Fabrication and Experimental Analysis of Axially Oriented Nanofibers

A novel design of a laboratory built axially rotating collector (ARC) having capability to align electrospun nanofibers have been described. A detailed morphological comparison of such nanofibers orientation and their geometry is done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For comparison various polymeric solutions were electrospun on conventional static collector as well as ARC. The average diameter of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers was found to be 250 nm while polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were found to be within a range of 600–800 nm. Conducting nanoparticles such as graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) mixed with polymer solutions shown to have a significant influence on the overall geometry of these nanofibers and their diameter distribution. It is evident from the SEM analysis that both graphene and MWNTs in polymer solution play a crucial role in achieving a uniform diameter of nanofibers. Lastly, the formation of the aligned nanofibers using ARC has been mathematically modeled and the electromagnetic field governing the process has been simulated

The Role of TNF-α in Mice with Type 1- and 2- Diabetes

Background: Previously, we have demonstrated that short-term treatment of new onset diabetic Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, mice that are afflicted with both type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes with either Power Mix (PM) regimen or alpha1 antitrypsin (AAT) permanently restores euglycemia, immune tolerance to self-islets and normal insulin signaling. Methodology and Principal Findings: To search for relevant therapeutic targets, we have applied genome wide transcriptional profiling and systems biology oriented bioinformatics analysis to examine the impact of the PM and AAT regimens upon pancreatic lymph node (PLN) and fat, a crucial tissue for insulin dependent glucose disposal, in new onset diabetic non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. Systems biology analysis identified tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-$\alpha$) as the top focus gene hub, as determined by the highest degree of connectivity, in both tissues. In PLNs and fat, TNF-$\alpha$ interacted with 53% and 32% of genes, respectively, associated with reversal of diabetes by previous treatments and was thereby selected as a therapeutic target. Short-term anti-TNF-$\alpha$ treatment ablated a T cell-rich islet-invasive and beta cell-destructive process, thereby enhancing beta cell viability. Indeed anti-TNF-$\alpha$ treatment induces immune tolerance selective to syngeneic beta cells. In addition to these curative effects on T1D anti-TNF-e33254 treatment restored in vivo insulin signaling resulting in restoration of insulin sensitivity. Conclusions: In short, our molecular analysis suggested that PM and AAT both may act in part by quenching a detrimental TNF-$\alpha$ dependent effect in both fat and PLNs. Indeed, short-term anti-TNF-$\alpha$ mAb treatment restored enduring euglycemia, self-tolerance, and normal insulin signaling

Resistance of Renal Cell Carcinoma to Sorafenib Is Mediated by Potentially Reversible Gene Expression

Purpose: Resistance to antiangiogenic therapy is an important clinical problem. We examined whether resistance occurs at least in part via reversible, physiologic changes in the tumor, or results solely from stable genetic changes in resistant tumor cells. Experimental Design: Mice bearing two human RCC xenografts were treated with sorafenib until they acquired resistance. Resistant 786-O cells were harvested and reimplanted into naïve mice. Mice bearing resistant A498 cells were subjected to a 1 week treatment break. Sorafenib was then again administered to both sets of mice. Tumor growth patterns, gene expression, viability, blood vessel density, and perfusion were serially assessed in treated vs control mice. Results: Despite prior resistance, reimplanted 786-O tumors maintained their ability to stabilize on sorafenib in sequential reimplantation steps. A transcriptome profile of the tumors revealed that the gene expression profile of tumors upon reimplantation reapproximated that of the untreated tumors and was distinct from tumors exhibiting resistance to sorafenib. In A498 tumors, revascularization was noted with resistance and cessation of sorafenib therapy and tumor perfusion was reduced and tumor cell necrosis enhanced with re-exposure to sorafenib. Conclusions: In two RCC cell lines, resistance to sorafenib appears to be reversible. These results support the hypothesis that resistance to VEGF pathway therapy is not solely the result of a permanent genetic change in the tumor or selection of resistant clones, but rather is due to a great extent to reversible changes that likely occur in the tumor and/or its microenvironment

An overview of burst, buckling, durability and corrosion analysis of lightweight FRP composite pipes and their applicability

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The main aim of this review article was to address the performance of filament wound fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite pipes and their critical properties, such as burst, buckling, durability and corrosion. The importance of process parameters concerning merits and demerits of the manufacturing methods was discussed for the better-quality performance. Burst analysis revealed that the winding angle of ±55° was observed to be optimum with minimum failure mechanisms, such as matrix cracking, whitening, leakage and fracture. The reduction of buckling effect was reported in case of lower hoop stress value in the hoop to axial stress ratio against axial, compression and torsion. A significant improvement in energy absorption was observed in the hybrid composite pipes with the effect of thermal treatment. However, the varying winding angle in FRP pipe fabrication was reported as an influencing factor affecting all the aforementioned properties. Almost 90% of the reviewed studies was done using E-glass/epoxy materials for the composite pipe production. By overcoming associated limitations, such as replacing synthetic materials, designing new material combinations and cost-benefit analysis, the production cost of the lightweight FRP composite pipes can be decreased for the real-time applications.Peer reviewe

The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. Methods: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. Results and Conclusion: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events

Fundamental investigation of the cathodic delamination behaviour of model polymer coating on novel chromium-based coatings electrodeposited from a trivalent chromium-formate electrolyte

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Beschichtungen auf Chrombasis untersucht, die aus einem dreiwertigen Chromelektrolyten galvanisch abgeschieden wurden. Die Struktur und die Zusammensetzung der Beschichtungen wurden mit ergänzenden Charakterisierungstechniken untersucht. Die kathodische Delamination eines schwach gebundenen Polymers, das auf diese Proben aufgetragen wurde, wurde in-situ mit Hilfe einer Kelvinsonde untersucht, ebenso der Prozess der Kationenwanderung entlang der Substrat-Polymer-Grenzfläche. Mit Hilfe von in operando Röntgenphotoelektronenspektroskopie konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Adsorption von Sauerstoff einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Kationenmigration hat. Mikroskopische Heterogenitäten auf der Oberfläche der Beschichtungen wurden mit Hilfe der Rasterkraftmikroskopie und der Kelvin-Rastersondenkraftmikroskopie untersucht. Ihre Struktur und ihr Einfluss auf das Delaminationsverhalten wurden im Detail analysiert

<i>In silico</i> docking analysis to explore the proapoptotic and anti cell proliferative potential of ferulic acid

17-23In silico molecular docking analysis has been carried out to explore the proapoptotic and anti-cell proliferative properties of ferulic acid by using seven target proteins viz., p53 (PDB ID: 4AGN), Bcl-2 (PDB ID: 4IEH), Bax (PDB ID: 1F16), Caspase 3 (PDB ID: 1NMS), Caspase 9 (PDB ID: 1NW9), Cyclin D1 (PDB ID: 2W96) and PCNA (PDB ID: 3VKX). The three dimensional x-ray structures of the above said target proteins are retrieved from PDB database and their active sites are predicted by CASTp server. The docking analysis was performed for the target proteins using Autodock tool v 4.2 and ADT v 1.5.6 programs. Results of the present analysis revealed that ferulic acid could serve as an apoptotic and anti-cell proliferative agent due to the fact that ferulic acid docks well these proteins with least binding energy conformation values. Ferulic acid could therefore be used or considered as a promising candidate for the treatment of cancer due to its proapoptotic and anti-cell proliferative properties

Infinite Coffee Cup

Imagine you go to your favorite cafe house or a restaurant and the system recognizes your presence and alerts the waiter and caters to your favorite beverage you longed for the day. The main motivation to Infinite Coffee Cup is to detect the presence of a person and dynamically and non-Invasively estimate the amount of coffee in a circular cup on the table. One of the more popular devices used is Microsoft Kinect, which has cameras that capture both RGB and Depth data. Kinect is a low cost sensing device which provides two streams of images, 8 bit 3 channel RGB image and 11 bit single channel depth image. The system is fixed at the roof facing downwards and it takes a top view of the cup placed on the table. We use ``libfreenect'' 1] drivers which is an open source project, to stream data from kinect. We employ various image processing algorithms using OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision) which is a library of programming functions for real time computer vision. The algorithms are used to manipulate the data from kinect to, - Detect the circular coffee cups in the RGB image. - Overlay and correlate the depth values of cups in the depth image to get the height and amount of coffee in the cup

Tribological Properties of Cyperus Pangorei Fibre Reinforced Polyester Composites(Friction and Wear Behaviour of Cyperus Pangorei Fibre/Polyester Composites)

This paper investigated the tribological behavior of natural fiber-reinforced polyester composites. The Cyperus pangorei (CP) fiber and polyester were used as a reinforcement material and thermosetting matrix, respectively. The composites were fabricated using compression molding technique with 40 wt% of CP fiber. Technological properties such as density, hardness, and wear of the composite specimens were determined. The density and shore D hardness of the prepared specimens were 1.0176 g/cc ± 0.106 and 87.25 ± 4.1, respectively. A pin-on-disk wear test machine was used to conduct the dry sliding wear test with constant sliding distance; various sliding velocities of 1, 2, and 3 m/s; and a range of contact pressure of 0.13–0.38 MPa. After the wear test, the surface roughness of worn specimens was measured. The specific wear rate increased when the applied load was increased on the specimen. A non-linear decrease in coefficient of friction was observed with the combination of increasing contact pressure and decreasing sliding velocity. The morphological analyses were carried out using a scanning electron microscope for the worn specimens