A Flexi-PEGDA Upconversion Implant for Wireless Brain Photodynamic Therapy

Near-infrared (NIR) activatable upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) enable wireless-based phototherapies by converting deep-tissue-penetrating NIR to visible light. UCNPs are therefore ideal as wireless transducers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of deep-sited tumors. However, the retention of unsequestered UCNPs in tissue with minimal options for removal limits their clinical translation. To address this shortcoming, biocompatible UCNPs implants are developed to deliver upconversion photonic properties in a flexible, optical guide design. To enhance its translatability, the UCNPs implant is constructed with an FDA-approved poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) core clad with fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). The emission spectrum of the UCNPs implant can be tuned to overlap with the absorption spectra of the clinically relevant photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). The UCNPs implant can wirelessly transmit upconverted visible light till 8 cm in length and in a bendable manner even when implanted underneath the skin or scalp. With this system, it is demonstrated that NIR-based chronic PDT is achievable in an untethered and noninvasive manner in a mouse xenograft glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) model. It is postulated that such encapsulated UCNPs implants represent a translational shift for wireless deep-tissue phototherapy by enabling sequestration of UCNPs without compromising wireless deep-tissue light delivery.     

Direct Observation of Worm‐Like Nanochannels and Emergent Magnon Motifs in Artificial Ferromagnetic Quasicrystals

Quasicrystalline structures and aperiodic metamaterials find applications ranging from established consumer gadgets to potential high‐tech photonic components owing to both complex arrangements of constituents and exotic rotational symmetries. Magnonics is an evolving branch of magnetism research where information is transported via magnetization oscillations (magnons). Their control and manipulation are so far best accomplished in periodic metamaterials which exhibit properties artificially modulated on the nanoscale. They give rise to functional components, such as band stop filters, magnonic transistors and nanograting couplers. Here, spin‐wave excitations in artificial ferromagnetic quasicrystals created via aperiodic arrangement of nanoholes are studied experimentally. Their ten‐fold rotational symmetry results in multiplexed magnonic nanochannels, suggesting a width down to 50 nm inside a so‐called Conway worm. Key elements of design are emergent magnon motifs and the worm‐like features which are scale‐invariant and not present in the periodic metamaterials. By imaging wavefronts in quasicrystals, insight is gained into how the discovered features materialize as a dense wavelength division multiplexer.     

Physical layer impairment-aware shared path protection in wavelength-routed optical networks

The Journal of Supercomputing - In this paper, physical layer impairment (PLI)-aware shared path protection (SPP) scheme for single-link failures in transparent optical WDM mesh networks is...     

Enhancement of the Dynamic Computation-Offloading Service Selection Framework in Mobile Cloud Environment

Wireless Personal Communications - In the era of cloud computing, any mobile device can augment its capabilities by using Cloud computation service. There are different services provided by...     

A new controller for boost dc–dc converters based on a novel sliding surface

ABSTRACT

In this paper, two control schemes for boost converters affected by uncertainties in input voltage and load are proposed. The boost converter dynamics is redefined in terms of new state variables to facilitate the use of a disturbance observer that can estimate matched and unmatched disturbances. A sliding surface, which is new in the context of boost converters, is proposed to enable tracking and regulation of output voltage without requiring measurement of input voltage and load current. The stability of the overall system including the disturbance observer, the sliding variable and the output is proved. The performance of the schemes is assessed for regulation of output voltage and tracking of reference voltage by simulation as well as experimentation in which various types of uncertainties and various types of reference voltages are considered.     

Tumor Necrosis Factor α and Interleukin-1β Acutely Inhibit AgRP Neurons in the Arcuate Nucleus of the Hypothalamus

Obesity-associated low-grade inflammation favors weight gain, whereas systemic infection frequently leads to anorexia. Thus, inflammatory signals can either induce positive or negative energy balance. In this study, we used whole-cell patch-clamp to investigate the acute effects of three important proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on the membrane excitability of agouti-related peptide (AgRP)- or proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-producing neurons. We found that both TNF-α and IL-1β acutely inhibited the activity of 35–42% of AgRP-producing neurons, whereas very few POMC neurons were depolarized by TNF-α. Interleukin-6 induced no acute changes in the activity of AgRP or POMC neurons. Our findings indicate that the effect of TNF-α and IL-1β, especially on the activity of AgRP-producing neurons, may contribute to inflammation-induced anorexia observed during acute inflammatory conditions.     

Corrosion of Mg alloys EV31A,WE43B,and ZE41A in chloride- and sulfate-containing solutions saturated with magnesium hydroxide

This study studied corrosion in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄, 0.1 M NaCl, and 0.6 M NaCl, all saturated with Mg(OH)₂, using weight loss, hydrogen evolution, and electrochemical measurements. Corrosion was similar in all cases. Nevertheless, the corrosion rates were alloy-dependent, were somewhat lower in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ than in 0.1 M NaCl, and increased with NaCl concentration. The corrosion damage morphology was similar for all solutions; the extent correlated with the corrosion rate. The corrosion rates evaluated by the electrochemical methods were lower than those evaluated from hydrogen evolution, consistent with the Mg corrosion mechanism involving the unipositive Mg⁺ ion.     

I-CARES: advancing health diagnosis and medication through IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way many sectors operate and special attention is paid to promoting healthy living by employing IoT based technologies. In this paper, a novel approach is developed with IoT prototype of Wireless Sensor Network and Cloud based system to provide continuous monitoring of a patient’s health status, ensuring timely scheduled and unscheduled medicinal dosage based on real-time patient vitals measurement, life-saving emergency prediction and communication. The designed integrated prototype consists of a wearable expandable health monitoring system, Smart Medicine Dispensing System, Cloud-based Big Data analytical diagnostic and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based reporting tool. A working prototype was developed and tested on few persons to ensure that it is working according to expected standards. Based on the initial experiments, the system fulfilled intended objectives including continuous health monitoring, scheduled timely medication, unscheduled emergency medication, life-saving emergency reporting, life-saving emergency prediction and early stage diagnosis. In addition, based on the analysis reports, physicians can diagnose/decide, view medication side effects, medication errors and prescribe medication accordingly. The proposed system exhibited the ability to achieve objectives it was designed using IoT to alleviate the pressure on hospitals due to crowdedness in hospital care and to reduce the healthcare service delays.