Novel design approach for the creation of 3D geometrical model of personalized bone scaffold

Bone scaffolds provide a structural support for tissue development. Existing bone scaffolds are mainly characterized by complex porous designs whose shortcomings are a low level of permeability for growing tissue, and a difficult design customization. Scaffolds with nucleuses (rods or lattices) as basic elements should improve bone regeneration and enable higher design flexibility. In this paper, we present two new methods for building 3D geometrical models of personalized scaffolds, which are based on method of anatomical features. Methods are demonstrated in the case of scaffold for the mandible bone. This approach greatly reduces the designer effort and time, while enabling easy personalization of scaffolds’ shape and geometry.     

Duplex positioning method for increasing the fatigue life of threaded connections under eccentric loading

A new method, duplex positioning method DPM, to increase the fatigue lifetime of the threaded connection under eccentric loading is presented. When DPM is applied, the most damaged stud regions periodically are removed from risky positions by a change of the stud’s and nut’s mutual position in the axial direction alongside with a change of the stud’s position in respect to bending plane. The mathematical model for DPM enables us to predict its efficiency. To simulate the fatigue strength of the stud the following was used: Patterson’s and Kenny’s thread deflection factors, solutions for the distributions of the axial load and bending moment along the threads, Neuber’s method for the stress concentration factors in multiplier notches, Heywood’s formulas for the stress due to the thread flank loading and for the combined stresses, as well as the results of the photoelastic analysis of the araldite models under eccentric loading.

     

Diabetes and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A New Look at Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Role of Novel Antidiabetic Agents

Epidemiological data have demonstrated a significant association between the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Chronic hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation, the processes inherent to T2DM, also play active roles in the onset and progression of CRC. Recently, small dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles, a typical characteristic of diabetic dyslipidemia, emerged as another possible underlying link between T2DM and CRC. Growing evidence suggests that antidiabetic medications may have beneficial effects in CRC prevention. According to findings from a limited number of preclinical and clinical studies, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) could be a promising strategy in reducing the incidence of CRC in patients with diabetes. However, available findings are inconclusive, and further studies are required. In this review, novel evidence on molecular mechanisms linking T2DM with CRC development, progression, and survival will be discussed. In addition, the potential role of GLP-1RAs therapies in CRC prevention will also be evaluated.     

Lipids and Antiplatelet Therapy: Important Considerations and Future Perspectives

Lipids play an essential role in platelet functions. It is known that polyunsaturated fatty acids play a role in increasing platelet reactivity and that the prothrombotic phenotype plays a crucial role in the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events. The ongoing increase in cardiovascular diseases’ incidence emphasizes the importance of research linking lipids and platelet function. In particular, the rebound phenomenon that accompanies discontinuation of clopidogrel in patients receiving dual antiplatelet therapy has been associated with changes in the lipid profile. Our many years of research underline the importance of reduced HDL values for the risk of such a rebound effect and the occurrence of thromboembolic events. Lipids are otherwise a heterogeneous group of molecules, and their signaling molecules are not deposited but formed “on-demand” in the cell. On the other hand, exosomes transmit lipid signals between cells, and the profile of such changes can be monitored by lipidomics. Changes in the lipid profile are organ-specific and may indicate new drug action targets.     

Targeting Mitochondria in Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D), one of the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases, is often preceded by insulin resistance (IR), which underlies the inability of tissues to respond to insulin and leads to disturbed metabolic homeostasis. Mitochondria, as a central player in the cellular energy metabolism, are involved in the mechanisms of IR and T2D. Mitochondrial function is affected by insulin resistance in different tissues, among which skeletal muscle and liver have the highest impact on whole-body glucose homeostasis. This review focuses on human studies that assess mitochondrial function in liver, muscle and blood cells in the context of T2D. Furthermore, different interventions targeting mitochondria in IR and T2D are listed, with a selection of studies using respirometry as a measure of mitochondrial function, for better data comparison. Altogether, mitochondrial respiratory capacity appears to be a metabolic indicator since it decreases as the disease progresses but increases after lifestyle (exercise) and pharmacological interventions, together with the improvement in metabolic health. Finally, novel therapeutics developed to target mitochondria have potential for a more integrative therapeutic approach, treating both causative and secondary defects of diabetes.     

Composition and Radical Scavenging Capacity of Phenolic Compounds in Wheat-Chickpea Dough

The content, composition, and radical scavenging capacity of phenolic compounds in wheat-chickpea (60:40, w/w) flour and dough were studied in this research. The content of phenolic compounds in wheat-chickpea dough was almost twice as high as in the flour from which the dough was made. The addition of chickpea flour to wheat flour contributed to the improved scavenging capacity of dough. The wheat-chickpea dough had a lower maximal achieved scavenging capacity than wheat-chickpea flour, but higher than that of the wheat dough. The quercetin, genkwanin, and apigenin glucosides could be considered as stable components during the mixing of the wheat-chickpea dough. The wheat-chickpea bread retained the radical scavenging capacity which the dough had.     

Partial error tolerance for bit-plane FIR filter architecture

Whereas some applications require correct computation many others do not. A large domain where perfect functional performance is not always required is multimedia and DSP systems. Relaxing the requirement of 100% correctness for devices and interconnections may dramatically reduce costs of manufacturing, verification, and testing. The goal of this paper is to develop a method for trading computational correctness for an additional chip area involved by fault-tolerance implementation. The method is demonstrated for the BP array in the following way: only the most significant bits of the output word are made fault-tolerant. By introducing the concept of partially error-tolerant BP array, designers achieve one more degree of tradeoff freedom. Formal definitions of the proposed terms are given. A mathematical path based on transitive closure that generates an error significance map for the BP array is proposed. The design tradeoff is demonstrated through FPGA implementation. The achieved area savings are presented as a function of a number of most significant fault-tolerant bits.     

Reducing sensing error in cognitive PANs through reduction of the channel set and split sensing

Cognitive radio technology necessitates accurate and timely sensing of the primary users’ activity on the chosen set of channels. If sensing error is unacceptably high, we can reduce the number of working channels so as to improve the channels-vs.-sensing nodes ratio, and undertake differential or split sensing in which subsets of sensing nodes target idle and active channels, respectively. The paper presents a probabilistic analysis of the sensing process, including the split sensing policy, and investigates the range of values in which such, incomplete sensing is capable of maintaining an accurate view of the status of the working channel set.