearing evaporite cap rock while oil seeps were mostly associated with calcite and clay zones within the cap rock, which was more prone to fracturing during the tectonic activities of the basin. It is suggested that the application of remote sensing in the oil and gas industry could be widened by detection of sleep-induced alteration to assess the efficiency of cap rock and to evaluate the productivity of reservoirs at a regional scale.     

Trans-differentiation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells on decellularized bovine myocardial extracellular matrix-based films

In this study, we aimed at fabricating decellularized bovine myocardial extracellular matrix-based films (dMEbF) for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE). The decellularization process was carried out utilizing four consecutive stages including hypotonic treatment, detergent treatment, enzymatic digestion and decontamination, respectively. In order to fabricate the dMEbF, dBM were digested with pepsin and gelation process was conducted. dMEbF were then crosslinked with N-hydroxysuccinimide/1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (NHS/EDC) to increase their durability. Nuclear contents of native BM and decellularized BM (dBM) tissues were determined with DNA content analysis and agarose-gel electrophoresis. Cell viability on dMEbF for 3rd, 7th, and 14th days was assessed by MTT assay. Cell attachment on dMEbF was also studied by scanning electron microscopy. Trans-differentiation capacity of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) into cardiomyocyte-like cells on dMEbF were also evaluated by histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses. DNA contents for native and dBM were, respectively, found as 886.11?±?164.85 and 47.66?±?0.09?ng/mg dry weight, indicating a successful decellularization process. The results of glycosaminoglycan and hydroxyproline assay, and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), performed in order to characterize the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of native and dBM tissue, showed that the BM matrix was not damaged during the proposed method. Lastly, regarding the histological study, dMEbF not only mimics native ECM, but also induces the stem cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells phenotype which brings it the potential of use in CTE.     

Thermodynamic performance analysis of three solid oxide fuel cell and gas microturbine hybrid systems for application in auxiliary power units

In this study, three different configurations of a solid oxide fuel cell and gas microturbine hybrid system are evaluated for application in auxiliary power units. The first configuration is a common hybrid system in auxiliary power units, utilizing a fuel cell stack in the structure of the gas turbine cycle. The other configurations use two series and parallel fuel cell stacks in the structure of the gas turbine cycle. The main purpose of this research is thermodynamic analysis, evaluation of the performance of the proposed hybrid systems in similar conditions, and selection of an appropriate system in terms of efficiency, power generation, and entropy generation rate. In this study, the utilized fuel cells were subjected to electrochemical, thermodynamic, and thermal analyses and their working temperatures were calculated under various working conditions. Results indicate that the hybrid system with two series stacks had maximum power generation and efficiency compared with the other two cases. Moreover, the simple hybrid system and the system with two parallel stacks had relatively equal pure power generation and efficiency. According to the investigations, hybrid system with two series fuel cell stacks, which had 3424 and 1712 cells, respectively, can achieve the electrical efficiency of over 48%. A hybrid system with two parallel fuel cell stacks, in which each stack had 2568 cells, had the electrical efficiency of 46.3%. Findings suggested that maximum electrical efficiency occurred between the pressure ratios of 5–6 in the proposed hybrid systems.