Polymeric Nanoparticles Active against Dual-Species Bacterial Biofilms

Biofilm infections are a global public health threat, necessitating new treatment strategies. Biofilm formation also contributes to the development and spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains. Biofilm-associated chronic infections typically involve colonization by more than one bacterial species. The co-existence of multiple species of bacteria in biofilms exacerbates therapeutic challenges and can render traditional antibiotics ineffective. Polymeric nanoparticles offer alternative antimicrobial approaches to antibiotics, owing to their tunable physico-chemical properties. Here, we report the efficacy of poly(oxanorborneneimide) (PONI)-based antimicrobial polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) against multi-species bacterial biofilms. PNPs showed good dual-species biofilm penetration profiles as confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity was observed, with reduction in both bacterial viability and overall biofilm mass. Further, PNPs displayed minimal fibroblast toxicity and high antimicrobial activity in an in vitro co-culture model comprising fibroblast cells and dual-species biofilms of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study highlights a potential clinical application of the presented polymeric platform.     

Small-<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> Behavior of Non-singlet Spin Structure Function and Bjorken Sum Rule with pQCD Correction up to NNLO and Higher Twist Correction

A calculation of the non-singlet part of spin dependent structure function, \(xg_{1}^{NS}(x,Q^{2})\) and associated sum rule, the Bjorken Sum rule up to next-next-to-leading order(NNLO) is presented. We use a unified approach incorporating Regge theory and the theoretical framework of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics. Using a Regge behaved model with Q ² dependent intercept as the initial input, we have solved the Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi (DGLAP) evolution equation up to NNLO at small-x for \(xg_{1}^{NS}(x,Q^{2})\) and the solutions are utilised to calculate the polarised Bjorken sum rule(BSR). We have also extracted the higher twist contribution to BSR based on a simple parametrisation. These results for both of \(xg_{1}^{NS}(x,Q^{2})\) and BSR, along with higher twist corrections are observed to be consistent with the available data taken from SMC, E143, HERMES, COMPASS and JLab experiments. In addition, our results are also compared with that of other theoretical and phenomenological analysis based on different models and a very good agreement is also observed in this regard. Further a very good consistency between our calculated results and theoretical QCD predictions of BSR is also achieved.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of prominent phases of $$\hbox {TiO}_{2}$$: First-principles study

We present the properties of the C-parameter as an event-shape variable. We calculate the coupling constants in the perturbative and also in the non-perturbative parts of the QCD theory, using the dispersive as well as the shape function models. By fitting the corresponding theoretical predictions to our data, we find \(\alpha _{\mathrm {s}} (M_{Z^{0}})\) = 0.117 ± 0.014 and α ₀(μ _I ) = 0.491 ± 0.043 for dispersive model and \(\alpha _{\mathrm {s}} (M_{Z^{0}})\) = 0.124 ± 0.015 and λ ₁ = 1.234 ± 0.052 for the shape function model. Our results are consistent with the world average value of \(\alpha _{\mathrm {s}} (M_{Z^{0}})\) = 0.118 ± 0.002. All these features are explained in the main text.     

Viability of variable generalised Chaplygin gas: a thermodynamical approach

The viability of the variable generalised Chaplygin gas (VGCG) model is analysed from the standpoint of its thermodynamical stability criteria with the help of an equation of state, \(P = - \frac{B}{\rho ^{\alpha } }\), where \(B = B_{0}V^{-\frac{n}{3}}\). Here \(B_{0}\) is assumed to be a positive universal constant, n is a constant parameter and V is the volume of the cosmic fluid. We get the interesting result that if the well-known stability conditions of a fluid is adhered to, the values of n are constrained to be negative definite to make \( \left( \frac{\partial P}{\partial V}\right) _{S} <0\) & \( \left( \frac{\partial P}{\partial V}\right) _{T} <0\) throughout the evolution. Moreover the positivity of thermal capacity at constant volume \(c_{V}\) as also the validity of the third law of thermodynamics are ensured in this case. For the particular case \(n = 0\) the effective equation of state reduces to \(\Lambda \)CDM model in the late stage of the universe while for \(n <0\) it mimics a phantom-like cosmology which is in broad agreement with the present SNe Ia constraints like VGCG model. The thermal equation of state is discussed and the EoS parameter is found to be an explicit function of temperature only. Further for large volume the thermal equation of state parameter is identical with the caloric equation of state parameter when \( T \rightarrow 0\). It may also be mentioned that like Santos et al. our model does not admit of any critical points. We also observe that although the earlier model of Lu explains many of the current observational findings of different probes it fails to explain the crucial tests of thermodynamical stability.     

Scalar modifications to gravity from unparticle effects may be testable

Interest has focused recently on low energy implications of a nontrivial scale invariant sector of an effective field theory with an IR fixed point, manifest in terms of "unparticles" with peculiar properties. If unparticle stuff exists it could couple to the stress tensor and mediate a new "fifth" force ("ungravity"). Under the assumption of strict conformal invariance in the hidden sector down to low energies, we compute the lowest order ungravity correction to the Newtonian gravitational potential and find scale invariant power law corrections of type (R_(G)/r)(2d)_(U)(-1), where d_(U) is an anomalous unparticle dimension and R_(G) is a characteristic length scale where the ungravity interactions become significant. It is shown that a discrimination between extra dimension models and ungravity is possible in future improved submillimeter tests of gravity.     

A highly efficient 5 kW peak power Nd:YAG laser with time-shared fiber optic beam delivery

Here, we report on the development of an efficient, high peak power lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser with time-shared fiber optic beam delivery. A maximum average output power of 270 W with 100 J maximum pulse energy and 5 kW peak power has been achieved with an electrical to laser conversion efficiency of 5.4%, which is on higher side for typical lamp pumped solid-state lasers. We have improved efficiency by spectral conversion and water flow optimization in the pump cavity, with a resulting beam quality comparable to commercial systems of similar power level. The resonator has been designed for stable operation from single-shot to 200 Hz repetition rate. A study of pulse-to-pulse laser energy stability for different resonator configurations has also been performed. The resonator was designed to achieve a good beam quality for the whole range of operation with a maximum beam parameter product of 15 mm mrad (M²45). A simple mechanism for time-shared fiber optic port selection has also been devised. Material processing applications such as cutting of stainless steel sheets up to 14 mm thickness and welding of metals such as carbon steel with weld depths up to 2 mm using the developed laser system has also been reported.     

Vacancy formation and strain in low-temperature Cu/Cu(100) growth

The development of compressive strain in metal thin films grown at low temperature has recently been revealed via x-ray diffraction and explained by the assumption that a large number of vacancies were incorporated into the growing films. The results of our molecular dynamics and parallel temperature-accelerated dynamics simulations suggest that the experimentally observed strain arises from an increased nanoscale surface roughness caused by the suppression of thermally activated events at low temperature combined with the effects of shadowing due to off-normal deposition.     

Dynamical symmetry breaking of lambda- and vee-type three-level systems on quantization of the field modes

We develop a scheme to construct the Hamiltonians of the lambda-, vee- and cascade-type three-level configurations using the generators of SU(3) group. It turns out that this approach provides a well-defined selection rule to give different Hamiltonians for each configuration. The lambda- and vee-type configurations are exactly solved with different initial conditions while taking the two-mode classical and quantized fields. For the classical field, it is shown that the Rabi oscillation of the lambda model is similar to that of the vee model and the dynamics of the vee model can be recovered from lambda model and vice versa simply by inversion. We then proceed to solve the quantized version of both models by introducing a novel Euler matrix formalism. It is shown that this dynamical symmetry exhibited in the Rabi oscillation of two configurations for the semiclassical models is completely destroyed on quantization of the field modes. The symmetry can be restored within the quantized models when both field modes are in the coherent states with large average photon number which is depicted through the collapse and revival of the Rabi oscillations.      

Steady mixed convection stagnation-point flow of upper convected Maxwell fluids with magnetic field

The steady MHD mixed convection flow of a viscoelastic fluid in the vicinity of two-dimensional stagnation point with magnetic field has been investigated under the assumption that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion, induced magnetic field and energy which results in three coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations which are well-posed. These equations have been solved by using finite difference method. The results indicate the reduction in the surface velocity gradient, surface heat transfer and displacement thickness with the increase in the elasticity number. These trends are opposite to those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid. The surface velocity gradient and heat transfer are enhanced by the magnetic and buoyancy parameters. The surface heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface velocity gradient decreases.     

Does SARS-CoV-2 affect neurodegenerative disorders? TLR2, a potential receptor for SARS-CoV-2 in the CNS

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory system coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has created significant challenges for scientists seeking to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to identify the best therapies for infected patients. Although ACE2 is a known receptor for the virus and has been shown to mediate viral entry into the lungs, accumulating reports highlight the presence of neurological symptoms resulting from infection. As ACE2 expression is low in the central nervous system (CNS), these neurological symptoms are unlikely to be caused by ACE2-virus binding. In this review, we will discuss a proposed interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in the CNS. TLR2 is an innate immune receptor that recognizes exogenous microbial components but has also been shown to interact with multiple viral components, including the envelope (E) protein of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, TLR2 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Based on these observations, we hypothesize that TLR2 may play a critical role in the response to SARS-CoV-2 infiltration in the CNS, thereby resulting in the induction or acceleration of AD and PD pathologies in patients.Subject terms: Neurodegeneration, Neurodegenerative diseases