1,762 research outputs found
One-hot Generalized Linear Model for Switching Brain State Discovery
Exposing meaningful and interpretable neural interactions is critical to
understanding neural circuits. Inferred neural interactions from neural signals
primarily reflect functional interactions. In a long experiment, subject
animals may experience different stages defined by the experiment, stimuli, or
behavioral states, and hence functional interactions can change over time. To
model dynamically changing functional interactions, prior work employs
state-switching generalized linear models with hidden Markov models (i.e.,
HMM-GLMs). However, we argue they lack biological plausibility, as functional
interactions are shaped and confined by the underlying anatomical connectome.
Here, we propose a novel prior-informed state-switching GLM. We introduce both
a Gaussian prior and a one-hot prior over the GLM in each state. The priors are
learnable. We will show that the learned prior should capture the
state-constant interaction, shedding light on the underlying anatomical
connectome and revealing more likely physical neuron interactions. The
state-dependent interaction modeled by each GLM offers traceability to capture
functional variations across multiple brain states. Our methods effectively
recover true interaction structures in simulated data, achieve the highest
predictive likelihood with real neural datasets, and render interaction
structures and hidden states more interpretable when applied to real neural
data
Kinetic study for the optimization of ginsenoside Rg3 production by heat treatment of ginsenoside Rb1
AbstractBackgroundGinsenoside Rg3 is a promising anticancer agent. It is usually produced by heat treatment of ginseng, in which ginsenoside Rb1 is the major ginsenoside. A kinetic study was conducted to optimize ginsenoside Rg3 production by the heat treatment of ginsenoside Rb1.MethodsGinsenoside Rb1 was heated using an isothermal machine at 80°C and 100°C and analyzed using HPLC. The kinetic parameters were calculated from the experimental results. The activation energy was estimated and used to simulate the process. The optimized parameters of ginsenoside Rg3 production are suggested based on the simulation.ResultsThe rate constants were 0.013 h−1 and 0.073 h−1 for the degradation of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 at 80°C, respectively. The corresponding rate constants at 100°C were 0.045 h−1 and 0.155 h−1. The estimated activation energies of degradation of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 were 69.2 kJ/mol and 40.9 kJ/mol, respectively. The rate constants at different temperatures were evaluated using the estimated activation energies, and the kinetic profiles of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 at each temperature were simulated based on the proposed kinetic model of consecutive reaction. The optimum strategies for producing ginsenoside Rg3 from ginsenoside Rb1 are suggested based on the simulation. With increased temperature, a high concentration of ginsenoside Rg3 is formed rapidly. However, the concentration decreases quickly after the reaching the maximal concentration value.ConclusionThe optimum temperature for producing ginsenoside Rg3 should be the highest temperature technically feasible below 180°C, in consideration of the cooling time. The optimum reaction time for heat treatment is 30 min
Computational modeling of the effects of autophagy on amyloid-β peptide levels
Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular process that is used for delivering proteins and organelles to the lysosome for degradation. For decades, autophagy has been speculated to regulate amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) accumulation, which is involved in Alzheimers disease (AD); however, specific autophagic effects on the Aβ kinetics only have begun to be explored.
We develop a mathematical model for autophagy with respect to Aβ kinetics and perform simulations to understand the quantitative relationship between Aβ levels and autophagy activity. In the case of an abnormal increase in the Aβ generation, the degradation, secretion, and clearance rates of Aβ are significantly changed, leading to increased levels of Aβ. When the autophagic Aβ degradation is defective in addition to the increased Aβ generation, the Aβ-regulation failure is accompanied by elevated concentrations of autophagosome and autolysosome, which may further clog neurons.
The model predicts that modulations of different steps of the autophagy pathway (i.e., Aβ sequestration, autophagosome maturation, and intralysosomal hydrolysis) have significant step-specific and combined effects on the Aβ levels and thus suggests therapeutic and preventive implications of autophagy in AD.K.H. acknowledges support by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH,
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. K.H. was supported in part by a
grant from the KRIBB Research Initiative Program (Korean Biomedical
Scientist Fellowship Program), Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and
Biotechnology, Republic of Korea. MYC acknowledges support from the
National Research Foundation of Korea through the Basic Science Research
Program (Grant No. 2019R1F1A1046285)
Gelatin-layered and multi-sized porous β-tricalcium phosphate for tissue engineering scaffold
The multi-sized porous β-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds were fabricated by freeze drying followed by slurry coating using a multi-sized porous sponge as a template. Then, gelatin was dip coated on the multi-sized porous β-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds under vacuum. The mechanical and biological properties of the fabricated scaffolds were evaluated and compared to the uniformly sized porous scaffolds and scaffolds that were not coated by gelatin. The compressive strength was tested by a universal testing machine, and the cell viability and differentiation behavior were measured using a cell counting kit and alkaline phosphatase activity using the MC3T3-E1 cells. In comparison, the gelatin-coated multi-sized porous β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold showed enhanced compressive strength. After 14 days, the multi-sized pores were shown to affect cell differentiation, and gelatin coatings were shown to affect the cell viability and differentiation. The results of this study demonstrated that the multi-sized porous β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold coated by gelatin enhanced the mechanical and biological strengths
In-situ fabrication of cobalt-doped SrFe2As2 thin films by using pulsed laser deposition with excimer laser
The remarkably high superconducting transition temperature and upper critical
field of iron(Fe)-based layered superconductors, despite ferromagnetic material
base, open the prospect for superconducting electronics. However, success in
superconducting electronics has been limited because of difficulties in
fabricating high-quality thin films. We report the growth of high-quality
c-axis-oriented cobalt(Co)-doped SrFe2As2 thin films with bulk
superconductivity by using an in-situ pulsed laser deposition technique with a
248-nm-wavelength KrF excimer laser and an arsenic(As)-rich phase target. The
temperature and field dependences of the magnetization showing strong
diamagnetism and transport critical current density with superior Jc-H
performance are reported. These results provide necessary information for
practical applications of Fe-based superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 3figures. to be published at Appl. Phys. Let
Spontaneous Tonsillar Hemorrhage and Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage
Spontaneous tonsillar hemorrhage from infectious causes is extremely rare and post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage, although also relatively rare, is an unavoidable complication of the procedure. Hemorrhage in association with tonsillitis or tonsillectomy is potentially dangerous and can be life threatening. We report here the presentation and management of a 42-yr-old man with severe spontaneous hemorrhage from infected tonsils and post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. We suggest that if attempts to control the bleeding are not successful or if severe spontaneous tonsillar hemorrhage occurs repeatedly or a malignancy is suspected, tonsillectomy and close postoperative follow up is recommended
An Optimization of Composition Ratio among Triple-Filled Atoms in In
Bulk nanostructured materials are important as energy materials. Among thermoelectric materials, the skutterudite system of CoSb3 is a representative material of bulk nanostructured materials. Filling a skutterudite structure with atoms that have different localized frequencies (also known as triple filling) was reported to be effective for lowering thermal conductivity. Among studies representing superior power factors, In-filled skutterudite systems showed higher Seebeck coefficients. This study sought to optimize the composition ratio among the triple-filled atoms in an In0.3-x-yBaxCeyCo4Sb12 system. The composition dependence of the thermoelectric properties was investigated for specimens with different ratios among the three kinds of filler atoms in the In0.3-x-yBaxCeyCo4Sb12 system. In addition, the process variables were carefully optimized for filled skutterudite systems to obtain a maximum ZT value
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