Optimum dry-cooling sub-systems for a solar air conditioner

Dry-cooling sub-systems for residential solar powered Rankine compression air conditioners were economically optimized and compared with the cost of a wet cooling tower. Results in terms of yearly incremental busbar cost due to the use of dry-cooling were presented for Philadelphia and Miami. With input data corresponding to local weather, energy rate and capital costs, condenser surface designs and performance, the computerized optimization program yields design specifications of the sub-system which has the lowest annual incremental cost

Recapitulating cranial osteogenesis with neural crest cells in 3-D microenvironments

The experimental systems that recapitulate the complexity of native tissues and enable precise control over the microenvironment are becoming essential for the pre-clinical tests of therapeutics and tissue engineering. Here, we described a strategy to develop an in vitro platform to study the developmental biology of craniofacial osteogenesis. In this study, we directly osteo-differentiated cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) in a 3-D in vitro bioengineered microenvironment. Cells were encapsulated in the gelatin-based photo-crosslinkable hydrogel and cultured up to three weeks. We demonstrated that this platform allows efficient differentiation of p75 positive CNCCs to cells expressing osteogenic markers corresponding to the sequential developmental phases of intramembranous ossification. During the course of culture, we observed a decrease in the expression of early osteogenic marker Runx2, while the other mature osteoblast and osteocyte markers such as Osterix, Osteocalcin, Osteopontin and Bone sialoprotein increased. We analyzed the ossification of the secreted matrix with alkaline phosphatase and quantified the newly secreted hydroxyapatite. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) images of the bioengineered hydrogel constructs revealed the native-like osteocytes, mature osteoblasts, and cranial bone tissue morphologies with canaliculus-like intercellular connections. This platform provides a broadly applicable model system to potentially study diseases involving primarily embryonic craniofacial bone disorders, where direct diagnosis and adequate animal disease models are limited

Semi-supervised Learning based on Distributionally Robust Optimization

We propose a novel method for semi-supervised learning (SSL) based on data-driven distributionally robust optimization (DRO) using optimal transport metrics. Our proposed method enhances generalization error by using the unlabeled data to restrict the support of the worst case distribution in our DRO formulation. We enable the implementation of our DRO formulation by proposing a stochastic gradient descent algorithm which allows to easily implement the training procedure. We demonstrate that our Semi-supervised DRO method is able to improve the generalization error over natural supervised procedures and state-of-the-art SSL estimators. Finally, we include a discussion on the large sample behavior of the optimal uncertainty region in the DRO formulation. Our discussion exposes important aspects such as the role of dimension reduction in SSL

KIAA1114, a full-length protein encoded by the trophinin gene, is a novel surface marker for isolating tumor-initiating cells of multiple hepatocellular carcinoma subtypes

Identification of novel biomarkers for tumor-initiating cells (TICs) is of critical importance for developing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against cancers. Here we identified the role of KIAA1114, a full-length translational product of the trophinin gene, as a distinctive marker for TICs in human liver cancer by developing a DNA vaccine-induced monoclonal antibody targeting the putative extracellular domain of KIAA1114. Compared with other established markers of liver TICs, KIAA1114 was unique in that its expression was detected in both alpha fetoprotein (AFP)-positive and AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with the expression levels of KIAA1114 being positively correlated to their tumorigenic potentials. Notably, KIAA1114 expression was strongly detected in primary hepatic tumor, but neither in the adjacent non-tumorous tissue from the same patient nor normal liver tissue. KIAA1114(high) cells isolated from HCC cell lines displayed TIC-like features with superior functional and phenotypic traits compared to their KIAA1114(low) counterparts, including tumorigenic abilities in xenotransplantation model, in vitro colony- and spheroid-forming capabilities, expression of stemness-associated genes, and migratory capacity. Our findings not only address the value of a novel antigen, KIAA1114, as a potential diagnostic factor of human liver cancer, but also as an independent biomarker for identifying TIC populations that could be broadly applied to the heterogeneous HCC subtypes.X1110Nsciescopu

In Vivo Delivery of Gremlin siRNA Plasmid Reveals Therapeutic Potential against Diabetic Nephropathy by Recovering Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7

Diabetic nephropathy is a complex and poorly understood disease process, and our current treatment options are limited. It remains critical, then, to identify novel therapeutic targets. Recently, a developmental protein and one of the bone morphogenetic protein antagonists, Gremlin, has emerged as a novel modulator of diabetic nephropathy. The high expression and strong co-localization with transforming growth factor- β1 in diabetic kidneys suggests a role for Gremlin in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. We have constructed a gremlin siRNA plasmid and have examined the effect of Gremlin inhibition on the progression of diabetic nephropathy in a mouse model. CD-1 mice underwent uninephrectomy and STZ treatment prior to receiving weekly injections of the plasmid. Inhibition of Gremlin alleviated proteinuria and renal collagen IV accumulation 12 weeks after the STZ injection and inhibited renal cell proliferation and apoptosis. In vitro experiments, using mouse mesangial cells, revealed that the transfect ion of gremlin siRNA plasmid reversed high glucose induced abnormalities, such as increased cell proliferation and apoptosis and increased collagen IV production. The decreased matrix metalloprotease level was partially normalized by transfection with gremlin siRNA plasmid. Additionally, we observed recovery of bone morphogenetic protein-7 signaling activity, evidenced by increases in phosphorylated Smad 5 protein levels. We conclude that inhibition of Gremlin exerts beneficial effects on the diabetic kidney mainly through maintenance of BMP-7 activity and that Gremlin may serve as a novel therapeutic target in the management of diabetic nephropathy