Self-assembling nanoparticles containing dexamethasone as a novel therapy in allergic airways inflammation.

Nanocarriers can deliver a wide variety of drugs, target them to sites of interest, and protect them from degradation and inactivation by the body. They have the capacity to improve drug action and decrease undesirable systemic effects. We have previously developed a well-defined non-toxic PEG-dendritic block telodendrimer for successful delivery of chemotherapeutics agents and, in these studies, we apply this technology for therapeutic development in asthma. In these proof-of-concept experiments, we hypothesized that dexamethasone contained in self-assembling nanoparticles (Dex-NP) and delivered systemically would target the lung and decrease allergic lung inflammation and airways hyper-responsiveness to a greater degree than equivalent doses of dexamethasone (Dex) alone. We found that ovalbumin (Ova)-exposed mice treated with Dex-NP had significantly fewer total cells (2.78 ± 0.44 × 10(5) (n = 18) vs. 5.98 ± 1.3 × 10(5) (n = 13), P<0.05) and eosinophils (1.09 ± 0.28 × 10(5) (n = 18) vs. 2.94 ± 0.6 × 10(5) (n = 12), p<0.05) in the lung lavage than Ova-exposed mice alone. Also, lower levels of the inflammatory cytokines IL-4 (3.43 ± 1.2 (n = 11) vs. 8.56 ± 2.1 (n = 8) pg/ml, p<0.05) and MCP-1 (13.1 ± 3.6 (n = 8) vs. 28.8 ± 8.7 (n = 10) pg/ml, p<0.05) were found in lungs of the Dex-NP compared to control, and they were not lower in the Dex alone group. In addition, respiratory system resistance was lower in the Dex-NP compared to the other Ova-exposed groups suggesting a better therapeutic effect on airways hyperresponsiveness. Taken together, these findings from early-stage drug development studies suggest that the encapsulation and protection of anti-inflammatory agents such as corticosteroids in nanoparticle formulations can improve efficacy. Further development of novel drugs in nanoparticles is warranted to explore potential treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma

High watermarking capacity based on spatial domain technique

Watermarking capacity refers to the amount of information we are able to insert into the image. Low signal to noise ratio is a phenomenon of watermarking channels, which severely limits the capacity. The aim of this study is to develop a digital watermarking model, which can find out the possibility to embed maximum amount of data in an image without degrading the quality of watermarked image. In this approach, the host image will be partitioned into non-overlapping blocks and passing an imaginary plane in the three critical pixels. The characteristics of this plan should not be changed after embedding message; then the same characteristics will be used to evaluate the embedded capacity in the extracting module

Investigation of Inland Pollution Using Total Carbon (Tc), Total Organic Carbon (Toc), Inorganic Carbon (Ic), Total Nitrogen (Tn) and Toc/Tn Ratios

In this study, sediment samples were taken at three different points in Edremit Bay at different depths from the sea floor. In Edremit Bay, it was investigated whether the pollution was marine or terrestrial. According the results of measurement of TOC (Total Organic Carbon) values have been yielded results between 10.35-20.36 (Kucukkuyu), 8.14-16.40 (Gore), and 2.71-12.60 g/kg (Dikili) in the marine sediments. The fact that first and second regions are susceptible to mountainous and infra-continental erosion (sedimentation 5.743 and 7.509 mm/year) increased the TOC value. The highest TOC/TN ratio (12.33-46.89) was found in the second region. No linear change in TOC and TOC/TN (Total Nitrogen) ratios was observed at all three points depending on the depth. At results of compared all carotes, the low TOC/TN (2.82-14.48) ratio have been observed in the BH1 carotes, probably the result of small stream beds and low intra-continental erosion. This study shows that TOC and TOC/TN ratios in different parts of Edremit Gulf show inconsistency and this inconsistency arises not only from the marine contribution their natural organic matter, but also from the continent

Effects of antimitotic agents on haploid plant production from unpollinated ovules of sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.)

The effects of antimicrotubule agents on haploid embryo formation from unpollinated ovules of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) were investigated. The antimitotic agent colchicine (at 100 and 150 mg/l) and trifluralin (at 5.0 mg/l) increased the frequency of haploid embryo formation whereas pronamide (at 76.9 and 128.2 mg/l) and trifluralin (at 3.4 mg/l) decreased. Ovules that were non-treated with antimicrotuble agents (i.e., ovules of the control treatment) produced higher percentages of haploid embryos (4.25 %) when compared to the pronamide and trifluralin at 3.4 mg/l concentration. Toxic effects of these agents on embryo formation from ovules were evident. A significant genotypic variation among the lines used was observed. The line M4 produced the highest yield with a mean of 14.71% haploid embryo production while the line M2 producing no embryos at all

Merleau-Ponty and neuroaesthetics: Two approaches to performance and technology

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Digital Creativity, 23(3-4), 225 - 238, 2012. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14626268.2012.709941.Assisted by the rapid growth of digital technology, which has enhanced its ambitions, performance is an increasingly popular area of artistic practice. This article seeks to contextualise this within two methodologically divergent yet complimentary intellectual tendencies. The first is the work of the philosopher Merleau-Ponty, who recognised that our experience of the world has an inescapably ‘embodied’ quality, not reducible to mental accounts, which can be vicariously extended through specific instrumentation. The second is the developing field of neuroaesthetics; that is, neurological research directed towards the analysis, in brain-functional terms, of our experiences of objects and events which are culturally deemed to be of artistic significance. I will argue that both these contexts offer promising approaches to interpreting developments in contemporary performance, which has achieved critical recognition without much antecedent theoretical support

The Encoding of Temporally Irregular and Regular Visual Patterns in the Human Brain

In the work reported here, we set out to study the neural systems that detect predictable temporal patterns and departures from them. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to locate activity in the brains of subjects when they viewed temporally regular and irregular patterns produced by letters, numbers, colors and luminance. Activity induced by irregular sequences was located within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, including an area that was responsive to irregular patterns regardless of the type of visual stimuli producing them. Conversely, temporally regular arrangements resulted in activity in the right frontal lobe (medial frontal gyrus), in the left orbito-frontal cortex and in the left pallidum. The results show that there is an abstractive system in the brain for detecting temporal irregularity, regardless of the source producing it

A Gaze-Driven Evolutionary Algorithm to Study Aesthetic Evaluation of Visual Symmetry

Empirical work has shown that people like visual symmetry. We used a gaze-driven evolutionary algorithm technique to answer three questions about symmetry preference. First, do people automatically evaluate symmetry without explicit instruction? Second, is perfect symmetry the best stimulus, or do people prefer a degree of imperfection? Third, does initial preference for symmetry diminish after familiarity sets in? Stimuli were generated as phenotypes from an algorithmic genotype, with genes for symmetry (coded as deviation from a symmetrical template, deviation–symmetry, DS gene) and orientation (0° to 90°, orientation, ORI gene). An eye tracker identified phenotypes that were good at attracting and retaining the gaze of the observer. Resulting fitness scores determined the genotypes that passed to the next generation. We recorded changes to the distribution of DS and ORI genes over 20 generations. When participants looked for symmetry, there was an increase in high-symmetry genes. When participants looked for the patterns they preferred, there was a smaller increase in symmetry, indicating that people tolerated some imperfection. Conversely, there was no increase in symmetry during free viewing, and no effect of familiarity or orientation. This work demonstrates the viability of the evolutionary algorithm approach as a quantitative measure of aesthetic preference

Imaging the passionate stage of romantic love by dopamine dynamics.

Using [(11)C]raclopride, a dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist, we undertook a positron emission tomography (PET) study to investigate the involvement of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system when subjects viewed the pictures of partners to whom they were romantically attached. Ten subjects viewed pictures of their romantic partners and, as a control, of friends of the same sex for whom they had neutral feelings during the PET study. We administered [(11)C]raclopride to subjects using a timing for injecting the antagonist which had been determined in previous studies to be optimal for detecting increases in the amount of dopamine released by stimulation. The results demonstrated statistically significant activation of the dopaminergic system in two regions, the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and medial prefrontal cortex, the former of which has been strongly implicated in a variety of rewarding experiences, including that of beauty and love. A positive correlation was obtained in mOFC between excitement levels and dopaminergic activation only in the love but not in the control condition