bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
(Invited) Surface Functionalization of Graphene Field-Effect Transistors for Biosensing Applications
Authors: Bouilly Delphine , Béraud Anouk , Bazan Claudia M. , Bencherif Amira , Sauvage Madline 
Published: July 2022

Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) present beneficial features for their application as biomolecular or chemical sensors. Due to their atomically-thin 2D dimensionality, their high electrical conductance is particularly sensitive to small changes in the distribution of charged species near the graphene surface. Taking advantage of this property, GFET sensors have been designed to report the detection or quantitation of various types of biologically-relevant molecular analytes such as nucleic acids, proteins, ions or small molecules. By analyzing data from published literature on GFET bioanalytical sensors, we have recently shown that the detection metrics of such sensors vary enormously between studies, and argued that this variance is mainly driven by disparities in the bio-recognition interface [1]. Indeed, the selectivity of GFET sensors must be engineered, typically by covering the graphene surface with biological molecules having a specific affinity for the chosen analyte (e.g. antibodies to capture the corresponding antigen, ssDNA to capture its complementary sequence). Yet, the coverage, orientation, stability and interactions between immobilized probes, blocking species and captured analytes are often not well known or controlled. In this presentation, I will discuss our efforts to understand and regulate the surface functionalization of graphene field-effect transistors. Using electrical conductance measurements and Raman spectroscopy, I will characterize the response of devices to both covalent chemistry, using aryldiazonium reagents, and non-covalent chemistry, using pyrene derivatives. I will describe our recent developments in controlling these functionalization routes, and compare their use for further bioconjugation with molecular probes for bioanalytical purposes.
[1] A. Béraud, M. Sauvage, C. M. Bazán, M. Tie, A. Bencherif and D. Bouilly. Graphene Field-Effect Transistors as Bioanalytical Sensors: Design, Operation and Performance. Analyst
146, 403-428 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1039/D0AN01661F
(Invited) CRISPR-Cas9-Based Cancer Therapy Delivery By Carbon Nanomaterials
Authors: Naumov Anton V. 
Published: July 2022

Gene therapeutics is a rapidly developing field promising critical advances in finding new vaccines and treatments, as well as genetic adjustments to plants and animal species. This novel area of science may generate treatment pathways for complex diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or sickle cell anemia that can not be easily treated by conventional therapies. Recently developed CRISPR technology can help address these issues, having a power to perform treatment targeted to specific disease mechanisms with little to no adverse effects to the healthy tissue.
Many gene therapies require intracellular delivery, and their efficacy can be highly influenced by the choice of the delivery vehicle. Due to their near-infrared fluorescence capabilities and large payload carrying capacity, carbon nanomaterials can be appropriate candidates for this role. Our work utilizes graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as delivery vehicles for several CRISPR-Cas9-based formulations specifically designed to edit out genes related to immortalization and uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. Both of these nanomaterials exhibit visible and near-infrared fluorescence capabilities sufficient for in vitro and in vivo imaging, and, when bound to CRISPR-Cas9 system, are not only expected to transport the therapeutic, but also trace its delivery pathways. In order to warrant more efficient complexation with CRISPR-Cas9 system, GQDs are synthesized bottom-up from cationic polymers and characterized to exhibit stable fluorescence and high biocompatibility at ~1 mg/mL in vitro. Payload attachment is assessed microscopically and reflected by Zeta potential variation upon complexation. Both resulting nanomaterials-delivered formulations show successful target gene scission and intracellular tracking of the gene therapeutic via intrinsic nanomaterial fluorescence. The end goal of this work is to edit out and/or correct aberrant genes in cancer cells making them more susceptible to conventional treatment pathways, thus, ultimately helping improve cancer survival rates.
(Invited) Carbon Nanotube Tracking Reveal the Landscapes of the Brain Extracellular Space Around Synapses and in Pathological Conditions
Authors: Cognet Laurent 
Published: July 2022

In recent years, exploration of the brain extracellular space (ECS) has made remarkable progress, including nanoscopic characterizations based on luminescent single wall carbon nanotubes imaging [1]. In this case, single nanotube tracking is used combined with super-resolution imaging analysis to provide both local measures of the nanoscale dimensions of the brain network and the ECS molecular diffusion landscape. We will show that this approach can be applied to reveal the nanoscale organization of pathological ECS in adult mice under degenerative conditions (α-synuclein-induced neurodegeneration) [2]. Another application will concern the investigation of the ECS around synapses. We will reveal specific ECS properties in terms of morphology at the nanoscale and inner diffusivity which are modulated upon synaptic activity [3].

References

[1] Paviolo & Cognet Neurobiology of Disease 153 (2021) 105328
[2] Soria et al Nat. Commun., 11 (2020) 3440
[3] Paviolo et al BioRxiv 2021
(Invited) Multi-Modality Input/Output Interfaces with Tissue and Cells Using Nanocarbons
Authors: Cohen-Karni Tzahi 
Published: July 2022

My team’s efforts are focused on three major thrusts: (i) synthesis and in depth mechanistic investigation of the unique emergent optical, thermal, electrical and electrochemical properties of novel hybrid-nanomaterials and nanomaterials topologies composed on one-dimensional and two-dimensional building blocks, (ii) application and characterization of hybrid-nanomaterials interfaces with cells and tissue, and (iii) development and engineering of nanomaterials-based platforms to interrogate and affect the electrical properties of tissue and cells such as cardiomyocytes, and neurons, with a specific focus to understand electrical signal transduction in complex 3D cellular assemblies. Major questions we strive to answer are: Can we make materials and platforms that are tailored to allow seamless and stable integration with cells and tissue enabling sensing and actuation? Can hybrid-nanomaterials allow new insights about biological processes, e.g., tissue development and disease progression?
In this talk I will describe our recent efforts in tackling these challenges. Our highly flexible bottom-up nanomaterials synthesis capabilities allow us to form unique hybrid-nanomaterials that can be used in various input/output bioelectrical interfaces, i.e., bioelectrical platforms for chemical and physical sensing and actuation. We developed a breakthrough bioelectrical interface, a 3D self-rolled biosensor arrays (3D-SR-BAs) of either active field effect transistors or passive microelectrodes to measure both cardiac and neural spheroids electrophysiology in 3D. This approach enables electrophysiological investigation and monitoring of the complex signal transduction in 3D cellular assemblies toward an organ-on-an-electronic-chip (organ-on-e-chip) platform for tissue maturation investigations and development of drugs for disease treatment. Utilizing graphene, a two-dimensional (2D) atomically thin carbon allotrope, we demonstrated a new technique to simultaneously record the intracellular electrical activity of multiple excitable cells with ultra-microelectrodes that can be as small as the size as an axon ca. 2µm in size. The outstanding electrochemical properties of our hybrid-nanomaterials allowed us to develop electrical sensors and actuators, e.g., sensors to explore the brain chemistry and sensors/actuators that are deployed in a large volumetric muscle loss animal model. Finally, using the unique optical properties of nanocarbons, e.g., graphene-based hybrid-nanomaterials and 2D nanocarbides (MXene), we have formed remote, non-genetic bioelectrical interfaces with excitable cells and modulated cellular and network activity with high precision and low needed energy. In summary, the exceptional synthetic control and flexible assembly of nanomaterials provide powerful tools for fundamental studies and applications in life science and potentially seamlessly merge nanomaterials-based platforms with cells, fusing nonliving and living systems together.
Photoluminescence Brightening of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Using Graphene Quantum Dots
Authors: Sajjadi Sayyed Hashem , Wu Shang-Jung , Reggente Melania , K. Goharshadi Elaheh , Sharif Niloufar , Ahmadzadeh Hossein , Boghossian Ardemis Anoush 
Published: July 2022

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) emit near-infrared (NIR) photoluminescence (PL) that spans the tissue transparency window, allowing them to optically penetrate biological tissue for deep-tissue optical sensing. Such optical SWCNT sensors are often functionalized with single stranded DNA (ssDNA) to promote biocompatibility, responsivity, and selectivity. However, the low brightness of these ssDNA-wrapped sensors restricts the depth at which such sensors can be implanted in biological tissue. In this work, we overcome this limitation by demonstrating the PL enhancement of ssDNA-wrapped SWCNTs through the incorporation of biocompatible graphene quantum dots (GQDs). We compare the enhancement effects of two preparations of GQDs, pristine (PGQDs) and nitrogen-doped (NGQDs) graphene quantum dots. Both preparations of GQDs were shown to significantly increase the fluorescence emissions of ssDNA-SWCNTs to a comparable extent after 3 h of incubation. We further observed a diameter dependence of this enhancement, with the larger (8,6) SWCNT chirality demonstrating a 30-fold enhancement as compared to the 2-fold enhancement observed for the (6,5) SWCNT chirality. This PL enhancement was shown to vary with the exposed surface area of the SWCNTs, whereby SWCNT chiralities with wrappings that yield larger exposed SWCNT surfaces resulted in increased PL enhancement on conjugation with the GQDs.
Despite the similarities in the final fluorescence enhancements, the NGQDs and PGQDs showed kinetic differences in their brightening effects. The NGQDs were able to achieve stabilized SWCNT fluorescence brightening 2 min after their addition, whereas the SWCNTs showed continued PL increases even 1 h after the addition of the PGQDs. Electrochemical analysis of the NGQDs confirms their behavior as reducing agents, which have been previously shown to enhance the rate of SWCNT brightening through the passivation of oxygen defect sites. The brightening effects of the NGQDs were further demonstrated in confocal single-molecule measurements, where we observed a 3-fold increase in the detection of individual SWCNTs on conjugation to the NGQDs compared to the unconjugated ssDNA-SWCNTs. The photoluminescence enhancements enabled by the GQDs thus provides a promising tool for engineering the brightness of NIR sensors for biomedical applications and enabling improved detection in deep-tissue sensing and imaging applications.
Evaluation of the Effect of Garlic Tablet as a Complementary Treatment for Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: Afarid Mehrdad , Sadeghi Elham , Johari Mohammadkarim , Namvar Ehsan , Sanie-Jahromi Fatemeh 
Published: July 2022

Purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of garlic (Allium sativum L.) tablets as a complimentary herbal medication in diabetic macular edema. Methods. A total of 91 diabetic participants (117 eyes) with central involved macular edema underwent a double-blind randomized trial. The patients used garlic tablets (500 mg) (2 tab/day) or placebo for 4 weeks and subsequently were examined by an expert ophthalmologist. Clinical manifestations including the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA, logMAR), central macular thickness (CMT, μm), and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured as the main outcomes. Results. BCVA was significantly improved by a 0.18 decrease in mean logMAR value in the garlic-treated patients in comparison with 0.06 in the control ones (

P

value
=
0.027

). CMT was decreased in both groups by a 102.99 μm decrease in the garlic group compared to 52.67 μm in the placebo group, albeit in a nonsignificant manner (

P

value: 0.094). IOP was decreased in the garlic group by 1.03 mmHg (

P

value: 0.024) and increased by 0.3 mmHg (

P

value: 0.468) in the placebo group. Conclusion. Our trial suggests that garlic supplements can improve visual acuity, decrease the CMT and lower the IOP, and can be considered as an adjuvant treatment in patients with diabetic macular edema. Garlic was satisfactorily tolerated in diabetic patients, and no significant adverse effect interrupting the safety profile was observed.
Evolving Modularity in Soft Robots Through an Embodied and Self-Organizing Neural Controller
Authors: Pigozzi Federico , Medvet Eric 
Published: July 2022

AbstractModularity is a desirable property for embodied agents, as it could foster their suitability to different domains by disassembling them into transferable modules that can be reassembled differently. We focus on a class of embodied agents known as voxel-based soft robots (VSRs). They are aggregations of elastic blocks of soft material; as such, their morphologies are intrinsically modular. Nevertheless, controllers used until now for VSRs act as abstract, disembodied processing units: Disassembling such controllers for the purpose of module transferability is a challenging problem. Thus, the full potential of modularity for VSRs still remains untapped. In this work, we propose a novel self-organizing, embodied neural controller for VSRs. We optimize it for a given task and morphology by means of evolutionary computation: While evolving, the controller spreads across the VSR morphology in a way that permits emergence of modularity. We experimentally investigate whether such a controller (i) is effective and (ii) allows tuning of its degree of modularity, and with what kind of impact. To this end, we consider the task of locomotion on rugged terrains and evolve controllers for two morphologies. Our experiments confirm that our self-organizing, embodied controller is indeed effective. Moreover, by mimicking the structural modularity observed in biological neural networks, different levels of modularity can be achieved. Our findings suggest that the self-organization of modularity could be the basis for an automatic pipeline for assembling, disassembling, and reassembling embodied agents.
Reconciliation in human adults: a video-assisted naturalistic observational study of post conflict conciliatory behaviour in interpersonal aggression
Authors: Philpot R. , Liebst L.S. , Rosenkrantz Lindegaard M. , Verbeek P. , Levine M. 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
Reconciliation is an aspect of conflict resolution, with similar behavioural patterns documented in non-human primates, human children, and human adults of non-Western, non-industrialized cultures. Reconciliation amongst adults of industrialized societies has rarely been studied. We observed naturally occurring conflicts between adults, captured by public security cameras in England. Reconciliation was found in one-quarter of all conflicts and was more prevalent in milder conflicts. Reconciliation typically occurred spontaneously between opponents — and was found within friendship groups and across stranger groups. Reconciliation between opponents also appeared to be stimulated by peers, law enforcement, or shared objects. In some instances, reconciliation extended beyond the initial conflict dyad toward victimized third-party peacemakers. These findings add to growing cross-cultural and cross-species evidence demonstrating the presence and function of post-conflict reconciliation. We extend the repertoire of reconciliatory behaviour and introduce five common features of reconciliation that are central to the study of adult peacemaking.
The European Court of Human Rights and State-Owned Entities: Engagement and Development of a Jurisprudence Constante
Authors: Barnes Mihaela Maria 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
The article analyses the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning State-owned entities (SOE s) in the following areas: standing, the criteria for determining the nature and status of an entity, the positive obligations of States in the context of SOE s, the attribution of acts and omissions of SOE s to the State for the purpose of State responsibility, the liability of States for the debts of SOE s and the obligations of the State to promptly enforce decisions against SOE s. The aim of the article is to uncover the main issues that the ECtHR has had to consider when dealing with SOE s: whether the approach taken by the Court is consistent over time; whether and where applicable the Court’s approach is consistent with, or departs from, general international law; and what are the main principles that can be ascertained from this case law.
Total White Blood Cell Count is Associated with Arterial Stiffness Among Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Huang Min , Li Fajiu , Chen Si , Liu Min , Qin Wei , Wu Juanjuan , Chen Ying , Zhong Jinnan , Zhao Qian , Hu Bingzhu 
Published: July 2022

The association between white blood cell (WBC) count and arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension is not well-documented. We aimed to examine the relationships of total WBC count with arterial stiffness and risk of macrovascular damage in hypertensive patients. A total of 631 hypertensive adults (mean age: 65.6 years) were included in the present study. Arterial stiffness was determined by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI). Macrovascular damage was defined as baPWV >1.8 m/s or ABI <.9. The dose-response associations were assessed by multivariate linear or logistic regression models. After multivariate adjustments, we observed a dose-response relationship between increasing total WBC count and arterial stiffness. Participants in the highest tertile of total WBC count showed a significantly elevated baPWV (β = .088; 95% CI: .021, .154; Ptrend = .010) and reduced ABI (β = −.027; 95% CI: −.046, −.008; Ptrend = .005), as compared with those in the first tertile. The association was similar in different subgroups. In addition, elevated total WBC count was related to a greater risk of macrovascular damage, as indicated by baPWV >1.8 m/s (OR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.99, comparing the extreme tertiles). Our data suggest that elevated total WBC count was related to arterial stiffness among individuals with hypertension.
Consensus on Nasal Irrigation in Infants: A Delphi Study
Authors: Audag Nicolas , Cnockaert Pierre , Reychler Gregory , Poncin William 
Published: July 2022

Introduction: Nasal irrigation is regularly used in infants to relieve upper airway symptoms. However, because there is no consensus on good practice, nasal irrigation in infants is described and applied heterogeneously among clinicians and between clinical trials. Objective: The aim of this study was to establish consensus regarding the use of nasal irrigation in infants. Methods: A panel of Belgian physiotherapists and physicians experienced in performing nasal irrigation in infants were surveyed using the Delphi technique. Three survey rounds were used. Participants rated their level of (dis)agreement to each statement in each round using a 6-point Likert scale. Consensus was defined for statements which collected at least 75% of responses in agreement or disagreement. The questionnaire of Round 1 was built on nasal irrigation practice habits previously collected from parents, childcare workers, and healthcare professionals. Questionnaires from rounds 2 and 3 were amended based on experts written feedback. Results: Thirty experts (12 physicians and 18 physiotherapists) completed all 3 questionnaires. Consensus was achieved for 47 of 75 statements (63%) distributed over the following domains: “contraindications,” “indications and frequency of use,” “irrigation means,” “solution preparation,” “solution volume,” “realization of the technique,” and “assessment of the efficacy of nasal irrigation.” Conclusion: This study provides the first well-constructed consensus on good practice on nasal irrigation in infants. Consensus on several statements across different domains were established but require validation in future trials. This study also proposes direction for future research focusing on statements that did not reach consensus.
Societal factors and psychological distress indicators associated with the recent rise in youth suicide in Taiwan: A time trend analysis
Authors: Chang Yi-Han , Lin Chien-Yu , Liao Shih-Cheng , Chen Ying-Yeh , Shaw Fortune Fu-Tsung , Hsu Chia-Yueh , Gunnell David , Chang Shu-Sen 
Published: July 2022

Objective:We investigated recent trends in youth suicide and their associations with societal and psychological factors in Taiwan.Methods:Suicide data (1971–2019) for 10–24 year olds were extracted from Taiwan’s national cause-of-death data files. We investigated changes in trends in youth suicide rates, societal factors (gross domestic product per capita, Gini index, overall and youth unemployment rates, divorce rates in people aged 40–59 years [i.e. the age of most 15–24 year olds’ parents] and Internet use rates) and psychological distress indicators (youth self-harm rates and the prevalence of worry-related insomnia, and suicide ideation, plan and attempt) using joinpoint regression and graphic examinations. The associations of these factors with youth suicide rates were examined using Prais–Winsten regression.Results:Suicide rates in Taiwan’s 10–24 year olds changed from a downward trend (2005–2014) to an upward trend in 2014 and increased 11.5% (95% confidence interval = [5.2%, 18.1%]) annually between 2014 and 2019. There was also an upturn in divorce rates among females aged 40–59 years in 2014 and self-harm rates among 15- to 24-year-old youth in 2013. The prevalence of self-reported insomnia and suicide ideation, plan and attempt in youth started to increase from 2013 to 2016. In the regression analysis, Internet use, female divorce rates and youth self-harm rates were positively associated with youth suicide rates.Conclusion:Suicide rates and the prevalence of suicidal behaviors began to increase in Taiwanese youth in the 2010s. These increases may be associated with concurrent rises in parental divorce rates, Internet use and poor sleep. Further research is needed to examine the mechanisms underlying recent increases in youth suicide risk.