The Secret Life of Waste: Recycling Dreams of Migration

This essay opens up a new perspective on migration through the lens of waste, tracing the effects of war, border securitization, and global capitalism on a local scale. The analysis of Afganistanbul (2018), a short documentary produced by a team at Kadir Has University in Istanbul where the book in hand originated, captures the predicament of undocumented waste workers in the city who lack the means to continue their journey to Europe or return to their homeland, while resources and revenue in the global recycling business circulate freely. Following the film in its close-up on a specific site of life and labour, this essay teases out competing aspirations among local and migrant city dwellers, arguing that representations of migrant experiences are prone to the temptation of poverty porn and calling on spectators to consider their own implication in interlocking systems of inequity.

Automated Vigor Estimation on Vineyards

Estimating the balance or vigor in vines, as the yield to pruning weight relation, is a useful parameter that growers use to better prepare for the harvest season and to establish precision agriculture management of the vineyard, achieving specific site planification like pruning, debriefing or budding. Traditionally growers obtain this parameter by first manually weighting the pruned canes during the vineyard dormant season (no leaves); second during the harvest collect the weight of the fruit for the vines evaluated in the first step and then correlate the two measures. Since this is a very manual and time-consuming task, growers usually obtain this number by just taking a couple of samples and extrapolating this value to the entire vineyard, losing all the variability present in theirs fields, which imply loss in information that can lead to specific site management and consequently grape quality and quantity improvement. In this paper we develop a computer vision-based algorithm that is robust to differences in trellis system, varieties and light conditions; to automatically estimate the pruning weight and consequently the variability of vigor inside the lot. The results will be used to improve the way local growers plan the annual winter pruning, advancing in the transformation to precision agriculture. Our proposed solution doesn\textsc{\char13}t require to weight the shoots (also called canes), creating prescription maps (detail instructions for pruning, harvest and other management decisions specific for the location) based in the estimated vigor automatically. Our solution uses Deep Learning (DL) techniques to get the segmentation of the vine trees directly from the image captured on the field during dormant season

Alginate Modification and Lectin-Conjugation Approach to Synthesize the Mucoadhesive Matrix

Alginates are natural anionic polyelectrolytes investigated in various biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and 3D bioprinting. Functionalization of alginates is one possible way to provide a broad range of requirements for those applications. A range of techniques, including esterification, amidation, acetylation, phosphorylation, sulfation, graft copolymerization, and oxidation and reduction, have been implemented for this purpose. The rationale behind these investigations is often the combination of such modified alginates with different molecules. Particularly promising are lectin conjugate macromolecules for lectin-mediated drug delivery, which enhance the bioavailability of active ingredients on a specific site. Most interesting for such application are alginate derivatives, because these macromolecules are more resistant to acidic and enzymatic degradation. This review will report recent progress in alginate modification and conjugation, focusing on alginate-lectin conjugation, which is proposed as a matrix for mucoadhesive drug delivery and provides a new perspective for future studies with these conjugation methods.

Application of chitosan and its derivatives in drug delivery

Drug delivery is a method of delivering drug to the patients in a way which increases the concentration of drug to the relevant site by directing the drug to the specific site of action. Polymeric drug delivery systems are mostly preferred to take the drug to the specific site of action and achieve the therapeutic effect. Among different types of biocompatible polymers, carbohydrate-based polymers or polysaccharides are the most common natural polymers with complex structures consisting of long chains of monosaccharide or disaccharide units bound by glycosidic linkages. One such polymer is chitosan which is used in drug delivery. Chitosan’s appealing properties, especially of natural origin, may mediate the protection against degradation of the biologically active substance, control the release of the drug, boost the absorption, increase the physiological action and result in a consequent reduction in the rate of administration. Another advantage of using chitosan is its chemical structure that could be modified easily which makes chitosan derivatives used for different applications. The main objective is to provide an overview on chitosan and its derivatives applications in drug delivery.

LATENTIATED PRODRUG APPROACH OF DRUGS: AN OVERVIEW

Prodrugs, with their capability of declining the adverse events and elevating the bioavailability of certain drugs, have captured enormous attention throughout the world since the 20th century. The versatility of the prodrugs that are inert and after administration releasing the parent moiety for the desired effect has become a major criterion for the scientists to incorporate this to alleviate the undesired effects of a conventional drug. About 10% of the prevailing drugs are prodrugs and their usage is being amplified owing to its critical application in cancer therapy, toxicity alleviation, and specificity. The purpose of this review is to understand the prodrugs, strategies incorporated in designing the prodrugs, applications, their crucial benefits in targeted action at a specific site of the body, their advantageous effects in chemotherapy. Also, to be acknowledged with the ongoing clinical trials and researches on prodrugs and some notable marketed prodrugs in a depth manner.

Worn Out or Worn In?

<p>Worn out or worn in started with the creation of a building. For an industrial designer, this was unfamiliar territory. Through working with a specific site came the recognition of the potential of weathering to add a unique quality to the design that goes beyond its initial concept. The inclusion of this potential in the design required a projection into the future and an acceptance of the inevitability of influences that could not be fully controlled. Rain, sun, footprints and cobwebs would all add or subtract to the initially simplistic design concept. It was another realm of design: a 4 dimensional one. Where does the equivalent of weathering exist within the familiar scale of mass produced products? It is in the interaction between the body and the products through use. The potential of this interaction to add another dimension to a design forms the core of this research. The body is a complex site: fluid, directed, precarious, yet nurturing. While it may at first seem unreasonable that the soft body could erode hard, seemingly durable materials, the evidence is all around us. Though it works at a time scale that is almost invisible to our everyday perception, over time the evidence is recorded in our products. Through research by reading, observing, designing, making and unmaking products, the concept of designs embedded within products has emerged. Like a box of chocolates with a series of layers, this research addresses how the wearing away of one layer can reveal the existence of another.</p>

Worn Out or Worn In?

<p>Worn out or worn in started with the creation of a building. For an industrial designer, this was unfamiliar territory. Through working with a specific site came the recognition of the potential of weathering to add a unique quality to the design that goes beyond its initial concept. The inclusion of this potential in the design required a projection into the future and an acceptance of the inevitability of influences that could not be fully controlled. Rain, sun, footprints and cobwebs would all add or subtract to the initially simplistic design concept. It was another realm of design: a 4 dimensional one. Where does the equivalent of weathering exist within the familiar scale of mass produced products? It is in the interaction between the body and the products through use. The potential of this interaction to add another dimension to a design forms the core of this research. The body is a complex site: fluid, directed, precarious, yet nurturing. While it may at first seem unreasonable that the soft body could erode hard, seemingly durable materials, the evidence is all around us. Though it works at a time scale that is almost invisible to our everyday perception, over time the evidence is recorded in our products. Through research by reading, observing, designing, making and unmaking products, the concept of designs embedded within products has emerged. Like a box of chocolates with a series of layers, this research addresses how the wearing away of one layer can reveal the existence of another.</p>

Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analyses, Clinical Parameters, and Preoperative Nomograms in the Prediction of Extraprostatic Extension

Introduction: Proper planning of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) is crucial to achieving good oncological results with the possibility of preserving potency and continence. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the radiological and clinical parameters that can predict the risk of extraprostatic extension (EPE) for a specific site of the prostate. Predictive models and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) data from patients qualified for RP were compared. Material and methods: The study included 61 patients who underwent laparoscopic RP. mpMRI preceded transrectal systematic and cognitive fusion biopsy. Martini, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and Partin Tables nomograms were used to assess the risk of EPE. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for the models and compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the combination of variables that best predicted EPE risk based on final histopathology. Results: The combination of mpMRI indicating or suspecting EPE (odds ratio (OR) = 7.49 (2.31–24.27), p < 0.001) and PSA ≥ 20 ng/mL (OR = 12.06 (1.1–132.15), p = 0.04) best predicted the risk of EPE for a specific side of the prostate. For the prediction of ipsilateral EPE risk, the AUC for Martini’s nomogram vs. mpMRI was 0.73 (p < 0.001) vs. 0.63 (p = 0.005), respectively (p = 0.131). The assessment of a non-specific site of EPE by MSKCC vs. Partin Tables showed AUC values of 0.71 (p = 0.007) vs. 0.63 (p = 0.074), respectively (p = 0.211). Conclusions: The combined use of mpMRI, the results of the systematic and targeted biopsy, and prostate-specific antigen baseline can effectively predict ipsilateral EPE (pT3 stage).

Construction of a rAAV-SaCas9 system expressing eGFP and its application to improve muscle mass

An ideal rAAV gene editing system not only effectively edits genes at specific site, but also prevents the spread of the virus from occurring off-target or carcinogenic risks. This is important for gene editing research at specific site in vivo. We report a single rAAV containing SaCas9 and guide RNAs under the control of subtle EF1a and tRNA promoters. The capacity of rAAV was compressed, and the editing efficiency was similar to that of the classical Cas9 system in vitro and in vivo. And we inserted the sequence of the green fluorescent protein eGFP into rAAV. The number of cells infected with the rAAV and the region in which the rAAV spreads were known by the fluorescent expression of eGFP in cells. In addition, we demonstrated that myostatin gene in the thigh muscles of C57BL/10 mice was knocked out by the rAAV9-SaCas9 system to make muscle mass increased obviously. The protein eGFP into rAAV has significant implications for our indirect analysis of the editing efficiency of SaCas9 in the genome of the target tissue and reduces the harm caused by off-target editing and prevents other tissue mutations. The rAAV system has substantial potential in improving muscle mass and preventing muscle atrophy.