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Neural stem cells (NSCs) represent significant potential and promise in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and nerve injuries. An efficient methodology or platform that can help in specifically directing the stem cell fate is important and highly desirable for future clinical therapy. In this study, a biodegradable electrical conductive film composed of an oxidative polymerized carboxyl-capped aniline pentamer (CCAP) and ring-opening polymerized tetra poly(d,l-lactide) (4a-PLA) was designed with the addition of the dopant, namely chondroitin sulfate. This conductive film acts as a biological substrate for the exogenous/endogenous electric field transmission in tissue, resulting in the control of NSC fate, as well as improvement in neural tissue regeneration. The results show that CCAP is successfully synthesized and then conjugated onto 4a-PLA to form a network structure with electrical conductivity, cell adhesion capacity, and biodegradability. The neuronal differentiation of NSCs can be induced on 4a-PLAAP, and the neuronal maturation process can be facilitated by the manipulation of the electrical field. This biocompatible and electroactive material can serve as a platform to determine the cell fate of NSCs and be employed in neural regeneration. For future perspectives, its promising performance shows potential in applications, such as electrode-tissue integration interfaces, coatings on neuroprosthetics devices and neural probes, and smart drug delivery system in neurological systems.

Critical challenges still exist in surgical theaters and emergency rooms to stop bleeding effectively and facilitate wound healing efficiently. In circumstances of tissue ischemia, it is essential to induce proper angiogenesis to provide adequate vascular supply to the injury site. Methods: In view of these clinical unmet needs, we propose an applicable approach by designing functionalized self-assembling peptide (SAP) hydrogel with two sequences of RADA16-GGQQLK (QLK) and RADA16-GGLRKKLGKA (LRK) in this study. The SAP hydrogel conjugated with QLK functional motif could be crosslinked by endogenous transglutaminase, one of the intrinsic factors secreted during the coagulation process, the mechanical property of the hydrogel can then be enhanced without the need of external support. On the other hand, the LRK sequence exhibited a good binding affinity with the proteoglycan heparan sulfate and could act as a cofactor by sustaining the release of embedded growth factors. Results: The results showed that this SAP solution underwent self-assembling process in a physiological environment, formed hydrogel in situ, and possessed good shear thinning property with injectability. After pH adjustment, the SAP developed densely-compacted fiber entanglement that closely mimicked the three-dimensional fibrous framework of natural extracellular matrix. Such scaffold could not only support the survival of encapsulating cells but also promote the capillary-like tubular structure formation by dual angiogenic growth factors. The ex ovo chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay demonstrated that the growth factor-loaded hydrogel promoted the sprout of surrounding vessels in a spoke-wheel pattern compared to growth factor-free counterparts. Conclusion: The designer bioinspired SAP hydrogel may be an attractive and promising therapeutic modality for minimally-invasive surgery, ischemic tissue disorders and chronic wound healing.

Game development projects adopt Scrum to leverage their flexibility, as game concepts and the customer preferences are highly abstract and unpredictable. The most desirable features in an original game will not be easily identified during the first phase of development but will emerge later in a clear pattern as developers and testers continuously playtest the game. Thus, game development projects use feedback from game testers to understand what they think of various features and concepts, to obtain a better understanding of problem spaces. This study proposes that game tester feedback moderates the effect of Sprint planning on game quality. A field study was conducted using a pair-matched questionnaire in which 102 game development projects participated. Results showed that Sprint planning has a positive effect on game quality. The results also revealed that iterative feedback has a moderating effect on the relationship between Sprint planning and game quality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Photoexcitation of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance band of gold nanorods (AuNRs) in the near-infrared region has been widely employed in photothermal therapy. Generally, the temperature evolution of the surface of the object of interest reflects the photothermal efficiency. However, the temperature in the object interior may be higher than required and cause unwanted damage to the healthy cells or tissues in the vicinity of the unhealthy areas. In this work, agar served as a biomimicking tissue, and 1 mm3 AuNR agar assembly cubes were placed at different depths with respect to the agar surface and excited with an 808 nm continuous-wave laser or an 850 nm light-emitting diode light. The evolution of the surface temperature was monitored with an infrared thermographic camera and analyzed with a point heat source model. The concentric temperature change suggested that the sample was nonfluidic and that convection and mass flow could be excluded. The depths of the AuNR agar cubes could be determine...

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a powerful and selective anti-cancer therapy utilizing 10B-enriched boron drugs. However, clinical advancement of BCNT is hampered by the insufficient loading of B-10 drugs throughout the solid tumor. Furthermore, the preparation of boron drugs for BNCT relies on the use of the costly B-10 enriched precursor. To overcome these challenges, polymer-coated boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO) nanoparticles, with ~30% of boron, were developed with enhanced biocompatibility, cell uptake, and tumoricidal effect via BNCT. Using the ALTS1C1 cancer cell line, the IC50 of the PEG@BCNO, bare, PEI@BCNO were determined to be 0.3 mg/mL, 0.1 mg/mL, and 0.05 mg/mL, respectively. As a proof-of-concept, the engineered non-10B enriched polymer-coated BCNO exhibited excellent anti-tumor effect via BNCT due to their high boron content per nanoparticle and due to the enhanced cellular internalization and retention compared to small molecular 10B-BPA drug. The astrocytoma ALTS1C1 cells treated with bare, polyethyleneimine-, and polyethylene glycol-coated BCNO exhibited an acute cell death of 24, 37, and 43%, respectively, upon 30 min of neutron irradiation compared to the negligible cell death in PBS-treated and non-irradiated cells. The radical approach proposed in this study addresses the expensive and complex issues of B-10 isotope enrichment process, thus, enabling the preparation of boron drugs at a significantly lower cost, which will facilitate the development of boron drugs for BNCT.

In this preliminary study, we determined the effect of a modified method involving the administration of two low doses of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) at an interval of 24 h on luteolysis in dairy cows, and compared it with the standard single-dose method. Twenty-six cows were assigned to three groups treated with two low doses (TLD group, n = 10), one standard dose (SD group, n = 10), and one low dose (OLD group, n = 6) on day 9 to 10 of the oestrous cycle (day 0 = the day of PGF2α administration). Their serum progesterone (P4) levels and corpus luteum (CL) sizes were measured daily from day 0 to 4 to assess CL regression. The results indicated that the proportion of complete luteolysis, indicating a P4 value ≤ 1 ng/mL on day 3, was higher in the TLD group (100.0%) than in the SD (60.0%) and OLD (66.7%) groups. Ultrasonically detected changes in the CL area correlated with the shifts in the P4 values in both the TLD and the SD groups. The remaining CL area was significantly smaller in the TLD group (17.8% ± 3.3%) than in the SD or OLD group on day 4. Thus, we concluded that the proportion of luteolysis in cows was increased with two low doses of PGF2α as compared to a single PGF2α dose, indicating the necessity of the second dose of PGF2α. However, further studies with larger sample sizes in the field are required.

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicle aerial photography has developed rapidly. Unmanned aerial vehicle can get a different perspective and allow us to do more difficult tasks. Controlling unmanned aerial vehicle requires a lot of manpower, so there are a number of studies that use reinforcement learning to make the unmanned aerial vehicle fly autonomously. It is an expensive and time-consuming task to use reinforcement learning and training unmanned aerial vehicle to accomplish specific tasks in a realistic environment. Therefore this study in a virtual environment using the Q - learning training unmanned aerial vehicle landing, then transplanted model of virtual environment in which to train good into real environment, makes the realistic environment of unmanned aerial vehicle can use cheaper and quickly achieve the same task.

Bi-Tilt Isolator (BTI) is composed of bi-tilt beveled substrate and slider. The advantages of BTI are that the maximum upload seismic force of structure can be easily controlled and displacement of isolation layer will be reduced. Sliding force, friction force, and impulse force are caused in the slanting process of BTI, nonlinear behavior. A nonlinear mathematical model is derived based on the sliding upwards, sliding downwards, and transition stages. Then, BTI element of nonlinear analysis program, GENDYN, is developed by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, the discretized ordinary differential equation for three movement stages of BTI. Then, test set-up of superstructure installed with BTI is tested and recorded the real displacement and acceleration responses under conditions of full lubrication, mild lubrication, and without lubrication between interface of bi-tilt beveled substrate and slider with three various initial displacements. The comparison of simulation results and test results shows the following:(1)root mean square error is below 1.35% for WD40 sprayed, 0.47% for WD40 whipped, and 0.54% for without lubrication, respectively;(2)the maximum root mean square error for simulating with cubic polynomial function of friction is much less than those of constant friction except conditions of full lubrication, which are not affected by kinetic friction force;(3)application of cubic polynomial function for simulating friction of BTI with three different lubricated conditions can perform very fine simulation results, compared with the test results. This proposed mathematical model and BTI element of GENDYN program, using cubic polynomial function of friction, perform fine simulation capability to assess nonlinear isolation effect of structure installed with BTI.

In this paper, we present a deep reinforcement learning method for quadcopter bypassing the obstacle on the flying path. In the past study, the algorithm only controls the forward direction about quadcopter. In this letter, we use two functions to control quadcopter. One is quadcopter navigating function. It is based on calculating coordination point and find the straight path to the goal. The other function is collision avoidance function. It is implemented by deep Q-network model. Both two function will output rotating degree, the agent will combine both output and turn direct. Besides, deep Q-network can also make quadcopter fly up and down to bypass the obstacle and arrive at the goal. Our experimental result shows that the collision rate is 14% after 500 flights. Based on this work, we will train more complex sense and transfer model to the real quadcopter., Comment: conference

In this preliminary study, we determined the effect of a modified method involving the administration of two low doses of prostaglandin F

Infection by Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastric and duodenal ulcers. Conventional treatments to eradicate it have side-effects such as diarrhea and dizziness. The excessive use of antibiotics could also lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The use of plant phenolic phytochemicals can be an alternative because of their health benefits due to both antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity. The pea (Pisum sativum), the world's second most important pulse crop, produces phenolic phytochemicals with antimicrobial potential. Because the synthesis of phenolic compounds increases with stress, we investigated the anti-H. pylori effectiveness of extracts from pea sprouts, germinated in the dark condition following treatment with either distilled water or acetyl salicylic acid. The peas were germinated for 8 days and the sprouted samples were measured for total soluble phenolic content, antioxidant and guaiacol peroxidase activity. Subsequently, the sprout extracts were tested for anti-H. pylori activity using the agar diffusion method and the effective dose was determined based on phenolic content. The results showed that both acetyl salicylic acid-treated and untreated pea sprouts at days 5 and 8 had anti-H. pylori activity. The minimum volume for inhibition was 50 μL of extracts. The inhibitory effects were dose dependent. From this study, the potential to use natural phenolic phytochemicals from pea sprouts to control H. pylori was found to be promising. This provides a strategy and foundation to design legume phenolics as functional ingredients against H. pylori.

• Novel methods to stimulate phenolic antioxidants from legume, mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprouts with low microbial count were developed to support a healthy diet for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as lunar and Mars programs. INTRODUCTION • ANTIOXIDANTS AND NUTRITION • Plants are excellent sources of phenolic antioxidants • Phenolic phytochemicals – antioxidative action • scavengers of singlet oxygen and free radicals. • Donate hydrogen from hydroxyl groups positioned along the aromatic ring to terminate free radical oxidation of lipids and other biomolecules short-circuit a destructive chain reaction that ultimately degrades cellular membranes. • Implications for human health and in particular cancer. • Understanding Biosynthesis is essential for the development of functional foods, which refers to the improvement of conventional foods with added health benefits. Antioxidants for Protection from Radiation damage • Radiation exposure-linked oxidative stress and biological damage likely to be encountered by astronauts. • In addition to cell membrane damage can cause oxidative damage at the DNA level, having consequences for mutagenesis and cancer. • Preventive nutrient support through use of food-grade antioxidants, such as vitamin C, E and A, have the potential to reduce damage. • Phenolic antioxidants also have the potential to be used as diet-based support for managing radiation-linked antioxidant protection . • Sprout-based phenolic antioxidants can be designed as functional foods for diet-based protection. Phenolic Antioxidants from Plants • Secondary metabolites, which have diverse medicinal applications. – Curcumin from Curcuma longa – Rosmarinic acid from Rosmarinus officinalis . – Isoflavonoids from Glycine max and galanigin from Origanum vulgare – Ellagic acid via solid-state bioprocessing from fruits . – L-tyrosine and L-DOPA from fava bean and related legumes for stress adaptogenic and Parkinson’s diet therapy • Implications for stress-management in advanced life support systems beyond Earth. PHENOLIC ANTIOXIDANTS FROM LEGUME SPROUTS AND BIOCHEMICAL CONCEPTS • PEAS – a link between proline biosynthesis, oxidation, stimulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and phenolic synthesis. • MUNG BEAN – microbial polysaccharide treatments stimulated phenolic content, proline, G6PDH and GPX. – In addition specific elicitors, xanthan gum, yeast extract and yeast glucan stimulated antioxidant activity. – oregano phenolic extracts as elicitors to stimulate phenolic content during dark germination of mung bean.