Human-Induced Neural and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Combined with a Curcumin Nanoconjugate as a Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

We currently lack effective treatments for the devastating loss of neural function associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, we evaluated a combination therapy comprising human neural stem cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-NSC), human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), and a pH-responsive polyacetal–curcumin nanoconjugate (PA-C) that allows the sustained release of curcumin. In vitro analysis demonstrated that PA-C treatment protected iPSC-NSC from oxidative damage in vitro, while MSC co-culture prevented lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in iPSC-NSC. Then, we evaluated the combination of PA-C delivery into the intrathecal space in a rat model of contusive SCI with stem cell transplantation. While we failed to observe significant improvements in locomotor function (BBB scale) in treated animals, histological analysis revealed that PA-C-treated or PA-C and iPSC-NSC + MSC-treated animals displayed significantly smaller scars, while PA-C and iPSC-NSC + MSC treatment induced the preservation of β-III Tubulin-positive axons. iPSC-NSC + MSC transplantation fostered the preservation of motoneurons and myelinated tracts, while PA-C treatment polarized microglia into an anti-inflammatory phenotype. Overall, the combination of stem cell transplantation and PA-C treatment confers higher neuroprotective effects compared to individual treatments.     

Enterotoxigenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> strains bind bovine milk gangliosides in a ceramide-dependent process

Diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the main infectious disease of newborn calves. The first step of infection involves bacterial attachment to the intestinal mucosa. This adhesion is mediated by fimbriae that recognize some glycoconjugates on the host cell surface, in particular, several gangliosides. Because milk also contains gangliosides, these have been suggested to serve as ligands for bacterial fimbriae and thus prevent the bacterial attachment to mucosa. The most relevant ETEC strains in calves, including those with K99 and F41 fimbriae, were assayed to determine whether they are able to bind gangliosides isolated from several stages of bovine lactation. Both GM3 and GD3, the main gangliosides of milk, were recognized by ETEC strains, although the different fimbriae showed diverse levels of affinity. Unexpectedly, the adhesion to colostral gangliosides was considerably weaker than that to gangliosides from the other stages of lactation. Because the carbohydrate moiety did not change and because differences in the percentages of unsaturated FA and sphingosine between colostrum and other stages were observed, we conclude that the differences in adhesion could be due to a different composition of the ganglioside caramide.     

Low-cost sensor to detect overtaking based on optical flow

The automotive industry invests substantial amounts of money in driver-security and driver-assistance systems. We propose an overtaking detection system based on visual motion cues that combines feature extraction, optical flow, solid-objects segmentation and geometry filtering, working with a low-cost compact architecture based on one focal plane and an on-chip embedded processor. The processing is divided into two stages: firstly analog processing on the focal plane processor dedicated to image conditioning and relevant image-structure selection, and secondly, vehicle tracking and warning-signal generation by optical flow, using a simple digital microcontroller. Our model can detect an approaching vehicle (multiple-lane overtaking scenarios) and warn the driver about the risk of changing lanes. Thanks to the use of tightly coupled analog and digital processors, the system is able to perform this complex task in real time with very constrained computing resources. The proposed method has been validated with a sequence of more than 15,000 frames (90 overtaking maneuvers) and is effective under different traffic situations, as well as weather and illumination conditions.     

Spectral Ray Differentials

Light refracted by a dispersive interface leads to beautifully colored patterns that can be rendered faithfully with spectral Monte‐Carlo methods. Regrettably, results often suffer from chromatic noise or banding, requiring high sampling rates and large amounts of memory compared to renderers operating in some trichromatic color space. Addressing this issue, we introduce spectral ray differentials, which describe the change of light direction with respect to changes in the spectrum. In analogy with the classic ray and photon differentials, this information can be used for filtering in the spectral domain. Effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by filtering for offline spectral light and path tracing as well as for an interactive GPU photon mapper based on splatting. Our results show considerably less chromatic noise and spatial aliasing while retaining good visual similarity to reference solutions with negligible overhead in the order of milliseconds.     

I3WSN: Industrial Intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks for indoor environments

Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) technologies have been successfully applied to a great variety of outdoor scenarios but, in practical terms, little effort has been applied for indoor environments, and even less in the field of industrial applications. This article presents an intelligent SWE application for an indoor and industrial scenario, with the aim of improving and increasing the levels of human safety. The base low-level architecture is built on top of wireless sensor networks (WSN) connected to a Sensor Observation Service (SOS). Higher layers in the architecture include services that make real time decisions based on the collected data. Both simulation and experimental results are presented. The paper shows the viability of our approach in terms of performance, scalability, modularity and safety.     

A smartphone-based virtual white cane

The objective of our research was to develop assistive technology for visually impaired people, with a high appreciation for the human potential to achieve, to learn, and to achieve goals. In this document, we describe a virtual white cane made of a combination of a Smartphone and a laser pointer. In our device, the laser pointer beam reflection is captured by the Smartphone camera. The distance from the virtual white cane to the reflection is computed through active triangulation. Then, a personalized vibration, the magnitude of which corresponds to distance, is generated in the Smartphone. In this way, the users receive information that could prevent collisions with obstacles in the environment. Our contributions include the development of a virtual white cane around a Smartphone and other off-the-shelf accessories and a methodology to provide personalized vibratory feedback to the user. Our experiments show that to navigate, our instrument is better option, in terms of travel time, that the use of the hands. However, the travel time is still better using a traditional white cane than our instrument.     

Mobile digcovery: discovering and interacting with the world through the Internet of things

The application of Internet-enabled devices in the real world for the development of Smart Cities, environmental monitoring, bus tracking, and parking requires scalability, extensibility, and integration of emerging resources to reach a suitable ecosystem for data acquisition and interaction with citizens. Internet of things needs to offer efficient support for global communications and access to services and information. It needs to enable homogeneous and seamless machine-to-machine communication for different solutions and applications. This work presents an homogeneous and suitable mechanism for global resource discovery, device access for deployed smart objects in different scenarios, and sensors and devices from end users (participative sensing). The integration of legacy and sensors already available from smart buildings and smart objects is presented. For this purpose, a resolution infrastructure called “digcovery” is defined for maximizing efficiency and sustainability of deployments. Digcovery architecture offers the framework to allow users to register/include their own sensors into a common infrastructure and access/discover the available resources through mobile digcovery. Mobile digcovery exploits the context-awareness, geo-location, and identification technologies available in mobile platforms such as smartphones to discover, interact, and access the resources through its ElasticSearch engine.     

A study about the effect of the temperature of hydrogen treatment on the properties of Ru/Al2O3 and Ru/C and their catalytic behavior during 1-heptyne semi-hydrogenation

The 1-heptyne selective hydrogenation carried out at 150 kPa, and at 283 and 303 K using Ru/Al₂O₃ and Ru/C as catalysts, was studied. Catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation technique using RuCl₃ as precursor. Ru/Al₂O₃ was treated in hydrogen at 373 or 573 K and Ru/C only at the last temperature. Catalysts were characterized by hydrogen chemisorption, TPR and XPS. Ru dispersion after treatment in hydrogen at the highest temperature is similar for both catalysts. Ru is present as Ru⁰ in Ru/C, while Ru⁰ and Ru electron-deficient species are present on the catalysts surface after hydrogen treatment at the two temperatures using Al₂O₃ as support. The best catalytic behavior was observed for the highest temperature of hydrogen treatment and for 303 K reaction temperature. As a consequence of a shape selectivity effect of the C support, the best conversion is obtained with the alumina supported catalyst.     

Invertebrate response to impacts of water diversion and flow regulation in high‐altitude tropical streams

Water supply systems are critical infrastructure that provides food and energy security for developed societies. The operation of reservoirs (flow regulation) and water intakes (water diversion) has known negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems; however, quantification of ecological impacts and examination of these two types of flow alteration remain a developing area of research. We investigated the individual and combined impact of flow regulation and water diversion on stream ecosystem integrity, the freshwater macroinvertebrate community, and the population structure of flow‐sensitive insects. For 2 years, we monitored quarterly discharge, physical and chemical stream conditions, and benthic invertebrates of four high‐altitude tropical streams that are part of the water supply system of Quito, Ecuador. Flow regulation caused a loss of the hydrological seasonality of these streams, including a decrease in stream depth and biotic quality. Water diversion caused a decrease in dissolved oxygen and overall ecosystem integrity. Freshwater invertebrate density and richness decreased as a result of water diversion and flow regulation. The combined flow alteration in these streams decreased the density of nymphal stages of the widely distributed mayfly Andesiops peruvianus. Given the societal needs for food and energy security, water management for diversion (e.g., irrigation) and in‐line storage practices (e.g., hydroelectric dams) are anticipated to increase. This research suggests that the negative environmental impacts of flow alteration could be mitigated with discharge releases designed to approximate the natural hydrologic regime of undisturbed streams.     

Influence of deposited amine-functionalized Si-MCM-41 in polyacrylonitrile electrospun membranes applied for separation of water in oil emulsions

Among several oil/water emulsion separation technologies, the utilization of nanoparticle-decorated membranes with diverse functionalities has received considerable attention in recent years, particularly if the antifouling capacity can be improved. In this article, we propose a new membrane based on surface-hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile electrospun membranes and/or decorated with amine-functionalized Si-MCM-41 nanoparticles to be used as oil/water emulsion separation treatment and to determine their antifouling ability. X-Ray photoelectron spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and toluidine blue O assay, scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurements for oil under water and thermogravimetry were used for characterizing the membranes and an assay of permeability was developed to quantify the diffusion of oil molecules across the electrospun membrane. The electrospun and/or decorated membranes showed an underwater oleophobic wettability, which can separate oil-in-water emulsions with 87% separation efficiency, results of fouling experiments, evaluated in terms of rejection and flux recovery ratio, exhibited good antifouling ability, but the membrane decoration process did not lead to superior outcomes compared with undecorated membranes.