Digital printing of enzymes on textile substrates as functional materials

Recently, there have been significant developments in inkjet printing for applications in various fields such as medicine, biomaterials and sensors. In this research, enzymes like horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and glucose oxidase (GOx) were directly printed by inkjet printer onto flexible textile fabric in predefined patterns to produce a functional material. The functionality of the printed enzymes (bioink) was investigated by chemical reaction after printing fresh and stored bio-ink in a digital printer. The results indicated that these enzymes can be effectively printed individually or in combination, which retains their functionality after printing. Furthermore, HRP was coupled and printed with fluorescent group, the result confirmed that the printed enzyme was still active and retained its functionality despite the printing process. Hence, the digital printing technique can be used as a novel method for producing functional textiles for advanced applications in monitoring health and security

Estilos de liderazgo de profesores de Educación Física iraníes

The present study aimed to determine the most adequate leadership style for Iranian Physical Education teachers. The sample was composed of 384 Physical Education teachers from Iran of 4 regions and 20 provinces. Multistage sampling and simple random sampling were used. The variables studied in this research were: 1) Leadership style. 2) Sociocultural attitudes. 3) Personality dimensions. 4) Situational factors. The leadership style was evaluated with the Likert Leadership Styles Standard Questionnaire. The sociocultural attitudes of the physical education teachers were determined with the Cultural Attitudes Questionnaire. The personality traits of the educators were analysed with the Five Personality Trait Inventory. The situational factors of employees were assessed with the Standard Staff Readiness Questionnaire. The final model of the appropriate leadership style with personality traits, cultural attitudes and situational factors of Physical Education teachers indicates that the most appropriate leadership styles for the Iranian Physical Education teachers were Delegating and Coaching styles, followed by Supporting and Directing styles.El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar el estilo de liderazgo más adecuado para los profesores iraníes de educación física. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 384 docentes de educación física de Irán de 4 regiones y 20 provincias. Se utilizó muestreo polietápico y muestreo aleatorio simple. Las variables estudiadas en esta investigación fueron: 1) Estilo de liderazgo. 2) Actitudes socioculturales. 3) Dimensiones de la personalidad. 4) Factores situacionales. El estilo de liderazgo se evaluó con el Cuestionario Estándar de Estilos de Liderazgo. Las actitudes socioculturales de los profesores de educación física se determinaron con el Cuestionario de Actitudes Culturales. Los rasgos de personalidad de los educadores se analizaron con el Inventario de los Cinco Rasgos de Personalidad. Los factores situacionales de los empleados se evaluaron con el Cuestionario Estándar de Preparación del Personal. El modelo final del estilo de liderazgo apropiado con rasgos de personalidad, actitudes culturales y factores situacionales de los profesores de Educación Física indica que los estilos de liderazgo más apropiados para los profesores iraníes de Educación Física fueron los estilos de Delegación y Entrenamiento, seguidos por los estilos de Apoyo y Dirección

Gender Differences of the Mastication Patterns in Humans

Nineteen young healthy subjects were offered a morsel of the hard (walnut) and soft (cake) food, while surface EMG was recorded bilaterally from the masseter muscles. The duration of the entire sequence of chewing, chewing rate, number of chewing cycles, time/cycle ratio, and mean and maximum EMG amplitudes of the above muscles were compared in women and men (n = 12 and 7, respectively). The duration of the whole chewing sequence for the soft food and duration of a single chewing cycle for both food types were significantly longer in women (P = 0.000). The masticatory frequencies for both food types were significantly greater in men (soft food: 0.98 ± 0.18 and 1.79 ± 0.18 sec–1, hard food: 1.25 ± 0.29 and 2.03 ± ± 0.32 sec–1 in women and men, respectively; P = 0.000). The numbers of chewing cycles for both food types were statistically similar (P = 0.38 and P = 0.67). The mean and maximum EMG amplitude were found to be nearly similar in women and men, except for the mean amplitude of the right EMG at soft food chewing was significantly higher in men (P = 0.02). Thus, chewing in women occurs, in general, more slowly, while masseter muscle activities are rather similar. The food consistency exerts a mild overall influence on the gender differences of chewing.19 молодим здоровим випробуваним пропонували з’їсти невелику порцію твердої (волоський горіх) або м’якої (торт) їжі; в цей час відводили білатерально ЕМГ-активність жувальних м’язів. Тривалість усього епізоду жування, частота жувальних рухів, кількість жувальних циклів, тривалість окремого циклу, а також середні та максимальні амплітуди ЕМГ, відведених від вказаних м’язів, порівнювали у жінок і чоловіків (n = 12 і 7 відповідно). Тривалість усього епізоду жування м’якої їжі та тривалості окремого циклу для їжі обох типів були вірогідно більшими у жінок (P = 0.000). Частоти жувальних рухів для їжі обох типів були значно вищими у чоловіків (м’яка їжа: 0.98 ± 0.18 і 1.79 ± 0.18 с–1, тверда їжа: 1.25 ± 0.29 і 2.03 ± 0.32 с–1 у жінок і чоловіків відповідно; P = 0.000). Число циклів жування для їжі обох типів не демонструвало вірогідної різниці (P = 0.38 і P = 0.67). Середня і максимальна амплітуди ЕМГ були майже однаковими у жінок і чоловіків. Єдиним винятком була вища амплітуда ЕМГ справа у чоловіків при жуванні м’якої їжі (P = 0.02). Таким чином, жування у жінок відбувається в цілому повільніше, в той час як м’язова жувальна активність у представників різних статей є досить подібною. Консистенція їжі в цілому слабко впливає на гендерні відмінності процесу жування

Applications of artificial intelligence to prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI): Current and emerging trends

Prostate carcinoma is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is a non-invasive tool that can improve prostate lesion detection, classification, and volume quantification. Machine learning (ML), a branch of artificial intelligence, can rapidly and accurately analyze mpMRI images. ML could provide better standardization and consistency in identifying prostate lesions and enhance prostate carcinoma management. This review summarizes ML applications to prostate mpMRI and focuses on prostate organ segmentation, lesion detection and segmentation, and lesion characterization. A literature search was conducted to find studies that have applied ML methods to prostate mpMRI. To date, prostate organ segmentation and volume approximation have been well executed using various ML techniques. Prostate lesion detection and segmentation are much more challenging tasks for ML and were attempted in several studies. They largely remain unsolved problems due to data scarcity and the limitations of current ML algorithms. By contrast, prostate lesion characterization has been successfully completed in several studies because of better data availability. Overall, ML is well situated to become a tool that enhances radiologists\u27 accuracy and speed

CoV-TI-Net: Transferred Initialization with Modified End Layer for COVID-19 Diagnosis

This paper proposes transferred initialization with modified fully connected layers for COVID-19 diagnosis. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) achieved a remarkable result in image classification. However, training a high-performing model is a very complicated and time-consuming process because of the complexity of image recognition applications. On the other hand, transfer learning is a relatively new learning method that has been employed in many sectors to achieve good performance with fewer computations. In this research, the PyTorch pre-trained models (VGG19\_bn and WideResNet -101) are applied in the MNIST dataset for the first time as initialization and with modified fully connected layers. The employed PyTorch pre-trained models were previously trained in ImageNet. The proposed model is developed and verified in the Kaggle notebook, and it reached the outstanding accuracy of 99.77% without taking a huge computational time during the training process of the network. We also applied the same methodology to the SIIM-FISABIO-RSNA COVID-19 Detection dataset and achieved 80.01% accuracy. In contrast, the previous methods need a huge compactional time during the training process to reach a high-performing model. Codes are available at the following link: github.com/dipuk0506/SpinalNe

Nutritive value of unconventional fibrous ingredients fed to Guinea pigs in the Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedThe energy and protein value for Guinea pigs (GP) of 9 forages (7 dicots and 2 grasses) and 5 hay-based diets was determined. The apparent faecal digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and energy was measured on GP housed in metabolic cages. The forages and the diets were digested in vitro using pepsin and pancreatin hydrolysis and gas fermentation test to simulate stomach, small intestine and large intestine, respectively. Most of the dicots had high digestible crude protein content (152–201 g/kg DM) and the 2 grasses showed lower values (80–85 g/kg DM). Digestible energy content of the forages ranged between 5.79 to 13.08 MJ/kg DM. None of the forage species or hay-based diets provided sufficient energy to supply the 11.7 MJ/kg metabolic energy requirements. The influence of intestinal fermentation on energy and protein values was highlighted by correlations (P<0.05) between in vivo and in vitro data, including gas fermentation. It is the first time that such relationships are reported in single-stomach animals

Phase 1–2 Trial of Antisense Oligonucleotide Tofersen for SOD1 ALS

BACKGROUND Tofersen is an antisense oligonucleotide that mediates the degradation of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) messenger RNA to reduce SOD1 protein synthesis. Intrathecal administration of tofersen is being studied for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) due to SOD1 mutations. METHODS We conducted a phase 1–2 ascending-dose trial evaluating tofersen in adults with ALS due to SOD1 mutations. In each dose cohort (20, 40, 60, or 100 mg), participants were randomly assigned in a 3:1 ratio to receive five doses of tofersen or placebo, administered intrathecally for 12 weeks. The primary outcomes were safety and pharmacokinetics. The secondary outcome was the change from baseline in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) SOD1 concentration at day 85. Clinical function and vital capacity were measured. RESULTS A total of 50 participants underwent randomization and were included in the analyses; 48 participants received all five planned doses. Lumbar puncture–related adverse events were observed in most participants. Elevations in CSF white-cell count and protein were reported as adverse events in 4 and 5 participants, respectively, who received tofersen. Among participants who received tofersen, one died from pulmonary embolus on day 137, and one from respiratory failure on day 152; one participant in the placebo group died from respiratory failure on day 52. The difference at day 85 in the change from baseline in the CSF SOD1 concentration between the tofersen groups and the placebo group was 2 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], −18 to 27) for the 20-mg dose, −25 percentage points (95% CI, −40 to −5) for the 40-mg dose, −19 percentage points (95% CI, −35 to 2) for the 60-mg dose, and −33 percentage points (95% CI, −47 to −16) for the 100-mg dose. CONCLUSIONS In adults with ALS due to SOD1 mutations, CSF SOD1 concentrations decreased at the highest concentration of tofersen administered intrathecally over a period of 12 weeks. CSF pleocytosis occurred in some participants receiving tofersen. Lumbar puncture–related adverse events were observed in most participants. (Funded by Biogen; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02623699. opens in new tab; EudraCT number, 2015-004098-33. opens in new tab.

The effects of CRF antagonists, antalarmin, CP154,526, LWH234, and R121919, in the forced swim test and on swim-induced increases in adrenocorticotropin in rats

Exposure to extreme stress has been suggested to produce long-term, detrimental alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis leading to the development of mental disorders such as depression. Therefore, compounds that block the effects of stress hormones were investigated as potential therapeutics for depression.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46365/1/213_2005_Article_2164.pd

Interfacial properties of all-polypropylene composites

Preparation and characterization of novel composites, consisting of polypropylene (PP) fibres in a random poly(propylene-co-ethylene) (PPE) matrix, were investigated. These composites possess unique properties, due to chemical compatibility of the two polymers allowing creation of strong physico-chemical interactions and strong interfacial bonds. The difference between the melting temperatures of PP fibre and PPE was exploited in order to establish processing conditions for the composites. Suitable conditions were chosen so that the matrix was a liquid, to ensure good wetting and impregnation of the fibres, though the temperature must not be high enough to melt the fibres. The morphology of the composites was investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Optical microscope images showed that transcrystallization of the matrix was observed on PP fibre surfaces. SEM photographs displayed a thin layer of matrix on the reinforcement, attributed to good impregnation and wetting of the fibres. Adhesion between PPE matrix and PP fibres was characterized using a microbond test inspired by a fibre pull-out technique. The results showed that adhesion was appreciably increased when PP fibres were used instead of glass fibres in the matrix. Nevertheless, thermal processing conditions of the composites caused reduction in mechanical behaviour of the reinforcement