Environmental Enrichment Enhances Cav 2.1 Channel-Mediated Presynaptic Plasticity in Hypoxic–Ischemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a devastating neonatal brain condition caused by lack of oxygen and limited blood flow. Environmental enrichment (EE) is a classic paradigm with a complex stimulation of physical, cognitive, and social components. EE can exert neuroplasticity and neuroprotective effects in immature brains. However, the exact mechanism of EE on the chronic condition of HIE remains unclear. HIE was induced by a permanent ligation of the right carotid artery, followed by an 8% O₂ hypoxic condition for 1 h. At 6 weeks of age, HIE mice were randomly assigned to either standard cages or EE cages. In the behavioral assessments, EE mice showed significantly improved motor performances in rotarod tests, ladder walking tests, and hanging wire tests, compared with HIE control mice. EE mice also significantly enhanced cognitive performances in Y-maze tests. Particularly, EE mice showed a significant increase in Ca_v 2.1 (P/Q type) and presynaptic proteins by molecular assessments, and a significant increase of Ca_v 2.1 in histological assessments of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. These results indicate that EE can upregulate the expression of the Ca_v 2.1 channel and presynaptic proteins related to the synaptic vesicle cycle and neurotransmitter release, which may be responsible for motor and cognitive improvements in HIE.     

Effect of milling ball size on the densification and optical properties of transparent Y2O3 ceramics

In this study, we report highly transparent Y₂O₃ ceramics fabricated by hot-pressing only at 1500 °C without a HIP treatment, featuring in-line transmittance levels of 77% and 84% at a wavelength of 400 and 1100 nm, respectively with the grain size suppressed to 710 nm. The effect of the ball size during the grinding of Y₂O₃ powders on the correlation between the thus-prepared Y₂O₃ powders and the optical properties of the hot-pressed samples is demonstrated for the first time. With a decrease in the diameter of the ZrO₂ balls from 5 mm to 1 mm, the milling efficiency was enhanced and admirable transparency of Y₂O₃ was attained at a short milling time. However, several micron-sized pores remained in the transparent specimens prepared with 1 mm balls, originating from the inhomogeneously packed region of the green body. Finally, the 2 mm was found to be optimum for obtaining a fine-grained and pore-free microstructure with the best in-line transmittance of Y₂O₃ ceramics.     

Magnetically Guidable Proteinaceous Adhesive Microbots for Targeted Locoregional Therapeutics Delivery in the Highly Dynamic Environment of the Esophagus

The esophagus is a tubular-shaped muscular organ where swallowed fluids and muscular contractions constitute a highly dynamic environment. The turbulent, coordinated processes that occur through the oropharyngeal conduit can often compromise targeted administration of therapeutic drugs to a lesion, significantly reducing therapeutic efficacy. Here, magnetically guidable drug vehicles capable of strongly adhering to target sites using a bioengineered mussel adhesive protein (MAP) to achieve localized delivery of therapeutic drugs against the hydrodynamic physiological conditions are proposed. A suite of highly uniform microparticles embedded with iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles (MAP@IO MPs) is microfluidically fabricated using the genipin-mediated covalent cross-linking of bioengineered MAP. The MAP@IO MPs are successfully targeted to a specific region and prolongedly retained in the tubular-structured passageway. In particular, orally administered MAP@IO MPs are effectively captured in the esophagus in vivo in a magnetically guidable manner. Moreover, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded MAP@IO MPs exhibit a sustainable DOX release profile, effective anticancer therapeutic activity, and excellent biocompatibility. Thus, the magnetically guidable locomotion and robust underwater adhesive properties of the proteinaceous soft microbots can provide an intelligent modular approach for targeted locoregional therapeutics delivery to a specific lesion site in dynamic fluid-associated tubular organs such as the esophagus.     

One-Dimensional Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Mineral Classification from Raman Spectroscopy

Neural Processing Letters - Raman spectroscopy is often used for the composition determination and rapid classification of materials because it can reflect the molecular information of materials....     

A study on typology of areas densely populated with foreigners in Seoul,South Korea

This study identifies the types of areas in Seoul where foreigners are concentrated by reflecting the characteristics of their region of origin and residence in Seoul. Lack of cultural understanding and uniform policies for various immigrant communities are causing some social issues. Hence, this study aims to prepare the basic data from which the government can predict changes in ethnic areas and prepare policies suitable for each derived type. The 14 most populous immigrant communities in Seoul were investigated, and cluster analysis and ANOVA test were performed. This examination resulted in four immigrant community types. Each type has specific characteristics, which have influenced the creation and change of the built environment. Types 1 and 4 are collectivistic. These types gradually tend to change urban environments to emulate the environment in their region of origin. In addition, they make little effort to improve their degraded environments, and such areas become increasingly backward. In contrast, types 2 and 3 are individualistic and prefer to assimilate into a migrant region. The formation and change of the urban environment for each type can be predicted on the basis of these characteristics. From this information, the government can prepare an appropriate urban architecture policy for each type.     

ZnO·2.7Al2O3 nanocomposite with high optical transparency

Here we report a transparent dual-phase ZnO·2.7Al₂O₃ ceramic. The composite is pore-free and consists of thin nanosheets with a spinel phase and a hexagonal phase, while the two phases match closely in both lattice and refractive index. Such features result in excellent optical transmittance (maximum value >80% in the visible spectrum) at comparable phase volume. This work may provide a new thought for the rational structural design of optical nanocomposites.     

Rheological phase reaction synthesis and electrochemical performance of LiFe2/3Mn1/3PO4/C cathode for lithium-ion batteries

LiFe_2/3Mn_1/3PO₄/C composite was prepared by the rheological phase reaction using LiH₂PO₄, Li₂CO₃, FePO₄, Mn(Ac)₂·4H₂O and ascorbic acid as starting materials. The crystal structure and morphology of as-synthesized sample were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis of XRD results showed that the obtained sample was single-phase with orthorhombic olivine-type structure (Pnma space group). SEM micrographs revealed that the sample was aggregates, with an irregular morphology. The initial discharge capacity was 166.9, 149.1, 139.6, 112.8, 82.93 mAh g^??1 at the rate of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 10 C, respectively. And when the rate was 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 10 C, the capacity retention was 92.2%, 90%, 92.9%, 97.6%, 91.5% after 50, 100, 200, 200, 500 cycles, respectively.

     

Evaluating differentially private decision tree model over model inversion attack

International Journal of Information Security - Machine learning techniques have been widely used and shown remarkable performance in various fields. Along with the widespread utilization of...     

Comparison of yield and metabolites according to the types of hilling materials utilized during Glehnia littoralis sprout vegetable cultivation

Food Science and Biotechnology - Various hilling materials (rice hulls, pine sawdust, and perlite) were compared to produce sprout vegetables using beach silvertop (Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schm. ex...