Organoid cultivation in suspension culture requires agitation at low shear stress to allow for nutrient diffusion, which preserves tissue structure. Multiplex systems for organoid cultivation have ...been proposed, but whether they meet similar shear stress parameters as the regularly used spinner flask and its correlation with the successful generation of brain organoids has not been determined.
Here we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate two multiplex culture conditions: steering plates on an orbital shaker and the use of a previously described bioreactor. The bioreactor had low speed and high shear stress regions that may affect cell aggregate growth, depending on volume, whereas the computed variables of the steering plates were closer to those of the spinning flask.
Our protocol improves the initial steps of the standard brain organoid formation, and the produced organoids displayed regionalized brain structures, including retinal pigmented cells. Overall, we conclude that suspension culture on orbital steering plates is a cost-effective practical alternative to previously described platforms for the cultivation of brain organoids for research and multiplex testing.
Combining direct targeting, enhanced cellular uptake, photothermal transduction capacity, and biocompatibility in the same system is a challenge to make the application of nanoparticles in ...biomedicine real. This study involves the functionalization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a few steps with strategic macromolecules to provide characteristics that are key to theragnostic agents. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is hydrophilic and can improve nanoparticle stability and circulation lifetime. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable hydrophobic polymer important to guarantee the interaction and uptake through the cellular membranes. Folate provides specific targeting because tumors usually overexpress folate receptor proteins. Single, double, and triple functionalization of spherical and rodlike AuNPs with these ligands provided different aggregation, stability, and plasmonic properties. Triple functionalization ensured simultaneous nanoparticle stability in an aqueous medium and enhanced cellular uptake. Infrared irradiation increased the temperature of gold nanorods more than of gold nanospheres due to the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance band. The results suggest that this functionalization strategy can be used to tune the desired properties for applications of gold nanoparticles, such as imaging and photothermal therapy in biomedicine research.
The question of how perceived extents are related to the corresponding physical extents is a very old question that has not been satisfactorily answered. The common model is that perceived extent is ...proportional to the product of image size and perceived distance. We describe an experiment that shows that perceived extents are substantially larger than this model predicts. We propose a model that accounts for our results and a large set of other results. The principal assumption of the model is that, in the computation of perceived extent, the visual angle signal undergoes a magnifying transform. Extent is often perceived more accurately than the common model predicts, so the computation is adaptive. The model implies that, although the perception of location and the perception of extent are related, they not related by Euclidean geometry, nor by any metric geometry. Nevertheless, it is possible to describe the perception of location and extent using a simple model.
·Inverse problem was solved for the characterization of palladium nanofluids.·Excellent agreement between measurements and estimated temperatures.·Main parameters were estimated with small ...uncertainties.·Nanofluids and nanoparticles, including hydrides, were stable after heating.·Absorption coefficients were significantly larger for palladium nanocube hydrides.
The objective of this work is the measurement of physical properties of distilled water nanofluids containing palladium nanocubes, palladium cerium oxide nanoparticles, and their respective hydrides. Due to their biocompatibility and favorable photothermal effects, palladium nanoparticles can be used to promote localized absorption of external energy sources in the thermal treatment of cancer, aiming at a thermal damage constrained to the tumor region without significant effects to the healthy tissues. An inverse problem is solved here within the Bayesian framework of statistics with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, by using nonintrusive transient measurements taken with an infrared camera during the heating of different water-based nanofluids. The mathematical model used in this work takes into account natural convection effects, due to the nonuniform heat source caused by the diode-laser that heats the nanofluids. Prior distributions for the model parameters were selected based on additional independent measurements, theoretical models and by the careful implementation of the experiments. The proposed model and the estimated parameters were validated, with an excellent agreement between the measured temperatures and those obtained from stochastic simulations during the solution of the inverse problem.
The aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, to determine how visual space, as assessed by exocentric distance estimates, is related to physical space. On the other hand, to determine the ...structure of visual space as assessed by exocentric distance estimates. Visual space was measured in three environments: (a) points located in a 2-D frontoparallel plane, covering a range of distances of 20 cm; (b) stakes placed in a 3-D virtual space (range ≈ 330 mm); and (c) stakes in a 3-D outdoors open field (range = 45 m). Observers made matching judgments of distances between all possible pairs of stimuli, obtained from 16 stimuli (in a regular squared 4 × 4 matrix). Two parameters from Stevens' power law informed us about the distortion of visual space: its exponent and its coefficient of determination (R2). The results showed a ranking of the magnitude of the distortions found in each experimental environment, and also provided information about the efficacy of available visual cues of spatial layout. Furthermore, our data are in agreement with previous findings showing systematic perceptual errors, such as the further the stimuli, the larger the distortion of the area subtended by perceived distances between stimuli. Additionally, we measured the magnitude of distortion of visual space relative to physical space by a parameter of multidimensional scaling analyses, the RMSE. From these results, the magnitude of such distortions can be ranked, and the utility or efficacy of the available visual cues informing about the space layout can also be inferred. En este estudio se pretendía cubrir un doble objetivo. Por un lado, determinar cómo el espacio visual, evaluado en términos de estimaciones de distancias exocéntricas, se corresponde con el espacio físico. Y, por otro lado, determinar la estructura del espacio visual a partir de las mismas estimaciones de distancias. Para ello, registramos la respuesta (métrica) de los observadores en tres entornos espaciales: (a) puntos localizados en un plano 2-D (frontoparalelo) en un rango de distancias de 20 cm; (b) estacas vistas esteroscopicamente y situadas en un espacio virtual 3-D (rango de 33 cm); y (c) estacas físicas dispuestas en un espacio abierto exterior (rango de 45 m). Los observadores hicieron juicios de emparejamiento de distancias entre todos los posibles pares que se podían formar con 16 estacas (dispuestas en una matriz cuadrada regular de 4 filas × 4 columnas). Utilizamos dos parámetros de la ley potencial de Stevens, que nos informaron de la distorsión percibida del espacio visual: el exponente y el coeficiente de determinación (R2). Los resultados permitieron ordenar la magnitud de la distorsión encontrada en cada entorno experimental, proporcionando información sobre la utilidad y eficacia de las claves de profundidad disponibles. Nuestros datos concuerdan con los obtenidos en estudios previos en mostrar una cierta anisotropía espacial que difiere en cada entorno. Adicionalmente, aplicamos el escalamiento multidimensional y medimos la distorsión a través del RECM, lo que también nos permitió ordenar la magnitud de las distorsiones en cada contexto, así como la eficacia de las claves visuales de distancia.
The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether in natural environment, using very large physical distances, there is a trend to overconstancy for distance estimates during ...development. One hundred and twenty-nine children aged 5 to 13 years old and twenty-one adults (in a control group), participated as observers. The observer's task was to bisect egocentric distances, ranging from 1.0 to 296.0 m, presented in a large open field. The analyses focused on two parameters, constant errors and variable errors, such as measuring accuracy and precision, respectively. A third analysis focused on the developmental pattern of shifts in constancy as a function of age and range of distances. Constant error analysis showed that there are two relevant parameters for accuracy, age, and range of distances. For short distances, there are three developmental stages: 5-7 years, when children have unstable responses, 7-11, underconstancy, and 13 to adulthood, when accuracy is reached. For large distances, there is a two-stage development: 5-11 years, with severe underconstancy, and beyond this age, with mild underconstancy. Variable errors analyses indicate that precision is noted for 7 year-old children, independently of the range of distances. The constancy analyses indicated that there is a shift from constancy (or slightly overconstancy) to underconstancy as a function of physical distance for all age groups. The age difference is noted in the magnitude of underconstancy that occurs in larger distances, where adults presented lower levels of underconstancy than children. The present data were interpreted as due to a developmental change in cognitive processing rather than to changes in visual space perception. El principal objetivo de este estudio fue investigar si en un medio natural, empleando distancias físicas muy grandes, hay una tendencia a sobre-constancia para las estimaciones de distancias durante el desarrollo evolutivo. Participaron como observadores 129 niños de edades entre 5 y 13 años y 21 adultos (en un grupo control). La tarea de los observadores consistió en biseccionar unas distancias egocéntricas, que variaban entre 1,0 y 296,0 m, presentadas en un gran campo abierto. El análisis se centró en dos parámetros, error constante y error variable, de la exactitud y precisión de medida, respectivamente. Un tercer análisis se centró en el patrón evolutivo de cambios en la constancia en función de la edad y el rango de distancias. El análisis de los errores constantes mostró que hay dos parámetros relevantes para la precisión, edad y rango de distancias. Para distancias cortas, hay tres fases evolutivas: 5-7 años, cuando los niños dan respuestas inestables, 7-11, infra-constancia, y 13 años hasta la adultez, cuando alcanzan la exactitud (constancia). Para las distancias largas, hay un desarrollo de dos fases: 5-11 años, con infra-constancia severa, y más allá de esta edad, con ligera infra-constancia. El análisis del error variable indica que se alcanza precisión a partir de 7 años, con independencia del rango de distancias. En análisis de la constancia indica que existe un cambio desde la constancia (o una ligera sobre-constancia) a infra-constancia en función de la distancia física para todos los grupos de edad. La diferencia de edad se nota en la magnitud de la infra-constancia que ocurre en las distancias más largas, donde los adultos presentaban niveles menores de infra-constancia que los niños. Estos datos se interpretan como debidos a un cambio evolutivo en el procesamiento cognitivo más que a cambios en la percepción visual del espacio.