Zeolitic imidazole Framework-8 (ZIF-8) fibers by gas-phase conversion of electroblown zinc oxide and aluminum doped zinc oxide fibers

Electroblowing was used to prepare ZnO and aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO, 1–3 cation-% of Al) fibers. The as-blown fibers were calcined at 500 °C to obtain the target material. The average fiber diameters ranged from 240 ± 60 nm for ZnO fibers to 330 ± 80 nm for AZO with 3% Al. Smaller crystallite size was measured with the x-ray diffraction for the Al doped fibers. Electroblowing was found out be an effective method to increase the fiber productivity over electrospinning and other methods reported in literature to prepare AZO fibers as a high production rate of 0.32 g/h was achieved. The ZnO and AZO fibers could be converted to zeolitic imidazole framework-8 [ZIF-8, zinc(2-methylimidazolate)2] by a solvent free thermal treatment in an autoclave under 2-methylimidazole (HmIM) vapor at 150 and 200 °C while preserving the fibrous structure. The conversion process to ZIF-8 occurred faster at higher temperatures and on fibers with smaller crystallite size. Depending on the conversion treatment time either ZnO/ZIF-8 and AZO/ZIF-8 core/shell fibers or ZIF-8 fibers could be obtained. At best the prepared ZIF-8 fibers had a very high BET specific surface area of 1340 m2/g.Peer reviewe

UASI Summer 2012 UAV flight campaign results for forest and agriculture applications

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Van der Waals epitaxy of continuous thin films of 2D materials using atomic layer deposition in low temperature and low vacuum conditions

Van der Waals epitaxy holds great promise in producing high-quality films of 2D materials. However, scalable van der Waals epitaxy processes operating at low temperatures and low vacuum conditions are lacking. Herein, atomic layer deposition is used for van der Waals epitaxy of continuous multilayer films of 2D materials HfS2, MoS2, SnS2, and ZrS2 on muscovite mica and PbI2 on sapphire at temperatures between 75 degrees C and 400 degrees C. For the metal sulfides on mica, the main epitaxial relation is MS2 mica. Some domains rotated by 30 degrees are also observed corresponding to the MS2 mica alignment. In both cases, the presence of domains rotated by 60 degrees (mirror twins) is also expected. For PbI2 on sapphire, the epitaxial relation is PbI2 Al2O3 with no evidence of 30 degrees domains. For all of the studied systems there is relatively large in-plane mosaicity and in the PbI2/Al2O3 system some non-epitaxial domains are also observed. The study presents first steps of an approach towards a scalable and semiconductor industry compatible van der Waals epitaxy method.Peer reviewe

Migrating 120,000 Legacy Publications from Several Systems into a Current Research Information System Using Advanced Data Wrangling Techniques

This article describes a complex CRIS (current research information system) implementation project involving the migration of around 120,000 legacy publication records from three different systems. The project, undertaken by Tampere University, encountered several challenges in data diversity, data quality, and resource allocation. To handle the extensive and heterogenous dataset, innovative approaches such as machine learning techniques and various data wrangling tools were used to process data, correct errors, and merge information from different sources. Despite significant delays and unforeseen obstacles, the project was ultimately successful in achieving its goals. The project served as a valuable learning experience, highlighting the importance of data quality and standardized practices, and the need for dedicated resources in handling complex data migration projects in research organizations. This study stands out for its comprehensive documentation of the data wrangling and migration process, which has been less explored in the context of CRIS literature.Peer reviewe

UAV-Aided Interference Assessment for Private 5G NR Deployments: Challenges and Solutions

Industrial automation has created a high demand for private 5G networks, the deployment of which calls for an efficient and reliable solution to ensure strict compliance with the regulatory emission limits. While traditional methods for measuring outdoor interference include collecting real-world data by walking or driving, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offers an attractive alternative due to their flexible mobility and adaptive altitude. As UAVs perform measurements quickly and semiautomatically, they can potentially assist in near realtime adjustments of the network configuration and fine-tuning its parameters, such as antenna settings and transmit power, as well as help improve indoor connectivity while respecting outdoor emission constraints. This article offers a firsthand tutorial on using aerial 5G emission assessment for interference management in nonpublic networks (NPNs) by reviewing the key challenges of UAV-mounted radio-scanner measurements. Particularly, we (i) outline the challenges of practical assessment of the outdoor interference originating from a local indoor 5G network while discussing regulatory and other related constraints and (ii) address practical methods and tools while summarizing the recent results of our measurement campaign. The reported proof of concept confirms that UAV-based systems represent a promising tool for capturing outdoor interference from private 5G systems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

High miR-30 Expression Associates with Improved Breast Cancer Patient Survival and Treatment Outcome

Deregulated miRNA expression has been suggested in several stages of breast cancer pathogenesis. We have studied the miR-30 family, in particular miR-30d, in relation to breast cancer patient survival and treatment outcomes. With tumor specimens from 1238 breast cancer patients, we analyzed the association of miR-30d expression with tumor characteristics with the 5-year occurrence of breast cancer-specific death or distant metastasis (BDDM), and with 10-year breast cancer survival (BCS). We conducted a two-stage drug-screen to investigate the impact of miR-30 family members (miR-30a-30e) on sensitivity to doxorubicin and lapatinib in six breast cancer cell lines HCC1937, HCC1954, MDA-MB-361, MCF7, MDA-MB-436 and CAL-120, using drug sensitivity scores (DSS) to compare the miR-30 family mimics to their specific inhibitors. The study was complemented with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) with the METABRIC data. We found that while high miR-30d expression is typical for aggressive tumors, it predicts better metastasis-free (pBDDM = 0.035, HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.4–0.9) and breast cancer-specific survival (pBCS = 0.018, HR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.4–0.9), especially in HER2-positive (pBDDM = 0.0009), ER-negative (pBDDM = 0.003), p53-positive (pBDDM = 0.011), and highly proliferating (pBDDM = 0.0004) subgroups, and after adjuvant chemotherapy (pBDDM = 0.035). MiR-30d predicted survival independently of standard prognostic markers (pBDDM = 0.0004). In the drug-screening test, the miR-30 family sensitized the HER2-positive HCC1954 cell line to lapatinib (p < 10−2) and HCC1937, MDA-MB-361, MDA-MB-436 and CAL120 to doxorubicin (p < 10−4) with an opposite impact on MCF7. According to the pathway analysis, the miR-30 family has a suppressive effect on cell motility and metastasis in breast cancer. Our results suggest prognostic and predictive potential for the miR-30 family, which warrants further investigation

High miR-30 Expression Associates with Improved Breast Cancer Patient Survival and Treatment Outcome

Deregulated miRNA expression has been suggested in several stages of breast cancer pathogenesis. We have studied the miR-30 family, in particular miR-30d, in relation to breast cancer patient survival and treatment outcomes. With tumor specimens from 1238 breast cancer patients, we analyzed the association of miR-30d expression with tumor characteristics with the 5-year occurrence of breast cancer-specific death or distant metastasis (BDDM), and with 10-year breast cancer survival (BCS). We conducted a two-stage drug-screen to investigate the impact of miR-30 family members (miR-30a-30e) on sensitivity to doxorubicin and lapatinib in six breast cancer cell lines HCC1937, HCC1954, MDA-MB-361, MCF7, MDA-MB-436 and CAL-120, using drug sensitivity scores (DSS) to compare the miR-30 family mimics to their specific inhibitors. The study was complemented with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) with the METABRIC data. We found that while high miR-30d expression is typical for aggressive tumors, it predicts better metastasis-free (pBDDM = 0.035, HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.4–0.9) and breast cancer-specific survival (pBCS = 0.018, HR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.4–0.9), especially in HER2-positive (pBDDM = 0.0009), ER-negative (pBDDM = 0.003), p53-positive (pBDDM = 0.011), and highly proliferating (pBDDM = 0.0004) subgroups, and after adjuvant chemotherapy (pBDDM = 0.035). MiR-30d predicted survival independently of standard prognostic markers (pBDDM = 0.0004). In the drug-screening test, the miR-30 family sensitized the HER2-positive HCC1954 cell line to lapatinib (p < 10−2) and HCC1937, MDA-MB-361, MDA-MB-436 and CAL120 to doxorubicin (p < 10−4) with an opposite impact on MCF7. According to the pathway analysis, the miR-30 family has a suppressive effect on cell motility and metastasis in breast cancer. Our results suggest prognostic and predictive potential for the miR-30 family, which warrants further investigation

Morphology and histology of silent and symptom-causing atherosclerotic carotid plaques - Rationale and design of the Helsinki Carotid Endarterectomy Study 2 (the HeCES2)

Introduction: Every fifth ischemic stroke is caused by thromboembolism originating from an atherosclerotic carotid artery plaque. While prevention is the most cost-effective stroke therapy, antiplatelet and cholesterol-lowering drugs have a ceiling effect in their efficacy. Therefore, discovery of novel pathophysiologic targets are needed to improve the primary and secondary prevention of stroke. This article provides a detailed study design and protocol of HeCES2, an observational prospective cohort study with the objective to investigate the pathophysiology of carotid atherosclerosis.Materials and Methods: Recruitment and carotid endarterectomies of the study patients with carotid atherosclerosis were performed from October 2012 to September 2015. After brain and carotid artery imaging, endarterectomised carotid plaques (CPs) and blood samples were collected from 500 patients for detailed biochemical and molecular analyses.Findings to date: We developed a morphological grading for macroscopic characteristics within CPs. The dominant macroscopic CP characteristics were: smoothness 62%, ulceration 61%, intraplaque hemorrhage 60%, atheromatous gruel 59%, luminal coral-type calcification 34%, abundant (44%) and moderate (39%) intramural calcification, and symptom-causing hot spot area 53%.Future plans: By combining clinically oriented and basic biomedical research, this large-scale study attempts to untangle the pathophysiological perplexities of human carotid atherosclerosis.Key MessagesThis article is a rationale and design of the HeCES2 study that is an observational prospective cohort study with the objective to investigate the pathophysiology of carotid atherosclerosis.The HeCES2 study strives to develop diagnostic algorithms including radiologic imaging to identify carotid atherosclerosis patients who warrant surgical treatment.In addition, the study aims at finding out new tools for clinical risk stratification as well as novel molecular targets for drug development.Peer reviewe