Project description:Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), occurs independent of Hypertension, Coronary artery disease, or any other known cardiac disease and is characterized by myocardial fibrosis, myocytes loss and hypertrophy. The molecular mechanisms leading to these diseased cardiac phenotype are still being elucidated. A small number of studies have demonstrated that altered expression of several microRNAs are associated with ischemia , mechanical overload, or cardiovascular biology; however, much work is still required to identify individual or group of microRNAs and their role in the pathophysiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy. The aim of present study was to identify the expression of individual or group of microRNAs associated with myocytes hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis during DCM. MicroRNAs expression profiles were studied in myocardium from High Fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic (n=4) and non-diabetic (n=2) Wistar rats. All normalized and filtered microRNAs (n=780) processed for differential expression study using unpaired T-test in Gene spring in which unpaired comparison has been performed as test vs. control. After unpaired T-test, total 72 microRNAs were found to be significantly expressed with P-value ≤0.05. Differentially expression analysis was performed and at fold Change cut off ≥ 1.0, all 780 microRNA passed and 39 out of 780 microRNAs were differentially expressed on fold Change cut-off ≥1.5. These results indicate that during the development and progression of DCM, various microRNAs were differentially expressed and may participate in the regulation of various signaling pathways leading to myocytes hypertrophy, apoptosis and cardiac fibrosis.
Project description:Bubble actuated micro-pumps have great potential to be integrated into microfluidic systems to allow the independence of peripheral equipment. Previous studies on bubble actuated valveless micro-pumps have been mainly limited to experimental studies and numerical simulations due to the complex behavior of bubbles. In this paper, the construction of a mathematical model for a bubble actuated valveless micro-pump considering fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer and bubble dynamics is described. A prototype was fabricated and tested to verify this theoretical model. The morphological evolution of the driving bubbles during the heating process was observed by a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, the flow rate produced by the micro-pump under different working conditions was recorded and the test results were explained by the heat dissipation model. The model in this study was able to precisely predict the flow of micro-pumps in different drive modes. The principle behind defining the heating frequency and the duty cycle based on the pump chamber volume was determined. The study shows the mechanism of bubble controlling and the good prospects of bubble actuated valveless micro-pumps.
Project description:Bacterial infections remain a formidable threat to human health, a situation exacerbated by the escalating problem of antibiotic resistance. While alternative antibacterial strategies such as oxidants, heat treatments, and metal nanoparticles (NPs) have shown potential, they come with significant drawbacks, ranging from non-specificity to potential environmental concerns. In the face of these challenges, the rapid evolution of micro/nanomotors (MNMs) stands out as a revolutionary development in the antimicrobial arena. MNMs harness various forms of energy and convert it into a substantial driving force, offering bright prospects for combating microbial threats. MNMs' mobility allows for swift and targeted interaction with bacteria, which not only improves the carrying potential of therapeutic agents but also narrows the required activation range for non-drug antimicrobial interventions like photothermal and photodynamic therapies, substantially improving their bacterial clearance rates. In this review, we summarized the diverse propulsion mechanisms of MNMs employed in antimicrobial applications and articulated their multiple functions, which include direct bactericidal action, capture and removal of microorganisms, detoxification processes, and the innovative detection of bacteria and associated toxins. Despite MNMs' potential to revolutionize antibacterial research, the translation from laboratory to clinical use remains challenging. Based on the current research status, we summarized the potential challenges and possible solutions and also prospected several key directions for future studies of MNMs for antimicrobial purposes. Collectively, by highlighting the important knowns and unknowns of antimicrobial MNMs, our present review would help to light the way forward for the field of antimicrobial MNMs and prevent unnecessary blindness and detours.
Project description:Background. Every new scientific field can be traced back to a single, seminal publication. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis can yield significant insights into the history and potential future of a research field. This year marks 21 years since that first ground-breaking microRNA (miRNA) publication. Here, we make the case that the miRNA field is mature, utilising bibliometrics. Methods. Utilising the Web of Science™ (WoS) database publication and citation information, we charted the history of miRNA-related publications, describing and dissecting contributions by publication type (plus category, pay-per-view or open access), journal (highlighting dominant journals), by country, citations and languages. Results. We found that the United States of America (USA) publishes the most miRNA papers, followed by China and Germany. Significantly, publications attributed to the USA also receive the most citations per publication, followed by a close grouping of England, Germany and France. We also describe the relevance and acceptance of the miRNA field to different research areas, through its uptake in areas from oncology to plant sciences. Exploring the recent momentous change in publishing, we find that although pay-per view articles vastly out-number open-access articles, the citation rate of pay-per-view articles is currently less than double that of open-access. Conclusions. We believe the trends described here represent the typical evolution of a research field. By analysing publications, citations and distribution patterns, key moments in the evolution of this research area are recognised, indicating the maturation of the miRNA field and providing guidance for future research endeavours.
Project description:The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether therapy with MORAb-004 is effective and safe in the treatment of metastatic, colorectal cancer.
Project description:A large number of publications have focused on the study of pain expressions. Despite the growing knowledge, the availability of pain-related face databases is still very scarce compared with other emotional facial expressions. The Pain E-Motion Faces Database (PEMF) is a new open-access database currently consisting of 272 micro-clips of 68 different identities. Each model displays one neutral expression and three pain-related facial expressions: posed, spontaneous-algometer and spontaneous-CO2 laser. Normative ratings of pain intensity, valence and arousal were provided by students of three different European universities. Six independent coders carried out a coding process on the facial stimuli based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), in which ratings of intensity of pain, valence and arousal were computed for each type of facial expression. Gender and age effects of models across each type of micro-clip were also analysed. Additionally, participants' ability to discriminate the veracity of pain-related facial expressions (i.e., spontaneous vs posed) was explored. Finally, a series of ANOVAs were carried out to test the presence of other basic emotions and common facial action unit (AU) patterns. The main results revealed that posed facial expressions received higher ratings of pain intensity, more negative valence and higher arousal compared with spontaneous pain-related and neutral faces. No differential effects of model gender were found. Participants were unable to accurately discriminate whether a given pain-related face represented spontaneous or posed pain. PEMF thus constitutes a large open-source and reliable set of dynamic pain expressions useful for designing experimental studies focused on pain processes.
Project description:Traditional learning techniques have evolved slowly and have yet to adapt the course content delivery to today's students' approaches to acquiring new knowledge. However, micro-learning has become popular in e-Learning environments as a course design technique due to short attention spans, demand for small chunks of information, and time constraints. Hence, it has been selected for creating reading mobile applications provided to the nature of its learning approach. In order to describe the multiple iterations of design, development, and evaluation of this general framework, a methodology named Design-Based Research (DBR) is implemented. First, the article presents the abstract framework components and a cloud-based software architecture that allows a modular approach to creating such applications. The pathway developed through adapting the iPAC framework, which involves personalization, authenticity, and collaboration, is part of the methodology used to design the app under pedagogical and technological considerations. The process demanded the following phases: analysis and exploration, design and construction, evaluation and reflection, redesign and reconstruction, and final critical reflections. Four applied instruments also validate the framework implementation: The iPAC Rubric, an aphorisms checklist, a pre and post-test, a focus group, and a usability test taken by 28 students in a private university in Colombia. Findings indicated that Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology emerged as an appropriate tool to encounter the needs behind reading applications design due to its sequence of operations yields results successively closer to adequate usability standards and smooth implementation. They also reveal the positive impact of new types of texts on students' motivation and awareness toward other reading strategies and micro-learning. This impact indeed proved the proposed framework's effectiveness for designing micro-learning applications.
Project description:Plasticine is widely used in the analysis of metal forming processes, due to its excellent material flow ability. In this study, plasticine is used as the soft punch to fabricate array micro-channels on metal sheet in the micro sheet stamping process. This is because plasticine can produce a large material flow after being subjected to force and through the material flow, the plasticine can cause the sheet to fill into the micro-channels of the rigid die, leading to the generation of micro-channels in the sheet. The distribution of array micro-channels was investigated as well as the influence of load forces on the sheet deformations. It was found that the depth of micro-channels increases as the load force increases. When the load force reaches a certain level, a crack can be observed. The micro sheet stamping process was also investigated by the method of numerical simulation. The obtained experimental and numerical results for the stamping process showed that they were in good agreement. Additionally, from the simulation results, it can be seen that the corner region of the micro-channel-shape work piece has a risk to crack due to the existence of maximum von Mises stress and significant thinning.