Rate-adaptive H.264 for TCP/IP networks

While there has always been a tremendous demand for streaming video over TCP/IP networks, the nature of the application still presents some challenging issues. These applications that transmit multimedia data over best-effort networks like the Internet must cope with the changing network behavior; specifically, the source encoder rate should be controlled based on feedback from a channel estimator that probes the network periodically. First, one such Multimedia Streaming TCP-Friendly Protocol (MSTFP) is considered, which iteratively integrates forward estimation of network status with feedback control to closely track the varying network characteristics. Second, a network-adaptive embedded bit stream is generated using a r-domain rate controller. The conceptual elegance of this r-domain framework stems from the fact that the coding bit rate ) (R is approximately linear in the percentage of zeros among the quantized spatial transform coefficients ) ( r , as opposed to the more traditional, complex and highly nonlinear ) ( Q R characterization. Though the r-model has been successfully implemented on a few other video codecs, its application to the emerging video coding standard H.264 is considered. The extensive experimental results show thatrobust rate control, similar or improved Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), and a faster implementation

Utilizing Andrographis paniculata leaves and roots by effective usage of the bioactive andrographolide and its nanodelivery: investigation of antikindling and antioxidant activities through in silico and in vivo studies

To valorise the bioactive constituents abundant in leaves and other parts of medicinal plants with the objective to minimize the plant-based wastes, this study was undertaken. The main bioactive constituent of Andrographis paniculata, an Asian medicinal plant, is andrographolide (AG, a diterpenoid), which has shown promising results in the treatment of neurodegenerative illnesses. Continuous electrical activity in the brain is a hallmark of the abnormal neurological conditions such as epilepsy (EY). This can lead to neurological sequelae. In this study, we used GSE28674 as a microarray expression profiling dataset to identify DEGs associated with andrographolide and those with fold changes >1 and p-value <0.05 GEO2R. We obtained eight DEG datasets (two up and six down). There was marked enrichment under various Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) terms for these DEGs (DUSP10, FN1, AR, PRKCE, CA12, RBP4, GABRG2, and GABRA2). Synaptic vesicles and plasma membranes were the predominant sites of DEG expression. AG acts as an antiepileptic agent by upregulating GABA levels. The low bioavailability of AG is a significant limitation of its application. To control these limitations, andrographolide nanoparticles (AGNPs) were prepared and their neuroprotective effect against pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling epilepsy was investigated using network pharmacology (NP) and docking studies to evaluate the antiepileptic multi-target mechanisms of AG. Andrographolide is associated with eight targets in the treatment of epilepsy. Nicotine addiction, GABAergic synapse, and morphine addiction were mainly related to epilepsy, according to KEGG pathway enrichment analysis (p < 0.05). A docking study showed that andrographolide interacted with the key targets. AG regulates epilepsy and exerts its therapeutic effects by stimulating GABA production. Rats received 80 mg/kg body weight of AG and AGNP, phenytoin and PTZ (30 mg/kg i.p. injection on alternate days), brain MDA, SOD, GSH, GABAand histological changes of hippocampus and cortex were observed. PTZ injected rats showed significantly (***p < 0.001) increased kindling behavior, increased MDA, decreased GSH, SOD, GABA activities, compared with normal rats, while treatment AGNPs significantly reduced kindling score and reversed oxidative damage. Finally, we conclude that the leaves and roots of A. Paniculata can be effectively utilized for its major bioactive constituent, andrographolide as a potent anti-epileptic agent. Furthermore, the findings of novel nanotherapeutic approach claim that nano-andrographolide can be successfully in the management of kindling seizures and neurodegenerative disorders

A unified method for purification of basic proteins

xviii, 231 hlm.:ilus.: 24 c

Templated Chromophore Assembly on Peptide Scaffolds: A Structural Evolution

The use of a template bearing pre‐programmed receptor sites selectively accommodating chromophores at given positions is an attractive approach for engineering artificial light‐harvesting systems. Indulging this line of though, this work tackles the creation of tailored antenna architectures with yellow, red and blue chromophores exploiting three dynamic covalent reactions simultaneously, namely disulfide exchange, acyl hydrazone and boronic ester formations. The effect of various structural modifications, such as the chromophores as well as their spatial organization (distance, orientation, order), on the energy transfer within the antennas was studied by means of steady‐state UV‐Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies. This systematic study allowed a significant improvement of the energy transfer efficiencies across the chromophores to a noticeable 22 and 15%, for the yellow and red donors to the blue acceptor, respectively. Metadynamics simulations suggested that the conformational properties of the antennas are driven by intramolecular chromophoric stacking interactions that, forcing the a‐helix to fold on itself, annul any effects deriving from the programming of the spatial arrangement of the receptor sides in the peptide backbon