Epitope-Imprinted Nanoparticles as Transforming Growth Factor-β3 Sequestering Ligands to Modulate Stem Cell Fate

Growth factors (GFs) are biomolecules with potent biological effects but inherent limitations hinder their potential as therapeutic agents and cell culture supplements in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). Biomaterials that sequester endogenous GFs by affinity binding might circumvent such limitations and thus are being increasingly investigated. Here, molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (MINPs) are proposed as specific abiotic ligands for GFs. As a proof of concept, a conformational epitope of transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) is designed and surface imprinted onto polyacrylamide-based nanoparticles by inverse microemulsion polymerization. It is found that, depending on the polymerization mixture composition, MINPs can recognize and preferentially bind TGF-β3, either in noncompetitive assays or from a complex human fluid (platelet lysate). Substrates functionalized with MINPs are then used for 2D culture of adipose-derived stem cells. Remarkably, gene and protein expression profiles show a marked upregulation of SOX-9, suggesting activation of TGF-β3 signaling pathways without requiring supplementation with exogenous GF. Likewise, culturing these cells in pellets incorporating MINPs previously incubated with platelet lysate results in higher collagen II-rich matrix deposition, compared to pellets incorporating non-imprinted nanoparticles. In summary, results suggest MINPs can be used as cost-effective, stable, and scalable alternative abiotic GF ligands to guide cell fate in TERM applications.     

SIR-C data quality and calibration results

The SIR-C/X-SAR imaging radar took its first flight on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in April 1994 and flew for a second time in October 1994. This multifrequency radar has fully polarimetric capability at L- and C-band, and a single polarization at X-band (X-SAR). The Endeavour missions were designated the Space Radar Laboratory-1 (SRL-1) and -2 (SRL-2). Calibration of polarimetric L- and C-band data for all the different modes SIR-C offers is an especially complicated problem. The solution involves extensive analysis of pre-flight test data to come up with a model of the system, analysis of in-flight test data to determine the antenna pattern and gains of the system during operation, and analysis of data from over fourteen calibration sites distributed around the SIR-C/X-SAR orbit track. The SRL missions were the first time a multifrequency polarimetric imaging radar employing a phased array antenna has been flown in space. Calibration of SIR-C data products involved some unique technical problems given the complexity of the radar system. In this paper, the approach adopted for calibration of SIR-C data is described and the calibration performance of the data products is presented     

Control mechanisms to improve the robustness of mpeg-2 based communications over ATM networks

Audio-visual and other multimedia services are seen as an important source of traffic for ATM networks. Due to the statistical multiplexing schemes used by ATM networks, cells are exposed to delays, jitters and losses. These phenomena affect the quality of the service provided to the video-based applications. In this paper, we introduce a set of control mechanisms at different levels of the protocol architecture. These mechanisms have been particularly tailored to better support MPEG-2-based video communications applications using ATM networks as their underlying transmission mechanism. We show that the use of errorconcealment mechanisms prove more effective when supplemented by a structured set of protocol mechanisms. We study the impact of cell losses on the quality of MPEG-2 video sequences and provide an evaluation of the quality of the decoded video as perceived by the end user. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed protocol architecture in improving the quality of service provided to the video application.     

Non‐Geminate Recombination as the Primary Determinant of Open‐Circuit Voltage in Polythiophene:Fullerene Blend Solar Cells: an Analysis of the Influence of Device Processing Conditions

The physical origin of the open‐circuit voltage in bulk heterojunction solar cells is still not well understood. While significant evidence exists to indicate that the open‐circuit voltage is limited by the molecular orbital energies of the heterojunction components, it is clear that this picture is not sufficient to explain the significant variations which often occur between cells fabricated from the same heterojunction components. We present here an analysis of the variation in open‐circuit voltage between 0.4–0.65 V observed for a range of P3HT/PCBM solar cells where device deposition conditions, electrode structure, active‐layer thickness and device polarity are varied. The analysis quantifies non‐geminate recombination losses of dissociated carriers in these cells, measured under device operating conditions. It is found that at open‐circuit, losses due to non‐geminate recombination are sufficiently large that other loss pathways may effectively be neglected. Variations in open‐circuit voltage between different devices are shown to arise from differences in the rate coefficient for non‐geminate recombination, and from differences in the charge densities in the photoactive layer of the device. The origin of these differences is discussed, particularly with regard to variations in film microstructure. By separately quantifying these differences in rate coefficient and charge density, and by application of a simple physical model based upon the assumption that open‐circuit is reached when the flux of charge photogeneration is matched by the flux of non‐geminate recombination, we are able to calculate correctly the open‐circuit voltage for all the cells studied to within an accuracy of ±5 mV.     

Virtual RF system platform dedicated to heterogeneous complex SoC design

In this paper, we propose to develop a hierarchical library associated with various simulators that can be used in a single platform, called TrustMe-ViP, which enables a unique simulation framework and full model interoperability. Such platform is dedicated to complex SoC design, such as trusted personal devices where cost and time-to-market are very important constraints. To validate this methodology, we present the estimation of BER and power consumption for a Bluetooth transceiver.     

A Multisensor Architecture Providing Location-based Services for Smartphones

This paper introduces a multisensor architecture to fuse data acquired from different sensors available in commodity smartphones in order to build accurate location-based services, and pursuing a good balance between accuracy and performance. Using scale invariant features from the images captured using the smartphone camera, we perform a matching process against previously obtained images to determine the current location of the device. Several refinements are introduced to improve the performance and the scalability of our proposal. Location fingerprinting, based on IEEE 802.11, will be used to determine a cluster of physical points, or zone, where the device seems to be according to the received signal strength. In this way, we will reduce the number of images to analyze to those contained in the tentative zone. Additionally, accelerometers will also be considered in order to improve the system performance, by means of a motion estimator. This set of techniques enables a wide range of location-based applications.     

Organic Single Crystal Patterning Method for Micrometric Photosensors

Light detection technologies are of interest due to their applications in energy conversion and optical communications. Single-crystal organic semiconductors, such as rubrene, present high detectivities and charge carrier mobility, making them attractive for light-sensing applications. Growth of high crystallinity organic crystals is achieved using vapor processes, forming crystals of arbitrary shapes and orientations and requiring posterior patterning processes. However, patterning the organic semiconductors using industry-standard microfabrication techniques is not straightforward, as these often cause irreversible damage to the crystals. Here the fabrication of patterned micrometric rubrene photosensors is demonstrated through a combination of photolithography and Reactive Ion Etching steps. Protective layers during microfabrication minimize degradation of optoelectronic properties of the organic single crystals during fabrication. Crystals undergoing the patterning process presented a survival rate of 39%. Photoresponse values of up to 41 mA W⁻¹ are obtained under illumination at 500 nm. This opens a route for the industrial-scale fabrication process of high-performance optoelectronic devices based on organic crystals semiconductors.     

Quality Map Thresholding for De-noising of Complex-Valued fMRI Data and Its Application to ICA of fMRI

Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data are acquired as complex-valued images, traditionally most fMRI studies only use the magnitude of the data. FMRI analysis in the complex domain promises to provide more statistically significant information; however, the noisy nature of the phase poses a challenge for successful study of fMRI by complex-valued signal processing algorithms. In this paper, we introduce a physiologically motivated de-noising method that uses phase quality maps to successfully identify and eliminate noisy areas in the fMRI data so they can be used in individual and group studies. Additionally, we show how the developed de-noising method improves the results of complex-valued independent component analysis of fMRI data, a very successful tool for blind source separation of biomedical data.     

Mobile Learning

Works in progress from selected papers presented at the 2006 IADIS International Conference on Mobile Learning provide an overview of the diverse research being conducted in this field.     

Bandwidth Aspects in Second Generation Current Conveyors

This paper discusses bandwidth problems associated with second-generation current conveyors (CCII). In particular, our work is centered in high-capacitance applications, and has been oriented for wireless optical links and applied physics. We discuss techniques for improving bandwidth in these CCIIs, and develop a new CCII structure with larger bandwidth than traditional circuits. These circuits are then compared in terms of their noise and dynamic range characteristics. A test circuit was developed to verify these different bandwidth behaviors.