A contrast agent for X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT), called
XlinCA
, that combines reliable perfusion and permanent retention and contrast properties, was developed for
ex vivo
imaging. The ...new imaging agent
XlinCA
features high molecular weight, low viscosity and a high iodine content.
A contrast agent for X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT), called
XlinCA
, that combines reliable perfusion and permanent retention and contrast properties, was developed for
ex vivo
imaging.
AbstractAn active type of upgraded tuned liquid column damper (AUTLCD) based on hedge-algebras (HA) theory is proposed to mitigate structural vibrations of seismic-excited buildings in this paper. ...The AUTLCD consists of an upgraded tuned liquid column damper (UTLCD) and an actuator to generate the control force, in which UTLCD is constituted by a traditional tuned liquid column damper (TLCD) fixed on an undamped tuned mass damper (TMD). In this study, the HA-based-on controllers are used to determine the value of control force through the state variables, including the displacement and velocity of the floor installing the actuator. This approach allows one to find the optimal parameters of UTLCD and the HA-based controller. The balancing composite motion optimization (BCMO), a novel and potential algorithm, is utilized for optimization problems in the paper. The effectiveness of AUTLCD is compared with an active tuned liquid column damper (ATLCD) having the same weight as the AUTLCD. The results obtained from this research indicate that AUTLCD is more effective than ATLCD for aspects of control performance and average control force. Furthermore, although the optimal HA controller is only designed for the El Centro earthquake data in 1940, it still offers a high-efficiency level for many other earthquakes. In addition, the HA-based controller also makes sure the system’s stability in the operating process.
Upgraded Tuned Liquid Column Damper (UTLCD) is an interesting variant of Tuned Liquid Column Damper, which was developed recently. UTLCD consists of a conventional Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) ...integrated into an undamped Tuned Mass Damper (TMD). Based on this device, a hybrid type of UTLCD (HUTLCD) is developed to minimize the vibration response of earthquake-induced buildings. HUTLCD is constituted of two independent components, including an active UTLCD (AUTLCD) and a passive UTLCD (PUTLCD). These individual components are connected in parallel to a high-rise building. In this research, the Hedge-Algebras theory (HA) is utilized to design controllers for AUTLCD. This study also uses a new algorithm, Balancing Composite Motion Optimization (BCMO), which has recently been introduced to solve optimization problems. The performance of HUTLCD is compared with that of a pure AUTLCD or a pure PUTLCD, which have the same weight as the HUTLCD. The results achieved from the present work confirm that the HUTLCD is more effective than the pure PUTLCD for the vibration reduction capacity and is better than the pure AUTLCD for both aspects of the vibrational control capacity (for most cases compared with) and saving control energy (for all cases considered). Moreover, the HUTLCD is not more robust than the AUTLCD as the structural stiffness rises, but the HUTLCD still offers higher control effectiveness compared with the AUTLCD or PUTLCD when the structural stiffness decreases. In addition, although the data used to design the optimum HA-based controller is the El Centro earthquake, this controller maintains a high efficiency level for numerous other earthquakes.
•The hybrid type of Upgraded Tuned Liquid Column Damper (HUTLCD) is proposed for structural vibration control using the Hedge-Algebras theory.•HUTLCD is effective for the vibration reduction capacity and saving control energy.•The controller maintains a high-efficiency level for numerous earthquakes.
The identification and quantification of actionable mutations are critical for guiding targeted therapy and monitoring drug response in colorectal cancer. Liquid biopsy (LB) based on plasma cell-free ...DNA analysis has emerged as a noninvasive approach with many clinical advantages over conventional tissue sampling. Here, we developed a LB protocol using ultra-deep massive parallel sequencing and validated its clinical performance for detection and quantification of actionable mutations in three major driver genes (KRAS, NRAS and BRAF). The assay showed a 92% concordance for mutation detection between plasma and paired tissues and great reliability in quantification of variant allele frequency.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) provides substantially better survival rates. This study aimed to develop a blood-based screening assay named SPOT-MAS (‘screen for the presence of tumor by ...DNA methylation and size’) for early CRC detection with high accuracy.
Plasma cell-free DNA samples from 159 patients with nonmetastatic CRC and 158 healthy controls were simultaneously analyzed for fragment length and methylation profiles. We then employed a deep neural network with fragment length and methylation signatures to build a classification model.
The model achieved an area under the curve of 0.989 and a sensitivity of 96.8% at 97% specificity in detecting CRC. External validation of our model showed comparable performance, with an area under the curve of 0.96.
SPOT-MAS based on integration of cancer-specific methylation and fragmentomic signatures could provide high accuracy for early-stage CRC detection.
A novel blood test for early detection of colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is a cancer of the colon or rectum, located at the lower end of the digestive tract. The early detection of colorectal cancer can help people with the disease have a higher chance of survival and a better quality of life. Current screening methods can be invasive, cause discomfort, or have low accuracy; therefore newer screening methods are needed. In this study we developed a new screening method, called SPOT-MAS, which works by measuring the signals of cancer DNA in the blood. By combining different characteristics of cancer DNA, SPOT-MAS could distinguish blood samples of people with colorectal cancer from those of healthy individuals with high accuracy.
SPOT-MAS technology combines methylation and fragmentomic signatures of blood-based circulating tumor DNA in a multimodal deep-learning analysis to enable early detection of colorectal cancer with high accuracy.
This study investigated the chemical components and bioactivities of acetone leaf extracts of nine Annonaceae plants collected in the Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam. A total of 182 ...constituents were identified, with linolenic acid, diaeudesmin, germacrene D, 1-octadecenoic acid, 8-(3-octyl-2-oxiranyl)-1-octanol, oleic acid, and phenylmethyl ester being the major compounds. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated using a disc diffusion assay. Eight of the nine extracts, except for the Mitrephora thorelii extract, showed an inhibition effect against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using DPPH assay, and the cytotoxic activity was deter mined using SRB assay. The results showed that the acetone extracts of Artabotrys hexapetalus, Uvularia grandiflora, Polyalthia luensis, Xylopia pierrei, Sphaerocoryne affinis, Desmos cochinchinensis, Uvaria littoralis, Mitrephora thorelii, and Goniothalamus touranensis had significant activity with IC50 for the DPPH radical scavenging activity ranging from 18.56 to 702.33 μg/mL, and the IC50 for the cytotoxic effects ranged from 5.39 to 251.77 μg/mL. Overall, the results obtained provide experimental evidence for the potential use of these plants in medicine and other related fields.
K-vermiculite pellets were obtained by compression (80MPa, 25°C or 200°C) of submicrometer size vermiculite particles. The evolution of the structural and textural properties of the compressed ...materials was studied as a function of the annealing temperature in the 400–1000°C range. Small Angle Neutron Scattering patterns of the pressed samples suggest a preferential orientation of the vermiculite particles for which the basal planes were arranged perpendicular to the compaction axis. Thermogravimetric analyses, Scanning Electron Micrographs, density and porosity measurements show that the most significant changes occurred for annealing temperatures higher than 800°C. When heated above 800°C, the pressed vermiculite samples undergo a simultaneous increase in density and decrease in porosity concomitant to a structural evolution, leading to a more three dimensional-based structure.
•Elaboration of pellets by compression of submicrometric vermiculite particles.•Decrease in open porosities and increase in bulk densities after pellets heating.•Densification due to the transformation of macropores into mesopores through heating.•Transformation of vermiculite into 3-dimensional structures after heating over 800°C.•Similar evolution of the open and closed porosity with the annealing temperature.
Identification of tumor-derived mutation (TDM) in liquid biopsies (LB), especially in early-stage patients, faces several challenges, including low variant-allele frequencies, interference by white ...blood cell (WBC)-derived mutations (WDM), benign somatic mutations and tumor heterogeneity. Here, we addressed the above-mentioned challenges in a cohort of 50 nonmetastatic colorectal cancer patients, via a workflow involving parallel sequencing of paired WBC- and tumor-gDNA. After excluding potential false positive mutations, we detected at least one TDM in LB of 56% (28/50) of patients, with the majority showing low-patient coverage, except for one TDM mapped to KMT2D that recurred in 30% (15/30) of patients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A new hopan-type triterpenoic peracid, tinctoride A (1), together with three known compounds, zeorin (2), 6β,22-dihydroxyhopane (3), and ergosterol peroxide (4), was isolated from Parmotrema ...tinctorum (Despr. ex Nyl.) Hale. Their chemical structures were identified by extensive 1D and 2D NMR analysis and high-resolution mass spectroscopy and compared with those reported in the literature. The enzyme inhibitory potential of compounds 1–3 against α-glucosidase was investigated, exhibiting nil to weak inhibitory activity.
Concurrent three-dimensional imaging of the renal vascular and tubular systems on the whole-kidney scale with capillary level resolution is labor-intensive and technically difficult. Approaches based ...on vascular corrosion casting and X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT), for example, suffer from vascular filling artifacts and necessitate imaging with an additional modality to acquire tubules. In this work, we report on a new sample preparation, image acquisition, and quantification protocol for simultaneous vascular and tubular μCT imaging of whole, uncorroded mouse kidneys. The protocol consists of vascular perfusion with the water-soluble, aldehyde-fixable, polymeric X-ray contrast agent XlinCA, followed by laboratory-source μCT imaging and structural analysis using the freely available Fiji/ImageJ software. We achieved consistent filling of the entire capillary bed and staining of the tubules in the cortex and outer medulla. After imaging at isotropic voxel sizes of 3.3 and 4.4 μm, we segmented vascular and tubular systems and quantified luminal volumes, surface areas, diffusion distances, and vessel path lengths. This protocol permits the analysis of vascular and tubular parameters with higher reliability than vascular corrosion casting, less labor than serial sectioning and leaves tissue intact for subsequent histological examination with light and electron microscopy.
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