Intratracheal Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis in the Lungs,Brain, and Gut in Newborn Rats

We attempted to determine whether intratracheal (IT) transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could simultaneously attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injuries and microbial dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut in newborn rats. Newborn rats were exposed to hyperoxia (90% oxygen) for 14 days. Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (5 × 10⁵) were transplanted via the IT route on postnatal day (P) five. At P14, the lungs were harvested for histological, biochemical, and microbiome analyses. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes from the lungs, brain, and large intestine were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed. IT transplantation of MSCs simultaneously attenuated hyperoxia-induced lung inflammation and the ensuing injuries, as well as the dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut. In correlation analyses, lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly positively correlated with the abundance of Proteobacteria in the lungs, brain, and gut, and it was significantly inversely correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes in the gut and lungs and that of Bacteroidetes in the lungs. In conclusion, microbial dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut does not cause but is caused by hyperoxic lung inflammation and ensuing injuries, and IT transplantation of MSCs attenuates dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut, primarily by their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Improving Lipid Production of Yarrowia lipolytica by the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Mediated Furfural Detoxification

Yarrowia lipolytica, the non-conventional yeast capable of high lipogenesis, is a microbial chassis for producing lipid-based biofuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as lignocellulosic biomass. However, the low tolerance of Y. lipolytica against furfural, a major inhibitory furan aldehyde derived from the pretreatment processes of lignocellulosic biomass, has restricted the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. In this study, the furfural tolerance of Y. lipolytica has been improved by supporting its endogenous detoxification mechanism. Specifically, the endogenous genes encoding the aldehyde dehydrogenase family proteins were overexpressed in Y. lipolytica to support the conversion of furfural to furoic acid. Among them, YALI0E15400p (FALDH2) has shown the highest conversion rate of furfural to furoic acid and resulted in two-fold increased cell growth and lipid production in the presence of 0.4 g/L of furfural. To our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the native furfural detoxification mechanism and increase furfural resistance through rational engineering in Y. lipolytica. Overall, these results will improve the potential of Y. lipolytica to produce lipids and other value-added chemicals from a carbon-neutral feedstock of lignocellulosic biomass.     

Dieless drawing steel wires using a dielectric heating method and modeling the process dynamics

Modern industries require the production of multi-functional, inorganic, micron-sized metal wires. This study suggests a novel method that could potentially offer a highly efficient dieless drawing technology for manufacturing thin stainless steel fibers. The method is based on a hot-working principle, using microwaves as the heat source and SiC as the susceptor. Experimental trials with a laboratory rig showed that the new system worked effectively for drawing the stainless steel wires and should be able to realize the diameter attenuation with a diameter reduction of up to 21%. The theoretical model describing the deformation behavior of the stainless steel wires in the working zone along with the constitutive equation of Bingham model modified with a power law and Zener–Hollomon parameter turned out to match very good with the actual results of the experiment. The coefficient of variation of the drawn wire diameter increased, as the draw ratio increased, which could be attributed to the occurrence of the narrow necking zone.     

A reconfigurable microstrip antenna for switchable polarization

A novel reconfigurable microstrip antenna with switchable polarization sense is proposed. The proposed antenna has a simple structure, consisting of a corner-truncated square radiating patch, four small triangular conductors, and a microstrip line feed. Using independently biased PIN diodes on the patch, it can produce linear polarization, or left- or right-hand circular polarization according to bias voltages. From the measured results, low cross-polarization levels when operated in the linear state and good axial ratios in the circular state are observed.     

Stretchable,Transparent Zinc Oxide Thin Film Transistors

Stretchable and transparent thin film transistors (TFTs) with intrisically brittle oxide semiconductors are built using a wavy structural configuration that can provide high flexibility and stretchability. After device fabrication procedures including high temperature annealing, the oxide semiconductor‐based TFT arrays can be transferred directly to plastic or rubber substrates, without an additional device process, using transfer printing methods. This procedure can avoid some of the thermal degradation problems associated with plastic or rubber substrates by separating them from the annealing procedure needed to improve the device performance. These design and fabrication methods offer the possibility of developing a new format of stretchable electronics.     

Selective Photothermal Tumor Therapy Using Nanodiamond‐Based Nanoclusters with Folic Acid

This paper describes the fabrication and evaluation of folic acid (FA)‐conjugated nanodiamond (ND) nanoclusters for selective photothermal tumor therapy. ND nanoclusters with surface carboxyl groups are aminated using ethylenediamine and conjugated with FA via carbodiimide chemistry. The temperature of an aqueous ND dispersion (10 μg mL^?1) is increased to 54 °C upon laser exposure for 5 min. FA‐ND nanoclusters are preferentially taken up by KB cells (folate receptor positive) compared to WI‐38 (folate receptor negative) cells, suggesting specificity for tumor cells that overexpress folate receptors. Cell viability tests reveal that FA‐ND nanoclusters effectively and selectively ablate KB cells upon near‐infrared (NIR) laser exposure. In addition, fluorescence microscopy images confirm that only KB cells treated with FA‐ND nanoclusters are ablated in a spot (200 μm in diameter) by NIR laser exposure. In an animal model, a large amount of FA‐ND nanoclusters is accumulated into tumor tissue, resulting in dramatically reduced tumor volume post‐NIR laser exposure as compared to ND nanoclusters.     

Threshold‐Based Camera Motion Characterization of MPEG Video

We propose an efficient scheme for camera motion characterization in MPEG‐compressed video. The proposed scheme detects six types of basic camera motions through threshold‐based qualitative interpretation, in which fixed thresholds are applied to motion model parameters estimated from MPEG motion vectors (MVs). The efficiency and robustness of the scheme are validated by the experiment with real compressed video sequences.     

Decision feedback detection with error compensation for hybrid space-time block codes

Spatial division multiplexing (SDM) techniques increase the total throughput by transmitting independent information streams through multiple transmit antennas whereas space time coding (STC) techniques utilize diversity gain. Hybrid space-time block code (STBC) schemes proposed combine the above two techniques to maximize the link performance. We propose a decision feedback detection method to improve the performance of the hybrid STBC scheme for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). In this scheme, we take the error propagation effect into account to enhance the detection performance. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional hybrid STBC detection algorithm by more than 3dB at 1% frame error rate for frequency selective fading channels.     

Aptamer‐Functionalized Multidimensional Conducting‐Polymer Nanoparticles for an Ultrasensitive and Selective Field‐Effect‐Transistor Endocrine‐Disruptor Sensors

An endocrine disruptor (ED) is a type of xenobiotic compound that can cause serious diseases related to the estrous cycle, as well as various types of cancer. At low ED concentrations, estrogen receptors may respond as they would under physiological conditions. In this work, aptamer‐functionalized multidimensional conducting‐polymer (3‐carboxylate polypyrrole) nanoparticles (A_M_CPPyNPs) are fabricated for use in an FET sensor to detect bisphenol A (BPA). The multidimensional system, M_CPPyNPs, is first produced by means of dual‐nozzle electrospray of pristine CPPyNPs and vapor deposition polymerization of additional conducting polymer. The M_CPPyNPs are then immobilized on an amine‐functionalized (–NH₂) interdigitated‐array electrode substrate, through the formation of covalent bonds with amide groups (–CONH). The amine‐functionalized BPA‐binding aptamer is then introduced in the same way as that for M_CPPyNP immobilization. The resulting A_M_CPPyNP‐based FET sensors exhibit ultrasensitivity and selectivity towards BPA at unprecedentedly low concentrations (1 fm ) and among molecules with similar structures. Additionally, due to the covalent bonding involved in the immobilization processes, a longer lifetime is expected for the FET sensor.     

Performance analysis of an enhanced DQRUMA/MC-CDMA protocol for voice traffic

The original distributed-queueing request update multiple-access (DQRUMA)/multicode code-division multiple-access (MC-CDMA) protocol was developed as a channel access protocol for wireless packet CDMA networks. This protocol has recently attracted considerable attention. We modify the original protocol, which was designed for data traffic only, to additionally accommodate voice traffic and call it the A-Protocol. We propose a new packet CDMA protocol that enhances the A-Protocol by improving the utilization of receivers in a base station and call it the E-Protocol. In the E-Protocol, an access request is attempted with a randomly chosen code at a request minislot. We analytically evaluate the performance of both protocols and compare analytical results with computer simulation. Analytical results agree well with simulation results.