Topical application of zein-silk sericin nanoparticles loaded with curcumin for improved therapy of dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is characterized by leukocyte migration into the skin dermis and typically driven by excessive chemokine production at the site of inflammation. Conventional topical formulations such as gels, creams, and ointments are insufficient for this treatment because of low penetration of drug molecules into the targeted skin tissues. Herein, using a simple, green, sustainable strategy, we have developed novel primary zein nanoparticles embedded in curcumin (Cur) and coated with silk sericin (ZHSCs) for the topical delivery of Cur to penetrate into the dermis and exercise anti-dermatitis effects on the lesion with minimal side-effects. Transdermal delivery experiments and porcine skin fluorescence imaging indicated that ZHSCs facilitate the penetration of Cur across the epidermis layer of skin to reach deep-seated sites. Notably, ZHSCs = 1:0.25 (zein-to-silk sericin mass ratios of 1:0.25) markedly elevated the skin permeability and cumulative turnover of Cur transferred, which were provided a greater than a 3.8-fold increase relative to free Cur. The special nanoparticles of ZHS = 1:0.25 possessed the deepest localization depth and experience a transition of the particle structure and core-shell separation after penetrating into the dermis of skin. In a cell model of dermatitis induced by tumor necrosis factor α/interferon γ co-stimulation, compared with free Cur, Cur-loaded ZHS nanoparticles down-regulated the generation of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in keratinocytes through suppression of the nuclear translocation of NF-κBp65 and hence exerted an anti-dermatitis effect. This strategy may provide new avenues and direction for the demanding issues of valid topical delivery systems.     

A Shell-by-Shell Approach for Synthesis of Mesoporous Multi-Shelled Hollow MOFs for Catalytic Applications

Over the past two decades, advanced materials with hollow interiors have received significant attention in materials research owing to their great application potential across a vast number of technological fields. Though with great difficulty, multi-shelled hollow metal–organic frameworks (MSHMs) have also been successfully synthesized in recent years. Herein, a rational shell-by-shell soft-templating protocol has been devised to fabricate highly uniform multi-shelled hollow cobalt-imidazole-based MOF (ZIF-67). For the first time, it has become possible to endow mesoporosity to this new type of functional material (i.e., mesoporous MOFs). When used as carrier materials in catalytic reactions, in principle, these mesoporous MSHMs with high surface area not only improve the dispersity of metal nanoparticles (NPs), but also efficiently facilitate the mass diffusion of the reactions, resulting in enhanced catalyst activity. Moreover, the obtained MSHMs/M nanocomposites serve as base-metal bifunctional catalysts for one-pot oxidation-Knoevenagel condensation cascade reaction, in which the MSHMs itself serves as a pristine active catalyst in addition to its role of catalyst support. The results demonstrate that excellent multifunctional catalysts can be achieved via preparing intrinsically microporous bulk MOFs into extrinsically mesoporous MSHMs which possess many structural merits that conventional bulk MOFs do not have.     

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.     

A technical review of face mask wearing in preventing respiratory COVID-19 transmission

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have recommended their citizens to adopt social distance, hand hygiene, and face mask wearing. However, wearing face masks has not been well adopted by many citizens. While the reasons are complex, there is a general perception that the evidence to support face mask wearing is lacking, especially for the general public in a community setting. Face mask wearing can block or filter airborne virus-carrying particles through the working of colloid and interface science. This paper assesses current knowledge behind the design and functioning of face masks by reviewing the selection of materials, mask specifications, relevant laboratory tests, and respiratory virus transmission trials, with an overview of future development of reusable masks for the general public. This review highlights the effectiveness of face mask wearing in the prevention of COVID-19 infection.     

Bimetallic Covalent Organic Frameworks for Constructing Multifunctional Electrocatalyst

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a new class of crystalline porous polymers comprised mainly of carbon atoms, and are versatile for the integration of heteroatoms such as B, O, and N into the skeletons. The designable structure and abundant composition render COFs useful as precursors for heteroatom-doped porous carbons for energy storage and conversion. Herein, we describe a multifunctional electrochemical catalyst obtained through pyrolysis of a bimetallic COF. The catalyst possesses hierarchical pores and abundant iron and cobalt nanoparticles embedded with standing carbon layers. By integrating these features, the catalyst exhibits excellent electrochemical catalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with a 50 mV positive half-wave potential, a higher limited diffusion current density, and a much smaller Tafel slope than a Pt-C catalyst. Moreover, the catalyst displays superior electrochemical performance toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with overpotentials of −0.26 V and −0.33 V in acidic and alkaline aqueous solution, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻². The overpotential in the catalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) was 1.59 V at the same current density.     

Probability Collectives for Unstable Particles

Unstable particles, together with their stable decay products, constitute probability collectives that are defined as Hilbert spaces with dimension higher than one, nondecomposable in a particle basis. Their structure is considered in the framework of Birkhoff-von Neumann's Hilbert subspace lattices. Bases with particle states are related to bases with a diagonal scalar product by a Hilbert-bein involving the characteristic decay parameters (in some analogy to the n-bein structures of metrical manifolds). Probability predictions as expectation values, involving unstable particles, have to take into account all members of the higher dimensional collective. For example, the unitarity structure of the S-matrix for an unstable particle collective can be established by a transformation with its Hilbert-bein.     

On the Boltzmann Equation for Fermi–Dirac Particles with Very Soft Potentials: Averaging Compactness of Weak Solutions

The paper considers macroscopic behavior of a Fermi–Dirac particle system. We prove the L ¹-compactness of velocity averages of weak solutions of the Boltzmann equation for Fermi–Dirac particles in a periodic box with the collision kernel b(cos θ)|ρ−ρ _*|^γ, which corresponds to very soft potentials: −5 < γ ≤ −3 with a weak angular cutoff: ∫₀ ^π b(cos θ)sin ³θ dθ < ∞. Our proof for the averaging compactness is based on the entropy inequality, Hausdorff–Young inequality, the L ^∞-bounds of the solutions, and a specific property of the value-range of the exponent γ. Once such an averaging compactness is proven, the proof of the existence of weak solutions will be relatively easy.     

Generic entangling through quantum indistinguishability

We present a general scheme for entangling any degree of freedom of two uncorrelated identical particles from independent sources by a combination of two-particle interferometry and which-way detection. We show that this entanglement generation procedure works for completely random initial states of the variable to be entangled. We also demonstrate a curious complementarity exhibited by our scheme and its applications in estimating the generated entanglement as a function of wave packet overlap at the beamsplitter.     

粒子-转子模型和推转壳模型中的能谱统计分析

用粒子–转子模型和推转壳模型研究了6个粒子分别填充在单j壳和双j壳上的混沌行为.分析了单j壳和双j壳情况下能谱的最近邻能级间距分布和谱刚度随自旋及推转频率的变化,结果表明,当组态空间大小不变时,系统在双j壳(g_7/2+d_5/2)情况下比在单j壳(i_13/2)情况下更规则,而当组态空间从单j壳(i_13/2)扩大到双j壳(i_13/2+g_9/2)时,系统的混沌程度变化不大.同时比较了将6个粒子的两体相互作用分别取为δ力和对力时的系统的混沌行为     

纳米颗粒团聚物流化特性的数值研究

基于气固两相流体动力学理论,建立气体纳米颗粒团聚物两相流动双流体模型.模型中采用了Jung ＆ Gidaspow (2002)测量的固相应力模量和王垚等(2001)提出的聚团曳力系数计算模型.对纳米颗粒团聚物的流化过程进行了数值模拟,得到纳米颗粒团聚物的流化特性.模拟得出的床层膨胀比与文献中实验的结果较为接近.