HermesB: a continuous neural recording system for freely behaving primates

Chronically implanted electrode arrays have enabled a broad range of advances in basic electrophysiology and neural prosthetics. Those successes motivate new experiments, particularly, the development of prototype implantable prosthetic processors for continuous use in freely behaving subjects, both monkeys and humans. However, traditional experimental techniques require the subject to be restrained, limiting both the types and duration of experiments. In this paper, we present a dual-channel, battery-powered neural recording system with an integrated three-axis accelerometer for use with chronically implanted electrode arrays in freely behaving primates. The recording system called HermesB, is self-contained, autonomous, programmable, and capable of recording broadband neural (sampled at 30 kS/s) and acceleration data to a removable compact flash card for up to 48 h. We have collected long-duration data sets with HermesB from an adult macaque monkey which provide insight into time scales and free behaviors inaccessible under traditional experiments. Variations in action potential shape and root-mean square (RMS) noise are observed across a range of time scales. The peak-to-peak voltage of action potentials varied by up to 30% over a 24-h period including step changes in waveform amplitude (up to 25%) coincident with high acceleration movements of the head. These initial results suggest that spike-sorting algorithms can no longer assume stable neural signals and will need to transition to adaptive signal processing methodologies to maximize performance. During physically active periods (defined by head-mounted accelerometer), significantly reduced 5-25-Hz local field potential (LFP) power and increased firing rate variability were observed. Using a threshold fit to LFP power, 93% of 403 5-min recording blocks were correctly classified as active or inactive, potentially providing an efficient tool for identifying different behavioral contexts in prosthetic applications. These results demonstrate the utility of the HermesB system and motivate using this type of system to advance neural prosthetics and electrophysiological experiments.     

The effect of roofing material on the quality of harvested rainwater

Due to decreases in the availability and quality of traditional water resources, harvested rainwater is increasingly used for potable and non-potable purposes. In this study, we examined the effect of conventional roofing materials (i.e., asphalt fiberglass shingle, Galvalume^® metal, and concrete tile) and alternative roofing materials (i.e., cool and green) on the quality of harvested rainwater. Results from pilot-scale and full-scale roofs demonstrated that rainwater harvested from any of these roofing materials would require treatment if the consumer wanted to meet United States Environmental Protection Agency primary and secondary drinking water standards or non-potable water reuse guidelines; at a minimum, first-flush diversion, filtration, and disinfection are recommended. Metal roofs are commonly recommended for rainwater harvesting applications, and this study showed that rainwater harvested from metal roofs tends to have lower concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria as compared to other roofing materials. However, concrete tile and cool roofs produced harvested rainwater quality similar to that from the metal roofs, indicating that these roofing materials also are suitable for rainwater harvesting applications. Although the shingle and green roofs produced water quality comparable in many respects to that from the other roofing materials, their dissolved organic carbon concentrations were very high (approximately one order of magnitude higher than what is typical for a finished drinking water in the United States), which might lead to high concentrations of disinfection byproducts after chlorination. Furthermore the concentrations of some metals (e.g., arsenic) in rainwater harvested from the green roof suggest that the quality of commercial growing media should be carefully examined if the harvested rainwater is being considered for domestic use. Hence, roofing material is an important consideration when designing a rainwater catchment.     

A study of the electrophoretic deposition of bioactive glass-chitosan composite coating

Bioactive glass is coated on implant's surface to improve corrosion resistance and osseointegration, when placed in the body. Bioactive glass particles were synthesized through a sol-gel process and deposited along with chitosan to form a composite coating on a stainless steel substrate using electrophoretic deposition technique. Stable suspensions of chitosan-bioactive glass were prepared using bioactive glass particles (<1 μm) and 0.5 g/l chitosan solution. The influence of ethanol-water ratio on deposition yield was investigated. For all process conditions, best results were achieved with suspension of 30 vol% water in ethanol-water containing 2 g/l bioactive glass. FTIR studies showed that chitosan was absorbed on ceramic particle surface via hydroxyl and amid bonds. In order to evaluate the coating, its structure and electrochemical properties were studied. It was concluded that increasing the process voltage led to an increase in particle size and porosity, but induced cracks in the coating. In the presence of the polymer-bioactive glass coating, current density in artificial saliva was decreased by 52% and corrosion potential shifted toward more noble values.     

BDMC33, A Curcumin Derivative Suppresses Inflammatory Responses in Macrophage-Like Cellular System: Role of Inhibition in NF-κB and MAPK Signaling Pathways

Our preliminary screening has shown that curcumin derivative BDMC33 [2,6-bis(2,5-dimethoxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone] exerted promising nitric oxide inhibitory activity in activated macrophages. However, the molecular basis and mechanism for its pharmacological action is yet to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of BDMC33 and elucidate its underlying mechanism action in macrophage cells. Our current study demonstrated that BDMC33 inhibits the secretion of major pro-inflammatory mediators in stimulated macrophages, and includes NO, TNF-α and IL-1β through interference in both nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) and mitogen activator protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade in IFN-γ/LPS-stimulated macrophages. Moreover, BDMC33 also interrupted LPS signaling through inhibiting the surface expression of CD-14 accessory molecules. In addition, the inhibitory action of BDMC33 not only restricted the macrophages cell (RAW264.7), but also inhibited the secretion of NO and TNF-α in IFN-γ/LPS-challenged microglial cells (BV-2). The experimental data suggests the inflammatory action of BDMC33 on activated macrophage-like cellular systems, which could be used as a future therapeutic agent in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases.     

Development of Salt-Induced Homogenous Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Based on <Emphasis Type="Italic">iso</Emphasis>-Propanol/Sodium Sulfate System for Extraction of Some Pesticides in Fruit Juices

In the present work, a simple and fast sample pretreatment method based on salt-induced homogenous liquid–liquid microextraction has been proposed for the extraction and preconcentration of some widely used pesticides (diazinon, ametryn, chlorpyrifos, penconazole, oxadiazon, diniconazole, and fenazaquin) from different fruit juice samples prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Initially, a small volume (microliter level) of an extraction solvent (iso-propanol) is added into an aqueous phase containing the analytes in order to obtain a homogenous solution. Then, a phase separation agent (sodium sulfate) is added into the homogeneous solution. By this action, the extraction solvent releases from the homogenous solution in the form of tiny droplets containing the analytes and collects on the surface of the aqueous phase as a thin film. A home-made device is used to simplify the removal of the collected organic phase. Finally, an aliquot of the collected organic phase is removed and injected into the separation system for analysis. Under the optimum conditions, limits of detection and quantification were obtained at the ranges of 0.22–0.48 and 0.73–1.7 μg L^?1, respectively. The enrichment factors and extraction recoveries of the selected pesticides ranged from 410 to 480 and 82 to 96%, respectively. The relative standard deviations were ≤?7% for intra- (n?=?6) and inter-day (n?=?4) precisions at a concentration of 10 μg L^?1 of each analyte. Finally, the proposed procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of real samples including apple, sour cherry, peach, grape, and orange juices in order to simultaneously determine the seven aforementioned pesticides. The proposed approach is simple, sensitive, rapid, and requires low solvent consumption, which, in the era of green chemistry, represents a significant advantage. This method and the obtained results can contribute in the improvement of food quality as well as monitoring level of pesticide usage in fruit juices.     

Dough-Handling and Cookie-Making Properties of Wheat Flour–Watermelon Protein Isolate Blends

There is a growing interest in fortifying cereal-based products with proteins. In this study, protein isolates prepared from defatted seed meals of two watermelon cultivars, Mateera and Sugar baby, were blended with medium strength wheat flour at levels of 2.5% to 10%. Dough handling properties such as farinographic parameters, dough extensibility, pasting properties, textural and sensory properties of cookies revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) changes in dough and cookies. Irrespective of watermelon cultivars, protein isolates at 5% and 10% levels, significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased dough stability and mixing tolerance index while pasting properties decreased considerably with incorporation of 5% protein isolate in wheat flour. Similar changes were observed in textural, colour and sensory properties of cookies fortified with protein isolates. The protein content of cookies supplemented with protein isolates increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) while a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease occurred in total carbohydrate content. Cookie fracture force (kg) significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased above 5% fortification levels for both protein isolates. Cookie spread factor (W/T) increased with 2.5% to 7.5% fortification levels, but further increase in protein levels decreased spread factor. Sensory scores of cookies showed that protein isolates incorporation up to 7.5% were acceptable. This study revealed that watermelon protein isolates can be successfully incorporated in a range of cereal products to improve their protein quality and functionality.     

A micro-CT investigation of densification in pressboard due to compression

As a non-destructive inspection method, micro-computed tomography has been employed for determining local properties of a cellulose-based product, specifically pressboard. Furthermore, by utilizing the determined properties in a detailed numerical model, by means of a finite element analysis, we demonstrate a continuum anisotropic viscoelastic-viscoplastic model. Through such a combination of non-invasive experiments with accurate computations in mechanics, we attain a better understanding of materials and its structural integrity at a pre-production stage increasing the success of the first prototype. In detail, this combination of micro-computed tomography and finite element analysis improves accuracy in predicting materials response by taking into account the local material variations. Specifically, we have performed indentation tests and scanned the internal structure of the specimen for analysing the densification patterns within the material. Subsequently, we have used a developed material model for predicting the response of material to indentation. We have computed the indentation test itself by simulating the mechanical response of high-density cellulose-based materials. In the end, we have observed that pressboard, having initially a heterogeneous density distribution through the thickness, shows a shift in the densification to the more porous part after indentation. The densification maps of the simulated results are presented by comparing with the experimental results. A reasonable agreement is observed between the experimental and the simulated densifications patterns, which suggests that the proposed methodology can be used to predict densification also for other fibre-based materials during manufacturing or in service loading.