Development of a Novel Bioactive Functionally Guided Tissue Graded Membrane for Periodontal Lesions

Periodontal disorders are chronic inflammatory condition of the supporting structures of the tooth. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) membranes have been used in the management of destructive forms of periodontal disease as a means of aiding regeneration of lost supporting tissues, such as alveolar bone, cementum, gingiva and periodontal ligament. In this study, individual layers of a functionally graded bioactive composite membrane were fabricated using the techniques of solvent casting, freeze gelation and electrospinning by incorporating Hydroxyapatite (HA) alongside Chitosan and using acetic acid as the primary solvent. The techniques were simple, time /energy efficient and reproducible resulting in novel non porous and porous scaffolds with potential for use in periodontal tissue regeneration. Scaffolds were characterised in terms of ultra structure morphology by scanning electron microscopy, physiochemical properties, water uptake, and degradation by weight loss, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Microscopy revealed porous features and presence of hydroxyapatite was confirmed with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Morphology of the pores varied with different solvents, which were affected by addition of HA. Biocompatibility studies were carried out using a human osteosarcoma cell line and human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells. All tested scaffolds showed increasing cell viability over the tested culture period. In conclusion, solvent casting, freeze gelation and electrospinning were successfully used to fabricate scaffolds with different morphology and porosity. Future work will focus on incorporation of drug into the core layer and combining the surface and core layers to form a spatially designed functionally graded biodegradable membrane with the potential of being used for periodontal tissue regeneration

Situation identification in smart wearable computing systems based on machine learning and Context Space Theory

Wearable devices and smart sensors are increasingly adopted to monitor the behaviors of human and artificial agents. Many applications rely on the capability of such devices to recognize daily life activities performed by the monitored users in order to tailor their behaviors with respect to the occurring situations. Despite the constant evolution of smart sensing technologies and the numerous research in this field, an accurate recognition of in-the-wild situations still represents an open research challenge. This work proposes a novel approach for situation identification capable of recognizing the activities and the situations in which they occur in different environments and behavioral contexts, processing data acquired by wearable and environmental sensors. An architecture of a situation-aware wearable computing system is proposed, inspired by Endsley's situation-awareness model, consisting of a two-step approach for situation identification. The approach first identifies the daily life activities via a learning-based technique. Simultaneously, the context in which the activities are performed is recognized using Context Space Theory. Finally, the fusion between the context state and the activities allows identifying the complex situations in which the user is acting. The knowledge regarding the situations forms the basis on which novel and smarter applications can be realized. The approach has been evaluated on the ExtraSensory public dataset and compared with state-of-the-art techniques, achieving an accuracy of 96% for the recognition of situations and with significantly low computational time, demonstrating the efficacy of the two-step situation identification approach

Fabrication of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) scaffolds with nano- and micro-topographical and morphological features

The design of biomimetic biomaterials for cell culture has become a great tool to study and understand cell behavior, tissue degradation, and lesion. Topographical and morphological features play an important role in modulating cell behavior. In this study, a dual methodology was evaluated to generate novel gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)-based scaffolds with nano and micro topographical and morphological features. First, electrospinning parameters and crosslinking processes were optimized to obtain electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds. GelMA mats were characterized by SEM, FTIR, DSC, TGA, contact angle, and water uptake. Various nanofibrous GelMA mats with defect-free fibers and stability in aqueous media were obtained. Then, micropatterned molds produced by photolithography were used as collectors in the electrospinning process. Thus, biocompatible GelMA nanofibrous scaffolds with micro-patterns that mimic extracellular matrix were obtained successfully by combining two micro/nanofabrication techniques, electrospinning, and micromolding. Taking into account the cell viability results, the methodology used in this study could be considered a valuable tool to develop patterned GelMA based nanofibrous scaffolds for cell culture and tissue engineering.Fil: Aldana, Ana Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Malatto, Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Rehman, M. A. U.. Universitat Erlangen-Nuremberg; AlemaniaFil: Boccaccini, A. R.. Universitat Erlangen-Nuremberg; AlemaniaFil: Abraham, Gustavo Abel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Comparative Analysis of V-Akt Murine Thymoma Viral Oncogene Homolog 3 (AKT3) Gene between Cow and Buffalo Reveals Substantial Differences for Mastitis

AKT3 gene is a constituent of the serine/threonine protein kinase family and plays a crucial role in synthesis of milk fats and cholesterol by regulating activity of the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP). AKT3 is highly conserved in mammals and its expression levels during the lactation periods of cattle are markedly increased. AKT3 is highly expressed in the intestine followed by mammary gland and it is also expressed in immune cells. It is involved in the TLR pathways as effectively as proinflammatory cytokines. The aims of this study were to investigate the sequences differences between buffalo and cow. Our results showed that there were substantial differences between buffalo and cow in some exons and noteworthy differences of the gene size in different regions. We also identified the important consensus sequence motifs, variation in 2000 upstream of ATG, substantial difference in the “3′UTR” region, and miRNA association in the buffalo sequences compared with the cow. In addition, genetic analyses, such as gene structure, phylogenetic tree, position of different motifs, and functional domains, were performed to establish their correlation with other species. This may indicate that a buffalo breed has potential resistance to disease, environment changes, and airborne microorganisms and some good production and reproductive traits

The electrokinetic impact on heavy metals remediation of Tasik Chini iron ore mine tailings, at Pahang state, Peninsular Malaysia

The improper disposal of mining tailings is a severe threat to the surrounding environment because it comprises high concentrations of heavy metals contamination. Any precious metal extraction (mining) produces millions of tons of waste; iron ore extraction is common globally, unlike other metals extraction. The iron ore tailings contain heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn). This study focuses on extracting hazardous metals such as As, V, and Zn from the disposed waste and improving its geotechnical properties. Nine samples were collected from Tasik Chini Iron ore mine, Pekan district, Pahang State, Malaysia. The initial data were prepared for elemental analysis by following ICP-OES analysis. The results showed that As, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, and Zn concentrations exceeded the standard guidelines. In recent years, sustainable remediations techniques (EKR) have attracted extensive attention, including the electrokinetic remediation technique. The (EKR) method was applied to extract these metals from iron ore tailings specimens. A comprehensive approach of EKR shows an outstanding result where the highest removal efficiency of As was 68.4 %, Co 64.5%, Mn 67.8%, Pb 67.1%, and Cu was 64.1% and Zn 64.9% with the voltage gradient of 100 and 150 V for 4 and 8 hours constantly. Increasing the voltage gradient could be a cost-effective long-term solution for the remediation of iron ore tailings. The existing method was experienced as an effective and green technique for extracting heavy metals and recycling the mining waste materials

Updated NNLO QCD predictions for the weak radiative B-meson decays

Weak radiative decays of the B mesons belong to the most important flavor changing processes that provide constraints on physics at the TeV scale. In the derivation of such constraints, accurate standard model predictions for the inclusive branching ratios play a crucial role. In the current Letter we present an update of these predictions, incorporating all our results for the O(alpha_s^2) and lower-order perturbative corrections that have been calculated after 2006. New estimates of nonperturbative effects are taken into account, too. For the CP- and isospin-averaged branching ratios, we find B_{s gamma} = (3.36 +_ 0.23) * 10^-4 and B_{d gamma} = 1.73^{+0.12}_{-0.22} * 10^-5, for E_gamma > 1.6GeV. Both results remain in agreement with the current experimental averages. Normalizing their sum to the inclusive semileptonic branching ratio, we obtain R_gamma = ( B_{s gamma} + B_{d gamma})/B_{c l nu} = (3.31 +_ 0.22) * 10^-3. A new bound from B_{s gamma} on the charged Higgs boson mass in the two-Higgs-doublet-model II reads M_{H^+} > 480 GeV at 95%C.L.Comment: journal version, 5 pages, no figure

A Compact Single Layer Reflectarray Antenna Based on Circular Delay-Lines for X-band Applications

This paper presents a compact single layer reflectarray antenna based on a diagonally notched square patch and a pair of circular delay lines, for X-band applications. The length and width of circular delay-lines are varied and optimized to attain a linear phase range of more than 600º. The effect of incident angle in TE and TM modes at 0º, 15º and 30º is studied, which offers stable angular phase range. The hybrid Finite Element Boundary Integral (FEBI) method is used for simulation of the whole reflectarray system comprising of 27 × 27 elements and being fabricated on a low cost FR-4 laminate. The measured gain of 24.5 dBi with aperture efficiency of 49.5% is achieved at 10 GHz. The proposed design provides the measured 1-dB gain bandwidth of 12.5% and 3-dB gain bandwidth of 34%. The simulated and measured side-lobe-levels and cross polarizations are less than –25 dB and –40 dB respectively

Compact Electronically Reconfigurable WiMAX Band- Notched Ultra-wideband MIMO Antenna

A low-profile electronically reconfigurable WiMAX band-notched dual port multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) antenna design for ultra-wideband application has been presented. The two symmetrical MIMO antenna elements proposed in this work exhibit a good impedance match (VSWR ≤ 2) over frequency band of 3 to 12 GHz, while offering high isolation. The decoupling structure is used to enhance the isolation level above 25 dB over the entire UWB spectrum. The reconfigurable band notch characteristic in MIMO design is achieved by inserting PIN diodes along the filtering Ω-shaped slotted structure in main radiators. Notch appears for WiMAX 3.5 GHz (3.2 - 3.8 GHz) frequency band by switching the PIN diode to ‘ON’ state. The proposed antenna is fabricated and measured, the results suggest its appropriateness for UWB applications where WiMAX band notch characteristics may be desired on-demand