A Ru(II)-Based Nanoassembly Exhibiting Theranostic PACT Activity in NIR Region

Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) has appealing merits over traditional chemotherapy as well as photodynamic therapy (PDT) by virtue of its spatial and temporal control on drug activity and oxygen-independent mechanisms of action. However, the short photoactivation wavelengths, e.g., visible light–activated Ru(II)-based PACT agents, limit the clinical application severely. In this work, a facile construction of supramolecular nanoparticles from a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified [Ru(dip)₂(py-SO₃)]⁺ (abbreviated as Ru-PEG, dip = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, py-SO₃ = pyridine-2-sulfonate) and 1,3-phenylenebis(pyren-1-ylmethanone) (BP) is shown. While Ru-PEG may undergo photoinduced ligand dissociation and release anticancer species of [Ru(dip)₂(H₂O)₂]²⁺, BP has extremely large two-photon absorption cross sections (δ₂) in the NIR region and intense fluorescence over the wavelengths where Ru-PEG has strong absorption. Thus, two-photon excitation of BP followed by an efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from BP to Ru-PEG may lead to a potent inactivation against cisplatin-resistant cancer cells and 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs). The residue fluorescence of BP also allows the cellular uptake of the particles to be visualized. This work provides a universal and convenient strategy to realize theranostic PACT in the ideal phototherapeutic window of 650–900 nm.     

Association between the microbiomes of tonsil and saliva samples isolated from pediatric patients subjected to tonsillectomy for the treatment of tonsillar hyperplasia

Oral microbes have the capacity to spread throughout the gastrointestinal system and are strongly associated with multiple diseases. Given that tonsils are located between the oral cavity and the laryngopharynx at the gateway of the alimentary and respiratory tracts, tonsillar tissue may also be affected by microbiota from both the oral cavity (saliva) and the alimentary tract. Here, we analyzed the distribution and association of the microbial communities in the saliva and tonsils of Korean children subjected to tonsillectomy because of tonsil hyperplasia (n = 29). The microbiome profiles of saliva and tonsils were established via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Based on the alpha diversity indices, the microbial communities of the two groups showed high similarities. According to Spearman’s ranking correlation analysis, the distribution of Treponema, the causative bacterium of periodontitis, in saliva and tonsils was found to have a significant positive correlation. Two representative microbes, Prevotella in saliva and Alloprevotella in tonsils, were negatively correlated, while Treponema 2 showed a strong positive correlation between saliva and tonsils. Taken together, strong similarities in the microbial communities of the tonsils and saliva are evident in terms of diversity and composition. The saliva microbiome is expected to significantly affect the tonsil microbiome. Furthermore, we suggest that our study creates an opportunity for tonsillar microbiome research to facilitate the development of novel microbiome-based therapeutic strategies.Subject terms: Comparative genomics, Metagenomics     

Hierarchical structure observation and nanoindentation size effect characterization for a limnetic shell

In the present research, hierarchical structure observation and mechanical property characterization for a type of biomaterial are carried out. The investigated biomaterial is Hyriopsis cumingii, a typical limnetic shell, which consists of two different structural layers, a prismatic "pillar"structure and a nacreous "brick and mortar" structure. The prismatic layer looks like a "pillar forest" with variationsection pillars sized on the order of several tens of microns.The nacreous material looks like a "brick wall" with bricks sized on the order of several microns. Both pillars and bricks are composed of nanoparticles. The mechanical properties of the hierarchical biomaterial are measured by using the nanoindentation test. Hardness and modulus are measured for both the nacre layer and the prismatic layer, respectively.The nanoindentation size effects for the hierarchical structural materials are investigated experimentally. The results show that the prismatic nanostructured material has a higher stiffness and hardness than the nacre nanostructured material.In addition, the nanoindentation size effects for the hierarchical structural materials are described theoretically, by using the trans-scale mechanics theory considering both strain gradient effect and the surface/interface effect. The modeling results are consistent with experimental ones.     

Three-weight linear codes from Weil sums

Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics - By appropriately choosing a defining set, we define a class of linear codes and establish their complete weight enumerators and weight enumerators using Weil...     

Generalized Jacobi spectral Galerkin method for fractional pantograph differential equation

This work is concerned with the extension of the Jacobi spectral Galerkin method to a class of nonlinear fractional pantograph differential equations. First, the fractional differential equation is converted to a nonlinear Volterra integral equation with weakly singular kernel. Second, we analyze the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the obtained integral equation. Then, the Galerkin method is used for solving the equivalent integral equation. The error estimates for the proposed method are also investigated. Finally, illustrative examples are presented to confirm our theoretical analysis.     

蛋白质-多糖复合体系在活性物质传递中的应用

蛋白质-多糖复合体系作为生物活性物质传递系统的壁材,有着人工合成聚合物或无机物等其他材料不可比拟的多重优势。本文就蛋白质和多糖之间的连接方式及蛋白质-多糖复合体系形成传递系统的多种形式进行了综述,以及对此领域的发展趋势进行了展望。结合蛋白质和多糖的结构特点,二者之间的链接方式分为非共价结合的物理共聚,和共价结合的美拉德偶联、化学交联、酶催化交联等方式,文中分别对各种连接方式的原理和机理,以及其影响因素做了深入阐述。以蛋白质-多糖复合体系为壁材对活性物质的传递形式大体上分成乳化系统、胶束、纳米凝胶、分子复合物以及壳核结构等系统。不同的活性物质的特征和传递需求,可针对性地选择合适结构的蛋白质和多糖种类以及二者的连接方式和传递系统的形式。并且,随着研究的逐步发展和推进,此领域的发展趋势朝着智能化和靶向性的方向进行。目前活性物质的蛋白质-多糖复合体系的传递系统,还依然面临着系统设计、评价和应用等多方面的挑战,这就要求我们在更全面更深入了解认识其对活性物质影响和功效的基础上,安全合理地设计和深入细致地评价活性成分的传递系统。     

p-Adic函数空间上Hardy型算子的多线性交换子估计

在p-adic域上研究分数次Hardy型算子与CMO(Q_p~n)函数生成的多线性交换子,建立了交换子在Lebesgue空间和Herz空间上的有界性.对Hardy算子的多线性交换子也得到了相应的结果.     

胶体晶体自组装常用方法的研究进展

胶体自组装是制造大面积胶体晶体的高效方法,对制备各种功能胶体晶体材料具有十分重要的意义,在微纳制造、新材料、能源、医学等领域有巨大的应用潜力.对胶体自组装过程中涉及的各种作用力进行了详细分析,归纳了胶体晶体自组装的基本方法.面向制造大面积胶体晶体,阐述了几类代表性的新型胶体晶体自组装方法,包括温度辅助、模板辅助、表面活性剂辅助、旋涂法与界面转移相结合等,分析了不同方法的影响因素、优缺点和未来的改良方向,并介绍了在完整单层膜基础上制造三维胶体晶体的工艺方法.为提高胶体晶体制造质量和效率、拓宽胶体自组装技术的应用提供必要参考.     

驻波声场中单分散细颗粒的相互作用特性

利用外加声场促进悬浮在气相中的细颗粒发生相互作用,进而引起颗粒的碰撞和凝并,使得颗粒平均粒径增大、数目浓度降低,是控制细颗粒排放的重要技术途径.为探究驻波声场中单分散细颗粒的相互作用,建立包含曳力、重力、声尾流效应的颗粒相互作用模型,采用四阶经典龙格-库塔算法和二阶隐式亚当斯插值算法对模型进行求解.将数值模拟得到的颗粒声波夹带速度和相互作用过程与相应的解析解和实验结果进行对比,验证模型的准确性.进而研究颗粒初始条件和直径对相互作用特性的影响.结果表明,初始时刻颗粒中心连线越接近声波波动方向、颗粒位置越接近波腹点,颗粒间的声尾流效应就越强,颗粒发生碰撞所需要的时间就越短.研究还发现,颗粒直径对颗粒相互作用的影响取决于初始时刻颗粒中心连线偏离声波波动方向的程度.当偏离较小时,颗粒直径越大,颗粒发生碰撞所需要的时间越短;当偏离很大时,直径较小的颗粒能够发生碰撞,而直径较大的颗粒则无法发生碰撞.