Macmillanthygesen0961

These composites are engineered for scalability owing to the ease of dispersion of the graphite powder in the cement matrix, and can thus be used to build smart sections of road pavements. The research presented in this paper consists of electromechanical tests performed on samples of different amounts of graphite for the identification of the optimal mix in terms of signal sensitivity. An optimum inclusion level of 20% by weight of cement is obtained and selected for the fabrication of a plate of 30 × 15 × 5 cm3. Results from load identification tests conducted on the plate show that the proposed technology is capable of WIM.Chemistry of nitro groups and nitro compounds has long been intensively studied. Despite their long history, new reactions and methodologies are still being found today. This is due to the diverse reactivity of the nitro group. The importance of nitro chemistry will continue to increase in the future in terms of elaborate synthesis. In this article, we will take a walk through the recent advances in nitro chemistry that have been made in past decades.In this article, the four-anchor time difference of arrival (TDoA)-based three-dimensional (3D) positioning by particle filtering is addressed. The implemented particle filter uses 1000 particles to represent the probability density function (pdf) of interest, i.e., the posterior pdf of the target node's state (position). A resampling procedure is used to generate particles in the prediction step, and TDoA measurements are used to determine the importance, i.e., weight, of each particle to enable updating the posterior pdf and estimating the position of the target node. The simulation results show the feasibility of this approach and the possibility to employ it in indoor positioning applications under the assumed working conditions using, e.g., the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless technology. Therefore, it is possible to enable unmanned air vehicle (UAV) positioning applications, e.g., inventory management in large warehouses, without the need for an excessive number of anchor nodes.Triclosan (TCS) is included in various healthcare products because of its antimicrobial activity; therefore, many humans are exposed to TCS daily. While detrimental effects of TCS exposure have been reported in various species and cell types, the effects of TCS exposure on early embryonic development are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine if TCS exerts toxic effects during early embryonic development using porcine parthenogenetic embryos in vitro. Porcine parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in in vitro culture medium with 50 or 100 µM TCS for 6 days. selleck kinase inhibitor Developmental parameters including cleavage and blastocyst formation rates, developmental kinetics, and the number of blastomeres were assessed. To determine the toxic effects of TCS, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction were assessed. TCS exposure resulted in a significant decrease in 2-cell rate and blastocyst formation rate, as well as number of blastomeres, but not in the cleavage rate. TCS also increased the number of apoptotic blastomeres and the production of reactive oxygen species. Finally, TCS treatment resulted in a diffuse distribution of mitochondria and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential. Our results showed that TCS exposure impaired porcine early embryonic development by inducing DNA damage, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction.Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is over-expressed and is correlated with aggressiveness in adult hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Inhibition of FAK decreases HCC invasiveness by down-regulating Enhancer of Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), an epigenetic controller, that acts in transcriptional repression of a large number of genes via histone 3 methylation of lysine 27 (H3K27me3). Here, we investigated the hepatic expression of total FAK, EZH2, H3K27me3, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in 17 pediatric HCCs and 8 healthy livers (CTRL). Quantitative imaging analysis showed that FAK gene/protein expression is up-regulated in HCCs compared to CTRL and, among tumor samples the levels of this gene/protein are significantly higher in cirrhotic HCCs than in a healthy milieu. Accordingly, the protein levels of EZH2 were also significantly increased in HCCs from a cirrhotic background. Intriguingly, the protein expression of FAK, EZH2, and PCNA significantly inversely correlated with tumor size. Finally, in HCC samples, mainly in cirrhotic background, the up-regulation of FAK gene positively correlated with that observed in β-Catenin gene. Conclusion FAK gene/protein is over-expressed in pediatric HCCs concomitantly to EZH2 protein and β-Catenin gene, with a more significant up-regulation in a cirrhotic background. This triad of interactors deserves further investigations for translational application.Recent sequencing and software enhancements have advanced our understanding of the evolution of genomic structure and function, especially addressing novel evolutionary biology questions. Yet fragmentary turtle genome assemblies remain a challenge to fully decipher the genetic architecture of adaptive evolution. Here, we use optical mapping to improve the contiguity of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) genome assembly and use de novo fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones, BAC-FISH, to physically map the genomes of the painted and slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). Optical mapping increased C. picta's N50 by ~242% compared to the previous assembly. Physical mapping permitted anchoring ~45% of the genome assembly, spanning 5544 genes (including 20 genes related to the sex determination network of turtles and vertebrates). BAC-FISH data revealed assembly errors in C. picta and T. s. elegans assemblies, highlighting the importance of molecular cytogenetic data to complement bioinformatic approaches. We also compared C. picta's anchored scaffolds to the genomes of other chelonians, chicken, lizards, and snake. Results revealed a mostly one-to-one correspondence between chromosomes of painted and slider turtles, and high homology among large syntenic blocks shared with other turtles and sauropsids. Yet, numerous chromosomal rearrangements were also evident across chelonians, between turtles and squamates, and between avian and non-avian reptiles.