Photocatalytic antimicrobial activity of thin surface films of TiO2, CuO and TiO2 /CuO dual layers on Escherichia coli and bacteriophage T4

TiO2 coated surfaces are increasingly studied for their ability to inactivate microorganisms. The activity of glass coated with thin films of TiO2, CuO and hybrid CuO/TiO2 prepared by atmospheric Chemical Vapour Deposition (Ap-CVD) and TiO2 prepared by a sol-gel process was investigated using the inactivation of bacteriophage T4 as a model for inactivation of viruses. The chemical oxidising activity was also determined by measuring stearic acid oxidation. The results showed that the rate of inactivation of bacteriophage T4 increased with increasing chemical oxidising activity with the maximum rate obtained on highly active sol-gel preparations. However these were delicate and easily damaged unlike the Ap-CVD coatings. Inactivation rates were highest on CuO and CuO/TiO2 which had the lowest chemical oxidising activities. The inactivation of T4 was higher than that of Escherichia coli on low activity surfaces. The combination of photocatalysis and toxicity of copper acted synergistically to inactivate bacteriophage T4 and retained some selfcleaning activity. The presence of phosphate ions slowed inactivation but NaCl had no effect. The results show that TiO2/CuO coated surfaces are highly antiviral and may have applications in the food and healthcare industries

Sex Differences in Plantar Flexor Strength and Contractile Properties after Isometric and Dynamic Fatigue

Purpose: To determine sex differences in strength and contractile properties after isometric and dynamic fatiguing exercise of the plantar flexors. Methods: Recreationally active males (n=13, age=22.4±2.2 yrs) and females (n=15, age=20.9±2.4 yrs) performed a maximal isometric (2 min) and isotonic (120 reps at 30% peak torque) fatigue task on 2 separate visits. Before and after each fatigue task, participants performed a 3 sec maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) with tibial nerve stimulation being delivered during and immediately after the MVIC. Peak torque (PT; highest 250 ms) was obtained during the voluntary phase of the MVIC. Peak twitch torque (TTQ), rate of torque development (RTD; Δtorque/Δtime), and half relaxation time (HRT; time for TTQto decrease from peak to 50%) were calculated from the resting twitch after the MVIC. Voluntary activation (VA%; ability of the muscle to be fully activated) was calculated using a corrected interpolated twitch formula. Three-way (condition × sex × time) repeated measures ANOVAs were used for analysis. Results: Regardless of sex or condition, TTQ(-23.1%), RTD (-12.6%), HRT (+22.9%) were changed after fatigue (p\u3c0.05), while VA% remained unchanged (p\u3e0.05). Regardless of condition, PT was more reduced in males (-22.5%) compared to females (-19.2%)(p=0.017). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the fatigue-induced decrease in strength was greater in males than females. While our findings do not identify the contributing physiological mechanism(s), changes at the peripheral level may be responsible

Anatomically and Functionally Distinct Lung Mesenchymal Populations Marked by Lgr5 and Lgr6

The diversity of mesenchymal cell types in the lung that influence epithelial homeostasis and regeneration is poorly defined. We used genetic lineage tracing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and organoid culture approaches to show that Lgr5 and Lgr6, well-known markers of stem cells in epithelial tissues, are markers of mesenchymal cells in the adult lung. Lgr6 + cells comprise a subpopulation of smooth muscle cells surrounding airway epithelia and promote airway differentiation of epithelial progenitors via Wnt-Fgf10 cooperation. Genetic ablation of Lgr6 + cells impairs airway injury repair in vivo. Distinct Lgr5 + cells are located in alveolar compartments and are sufficient to promote alveolar differentiation of epithelial progenitors through Wnt activation. Modulating Wnt activity altered differentiation outcomes specified by mesenchymal cells. This identification of region- and lineage-specific crosstalk between epithelium and their neighboring mesenchymal partners provides new understanding of how different cell types are maintained in the adult lung. Keywords: mesenchymal cells; bronchiolar epithelium; alveolar epithelium; lung stem cells; lung; differentiation; niche; Wnt signalin

PlantSimLab - a modeling and simulation web tool for plant biologists.

BACKGROUND: At the molecular level, nonlinear networks of heterogeneous molecules control many biological processes, so that systems biology provides a valuable approach in this field, building on the integration of experimental biology with mathematical modeling. One of the biggest challenges to making this integration a reality is that many life scientists do not possess the mathematical expertise needed to build and manipulate mathematical models well enough to use them as tools for hypothesis generation. Available modeling software packages often assume some modeling expertise. There is a need for software tools that are easy to use and intuitive for experimentalists. RESULTS: This paper introduces PlantSimLab, a web-based application developed to allow plant biologists to construct dynamic mathematical models of molecular networks, interrogate them in a manner similar to what is done in the laboratory, and use them as a tool for biological hypothesis generation. It is designed to be used by experimentalists, without direct assistance from mathematical modelers. CONCLUSIONS: Mathematical modeling techniques are a useful tool for analyzing complex biological systems, and there is a need for accessible, efficient analysis tools within the biological community. PlantSimLab enables users to build, validate, and use intuitive qualitative dynamic computer models, with a graphical user interface that does not require mathematical modeling expertise. It makes analysis of complex models accessible to a larger community, as it is platform-independent and does not require extensive mathematical expertise

Construction of the Literature Graph in Semantic Scholar

We describe a deployed scalable system for organizing published scientific literature into a heterogeneous graph to facilitate algorithmic manipulation and discovery. The resulting literature graph consists of more than 280M nodes, representing papers, authors, entities and various interactions between them (e.g., authorships, citations, entity mentions). We reduce literature graph construction into familiar NLP tasks (e.g., entity extraction and linking), point out research challenges due to differences from standard formulations of these tasks, and report empirical results for each task. The methods described in this paper are used to enable semantic features in www.semanticscholar.orgComment: To appear in NAACL 2018 industry trac

Chronic multichannel neural recordings from soft regenerative microchannel electrodes during gait

Reliably interfacing a nerve with an electrode array is one of the approaches to restore motor and sensory functions after an injury to the peripheral nerve. Accomplishing this with current technologies is challenging as the electrode-neuron interface often degrades over time, and surrounding myoelectric signals contaminate the neuro-signals in awake, moving animals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of microchannel electrode implants to monitor over time and in freely moving animals, neural activity from regenerating nerves. We designed and fabricated implants with silicone rubber and elastic thin-film metallization. Each implant carries an eight-by-twelve matrix of parallel microchannels (of 120\u2009 7\u2009110\u2009\u3bcm2 cross-section and 4\u2009mm length) and gold thin-film electrodes embedded in the floor of ten of the microchannels. After sterilization, the soft, multi-lumen electrode implant is sutured between the stumps of the sciatic nerve. Over a period of three months and in four rats, the microchannel electrodes recorded spike activity from the regenerating sciatic nerve. Histology indicates mini-nerves formed of axons and supporting cells regenerate robustly in the implants. Analysis of the recorded spikes and gait kinematics over the ten-week period suggests firing patterns collected with the microchannel electrode implant can be associated with different phases of gait

Universal logic with encoded spin qubits in silicon

Qubits encoded in a decoherence-free subsystem and realized in exchange-coupled silicon quantum dots are promising candidates for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Benefits of this approach include excellent coherence, low control crosstalk, and configurable insensitivity to certain error sources. Key difficulties are that encoded entangling gates require a large number of control pulses and high-yielding quantum dot arrays. Here we show a device made using the single-layer etch-defined gate electrode architecture that achieves both the required functional yield needed for full control and the coherence necessary for thousands of calibrated exchange pulses to be applied. We measure an average two-qubit Clifford fidelity of $97.1 \pm 0.2\%$ with randomized benchmarking. We also use interleaved randomized benchmarking to demonstrate the controlled-NOT gate with $96.3 \pm 0.7\%$ fidelity, SWAP with $99.3 \pm 0.5\%$ fidelity, and a specialized entangling gate that limits spreading of leakage with $93.8 \pm 0.7\%$ fidelity

Endoscopic Ultrasound and Related Technologies for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Disease - Research Gaps and Opportunities: Summary of a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Workshop

A workshop was sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to address the research gaps and opportunities in pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). The event occurred on July 26, 2017 in 4 sessions: (1) benign pancreatic diseases, (2) high-risk pancreatic diseases, (3) diagnostic and therapeutics, and (4) new technologies. The current state of knowledge was reviewed, with identification of numerous gaps in knowledge and research needs. Common themes included the need for large multicenter consortia of various pancreatic diseases to facilitate meaningful research of these entities; to standardize EUS features of different pancreatic disorders, the technique of sampling pancreatic lesions, and the performance of various therapeutic EUS procedures; and to identify high-risk disease early at the cellular level before macroscopic disease develops. The need for specialized tools and accessories to enable the safe and effective performance of therapeutic EUS procedures also was discussed

All inkjet-printed graphene-based conductive patterns for wearable e-textile applications

© 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Inkjet printing of graphene inks is considered to be very promising for wearable e-textile applications as benefits of both inkjet printing and extra-ordinary electronic, optical and mechanical properties of graphene can be exploited. However, the common problem associated with inkjet printing of conductive inks on textiles is the difficulty to print a continuous conductive path on a rough and porous textile surface. Here we report inkjet printing of an organic nanoparticle based surface pre-treatment onto textiles to enable all inkjet-printed graphene e-textiles for the first time. The functionalized organic nanoparticles present a hydrophobic breathable coating on textiles. Subsequent inkjet printing of a continuous conductive electrical path onto the pre-treated coating reduced the sheet resistance of graphene-based printed e-textiles by three orders of magnitude from 1.09 × 106 Ω sq-1 to 2.14 × 103 Ω sq-1 compared with untreated textiles. We present several examples of how this finding opens up opportunities for real world applications of printed, low cost and environmentally friendly graphene wearable e-textiles