Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lysozyme-loaded lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles: preparation, characterization and colloidal stability evaluation

Abstract Context: Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNPs) are polymeric nanoparticles enveloped by lipid layers, which have emerged as a potent therapeutic nanocarrier alternative to liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. Objective: The aim of this work was to develop, characterize and evaluate LPNPs to deliver a model protein, lysozyme. Materials and methods: Lysozyme-loaded LPNPs were prepared by using the modified w/o/w double-emulsion-solvent-evaporation method. Poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) was used as polymeric core material and tripalmitin:lechitin mixture was used to form a lipid shell around the LPNPs. LPNPs were evaluated for particle size distribution, zeta potential, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug release, stability and cytotoxicity. Results: The DLS measurement results showed that the particle size of LPNPs ranged from 58.04 ± 1.95 nm to 2009.00 ± 0.52 nm. The AFM and TEM images of LPNPs demonstrate that LPNPs are spherical in shape. The protein-loading capacity of LPNPs ranged from 5.81% to 60.32%, depending on the formulation parameters. LPNPs displayed a biphasic drug release pattern with a burst release within 1 h, followed by sustained release afterward. Colloidal stability results of LPNPs in different media showed that particle size and zeta potential values of particles did not change significantly in all media except of FBS 100% for 120 h. Finally, the results of a cellular uptake study showed that LPNPs were significantly taken up by 83.3% in L929 cells. Conclusion: We concluded that the LPNPs prepared with PCL as polymeric core material and tripalmitin:lechitin mixture as lipid shell should be a promising choice for protein delivery.
Detection and Prevention of Ocular Phototoxicity of Ciprofloxacin and Other Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics †

Fluoroquinolone (FLQ) drugs are a potent family of antibiotics used to treat infections including ocular infections. To determine if these antibiotics may be phototoxic to the eye, we exposed human lens epithelial cells to 0.125–1 mm FLQs (ciprofloxacin [Cipro], lomefloxacin [Lome], norfloxacin [Nor] and ofloxacin [Ofl]), the precursor quinolone nalidixic acid (Nalid) and UVA radiation (2.5 J cm−2). Based on fluorescence confocal microscopy, FLQs are diffused throughout the cytoplasm and preferentially located in the lysosomes of lens epithelial cells. Neither FLQ exposure alone nor UVA exposure alone reduced cell viability. However, with exposure to UVA radiation the FLQs studied (Cipro, Nor, Lome and Ofl) induced a phototoxic reaction that included necrosis, apoptosis, loss of cell viability as measured by MTS, and membrane damage as determined by the lactate dehydrogenase assay. Both Nalid and all FLQs studied (Cipro, Nor, Lome and Ofl) photopolymerized the lens protein α‐crystallin. Phototoxic damage to lens epithelial cells and/or α‐crystallin will lead to a loss of transparency of the human lens. However, if precautions are taken to filter all UV radiation from the eye while taking these antibiotics, eye damage may be prevented.
Improvement of the Properties of CZTS Thin Films Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis Using DMSO in Acetone as Solvent

This work reports results of a study carried out to improve the optical, electrical and structural properties of CZTS films grown by spray pyrolysis in a one-step process using a precursor solution prepared dissolving thiourea and salts of Cu, Sn and Zn in a solvent constituted by a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and acetone. The improvement of the properties of the CZTS films was achieved through a parameters study performed by using a factorial experimental design 23 face centered with reply in the central point. Special emphasis was done on studying the influence of substrate temperature (Ts), carrier gas pressure (Pg) and spray pulse time (tsp) on the optical, electrical and structural properties of the CZTS films. The study revealed that the tSD and Ts as well as their interaction are the parameters that most critically affect the above mentioned properties.
On the correlation of TCP traffic in backbone networks

We study the second order statistics of traffic in an Internet backbone. We model the traffic at the flow level by a Poisson shot noise process. This model is quite parasimonious, and is driven only by variables that can be easily obtained from measurements, namely flow sizes, durations and arrival rate. We consider the auto-correlation of TCP traffic where the loss process of each TCP connection is assumed to be Poisson. Using a stochastic differential equation, we are able to provide an upper bound on the auto-covariance function of the aggregated TCP traffic whose tightness is shown by simulations with the network simulator-ns.
Benchmarking of EUV lithography line/space patterning versus immersion lithography multipatterning schemes at equivalent pitch

In this paper, the authors compare and contrast the line/space patterning performance of direct print EUV to multipatterning schemes at equivalent pitch using a systematic unbiased PSD analysis approach for the 7nm and 5nm logic node critical BEOL layers. The authors highlight where innovation is needed to move forward with EUV in terms of line edge roughness (LER), line width roughness (LWR) performance.
Characterization of NB and TiN superconducting CPW lines with thru-line calibration method

Microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) are playing an increasingly role in THz astronomy. Superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) lines are commonly adopted in MKIDs for the resonators as well as the readout through line. It is therefore of particular interest to characterize the transmission properities of superconducting CPW lines at low temperatures. A cryogenic through-line method based on two cryogenic RF switches is proposed to characterize Nb and TiN superconducting CPW lines. On-chip calibration has been successfully carried out. Detailed results and analysis will be presented.
Lossless image coding via adaptive linear prediction and classification

In past years, there have been several improvements in lossless image compression. All the recently proposed state-of-the-art lossless image compressors can be roughly divided into two categories: single and double-pass compressors. Linear prediction is rarely used in the first category, while TMW, a state-of-the-art double-pass image compressor, relies on linear prediction for its performance. We propose a single-pass adaptive algorithm that uses context classification and multiple linear predictors, locally optimized on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Locality is also exploited in the entropy coding of the prediction error. The results we obtained on a test set of several standard images are encouraging. On the average, our ALPC obtains a compression ratio comparable to CALIC while improving on some images.
DEPENDENCE OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND HEAT RETENTION ABILITY OF FABRICS FROM DIGITAL PRINT PARAMETERS

The human body transforms the chemical energy of the food into the work and the heat through the process of metabolism. The produced heat through the skin is transferred to the environment. In this case, in the state of thermal equilibrium, the amount of heat produced is equal to the amount of heat lost by conduction, convection, radiation, evaporation and breathing. The process of conduction of heat is transferred from the body to the environment, through layers of clothing and air, with the person standing still. Conductivity of heat in clothes depends on the thermal conductivity of the fibers from which the clothes are made, the conductivity of the air trapped in the pores of the clothes and the air on the surface of the clothing, the surface of the clothing layer through which the heat and the thickness of the clothes pass. The amount of heat transferred by conduction is usually negligible because the clothing, by its characteristics, slows down heat transfer in this way. Additionally, ink layers made in printing process significantly affect the properties of textile materials and clothes made from these materials. And today textile materials are increasingly being subjected to the process of printing due to aesthetic requirements of the people. This paper investigates the influence of digital printing parameters on the thermo-physiological features of textile materials. The essential print parameter was a different number of passes. In this research were used textile fabric materials of 100% cotton fibers. With printing process parameters, such as number of passes in the print, it is possible to influence the amount of ink that is applied on and in printed material, and thus the achievement of desired values of thermal parameters of printed materials. The influence of print parameters to thermo-physiological properties of the material is evaluated through a thermal conductivity and heat retention ability. Results of the research demonstrated that, in addition to material composition, the printing process with its parameters have a significant influence on the thermo-physiological characteristics of textile materials. The values of the thermal conductivity of the printed samples show that the increase in the number of application of ink in the printing results in a rise in the value of thermal conductivity coefficient, and decrease in heat retention ability value.
Extensions to Network Flow Interdiction on Planar Graphs

Network flow interdiction analysis studies by how much the value of a maximum flow in a network can be diminished by removing components of the network constrained to some budget. Although this problem is strongly NP-complete on general networks, pseudo-polynomial algorithms were found for planar networks with a single source and a single sink and without the possibility to remove vertices. In this work we introduce pseudo-polynomial algorithms which overcome some of the restrictions of previous methods. We propose a planarity-preserving transformation that allows to incorporate vertex removals and vertex capacities in pseudo-polynomial interdiction algorithms for planar graphs. Additionally, a pseudo-polynomial algorithm is introduced for the problem of determining the minimal interdiction budget which is at least needed to make it impossible to satisfy the demand of all sink nodes, on planar networks with multiple sources and sinks satisfying that the sum of the supplies at the source nodes equals the sum of the demands at the sink nodes. Furthermore we show that the k-densest subgraph problem on planar graphs can be reduced to a network flow interdiction problem on a planar graph with multiple sources and sinks and polynomially bounded input numbers. However it is still not known if either of these problems can be solved in polynomial time.
Algorithms and Computer Architectures for Evolutionary Bioinformatics

Many algorithms in the field of evolutionary Bioinformatics have excessive computational requirements. This dissertation presents new reconfigurable architectures to accelerate parsimony- and likelihood-based phylogenetic tree reconstruction, as well as effective techniques to speed up the execution of a phylogeny-aware alignment kernel on general-purpose graphics processing units. It also introduces a novel technique to conduct efficient phylogenetic tree searches on alignments with missing data. In addition, a highly optimized software implementation for the omega statistic, which is used to detect complete selective sweeps in population genetic data using linkage-disequilibrium patterns of single nucleotide polymorphisms in multiple sequence alignments, is described and made available.
Intracellular Retention of Newly Synthesized Insulin in Yeast Is Caused by Endoproteolytic Processing in the Golgi Complex

An insulin-containing fusion protein (ICFP, encoding the yeast prepro-α factor leader peptide fused via a lysine-arginine cleavage site to a single chain insulin) has been expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae where it is inefficiently secreted. Single gene disruptions have been identified that cause enhanced immunoreactive insulin secretion (eis). Five out of six eis mutants prove to be vacuolar protein sorting (vps)8, vps35, vps13, vps4, and vps36, which affect Golgi↔endosome trafficking. Indeed, in wild-type yeast insulin is ultimately delivered to the vacuole, whereas vps mutants secrete primarily unprocessed ICFP. Disruption of KEX2, which blocks intracellular processing to insulin, quantitatively reroutes ICFP to the cell surface, whereas loss of the Vps10p sorting receptor is without effect. Secretion of unprocessed ICFP is not based on a dominant secretion signal in the α-leader peptide. Although insulin sorting mediated by Kex2p is saturable, Kex2p functions not as a sorting receptor but as a protease: replacement of Kex2p by truncated secretory Kex2p (which travels from Golgi to cell surface) still causes endoproteolytic processing and intracellular insulin retention. Endoproteolysis promotes a change in insulin's biophysical properties. B5His residues normally participate in multimeric insulin packing; a point mutation at this position permits ICFP processing but causes the majority of processed insulin to be secreted. The data argue that multimeric assembly consequent to endoproteolytic maturation regulates insulin sorting in the secretory pathway.
Foreign Direct Investment, Labour Unions, and Self-interested Governments

This document examines foreign direct investment (FDI) when multinationals and labour unions bargain over labour contracts and lobby the self-interested government for taxation and labour market regulation. It is shown that FDI is best protected from expropriation in unionized economies with right-to-manage bargaining, not bargaining over wages and employment. When the labour market is nonunionized or when there is bargaining over wages and employment, the ruling elite can use taxation or labour market regulation as a nondistorting vehicle to expropriate the surplus of FDI. Journal of Economic Literature: F21, F23, J51, D78
Nuclear Immunolocalization of Hexamerins in the Fat Body of Metamorphosing Honey Bees

Hexamerins are storage proteins with primordial functions in insect metamorphosis. They are actively secreted by the larval fat body and stored in the hemolymph. During metamorphosis, they return to the fat body to be processed. For decades, these proteins were thought to exclusively function as an amino acid source for tissue reconstruction during the non-feeding pupal and pharate adult stages and, in some species, for egg production. Recently, new findings have linked the hexamerins to caste polyphenism and gonad development in social insects. To explore the roles of hexamerins during the honey bee metamorphosis, we used specific antibodies in expression analysis by western blot, in situ immunolocalization by confocal laser-scanning microscopy and in vivo injections to lower their endogenous levels. Our expression analysis highlighted the changing expression patterns in the fat body and hemolymph during development, which is consistent with the temporal dynamics of hexamerin secretion, storage and depletion. Confocal microscopy showed hexamerin expression in the cytoplasm of both types of fat body cells, trophocytes and oenocytes. Notably, hexamerin foci were also found in the nuclei of these cells, thus confirming our western blot analysis of fat body nuclear-enriched fractions. We also observed that the decrease in soluble hexamerins in antibody-treated pharate adults led to a precocious adult ecdysis, perhaps in response to the lack (or decrease) in hexamerin-derived amino acids. Taken together, these findings indicate that hexamerins have other functions in addition to their well-established role as amino acid sources for development.
BAF chromatin remodeling complex: Cortical size regulation and beyond

The multi-subunit chromatin remodeling BAF complex controls different developmental processes. Using cortex-specific conditional knockout and overexpression mouse models, we have recently reported that BAF170, a subunit of the vertebrate BAF chromatin remodeling complex, interacts with transcription factor (TF) Pax6 to control cortical size and volume. The mechanistic basis includes suppression of the expression of Pax6 target genes, which are required for genesis of cortical intermediate progenitors (IPs) and specification of late neuronal subtype identity. In addition, we showed that a dynamic competition between BAF170 and BAF155 subunits within the BAF complex during progression of neurogenesis is a primary event in modulating the size of the mammalian cortex. Here, we present additional insights into the interaction between the BAF complex and TF Pax6 in the genesis of IPs of the developing cortex. Furthermore, we show that such competition between BAF170 and BAF155 is involved as well in the determination of the size of the embryonic body. Our results add new insights into a cell-intrinsic mechanism, mediated by the chromatin remodeling BAF complex that controls vertebrate body shape and size.
Biologics to treat substance use disorders: Current status and new directions

ABSTRACT Biologics (vaccines, monoclonal antibodies (mAb), and genetically modified enzymes) offer a promising class of therapeutics to treat substance use disorders (SUD) involving abuse of opioids and stimulants such as nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine. In contrast to small molecule medications targeting brain receptors, biologics for SUD are larger molecules that do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), but target the drug itself, preventing its distribution to the brain and blunting its effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Active and passive immunization approaches rely on antibodies (Ab) that bind drugs of abuse in serum and block their distribution to the brain, preventing the rewarding effects of drugs and addiction-related behaviors. Alternatives to vaccines and anti-drug mAb are genetically engineered human or bacterial enzymes that metabolize drugs of abuse, lowering the concentration of free active drug. Pre-clinical and clinical data support development of effective biologics for SUD.
Nanotechnology and Development of Strain Sensor for Damage Detection

Composite materials, having better properties than traditional materials, are susceptible to potential damage during operating conditions, and this issue is usually not found until it is too late. Thus, it is important to identify when cracks occur within a structure, to avoid catastrophic failure. The objective of this chapter is to fabricate a new generation of strain sensors in the form of a wire/thread that can be incorporated into a material to detect damage before they become fatal. This microscale strain sensor consists of flexible, untwisted nylon yarn coated with a thin layer of silver using electroless plating process. The electromechanical response of this sensor wire was tested experimentally using tensile loading and then verified numerically with good agreement in results. This flexible strain sensor was then incorporated into a composite specimen to demonstrate the detection of damage initiation before the deformation of structure becomes fatal. The specimens were tested mechanically in a standard tensometer machine, while the electrical response was recorded. The results were very encouraging, and the signal from the sensor was correlated perfectly with the mechanical behavior of the specimen. This showed that these flexible strain sensors can be used for in situ structural health monitoring (SHM) and real-time damage detection applications.
Proline‐poor hydrophobic domains modulate the assembly and material properties of polymeric elastin

Elastin is a self‐assembling extracellular matrix protein that provides elasticity to tissues. For entropic elastomers such as elastin, conformational disorder of the monomer building block, even in the polymeric form, is essential for elastomeric recoil. The highly hydrophobic monomer employs a range of strategies for maintaining disorder and flexibility within hydrophobic domains, particularly involving a minimum compositional threshold of proline and glycine residues. However, the native sequence of hydrophobic elastin domain 30 is uncharacteristically proline‐poor and, as an isolated polypeptide, is susceptible to formation of amyloid‐like structures comprised of stacked β‐sheet. Here we investigated the biophysical and mechanical properties of multiple sets of elastin‐like polypeptides designed with different numbers of proline‐poor domain 30 from human or rat tropoelastins. We compared the contributions of these proline‐poor hydrophobic sequences to self‐assembly through characterization of phase separation, and to the tensile properties of cross‐linked, polymeric materials. We demonstrate that length of hydrophobic domains and propensity to form β‐structure, both affecting polypeptide chain flexibility and cross‐link density, play key roles in modulating elastin mechanical properties. This study advances the understanding of elastin sequence‐structure‐function relationships, and provides new insights that will directly support rational approaches to the design of biomaterials with defined suites of mechanical properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 103: 563–573, 2015.
YouPivot: improving recall with contextual search

According to cognitive science literature, human memory is predicated on contextual cues (e.g., room, music) in the environment. During recall tasks, we associate information/activities/objects with contextual cues. However, computer systems do not leverage our natural process of using contextual cues to facilitate recall. We present a new interaction technique, Pivoting, that allows users to search for contextually related activities and find a target piece of information (often not semantically related). A sample motivation for contextual search would be, 'what was that website I was looking at when Yesterday by The Beatles was last playing? ' Our interaction technique is grounded in the cognitive science literature, and is demonstrated in our system YouPivot. In addition, we present a new personal annotation method, called TimeMarks, to further support contextual recall and the pivoting process. In a pilot study, participants were quicker to identify websites, and preferred using YouPivot, compared to current tools. YouPivot demonstrates how principles of human memory can be applied to enhance the search of digital information.
Robotic Selective Neck Dissection by a Postauricular Facelift Approach

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of robot-assisted neck dissection by a postauricular facelift approach in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), compared with conventional neck dissection. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting University tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods Thirty HNSCC patients with clinically node negative necks (cN0) who underwent robot-assisted selective neck dissection (SND) by a postauricular facelift approach (11 patients, 12 necks) or conventional neck dissection (19 patients, 21 necks). Results The mean age was lower in the robotic group (P = .030). However, the distributions of gender and TNM stage did not differ between the two groups. The robotic SND was completed successfully in all patients. The mean operative time was longer in the robotic group (215 ± 56 min) than the conventional group (144 ± 43 min) (P < .001). The mean numbers of lymph nodes removed were 25.0 ± 7.4 and 28.9 ± 8.2 in the robotic and conventional group, respectively (P = .192), and the number of lymph nodes removed at each level also did not differ between the 2 groups. In addition, there was no significant difference in postoperative complications between the 2 groups, but cosmetic satisfaction was higher in the robot group (P = .002). Conclusions Robot-assisted SND by a postauricular facelift approach is comparable to conventional neck dissection in selected patients with cN0 HNSCC and results in excellent postoperative cosmesis.