Enhancement of computed tomography liver contrast using iomeprol-containing liposomes and detection of small liver tumors in rats

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: We evaluated iomeprol-containing liposomes (Lipiom), a new contrast medium for computed tomography (CT) liver scanning, in an animal model of chemically induced hepatocellular carcinomas and other liver tumors in rats. METHODS: Liver tumors were induced by administration of carcinogens to rats, either 0.55% (w/w) 1'-hydroxysafrole in the diet or induction by 3'-methyl-4-diethylaminoazobenzene followed by promotion with carbon tetrachloride. CT scanning was performed 1-3 hr after intravenous injection of iomeprol-containing liposomes. RESULTS: After injection of iomeprol-containing liposomes at a dose of 70 mg of liposome-entrapped iodine per kilogram of body weight, the normal liver parenchyma showed a contrast enhancement, in Hounsfield units, of more than 60% over the control value before bolus. Liver tumors with no or few Kupffer cells were not enhanced and appeared as dark areas within the normal parenchyma. Tumors and pretumoral lesions devoid of Kupffer cells, as small as 3 mm in diameter, could be distinguished using this non-invasive method. CONCLUSION: CT liver scanning after injection of iomeprol-containing liposomes appears to be promising method for detecting liver tumors and focal liver lesions.     

Hereditary sensory autonomic neuropathy--type II in siblings

An experimental investigation has lately shown that certain allyl compounds of garlic are able to provoke acantholysis in normal human skin cultured in vitro. The acantholytic effect has been more prominent in the samples from DR4+ donor. We here report a case of superficial pemphigus which appeared spontaneously in a DR4,14+, 49-year-old man and which ran a course that proved to be affected by dietary factors, in particular by the consumption of garlic. In the absence of a conventional treatment and on a garlic-free diet only, the disease ceased for several months. Soon after an unintentional dietary test with a strongly and presumable garlic-spiced fish meal, the pemphigus recurred. Nutritional factors should be added to the ever-growing list of exogenous factors capable of inducing or perpetuating pemphigus in genetically predisposed individuals.     

Electrical,thermal and microwave shielding properties of printable silver nanowires

Silver nanowires find use in a myriad of applications, including communication systems, sensors, medical devices and electrical equipment. Temperature-dependent electrical and thermal properties of chemically derived silver nanowires are rarely explored. In the present work, seed-mediated synthesis of silver nanowires has been carried out, and their electrical and thermal conductivity at 300 K is found to be 1.848?×?10⁷ S/m and 64.8 W/mK, respectively. A screen-printable ink of silver nanowires is formulated and printed on low-cost and widely used substrates like paper and cotton fabrics. Flexible printed electrodes could be made possible with uniform printed structures obtained in cotton fabric and paper substrate. The printed pattern exhibited sheet resistance of 0.7 Ω/sq. Screen-printed silver nanowires on paper show shielding efficiency of 99.9% in X band, which promotes them as excellent candidates in fabricating lightweight electronic devices by a one-step printing process.

Graphical abstract

     

Position-Based Adaptive Clustering Model (PACM) for Efficient Data Caching in Vehicular Named Data Networks (VNDN)

The seamless data delivery is essential in VANET for application such as autonomous vehicle, intelligent traffic management and for the road safety and emergency applications. The incorporation of named data networking (NDN) with VANET, intended to frame intelligent traffic flow and seamless data delivery. Such integration of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) with NDN is termed as vehicular named data networks (VNDN). Because of the continuous node/vehicle mobility, it is a tedious process to build constant and consistent communication between vehicles. With that concern, for enhancing the performance of VNDN and solving the issues such as frequent cluster formation on heavy loaded data transmissions, position-based adaptive clustering model (PACM) is developed. The major intention of PACM is to form clusters based on trajectory. Besides, PACM performs efficient data caching by collecting significant data from vehicles to establish consistent data communication with all nodes in the network. Efficient data caching is done with the elected cluster heads among the framed clusters based on its positions and mobility models. For handling the vehicles at higher mobility speed, mutual data caching process is also designed that makes vehicles to perform on-demand data gathering from cluster heads. Further, the model is simulated and the obtained results are compared with the existing models based on the metrics such as packet delivery ratio, mean delay, cache hit rate and mean hop distance. The comparative analysis shows that the proposed model outperforms the available techniques.

     

Reduction of Complexity of On-Board Embedded Robotic System Processors Using Code Offloading

Appearance of highly intelligent and advanced robots that react and recognize to their environment has lead to the increment in the complexity of the embedded systems that govern their reaction. This developing multifaceted nature, over a timeframe, has influenced the general responsiveness and battery life of the robot. From controlling a drone to an internet controlled coffee maker, an on-board processor for the calculation of all control signs is required for setting off a reaction to the stimuli. At the point when the unpredictability of the embedded system rises, more convoluted computation is required to react to those inputs. This has not only reduced the general responsiveness and battery life of the robot but also has additionally prompted the need of overhauling the equipment to suit the upsurge in the calculation required. The solution to this problem is by offloading the critical tasks like control signal computation or image processing to a centralized server which would eliminate the requirement of complex on-board processors. A comprehensive analysis is presented on the feasibility of such code offloading in embedded robotic systems and its applicability to other domains is discussed. The obtained results will be compared to the results obtained in other domains involving code offloading and analysed to strike out any patterns in their results.     

Curcumin loaded chitin nanogels for skin cancer treatment via the transdermal route

In this study, curcumin loaded chitin nanogels (CCNGs) were developed using biocompatible and biodegradable chitin with an anticancer curcumin drug. Chitin, as well as curcumin, is insoluble in water. However, the developed CCNGs form a very good and stable dispersion in water. The CCNGs were analyzed by DLS, SEM and FTIR and showed spherical particles in a size range of 70-80 nm. The CCNGs showed higher release at acidic pH compared to neutral pH. The cytotoxicity of the nanogels were analyzed on human dermal fibroblast cells (HDF) and A375 (human melanoma) cell lines and the results show that CCNGs have specific toxicity on melanoma in a concentration range of 0.1-1.0 mg mL(-1), but less toxicity towards HDF cells. The confocal analysis confirmed the uptake of CCNGs by A375. The apoptotic effect of CCNGs was analyzed by a flow-cytometric assay and the results indicate that CCNGs at the higher concentration of the cytotoxic range showed comparable apoptosis as the control curcumin, in which there was negligible apoptosis induced by the control chitin nanogels. The CCNGs showed a 4-fold increase in steady state transdermal flux of curcumin as compared to that of control curcumin solution. The histopathology studies of the porcine skin samples treated with the prepared materials showed loosening of the horny layer of the epidermis, facilitating penetration with no observed signs of inflammation. These results suggest that the formulated CCNGs offer specific advantage for the treatment of melanoma, the most common and serious type of skin cancer, by effective transdermal penetration.     

Influence of spices on the bacterial (enzyme) activity in experimental colon cancer

Using degenerate PCR primers that target evolutionarily conserved sequences in pal genes, we show that in the gymnosperm, Pinus banksiana, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is encoded by a multigene family of at least eight to ten loci. Five classes of pal sequence were easily distinguished among 28 clones sequenced from the products of PCR amplification of haploid genomic DNA. The dominant sequence from each class was named, yielding pal1 to pal5 loci. These genes shared 68.8% to 94.0% nucleotide identity over the 366 bp region compared. All of pal1 to pal5 were expressed in cell suspension cultures treated with a fungal elicitor and all but pal3 were expressed in differentiating xylem tissue of a mature tree. Only pall was expressed in unelicited cell cultures. While these P. banksiana genes are quite divergent, they are still more similar to each other than to any angiosperm pal gene cloned to date. For its roles in development and defense, PAL production in P. banksiana is coordinated from a large, diverse multigene family. We discuss evidence suggesting that other pines have similar pal gene family structures.     

Preparation and characterization of ampicillin‐incorporated electrospun polyurethane scaffolds for wound healing and infection control

Electrospinning is a desired method to produce interconnected flexible nanofibrous structures suitable for tissue engineering, drug delivery, and wound healing. Ampicillin‐loaded polyurethane (PU) nanofiber mats were electrospun with the antibiotic dispersed in well‐oriented nanofibers. The identification of functional groups, molecular interactions and surface morphology of the fibers were analyzed using Infrared, Raman, ¹H NMR, SEM, and TEM. Weak interactions exist between the functional groups of ampicillin and PU in electrospun fibers at ratios 1:10, 1.5:10, and 2:10. The effect of β‐lactam antibiotic ampicillin on the characteristics of electrospun PU was studied using XRD, TGA, and DSC. Their antibacterial property is proved by good zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia. Cytotoxicity tests on the electrospun scaffolds were performed with normal human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT cells). Results indicate that ampicillin‐incorporated PU scaffolds are well suited for applications in wound healing and infection control. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:541–548, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Fuzzy logic controller with MPPT using line-commutated inverter for three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic systems

A fuzzy logic controller has been developed for interfacing PV array with utility grid through a three-phase line-commutated inverter for the first time. The controller tracks and feeds maximum power to the utility grid. The linguistic variables have been selected appropriately to modulate the firing angle of the inverter for tracking the maximum power. The simulink model of the proposed scheme employing fuzzy logic controller has been built using MATLAB/PSB. A PIC microcontroller has been programmed for generation of firing pulses to the thyristors in the inverter. Experimental setup of the proposed scheme has been built and the results obtained on a PV array of 54 V, 12 A rating are presented. The comparison of experimental and simulation results shows very close agreement between the two thus validating the controller proposed.     

A Research on Bi-directional Double Clad Optical Fiber for 5G Communication with Multiband Radio Signal and Power for Disaster Management in Remote Units

Wireless Personal Communications - The power over fiber (PoF) scheme delivers simultaneous multiband data and feed power transmission via a double-clad fiber (DCF) for bidirectional radio over...