Ease Of Customization Research Articles

Neural tissue engineering: Bioresponsive nanoscaffolds using engineered self-assembling peptides.

Rescuing or repairing neural tissues is of utmost importance to the patient's quality of life after an injury. To remedy this, many novel biomaterials are being developed that are, ideally, non-invasive and directly facilitate neural wound healing. As such, this review surveys the recent approaches and applications of self-assembling peptides and peptide amphiphiles, for building multi-faceted nanoscaffolds for direct application to neural injury. Specifically, methods enabling cellular interactions with the nanoscaffold and controlling the release of bioactive molecules from the nanoscaffold for the express purpose of directing endogenous cells in damaged or diseased neural tissues is presented. An extensive overview of recently derived self-assembling peptide-based materials and their use as neural nanoscaffolds is presented. In addition, an overview of potential bioactive peptides and ligands that could be used to direct behaviour of endogenous cells are categorized with their biological effects. Finally, a number of neurotrophic and anti-inflammatory drugs are described and discussed. Smaller therapeutic molecules are emphasized, as they are thought to be able to have less potential effect on the overall peptide self-assembly mechanism. Options for potential nanoscaffolds and drug delivery systems are suggested. Self-assembling nanoscaffolds have many inherent properties making them amenable to tissue engineering applications: ease of synthesis, ease of customization with bioactive moieties, and amenable for in situ nanoscaffold formation. The combination of the existing knowledge on bioactive motifs for neural engineering and the self-assembling propensity of peptides is discussed in specific reference to neural tissue engineering.

Brain biocompatibility and microglia response towards engineered self-assembling (RADA)4 nanoscaffolds

(RADA)4-based nanoscaffolds have many inherent properties making them amenable to tissue engineering applications: ease of synthesis, ease of customization with bioactive moieties, and amenable for in situ nanoscaffold formation. There is a dearth in the literature on their biocompatibility in brain tissues; where the glia response is key to regulating the local host response. Herein, nanoscaffolds composed of (RADA)4 and (RADA)4-IKVAV mixtures were evaluated in terms of their effect on primary microglia in culture and general tissue (in vivo) biocompatibility (astrocyte and migroglia). Laminin-derived IKVAV peptide was chosen to promote beneficial cell interaction and attenuate deleterious glial responses. Microglia remained ramified when cultured with these nanoscaffolds, as observed using TNF-α and IL-1β, NO, and proliferation assays. Evidence suggests that cultured microglia phagocytise the matrix whilst remaining ramified and viable, as shown visually and metabolically (MTT). Nanoscaffold intracerebral injection did not lead to microglia migration or proliferation, nor were glial scarring and axonal injury observed over the course of this study. IKVAV had no affect on microglia activation and astrogliosis. (RADA)4 should be advantageous for localized injection as a tuneable-platform device, which may be readily cleared without deleterious effects on tissue-resident microglia. Statement of significanceSelf-assembling nanoscaffolds have many inherent properties making them amenable to tissue engineering applications: ease of synthesis, ease of customization with bioactive moieties, and amenable for in situ nanoscaffold formation. A dearth of literature exists on their biocompatibility in brain tissues; where the glia response is key to regulating the local host response. Herein, nanoscaffolds composed of the peptides (RADA)4 and (RADA)4-IKVAV mixtures were evaluated in terms of their effect on microglia cells in culture and general tissue (in vivo) biocompatibility (astrocyte and migroglia). Laminin-derived IKVAV peptide was chosen to promote beneficial cell interaction and attenuate deleterious glial responses. (RADA)4 nanoscaffolds showed no adverse effect from these cell types and should be advantageous for localized injection as a tuneable-platform device.

A novel compact three-dimensional laser-sintered collimator for neutron scattering.

Improvements in the available flux at neutron sources are making it increasingly feasible to obtain refineable neutron diffraction data from samples smaller than 1 mm(3). The signal is typically too weak to introduce any further sample environment in the 30-50 mm diameter surrounding the sample (such as the walls of a pressure cell) due to the high ratio of background to sample signal, such that even longer count times fail to reveal reflections from the sample. Many neutron instruments incorporate collimators to reduce parasitic scattering from the instrument and from any surrounding material and larger pieces of sample environment, such as cryostats. However, conventional collimation is limited in the volume it can focus on due to difficulties in producing tightly spaced neutron-absorbing foils close to the sample and in integrating this into neutron instruments. Here we present the design of a novel compact 3D rapid-prototyped (or "printed") collimator which reduces these limitations and is shown to improve the ratio of signal to background, opening up the feasibility of using additional sample environment for neutron diffraction from small sample volumes. The compactness and ease of customisation of the design allows this concept to be integrated with existing sample environment and with designs that can be tailored to individual detector geometries without the need to alter the setup of the instrument. Results from online testing of a prototype collimator are presented. The proof of concept shows that there are many additional collimator designs which may be manufactured relatively inexpensively, with a broad range of customisation, and geometries otherwise impossible to manufacture by conventional techniques.

CRISPR-Cas9: Prospects and Challenges.

All science takes inspiration from nature, but nowhere is this more true than in biology, where some of the most powerful tools available to researchers are derived from natural products. From restriction enzymes and fluorescent proteins to microbial opsins and viral gene delivery vectors, researchers have capitalized on processes that occur in a variety of microbial, plant, and animal species. The recent development of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9 system for genome editing is yet another example of how scientists have learned from and adapted nature's inventions. The success of CRISPR/Cas9 also highlights another general tenet of science: basic, fundamental research can lead to transformative discoveries. Originally, CRISPR/Cas9, a bacterial defense system, was studied by microbiologists aiming to understand bacterial immunity. In the past 5 years, however, attention shifted to developing CRISPR/Cas9 as a powerful tool for biological research. Harnessing the CRISPR/Cas9 system for genome editing and manipulation has accelerated research and expanded researchers' ability to generate genetic models. Whereas genetic manipulation had been largely limited to mice and rats, this new technology, with its ease of customization and high efficiency, has made it possible to manipulate virtually any model organism of choice. As a result, researchers are now empowered to generate models that best capture the needs of the scientific inquiry or most closely recapitulate specific disease biology. In addition, these new capabilities have drastically simplified genome editing in human cell lines, which has made possible direct testing of causal genetic variations linked to human diseases. Further advances of the CRISPR/Cas9 toolbox are helping researchers discover new gene functions with high sensitivity and precision. For example, using the CRISPR/Cas9 system with tens of thousands of guides that are designed to target all coding genes in the human genome allows researchers to conduct genome-scale gain- and loss-of-function genetic screens. By quickly scanning through all of the genes in the genome, new gene candidates from a variety of assays ranging from cancer drug resistance to neurodegeneration will inform new strategies for combating diseases. Similarly, these comprehensive genetic screens may also identify novel disease-protective mutations such as the loss-of-function mutations in CCR5 and PCSK9, which result in protection against HIV infection and hypercholesterolemia, respectively. In the future, another tantalizing application of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology is the direct treatment of deleterious genetic diseases through genome editing of somatic cells. By correcting disease-causing mutations, it may be possible to reverse disease symptoms. However, in order to optimize therapeutic potential, the appropriate delivery, specificity, and repair strategies must be established. Treatment of eye and hearing disorders using CRISPR/Cas9 are being actively evaluated in animal models, and more compact CRISPR/Cas9 components have been identified that allow the system to be delivered as a single unit. While some disorders may be treated through the correction of a small number of cells, the majority of genetic diseases may require the correction of a large number of cells in the affected tissue. On the horizon are improvements in homology-directed repair for use in non- or slowly-dividing cells. Given the potential benefit of genome editing-based therapies, many groups are now striving to make CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies a reality. The exciting development of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology for genome editing also raises certain societal challenges and brings a sense of uncertainty and fear of catastrophic misuse. However, one thing is certain—nature will never cease to inspire us with its biological toolbox. We are compelled as scientists to explore the frontiers of the natural world and to seek out the mechanisms underlying it, some of which, like CRISPR/Cas9, may turn out to be the tools we use for future explorations. The tools themselves do not pose a threat, and it is my hope that the CRISPR/Cas9 technology will live up to its promise by being used responsibly and carefully.

PENGARUH KUALITAS PELAYANAN TERHADAP KEPUASAN DAN LOYALITAS NASABAH BANK PENGGUNA E-BANKING DI SURABAYA

In the global era, the banks created a system of e-banking that is a form of service providedby them for providing customers ease in conducting transactions anytime and anywhere viaonline. However, with e-banking, it is still perceived by customer complaints, such as securityproblems. In addition, the use of e-banking cannot be used by all customers because ofcertain constraints. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a positive significantrelationship between service qualities on customer loyalty Bank user satisfaction of ebankingin Surabaya. This research method uses questionnaire for collecting the data. Theresearch was conducted in Surabaya, while the analysis was done by using Structural EquationModeling (SEM) with the number of respondents of 115. The results show that the effectof service quality on customer satisfaction and the effect of customer satisfaction on customerloyalty have no significant and positive effect. The effect of service quality on customer loyaltyhas a significant positive effect

Sentiment Classification through Semantic Orientation Using SentiWordNet

Sentiment analysis is the procedure by which information is extracted from the opinions, appraisals and emotions of people in regards to entities, events and their attributes. In decision making, the opinions of others have a significant effect on customers ease in making choices regards to online shopping, choosing events, products, entities. In this paper, a rule based domain independent sentiment analysis method is proposed. The proposed method classifies subjective and objective sentences from reviews and blog comments. The semantic score of subjective sentences is extracted from SentiWordNet to calculate their polarity as positive, negative or neutral based on the contextual sentence structure. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed method and it outperforms the machine learning methods. The proposed method achieves an accuracy of 87% at the feedback level and 83% at the sentence level for comments. [Aurangzeb khan, Muhammad Zubair Asghar, Shakeel Ahmad, Fazal Masud Kundi, Maria Qasim, Furqan. Sentiment Classification through Semantic Orientation Using SentiWordNet. Life Sci J 2014; 11(10):309-315] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 44

Applications of TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 in human cells and their potentials for gene therapy.

The newly developed TALENs and emerging CRISPR/Cas9 have spurred interests in the field of genome engineering because of their ease of customization and high-efficient site-specific cleavages. Although these novel technologies have been successfully used in many types of cells, it is of great importance to apply them in human-derived cells to further observe and evaluate their clinical potentials in gene therapy. Here, we review the working mechanism of TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9, their effectiveness and specificity in human cells, and current methods to enhance efficiency and reduce off-target effects. Besides, CCR5 gene was chosen as a target example to illustrate their clinical potentials. Finally, some questions are raised for future research and for researchers to consider when making a proper choice bases on different purposes.

Is traditional, open-source, or on-demand first choice? Developing an AHP-based framework for the comparison of different software models in office suites selection

Until recently, organizations planning to acquire application software (AS) have had no choice but to adopt proprietary, on-premises software. With the advent of open-source and on-demand solutions, new models for developing and distributing software have entered the stage providing IS managers with more options in AS selection. On the basis of an Analytic Hierarchy Process model, we propose a framework including software package and implementation attributes on different hierarchy levels to examine how IS managers evaluate the relative fulfilment of key selection criteria by traditional, open-source, and on-demand office suites. By testing the framework with a random sample of 254 IS managers of 166 smaller and 88 mid-sized/larger firms, we validate its validity and usefulness in evaluating different software delivery models. Our empirical results show that open-source office suites were consistently perceived to be superior in meeting ease of customization (i.e., extensibility and adaptability) and cost criteria (i.e., acquisition and maintenance cost), whereas traditional software models were superior in fulfilling functionality, ease of use, and support requirements. On-demand office suites excelled in the fulfilment of time-to-value and data recoverability. We discuss further results of the comparison of the three software models, and derive practical and research implications for office suite selection.

Completely monodisperse, highly repetitive proteins for bioconjugate capillary electrophoresis: development and characterization.

Protein-based polymers are increasingly being used in biomaterial applications because of their ease of customization and potential monodispersity. These advantages make protein polymers excellent candidates for bioanalytical applications. Here we describe improved methods for producing drag-tags for free-solution conjugate electrophoresis (FSCE). FSCE utilizes a pure, monodisperse recombinant protein, tethered end-on to a ssDNA molecule, to enable DNA size separation in aqueous buffer. FSCE also provides a highly sensitive method to evaluate the polydispersity of a protein drag-tag and thus its suitability for bioanalytical uses. This method is able to detect slight differences in drag-tag charge or mass. We have devised an improved cloning, expression, and purification strategy that enables us to generate, for the first time, a truly monodisperse 20 kDa protein polymer and a nearly monodisperse 38 kDa protein. These newly produced proteins can be used as drag-tags to enable longer read DNA sequencing by free-solution microchannel electrophoresis.

Application of various compositions of thoracodorsal perforator flap for craniofacial contour deformities

Craniofacial contour defects are challenging to restore because they may involve multiple tissues and span several aesthetic subunits in a non-contiguous manner. Some of these deformities may be associated with significant dead space in the region of sinus and orbit. The numerous subtle contours of the craniofacial regions must be preserved or restored to achieve a pleasing outcome. We managed six patients with various craniofacial contour deformities as a result of hemifacial microsomia, infection, post excision of venous malformation, lipodystrophy, craniectomy for chronic frontal sinusitis and infected pneumocephalus. They were reconstructed with thoracodorsal perforator flaps bearing various components, that is, adiposal, adipofascial, dermoadiposal, adipomyofascial and osteomuscular elements. Half of the flaps were in chimaeric form. The largest flap size was 11×17cm. All flaps survived and no patient required secondary contouring procedure, except for cranioplasty in one patient. The thoracodorsal perforator flap is very suitable for restoration of craniofacial contour deformities. Its advantages include: (1) ease of customisation of size and thickness, (2) several choices of donor tissue from the lateral thoracic region yielding multiple tissue components, for example, adiposal, adipofascial, dermoadiposal, adipomyofascial and osteomuscular flaps, (3) presence of adjacent perforators in the thoracodorsal system, allowing chimaeric flap configuration, thereby improving adaptation to non-contiguous contour defects, (4) ability to tailor the donor and recipient vessel size match by varying how proximal to harvest along the thoracodorsal vessels, (5) primary closure of donor site and (6) flap harvesting in supine position allowing a two-team approach.

Badania motywów wyboru rodzajów mikrodermabrazji oraz opinii o ich skuteczności w praktyce kosmetologicznej

Microdermabrasion is one of the most popular methods of skin exfoliation in beauty salons. At present, three variants of microdermabrasion are used: diamond, corundum and hydradermabrasion. They differ in the type of abrasive material, principle of application, and intensity. The motives driving Polish cosmetologists at choosing a particular type of microdermabrasion for their practice had not yet been studied. Aim: To study the frequency of using particular types of microdermabrasion among cosmetologists, and their opinions regarding the differences in mode of action, effectiveness and safety of particular techniques that may determine their choice. Material and methods: A questionnaire survey of 100 Polish cosmetologists who perform at least one type of microdermabrasion. Results: The most frequently used method of exfoliation was the diamond microdermabrasion, as indicated by 94 out of 100 respondents (94%). Using hydrodermabrasion was admitted by 17% respondents, and corundum microdermabrasion by 15%. Among other techniques of skin exfoliation, cavitation (92%), chemical peeling (78%), and herbal peeling (21%) were used by the respondents. Of the microdermabrasion techniques, study participants rated corundum microdermabrasion as most effective, followed by diamond microdermabrasion, while hydradermabrasion was considered least effective. Major motives for selecting diamond microdermabrasion for their practice as indicated by the cosmetologists were: big demand of customers ease of application and profitability, for hydradermabrasion sanitary advantages, safety and ease of application, while for corundum microdermabrasion – sanitary advantages, effectiveness and attractiveness to the customers. Conclusions: The technique of skin exfoliation most frequently used by Polish cosmetologists is diamond microdermabrasion. Corundum microdermabrasion is the least popular technique in spite of its highest effectiveness as perceived by the users.

Optimal decay rate constant estimates from phased array data utilizing joint Bayesian analysis

Since their initial description, phased array coils have become increasingly popular due to their ease of customization for various applications. Numerous methods for combining data from individual channels have been proposed that attempt to optimize the SNR of the resultant images. One issue that has received comparatively little attention is how to apply these combination techniques to a series of images obtained from phased array coils that are then analyzed to produce quantitative estimates of tissue parameters. Herein, instead of the typical goal of maximizing the SNR in a single image, we are interested in maximizing the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates that are obtained from a series of such images. Our results demonstrate that a joint Bayesian analysis offers a “worry free” method for obtaining optimal parameter estimates from data generated by multiple coils (channels) from a single object (source). We also compare the properties of common channel combination techniques under different conditions to the results obtained from the joint Bayesian analysis. If the noise variance is constant for all channels, a sensitivity weighted average provides parameter estimates equivalent to the joint analysis. If both the noise variance and signal intensity are similar in all channels, a simple channel average gives an adequate result. However, if the noise variance differs between channels, an “ideal weighted” approach should be applied, where data are combined after weighting by the channel amplitude divided by the noise variance. Only this “ideal weighting” provides results similar to the automatic-weighting inherent in the joint Bayesian approach.

Product-Line Competition: Customization vs. Proliferation

We study a market with customers who have heterogeneous preferences for product attributes. We consider two types of firms that compete on price and product variety: A traditional firm, which chooses a limited set of product configurations, and a customizing firm, which can produce any configuration to order. The traditional firm carries product inventories and experiences a lead-time delay. The customizing firm does not carry inventory, and its customers incur waiting costs until they receive their orders. We assume that the customizing firm has limited capacity in the short run (e.g., when it does not outsource production to high-volume manufacturers). We derive the equilibrium for a duopoly competition between the customizing firm and the traditional firm, study its characteristics, and compare it to a monopoly. We characterize conditions that favor customization under competition. We find that the customizing firm's profit is not monotone in the market size and its ease of customization. Similarly, a decline in the traditional firm's holding cost may increase or decrease its profit. We show that the unit cost differential between the firms crucially affects the customizing firm's ideal market size, its returns from expanding capacity, its product variety, and the way operational improvements affect its performance.

Relative importance of evaluation criteria for enterprise systems: a conjoint study

Abstract. While a large body of research exists on the development and implementation of software, organizations are increasingly acquiring enterprise software packages [e.g. enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems] instead of custom developing their own software applications. To be competitive in the marketplace, software package development firms must manage the three‐pronged trade‐off between cost, quality and functionality. Surprisingly, prior research has made little attempt to investigate the characteristics of packaged software that influence management information system (MIS) managers’ likelihood of recommending purchase. As a result, both the criteria by which MIS managers evaluate prospective packaged systems and the attributes that lead to commercially competitive ERP software products are poorly understood. This paper examines this understudied issue through a conjoint study. We focus on ERP systems, which are among the largest and most complex packaged systems that are purchased by organizations. In a conjoint study, 1008 evaluation decisions based on hypothetical ERP software package profiles were completed by managers in 126 organizations. The study represents the first empirical investigation of the relative importance that managers ascribe to various factors that are believed to be important in evaluating packaged software. The results provide important insights for both organizations that acquire such systems and those that develop them. The results show that functionality, reliability, cost, ease of use and ease of customization are judged to be important criteria, while ease of implementation and vendor reputation were not found to be significant. Functionality and reliability were found to be the most heavily weighted factors. We conclude the paper with a detailed discussion of the results and their implications for software acquisition and development practice.

Engineering components for ease of customisation and evolution

Building software systems out of prefabricated components is a very attractive vision. Distributed component platforms (DCP) and their visual-development environments bring this vision closer to reality than ever. At the same time, some experiences with component libraries warn us about potential problems that arise when software-system families or systems evolve over many years of changes. Indeed, implementation-level components, when affected by many independent changes, tend to grow in both size and number, impeding reuse. This unwanted effect is analysed in detail. It is argued that components affected by frequent unexpected changes require higher levels of flexibility than the `plug-and-play' paradigm is able to provide. A program-construction environment is proposed, based on generative programming techniques, to help in customisation and evolution of components that require much flexibility. This solution allows the benefits of DCPs to be reaped during runtime and, at the same time, keeps components under control during system construction and evolution. Salient features of a construction environment for component-based systems are discussed. Its implementation with commercial reuse technology FusionTM is described, illustrating with examples from domain-engineering projects. The main lesson learnt from the project is that generative-programming techniques can extend the strengths of the component-based approach in two important ways. First, generative-programming techniques automate routine component customisation and composition tasks and allow developers work more productively, at a higher abstraction level. Secondly, as custom components with required properties are generated on demand, it is not necessary to store and manage multiple versions of components; components do not overly grow in size, helping developers keep the complexity of an evolving system under control.

Implementation of an integer optimization platform using object oriented programming

A wide range of integer optimization formulations have been successfully used in a variety of applications dealing with distribution, production, finance, and a host of other areas. Since the general integer optimization problem is NP-complete, specialized theory and techniques have evolved to utilize the special structures in individual applications. This has led to different categories and sub-categories of techniques that need to be evaluated in selecting a solution strategy for a new integer optimization formulation. The availability of computer packages or callable libraries for only a few techniques results in the need to either modify an existing code or implement a new code from scratch. This article illustrates the utility of object oriented programming methodology in implementing a modular, reusable library of techniques that can be extended easily to develop code for solving new integer optimization formulations. The flexibility in the library allows for easy customization of existing techniques for new applications as well as development of new techniques that utilize the code in the existing library. The ease of customization or reusability of this library is depicted by comparing it with the code written in conventional programming languages, such as Fortran or C.

Patient data storage and retrieval using dBASE III in a pediatric ophthalmology department.

Ashton Tate's dBASE III has been adapted to store patient data for both medical and administrative purposes by the Department of Ophthalmology of Children's Hospital National Medical Center. The program is run on an IBM-PC microcomputer and stored on twin Iomega 10 megabyte cartridge disks. The advantages of this system include ready availability of both software and hardware, relative ease of customization, simplicity of use, and modest cost.