The influence of glass coating on the single domain wall potential in amorphous glass-coated Fe-based microwires

The effect of the glass coating on the single domain wall potential in amorphous glass-coated Fe-based microwire has been studied by the switching field distribution technique. The thermoactivated mechanism model is used to describe the thermally activated switching through the complex energy barrier in amorphous FeSiB microwires. Glass removal leads to the increase of the probability of the thermally activated switching pointing to the decrease of the energy barrier.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and differential capacitance study of thiol-functional polysiloxane films on gold supports

Polymeric molecules containing multiple thiol groups (polythiols) provide tenacious attachment to metal surfaces such as gold. Polythiol films are also well suited for subsequent derivatization with biomacromolecules through remnant free thiol groups of the film. In this study, 1-3 nm thick layers of a commercial polythiol, poly((mercaptopropyl)methylsiloxane) (PMPMS), are investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. XPS is used to reveal the surface coverage of thiolate-Au bonds between the polythiol and the metal support, which is found to be approximately 30% lower than that in alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers. The surface density of thiolate-Au bonds did not depend on film thickness provided sufficient PMPMS material was present. Differential capacitance measurements show that the effective dielectric barrier presented by PMPMS films under aqueous environments corresponds closely to their physical thickness, with even approximately 1 nm films remaining impermeable to electrolyte species. Modification of the films with an oligoethylene glycol compound was also examined, in anticipation of future applications in label-free, impedance-based biomolecular diagnostics.     

Reaction of N-phenyl maleimide with aminosilane monolayers

Reaction of N-phenyl maleimide (NPM) with silica surfaces modified with a self-assembled monolayer of (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) was investigated using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis, and titration assays. This reaction is of interest as a test case for using amine-maleimide coupling for immobilization of biomolecules. Addition of NPM to surface APTES residues was consistently sub-stoichiometric, with typical yields of about 75% on monolayers with a coverage of 1.15 APTES residues/nm2. Titration analysis found negligible presence of imide alkene C=C bonds in modified supports, indicating that addition of NPM to APTES proceeded via amine attack at the imide olefinic bond. FTIR measurements also revealed presence of amide bands which intensified over periods of 10 h. These observations were attributed to a slower secondary process in which APTES amines attack imide carbonyls to produce amide linkages. Stability of NPM-modified surfaces was examined under room temperature storage in pH 7 buffer up to 72 h and for 2 h exposure to buffer at temperatures up to 90 degrees C. It was found that stability was determined by robustness of APTES-silica attachment, with about 30% loss under the harshest conditions investigated.     

Polymer modifiers for bituminous waterproofing materials

Issues of improving the quality of waterproofing bituminous materials by modifying them using chlorosulfonated polyethylene and epoxy oligomer are considered. The presented results confirm that it is possible to retain the stability of the properties of a modified bituminous binder in the process of its operation and increase the working-temperature range.     

Degradation of HER2 Receptor Through Hypericin-mediated Photodynamic Therapy

Current treatment of breast cancer is often affected by resistance to therapeutics, for which the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) may be responsible. Here, we report for the first time the use of hypericin-mediated photodynamic therapy (HY-PDT) in combination with a selective HER2 inhibitor (AG 825) on SKBR-3, a HER2 overexpressing human breast adenocarcinoma cell line. The results demonstrate that HY-PDT is able to degrade HER2 with an impact on its signaling cascade. Combination with AG 825 resulted in increased apoptosis induction, total degradation of HER2 and inhibition of colony formation. Downregulation of HSP90, Mcl-1, Bcl-xL and upregulation of Bax was also observed. This knowledge provides the basis for the possible application of HY-PDT in preclinical and clinical models of breast cancer treatment.     

Programming With Models: Writing Statistical Algorithms for General Model Structures With NIMBLE

We describe NIMBLE, a system for programming statistical algorithms for general model structures within R. NIMBLE is designed to meet three challenges: flexible model specification, a language for programming algorithms that can use different models, and a balance between high-level programmability and execution efficiency. For model specification, NIMBLE extends the BUGS language and creates model objects, which can manipulate variables, calculate log probability values, generate simulations, and query the relationships among variables. For algorithm programming, NIMBLE provides functions that operate with model objects using two stages of evaluation. The first stage allows specialization of a function to a particular model and/or nodes, such as creating a Metropolis-Hastings sampler for a particular block of nodes. The second stage allows repeated execution of computations using the results of the first stage. To achieve efficient second-stage computation, NIMBLE compiles models and functions via C++, using the Eigen library for linear algebra, and provides the user with an interface to compiled objects. The NIMBLE language represents a compilable domain-specific language (DSL) embedded within R. This article provides an overview of the design and rationale for NIMBLE along with illustrative examples including importance sampling, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Monte Carlo expectation maximization (MCEM). Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Polyamine-substituted epoxy-grafted silica for aqueous metal recovery

Glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (GPS) was used as a reactive silane to graft metal- complexing ligands onto silica gel in aqueous media under mild conditions. The synthesis entailed the reaction of GPS with silica gel, followed by grafting polyamine onto the epoxy functional group. GPS was added to silica gel in ethanol with 5 vol. % water and the mixture was air-dried for 24 h. Subsequently, excess amounts of polyamines: triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, and pentaethylenehexamine were individually added to the silanised silica, followed by solvent evaporation and ovendrying at 60°C. The ligand-grafted silica gel particles showed a rapid heavy metal uptake in batch or flow-through experiments with capacities reaching 0.1 mmol g⁻¹ for copper, zinc, cadmium, or lead ions. Columns packed with the modified particles could be readily regenerated by acid-washing with only a small decrease in activity. The particles could be used for the colourimetric detection of heavy metal pollution or for pre-concentration for analytical purposes. Competition between Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cd²⁺ ions for the three synthesised silica showed that Cu²⁺ ions were adsorbed more strongly than the other metal ions. The general method developed can be applied to graft other molecules with terminal amino groups for other purposes.